"For Hughes to be your father, Hughes would have had to give birth to you before he was even born! Does that make sense?"
Of course it doesn't make sense.
Anyway, going round and round, she's finally noticed this reversal of cause and effect. I didn't expect the regressor to notice before Tir....
'It is not impossible. If Hu is that very existence.'
Huh?
That's strange. Whose thoughts am I reading right now?
'Everything is explained. That mysterious power, and how he retrieved my heart even as he lost himself. The heartbeat that stopped long ago. That is something only I know in this era... but if Hu is the King of Humans, if he represents all humans. He could have figured it out.'
Tir strangely believes what people say easily. That's not because she's foolish or naive, but because an old house has lowered its threshold as much as possible to accept new guests. So even in the Bottomless Pit, she believed all my nonsense, and she accepted the knowledge the regressor spoke of at face value. Let alone taking Hilde's words at face value when she calls me Father.
'Surely then, that strange man who smelled of iron rust from blood said to Hu. Are you the King of Humans?'
Is that why. Tir didn't show it outwardly, but... she had also kept the fact that Maximilian called me the King of Humans firmly in her heart. To use it now.
Alright. Since I am the King of Humans, I can say Tir's wisdom is shining now.
But.
'Then that child calling Hu Father also makes sense this way! If she's a child born before birth, she must be the child of the previous King of Humans!'
Why are you accepting it that way!
'Of course. How could someone with such extraordinary abilities call Hu Father out of nowhere. She must be the child of the previous King of Humans.'
The misunderstanding is flowing in a completely unexpected direction!
Until now, I was just going to watch and read her thoughts because it was funny to see her digging herself into a hole alone, but this won't do anymore. It's reached the point where the misunderstanding can't be resolved soon. I need to clear the misunderstanding before it gets more tangled....
'The bizarre ability to change into another human's appearance. There are differences, but isn't that power similar to Hu's? When Hu returned my heart, surely then... Hu became me. Though his outer appearance didn't change like that child's. I definitely felt it.'
Having read Tir's thoughts, I faltered at a sudden inspiration.
...Hmm. Wait a moment.
I can read human thoughts. But I cannot predict what action they will take. Human thoughts collide and clash with each other, creating completely unexpected and absurd possibilities.
That is why I cannot become a prophet. I merely watch the possibilities they create from the standpoint of an observer.
The possibility Tir has found is worth watching.
Alright. Let her misunderstand for now.
"Now, now. Let's stop this useless age debate. What does it matter if you're older or younger? Shey, whose head isn't even dry of blood yet, goes around speaking informally without any respect for hierarchy anyway."
"What, you bastard?"
"See? Honestly, being called Father is better than being called this bastard or that bastard. At least there's some respect."
"That's right! 'I' call you Father with respect and reverence!"
The regressor made a sickened expression.
"Respect and reverence when we've barely just met... Whatever. If you two want to play like that, fine. Not my business."
"If you want to join in, just say so anytime, Shey. Having two children or so is fine."
"'I' will specially call you Shey oppa!"
"Shut up! Don't drag me into your playing!"
While teasing and playing with the regressor like that, Tir's thoughts could be heard.
'If Shey is the son, and Hilde is the daughter... Hehe. There's only one spot left.'
Tir, who had intervened with a cough, scolded the regressor.
"Shey. Don't build too many walls. We'll be seeing each other's faces for quite a long time, so shouldn't you get along well?"
"I'd rather live without seeing your faces than get along like that!"
"...Is that so? How regrettable."
"Not regrettable at all!"
In the midst of this, the Cataphract came to a sudden stop with a clunk. Azi, who had been sitting on top of the Cataphract's roof, barked 'Woof!' in surprise. Since the outside wasn't clearly visible from inside the Cataphract, I asked toward the driver's seat.
"Diji?"
There was no answer. The golem holding the steering wheel—no, some structure that roughly imitated a golem's shape—just continued driving without any reaction.
I patiently and calmly called the signal officer.
"Signal Officer Captain Diji."
When I spoke and tapped it, a reaction finally came. A crackling voice rang through the rough speaker.
[Crac-kle... This is Gunguk Signal Officer Captain Diji... Did you call me...]
"Why did we stop?"
[Confirming. Crackle... Currently, this unit is stopped. Waiting for a bridge to cross the Meta Conveyor Belt...]
"Aah. Then that means we've finally left the Inner Circle."
The land that flows like a river, the Meta Conveyor Belt flows around Gunguk in a circle. Like a river, moving along its flow provides tremendous benefits, but going against it or crossing it is quite difficult. Especially in the case of vehicles, attempting to cross directly would result in overturning eight or nine times out of ten.
The special-purpose golem driving the Cataphract spoke in a dying voice.
[That is correct... Due to arriving 2 minutes earlier than the estimated arrival time, I humbly had no choice but to stop... Please wait a moment...]
"Understood. Shall we take a look outside?"
When I tried to open the Cataphract's lid, I felt a heavy weight. It was because Azi had settled down on top of the lid. I knocked on the lid and said.
"Azi! Move!"
"Woof?"
The weight disappeared. I pushed the lid open wide and stuck my head out to look outside.
The flowing Meta Conveyor Belt spread out before my eyes against the backdrop of the wide land.
The sight of the land flowing like waves was still a magnificent spectacle. Large containers floated and flowed like driftwood on the earth-colored tributaries. Even if the Cataphract was sturdy, it didn't seem like it would be safe hitting containers speeding by. Well, if you rode on top of them, you wouldn't crash into anything as long as you didn't ram into them.
