That's a truly unexpected answer. I've read Nevída's thoughts before, and he's the person furthest from sin.
Nevída is an ancient druid who has lived since before the first year, when the King of Humans still existed. Sin? He has no interest in such things. It's not food, so why should he care about sin? He'd rather spend that time hunting or farming. Ideologically, Nevída is probably the most similar to me.
When I read his mind, Nevída had only one interest: the King of Humans he lost long ago. Though it seems he doesn't think it necessarily has to be me.
"The Archdruid gathers sin? How?"
"I don't know for sure. But..."
'When I wasn't involved, the King of Sin was the figure of a woman inside the fruit that grew on the Tree of Immorality.'
Hah, I feel like things are getting a little complicated.
The regressor doesn't seem to be lying. It's true that Nevída tried to create a King of Humans. Nevída's Demon God, the Tree of Origin, spread tens of thousands of branches, but its destination pointed to a single human.
And the King of Humans 'created' by committing all sorts of taboos could potentially become the King of Sin. The regressor's deduction is rational.
But a question still remains unanswered.
"Wait a minute. Then what about Azi? How are you going to explain that halo?"
Azi was still struggling to grab her own ring. Now she just looked like she was purely playing. Seeing her look as if she was on the opposite side of the world from the concept of sin, the regressor felt puzzled.
'Right? The Ring of Holy Light is only given to saints or holy maidens, so why did it appear on Azi?'
"...Hmm. I think we need to ask about that."
"Ask who?"
"The Saintess, of course."
"Geh?"
Even if there's no one to ask, going to the Holy Emperor's Palace?
The regressor glanced at me and continued speaking.
"Don't take it personally. You wanted to go to the Sacred Mountain Yurim, where Cheon-ae was sealed. The Sacred Mountain Yurim is a sanctuary of the Holy Emperor's Palace. To enter Yurim, you have to get permission from the Holy Emperor's Palace anyway. We might as well ask while we're at it."
"The Saintess will hate me incredibly. Wouldn't I die trying to go ask her?"
"You don't have to go in person. If you go to a nearby monastery, there should be the Great White Wall of Rakion. You can contact the Saintess from there. If I explain, she'll give you an answer."
The Great White Wall of Rakion is a wall of revelation used by the Holy Emperor's Palace to convey its will to monasteries all over the continent. If that's there, we can certainly contact them without going to the Holy Emperor's Palace.
But 'being able to contact' and 'getting an answer' don't mean the same thing. Even if I ask, answering is up to them, isn't it?
"What are you, Shea?"
"I am the master of Cheon-ae. Cheon-ae is a treasure closely related to the Holy Emperor's Palace."
'In the 7th iteration, I somehow received Cheon-ae from the Grandmaster of the Heavenly Holy Sword Order, and in the 8th iteration, I became the master of Cheon-ae by passing the Saintess's trial. After that, Cheon-ae came to my side even without going to Yurim. Just showing Cheon-ae would guarantee my identity to some extent.'
Would it really? Well, if he does that, it's good for me. The Holy Emperor's Palace is closely related to the Demon God, but it's practically impossible for me to approach it. Without the regressor, I wouldn't even have a way to touch the Holy Emperor's Palace either.
I do admit that. Hmm.
"A treasure closely related to them... Hmm."
"...Why. What."
"Nothing. I just thought you aren't really hiding your identity anymore."
I know he's a regressor because I'm a telepath, but to someone who doesn't know, he's just a member of the Holy Sword Order. He looks like a strategic weapon raised by the Holy Emperor's Palace by pouring all sorts of treasures into him.
How long is he going to live being misunderstood? It'll be exhausting to reveal he's a regressor, but if he's going to keep being suspected, he might as well just declare it openly.
"...Even if I tell you my identity, you probably won't believe it."
"You don't believe it because you don't tell me. Believe it or not, I'll do as I please, so just say it."
'That I regressed, and returned after experiencing a dozen or so destructions. Even if I say that, they won't believe it. No, if I say it, my true intentions will be doubted too. Because I, who can leave this iteration for the next, am a stranger to time...'
