WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 306: What Is the Principle of Healing?

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Azzy's big eyes turned toward me. I reached out, stroked her head, and muttered.

"Yeah, I remember."

"Woof? Remember? Then you'll go catch wolves with me?"

"Yeah. Someday."

I had assured her with a trustworthy expression, but Azzy tilted her head and pressed me for an answer.

"Woof? Someday? When?"

"I'm telling you, I'll definitely do it someday."

"When's someday?"

"When things calm down a little. I'm busy right now. Look. More people came over there."

I pointed at the crowd approaching from afar. Military state soldiers.

Maximilien must have ordered them not to interfere as he headed this way, but the fight was clearly over and Maximilien was nowhere to be seen, so they had come to assess the situation.

Azzy looked dissatisfied. Still, all she could do was trust me. Dogs had become that kind of beast.

"Woof! Someday, for sure!"

"Yeah. For sure."

If I could manage it, anyway.

After reassuring Azzy, I watched the soldiers beyond the gears. A general in an officer's uniform stained here and there was leading them.

"...How peaceful. Smoking mana herbs in the middle of headquarters!"

Ah, our eyes met. While I hid the mana herbs behind my back, the general shouted with a dignified expression.

"Communications officer!"

A uniformed communications officer appeared beside the general. She looked familiar because I had seen her in the communications headquarters' Module I.

The communications officer glanced around nervously, as if overwhelmed by the general's presence.

"Captain IP of the military state communications corps, sir."

"Is the order forbidding access still in effect?"

"Please wait a moment..."

Captain IP closed her eyes and focused. After finishing her communication, she relayed the response exactly as she had received it.

"Yes. Headquarters is maintaining the order forbidding access to this location."

"Even after we've been attacked, we're supposed to sit here and do nothing?!"

"Eek!"

The communications officer shrank back under the general's full force. I glanced at Historia and spoke.

"Hey, Ria. You're one of the Six Generals. Do something about that guy."

Historia looked at the communications officer, then muttered.

"That's Lieutenant General Meksio. They're one rank above me."

"Damn it. Why is your rank so low when you're one of the Six Generals?"

"The Six Generals have independent operational authority. Rank is assigned separately. They don't give someone that position because of their status."

"The other five are all full generals."

"...They've all been active since the military state's founding."

Oh, that stung a little. Should I poke at it some more?

"I heard those people had been full generals since the military state's early days. You've been commissioned for quite a while, but you're still only a major general?"

"I'm still only a major general, so I betrayed them and joined you. If I were a full general, I'd have captured you and locked you up in headquarters."

How cowardly, using the debt I owed her. Since she used it here, I would make sure not to repay it later.

"You said you had independent operational authority. Try using that, at least."

"Well. I wonder if they'd listen."

Probably not. I nodded in agreement.

Had we ignored them too thoroughly? Lieutenant General Meksio, furious beyond endurance, strode over despite the order forbidding access.

"I can't take this anymore! Our rations explode, some mysterious snake crushes my men, and in the middle of all that, a traitor is calmly smoking mana herbs! You expect me to stand around and watch? Does that make any sense?!"

"L-Lieutenant General Meksio, this area is currently under an order forbidding access..."

"Quiet!! Communications officer, this is a state of near-war! Since when does a mere captain argue with a general's orders?!"

"Eek, I-I'm sorry..."

The communications officer, forced to face the world in person, seemed to be having a hard time. She needed to warn Meksio, but a fragile girl whose only asset was authority could not withstand a general's pressure.

There was a reason communications officers communicated through golems in the first place.

"To begin with, someone this unreliable is a communications officer..."

The general's criticism rained down on Captain IP's bowed head. Captain IP had nothing to say, having fled as though possessed after communications headquarters was completely destroyed.

"All troops, assemble. Detain the target. You may use force if she resists. Hey, Historia! Can you hear me? If you don't intend to fight the entire military state, come quietly and accept your restraints! If you resist, your boyfriend might be in danger!"

"..."

Hey. Try arguing back. Why were you just turning your head away and staying silent?

Tch. They had us completely in their sights. Hiding would be difficult. What should I do? Historia was completely exhausted, so should I stall until Shei arrived?

