Ch.247Chapter 247. Proof (2)

* * *

Turning back time, to when the plague had just begun to subside.

Some soldiers of the Aeshus army were burning the bodies of their comrades who had died needlessly for reasons other than war.

Wrinkling one’s face at the stench of rotting corpses now felt like an everyday occurrence.

“Everyone! In the end, it’s God. God will save us. This tragedy has befallen us because our faith has grown lax. Yes! All of this ultimately means that God exists! Let us rebuild the cathedral. Let us worship God one day every week. Even during war, we must not abandon our faith if we are to be saved! Everyone! Let us proclaim to God that we still have faith!”

The piercing smell of corpses.

The acrid smoke and stench of burning flesh.

Land shattered by endless small-scale local conflicts before the disease spread.

Fanatical followers, like flies swarming to the smell, trying to climb onto the flimsy authority of a church already dead.

What else could hell be but this?

This very place where we breathe was hell.

A hell where one is punished for the crime of “not dying” in a time when everyone else is dying.

“Looks like Dave finally died.”

One soldier spoke to a man who was disposing of bodies.

“Really? That bastard talked about women all day long, and in the end, he died without even losing his virginity.”

“I guess he’ll have to live as a playboy in the afterlife, what else can he do?”

“Fuck. He should’ve just paid for a whore. Why did that horny bastard keep holding back?”

“He had someone back home. A girl he liked since childhood.”

“…That’s fucked up. No, I guess Dave is more fucked up, dying without properly using his dick even once.”

“What nonsense are you talking, you bastard.”

They forced smiles while making jokes that weren’t particularly funny.

If they didn’t do this, if they remained aware of what they had been doing for days while maintaining their sanity… it would be much harder to endure.

“What can we do? Even healthy people are dropping like flies.”

“Haah…”

“If it weren’t for the war, we could have dealt with this.”

“What’s the point of saying that now? You know as well as I do that it’s unreasonable to hope for no war in times like these.”

“Well, that’s true… fuck.”

Silence fell again.

The man wasn’t particularly interested in continuing the conversation, but he blurted out whatever came to mind because he felt he might lose his mind if he didn’t speak.

“What about Dave’s body?”

“I guess they’ll burn it. I don’t know what happened after he was taken to the quarantine ward.”

“I see.”

How many more lives would it take?

Would we… ever get our old lives back?

Of course, even a soldier could easily predict that they would eventually return to their old lives. After all, history books showed that diseases with much higher mortality and infection rates than the current one had eventually disappeared.

It was just the reality before his eyes, the fact that he himself was currently in this situation, that made him feel suffocated.

“By the way, have you heard the news?”

“Which one?”

“General Emma. She passed away.”

“Ah… yeah. I heard.”

Emma Adeline.

He had never fought in a unit where she led the vanguard. He was mainly a soldier who fought under General Epinel.

Of course, working in the Aeshus army, he knew who she was and what she looked like, but she probably wouldn’t know him, just an ordinary soldier.

He didn’t particularly regret this fact. Given the situation, although the aristocratic system seemed to have collapsed, he had lived in a rigid class society until the division, after all.

“They still haven’t disposed of it, I hear.”

“Huh?”

“The body, I mean.”

“Really? Why? Diseased bodies should be burned as soon as possible.”

“Lord’s orders, they say.”

“…”

Speaking of orders, didn’t they just burn General Heinrich’s body when he died recently?

Even though Heinrich wasn’t the most reliable general in his eyes, he had still served under her as a general.

The soldier frowned briefly, but then relaxed and let out a long sigh.

There’s nobility even in death.

It’s not like he had any affection for Heinrich anyway.

What could he, a mere soldier without the energy or quality to have rebellious thoughts, possibly do?

As they continued burning bodies, something suddenly occurred to him.

“By the way, this disease, I heard it didn’t spread to Serpina’s side?”

“They imposed a blockade over there.”

“A blockade?”

“Yeah. I heard it didn’t even reach the north because of the blockade imposed before the disease could spread.”

“Why did they impose a blockade?”

“I don’t know either. Serpina isn’t the type to think and act strategically.”

The soldier who heard this fell into thought and said:

“No… isn’t that strange?”

“What is?”

“They imposed a blockade before the disease spread… and now they’re safe? Does that make sense? Serpina may be a tyrant, but she’s still a member of the imperial family, and judging by how she killed all her brothers, she’s not that stupid.”

“So what? What are you trying to say?”

“She… don’t you think she knew the plague was coming?”

“…??”

The soldier he was talking to replied with a confused expression.

“Hey, does that make sense? Serpina isn’t a god, how could she know that?”

“No, think about it. There’s that thing. The magician!”

At the words of the soldier burning bodies, the eyes of the soldier who had been half-heartedly agreeing widened in shock.

“…Huh?”

* * *

A plague swept through the central continent.

The northern continent suffered no damage because they imposed a blockade early on.

Recently, a mysterious being known as a magician appeared in Serpina’s army in the northern continent.