Hah, really. Should I just reveal that I'm a telepath first? If he realizes his inner thoughts are being read, he wouldn't even think of hiding anything anymore.
But if I do that, he might not approach me at all from the next iteration onwards. The risk is greater on my side. The regressor can just flip the board and start over, but this board is my last!
"...If we reach the Sacred Mountain Yurim."
"Yes?"
"I'll tell you everything. What I am, and what happened."
Saying that much, the regressor turned his head. As if he had nothing more to say.
It falls short of my expectations, but getting this far is a huge step forward. If I pry into the regressor any further, his wariness will only increase, and I have to go to Yurim anyway, so it's a good deal.
"Okay. Don't forget those words."
Just then, a doorbell rang from outside. The food had arrived. I left the regressor and moved to receive the food. Everything will become certain once we reach Yurim.
...Wait. Come to think of it, Yurim is a sanctuary of the Holy Emperor's Palace, so if we go there, won't I practically know everything? If I read the Saintess's thoughts, I'll know almost all the secrets, won't I?
What? Did I get an empty promise from that regressor?
...Let's just eat first and think about it later. I turned my eyes away from the hard-to-believe truth.
******
"...It's difficult."
"Woof? What is?"
"Hughes. He's on guard against me."
"Woof woof?"
"It can't be helped that he doesn't trust me... But I'm the same. That guy Hughes is hiding something. You know too, right, Azi?"
"Woof? Woof?"
"...Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Woof, you, don't know? Human!"
"Human? The King of Humans? Are you talking about Hughes?"
"Woof!"
"Why? He's lost his power and only plays petty tricks, a guy whose intentions are hard to read."
"I know his intentions! Humans, beasts. Simple!"
"Hughes is simple? Are you serious?"
"Woof!"
"How so? Hughes is all twisted up."
"No! Woof! Him. Likes humans."
"The fact that Hughes likes humans is already hard to believe... That guy always goes around saying humans are beasts."
"Right! Beasts! So he likes humans who like humans! Like me!"
"A human who likes humans?"
"I like humans. Because humans like dogs. Humans, like me. Because dogs like humans too. We are friends."
"Friends..."
"And you, like humans!"
"M-me? I like Hughes?"
"No, not a human, many humans! Woof! You're kind!"
"So that's what you meant... Huh? That's also a bit weird. I don't really..."
"Like them! Woof! I know!"
"I shouldn't like them..."
"So, humans like you too!"
******
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"...right!"
Surprisingly, Teia came to deliver the food in person. I wondered if the chief of the Paval clan had so little to do that he had to make deliveries, but Teia hadn't come just as a deliveryman.
"You heard it, right? What do you think!"
Ende seems to have a lot of worries too. He's even asking for my advice. Well, just because he asks for advice doesn't mean I'm going to help.
"Yes. But just because I heard it doesn't mean I'm going to do anything about it."
"No! You know Mount... Mhm! You know that unspeakable thing the best! I was just asking for your opinion!"
"Well, that's for sure. Even if you use the Mountain Lord's name, the Mountain Lord won't be offended or try to take revenge. After all, the Mountain Lord is a beast too."
Even though I answered kindly, Teia asked back with a face full of terror.
"C-can I really call that unspeakable thing so recklessly?"
"What is that unspeakable thing? Mountain Lord?"
"Roar. Did you call?"
As soon as the words left my mouth, the Mountain Lord appeared from behind as if possessed. Who even made up the saying 'speak of the tiger and it appears'? Because of you, I can't even bring myself to say tiger anymore.
The Mountain Lord smacked his lips as he looked at me and Teia, who were both terrified.
"Smack, smack. It is deplorable. I answered your call, yet you cower in fear."
"When a tiger appears right behind my back, how could I not be scared..."
"Then you should not have called. I simply cannot keep up with the rhythm of humans."
Come to think of it, the Mountain Lord did disappear from time to time. It seems every time he was called, he would appear and instill fear in the people of Ende.
