episode_0070

Just a few days ago, Demeia Academy was attacked on a large scale by a rebel group called the New Resistance. They neutralized all the protective magic of Demeia Academy, which they were confident would never be breached, and began an indiscriminate act of destruction with as many as 100 giant soldiers.

At that time, a parade commemorating the Lion King’s birthday was in progress, and many people who were watching were caught up in the ruthless terrorist activity.

Dorothy was no exception. She, who was watching the parade with Glinda, was also at the scene of the tragic incident.

Even now that I think about it, the situation at that time was like hell.

People who had been laughing, chatting, and enjoying the parade just a moment ago were turned away from the world by a single air raid. There were people crying and losing their limbs here and there, and the cries of a child who lost his mother’s hand that was holding on tightly were heard here and there.

Dorothy, who was separated from Glinda due to the confusion caused by the shelling, gritted her teeth and held the child, who was smaller than herself, in her arms. She wanted to fight against those who were committing indiscriminate massacres, but it was not something she could do now. The only thing I could do was to run away with the child who had lost its mother in my arms.

She raised her mana, spread a barrier to prevent the child from getting hurt, and began running desperately. While evacuating to a place where artillery fire did not reach, we joined those who had not yet been evacuated.

They were in a state of panic in this ridiculous chaos, and Dorothy consoled them and struggled to escape somehow.

However, it was clearly starting to reach its limits. It was difficult to avoid the bombardment of over 100 giant soldiers with only one body. Dorothy and Academy cadets who could handle mana were fine, but it was difficult to move while protecting ordinary subjects who could not handle mana.

In the end, we had no choice but to hide in a half-demolished building and wait for the situation to calm down. If she had run away alone, she could have survived, but Dorothy’s pride and pride as an aristocrat did not allow it. Even if she survived that way, Dorothy Flamma Hart would be as good as dead.

“It’s okay. Everything will be fine.”

As the child in her arms trembled at the sound of the pounding gunfire, Dorothy gently stroked her head as her second brother had done for her. As I reassured him in a gentle voice that it was okay, I felt the trembling stop little by little.

The situation was not very good. Although they said they were hiding in a half-destroyed building, they were no different from a candle in the wind in the face of the overwhelming firepower of the giant soldiers. It was clear that the moment a single magical weapon or iron bullet landed here, it would literally be over.

Dorothy tried to find a way to overcome the current situation, but even with her brilliant mind, she could not find a way to solve the current situation. Even if there was a giant god soldier in front of her, it was the same.

She was an aspiring knight in training, not a high-level knight who could actually fly and crawl on the battlefield.

How much time had passed since I bit my lip and waited for the situation to get better?

I had the illusion that several hours had passed. Dorothy, who was in a state of extreme tension, suddenly realized that the indiscriminate sound of artillery fire had stopped.

Sensing that something had changed, she cautiously looked out the window.

And I was able to find the Academy General-Purpose Titan Soldier that was dealing with dozens of Titan Soldiers.

The giant soldier in question was cooking the attackers’ giant soldiers with graceful movements. By moving only as much as needed, unnecessary movement lines were drastically reduced. He began to take down the giant soldier with restrained movements, as if he would not allow even a single artillery fire.

Dorothy was so impressed by the unknown giant pilot that she forgot about her current situation. It made me think that this would be exactly what it would look like if the art of manipulating a giant god soldier was elevated to an art form.

But the overwhelming display did not last long. At some point, the giant soldier was moved in front of the half-destroyed building where they were hiding and the magic barrier was deployed to its maximum. I didn’t know the pilot’s intention at first, but soon I learned why the pilot was like that.

You know we’re here, right?

Dorothy’s expression hardened as the bombardment rained down on her. Other than that fact, I couldn’t explain why the giant god soldier in front of me was behaving like this.

And her thoughts were correct. The giant soldier, who had not tolerated even a single hit until a moment ago, was now receiving all the fire.

I was convinced when I saw that the magical barrier had spread widely and even surrounded the building they were in.

Dorothy was impressed by the act of protecting people, even disregarding her own life, but she clenched her hands in sorrow. It was clear that no matter how excellent the manipulator’s skills were, he would not be able to last long if he was beaten one-sidedly like this.

The horsepower battery was not infinite. No one could know how long the magic barrier would last.

One thing is certain: if things continue like this, the Giant God Soldier pilot, who can be considered a knight among knights, might die. Perhaps that is the time when the remaining power in the horsepower battery reaches zero.

Dorothy felt anxious. As the magic barrier began to shake due to the concentrated bombardment, my anxiety doubled.

It’s over now. The moment that barrier disappears, the giant soldier pilots in front of them and themselves will be oxidized by concentrated artillery fire.

She looked back. I saw people whose faces had turned blue with fear. In my arms was a child crying out of fear.

In the end, the giant soldier whose magic battery ran out reached its maneuver limit and stopped. The barrier that had blocked the cannonballs until now disappeared, and all kinds of magical weapons from dozens of aircraft flew in terrifyingly.

