episode_0032

My dizzy mind cleared up. Clere, who had been looking at me worriedly and fidgeting, stopped moving, and the astonished expressions of the C Company soldiers froze like statues. Though my consciousness remained intact, even the blood flowing from my body to the ground came to a halt when a voice reached us.

– I appeared because it seemed like you were about to be endlessly trapped in death if left alone.

The so-called god, who had revealed himself in a form visible only before I experienced death in my past life and was reincarnated into this world, once again manifested only his voice. My body was frozen, but fortunately, my mouth could move.

“What kind of trouble are you going to cause this time?”

– I certainly gave you the strength to defy death, but I also mentioned there would be side effects. But you didn’t seem to worry about that.

You should at least tell me what those side effects are so that I can worry about them. This so-called god seems to think he can just throw something like a divine contract and expect everything to be taken care of.

– Have you never found it strange that whenever you excessively demonstrate your abilities, blood pours out without fail? Hmm. Even though I selected you without discriminating against exemplary cases, I didn’t expect it to be to this extent.

“So, using a lot of magic… makes blood pour out?”

– It’s not magic! It’s showing the miracle of the god’s power briefly on the earth. Let’s refrain from comparing it to such a low-level force. I am a deity too, you know.

The first time blood poured out was when I returned to the Kingdom of Frankia. It was after I died once by the hands of a mermaid. It happened while waiting for a carriage. The second time was near the road in Granbier, where I collected the bodies of citizens who had died and conducted a makeshift funeral. They said they saw a halo around me.

“But today, I used some kind of divine power or something!”

– Yes, you did use it. Didn’t you close your eyes and pray when the ship was about to collide? Thanks to that, the ship narrowly missed us.

That’s why people around me were giving me strange looks. It must have looked like another halo. Anyway, then why did the voice in my head reappear now? To remind me that I was foolish?

– You’re having impure thoughts again. I distinctly told you, if left as is, you’ll fall into the trap of doing nothing and endlessly dying.

“Huh?”

– The counteraction that unfolds miracles on earth is an overload on the soul. It’s the natural cost of manifesting on earth through your soul. But isn’t the important thing to raise earthly faith? Besides, I don’t intend to waste the conduit I’ve obtained for a change. So, I’ve given the power to ward off those side effects.

“What, what do you mean?”

– It’s nothing much. After performing a miracle, you just have to praise the god. Naturally, you should say it out loud.

“But I can’t possibly do that!”

– Well, what can you do. Rumors are already spreading about you being a saint, so adding that level of showmanship won’t make much difference, will it?

I thought it would be better to just bleed out and die. I didn’t want to do such things when I was going to come back to life anyway. Isn’t this absurd?

– If you perform a miracle and take no action, your body won’t hold up. It’s the same even if you resurrect. It’s a serious spiritual injury, not a physical one. If it accumulates beyond a certain level, you’ll die right after resurrecting, falling into a terrible state upon resurrection. That’s why I appeared this time, to let you know.

Damn it. No wonder there were no side effects to the ability of miracles. If the form of God I’m talking to now had appeared in front of me, I would have hit or shot in anger. One of the reasons I was angry was that I couldn’t do anything because it was just a voice ringing in my head. But I can’t shoot myself in the head.

– Anyway, it would be nice if we didn’t have to hear each other’s voices often. Oh, and when I disappear, you should immediately praise me. It’s right before I die again. You do know that resurrection is also a kind of miracle, don’t you?

The clear mind that had stopped when time paused became complicated again. As a result, the blood began to flow back towards the ground, and the people around me returned to their normal speed more and more rapidly. As blood drained, my vision blurred, making it difficult to concentrate, and I felt like I was really going to die. Eventually, my survival instinct overcame my feeble rebellious spirit.

I held the hand that was trying to stop the bleeding and the hand that was trying to hold back the blood, and my legs, which were weakly bending, knelt down and sat on my knees. I raised my head as much as possible to stop the bleeding and began to praise full of survival instinct.

“……”

I couldn’t do it loudly. Barely enough for my ears to hear. But even that seemed to satisfy the gods, as the blood slowly began to stop. And a golden light that looked dazzling in my eyes. It was not a welcome halo at all. There were exclamations from the surroundings, and some devout individuals could be heard praying.

I recalled the words of Max, the B Company commander who used grenades on the Gallion of the Republic. Don’t rely too much on magic. It was a word that suited me perfectly now. I should change it to “Don’t rely on miracles instead of magic,” but the context was correct.

“Lieutenant Marianne, are you really okay?”

Clare still looked worried. It was understandable, as the amount of blood spilled on the ground was already enough to be fatal due to excessive bleeding. My blood-soaked clothes and subordinates added to her concern.

“Yes, I think I’m fine now. Sir, you saw it too. The halo.”

“It was the first time it appeared so distinctly just now. I don’t know, Marianne, maybe you’re about to receive the embrace of a saint.”

Did I have a conversation with God just now? I wiped the blood off my face with my already blood-stained military uniform. Looking around, some of the devout were eyeing the blood I shed. If I really became Saint Marianne Roshe, the blood spilled on the ground would transform into holy blood. Then it might be sold at a high price. The thought of someone else collecting my blood made me shiver involuntarily.

