A Maiden’s Unwanted Heroic Epic

Chapter 111: The Sensation of the End

A cheer was heard. Krische must have struck down Gildanstein.

Gallen softened his face and lowered his sword.

“...It\'s a pointless fight beyond this. Surrender."

Mia did not let her guard down, and she set up a perimeter.

Salva\'s military strength was small, and victory and defeat were already obvious.

There was no way or reason for them to regroup from this point on.

"... it seems so."

At these words, Salva lowered his sword.

He then took off his helmet and kneeled down, placing his hands on his thighs.

"――Either way, I\'m not just a rebel, but a traitor, and I\'m guilty of the death penalty....If it\'s possible, I\'d like to be killed by you as a warrior on the battlefield."

Gallen heard those words and replied with ‘I see’.

Then he approached Salva.

"As an enemy in the final battle... I am honored to have fought you. I understand why General Christand called you commander."

Gallen remembered the dead Bogan, then looked at Salva in front of him and sighed.

“... enemy, ally. Good men, regardless of their beliefs, are lost. Year after year, I feel suffocated with so much piled on my shoulders. ...This is why I don\'t like war."

"...Sorry for taking up your time."

“No, this too is my duty...and that is what I am destined to do.”

He took Salva’s sword. Gallen\'s small sword was light enough to cut off a man\'s head.

“Do you have any last words?”

“...if possible let the blame be mine alone. My family was only caught up in their father\'s folly.”

Salva bowed his head and exposed his neck.

“Thank you."

"…aah"

Gallen swung his sword up and down.

The blade passes through a gap between bones and the head rolled.

The soldier at his side hands him a cloth, and Gallen wrapped his neck in it.

"... Raise the banner of victory. The war is over."

“Yes sir!”

Gallen approaches Mia and taps her on the shoulder.

"No matter what anyone says, you are the ones who deserve the most honor in this battle....You did a great job. You can rest."

"……yes"

Mia trembled, but clenched her fists and began to give out instructions.

Dusk――Keithriton’s main army camp.

"Let’s go Carliss!! Leave the right side to Keith\'s corps, you\'re behind me!"

“Yes Sir!!

At the sound of Granmeld\'s voice, the First Battalion made a breakthrough.

The enemy\'s main camp, the last defense.

There was no one left to stop Granmeld, who had broken through the enemy vanguard.

With a swing of his great iron club, he knocked down all obstacles in his way.

The wolf pack follows in his footsteps.

――And then.

“Should I say, as expected? ...This army was too bad against Verreich. To think it didn’t even last a day.”

"Well, I feel sorry for you. To think you\'re stuck with my corps with soldiers of this level. That said... this is a battle, there\'s no excuse. I\'ll have you die here."

Against the wolf is silver armor that represents a dragon.

The old general Felworth Keithriton stroked his long white beard and nodded with a calm and satisfied look.

"Haha, that\'s what a warrior is all about. You guys won this fight."

"Hah...? ...Does that mean you\'re going to surrender?"

"At the very least, our reason for fighting seems to have disappeared. Look."

Granmeld frowned and looked at the hill.

The main camp on the hill――there are three blue flags demanding a halt to the battle.

It is used when one wish to negotiate based on the Holy Spirit Covenant――in this case,

"It seems that His Royal Highness has been defeated. … The Christand lost Bogan, but they didn\'t lose their strength.”

The significance of the battle disappeared.

It was to let them know that the fight at Selene\'s side had settled.

“...Flag bearers, send out the blue flags too. We accept the ceasefire."

“Yes sir!”

Granmeld sighed in frustration and dropped his shoulders.

"Tch, Even though I\'ve finally made it to the main camp, it doesn\'t feel right..."

"Kuku, it seems you were too late. It seems that this old man\'s neck is protected by the Goddess protection."

"Haaah... I don\'t even know I was doing, rally. Carliss, be careful not to let my soldiers kill. Calm them down.”

"Yes sir. ...Totally, it\'s a disaster, isn\'t it?”

"Ah, I feel like I want to pay back Krische-sama later for this."

And so the battle on the Verreich’s side comes to an end.

The Alberan War of Kingship, which resulted in tens of thousands of casualties and the loss of many generals.

The battle ended with the death of the Royal Prince, Gildanstein, and the victory of the first princess, Kreschenta Fana Vera Alberan.

The Christand side served wine to the defeated soldiers and held a grand banquet.

Although they were allies and enemies, they were all citizens of the same Kingdom.

Although the flags were different, there was no sin there, and the chaos was kept to a minimum.

The same was true for the commanders, who were very lenient in their treatment of the rebels.

