Omniscient First-Person’s Viewpoint
Chapter 319: The Secret of Birth

｢Indeed. There is no way a child with such extraordinary abilities would suddenly call Hu “Father” without reason. She must be the child of the previous King of Humans!｣

The misunderstanding is going in a completely unexpected direction!

Up until now, it was amusing to watch her make all these wrong assumptions, so I was just reading her thoughts and watching quietly.

But this has gone too far.

It’s getting to the point where the misunderstanding can’t be cleared up.

Maybe I should resolve this before it gets any worse…

｢The strange ability to transform into another human’s appearance… There are some differences, but does that power not resemble Hu’s? When Hu returned my heart, I remembered… Hu became like me. He did not physically transform like that child, but I clearly felt it.｣

Reading Tyr’s thoughts, I suddenly had an idea and froze for a moment.

Hmm… hold on.

I can read human thoughts, but I can’t predict what they will do.

Human thoughts clash and conflict, leading to unexpected and completely random outcomes.

Because of that, I can’t be a Prophet.

All I can do is observe from the sidelines and watch the possibilities unfold.

Tyr’s newly discovered possibility might be worth watching.

Fine, I’ll let the misunderstanding continue for now.

“Alright, let’s stop this pointless debate about age. What does it matter if someone is younger or older? Mr. Shei, you’re already talking casually to everyone with no sense of respect for rank or age, so talking about age will not bring us anywhere.”

“What did you just say, you bastard?”

“See? That just proves my point. Honestly, it’s better to be called ‘Father’ than to be called ‘bastard’. At least there’s some respect in it.”

“Exactly! I’m calling him ‘Father’ with all due respect and honor!”

The Regressor looked exasperated.

“How long have you even known him to be talking about respect and honor? Ugh, whatever. If you two want to play like that, fine. It’s none of my business.”

“Feel free to join us anytime, Mr. Shei! There’s always room for two kids.”

“I’ll even call you big brother Shei!”

“Shut up! Don’t drag me into your weird little game!”

As we were teasing the Regressor, I suddenly heard Tyr’s thoughts.

｢If Shei is the son and Hilde is the daughter… hehe. That leaves only one spot.｣

Tyr cleared her throat and interrupted, gently reprimanding the Regressor.

“Shei, do not build such walls between us. We, after all, are going to be seeing each other for a long time, so you should try to get along with everyone.”

“If getting along means that nonsense, I’d rather never see all of your faces again!”

“…I see. You are at that age after all. Oh dear, the son is being rebellious…”

“Who’s being rebellious?!”

At that moment, the Catafract suddenly came to an abrupt stop with a loud jolt.

Startled, Azzy, who had been on the roof, barked loudly.

“Woof!”

From inside the Catafract, we couldn’t see what was going on outside, so I called toward the driver’s seat.

“D.G.?”

There was no response.

The figure that resembled a golem sitting in the driver’s seat, though not actually a proper golem, continued to drive without reacting.

I calmly knocked on the communication system to get the attention of the Signaller.

“Hellooooo! Captain D.G., are you there?.”

Finally, I got a response. A crackling voice came through the rough speaker.

[Crkkk… This is Captain D.G., SIgnaller of the Military State… You called for me…?]

“Why have we stopped?”

[Currently verifying… Crkkk… The Catafract has stopped. We are waiting for a bridge to cross the Meta Conveyor Belt…]

“Ah, I see. So we’ve finally left the Inner Circle.”

The Meta Conveyor Belt, the flowing stream of land that wrapped around the Military State like a river.

Like a river, it provided enormous benefits when followed, but trying to cross it or go against its flow was difficult.

Particularly for vehicles, trying to cross it directly almost always resulted in overturning.

The golem, designed for special purposes, spoke again in a tired, robotic voice.

[Yes… We arrived two minutes ahead of schedule, and as a result, we had no choice but to stop. Please wait for a moment…]

“Understood. Let’s take a look outside while we wait.”

I tried to open the hatch, but it felt heavier than usual.

Azzy was sitting on top of it, preventing it from opening.

I knocked on the hatch and called out.

“Azzy! Move aside!”

“Woof?”

The weight disappeared.

I lifted the hatch and peeked outside.

Before me was the wide, flowing expanse of the Meta Conveyor Belt.

The sight of the land rippling like water was still a magnificent view.

Huge containers floated along the earth like debris in a river.

Even though the Catafract was sturdy, it didn’t look like it could survive a collision with one of those speeding containers.

Of course, as long as we stayed on top of the bridge, we wouldn’t get hit.

I sat on the edge of the vehicle, gazing absentmindedly at the scenery when a black parasol suddenly popped up beside me.

I scooted over as Tyr, holding her parasol, joined me and sat beside me, watching the flowing “river.”

“Hmm. Indeed, it looks difficult to cross this with such a cumbersome vehicle. Shall I just carry it across?”

She said it so nonchalantly, like lifting a multi-ton steel fortress was a trivial task.

Truly, when you have superhuman strength, strategies and tactics are unnecessary.

But on the other hand, if you have strategies and tactics, you don’t need superhuman strength.

I pointed across the way and said, “No need for that. The bridge is arriving now.”

“The bridge arrive…? You mean to say the bridge moves?”

Sometimes seeing is believing.

I pointed to the row of five containers approaching from a distance, each carrying a large steel plate.

Tyr followed my gaze with curiosity.

Until they came close, the containers just looked like floating squares.

But as they neared us, they began to transform.

Several golems suddenly appeared.

