Chapter 292: The Enemy of My Enemy is My Friend, The Friend of My Friend is My Enemy
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 292: The Enemy of My Enemy is My Friend, The Friend of My Friend is My Enemy
For a moment, Historia couldn't keep up with the situation and faltered. Maximilien's boisterous voice filled her silence.
“Major General Historia. Do you now understand how much trouble I was in? You and I had no reason to fight. Had you not tried to wage a guerrilla war against me, I would have simply ignored you.”
“…What is going on?”
Her face was a mask of surprise. And for good reason.
The Director of the Military State’s Bureau of Arms Development was actually my ally? Even I had no idea until I met him in person and read his thoughts.
“This is your fault too, Mr. Maximilien. If you had come just a little sooner, we could have avoided this unnecessary fight.”
In truth, he hadn't been much help as an ally. I had expected his support, but the one he ended up fighting was Historia. Some ally he was.
When I blamed him, Maximilien offered an excuse.
“My delay was due to the Envoy. By the time I finished my urgent business, the Envoy’s information control had already begun. The signallers wouldn't respond to my calls, and while I was briefly away, my loyal subordinates were reassigned elsewhere. I was left in the dark without any reports and only moved when I heard gunfire, which is why I’ve only just arrived.”
“Are you blaming someone else?”
“I am merely stating the facts! If the Envoy hadn't been so cautious in her vigilance against me, do you think you could have reached the core so easily?”
He had a point. The Envoy, Eimeder, was Yuel, the Saintess of Foresight—a clairvoyant who could see the world from where she sat.
Yuel had sensed our approach and sent an angel to guide us in secret. She had tried to resolve things quietly, even revealing the signaller’s true identity. Part of that was because our forces weren't overwhelming, but Maximilien's presence was certainly another reason…
But thinking about it just made me angry. If he’d shown up earlier, we would have had a much bigger advantage, wouldn't we? Why does nothing ever go according to my plan? Why do things only get this damn precarious when my life is on the line?
“You weren't much help, you know! In the end, it was Ria who did all the heavy lifting. You just showed up late and attacked an exhausted Historia!”
I couldn't let this go. Incompetence beyond a certain point is a sin. I had to get something out of him as penance!
Maximilien replied to my accusation with perfect composure.
“You keep trying to shift the blame, but is it not more your fault? Had you given the Major General a heads-up, this needless conflict would have been avoided, no?”
“Well, what’s past is past. We should think about what’s next.”
“My thoughts exactly. Now we’re getting somewhere.”
“Now that we’ve confirmed where we all stand, please release Ria first.”
If we were allies, there was no reason to keep Historia tied up. It was a reasonable request, but Maximilien didn't comply.
“Before I release her, shouldn't we resolve the Major General's questions? I’d rather not be attacked again the moment she’s free.”
I’d rather not be attacked again. In other words, he believed there was a chance Historia would attack him again upon being freed.
To put it differently, he didn't completely trust me. After all, Historia had attacked him because I hadn't given her a heads-up.
“You’re very thorough.”
“An occupational hazard, wouldn't you say? Pay it no mind. I, too, need a certain degree of assurance. The Military State is the most elaborate toy I have ever built. It would be a shame to bet it on a possibility that isn't 100% certain.”
His answer was so logical there was no room to argue.
I had to explain things to Historia and convince Maximilien at the same time. Tch, even in this situation, he had a firm grip on the initiative and had no intention of letting go. People who know how to leverage an advantageous position are so difficult to deal with…
Just then, Historia lifted her head and looked at Maximilien.
“Director. What is this ‘possibility’? Why would you be an ally to Huey?”
“You lack patience. Just wait a moment. He will tell you.”
“You tell me, Director. Huey’s words… are difficult to accept at face value.”
Historia’s gaze flickered toward me, filled with distrust.
Hey, it’s not like I’ve tricked you that much. If the people I’d actually deceived said that, I wouldn't feel so wronged, but hearing it from Historia was just infuriating. Should I smack her one while she’s tied up?
I shot a fierce glare at her, but Historia didn't even flinch.
“Director, you are favorable toward Huey. In contrast, the Envoy tried to kill Huey with all her might. What is it about Huey that makes everyone act this way? And why did the Camarilla, Public Safety Chief Zigrund, change her attitude from trying to kill him to showing him favor?”
“Public Safety Chief Zigrund? That happened too? Haha, this is building my confidence by the minute!”
Maximilien wasn't the only one who welcomed this discussion. Historia was also seizing the moment to resolve her own questions. I was powerless to stop the flow of conversation between the two Star Generals.