This was in the name of mercy of Her Highness, but the Kingdom had lost so much in the civil war.

They wanted to avoid further losses.

The kingdom could not afford to inflict a just (proper) punishment.

It had been agreed in advance that punishment would be kept to a minimum, and they followed this policy.

"Just when I wondered where you had gone…what are you doing, Kalua?"

“Oh, Mia, nothing, I just wanted to have a quiet drink."

When Mia entered the tent, Kalua was sitting on a barrel instead of a chair, sipping her drink alone.

Kalua’s face was red, as if she had already drunk a considerable amount.

Unusually, she was quite drunk.

A feast to celebrate the victory and to send off the dead.

Tomorrow, the corpses collected would be burned together.

Krische joined in, and the banquet was surprisingly cheerful――everyone was laughing while pushing themselves.

The main topics of conversation were the dead and Krische.

It was probably out of concern for keeping the mood from becoming too somber.

Everyone praised Krische for her achievement.

Perhaps it was because they thought of their own helplessness――they had suffered so many deaths, were at the mercy of Nakirus, and were unable to defeat Gildanstein.

There was no one who could boast of their achievements while surviving that many deadly battles.

However,

‘Krische was just helping out a little at the end. At that situation, even without Krische――the situation was at our advantage, and that was because of the work of this unit. You guys did your best to fulfill Krische’s order to protect Serene.’

Krische said so,

‘It\'s a pity that Krische can\'t tell that to the one that died. They ignored Krische order and died after all, even though Krische wanted to praise and scold them. …Idiot.’

She continued.

She tilted the sake which was closer to juice than alcohol and lowered her eyes.

Expressionless as usual, but no one misunderstood the meaning of the word ‘idiot’.

Mia also finally realized the true meaning of the word ‘idiot’ that she said.

Krische was apparently not feeling well.

Kalua, who had noticed this, took her out with a exasperated look and told her that she was taking her to the general\'s tent.

Kalua did not come back even while Mia was being teased here and there about her reward, chu~.

Mia noticed it on the way and came back to the tent looking for her so that she could escape from the place.

Kalua poured and stirred the sake.

There were several empty sake bottles on the floor.

No matter how one look at it she was drinking too much, Mia grabbed the bottles and put them out of Kalua\'s reach.

“What are you doing?”

“You\'ll break your body if you drink that much. That\'s why I confiscated it.”

"One day is fine. I want to sleep soundly."

“…You\'ve had enough.”

"Not Enough"

Mia glared at Kahlua, grabbed the bottle of liquor, and tilted it all at once.

She drank the entire bottle, emptying it with just a few spilled, and set it down in front of Kahlua ――slamming it down on the keg that served as a table.

"... this is the end"

"Haah...what are you getting so worked up about?"

Kalua said dumbfoundedly, and Mia looked back at her.

"I\'m upset because I\'m worried about Kahlua."

Kalua paused for a moment and looked away from Mia.

It was the gesture of an angry child.

The opposite of usual.

"……talk to me"

Mia said, kneeling down. Kalua said nothing for a moment.

The report she made to Mia after the battle was a simple one, just a business report.

Mia didn’t even know what happened.

After a while, Kalua opened her mouth as if she had given up.

“Adol and Kels, together with Kienitz and the others, died trying to stop Gildanstein. Telling the archers to shoot them together. It\'s a cool way to die, isn\'t it?”

Kahlua said in a tone that suggested she didn\'t think so at all.

They have been working together ever since they formed the squad.

Losing such a friend in front of her eyes, there was no way she can be calm.

"It went well, but it looks like they couldn\'t finish him off. Even though he was covered in wounds, he was still chasing after us, and Bagu protected me, who couldn\'t see my surroundings, and was bisected. ...If you\'re in love with me, then he should have survived and showed me his cool side.”

She smiled bitterly and lowered her eyes.

“After that, the Skeleton Corps Commander came, followed by Agrand Corps Commander… Usa-chan easily killed Gildanstein, the end. …that’s all of it.”

"...that\'s not what I want to hear."

"What more do you want to hear?"

“What Kahlua is holding back”

Mia said and then she held Kahlua\'s head.

A solid swordsman\'s body. But now she felt a it was somehow fragile.

"What? Revenge for the usual? Do you want to make me cry?"

"I want to make you cry. Is that strange?"

“...strange."

Kalua giggled and put her hand on Mia\'s back.

"If you will comfort me anyway, I\'d rather you have a little more cushion on yout chest. My face hurts a little because it\'s flat."

"...Shut up. Don\'t complain."

"... Fufu, it can\'t be helped since it\'s Mia."

