episode_0134

Together with Milaia, I led a large number of empty transport carriages from Kubel towards the kingdom’s capital.

The carriages also included food and water for the people to consume.

By the time we arrived at the kingdom’s capital, Pifnel, the city was already in chaos.

Upon hearing the news that the neighboring city had been destroyed by the Demon Lord’s army, the citizens of the capital saw their lives crumbling before their eyes.

Some with ill intentions resorted to thievery and robbery.

With many already evacuated, it seemed that looting of empty houses was becoming a common occurrence.

Furthermore, amidst all this, remnants of the rebel army were blocking the citizens from leaving the capital.

Some who had sought refuge in other cities were turned away, forced to return and be trapped in the capital.

“It’s almost turned into a lawless land…”

“Because the neighboring city is occupied by the Demon Lord’s forces.”

Milaia spoke expressionlessly.

Since arriving in the capital, she frequently glanced in the direction of the city where the Demon Lord’s army was stationed.

She couldn’t calm down, thinking that her enemy, Bloodstain, was there.

To prevent Milaia from impulsively confronting Bloodstain on her own, I made sure to keep a close eye on her.

If I didn’t, she might really not be able to hold back and go fight Bloodstain.

We parked the transport carriages in the capital square and began gathering people who were ready to evacuate with Kubel.

Initially, only a few showed interest, but as word spread among the people recognizing us as coming from the city of the Goddess, Kubel, the news quickly spread.

“Is it true that there’s a Goddess in Kubel?”

“Yes, if you come to Kubel, the Goddess will take care of you.”

“The Central Church people have all fled… If the Goddess is really there…”

“The unfortunate events in the kingdom are because the Central Church and the kingdom abandoned the Goddess. Come to Kubel. With the Goddess’s help, the kingdom will rise again.”

“Wow…”

I kindly answered the questions of those who approached the transport carriages.

The people here had some vague knowledge that Kubel was the city of the Goddess, but they were skeptical.

However, as we stepped forward to help in this difficult situation, even those who were skeptical began to rely on us.

As more and more people gathered in the square, wanting to evacuate, some took the initiative to bring additional carriages from the city, worried that there wouldn’t be enough.

There were also those who went to inform others who hadn’t heard the news about the evacuation.

“Come on, come on! Please maintain order! We are going to the city of the Goddess! There, we will find hope again!”

As the refugees joined the transport carriages, and more people gathered in the square, some took the lead in guiding and helping others onto the carriages without being asked.

Honestly, it was a relief to have help, as Milaia and I found it challenging to manage so many people.

In extreme situations, people tend to abandon reason and rely on instinct.

Except for a few rare individuals, kindness is often abandoned at the edge of the cliff.

But that’s when all hope is lost.

As long as there is even a small glimmer of hope, people do not fall into despair.

Watching the volunteers helping with the transport carriages here, I could feel that sentiment.

“Wait, what are you guys doing here? What’s going on here?”

As the refugees were gathering smoothly on the transport carriages, a group of armed men approached and questioned us aggressively.

Upon seeing them, Milaia spoke softly.

“It seems like remnants of the rebel army.”

“The capital of the kingdom still had a considerable number of rebel forces remaining.

However, those who had lost their leaders had simply turned into criminal gangs that plundered and harassed the citizens.

No one dared to step up to replace the deceased king.

Knowing the horrific fate that awaited them, they decided to remain as a vague armed group instead of claiming to be the new king.”

In the end, they’re just a bunch of armed bandits, aren’t they?

It seemed that the incident caused by Mileia had dealt a significant blow to the rebel forces.

But due to the large scale of the rebels, it wasn’t surprising that there were still many of them left.

“No one is allowed to leave this city without our permission!”

“If no one can leave, then you lot will face the same fate at the hands of the demon army, won’t you?”

I couldn’t believe it, so I asked.

“There’s no need to have a pointless conversation with these people, Yunoa.”

At that moment, Mileia stepped forward.

And quietly drew her sword.

“If it weren’t for you, the kingdom wouldn’t have ended up like this.”

“W-what… are you… trying to do?!”

A man who seemed to represent the remnants of the rebel forces drew his sword and shouted at Mileia.

But his hand and leg holding the sword were trembling.

And the man next to him, his face pale, said,

“W-wait… that woman… that woman! Mileia, the female swordsman… I heard she joined our rebel forces?!”

