Chapter 58: The Stubborn One
After a good night’s sleep, I headed over to Hiroki and the others today.
First, to find out where they were, I made my way to the aid station at the post where the Military Healers worked.
There, I found a large number of patients with missing limbs.
I see, so this is why Hiroki’s grandfather came to ask for help.
He’s probably already used up the hundred Elixirs I gave him initially. He might have a few left, but he must have used most of them.
Even so, there were over a hundred patients.
I discreetly took out a hundred bottles of Elixir.
If I hand these over, I’ll have about three hundred left. That’s a worryingly small number considering they’re war supplies.
However, if I could get rid of the patients here, Hiroki’s grandfather would probably agree to go home, so I called out to a doctor.
“Excuse me, I’d like to help with the treatment.”
“Sorry, but if you can’t use Healing Magic, there’s nothing you can do. I appreciate the sentiment, though.”
“No, I was thinking of using this.”
I showed him the bottle, thinking he’d recognize it immediately if he just saw the Elixir, but he asked back, “A red color… what kind of medicine is that?”
Apparently, they hadn’t revealed its existence.
Well, that makes sense. It’s a situation where you’d have to be selective about who uses it.
Those here are probably rookies who have to make do with Healing Magic.
Thinking this, I said, “Please watch,” ignored his attempt to stop me, and had a young man who had lost his hand from the wrist down drink a tiny amount.
As expected, it regenerated in an instant, and he moved his hand to check its function.
“Amazing… what in the world is that medicine… I’m saved. Thank you so much!”
“W-wait a moment! That’s impossible, no matter how you look at it! What is that!!”
The doctor’s loud voice drew attention, but I took them and moved to the side for the time being.
“There isn’t much of this. For now, I’ll heal the people here, but it’s a rare item that’s no longer obtainable, so please don’t spread the word. You understand why, right?”
When I told the two of them, the young man immediately understood, but the doctor pressed me with an earnest expression, wanting to know the creation method.
“It’s something made using a single ingredient from the Dungeon Depths that’s no longer obtainable.”
“No way… The number of patients will only increase from now on! Can’t something be done!?”
I apologized, told him again that what I don’t have, I don’t have, and then, to at least conserve it, I had him accompany me as I administered it to patients so he could grasp the dosage.
If the dosage was measured precisely, one bottle could fully heal an average of about ten people.
There were still over eighty bottles left. I entrusted them to the doctor and asked him to “Please use them carefully.”
After that, he took the lead in asking the people I treated not to speak about it.
He bowed deeply, saying “Thank you very much,” and it felt like things were wrapping up, but that wasn’t my main objective.
I didn’t know anything about Hiroki’s mother, so I asked if a woman in her thirties, a soldier’s daughter, was scheduled to come as a healer.
“Yes, if it’s her, then probably that person over there…” he said, turning his gaze to a woman.
Standing there was a youthful, beautiful woman who looked like she was only in her twenties.
“Um, is it about me?” she asked with a troubled look. I said, “I’d like to talk for a bit,” and led her outside.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Rui, a friend of Hiroki and Ami.”
When I said that and bowed my head, she exclaimed, “Oh my! So you’re Rui-kun? I wanted to thank you too!” and grabbed my hand, shaking it vigorously.
“So, um… this is a rather blunt request, but I believe your work here is gone, so I’d like you to take them and return to Oldam. It’s dangerous here…”
“Could it be that you used such expensive-looking medicine for that reason?”
“Yes, well…” I said with a wry smile, and she suddenly hugged me.
No, being hugged in a place like this is troublesome!
No, it’s not just about the place, but the place is also bad.
While I was confused and thinking such things, I heard a voice from behind.
A familiar voice made cold sweat trickle down my back.
“Hey, Mom, what are you doing hugging some random guy!!”
Hey, hearing Hiroki’s voice at this timing is also troublesome!?
“Oh my, Rui-kun is your friend, isn’t he?”
“Wait, Hiroki, this isn’t what it looks like! Let’s talk first!”
“Oh, it’s just Rui.
Mom, stop hugging just anyone! It’s embarrassing!!”
Oh, ooh. Good, it seems he didn’t get the wrong idea.
Apparently, thanks to Mr. Owen, he’s developed a strange tolerance.
“F-for now, please let go. Please…”
“Oh my, I’m sorry.
I was just so happy thinking you have such good friends.”
By the time she let me go, Mr. Owen and Ami had also come nearby.
“Ah, it’s Rui-kun,” Ami said, casually raising her hand, and I raised mine in response.
