WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 261: The Land of Steel and the Faceless Humans - 10

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The secret to seeing through Zikhrund's identity? Needless to say, mind reading. Despite being one of the Six Generals, Zikhrund had personally joined the operation and stayed practically glued to my side, kindly explaining every detail of the plan. To me, Zikhrund was no different from a staff officer walking beside me and briefing me on everything.

There was just one problem.

I couldn't expose Zikhrund's identity without explaining my mind reading.

Zikhrund's transformation wasn't a Mystery. It was a combination of bodily transformation through qi arts, the military state's intelligence network, and a performance carried out with every ounce of effort. Zikhrund might have borrowed a few methods from Mysteries, but it was an art created purely through human skill.

That was why neither the regressor nor Tyr had noticed anything strange. Though the biggest reason was that neither of them knew who Carapald was to begin with.

The same went for me. I hadn't even met Carapald until a few years ago. I could insist that Carapald was actually one of the Six Generals in disguise, and people might hear me out, but that suspicion would eventually circle back to me.

Still, there was no reason to invite that kind of risk, was there? I just had to lure Zikhrund in.

As planned, Zikhrund took the bait. The moment Tyr left, Zikhrund gambled everything on targeting me. Accepting that the disguise might be exposed, Zikhrund transformed into Historia and attacked us.

Good. This much had worked.

Now it was time to strip away the mask.

"How did I know? You've got it backward. We're the ones who should be surprised. Who are you, wearing Historia's face and body?"

Just as I said, the appearance was a perfect match for Historia's. Even Historia herself couldn't spot a difference.

Standing protectively in front of me, Historia instinctively searched for the enemy, though an odd look of disgust crossed her face.

"It's not just the face and body. The combat techniques and qi arts too. They're very similar to mine. I wouldn't say there are no differences, but..."

"You can't tell them apart just by looking, can you?"

Having someone imitate you perfectly was quite the blow to one's pride. It meant there was a substitute for you.

"Historia" smiled as though in self-mockery and spoke confidently.

"There's no reason I can't tell you. But first, I want an answer to one question."

Wearing Historia's face and body, Zikhrund spun around once. With Historia's languid expression and soft curves, but movements too disciplined to suit them, Zikhrund turned lightly toward me and asked,

"My transformation should have been perfect. How did you distinguish me?"

"You looked quite alike. But close friends like Historia and I have a certain feeling we recognize, you know? I found you through that..."

"No. You didn't waver for even an instant. There is a gap in reaction between one who knows and one who doesn't. Your response clearly leaped over that brief gap."

"Historia" walked toward me at an easy pace. Each light step was steady and unshaken. It looked like Historia's walk, but to me, it was a little uncanny.

"My transformation was perfect. Face, hair, height, bone structure, even expressions and manner of speech. I copied every part. The inside may be different, but there's no way to tell from the outside. Yet you noticed."

"Your confidence is impressive. Then perhaps the inside was different. Historia and I might have agreed on a password or left marks for each other."

"Even if you had left a sign only you two could recognize, you would need time to check it. Yet your eyes never lingered anywhere. Unless you have something hidden, it's impossible."

I did have something hidden. Mind reading.

And because I happened to read the mind of someone acting, I identified him right away.

Ordinary people didn't live consciously aware of every breath they took. They walked wherever their body led them, without calculating how far their next stride should be or how they should shift their weight. Those things weren't goals to pursue. They were the natural result of the body moving.

Zikhrund, on the other hand, calculated and reproduced all of it. Gestures, footsteps, voice, movement, even the surrounding environment. Every muscle was used in minute detail to recreate it. The skill had nearly reached the realm of reason itself, so ordinary people couldn't distinguish performance from reality and accepted it as real.

But from my perspective, it was like a walking script titled Historia, complete with detailed stage directions.

The face was Historia's. Yet the person performing it was conscious that all of this was an act, conscious that the true name beneath it was Zikhrund.

That was why I couldn't see Zikhrund as Historia.

"Something hidden? Of course I have."

But I couldn't reveal that I used mind reading. I'd rather reveal something else.

How should I explain this...?

