"Something urgent?"
This worked out perfectly. If I stayed in the same space as Tyr, I wouldn't be able to receive healing using divine power. Not wanting to watch a healer turn into a patient in real-time, I leaned against the wall and forced myself outside.
"I'm going to wash up and get some treatment. While I'm at it, I'll hear what you have to say. You don't need to follow me."
"Hmm. Understood. Go on."
'To think the left one was the real one... Just wait, next time I'll definitely get it right.'
See? I wasn't the only one who treated it like a quiz.
The muscle soreness hadn't faded, so I stepped out the door with a hunched back. Historia and 'Historia' promptly followed, flanking me on either side. No matter how much I pride myself on distinguishing people by their thoughts, seeing two Historias standing side by side before my eyes still made my left and right feel scrambled. If I didn't have telepathy, I really would have been fooled.
But seriously. Why do I feel like I fell into a trial without any reward or reason? Feeling it was too unfair to just let it slide, I spoke to Historia.
"By the way, Ria, why did you join in on Hilde's Good Morning Quiz?"
Historia replied without even glancing my way.
"...I didn't join in."
"She came right up to me using your face and asked 'Who am I?', obviously intending it as a quiz for me to guess the real you."
"The Public Security Chief just did as she pleased. I didn't bother stopping her."
"That excuse might work if Hilde had come alone. But you were standing right beside her. Doesn't that count as cooperating?"
Historia still kept her head turned and refused to answer. Instead, Hilde, wearing the exact same face, answered with inexplicable enthusiasm.
"That is exactly it! Women are creatures who wish for you to find the trivial yet special characteristics unique to them! And that includes you, Director!"
"...Public Security Chief."
"See! Her tone has gotten all soft! Have you ever seen Historia like this before, Father?"
Why is she so hyped up again? Normally, I'd play along, but with my muscles aching like this, I just can't match her energy.
As I groaned in pain, 'Historia' rudely began looking me up and down and said,
"So, Father, what would you like to do first? A massage? A shower? Or perhaps, both at the same time?"
Both at the same time? Even a real daughter wouldn't do something like that. At that, Historia reacted.
"What do you mean, at the same time!"
"Don't worry, Historia! I'll do it in this very body!"
"Absolutely not! Do not do such things with my body!"
"Hmm. Is there no other way? Alright, then. In accordance with Historia's wishes, I'll transform into a man's appearance and do it wholesomely."
"I never expressed such a wish! That's not even the issue here!"
True. Historia just pointed out the crucial point.
"Ria is right. The most important thing is my own consent."
"Consent or whatever, absolutely not!"
What? I can't?
Hey now, Historia. I am the King of Humans, the dominant species of the earth. There is nothing I shouldn't do to a beast. You're just arbitrarily defining humans...
*Just try saying you'll do it...! I'll beat you to a pulp!*
But there are things even I can't do due to a lack of ability. It seems another one just got added to the list.
"Ugh, fine. I'll listen to what Ria has to say first."
"And the massage?"
"To be honest, a massage isn't that urgent of a matter, is it? If the two of you finished talking and came here together, it must be about Ria's business. Taking the Military Nation hostage... no, your intention to take the Military Nation hostage. Am I right?"
"It really is impossible to hide anything from you, Father. That's right."
That's because I'm reading your mind with telepathy. Hilde slowly dispelled her transformation and shrugged.
"It can't be helped~. I'll leave the honor of fondling Father's body to Historia!"
"I am not doing any such thing."
"It'd be awkward to have someone next to you when you need to rub it vigorously, right? So 'I' will gracefully bow out!"
Hilde backed away, waving her hands lazily above her head. Her footsteps were remarkably light.
Even though she's on my side, Hilde clearly has a strong attachment to the Military Nation. She may cling to me casually in her words, but she cleverly avoids doing anything that would actually harm the Military Nation.
However, her attitude is the exact opposite of Yuel's. Yuel actively tried to reject me and Tyr, whereas Hilde seeks flexible compromise. If Yuel is a hawk, then Hilde is a dove... no, a cuckoo? She burrows right into the middle of those who were her enemies until recently and carves out a place for herself.
Well, I'll just let myself be fooled while knowing the truth. Ending things peacefully is fine by me too.
"Come in."
Historia's room was particularly large and luxurious, even for the annex. Though "luxurious" by Military Nation standards simply meant a slightly softer sofa, a slightly wider bed, and slightly cozier blankets. This is what passes for a VIP room?
By my standards, a sofa harder than a wool cushion isn't a sofa. Not wanting to entrust my aching body to such a piece of furniture, I dragged my feet and flopped face-down onto the bed.
Historia asked with concern.
"...Are you in a lot of pain?"
"Probably not as much as you, but I can't endure pain as well as you do, either."
"Lie down. I'll treat your acupoints."
Meridian Striking is a technique where you heal the body by striking it with qi, right? I know that one slip-up and the qi penetrates the body, tearing it apart from the inside, right? I'm a bit anxious.
"Since when did you learn the Meridian Striking Technique?"
"I saw the Public Security Chief do it once."
Hey, if you can learn a technique just by watching it once, why do people study? Why do people train in martial arts? No matter how much of a genius you are, the Meridian Striking Technique has its own history and tradition, you know.
"Ughhhhhh. That feels refreshing."
It actually works.