“M-more importantly than that, your work here should be gone now.
That’s why I want you to evacuate.”
I told her that, but Hiroki’s mother looked troubled and showed she couldn’t accept it, saying, “Even if you say so…”
“Your work is gone?” Hiroki asked, looking at me. I told him I had used the Potions I gave him to heal all the patients.
“Seriously?! Then there’s no reason to be here anymore! Let’s go home!”
“We can’t go home that easily! I told you, didn’t I? My purpose is to be a good daughter to my father. I want to treat lots of injured people and raise their chances of survival, even if just a little…”
Mr. Owen, who had checked the situation inside, muttered to me, “You used those, huh… but it’s a great help,” and then continued, “Sayuri, we’re going to your father’s place.”
It was clear that both Mr. Owen and Hiroki were in favor of evacuating. Thinking this would probably resolve things smoothly, I was about to leave, but Mr. Owen grabbed me by the scruff of my neck.
“The more people we have on the persuading side, the better. Come along for a bit.”
“Sorry about this. But it’s really a big help!”
Mr. Owen and Hiroki are coordinating with just a look!?
When did they get so friendly?
While wearing such a perplexed expression, we moved from the aid station to the barracks.
They were next to each other, so we reached our destination after just a short walk.
We had them call for the grandfather, and while we waited, a middle-aged man, much younger than I imagined, came out. Between him and Hiroki’s mother, I idly wondered if youthfulness ran in their family, and while my thoughts were sidetracked by such trivialities, the explanation and persuasion progressed.
“Yes, that’s right… I know that what I was originally asking for was unreasonable.
If you’ve done that much, it’s more than enough. Thank you, Sayuri.”
At that, the group’s expressions softened, but Hiroki’s mother calmly shattered the mood.
“Oh, I never said I was going home. I haven’t done anything myself yet.
I decided I would be of help. And since I’ve decided, I’ll do it!”
“Sayuri… I’m sorry for being such a pathetic father…”
He was moved to tears by his daughter’s words, but Mr. Owen interjected.
“Half-baked strength is useless. The only thing you can do here is provide treatment.
Now that there are no patients, how do you intend to be of help?”
“Oh, they’ll come soon enough if we wait. It’s wartime, after all.”
“You! After Rui went to the trouble of using his precious medicine!”
Hiroki passionately jumped into the conversation, but she retorted, “Who are you calling ‘you’!” and pinched his cheek, lifting him up. That looked painful.
As expected of a former Hunter, her way of punishing is also severe.
“Sayuri… I’ve fully received your feelings. It’s really enough now.
I’m relieved to see you’ve met a good partner.”
Even as her head was patted, Sayuri-san stubbornly refused with a sorrowful expression, “No. I’m not going home.”
“Hey, Mom, let’s take Grandpa home with us too!
We can all live together in Oldam!”
No, making a fuss about returning to Oldam here is obviously a bad idea, I thought, but it was too late to say anything.
At Ami’s clamor, someone came out, asking, “What’s all this commotion in front of the barracks?”
Agh, I thought, and when I looked, it was Roosevelt-san who had come out.
Hey, you’re the Knights Commander, aren’t you?
There’s no way you’re free!?
Thinking this, I shot him an astonished look, and when he noticed me, his eyes widened.
“Th-this is Your Highness… or rather, should I say Your Majesty now?”
“W-w-wait! Please wait a moment!”
I grabbed his arm, pulled him into the shade of a tree, and strongly conveyed, “I plan to return to being a commoner after the war, so keep it a secret!”
“That’s quite impossible, I’m afraid… But before that, what is all this commotion? Hearing talk of evacuating to Oldam in front of the barracks, I can’t very well ignore it…”
That’s true. It was a bad place for it.
While agreeing with his words, I explained the gist of the situation, and the Knights Commander also sided with us, saying, “I see. Well, one healer is nothing compared to what Your Highness has brought us.”
And so, we moved back in front of the grandfather, but…
“Oh my… if it isn’t Holy Knight Owen-dono. Why are you here?” Roosevelt-san asked, his cheek twitching.
At the words “Holy Knight,” Hiroki twitched, showing an envious reaction.
Too bad.
I have that title too, I chuckled inwardly.
“Ah, no, this is for personal reasons… She’s my fiancée,” Mr. Owen replied awkwardly.
Roosevelt-san looked surprised, but saying, “No, in any case, this isn’t the place for this,” we were moved to the reception room.
While sipping the tea we were served, our discussion proceeded, and Sensei’s conversation advanced with, “In that case, once Sayuri-dono returns, you will be heading back, correct?”
