462 – Escape from the Kingdom No. 4
Thud. Taking a step on the damp earth floor. Clumps of dirt come together to support my weight. After I lift my foot, I should be just sighing, but some force effortlessly lifts them. The footprints etched into the ground vanished like a ghost the moment I lifted my foot.
“Even the footprints you left by stepping on them are pretended to be unseen by the merciful Zemo God.”
Thud. A branch I passed by snaps and falls. But soon, new shoots sprout from where it broke, and they quickly grow into new branches. The dense branches and leaves fill in the gaps even more densely.
“Nature fills the forest destroyed by beasts with overflowing vitality.”
Geomancy and Druidism. Erasing traces using the remnants of the two factions. Hilde watched me using the power of a mage and accused me unjustly.
“It’s cheating! I say I’m here and try to erase the traces with mage’s power! It’s unfair to the ‘me’ who’s walking step by step with all my might!”
What? I erase footprints with geomancy and make grass grow with Druidism. So what? If you feel unjust, I feel the same. I pointed at Hilde and replied.
“I’m not using mage’s power, but Hilde, who can do everything using Qi Gong, is more unfair, isn’t she? The power of a mage is greater, but why is Qi Gong weaker than mage?”
“Father, the power you’ve obtained is a free gift, but ‘my’ Qi Gong is the result of more than a dozen years of training and real battles! It feels unjust!”
“True. The Mages have blossomed as a genius flower that stands out even in the sediment of thousands of years of human history. Trying to compare with just a few years of training is ridiculous.”
“But it’s not something Father has created!”
“I am the king of humans. Everything humans have done is nothing more than my achievement. Is there a problem with the king being a little powerful?”
“But Father has been absent all this time!”
When a suitable thicket appeared to hide our bodies, we got off the horse. We had a device so that the horse could run on its own, but even so, the horse wouldn’t continue to run along the road.
But that doesn’t matter. Since we can hide our traces, just allowing the possibility for the opponent is beneficial.
“Erasing traces, or more precisely, erasing the traces that Father made was the biggest concern, but luckily! I thought I would have to carry Father and run!”
“Oh!”
“Why ‘Oh’?! Unless Father’s stamina runs out, I won’t carry you!”
“If my stamina runs out, you’ll carry me? hahahaha. Even if I really had a daughter, she wouldn’t be more affectionate than Hilde.”
“I’m starting to run out of patience as well.”
“Running out of patience is the kind of resource that ancestors would hear and sing about.”
“Did your father also have ancestors?”
No. He didn’t even have a daughter. All that talk about running out, it’s impossible to develop a mine of patience in the first place. She’s not his daughter, after all. He nodded.
The self-proclaimed daughter (Yeon-sang) stubbornly stuck to her concept.
“Well, even a well needs a little water to produce water. So please replenish my patience before it completely runs out.”
“Sure. You did well.”
“Wow, it feels rewarding~.”
While Hilde grumbled, a faint thought could be felt beyond the rear ridge. It was Zen-ryu Namjak’s direct Ailing and a member of the Black Knight Corps. Before he could put us in his sight, I quickly approached Hilde and covered his mouth.
“Huh? Hm hm?”
“Shhh. Be quiet!”
Hilde, who was tilting her head, also sensed the approaching sensation like a ghost. I held onto Hilde while explaining, and laid on the ground. Vines sprouted and surrounded Hilde with lush leaves according to my will.
And soon after, the ghost-like sensation brushed past us. Hilde and I held our breath as if we had made a promise.
Being a vampire doesn’t make my senses particularly sharp. I can penetrate darkness much better and smell blood amazingly well, but I can’t sense other scents like a subtle fragrance or the warmth of breath, excluding that. Well, calling it the incompetence of a vampire is a bit off. Even if we were ordinary humans, they wouldn’t have been able to find us hiding in the bushes since we were so close. It’s just a bit disappointing. If it were a skilled human, they would have noticed… Of course, at that time, I would have been hiding underground as well.
The sensation of the vampire moved further away. I confirmed that enough distance had been created and gradually collected the vines, and stood up. Hilde, like a cat, crouched on top of me and felt the vampire’s sensation.
“Now, now. Do you recognize my greatness now? Get up now.”
“As expected of my father! It feels like my patience has increased a bit!”
Hilde poked my shoulder and quietly raised her upper body. Only sticking her head out, she looked around left and right, and then said in an puzzled manner.
“One pursuer? Hmm, this kind of search isn’t really meaningful, is it?”
“Isn’t the fact that they didn’t see ‘us’ and passed by important?”
Hilde slowly stood up from her spot and said.
“The essence of pursuit is the number of minds. To prevent them from getting through the gaps of the encirclement, a certain density must be maintained. The moment you start to suspect ‘they might have passed by’ means that the pursuit has already failed. But… it doesn’t look like they have that many of them.”
