Chapter 81: Unfulfilled Wish

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Translator: Soafp

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After seeing Ask off.

Fran was in her room, preparing to head for the front lines to repel the monsters invading from the demon lands.

That was when—

“Fran, excuse me.”

“Oh? Isn't that Lidiel?”

The one who knocked and entered the room was Lidiel, a crossbow slung over her back.

“Do you need something?”

“I've been assigned by His Majesty the Emperor to be your escort.”

“My escort? I appreciate that, but aren't you a formidable fighting force yourself?”

“I was told, ‘Heroes should act like heroes.'”

Lidiel gave a wry smile.

“I see. If something were to happen to a hero who once saved the Empire in its hour of need, morale would surely drop. On the other hand, knowing a hero is standing behind them would let the soldiers fight with peace of mind.”

“…To be honest, I'd rather fight on the front lines myself.”

“Then that works out nicely. You'll end up on the front lines whether you like it or not.”

“Huh?”

Only then did Lidiel realize.

Fran was wearing light, easy-to-move leather armor, with a dagger hanging at her waist.

She looked nothing like a healing mage—more like a scout.

“Fran… that outfit is…?”

“Do you know where the most soldiers die in a war?”

“Eh? Um… on the battlefield?”

“Exactly. Rather than waiting leisurely in the rear for wounded soldiers to be brought to me, isn't it more efficient to go to where the injured soldiers are and heal them on the spot?”

“B-but that's dangerous!?”

Lidiel, who had experienced the battlefield, knew this well.

There are monsters in this world that you simply cannot deal with on your own.

There are moments when, faced with such monsters, you can do nothing at all.

But Fran let out a soft laugh, as if she had seen right through Lidiel's thoughts.

“Don't underestimate me. I understand that there are things you can't do anything about on the battlefield. I followed my father to a foreign warzone when I was five.”

“Five…? W-wait, five years old!?”

Lidiel recalled what she herself had been like at five.

Back then, before her talent for sniping had been discovered, Lidiel was a powerless fifth-class citizen.

Every day, she watched her father head off to dangerous mines to earn enough to feed her, waiting quietly for his return so she wouldn't starve.

She had known people like herself weren't rare…

But she had never imagined someone going to a battlefield at the age of five.

“I'm fully aware of the danger. Even so, saving people is my role.”

“…That's cool. That's really cool!!”

“I-is it?”

“Yes!! Don't worry, Fran!! I, Lidiel Rhydiel, will protect you with my life!!”

“…Fufu. You have a surprisingly cute side.”

As Fran smiled in response to Lidiel's sun-bright grin, someone suddenly knocked on the door.

“Fran-sama, may I have a moment?”

“Prince Sidin? What is it?”

“Well, um…”

Sidin hesitated, breathing heavily as if he had rushed there in a panic.

“What I'm about to say is only a possibility. But the information comes from a reliable source, so I want you to believe me.”

“…What is this about?”

“…It's possible the monsters' target isn't the Empire.”

“What?”

The Belhart Empire had noticed the increased monster activity in advance and was preparing for battle under the assumption that they would attack imperial territory as usual.

Yet here, the Empire's second prince was denying that premise.

Just as Fran was about to ask what he meant, Sidin's next words left her speechless.

“The monsters may be planning to attack the Kingdom of Kishirika.”

“!?”

Fran stepped closer to Sidin.

“What do you mean by that!?”

“…The demon lands border the sea. Several massive sea dragons have reportedly gathered there, intending to transport large numbers of monsters on their backs.”

“Is that not for a surprise attack on the Empire?”

“That's possible, but every imperial port is heavily fortified. It wouldn't be worth attacking with that level of force. The more likely target would be the nearest country after the Empire… the ports of the neighboring Kingdom of Kishirika.”

Fran rested her hand on her chin, thinking as she listened.

Kishirika did indeed have several ports.

However, due to ocean currents, it had never once been attacked by sea in past wars.

But large sea dragons could easily exceed one hundred meters in length.

With bodies that massive, ocean currents would mean nothing—they could transport enormous numbers of monsters with ease.

Sidin's theory wasn't implausible.

“But why the Kingdom?”

“The Empire and the Kingdom are allies. If the Kingdom is endangered, we'd have to send reinforcements.”

“You think they're trying to split the Empire's forces? Are monsters really capable of acting that strategically?”

“It's rare, but we were taught at the Hero Academy that it does happen once every few decades.”

Lidiel spoke as if recalling a lesson.

“…Even if their goal is to divide imperial forces by attacking the Kingdom, Kishirika is still a major power. Compared to the Empire, they lack combat experience against monsters, but they should be able to handle it with limited damage. I don't think it will go that smoothly.”

“Fran, monsters are nothing like humans.”

“I know that much.”

“No, you don't. Many monsters can fly, you know?”

“Ah…”

Lidiel turned back toward Sidin, her expression tense enough that even Fran could feel her urgency.

“Prince Sidin, the monsters the sea dragons plan to carry… could they be wyverns?”

“Y-yes. That's right. How did you know?”

“I thought so. Fran, do you know what wyverns are?”

“…At least in theory.”

Wyverns.

Flying monsters with thick scales, so tough that ordinary ballistae can't even damage them.

“The Empire has plenty of heroes capable of anti-air combat, so wyverns aren't a major threat here, but…”

“…For the Kingdom, they'd be fatal.”

“W-we have to hurry and request an audience with His Majesty the Emperor and ask him to send reinforcements to the Kingdom!!”

Lidiel rushed out of the room in a panic, with Fran chasing after her.

Still, Fran had a sinking feeling that, in order to avoid dividing their forces too thinly, the Empire wouldn't be able to dispatch many troops.

A thought crossed Fran's mind.

If the monster army attacking the Kingdom were to push past the port and advance toward the royal capital—

No, if there were wounded the moment the port was attacked—

(That child will definitely stick his nose into it again!!)

Fran saved people because that was the duty expected of the next head of the Medix family.

In other words, it was obligation.

But her younger brother was different.

He charged enthusiastically into dangerous places simply because he wanted to heal—because he wanted to do it. A genuine madman.

What worried Fran most was that, among the lives Ask sought to protect, he did not include his own.

Fran prayed.

From the bottom of her heart, she prayed that her brother would not gleefully leap into the flames of war once again.

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“Huh? Monsters crossed the sea and attacked the ports of the Kingdom of Kishirika?”

“Yeah. Apparently there are tons of injured.”

“Then it's No-Face's turn to shine!!”

The sister's wish for her brother's safety did not reach him in the slightest.