Didn't I say I'd get revenge? Now is the time. I said, mimicking the Regressor.
"I don't really like hostages. No matter who they are. Kya. That's a saying that will go down in history. Mr. Shei. That was a bit cool just now."
"Ugh!"
Hilde, who had been looking for an opportunity, added a word.
"When you glared at 'me' and told me to put it back right away, my heart almost dropped. Father, can you hear 'my' heartbeat? This thumping... what should I do. I just can't calm down."
"It's a good thing the Princess isn't here. If Hilde is this affected, she would have fainted on the spot if she heard it directly. To think you would attack the Princess whom you can never attack, as expected of Mr. Shei."
"S-shut up!"
"It's a devilish talent to make a woman's heart flutter. Though it's not the talent he wished for, I suppose."
"No, Hilde. To confess, my heart actually fluttered a little too."
"No! I can't give you, Father, to some man!"
"I told both of you to stop!"
Haha. It's a shame to end it here. Since Tyr is here, I should ask her to say a word too.
But why is Tyr covering her mouth and staying still? Did something surprising happen?
'Fa...ther...? To think Hue had a child this grown up already...?'
...That is surprising. Even I was surprised because it was so out of the blue. Let's clear up this misunderstanding as quickly as possible.
Taking advantage of the lull in my attacks, the Regressor pushed in.
"More importantly, what's with that signalman! That's the signalman who was in the Abyss! Why is she talking to you like she's close to you!"
Good grief. I don't usually judge others harshly, but you didn't even know the signalman, so what were you doing going on about destroying the Military Nation or whatever. I raised my finger and wagged it for the Regressor to see clearly.
"Mr. Shei. If there is only one liar in the world, it's the same as a god. Because no matter how absurd the content, it all becomes the truth."
"That's you?"
"No, not me. Abby. I taught her how to lie. In other words, Abby is the god of the Military Nation's signalmen. Though I'm not sure how long that will last!"
Hilde picked up on my words and continued.
"Anyway, you should thank Father who created a strong leash for the headquarters. The hostages are just an external justification; in fact, they've all gone where they need to go."
"Ugh..."
"For your information, the hostage the Military Nation will send is 'me'! I have the authority to make independent judgments, I know all the confidential information of the Military Nation, and I'm the only talent who can even conduct practical negotiations when push comes to shove!"
"Alright. I got it. Is that all about the hostages?"
"No! There's unexpectedly one more. A real 'hostage'!"
Hilde smiled radiantly and pointed at Historia.
"Historia has to stay here!"
What virtues should a hostage have?
Whether they are an important or symbolic existence to the opponent, or whether the fact that they were taken hostage can be used as a pressure card. There are various things like this, but first, they need to be a bit weak. A hostage that cannot be used when needed is as ambiguous as money that cannot be retrieved when you want it back.
In that sense, Historia is unfit to be a hostage in many ways. The moment Historia, who has the epithet 'Daughter of the Military Nation', is restrained, the morale of the Military Nation will drop, and above all, she is too strong. With most of the Six Generals having left, how much loss would they have to accept to restrain or kill Historia?
The designated Historia sat silently, lost in deep thought. The Regressor answered in bewilderment.
"...You're taking the Commander-in-Chief as a hostage? Is that possible? No, why?"
"It's different. The hostage isn't Historia."
Hilde wiped the smile from her lips. Jumping up from my lap onto the round table, Hilde pressed the bio-terminal on her wrist. Her baggy clothes shrank in an instant to fit her frame.
"The hostage is the Military Nation. As the last bastion for this pitiful country that could break at any moment, General Historia is needed. With Adjutant Maximilian, Silver Chariot Sieghrund, and Oracle Eimeder either absent or having stepped down right now, it might crumble at once without Commander-in-Chief Historia."
Surprisingly, the Military Nation possesses the virtues of a hostage. If it collapses, chaos will come to the world, if left alone, it will become my solid ally, and depending on how it's handled, it could either crumble quickly or revive.
A whole nation as a hostage. It's hard to adapt to this scale. But thinking of its internal affairs, why do I find myself nodding?
"Of course, that doesn't mean it won't collapse with Historia! It's just that, if there's no force available for the headquarters to use when it wants. The headquarters' influence will be zero! Father's signalmen will soon hit their limits too! How about it, will you accept it, Father?"
But what do I know. I shrugged my shoulders.
"Asking me about that part is meaningless. You have to ask Ria. Ria, do you have any intention of being a hostage?"
"...."
"She says she needs time to think. Of course."
I relayed that on behalf of Historia, who had closed her mouth. Hilde asked again.
"Even if the Military Nation perishes?"
"Do you know what I've said the most while living in the Military Nation? 'This pathetic country, just go and perish already.' The day has finally come to realize the wish I only repeated in words."
"Amazing! You don't even blink at the rise and fall of a nation. As expected of Father!"
Hilde squealed and praised me. Tyr, who was watching this farce, covered her mouth again and began an even bigger misunderstanding.
'From that natural title of Father, to how perfectly their banter matches...! Looking at it this way, don't they look quite alike...! Is she really his child? Then, at what age did he get married...!'
No. Hilde is actually older than me, so I'd have to go back to before I was born to have a child.
But seeing her dig her own grave alone is a bit funny, so let's leave her be. The one misunderstanding is Tyr, and the one who'd be troubled by being misunderstood is Hilde, so I just need to watch.
"Alright. Anyway, let's finish talking about this after getting some rest. That is all."
When I declared that, Tyr carefully approached Hilde, and holding her skirt slightly with one arm, she bowed elegantly.
