Chapter 92: After the war

After the commander’s tent was blown up, some soldiers tried to escape in the chaos but they could not escape the siege and they were all taken as prisoner. Even the enemy soldiers who had been resisting in the fort are now following orders to disarm. Many of the enemy soldiers were wounded in the short battle earlier. Those who were able to move were assigned to look after the wounded –the painkillers used by the Zirconia Army were of low effectiveness so the seriously wounded were given the medicine I had prepared.

Of course, I gave priority on treating the wounds of my allies. Even Katie-san, who accompanied me, was surprised knowing that only few were wounded. One of the tents in the fort was opened to accommodate the wounded on our side. Though there are three seriously wounded personnel, it was not life-threatening.

“…This should be fine… you did well.”

The patient took an arrow and needed urgent surgery but she survived with only partial anaesthesia. She hold the hand of Katie-san who served as my assistant and beamed at us.

“Thank you very much… Sensei…”

I smiled at the patient and reiterated that she’s good to go. However, to ensure that no scarring is left in the sutured area, the procedure after the stitches are removed is also important. Thus I still need to monitor the progress closely.

Sutures made from plant-based fibers are my specialty. The time it takes to suture is also important for working as a surgeon, but in my case, it was considered to be abnormal because it was done too quickly and it could be treated as a reference record.

“With all this technique, I’m sure you would have been very popular in the capital.”

Katie-san told me that. I was barely told that I would be hired by the hospital where I was training though. The doctors in the Capital are graduates of medical schools, not a magic academy. They also consider normal medical techniques as more mainstream than those that use spirit magic so I was an outsider.

Well, if it’s outside the Capital, doctors, including spirit doctors are undeniably in great demand. However, it is said that they can only be limited to become the attending physicians of an influential person. That could have happened to me as well –I’m really glad that I’m able to come to the Knight’s order like this.

“One day, when Grass-sensei is recognized and it’s time to return to the Capital…”

“No, I’ll be here as always. Well, I have a family in the Capital so I’d like to think that it’s not like I’ll never go back there…. In any case, it won’t be easy to return to the Capital and right now, I won’t be able to.”

“…I heard some rumors. The one who came as a messenger from His Majesty came here to criticize Astina-denka… That was the reason for this decision.”

His Majesty’s messenger- Vaiseck. He has given an unreasonable order to immediately release the prisoners of war detained at Isle Rose Fortress. The background of this order is now clearly visible. The Second Queen communicates with Jorg Frost, who sent Noin to Zirconia. It is likely that it was the Second Queen who made Vaiseck as a messenger of His Majesty’s royal decree. She then urged him to say something that would insult Astina-denka.

“What is His Majesty thinking… it looks like he is driving Astina-denka, his own blood-related daughter, into a corner. I’m sure Her Highness is in a lot of pain but she fought unwearyingly. Just looking at Her Highness’ appearance, I…”

“…Her Highness has vowed to never hand over the Isle Rose Fortress to Zirconia. You see, defeating General Alejandro and capturing the enemy soldiers in the fort alone would be a deterrent to Zirconia.”

Hearing my words, Katie-san, who was holding her chest anxiously, smiled at me, showing that some of her tension were eased.

“…Grass-sensei also went to battle and you immediately worked as a military doctor. We will do our best to make sure that you don’t collapse. We will try to reduce the burden on Sensei as much as possible.”

Katie-san firmly puts on the medic’s hat, repositioned the captain’s armband, and goes out of the tent with her subordinates – it looks like she’s going to help prepare the meal since the wounded have been rescued quickly.

Alright, I’ll go and check on Presha-san, who has been hit by Alejandro’s blow and is now resting.

“…Nn?. Grass-sensei…”

“No, it’s fine. Stay as it is Presha-san. You still need to rest you know.”

Presha-san noticed me and she was about to lift her body up ―she had fallen asleep in the middle of the treatment and was unaware of her condition.

“Uh-….. P-Presha-san, the blanket… that, uhm, you should cover your chest…”

“……Eh?”

