Chapter 589: This is a Sad Self-Introduction
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 589: This is a Sad Self-Introduction
The countdown has begun. All you humans who wish for a King of Humans, gather 'round. I'll grant all your wishes at once. Nevida will have to hurry, too. People who've contributed nothing will come demanding what they think they're owed, as if they'd left something in my keeping.
I hope you don't think it's too much. If I'm going to grant their wishes anyway, isn't it more efficient to handle them all at once?
"Hughes. I need to recover my strength. Help me."
It seemed the Regressor was feeling the tension as well.
"It'll take a little longer to heal completely."
"I don't need it to heal completely. I just need to be able to move."
"You'll have aftereffects."
"I don't care."
"No, you should care. Aftereffects will weaken you."
They wouldn't call them aftereffects for nothing. If it just ended with your joints aching now and then, that wouldn't be an aftereffect. Joints ache even when it just rains.
"But I have to use my strength now. I can't just be a bystander. I have to, so I can stop Nevida..."
"Shh!"
The Great Witch's familiars were still around. Nevida might not be watching us directly, but she wouldn't refuse a report from the Great Witch.
"Alright, I get it. Shei-ssi, you're just really unhappy with your arm being useless right now. It's only natural. How frustrating must it be to not be able to move your arm?"
"...Yeah. It is."
'So it's because we're being watched. He's telling me to establish a pretext to fool them.'
"And I don't like your arm being tied up either. You're always clinging to me, and it's a pain to take care of you. I think I'm starting to lose whatever affection I had for you."
"Wh-what?! It can't be helped, can it? Besides, you were the one who started taking care of me! I've barely asked you for anything myself!"
You understood it was because of the surveillance just a moment ago. Why is your reaction so disjointed? Forget everything else, I need to make her practice reading passages longer than three paragraphs.
"So what I'm saying is, it's better for both of us if your arm goes back to normal. Shei-ssi, how much sensation do you have?"
"The sensation is fine. I can feel cold and heat, and my sense of pain is working perfectly."
"A silver lining, I suppose."
"The problem is that it's too fine. It still hurts. Is this normal? Or did you do something to it?"
"Who knows? I've never had my arm torn off before. And I'd like to keep it that way."
The Regressor's recovery was fast. The fact that she was a master of Qi Arts played a part, but the power of the Divine was even more effective.
I had connected her nerves with the Lightning Spool and her blood vessels with Bloodcraft. I used alchemy to fill in the shattered bone fragments. As a result, from a purely mechanical perspective, the Regressor's body was almost fully recovered.
"I think what you need, Shei-ssi, is physical therapy. If you move your body and stimulate your senses and muscles, you should heal quickly."
"Right. So, untie these bandages and get the medicine from my Pocket."
"And while you're at it, make me some food?"
"...Yeah."
"See? You are making me take care of you."
"I'm hurt! Do you have to make such a big deal out of helping me for a little while?"
"I'd rather not be chided when I'm not even getting a thank you."
"Ugh. Fine. I'll repay you! What do you want?"
"Nothing in particular."
"Hey!"
What could you possibly have to repay me with? You don't know much, you're strong but in an ambiguous way, and I don't even know if I'll ever get what you promised me.
In any case, I untied the Regressor's bandages and gave her the elixir. A dark purple bruise stretched from her shoulder, but as she focused her Qi, the swelling slowly subsided and her skin color returned.
The Regressor focused all her might, trying to put strength into her fingertips. Her pinky finger twitched. It was a feeble movement compared to her will, but the fact that it moved at all was what mattered.
"Agh..."
"Don't just move it randomly. For now, let's check your range of motion. Here, I'm going to lift your arm, so tell me when it hurts."
"Okay..."
Standing behind her, I supported her arm below the elbow and slowly lifted it. With every inch, her body flinched in pain. But this level of pain was no more than muscle soreness. The Regressor gritted her teeth.
Just then, my mind-reading picked up someone's thoughts.
'What should I do today? Should I go find a new parrot with Pero? Now that I have a mask, maybe I should try the elephant graveyard?'
This is... the Great Witch's thoughts, isn't it? If I can read them, she must be close today.
