Chapter 229: A New Life

'I' had to live a normal life.

But what exactly is a normal life? She, who imposed a normal life on 'me', could not answer that question for me.

It was natural. Life of itself was something ordinary. Every process between birth and death was life, so what could we possibly define as normal?

However, she had to put a bridle on 'me'. After a long while of repeated questions and answers, reaching the limits of possibility, she came up with one method.

That was....

***

Historia vented her emotions, but her complaints had clear limits. What they were was...

"I rolled and tumbled around in back alleys to survive, though...."

My past was no less unfortunate. Historia fell silent.

Despite her emotional struggles, Historia steadily rose to become a general officer. During that time, she had to carry out numerous missions like eliminating remnants of the Kingdom, executing spies, capturing secret organizations, and deterring other countries, but nonetheless, her path was that of a General. A brilliant career followed her.

In contrast, what about me? To survive, I had to undergo emotional labor, physical labor, mental labor, and illegal labor in the back alleys of the Military State, damaging my body, mind, conscience, and law-abiding spirit. I made a big gain by making the right investment, but it still took a long time to fully settle down.

"I just wanted to live a normal life! Do you know how difficult it was for a drifter, who wasn't even registered as a citizen, to settle in the capital? It's true I didn't contact you, but... in the first place, it's hard for someone living a normal back alley life to even encounter a general officer, let alone a Star General. You can't meet them with normal methods."

Everyone has different reasons for their hardships. Comparing who had a tougher life between the two of us ultimately turns into unsightly whining. Moreover, with such different strengths and statuses, our hardships were mutually incomprehensible.

Historia knew this fact, so she silently agreed.

'...I took out my bad mood on Huey because of that kid. Let's calm down.'

Using a proven method to calm herself, Historia inhaled the mana herb smoke reverently and then brought up her business as if nothing had happened.

"...So. What are you going to do now? If you say you'll escape across the border, I have the intention to let you go peacefully."

"How will you let us go peacefully?"

"By delaying my report and returning late. Also, if I exaggerate your forces... Then the Military State will give up the pursuit."

"Will the Military State truly give up? If they would just let it go after losing us, they wouldn't have tried to block us in the first place, would they now?"

The Military State is rational. Command, which is the brain of the Military State, would be the same. If they are chasing us, there must be a sufficient reason.

I don't know that reason. Three of the Six Star Generals gathered, yet even they didn't know. Historia chased us for personal reasons, but after sneakily reading her mind, it was clear that neither the Sunderspear nor the Mage Marshal knew Command's intentions.

They simply followed, believing there must be such a reason, albeit vaguely.

Well, if you're a Star General, you could force them to tell you, but everyone carried out their missions in this vague and unclear belief, just like this fog around us.

"...Regardless of the Military State's intentions, nothing changes. As long as the Military State leads the army, they can't catch you if you cross the border."

"Obviously. After all, bringing an army into another country is a war. It doesn't become a chase anymore. Unless they start a war just to catch us."

It was right when I confidently said they would never follow us.

"...A... war?"

The Regressor blinked her eyes widely. She looked like someone who had dramatically remembered something she had forgotten. After a moment, her eyes narrowed like a beast meeting a strange light, as she questioned in a sharper voice.

"Wait. You said the troops are gathering towards the Far East, right?"

"Yep."

"Then what about the gathered troops? What happens to them?"

"Regarding the main force under the Star Generals... if the target disappears, they have to disband."

"A corps has gathered on the Meta Conveyor Belt, though. Yet, you're saying they'll disband without gaining anything? Do you really think that's likely?"

Historia stopped speaking.

The Military State is rational. They do not take unnecessary losses. In the first place, they do not move if the loss is certain.

It's a country where the doctrine of Active Engagement Avoidance is not a joke but a part of the official manual. Although strength would be wasted in real-time for emergencies, it would be an extremely significant and meaningless loss to scatter this way.

Then a question arises here.

Why did Command gather corps, even while taking on enormous losses?

'It's war.'

The Regressor insightfully realize such a fact, which even I had not predicted at all.

'In the first place, the corps were gathered not to capture us, but to merely act as if they were going to in order to start a war...! We were the bait!'

Was the Regressor always this smart?

I am a Mind Reader. I am merely a Magician who reads the other person's predictions and slightly surpasses them. I am not a creator who makes something out of nothing, nor a pioneer who leads something at the forefront of this world.

Just an ordinary user who makes good use of what exists just a teensy bit better.

As someone who reads minds, I can only imagine what everyone else imagines. On the other hand, the Regressor, who had crossed death several times, discerned the Military State's intentions with just a few pieces of information, as if her previous experiences were not just for show.

To think the Regressor, who seemed so lacking, showed such high-level intuition...!

This kinda hurts my pride...

'Because, in the previous regression, the first war also broke out at this time! The war that ended in just seven days, the Seven Day War!'

Hey. What's wrong with you?

If you saw it in the previous regression, remember it in advance! Why are you only recalling it now!

***

The operation failed. The Military State had been fooled.

The general officers of the Military State, who had moved in perfect order following the Signaller's commands, felt a great sense of defeat.

No matter how strong the enemy was, they just amounted to three and two beasts. Compared to that, the number of soldiers gathered now was a total of ten thousand. The difference in numbers was so vast that counting the ratio was meaningless.

Moreover, Bernartern, the Level 5 Elite Corps, was on standby. Even if a war broke out, a powerful force sufficient to carry it out had gathered in the Far East.

However... the enemy had completely disappeared.