“Because it’s dead blood that has been drained of its accumulated toxic energy, there’s no need to covet it, everyone. It would be better to quickly wipe it away with a mop.”

If I say this, even if it’s unlucky, no one will take it.

#

Fortunately, perhaps due to rumors that I am receiving sacred care, I was able to rest in Captain Jorj’s cabin. It was after changing out of my blood-soaked military uniform into a new one. The new clothes weren’t in great condition due to several damp days at sea, but they were much better than the blood-soaked ones.

Unlike other places on the warship where the smell of the military was strong, the captain’s cabin was decorated with luxurious white paint. There was a small chandelier on the low ceiling, and on one side, there was a cabinet fixed with fine spirits. On the opposite wall, cutlasses and muskets hung, and in the center, there was a map of the continent of Europa on the table.

Despite the luxurious cabin, Captain Jorj spent most of his time on deck and in the mission. Perhaps to the sailors, this space felt stuffy.

The map was classified as military equipment, so it was the first time I had seen such a detailed military map of the continent of Europa. It looked quite similar to the map of Europe from my previous life. The biggest difference was that there were no small countries, only large ones.

“Hmm.”

From the approximate North Sea map that Cler showed me, I could see things that couldn’t be seen before. The location of a small village that Sasha had plundered east of the Delpine River, a narrow road leading to Moscobi and Baltigrask, and even detailed markings of small reefs and uninhabited islands on the sea. This was enough to be considered military secrets.

The last place I hadn’t explored in the captain’s cabin. My gaze soon turned to Captain Jorj’s desk. Various odds and ends were piled up messily, and among them, there were unsealed envelopes containing letters.

On the unsealed envelope, the royal lily emblem was drawn. So, this meant that it was directly received from the royal family, and it was highly likely that it was related to an order directly issued by the royal family.

“Shall we take a look?”

I didn’t have the authority to look at the orders, but just for a moment, would it be okay to take a quick peek? After all, if I don’t get caught, no one will know who saw it. There aren’t even any CCTVs in this era.

I stared at the door of the captain’s room, counting to ten. If no one came in during that time, I decided to look. If someone came in, there was no helping it. At the end of the 10 seconds, with half my heart hoping someone had come in and the other half hoping no one had, the door to the captain’s room remained closed.

I quickly took out the orders from the envelope and read them. The contents were as follows: Safely escort the Grand Duke’s family attempting to escape the Moscovi Republic to Paris. It was shocking. The Grand Duke abandoning his own country and fleeing? And being welcomed by the enemy state, the Kingdom of Frankia?

The orders were brief, but they contained information about the current situation in the Moscovi Republic: extensive damage to the republic’s territory by insurgents, a coup d’état by the Guard Hussar Regiment, and the heir to Grand Duke Ivan already assassinated. The new successor put forward by the Moscovi Republic’s Guard was soon to be crowned.

The intelligence agency of the Kingdom of Frankia seemed to have worked quite diligently. This information would be flown to Paris, then immediately delivered to Captain Georges and the Royal Navy, and the unit would soon arrive in Valtigrad. While the Grand Duke’s family moved from Moscovi to Valtigrad, the Kingdom of Frankia had acted incredibly swiftly.

The Kingdom of Frankia had precisely mobilized just the necessary elite forces from the army and navy, maintaining secrecy properly. The problem was that after transporting Grand Duke Ivan and his family, La Frankia urgently needed repairs, and the fact that they would be facing the enemy, Sasha’s Hussar Regiment, was a variable.

Additionally, the extensive damage caused by the insurgents was also worrisome. I was concerned whether the village would remain intact upon arrival in Valtigrad.

“Hmm? You saw, didn’t you?”

The door burst open, and Captain Georges entered. I hastily put the orders back into the envelope, pretending as if nothing had happened, but I knew it was already too late. However, I couldn’t bear the thought of having been caught secretly looking at classified information if I hadn’t taken such action.

“You don’t need to be so stiff, Lieutenant. After all, we’re landing tomorrow, and I was going to tell you once everything’s sorted out. Since you’ve seen it, I guess there’s no need for me to do it.”

“Oh, okay. Understood.”

“According to the orders, it seems like the state of the country is a mess. The Royal Guard inciting a rebellion.”

When looking back at history, there were no units as frequently involved in rebellions as the Royal Guard. Although they are a unit that protects the royal family, they often took the lead in rebellions. When the country was stable, they extended their weapons outward, but when things got chaotic, their tendency was to turn their weapons inward.

“Hmm, do you like alcohol? I guess I should call the Chief of the Naval Command too.”

He took out the alcohol that had been fixed in the cabinet, then without waiting for my response, he called the sailor who was waiting outside and ordered him to bring Cler, the commander. Didn’t he say tomorrow is the operation? And it’s a heavy mission to guard the high-ranking officials. Can he drink even though that’s the case?

“Don’t worry. I’ll just have a little. Hehe.”

I’ve never seen someone who says they’ll only have a little actually drink just a little. But what can a mere lieutenant do? Even if he’s from another unit, he’s still the captain of the Galleon. I should accept the glass he quietly offers.