Chapter 315: You've Worked Hard, Now Rest
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 315: You've Worked Hard, Now Rest
No matter how much they promised to provide us with the honors befitting a general, there was no way to rest comfortably at the Inner Circle Command, where actual generals were walking around. If I took their offer to "rest comfortably" literally and acted like I was their equal, I might just get shot. In serious situations, one has to know when to lay low. Especially when we were the ones who caused the situation in the first place.
So, we secretly slipped out of the Inner Circle Command and headed for a nearby hotel. It was a special lodging facility for outsiders who weren't soldiers but had business at the command headquarters.
The highest-ranking person at the facility, Administrative Supply Officer Master Sergeant Elfasa, snapped into an incredible salute for Historia!
“It-it-it’s an honor! Major General Historia and four others. Confirmed! Orders have been issued to provide all of you with general-grade honors! Accordingly, I, Master Sergeant Elfasa, Administrative Supply Officer of the Military State, will be at your service!”
Wooooow! She’s really one of the Six Generals! It’s really Major General Historia! I thought I’d never get to see her face since this hotel is for outsiders! I guess dreams really do come true!
Master Sergeant Elfasa looked like a believer who had just met their god. Tyr whispered in my ear.
“It seems this human has not yet heard that the female general betrayed the Military State for a man.”
“Ah, well. The State doesn’t exactly explain the full situation to low-ranking soldiers like him.”
“Did he not say he received a communication?”
“There are many types of communication in the Military State. Facilities below security level 2 like this one only have communication golems for emergencies. Most orders are delivered via communicators.”
“Communicators?”
“Yes. You see that over there?”
Where I pointed, a massive golem statue intricately inscribed with magic circles stood tall. Next to it, a non-commissioned officer sat at a desk, so awestruck by the sight of Historia that he couldn’t even stand up from his post.
“That giant statue over there is a communicator. It’s a facility that has taken some of the communication golem’s functions and extremely enhanced them. It’s a type of relay that transmits a signaller’s orders, amplifying them to other communicators. Voices can be transmitted through it even without a signaller directly connected.”
Just then, the golem’s mouth moved. The NCO, who had been craning his neck to get a better look at Historia, quickly picked up his pen and began to transcribe the order being delivered.
Seeing this, Tyr let out a groan as if she remembered something.
“Hmph.”
“What is it?”
“Nothing, I am merely displeased. Pay it no mind.”
“You’re the one making me notice, and now you tell me not to mind. Stop beating around the bush and just say it. I can answer most things.”
I’d already read her mind anyway, so it would be weird not to answer. Tyr furrowed her brow and spoke.
“…It reminds me of the white walls of the shrines.”
“Are you talking about the Great White Wall of Rakion?”
At the headquarters of the Sanctum, there is a massive wall, so large it could be compared to a fortress wall.
The Great White Wall of Rakion.
A wall as pure and white as freshly fallen snow, said to convey the will of the gods.
Tyr scowled, as if just hearing the name was repulsive.
“If possible, could you add a few foul words before its name when you speak of it in my presence?”
“Ah, my apologies. You mean that blindingly white wall that looks like it could turn you into a lunatic just by looking at it?”
There’s a reason the Great White Wall of Rakion is maintained so flawlessly.
Paper must be white. That way, the black letters will be clearly visible.
If someone were to write on the Great White Wall with ink, those words would simultaneously appear on the white walls of every shrine in existence.
It didn’t matter the shape or material. As long as it was a shrine with one white wall, the letters written on the Great White Wall would appear on it. It happened equally, no matter how far or how remote the location.
It was a holy power based on the ancient legend of the Saintess of Origin writing on the sky, and the reason why monarchs felt a reluctance to destroy shrines even through countless wars. Though it didn't protect them from vampires.
“Good. In any case, that is what I mean. The sight of a scribe waiting before it is just like that white wall.”
“Well, I suppose so.”
The Military State was, after all, a nation that took all the ‘good things’ the Saintess who had seen everything in the world had seen and put them together.