'No, wait. The human fruits are almost ripe, aren't they? If I'm going to pick one, it should be a limited edition. Let's conduct an ecological survey of the King of Humans!'
What ecological survey? That's just voyeurism. Why are you so excited, you peeping tom?
But the Great Witch probably didn't know I was using mind-reading. Watch all you want, I thought. You won't find a single thing to be suspicious about.
"Ouch! That hurts!"
"It hurts even though I've barely lifted it?"
"Ugh. You used too much force..."
"I'm doing it the same as before. You're the one who couldn't handle it."
"Anyway, go a little slower!"
"Alright. I'm going to lower it now, so try to hold it steady."
"...Okay."
Physical therapy begins with checking the range of motion. When an arm or leg stiffens, it doesn't mean it turns to stone; it means the muscles have tensed up and contracted from a major shock.
In the Regressor's case, some parts were completely severed, not just stiffened, so we had to stimulate them by moving them to their limits and releasing the tension.
To assess her condition, I carefully helped her exercise by lifting and lowering her arm.
'Oh my, oh my. Have they finally started? The King of Humans has been patient for a long time!'
What? What kind of nonsense is this?
'Of course, if you put a male and a female in the same room, something is bound to happen.'
"Huh? Hughes. I think you stopped."
"Ah, yes. Just a moment."
We're in the middle of physical therapy. What does that Great Witch take me for? No, what is she even seeing in this perfectly wholesome situation?
As I read her thoughts, I soon understood why she was imagining such things. The Great Witch was spying on us using an insect familiar. Having grown accustomed to her familiar's senses, she could see the world through the bug's eyes, but they were significantly different from human eyes. Especially when it came to depth perception.
Through the bug's eyes, it looked as if the Regressor and I were embracing.
Has your brain turned into a bug's now that you're possessing one, Great Witch? Even if it looks that way, if you had any shame, you'd look away.
'...Ugh. Still. It's fine watching beasts mate, but seeing humans do it is disgusting.'
Give me a break! If you don't want to see it, then stop peeking! It's not even that kind of scene in the first place!
"Ah! That was too rough this time...!"
"Be quiet. Choose your words more carefully."
"H-huh? Did I do something wrong...?"
Don't attract the attention of the eavesdropping Great Witch. You're making her interested.
'Still... observing the Beast King's ecology is a priceless opportunity. I'll just grit my teeth and watch. I'll move to a better vantage point.'
The bug's field of vision slowly shifted. It moved from a corner that covered the whole room, creeping closer to get a better look at me.
"Hey. Hughes. Um, actually, I'm a little grateful, too..."
"Just a moment."
"Uh..."
I left the Regressor and walked toward the moving cricket. The insect, focused on moving, sensed my presence and looked up. Just before it could spread its wings and flee, I slammed my palm down hard on it.
The cricket was killed instantly, without so much as a peep.
'Ouch! My secret-eavesdropping 'ear'-cricket! That was one of my favorites!'
Her naming sense is terrible, too. In any case, since she was possessing it, the shock must have been considerable. A familiar is linked to its master, so any shock the familiar receives is transmitted directly to the caster.
Now that she's had a near-death experience, maybe she'll be more careful.
"What's wrong?"
"There was a big bug crawling around. It was bothering me, so I killed it."
"...Hughes. Is something bothering you?"
"Well, you could say that."
'It's fine. I still have five ears and six pairs of eyes left. If you count the number of compound eyes, they're practically infinite!'
Ah, right. The Great Witch had received Tyr's blood and possessed an immortal body.
Witches use all sorts of spells and tricks to avoid the risks of their familiars dying or getting injured. In the process, the familiar's power often weakens or the link becomes unstable. The Great Witch, on the other hand, endured the risks entirely with her overflowing life force.
She uses petty tricks to escape Tyrkanzyaka's dominion, but in any case, the death of a familiar was merely a slight disappointment to her.
'Next up is my deaf-mantis...'
"...Right. You're only human... so you must have things that hurt or annoy you too. I'm sorry I haven't been more considerate..."
"Yep. Another one."
"Hughes?"
"There are a lot of bugs today for some reason. What were you saying just now?"
"...Never mind! If you're not going to listen, then don't!"
