Ch.131131. Faith, Expectations, and… (1)

The capital city is structured in a way that makes it easy to defend. At least when facing humans.

The capital is a basin. Surrounded by rugged mountains, the only way to enter the capital is by following the river that flows through the continent. There weren’t many ways to advance over the mountains, and even if enemies did cross over, it wouldn’t be difficult for the capital’s elite soldiers to defeat exhausted troops.

“They will come over the mountains.”

“Yes, they’ll come over the mountains. They’ll cross the seas too. They’ll fill in rivers and lakes and flatten forests.”

When facing monsters, everything changes. Mountains become trenches where enemies can hide, towers and bastions from which they can look down upon the castle while licking their lips. George stared at the map of the capital, deep in thought. The enemy would crush in from all directions as if on flat ground. This meant tens of thousands of monsters, originating from different regions across the continent, would trample through fortresses and villages on their way here.

“Here’s the troop deployment plan.”

Before George could finish his thoughts, his adjutant handed him a new document. A massive wall encircling the entire city beyond the basin. George looked at him and sighed. The defense battle in the north had been difficult enough, but how would they manage with this structure?

“It’s going to be a grueling fight. You probably know better than I do how those creatures attack walls, Commander. They say they just ram their heads against the wall without ladders or siege hammers. Once the bodies start piling up, we have no way to counter that. If even one monster gets over the wall into the capital where civilians are? I don’t even want to imagine what happens next.”

The calm explanation and the despairing expression seemed to belong to two different people. George listened to his adjutant’s explanation without saying a word.

“With monsters coming from all directions, we can’t evacuate people anywhere. If we send them outside, they’ll all die within a week, escorts included.”

“The Tower Master will help with the defense. Other mages will need to conserve their mana, but she’s different. We also have Daphne Ephiphone, a 6th circle mage. I think we can manage the defense.”

The queen’s decision was bold. She ordered all nearby small cities to be completely evacuated. After gathering the residents in the capital, temporary shelters were created. And naturally, the troops from the small cities were absorbed into the capital’s forces.

“It was about focus and concentration. An order to move residents, soldiers, and supplies from all provincial small cities to nearby major cities.”

This would make defense much easier. The buildings in the small cities would collapse and the land would be scorched, but people could be saved.

“…But if the walls are breached, none of that matters. Everyone will die. Isn’t that right, Commander?”

“By that logic, even if we repel all the monsters, we’ll still all die if we fail to stop the comet. We just need to focus on the task at hand. Don’t think about things we can’t control.”

Though meant as a rebuke, the adjutant’s expression only grew more gloomy. He had been so focused on the approaching monsters that he’d completely forgotten about the comet. George scratched his head, wondering if he should have kept quiet.

“Brighten up. Put on a fierce expression if you have to. If you go to battle looking like that, you’ll die before you even face a monster.”

“But… how can I help feeling anxious? Honestly, I don’t want to die yet.”

It wasn’t banter but sincere feeling. The adjutant stood there with a rather pale face. George looked at him quietly, then sighed. Perhaps it was better that he spoke so honestly.

“You don’t have to participate in battle if you don’t want to. But I won’t encourage you to make that choice. We need every person we can get. If you don’t want to come, you tell me.”

There was no consideration for those trembling with fear. What choice would Ilroy have made in this situation? George frowned. The adjutant was wavering, unable to speak. He was an intelligent person, but lacked decisiveness in crucial moments.

“If you can’t make a decision, go to the front and fight. You’ll die whether we stop them or not, right?”

“…Yes. At least if I die with dignity, I won’t have regrets.”

The adjutant spoke bitterly and left the room. George cleared his dry mouth and looked at the troop deployment plan. The letters and numbers swirled before his eyes, refusing to make sense. George forced his eyes open and crammed the information into his head. It felt completely different from the northern war. Calamities never become familiar. They only bring new despair each time.

“I am weak.”

George muttered, looking down at his palm. He had thought himself strong. At least, he believed he could stand firm better than Ilroy, better than anyone else in this kingdom. But as the number of people to share the burden decreased, George suddenly realized how heavy the load they had been carrying was.

“What sense of responsibility, what chivalry?”

George shook his head and looked out the window. The day was clear again. It was fortunate in the midst of misfortune that visibility was good. Or was it unfortunate since monsters would be more visible? The headquarters was bustling. Today, the queen herself would come to inspect. And from today, she would stay at headquarters, contemplating the coming war.

The knights rushing about with swords at their waists were pale. The thoughts of those trying not to think swirled like chaotic noise. Escaping the grating metallic sounds, George stepped outside the headquarters. A warm breeze brushed his face. The breeze carried no scent.

Summer is coming. Bodies will rot faster, and city sanitation will become harder to manage. Rotting corpses bring plague. Once plague starts spreading, it will cause damage no different than monsters breaching the walls. The dead won’t receive proper funerals but will be thrown outside the walls and burned along with the plague. George imagined his own corpse being thrown outside the wall.

“George!”

Suddenly, George snapped back to reality at the sound of a delicate voice calling his name. It wasn’t a voice that should be here. The voice kept calling his name, getting closer. A small woman with blonde hair, a tiny face with prominent freckles. George’s eyes widened at the sight of his fiancée in shabby clothes.

“Camilla.”

Camilla ran and embraced George. His armor creaked and rattled. Despite Camilla practically hanging onto him, George could barely feel her weight. Camilla’s eyes welled up with tears as she felt George’s hand on her shoulder.

