Chapter 988

After witnessing Matsuyuki’s passing, Fran continued staring at the two sisters for a while.

Then, after the situation finally started to move, she wiped away the tears at the corner of her eyes and dropped her gaze.

Now her stare was pointed at Berserk, still sheathed and placed at Ajisai’s side.

Fran noticed how Berserk seemed to have lost its power.

The pitch-blackness of the scabbard made it hard to believe it was emitting such a powerful white mana a few moments ago. The blade contained within remained silent, as if it had fallen asleep along with its wielder.

Ajisai, perhaps noticing Fran’s gaze, lightly touched the scabbard.

「……」

「……」

The two stared at each other for a while, but Fran did not mention anything about Berserk or the scabbard.

She turned her attention to Shikimi, and asked about Hagane’s future plan of action.

「Shikimi, what will you guys do now?」

「We have performed our duty. Our forces are no longer at full strength, so we will only become a liability if we continue. Therefore, we shall turn back here.」

「I see.」

Fran nodded. She seemed a little relieved, and I don’t think that’s my imagination.

No doubt she was afraid of the possibility that Ajisai might use Berserk too.

Fran’s eyes turned to Berserk again. However, she quickly averted her gaze.

Ajisai must have found this strange, and she turned to look up Fran.

「Black Lightning Princess.」

「What?」

「Why aren’t you asking the question?」

「……I don’t need to ask.」

「Why? Everyone usually asks us.」

A strange conversation took place between Ajisai and Fran. One almost too quiet to hear, and incredibly vague.

「I don’t know.」

「I see, but I suppose that’s a possible outcome too.」

「Nn? Really?」

「Yeah.」

「Thank you.」

「Don’t worry about it.」

Both the tempo and the contents were strange. To be honest, I can’t tell if they’re actually talking about the same thing, and neither I nor Shikimi probably fully understood either.

Nevertheless, Fran and Ajisai clearly connected with each other.

What’s going on? Maybe these two people with unusual sensibilities somehow understood each other? That said, there’s one part I certainly got.

Fran decided not to ask about Berserk’s scabbard.

Well, it’s definitely a national secret, so they wouldn’t tell us anyways. In that case, her decision to avoid the subject would give them a better impression of herself.

Though I don’t think Fran thought that far ahead. It seems like she didn’t even know why she avoided the question.

Perhaps it was a combination of her grief for Matsuyuki and her concern for Ajisai.

Meanwhile, Izario and the others returned.

He must have understood the situation immediately, because he patted Fran on the head and bowed his head toward Matsuyuki’s body.

「Matsuyuki, you really saved us from a pinch. Thank you.」

The adventurers behind him did the same, perhaps having heard the situation from Izario.

「Shikimi-san, I take it that Hagane will be heading back now?」

「……Yes, I believe we will. Let’s take a short rest and discuss the issue.」

「Roger that.」

「Ajisai, you go back to the carriage. Take care of Matsuyuki for me.」

「Okay. Fran, bye-bye.」

「Nn. Bye-bye.」

Fran continued waving until Ajisai disappeared into the carriage carrying Matsuyuki.

Behind them, Izario began discussing with Shikimi.

「Can you make it back to town by yourselves?」

「Of course.」

Shikimi immediately nodded at Izario’s words. However, her forces were decimated and Berserk might not be in a usable state.

How could she be so confident? Was this just a facade so as not to worry us?

Izario stared at Shikimi for a few seconds, then relaxed his shoulders and shook his head lightly.

「……Though I can’t accept the way you guys think, I can respect it.」

「All is for the Queens of the Night.」

「If possible, I’d prefer those surviving old soldiers make it back to town in one piece too. We don’t need any more people dying in vain.」

「For us, nothing is more important than the safety of Ajisai and Berserk. Any sacrifices we make for them cannot be considered in vain.」

Izario exhaled in a big sigh. For Shikimi, the only thing that mattered was whether or not Ajisai and Berserk could reach safety. It seems she would sacrifice her soldiers or even herself without so much as a second thought.

Izario knew exactly the logic behind this, which was why his feelings were so complicated.

He expressed his concern for the old soldiers, but these veterans had already accepted whatever fate had in store for them. There was no room for him, an outsider, to interfere.

In the end, we decided to split up our forces. Hagane’s army was to evacuate alongside the adventurers and knights who were no longer capable of combat.

Our enemies might show up at any time, so their retreat commenced without delay. Within ten minutes of the decision being made, they had already begun marching off.

Fran raised her hand as she sent off the tail end of the retreating group. Her eyes were on Ajisai, who stared back at us through the skylight of the carriage.

Though Ajisai remained expressionless, she seemed somewhat apologetic. Perhaps she was concerned about ditching us to escape on her own.

On the other hand, Fran’s worry for Ajisai was evident in her eyes. Ajisai had lost Matsuyuki, who was like a sister to her, as well several fellow soldiers from her nation.

There were no words, but the two girls continued staring at each other as if communicating something.

「……Bye bye.」