WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 243: I Have Gears in My Head

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"Woof?"

Azzy tilted her head but did not answer. Maximilien waited patiently for the dog's response with a pleased smile. It was not a smile meant to draw a favorable reaction from Azzy, but one that rose sincerely from the depths of his heart.

Regardless of his feelings, Azzy simply stared blankly ahead with no intention of answering. Naturally. What he was doing was no different from the regressor asking Azzy about today's weather. Talk of kings and such was like preaching sutras to a dog's ears.

Naturally, Azzy did not understand, and the regressor answered for her.

"Idiot. There is no King of Humanity. Did you sleep through history class or something?"

"Hm?"

'What ill-mannered bastard interrupted me?'

For a moment, fury surged through him. He turned his head with a creak like grinding gears, then began matching the regressor's face to his memories.

Short hair. A boy. A sword in each hand.

Click. His thoughts fell neatly into place. The instant he judged his opponent, Maximilien quickly regained his calm.

'Ah. The boy who wields the Demon God's power. Yes, he is qualified.'

What was that? It was such a drastic change, as though he had skipped over something in the middle of a thought...

The middle of his thoughts was cut off.

That was strange. The regressor was like that because she had left her memories in a previous cycle, but Maximilien looked like a perfectly normal person, at least on the outside.

While I was wondering about it, he finished his simple assessment and spoke dramatically.

"Boy, surely someone like you does not believe in a false history fabricated to suit the victors' tastes?"

"At least it's far more credible than the ravings of a megalomaniac."

"Ha ha! Well, my thoughts are so vast that ordinary people cannot hope to comprehend them!"

Maximilien laughed loudly without the slightest offense at being called a megalomaniac. If anything, the regressor seemed more annoyed for having insulted him.

'That bastard always makes wild guesses, yet how can he be so full of confidence in every cycle? Was it the fourth? Back then, he was calling me a king too! That Halberdier needs to be given memories from a previous cycle!'

Ah. So he was just firing guesses everywhere. The King of Humanity was not the sort of being who would reveal itself so openly, after all.

No, wait. Regressor, aren't you more extraordinary than a king? Even the King of Humanity cannot regress.

Maximilien, who had been chuckling, began explaining again.

"Even so, the King of Humanity exists. Do we call night the time when the sun briefly travels to the other side? Does some solemn law that runs through distant worlds offer us a smiling hand on this side, only to reject us on the other? No, of course not. All things fit together with the precision of gears, but their principles are exceedingly simple. Everything has a king, and so humanity has a king as well. That is the truth!"

"Humanity drove that king out itself!"

"They drove the king out. They did not destroy the king. Nor could they."

He continued explaining while facing us, as though he were a history teacher. Racing down a straight road at high speed did not seem to inconvenience him at all.

"Even if everyone pointed to this land, insisted that it was flat, and behaved accordingly, the earth would remain round and only sneer at them. Belittling the vast earth to deny our own smallness only makes our minds petty as well."

A brief look of contempt crossed his face. Then he turned to the regressor with a childlike, innocent smile.

"The same is true here. Humanity drove the King of Humanity away to embellish its own nobility, then believed the king would never return. It is nothing but a vain belief that denies the shape of heaven and earth!"

"The vain belief is yours! Why would a being that has not appeared for over two thousand years show up right in front of you at this very moment?"

"Because the time has come!"

Maximilien shouted as though it were an unquestionable truth.

"The last kingdom has fallen. There are no kings left in this world. The master of the Golden Land, who understood all creation, was devoured by a monster. The Queen of Agartha, beloved by all, had the skin torn from her face by ugly jealousy. The Conquering King, who tore apart the world, was defeated by the Victorious King, who was born under heaven's favor. The last royal family, the Grandiomor royal family, which commanded loyalty, confused power with qualification and was executed!"

The princess flinched violently at the mention of her royal family. I noticed it, as did Historia, who was riding with me, but Maximilien did not spare her a shred of attention. His focus seemed to exist only within his lenses.

"The Five Lords who drove out the King of Humanity have proven their failure. The only thing left is an Empire that barely survived by borrowing the majesty of a god. But the will of a god lies outside humanity! Those who irresponsibly divided the king's power among themselves are gone, so now it is time for the king to return! Therefore, I say this. The King of Humanity exists, and at this moment, the king is certainly present!"

After finishing his long speech, Maximilien added with a satisfied expression.

"And the King of Dogs is one of the few ways to find the king."

"Woof? Did you call me?"

Azzy seemed to feel much the same way I did. She had not cared how his long speech went, only perking up her ears and tail whenever he mentioned her.

Maximilien was no different in that regard. He only needed the King of Dogs, so he was not particularly expecting an impressive response from Azzy.

"Ebon, that fellow did something very valuable! I thought he had failed because he was inadequate. But that was not it! The King of Dogs had remained there because that was where she belonged! Thanks to him, I did not have to search again for what the King of Dogs had already found! It is all thanks to you, boy who wields the Demon God's power! Because you killed Ebon!"

It almost sounded sarcastic, but there was no hatred or hostility in him as he calmly mentioned the death of a subordinate he had put considerable effort into. He accepted it much as he would hear that one of his gears had broken.

The regressor noticed his attitude and gritted her teeth.

"Crazy bastard, his own subordinate..."

"He will be pleased as well! Now, I shall consider the price for blocking your path paid! May I attend to my own business now?"

After shouting that, he met Azzy's eyes again. Azzy was still openly curious about the strange human who had called for her. Maximilien spoke again.