Thanks to that, Ende seems to be trying to spread the false rumor that this land is under the Mountain Lord's rule.
Even Teia, who had the fastest feet in Ende, couldn't avoid feeling terrified of the Mountain Lord. Teia prostrated himself and offered the pot.
"Oh, Mountain Lord! Here is the meat... Huh?"
"Smack, smack. This meat is too tender for me. I can't even tell I'm eating it."
"You can't tell! You know very well! You've already wolfed down ten pieces!"
"Ten pieces? That is but a single bite to me."
The Mountain Lord, who slurped down the meat like noodles, wiped his mouth with his front paw and smacked his lips. He's an even worse glutton than Azi. But well, he's a tiger, so it can't be helped.
"T-then I'll be leaving!"
Teia put down the pot and bolted. Perhaps his fleeing figure, tail wagging, caught the Mountain Lord's attention, as the Mountain Lord stared quietly at his retreating back. However, only for a moment; having seemingly lost interest, the Mountain Lord brought out more meat and chewed it whole, bones and all.
Phew, thank goodness. I thought he wouldn't be able to resist his instincts and chase after him.
"Hey. Tiger."
"Roar?"
"How long are you planning to stay here?"
"That depends on my whims. However, I do sense something."
"What is it?"
"The dog is stripping away my ferocity."
The Mountain Lord, who had been crunching on the bones, glanced at the mansion.
"In this land, too many called for me. Thus, I endured the annoyance and tended to my territory. But the humans with ears screamed, showed their backs, and fled. Tempting me to chase them."
"And you managed to hold back?"
What if they stimulated his predator instincts? If the Mountain Lord pounced on them and used their backs as scratching posts, no one could say anything. It seems people these days have completely forgotten how to deal with tigers.
"That is indeed strange. I have no reason to hold back."
Chasing down a human and killing them is something a human absolutely shouldn't do. But to a tiger, it's as natural as instinct. Resisting that is impossible unless one is thoroughly tamed.
But the Mountain Lord, the king of tigers, couldn't possibly be tamed. The reason lay elsewhere, and the tiger instinctively realized it.
"Just as the wolf did, the dog is also having an effect on me. Or rather, perhaps it is because of the human who influenced the dog."
So Azi's very existence was suppressing the Mountain Lord's aggression. If the Mountain Lord truly wanted to, he could kill humans, but if he isn't hungry, there's no need to kill them. Azi, who had become the King of Kindness, must be emphasizing the mercy of beasts.
Ende seems to want to keep the Mountain Lord here for a long time to use him as a deterrent, but a king of beasts isn't that easy to use. Unless they are livestock, or at the very least beasts friendly to humans, even coexistence is difficult.
I should send him home before the Mountain Lord ends up destroying Ende.
"We'll be leaving soon too. You don't have anything to do staying in the city anyway, do you? What if you waste time here and another tiger takes over your territory?"
"Roar."
Tigers are territorial animals. They must claim at least a mountain peak as their own territory to feed that massive body of theirs. The only enemy of a powerful and fearsome tiger is another tiger. That is the reason tigers do not form packs.
Remembering his territory, the Mountain Lord rose to his feet without a trace of hesitation.
"I shall return. Because of the wolf... that troublesome beast, I have become troubled."
"Just think of it as stepping out for a bit. Anyway, goodbye. I can't say it was a pleasure meeting you."
"I feel the same. Humans, you are too violent. If I remain by your side, I too will be swept up in it."
The Mountain Lord leaped away without any lingering regrets. Landing atop the roof in a single bound, his robes fluttering, he looked down at me.
"I shall return to my mountain. Humans, let us see how your ferocity—which has changed even me—will change you. I shall watch from atop the rocky hill beyond the mountain ridge."
Leaving only those words behind, the Mountain Lord leaped away and disappeared. Leaving behind only a towering pile of bones.
...Ugh, that tiger bastard. He ended up eating it all. I'd better go get some more.