Chapter 235: I Have Come
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 235: I Have Come
‘Huh? How did we end up in a full-scale war with the Military State? I was just trying to make contact to scout them…?’
The decision for an all-out war, made in the heat of the moment, threw everyone into confusion. Not only the Regressor who had given the Resistance crucial information, but also the Princess who had given the firm order to prepare for an attack, were both bewildered.
In any case, what needed to be done had to be done by someone. There was no other choice. The Princess issued an order to her Guardian Knight.
“Sir. This is an order. I need someone to deliver this news to the Resistance and rally them to move out at full strength.”
“Yes. We do…. But why are you telling me this?”
Naturally, she meant for him to do it. Realizing the implication in her words, the Guardian Knight’s expression changed drastically.
Sir Landemeyer, the Guardian Knight, was the youngest and most powerful knight in the Resistance. Mobilizing the resistance forces was his job. There was no issue with that.
However, he was not only a commander but also the Princess's Guardian Knight.
Even the strongest knight in the Resistance had but one body; if he dedicated himself to one duty, he would inevitably neglect the other.
“I’m telling you to do it.”
The Princess, the very person he was meant to guard, was ordering him to cease his protection, return, and lead the troops. The Guardian Knight spoke urgently.
“I can’t, Princess!”
“I’ve thought it over several times, and there’s no other way.”
“One of the Six Generals is here!”
“She's the last graduate of Hamelin, and she let herself be captured. Look. She can't make a move against Shiati, can she? As long as Shiati is safe, I'm safe.”
“Shiati isn't safe even if she's alone in a wide-open plain! If she has nothing to burn, she'll burn herself! I'll stay instead. You lead the Resistance, Princess! Are you not their master?”
The Princess gave a faint, awkward smile.
Not at all. The Princess felt no sense of ownership, nor did she reign over them.
She had taken on the position out of a sense of duty, and her role was merely that of a symbol, using her face and bloodline to gather people.
The Princess was a sacrifice. A sacrifice the remnants had found to use as kindling in their denial that their era was over.
The Princess spoke self-deprecatingly.
“I'm a figurehead. A symbol of the kingdom, and an expensive sacrifice. In any case, negotiating with other factions is the only role I've been given, so I must be where I can perform that role.”
“A sacrifice! What insolent cur would dare speak such nonsense?! Just give me the word. I will see them executed immediately!”
“That would be me. What extreme punishment will you sentence me to?”
“I take back what I just said! Princess, please reconsider!”
The Guardian Knight was adamant. It was only natural. How could he leave the last heir of the royal family, the princess he was sworn to cherish and protect, among the worst criminals in history?
The other weary, jaded members of the Resistance might feel differently, but his loyalty to the royal family was genuine. It was something he could never accept.
“No matter what, I cannot leave you alone, Princess! Especially not on the front lines where a battle will soon break out!”
Even if it was a temporary alliance. He had received intelligence through a spy that they weren't as dangerous as they seemed, but that was before they planned to assault the headquarters.
People who would attempt to raid the headquarters with just five members were extremely dangerous.
Not because they were evil, but because they possessed unconventional power and the will to make abnormal choices.
Faced with his continued opposition, the Princess sighed.
“Hmph. It seems nice words won't work.”
“My apologies, but even harsh words will not change my mind.”
The Guardian Knight steeled himself, resolved to endure any of the Princess’s tantrums or anger.
That is, until the Princess uttered a single phrase.
“Brother. Are you kidding me?”
It was a title he hadn't heard in years, but it brought more fear than nostalgia. While the Guardian Knight flinched, the Princess summoned memories from when she had been undercover and cried out.
“What other choice is there? Someone has to stay here, don't they? We're not the Military State. We don't have Signallers. We have to leave our base, so we can't use the Great White Wall. Who's going to make contact and negotiate?”
“Th-that is. With Shiati here, there’s no need for you to…”
“That would be just great! If we leave the negotiations to Shiati, we’ll find ourselves charging the headquarters with our entire army at a moment’s notice!”
“That is certainly true, but.”
“Would you rather you stay here and I go to the base? I'm sure they'll listen so well to a clueless figurehead trying to lead them.”
“Wait, please hold on.”
“You said time is of the essence! Aren't you going to get a move on?!”
As the Princess shouted, the Guardian Knight flinched and backed away from her sharp, fierce demeanor. He might be a loyal knight, but he was no match for the Princess when she entered her ‘little sister’ mode.
Pushed back by her intensity, the Guardian Knight found himself at the container's entrance. The Meta Conveyor Belt was still moving, moment by moment. If he was going to move, it was better to do it quickly.
Just before opening the container door to leave, he hesitated for a moment and stressed to the Princess.
“…I'll leave Selphy with you. If things go south, get on her and escape. Selphy is a white steed that can run a thousand ri; no one will be able to catch you. Have Shiati help you dress, and the extra Clothing Packets are here….”
“Just go!”
