Chapter 318: I Cannot Call My Father, Father
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 318: I Cannot Call My Father, Father
The Military State exploits its citizens. It allows them enough to get by and a few minor luxuries, but they daren’t even dream of anything more. Thanks to this rather coercive method of working its people to the bone, the Military State has stockpiled a vast amount of material assets.
But a mountain of gold is no different from a pile of rocks if it just sits in a vault.
This colossal machine, which treated humans like cogs to generate immense wealth… for what purpose did it turn so tirelessly?
“One of the Military State's great mysteries: where did all that accumulated wealth go? Well, the answer is right here!”
I said, patting the Cataphract.
The Military State's strategic weapon, the Cataphract. A rolling fortress clad entirely in high-cost alchemic steel, boasting overwhelming defense, yet its simple and innovative design also grants it mobility.
Along with combat-type Clothing Packets and combat arms, the Cataphract is the very essence of the Military State, treated as a Level 4 strategic asset. It possesses a weight and power that far surpasses even armored cavalry. Even the finest steed would be no match for a Cataphract in a contest of strength.
Tyr glanced around and murmured.
“I have seen something similar. The tyrant of the Golden Empire, who reigned in the past, rode in luxurious carriages much like this. I heard it took the labor required to build a castle to make just one, yet she commanded dozens of them.”
“The Cataphract is less luxurious but more functional, so the price is probably similar, don't you think? And since they aren't for just one person's use, there are more of them.”
“So they squeezed the blood of their people to create such extravagances. Hmph. No wonder the nation is in decline.”
Hilde, who had just been accused of squeezing blood by a vampire, protested as if wronged.
“I’m being unfairly accused! This Cataphract isn’t mine!”
“It may not be yours, but as a general, you can use it as you please, can you not?”
“That’s not true either! The Cataphract is one of the Military State’s strategic assets, so no one can use it freely! That includes me, one of the Six Generals!”
She was right.
The Military State was a nation that did not permit luxury, even for its ruling class of generals. The official accommodations for a general were shabbier than my own room, which I decorated on the sly. Of course, generals could still own property, so they could save up their salaries to afford every luxury imaginable, but… the very fact that they had to save up their salaries to afford any luxury put them far from the typical definition of extravagant.
However, Tyr, who was a nation and a noble in and of herself, found it difficult to think of the ruling class and the state as separate entities.
“And yet, when you asked for it, was it not promptly delivered?”
“That’s because permission came down from above!”
“You are merely saying the same thing in a different way. If you can use it with permission, is it not as good as yours?”
“The difference is hu~u~uge, you know? The moment I need permission from my superiors to move it, it’s not ‘mine.’ Besides, a request from ‘me,’ the Chief of Public Safety, for such a flashy piece of equipment would be denied for insufficient cause! This situation, where they've dispatched a Cataphract just to transport a few people, is a special exception! You're all enjoying a privilege that even I've never had!”
Hilde stomped her feet, passionately explaining how wronged she was. Swept up in her boisterous mood, Tyr waved a dismissive hand.
“I understand well enough. The carriage is shaking, so stop your jumping.”
“Whaat?! There's no way a light, delicate girl like me could shake this heavy hunk of metal just by stomping a little! That's so mean!”
Her tantrum was like that of a bratty girl arguing with the old lady next door. Considering her opponent was the Progenitor of vampires, she seemed to be acting with a reckless disregard for her own life. But surprisingly, Tyr, though annoyed, listened to Hilde’s complaints.
“Yes, yes. I misspoke.”
My, what a fuss they both make. Just like a father and daughter. I should placate them for now. As they say, to strike the general, first capture his horse. If she is Hu’s daughter, it would be wise to build a good relationship with her beforehand.
My daughter? Is she really buying this?
This person is strange. For a vampire, she’s utterly incapable of doubting a human’s words. To just accept that Hilde is my daughter because she said so. Didn’t she feel like something was off?
Well, I can guess what conclusion she reached. It's probably like how humans don't question their livestock. Vampires are technically human, but they are also predators who feed on human blood. Even if she's being deceived, she can just eat them if things go south, so she can afford to be careless.
