The words left unspoken turned to smoke and scattered into the empty air. The short magic cigarette burned out just as quickly as its length suggested. I pulled out the barely remaining stub, now no more than a single drag left, and murmured while gazing at the sky.
"Ria. They say I'm going to die in the not-so-distant future."
"... Really?"
"And the king of humanity will be reborn. They call him the king of sin."
"Who? How?"
"I don't know who will commit it. Honestly, I'm not sure how they'll do it either. But I have a rough idea why. Probably... they want to vanquish sin."
Perhaps a little shocked, Historia sharply inhaled and burned the magic cigarette right to the end.
"Sin... can be vanquished?"
"I don't know. But isn't that what they want to believe? Just like you gritted your teeth and became a General because you wanted there to be no more incidents like Hameln."
Historia closed her mouth. Forgetting the magic cigarette was already finished, she tried to bring it to her lips with trembling hands.
I couldn't let her eat ash, so I pulled Historia's hand away. My eyes met her black pupils.
"Hui, you... could you have stopped what happened in Hameln?"
"Probably."
"Why didn't you stop it?"
"Because it hadn't happened yet."
"You can't stop it after it's happened."
"That's why I didn't stop it."
Was it because I answered too lightly? Historia let go of my hand. She pressed her hand against her own forehead and spoke as if pleading.
"I... I don't understand. Why must it be that way? Hui. Can't you just be a little more ordinary? Even if you're not the king of humanity... you don't have to go anywhere."
Become ordinary, she says.
I am already ordinary. Because I am the king of humanity. I can roughly do human skills, and I'm just kind enough to get along and live among them reasonably well. But that's all.
Still, that's probably not the 'ordinary' Historia or... 'she' wishes for. They are hoping for some existence quite different from current humanity. Something far more virtuous, far more affectionate.
Humanity isn't like that, so I can't be either.
"Ria. Thank you. For helping me without asking for reasons or anything."
"Lies."
"Even I have a sense of gratitude, at least. Humans aren't such shameless creatures, you know."
"... Just empty words?"
"What do you want?"
For a split second, something flickered through Historia's mind. It was a somewhat one-dimensional and instinctual wish. Normally she would never have voiced it, but perhaps due to the lingering effects of the drug, the words kept spilling out and were just about to leave her mouth.
"Nyaa. Stupid woof-woof. You can't even solve this one, nya?"
At some point, Nabi had climbed up onto the steel beetle. Historia regained her senses and swallowed her words. Though it probably would have been fine even if she'd said it. It seems even a cat's eyes bothered her.
Nabi, who had been glancing around, extended her claws. She dug her claws into the gap of a misaligned gear, pulled it out as if fishing it up, and pushed it aside. The large gear flew sideways and fell far below. Nabi crouched in front of that spot and waited for something.
"Woof! I, freedom!"
Azi jumped up through the gap where the gear had been removed. Azi, who until now had been uselessly gnawing on gears inside the steel beetle, regained her freedom and shook her body vigorously.
"We, hate! Restraint, hate! Woof woof! Dark and lonely!"
Using front paws is something Nabi is more adept at than Azi. And beasts that use their front paws are relatively comfortable with tools. That's probably why. Why Nabi seems smarter than Azi.
Nabi looked down at Azi and sneered.
"Nya. Stupid woof-woof, nya. When the stupid ones are fighting each other, you go in teeth first, nya."
"Woof! I, got bitten! Must help! And that, smelled bad again! Smelled like metal!"
"That's what makes you stupid, nya. Whether you hate it or like it, there's no reason to get involved when other beasts are squabbling, nya. Watching quietly and snatching the prey is the best, nya."
Nabi raised her paw slightly. In the midst of it all, a magic cigarette was wedged between her claws. That cat fellow, she thoroughly enjoyed herself while we were gone.
Azi shook her head vigorously and pointed at me.
"I, won't do it! Keep promise! Then, human keeps promise too!"
"Nya-nya. Stupid woof-woof. Promise from ages ago, already all forgotten, probably nya."
Nabi wiggled the claw with the magic cigarette stuck in it and sneered. Azi shook her head vehemently.
"Woof! No! I, remember it!"
"Nya-nyanyang. Doesn't matter if you do, nya. A promise is only kept when it benefits Nya, nya. There's no king to keep the promise anyway, human must have forgotten all about it, nya."
"No! No! Human, remembers! Look look!"
Azi barked loudly, denying Nabi's words. Nabi snorted, but Azi came up to me, wagging her tail.
The king of dogs, Azi, who had followed so far without a shred of doubt. That kind and friendly beast, with an expression trusting without question that I would remember the promise. With a face full of smiles, she brought up the promise made long ago.
"I will protect you. You protect me too. I will trust you, you help me too."
Wag her tail and look upon any human unconditionally, and whether they be villain or saint, never attack or kill them. It could be seen as a flaw, but the advantage is far greater. Because a being who can be trusted unconditionally is so very useful.