“That’s a matter of course. I can’t very well join the war without a royal decree.”
“Hahaha, isn’t it more like you’ve been told not to participate?”
Sensei averted his gaze and fell silent.
“It’s alright, Sensei. I’ve heard directly from His Majesty. In the current situation, where it looks like even the Lestall Kingdom might fall, he wouldn’t dream of involving someone who holds the rank of Baron.”
“Huh? Why is there talk about Lestall falling?”
I explained the current state of affairs to a bewildered Hiroki.
“Just think about it. If Mildrad and the Empire have joined forces, then in terms of national power, the Empire is the one taking the lead. The Empire is using Mildrad, threatening Lestall not to interfere, and trying to make Belfast fall. Assuming they conquer Belfast, do you think they’d just leave Lestall alone afterwards? If they get those three countries in their grasp, the entire peninsula will be the Empire’s. With no bordering nations left, there’d be no need to wastefully station troops, so they’d be free to deploy their forces elsewhere. There’s no way an Empire that loves invading, after making such moves, wouldn’t attack.”
Well, it’s something I only learned recently myself, though.
“Hah! Even if they’re a major power, there’s no way we’d lose!”
“About that… Viscount Oldam said that if we fight now, we’ll lose. That’s why he advocated for returning Belfast.”
“Y-Your Highness! That hasn’t been made public yet…!”
Ah, whoops. Were they perhaps trying to leverage the advantage of being Razbel until the very last minute?
Well, it’s a good thing this came out amongst ourselves.
“Hey, Rui-kun… What’s this about ‘Your Highness’?”
Ah… hold on a second…?
I’m pretty sure I told him it was a secret, right?
I shot him a look, but he smoothly averted his gaze.
Oh well. It’s not like these guys would start acting weirdly just because they found out.
“Ah, well, about that… It seems I was born into the Royalty of Belfast. Since it’s a fallen kingdom, it was kept a secret all this time. My foster parent only told me recently.”
Sensei’s eyes widened and he froze, Hiroki’s grandpa snapped to attention, and the others just looked dumbfounded.
“No way! You mean you’re a prince? Hey, is that it!?”
“Nah, I have no intention of succeeding the throne. But yeah, I guess that’s about it?”
When I replied, Ami’s eyes seemed to gleam with a somewhat calculating light.
Ah, I know what you’re scheming. Yep. It’s money, isn’t it?
As I looked back at her, as if to say, “I see right through you,” Hiroki shouted, “Hold on a minute!”
Hmm? Was he jealous? I glanced his way.
“That kind of thing doesn’t matter right now!! If Lestall loses, what’s going to happen to us!?”
Ah, so it was about the serious stuff.
That was a perfectly natural question, I thought, and shared my prediction.
“Since we’re Hunters, we’d either die during forced conscription, or even if we survived, we’d become slaves after the surrender, right?”
Since I wasn’t sure about the exact details, I looked towards the two who seemed like they’d know.
Roosevelt-san affirmed, “That’s the usual outcome,” and Sensei, though a bit evasive, also confirmed, “Well, that might be the case.”
“Then, why aren’t we doing anything!?”
“His Majesty is taking proper action. He’s having preparations made to resist, you know.”
“Um, Your Highness, referring to King Lestall so familiarly as ‘His Majesty’ is a little…”
Why is that? You call the rulers of other countries ‘His Majesty’ too, don’t you? Eh? Normally, you’re supposed to differentiate them from your own country’s ruler? Even if you say that, this country doesn’t even have a king yet, does it?
While we were having this back-and-forth, Hiroki was tearing at his hair in agitation.
“Why are you all so damn calm when our lives are on the line! We’re talking about how we all might die, aren’t we!?”
“Hahaha, you’ve got spirit, young man. However, we have been under constant threat since the day we were born. This is nothing new to us.”
Hiroki was at a loss for words at that statement and fell silent for a moment, but then he turned a sharp gaze to Sensei. “Sensei, you’ll train me, right?”
“It would be troublesome if you were to go to the battlefield… but well, I will train you. It’s a promise, after all.”
And so, they began to give off an air of preparing to leave.
Sigh, the persuasion was finally over.
Everyone else also started to get up, as if thinking, ‘Ah, I guess it’s about time to leave the room.’
“I haven’t said a word about going home, you know!”
At that moment, everyone’s gaze focused on Sayuri-san, and even her own father turned a bewildered face towards her.
Yep. There was nothing more I could do.
I’ll leave the rest to you. I clapped Hiroki on the shoulder and left the room.