Then, with a series of metallic clunks, the containers shifted.

Their sides unfolded and detached, transforming into arch-shaped steel bridges.

The ends of the containers were anchored securely on the stationary land.

With a metallic groan, the bridge extended across the Meta Conveyor Belt like a bird spreading its wings.

A golem at the edge of the bridge saluted and reported.

[This is Captain F.Z., in charge of the Meta Conveyor Belt! The bridge is now fully deployed!]

[Crkk… This is Captain D.G. of the Military State Signaller! The bridge has been confirmed! We’re moving out! Everyone, please hold on!]

With a rumble, the Catafract started moving again, swiftly rolling onto the newly deployed bridge.

The bridge, though hastily set up, supported the massive weight of the Catafract without issue.

[Mission complete! D.G., taking over from here!]

[Confirmed! Moving out now!]

With a clatter, the Catafract sped across the bridge.

The steel plates rattled under its weight as it crossed over the flowing ground below.

Tyr, impressed by the bridge’s sudden appearance, looked on with interest.

“Hooo. Quite impressive. When you mentioned a bridge, I was expecting something like a pontoon bridge, but I did not expect a bridge to be created like this. Were those golems responsible?”

“Yep!”

Hilde, who had come up and sat down next to me, muttered grumpily.

“This is an incredible privilege, you know? Having multiple Signallers coordinating this for just one person… I’ve never experienced such luxury! If ‘I’ had known, ‘I’ would’ve tried to recruit a Signaller for myself!”

“Then why go through the trouble of setting up a temporary bridge? Would it not be easier to have a permanent one in place?”

“Hehehe, guess why!”

“Oh?”

Tyr seemed intrigued by the quiz and straightened up to give it some thought.

“There must be a reason why a permanent bridge would be problematic. Is it to prevent people from crossing without permission?”

“That’s half correct! Even though the Meta Conveyor Belt is like a river, it’s still land, so a person could cross if they were determined enough.”

“Hmm, that makes sense, but are you also concerned that something large passing underneath might collide with the bridge?”

“That’s another half-correct answer. But most of the containers are standardized, so they wouldn’t hit the bridge. Look, they’re passing under it right now, aren’t they?”

“You are being difficult. Two half-correct answers should make a full correct answer.”

“This is a quiz! Unless you give the main reason, I can’t call it the correct answer!”

“Hmm…”

Tyr pondered deeply and from the look on her face, it seemed unlikely she’d find the answer quickly.

She’s the kind of person who could spend ten days straight pondering a single problem without even sleeping.

If that happened, I’d be stuck reading her thoughts all day.

For the sake of my mental health, I couldn’t let that happen.

“Shall I give you a hint?”

Tyr brightened at my offer.

“Yes, I will gladly accept your hint. Of course, it is not because I cannot figure it out, but because I cannot refuse your kindness.”

“The Meta Conveyor Belt is a land that flows like a river, right? But people often get confused by the word ‘land.’ In reality, the Belt serves the same purpose as a river. It transports, it moves things…”

“Yes, I know that. But I’m asking why there is not a bridge in place.”

“Tyr, imagine the Meta Conveyor Belt as a river that flows around the entire Military State. What does it resemble?”

The answer came to Tyr quickly, as it was something she was familiar with.

“A moat?”

She spoke with a hint of reluctance.

“Correct. And what is the purpose of a moat?”

“To prevent us from approaching a fortress.”

By “us,” Tyr likely meant vampires.

I fully understood why she phrased it that way.

One of the well-known weaknesses of vampires is their aversion to flowing water.

Despite being able to withstand slashes from swords and gunfire, their porous nature sometimes causes them to mistake the flow of a river for their own bloodstream.

When that happens, it feels like their body is dissolving.

For some, it doesn’t end at just a feeling, as their control over their own blood weakens.

So, vampires instinctively avoid flowing water.

“Of course, moats aren’t just for keeping out vampires. They’re troublesome for ordinary humans too.”

“So, it is to keep enemies from invading?”

“Exactly. Of course, enemies could still build a bridge, but as you mentioned before, we could knock it down with a few well-placed containers!”

“Ah, so that is why my answers were only half right!”

Tyr nodded in appreciation. She seemed to enjoy the little quiz, but Hilde, the one who posed the question, pouted.

“Hey, that’s not fair! How can you just give all the answers, Father! That’s cheating!”

“That’s because the winner is always the one who knows the answer first. You should’ve wrapped it up before it dragged on.”

“That’s a life lesson… I’ll take it to heart.”

As Hilde mumbled begrudgingly, something seemed to occur to Tyr.

“So the moat was made to keep vampires out…”

“I don’t think that was the sole reason. Isn’t that a bit paranoid?”

“Regardless, moats only serve a purpose if there is an enemy. So who is this ‘enemy’ the Military State fears? Someone or something that requires a flowing moat and is dangerous enough to warrant preventing the construction of permanent bridges?”

Ah, that’s an easy one.

Tyr might not know, having been asleep for so long, but if there’s a war, it would definitely happen here.

“The answer is—“

Just as I was about to speak, I was interrupted.

[Emergency! Incoming transmission received! This is Captain D.G. issuing a warning to all Catafract passengers!]

The golem’s urgent voice blared from inside the Catafract.

[An enemy unit has been detected! Prepare for an attack!]

“Tch. Guess there’s no time for explanations. How dull.”

As I muttered in frustration, the transmission continued.

[The Dhole, a mobile force from the Fallen Dominion, is rapidly approaching our position!]