EP.266 The Faceless Human
"Let's make it a woman this time. I understand you want to become a new self, but wouldn't it be better to match your original body?"
"Y-you, wha..."
To an ordinary person, the fight was too fast and intense to notice, but the battle between him and Historia was gradually subsiding. The fierce clash, which heated the air and spilled blood, gradually shifted into a conventional one.
The two exchanged offense and defense as if sharing a martial form.
"Let's reduce your physique as much as possible. It's easy to increase size, but hard to shrink it. Keeping it small is better for ensuring uniqueness, right? Since Siegdrund had a lean build anyway, that would be better, wouldn't it?"
"Stop..."
"Your face should be like your childhood appearance. Ah, did you say you don't remember? That is quite a problem."
I couldn't draw his face for him, and even if I did, I wouldn't know if it was the right one. Because his face had disappeared long ago.
A human's body changes as they grow. The face is no different. Depending on the life one has lived, traces are carved into the flesh like tree rings, leaving their mark as what we call an impression.
But for him, who changed his face daily, an impression never formed. His childhood face remains at best as a faded memory, but no matter how promising a sprout may be, one cannot tell its future appearance just by looking at its first leaves.
In the first place, his wish wasn't to regain his original face, but to establish a standard so he wouldn't lose himself. I could just arbitrarily decide on an appearance to serve as that standard... But if I'm too half-hearted about it, it lacks sincerity, right?
"In times like this, we borrow the power of mystery. Not an anchor for your ego, but I'll prepare a lighthouse that will truly serve as your standard."
"You... Pied Piper... What exactly are you?"
"Is that important right now? What's important is the fact that I can grant your wish."
Even if I drew the face here, it wouldn't look like him. And I still have things left to do, so I can't teach him step by step. I'll just pass the aftermath onto someone else.
"Find Mr. Shay somewhere in this Refinery. That person has eyes that see fate. Do you know what I mean?"
With a Regressor's Eyes of Fate, they might be able to observe the fate he could have reached. If it's the Mask of Agartha that the Regressor possesses, they should be able to reproduce that face. Though I'm not sure if they'll go that far.
More importantly, how much treasure has he hoarded? He should have shared some while living.
"He will..."
"Naturally, he won't use his power obediently. Instead, sell us out. Tell him to do it in exchange for information on where we went, and he'll do it."
The Regressor will be happy just knowing about Siegdrund's abilities and identity.
Is there another lamp genie as kind as me? I even provided a clear understanding of the problem regarding the wish, along with a sure and clean solution. My, if I had granted all the wishes in the world, there wouldn't be stories like deals with the devil or the Monkey's Paw.
Siegdrund—no, even that body prepared to transform into another person was slowly losing its shape. As the qi that filled his muscles and bones escaped, his body gradually shrank.
It's easy to enlarge the body but hard to shrink it. Enlarging is just a matter of adding or inflating, but shrinking from there implies loss or suppression.
"Ugh, uhh, ah..."
As his body changed, the clothes adjusted to his biometric terminal sagged. With sleeves half a hand too long, a gaunt jaw was revealed as if the solid mass stuffed in his mouth had fallen out. Rather than looking thin, he looked like a deflated balloon.
It was the recoil of directly blowing qi into his bones and muscles, tampering with his body's structure multiple times. Transformed into a shabby state, he muttered, feeling guilt and pain.
"No... I can't betray her..."
"I don't know who she is, but betrayal? How does fulfilling your own wish become a betrayal to her? Your ability must have been discovered anyway, so you're just taking the opportunity to live with a new face and name!"
'Siegdrund' gathered his wits with desperate effort. The anchor of his ego was nearly pulled out, but a more fundamental doubt turned toward me.
Should he really trust me?
'Nonsense. Knowing the wish a human most desperately wanted, and granting it? Granting a wish, my foot—it's digging into a person, exposing their lowest, most filthy depths! Dangerous...!'
He started doubting not my proposal, but me as a person. Since there was absolutely no flaw to find in my custom-tailored proposal for a human, he was changing his angle of attack.
'Prophecy semi-forcibly demands sacrifice from people of the present for the sake of the future. In contrast, this guy's power is the exact opposite. It lets us commit sins to our heart's content. A power at the antipode of the Holy Court...! To possess such an immense ability, yet be born and raised in a military state with no mystery at all?'
