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The first impression I had upon meeting Karina, whom I had only heard about, was how sharp she seemed.

It wasn’t just her casually tied-back hair that barely reached her shoulders or the intimidating look in her eyes that seemed to scowl. Every word she spoke revealed her personality.

“Damn it! That guy is messing with us!”

Karina stormed into the tent, panting with indignation, followed by a man who seemed to be her subordinate, struggling to keep up.

“Hmm? Who are you?”

It looked like she had just returned from the battlefield without any prior notice, and upon seeing us waiting in the command tent, she asked with a perplexed expression. Just as the soldier who had guided us stepped forward to introduce us, someone moved ahead of him.

“Long time no see, Karina.”

“Who dares to utter my name so casually… Oh! Yuli! It’s been ages. Has it really been two years since we last worked on a mission together?”

It seemed Yuli was very active in the military, as she appeared to know Karina quite well. In fact, they weren’t just acquaintances; they greeted each other with a light hug.

“…It’s only been a year. Can you please not distort other people’s memories?”

“Ha ha! I was just excited to see you. By the way, I heard you’ve retired. You’ve completely become a civilian now, haven’t you? How’s it going? You mentioned having things you need to do and things you want to do. Did it all pan out? From your expression, it looks like you’re doing fine.”

As curiosity piqued about what Yuli had wanted to do, she glanced over at me quickly. Since it was a personal matter, I figured she didn’t want anyone else to know.

Of course, I could eavesdrop on Yuli’s whisper if I focused hard enough, but out of respect for her, I pretended not to hear and shifted my attention elsewhere. I felt a tinge of jealousy knowing it was a secret Yuli had that I wasn’t in on, but it was somewhat comforting that right now, I was her companion, not Karina.

“Hmmm… So this is the famous Hero Narishi.”

From the outside, Selian looked much more like a hero than I did, but perhaps having heard the rumors about me that had spread across the continent, she directly approached me.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Elysia, a friend and comrade of Yuli.”

“I hear you handle a sword pretty well? Ah! I hope it’s okay to speak casually. If it makes you uncomfortable, just say so. Though I may or may not listen,” she said, not even bothering to wait for a response.

Even without permission, she just tossed out her words, but her attitude wasn’t unpleasant. After all, she was older and a friend of Yuli, and the charisma she exhibited made her seem rather dignified.

“Well, I’m good enough not to embarrass myself in any company.”

“Ha ha! Well, that’s a comforting assurance! Now that you’re here, we can finally give that guy a beating!”

Her bold response could be seen as a bit obnoxious, but Karina was genuinely pleased, laughing heartily. The fiery demeanor she had while entering the tent indicated she probably had a lot of pent-up frustration against Vulcan.

I could understand why she was happy. She had mentioned how Vulcan had been toying with her and the Great Wizard who had come to support her, and our party’s arrival had shifted the balance.

“From the looks of it, it seems like you spoke to Finn before coming here. Can you share the plan?”

“Is there really a plan to speak of? We just push through with brute force.”

As long as there are no outside interventions, I could handle Vulcan on my own without any difficulty. Plus, if Selian worked in sync with me, taking down Vulcan would become a straightforward task.

“Then… they probably don’t know our hero party has joined us over there, so we need to move swiftly to take advantage of that. Quick and decisive, there’s no need to give the enemy time to prepare.”

Karina stroked her chin thoughtfully, even though she had no beard.

“But today, the sun is already setting, so let’s rest. Vulcan has been rampaging all day, so he’s likely to be quiet now. Of course, we can’t be too trusting, so we should remain vigilant, but that’s our responsibility, not yours as the hero party.”

Having been in situations like this for more than just a day or two, Karina spoke as if she was used to it. But I knew well enough that Vulcan wasn’t the type to attack in the dead of night. Of course, there could be other demonic beings under Vulcan’s command that might attack, but we could handle that without needing to step up ourselves.

“Since we have many people, let’s set up an entirely new tent. Lieutenant Gil? Do we have any spare tents?”

At Karina’s words, the subordinate behind her fiddled with some papers and after a moment, responded.

“Due to the increasing number of injured, all available tents are currently being used as patient wards. However, we can empty one tent by adjusting the soldiers’ layout and making room for one.”

“Will the soldiers grumble about that?”

“While there will be some complaints, it’s not to the point where they’ll express strong discontent. They might only mutter a curse or two.”

“Doesn’t that include you as a target of those curses?”

“People even curse the king when it comes to that, so such conditions are bearable enough, aren’t they?”

He said it nonchalantly, but who enjoys being cursed at? Even if we had come to help, I still felt uneasy about making the soldiers uncomfortable. But I didn’t want my friends to feel troubled either, so I understood why he kept quiet.

“Okay, then let’s get to work…”

“Hero, I just treated the critically ill patients in the intensive care ward first.”

Just as I was about to give orders, Mariel entered, having prioritized caring for patients instead of waiting with the others, as expected of a saint.

Of course, there were other clergy dispatched here, but Mariel had easily treated patients who couldn’t be helped by them. Truly, she had the heart and divine power befitting someone regarded as a saint.

“That’s a relief. Thank you for your efforts.”

“Eh heh… No need to mention it. Just like how our hero is trying to defeat the Four Heavenly Kings, I as a saint, only aim to take care of the patients.”

She seemed surprisingly bashful about my praise, giving an awkward smile as she humbly deflected it.

“…Well, it looks like I’ve received full help already. Thanks to the saint stepping in, we could reduce the number of patients in the ward. So now you guys can use the empty tent we had set up for the soldiers.”

In a way, since Karina and Lieutenant Gil wouldn’t have to deal with curses, it was a favorable turn of events.

“Then let’s head this way. Follow me.”

With Karina leading the way, I trailed behind her with baggage until we arrived at a rather large tent. Lieutenant Gil removed the sign of the ward that was attached to the entrance, making a scratching sound.

“First, I’ll have the soldiers replace the beds with new ones. Considering these were used by patients in poor condition, there have been bloodstains and all…”

As I set down my baggage for a moment, several soldiers entered and began swapping out the beds. They also cleared out the medical equipment they had set aside to set up a few simple tables and chairs inside, making the former appearance of the ward completely vanish.

“As for meals… I’ll have them bring it over here. They’ll likely be sneaking glances, and in such a situation, who could eat properly?”

I was grateful for even this thoughtful consideration. Of course, remembering we had come to take down Vulcan, this type of hospitality felt somewhat lacking, but gratefulness is still gratefulness.

Once Lieutenant Gil stepped outside, only our group remained in the tent, and everyone began to settle down and unpack their things. No one seemed to be frowning at the conditions, perhaps this level of environment was what they were used to.

After all, considering we had Selian, who had rolled around fighting the Demon King in her previous life, along with other friends who hadn’t exactly lived comfortable lives, it made sense.

The only one who seemed a bit delicate was Frecia, but surprisingly, she didn’t seem to be too picky about her sleeping arrangements. Having experienced many nights outdoors after reuniting with us, she was used to adapting and, back in her academy days, she would transform into a cat and nap wherever the sun hit just right.

Lindy, too, had a surprisingly normal demeanor, unlike the noble elf image she portrayed; the years she had lived must have made such environments familiar to her.

…Come to think of it, how old is Lindy anyway?

 

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