Having abandoned the first wall ahead of schedule, I stumbled into the room prepared for me in the second wall and collapsed.
On the bed, I threw off my equipment, lay down, and closed my eyes. Inside the wall, soldiers were rushing about, preparations were underway to await the army of Monsters, and returning soldiers were moving to their positions.
Those soldiers being sent to the rear were also taking a temporary rest.
From overusing magic power and being in a tense environment on the front lines, I was at my limit too. My sweat made me sticky. Dust and dirt clung to my skin, gritty and rough— unable to worry about such things, I collapsed onto the bed.
Though I was concerned about fighting the army of Monsters, if I didn't rest, I couldn't perform.
Into my room like that, loud voices could be heard.
The door was flung open with force, and there stood the noisy Monica with a grin, and behind her, three in armor— no, Golems.
"Hey, Chicken! This Monica here! Your Monica has come to serve you! It's okay to unleash your lustful passions stirred up on the battlefield! Monica, the perfect maid—"
"Out of the way."
Before she could finish, she kicked Monica aside, and the Valkyrie Series automaton who resembled Monica—the First Generation—stood before me.
"Pleased to meet you, and from now until you die, I'm your companion! I'm Master's Valkyrie Series, more useful than this clunker, you know~"
With a blank expression, she waved both hands, and the three struck a pose. The First Generation had the same blonde hair and red eyes as Monica. Her appearance was also similar, and we had met when she was captured by an Octo in the Dungeon. She had a trace of being Monica's older sister.
The main difference from Monica was the size of her chest.
As the three switched poses—
"Twin-tail First Generation!"
"Black-haired Yamato Nadeshiko Second Generation!"
"I'm the same model as the Second Generation, so what should I do? ...Alright, I'll make it a ponytail. Black-haired Ponytail Third Generation! With the Yamato Nadeshiko attribute and a ponytail!"
The Third Generation quickly tied her black hair into a ponytail, but I had raised my head only to bury my face in the pillow.
Monica was standing up, holding drills in both hands. A low hum echoed through the room, making it impossible to sleep.
"You degraded pile of junk. Don't you dare fawn over my Chicken. I'll tear you apart right here and now!!"
Monica and the three of them faced off, drawing weapons and taking stances. I hurled my pillow.
"All of you, shut up! I'm trying to sleep!"
Wrapped in my blanket, I tried to drift off, but the three Valkyries flusteredly shuffled about. Meanwhile, Monica picked up my pillow and collected my equipment.
"See, you trash who can only fight? Get lost. Chicken only needs me and me alone."
I felt my consciousness being pulled away, then a tremor as a Monster attack struck the wall.
Then a voice came from the Jewel.
Mireia, in her gentle voice.
"My word… Rael, shift your awareness into the Jewel for a moment."
The Second Wall had been layered with special reinforcing material on its surface while the First Wall held the line.
Alette stood atop the wall, barking orders, and surveyed the scene before her.
The same was true at the rear fortress.
The First Wall was always meant to fall. But the Second Wall had been built sturdier than the First, designed to endure the Monsters' army.
The wall stood tall, with nearly eight thousand soldiers deployed across it.
The personnel in charge were Aria, and Alette with her adjutant. Crate and Albano as well — the human resources were all in place.
And Damian had also come to the Second Wall. With Automatons and Golems, the fighting force alone was formidable.
Against this Second Wall, the Monster army had launched its assault.
From atop the wall, arrows flew and spells were unleashed — the human side resisted fiercely. But without Rael present, they could not execute optimal strategy.
Where should they defend? Where should they focus their attacks?
Even sheltered behind the sturdy wall, their resistance was more haphazard than at the First Wall.
On the scene, Alette was supporting Aria.
"There are so many troublesome Monsters. We've killed so many already, and there are still more?"
Soldiers bombarded a troll that had been scaling the wall with spells. But it was clearly overkill.
It wasn't that Aria, placed in command of the whole operation, was doing a poor job—it was that Rael was irreplaceable.
He grasped the full picture, and his transmission of information was extraordinary. He wielded multiple support-type Skills with ease, and his orders were always precise.
