Ch.92Heart Begins to Beat (2)

Mana to break down the tumor.

The holy power of the priestess to protect the heart.

Riyo’s blood for emergency situations.

All three elements aligned perfectly, successfully destroying the tumor and saving the commander.

“Did it work?”

“Let’s observe a bit longer until we’re certain.”

We maintained our focus until we were confident. We continued searching to ensure no remnants of the tumor remained.

When a person’s life is at stake, nerves become razor-sharp.

Perhaps that’s why.

While completely immersed, I was captivated by a feeling of becoming one with the universe.

Like reaching a state where I touched the principles of the world.

Just as I thought I’d entered the edge of that realm, cold sweat broke out and my breathing became labored.

“Haaah.”

I removed my hands with an exhale. Beads of sweat trickled down my fingers.

The commander was breathing with difficulty. Her eyes looked at me, then closed. She must be exhausted. Let’s let her rest while monitoring her condition.

The priestess finished her diagnosis and spoke.

“Fortunately, the bleeding has stopped. Mage, I’m sorry, but please go help the major right away. The woman and I will take care of her.”

“Understood.”

Without even time to celebrate the successful operation, I headed to the battlefield. I joined the Valkyrie who was fighting on the front line, and we formed a formation.

As always, you at the vanguard, me at the rear.

“Damn, these things are tough.”

“Aim for the limbs, not the head or chest.”

When the Valkyrie cut off limbs and knocked them down, I spread fire. When she eliminated enemies in front, I covered the flanks. When she engaged in close combat, I handled ranged defense.

We moved in perfect unison, as if we were one body.

Whoosh!

The burning monsters emitted a foul smell. I could see their numbers gradually decreasing.

Boom!

The last monster lost its limbs to the Valkyrie’s blade. I threw the remaining Fire Sea Stone and waited for it to burn.

Crackle, crackle.

The blackened, charred monster crumbled and fell. I stomped on the spore mass with my boot, mashing it like potato dishes that elves eat.

“Was that the last one?”

“Yes, it’s over.”

“That was a tough fight.”

The Valkyrie and I high-fived. And immediately after, I lost my balance as the surroundings seemed to spin.

“Whoa.”

“Hey!”

The Valkyrie caught me as I staggered sideways.

“Are you okay?”

“I feel like I’m dying.”

“Don’t joke around, idiot. If you die, I’ll kill you.”

It was nothing special, just mana depletion again. Having precisely controlled my mana in the first half to treat the commander, my concentration was also depleted.

I’m tired. I shouldn’t use any more magic today.

“How is the commander doing?”

“She’s completely asleep. She was shot and lost a lot of blood, so we’re planning to let her rest for a few days while monitoring her condition.”

We’ve done everything we could.

Now we have to wait until Commander Adora wakes up.

It suddenly occurred to me that the commander is from the Magic Kingdom. It would be more advantageous for me to talk with her than the priestess or other female soldiers for gathering information. She would also likely have less hostility toward me.

For that reason, I volunteered to take care of the commander.

“Are you sure you’ll be alright?”

“Just help me in emergency situations. I’ll handle everything else. Everyone worked hard today.”

Even the priestess was showing symptoms of holy power depletion. That’s how powerful the forbidden spell was. Riyo also needed to rest after giving blood. The only one still fine was the Valkyrie, but she’s in charge of keeping watch.

So it had to be me.

“Ah, this isn’t right…”

“What did you just say?”

“I was just muttering to myself that I’m not feeling well. Sorry, Mage. I think I need to rest too.”

The priestess narrowed her eyes and went to the campfire. Despite saying she needed rest, she seemed to be preparing dinner. As I watched her for a moment, I soon noticed. Her eyes were glowing green.

For Lumina, green is the color of jealousy.

It’s puzzling. The priestess feeling jealous? And in this situation? What part of this could possibly make her jealous?

While I was feeling confused, David came over and said:

“Senior, you probably already vaguely know. That the priestess has feelings for you.”

“What… No, never mind. So?”

“The forbidden spell cast on Commander Giford had no known cure until now. If it becomes certain that you solved it, she will surely fall for you.”

“Who? The commander?”

“Yes.”

I glared at David.

“Do you think that makes any sense?”

“With your mug, no, face, no, head, no, looks, it’s entirely possible.”

“I might receive words of gratitude. But falling in love because I treated her? By that logic, all emergency room doctors would be playboys.”

“Well, at least I now know you have playboy tendencies.”

David backed away while twerking. Then he came back and added one more thing.

“Ending up with the priestess would be best.”

“Hey.”

I laughed in disbelief.

And after a few hours of nursing…

“Ugh.”

As the night deepened, Commander Adora woke up.

“Where am I?”

“On an uninhabited island.”

The commander narrowed her eyes as they met mine. She soon let out a sigh.