The red horse pulling the container stopped running as soon as the sun rose in the east. Ralion, the Sanguine Steed, looked at the sunlight with discontent, scratched the ground for no reason, hit its head on a nearby tree a few times, neighed sorrowfully towards the sky, and disappeared.

Ralion failed to completely fulfill its role as bait. Only three officers with a communication magic golem were chasing him.

The red horse was bait.

According to the information personally infiltrated and obtained by Historia, the Daughter of the Military State and Gunmaster, the container pulled by Ralion was bait to divert the Military State's attention. Therefore, there was no need to invest much force. One communication golem would be enough.

That information was accurate.

The container was empty, and only Historia's uniform fluttered like a flag. There was not a shadow of a person in the rattling container, only crude dolls. It was a rather insincere decoy that would have made one angry if they had been deceived.

The officer successfully confirmed the authenticity and immediately reported it through the Signaller.

However... the main force that received the contact was in a gloomy mood.

"...This is troublesome. The Daughter actually got kidnapped."

No matter how long they waited at the Far East Terminal... Even when the main force, which had started later than them, joined them, the enemy did not appear.

The corps, which had finished experiencing a day in the life of a laborer through opening each container, awkwardly joined the main force and waited for the next order.

Leading them, Sunderspear Patraxion was quite perplexed.

"Even if we lost them, having the Daughter kidnapped is a big deal. They wouldn't kill her, would they?"

To that question, Colonel Gand, his adjutant, answered.

"They would not kill her. The Pied Piper of Hamelin is an old acquaintance, being a contemporary of Historia Major General. They are acquaintances, so he would not easily take her life. And...."

"And what? Didn't I tell you not to drag out your words and make me impatient? Are you a blind date trying to lead me on or something?"

"...Please do not make such ridiculous remarks! It gives me the chills!"

"It's your fault for stammering and making me resort to such methods. So, what?"

"There's a possibility that Major General Historia... as the staff officer suspected, might be helping them. Isn't it strange that she transmitted the code about the red horse being bait but left no other clues? Maybe..."

As a Colonel and a martial artist, Colonel Gand couldn't dare to accuse a Star General, so he was cautious. Instead, he conveyed his thoughts to the only person who had the right to do so.

Patraxion understood and nodded significantly.

"It seems the Daughter, who seemed to be obedient, got completely swayed by the Pied Piper. Is this why they say a fair face may hide a foul heart?!"

"...Putting aside that metaphor, what will you do now?"

"We have to see the results. When she returns, we'll check if there are any traces of lip marks."

Colonel Gand, who was usually skilled at differentiating between falsehood and truth, found it fairly difficult to distinguish his damn master's jokes from his serious remarks.

After pondering for a moment, he carefully asked his unreliable superior and respected mentor.

"...Master. Does that come from your experience?"

"Hey, hey! What a dangerous thing to say. That was just my wife's unfounded suspicion!"

At that moment, the Mage Marshal burst into the temporary headquarters with a commanding stride. Despite working day and night and barely getting any sleep, she spoke to the Sunderspear with the same demeanor as when she first arrived.

"General Patraxion. Orders have come down from Command."

"What did they say? Did they find the runaway daughter?"

"Listen to the end. According to Command's judgment, they have overtaken us via the Inner Circle. We are ordered to gather in the north immediately through the Meta Conveyor Belt."

"The north?"

"Yes. You, as the Northern Commander, will take command of the corps."

The Sunderspear tilted his head.

He wasn't surprised that they had overtaken them via the Inner Circle. It had already been mentioned by the staff. Sunderspear agreed with this prediction, even applauding the move for striking exactly at their weak point.

The question was not about that but rather about the Military State's order to gather in the north amidst this situation.

"If they've overtaken us, isn't it already too late? If a large army gathers in the north, the Fallen Dominion, which borders us, will surely react, though? Ah."

As the Sunderspear spoke, he soon realized the Military State's intent.

To track a few strong individuals, one must scatter rather than concentrate. Like the Empire's Net of Heaven and Earth, the basic strategy was to release scouts, who were resolved to die, in all directions and gradually narrow the encirclement using their lives as bait.

However, the Military State, despite the Meta Conveyor Belt's characteristics, was excessively concentrated. On a narrow road, what's the point of a dense corps? Only a few would be able to fight anyway.

However, this question was also instantly resolved.

If the reason for gathering the corps was to quite literally gather the corps... this chase itself was a sort of play.

Patraxion grinned fiercely.

"Got it. Command, those clever folks. They're doing something interesting... They sure know how to use their heads."

If this chase was indeed a charade, there was no need for Patraxion to feel burdened. He had carried out his mission excellently. Now, he just had to prepare for the real battle.

However, the Mage Marshal, who had not yet grasped the situation, frowned even further and asked.

"Mm? Got it? What is it that you mean?"

"...Are you sure you're a Mage, Granny? It seems like you're ruining the stereotype about how all Mages are smart."

"It is not a stereotype, but a bias. Correct such thoughts."

"If it's a bias that Mages are smart, then do your best to make it true. It's honestly a good bias for people to have."

It took some time to explain to the Mage Marshal, but in any case, war was decided.

Now, the Military State had lost all interest in the fugitives...

***

The troops gathered in the Far East. The Military State preparing for war. And us, who had escaped their surveillance.

An empty Command. Signallers, the identity of Command.

The Regressor, after repeatedly thinking, proposed.

"Let's strike Command."

I, too, answered as if I had been waiting for her to say that.

"Alright!"