Tyr misunderstood my words slightly and nodded.
“Indeed. If there are objects with similar uses, they will be used similarly.”
Meanwhile, Historia finished the check-in process. Master Sergeant Elfasa, half-sobbing, handed her a key and a few Clothing Packets and saluted.
“Un… understood. We will provide you with the entire annex. We will do our utmost not to disturb you, so please rest comfortably. If you require a meal, we will prepare it immediately.”
“…Carry on.”
“Not at all! It is an honor to assist a hero such as yourself, Major General!”
Looking a little tired, Historia took the items and gestured for us to follow. We left the main building and headed for the annex.
The annex was impeccably prepared, ready for us to lie down and rest at a moment’s notice. Just as you’d expect from the Military State.
“Hmm. Doesn’t seem to be any hidden golems. Good. It’s safe here.”
The Regressor, having scanned the building with her Jade Eyes, nodded in satisfaction.
“Alright. Now then, for our future schedule…”
“What schedule?”
She really lives a busy life. What does she mean, schedule? I strode to the innermost room, stuck my body halfway in, and waved to everyone.
“We’ve worked hard, so let’s rest. Good night, everyone.”
“You’re sleeping? But it’s daytime.”
“Day? Night? Don’t get hung up on such trivial things. You sleep when you’re sleepy. Don’t fit yourself to the world; make the world fit your body. Be your own king!”
“What is this…”
“Mm, mm. Truly, those are wise words. Indeed. Should the body be ruled by the likes of the sun?”
The Regressor was dumbfounded, but since Tyr was nodding in agreement right next to her, she was momentarily at a loss for words.
“Wait! Do we have time to sleep? There are still things that haven’t been decided…”
Huhu, Regressor. Resting isn’t something you schedule. You just follow what your body tells you to do.
Ah, I think this is my limit. I held out for a long time, my ordinary body.
Feeling the Regressor’s voice fade away, I collapsed right there in the doorway and fell asleep.
When I opened my eyes, the world was pitch black.
Was it so dark because it was night? No, this was the Military State. A crazy nation where night and darkness were no excuse not to work. The streets were always lit by magic lamps, so unless the curtains were drawn tight, the outlines of objects should have been visible from the leaking light. But right now, I couldn’t even see my own hand.
Could this be the afterlife… let’s keep such stupid thoughts as jokes. This harsh world wouldn’t bother to prepare a space for some dead beast.
Alright, then what was this darkness that enveloped me? It wasn’t hard to deduce. This texture, so dark I couldn’t even see my own hand, like black ash… the identity of this darkness was… the darkness of the Progenitor, Tyrkanzyaka.
Well then, escaping the darkness is simple. I shot up and shouted.
“The answer is, Tyr wrapped me in her darkness!”
Well, I already knew because of the thoughts I could hear next to me.
As I sat up, I saw a bright sky outside the window. The room was dark despite the clear weather, and the reason for it was right beside me.
When I turned my head, Tyr was sitting on her coffin, gazing at me intently. She offered a benevolent smile and gave a slight nod with her parasol.
“Hmph. You’ve awoken.”
“Seeing how bright it is outside, I guess I didn’t sleep for long.”
“Of course not. You only slept for a mere day.”
“Ah, yes. A mere day… wait, a whole day?”
From a vampire’s perspective, a day seemed to be ‘mere.’ Hmm. Was I that exhausted? No wonder my body felt so stiff. I clasped my hands together to stretch them high above my head…
“Gyaaaaaah! My arms! My muscles!”
“What, what is it, Hu?”
I hadn’t realized it because my muscles had stiffened in my sleep, but the moment I moved, an incredible muscle ache washed over my entire body.
I may be the King of Humans, but I lost my power due to a certain incident. This body is extremely ordinary. But with this crappy body, I’d spent all of yesterday walking around high on drugs and mind-reading, climbing up and down ladders, running between gears, and even fighting. My overworked body was staging a dramatic strike against my brain.
I groaned and cried out.
“Quick, the drugs! If there are no drugs, then a doctor!”