"It is nice to meet you, child. I am Tirkanjaka. I am the lowly one called the Progenitor of Vampires by the world, but I received great help from Hue in the Abyss, so do not be anxious. I declare upon my blood. I will not covet your blood."
'Huh? Why is she acting like this all of a sudden?'
Ah, Hilde blinked in bewilderment. It seems that human gets flustered too.
However, Hilde, who was an outstanding actress before she was a shapeshifter, adapted to the situation smoothly.
"It's nice to meet you, Tirkanjaka. I heard Father is deeply indebted to you."
"Though it's little compared to what I received, we still give and take and rely on each other a lot. You can rely on me too."
"Wow! That's reliable, I really like it!"
...I believe you'll handle it well, Hilde. Just don't accidentally call her Mother.
Leaving the two who had entered the process of expanded reproduction of misunderstanding, I headed toward the Regressor.
"Well, putting that part aside. Mr. Shei. Will you admit it now? How hard I worked. Even when I work my bones off, I get no recognition."
The Regressor glared at me with dissatisfaction, then turned her head away and said.
"...Alright! Thank you! I'm really glad you're here!"
"Oh, please. You only give thanks when begged. If possible, please express your gratitude in the future before I have to prompt you."
"Even when I say thanks, you have so much to say! If you had just told me a little earlier, I would have been relieved!"
The guilty one is throwing a fit. Even when I ask for what's naturally due, she nitpicks.
And it's not like you told me everything either.
"Mr. Shei. When Ria and I confronted Maximilian. I tried to talk to buy time."
"Ah, you said you fought that guy."
'That Adjutant bastard likes to run his mouth. He's definitely the type to let his guard down and take a hit.'
"Yes. When I brought up the King of Sin then, Maximilian said this. He said there's no way the King of Sin exists. He asked if perhaps I meant something else by the King of Humans."
I carefully broached the subject. However, the Regressor shook her head firmly.
"No. The King of Sin is the King of Sin."
"But didn't they say sin isn't for beasts? Since the only beast with sin is humans, the King of Sin must be the King of Humans."
"No. The King of Sin is not the King of Humans. The two are different existences... They have to be."
Hoh.
The Regressor, who is somehow clumsy at lying, declared without batting an eye, so it has come to that.
The King of Sin is different from the King of Humans. The Regressor didn't believe those words. She wanted to believe them.
In other words, she didn't believe it at all.
She knows quite a bit about the King of Beasts and the secrets of the world itself. However, she desperately averts her eyes from the conclusion that the King of Sin is inevitably the King of Humans. Persistently, crying out to the point of even deceiving herself. Because...
'The existence I have to face. I don't want to think of it as the King of Humans... the king representing all humans. Then... it means humans were abandoned by their own kind. Including me...'
Because if she didn't at least believe that, it felt like her will would break.
It was purely a matter of her feelings. Well, that can happen. Motivation is extremely important, after all.
"Hmm. I understand. If that's the case."
"You believe me?"
"Believe or whatever. In the first place, I can't afford not to follow you. You say the world will end. It's hard to believe, but... you know way too much, more than a typical saint, for that to be the case. Though you don't explain it well."
"Ah, t-that's..."
"And if I tag along, I get to gain a few things. Even just this time, I tagged along as a freeloader and even made a connection with the Military Nation's headquarters during the chaos. Crisis is opportunity. It's a feat that would've been impossible in the back alleys."
"Was that the important part!"
"Maybe Mr. Shei is a very foul scammer. But it's okay. What if it's a world-class scam? If I can get something out of it, it's a profit. Originally, with scams, you get more to eat by riding the wave than exposing it."
"...Rather, I'm starting to get anxious about whether it's okay to trust you."
The Regressor shook her head. Then, suddenly, she looked at me and fell into a certain thought.
'Come to think of it, Maximilian asked if Hughes was the King of Humans. It was a half-baked conclusion reached just because Aji was nearby, but could it be...'
I waited for this moment. I can finally check it.
That I am the King of Humans is true anyway, and it showed in quite a few ways. But the Regressor, who should be the first to know this secret, hadn't noticed at all. From the first time I bumped into her until now, she hadn't even considered that possibility for a single moment.
I also found that fact strange, but before long, I came up with a hypothesis. With this hypothesis, it made sense why the Regressor didn't recognize me.
However, to confirm this hypothesis, I had to do a slightly precarious tightrope walk. Above all, I had to bring out the keyword 'King of Humans' from the Regressor's memory. Without revealing my identity if possible.
'King of Humans... no, that can't be.'
It took quite a detour, but I got the chance to verify my hypothesis. The Regressor began to faintly sink into her memories.
'Because I... saw the King of Humans... no, the King of Sin with these very eyes.'
And the Regressor's recollection continued.
***
The King of Sin appeared. And not even a full day had passed before a nation perished.
The Holy Empire's Court was the first to realize this fact, and spread it wide across the world. The humans, exhausted from the wars where they killed each other, stopped the war and gathered their strength to defeat the King of Sin.
Perhaps they were just waiting for an excuse to stop the war. Because if things continued like this, their own countries would be on the verge of collapse before humanity went extinct.
Anyway, the King of Sin was a very powerful existence. Not only that, but the humans tainted by sin offered themselves to the King of Sin even knowing they would die. The King of Sin personally executed them, walking while chewing their hearts to mush.
What a dreadful existence. They call him the King of Sin, and it was an evil deed worthy of that name.
The masses were enraged by the atrocities committed by the King of Sin. That anger was applied retroactively, making them think that even the various disasters and tragedies that arose from the wars they fought among themselves were because of the King of Sin. Humans headed toward the King of Sin to hold him accountable for all the sins that had occurred so far.
However.