“What?!”

“Fighting that woman is suicidal! Run away quickly!”

Upon recognizing Mileia, the remnants of the rebel forces panicked and started to flee.

“Such foolish people.”

Mileia sheathed her sword back into its scabbard and said.

Thanks to that, we were able to resolve the situation without unnecessary fighting.

The early morning evacuation of refugees was almost over by late night.

Hundreds of refugees had joined us.

Although there was still time before the demon army arrived, the refugees, unaware of this fact, were anxious to leave the capital, so we decided to hurry the departure as much as possible.

“It seems like there’s no one important here…”

I muttered to myself as I looked around at the refugees preparing to leave.

What was the meaning of the narration in the end?

We had gathered refugees to the point where no more hopeful ones would come, but we still couldn’t find anyone special.

Even if we tried to search for someone here, there were too many refugees.

Was the important person mentioned by the narration really among us?

There was no way to confirm it immediately, but we couldn’t delay any longer than we already had.

It was more important to take the gathered refugees to Kubel than to search for someone we didn’t even know.

“Let’s start moving.”

Late at night, the refugee convoy quietly left the capital of the kingdom, Pifnel, heading towards Kubel.

People had expressions that seemed lost in deep thoughts.

I couldn’t imagine the feelings of those who had left their homes and were fleeing to a new place due to the demon army’s attack.

***

The convoy of transport carriages carrying refugees was moving through the forest towards Kubel.

Mileia was riding a horse and leading the convoy, while I rode in the front carriage with the refugees.

Until we reached Kubel, Algot said he would prepare to receive the refugees using the nearby forests and open spaces.

Among the refugees who rode in the carriage with me, there was a young girl who was accompanied by her mother.

The girl, with a sad expression that almost seemed like she would cry, had her head bowed deeply.

Next to the mother and daughter, there was a young man who looked to be around my age, sitting quietly.

The son of a well-off family, or perhaps a noble, he was dressed in clothes that gave no hint of being a commoner.

However, with a slight glimpse of his muscular arms, it was clear that this young man was well-trained physically.

“Yunoa rode in a carriage that, oddly enough, could potentially make him an important figure in the kingdom among the many refugees.”

At that moment, a narration echoed in his mind.

It was the narration that came when he was looking at the young man who seemed like a noble.

Could this young man be the ‘important person’ he mentioned before?

But aside from the fact that he was dressed in slightly expensive clothes, there were no clues as to why this young man might be an important figure.

Should I strike up a conversation at least?

His expression was so serious that it was difficult to approach him easily.

Then, the young girl sitting next to him started to cry softly, making a whimpering sound.

“I… want to go home…”

A girl yearning for home with a voice that seemed to be fading away.

Her mother beside her looked at her daughter with an expression of helplessness, saying nothing.

“What’s your name?”

The young man next to the mother and daughter spoke to the girl.

“…”

“I’m Edward. You want to go home, don’t you? Me too.”

“Eri.”

“Eri? Is your name Eri?”

The girl nodded her head.

The mother beside her looked at the young man suspiciously.

But the young man who introduced himself as Edward smiled at the girl and said, “Eri, you have a really pretty face. Did your mom braid your hair?”

“Um.”

“Are you feeling very anxious about leaving home?”

Nodding.

“It’s natural to feel anxious when going to a new place. They say really scary monsters are coming from the city next to where we used to live. But we’re lucky. We’re going to a better city where the goddess herself watches over us. It’s natural for everyone to feel anxious when leaving a place they’re used to and going to a strange place. But if you wait a little, many good things will happen.”

“Really?”

“Well, when I thought about leaving here, I was really sad like Eri. But we’re going to a safer and better place, so there’s no need to worry. When you go to a new place, you can meet new friends, right?”

“Uh…”

Edward was doing his best to reassure the girl.

In fact, he was probably just as anxious.

But to calm the girl’s anxiety, he was deliberately saying those words.

Having a prejudice that he must have a haughty personality because he was dressed like a noble, she thought to herself, “He’s a really good person.”

At that moment, the narration revealed the true identity of the young man named Edward right in front of her.

He was the 7th prince who had long been pushed out of the power struggle for the throne and had been living as an ordinary noble outside the palace.

Thanks to that, he was able to survive even when all the royal family members were massacred in the rebel attack on the palace.