Chapter 251: The Heart's Backdoor
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 251: The Heart's Backdoor
Right now, no one was physically restraining these laborers. What bound them were the rules and fear created by the Military State. In other words, their chains weren't real.
“You see, we're on our way to raid the Military State's headquarters. We need to destroy the State's assets and tie up their forces at the same time, you understand?”
I walked slowly and tapped the nearest automaton carriage in the hangar.
“If you don't take these automaton carriages and run, we'll have no choice but to destroy these precious machines, the very ones you've poured your blood, sweat, and tears into, one by one.”
A sense of bewilderment spread through them. Their attitude was, 'What does it have to do with us if you destroy the carriages?' A positive reaction.
The heart doesn't have just one lock. It's more like an iron fortress with dozens of gates. Even if one gate is bolted shut, you can slip out the back if it's left open. Their indifference meant this was a gate with no lock.
“Let me put it another way. If you want to preserve these automaton carriages, then get in and move them somewhere safe. Otherwise, this happens.”
Snap. The moment I snapped my fingers, the body of the automaton carriage crumpled pathetically.
“Kyaaaaah!”
Someone's scream echoed through the hangar. It was a gruesome sight. Darkness coiled around the automaton carriage like a snake, gradually tightening its grip and sinking in sharp fangs.
Broken gears scattered like entrails. The alchemic steel seemed to revert to the ingot it once was.
“I have to destroy them all one by one, you see. I'm a laborer just like you, so I'd rather reduce my workload if possible.”
Of course, I wasn't the one who did it. I just borrowed Tyr's power for a moment. But to their eyes, it must have looked as if I was the one controlling this darkness.
“You—that's too cruel! That carriage was made with such care!”
“Are there any kind souls here who would be willing to lighten my burden of having to destroy all of these?”
I made a fist and shook it. Seeing this, Tyr mimicked the action with her darkness. The automaton carriage rocked back and forth, spewing out parts even more violently.
“Or should we engage in some irrational labor, where I destroy them and you gather the leftover parts to build new ones? One side breaking, the other fixing?”
They could not escape. The Military State had bound their hearts. It had instilled fear and terror in them, threatening more horrific punishments if they dared to desert their posts.
So the backdoor I was creating wasn't for desertion.
It was for reducing their workload.
“Come on! Let's form a labor union! We're all laborers who hate working, aren't we? Let's compromise. I won't destroy them, and you won't have to build new ones! Just move the automaton carriages somewhere safe! We've leveled pretty much every base on our way here from the north, so those spots should be empty! You can just park them there for a while!”
Someone with a cloth wrapped around their head was the first to jump up and run toward a carriage. Clunk. She was the first to climb aboard and turn the Thundergear. With the clanking sound of interlocking parts, the automaton carriage began to move.
“…We can't just let them be destroyed.”
“Yeah. If we have to build them all over again… it's better to…”
The first step is always the hardest; once the floodgates open, the rest flows naturally. The laborers looked at each other, then quickly nodded and scrambled to their feet. They sent their hearts out through the backdoor I had provided.
Their bodies followed their hearts. After all, the chains that bound them had only ever shackled their minds.
“Huh? What the?”
Rumble, rumble.
The sight of countless automaton carriages driven by laborers disappearing into the darkness was quite a spectacle.
It wasn't a loss big enough to make the nation stagger, but it was significant enough that the Military State couldn't ignore it. A sense of pride swelled within me at the fact that I had stolen from the State's coffers.
Just then, the Regressor, having finished destroying the factory, returned. Her eyes widened as she saw the people streaming out of the hangar.
“What about the automaton carriages that were here?”
I slapped the last remaining one.
“It's fine. I saved the last one for us. The best one, at that.”
“And the laborers? They were acting like they'd burn with the factory if it caught fire. Did you make them escape?”
“Escape! What a shocking thing to say. They merely participated in an active evacuation to protect the Military State's assets, the automaton carriages.”
“What? That's the same thing.”
“It's different.”
I may have opened the back door, but their chains remained. Some laborers would savor their newfound freedom and flee immediately, but a few might not leave the vicinity of the headquarters and just linger nearby.
That was actually more dangerous. For them, and for the Military State.
“From the State's perspective, stragglers hanging around nearby are more annoying than laborers who flee outright. Because they had little intention of escaping, they'll cause even greater confusion for the State!”
The image of us arriving in an automaton carriage would still be fresh in their minds. They'd have to be sensitive to every single carriage. They'd try to stop all of them to check what's inside.
It was what you'd call an Allergy Tactic against the Military State.
‘So you're saying you used all these people as bait? Knowing what might happen to the laborers who fled…’
Do I have to worry about that, too? That's their problem.
They're the ones who made the decision, and the Military State is the one that will torment them. I have no idea why I should insert myself into their relationship and feel responsible.
The Regressor muttered as she watched the departing automaton carriages.
“You… you're pretty ruthless.”
“What? You're the one who said you wanted to chip away at the State's strength. Why are you scolding me when I did the job successfully?”
“I'm not exactly scolding you.”
“You shouldn't be scolding me, you should be praising me! If someone does a good job, it's only natural to say 'Good job' or 'Thank you'!”
People with poor social skills act as if they'll have an allergic reaction to flattery. The Regressor was exactly that type. The kind who would go out of her way to avoid any social interaction, including giving praise.
“What's the big deal…”
“Wow, the way you use people is no different from the Military State.”
When I grumbled that remark, the Regressor flared up.
“That's not true! No matter how I am, I'm not as bad as the State! Fine, I'll praise you!”
