Chapter 139

The next morning, I went down for breakfast and ran into Freide.

Her coat and academy uniform seemed to have been sent for laundry, as she was dressed casually in just a white shirt and a short skirt, different from her usual attire.

Her skin was slightly flushed, as if she had been drinking early in the morning, and a faint scent of wine lingered in her breath. Her hair was slightly damp at the ends, and her skin looked dewy, as if she had taken a bath and had a drink.

Drinking while bathing isn’t good for your health, you know. But who am I to talk, smoking a cigarette in the bath?

Breakfast consisted of bacon and sausage made from young pork, salad, and egg tart. It seemed high in protein overall. Well, if you want to build strength, you gotta eat meat.

While eating with Freide, I brought up the idea of visiting the Einfeld territory soon.

Hearing this, Freide let out a disbelieving laugh. She pointed at my shoulder with a raised finger.

I, too, had left my damaged armor in my room and was only wearing a short top. It was more like underwear than a top, really, exposing my shoulders, collarbone, and even my abdomen.

Because of this, the injury on my shoulder was clearly visible. The hole had been patched up, but the area around it was still dark, showing that it was still healing.

It had been almost a week since I received healing magic, but the recovery was slow. That priest must not have been very devout.

Freide poked my shoulder with her index finger, not the injured part but right next to it.

“With this mess, you’re planning to head straight back to the battlefield? You’re such a battle maniac. Do you miss the taste of blood or something?”

“Well, it’s not like I have anything else to do. What about you? What are you planning to do?”

I hadn’t decided for sure yet. I needed to check the situation over there and confirm Ophelia’s schedule. Plus, I had to visit the busy Asha to get my damaged armor fixed, so today was going to be a busy day.

“Of course, I’ll take a break first. I’ll rest for about a week, check my damaged equipment, review the last battle, and train on the areas I lacked. Oh, and I should check on the women I asked the Church Order to take care of.”

Doesn’t sound like much of a break, does it?

I asked Freide to take Damien and Milia on a mission if I didn’t return within a week. I emphasized avoiding dungeons and making sure to recruit at least one priest.

Freide nodded readily. Maybe because the three of them worked well together in combat, she seemed to like Damien and Milia quite a bit.

After finishing breakfast, I parted ways with Freide. I had to attend a lecture and meet Ophelia. I also planned to visit the administrative office to check on the situation in Einfeld.

—

The lecture hall was sparsely filled, as if other students had also been sent on missions. Unless you have Milia’s level of talent, it’s better to focus on mastering the basics rather than jumping straight into real combat experience.

“Ah, you’re back, Princess Hasalleur! Long time no see!”

A pink-haired girl I hadn’t seen in a while approached and greeted me. It was Rana, a combat priestess trainee from Shaullite.

“You don’t have to address me so formally. Anyway, good to see you. Have you been well, Rana?”

“I’ve always been well! Shaullite takes good care of me!”

Rana smiled brightly and shook the holy symbol around her neck. She’s always so full of energy every time I see her. Is it because she’s young?

Anyway, that’s good. Her only talent as a priestess is healing magic, but her healing power is far superior to others.

“That’s great. How about sharing some of that care with me? My shoulder injury just won’t heal.”

“Sure! Leave it to me, Princess Hasalleur!”

Rana nodded and grasped her holy symbol, casting a healing miracle.

A sudden burst of crimson holy light drew the students’ attention for a moment, but they quickly looked away once they realized what was happening. When the light faded, the scar-like mark on my shoulder had completely disappeared.

I rotated my shoulder to check its condition.

The muscles and joints moved smoothly without any pain or discomfort. At this point… I’d say it’s about 90% healed.

“Hmm. Your healing magic is as effective as ever, Rana. Thanks.”

I should help her grow too. Since she can’t use any other miracles, it’ll be hard for her to improve without my guidance. It’s not easy to find people willing to take a priestess who can’t cast purification or blessings into their party.

