Chapter 462: Escape from the Duchy no.4
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 462: Escape from the Duchy no.4
Thud. I took a step onto the damp earth. The soil particles gathered together, straining to support my weight. After I lifted my foot, the imprint should have remained, a brief sigh left in the ground, but some unseen power lifted the particles with ease. The moment I moved, the footprint vanished as if it were a ghost.
“The ever-merciful Mother Earth erases even the marks you leave by treading upon her, pretending not to see.”
Snap. A branch I’d brushed past broke and drooped. But only for a moment. A new bud sprouted from the broken part, quickly extending into a new branch. Lush branches and leaves filled the gap, making the foliage even denser than before.
“And Nature, with its overflowing vitality, mends the forest ravaged by beasts.”
Earth Art and Druidism. I was using the remnants of two Divines to erase my tracks. Watching me use the power of the Divines, Hilde pointed a finger at me, her voice full of mock indignation.
“That’s cheating! You’re just stomping along, announcing your presence to the world, but then you erase it all with the power of a Divine! It makes me, who has to walk with the utmost care, feel wronged!”
What was she talking about? I was using Earth Art to erase my footprints and Druidism to regrow the plants. Why was that a problem? If she felt wronged, then so did I. I pointed back at Hilde and retorted.
“At least I’m using the power of a Divine. You’re the real cheat, Hilde, doing all that with just Qi Art. A Divine’s power is supposed to be greater, so why is it losing to Qi Art?”
“But you got that power for free, Father! My Qi Art is the result of over a decade of training and real combat! It’s disheartening!”
“Give me a break. A Divine is a single flower that bloomed from a genius who stood out even in the thousands of years of accumulated human history. It’s absurd to think you can compare it to a few years of training.”
“You’re not the one who made it bloom!”
“I am the King of Humans. Anything a human has done is as good as my own achievement. Is there a problem with a king using what’s his?”
“But you were absent all that time!”
When we reached a thicket suitable for hiding, we dismounted. I had rigged the horses to run on their own, but even so, an uncontrolled horse wouldn't keep galloping down the path forever.
It didn't matter, though. Since we could hide our tracks anyway, just leaving the possibility open for our pursuers was to our advantage.
“My biggest worry was leaving tracks—or more accurately, erasing the tracks you’d make—so this is a relief! I was wondering if I’d have to carry you and run!”
“Oh!”
“What do you mean, ‘Oh’?! I’m not carrying you unless you’re completely out of stamina!”
“So you’ll carry me if I run out of stamina? Wow. Even if I had a real daughter, she wouldn’t be as devoted as you, Hilde.”
“My filial piety is starting to run dry, you know?”
“Filial piety is a resource that can be depleted? Your ancestors would be wailing in their graves if they heard that.”
“You have ancestors, Father?”
Of course not. I don't even have a daughter. Depleted or not, Hilde’s mine of filial piety was impossible to develop in the first place. Because she wasn't my daughter. Nod.
This self-proclaimed daughter (who was older than me) grumbled, but stuck to her character.
“Even a well needs a little water to prime the pump. You should replenish my filial piety from time to time before it runs out completely.”
“Alright. You’ve done well.”
“Woooow. So rewarding~.”
While Hilde was grumbling, I read a faint thought from over the ridge behind us. It was one of Baron Zenryu’s personal Yeiling, a member of the Order of the Black Knight. Before he could get a visual on us, I rushed to Hilde and covered her mouth.
“Mmph? Mmph-mmph?”
“Shh. Get down!”
Hilde, who had been tilting her head in confusion, soon noticed the ghost-like presence approaching. Seeing no need to explain, I held onto her and lay flat on the ground. Swish. At my will, wooden vines shot up from the earth, enveloping Hilde and me in their dense leaves.
A short while later, the ghostly presence swept past us. As if by silent agreement, Hilde and I held our breath.
Being a vampire doesn't necessarily mean having sharp senses. They can see through darkness far better and have an incredible nose for the scent of blood, but they aren't particularly sensitive to other smells, faint body odors, or the warmth of an exhaled breath.
Well, it’s not fair to call it a vampire’s incompetence. I could feel those things clearly because Hilde and I were so close; a normal human wouldn't have found us hidden in the thicket either. It was just a little disappointing. A human trained in Qi Art would have noticed… though in that case, I would have hidden underground.
The vampire’s presence faded into the distance. Once I confirmed it was far enough away, I slowly retracted the vines and got up. Hilde was still curled up on top of me like a cat, sensing for the vampire’s presence.
“Alright, alright. Now you see how amazing I am, right? You can get up now.”
“That’s my father for you! I think my filial piety just recharged a little!”
Hilde placed her hands on my shoulders and slowly lifted her upper body. Peeking her head out to look left and right, she spoke with a puzzled expression.
“Only one tracker? Hmm, this kind of search pattern isn't very effective.”
“What do you mean, not effective? We would have been caught if it weren't for me.”
“That’s not the important part. What’s important is that he passed by without seeing us.”
Hilde slowly got to her feet and continued.
