Omniscient First-Person’s Viewpoint-Chapter 467: The Actor and the Role Are Separate

At this moment, Hilde was not playing any role. Her performances were meant to deceive others, but as someone watching from outside the stage, I couldn’t be fooled. After all, who in the audience takes the words of an actor on stage at face value?

But then again, just because someone stands on stage doesn’t mean they’re always playing a role.

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"You’re acting even now, aren’t you?"

"Acting~? ‘I’ would never~."

"Don’t give me that. You call me ‘Father.’ How could that possibly be sincere? Even if you died and came back to life, that wouldn’t make it true."

When I was born, Hilde had already been wandering the world. If the parent-child relationship worked as I understood it, it was causally impossible.

Hilde, as if arguing her case, retorted,

"This face, this name, this identity! You gave them all to me! Since you brought the true ‘me’ into existence, you are my father!"

"So you mean I’m your character’s father? That’s quite the commitment to the bit... but sure, let’s say that’s the case. The problem is, it’s obvious."

She had to be aware of it herself, so I doubted she would deny it. When Hilde acted, the word "I" always carried weight—not just in her speech, but in her very being.

Caught red-handed, Hilde narrowed her eyes and sighed dramatically.

"Heeeh~. So Father really can’t be fooled by my acting~. Ahhh, I failed~."

"Failed? At what?"

"‘I’ was trying to become the kind of girl Father would like~. Since you went through all the trouble to help ‘me,’ I figured I might as well ask for a favor while I was at it. So ‘I’ tried to adjust myself to fit Father’s preferences~."

Hilde let out an exaggerated sigh, shaking her head.

"Maybe it’s because I didn’t have a clear motif. It was much harder than playing an actual character~."

"And what were you hoping to achieve by winning my favor?"

"Filial piety, of course! ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) Isn’t it only natural for a child to want to be on their father’s good side? And also... I need to bring Father back to the Military State."

"Ah, this again. The Military State’s king, right?"

"Yes~. The king Father haphazardly created and then abandoned."

"Haphazardly created?" I hadn’t made anything—the other side had simply awakened and taken on the role themselves. Seeing my expression, Hilde shrugged.

"Yes, yes. Father let Aby see everything and make the decision. Administrator Yuel resisted you, but as the one who handled the actual work, ‘I’ agreed with your opinion. But... no matter what, Aby can’t do it alone."

"Captain Aby isn’t alone. She has hundreds of communications officers."

"It wouldn’t matter if she had thousands. A country can’t be run by a few hundred pure-hearted girls modeled after a convent. There’s a reason the Holy Crown Church clings to the Empire. Even with the power to govern fate, you can’t rule people without getting your hands dirty."

A convent, huh.

That might be true, but wasn’t she underestimating the communications officers a little? Unlike actual nuns, they had even managed to copy some of the foresight abilities. Well, then again, even Saintesses weren’t necessarily great at ruling a country.

"Anyway, Hilde, you got what you wanted, didn’t you?"

"Tyrkanzyaka went berserk, and things just happened to turn out that way. But I didn’t achieve my real goal—winning Father’s favor."

"You already have."

"...Huh?"

"If your goal was to flatter me, then congratulations, you’ve succeeded. I like you, Hilde. And not just because you helped me escape."

Though that did play a big part.

It was a simple fact—if someone went out of their way to please me, showering me with praise and attention, of course I would find them agreeable. Flattery was a two-way street. People accepted it knowing it was flattery, because the act itself was enjoyable.

Hilde tilted her head, as if surprised.

"Even though you know it’s an act?"

"Why not? Everyone wears masks. They assess who they’re dealing with and adjust their persona accordingly. I act differently around Azzy than I do around Tyrkanzyaka."

"But the moment you realize it’s a mask, doesn’t it feel disappointing? Just like how Tyrkanzyaka felt when she saw you put yours on."

"Maybe. Knowing that Hilde doesn’t actually revere me, but instead sees me as a useful figure, does affect me. But... so what?"

The only people who truly knew their real selves were either monks who had meditated for decades or mind-readers like me.

And both would likely come to the same conclusion—it doesn’t matter.

"Even if you knew the ‘true’ you, or if you understood your ‘true’ feelings, would that change anything? We’re just humans. With limited time and limited choices, we act and decide as best as we can in the moment. Whether that action comes from sincerity or from calculated performance—does it make a difference? You acted with sincerity, didn’t you?"

Hilde had lived a life where endless roles blurred the boundaries of her identity, desperately seeking something to anchor herself to.

And yet, she cherished her performances more than anything.

Even now, she hadn’t let go of them.

"You say your past life was all just a role... but isn’t an actor’s filmography incredibly important? The Divine never truly saved you, yet you still wield divine power. Yuel called you in and exploited you, yet you still feel attached to the Military State. Whether it was an act or not, you hold these experiences dear, don’t you?"

If Hilde hated acting, she wouldn’t have carefully preserved her past roles in her mind, summoning them at will like treasured memories.

She loved performing.

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She loved it so much that she had lost herself in it.

Well then—why not become the embodiment of performance itself?

I wouldn’t mind.