“Isn’t the order of that backward?! Fine, a doctor it is…”
Wait. Though it was a thousand years ago, I did work as a physician… in a way.
“Ahem, Hu. I happen to possess a technique to loosen knotted blood.”
“Sorry, but if you’re planning on putting your blood in my body to do something, I’ll have to refuse. Please don’t do it unless I’m on the verge of death.”
“How cold…”
Of course it is. She’s offering to directly massage my blood vessels; it’s only natural to feel repulsed. No matter how much of a mess my life is, I don’t sustain it by putting other people’s blood into my veins.
If that became common sense for everyone, then maybe, but that’s ridiculous. Just how upside-down would the world have to be for that to happen?
“Ugh. Isn’t there anyone who can treat this wound… Should I ask Shei-ssi for some mana herbs?”
As it happened, the Regressor was dozing in a corner, her back against the wall. I pushed my stiff body up and approached her.
“Excuse me, Shei-ssi. Are you dozing in broad daylight? Stop sleeping and give me some medicine that works on my body…”
Just before my hand touched the Regressor’s body.
An invisible blade shot toward my neck. A sharp wind brushed against my throat and dissipated. The chilling sensation froze me in place. If I moved even a little more, my neck would be sliced by that same distance.
…Wait. What was that? I couldn’t read anything.
No, more importantly! She’s still asleep!
I knew the Regressor could move surprisingly fast with Heavenly Counter Domain. But back then, there was at least the conscious thought of using her Qi Art. Right now, however, the Regressor was completely asleep.
“…Haaam. What is it? Why?”
She reacts even in her sleep? What in the world did she engrave into her body? I tilted my chin up slightly and said.
“Could you put this away first?”
“Huh? Oh. Mmm.”
The Regressor yawned languidly and retrieved Chun-aeng. After another small yawn, she spoke bluntly.
“Next time I’m sleeping, don’t touch me carelessly. I only put it to your neck because we’re in a relatively safe state. If I were seriously injured or mentally exhausted, I might just cut your head off without realizing it.”
“Who would have thought I’d be attacked for waking someone up who was sleeping soundly in broad daylight. Isn’t your crankiness a bit much?”
“Hmph. Look who’s talking. You slept all day yesterday.”
“I have accomplishments to my name. I defeated Maximilien with Ria.”
“I can defeat someone like Maximilien too! Don’t act so proud over something so trivial!”
Right. I’m surprised he managed it. Back when I didn’t have Jizan, I could only barely defeat Maximilien by waiting for a chance when he was separated from that steel… whatever-bug. Even with the Gunmaster’s Consensus of Gun and Sword, it would have been tough.
Her inner thoughts are surprisingly kind. Why don’t you try reversing that?
“Anyway, do you have any medicine? Preferably something like a drug that makes me forget the pain.”
“I told you, I don’t do drugs. Once you do that stuff, you just want to keep depending on it.”
“Why? Is depending on something bad?”
“It feels like I’m being tied down. I don’t like it.”
The reason she doesn’t do drugs is simply because she doesn’t like the feeling. Just what you’d expect from the Regressor.
This person is strange. Her thoughts aren’t that deep, and she doesn’t engage in complex existential ponderings. Even her quest to save the world is driven more by survival instinct than a sense of duty.
The same goes for mana herbs. It’s natural to feel a reluctance to control one’s body with external substances.
In a way, she might be the most human person here.
“Right. You did say you were a kid who hasn’t tasted the bitterness of the world yet.”
“Don’t be ridiculous! I’ve experienced several times more than you have!”
About thirteen times more!
“And my Qi Art, Heavenly Counter Domain, requires me to keep my senses sharp at all times. If I used something like drugs, I’d get that much weaker!”
To be honest, not using them at all is for the best. I’m a special case who has almost no side effects because of my mind-reading… though if there’s no one with a normal thought process around, I do get dumber.
“Ouch, ouch. So I just have to endure this pain…”
“You can’t do that, Father!”
The door burst open, and Historia and ‘Historia’ appeared.