Omniscient First-Person’s Viewpoint-Chapter 463: Escape from the Duchy No.5

Hilde's judgment was correct. The vampire who had passed by us before was unable to find us. They had no idea we were inside the encirclement and were only casually scanning the distant areas.

We hadn’t gone too far, but that didn’t matter much. The illusion that they had already searched this area was actually protecting both me and Hilde.

Eventually, the presence that had been lingering nearby faded. Baron Jenryu must have acknowledged his defeat and temporarily retreated.

"Did he give up already? Vampires really lack persistence~."

"I don’t think he’s given up. Alone, it’s impossible to find us, so he’ll probably coordinate with other vampires controlling the nearby area. Though, in the end, he will give up. He’ll hear about Duke Dullahan soon."

The payoff from the little trick I set up was finally showing. To cooperate, they’d have to share information, and in doing so, they’d naturally hear the news. I had already hinted at it.

"It took a little longer, but it went just as I said, right? We lost him in just two days."

"Don’t get too comfortable yet. They weren’t a pursuit team, they were border guards, right? If Tyrkanzyaka sent a real pursuit team, they’d have at least one Elder with them. We can hide, but crossing the border without friction is impossible."

Hilde didn’t seem pleased that I was so relaxed and pushed the harsh reality forward. As the path ahead grew more uncertain, I fell silent, and Hilde gave me a light pat while laughing.

Updat𝓮d fr𝙤m ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com.

"Hey~. Why the sudden serious face? I’m not falling for it anymore."

"What?"

"You haven’t shown all your cards yet, Father. Now that we’ve come this far, you should just spill it all. I know you didn’t escape here thoughtlessly!"

"..."

Well, that’s the thing.

To be honest, I don’t have any plans. I mean, it’s not like there’s absolutely nothing, but this is something beyond my control.

"Father?"

"Ah, yes, yes. Well, you know..."

Come on, Regressor. What are you doing? Didn’t you say something about the night tide? ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) The time has passed, and why is there no reaction from the country?! You came all the way here early to warn, right? You should’ve either come to me, provoked Tyrkan, or done something to draw attention! Where have you gone, leaving no trace?!

Hilde, oblivious to my burning frustration, smiled at the corner of her mouth.

"You’re pretending again. You have a plan, don’t you?"

"Of course."

"Is what ‘I’ think the right answer?"

What’s this? Did she already have something in mind? If she had, she should’ve told me earlier. Well, just to get a little inspiration, I casually read Hilde’s thoughts.

‘Father is the king of humans. The organization seeking him out is the Celestial Court and the Lords of All Beasts. Of those two, the Lords of All Beasts are more favorable to the human king, but... Since Shei is close, I thought you would call Shei. But it seems like you’re not sending signals to either side, huh?’

...Hmm. Hilde seems to think the same, but it seems like the Regressor isn’t around. Tch. Not that I miss the Regressor or anything! I’m just waiting for the Regressor to mindlessly go provoke Tyrkan and stir up a mess to get attention!

In any case, this is something I can’t control right now. I coughed awkwardly and responded.

"Something like that... If we can’t handle it ourselves, we’ll need some help."

"I’ll look forward to it~."

Hilde’s smile felt heavy. Her unfounded faith in the King of Humans was quite troublesome. She says she’s from an intelligence agency, yet she trusts me this easily? Shouldn’t she be a little more suspicious?

...No, in this situation, I can’t afford for Hilde to doubt me either.

"Ha. I guess we just need to cross the mountain."

The path ahead is bleak, and now the idea of taking a gamble crossed my mind. I slowly turned my head to look beyond the hill.

The Mist Duchy, situated between the mountains and the sea, rises higher as you move westward. The trend is clear, and from the highlands, you can see below easily. Without relying on the trees or bushes, hiding your body is nearly impossible. The reason Hilde and I had to pass through the gates was because it’s impossible to cross the border undetected.

However, if we could get past the checkpoint and cross the ridge beyond the summit? We’d definitely be less visible.

"Are you talking about crossing the mountain?"

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

...Well, less visible to human eyes, that is.

"I’m just saying it for the sake of saying it. How would we get past with a tiger right there?"

Not every mountain has a tiger, but there’s definitely one on each mountain. That alone is reason enough not to go up.

And, of course, if we climbed higher up the mountain, we’d still be spotted from below. It’s just adding another threat. I turned my head without any further hesitation.

‘I was mumbling, but there’s no way I would mention it for no reason. You’re saying you have a way to cross the mountain, Father?’

Huh. That’s not it. I just mentioned it because I was at a loss.

‘Tricking the beasts with their ears and noses? Hmm, no. The King of Humans wouldn’t be that simple, right? Maybe it’s related to that thing that supposedly happened in the original year—the reason humans became the dominant species on Earth~.’

What’s that supposed to be? I don’t know anything about it! Tell me too. Don’t keep all the secrets!

But no matter how hard I searched through Hilde’s thoughts, it seemed to be just hearsay. As a half-member of the Sacred Sword Order, she doesn’t know the full story. Then again, it makes sense. If I had information I didn’t know, that would be weird...

