EP.214 If You're Going to Bind Her Anyway
The regressor, who was carefully tying the knots with all her might to prevent any unexpected sudden actions from the Six-Armed Being, replied in annoyance at my meddling.
"What is it with you again."
"Do you really need to tie another knot around the front?"
I pointed at the knot the regressor had tied.
Right now, the celestial silkworm silk not only bound her overlapping arms at the back but was also wrapped around the front. It was to perfectly restrain her, in case she somehow managed to escape.
But perhaps it was tied too tightly. Historia was feeling uncomfortable in a slightly different sense.
"What are you talking about? What's wrong with my knots?"
"Well, it's a bit much for me to say out loud."
I deliberately fanned myself as if feeling flushed and glanced at the regressor. As if the regressor were a very bold and blatant person.
When the regressor frowned at that impure gaze, I covered my eyes with my fingers spread wide open.
"By tying her in a way that unnecessarily emphasizes Ria's figure, well. I don't know whether to praise your boldness or express concern at the sight of your classmate being mocked."
"Haa? What kind of nonsense are you spouting in pairs..."
The regressor, who shifted her gaze following the direction of my fingers, only then saw Historia from a more objective standpoint.
Historia is a Six-Armed Being. She cannot be restrained by ordinary bindings. She would break chains, and if it came down to it, she was prepared to extend or shrink her arms. In that sense, being extremely cautious was, in a way, a natural thing to do.
However, perhaps because of that. The regressor didn't pay much attention to the parts that would have caught her eye if Historia were a man. Instead, as a result of focusing on tightening the restraints around her body, her figure ended up being heavily accentuated over her uniform.
"Ah."
'Ah, right. Because she looks like a man to me. From that guy's perspective, I must look like a total pervert...'
The regressor, who only now realized it, let out a short sigh. Historia simply turned her head and retorted teasingly.
"Hmm. You didn't think about it at all. To be able to do this without any thoughts, you're more sinister than you look."
"No! What does a prisoner care about that! And! I was only behind you while tying you up, so I didn't know!"
She must have realized that saying anything more would just be an excuse. Imagining herself from another's perspective, the regressor hastily reached out and denied it.
"Nobody think any weird thoughts!"
I'm not thinking any weird thoughts either. I'm just happily admiring the embarrassing situation my classmate is in. Thanks to the regressor for this opportunity.
"It must be instinct. I understand. But still, mocking my once-close friend right in front of me is a bit... isn't that rude to me?"
"Rude, what rudeness!"
"I could have tied her better. I think you should have given me the first turn."
"It's a good thing I did it! Because I didn't have any twisted thoughts like you!"
"Ah, right. You said you like men."
"Forget about that right now!"
The regressor, whose mental fortitude had reached its limit, shrieked.
"Then what do you want me to do! Just release the Commander right in our midst?!"
[Shei.]
It was then. A dark voice came from the pitch-black coffin lying quietly inside the container. Tir, who had taken a short nap while the Military Nation's attack had ceased, had finally awakened.
The regressor was full of expectations at the appearance of her ally.
"Tirkanjaka! Say something!"
Since the sun hadn't fully set yet, Tir did not come out of her coffin. Instead, she vibrated the darkness and transmitted only her voice.
[...It's obscene, I can barely watch. Even though I have expressed dissatisfaction with your actions, I have never criticized your conduct. But starting today, I think I must change my mind a little...]
"I said no!"
The only problem was that the delivered voice wasn't on the regressor's side either.
Battered from all sides, the regressor protested in a half-tearful voice.
"I know what you mean! But I still can't just leave her untied...!"
'Because she's cross-dressing, it causes unnecessary misunderstandings! I should have had her take her clothes off once before that guy joined...! No, should I just force her to show the bandages wrapped around her chest right now?'
Ah, that won't do. It would put me in a difficult position in many ways. Even though I know everything, I'd have to forcibly act surprised.
And her cross-dressed state makes it much easier to tease her in various ways. I can't let you reveal your gender just yet.
Let's stop teasing here. Toys must be savored.
"It's fine to loosen it a bit. Actually, as Shei said, Ria allowed herself to be captured."
"See!"
At my words, the regressor brightened up and pointed at Historia, then creakily turned her finger back towards me.
"Whaat? You already knew? Then why didn't you say so!"
"Whether I knew or not. Regardless, capturing her is my achievement, but you keep undermining it. It hurts my feelings."
"Was that really the reason?! And it's not even a wrong statement!"
The regressor, who growled at me like Ajim, pointed at Historia with an even more triumphant air.
"Right! I was expecting that too! You were probably thinking of infiltrating by pretending to be captured and digging up information! But I won't let you..."
"No, that's not it. Ria negotiated with me, and she allowed herself to be captured on the condition that I provide her with information."
Tir had also risen, and the sun had almost set. For the next operation, it was time to slowly start the story.
When I urged Historia with a glance, Historia, who understood, dropped her burnt-out cigarette. Stomping on the fallen cigarette with her military boots, Historia wiped the smirk off her face and spoke stiffly.
"Everything I say from now on is all my personal will and a personal matter. I swear it has nothing to do with the Military Nation... Whether you believe it or not is up to you."
"...Hmph. Personal, you say. That's an unusual statement for the Military Nation."
The regressor, realizing she had been teased all along, muttered with a sullen expression. Historia blew a short snort of laughter toward the regressor as if finding her cute, then replied.