“Alright, let's hear it. Since I'm practically begging for it, you'd better be extra careful with your praise.”
“Tch…”
Fuming, the Regressor glared at me and spat out, “Not bad. You did well.”
“Not good enough.”
“…I honestly said you did well. What more do you want?”
“Oh, that last one was good. It had some sincerity.”
“No, that wasn't meant to praise you… Ugh, forget it. Fine, you're so great.”
Just as the Regressor was about to chide me again, someone peeked their head out of the first automaton carriage. It was the Princess, her hair wrapped in a cloth.
“Um, Mr. Huey? Is the play over?”
Oops. I guess I never told her it was over. I thought she would have figured it out, but she must have been waiting inside this whole time.
I gave the Princess an okay sign.
“Yes! Your Highness, that was a fine performance! You did great!”
“Phew. I'm glad I could be of help. I was so nervous when you suddenly asked me to act.”
The Princess clenched and unclenched her sweaty palms a few times and breathed a sigh of relief.
To prevent their hair from getting caught in the gears, laborers either cut their hair short or wrap it in a cloth.
Thanks to this, the Princess was able to blend in with the crowd without revealing her unique, light pink hair. And using her ability to create peace within a group, I had her take the lead and be the first to run to an automaton carriage.
Of course. You can't do business without a shill. Setting the stage for the mark is half the work, after all.
“You did great too, Tyr! As expected of the legend, that was an overwhelming performance! You might just win this year's Best Grand Magician Award!”
[It was nothing. It is always a pleasure to watch a play.]
Tyr, who had been concealing herself in darkness, gave a placid smile. The Regressor, realizing the truth, muttered.
“What the hell. It was all incitement. How are you any different from the Military State?”
“I am different! At least I don't summarily execute people or send them to the 'Research Institute' inside for not listening! What I gave them was freedom!”
How could you say something so outrageous? Comparing me to the likes of the Military State!
Ignoring me as I jumped around in protest, the Regressor opened the door to the automaton carriage. The Princess greeted her from inside.
“Ah, you're back! You must be exhausted!”
“You too, Princess. You must have been through a lot, but you did a great job.”
Hey, how come you praise the Princess so naturally? Are you discriminating against me?
“N-no, not at all…! This is the only way I could be of help…!”
“No. You'll be of even more help in the future.”
‘After the Military State fell, the New Kingdom that was established managed to survive amidst the chaos all thanks to the Princess's ability. Hmph, even I… felt disillusioned, but I could never feel hostility toward her. With that power, she can definitely do more.’
At her resolute words, the Princess, looking as if her heart had just skipped a beat, clutched the cloth in her hands and averted her gaze.
Praise really lands well when you have ulterior motives like that. Princess, don't be fooled. That path is truly a thorny one.
We had already loaded our gear into the automaton carriage we'd picked out earlier. With Historia and the Regressor on board, our preparations were complete.
Until now, all of our movements had been tracked by the Military State. But with night falling and darkness spreading everywhere, for this half-day, we were faster than the State.
That was exactly what Historia was aiming for. A maneuver war.
Just like a general from the Military State, her strategies are just like theirs.
“Ria. Where's the next destination?”
Historia, who boarded last, gave the order.
“The alchemic steel refinery. It's the obvious next step. If we disrupt their alchemic steel supply, it will cause problems for their mid-to-long-term supply plans.”
“Oh, not a bad plan. A general's a general, I guess. What's the distance and direction?”
“Not far. Twenty minutes to the northwest. They were built close to each other in the first place to quickly supply materials for the automaton carriages.”
The alchemic steel refinery, nice. With all the alchemic materials there, I might be able to replenish some of the cards I've used.
Meanwhile, the Regressor, reminded of a bad memory, frowned.
“Alchemic steel…”
The alchemic steel refinery. A place that forges the very flesh of the Military State by transmuting minerals and pre-alchemic materials into steel. There are many factories that produce other goods from alchemic steel, but this is the only place that produces the alchemic steel itself.
Alchemic steel is the flesh of the Military State. Therefore, if this place is destroyed, the State will have to live in fear, never knowing when its stock of alchemic steel will run out. From weapons to building materials to packets, a death sentence would be passed on every resource that exists in the State.
However.
The Regressor couldn't bring herself to nod readily. She knew what kind of place it was.
“That place… they melt iron by using people as fuel…”
Historia confirmed the Regressor's words.
“It's a place full of heinous criminals who could be killed at any moment.”
Alchemy is needed to create alchemic steel. To use alchemy, one needs knowledge of structure, as well as mana.
And the easiest source of mana to create is a living human being.
In short.
The alchemic steel refinery is a factory that squeezes people dry to create alchemic steel.
It is part of the 'inside' that the laborers at the automaton carriage assembly plant would rather die than go to.
“The alchemic steel refinery?”
The Princess reacted. She didn't know what the alchemic steel refinery was, but she recognized it as an important place.
“There! We have an ally hiding there! They should be waiting for us!”
‘This is our chance! Finally, we might be able to help…!’
The Princess spoke with such innocence, but the few of us who knew the reality of that place couldn't bring ourselves to say that was good news. Her attitude was so bright that we couldn't bear to point out the truth.
“Hiding? In the innermost labor camp, where only those arrested for Level 5, irredeemable crimes are sent?”
But Historia, who paid little mind to the Princess, shot back with a cynical tone. At her unexpected words, the Princess's eyes went wide like a rabbit's as she asked back.
“What?”
“Like a mouse sneaking into a cat's house. They're not hiding, they've been caught.”