Chapter 287: The Blessed Country and the Cursed Human - 10
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 287: The Blessed Country and the Cursed Human - 10
A brief silence fell the moment I declared my intention to destroy this country. Immediately, Yuel moved to clasp her hands together. It was a practiced, swift motion.
But a recluse who's never even practiced Qi Arts couldn't possibly be faster than me, a mind reader.
I flicked my fingers. A single card shot between her hands just before they could meet. The sharp edge sliced into the Saintess's palm, and she let out a pained gasp.
“Ugh!”
“Stop using that broken power of yours! Invincibility is for cowards!”
8 of Diamonds. All Things Long and Thin.
I drew a wire from the card, instantly wrapping it around Yuel's hands and yanking. The sharp wire bit into her flesh as I snatched her hands, pulling her arm toward me. At the same time, I pressed down hard on her shoulder to keep the rest of her body in place.
“Nngh!”
“Let me remind you, the Princess is here! You can't pull any of your 'take-us-all-down-with-you' stunts anymore!”
The Saintess struggled, but it was laughable. I'm a grown man who's at least mastered basic Qi Arts; there was no way I'd lose a contest of strength to a reclusive saintess. Yuel's restrained body trembled with effort.
“…It's impossible. You've lost all your power. You can't destroy the Military State.”
“I don't need power to destroy the Military State. It's never been strength that invalidates a bad check—it's distrust. That's how crucial faith is.”
The method is simple. Like I said, the deadliest poison of all is a neurotoxin.
I whispered in Yuel's ear.
“With Captain Abbey's help, I'm going to get all the Signallers to leave their rooms. I'm going to give freedom to every last Signaller in the Military State.”
“That's impossible! Signallers are bound by the rule that they must never leave their windowless rooms. They won't break that rule on the command of a single Signaller!”
“But what if it's not just one Signaller? What if it's an order that comes through the communication Module, an order that's as good as one from Command itself?”
The Command Center may be a collective of Signallers, but that doesn't mean the words of one Signaller instantly become an order from Command.
For that to happen, the Signaller has to relay the information to others. That information is then processed through countless other Signallers and specialized value-judgment Modules before it's packaged and sent back out as an official command. It works just like a human brain.
That's why a single Signaller can't just fake an order from Command.
But a powerful Signaller can synchronize with and control any others who are nearby.
“From what I've seen, the Signallers upstairs are all incredibly naive. The best canvas to paint on is an untainted, pure white one. What if Captain Abbey and I get our hands on the upper Module? And use it to liberate the nearest Signallers, one by one. How about it? Are you starting to get the picture?”
“…You intend to mentally contaminate them?”
“So that's what you call it. I prefer to call it 'liberation from oppression.'”
Ah, that's satisfying. I finally get why third-rate villains love to monologue their entire plan right at the end.
What's that? Spilling the beans gives the hero a chance to turn the tables? Who gives a damn about success or failure? This is fun right now!
She would have laughed it off if it were just an empty threat, but the future I described is entirely plausible, which must make it all the more terrifying. Yuel, who until now had seemed to have given up on life, suddenly felt a sense of crisis.
“Do you think I’ll just… stand by and watch?”
“And if you don't? What are you going to do? Pray? Too bad, with your hands bound, you won't get the chance. You should have just prayed from the beginning.”
The Saintess's power is just a reenactment of the miracles performed by the Saintess of Origin. They're special because they're miracles, but that also makes them predictable. With her arms restrained and the Princess right here, she has no way to threaten me.
Ah, speaking of which, the Princess's hands are free, aren't they?
“Princess, could you come here and hold this wire for me? It seems I'll need your help to get this woman out of here.”
“M-Me?”
“Yes. Even I can't climb a ladder while carrying a woman who's fighting back. Especially not one who wouldn't mind dying if it meant taking me with her.”
Fear seized the Princess.
“You want me to take someone like that up…?”
“You already know the gist of it, Princess. No one can intentionally attack you. It's similar to why the Dog King can't harm humans. Of course, it's less of an absolute rule for you than it is for the Dog King, who's a conceptual being.”
The Princess didn't quite understand the last part, but one doesn't always need to understand to be persuaded. The Princess hesitated before reaching out her hand. I kept the wire taut until the Princess grabbed it. Yuel might not be able to attack the Princess, but she could still try to shake her arm free.
Hmm. On second thought, if I wrap this wire around the Princess's neck, Yuel won't be able to shake it off... No, bad idea. An accident could kill the Princess, and more importantly, Shiati would murder me. Plan canceled.
“We'll get out, show everyone the Warlord's corpse, and reveal the true identity of Eimeder the Envoy. While we're at it, we'll liberate the Signallers one by one. The Signaller System, the pride of the Military State, will become an object of suspicion. People will learn the Signallers are just girls, and that all the orders from Command were just fabrications they cooked up themselves! The seeds of distrust we plant will spread like a plague and rot the Military State from the inside!”
“That kind of….”
“That kind of thing! I'm doing it! I am!”
I can't help it. It's something of an occupational hazard.
I listen to the desires of humans. But the Military State isn't human, so I can't hear its desires. And in the eyes of its citizens, the Military State is a damn miserable country.
Collectively speaking, the State is better than the old kingdom. Most who have lived under both would agree.
But the State is coercive. It strips people of their choices, their responsibilities, and their sins. As a result, every misfortune its citizens suffer becomes the State's fault. Their sins pile up, and as the State fails to resolve them, merely obscuring them...
“You called me a destroyer of civilization, but I see it differently. To me, you're just the person who invented the world's most enduring and efficient machine for killing people. And unfortunately for you, that machine is not something I care to understand.”
“We can't return to the age of barbarism! Humans are not beasts!”
