episode_0304

“What are you talking about? Suddenly withdrawing the troops… … ? What kind of nonsense is that?”

Despite facing Epinel’s face, which seemed to show that he did not understand, the soldier looked at Epinel without averting his eyes and spoke.

“That’s true! There was a huge noise, as if lightning had struck, and then suddenly the fortress collapsed… … !”

“Are there any witnesses?”

“There are no direct witnesses… …How could I lie to the General?”

It certainly doesn’t feel like a joke or a rushed delivery of news without evidence…

I wondered what on earth was going on, but I knew that I couldn’t figure out anything just by listening to the story.

“Can you guide me right away?”

“Ah… … Yes! I understand!”

Epinel immediately organized an expedition and headed to the place where Serpina’s fortress was said to exist.

It was strange.

It’s been such a long time… … that I felt my heart pounding.

* * *

“This is… … .”

The place where Epinel arrived was Serpina’s fortress.

-No, to be exact, it was the fortress where the Serpina Army was stationed.

It was literally, terribly broken down.

For a moment, I was shocked by the tragedy that was so unbearable that I couldn’t even touch it―

“What the heck… …what happened? It was like an earthquake… … .”

“There was no sign of it. If there had been an earthquake, there was no way it wouldn’t have been detected in our castle of Balharat.”

“Then why on earth… … ??”

Behind Epinel, who was bewildered by the incomprehensible situation, a familiar voice was heard.

“… … You came… … !”

“Yuuri… … ?”

The soldiers who had been following Epinel saluted the Commander-in-Chief walking behind them.

“Emma… … Ernando, helped us… … !”

“What… … ???”

“If not, can you explain this situation, Epinel? Why did the enemy’s fortress suddenly collapse like this?”

“No, but conversely, is this evidence that Emma or Hernando helped-”

“There it is!”

Yuuri shouted loudly, almost cutting off Epinel’s voice.

“You said you appeared in my dream! There is a path to heaven, so just give me your heart! This is the proof! If you can connect to heaven, you should know that you can live freely with magical powers!”

“What do you know… … Oh, you don’t-”

“Yeah.”

Yuuri closed his eyes and nodded vigorously as he spoke.

“The ‘miracle’ that Swen performed when he was in the Bran’s Army. Even when he summoned a boulder from the sky, Swen said he was performing a ritual to the sky. And he’s not a wizard. ”

“So there is only one conclusion.”

After saying that, he knelt down right there.

In a way, the sight of the soldiers kneeling down all at once, following the highest leader, without even knowing English, was a spectacular sight.

Yuuri looked up at the sky with sparkling eyes, not caring about the gazes of those soldiers-

“It worked! Our sincerity worked! The path to heaven has opened!”

Epinel, the only one not kneeling in the room, asked cautiously.

“So… …you’re saying that something like a rock fell?”

“I don’t know! But, it is certain that some force was at work that could collapse this fortress!”

“That’s it… … ??”

“Yeah. That’s it.”

Epinel was hesitant – but she couldn’t deny it either.

The fact that Yuuri’s explanation seems plausible at first glance. Beyond that – I find myself wishing that what she said was true.

Although she would have considered the situation a bit more seriously under normal circumstances – and was actually thinking of causing as much damage to Serpina’s army as possible and dying in a battle she couldn’t win from the start – Yuuri’s argument felt like a ray of light in a hopeless situation.

You think that’s ridiculous?

Just a few years ago, when you brought up the topic of wizards, everyone would scoff and say, “That’s just a legend.” But now, no one denies the existence of wizards.

The first wizard to appear on the Northern Continent, and the second wizard to appear on the Southern Continent. In addition, there were numerous soldiers’ on-site testimonies – the existence of wizards was a clear reality that even had evidence.

There was also the phrase ‘connecting with heaven’.

In fact, a man named Swen, who was once an ally, had the ability to summon a boulder through a ritual. If it was not only his ability but really something from the heavens, then there is no guarantee that we would not be able to perform the same miracle, right?