"I really wished he'd just stay at the fortress and give orders from there."
She had known it was impossible, but without Rael on the battlefield, the defense had immediately devolved into disorganized, piecemeal resistance.
Zayin's knights and soldiers would follow Rael's orders, no question. He was the hero who had reclaimed Zayin with only a few hundred troops. The people of Zayin would fight for Rael too. That was how popular he was in Zayin.
But the knights and soldiers on Rolfis's side were different.
To some degree, they did feel grateful. But only to some degree.
The local villagers also felt resistance fighting alongside Zayin's soldiers. Even Alette herself felt uneasy shouldering weapons next to people who, not long ago, had been trying to invade.
Without a directive from the higher-ups, she would have objected outright.
In fact, many of the knights had objected. Why should they risk their lives for Baim?
True, there was a debt of gratitude, but many knights simply couldn't understand why that meant they had to go this far.
Alette, who had heard the higher-ups' reasoning, had wanted to refuse when she learned they were deploying troops to repay a debt. But letting Baim bleed them of a massive fortune going forward didn't sound appealing either.
Alette forced her reluctant subordinates onward and fought desperately against the horde of Monsters, glancing sideways at Aria.
(She lacks experience. She's excellent when leading a handful of soldiers, but is she really cut out for a commander's role?)
Aria seemed to realize her own inexperience too—her expression was frustrated, bitter.
A Griffon swooped down from atop the wall, and its talons pierced clean through a soldier's chest.
"I'll—"
As Aria lunged forward, Alette raised a hand to stop her.
"Don't move, Commander!"
"But Rael is—"
Rael could give orders and perform on the battlefield. Aria, however, was not capable of that.
"You can't do that. A commander needs to maintain composure."
Aria had already proven her strength by defeating the Land Dragon, and the soldiers knew it. But without any command ability, having Aria rush around the battlefield would only cause problems. It was better for her to stay put.
"Send knights to engage! Bind them and buy time!"
The fallen soldier had been one of Rolfis's men. Bitterness gnawing at him, Alette issued order after order.
Aria slammed her fist against a nearby wall—.
Inside the Jewel.
I drifted through the room with the round table, beckoning in front of the door to my memory room.
None of the other Successive Heads were around.
I had wanted to hear their assessment of the battle, but no one came out.
"Um, there are things I'd like to ask about as well."
The moment I said that, Mireia walked up to me and pressed both hands against my back, shoving me into the memory room.
"Just listen, just listen!"
Before I could get a word in, I was pushed inside. When I passed through the door, I found myself in a place bathed in warm sunlight, with a gentle breeze carrying the scent of grass and flowers.
There was a large tree, and beneath it a sheet was spread out on the ground.
It was a scene I felt I had seen somewhere before.
A hand at my back urged me forward. I climbed the small hill and walked toward the shade of the tree, where Mireia was already seated on the sheet, lightly patting her knee.
"Here."
"...Huh?"
When I couldn't quite process what was happening, Mireia shrugged her shoulders.
"A lap pillow. Your big sister Mireia here is going to give Laiel a lap pillow. It's so noisy outside — you'd rather sleep somewhere quiet like this, wouldn't you?"
Hearing that, I decided to resist. Partly because I was embarrassed, but more importantly, there was a war going on outside.
Could I really afford to laze around here? That was how I felt.
"Um, I'm—"
At that, as if she'd read everything from my expression, Mireia took my hand and pulled my head into an embrace. Her chest pressed against my face, but somehow it felt tender. There was no racing heartbeat.
"Just rest for now. Laiel, if you keep pushing yourself too hard, you'll snap. You need to let your guard down once in a while. I wonder why the men of House Walt are always so stubborn like that."
I let Mireia, who was giggling softly, continue giving me the lap pillow just as it was.
The breeze felt pleasant, and I almost started remembering something. When I closed my eyes, I began to relax.
"The First Generation tried too hard, and the Second Generation had his struggles too. The Third Generation put his life on the line to protect the domain. The Fourth Generation worked desperately to manage it as well. The Fifth Generation, it seems, endured especially much. My brother — the Sixth Generation — also suffered in various ways. Broad was asked and threw himself in... no, that's not right. He probably did it because he thought it was necessary."