Right. In times like this...

"Love."

"...?!"

I brushed it off with a phrase useful for attaching to anything. Historia was looking at me like I had lost my mind, but I ignored her and shamelessly continued.

"You're lacking love. Love. If you have enough love, the difference becomes obvious. When you're as close as Ria and I are, you can sense that something is off from the slightest gesture."

"That's a lie."

I'd been caught!

Wait. How could you be so sure? You didn't have mind reading. Don't act certain whether I'm telling the truth when you aren't even a mind reader! I pushed forward shamelessly.

"Prove it."

"Love is an emotion, not a method. It can't answer the question of how. And above all, you..."

Zikhrund trailed off, then gathered those emotions again. An imaginary Historia took shape in that mind, and Zikhrund immersed himself in her.

'The last survivor of Hamelin. She rose through the ranks and became one of the Six Generals, but it was not success, only a continuation of failure. She never took an adjutant, moved alone, and made no family. That means her heart still remains in the past. Enough to abandon her position as one of the Six Generals and head toward the ghosts of that past...'

Zikhrund created a personality similar to Historia's current self and accepted it inwardly. Then Zikhrund changed the voice and overlaid it with the subtle gestures and intonations of Historia that had been observed so far.

'But he has never come looking for Historia. Even though he must have known she became one of the Six Generals. Their feelings carry different weights. The balance tilts toward that side. Then what would Historia do here?'

It wasn't perfectly identical, but it was enough to look that way.

That was Zikhrund's method.

Zikhrund became "Historia" again.

"You're lying! You don't take me seriously at all! Hui, you haven't come looking for me even once in the last six years!"

"Historia" had said it, yet the real Historia standing before me clutched her chest in wholehearted sympathy. Though she stood silently as if protecting me, she looked relieved that "Historia" had voiced what was in her heart.

Why would she admit it herself? That gave everything away.

"And you call that love? Cut the crap! You haven't thought of me even once!"

"It isn't crap. I'm telling you, if you look with love, the differences are obvious."

"What difference?!"

Tch. If this turned into a fight where I had to show evidence, I was at a disadvantage because most of my clues came from mind reading. Was there any excuse I could use?

It didn't matter if it wasn't true. If I made the other person unable to think of a rebuttal, I won. Hmm, was there any visible trait I could use...

Oh?

Wait a second. That could work.

"The way they bounced was different."

"...Moved? What do you mean?"

"This. Right here."

I tapped my chest.

My answer was so far outside common sense that both Historias tilted their heads, unable to understand at once.

I didn't know. I'd call it privacy, then accuse anyone who pointed it out of being rude.

"The real Historia was tied up for several days. The restraints were tight enough to hold one of the Six Generals, pressing down hard on her torso and breasts. So when they bounced, they seemed a little compressed. Yours bounced normally. The difference was impossible to miss."

Maybe because my answer was so unexpected, even "Historia," who would normally have kept up the exchange with me, hesitated and trailed off. After thinking for a moment, Zikhrund soon realized the flaw in the reasoning.

"...I certainly hadn't considered that."

"Of course not. Like I keep saying, you can only see it with love."

"Is that what love meant...? I didn't account for Historia's recent condition."

"Even if you had, could you really have pinpointed such a subtle difference like a ghost? Only someone with vision like mine could do that."

"Both of you, shut up!"

Historia immediately spun around and kicked my leg. Her military boot dug into me, and the impact felt like a heavy rope yanking me away. I flailed both arms upward and collapsed in an undignified heap.

Historia stood with one arm covering her chest and looked down at me, her face a mixture of shame and contempt.

"You perverted bastard. Since I'm a prisoner, I didn't want to react so sensitively, so I deliberately tried not to think about it...!"

My lie had fooled an ally before it fooled the enemy. Damn it. The flow had been interrupted. I might have been able to keep deceiving Zikhrund like this.

"...It sounded plausible. But it was a well-crafted lie."

Just as your hand feels cold when you put it into lukewarm water after hot water, emotions were relative as well. Because our Historia had panicked more than necessary, "Historia" regained composure instead.

