It’s annoying how reasonable the reason is

“…First the Red Cross, and now a teacher, you’re relying too much on Duke Aries for your connections, you cheeky brat.”

“Heh heh, it’s thanks to accumulating a lot of virtue in many ways.”

“Well, I suppose it’s natural to be favored for being true to a doctor’s duty rather than an unworthy human like me.”

Pepper Ziegler.

She was my mentor who taught me pharmacology when I studied abroad in the medical powerhouse country, and someone who had stepped onto the battlefield before me.

You could say she was a person who chose to become a mercenary collecting cadavers (corpses for research) while wandering the continent, giving up her nationality and even violating the medical country’s policies because her academic fervor was so strong.

“By the way, seeing you here, it seems you’re still running away from home. Are you still courting Sion and at odds with Celia?”

“What about it?”

“…Hesitate for at least one second.”

“I can’t lie even if I can joke, you know.”

Especially when it comes to Dad and that woman.

“…Anyway, how did I end up taking in such an eccentric as my disciple, even if it was at Sion’s request.”

“Are you one to talk? Seeing you getting involved in fights even though the war is over, it seems your obsession with research is still the same.”

“Research on the same humans is inevitable for the advancement of medicine. Isn’t participating in cutting out society’s tumors while keeping to that barely humane line?”

Well, Master was human after all.

A person who considers sacrifice inevitable for research if it’s for humanity, but thinks one should still comply with moral norms created by society to some extent.

Her current statement showed that she was still maintaining that disposition she had adhered to on the battlefield.

It was reassuring to me.

On battlefields where it’s unclear who is evil and who is good, anyone could become an experimental subject, and because of that, there were times when she would be hostile to me.

But in a situation like now where the enemy is clearly defined, there’s no way we’d be at odds.

“By the way, what brought our little one all the way here to fight with rebel rabble?”

“…That’s what I want to ask.”

Knowing such circumstances, I couldn’t help but feel considerable wariness about her appearance, separate from the joy of seeing her.

Anyone would think that way when meeting someone who roams dangerous places, even giving up their nationality. It means there’s that much danger where she has revealed herself.

“What on earth is happening in this city?”

“Same as usual.”

“…You mean dangers spreading to the entire city?”

“Yes, that.”

Come on, hesitate for at least one second before speaking.

I thought it was absurd, but I decided to treat it as not a big deal since I had anticipated it to some extent.

“Well, if you know that much, you probably have some idea too, little one. The opponents are not just one or two groups, but an alliance formed by several groups coming together. Moreover, they’ve come determined to attack this city, centering around some fanatic group.”

“Well, yes, I’m aware of that. That they’re remnants of the old era who worship the old emperor as a god…”

“Old emperor? What are you talking about?”

“Ah.”

Damn, I forgot for a moment.

The future this world has progressed to is the normal ending.

It’s a timeline where the Elder Fanatics, who only reveal their existence when the empire is overthrown, haven’t been active on a large scale.

No matter how excellent the surveillance system and information network of this academy are, I should keep in mind the possibility that such information hasn’t spread.

“Ah, well, these guys were saying something like the power of the old emperor couldn’t be broken so easily…”

“…Well, when you become half a corpse, your head goes stupid, so they might blurt out such important things.”

Fortunately, it seems they’ve already figured out that what they’re dealing with are undead.

Although it’s quiet due to the policy of not revealing significant dangers, the city’s defense forces must be on high alert now.

With the culprits who created such danger and their collaborators running amok all over the city, the words I conveyed would be considered very important information to them.

“I see, so it was the remnants of the old generation who were creating undead…”

In religion, faith towards god is absolute, and especially fanatics are groups that don’t consider laws or compromises with other groups at all.

As what they’re trying to do is that clear, figuring out what they’re following can also lead to discovering their purpose.

“One question for our little one.”

And now is the moment to share the information we have.

As if noticing something from the information I provided, she, who has accessed vast information as part of this city’s recovery team, soon asked a question.

“What do you think the remnants of the old emperor have come to do in this city?”

“…If I had to think of a reason, it would be terrorism.”

Idiots with extreme beliefs treat all means of resolution as violence, whether in this world or the other.

“Yes, their collaborators are causing trouble all over the city even at this moment. They’re trying to kidnap specific targets or plunder treasures, and with idlers looking for something to do taking advantage of their rampaging, it’s chaos everywhere…”

“…It’s amazing this city hasn’t collapsed until now.”

“There’s nothing strange about it. Problems accumulate where people gather, and this city in particular is gathering many people. If you knew how much of the funds operated in this city are invested in defense alone, you’d be surprised too.”

Well, a country originally collapses in an instant if public order isn’t maintained.

So even if exposed to countless dangers, many people must be busily running around in unseen places to secure at least superficial safety.

“But even while they’re scattered causing trouble, we’ve confirmed some guys moving in groups of hundreds.”

“…Hundreds?”

“Yes, hundreds of people. A number that’s impossible to hide even if they try is acting collectively in this city. Probably the Elder Fanatics… The guys you called remnants of the old era.”

Even with just over twenty people, it’s difficult to hide their presence, but you’re saying a group tens of times larger than what I faced before is moving together in one place?

“You know too, little one? That there are deep waterways dug under this city.”

“Ah, yes. I know. Wasn’t it said to be almost on the scale of an underground labyrinth?”

“Yes, and because this city is located in the center of the continent. Water flowing from most places passes under this city, and naturally the scale of the waterways has grown as investment increased.”