Kalua said happily, and she took a deep breath.

"Honestly, I thought I could do more, so it\'s frustrating. ……I didn’t even think that I would end up running around with 15 people against a single opponent.”

“…I see.”

“I knew he was strong. I also thought I wouldn\'t be able to win alone. …But the general is there, and even the Century was gathered together…and I was there too. I can\'t beat Usa-chan, but, I thought I could do better."

She stroked the slightly damaged—but beautiful black hair.

Kalua\'s hand gripped her back, the strength on her hand was strong.

"Usa-chan came and Gildanstein was killed easily. When it was over, she laughed like a child and hugged the General....She said help, but it was really that easy for Usa-chan."

She laughed and continued, ‘She\'s in bed with a fever right now, though.’

"We weren’t a match at all, and against the opponent that we sacrificed our comrade and ran away from, that easily. Usa-chan would easily win even against such a monster. …If Usa-chan was there instead of me. I knew we would have won without anyone dying."

"……yes"

"I wondered just what was I doing.... Even if it wasn\'t like Usa-chan, if at least I had the power to stand up to Gildanstein, at least no one there would have died. "

Her face was pressed against her and something seeps into her chest.

The trembling shoulders looked small, she hugged her tightly.

"...It\'s not Kahlua\'s fault."

"Don’t comfort——"

“No. It was my failure.”

Mia said in a strong tone.

“I should have sent one more team to Kahlua. But I couldn\'t. …I could have at least until the enemy... Nakirus was it, the big guy, came. I\'m sure the commander Dagra-san——would have been able to do it. Then we could have finished the whole thing without needing the corps commander saving us."

“That, just hindsight.”

"Yes, hindsight. But the moment we struggled with Gildanstein, I should have made that judgement. I had some leeway at that time. I had my priorities wrong. I should have prioritized General and Kalua over everything else in that situation."

‘understand?’ Mia continued.

“I am the commander. I am responsible for all those who died. My responsibility in directing the fight. It was definitely not your responsibility as a soldier.

“…Don’t say things that’s so unlike yourself.”

“It\'s Kahlua who always puts the blame on me, isn\'t it? I can\'t even remember how many times I\'ve been hit on the head by the commander and corps commander because of Kalua.”

Mia smiled and tightened her hand.

"Only in times like this, it\'s sly. Kalua’s the one who isn’t herself. …Troubling me, put the blame on me, Kalua is fine just like that.”

"... Is Mia a pervert?"

"Shut up...uuh"

At that point, the strength left her hand, and Mia slumped as it was.

Her face was bright red and her eyes were moist.

"...Even though you’re not strong, you drunk it all at once."

"Because..."

"Guess can\'t help it, geez"

Kalua wipes her eyes and picked her up.

She carried her to a simple bed with just a blanket on it, and she gently set her down.

"Which one is causing trouble now?"

"...Ehehe, do you want me to sleep with you?"

Mia hugged Kalua while saying that.

Kalua smiled wryly and stroked her soft brown hair.

"Really, Mia has a habit of hugging when she gets drunk. Onee-san worried about you."

"There\'s no such thing.... Are you going to sleep? Not sleep?"

"... Yes, yes, I understand."

As Kalua lay down, Mia relaxed her cheeks and smiled happily.

"... Kahlua, just making fun of me like that is fine."

"Huh... do you know what you\'re saying?"

"Maybe I don\'t understand... Hmm... Anyway, that\'s fine."

Kahlua smiled wryly and pressed Mia’s lips.

Mia nodded and pulled her face close to Kalua’s after she told her exasperatedly to stop talking and go to bed.

“!”

"……good night."

She said so softly and closed her eyes.

Kalua\'s face turned bright red, holding her mouth tight and glaring at Mia, who was in her sleep.

After she looked at her sleeping face for a while she sighed,

“…I have to make sure Mia doesn’t drink alcohol from now on.”

Kalua also closed her eyes, poking Mia\'s forehead as she slept with a carefree face.

——Two days later, in Selene\'s tent.

"Haa, really. Even though the fever has just subsided. …Wait a little longer, they’re heading this way after all."

“…We haven’t seen each other in a long time.”

"You\'re overreacting. It\'s only been a month.”

“It’s already been a month.”

Krische’s lips pouted, and Selene pinched her cheek and pulled it.

"... Hmm, do you really want to go? Leaving me busy and having a hard time, Krische go because she wanted to be spoiled by Bery?"

“Uu…”

“I know, even though you said this and that, in the end rather than me, Krische like Bery more after all right? In truth Krische hated me right?”

“N-no…”

Her gaze instantly drifted and she began to hesitate.