“Maybe because it's repeated so often, but quite a few people genuinely believe that. The truth, however, is revealed the moment you peel back a single layer: humans are beasts at their core.”
And that's why I exist.
Fear and astonishment flashed across Yuel's face. For reasons unknown to me, her knowledge of me filled her with an inordinate amount of dread.
‘No. This country is my only legacy. It's the child that he and I made, our child! I'd rather it be buried and fade into history than be devoured by barbarism…!’
But Yuel had no way to resist. She had spent more than a decade as a recluse, lost in her grief. No one even remembered who she was anymore. No one was coming to save her.
Just as Yuel's eyes filled with despair.
“Um… Sir Huey.”
The Princess timidly raised her hand. She wore the flustered expression of someone about to make an impossible request. Being a mind reader, I knew that tone of voice usually preceded an objection to my plans.
Why now? I was puzzled, but the Princess still had an important role to play, so I answered gently.
“Yes. Go on.”
“Do we really have to do it that way? It's so… harsh.”
“What?”
What was that? Is there such a thing as a gentle attack? You can't exactly be nice when you're going for the enemy's throat.
My disbelief must have been written all over my face. The Princess, though still timid, spoke with a stubborn persistence.
“The Military State is a merciless nation, it's true. But so many people have adapted to its system and live their lives following its orders. If you reveal all of its secrets at once… it will lead to uncontrollable chaos.”
“Of course it will. Wasn't that the point? The more chaos in the Military State, the safer we'll be.”
“But many people will suffer. The Military State is about to wage war against the Fallen Dominion. If we recklessly expose the Command Center now, the military will collapse. Historically, whenever a large armed group falls apart, it's the people who suffer. Even Sir Shei, who loves peace, wouldn't want that.”
You idiot. I know that! That's why I left the Regressor behind!
The Regressor, who only ever pursues the optimal outcome, would have kept the Military State intact, for better or worse. What she wants is a manageable level of chaos that she can turn to her advantage. Leaving things as they are will lead to disaster, but completely upending the board creates too many variables. Her plan is likely to stop the infighting, preserve humanity's strength, and then throw everything at the weakened King of Sins when the time comes.
But I can't let that happen! For so many reasons!
I don't know what kind of messed-up future that is, but in that future, I'll probably be the King of Sins!
“You said we don't understand the Military State, Sir Huey. But what I want to change is its heartlessness, its lack of mercy and kindness. I believe it could be a better place if it just had a little kindness.”
“So you intend to be kind even to the Military State?”
“I-It's not that grand. But if I want it to be kind, I have to show kindness first, don't I? The Military State desperately needs one more chance.”
A deaf person cannot speak, for one cannot learn to make sounds one has never heard.
By that same logic, one with the blood of the Grandiomor Royal Family cannot truly feel hostility. Because no one has ever directed it at her, she can learn the definition of the word, but never the feeling itself.
Is that why? The Princess, a mere mortal, just uttered the absurd fantasy of forgiving an entire nation.
But….
I grabbed my head and screamed.
“Aaaargh!”
“S-Sir Huey?! What’s wrong?”
“Damn it. Of all people! It had to be the Princess! Are you asking for a reprieve now?”
Humans can find their own kings. They have no need for a Beast King.
With that argument, they drove out the King of Humans, but in the end, every kingdom fell. Humans, needing something to rule over them, now worship all sorts of different things.
But the Princess remains. And having never learned hostility, she doesn't hate the Military State. And as a result...
“Are you trying to become the ruler of the Military State? What a unique way to restore your throne! Becoming the monarch of the very nation that destroyed your own, by feeding off it like a parasite!”
“W-What? That’s not necessarily…”
“Don't mumble that it's 'not necessarily' like that! It amounts to the same thing, whether you think of it that way or not! You see potential in this country, and you want to see it through, don't you?”
Ugh. Still insisting you don't need a Beast King? Coming from a monarch, that request carries weight.
But there's a problem. According to the Regressor, the King of Sins will awaken in the not-so-distant future. I probably don't have much time left either. Granting a reprieve like this...
When I think about my own impending future!
“Well, I guess it doesn't matter.”
It doesn't matter.
I'm not a prophet, and a future I haven't seen with my own eyes is none of my business. I'm still bound by that damn prophecy, but I won't let fear of a future that hasn't arrived limit my actions in the present.
That's the way of civilization, the way of prophets. It's not my way.
I don't obey the law out of fear of some future policeman, and I don't stand by idly for fear of things going wrong. If I can do something now, I do it.
“Really?”
“However, that's not the problem. Princess, there's no way to grant your wish.”
I only do what can be done. I have no intention of breaking my head against a wall over the impossible.
“Yuel's power begins and ends with the Signallers. But the only power you have, Princess, is avoiding hostility, right? What happens if, the moment we get out of here, Yuel summons an angel to kill us, or communicates with other Signallers to move troops? You have no way to resist. It'll be just like before.”
“We just have to persuade Lady Yuel and make her promise! She's a reasonable person; she'll agree!”
“She'll do no such thing. A nation meant to last forever cannot have a king. That's why Yuel went to such lengths to create the Signallers—to build a kingless system, even if it was just an illusion. For you to add this 'kindness' you speak of, your will would have to be far stronger than any other Signaller's. Like that between a monarch and their subjects.”
“Ah…”
If there's no way to do it, it can't be done. The Princess's ability to deflect hostility isn't omnipotence. Without a power that fits the system, her voice will fall on deaf ears.
“It would probably be better for the Military State to just collapse completely. In the chaos of swords and guns pointing every which way, your bloodline would shine the brightest.”
“I don’t want that to happen!”
“I'm sure you don't. In any case, you understand the situation, right? So...”
Just as I shrugged, about to make the Princess give up.
“Sir.”
Captain Abbey called out to me quietly.