Fortunately, there are no fractured bones. I applied an ointment to reduce the inflammation of the bruise and wrapped a bandage around her upper body to protect the affected area until the swelling receded. ―I was indifferent when I treated her but it’s not a sarashi-like winding method so the shape of her chest is clearly visible even through an undershirt was worn under her armor.

“Uh-… d-don’t look!”

“S-Sorry, I approached you thoughtlessly…”

Presha-san pulls the blanket and I look away. It’s not that I don’t have anything to say, I thought I should leave the tent as soon as I asked her if there is any pain but,

“…I, I’m sorry sensei. You are a doctor so I know you won’t care about that.”

“…I was wholeheartedly focused during the medical treatment but I think I have to apologize for that one just now.”

At times like this, perhaps it’s better if I would say, “I don’t think anything when I see a woman’s body”. However, I surely lost my composure there so I can’t lie. But just when I thought I would be blamed, Presha-san’s hand stretched out –I then faced her.

“Uhm, that… Thanks for earlier. Thanks to Sensei, I can still live. I was always told by Raquel-ane that I would die if I underestimated my enemies but I still rushed in without thinking ahead…..”

“…If Presha-san didn’t challenge him at that time, Alejandro might have escaped among the other soldiers. I think it led to this result because you continued to fight until Her Highness and Raquel-san came.”

I can’t tell anything about the battle but I wanted to encourage Presha-san somehow. Her eyes are teary –I thought she would cry but the tears didn’t run down her cheeks. Presha-san wipes her eyes and smiles broadly.

“… I’m glad you are not dismayed that I did something stupid again.”

“I won’t be dismayed. I have always been thankful to everyone who go on the battlefield. Well, you might think that even though I am a member of the military, I’m talking as if it’s someone else’s affair…”

“No, that’s not the case. Our job is to protect those who have no fighting power. Sensei has great magic but I really want to protect you. Not just me, everyone else too. You can’t just secretly act before us.”

Even though she said something that made me happy from the bottom of my heart, it’s too overwhelming so I couldn’t keep up with my thoughts. When I came to this Knights Order, I thought I would lose my place if they didn’t recognize my strength and I even thought that Presha-san might cut me off if I am to be considered incompetent.

“…So… If it’s Sensei, I won’t get angry even if you see it…”

The moment Presha-san said that –my view was suddenly blocked and I couldn’t see what’s in front of me.

“…Grass-nii, don’t look!”

“Grass-sama is a doctor so it would be difficult to treat without seeing it.”

“Uhm… Leslie you don’t have to be that strict. Grass-sensei will just check my wounds.”

“…You can catch a cold so please cover it properly.”

Leslie then removed the thing that covered my eyes. As expected, it seems to be something to think about ― she would be angry if I asked if she was jealous though.

“Noin, Alejandro is…”

I haven’t treated Alejandro yet. Measures such as pulling out the arrow and stopping bleeding have been done, but that was done by the medic of the enemy side. The enemy army doesn’t have a military doctor –the idea of having a doctor in the army itself is not applied in Zirconia. In a military camp of this size, it would be nice to have a doctor, but apparently, the system for training doctors itself is not as well organized as it is in our country.

Whether or not we will treat Alejandro in earnest depends on whether or not he will follow us. As a defeated general, there is no easy way to imagine how the King of Zirconia and the other generals will treat him  ―besides, Alejandro has discarded his men and lost a great deal of centripetal force.

“…He regained consciousness but he won’t talk. I first thing he said was to kill him.”

“I see……”

“Grass-nii, it’s about time to eat and Astina-denka wants you to come before then. If possible, she wants to hear from Alejandro together…”

From that phrase “if possible”, I feel that Her Highness is hesitant. If Alejandro won’t talk, there is no choice but to force him to talk. Laune, who was quietly watching over the injured who are sleeping, came over and pulled my sleeve.

“I am here for such a time. Summoner-sama, I want you to rely on me.”

“…Yeah. Thank you, Laune.”

Arlaune’s hypnosis will reveal what Alejandro knows.

Why was Zirconia trying to invade Rezeneia? And, does the King of Zirconia know that someone in Rezeneia associated with Zirconia? Leslie will take care of Presha-san so I took Noin and Laune to the place where Alejandro was taken.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.

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