“Damn, so it wasn’t a dream.”

“Do you remember what happened?”

“…Ah, right. You. You tied me up and did something strange.”

“It was to remove the forbidden spell cast on you, Commander Giford. Did you know about the Anti-Talisman, a forbidden magic?”

“…”

The commander remained silent for a while. She felt her solar plexus, checking her own condition. I waited patiently without rushing.

Her thin eyebrows trembled up and down. Soon her pupils gradually dilated.

“It doesn’t… feel tight.”

“The curse has been lifted.”

“That’s impossible. How?”

“We protected your heart with the priestess’s holy power, and I used my mana to find and remove the tumor. You were coughing up too much blood, so we also transfused some blood from our fox-person friend.”

After saying that, I added just one more thing.

“You’ve endured well all this time.”

“…Ha, haha. Ahahaha.”

The commander laughed hollowly. Her emotionless voice resonated deeply.

“This is, this must be a dream. This can’t be real. I’ve suffered for over a decade since childhood, was told there was no way to cure it, and no one even noticed. And now, cured in one night? How is that possible?”

“Commander.”

“This must be a dream. I’m having a vivid nightmare! Please don’t give me false hope! I’ve already adapted to this!”

The commander grabbed my collar, shouting in an agitated tone. Her voice woke not only the Valkyrie on guard duty but also the priestess and the fox sisters.

Just as the three female soldiers were about to intervene, I raised my hand to stop them.

I quietly answered the commander’s continued words.

“You, what did you say your name was?”

“Erich Lohnstein.”

“This is definitely a dream, right?”

“Yes, it must be a dream for you.”

“What kind of dream is it?”

“It’s a crazy dream where you, Commander, were dispatched to an uninhabited island, met me and female soldiers from enemy countries, and were freed from the Chancellor’s forbidden spell with our help.”

“Right, a crazy dream. It really is a crazy dream.”

Only then did the commander lower her voice. She let out a long sigh and whispered softly.

“You say you solved the forbidden spell cast on me?”

“Yes.”

“Then I can say anything here without consequences?”

“Yes, absolutely. Your heart won’t tighten or burst. Please feel free to say whatever you want.”

“Then.”

With those words, the commander leaned in close.

Smooch.

A sound like bleaching my brain tickled inside my head.

I dazedly touched my lips. They felt warm. At the same time, the scent of strawberries tickled my nose.

“Thank you.”

The commander, with her hands still bound, leaned her body against mine.

“Well, since this is a dream, this is fine, right? It’s not a crime. I’ve liked your type since I first saw you. So I’ll just stay like this for a moment.”

And so the commander nuzzled and rubbed her face against my body for several minutes.

That was the first shocking moment.

The realization that things were taking an unusual turn came in the next moment.

“…”

“…”

“…”

The Valkyrie, the priestess, and the fox sisters.

They were all staring at the commander and me with eyes like patriots who had lost their country.

“Excuse me?”

“…Well, fine. I get it.”

The commander sighed and pulled her head away. She lay back and closed her eyes.

“It’s time to wake up from this dream, isn’t it? I understand.”

The corners of the commander’s mouth curved upward. She was smiling. But from her tightly closed eyes, clear tears began to squeeze out.

“Goodbye.”

Adora Giford bid farewell to the dream world. That was the only kindness and true feeling she showed today. Tomorrow she would probably return to being a villain.

That doesn’t matter. What’s important is that we’ve confirmed the curse placed on the commander has been resolved. She’ll soon realize that today wasn’t a dream.

It should have been a hopeful, exciting development.

I couldn’t be happy about it.

“Tsk.”

“Hmph.”

“Grrrr.”

The reactions of the Holy Spirit Kingdom’s female soldiers who witnessed my not-quite-tryst with the commander were concerning.

The three women closed in like predators eyeing their prey. I’ve never felt such intense coldness before. I feel like a watermelon slowly freezing in winter frost.

“What was that just now?”

“Tell me I didn’t see that correctly.”

“Should I just kill that woman?”

The female soldiers each made a comment with cold glares. The four stone golems adding “ooh” and “my goodness” as background commentary was just the cherry on top.

“This won’t do.”

“Erich. That woman is dangerous after all. I’ll take care of her from tomorrow, so you go do something else.”

“Repaying kindness with enmity! Give me back my blood!”

At this point, I became certain that the three female soldiers harbored feelings beyond trust for me.

And the next day.

“…So it wasn’t a dream?”

“If you don’t believe me, try saying ‘Chancellor is a bastard.'”

“Wil, Wilhelm. That fucking son of a bitch.”

“…”

“…”

Crack.

The commander broke free from her restraints by herself.

“Oh my goodness. How much anger must have built up for your face to turn so red?”

A mini golem said that while twerking as it passed by. That day, I had to repair David’s body five times.