Omniscient First-Person’s Viewpoint-Chapter 468: A Father Is Not Singular

Villages are built in places where life can thrive. People gather in locations with flowing water, pastures for livestock, or flat land suitable for farming, forming settlements in these favorable areas.

True to its name, Black Valley Village was nestled beside a valley. Of course, what truly mattered wasn't the valley itself but the water that flowed through it. More than just the water itself, the blessings it brought—lush grass, clean wells, and fertile land—played a crucial role in the village's formation. Still, since the valley was the most visually prominent feature, the village was named after it.

Despite its name, the valley wasn’t exactly a place worth visiting. The wet rocks alone were enough to be deadly, and wild animals, drawn by thirst, roamed the area daily. Other than washerwomen with laundry to do or butchers finishing up their work, there was no reason to go near it.

“Come on, Father!”

Taking advantage of that moment, Hilde and I launched a surprise visit.

Mountain water was freezing, especially in the early morning before the sun had fully risen. As soon as my hand touched the ice-cold water, a shiver ran through my entire body. Regaining my senses instantly, I stood up and hesitated.

“...Is this really okay? Shouldn’t we heat the water first and let it cool down?”

“And how exactly would you start a fire? Where would you store the water? Even if you manage to heat it, how long are you planning to wait?”

“Well, if I use ritual magic, I could probably—”

I trailed off, shaking my head. Using magic here would be a foolish choice.

Hilde could also use magic. If she could wield holy power through her performance, learning a bit of ritual magic wouldn't be beyond her. But rather than paying the price of using black magic-based costs, it was simply more efficient for someone like Hilde, a Sixfold Saint, to warm the water with her own body heat instead. Overwhelming strength had a way of making efficiency irrelevant.

“Ritual... magic?”

“Never mind. Haah. I guess we can’t avoid washing up....”

Hygiene and cleanliness were directly tied to survival. Sighing gloomily, I reached ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ for my biological terminal for the first time in a while.

The clothing packet—a marvel of the Military State’s engineering. It was one of the inventions that Yuel, who sought to gather all the world's best creations for the Military State, had particularly coveted. While I had worn regular clothes in the Principality, when I fled, my instincts naturally led me back to the clothing packet. Military-grade packets were all built to be durable and practical.

As I deactivated the clothing packet, the alchemically woven fibers unwound, forming a coiled bundle. The thread clumped together along my arms and legs before retracting completely, coiling once more around my left forearm. Completing its compacted transmutation, the packet popped out from my wrist-mounted terminal. The long journey had worn it down; it looked old and dirty now.

“Ugh, it’s cold....”

Now reduced to just a shirt and underwear, I braced myself before plunging into the water—only to regret it instantly.

Even before my ankles were fully submerged, the biting cold made me yelp, but I forced myself to scrub both my body and the packet.

I couldn’t leave now, though. This was already a sunk cost. If I got out now, I’d only be colder, so I might as well make the most of it. Shivering, I rubbed my skin, scrubbing off the grime.

While I flailed around like a drowning puppy, Hilde calmly removed her clothes, neatly folding them and placing them atop a rock.

So that’s why she was fidgeting. Neatly folding clothes takes time, after all. A clothing packet would’ve made things much easier—wait a minute.

“Hilde.”

“Yes?”

“Why are you taking off your clothes and folding them? What happened to your clothing packet?”

“Eh? I’m not from the Military State, remember? I don’t have a biological terminal like you do.”

That was true. But she did have one, didn’t she? A special one made specifically for her transformation abilities!

I was about to point it out, but seeing Hilde’s performance made me give up. Fine. Who cares how she takes off her clothes?

“A-And... it’s embarrassing, so please don’t stare too much....”

“This is getting ridiculous.”

She was still wearing her underwear. Sure, she was a woman, so it made sense to be a bit reserved, but considering how brazen she’d been throughout the entire journey, this sudden shift in behavior was absurd.

No, hold on. This was acting.

If she suddenly started playing the role of a demure maiden, how was I supposed to react? I had agreed to watch from the audience, not act as her scene partner!

“Uuuu....”

Covering herself in embarrassment, Hilde finally plunged into the water.

Even as she shivered violently, she crouched down, submerging herself beneath the surface...

Without using any internal energy techniques to resist the cold.

“She really goes all in when she’s acting, huh.”

I mean, I had no choice but to endure the cold since I couldn’t use internal energy, but Hilde? She had consciously erased her awareness of her own qi flow.