As she gave me the lap pillow, she stroked my head. A wave of nostalgia washed over me, and I listened to Mireia's words.
"...Laiel, you could have given up. You didn't have to push yourself this far."
I said quietly.
"I can't turn back anymore. I have to keep pushing forward."
Mireia noticed what I was feeling.
"Is it painful — watching people who fought for your sake die?"
"A lot of people have died because of me. And from now on too... a lot more will."
When I decided to fight Ceres, I swore to protect everyone. But the fact remains that many people have died because of me.
Sometimes, I start to feel uncertain. But even so, stopping here isn't allowed.
Still, Mireia-san gently advised me.
'But you've decided to fight, haven't you?'
"…Yes."
'Then, when you can rest, you must rest.'
And then, as my consciousness was fading, I heard Mireia-san's voice.
'Riel, I look forward to hearing your answer. Whether you'll carry someone, or whether you'll stand up yourself. We're looking forward to—'
I couldn't catch the last part. But I remembered this familiar feeling.
(Right. It's like the feeling of relying on Mother… I'd forgotten such a feeling, hadn't I?)
In that place where warm, refreshing wind flowed, I fell asleep.
When I woke, the room was already dark.
Sitting up, I heard breathing in the darkness.
I created light with magic in my left hand, and there was Miranda. Miranda, who resembles Mireia-san, seemed to have been giving me a lap pillow.
When the vibrations reached my room too, I grew curious about the situation outside.
There was water nearby, so I picked it up, transferred it to a cup, and drank it all.
Miranda also woke up.
"Oh, good morning."
She greeted me with a slightly sleepy expression. I wanted to ask various things—why she was here, why she was giving me a lap pillow—but I offered Miranda some water instead.
After Miranda took it and drank, the room trembled once more.
"They're really pushing hard, aren't they?"
I was using my Skills—Map, Search—to check on the surrounding situation. Just as I was thinking I'd rested too long, Miranda got out of bed and stretched.
With just a shirt thrown over what looked like her underwear, she seemed utterly defenseless.
"Right then. Aria's going to have a hard time on her own, so why don't we step up too?"
When Miranda said that with a bright smile, I apologized.
"Sorry about that. Novem's in the rear. Clara's handling transport via Porter duty. I've sent Eva to the back as well, and May will be moving out for the next round of preparations, so..."
Shannon was in the rear helping Novem.
Back there, the reorganization of the withdrawn personnel was underway. They'd probably be sent to this wall soon enough. Though, the personnel stationed at this wall would likely be rotated to the rear again before long.
Miranda wore a little devilish grin.
"Well, just leave it to the dependable Miranda."
She said that to me.
When I laughed, Miranda laughed too.
"That helps. Once Eva and the others get back, I'll have you pull back for a bit. That's when the real fight begins."
Then Miranda came closer to me. She wrapped both hands behind my neck and brought her face near.
"Speaking of which, the Skill's effect has worn off, so would you mind?"
At her words, I averted my gaze slightly, then nodded. Miranda was smiling. Her face drew closer, and I ended up being the one kissed.
From within the Jewel, the Successive Heads who had been watching in silence started booing.
One after another.
*"Same as always—way too passive. Take a lesson from Rael-san."*
*"You need to learn to set the mood better, Rael. Leaving it all to her is just sad."*
*"...Don't do that in front of the soldiers. If they see you getting lovey-dovey on the battlefield, it won't just be murderous intent that boils up."*
But to think that I have to keep kissing so it doesn’t stop… There was that talk about how a Skill’s manifestation is tied to one’s own desires, wasn’t there? Rael, were you aiming for this all along?
These guys—what kind of timing did they choose to pipe up? Kissing Miranda while she’s clinging to me like this was suddenly making me feel very embarrassed.
As Miranda’s tongue entered my mouth, Mireia’s voice rang out.
“Rael, put your hands around her waist more! Hug her tight! Really squeeze her tight!”
Mireia was getting way too into it.
I genuinely began to doubt if she was the same person as before.