Omniscient First-Person’s Viewpoint
Chapter 266: The Human That Once Do Not Have a Face

"This time, let's go with a female. I know you want to become a new self, but wouldn't it be better to match your original body?"

"You... you..."

To an average person, the fight might have been too fast and intense to notice, but the fight between her and Historia was gradually calming down.

The fierce battle with blood splattering and heated air was turning into something more mundane.

They alternated between offense and defense as if exchanging blows in a coordinated manner.

"Let's reduce the body size. It's easier to increase size than to reduce it, and keeping it smaller ensures uniqueness. Since Zigrund's original body was lean, it should work better, right?"

"Stop..."

"Let's make the face look like your childhood. Ah, you said you don't remember. That's a problem."

I can’t recreate her face from memory, and even if I did, there's no guarantee it would be correct since her original face has long vanished.

Humans change physically as they grow, and faces do too, leaving marks called impressions based on the life they've lived.

But for someone who changed their face daily, there was no stable impression formed.

Memories of childhood faces were fleeting, and no one could predict how a promising sprout would turn out just by looking at it.

Her desire wasn’t to find her original face but to establish a standard to avoid losing herself.

While I could give her a random appearance, it felt insincere.

"In times like this, we borrow the power of the Arcane. Instead of an anchor for your ego, I'll provide a true beacon."

"You... Pied Piper... what exactly are you?"

"Does it matter? What's important is that I can fulfill your desire."

Drawing a face here wouldn't help because it wouldn't resemble her.

And teaching her step-by-step takes too much time.

I'll leave it for later.

"Find Mr. Shei somewhere in this refinery. That person has the Eyes of Fate. Do you understand what that means?"

With the Regressor's Eyes of Fate, she might be able to see a destiny she could have reached.

With Agartha's Mask, which the Regressor possessed, she then could recreate that face.

Though, I'm not sure if she'd go that far.

Just how many treasures has she amassed?

She should share those treasures a bit.

"He..."

"Of course, he won't help willingly. But if you trade the details of our destination for his help, he might do it."

The Regressor would be interested in just knowing about Zigrund's abilities and identity.

Am I not the kindest genie ever?

I understood the crux of the problem with her desire and offered a clear solution.

If I had granted all the world's desires, stories like deals with the Devil or the Monkey's Paw wouldn't exist.

Zigrund's body, prepared for transformations, began to lose shape.

The Qi filled in her muscles and bones drained, shrinking her body.

It was easier to inflate than deflate a body.

Adding or inflating was actually quite simple, but reducing signified loss or suppression.

"Ugh, no..."

As her body changed, her clothes tailored to fit her form became loose.

Her sleeves were now half a span too long, and her face, once filled with a solid structure, now looked gaunt.

She looked deflated rather than thin.

The backlash from manipulating her body so many times using Qi left her looking pitiful.

She muttered with a sense of guilt and pain.

"No... I can't betray her..."

"I don't know who she is, but betrayal? How is fulfilling your own desire betraying her? You've already been exposed, so why not live with a new face and name?"

'Zigrund' pulled herself together through sheer willpower.

Although the anchor for her identity was nearly pulled out, her fundamental suspicion turned toward me.

Could she really trust me?

｢Impossible. To know and fulfill a person's deepest desire is to delve into their most vile and basic desires! It's dangerous...!｣

She began to doubt me as a person.

My perfectly tailored proposal had no faults, so she shifted her suspicion to me.

｢Prophecies force sacrifices on the present for the future. This power, on the contrary, lets us sin freely. It's the antithesis of the Sanctum...! How could someone with such an extraordinary ability have been born and raised in a place devoid of Arcanes like the Military State?｣

Her keen observation, sharp nerves, and paranoid nature didn't miss anything.

Her long experience as a fugitive honed her suspicion against my proposal.

｢Even if I believe his power...! Accepting his proposal is more dangerous. This feels like making a deal with the Devil.｣

Tsk. I knew this would happen, so I gave her a sneaky hint not to be suspicious.

Let's try again.

I whispered softly to her.

"It’s a gift from the Three Magi."

｢The Three Magi...?｣

It was an idiom from the Bible.

The Three Magi were the first prophets who found the Saintess of Origin.

Though they vanished, people seeking prophecies or revelations would call their encounters with opportunities the Guidance of the Three Magi.

Despite her long fugitive life, her foundation lay in acting.

She recalled old memories from the unfamiliar phrase.

｢A frequent role in biblical plays. A being that gifts special encounters or opportunities to the protagonist, a mere stage prop. That’s right. Everything...｣

Yes, you realized it.

As someone who encountered many stories and studied and acted out those roles, she would understand.

｢The Passing Scholar. The Wandering Mercenary. The Reclusive Sage. The Mendicant Monk. The Traveler. All of these are nameless extras. Unspecified many who don't need to be known. So, the one who was called by this name…｣

Her thoughts, rolling like a ball, stopped suddenly somewhere.

She looked up at me with trembling eyes.

｢Could it be...｣

Maybe because of the successive mental shocks, she breathed heavily.

Her bloodshot eyes shook violently.

Wow. You're so moved by achieving your lifelong desire.

I, too, felt fulfilled and pondered the next step.

"Ah. We need to choose a name too. A name to accompany you for the rest of your life is important. What should it be..."

The name 'Zigrund' came from an ancient heroic epic.

Naming her that way would leave a lasting memory, but nothing compared to a real name.

Among countless possible names, I picked one from her past.

"How about Hilde? Are you ready to accept my proposal?"

"That... name... how..."

Like a stage name, courtesans had specific names used only in their brothel.

She discarded that name when she left the brothel, but I picked up what she had thrown away and gave it back.

It shone once but disappeared.

Gathering it back to make a beacon, this new self would be too precious to discard.

"...I am Hilde."

Zigrund, the direct bodyguard of 'her' and the head of the Ministry of Public Safety of the Military State, disappeared.

Instead, a new self from long ago took over.

Hilde stepped back hesitantly.

Having discarded the identity of Zigrund, she no longer needed to defend the refinery while fighting us.

Simultaneously, she couldn't attack me, her observer.

Lowering her head, Hilde mumbled something I couldn't understand.

Probably a thank you.

"Well, you're welcome. Since you are the one asking Mr. Shei anyway, you are bound to do it. First thing first. I hope you get a new face and live a new life."

I waved my hand as if to shoo her away.

Hilde stared at me like an animal encountering an intruder, then turned and disappeared.

I watched until she was completely gone, then let out a long sigh.

"Whew. I almost died. I barely managed to drive her off."

I'm lucky to have found a weak spot.

Honestly, it was dangerous.

If Hilde had tried to sow discord where Tyr or the Regressor was present, I couldn't avoid revealing my Mind Reading abilities.

They wouldn't take a prophecy lightly.

The Star General was too strong was too strong for me to handle alone.

I would've been bound and interrogated before I could talk my way out.

It was fortunate that Historia, a true soldier who executed order without hesitation, was present.

Our friendship felt renewed.

"Good job, Ria. Truly, I owe my life to you."

While I drove Hilde away, it was only possible because of the sturdy shield Historia provided.

In a sense, Historia was the gun and I was the bullet.

There was no need to compare who did more.

It's not that I feel I did less.

As I sighed in relief, Shiati hesitantly got up.

The Princess helped her, but Shiati shook her off and approached me.

What the… Why are your eyes like that? It's scary…

Oh, right.

The earlier insinuations. It's not entirely resolved yet.

"Huey. Whose side are you really on?"

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