〈 Chapter 259 〉 Wow! A Double Nightmare! (5)
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Frontline.
Phantom Territory (??).
A place where countless people die and crumble. A place where many are submerged, turning into muck. In this place, the weight of life becomes endlessly light.
If everything had gone according to my original plan, taking Chloe there would have happened later. I thought it would be best to wait until she was mentally mature and ready to accept it.
But, as always.
Things never go exactly as I planned.
There wasn’t enough time compared to my expectations. The time given wasn’t as plentiful as I thought, nor was it patient enough to wait for my hesitation. Ultimately, the things I had been neglecting began to surface one by one.
‘Galahal will retire soon.’
The spiritual pillar of the knights will disappear.
With the disappearance of one hero, a vacuum will be created. The knights will sense the arrival of a dim age. The frontlines will be pushed back significantly, and morale will drop.
A new symbol is needed.
The world demands a new hero to carry forth the dim age. I gazed at the girl blinking before me. An unrefined hero, still incomplete.
However.
A hero that must be completed.
“…What? The frontline?”
Chloe asked me back.
I looked at Chloe without saying a word.
“…”
I had dropped the light topic, but my heart was not light at all. What should I say? I tinkered with the jumbled words circling in my head, my lips moving.
“Chloe.”
I slightly bent my knees to match Chloe’s eye level.
There was a height difference between Chloe and me, about the length of a head. Feeling that difference, I opened my mouth.
“I’m sorry.”
“…What?”
I slightly bowed my head.
Chloe blinked.
She seemed baffled.
“To be honest, I still think it’s too early for you.”
I had thought of beginning by sending her to the Apprentice Knight Training Center like Lac. Step by step, I wanted to give Chloe the time to accept it.
“But, there’s less time than I expected.”
I spoke candidly.
“You’re growing fast enough, but you need to be a bit quicker. The knights should be able to feel the potential I see in you.”
Even if I didn’t know much about the Star.
Even if I didn’t know much about magic.
The knights needed to sense potential when they looked at Chloe.
“This girl has the potential. She can replace them.”
I spoke directly while looking into Chloe’s eyes.
“Even if one fire wanes, even if the flame that has illuminated them for a long time goes out…”
Galahal flinched and moved his fingers.
I continued without caring.
“A new flame will ignite again. The Star has not abandoned us yet. We need to instill that thought in the knights.”
Show the potential Chloe possesses.
Accelerate her growth.
For that to happen.
“Doing so means heading to the frontline is essential. I’m sorry, but…”
“You don’t need to apologize.”
Chloe cut me off.
I quietly stared at her. Chloe smiled bitterly and wiggled her fingers.
“I know and understand.”
“…”
“I know that I’m being given more convenience compared to other heroes, that I’m enjoying many benefits. I also know that I was able to escape from the alleys because of this talent.”
I fell silent.
Chloe continued.
“I have no intention of turning my back on responsibility. If I can grow quickly, I would rather ask for your favor.”
Her green eyes were filled with determination.
In that moment stood a girl who looked a bit different from the Chloe I had seen until now. She wasn’t the ordinary girl enjoying academy life.
“…Anyway.”
I smiled bitterly and lightly tapped Chloe’s head.
Contrary to my thoughts, it seemed Chloe had already come to some conclusion on her own.
“I’m glad to hear that.”
I briefly explained my plans to Chloe.
Despite Chloe having made up her mind, the plan itself wasn’t that grand. The goal this time was simply to experience and return.
After hearing the explanation, Chloe tilted her head.
“…Is that all?”
“Then, should I have you rolling in the frontline from now? I told you, it’s just about ‘observing’.”
“But what you just mentioned…”
Can one really grow with just that?
She appeared to have doubts.
“Well, it’s not just that.”
I pointed to the silent Galahal.
“Watching a hero fight up close will be a far more valuable experience than you think.”
Even just observing will be helpful.
Especially if the subject is Galahal.
2.
Taking Chloe to the frontline was decided after the semester ended. I asked Kalt to send a letter to the Knights Order leader… as there were procedures that needed to be followed.
Once the schedule was set, I would let Chloe know separately.
After sending Chloe off, only Galahal and I remained in the Spell Training Room.
“So.”
I began to speak, sweeping away the soot Chloe left on the floor. Since Galahal was still keeping silent, only my voice echoed loudly in the Spell Training Room.
“You have a lot of questions on your face.”
“…Yes. I have many.”
The silence was broken.
Galahal looked directly at me.
“Rania, you.”
He asked me a question.
“Just how much do you know, and how far?”
In his eyes, I could see a mixture of emotions. It seemed he was slowly beginning to question my identity. I leaned back against the wall and looked at Galahal.
“More than you think.”
“I’m not trying to play games. This is necessary…”
“You’re about to retire.”
Galahal fell silent.
I continued.
“The Knights Order leader Heinkel has probably suggested you retire. He must have asked you not to step onto the battlefield. Yet, you still want to go.”
The more I spoke, the more.
“You don’t want to retire, do you?”
Galahal’s expression hardened.
“You have to retire. Because…”
I pointed at Galahal.
“You don’t have much time left.”
“…Did you notice?”
“I noticed from the moment we shook hands. If cracks are appearing on your skin, it means you’ve been pushing yourself hard.”