The Guardian Knight looked at the Princess with eyes dripping with worry before reluctantly turning and stepping out of the container. He quickly scanned his surroundings and threw himself off the belt. He would probably gather the troops and catch up soon.
…He's gone, right? Phew, what a relief.
The Princess, who had maintained an angry expression until his presence faded, let out a sigh and relaxed her face. Just then, the Regressor strode up behind her.
“Hold on. Princess. You're coming with us?”
The sudden approach, completely devoid of any sense of personal space, made the Princess tense up and straighten her back.
“Ye-yes!”
“We’re not going on a picnic.”
The Regressor’s cold remark visibly flustered the Princess. She stammered.
“You said you needed a spy, right? Then you'll be better off with me. I've handled all sorts of negotiations, the kind too petty for knights to bother with.”
“You could die.”
“I'm a member of the Resistance, too. I'm prepared for the risks. And… there's something else I want.”
“What is it you want?”
The Princess hesitated for a moment. But with the attack on the headquarters now a certainty, the only one who could help her was the Regressor.
She gave us such valuable information. It would be ungrateful of me to hide my true intentions from her. I don't mean to get in the way, but it's better to tell the truth…!
“I… want to meet with Command. I want to meet them and talk.”
The Princess clasped her hands before her chest and confessed calmly.
“This stays between us, but I don't believe the Military State is evil. The Grandiomor Royal Family is the bloodline of heavenly luck. We were born with that luck, yet we were brought down by our own people… The kingdom was already a failed state.”
The Princess of the kingdom and a member of the Resistance, born with heavenly luck, was now voicing the true feelings she could never speak of within the Resistance. Why she chose the Regressor of all people… was surprising. But it was an excellent choice nonetheless.
Perhaps because of their connection in a previous timeline, the Regressor fully empathized with the Princess's secret feelings.
The Regressor had similar thoughts, after all.
She let out a small laugh.
“That's not something a princess should say.”
“It's something only I can say. Isn't that the duty of royalty?”
“So, what's the plan? Surrender to Command?”
“…I can't do that. I doubt they would let me, either. In my case, my very existence is a threat to the Military State… Regardless of my own thoughts, the State and I can never be on the same side.”
Muttering self-deprecatingly, the Princess swallowed her loneliness and spoke again.
“But even if I can't be saved, the Military State can become a better nation. An ideal nation where everyone moves forward together, rather than one that oppresses, persecutes, and exploits. But Command… I want to ask them if they're deliberately turning a blind eye, or if they truly don't know.”
“Nine times out of ten, you'll die if you meet them.”
“Ehehe. My life was forfeit the moment I was born a princess, anyway.”
The Princess smiled awkwardly. It was a smile of resignation.
“You can consider it payment for my cooperation. Or you can just think of it as sending me, your spy, to infiltrate first. Before you attack the headquarters… could I possibly have a moment to speak with them?”
The Princess clasped her hands and pleaded earnestly. It was so pitiful and forlorn that any man with even a speck of romanticism wouldn't have been able to resist nodding in agreement.
But the Regressor's romanticism had long since worn away, and she wasn't even a man. She remained impassive in the face of a gesture that would have stirred any man's heart.
“I don't know where Command is, either.”
Even when I destroyed the Military State in the past, I could never find Command or the Generalissimo who gave orders from within it. Not until the very end of that timeline. Whenever the Military State fell, they would simply evaporate.
Huh? She doesn't know?
This was unexpected, even for me. I thought she was planning to attack because she knew the location, but she couldn't find it even after ruining the Military State for thirteen timelines? How was she planning to find it if she didn't know?
Fortunately, the Regressor wasn't that reckless.
“But I know where their orders are relayed from. If we go there… you might be able to have the conversation you want. Whether they'll be willing to talk is another question.”
“Where is that?”
“The command and control center.”
The Regressor recalled a memory from a previous timeline. From beyond the time and space I couldn't clearly read, a faint image slowly took shape.
In a corner of the headquarters, among the warehouses, there is a space where soldiers' access is extremely restricted. It's publicly known as the residence of the Signallers, but it's a veiled space where no one knows who the Signallers actually are.
A structure similar to the Windowless Room I saw during the fall of Tantalus.
As the Regressor recalled this, she superimposed the image of a slightly more weary, older princess over the one standing before her. It seemed to be the version of the princess she had met in the past.
In the last timeline, you were much more desperate. You... wanted to talk, but you never pursued it to the point of risking your comrades' lives or your own. Let's see, this time….
“In a small facility in a corner of the massive Command headquarters, there are twenty-six Signallers who relay Command's directives. It's the only direct channel to Command. It's a strategic target anyway… so if we capture it, you'll be able to have the conversation you want.”
The Regressor was endlessly generous to those who had been her comrades in previous timelines. As she offered this kindness in a relatively gentle tone, the Princess bowed her head deeply and clenched her fists.
“Yes…! Thank you!”
She really is a good person…!