Loggervia Castle, Rit's room.
"What do I do…?"
The princess sat hugging her knees. Her master, as well as the
adventurers who she'd traveled with, were gone. They had been
killed by the Asura demon, Shisandan.
The army looking to capture Loggervia Castle had stopped their
offensive at the loss of their commander, but the castle was still
surrounded by the demon lord's troops. Supply lines had been
severed.
The gradual depletion of supplies, particularly the decreases in food
and fuel, was having a significant impact on the morale of the
castle's defenders. Loggervian winters were cold. Without fuel to
burn to stay warm, many people would freeze to death. It went
without saying what would happen without food.
Even if they held out, they couldn't win. The military might of the
Duchy of Loggervia had suffered several diplomatic problems with
their neighboring countries. In particular, they had gotten into a
small-scale squabble with the nearby country of Sunland over the
rights to a quarry near the border before the demon lord's army had
invaded.
If Loggervia didn't lower its head and send out a letter pleading for
reinforcements, they could not hope for help from the outside. But
with them surrounded, no envoy would survive. On top of that, it
was clear that the demon lord's army had more than enough
supplies. The orcs who made up a significant chunk of the army were
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resistant to the cold of winter. Loggervia's frozen climate was an ally
to their enemy.
In order to break out of that deadlock, Rit had tried to lead a force of
Loggervian adventurers in a surprise attack against the enemy's main
forces with the help of her master, Gaius, and his royal guard, but…
This is all I have to show for it…
Upon finding out that Gaius had already been killed, Rit's father, the
country's sovereign, had fallen prey to depression. The two of them
had been close friends from a young age. The reason he had left the
education of his beloved daughter to Gaius was because of his
confidence in Gaius's character. He blamed himself because, despite
his long kinship with the man telling him something was off, he had
not been able to see through the fact that someone had taken
Gaius's place. That self-reproach and depression caused the leader of
a dauntless military power to lose his will to fight.
It was the same for Rit, too. The fact that she had not realized the
master she idolized had been replaced by someone else, that she
had been deceived, and that she was responsible for so many people
dying because of that had wounded her spirit.
I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry…
Even though they had gotten revenge by defeating Shisandan, Rit's
heart was still shrouded in gloom, and all she could do was keep
apologizing.
Then came a knock on the door.
I knocked on the door to Rit's room. I could sense her presence
behind the door, but there wasn't a response.
"Rit, may I come in?"
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"…Gideon?"
"Yeah, it's me."
"Sure…"
Opening the door, I saw Rit sitting on her bed. Her eyes were red and
swollen from crying.
"Is it okay if I sit?" Seeing the girl nod, I sat down next to her on the
bed. "Today's war council is over. Apparently, they intend to
maintain the situation and hole up for a siege."
"Uh-huh."
"But everyone recognizes things will only get worse at this rate. With
Gaius gone, the people are disorganized."
"It can't be helped."
Rit's expression was despairing, as if she'd already accepted the
seemingly inevitable destruction of her home. The princess had given
up, like so many others. At this rate, Loggervia really would be
destroyed by the demon lord's army.
As an outsider, I was reluctant to intrude too much in other people's
affairs, but I resolved myself to confront the blond girl.
"Rit."
"…"
"Rit! Look at me!"
I grabbed both her shoulders and forced her to face me. Her eyes
were damp with tears as they met mine.
"I know you're hurting. I understand the country has lost its will to
fight, too. But, Rit, you said you were going to protect this country,
didn't you?"
"Yeah…"
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"If you tell me now that you really don't want to fight anymore, I
won't make you. But that isn't what this is. It's not that you don't
want to fight. It's that the sadness is weighing you down."
"Maybe. But it's hopeless. The swords I loved so much… I can't even
hold them anymore. I'm scared… I'm scared to lose anything else,"
she admitted as her tears started flowing again.
I gently drew her toward me, and she buried her face in my chest
and started crying, unable to hold it back.