It’s over now.

It was only then that Dorothy gave up. They say that life passes by like a flash of light right before you die, but that doesn’t always happen. It just didn’t feel real that I was going to die like this.

The moment Dorothy accepted death, a huge golden magic split the sky.

***

Dorothy opened her closed eyes.

It was Gilbert, whom she so disapproved of, who saved her at the moment of death.

Gilbert, who suddenly appeared, cut down the barrage with a single sword and had a conversation with the person riding the stopped Giant God Soldier. I told them to leave this place and evacuate the people using full communication magic.

Surprisingly, the person riding the giant soldier was Brianna, whom she respected, and following her guidance, she was able to escape safely.

Afterwards, detailed information about the situation was revealed through recorded magic videos released by the imperial family. Gilbert, who remained in his seat, showed off his skills by defeating as many as 23 giant soldiers without retreating an inch.

It was not a feat that a new academy cadet could accomplish at best, but he did it so naturally. He even sacrificed himself to protect the cadets and visitors who were unable to evacuate during the battle, and as a result, he was able to successfully prevent an attack on the academy that would have left numerous casualties.

After watching all the videos, she couldn’t help but reflect on her attitude until now. Not only did Gilbert, whom she had ignored and despised, save her life, but he also showed her the knight she admired so much.

Perhaps he was stuck in a narrow-minded way of thinking and was denying the changed appearance of Gilbert. They say people don’t change easily, but the Gilbert this time was definitely not the Gilbert she knew until now.

Dorothy acknowledged the fact, groomed herself early in the morning, and prepared to meet Gilbert. It was to express gratitude for saving his life and apologize for having only viewed him in a crooked way.

However, I was worried about what I had been doing so I couldn’t easily go to see him. That was the reason why I was putting all the blame on my head.

“Hey, Anna. My head now…”

“Lady. I’m sorry, but if I keep going like this, I might not be able to see my first master.”

Anna, who was worse off, pointed out one fact to Dorothy.

That was the reason why she was going to see Gilbert in the first place after a few days had passed.

It was difficult to meet Gilbert, who became a celebrity at the Academy after brilliantly stopping an attack.

His heroic deeds were witnessed by many people at the time of the attack, and his fame rose steeply and vertically as he was used as imperial propaganda for various political reasons.

Naturally, Gilbert was often called here and there, and he was very busy every day after receiving Seraphina’s request and order to do his best to calm down the clutter in the academy.

Dorothy was also well aware of this fact, so she conveyed through Anna that she would visit early in the morning. Fortunately, he didn’t refuse, so she got up early in the morning and got ready, but Dorothy, with a prickly conscience, couldn’t go to Gilbert even though she had already finished preparing.

“I should go, right?”

“Lady. Is it difficult to see you first?”

“Ha… Anna. There’s something I’ve done so far. Ever since I found out that my first brother was behaving like a fool, I have never been friendly to him.”

I remember that I had a good relationship with Gilbert when I was very young. At that time, Gilbert took good care of his youngest sister, Dorothy, and the relationship between the three siblings, including Glinda, was not bad.

However, from the moment Gilbert started walking down the path of becoming an idiot, the close relationship between the three siblings cracked, and in the end, they became what they are now.

“So you said you wanted to apologize for that.”

“But… isn’t that too revealing? Honestly, until this incident, I only said things that doubted my brother’s true intentions. I didn’t think it would really be a reformation.”

Dorothy lowered her head and spoke gloomily.

Although it was rather strange to believe that people can change in an instant based on common sense, Dorothy, who was strict even to herself, felt something similar to self-loathing at the fact that she did not believe the words of her eldest brother, not even Gilbert, who had sincerely reformed.

It was so shameful that I couldn’t trust my family, who had really come to their senses and started walking on the right path, even though I had hoped so much for them to come to their senses.

“They kept talking about how my oldest brother needed to change his behavior, but when I saw how he actually changed, I didn’t believe him. How dare I go and see my brother.”

“Lady. There isn’t just one reason why you go to see the first master. The young lady told me that she wanted to share her apology for the past time. Was that just an excuse to feel at ease?”

“No. No. after. okay. Anna. The time for complaining like this is over.”

Dorothy slapped herself and stood up. I heard Anna nagging me from behind, telling me to be more careful, but I ignored it and left the room.

The meeting place was not Gilbert’s room, but the physical training center. Gilbert accepted Dorothy’s request to meet her early in the morning and told her to come to the gym instead, through Anna.

After hearing that, Dorothy was once again surprised, because the Gilbert she knew was someone who had never trained before. There were many times when I thought that it was an extreme waste of talent because my body was naturally perfect for such a subject.

I couldn’t help but be surprised when he told me to come to the fitness center early in the morning.

Dorothy arrived at the fitness center accompanied by Anna, took a deep breath, and then went inside. At the corner of the gym, she saw her oldest brother, Gilbert.