Was it an affair with a female officer, or lying about qi arts? I was considering which piece of information gleaned through mind-reading would make the best topic of conversation.

Captain IP, who had been hesitating, suddenly stepped in front of the general as if possessed. IP saluted the stunned general and reported.

"Lieutenant General Meksio. This is an official communication from a superior commanding authority. I will relay the commander's words exactly, and Lieutenant General Meksio must listen."

"What is it?"

Captain IP's innate arcane manifested. A faint mana glow wrapped around her body, and her hair floated up. Having completed the synchronization, Captain IP recited the order delivered through her own mouth.

"I've received the report. What are you doing, blustering like a spoiled brat? If you don't know anything, shut up and stay there, Lieutenant General Meksio."

As soon as she finished, her hair fell back down. Captain IP, who had just delivered a stream of abuse, stared up at the general with an expression that said she had no idea what was happening.

Silence fell.

A mere captain had called a general a spoiled brat and told them to shut up to their face. Lieutenant General Meksio's face turned bright red.

Meksio also knew those words had been relayed from above. They had done it themself before. But hearing them through a golem used as a receiver was clearly different from hearing them from a human standing before them. Lieutenant General Meksio unconsciously reached for IP.

"You are the first captain who has dared say such things to me. I hope you're prepared..."

That was when it happened.

Two sharp presences flared. Lieutenant General Meksio instinctively took a large step back and looked toward Historia. She had drawn a pistol at some point and was aiming it at them.

Meksio drew their general's weapon, a sawblade shield, to block the bullet. As they began to raise the shield, they felt something strange.

'Wait. There are two kinds of presence. The other one is...?'

"It's me."

Then, 'Maximilien' appeared.

'Maximilien' wore a peculiar monocle and a large hat. He slid across the ground with a cloak hung with countless gears wrapped around his body. Gear shoes spun beneath his feet as he moved.

The outfit went beyond bad taste and showed a powerful obsession with gears. It was unmistakably Maximilien. Lieutenant General Meksio did not even think to doubt him and snapped into a salute.

"Salute! Director Maximilien, are you unharmed?!"

'Maximilien' spoke with a slightly irritated expression.

"Didn't I tell you? I said I would handle what happened over there, and that you should not interfere but focus on securing the perimeter. I distinctly gave the order forbidding access through a communications officer."

"Well, the situation had clearly ended, yet no report arrived..."

"So you were going to lay hands on the communications officer who conveyed my order?"

Lieutenant General Meksio closed their mouth. They understood where the earlier order had come from.

'Maximilien' shook his head.

"Lieutenant General Meksio. Why would someone of your standing do that? Communications officers are mere gears. Parts that relay control from the center exactly as it is. They are not precious, but they are very important. Why? Because they convey 'my' orders without adding a single personal opinion. Don't you understand the meaning of that? I thought you were rational, at least."

"I'm sorry. But the Director's weapon was completely destroyed, so I feared something might have happened..."

"What?"

At the words that his masterpiece had been completely destroyed, 'Maximilien's' expression hardened. A chilly atmosphere filled the air again, far stronger and more vicious than before.

A general was still only a rank within the military state. The difference in power between one of the Six Generals and an ordinary general was beyond imagination. That was even more true when the other person was the Halberdier, who had been active since the military state's founding and was said to have made every weapon it possessed.

Maximilien, in particular, had immense confidence in and attachment to his creations.

Lieutenant General Meksio's words had clearly been a mistake.

"Say that again. Completely destroyed? What do you know about gears? By what standard do you judge them? Does that look completely destroyed to you? What matters in a gear is not its shape, but its structure. So long as it is in the proper position, any gear can be replaced immediately! What you see isn't everything, you idiottttttt!"

When he was not angry, Maximilien was rational and good-natured. But once someone crossed the line, he flew into a fit as if a switch had been flipped. The anger of that 'Maximilien' had crossed the threshold at a single remark from the lieutenant general. Crushing a gear in his hand, the enraged 'Maximilien' shouted.

"Do you know who our enemy is? Do you know what I faced?! Of course you don't! You wouldn't even dare imagine it! It's fine to know nothing. Foolish people with narrow vision cannot be helped! But don't act so proud when you know nothinggggg! Is that so harddddd?!"