"…Scared. I'm so frightened… I knew the people who died. Clive had
a wife. They only just got married last year, and he was always
talking about how great his bride was. Danny had a sick father. He
always worked so hard to pay for his father's medicine. Old man
Soret was going to retire in another year. He said he was going to
bake tons of cookies for his grandson once he retired. Bobby was an
orphan who I helped once when he got involved with some
delinquents. He ended up becoming an adventurer after that
because he wanted to be like me. I…I…told him, 'Do your best; I-I'm
sure you'll become a strong adventurer someday.' If I hadn't said
that…he'd still be alive now. The royal guard and the adventurers…all
of them… I…"
"They were good people."
"There were bad people, too. And folk somewhere in between. But I
talked to them all. I knew their faces. I knew what sort of
personalities they had! What sort of lives they led! Why they were
willing to fight with me! I knew it all! But they're all gone now.
Because of me, they're all dead. I'll never see them again. It's scary,
and it's lonely." Rit sobbed.
Hugging her shoulders, I tried to share as much of the pain in her
heart as I could. I felt her sobs as she kept talking, saying just enough
to let her keep going and occasionally nudging her to continue.
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I had no idea how much time had passed. Exhausted from crying, Rit
leaned limply against me.
"…"
"We'll put together a concrete plan by the day after tomorrow, but
we intend to break through the siege and go call for reinforcements.
We're going to go through the bewitching woods."
"The bewitching woods?"
"Normally, it would be impossible to get through there, but we're in
luck. A high elf named Yarandrala whom we've adventured with
before is in a village nearby. They're still fighting the demon lord's
army there, so I'd guess Yarandrala has probably taken command of
their defensive forces. Her blessing allows her to communicate with
plants, and she can make it through that dangerous forest. We're
going to save the village where Yarandrala is, meet up with her, and
then travel through the woods."
The demon lord's army wouldn't go all out against some tiny little
village. Their forces there were likely to be weaker.
"I'll leave it to you all, then. Even if I don't do anything, I'm sure the
Hero will be able to resolve it," Rit responded, hardly roused, with
her eyes averted. The determined woman hailed as a hero in her
own right was nowhere to be found in that face.
"Maybe. But that way won't lead to the best result."
"Why not? It's best for the Hero to save the day, right? All of you are
strong. Much stronger than I am. Wouldn't it go smoother than if I
fought?"
"Maybe, but if that happened, it would just end up being another
case of the Hero passing by and happening to save the day before
leaving again."
"What's the difference?"
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"I'm sure Ruti could pass through the bewitching woods, lead
reinforcements back here, and defeat the demon lord's army. But if
she did, then the victor would just be her and her party. It wouldn't
be a victory for Loggervia."
"If reinforcements were to come, we'd be glad to fight, too."
"That's not what I mean. What's important here is whether
Loggervia's resolve—their pride—is part of it."
Rit's shoulders trembled slightly, but she was still looking down.
"Rit, please listen to me. This is really important."
"…Okay."
"You need to endure the sadness you're feeling and stand back up.
You need to break through the bewitching woods with us, be there
to request the reinforcements, and fight the demon lord's army side
by side with our party."
"Why?"
"If you don't, this battle will only be remembered in Loggervia as the
day the great head of the royal guard was lost. Even if the demon
lord's army is pushed back, that bitter memory will leave a scar in
this country's heart that will never heal."
"…"
"Rit, I've said it before, but you are my comrade. You are one of the
Hero's comrades."
The girl looked up slowly. Her expression now hardened with
determination. Her blue eyes, still wet with tears, met my own.
"It would be simple enough for Ruti to force your father to write the
letter. But it would be even better if you persuaded him. I want
Loggervian determination behind the victory in this battle. Without
that, even if the country makes it through this hardship, once the
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Hero is gone, they won't be willing to fight should the enemy
return."
"Because we weren't the ones who won."
"Exactly."
"…I got it," Rit said, nodding.
Tears still stained the young woman's face, but a heroic resolve had
returned to her expression.
We rose to leave. The remaining things to discuss were better
covered in the council room, not her bedroom. Rit walked ahead of
me but suddenly stopped and turned around.
"Gideon…truly, thank you. For coming to this country with the Hero,
for meeting me, for being willing to call me a comrade…for saving
me… Truly, thank you."
There was a gentle smile on her face.