Selene chuckled, stroking her head.

"Just kidding. Krische has done more than enough. Take care of your health and go."

"... Selene"

"Let\'s meet again in the royal capital. Please tell Bery and Kreschenta that I’m doing well."

"……yes"

Krische stretched and kissed her, her cheeks relaxed, and she smiled.

Serene did the same, stroking her silver hair regretfully.

She was sad to see him go, but she still had a lot of work to do.

Before Kreschenta arrived, she needed to get the palace in some semblance of order.

"I leave the corps to Keith. If anything happens, Keith will take care of it."

"Yes. Speaking of which, what about Elvena?"

“Elvena is getting Krische’s stuff ready. Elvena is going to rest for a while to along with Kahlua’s——The Black Century’s vacation, so until then, use her at Selene\'s place.

The Black Century lost nearly half of their man they were operating here.

Although it was already originally planned, she would like to give them a short break.

"When things calmed down a bit, I\'ll come back and say thank you again later. I think I was saved a lot, or if it wasn\'t for that squad, I would have lost."

“Yes. Even though it was the worst case scenario Krische had imagined, Krische had forced them to push themselves too hard.

Considering the situation she heard, the Black Century were working more than expected.

Nevertheless, while making sacrifices——a number of familiar faces have disappeared, and she had an indescribable feeling.

She could thought as much as she wanted about the consequences of what she should have done, but that was a gamble in that situation.

In the end, the lack of options forced them to choose safety measures, and naturally damage was done.

“As a result of each of us doing our best, we have no choice but to conclude that it can’t be helped to some extent. The loss of General Melchikos is painful, but..."

Selene sighed.

The Third Corp continued to resist——Krische judged that Terrius was still alive, but apparently he had been killed.

A corps commander who supported Christand for a long time.

The impact of his death was by no means small.

"...Krische is glad Ojii-sama didn\'t die."

"Really. Gallen-sama also helped me a lot. I\'ve been saved all the time... Krische also went to see how he is, right?”

“Yes, Anne more or less worked hard for the time being.”

Gallen must have pushed himself too hard, and just like Krische, he got a little sick.

Anne, who was strangely motivated, was taking care of his personal belongings, saying leaving it to me, she kept saying that.

"Anne said, \'Leave it to me,\' but...Krische is a little worried that she’s causing trouble for Ojii-sama."

"... Gallen-sama seems to like Anne a lot, so I think he\'ll be fine."

Gallen sees only the virtue in Anne who did her best no matter what she did, and he praised her as a well-behaved girl.

He had seen Krische and Bery, who were too good for their own good, so he was more able to easily got along with an ordinary girl like Arne.

Gallen had no interest in food or drink other than alcohol, and since Krische’s mother, Grace, was clumsy, Gallen’s standard for normal is a low one.

Naturally, Anne was very attached to such a Gallen.

Having grown up watching a servant named Bery all the time, Selene, who was discerning, was not without some exasperation against Anne, but if the person she was taking cared of was satisfied, then it was fine.

"Well, it should be fine. … Anyway, you\'re not going to walk, are you?"

"Krische is going to borrow a horse to carry the luggage, but... Krische is tired of riding a horse. Using a carriage for personal business is also a problem..."

"If you’re avoiding it like that, so no matter how long it takes, you won;t get used to it. It hurt at first, but it’s fine once you get used to it."

"...Krische doesn\'t want it to hurt until Krische get used to it."

“What an obstinate child.”

She pinched Krishce’s cheek, and she groaned ‘Uuu’.

A person who would become a soldier would normally get injured many times and become stronger in pain, but Cliché never gets injured during training.

That probably had an effect.

Krische never got used to pain, and she was only good at holding it in .

She was also stubborn and did not like to put up with pain unless she had to, which was probably one of her cute faults.

“Krishce-sama it’s ready.”

“Ah, yes”

Elvena\'s voice came from outside the tent.

She also heard the horse\'s snorting and left the tent with Selene.

Krische then stopped in her tracks.

The one pulling the horse and saluting was a familiar man.

It was the messenger who she had saved the other day.

“............"

And that well-built horse also looks familiar.

"Thank you for your help the other day. I heard Krische-sama is looking for a horse, so please take the horse from the other day. No really, it seems that the horse was famous as an uncontrollable rampaging horse... it was really hard to bring him back."

"I-is that so..."

The other day, Krische-sama come in a brilliant ride and was really dashing ...... I can still see it in my mind. The horse was really excited just a few minutes ago, but when it saw its master like this, it immediately calmed down…”

Krische turned her gaze away from the horse as the man spoke heartily.

"...Krische is not the owner of that horse."