“And like I said earlier, you can drop the formalities. Calling me ‘Princess’ feels a bit distant. We’ve trained together for a while, after all.”

“Umm… Then should I call you sister?”

“Can I call you… Has-hal-leur, unnie?”

“Uh.”

“No, that’s a bit…”

—

Hesitating for a while without an easy answer, Rana’s expression quickly turned gloomy.

Was it just my imagination, or did her fluffy pink hair seem to droop as well?

“…So, it’s a no?”

“No, uh… If you want to call me unnie, you can.”

So, in the end, I had no choice but to allow it.

Let’s think of it positively.

We’ll have to stick together anyway, so it’s better to be called unnie than to keep this awkward distance…

—

Damien and Milia’s seats were empty.

Well, it was their first extermination mission, so they must have been pretty exhausted.

Guess they’ll be resting all week. I was going to talk to them about my schedule…

…Freide will handle it.

The theology lecture was still boring.

The doctrines of each church order didn’t seem worth knowing unless you planned to become a priest.

After the lecture, I called Ophelia again.

Ophelia, who walked into the back alley, frowned as if she wasn’t happy about this meeting.

“You’re not listening to me at all? I said we should avoid contact as much as possible.”

“Do you think I like doing this? When exactly is that plan of yours starting? I’m busy too, you know. I can’t just wait around forever.”

At this point, I was considering just raiding the Sigmillus family and wiping them out, then playing dumb.

As long as we don’t get caught, it should be fine…

…But if we do get caught, we’ll be wanted criminals in no time.

“Busy? Planning to go somewhere again?”

“I’m thinking of heading to Einfeld. Heard they’re in a battle with a corpse army.”

I haven’t heard how the battle’s going yet.

“Einfeld? Ah, there? Trying to lend a hand to the 1st Prince’s gamble? How loyal.”

“Gamble? Is the situation that bad?”

I thought a few hundred corpse soldiers would be manageable with the troops Leopold could mobilize.

“Of course it is. The Empress wouldn’t just let the 1st Prince earn military merits. It would dilute the 3rd Prince’s biggest advantage.”

Ophelia shrugged.

“I heard the dispatched troops are about half of the 3rd Legion. Around eight thousand? The Elpinel Church sent reinforcements, but… It won’t be easy. There are over a thousand monsters.”

What?

A thousand?

“Wait, wait. You’re saying there are over a thousand corpse monsters, not a few hundred?”

“You didn’t know? It’s been common knowledge since the dispatch was decided. The number’s probably grown since then.”

A coughing fit hit me as cigarette smoke caught in my throat.

At least a thousand? Seriously?

I was expecting maybe two or three hundred.

Did every corpse soldier in the world gather there or something?

“They’re not saying it outright, but everyone thinks the 1st Prince’s defeat is a foregone conclusion. Even if he doesn’t lose, he’ll lose more than half his troops. They’re probably discussing how to organize the cleanup forces by now.”

So, they’re planning to paint a picture of the incompetent 1st Prince and the 3rd Prince who saved him and defeated the monsters.

Even if he doesn’t lose, they’ll emphasize the thousands of deaths to keep saying the 1st Prince is militarily incompetent.

A chewed-up cigarette leaf fell to the ground.

These crazy bastards. They’re throwing thousands of troops into the jaws of corpse soldiers just for that?

They know dead soldiers will rise as corpse soldiers and swell the enemy’s ranks, but still…!

Well, to them, it doesn’t matter how many soldiers die as long as they win the power struggle.

A few thousand out of eighty thousand Imperial troops? No big deal.

Leopold’s a problem too. If he only had that many troops, he should’ve given up. Why did he even try to fight?

What was Ludwig doing? Not stopping him?

Did they have some secret strategy for victory? Or was he just dragged along by the 1st Prince’s stubbornness?

Whatever it was, I wouldn’t know until I got there.

“…I guess I’ll have to go as soon as tomorrow.”

“Hmm, do as you please. Not sure what difference one expert will make, though.”

Honestly, I don’t know either.

But I couldn’t not go.