When one of the Six Generals became enraged, it rarely ended with words. Just as expected, 'Maximilien' raised a finger. A gear floated slightly above it and spun violently.

They said that once Heaven Qi Art reached its pinnacle, one could infuse an object with qi without directly touching it. The gear was only floating a little, but it was definitely floating. Spinning in empty air without friction or resistance, it stirred up a storm-like wind.

Lieutenant General Meksio instinctively raised their sawblade shield to cover themself. It was an excellent choice. 'Maximilien' hurled the gear at them without the slightest hesitation.

Boom, clatter, clatter, clatter.

The crazed gear collided with the sawblade shield. After the first impact, its teeth turned one after another, pouring its rotational force onto the shield. Lieutenant General Meksio felt their entire body shake.

'This impact, this power...! He's serious! General Maximilien is serious!'

Gritting their teeth, Lieutenant General Meksio braced themself and swung the shield upward. The wheel, blazing with qi, slid along the shield at an angle and bounced far away. When Meksio finally shook off the gear and rose to their feet, 'Maximilien' was already spinning two more gears in both hands.

His eyes had already gone mad. Meksio had to run.

Following their survival instinct, Lieutenant General Meksio cried out in panic.

"I-I'll correct my mistake! Everyone! We will focus on post-battle recovery! Move out!"

"Yes, sir!!"

Fools who stayed near an enraged member of the Six Generals did not live long. The soldiers who had survived until now were models of natural selection.

Lieutenant General Meksio's unit carried out a disciplined strategic retreat. The crowd withdrew like an ebbing tide. 'Maximilien' kept the gears spinning until they disappeared from sight.

Military state soldiers acted quickly. In less than a minute, the force that had approached had withdrawn. Once everyone was gone, 'Maximilien' dropped the gears he was holding onto the ground.

"How could you aim a gun at my back? Honestly. I almost made a mistake because I was so distracted."

Just as he said, Historia was aiming her pistol at 'Maximilien.'

From Historia's perspective, it was only natural. She had fought Maximilien a moment ago. She had barely defeated him after giving everything she had, so she could only be shocked to see him return alive and well.

"Maximilien...? That's impossible. He was definitely...! No, that's definitely qi...?"

I answered Historia's question.

"That's right. Those are qi arts. Anyone can tell."

"But Director Maximilien used innate arcane! That Maximilien used qi arts...!"

"Those are qi arts, all right. But you've got the subject wrong. That Maximilien isn't Maximilien."

You knew because it had happened to you. The person who looked exactly like Historia, but was not Historia.

"Yes! As expected of Your Majesty! You recognized it right away!"

'Maximilien' spun around. His cloak fluttered impressively, but the finishing was a little sloppy, and the gears wobbling on it fell off in a shower. He grabbed the monocle and tossed it aside, then shook off the makeshift gear shoes. Once the gears vanished from his body, the impression of Maximilien faded considerably.

In that state, 'Maximilien' bent deeply at the waist and offered an elegant bow, as if taking a curtain call after a performance.

'Maximilien' opened his mouth.

"How was 'my' acting?"

He clearly looked like a sturdy adult man, but the voice reaching my ears was as beautiful as a singer's.

Having watched the performance in person, I gave my honest impression.

"That's ridiculously overpowered."

"Ahaha! Ridiculously overpowered? Coming from Your Majesty!"

'Maximilien,' no, it was difficult to call him that now. The gears attached all over his body had already fallen away, leaving only a man in a thick cloak.

And that person was becoming closer to a girl in real time.

Color returned to the hands that had been pale like prosthetics, and her frame shrank. Clothes that had fit perfectly gradually loosened, revealing her neck and shoulders.

The master of disguise, the Shadow Casket Zikhrund... The girl who was now Hilde approached with a giggle. I hurriedly cut her off.

"Don't call me Your Majesty. Are you trying to spread my identity everywhere?"

"Yes? All of a sudden?"

"Not all of a sudden. This is supposed to be a secret."

Hilde opened her narrow eyes wide.

"Yes? Really? Then what is it? Shei and Tyrkanzyaka stay with Father even though they don't know? How did that happen!"