That’s right. This is the Fog Kingdom, a land where sunlight doesn’t shine except for the northern and southern edges. Although they have a prosperous life with shepherding and material well-being, the population is bound to be scarce. But as a nation, even if they gather as many people as they can, it should be enough.
“I don’t want to use humans for something that might harm them. It’s a valuable resource, after all.”
“But in the first place, thinking that we won’t use humans because they might get hurt is wrong! Where can you find an investment without any losses? You have to be prepared and invest to see results!”
“It’s a militaristic way of thinking. Stupid country. I really don’t want to live here.”
“You say that, but~. But in reality, the country that was completely destroyed is the coalition and the kingdom, right? The military and the communication troops are still intact, right? You may say one thing, but your body is honest!”
Hilde trembled. If someone were to hear, they might think I go around picking fights with everyone. But all he did was take off the ill-fitting clothes.
“Passing through here once means that the encirclement will gradually expand. Although I couldn’t go much further than them, it should be easier to escape now that the encirclement has been formed. It seems fine to take a short rest, but are you feeling physically well, Father?”
“I’m fine. It would be better to keep moving during the night.”
“You seem to have changed a lot. There is a slight discrepancy between your current appearance and what I have seen before.”
…Certainly.
I feel less tired. Usually, when I move for a long time, only the muscles I use get sore and tired. But now, it feels like there is something invisible wrapping around my body and moving me. Not only that, I can visualize how my blood flows and how my body moves in my mind. Is this the power of magic?
It may not correspond exactly, but in terms of Qigong, it would be at the level of a Master of Sensing Energy. However, unlike real Qigong, I don’t have the ability to release it, so compared to a real Qigong master, I am undoubtedly weak.
“Is it Qigong? It’s a bit different from what I have seen so far. Have you been hiding your strength until now, or have you learned something in the Kingdom?”
“Secret. No comment.”
I gave a vague answer because I couldn’t be bothered to explain. Then Hilde leaned in and protested.
“Why? Where is the secret between ‘us’!”
“It’s rude to ask about someone else’s Qigong… And compared to me, who has already laid bare everything, Hilde is even more secretive.”
“‘Me’? Where is ‘me’?”
“Well, yes. Using Qigong, transformation, and even divine power, you were once a member of the Holy Sword Order and then you disappeared and became an Imperial Military General. There has been such a tremendous change, isn’t that more amazing?”
Comparing it to an autobiography was purely my subjective opinion. No matter how well I acted, I would go crazy if the speaker or actions changed every time I read it.
“Ah~. I didn’t know Father was so interested in ‘me’! I thought you were neglecting me, but I’m glad, I guess?”
“Whether it’s neglect or something else, I never raised you in the first place. Why do you call me Father while leaving your own father behind?”
Asking the question I was most curious about, Hilde made a confused expression and walked ahead. Hilde showed me her back and spoke.
“If ‘I’ had a father, would I have called you Father?”
Oh. Is she trying to appeal to me by saying that she doesn’t have parents? hahahaha, impossible. I am the king of humans. I am an innate orphan, born without parents. It’s like saying “man” as if it were a race.
The sympathy for not having parents doesn’t work on me. I unhesitatingly pried into Hilde’s family environment.
“Am I similar to Hilde’s father?”
“No. You don’t resemble any of them.”
“Them?”
Why is it in the plural when referring to her father? I recalled what I read last time.
Hilde’s mother was a nun. Perhaps she didn’t even know who the father was…. But why does she call me Father then? There is no explanation for that!
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No matter how much I think, I can’t find a clear explanation. Even Hilde herself cannot think of a proper reason to call me Father.
Did I see through her true form at once? Then I should have called Eul “Mother” too! I just called her that for no reason back then!
Anyway, since this is a fact I discovered through my own intelligence, I can’t mention it first. How should I respond to Hilde’s strange remark….
“Why do you call your father ‘them’?”
“Well~. Care to take a guess?”
The reason for referring to the Evergies in the plural form. If you’re not a sorcerer, you’d surely be curious about this. Here it is. I put the answer that came to my mind into words.
“Forgive me for being blunt, but perhaps you… um, the cocktail….”
When you think it’s not it, it’s already too late. Hilde suddenly turned her body and came closer unexpectedly. Her body seemed to cling to mine for a moment, then soon after, I felt pain on the sole of my foot. Hilde had stepped on my foot forcefully.
Unable to scream for fear of being caught by the pursuers, I swallowed the pain. While enduring the agony, Hilde whispered in my ear.
“Even if it’s the right answer, there are things you can say and things you can’t say~.”
Well, she started it first.
I love their little interactions