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Vol 05 Chapter 19: Return

After about two months of expedition, Roleau, Lucy, Yukino, and I had returned to Erucy.
We arrived just a few hours before the expected arrival of the Imperial soldiers.
The expedition could be considered a success. Thanks to our tactics fully utilizing landmines and cluster bombs, we successfully reduced the number of unharmed soldiers to four thousand. It was also significant that we left them with thousands of injured soldiers.
Along the way, we took the opportunity to destroy every supply carriage we found, reducing their provisions and increasing the fatigue of the soldiers. The only miscalculation was the imperial army’s decision to ignore the landmines, preferring to preserve Ashno at the cost of sustaining damage. As a result, Ashno wasn’t as worn out as I hoped, and the cluster bombs were less effective.
Upon entering Erucy, all the villagers came out to welcome us.
「Welcome back, Cyril-kun.」
Kuu was the first to rush out from the welcoming group and hugged me.
「I’m back, Kuu. Have you been well?」
「I’m fine physically. But it was very lonely without you, Cyril-kun. Two months is a long time.」
I gently stroked Kuu’s head as she clung to me.
「I missed you too, Kuu.」
During these two months of expedition, not only my body but also my heart had become quite exhausted. As I embraced Kuu, I felt the weariness melt away. … However, I was slightly bothered by Kurao, the village’s acting chief, who was looking enviously at me and Kuu. When I glanced towards Lucy and the others, I saw a crowd had formed around them.
「Yukino-chan, Kuro is so happy you’re back!」
「It- It’s not like I was worried or anything! I believed you would come back safely… Yukino!!」
Yukino was being hugged tightly and jostled around by Kurone, the black fire fox, and Kemin, the yellow fire fox, both of whom had their faces wet with tears and runny noses.

「So you made it back safe, Roleau!」
「Of course I did. My training is different from yours.」
Roleau was surrounded by the particularly boisterous members of the Nettle group, laughing heartily with them. Lucy, too, was happily chatting with her close elf friends. We spent some time enjoying the company of everyone in Erucy. It was a brief respite.

◇
「Cyril, there’s no movement from the enemy.」
「Maybe they’ll keep quiet today.」
Lucy and I were monitoring the Imperial soldiers. From atop the outer walls encircling Erucy, we peered at the Imperial soldiers’ encampment through a telescope. Countless tents were lined up, and the flames of campfires illuminated the night sky.
It seemed that the Imperial Army’s attack would begin tomorrow; their late arrival, coupled with the unexpected factor of the outer walls surrounding Erucy, must have thrown their plans into disarray. They would need time to formulate a strategy.
「Hey, Cyril. Starting from tomorrow, the Imperial soldiers will attack to destroy Erucy, right?」
「The real battle starts tomorrow. We managed to reduce their numbers to just about what we can handle thanks to the landmines and the cluster bombs, but they are still dangerous. Right now, our chances of winning are about seventy percent.」
「Cyril, your confidence is amazing—believing that Erucy, with less than three hundred people, can defeat four thousand Imperial soldiers. But then again, we might just win with you alone.」
Lucy gave a wry smile, her voice filled with trust in me.
Even so, there’s still a thirty percent chance we’ll lose. If we fought ten battles, Erucy would be destroyed in three of them. That’s the limit of what I can do. It makes me hate my own lack of power.」
Lucy looked surprised as I spoke.
「I’m shocked. Even you can show weakness.」
「Are you disappointed?」
「No, I’m actually a little happy. Your showing weakness to me means you’re relying on me.」
Lucy smiled beautifully, then took my hand.
「If your strategy can’t cover the remaining thirty percent, then the rest of us will work hard to fill that gap. We’ll perform much, much better than you think. That way, we can surely cover the thirty percent, right? So you should act with all your might and believe in our victory.」
Her words were incredibly reassuring. Overwhelmed with gratitude, I felt a surge of happiness and warmly embraced Lucy’s shoulder.
「Thank you. That’s right, isn’t it? I’m not the only one working hard.」
It felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. From now on, I’ll place more trust in the people of Erucy. They’ll surely meet my expectations.
◇
As we continued our vigil, a paper airplane fluttered towards us. Its movement, clearly manipulated by wind magic, was unnatural. It was undoubtedly Ashno’s doing.
Seeing no immediate danger, I decided to observe. The paper airplane landed at my feet. I picked it up and saw that there were words written on it. I unfolded the paper to read the message inside. It requested a meeting, just the two of us, away from the campsite in a secluded area of the forest.
Considering her personality, it was unlikely to be a trap. She probably had something she wanted to convey.
「Lucy, can you keep watch alone for a while?」
「Where are you going?」
「Just for a walk. I won’t do anything dangerous.」
「… Don’t do anything dangerous alone.」
「I promise.」
Saying so, I jumped off the outer wall and started running towards the forest.
◇
Upon reaching the designated spot in the forest, Ashno was there. At a glance, she appeared to be a normal girl, with blonde hair and the characteristic emerald eyes of a High Elf. However, her appearance was closer to that of a human than an elf. Despite her beautiful appearance, the sight of her wrapped in blood-stained bandages was painfully striking.
「I’m sorry for calling you out so suddenly.」
「I didn’t expect you to start with an apology. What’s the reason for calling me out here?」
As I asked, Ashno’s expression turned serious, and she looked straight into my eyes.
「Surrender now. Otherwise, terrible things will happen. Duke Voldeck has lost his sanity.」
Ashno spoke in a panicked tone.
「…Why should I care if Duke Voldeck has gone mad? I’m more afraid of you than I am of Duke Voldeck.」
If Duke Voldeck wanted, he could increase the number of Imperial soldiers even more and make them fight to the death, but that was already taken into account in my plans.
「He plans to break the seal of Elna if the battle goes in your favor.」
「That can’t be possible! If the seal is released, even the Empire won’t escape unscathed.」
Once, this world was overrun with monsters. The source of this chaos, Erna, was sealed away by the great sorcerer Suzina, and only a fragile peace has been maintained since then. If that seal were to be broken, the world could be destroyed.
「He’s serious. Right now, he has ordered some of his people to go to one of the seals nearby. He’s really lost it. If he does this, not only the Empire but the entire world will be in danger.」
「Can’t you stop him?」
「Maybe I can, maybe I can’t. If he’s serious, he could break all the seals.」
I was speechless. There were eight seals, and over the centuries, they had all weakened. If even one of those seals were to break, it would lead to a complete collapse. It was impossible for Ashno to defend them all alone.
「That’s why you should surrender. Before it’s too late. I don’t want to destroy the world that my father protected. I can offer you the utmost leniency.」
Her argument was reasonable. But still…
「I can’t accept that proposal. I will win.」
「What will you do if the seal is broken?」
「I have a plan for that situation, too.」
If I could harness the power of Suzina within me, it might be possible to reseal it. And there was another solution – to kill Duke Voldeck swiftly before he could order the destruction of the seal.
「I understand your thoughts. Then, I will have to defeat you fair and square. From now on, you’ll be fighting with the weight of Erucy and its people on your shoulders. Don’t expect to be able to launch surprise attacks like before.」
「That’s my intention.」
I had expected the final battle to take place here. Therefore, I had not neglected my preparations. Ashno left, as if to indicate that the conversation was over. A new factor had been introduced, not only did I have to defeat Ashno, but I also had to think about protecting the seal.