She wouldn’t use any internal energy techniques while she was acting.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

...Well, whatever. She’d use them when we ran into vampires anyway. If she wanted to freeze herself for the sake of her performance, that was on her.

“Fine, do whatever you want. I’ll wash up with my back turned.”

Staying any longer would just get me sick. I turned away, letting the flowing water wash away the dirt.

Seeing me persist despite the cold, Hilde eventually followed suit, quietly standing up and beginning to wash. For a while, only the gentle splashing of water filled the silence.

After thoroughly scrubbing my body, I made sure to clean my clothing packet as well. Now that I was ready to get out, I turned toward Hilde.

“I’m done. How much longer do you—”

“Eek! Ahh!”

Hilde let out a startled scream, covering herself and sinking into the water.

Through the splashing droplets, glimpses of her pale skin were visible. Of course, she was still wearing her underwear.

What... why...?

Before I could even process my confusion, Hilde, her face flushed red, shyly murmured:

“Y-You said you wouldn’t look...!”

“Oh, give me a break.”

Seriously? Even in the middle of a fugitive escape, this was what she was worried about?

“As expected, you’re just used to seducing women every day, so you don’t think much of it. But I am not like that!”

“I am not like that! Where are you even getting these wild accusations from?!”

Since when did I seduce women every day?! I’ve never even properly dated someone in my entire life!

...Okay, sure, I might have had a few women who supported me after we got closer... but that’s beside the point!

“Why are you taking so long to wash?”

“D-Don’t ask a woman that! Women take time to clean themselves properly! You should know that, considering how many experiences you have with women!”

“I mean, I do, but....”

She could just use internal energy techniques to speed up the process...

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But I decided to keep that thought to myself.

Even putting aside the fact that she was acting right now, there was no real reason to rush through washing up with qi manipulation techniques. Even Historia took her sweet time when she went to bathe in the dormitory.

And sure, Hilde could usually transform, disguise, and change clothes in under a minute, but bathing was different.

“...Fine. Take your time. I’ll wash your clothes in the meantime.”

“Ah, my c-clothes... I should—”

‘No. The weather’s cold. I can’t waste any more time. I might have to rely on Father for this.’

Reaching out hesitantly, Hilde suddenly withdrew her hand and nodded.

“...Alright. Please... take care of it.”

She’s seriously lost it.

Until now, Hilde’s acting had always been meticulously calculated—analyzing reactions, researching behaviors, mimicking natural responses.

But now, she had erased everything.

She had locked away her own awareness, burying her true self beneath a different persona. Even I, a mind reader, found myself genuinely confused.

“At this rate, she might actually forget how to use qi... though I doubt that’ll happen.”

...She’ll be fine. Probably.

For now, I just focused on scrubbing her clothes.

At least the absurdity of the situation had distracted me from the cold—until I remembered.

And then I started shivering all over again.

Saying "it's fine" was utter nonsense.

We had managed to wash up and return to the burrow with a bucket of water, which was fine. But afterward, Hilde lay curled up under a blanket, lips turning a ghastly shade of blue, trembling violently. Anyone could see that she was on the verge of hypothermia.

Shivering pitifully, Hilde muttered,

“I-I’m... s-sorry... I was... t-too stubborn....”

“Yeah! So stop being stubborn and use your qi! You can at least shake off the chills!”

“If I had even a bit more talent... in qi...”

“You’ve got more than enough talent! You’re beyond talented—you’ve completely mastered it!”

“P-Please... don’t... abandon me....”

“Who’s abandoning who?! If anything, you’re the one leaving me behind, running off into your own delusions! I need you, dammit!”

‘He speaks so warmly... it just makes me want to rely on him more....’

No! Don’t give me that soft expression while you’re half-dead from the cold! That’s not what I meant! If you collapse from overcommitting to your act before we even escape, what the hell am I supposed to do?!

“There’s no way to light a fire in this burrow. Ugh, this is a headache.”

Would she be alright if I left her alone? Hilde was a master of qi. If she was truly in danger of dying, her own body would instinctively activate her qi to protect itself... or at least, that’s what should happen.

But I wasn’t confident.

If even the slightest trace of manipulation or testing me was in her thoughts, I would’ve just scoffed and left her there. But I couldn’t tell anymore! If this woman, obsessed with acting, had decided to fully commit to the role, she might actually let herself freeze to death before using qi!

“...Fine. We were planning to rest here for a few days anyway, so I’ll humor you for now. But don’t think I’ll keep doing this forever.”

“Th-thank... you...”