“I heard. They say the battle will begin soon.”

Her voice was close to sobbing. George looked at her with sympathetic eyes. Though George would be on the battlefield and Camilla inside the castle, it was Camilla who wasn’t safe. Knowing this or not, his fiancée was only worried about George.

“I’ll be fine. I’ve returned safely from battle many times before.”

He didn’t bother saying that war doesn’t discriminate between veterans and novices. The battle could start tomorrow, and he might die and fall outside the wall.

“You should go back. I’m more worried about you.”

The private soldiers had been recalled. Even nobles were subject to conscription. Only an elderly retired knight serving as butler remained to protect Camilla.

“How I wish I could go with you.”

“I’ll come back. I’ll win again and return safely. I swear.”

He didn’t think it was just a lie to reassure Camilla. If it was a false oath but he returned safely, the oath would be fulfilled; if it was a sincere oath but he failed to return, he would have lied and broken his oath. George embraced his fiancée more tightly and whispered.

“Trust me.”

But in the end, what mattered was trust. George could only fight properly if Camilla said she understood, and Camilla knew this well. Camilla trembled, unable to easily answer George’s words.

“This time feels different.”

Though it was just a complaint, George couldn’t deny that this time felt different. That this time they would be defeated and the basin would become a mass grave, that the hero might not return. That even if he did return, even he might not be able to resolve this.

Just then, a hesitant voice broke their silence.

“Commander, the General is looking for you.”

Camilla moved slightly away from George. Though she had come to George out of anxiety, another weight seemed to have been added on top of that anxiety. George looked at Camilla, unable to shake off his lingering feelings. He still hadn’t heard the answer he wanted.

“…I’ll trust you.”

With difficulty, his fiancée spoke.

“So please come back safely.”

George nodded and turned away. The knight looked at George apologetically, then began walking. Like uprooting a great tree, George moved his feet with tremendous effort.

==

“We cannot expend mages in this battle.”

Nella Tarr spoke firmly. The deployment and management of mages for this battle had been entrusted to Laura, Nella, and Daphne. Laura had gone to the wall to argue with the military leadership, so the actual management of mages fell to the remaining two.

“If we deploy as many mages as headquarters is demanding for this battle, we’ll never be able to stop the comet. Mana can be recovered, but dead people cannot be brought back to life.”

Mages must not die. That’s what Nella was saying. It was cold but correct. This wasn’t a matter of being forced to choose; the conclusion had already been reached.

“Yes. We can’t deploy all the mages. We should send only enough that, even if they’re all killed, it won’t affect our ability to stop the comet.”

Daphne hated herself for saying this. She despised herself for not being able to bear the weight of those people. The situation that required her to already anticipate hundreds of deaths kept gnawing at her mind.

“Any wise person would have made the same decision.”

A clumsy voice of comfort reached her.

“No one deserves to die. No one has the right to decide who should die.”

“But there are people who must live.”

Nella said.

“Anyone can hope for a miracle, but planning for one is a privilege given only to those who can perform it. You know which side we’re on. And you know who can do it.”

“…Yes.”

It was a sad statement. Daphne lowered her head dejectedly.

“You’re the one who decided not to wake him up, and said he would definitely return.”

Nella, who had been silently watching Daphne for a while, said.

“If that’s what you believe, at least don’t look so gloomy. The hero… Ilroy didn’t leave those words wanting you to be like this.”

It felt like getting a canker sore to be the first to mention Ilroy. Nella frowned and plopped down next to Daphne.

“Did he look anxious when he spoke to you? Did he seem uncertain about what he was going to do? Did he say he’d be sitting around somewhere because he was pushed into it?”

Daphne shook her head. The dark clouds that had covered her face seemed to lift a little.

“Did that help solve your worries?”

“…Yes.”

Though Nella spoke this way, she was deliberately hiding her own anxiety. That damn hero was still holed up somewhere. Hurry back, Nella couldn’t bring herself to think due to her pride.

==

“Your Majesty.”

Agnes Blanche Lumiere felt the weight of the armor on her body. The armor was light yet heavy. Agnes gently clenched her fist, then opened it. It had been a long time. No, was this her first time in actual combat? Her body’s movements felt awkward. The clattering sound from each joint was close. To the lady-in-waiting who called out to her with concern, Agnes gave an order without looking back.

“Bring me my sword.”

The sword Agnes used was not an heirloom passed down through the royal family. It was lighter, a sword that could be wielded easily with one hand. Agnes closed her eyes tightly as she gripped the sword.

“Thank you. You may go now.”

No one could disturb the queen in meditation. The lady-in-waiting did not disobey the queen’s order, bowed her head, and turned away. Agnes took a deep breath in the sunlight.

Was this how you felt?

In Agnes’s memory, the hero before departure was frozen stiff. Agnes herself probably wore a similar expression now. Pinned down, unable to move in any direction, crushed by the increased weight.

I won’t say I understand you. You were probably carrying a much heavier burden.

Agnes stepped outside. The kingdom’s knight commanders gathered behind her one by one. Battlefields were everywhere. Agnes climbed the wall, feeling the stirring air.

“They’re approaching.”

“Are the battle preparations complete?”

“Yes. All troops have been deployed.”

I see.

Agnes nodded in acknowledgment and turned her gaze beyond the wall.

“Is this the harbinger of calamity?”

A tsunami of monsters was surging over the mountain ridges.