Chapter 23: Night Flower

The enemy couldn’t reach the moat surrounding the city wall as they were wiped out by the arrows in the riverside’s meadow.

I had never seen the power of a longbow, but metal arrows pierced the enemy’s armor, causing fatal wounds. The number of enemy soldiers killed was over fifty –we could see what the Zirconian army was trying to do by looking at the thing they were trying to carry.

“Cannon… This also caused a lot of damage last time. In small groups, they carry this in the darkness, perhaps they were trying to destroy the walls before we notice them.”

In preparation for an ambush, Dite-san has ordered her subordinates to carefully scout around.

When I was able to confirm that it was safe, I asked her to let me off the horse, I then look around for survivors in the soldiers lying around.

No survivors can be found. Leaving the dead in the open affects not only the enemy but also the morale of the army– Up to this point, I wonder what happened after the enemy army was repelled.

At that moment, when I casually look at the dead soldiers in front of me, I felt some malaise.

“…he’s alive… Dite-san there is a survivor. It seems like he can’t move after he’s struck by the arrow.”

“Then I will take the soldier back to the fortress. I hope I can hear about their purpose this time.”

If I pull the arrow here, blood loss will be too great. At present, I have to apply blood-thinning medicine and have to operate after returning.

“What are you doing? He does not need treatment or something…”

“If we leave him as is, there is a risk of dying before we could bring him back to the base. If you want a prisoner, I have to take the minimum steps.”

“Well… that’s right. It’s exactly as what Sensei says. I’m sorry, please continue.”

Dite-san looks a little pale.

When I think about it, it was the same before we came here. I was told to ride in front of Dite-san, and up close, her hand holding the reins seemed to tremble a little.

“I might get scolded when I say something like this but… Presha-san also said that it would be better not to kill enemy soldiers if it was not necessary.”

“I wouldn’t say such thing in front of a military doctor. That means that she is still young.”

“N-No, it doesn’t mean that you’ll get used to it when you get older. It’s just… it more human-like.”

“To protect the country, such sentiments should be discarded. Otherwise, you will eventually lose yourself.”

She thinks that none other than her can do it – that’s why from the start, Dite-san keeps convincing herself.

Before the enemy approaches, they blocked the progress by shooting them. In that way, the enemy’s troops were struck by the arrows and wiped out. Deep inside, it should have worn her out, so it’s impossible to say that she feels nothing.

As we were riding the horse together, I knew what she needed. It was a flower that alleviates the symptoms of sleeplessness: “Night Flower”.

It is said that if you put the flower in your bedroom, you will fall asleep so deeply that you will even forget about what happened. I didn’t use it myself, but I was happy to recommend it to my stepsister.

Those who are put on the battlefield often suffer from insomnia especially if they’ve experienced many night time enemy attacks just like this fortress.

When Dite-san got off the horse, she approaches the enemy soldier and picks up the sword that had fallen. The carved seal on the handle was a scraped off.

“As expected……It was a weapon made on our country. So it was true that weapons were being sent to the enemy army…”

“Dite-san, did you hear what Presha-san has reported… from Astina-denka?”

“I’m sure you gave us consideration, and taken care for us not to lose our morale. But, our intuitions are not that dull. Astina-sama came from the capital too…. No. She is estranged from some members of the royal family, otherwise, the one who won the merit on the Eastern Front wouldn’t be sent to the dangerous west right after.”

Originally, Astina-denka was fighting in the east. At the eastern border, the war situation has been stable for several years and the once stolen territory has been recovered. The princess no longer needs to stand in the battlefield then.

―But thru a decree, she was sent to a dangerous battlefield once again.

When I looked at Her Highness, I felt that I was separated from humans because her spirituality was clearly different from other people. Her talent was never given solely for battle. Properly speaking, her pureness and divinity, gathers people’s belief and it gives them peace, if it isn’t a natural gift to guide, what else could it be?

I just met her but I’m amazed to see myself being this worshipful. I think Astina-denka is truly an existence to be revered –as everyone in this fortress, including Captain Raquel, does.

“Some people call Astina-sama a “Saint”. That is because, she herself didn’t voice out any resentment against her own circumstances and she won’t point her sword to the main culprit. No other term fits her than – Saint.

And at the same time, as the “Sword Princess”, she’s willing to wield her sword to kill her enemies. That is why we want to be a weapon to defeat the enemy in her stead. Yes, that’s what we all swore.”

I remember the appearance of Raquel-san, who runs at the command of Astina-denka. What made her so fierce might have come from that vow.

“I’m curious, Sensei didn’t feel like a student, I even thought you were still a young boy… But you were so calm that I even spoke too much.”

“Actually, I’m curious too that’s why… From here, I will also do what I can. Can you wait a little over there?”

“What are you going to do?”

“If we leave the enemy soldiers’ dead body alone, it can cause an epidemic. I can prevent that from happening. If you have something to collect, please pick it up now.”

“We can use each weapon as evidence. I’ll leave everything else as a gravestone for the dead soldiers.”

Dite-san’s subordinates collect some undamaged arms. The captive soldier was then carried on the horse. It took time to carry the cannon, but they managed to carry it into the fortress.

While Dite-san watches over from a little distance, I work on the spirit of the grass that filled the riverbank. Naturally, the Earth spirits would be better at it –returning those who lost their lives to the earth.

But plants also contribute to obscuring the traces of battle.

“Green grass that covers the earth, answer my call and cover the desolate land… [Plant Grow!]”

That spell promotes grass growth over a wide area. This may seem like a temporary hiding, but it relieves the effect on the land by growing a new plant that absorbs phosphorus and salt in the soil.

What we can see after were the weapons that became the enemy’s grave marker. Now, only the swords and spears stood still on the ground.

“I knew Glass-sensei came from the Magic Academy, but I’ve never heard of such magic… Ah…!”

“Uu… S-Sorry. I thought I would be fine.”

I used magic too many times today. If I did such large task lastly, I expected this to happen –I too, should have learned more about my power.

I was caught by Dite-san when I was about to fall down. Somehow, I managed to keep myself conscious and stand on my own feet and leave her.

“Are you sure you’re not forcing yourself? It’s not the time to be worrying about us.”

“Really, being this miserable… I’m truly sorry, I apologize for the inconvenience.”

When I apologized, Dite-san looked at me with a face that chides me–her eyes were narrowed as if she was troubled on what to do.

“Don’t mention the trouble… this is where I should thank you. If we’ll be doing the burial from now on, I’m sure it will be another sleepless night… Ah…”

“As expected, you seem like you can’t sleep well. I know a good medicine… I sometimes use it when I can’t sleep, so the effect is guaranteed.”

“Ahem… Men should silently overlook when women have a slip of mouth… I want to say that but it’s truly hard to hide the dark circles, so I’ll rely on you.”

Dite-san is shy to say so. Her smile was so pretty as the little flowers of the “Night Flower” –I would be laughed even more if I said that with a straight face.

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