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Chapter 263: A Partial Confession

The fate of a Prophet is mistrust.

Warn someone to avoid danger, and they gravitate towards it like a magnet.

Advise someone to follow a revelation, and they scoff and trample on it.

Zigrund, convinced that I was a Prophet, tried to plant seeds of distrust among my friends.

"Look. How could Huey, who instantly saw through a Star General\'s plan and disguise, fail to prevent the tragedy of Hamelin? With his abilities and knowledge, he should have seen through Nicholas\'s plan in advance."

"That\'s nonsense...!"

"To begin with. Why did Nicholas attempt to commit the Anathema? It was because Huey lacked the talent for his potential. Who was the one who fought the hardest against Nicholas when he tried to commit the Anathema? It was Huey who led you to defeat Nicholas. As a result, Huey successfully planted a ticking time bomb named Historia deep within the Military State. He made a traitor who would betray the military kingdom at the most critical moment because of personal feelings into a Star General!”

Shiati was already free.

Yet, she didn\'t think of attacking her, she just stared blankly at me.

She had a face filled with pain as if something was stuck in her throat, unable to express her emotions in words.

｢It worked. No, it had to. Prophets have always been targets of hatred and persecution. It\'s only changed with the rise of the Sanctum...｣

Confirming that her intent had sufficiently taken root, Zigrund continued with a faint smile.

"After all, It\'s a simple logic! If the Pied Piper had powers close to omniscience or precognition, or even close intuition, why did he let the children die in Hamelin? Why didn\'t he realize the Chief Instructor\'s plan to commit the Anathema? It\'s because he intended everything! There\'s no other explanation!"

"No!"

Historia was relatively better off.

Her regret was directed at herself for not acting at that time.

Whether I was the root cause or not, her guilt lay in letting a preventable tragedy happen with her own power.

But did she feel the same way about me as before?

No.

"Don\'t listen to this nonsense! It\'s his scheme! He\'s trying to cause internal discord!"

"His scheme started long before mine. No, maybe I should call it destiny! Before blaming me, shouldn\'t you question him first, Historia?!"

Historia shouted loudly as if to drown out Zigrund\'s voice.

But Zigrund\'s voice, honed by her acting, still pierced through.

Historia, disgusted by her unyielding voice, grabbed me.

"Huey! Quickly, tell me! You were just caught up in it, right?!"

Even Historia, who wanted to believe in me, couldn\'t erase the creeping doubt.

Their gaze slowly changed into that of resentment and distrust.

Whether I kept silent or spoke up, I couldn\'t escape the swamp of suspicion.

Honestly, I did get caught up in it.

But I had plenty of opportunities to avoid it and numerous ways to escape.

Yet, I stayed in Hamelin.

I knew Nicholas\'s plan to lead the children to their deaths, and I still followed his plan.

Because…

"I was caught up in it. But his words aren\'t wrong. I knew of Nicholas\'s plan."

"...Huey?"

"But I followed it. Because that was Nicholas\'s desire."

Historia stepped back, startled by my significantly changed demeanor.

I pushed past her and took a step forward, towards Shiati, who was more confused than frightened, and towards Zigrund, who was highly amused.

｢Finally decided to speak? Yes, it\'s hard to escape without revealing it now. For you, who have achieved your goals using others\' power, losing trust would be fatal!｣

That\'s right.

But there\'s one difference.

Regardless of Zigrund\'s assumptions, I\'m just an ordinary person with a bit of Mind Reading ability.

I know nothing about grand Arcane like prophecies.

But I don\'t have to be entirely truthful.

Want to know how I survived in Tantalus?

"Mr. Zigrund. Why did I leave Nicholas alone until he committed the Anathema? Can you guess?"

"To fulfill a prophecy, of course."

"No. Because he needed the chance to fulfill his desire."

"...Desire?"

Yes, a desire.

Nicholas, for all his calculation and disdain for those below his standards, was a kind instructor to me before that incident.

Committing the Anathema was his way of forcibly granting me power, even at the cost of staining his hands.

Oh, not that I\'m grateful. He was simply true to his desires.

"He wanted to contribute to the Military State. By forcibly bestowing power on someone who could potentially become a Star General, or maybe even surpass it."

"But you didn\'t accept it. The Sanctum rejects the existence of Anathemas."

"No. It\'s different. I rejected him not because it was Anathema, but because it would change me. I, who must maintain homeostasis, had to resist that. So I teamed up with friends who shared the same goal to stop him."

Nicholas lacked the strength to enforce his will, so he was defeated.

The children achieved an inspiring victory against their instructor.

"But despite the victory, the children lost what they wanted. They participated in the graduation exercise to be recognized by the country, only to realize the country had abandoned them. They all resented and hated the Military State."

Zigrund\'s laughter slowly ceased.

"...So, did you come to destroy the Military State as they desired?"

"No. Only a few people are capable of holding a desire to destroy a country. A country is too vast to see at a glance, so people don\'t even know what it is. How can they hate something they don\'t know? If it were a kingdom, they could just target the king, but the Military State has no king."