Crucially, it was not at all beneficial for Serpina’s army to cause such a farce. The best way to gain an advantage from her point of view would have been to bring in a huge army that could easily defeat the Aesus army like a cake and wipe them out in one fell swoop, rather than engage in such nonsense.

For example, if Epinel himself had been a commander of the Serpina Army, he would have been confident that he could defeat a country as weak as the Aesir Army in a week if he had been given just 200,000 soldiers, no more.

Then, isn’t it really… …a connection with heaven?

As Yuuri said, could it be that Emma and Hernando are helping us?

That’s right. Just like a wizard suddenly appears in another country… …Can’t such a miracle happen in our country too?

In that way, even Epinel’s heart was shaking rapidly.

* * *

Similar things have been happening several times since then.

There were vivid accounts that the Serpina Army would build a sort of front line to invade, only to suddenly collapse.

After a while, intelligence was received that soldiers belonging to the Serpina Army suddenly began to desert en masse.

What they were pointed out as the cause were persistent nightmares and auditory hallucinations.

What was especially important was the content of that nightmare.

There was news that there were more than one or two people who gave incomprehensible testimonies that ‘a knight in blue armor was after his head.’

And, Epinel and Yuuri were the ones who knew better than anyone that the blue armor that their close friend Emma always enjoyed wearing was blue.

“Do you understand now, Epinel? That our hearts were connected with Emma and Hernando?”

“Maybe that’s really true… … .”

“That’s why we have to convey our feelings a little more sincerely. Even if we prepare for war, we won’t win. We’ll just get captured and die! Even if we cause losses, it’s the same that we can’t continue the country.”

“But! We have comrades! We have comrades who watch over us from heaven! And, the world is starting to recognize that we truly think of our comrades at any moment!”

“Umm… … .”

At that moment, Epinel was shaking.

bang!

A woman without an arm walked towards me, kicking away the audience room.

“No… … ?”

“I heard the whole story. Is it true that they’re expanding the altar, Yuuri?”

Yuuri responded to Anima’s words in a cold tone.

“No. Are you still insisting on your own opinion?”

“No… …Does that make sense to communicate with the sky? I told you that what Swen did back then was just magic! The concept of communicating with the sky doesn’t exist!”

“It’s not magic. He’s not a wizard.”

“It’s not like you can completely prove it!”

“You’re the one who can’t perfectly prove that ‘the concept of communicating with heaven doesn’t exist’, right?”

“That, that’s… …just nitpicking. Yuuri! Please come to your senses!”

“You’re the one who should open your eyes, no. You are… … .”

at that time.

Tears began to flow from Yuuri’s eyes.

Perhaps because she had not imagined that she would cry, Anima closed her mouth again with her eyes wide open.

“Ernandorf went out alone to save you from Serpina. He risked his life and charged into the enemy lines alone. Emma insisted that she had to save you even if it meant kneeling before Serpina. The two of them… … did it to save your life, so how could you… … speak so cruelly?”

“I, I… … .”

I never asked for anything like that.

I couldn’t bring myself to say, “I didn’t want everyone to do that for me.”

“This is too much. Seriously… … This is too much. Heaven is finally recognizing the grievances of our military, our comrades. Our turn has finally come… … Why… … .”

“… … No. Let me see.”

Epinel, who had been observing the situation, took care of things so that Yuuri could regain her composure on her own, then took Anima out of the audience room and spoke to her alone.

“Epinel. You’re not going to say the same thing as Yuuri, are you?”

“Before we talk about that, let me hear what you think. What do you think caused this whole situation?”

“I… …so.”

Anima explained, biting her lips tightly.

“I think it’s all Serpina’s doing. If there’s anyone else who could have caused all this, it’s Serpina.”

“Why did the fortress suddenly collapse?”

“There’s a wizard. It’s not hard to make it look like something is falling apart using magic.”

“Okay, I see. What about the soldiers deserting?”

“That’s… …just, spreading rumors among the soldiers, or making it look like a desertion. There are several ways.”

“You’re saying that all the time you’re wasting supplies while the front line keeps collapsing is all a set-up?”