"My apologies, King of Dogs! My question was slightly off. Let me ask again. Who here will shoulder your trust and fight the wolves?"

"Woof?"

"Speak, King of Dogs!"

At Maximilien's ecstatic urging, Azzy gave a calm yawn before answering.

"Nobody! Woof!"

Maximilien's expression froze. Fortunately for him, Azzy was not finished.

"Woof! Humans, all ordinary! Every human is human! So I kind to everyone! But representative! Elect! King! King king!"

She was still speaking in her usual puppy-like manner, no matter who she was talking to, but Maximilien understood perfectly.

"Ah. That is what you mean! The one who shoulders the people's will is king! Then who now shoulders enough of the people's will to satisfy you?"

"Woof woof woof! Happy dilemma!"

Azzy barked happily. She looked as though she was about to boast.

Even for a dog, did that loose-mouthed puppy not understand the concept of keeping a secret? Well, she was a dog. What could I expect?

I lowered my voice and asked the regressor.

"Mr. Shei, is it really okay to let Azzy blurt everything out?"

"Let her. It looks like he wants to confirm something through Azzy. Maybe he'll be satisfied with that and leave the military state."

"What? But Halberdier Maximilien is one of the Six Generals, and an extremely important figure. He's going to leave the military state?"

The regressor answered without letting down her guard against Maximilien.

"Halberdier is driven entirely by interest. He came to the military state because it was a country born from the fall of a kingdom, and because it gave him a place to indulge his hobbies freely. He must be attached to the military state, but only about as attached as someone is to a weapon they've used for a long time, or a favorite toy."

"What if he finds the King of Humanity here?"

"I've told you repeatedly. That won't happen. There is no King of Humanity."

"How can you be sure? There could be one."

'Because I witnessed the King of Sin in the previous cycle.'

What exactly was the King of Sin? And what did seeing the King of Sin have to do with the King of Humanity?

The regressor did not bring the thought fully to mind. After forcibly shaking it off, she gazed down the road with cold eyes.

"...And there are no gears from the next block onward. If he keeps following us to the next block... Halberdier will pay for his arrogance."

Maximilien, who was pouring all his attention into the King of Dogs, did not hear the regressor's cold words. He remained focused on every gesture and word from Azzy. Azzy puffed herself up and pointed a finger.

Maximilien looked where Azzy pointed.

"Ah, dear me."

In a deeply disappointed tone, he looked toward the white horse and the princess.

His lenses creaked. The princess, caught within them, shuddered at the ominous feeling. Then she sent Azzy, who had pointed at her, a confused look.

"Ah? Miss Azzy...? M-me?"

Huh? It wasn't me? Azzy, have you finally learned the concept of a well-meaning lie?

"Woof! That one, closest! Natural-born!"

What? Then was I farm-raised? This mutt had no end of things to say. Now she was comparing people to wild-born and farm-raised goods?

Well, the princess really did inherit noble blood, and she was a fairly capable leader. Still, valuing some newcomer more highly...

No, why was I even disappointed? This was a relief! I was the one abandoning you, Azzy! You're up for adoption! Go to the rich, noble princess!

"Ah. A princess of a fallen kingdom. Yes, she is certainly qualified. Qualified..."

As though he deeply regretted that she was qualified, Maximilien lamented with a greatly disappointed expression. The princess, riding the white horse as she faced him, gave him an awkward greeting.

"Ah, hello...?"

"Good day. A pleasure. Grandiomor, that damned bloodline. The last remnant of a rat dynasty that could not achieve prosperity, yet somehow succeeded in lingering on..."

The princess was thoroughly frightened by the barrage of insults, though she could not tell whether they were insults or not. Facing her, Maximilien lowered his head gloomily as though he were the victim.

At that moment, Historia, sensing that the conversation was over, called out to Maximilien.

"Director Maximilien."

Only then did Maximilien notice Historia.

No, notice was not quite the right word. Maximilien clearly knew that Historia was there. He had confirmed it with his eyes and stored it in his memory. Yet he had made no judgment about her.

It was a very peculiar perspective. Until she called to him or entered his lenses, he had not even consciously registered Historia.

'Whose head should I tear off... Ah. One of the Six Generals.'

"Major General Historia."

It was a very peculiar way of thinking. Until he consciously turned his attention to something, he did not even attempt to think about it. It was a bizarrely existentialist way of thinking. It felt unique and alien, as though the process of perception had been separated from thought itself.

More than anything, there was this sound of gears that had been constantly coming from him. This regular scraping in my head...

Ah.

That was insane. The gears were embedded so deeply in his thinking that even I, a mind reader, had noticed too late. Just as people did not constantly reflect on their own existence, he had not reflected on the gears turning inside his own head.

Wow. Really.

He had implanted gears in his own head, gears that turned according to his will?

Historia spoke with Maximilien while only sticking her head out. The princess, caught between two of the Six Generals, pressed her lips shut and focused on steering the white horse.

"Director. I have a request."

"Good. I just thought of a request for you as well. And since I outrank you, I'll speak first."

"What?"

Maximilien muttered with a completely different expression from when he first appeared. He looked as disappointed as someone who realized that a gift they had eagerly awaited was something they already possessed.

'The Grandiomor royal family... Ha. An already existing dynasty. The bone the King of Dogs found was scraps that had already been chewed dry, with no flavor left.'

His disappointment was beyond words. Lost in bitter thought, he gave Historia an order.

"There is a princess of the old kingdom. Kill her and return. Immediately."

Footnotes:

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