“First, let me tell you one thing. Zigrund and I are not exactly the Envoy’s subordinates. The Envoy merely brought us to the Military State; there is no clear hierarchy between us like in the State’s chain of command. It is closer to a relationship between an employer and an employee.”
“An employee…? I can see that for you, Director, given your lack of diligence, but the Chief of Public Safety…”
“I have worked quite diligently in my own way… though I pale in comparison to the Chief of Public Safety. ‘She’ is likely a member of the Crusaders, after all.”
The word slipped from Maximilien’s lips. Historia reacted to the name of one of the world’s most powerful military groups.
“…The Crusaders…? You mean the elite of the Sanctum…?”
“Elite? No, more like slaves.”
A short, derisive smile touched Maximilien’s lips as he divulged everything he knew.
“They are the strong, abandoned by fate, yet taken in by a merciful god. They have no lives of their own. All that remains is their faith, so they do not cherish their own lives. That is likely the case for Zigrund. And for that reason, the Envoy must have trusted her completely.”
“…Does that mean the Envoy is actually…”
“I have never met the Envoy in person, so I cannot be certain. But who else besides a Saintess could command angels as if they were her own limbs? Don't be so surprised to hear the obvious.”
Maximilien narrowed his brow and spoke slowly, as if explaining to a fool. He was right. The very existence of the Military State’s guardian angels meant there had to be a connection to the Sanctum, big or small.
Well, Yuel had turned her back on the Sanctum, both personally and nationally, so it didn't really matter much.
“The Chief of Public Safety is the Envoy’s limb. However, faith is bound to shatter before a more concrete belief. No matter how much you deify something and demand faith, an entity that doesn't truly exist cannot inspire more belief than something standing right before your eyes. That is why the Saintess of Origin had to eliminate the King to create a God.”
“…The King.”
If she was going to turn her back, she should have gone all the way. But she just had to cling to that last shred of faith.
“Yes. I surmise that he is the King of Humans.”
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“…The King… of Humans, you say?”
A hush fell over the secret space deep beneath the ground.
It was a quietness different in quality from the silence born of an absence of people. It was as if making a sound would disturb the truth that had just been spoken. It was a story one couldn't laugh off as a joke, nor rashly accept as fact.
The first to break the silence was Yerien Grandiomor. Perhaps it was because of her direct connection to kings, or maybe it was just her personality. Unable to bear the silence, she asked.
“H-h-how? How do you know?”
“I don’t.”
“What?”
And Yuel, the one who had revealed this great secret, answered irresponsibly.
“It’s impossible to know. No one knows whether he is the King of Humans or not.”
“But, Lady Yuel, you just said he was the King of Humans!”
“A wolf is the best at smelling a sheep's blood. If those who hunt the King of Humans have judged him so, they must have evidence that I have yet to see.”
Her reply was detached and irresponsible, as if it were no concern of hers. Yerien looked at Yuel with a resentful expression, then grabbed her head with both hands and trembled.
“Ugh, w-what do we do? Have we committed some kind of blasphemy…?”
“The only blasphemous one is that bastard Huey. Princess, do you really believe what she’s saying?”
Shiati glared at Yuel, her eyes still full of disbelief.
“He was all bluff with no discernible talent. There’s no way a guy like that is the King of Humans.”
“But there was something extraordinary about him that you can’t just dismiss as bluff!”
“I went to school with Huey. If he were truly the King of Humans, he should have been different from the start. A king who just stands by and watches a tragedy is even more useless!”
“…I’m not defending the King of Humans, but.”
Unable to listen any longer, Yuel replied.
“The King of Humans has no special power. The Saintess of Origin used her power to reject the King of Humans across all possible futures. Thus, even the King of Humans is an ordinary human with no power. The world, therefore, belongs entirely to humans… Their sins and punishments, their good and their morals, all belong completely to them.”
Yuel’s words gradually turned into a prayer-like murmur. Her gentle voice, however, only served to provoke Shiati further.
“Belongs to humans? This is what you did!”
“…Yes. That sin is mine.”
“What good is it to just say it’s yours!”
Fuming, Shiati began to berate Yuel. How could you, a Saintess, create a hell like this? Don’t you dare speak of sin after what you’ve done. Each cry was a sharp blade piercing Yuel’s heart.
But Yuel felt a pain that stemmed from something slightly different.
If he truly is the King of Humans… then the King of Humans—no, humanity… will not forgive… this country…
They would not forgive it.
Clutching her throbbing chest, Yuel leaned over the Warlord’s corpse. As if to comfort him, who would be grieving even in death, or perhaps to comfort herself.