I knew because I had experienced the same.
The cracks didn’t appear until after I had transformed, but once, I too had suffered from the same kind of cracks as Galahal.
A body that bears too much falls apart.
It’s not much different even for a hero’s body.
‘Rather…’
If cracks have appeared on a hero’s body.
And if Galahal ultimately chooses to retire…
“You must have bargained until you couldn’t extend your life any longer.”
“…”
“How much time do you have left, Galahal?”
I thought the time left permitted to Galahal wouldn’t be much at all. Just as I was about to pronounce the estimated number based on conjecture.
“Stop.”
Galahal interrupted my words.
“Stop talking, please.”
“…”
“You definitely know everything. It’s so detailed that it’s surprising.”
He put on a façade of calmness, looking slightly embarrassed, but his eyes were trembling.
“Did Raniel tell you?”
I remained silent.
After a short breath, Galahal continued.
“Can I meet Raniel? No. There’s no need for a meeting. A simple letter would suffice.”
“As much as you want.”
“Yes, then…”
Galahal took a letter out from his pocket.
It was a magical device I often used. It transmits the written words from one side to the other.
“Could you deliver this to Raniel?”
“…I could arrange a meeting if you wanted.”
“That won’t be necessary. I heard that friend is busy. If the time allows, that would be nice, but… I still need to gather my resolve.”
Galahal smiled sadly.
“Just a letter is enough for now.”
3.
Knights Order Leader, Heinkel von Zeikhardt.
He unfolded the letter he received from his former subordinate.
Once a counselor for the Wise One, he now held the position of Guarder in the capital. The letter came from Kalt, who was known for his exploits even on the battlefield.
Guide, Rania van Trias.
Candidate hero, Chloe.
Hero, Galahal.
The letter stated that the three would come to the frontline for ‘learning’. The approximate purpose was regarding the education of the next hero candidate, but…
‘He has noticed Galahal’s retirement.’
As he read the related content, it was not difficult to discern the intention behind it. Heinkel let out a bitter smile.
Rania van Trias.
He had heard that name many times.
Not solely because she belonged to a family like the Ashen Mage. Heinkel recalled the letter he received directly from the Ashen Mage a few months back.
『I am raising successors.』
『I plan to nurture those who will replace me and Kyle. Apuria serves as the stage for that.』
Rania van Trias was one of them.
Each time Heinkel heard about Raniel, who never seemed to rest even after retirement, he smiled bitterly.
“…It’s a regrettable matter.”
Whether it was Raniel, who withstood the frontline in a body that wouldn’t be strange to retire from at any moment, or Galahal, who tried to remain involved in the frontline despite being advised to retire.
As a commander of the knights, it would be a welcome matter.
Yet as a human, it was an unwelcome one.
Heinkel could only wish that they, who fought to the last second, could find peace at the end. Even though he knew, by nature, it would be impossible for them.
‘…I’m grateful, but it’s unfortunate.’
With a sigh, Heinkel folded the letter.
“So, when are you going to let me retire, Heinkel?”
“Shut it.”
Heinkel’s expression, which had been smiling bitterly while reading the letter, suddenly turned grim. Though it was fierce for Heinkel, the one he spoke to merely shrugged nonchalantly.
“You did well again this time. You accomplished an impossible task and earned results. Can’t I at least get an honorable retirement out of this? Honestly, you did great.”
“I hear many knights were led into danger again.”
“That was a necessary sacrifice.”
It was a necessary sacrifice.
Heinkel glared at the young man saying that. It was not a necessary sacrifice; it was a sacrifice that could have been reduced.
The young man often acted independently during operations, and each time, he resorted to such measures.
“Because that was the easier option?”
“Things need to be dealt with quickly. In order to do that, a certain level of sacrifice is necessary. There’s no more efficient strategy than that of a throwaway soldier; you know that without me explaining it, right?”
It was always like this.
Heinkel waved at the young man, who was munching snacks in the barracks while dressed far too lightly.
“Get out. I don’t want to talk with you anymore today.”
“Tsk. Going to do this again? Heinkel, listen to me. This is all based on a well-founded plan!”
The young man was babbling.
He over-exaggeratedly explained his reasoning to Heinkel, repeating sorrowful phrases like, ‘It’s sad, but I also feel sorry for that.’
“Enough.”
Unable to take it anymore, Heinkel cut off the young man.
“Destel.”
Heinkel narrowed his eyes.
“Stop the act.”
The smile vanished from Destel’s face.
Destel, clicking his tongue briefly, stood up from his seat.
“Galahal said he would come back to the frontline, correct?”
Destel remarked as if disgusted.
“Adjust the movement coordinates. I don’t want to run into him and make things awkward.”
“Galahal wouldn’t pick a fight with you.”
“He would make me uncomfortable.”
As he opened the barracks to leave, Destel momentarily halted. Something seemed to flash in his mind, and he turned back.
“While I don’t want to run into Galahal…”
He chuckled softly.
“Rania van Trias. I find myself a bit interested in her. I hear she’s entirely different from that madman, Raniel?”
“I’ve heard that as well.”
“Then she must be an angel. She seems on track to be my ideal type already.”
One of the three heroes.
The pitiful Destel.
He smiled as if amused by his own thoughts.
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