"Then? What was their desire?"

"The most irresponsible and burdensome desire in the world."

And also the most common desire in the world.

I lowered my gaze and muttered.

"Even as they died, they just wanted to be remembered."

They lacked the will or strength to continue living, but they hoped their deaths wouldn\'t be meaningless.

They desired someone who would understand their suffering and despair.

"But there is no heaven or hell in this world. The afterlife doesn\'t exist. Naturally, no one would remember them except themselves."

Death was the end itself.

Beyond that, there was nothing.

Death was another name for cessation.

Just as a rolling stone stops when it hits something, or a drifting cloud falls as raindrops, it\'s a natural outcome.

No, it was nature itself.

The metaphysical and surreal meanings forcibly attributed to it were delusions, not even worthy of being called illusions.

Yet, I couldn’t abandon even that desire.

"I am the smallest columbarium in the world. A library that commemorates the forgotten."

I remember all those who passed through.

Because that was their desire.

Death held no meaning; a declaration of readiness to die was just a pretty excuse.

It was a worthless promissory note that no one intended to repay.

But somewhere, someone was slowly paying off that irresponsible debt.

Because it was their desire.

"The Pied Piper."

Leading the lost children, fighting formidable foes, and remembering the dead children, reciting their names.

"The Magi From the East. The Passing Scholar. The Wandering Mercenary. The Reclusive Sage. The Mendicant Monk. The Traveler. These are the names I\'ve been called with."

Breaking Anathemas, crossing forbidden boundaries, and defying prohibitions to achieve desires.

Whispering ways to accomplish the impossible by ordinary thoughts.

In any story, be it a fairy tale, play, legend, or epic, there was likely to be such a character.

"I am an ordinary person."

I didn\'t reveal the whole truth, but everything I said was true.

No matter how much she questions and probes, she won\'t find any contradictions.

Failing to find any inconsistencies, Zigrund tentatively concluded that my words were the truth.

｢There are similar legends. Boxes that cause nightmares, lamps that grant desire. But can a human possess such Arcane...?｣

My identity is a Mind Reader.

Facing blatant human desires, I fulfill their desires when possible.

If possible, that is.

So if I hide my Mind Reading ability and emphasize that, it\'s not a lie.

Still holding some attachment to her previous claim, Zigrund tested me.

"...You\'re not a Prophet sent by the Sanctum?"

"I\'m not a Prophet. Since the first Saintess was crucified, only Saintesses can see the future. How could I, a man, be a Prophet?"

"That\'s easily fabricated. The Saintess could be controlling you from behind, or you\'re receiving revelations and acting on them. Or maybe you disguised your gender somehow. There are many ways to deceive others."

Whether it\'s because of her face Bone Shifting Technique or her job, she\'s quite open-minded.

If the Regressor were here, her cross-dressing secret would be out.

"Wow, I\'m actually a woman and a Saintess at that? The last option is most appealing! I\'ve always wanted to experience being a woman at least once! Oh!"

I clapped my hands as if suddenly remembering and pointed at Zigrund.

"Come to think of it, we have an experienced body changer here. You were Historia and then turned into Kerapald, right? How does it feel to be a man? Or should I ask how it feels to be a woman? Mr. Zigrund, what is your original form?"

"...I shouldn\'t reveal it, but there\'s no point in hiding it from you. It\'s not respectful to wear a dead friend\'s face either."

Muttering suspicious words, she covered her face with her palm and changed her bone structure.

The sound of cracking bones accompanied the rearrangement of her bones and muscles held by Qi art.

Her hair changed color from the roots, turning black. Returning to her \'original form\' was much faster and more natural than transforming.

She must constantly remind herself of her \'original form.\'

A man with an exemplary clean appearance emerged.

The form she took looked ordinary, like a blank canvas, which in a negative sense means unremarkable.

Average height, slightly thin build.

Whenever I read Zigrund\'s thoughts, her \'original form\' always hovered at the edge of my vision.

"Stop lying. How is that your original form?"

It\'s not.

"A featureless face. Average height. Moderately thin body. How can someone who mastered Qi art look like that? No way. That\'s clearly the default setting of an Arch-Avatar, isn\'t it?"

Zigrund replied instantly.

"I don\'t know what you\'re talking about. This is my original form, Zigrund, the Six Star Generals of the Military State."

"Oh. Is that your character setting?"

Humans don\'t envision their own faces in their minds.

Because their face, their body, is always there.

Paradoxically, Zigrund constantly reminding herself of her identity and picturing her original body in her mind meant...

"So what was your name and face before becoming a Star General? Or before learning the Bone Shifting Technique? What did you look like then?"

Zigrund\'s face twitched.

Her blank face writhed with displeasure.

It was a perfect face for showing emotions.

Therefore, it couldn\'t be real.

I erased my smile and questioned her sternly.

"Who are you, really?"