Chapter 266: The Man Who Had No Face
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 266: The Man Who Had No Face
“Let's make you a woman this time. I know you want to become someone new, but wouldn't it be better to match your original body?”
“You, wha, what…”
To the average person, the fight was too fast and furious to notice, but the battle between him and Historia was gradually winding down. The intense clash, with its heated air and spattering blood, was slowly becoming more formulaic.
The two exchanged blows as if they were practicing a choreographed routine.
“Let's make your frame as slim as possible. It's easy to increase your size, but difficult to reduce it. And a smaller, more refined form is better for ensuring uniqueness, don't you think? Besides, Zigrund had a slender frame, so that would be better, wouldn't it?”
“Stop…”
“As for the face, let's go with your childhood appearance. Ah, but you said you don't remember, didn't you? That is a problem.”
I couldn't just draw a face for him, and even if I did, there's no way to know if it's the right one. His face had vanished long ago.
A person's body changes as they grow. The same goes for their face. Like the rings of a tree, the marks of one's life are etched into their flesh, creating what we call an impression.
But for him, who changed his face daily, no such impression could form. The face of his childhood remained as a faded memory, but just as you can't know what a tree will become by looking at its sprout, you can't know the future from a seedling.
In the first place, his wish wasn't to reclaim his original face, but to establish a standard so he wouldn't lose himself. I could just casually pick an appearance for him based on my own tastes to serve as that standard, but… wouldn't that be a bit half-assed?
“In times like these, we borrow the power of an Arcane. I'll provide you not just an anchor for your ego, but a lighthouse that can truly serve as your standard.”
“You… Pied Piper… Just what… what are you?”
“Is that important right now? What's important is the fact that I can grant your wish.”
Drawing a face for him here wouldn't look right. And I still had things to do, so I couldn't teach him every little detail. I'd just have to pass the rest on to someone else.
“Find a man named Shei somewhere in this refinery. He has eyes that can see fate. Do you understand what that means?”
With the Regressor's Eyes of Fate, he should be able to observe a destiny he might have reached. And with the Mask of Agartha that the Regressor possessed, he should be able to replicate that face. Though I wasn't sure if he'd go that far for him.
More importantly, how many treasures had that guy hoarded? He should learn to share.
“He…”
“Of course, he won't use his power for you willingly. Instead, sell us out. If you ask him to do it in exchange for information on where we went, he'll do it.”
The Regressor would be thrilled just to learn about Zigrund's abilities and identity.
Was there another genie of the lamp as kind as me? I not only identified the clear problem behind the wish but also presented a definite, clean solution. Wow, if I were the one granting all the world's wishes, there'd be no stories about deals with the devil or a monkey's paw.
Zigrund—no, the body he had prepared to transform into another person—began to lose its shape. The Qi that had filled his muscles and bones drained away, and his body gradually shrank.
It's easy to make a body bigger, but difficult to make it smaller. Expanding is a matter of adding or inflating, but shrinking implies loss or suppression.
“Ugh, uh, ah…”
As his body changed, the clothes tailored to his bio-receptor grew loose. The sleeves hung half a hand's length past his wrists, and his jaw, as if the solid mass he'd held in his mouth had vanished, became slender. He didn't look thin so much as he looked like a deflated balloon.
This was the backlash from directly infusing his bones and muscles with Qi, tampering with his body's structure time and again. Transformed into a pathetic figure, he muttered, feeling a mix of guilt and pain.
“I can't… I can't betray her…”
“I don't know who 'she' is, but what do you mean, betrayal? How is fulfilling your own wish a betrayal to her? Your abilities have already been exposed, so you're just taking the opportunity to live with a new face and name!”
'Zigrund' desperately tried to regain his composure. The anchor of his ego was about to be pulled up, but a more fundamental suspicion turned toward me.
Can I really trust him?
‘Impossible. He knows a person's deepest desire and offers to grant it? That's not granting a wish, it's digging up a person's lowest, most sordid depths! He's dangerous…!’
He was starting to suspect not my proposal, but me as a person. My custom-tailored offer was so flawless that he had to change his angle.
‘Prophecy forces a person to make sacrifices in the present for the sake of the future. In contrast, this man's power is the exact opposite. It allows us to sin to our heart's content. A power that is the antithesis of the Sanctum…! And he possesses such an immense ability, yet he claims to have been born and raised in the Military State, which has no Arcanes?’
Sharp nerves, innate powers of observation, and a paranoid personality that never overlooked the smallest detail.
