EP.243 There Are Gears in My Head
"Woof?"
Aji tilted his head but didn't offer any particular response. Maximilian wore a joyful smile and patiently waited for the dog's answer. It wasn't a smile drawn out to elicit friendly feelings from Aji, but a laugh that sincerely welled up from within his heart.
However, apart from his feelings, Aji remained blankly without any intention of answering. It was only natural. His current action was no different from a regressor asking Aji about today's weather. To Aji, talk of kings and such was like reading sutras to a dog's ears.
Naturally Aji couldn't understand, and the regressor answered in his stead.
"Idiot. There is no King of Humans. Did you fall asleep during history class or something?"
"Hmm?"
'What insolent bastard dares to interrupt me?'
He instantly flared with violent anger. Creaking like a gear, he turned his head and, seeing the regressor's face, began matching it against his memories.
Short hair, a boy, and a sword gripped in both hands.
Click. His mind neatly organized itself. The moment he judged his opponent, Maximilian quickly regained his calm.
'Ah. The boy who wields the power of the Demon God. Yes, he has the qualifications.'
What? This is an extreme change as if something in the middle of his thoughts was skipped...? The middle of his thought process is cut off.
It's strange. The regressor left her memories in a previous loop so that's one thing, but he at least looks like a proper person on the outside?
While I was wondering, he who had finished his simple internal evaluation spoke with an exaggerated attitude.
"Boy, surely someone like you doesn't believe in the false history tailored to the victors' tastes?"
"At the very least, it's far more credible than the delusions of a megalomaniac."
"Haha! True, my thoughts are so grand that ordinary people can't even fathom them!"
Even at the criticism of megalomania, Maximilian laughed heartily without any displeasure. Rather, it was the regressor who had insulted him who felt worse.
'That bastard, how can he be so full of confidence every loop when he only ever grasps at thin air? In the 4th loop or whenever, he was going on about me being a king or something! I need to give that vice-commander guy the memories from the previous loops!'
Aha. So that's what it was—indiscriminate shooting. Well, the King of Humans wouldn't be something that obvious on the outside.
No, but regressor. Aren't you actually a greater existence than a king? Even the King of Humans can't regress.
Maximilian, who had been guffawing, resumed his explanation.
"And yet, the King of Humans exists. Do we call the night merely the sun's temporary sojourn to the other side? Does the austere law that pierces the distant world extend a smiling hand on one side and reject us on the other? No, that cannot be. All things in the world interlock as precisely as gears, but the principle is extremely simple. There is a king for all things, therefore there is a king for humans. This is the truth!"
"That king, humans drove him out themselves!"
"They drove him out, they did not eliminate him. Nor could they eliminate him."
He continued explaining facing us as if he'd become a history teacher. Moving at high speed on a straight road didn't seem to be any hindrance to him.
"Even if everyone claims this land is flat and acts accordingly, the round earth will merely scoff. Trying to belittle the vast earth to deny our own smallness will only make our hearts petty as well."
After briefly wearing an expression of contempt, he looked at the regressor again with an innocent smile like a child's.
"Likewise. Humans drove him out to embellish their own nobility, and believe he will never return, but that is merely a vain belief that denies the form of heaven and earth!"
"You're the one with the vain belief! Why would an existence that hasn't appeared for over two thousand years appear right before your eyes at this very moment?"
"That's because the time has come!"
Maximilian shouted as if that were truth itself.
"The last kingdom has fallen. Now there are no kings in the world. The master of the Golden Land who understood all things was devoured by monsters. The Queen of Agartha beloved by all had her facial skin torn by ugly jealousy. The Conqueror King who tore the world was defeated by the Victory King born with heaven's fortune. The last remaining royal house, the loyal Grandiomor royal house, was executed for confusing ability with qualification!"
The princess flinched greatly at the remark about the royal house. I noticed it too, and so did Historia who was riding with me, but Maximilian himself didn't pay a single grain of attention to that direction. His attention seemed to exist only within his lens.
"The five lords who drove out the King of Humans proved their failure. The only thing remaining is the Empire that barely survived by borrowing the authority of the gods. But the will of the gods is outside of humans! Those who irresponsibly shared the king's power have disappeared, so now it is time for the king to return! Therefore I shall say this. The King of Humans truly exists, and at this point in time, he clearly exists!"
Having finished his long speech, Maximilian added briefly with a satisfied face.
"—And, that is one of the few methods by which the King of Dogs will find him."
"Woof? Did you call me?"
Aji felt similar to me. That dog paid no attention to how the speech was flowing, and only perked up his ears and tail to react when called.
In truth, Maximilian was the same in not paying attention to each other. He only needed the King of Dogs, and didn't particularly expect any great reaction.
"Ebon, that friend performed a very precious task for me! I thought he failed because he was lacking. But no! The King of Dogs was where he was supposed to be, so he didn't leave! Thanks to that, I didn't have to go through the labor of finding what the King of Dogs found again! It's all thanks to you, boy who wields the power of the Demon God! Thanks to you killing Ebon!"
It might sound sarcastic, but one couldn't find hatred or hostility in him as he calmly mentioned the death of a subordinate he'd put considerable effort into. He simply received it like news that one gear had broken.
The regressor, having noticed that attitude, gritted her teeth.
"Crazy bastard, his own subordinate..."
"He would be glad too! Now, I consider the price for blocking your path to have been paid! Then may I attend to my business now!"
He shouted loudly and matched eyes with Aji again. Aji was still showing curiosity toward the strange human who called him. Maximilian spoke again.