She’s going to get burned badly one of these days. Or maybe she already has. But what can you do? You learn by getting hurt. Experiences etched into scars are the ones that last.
After all, I am a kind yet stern king who protects even their right to get hurt.
“…Wait a minute, Tyrkanzyaka. You’re not actually believing this nonsense, are you?”
But the Regressor was determined to snatch away even Tyr's right to get hurt. She crossed her arms and pointed out the contradiction.
“I don't know why the Camarilla is calling Hughes 'Father,' but it makes no sense. It's completely illogical.”
“What is?”
“The Camarilla is one of the Six Generals, known to have been active in the shadows since the Military State was first founded. If she was already on active duty when the State was created twenty-five years ago, that means she has to be at least in her forties, even being generous.”
She shot back sharply, as if she were a detective. It was a very basic deduction that even an elementary schooler could make, but it was a point Tyr had failed to realize.
Ah, I forgot. I have never been one to grasp the age of others…
No, she didn't fail to realize it; she ignored it because it was too trivial. I suppose the affairs of double-digit ages are a bit foreign to a 12th-century girl.
…Hmm. Let's see. What does age have to do with…
As Tyr’s thoughts trailed off, faltering before a forbidden truth, the Regressor finally snatched away even Tyr's right to hurt herself.
“That old lady just uses her transformation ability to look like that, but she's actually much older! Hmph! And she's calling someone young enough to be her son 'Father.' Has she no shame?”
Wow, that's harsh. Even if it’s true, couldn’t you show a little consideration? Her words were so cutting that even Tyr, standing beside her, looked a little hurt.
“Wow.”
As for Hilde, being called an old lady to her face made her mask slip for a moment. Wiping the smile completely from her face, she glared at the Regressor.
“That's harsh. It's beyond rude; it's cruel. Really, now I see why you're so unpopular with women, despite having such a pretty face.”
“I don't need to be popular! In fact, I'd rather not be!”
“Hmph. It’s my own fault for falling for such a cheap provocation. This is why I must wear a mask. When it's not 'me,' I can just let any nonsense slide. But when I reveal my true self, 'I' get provoked so easily.”
Hilde quickly calmed herself, repeating a mantra in her mind.
“This is a real, genuine secret, so I wasn't going to say anything. But the slander against ‘me’ has gone too far, so I have no choice. Shei, you think ‘Eimeder’ is the Military State’s guardian angel, right? And that ‘Zigrund’ is an assassin whose identity no one knows.”
“…Isn’t that right?”
“Wrong. 'Zigrund' isn't 'me.' Likewise, 'Eimeder' isn't an angel.”
Properly provoked, it seemed, Hilde began spilling secrets she alone knew without anyone even asking.
“The three heroes brought by the Warlord: ‘Zigrund,’ ‘Eimeder,’ and ‘Maximilien.’ ‘Zigrund’ is an assassin whose face no one knows, and Eimeder is an angel protecting the Military State? Impossible. When you have to build a new nation from the ashes, who's going to believe in some formless faith?”
“Wait. Does that mean…”
“Yes. Zigrund, Eimeder. They're both real people. Neither of them are in the Military State now, but it seems the State wants people to believe they still exist. After all, they had 'me' play the role of 'Zigrund'!”
Or perhaps, they're keeping their seats warm for them. So they can return at any time.
Hilde swallowed those last words.
The Saintess’s honor guard, the Crusaders. When Yuel was excommunicated from the Sanctum, she surrendered all her authority and possessions as a Saintess, but her power could not be taken from her. No, not even the Sanctum could take it.
A Saintess is an agent of God, an executor of prophecy. Whether excommunicated or run away, a Saintess’s path is a sacred sacrament ordained by the Sky God. Two of the most faithful Crusaders accompanied the excommunicated Saintess and reached the Military State.
Those two were Eimeder and Zigrund. Of course, they left a few years after Yuel became a recluse, clinging to a man’s corpse.
I could guess why they left. If I were in their shoes, I'd lose all affection for a Saintess I served if she started acting disgracefully and holing herself up in a corner. I’ve never met them, so I don’t know the details, but that must have been it.
From 'my' perspective, having been called in without knowing anything and being worked to the bone, it's not a very pleasant story, though~.
“Who are they?”