The suspicion honed by his long life on the run tried to reject my offer.
‘It's hard to believe, but even if I were to trust his ability…! Accepting his offer is even more dangerous. It could be a deal with the devil.’
Tsk. I knew this would happen, which is why I gave him a little hint not to be suspicious. It's just that I have to be a bit secretive about saying it outright.
Let's try one more time. I whispered softly to him.
“It is a gift from the Magi from the East.”
‘The Magi from the East…?’
It was an idiom from the scriptures. The Magi from the East who found the first prophet, the Saintess of Origin. They had long since vanished, but when those who sought prophecies or revelations encountered a stroke of fortune, they often called it the guidance of the Magi from the East.
Though his life as a fugitive had been long, the foundation of his being was acting. From that unfamiliar phrase, he dredged up an old memory.
‘A role that often appeared in biblical plays. A being that serves as a stage device, gifting the protagonist a special encounter. Yes. All of it…’
Yes. He gets it. As a professional, he'd encountered more stories than anyone, researched and played those very roles himself. He would figure it out on his own.
‘The Passing Scholar. The Wandering Mercenary, the Reclusive Sage. The Mendicant Monk. The Traveler. All of them… extras without a given name. Designations for an unspecified multitude whom one need not, and cannot, know. If so, then he, who calls himself all of these, is—’
His train of thought, rolling along, suddenly snagged on something and stopped. He looked up at me with a trembling gaze.
‘Could it be…’
Was it because of the successive shocks to his mind? He gasped for breath, his bloodshot eyes shaking uncontrollably.
Wow. He must be overcome with emotion at having his lifelong wish fulfilled. I, too, felt a sudden sense of satisfaction as I considered the next item on the list.
“Ah. We need to decide on a name, too. The name you'll spend the rest of your life with is important. What would be good…”
The name Zigrund was taken from the epic of an ancient hero. Naming yourself that way can be memorable, but it's not as good as a real name.
From the countless names that would have worked just fine, I deliberately pulled out an old one and attached it to him.
“How about it, Hilde? Are you ready to accept my proposal?”
“That… name… How do you…”
Just like a stage name, a courtesan has a professional name used only in the brothel. He had discarded that name when he left that life, but I stubbornly picked up what he'd thrown away and pinned it back on him.
Something that once disappeared because it shone too brightly. I've gathered up the pieces and built a lighthouse from them. This new self will be a real shame to throw away.
“…I am Hilde.”
Zigrund, the direct escort of 'Her' and the Chief of the Military State's Public Safety, was gone. In his place, a new ego, discarded long ago, took over the body.
Hilde faltered and stepped back. Now that she had abandoned the ego of Zigrund, she no longer had any reason to fight us to protect the refinery. At the same time, she couldn't attack me, her observer.
Hilde bowed her head and mumbled something. I couldn't quite make out the words. It was probably a thank you.
“Oh, it's nothing. You're welcome. In any case, it's you who has to ask Shei-ssi, so it's all up to you. That's the first step. I hope you get your face back and live a new life.”
I waved my hand, signaling for her to go. Hilde stared at me intently, like an animal facing a strange intruder, before finally whirling around and disappearing.
I watched the spot where Hilde had been until she was completely gone, then let out a long sigh.
“Phew. That was a close one. I barely managed to repel her.”
I'm glad there was an opening to exploit.
Honestly, that was really dangerous. If Hilde had tried to sow discord where Tyr or the Regressor were, I would have had no choice but to reveal my mind-reading ability to get out of it. Neither the Regressor nor Tyr would have let the matter of the prophecy slide.
And if I had tried to handle her myself, a Six General is just too strong. I would've been tied up and thoroughly interrogated before I could even start talking.
What a relief it was to have Historia here, a true soldier who fights without a word of complaint when an enemy appears. I feel our friendship blossoming anew.
“Good work, Ria. Seriously, you saved my life.”
I may have been the one to repel her, but it was only possible because I had the solid wall of Historia protecting me. If you had to make an analogy, Historia was the gun, and I was the bullet. There's no need to argue over which of us played a bigger part. And it's definitely not because I think I did less work.
Just as I was breathing a sigh of relief, Shiati staggered to her feet. The Princess was supporting her, but Shiati shook her off and approached me.
What's with that look? You're scaring me…
Ah, right. The discord she tried to sow earlier. I guess that's not resolved yet.
“Huey. Whose side are you on?”