Wait a minute.

"So, you're saying that even a proper Holy Sword Order member or a Saintess might know my information, something that even I don't know?"

But even when I tried reading the thoughts of the Saintess of the Original View, Yuel, and the Saintess of Steel, Peru, I didn’t get much useful information from them...

Something’s off. Even Hilda, my own child, seems to know there’s something going on. So, someone must know the full story, right? If it’s not a Saintess, then what the hell is it?

Or is there some domain I can’t access? Like how a Regressor might retain memories from previous cycles?

A question suddenly arises, but there’s no way to resolve it. To figure that out, I first need to escape the duchy. I just hope something binds the Elders, at the very least, Vladimir’s steps.

***

The tsunami had arrived. Had the humans going out to work in the evening tide not been warned beforehand, the casualties would have been severe. Even after the tsunami swept the beach, its force was still enough to reach the village where the homes were. Despite the village being built at a safe distance in preparation for the unpredictable disaster, it was still submerged, turning into a rocky sea bed.

"Is this all?"

However, even seeing this scene, Vladimir tilted his head. The scale was far smaller than expected, and the panic was unnecessary.

Vladimir walked through the mud, his boots sinking with each step. The seawater was the amniotic fluid of the Earth Mother, brimming with tiny creatures invisible to the eye. For vampires, whose blood arts are impaired by even the smallest of flows, seawater, with its higher salinity than blood, is a practical horror.

The moment it touches, the water dissolves like salt, and if Yuel doesn’t focus her mind, she loses control of her blood art, spilling blood. Ain could endure, but that only applies to the ‘seawater’ itself. If a sea creature carried by the current were to attack, even with imperfect blood art, it would be impossible to deal with.

Because of this, Vladimir didn’t participate in the mistress's pursuit operation. Even if he had been ordered by the patriarch, he wouldn't have been too active. A father must be threatening to any man who approaches his daughter, but calm toward those who pull away. The more his daughter tries to hold on, the more distant he becomes.

Vladimir, leading humans and vampires alike, was personally inspecting the flood-stricken area. The reason why an elder like him was doing such menial work would soon become clear.

"Huh? Why is there a sail here...?"

An odd object buried in the sand caught the attention of one worker as he approached it. Every time he stepped on the sand, something leaf-shaped twitched. Just as the worker felt the oddness, the sand suddenly sucked in, and something burst forth from the ground.

"Woahh!"

As the startled human’s head was about to be overtaken by a grotesque mouth, a massive greatsword flew and pierced the mysterious shadow.

The creature that emerged from the sand was a large flat fish of a similar color. Its massive body, equipped with fins designed for walking on land, writhed in pain, flopping about while its mouth gaped open. Its mouth, large enough to swallow a human head, made a clashing noise like flint. Whether it was suffering from the outside air or angered by its interrupted meal, it was unclear.

"Sa...saved..."

As the worker sighed in relief, Vladimir’s Ain, Count Dracul, once again emphasized.

"Stay alert! This isn’t the night tide! Right now, everything from the deep sea is being pushed ashore, and all sorts of dangerous creatures are lurking nearby! If something seems off, throw your harpoon before approaching!"

The workers steeled themselves and raised their harpoons. Those who had some experience with gathering threw their harpoons into rock crevices and mud holes. There were still some sea beasts alive, but most of them were dead. Especially the land-dwelling creatures like dangerous conchs and crabs, whose shells were shattered as they lay lifeless. Vladimir, watching the broken shells of the crustaceans, suddenly spoke.

"Kabilla."

"Don’t call me by that shameless name, you traitor!"

Kabilla responded sharply. She still harbored a grudge against Vladimir for preventing the patriarch from making her give up her heart.

But that wasn’t Vladimir’s concern, nor did he care. He ignored Kabilla’s defiance and continued.

"What kind of tsunami is this?"

"A tsunami? What kind of kind is there? Once the seawater is pulled in, it’s just a tsunami. I didn’t know you’d be the sentimental type, naming every wave you see."

"Did the island whale break the strait? Did the cloud ray strike the sea with its wing-fins? Or is it just a random tsunami with no reason at all?"

Feelings are feelings, and work is work. Asking without emotion, Vladimir ignored Kabilla’s sarcastic tone and she sighed but answered willingly.

"I don’t know. This time, it’s strange."

"What’s strange about it?"

"The cloud rays have been getting more violent. It’s a pattern that occasionally appears before the night tide, but lately, they’ve been especially noisy. The waves keep crashing, and it’s been so noisy."

"Any reason?"

Kabilla responded irritably.

"How am I supposed to know what’s going on in the far sea? I’m already busy with my sister’s stuff!"

"That’s your job."

"Tch! Then pay more attention normally! You never care, then when something happens, you come barging in and start demanding things!"

"That’s my job."

"Agh!"

Kabilla, frustrated, kicked the crumbling village house with her foot. Bang, the wall weakened by the tsunami collapsed, and from the massive crack, a giant eye appeared.