Having stumbled upon unexpected information, the Regressor hung on Hilde’s every word.
Tsk. I keep thinking this, but for a Regressor, she really doesn't know much. Thanks to that, even when I go through all sorts of trouble to get a glimpse of her memories, I can’t trust them 100%.
She even claimed to have had a close relationship with the Sanctum in a previous timeline, so how could she not know the secret history between the Military State and the Sanctum? It's not like everyone in the Sanctum made a pact to hide the information from her.
Hmm. Should I stop here? If I say any more, our poor Saintess will be in more trouble.
Hilde, believing she had sufficiently seized the initiative, decided to close her mouth. She shot the questioning Regressor a smiling glance, placed an index finger to her lips, and tilted her head.
“I don't feel like telling you~.”
“What?!”
“Old ladies are fickle, you know. My mood just took a nosedive, so I don't want to talk anymore! Hmph!”
Hilde puffed out her cheeks and whipped her head away. The Regressor stared at the childish act, dumbfounded.
“Are you sulking now? You're not a child.”
“I'd rather be a childish kid than be called an old lady.”
“Fine! Getting so hung up on such a small thing. I take it back!”
“Take it back? Can you pick up words once they’ve been spilled? Words are like swords. Pulling a sword back out doesn't heal the wound it made. The only way to mend the wound is to bind it tightly with a sincere apology.”
In short, she was telling her to apologize. Faced with Hilde’s stubbornness, the Regressor let out a small hiss through her teeth.
Right. If I can get information just by bowing my head once, it's a bargain! And well, I guess I was a little harsh!
Having made her decision, the Regressor gave a slight nod and offered a calculated apology.
“I'm sorry. I… I was insensitive.”
“Hmph. It’s like forcing a bow out of someone, but I’ll accept your apology. Be more careful next time.”
“Ugh. Fine.”
“Indeed, Shei. You must be more careful with your words and actions.”
“I’ll keep that in mind… Wait, Tyrkanzyaka? Why are you the one accepting the apology?”
Though she ended up apologizing to two people, the Regressor, her mission complete, demanded the information anew.
“So, the real Eimeder and Zigrund? Where are they?”
“I don't know!”
“Huh?”
Hilde replied with childlike innocence.
“How would 'I' know how my predecessors worked here, or where they went after leaving this job? 'I' was just called in partway through to do the work! Don't forget. Whatever the original 'Zigrund' was, 'I' am the one who inherited the role!”
“Hey! Then nothing's changed!”
The Regressor shot to her feet and pointed a finger at Hilde.
“You’re still the Camarilla, and you’re still older than Hughes! That’s the same!”
“Hehe. You caught me.”
“This isn’t a game of ‘you caught me’! What have you been denying this whole time?!”
“That 'I'm' an old lady! I didn't want to be treated like that in front of Father!”
“For Hughes to be your father, he would have had to have you before he was even born! Does that make any sense?”
Of course, it doesn’t.
Well, after all that, she's finally noticed the causal reversal. I didn't expect the Regressor to figure it out before Tyr…
It is not impossible. If, that is, Hu is that being.
Huh?
That's weird. What thought am I reading right now?
It would explain everything. That mysterious power, and how he retrieved my heart even as he was losing himself. The beat of a heart that had stopped long ago. That is something only I should know in this era… but if Hu is the King of Humans, if he represents all of humanity… then he could have known.
Tyr is strangely trusting of people’s words. It’s not because she’s foolish or naive, but because an ancient house must lower its threshold to welcome new guests. That’s why she believed all my nonsense back in the Abyss, and why she accepts the knowledge the Regressor speaks of at face value. It was only natural that she would take Hilde’s words at face value when she called me Father.
Back then, that fiend who smelled of rusted iron asked Hu. He asked if he was the King of Humans.
Perhaps that was why. Though Tyr never showed it… she had kept the memory of Maximilien calling me the King of Humans tucked away in her heart. To be used right now.
Fine. I am the King of Humans, so I guess you could say Tyr's wisdom is shining through.
However.
In that case, it makes sense for that child to call Hu 'Father'! If she is a child born before he was, then she must be the child of the previous King of Humans!
How did you reach that conclusion?