"I apologize, King of Dogs! The question was a bit off! I shall ask again. Here and now, who is the one who will bear your faith and fight the wolves!"
"Woof?"
"Speak, King of Dogs!"
As Maximilian urged with ecstasy-filled eyes, Aji calmly yawned and answered.
"Nobody! Woof!"
Maximilian's expression froze. Fortunately for him who was full of expectations, Aji's words didn't end there.
"Woof! Humans, all normal! All humans are human! So I, kind to everyone! Instead representative! Elected! King! King king!"
No matter who he was talking to, it was still puppy-style speech, but Maximilian understood him as solidly as iron.
"Aha. That's what you mean! I understand. The one who bears the will of the people is king! So, who is the one who bears enough of the people's will to satisfy you right now?"
"Woof woof woof! In happy contemplation!"
Aji howled joyfully. He looked like he was about to brag.
Even for a dog, doesn't that loose-lipped puppy have any concept of keeping secrets? Well, he is a dog so it can't be helped.
I killed my voice and asked the regressor.
"Um, Miss Shea. Is it okay to let Aji blab everything?"
"Let him be. It seems he has something to confirm using Aji. Maybe that guy will be roughly satisfied and leave the Military Nation as is."
"What? But Vice-Commander Maximilian is a Six-Star General, an incredibly important figure, right? Such a person would leave the Military Nation?"
The regressor answered while still maintaining her vigilance toward Maximilian.
"The Vice-Commander moves purely by interest. The reason he came to the Military Nation was because it was a place born from the collapse of the Kingdom, with that special nature, plus it was a place where he could fully indulge his hobbies. He might have attachment to the Military Nation, but that's only the kind of attachment you'd have for a long-used weapon or a favorite toy."
"What if he finds the King of Humans here?"
"I keep saying it, that won't happen. Because there is no King of Humans."
"How can you be so sure? There could be one."
'Because, I witnessed the King of Sins in a previous loop.'
What on earth is the King of Sins that she says that? What does seeing the King of Sins have to do with the King of Humans?
The regressor didn't clearly recall the thought. Shaking off her thoughts with effort, she gazed at the other side of the road with cold eyes.
"...And from the next block onward, there are no gears. If he continues to follow us to the next block... then the Vice-Commander will pay the price for his arrogance."
Maximilian, who was pouring all his interest into the King of Dogs, didn't realize the regressor's cold utterance. He was still more interested in each gesture and word from Aji. Aji proudly pointed his finger.
And he, looking in the direction Aji pointed...
"Oh, dear."
With an extremely disappointed tone... he looked toward the white horse and the princess.
The lens creaks. The princess who came inside that lens flinched with an ominous feeling. And then she sent a confused gaze toward Aji who had pointed her out.
"Huh? Aji... sir? M-me?"
Huh? What, it's not me? Aji, could it be that you've finally developed the concept of a white lie?
"Woof! That side, closest! Naturally born!"
What? Then am I farmed? This dog can say anything, now he's applying "naturally born" versus "farmed" to people?
Well, I know the princess inherited truly noble blood and is a pretty decent leader. Still, hitting a rolling stone even higher...
No, why should I feel hurt? Actually I feel refreshed! I'm the one abandoning you, Aji! It's a transfer! You go to the rich and noble princess!
"Ah. The princess of a ruined kingdom. Yes, she certainly has the qualifications too, qualifications..."
As if having qualifications was deeply regrettable, Maximilian lamented with a greatly disappointed expression. The princess, who was riding her horse running alongside, awkwardly greeted him.
"Ah, hello...?"
"Greetings. Nice to meet you. Grandiomor, damned bloodline. A rat dynasty that couldn't achieve a golden age but succeeded only in eking out an existence..."
At the verbal abuse that might or might not be an insult, the princess was thoroughly terrified. Maximilian hung his head dejectedly in front of her as if he were the victim.
At that moment, Historia, having sensed the conversation had ended, called out to Maximilian.
"Director Maximilian."
Only then did Maximilian discover Historia.
No, the word "discover" is a bit off. Maximilian clearly knew Historia was there. He confirmed it with his eyes and stored it in his memory. But he rendered no evaluation about her.
It was a rather unique perspective. It meant he wasn't even conscious of Historia until she called out, or until he captured her in his lens.
'Which head to crack open... Ah. A Six-Star General.'
"Director Historia."
It was a rather unique perspective. An existentially-oriented thinking so bizarre that he didn't even attempt to think until he became conscious of something. As if the cognitive process and thinking itself were separated, a unique and alien feeling.
Above all, this gear sound that kept coming since earlier. This regular grinding in his head...
Ah.
He's crazy. Because I was digging too deep into his thoughts, even I who was using telepathy was late to notice. Just as humans don't constantly remind themselves of their own existence, he didn't remind himself of the... gear turning in his head.
Wow. Seriously.
He planted a gear in his own head, turning according to his own will?
Historia exchanged words with Maximilian with only her head sticking out. The princess, caught between the two Six-Star Generals, clamped her mouth shut and focused on driving the white horse.
"Director. I have a request."
"How convenient. I've just had a request for you come to mind as well. And since I'm the superior, I shall speak first."
"What?"
Maximilian muttered with a face completely opposite to when he first arrived. It was a thoroughly disappointed attitude, as if he'd realized a long-awaited gift was actually something he already had.
'If it's the Grandiomor royal house... Hah. An already existing dynasty. To think the bone the King of Dogs found was actually already chewed-up remains with no marrow left.'
His disappointment was beyond words. Lost in bitter thoughts, he issued an order toward Historia.
"There is a princess of the former kingdom. Kill her and return. Right now."