"The name of the man the Military Nation is chasing is Huey. He was a student at the Hameln Intermediate Military Academy. Huey was my classmate, and we took the same classes for three years. And..."
Historia stopped there and paused for a half-beat. It wasn't particularly for dramatic effect, but rather to organize her own feelings, but thanks to that, the regressor and Tir focused even more.
After gathering their gaze like that, Historia swallowed her surging emotions and continued speaking.
"And... at the end of our 3rd-year practical training, Huey killed 161 other classmates and committed suicide. Strictly speaking, that's what was reported."
A heavy truth that would have made anyone else stiffen their lips and look away awkwardly. However, the regressor, who played at a world-class level, and Tir didn't react so sensitively.
The regressor even sneered.
"It must have been misreported. He's alive right here, and the victims of Hameln all threw themselves into the river and committed suicide, after all."
It was her way of defending me, in her own way.
In the previous iteration, the regressor, who had uncovered the Military Nation's dirty laundry and cooperated with the Resistance to destroy the Military Nation, was privy to various classified information.
However.
"...That is also what was reported."
At the answer condensed with multiple meanings, the regressor sensed a strange atmosphere and clamped her mouth shut.
"It's supposed to be classified, but I guess you heard it from somewhere. You're right. My classmates who actually rebelled against the Military Nation, or more precisely, the Hameln Military Academy... at the very last moment, ran toward the river on their own two feet. Anyone would have seen it as suicide."
After finishing those words, Historia's piercing gaze turned toward me. In her languid eyes, holding a desire that was more stinging like thorns than passionate. Historia pointed at me overtly and said.
"Only he knows what happened. But he disappeared too. Everyone said they fell to the bottom of the Hameln River and died, and I hoped that was true. Except for me."
Historia, who had quickly turned her head, successively cast her gaze toward the regressor and Tir's coffin.
"I will hear that story by any means necessary. Becoming a prisoner of my own volition, leaking classified information to you, the enemies of the Military Nation, it's all because of that. If you are listening, Huey won't be able to lie easily either."
The more listeners there are, and the stronger their power or influence, the greater the burden of telling a lie. That was what Historia was aiming for.
However.
[...For such a trifling reason.]
My comrades, including Tir, trust me far more than you expected, that's the problem.
[If Huey tells a lie to deceive you, do you think I would interrogate Huey on your behalf? It seems you used your head a bit, but you're wrong. Huey, it goes without saying. Do as you please.]
Historia must have been flustered for a moment. She couldn't have expected that the Progenitor Tirkanjaka, such a mighty ancient being, would protect me to this extent.
Since she was captured as a prisoner, she had essentially staked her life. Yet, at the fact that she might end up gaining nothing, Historia tried hard to speak as if she were calm.
"Did you even seduce the Progenitor, Huey? Amazing. Maybe the rumors surrounding you weren't all false."
[...Surrounding, rumors?]
Oops. I piqued Tir's interest. Tir, who should have been pressuring Historia right now, quietly stopped speaking and feigned ignorance.
[...Using my power during the day is tiring. Make the decision among yourselves. I will rest for a bit.]
It's audacious of her to say that while keeping her ears perked toward this side.
The regressor retorted nonchalantly.
"You promised to tell me. Then you have to tell me."
I was planning to do that from the start! Because you say it like that, it makes it seem like I was originally going to break the promise!
Even in the midst of this, the regressor, who was hell-bent on gathering information, sought to hear various things from Historia at this opportunity.
"Is that why the Military Nation's pursuit latched onto us, who originally had the Active Combat Evasion attached to us?"
"I don't know. That's the headquarters' judgment. But it probably isn't completely unrelated. The Pied Piper of Hameln. That would have been the Military Nation's biggest scandal they wanted to cover up."
"Just over a hundred people?"
The gazes focused on the regressor. Feeling those gazes, the regressor hastily waved her hands.
"No, a hundred is a lot. But it's the Military Nation, right? If it's the Military Nation where over a hundred people die a day from forced labor, this many deaths wouldn't be a big deal. Though the fact that it was suicide is a bit unsettling."
Humanly speaking aside, from the Military Nation's perspective, it's a valid question. Historia answered slowly.
"...Because of the curse."
"A curse?"
"I don't know much more than this. So, you need to listen."
Historia, who had deflected the question, glared at me with dark, turbid eyes. The obligation to answer had now passed to me.
"To the Pied Piper of Hameln."
I was going to say it anyway. Since the Military Nation is chasing us, it would be troublesome if the comrades with me didn't even know the reason. I just didn't have the opportunity to do so.
Now. Where should I start.
At that moment, Tir's voice, as if comforting me, was heard.
[It's alright, Huey. Is around a hundred a big deal? Unless they are newly turned vampires, it's rare for a vampire to have less than three digits to their kill count.]
"Hey, Tir. Saying it like that doesn't help comfort me or promote vampires at all."
[...Is that so?]
As I cleared my throat, Tir also stopped talking and prepared to listen to my words. The regressor did the same.
"...Woof."
Even Ajim, who had approached at some point, was somehow perking his ears and literally 'listening' in the truest sense. How did this become a story for even a dog to hear.
Among them, Historia in particular stared intently at me with blazing eyes. Her arms were tied, but even if they were untied, it probably wouldn't make much difference. With her sharp gaze and her desperate desire to know that story, she had me bound.
The stage was set, and the audience had taken their seats. All that remained was for me to unfold the story.
I wet my lips and slowly opened my mouth.