"What's with the sudden outburst? Anyway, here. Try clenching and unclenching your fingers. If you can't, use your Qi to move them for now, and focus hard on which part of the muscle you can't feel."
"Tch. Just watch closely!"
"Your fingers are moving pretty well, though. You might be able to move soon."
'Ouch, ouch. I forgot that humans show greater aggression towards insects than other beasts. If I get too close, all my precious bug-tapping devices will be destroyed. The King of Humans, how could he be so cruel!'
So she thinks of them as bugging devices herself. And she has the nerve to call me cruel.
"You're not... forcing yourself to help me, are you?"
"Pardon?"
"Right now, I have no strength, and I can't force you to do anything. And if you don't particularly want anything... why are you helping me?"
"What a strange question for a patient to ask. Never mind that, try rotating your wrist now."
"When someone asks you a serious question, you should answer!"
'Bugs are good for secret eavesdropping, but their resolution is too low for observation. What should I do? Oh, right! I left the window open earlier! I'll possess Pero and fly in. Pero, launch!'
Don't you ever get tired? Fine, watch. See for yourself what a wholesome physical therapy session this is, and don't you dare tell anyone.
"Hughes. I'm a Regressor."
"Ah, yes."
"Don't be nice to me. Because I might just... leave you behind."
"Leave? Where to?"
"To the next. To the next timeline."
"Where is 'the next'?"
"...To before this all happened."
Ah, I see... Huh? What?
"Excuse me? What did you just say?"
"This isn't my first time in this era. I've repeated it more than ten times already. Throughout these repeated timelines, the King of Sins was always born, and the world always ends. Literally."
"Is that a prophecy?"
"It's different from a prophecy. I've experienced it myself. This Qi Art, these treasures, I got them all back then. And I have to keep getting them."
No way, this...
"Thank you for your help. But you don't have to. I... can die. When I do, I go back to the past. Taking everything I've gained in this life with me."
"The past...? To when?"
"To just before I met you."
So suddenly...
"That's why I don't want to be grateful. I don't want to accept your kindness. I don't want to repay you. In this timeline, I can't repay you for anything anyway. The 'you' in the next timeline will be different from the 'you' now. Carrying the burden of these feelings into the past will only bring me pain."
"Uh..."
"You don't understand, do you? I know. Just... I'm a Regressor, and I need you to know my situation... That's all."
Shei blurted it out like an announcement, then fell silent, focusing on moving her fingers. I let go of her hand and stood still, mulling over her words.
So...
She's finally confessing.
Sigh. It's been months since I found out with my mind-reading. It was tough pretending not to know all this time. I had to be constantly aware of the fact that she was a Regressor and be careful not to accidentally mention anything I'd read in her mind. It was exhausting.
But now, I've succeeded in earning Shei's genuine trust. I guess you really should be kind to people when they're weak. The sun is mightier than the north wind, as they say, and it's even more effective when it shines on you in the cold.
I smiled inwardly but quickly composed my expression. It wasn't over yet. I had to show an appropriate reaction, one that reflected sufficient consideration of this fact. It would be strange if I accepted the truth of her regression too easily, even if she told me herself.
Shei herself is a clue to the regression. If I don't analyze the regression itself, I'll just end up getting swept along. First, I'll pretend I know nothing and ask her what regression is and how it works. She probably doesn't know the details herself, but just having her recall the past and talk about it piece by piece will provide clues.
"...I understand. For now, shh. Something's coming."
Flap, flap.
I heard the sound of a bird's wings from beyond the window. It seemed the Great Witch's parrot familiar had arrived. She must have been on her way, so she wouldn't have heard Shei's confession. A silver lining.
I walked toward the window, intending to greet the parrot. However, what was perched on the windowsill was not a parrot.
A single owl stood on the frame, a dead parrot in its beak.
The owl, sitting majestically, turned only its head to look at me. Then, it blinked its large eyes and pointedly extended its leg, as if to show me. A note was tied to the owl's leg. As if mesmerized, I removed the note, unfolded it, and read the words written inside.
-To the King of Humans.
I have come to save you, and to save humanity.
Please grab this owl's leg and jump.
...It seems the Great Witch wasn't the only one watching this room.