“The key to a successful pursuit is numbers. You have to maintain a certain density to prevent the target from slipping through the gaps in the net. The moment the suspicion that you ‘might have missed them’ creeps in, the pursuit has already failed. But… from the looks of it, they don't seem to have the numbers for that.”
That made sense. This was the Duchy of Mist, a land where sunlight barely touched, save for the northern and southern tips. While they lived prosperous lives as shepherds and merchants, their capacity to support a large population was bound to be limited.
Still, it was a nation. They could probably muster a decent number if they tried.
“The Duchy probably doesn't want to use humans for a job where they might get hurt. They’re a precious resource, after all.”
“In the first place, the very idea of not using humans because they might get hurt is flawed! What investment comes without risk? You have to be willing to push forward to get results!”
“Such a Military State way of thinking. What a screwed-up country. I’d hate to live there.”
“You say that, but~ the countries that actually got smashed were the Fallen Dominion and the Duchy, right? The Military State and the Signallers are still standing, aren’t they? Your words say one thing, but your actions speak another!”
Hilde grinned. Anyone listening would think I go around wrecking countries for a living. All I did was help them shed ill-fitting clothes.
“Now that they’ve passed through here once, the search net will gradually widen. We haven't gotten much farther than them, but since their formation is looser, it’ll be easier to slip through. I think we can rest for a bit. How’s your stamina, Father?”
“I’m full of energy. We should keep moving through the night.”
“You’ve gotten much spryer, haven’t you? It’s a little different from how you’ve been so far.”
…She was right.
It felt effortless. Usually, after moving for a long time, the muscles I used would be overworked, sore, and exhausted. But now, it felt like something invisible was enveloping my body and moving me. Not only that, but I could visualize how my blood was flowing, how my body was moving, as if it were drawn directly in my mind. Was this the power of a Divine?
It wasn't a perfect one-to-one comparison, but in terms of Qi Art, it was like I had mastered the Gam Qi Art. The only difference was that, unlike a true practitioner, I had no Qi to release, so I was still far weaker than a real Qi master.
“Is it Qi Art? It’s a little different from what I’ve seen before. Have you been hiding your strength all this time, or did you learn something in the Duchy?”
“It’s a secret. No comment.”
She was mostly right, but it was too much of a hassle to explain, so I brushed it off. Hilde leaned in close, protesting.
“Why? What secrets could there be between us?”
“It’s rude to ask about another person’s Qi Art… Besides, you’re far more secretive than I am. I’ve already shown all my cards.”
“Me? How am I secretive?”
“Of course you are. You use Qi Art, transformation arts, and even holy power. You were one of the Crusaders, then you received a divine revelation and worked in the shadows as one of the Military State’s Six Generals. If you wrote an autobiography, people would think it was written by someone with multiple personality disorder. Isn’t that much more fascinating?”
The autobiography comparison was purely my own take. Even if she had lived her life acting, if the narrator and their manner of speaking changed every time, I felt like I’d lose my mind reading it.
“Aha~. I didn’t know you were so interested in me, Father! I thought you were just neglecting me, so this makes me a little happy.”
“Neglect you? I never even raised you. Why on earth do you call me ‘Father’ when you have a father of your own?”
When I asked the question that had been bothering me the most, Hilde put on an enigmatic expression and walked ahead. With her back to me, she said.
“If I had a father, would I be calling you Father?”
Oho. Was she trying to make me feel awkward by playing the parentless card? Haha, not a chance. I am the King of Humans. I was born an orphan, popping into existence without a mother or father, just like the human race itself.
Pity plays about not having parents don't work on me. I casually pried into Hilde’s family background.
“Do I look like your father?”
“No. You don’t resemble any of them.”
“Them?”
Why the plural form for father? A memory of something I’d read before surfaced.
Hilde’s mother had been a courtesan. If she had a child without knowing, it was certainly possible she wouldn't know who the father was… But that still didn't explain why she called me Father. There was no explanation for that!
No matter how hard I tried to recall, I couldn't find a clear reason. Even Hilde herself couldn't come up with a proper reason for calling me Father.
Was it because I saw through her true form at a glance? Then she should have called Yuel "Mother" too! Back then, she had just called her that for no particular reason!
In any case, since I knew this through mind reading, I couldn't bring it up first. How should I respond to Hilde’s strange remark…?
“Why do you call your father ‘them’?”
“Who knows~. Care to take a guess?”
The reason she referred to her father in the plural. A normal person, not a mind reader, would definitely be curious about this. This was it. I voiced the answer that had formed in my head.
“Forgive my presumption, but did your mother… ah, serve… cocktails?”
By the time I thought that maybe this wasn't the right thing to say, it was already too late. Hilde suddenly spun around and lunged at me. Her body pressed against mine, and a moment later, a sharp pain shot through my foot. She had stomped on it, hard.
As I swallowed my pain, unable to even scream for fear of alerting the pursuers, Hilde whispered in my ear.
“Even if it’s the right answer, there are some things you should and shouldn’t say~.”
Hey, she’s the one who started it.