Chapter 463: Escape from the Duchy no.5
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 463: Escape from the Duchy no.5
Hilde’s judgment had been correct. The vampires who had passed us once failed to find us again. They were only scanning the distance, never imagining we were still inside their cordon.
We hadn't gotten as far as them, but that didn't matter. The mistaken belief that this area had already been searched was, ironically, protecting us.
Before long, the presences loitering nearby vanished. Baron Zenryu had admitted defeat and withdrawn for the time being.
“Have they given up already? For vampires, they don’t have much persistence.”
“They haven’t given up. He just realized it’s impossible to find us on his own, so he’ll try to coordinate with the other vampires who rule the nearby territories. Of course, he’ll end up giving up in the end. He’s about to hear the news about Sir Du Rahan.”
The seeds I’d sown were finally sprouting. To cooperate, they’d have to share information, and in doing so, they would naturally hear the news—especially since I’d given them a little hint.
“It took a little while, but it turned out just as I said, right? We shook him off in two days.”
“It’s too early to relax. They weren’t a pursuit team; they were just guards at the gate. If Tyrkanzyaka sent a proper pursuit team herself, there would be at least one Elder with them. We might be able to hide, but crossing the border without a confrontation will be impossible.”
As if displeased to see me letting my guard down, Hilde presented me with the cold, hard truth. As I fell silent, the daunting path ahead weighing on me, she nudged me with a smile.
“Hey now, why the long face? I won’t fall for it anymore.”
“Fall for what?”
“You haven’t shown all your cards yet, have you, Father? We’ve come this far, so it’s time to lay it all out. I know you didn’t plan this escape without a single thought in your head!”
“…”
Uh, well, about that.
To be honest, I had no plan. No, that’s not entirely true, but the parts I did have were beyond my control.
“Father?”
“Ah, yes, yes. Th-th-th-that.”
Hey, Regressor. Where are you and what are you doing? You said a Great Tide was coming with this Night Ebb Tide. The time for the tide has passed, so why is there no reaction from the country?!
You even came here early to warn everyone about it! If you came all the way to the Duchy, you could have at least looked for me, or provoked Tyr and unintentionally drawn some attention! If not that, then do something! Where the hell did you go that there’s been no word at all?!
Oblivious to my inner turmoil, Hilde smiled.
“Don’t pretend. You have a plan, don’t you?”
“O-of course.”
“Is it, by any chance, what I think it is?”
What? She had something in mind? If so, she should have told me sooner. Purely to get some inspiration, I took a peek into Hilde’s thoughts.
‘Father is the King of Humans. The organizations looking for him are the Sanctum and the Human Regime. Of the two, the Human Regime is friendly toward the King of Humans… but since Shei is closer, I thought he would call for him. But it doesn’t seem like he’s sending a signal to either side, does it?’
…Exactly. Even Hilde thinks so, but apparently, the Regressor doesn’t. Hmph. It’s not like I miss the Regressor or anything! I’m just waiting for her to cluelessly go to Tyr, draw all the aggro, and run away!
In any case, it was something I couldn’t control right now. I cleared my throat and replied.
“Something like that. If we can’t do it with our own strength, we’ll need help.”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
Hilde’s smile felt heavy. This baseless faith in the King of Humans was putting me in a tight spot. You used to be in intelligence, for crying out loud. Is it really okay to trust me this much? Please, doubt me a little.
…Then again, in a situation where I had no one to rely on but her, it would be a problem if she started doubting me now.
“Hah. Should I just try to cross the mountains?”
With no clear path forward, a gamble started to look appealing. I slowly turned my head to look past the hill.
The Duchy of Mist, situated between the mountains and the sea, grew higher in elevation the farther west one went. The incline was so distinct that from the highlands, one could easily see the areas below. Without the cover of bushes and trees, it was impossible to hide. That was why Hilde and I had bothered to pass through the gate in the first place. Crossing the border without being seen was an impossible feat.
However, what if we went higher than the outposts? What if we crossed the mountains beyond the ridge? We would certainly be less visible to human eyes.
“Did you say cross the mountains?”
…To human eyes, that is.
“I was just thinking out loud. How could we cross with tigers roaming around?”
Not every mountain had tigers. But tigers were definitely in the mountains. That alone was reason enough not to go.
Besides, if we climbed high up the mountains, we would inevitably be spotted from below. It would just add another threat. I turned my head back without a second thought.
‘He brushed it off, but he wouldn’t have mentioned it for no reason. Father must have a way to cross the mountains safely, right?’
Wait, what? No, I don’t. I mentioned it because I’m genuinely stuck.
‘A way to deceive the ears and noses of beasts? Hmm, no. The King of Humans wouldn’t be that simple, would he? Perhaps it’s related to what happened during the inception of humanity’s rise, the event that made humans the dominant species on land.’
What’s that? I don’t know anything about it. Tell me, too. Don’t be the only one who knows my story!
But no matter how much I searched Hilde’s thoughts, all I found was a story she had heard secondhand. As a half-fledged member of the Crusaders, she knew almost none of the details. It made sense, now that I thought about it. It would be stranger if there was information about me that even I didn’t know…
…Wait a minute.
