Trees that had been passed through by a storm-like disaster were fallen, and the ground had been carved with countless scars by claws. The cause of it, âCrawlerâ, had been knocked down. Seeing from inside the wagon, Ayane was astonished that this much destruction was done by only a single monster. At the same time, she couldnât relax thinking about the humans suffering in the battle with the monster.
Ayane thought that perhaps, no, that for sure, the soldier who was escorting and taking care of her, a soldier called Walm who kidnapped her by burning the Craist soldiers and some knights belonged to The Order of Reharzen with blue flames, he must be injured.
A moment of silence came when the irregular roar of the earth and the roar of the monster stopped. Immediately after, Ayane sensed the Highserk soldiers rushing around and approaching the wagon with a loud voice.
âCarry him, fast, donât let him die!!â
The cloth covering the wagon was opened, and Ayane could see the user of ãDemon Fireã with half of his body was in a mess. She didnât know how could he fight so much, injuring his own body to that extent. For Ayane, it was as if he jumped into death on his own.
âThe crawler has been killed, but. But, Captain Walm was seriously injured. He kept his hand on the crawler until he burned it to death.â
âHow could you be so reckless! Take off his clothes and armor, quicklyâ
Moritz, who was mild-mannered among the Highserk soldiers and who had been treating Ayane and Maia kindly, spoke in a slightly angry tone.
âAyane-dono, please treat him.â
Ayane fluttered. It was because Moritz bowed to her, who was supposedly a prisoner of war.
âAyane-sama, please check the limbs, Iâll check the internal organs and head.â
Ayane nodded and Maia began palpation. Surprisingly, Walm remained conscious, albeit hazy.
âDoes it hurt?â
âah, yes? It hurts.â
âYouâve crushed your ribs, thereâre fractures. Luckily none have stuck in your lungs. Your left arm has been dislocated and the humerus is broken. Some of the skin also missing.â
âAhh, aaAAHH, uuUUHH. Can you, heal it?â
âIt may be hurt, but it can be healed.â
Ayane had healed even more seriously injured soldiers. Walm was seriously injured, but it wasnât an incurable injury. Ironically, by continuing to treat the seriously injured who were brought to the battlefield in rapid succession, Ayaneâs technique was enhanced.
Maia removed the dirt that had entered the wound with water magic. Some gravel and pieces of wood were digging deep inside the body. Ayane grabbed Walmâs dislocated shoulder and pushed it back to normal position all at once.
Walm endured without screaming. It wasnât that he didnât feel pain. He clenched his teeth, his breathing was rough, and his eyes were wide open.
âYou were seriously injured when I treated you before.â
Walm was in a pitiful state at that time. Patients with third-degree burns continued to be brought in, and Walm was one amongst them. Ayane never imagined that the man she treated was a disguised Highserk soldier.
The man full of wounds reacted to the words that Ayane casually said.
âAaa, yeah, thatâs, right. At, that time, when, I was, defending, the layer, suddenly, I got, blown away, by, a magic, attack. It was, so, painful. When I, woke up, I was, dying, and all, around me, it was, full of, my friends⦠my, companions, corpses.â
Hearing the words, Ayane felt remorse. There were a lot of Craist soldiers who celebrated that they had blown away the nasty soldier, the user ofãDemon Fireã. And the attack also included two childhood friends of Ayane.
ââ¦..sorryâ
Walm tilted his head a little in confusion at the apology leaked from Ayaneâs mouth.
â? Why, apologize?, after all, itâs, a war. I, also, burned, a lot, and took, Ayane, and Mai, a, as hos, tages. Even, your, child, childhood, friends, I, attacked, them, with, the inten, tion, to, kill them, those, âhigh schoolerââ¦â
Ayane thought that Walm, who tried to kidnap her and burn her childhood friends, was a cold-hearted war maniac.
Ayane realized that Walm was also a human, who had the same red blood flowing in the body, who was no different from her. She faintly realized that the soldier in front of her kept a clear sense of distance. But in this short period of time, she finally felt that he was actually being considerate to her, and cared for her.
Ayane remembered Walm said, âUnhygienic conditions will have a negative impact on treatment. You canât bathe in hot water, but you should wet your body with hot water and clean yourself.â. Then, every night he would boil water in a bucket with magic and let Ayane and Maia cleanse their body with a water bottle.
When Walm found out that Ayane and Maia couldnât drink fruit liquor, he arranged for a replacement. The same was true when Ayane was about to be assassinated. He stopped the treatment for the day, as Ayane was depressed, and bowed to the general who rushed in.
Ayane gazed at the soldier in front of him, thinking that perhaps he had taken dangerous measures in the battle to protect her and Maia, who were the targets of escort.
Ayane and Maia had been wary of Walm, thinking that his action might be to gently persuade them to his side. But now, Ayane thought that perhaps, Walm was just a soldier who was serious about his duty, swaying on the border of good and evil, he would take his duty in war and killing, seriously, perhaps too seriously.
âSuch a thing isâââ
Ayane, who was about to speak something, felt a sense of discomfort and went silent. She couldnât put what she felt into words and she kept trying to find the right words. But, before Ayane could grasp the true nature of the discomfort, she was recalled to reality.
â⦠Walm-dono, please stop there. You are in pain. Ayane-dono, you should treat him first.â
âAh, Iâm sorry.â
Moritz, who was watching over the treatment, advised Ayane. He indirectly told her that she could have more time to think after she finished the treatment. Then, Ayane focused on using healing magic.
TN: Did Ayane properly hear the word âhigh schoolerâ that Walm said? Wellâ¦