Azi is surely the most foolish yet most powerful pushover in the world. No matter how many times she's deceived, she will never abandon her faith towards humans, including me.
"I will love you. You love me too."
Comparatively, though I am the king of humanity, now that I've lost most of my power, I'm under no obligation to answer. Because life always takes priority over promises.
Still, faced with that pure yet 'artificial' faith, I can't merely mock it endlessly.
Perhaps.
"—Then, the bad wolves won't be able to hurt you."
Because Azi might be an image of my future self.
Azi's large, round eyes were directed at me. I reached out my hand, stroked Azi's head, and murmured.
"Yeah, I remember."
"Woof? Remember? Then, go catch wolves with me?"
"Yes. Someday."
Despite making such a confident declaration with a trustworthy expression, Azi tilted her head and questioned me further.
"Woof? Someday? When?"
"I said I'll definitely do it someday."
"Someday is when?"
"When I've got a bit more leeway. I'm busy right now, you see. Look. Over there, people have come looking again."
I pointed at the crowd approaching from afar. They were soldiers of the Military State.
It seemed Maximilien had ordered them not to interfere when he came here, but since Maximilien was nowhere to be seen even though the battle was clearly over, they were approaching to grasp the situation.
Azi seemed somewhat dissatisfied. But even though I said this, she had no choice but to simply trust me. Because a dog has been made into that kind of beast.
"Woof! Someday, definitely!"
"Yeah. Definitely."
If I can manage it, that is. After soothing Azi, I stared over the gears at the group of soldiers. A General wearing a uniform stained here and there led the group.
"... How peaceful. Smoking a magic cigarette right in the middle of the headquarters!"
Ah, our eyes met. While I was hiding the magic cigarette behind my back, the General shouted with a dignified face.
"Signalman!"
Then a signalman in uniform appeared from beside him. I recognized the face; I had seen it at the Communication Headquarters Module child incident.
The signalman seemed overwhelmed by the General's presence and nervously watched his reactions.
"I am Military State Signalman First Lieutenant Aipi."
"Is the no-approach order still in effect?"
"Please wait a moment...."
Signalman Aipi closed her eyes briefly and concentrated. After finishing the communication, Aipi answered exactly as she received it.
"That is correct. The headquarters maintains the no-approach order for the current location."
"Right now! Even though we've been attacked, are we supposed to just sit idly by with our hands off!"
"Eek!"
The signalman, taking the General's force head-on, was terrified. I glanced at Historia and said.
"Hey. Ria. You're a Six-Star General, aren't you? Do something about that guy."
Historia stared at the signalman's direction and murmured.
"That's Lieutenant General Mexio. He's one rank higher than me."
"Damn. Why is your rank so low even though you're a Six-Star General?"
"Being a Six-Star General only grants independent operational authority; the rank is assigned separately. The position doesn't grant the rank."
"The other five are all Generals, aren't they?"
"... That's because they've been active since the early days of the Military State."
Oh, I just touched a nerve. Should I scratch a little more?
"I heard those people were Generals from the Military State's early days? You were commissioned quite a while ago, yet you're only a Major General?"
"Since I'm only a Major General, I betrayed them and clung to you; if I were a General, I would have captured you and locked you up in the headquarters."
Using a debt of emotion so shamelessly. Since she used it here, I'll make sure not to repay it later.
"You said you have independent operational authority. At least use that."
"Well. I wonder if he'd allow it."
It didn't seem likely he would. I sympathized and nodded my head.
Maybe because we had utterly ignored his presence. Lieutenant General Mexio, furious to the top of his head, strode over despite the no-approach order.
"I can't stand it any longer! The military rations explode, a mysterious snake crushes my subordinates! And meanwhile, the traitor is leisurely sucking on a magic cigarette, and I'm told to just stand by and watch! Does that make any sense!"
"L-Lieutenant General Mexio, currently, this area is under a no-approach order...."
"Silence!! Signalman. We are in a quasi-wartime situation right now! Since when did a mere captain dare to question a General's orders?!"
"Eek, I-I'm sorry...."
The signalman facing the world directly with her bare body seemed to be undergoing considerable hardship. She had to actively warn Lieutenant General Mexio, but the fragile girl who possessed nothing but authority could not overcome the General's pressure.
That was the reason why the signalman communicated through golems in the first place.
"To begin with, the fact that such an unreliable person is a signalman...."
The General's criticism hammered into the bowed head of First Lieutenant Aipi. With the Communication Headquarters completely destroyed, Aipi, who had fled as if possessed by something, had nothing to say.
"All troops. Assemble. Detain the target. Use of force is permitted if they resist. Hey, Historia! Are you listening? If you don't want to fight the entire Military State, quietly submit to the aura! If you resist, your boyfriend might be in danger!"
"...."