While I was sitting on the wall and blankly looking at the scenery, a pitch-black parasol suddenly rose along the passage. When I made room, Tir, wearing the parasol, also came out and sat beside me, watching the flowing river.
"Hmm. Certainly, it looks difficult to cross with this dull carriage. How about I carry it and move it?"
Carrying and moving a Cataphract that weighs in tons. As expected, if you have power beyond common sense, you don't need strategies or devices.
But in other words, if you have strategies or devices, you don't need power beyond common sense either. I pointed beyond with my finger and said.
"I don't think that'll be necessary. A bridge is arriving over there."
"A bridge is arriving...? Are you saying the bridge moves?"
Seeing is believing. I watched the five containers approaching side by side from the far end of my vision, and the steel plates placed on top of them. Tir also looked with curiosity at where I was pointing.
Until they approached, the containers were just square driftwood. However, as they drew closer to us, a change occurred.
Several golems popped out abruptly. Right after that, the structure of the containers changed. Clack, clack. The sides of the containers opened and separated, then transformed into arched metal bridges. The edges of the containers detached from the Meta Conveyor Belt and fixed themselves to the stationary ground.
Gugung. Like a bird of iron spreading its wings, the bridge was instantly erected across the Meta Conveyor Belt.
The golem standing at the edge of the bridge saluted and said.
[Meta Conveyor Belt manager, Captain Fidget! Bridge installation complete as of this time!]
[Crackle... Gunguk Signal Officer Captain Diji. Bridge installation confirmed! Yahoo! Departing immediately! Everyone hold on tight!]
Vroom. The Cataphract started moving again. The massive body weighing tens of tons moved agilely onto the bridge. The bridge supported the Cataphract with a durability that was hard to believe it was hastily constructed.
[Mission accomplished! Diji, I leave the rest to you!]
[Confirmed! Here we goooo!]
Vroom. The Cataphract ran at near top speed even on the bridge. The Cataphract ran roughly with the flowing land beneath it. The steel plates rattled and shook.
Tir showed great curiosity toward the bridge that had appeared in an instant.
"Oho. How intricate. When you said bridge, I thought of a ship bridge, but I never expected them to create a bridge in this manner. Was this the work of those dolls?"
"That's right!"
Hilde, who had come up at some point, plopped down on my left and grumbled.
"I'm telling you, it's truly an incredible privilege! For multiple signal officers to support one person like this. Even 'I' have never received such luxury! If I'd known this would happen, 'I' would have recruited a signal officer too!"
"But why go through the trouble of laying a bridge? Wouldn't it be convenient to build a sturdy bridge in advance?"
"Hehe, try guessing!"
"Oho."
Tir showed considerable interest in this Q&A. She straightened her posture and responded to Hilde's quiz.
"There must be a troublesome problem if a bridge is built in advance. Did you not put up a bridge to prevent someone from crossing arbitrarily?"
"Half correct. Even if the Meta Conveyor Belt flows like a river, land is land. If a single person sets their mind to crossing, they can't be stopped from crossing!"
"Hmm. That makes sense. Ah, are you worried something large passing below might crash into the bridge?"
"That's also half correct. But since most containers are standardized, they won't crash into the bridge. Even now, the containers are passing under the bridge, aren't they?"
"How strict. If there are two half-correct answers, shouldn't combining them make a full correct answer?"
"This is a quiz. Unless you give the most important reason, not just secondary benefits, I can't acknowledge it as the correct answer!"
"Umm..."
Tir's groan grew longer. Seeing that nothing even close to the correct answer came to mind, it seemed difficult for her to get it right in a short time.
And unlike ordinary people, Tir is the type of person who could easily spend about ten days pondering a single problem. She might even try to find the answer to the problem without sleeping.
If such a thing were to happen, I would have to read Tir's deliberations with telepathy all day long. Even for my mental health, that would be troublesome.
"Shall I give you a hint?"
Tir gladly answered my suggestion.
"Yes. I will gladly accept your goodwill. It's not because I couldn't get it right, but because I cannot refuse your kindness."
"The Meta Conveyor Belt is land that flows like a river. But everyone gets confused by the word 'land,' when the Meta Conveyor Belt actually serves the role of a river. Movement, transportation..."
"Yes. I can see that too. But aren't we asking why there's no bridge right now?"
"Tir. Imagine it. If the Meta Conveyor Belt is a river, it flows around Gunguk in a large circle, right? What does it resemble?"
The deliberation was short. Because it was an answer Tir knew well.
"...A moat?"
Tir spoke with a hint of repulsion.
"Correct. What is a moat for?"
"To prevent us from approaching the castle."
'Us' probably means vampires. I fully understood why she specifically said 'us.'
Flowing water, which is counted as one of vampires' chronic weaknesses. Vampires are fine even when cut by bullets, but because the distinction between inside and outside is thin, they sometimes mistake river water for their own bloodstream. That's not just a simple misconception, but a dreadful feeling as if the body is melting and scattering, so vampires instinctively avoid flowing water.
"Of course, it's not prepared solely for vampires. Ordinary humans also have trouble with moats."
"In other words, to prevent enemies from entering inside?"
"Yes. Of course, enemies could also build a bridge, but in that case, we can pour down large containers and crash, bringing it down just like Tir said earlier!"