episode_0254

Yuuri thought quickly in his own way.

Running a relief camp itself may not be that difficult.

However, this is not the North, but the middle of the Central Continent, and this is also the street where the plague swept through most violently.

In this situation, it was close to impossible to find troops to volunteer, and if it were to be operated, it would be forced… … It was clear that the soldiers, who were afraid of contracting the plague, would lose their credibility.

Yuuri himself knew full well that the morale of the soldiers was lower than ever. The feudal lords were fully aware that if they went against their wishes any further, they would end up in a bad situation.

That’s not the only problem.

With the supply line to the mainland cut off by Chell’s army, it cannot be said with empty words that the material situation of Yuuri’s army is good.

The claim that ‘materials that should be returned to them are leaking to the residents of areas that were not even our military’s territory until just a few months ago’ may seem very strong, but in a situation like this where materials are scarce, it is enough to stand out. I was dissatisfied.

But that doesn’t mean it’s not in operation?

In fact, this was a choice closer to marriage. The plague was a natural disaster, and no one was to blame for it.

――If only I hadn’t used my mouth carelessly.

How politically disadvantageous is the fact that ‘Serpina, who claims to have caused the plague, runs a relief camp, but actually does nothing and stands still’?

When I thought about it, I thought I might be stupid enough to not even know that much.

‘… … no.’

I think I might be stupid.

Who created the situation where you were forced to make this choice?

Is it Serpina? Or, well, one of my two remaining comrades.

It was himself.

The person who brought all of this to this point was himself.

Maybe it was because of the war and the plague that I sent my comrades away… … My mind was so confused that I thought it might be my fault.

“Well, my lord… … ?”

“… … I’ll answer you later… … Please make room.”

Yuuri spoke after barely swallowing something that was boiling deep inside his heart.

The soldier answered loudly, looked at everyone’s attention, and leisurely left the castle.

‘Emma… … And, Hernandov… … What should I do now… … ? we are… … Well, what should I do… … !’

Even though I held my head for a while and lowered my head and asked my colleagues who had left before me, there was no answer.

* * *

What does it mean to be struggling with death?

For many people it would mean different things, but for anima – it meant seeing a hallucination of a specific situation from the past over and over again.

Long ago, at the very moment when I made an unchanging promise to the five survivors of the tragedy at the academy.

The moment when I pledged with my childhood friend to put our souls into the red flag… … Something in your field of vision that repeats itself over and over again.

I came to my senses once in a while.

I only vaguely remembered things like talking and eating… … Looking back, there were days when I couldn’t tell exactly what day it was or what time it was because of all the noise.

At a time when I didn’t even realize how much time had passed.

“… … Ah.”

The very moment when Yuuri reached out his hand once more to take the hand he had extended to me.

For the first time, I fully realized that I was lying in bed.

“… … This place… … .”

Once I came to my senses, I began to understand the situation surprisingly quickly.

I had the plague. So I stayed in bed.

Doctors came to visit me in between and told me various things, and the content of the conversation was… … I don’t really remember.

Still, the body is light. I have a vivid experience of my head becoming so hot, as if I had swallowed something like a fire pit… … Now, I can breathe properly.

Anima slowly got up, folded and opened her free hand, and-

“… … Is there anyone?”

“Master… … ?”

Anima’s vision began to flow again.

* * *

After hearing that she had come to her senses, the first person to come was Epinel.

“Are you okay now, Anima?”

“Yes. My physical condition is fine, but… … Are you really okay with coming closer to me? Even if it seems like it’s completely cured, you never know.”

“No. If you see that those who have recovered and their families are doing well, they will no longer be a threat once they are fully recovered.”

“… … Really?”

Anima let out a short sigh and then spoke, crying slightly.

“Emma… … Are you saying he’s dead?”

“Yes… … Because I caught the plague, that’s what happened.”

“Ha… … .”

Again, tears streamed down my cheeks.

“I thought I heard about it last time… … You’re really dead, Emma.”

“The condition was very bad… … .No, it’s a miracle that you survived this well. Because it is a plague with a huge mortality rate.”

“Okay… … .”

Anima didn’t know that she could end up dying if she didn’t care.

… … Continuing to wallow in the sorrow of losing her is not what the dead Emma wants.

Anima quickly wiped away her tears, gathered her emotions, and then got to the point.

“What happened so far?”

“The wire is stuck. The plague has spread to Zell County and even Calinz County. The plague itself seems to have passed its peak to some extent… … I honestly don’t know when we will reach a lull.”

“Has anything special happened so far?”

“If it’s nothing special… … It seems like the Serpina army has set up a relief camp for plague patients.”

“Serpina?”

Epinel nodded slowly to Anima, whose voice trembled slightly as if she was surprised at hearing the unexpected name.

“Yes. Perhaps he was conscious of the story that she spread the plague.”

“… … wait for a sec. She’s spreading a plague? What do you mean by that?”

“Oh, I guess so. Because you haven’t been able to come to your senses… … .”

Epinel explained to Anima in detail what had happened.

Serpina issued a blockade order as if she had sensed the plague, and based on that, the Aishous army issued a kind of proclamation to the Serpina army.

“What? The force that claimed externally that Serpina had spread the plague was our army… … ?”

“… … Yes.”

Anima said, pounding the bed with her fist.

“What kind of bullshit is that! If it is true that she intentionally spread the plague, then at the same time, she saved the lives of the people of the central continent! It’s already an incoherent argument at that point. How can people spread something like a plague in the first place?”