"So even if it’s just an act, Father is fine with it?"

"I’m just the audience watching from outside the stage. No matter what role you play, no matter how convincing it is, I’ll always know it’s a performance. My job is simply to sit back and appreciate the show."

"...The audience."

What Hilde had been searching for was not her true self, nor a life free from acting. As someone who couldn’t help but be an actor, what she truly wanted was an audience—someone to watch and judge her performance.

At first, she had chosen the Celestial God. Then, she turned to the Saintess who could see the future. She had devoted herself to acting for them, giving her all... but the truth was that the Celestial was nothing more than a stage prop, and the Saintess was merely the architect trying to construct the stage. Neither could truly be her audience.

The next person she found was me, the King of Humans.

Fortunately for her, I was someone who could give her exactly what she needed.

"Heeh. I see. That’s something only a ‘Father’ could say~."

Stretching her arms, Hilde let out a small sigh and closed her eyes.

Within her mental world, she stepped backstage, selecting a new role. What costume to wear, how to speak, how to move—she adjusted herself to match her counterpart.

But I was sitting in the audience. I had seen her entire filmography. I knew what she was doing. I couldn’t be fooled.

...Though maybe, just maybe, I wanted to be.

"...I see. Our first meeting was so sudden that I never properly stepped out of my previous role. What a mistake... If I wanted to act out something new, I should have discarded my last role first."

It was inevitable. Back then, we had been accompanied by the Regressor, Tyrkanzyaka, and Ria. If Hilde had wanted to stay with me, she had needed to maintain the persona of the Eternal Sentinel of the Military State’s Six Generals.

She had to play that role just to step onto the stage I was on.

But now, none of that remained by my side. No Military State, no Regressor, no Tyrkanzyaka.

The previous stage had already closed its curtains.

"I am..."

Hilde muttered the words to herself, then opened her eyes once more.

Her appearance hadn’t changed, but I knew—she had switched roles.

"Phew... That’s a relief. Not even a thousand-year-old vampire would ever think to look for a tunnel beneath the ground. A vampire that never sleeps doesn’t dream... but even so, we should be safe here for now."

A hideout stumbled upon in the midst of constant danger. It wasn’t a place where one could live forever, but for the next few days, it was safe.

A temporary paradise, one that she knew she would eventually have to leave behind.

Yet Hilde deliberately turned her gaze away from that looming despair.

"It’s late. Let’s stay here until we come up with a better plan, Father."

The Military State had disappeared from Hilde’s thoughts. So had divine power.

The role she had taken on now was that of a daughter fleeing from vampires alongside her father, clinging to a fragile hope.

What a ridiculous bit of method acting.

But I had already decided to humor her.

At any rate, as long as we escaped from the Duchy, it didn’t matter.

I nodded without hesitation.

"Fine. It’s getting dark. Let’s get some rest and sort things out tomorrow."

"Alright! Then...."

As if waiting for this exact moment, Hilde suddenly slipped into my blanket.

It wasn’t fast, but her movements were so natural that I didn’t even register them at first.

Only after a moment did I lift the blanket in confusion, finding Hilde nestled up against me.

She peeked her head out, tilting it slightly.

"Wh-What are you doing? Why are you suddenly getting in here?"

Hilde blinked as if she didn’t understand why I was questioning her.

"Huh? It’s cold at night, so I thought we’d share body heat...."

"Body heat? You can change your own temperature whenever you want!"

A person trained in internal energy manipulation could freely control their own body. Depending on their level, they could resist both heat and cold, even develop immunity to poisons.

Someone like Hilde, who could change her entire appearance and physique at will, could obviously regulate her body temperature.

And yet...

"Father, really. When I was little, you didn’t mind sleeping next to me... Is it because I’ve grown too much? But body warmth is important on a harsh journey."

For Hilde, this was the truth.

This was genuine sincerity.

Because she was in character.

This damn method actor.

She had altered even her own beliefs to fit the role!

She was so fully immersed that even I hadn’t questioned her presence under the blanket until it was too late—because she didn’t see anything strange about it.

...Impressive. Really, truly impressive.

Even as I marveled at her dedication to the act, I felt the warmth of the blanket surrounding me.

I reconsidered.

Maybe I did need this.

I, too, had acquired Demonic Energy and could manipulate my body’s heat to some extent, but focusing my energy was more of a hassle than just using Hilde as a portable heater.

"Father... do you dislike sleeping with ‘me’?"

I shook my head.

"Not really. You just... kind of smell."

"You idiot! Of course I smell! We’ve been walking for days without rest! I was planning to wash up tomorrow!"

Pouting, Hilde turned her head away, cheeks puffed in frustration.

But despite her sulking, she still remained firmly pressed against me.

Her body was honest, at least.

"Father’s body really is big... ‘I’ may have grown quite a bit, but compared to him, I’m still so small. If only I could just stay like this... in Father’s embrace, forever."

A daughter with a father complex?

What kind of absurd roleplay setting was this?

What had possessed her to take on such a deranged act?

"W-What am I thinking?! Even if he’s not my real father...! He’s the one who raised me! The priority right now is getting out of here safely!"

This setting was getting way too complicated.