Watching Hilde tremble under the blanket, I fell into thought. To warm her up, I needed a fire, but in such a small burrow, lighting one was out of the question. As a temporary solution, I took out Spade 7, Lightning Tangle, and dropped it into the water bucket.

It would take some time for the water to warm up, though.

“Hilde.”

“...Yes?”

“Take off your clothes.”

Before she could react, I quickly added,

“They’re wet. No matter what you do, you won’t regain your body heat while wearing them.”

I was fine since I’d worn my clothing packet while washing up—it was slightly damp, but barely soaked. Meanwhile, Hilde had completely removed her clothes to wash them, meaning they had absorbed every drop of freezing river water. Right now, she was practically wearing the river itself.

Honestly, dealing with her soaked clothes was more important than even lighting a fire.

“B-but...”

“You’re the one who was being stubborn. If you don’t like it, use qi.”

I meant it seriously, but to Hilde, who was currently unable to use her qi, my words must have sounded downright cruel. She fidgeted as she trembled.

“...Yes. I was wrong....”

“Then now’s the time to—”

“Here....”

After some shuffling under the blanket, Hilde finally extended a hand, holding out her soaked clothes. I snatched them up immediately and hung them on a makeshift rack of twigs.

Then, without hesitation, I yanked her blanket away.

“Huh?”

“If you won’t use qi, then this is the only option left. You’ve taken your own body hostage for the sake of your performance.”

If she wouldn’t warm herself up, then I’d have to do it for her.

I climbed under the blanket with her and deactivated my clothing packet, leaving me just as bare. Pulling Hilde into my arms, I pressed our freezing bodies together.

She was ice cold.

The sudden closeness stunned Hilde into speechlessness.

“F-Father...?”

“Your body’s freezing. At this point, even your acting is commendable!”

This was real.

She really wasn’t using qi at all.

Normally, someone trained in qi would subconsciously control their bodily functions even without thinking. Especially those who had mastered Cold Qi—they wouldn’t flinch or tremble from discomfort at all. They could fight at peak condition regardless of the circumstances.

Yet here she was, deliberately ignoring all of that.

In a way, this was another level of mastery in Cold Qi... but what an utter waste of talent.

Hilde hesitated, avoiding my gaze. But then, as if drawn to the warmth, she slowly loosened her arms and wrapped them around my back. Finally, she pressed her body completely against mine.

Like flint striking flint, two freezing bodies rubbed together, and a small ember of warmth began to grow.

“...It’s warm,” Hilde murmured.

“No, you’re just unnecessarily freezing. You could regulate this properly instead of letting yourself get this cold.”

“...Sorry. I’m still... not used to Father....”

“I wasn’t talking about your attitude, I was talking about your body.”

Had she installed some kind of mental filter? Everything I said and did was being processed through her role, as if she was warping reality to fit her act. Even my blunt responses didn’t deter her. Instead, she rested her head against me and whispered,

“Being in Father’s arms like this... reminds me of the past....”

“...The past? This is the first time I’ve ever hugged you.”

Whatever role she was playing, it was one she had crafted herself. I wasn’t going to rip off her mask, but she’d be a fool to think I’d play along.

At my cold response, Hilde flinched slightly and shrank back.

“...I’m sorry. I confused you with my previous father—ah!”

Her expression wavered violently for a split second.

I, on the other hand, simply frowned in distaste.

“You confused me with someone else?”

“I-I’m sorry...! I misspoke!”

“You sure did. Because I was never your father to begin with, so don’t mix me up with someone else. I don’t want to get dragged into your baggage.”

“No! That’s not what I meant! P-Please don’t abandon me!”

“Abandon? I never even picked you up in the first place, so why would I bother?”

This wasn’t just simple regression.

No—this was reversion.

Hilde wasn’t just pretending to be someone else. She had locked away all of her own self, isolating her true memories somewhere deep in her subconscious. She wasn’t just acting—she had completely separated herself from the role she was playing.

And this role?

It wasn’t from her days as a Holy Orbit Sacred Sword, or even anything recent.

This act of hers came from far, far earlier in her past.

“So, let’s ask this properly—how many fathers have you had before me?”

“...Can I... really say?”

“I’m not the type to ask leading questions expecting a specific answer. Just say it.”

Hilde hesitated, lips pressing together tightly. Then, as if steeling herself, she finally answered.

“...If I don’t count the ones I can’t remember... you are the tenth.”

“...And what kind of people were those ‘fathers’?”

I had asked to figure out if there was a pattern among them.

But Hilde’s answer was far beyond anything I had expected.

“They were all VIP patrons of Yeonghwaru who designated my mother for long-term service....”