“Well, there is a wizard in Serpina County… … .”

” Even in the history books written about wizards, it is not mentioned that they directly created the plague. under… … Anyway, so you’re talking about running a relief camp, right? Nothing much to say to the soldiers over there?”

“I guess so… … I don’t know if he was threatened or something, but he said he was actively concentrating on relief work without realizing that his life was a waste.”

It’s a threat.

I thought Serpina was a woman worthy of it, but… … Somehow, I couldn’t understand what her intentions were.

It seemed that it was the same for Epinel, as he bowed his head and spoke softly.

“Well, how can I know what’s inside her?”

Anima placed her hands on her head and sighed deeply.

“I don’t know who it is, but if there is someone who cheated on Yuuri—it wouldn’t be enough to execute him immediately.”

“… … What?”

“Public opinion has turned in her favor, almost to the point of collusion with Serpina. If I had just stayed silent and said nothing, it wouldn’t have gotten to this point… … Think about it, Epinel. If the people in our territory say, ‘Why doesn’t Aethus County run a relief camp?’ what can we say?”

“That’s… … .”

“If nothing had been said, it wouldn’t have been known, but since what has already been said, what will the residents of the territory think of our military if we don’t operate it? In the long run, losing the trust of the continent’s territories would inevitably be the worst choice for a feudal lord. But are they actually forcing soldiers into a desperate situation in the name of a relief camp? If you think about it a little, you can see that the soldiers’ trust will fall to the bottom.”

Who on earth took advantage of Yuuri’s lack of confidence to blow wind into Yuuri’s mind?

There might be a face that comes to mind… … It was a difficult situation to clearly specify.

“So, who is it? The person who brought up that story.”

“… … .”

Epinel lowered her head and remained deeply silent for a long time.

Soon, as if he had made up his mind for something… … He answered in a very serious tone.

“… … It’s Yuuri.”

“What… … ?”

“The person who planned to put Serpina in a corner by declaring it directly to her… … It’s Yuuri himself.”

… … Slurp.

One of her arms, which had exerted as much strength as she could, falls down onto the bed sheet.

My head, which had just started to feel hot, began to rapidly cool again.

“Yuuri… … Did you do that?”

“Yes… … .”

A deep, sticky feeling of despair that had never been felt before hit Anima after hearing Epinel’s story and understanding the situation.

A feeling I never felt when I lost an arm, when I was imprisoned by Serpina and had my life threatened, when I lost Hernandorf in battle, and even when I just heard that Emma had died… …

Anima lowers her head with her eyes tightly closed.

The tactful instinct was whispering fiercely to her.

So, you have no choice but to notice.

From the point of view that the person who made a decision that had no benefit was Yuuri himself…

――The dawn of the Aishous army has begun to run toward its end.

* * *

It’s already been quite a while since we started running the camp.

Fortunately, Reika was able to periodically cast buff magic on us, and thanks to that, no one was infected with the plague.

Since it was very likely that at least one of the people who came to receive aid had the pathogen, it was safe to say that the magic was working properly.

Quite a lot has happened in the meantime.

Crucially, the plague entered a lull. The number of deaths has been cut in half, and the number of confirmed infections has also decreased noticeably.

The relief camp was also becoming increasingly quiet. Even the plague that seemed like it would never end was eventually rushing towards its conclusion.

“I think we can organize the camp soon.”

“I’m really glad nothing happened… … .”

“It’s all thanks to Reika.”

I said while stroking Reika’s head.

Of course, these were not empty words. Without her, we wouldn’t have been able to boldly run the relief camp.

If there had been even one sick person on our side, it would have been obvious that, rather than restoring Serpina’s image, she would have been imaged as a tyrant who forcibly threatened and sent soldiers to their deaths.

And, as Reika said – fortunately, that wasn’t the only thing.

The reputation of the Aishous Army, which had virtually sniped at our military, was falling into the abyss.

They probably wanted to run a relief camp like us.

Of course, there is no Reika there. That means that soldiers were also inevitably exposed to the risk of plague.

In fact, if a few more people were to contract the plague, it would be a problem, so it seemed like the trust in her was being shattered throughout the Central Continent.

A monarch who lost the public support of the people of his territory could never accomplish a great cause.

If this whole situation was a race with the goal of a unified empire – she had stepped out of line.

On the other hand, as expected, the rumors about Serpina were going in the direction of ‘not good for the country, but good for Serpina personally.’

The relief camp was also a camp, but it was only after running the camp that she began to notice the contradictions between ‘forcibly relocating the territory’s residents’ and ‘spreading a plague to kill the territory’s residents.’

This was a historic moment that drew positive evaluation for the first time for her, who had been stigmatized as a tyrant.

Serpina said that it was okay if she didn’t gain anything by moving the people of the territory… … In the end, it was because of that action that he was able to escape the absurd rumors.

‘good. I will continue to feel this way… … It won’t help the country, but it would be better to act in a way that will help her.’

at that time.

Inside the base camp where Reika and I were resting, Irian came in with an urgent expression.

“Swen, you were here.”

“What’s going on?”

Hearing his voice sound more impatient than usual, I also got nervous and asked him back.

“Well, it might still be just a rumor… … I heard something that I can’t ignore.”

“A story that can’t be ignored?”

Irian nodded slowly.

“The news is that a wizard has appeared.”

“… … Yes?”

“There is a rumor that someone who uses magic has appeared in the southern continent.”

A story I forgot for a while, but will never forget… … It was being passed down to me.