The closer Dorothy got to Gilbert, the more she could not hide her astonished expression. The physical training he did seemed like a kind of hard work, bordering on asceticism.

It is said that honing mana and deep energy is the training method preferred by knights these days, but Dorothy knew well that physical training was more important than that.

She has dreamed of becoming a knight since childhood, and has received systematic training accordingly. Her teacher was a vassal who had walked the battlefield like her father, the Margrave of Iron Blood. He always had a habit of saying that only by accumulating mana on a well-trained body can it not collapse, the importance of this was engraved deep in Dorothy’s bones.

But even Dorothy had never seen such ridiculous physical training before. There was no one, not even the Knights of Count Hart, who practiced such ignorant training.

“First brother.”

“Hmm. Is it Dorothy?”

Gilbert, who was sweating like raindrops, wiped his sweat as he looked at Dorothy who was standing on her knees.

Anna came by unexpectedly yesterday and told her that Dorothy wanted to meet her. Gilbert, who knew that Dorothy did not like him, wondered what was going on and immediately made an appointment.

However, since I had limited free time after the academy attack incident, I called her during morning training, which was the only time I had plenty of time.

“I heard that you wanted to see me. Do you have anything to do?”

Seeing Dorothy’s hesitation, Gilbert, who wanted to speak more gently, sighed. I didn’t like this damn system at all in this regard. Just as he is assisted by the system in battle, things like his speech style are supported by his character settings.

Fortunately, it was not completely mandatory, so there was no need to show an appearance that perfectly matched the character settings, but there were restrictions. That was the reason why the tone became as stiff as it is now.

“Phew. I apologize honestly. All this time, I didn’t believe that my eldest brother had changed. I also thought there might be some kind of plan.”

Dorothy, who had been hesitating in front of Gilbert, finally composed herself and bowed her head and apologized. He simply stated what he had done wrong without making any excuses.

“But I was wrong. My brother tried to change, but I didn’t really see it. It’s my fault.”

“Um…”

Gilbert was lost in thought as he watched his youngest brother bend down to apologize. He suddenly wanted to meet me, so I wondered what was going on, and it seemed like he wanted to apologize for what had happened so far.

Even though everything she had done so far was reasonable, it seemed like she had some kind of burden on her mind.

Even in Tactical Combat, she was popular for her upright attitude, and even now that it has become a reality, that personality seems to have not changed.

“And thank you for saving me. If it wasn’t for you, I definitely would have died there.”

Even if she just pretended not to notice and passed on, no one would have said anything, but I thought it was truly her-like to bow and express gratitude.

“To be honest, I didn’t know you were there. I just did what I had to do and you just happened to be there.”

“But that doesn’t change the fact that my brother saved me. Thank you so much.”

Even if she just pretended not to notice, no one would have said anything, but her back didn’t bother to straighten. When Gilbert saw that, a smile appeared on his face without even realizing it.

At times like this, his stern appearance was similar to that of the Iron Blood Margrave.

“Uh?”

“That’s it. As an older brother, it is natural to save one’s younger brother. There is no reason to be thanked for that. Of course, this was something I had to do.”

Gilbert stroked Dorothy’s head, who was still bent over. To be clear, Dorothy became dangerous when Gilbert entered this world. Originally, only Glinda would participate in the celebration of the Lion King’s birthday.

Because he seemed to have changed, Dorothy came to the academy to find out the reason, and as a result, he ended up in danger. Rather, the person who should be sorry was none other than Gilbert, who had created such a strange setting.

Meanwhile, Dorothy, who was having her head stroked, realized once again that Gilbert’s hand was bigger than she thought. Dorothy, who was smaller than other ladies of her age, felt relatively larger.

Moreover, although Gilbert’s touch was rough, it contained warmth. It felt similar yet different from her second brother, Glinda. Somehow, I could feel Gilbert’s appearance before he became an asshole through that touch.

“So is that all you want to say?”

When Gilbert realized that Dorothy was straightening her back and looking up at him, he withdrew his touch. I patted my head without realizing it, but I was worried that it might make me feel bad. Fortunately, it didn’t show any signs of that, but it was something I couldn’t pet forever.

“First of all…”

“In that case, go back and rest. Even though there is nothing wrong with my body, the chaos I experienced for the first time may have made me officially exhausted. Such guidelines do not disappear easily. I would like to ask for Anna Dorothy.”

“Okay. Master.”

Anna, who had been quiet in the background, left the gym with a dazed Dorothy in tow. Anna, who found Dorothy in a similar state outside, cautiously called her out.

“Lady? Are you okay?”

“Ah, uh, yes”

Dorothy, who came to her senses after calling Anna a few times, smiled her usual smile as if it was nothing to see Anna’s worried expression. Dorothy, who was walking to her lodgings with Anna, glanced at the door to the fitness center that was getting further and further away.

Somehow, I felt like I realized something new.