It wasn’t just the soldiers of the Aeshus army who noticed something strange about these three truths.

Territorial residents who had lost family members, commanders of Chel’s army, and those in Kalintz’s territory were also gradually realizing it.

And finally, one conclusion was drawn.

—Serpina intentionally used a magician to spread the plague.

If one thought about it seriously, it was nothing but an absurd sophistry, but for people who had lost loved ones to a natural disaster and wanted to direct their anger at someone, Serpina was too perfect a scapegoat.

A notorious villainess who destroyed her own flesh and blood with her own hands.

A ruthless tyrant without blood or tears.

The original cause of this continent’s descent into chaos!

There was no better target to throw stones at than her, so this cruel rumor began to spread at an unprecedented speed.

* * *

And eventually, this rumor reached the ears of Yurie, who had stopped eating after losing Emma as well.

“It can’t be… impossible. How could someone do something so cruel…”

“It’s still just a rumor, but the possibility is very high.”

“Serpina… I’ll never forgive her… my enemy from the academy… and now, even Emma’s life…!!!”

Epinel looked at the sobbing Yurie with a composed expression and spoke with an angry voice.

“Yes. In the end, it was that woman’s doing. Think about it. The seemingly meaningless blockade was as good as a divine move from their perspective. From the moment she decided to withdraw her troops, she intended to kill everyone in a cruel way…?”

Epinel, who had been explaining while sympathizing with Yurie, suddenly fell silent and bowed her head.

Her anger began to cool down.

‘Wait. Didn’t Serpina relocate her territorial residents…?’

Why did she do that?

Thinking about it, doesn’t it contradict the idea that she did such a thing to kill everyone?

Something… was strange.

There was something she didn’t know.

She couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was… but Epinel’s “intuition” was warning her more strongly than ever before.

“…Epinel.”

“Y-yes?”

“I’m going to make an announcement.”

Yurie wiped her tears with her sleeve and spoke with a determined voice.

“I’m going to say that Serpina’s army’s magician is the cause of the plague.”

“Wait. By announcement, you mean…”

“I’m going to inform the continent. Since we’re already enemy states, there’s no need for a declaration of war.”

An announcement carried great significance.

Just like when Lynn and Serpina’s alliance was publicly declared long ago… news would spread quickly to neighboring countries.

In this case, if Serpina really did spread the plague, our army might gain the goodwill of neighboring countries. There was also a possibility of improving public sentiment among territorial residents. In the worst situation, after a long war and now a plague, if we could redirect that blade toward Serpina’s army, it might be a divine move for our army.

But what if Serpina hadn’t done such a thing, or if there was no substantial evidence?

There was a possibility that the Aeshus army’s position would rapidly diminish among territorial residents and other countries on the continent.

“Calm down, Yurie. It’s not certain yet.”

At that moment.

“…What?”

Yurie looked at Epinel with an expression of disbelief.

“…Epinel. Are you serious? When we clearly know what the enemy of Erinandorf… and Emma… of all of us has done… you’re saying we should just take it lying down?!”

“No, that’s not it. Anima will be back soon. Her condition has improved, and she’s past the critical point… so, at least after hearing Anima’s opinion-“

“Epinel.”

Yurie cut off Epinel’s words with a colder tone than ever before.

“I am the ruler of this country.”

“…!”

“Do you have a problem with that, Epinel? You said it yourself. I am the ruler of the Aeshus army. The one who acts, the one who must take responsibility… is me.”

“T-that’s…”

Yurie turned away from her.

“…For Emma’s sake too, don’t hold me back. …Understood?”

With those words, she left the palace with a colder expression than ever before.

Epinel quietly watched Yurie’s retreating figure.

With 2 out of 5 already dead, there was… no way for her to stop Yurie.

‘…Anima, please come back soon…!’

* * *

“Ah, hello…!”

To Reika, who was bowing her head awkwardly toward me, I replied with a smile.

“We already ate breakfast together this morning. You don’t need to greet me again.”

“Ah, n-no…! B-but… since this is a consultation… I thought it would be better to greet you properly.”

Though she was so timid that it was frustrating to watch, perhaps because we had spent a long time together, even this side of her seemed quite cute to me.

“It’s okay.”

I lightly patted Reika’s head.

She silently bowed her head and quietly accepted my touch.

Then, in a very small voice, she unconsciously murmured.

“…feels nice. Hehe.”

“Pardon?”

“Ah? Ah, n-no…! It’s nothing!”

Although I had already heard everything, I thought about pretending not to have heard as I sat down on the sofa facing her.

“So, what did you want to consult about?”

“Well… do you remember what happened recently?”

“Recently?”

“When we talked with Lady Serpina.”

“Ah.”

That must have been not long after the news of Erinandorf’s death arrived.

“I remember.”

“I wanted to talk about that a bit.”

“Talk?”

Reika took a light deep breath.

“…Master!”

Calling me by that title after a long time.

“Is there… perhaps, magic that can cure diseases…?!”

That’s what she asked me.