"There are people like that in the world. And are Your Majesty and Father the only forms of address you know?"

With Tyr, it felt less like she did not know and more like she did not care. Well, she probably had some idea. Returning someone's heart was no small matter, after all.

Wow. Looking at it this way, the regressor was the only person who truly did not know my identity. Was that alright? You were a regressor, weren't you?

...No. I should think about it the other way around. The regressor might be foolish, but she was not stupid.

It was not that she did not know. She probably knew some other piece of information that we did not.

Now then, what could that be? I was deeply lost in thought when Hilde approached the steel beetle.

Historia showed hostility toward Hilde, who came over without hesitation.

"Zikhrund..."

"No, Historia. I'm Hildegard. Zikhrund is, um, something like an illusion... Like Eimeder, it is only a title meaning the military state's light and shadow. It isn't my essence."

Hilde smiled lightly and sprang onto the steel beetle. Historia glared at her, but Hilde pushed herself forward whether Historia was wary or not.

Historia might have been hostile toward Hilde, but she at least knew Hilde bore her no hostility. Lieutenant General Meksio was proof enough. While Historia hesitated for a moment, unable to attack, Hilde naturally grabbed her arm and gently brought her down. Historia was too exhausted to resist.

"'I' am jealous of you, Historia. You don't know what an incredible stroke of fortune you've encountered, do you? Ah, what a shame. I wish I had met Father before I became like this."

"Urgh... How do you know Hui is the King of Humanity...?"

"'I' am not certain either, but I'm relatively better off than the others. I have a way to confirm it. Besides, Father told me himself, didn't he?"

Hilde's touch was firm yet gentle. She lightly kneaded Historia's arm and channeled qi into her acupoints with her fingers. It was an acupoint treatment method that treated wounds with qi.

And... it was not only qi.

"A doctor from the East. A passing scholar. A wandering mercenary. A hermit sage. A mendicant monk. A traveler."

Along with the acupoint treatment, an incomprehensible force gathered in her open palm. A warm, comforting... yet somewhat forceful power.

"Those were all professions the King of Humanity once held, and names he was once called. This time, you're the Pied Piper, aren't you, Father? Your titles keep getting cooler!"

It was not like I had wanted them. I shrugged, and Hilde smiled with her eyes as she lay on top of Historia. Their bodies overlapped. Pressing close to Historia's back, Hilde whispered softly into her ear.

"Hehe. You don't need to be so upset, Historia. It's natural not to know. Even those in the past learned because, like you, they had met someone."

Having said that, Hilde closed her eyes and concentrated. In the brief gap between those words, she entered meditation. Within the dark, pitch-black world of her mind, Hilde gave herself a suggestion.

'I am a monk. My body and mind are not whole, but my faith is more devout than anyone's.'

-And she stepped into a realm that could only be reached through faith.

White light gathered in the hand that touched Historia. Hilde clasped Historia's hand and poured that power into her bio-terminal.

The power to return a human to what they had been before. Authority of restoration beyond healing. The greatest reason a 'god' could exist.

Historia felt the energy entering her body and muttered.

"Divine... power."

Her body, bound, bent, and twisted by the gears, remembered the original form it had before being deformed. The body was like a rubber band. Once it was stretched out of shape, it sought to return to its original form.

For injuries limited to external trauma, divine power displayed absolute healing ability.

Historia's body 'returned.'

Hilde rose with a bright smile.

"Healing complete! You don't need to thank me. This is my way of saying I hope we get along from now on!"

The pain the mana herbs had barely concealed vanished as if washed away.

Her strength had not returned, nor had her fatigue faded... but Historia had recovered. Having witnessed a miracle before her eyes, Historia asked in a trembling voice.

"Zikhrund... Who are you...?"

Hilde smiled even more mischievously as she answered.

"Well then, let me introduce myself again! 'I' was named Zikhrund, the Shadow Casket... and served in the mission of assisting the Holy Maiden!"

She gave a rough bow, twisted an arm up in a terribly insolent salute, and flashed a grin.

"I'm Hildegard, the Farsighted Commander of the Holy Sword Corps! Hehe, pleased to meet you!"

Footnotes:

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