Does that mean a proper Crusader or a Saintess might know? Information about me that I myself am unaware of? But when I read the thoughts of Yuel, the Saintess of Foresight, and Feruel, the Saintess of Steel, I didn’t get any particularly special information…
Something’s strange. Even Hilde, an outcast, knows that something exists. That means someone must know the details. If not the Saintesses, then who?
Or could it be that there’s a domain I can’t read? Like the Regressor’s memories of her previous timelines?
A question surfaced, but I had no way to answer it. To find out, I had to escape the Duchy first.
Please, let something tie up the Elders—or at least Valdamir.
*
The Great Tide came. Had the humans who were about to head out for the Night Ebb Tide not been warned in advance, the casualties would have been significant. The tsunami swept over the beach and, with energy to spare, crashed into the residential villages. Even the towns built a sufficient distance from the shore to prepare for the fickle sea monsters were submerged, becoming a reef of rubble in the ocean.
“Is this all?”
However, even after witnessing this scene, Valdamir tilted his head. The scale was much smaller than all the fuss had suggested.
Valdamir walked through the squelching mud. Seawater was the amniotic fluid of Mother Earth. Saltwater teeming with microscopic life. For vampires, whose Bloodcraft was hindered by mere running water, seawater with a salinity higher than blood was a tangible terror.
A Twaite would melt like a pillar of salt upon contact, and even a Yeiling would lose control of their Bloodcraft and leak blood energy if they didn't focus. An Ain could withstand it… but that was only when dealing with ‘seawater.’ If a sea beast washed ashore by the currents were to attack, they wouldn’t be able to fight back with their Bloodcraft compromised.
That was why Valdamir hadn’t participated in the operation to pursue his consort. Even if he had joined under the Progenitor’s orders, he wouldn’t have been very active. A father is meant to be a threat to the man who approaches his daughter, but gentle to the one who leaves her. Especially when the daughter is the one trying to hold on.
Valdamir was personally inspecting the flooded area with humans and vampires in tow. The reason an Elder like him was doing such menial work soon became clear.
“Huh? Why is there a sail here…?”
Spotting a strange object buried in the sand, a worker approached the sail. With every step he took on the sand, something shaped like a leaf twitched. Just as the worker sensed something was wrong, the sand was suddenly sucked inward, and something burst out from beneath it.
“Whoa!”
As a bizarre mouth descended upon the panicked human’s head, a large greatsword flew through the air and pierced the mysterious shadow.
What had leaped from the sand was a flat fish of a similar color. The large fish, with fins specialized for moving on land, thrashed about as if in pain, its maw gasping. Its mouth, large enough to swallow a human head, made a sound like flint striking flint. It was unclear whether it was in agony from the open air or furious that its meal had been interrupted.
“I-I’m alive…”
As the worker breathed a sigh of relief, Valdamir’s Ain, Count Drikul, stressed again.
“Stay alert! This is not the Night Ebb Tide! All sorts of things have been washed in from the far sea, and dangerous creatures are lying in wait nearby! If you see anything strange, throw the harpoon in your hand before you approach!”
The workers steeled their resolve and raised their harpoons. The ones with some experience in the sea began hurling their harpoons into crevices between rocks and holes in the mud.
Some sea creatures were still alive, but most were carcasses. In particular, the conches and crabs, which were quite dangerous on land, were mostly dead with their shells shattered. Valdamir observed the cracked carapaces of the crustaceans for a moment before speaking.
“Kavila.”
“Don’t say my name so casually with that shameless face, traitor!” Kavila replied with a sharp edge to her voice.
She still held a grudge against Valdamir for the rebellion—or more accurately, for not making the Progenitor give up her heart.
But that was none of Valdamir’s concern, nor did he care. He ignored Kavila’s defiance and spoke.
“What kind of tide was this?”
“What kinds of tides are there? When seawater rushes in, it’s a tide. I didn’t know you were the sentimental type to name every single wave you see.”
“Did the Island Whale break through the strait it was blocking? Did a Cloud Manta strike the sea with its wing fins? Or was it just a tide with no reason at all?”
Feelings were feelings, and work was work. As Valdamir asked impassively, Kavila clicked her tongue but answered obediently.
“I don’t know. This time, it’s strange.”
“What’s strange?”
“The Cloud Mantas have been getting more restless. It’s a pattern we sometimes see before the Night Ebb Tide, but they’ve been unusually noisy lately. The waves have been crashing almost every day; it’s been so loud.”
“The reason?”
Kavila answered with irritation.
“How am I supposed to know what’s happening in the far sea? I’m already swamped with my sister’s business!”
“That is your job.”
“Hmph! Then you should have paid some attention normally! You didn’t care at all, and now that something’s happened, you show up and start nagging me!”
“And that is my job.”
“Agh!”
Kavila kicked a half-collapsed house in a fit of temper. Crash! The wall, weakened by the tide, crumbled, and from the large crack, a giant eyeball appeared.