Soon, Master’s gaze turned to the ground of the road we were standing on, towards where there was a manhole with a hole.

“Then another question. If the cultists came to terrorize this city, is going underground really a good choice?”

“…Not at all.”

The answer to the question came soon.

Originally, terrorism is done to convey their message rather than just destroying indiscriminately.

Moreover, criminal fanatics should be classified as ideological criminals without exception.

“In such a situation, when it’s not enough even if they openly claim responsibility, to go underground where even they risk being buried to prepare for terrorism…”

“…It’s suspicious.”

“Yes, it’s so suspicious it’s annoying. The only consolation is that it’s easier for cleanup crews like me to handle. We don’t have to bother setting up sound-blocking magic at incident sites, control traffic, erase bloodstains…”

“Dr. Pepper. The cleanup is almost finished.”

“Alright, get ready to move soon.”

Master answering the squad members’ words even while complaining.

Indeed, the surrounding roads had become unrecognizably clean compared to before.

Not only traces of the fight, but also the rebel rabble who had attacked me had all disappeared in the short time we had been talking.

“But I still felt uneasy, so I thought I should at least provide support.”

Master speaking nonchalantly as if even that was routine.

“By support… You mean going underground to fight the cultists?”

“Even an old woman like me can do something. You’re not trying to look down on me just because you’re younger, are you?”

“It’s not that. I just thought it was unexpected. I thought the Master of the past wouldn’t care about anything other than her own business…”

“What’s unexpected about that, I’m getting on in years too, so I need to prepare for retirement.”

“…Haha, that’s not very convincing coming from someone who goes to battlefields to collect cadavers, talking about retirement.”

She could be called the best on the continent when it comes to treating her own life lightly.

“Even a hyena rummaging through corpses cherishes its den to return to.”

Yet she speaks nonchalantly and just prepares to leave the place.

“Didn’t you beat these guys up because you consider this city as a second hometown too?”

“…I can’t deny that.”

From the standpoint of someone who left their hometown in the first place, how precious could a second hometown be.

But at least the desire for this place to become someone else’s, especially children’s, hometown is sincere.

“At least the danger in this area has been removed, right?”

And since the work isn’t over yet, I should do what I need to do as a teacher.

“Well, most of them don’t seem to be targeting this area.”

“Then let’s go underground together. I’ll help as much as I can.”

“…From our standpoint, a teacher at Maris is a civilian, so you don’t need to get involved…”

“Since I already know everything anyway, is there any need to hide it?”

I’m not sure what the opponent’s purpose is yet, but in the worst case, there’s a risk of this entire city being overthrown.

Even if it’s somehow restored, if the timing is late, it could indirectly endanger the children.

“And you taught me this before, Master, didn’t you? That proper treatment is removing the cause of the symptoms rather than just weakening the symptoms.”

“…Well, it’s certainly more comfortable to prevent patients from appearing than to treat patients.”

Snickering, she laughed and started moving forward towards the recovery team.

“Don’t die before me, little one. If the disciple I’ve raised goes to the grave, I feel like my sleep will be disturbed.”

“Keep your worries to yourself. I’m not going thoughtlessly either.”

Yes, this current accompaniment wasn’t just meddling.

No matter how much it’s an adult’s duty to protect children, getting involved in something where there are plenty of others to replace me isn’t a profitable venture.

The reason for going together despite that was because this current attack was considerably related to personal circumstances.

“…You’re saying that woman is in this underground?”

Yes, I finally seemed to understand.

That miracles through prayer actually exist.

That beings with will can be realized through those prayers.

What fanatics living in a world where energy responds to that will are aiming for.

And why that woman, who learned of their movements through the Emperor, has only now set foot on this land two years after the war ended.

“It’s annoying how reasonable the reason is.”

But I’ll still crack her skull when I meet her.

---

-Drip, drip.

Groundwater flooding in from passages all around.

Amidst the musty smell spreading from that, a woman roaming the dark passage covered her mouth.

It wasn’t that the smell was disgusting.

It was just that the rough sensation felt from her throat was bothersome.

“…Cough.”

The woman who coughed out swept back her drooping hair and put her hand inside her clothes.

A spray-type bottle taken out from the open chest area of her linen clothes.

The liquid spraying out the moment she pressed the top part spread throughout her mouth, transmitting to her throat and providing a refreshing sensation.

“…The medicine Sion prepared is running out too.”

As the coughing subsided, Celia looked down intently at the medicine bottle in her hand with a bitter smile.

Was it a genetic disease where the airway closes due to inflammation?

This symptom that reacts sensitively to external inhalation if the condition isn’t improved was considered the most fatal symptom for someone born as a swordsman like herself.

If she hadn’t met her husband, it would have been impossible to even swing a sword like this…

No, before that, she would have surely died suddenly.

Seizures due to difficulty breathing could happen at any time.

“If I just take the medicine regularly, I become fine like this… People in the old days were really foolish.”

Celia gripped the sword hilt with a bitter smile and moved forward.

Her footsteps roaming the dark passage were very slow, but their direction was extremely accurate.

The faint smell of iron detected amidst the fishy smell permeating everywhere. And the sense of something foreign detected in the sound of flowing water…

There were plenty of things to serve as signposts around.

“…Looks like there’s already been a fight.”

The place she arrived at following such traces was where the waters from the waterways gathered in one place.

Although it was a wide place like a plaza, water was pooled in its center high enough to reach her knees.

Because countless corpses were tangled and clumped together in the place where water should have been flowing.