"Historia used the Water Qi Art to keep her body in peak condition against the backlash from her qi arts. A few days tied up would not affect her body."

"You noticed. In truth, it would have been difficult to tell from that alone."

"Still, it was a blind spot. I hadn't yet learned that she had recently become a prisoner and been kept tightly bound. More importantly, I'm surprised she stayed put while tied up."

"You couldn't deny the possibility I mentioned either, could you? Ria was with me for the past few days. During that time, we might have made something only the two of us could recognize. Not a password or mark, but something only we would notice."

"Of course, I can't deny that possibility. But it's highly unlikely."

"Why? You don't know what happened while Ria was captured by us for those days."

Even at my sharp point, "Historia" didn't get drawn in and answered clearly.

"If you two had shared something secret, Historia wouldn't be reacting so defensively."

This wasn't going to be easy. I continued arguing.

"That's only a possibility. It isn't evidence."

"Like your claim."

Tch. Even if Zikhrund was rotten, Zikhrund was still one of the Six Generals who headed the military state's Public Safety Bureau. Zikhrund wasn't easily fooled like other people. Was there any other explanation...?

"Hui! How long are you two going to keep talking? We don't have time for a friendly conversation!"

Historia, who had unwillingly heard us talking behind her back, forcibly interrupted the conversation.

"I'll deal with myself, no, that thing. You get away from here first."

"Will you be okay without my help?"

"I'm confident in a one-on-one fight. I don't lose easily. And Hui, you're powerless. Even if you were here, you wouldn't be much help in battle..."

"You're wrong, Historia. You're too naive to be entrusted with espionage."

"Historia" cut her off.

"I asked how he recognized me. He couldn't give a proper reason. Naturally. He probably doesn't have one."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Certainty given without reason. A fate that always wins at gambling. A Mystery."

With an odd smile, "Historia" spread those fingers and began explaining gently, like a teacher instructing a child.

"Seeing the future. Reading the past. Following the threads of human fate or causality. Seeing and hearing beyond a thousand li. Drawing miracles from belief and faith. We call powers that do not arise from humans, powers that fall like miracles from the sky and depart from common sense, Mysteries."

"...I know."

"If you know, why don't you suspect him?"

Military boots clicked as "Historia" stepped back. Half-buried in the darkness of the control room, Zikhrund folded one finger after another.

"He played the pipes in Hamelin. Countless children died, and those who saw it began to distrust the military state. He worked in secret in the capital, then fell into Tantalus. There, he joined forces with the monsters sleeping within and rose up to overthrow the military state. And now, he has almost succeeded."

"That wasn't Hui's doing. He was only dragged into it..."

"Do you really believe that?"

"Historia" covered the face with one hand. As that hand swept downward from forehead to chin, the face that had clearly been Historia's changed in an instant.

Cheekbones protruded, and muscles shifted shape. Skin shrank, taking on the sickly complexion of someone deprived of sunlight for too long. Historia's expression vanished. In its place was the empty bravado of someone trying to make up for insufficient ability with excessive pride.

"Carapald... So you were disguised as him after all."

It was Carapald's face.

"Carapald" muttered darkly and inserted a clothing packet into the bio-terminal.

"Now. Assume he has a Mystery. Then everything is explained. The Piper knew from the beginning that I wasn't Carapald. No, he even saw through the fact that this refinery contained a trap."

At the same time, the sturdy, healthy woman's body gradually changed into a frail man's. The puffed-up shirt slowly sank, and the firm shoulders drooped. The clothing packet moved, changing Historia's shirt into the uniform of a labor-site overseer.

The skeleton and flesh hadn't completely changed. It had merely been arranged to look that way from the outside.

Once Water Qi Art control, which infused qi into the body, reached a high enough level, one could freely compress or expand muscles, bones, flesh, and even internal organs.

"A normal prodigy with no power couldn't pull this off. He has a Mystery. Some Mystery close to omniscience, or precognition."

After undergoing a process close to transformation, Zikhrund's appearance was exactly Carapald's.

Of course, I could still see Zikhrund's true form flickering beneath it.

"That's my conclusion. What do you think, Piper?"

Footnotes:

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