Sharp nerves and innate observation skills. And a paranoid personality that doesn't let even the slightest thing slide.
Doubt trained by a long life on the run tried to reject my proposal.
'It's hard to believe, but even if I believe his ability...! Accepting that proposal is even more dangerous. It might be a devil's contract.'
Tsk. I knew this would happen, so I even dropped a hint not to doubt me. It's just a bit too secretive to say out loud.
Alright, one more time. I whispered softly to him.
"It is a gift from the Magi."
'The Magi from the East...?'
It's an idiom used in the Bible. The Magi who found the first prophet, the first saintess. Although they disappeared, when those who search for prophecies or revelations encounter a fortuitous opportunity, it was often called the guidance of the Magi.
Even if his life on the run was long, the foundation that makes him up is acting. He dug up old memories from the unfamiliar calling.
'A role that often appears in Biblical plays. A presence as a stage device that gifts the protagonist a special encounter. Right. All of it...'
Yes. He realized it. As someone who encountered more stories than anyone as a profession, and personally researched and acted out those roles, he would figure it out himself.
'A passing scholar. A wandering mercenary, a secluded sage. A begging monk. A wayfarer. All of these... extras without given names. They refer to an unspecified majority whom there is no need to know, nor can know. If so, then he who called all of them...'
His rolling thoughts suddenly caught on something and stopped. He looked up at me with trembling eyes.
'No way...'
Perhaps due to the consecutive shocks to his mind, he panted heavily. His bloodshot eyes trembled mercilessly.
My, he's thrilled to have fulfilled his lifelong wish. I, too, felt a sense of accomplishment anew, and pondered the next item.
"Ah. We need to decide on a name too. The name you'll spend the rest of your life with is important. What would be good..."
The name Siegdrund was taken from an epic of an ancient hero. Naming it that way would leave a lasting memory, but nothing beats his real name.
Out of countless names where anything would do, I specifically dug up one of his old names and attached it.
"How about it, Hilde? Are you ready to accept my proposal?"
"That... name... How..."
Just like a stage name, a courtesan has a courtesan name used only in the brothel. She discarded even that name when she left the brothel, but I stubbornly picked up what she had thrown away and attached it back.
Something that had vanished once because it sparkled. I gathered it to make a lighthouse. She'll find it such a waste to throw away this ego.
"...I am, Hilde."
Siegdrund, 'her' direct escort force and the head of the Military State's Public Safety Department, disappeared. Instead, a new ego she had thrown away long ago took over that body.
Hilde staggered back. Now that she had discarded the ego of Siegdrund, she no longer needed to protect the Refinery even if it meant fighting us. At the same time, she couldn't attack me, her observer.
Hilde bowed her head and mumbled. I'm not sure what she said. It was probably something like thank you.
"What for? You're welcome. You're the one asking Mr. Shay anyway, so it's only natural you do it. First task. I hope you reclaim your face and live a new life."
I waved my hand, signaling her to hurry up and leave. Hilde stared intently at me like a beast facing an unfamiliar intruder, then whipped around and disappeared.
I glared at the spot until Hilde completely vanished, and as soon as she was gone, I let out a long sigh.
"Phew. Almost died. Barely repelled her."
Thank goodness there was a vulnerability to exploit.
Honestly, it was really dangerous. If Hilde had attempted to sow discord where Tir or the Regressor was, I wouldn't have been able to get out of it without revealing the existence of my mind-reading. The Regressor and Tir wouldn't take matters of prophecy lightly.
But if I tried to handle it myself, Yukjangseong is too strong. Before I could even wipe my mouth, I would have been tied up and dragged to an interrogation room to be shaken down.
I'm so glad Historia was here, a true soldier who carries out combat without a single complaint if there's an enemy. My friendship seems to swell up anew.
"Good work, Ria. Seriously, I survived thanks to you."
I repelled her, but that was only possible because of the solid barrier named Historia. Strictly speaking, Historia was the gun barrel and I was the bullet. There's no need to argue which of us contributed more. It's definitely not because it seems like I did less.
As I was letting out a sigh of relief, Siati staggered to her feet. The Princess was supporting her, but Siati pushed her away and walked toward me.
What. Why are your eyes so wide? So scary...
Ah, right. The discord she suffered earlier. It wasn't fully resolved yet.
"Hui. Whose side are you on."