Historia's hands navigate my muscles with delicacy. She spreads a faint trace of qi, senses the resonance, and instinctively focuses on the knotted areas. It feels as if she's directly caressing the inside of my body.
It's a shame she doesn't have divine power, but if she did, I probably wouldn't be feeling this refreshed. Pleasure is born when a deficiency is fulfilled. Divine power, which operates by "restoring" things, doesn't leave you with that sense of deficit-filled satisfaction.
"Hui. Number 6."
"Yeah."
Number 6 is the knee-strike posture... my body moved before I even realized it. As I raised one knee while still lying face-down, areas that hadn't been reached before were stimulated. I let out a long, drawn-out groan.
The massage continued in silence, save for the occasional instruction on posture. By the time I felt my body had loosened up to some extent, Historia pressed down firmly on my back and finally spoke.
"...I."
Down to business. I swallowed my groans and focused on Historia's words.
"I tried to make a place for you in the Military Nation, so that you could return at any time."
They say one who has mastered Qigong can control their body entirely according to their will... but is that really true? In the first place, will itself shakes depending on one's emotions, so can the word "entirely" even apply?
Historia's hands, and her voice, were trembling uncontrollably.
"It wasn't just you. The children who survived Hameln, including Xiatie, too. The military academy cadets who didn't participate in the graduation exam but still received wary glances because of the Hameln incident. They all suffered greatly and minorly because of that incident. I... wanted to give them a place to belong. So... I carried out my orders faithfully, and became a Six-Star General."
Because Historia became a Six-Star General, they could no longer discriminate against the military academy cadets from Hameln.
Because Historia actively participated in all sorts of missions, the Resistance, including Xiatie, managed to survive.
Because Historia left the position of adjutant vacant, someone—one lucky individual who caught Historia's eye—could enjoy an enviable status after passing only a minimal examination...
Yet, that seat remained empty.
"...You said you were the King of Humans. You said you would grant wishes. And yet..."
She struck my back with a soft tap, filled with resentment. It was a blow that struck the heart more than the body.
Historia fought alone to carve out that place. Even if it all became useless after she betrayed the Military Nation that one time, that doesn't negate the effort she put in.
But still.
Your wish wasn't about filling the seat, but about making the seat itself.
"Ria. You wanted an equal friend, didn't you? One you could share your heart with."
An existence that could equally give and receive something, beyond power or authority.
That was Historia's true wish.
"To share your heart, you first have to cut away and pare down your own. You could have done it. You had the strength and the ability to do so. It was just that the voices of others couldn't reach you, much like how the children's voices couldn't reach the Military Nation."
I merely place the hearts of others atop my own; I never truly share mine. That is why I only grant wishes, but can never become the object of those wishes.
The affection Historia feels for me is a shortcut born of my telepathy. If Historia truly wanted to share her heart, she needed to open her own heart first.
"Even after experiencing Hameln, the Military Nation didn't change much. But the desperate cries those children made at the risk of their lives changed you, and thanks to that, the Military Nation has changed now. Their wish was fulfilled... because you took their hearts in."
"It was hard."
"But you did it anyway. It's different from Hameln, where you were entirely alone. You have someone who relies on you, respects you, and you can live up to their expectations."
That was why Historia had to make a place. You have to create an empty space before you can fill it.
Historia only realized that after losing so much.
The hands gripping my shoulders tightened, but the strength faded away a moment later. Historia looked down at me and spoke.
"...The Public Security Chief said that the Military Nation needs at least one Six-Star General who knows the secret."
"Because without one, there would be no one to keep the secret."
"Hui, what should I do?"
"You just have to do as you wish."
"But... what about you? No matter how much of a place you make, it means nothing if no one comes to fill it. Even if I stay here and protect the Military Nation, you won't return to this place..."
"Ah, about that."
After looking around and using my telepathy to confirm that no one was eavesdropping on us, I lowered my voice and said,
"I'm the King of Humans, right?"
"...I still don't quite believe it, and even if I did, I'm not sure what would change. So what?"
"Then why did the King of Humans appear in the Military Nation of all places?"
"Why are you asking me that, Your Majesty the self-proclaimed King of Humans?"
"Obviously, I'm asking because I don't know either. It's the same for you, but I'm human too, so I can't choose where I'm born, can I? By the time I came to my senses, I was already rolling around in the back alleys of the Military Nation."
The King of Beasts generally follows universality. While not absolute, it is generally true. The fact that I am in the Military Nation means it's safe to say the Military Nation represents the universality of humanity to some extent.
...The problem is, I don't know the reason for that either.
"Being the King of Beasts isn't anything special. Especially not for a King of Humans who has had their power stolen. Since I was born here, I have to live in the Military Nation. That's why I attended the Primary Citizen School and the Secondary Military Academy. If I hadn't caused any incidents, I might have even graduated from the Advanced Military Academy and learned the Military Nation's secrets step by step, by the book."
But ultimately, I never made it to the Advanced Military Academy. Making it into the Advanced Military Academy could be considered something out of the ordinary. Looking at it in hindsight, human wishes follow that kind of universality.
So I intended to approach it in a slightly different way.
"In the meantime, I met with Shea and ended up discovering a certain truth."
"The King... of Sin?"
"Yes. I need to verify that. I don't really know how it will end, either. It might be enough for just me to be intact, or it might not be enough even then."