“Because otherwise I can’t explain the situation. Emma and Hernando in the sky fighting for us? That kind of thing can’t happen!”

Epinel took a short breath, then looked straight into Anima’s eyes and said.

“Okay. No. Let’s say everything you said is true. Since you’re smart, you probably thought about this and that and answered. Then, one question remains.”

“Why on earth?”

“Why on earth did Serpina pull such a stunt? What does she gain from it?”

“… … !!”

Anima was lost in thought and couldn’t answer.

Anima also reached that question without much difficulty. However, she just couldn’t come up with an answer. No matter how much she looked, she couldn’t see any benefit to Serpina from doing something like that.

“No. As you know, we can’t win against Serpina’s army. We don’t have any magicians, and our troops are overwhelmingly lacking. We’ve lost a lot of the people’s hearts and minds, and our soldiers’ morale is probably higher there. You knew that well, so you insisted on making peace with Serpina, didn’t you?”

“… … Yeah, that’s right.”

“Then, from Serpina’s perspective, all she had to do was just push her troops and invade. Why would she pull off such a stunt? To mock us? No. I hate that girl, but I know she’s not the type of girl who wastes her time on inefficient things like Bran’s daughter. Don’t you agree with her?”

Epinel, who was looking at Anima who couldn’t answer, grabbed her wrist and said.

“… … No. Come with me for a moment. I have something to show you. ”

* * *

The place we arrived at by carriage was the ruins near the castle of Balharat.

This place was one of the front lines of the Serpina Army, and there was a very small fortress there.

“This is… … .”

It was like the old fortress in that it was completely in ruins.

The only difference was… … the blood splattered here and there, the smell of blood seeping in as if it was going to tear your nose.

Beneath the rubble of the ruins was a crumpled piece of armor that suggested it belonged to the Serpina Army, and inside it was… … filled with rotten flesh that was difficult to discern its shape.

A truly horrific tragedy that brings back memories of the Academy days.

“No. Let me ask you again. Do you think Serpina staged this and made her soldiers do this?”

“… … .”

“Well, I know Serpina would sacrifice her own soldiers without batting an eye. But right now, no matter how calmly I think about it, there’s nothing she can gain. I’ll bet on the no side. If there’s something to gain, then no. Can you explain? What can she gain by doing this?”

“Epinel… … .”

“If you can’t explain, I’ll follow Yuuri’s will, who claims that the path to heaven has opened. After all, our leader is Yuuri, and there’s no law that says our military can’t use powers that are like magic used by others.”

Anima couldn’t say a word to Epinel, who had turned away.

-No, rather, at this point, Anima also recalls ‘that thought’.

‘Really…?’

Are Emma and Hernando really going to do their best to save us?

Did Yuuri’s prayer get through?

That thought was so sweet, yet without any context.

* * *

Since that day.

The Aesir army used all of its supplies for minimal warfare to build the altar.

The stories that were heard from time to time – that the Serpina Army was in a state of great chaos due to an unknown force, and that there was even an attempted rebellion near the border – were sweeter stories than anything else to Yuuri.

I was even more convinced when I heard that there was a split within the occupying forces over whether to give up the invasion.

Finally, we have reached heaven.

Heaven has not forsaken the friendship of the five of us!

‘I will overcome it! I will overcome this ordeal with the strength of my comrades… … and I will personally take the life of our enemy, Serpina, with my own hands… …!!’

–at that time.

“My lord… … !!”

During the sacred time of prayer, a soldier came running in a hurry.

Yuuri stopped praying, and the warriors who had been guarding the area ran out to stop the soldier.

“What’s going on! I told you not to let anyone in when you pray!”

“Urgent news! I know you’ve committed a mortal sin… … but there’s something I have to tell you… … !”

“… … !!”

What came into Yuuri’s sight was a bright red armband worn by a soldier.

It means only one thing.

――It didn’t take long for Yuuri himself to realize how foolish it was to think that he could overcome the ordeal just by setting up an altar and praying.