"Hahaha, no need to be humble. To be recognized by a horse like this is a natural talent."

The horse stepped in front of the reluctant Krische and showed its flank.

Then, with a heavy snort, he pointed to the saddle on his back with his neck.

“For the time being, I imitated the cushion that was laid in front previously. I\'ve heard that it\'s only used for transporting goods, but that would be a waste, so if it\'s this horse, you should definitely bring it with you on your trip."

The reins was pushed out.

She was somewhat tempted to take another horse, but with the luggage strapped to it, she couldn\'t say no.

After reluctantly accepting it, Selene asked he.

“The size is a little different, but should I lend you a trouser?”

"It\'s okay, Krische won\'t ride it after all."

As if understanding the language, the horse lurched and showed the saddle.

Then, he leaned forward.

"...K-Krische not going to ride it."

Krische glared at the horse and said so.

――After that, Krische yielded to the horse, who repeatedly appealed as though Krische was slow to walk.

Krische ended up riding it sideways.

――After that, a few more days.

Passing beside Bergash Fortress was a marching column that seemed to reach the horizon.

The Imperial State army, a column formed by 40,000.

In that column, in a box carriage surrounded by soldiers and cavalry in black armor――

"...it\'s boring."

"It\'s almost noon, so why don\'t Kreschenta-sama take a rest?"

"I\'m tired from sleeping too much!"

There was the first princess, Kreschenta, puffing out her cheeks and flapping her legs.

She gripped her red and shimmering gold hair with both hands and glared at Bery sullenly.

In contrast, Berry, the red-headed servant, looks down happily and moved her hands.

It was a muffler sewn with woolen thread.

Each one was carefully dive and shaped.

"Hmmm...then how about this Kreschenta-sama?"

"I don\'t like it, it\'s troublesome. You can buy something like a muffler."

“I like the troublesome of it. It\'s self-satisfaction, but... I\'m carefully thinking about the feelings of the person who will wears it... Fufu, it\'s getting colder, and I think the white muffler will surely suit Krische-sama."

"... How many are you planning to make?"

‘It\'s going to be cold’, with that reason Bery had already knitted several scarves.

She said greys, browns, greens——everything looked good on her, she seemed like she could cover most of color if left unchecked.

"You just want to earn points form Onee-sama, don\'t you?"

"Is it strange to earn points to please the one you love?"

Kreschenta glared at Bery more and more displeased, and Bery smiled happily.

Bery poked Kreschenta’s puffed cheeks with her fingers and said while smiling, ‘Don\'t do that’.

"Your face is ruined, smile, smile."

"...You sure are having fun. You looked gloomy the whole time, but as soon as you found out that yOnee-sama won, you smiled the whole time. I wonder if I should have told Argan-sama to keep it a secret. "

"My, saying something so mean. ……Hmm, this about it.”

Lift up the scarf, unfold it, and make sure there are no loose ends.

It is not particularly patterned, just laced at both ends.

It was simple and sturdy.

Krische prefers simple——practical things, so she thought it would be better like this than to be overly concerned with decoration.

Nodding at the result, Bery turned her attention to the window, which she had left closed.

“…Is something wrong?”

“No…”

She just looked that way for some reason.

However, after a while, a horse\'s voice echoed, the surroundings became noisy, and the soldiers raised their voices.

The voice contained a little girl\'s name,

"Geez, Bururun, stay still for a moment.... It\'s been a while, Kilik, please take care of Bururun for a bit."

“Yes ma’am. Bururun is…uh.”

"That\'s the horse\'s name. It was inconvenient to call it without a name, so Krische named it."

Bery hugged the muffler tightly to that voice.

Then she opened the carriage door.

"...!"

Krische was just about to hand over the reins to the escort squad leader.

And when she recognized Berry, she smiles like a flower.

Without even a run-up she jumped up into Bery\'s chest.

The force of the leap make Bery sat on the chair——Kreschenta’s thighs causing her to scream.

"Bery, how are you?"

"... Yes. Krische-sama, are there injured?"

"Ehehe, Krische is fine"

*Gyuu*, Bery put strength into her hand and embraced Krische’s delicate body.

It\'s painful, but she smiled happily.

The people around them who saw it also realized the victory of the civil war, and laughed at each other――Only Kreschenta, who was crushed by Bery\'s buttocks and back, raised a voice of agony.

“…From now on, we will be together forever. Krische want to cook a lot.”

"Yes, of course. Fufu, while Krische-sama was not here, I learned various imperial dishes, together with Kreschenta-sama――ah."

When Berry finally noticed, she sat up and found Kreschenta there, her face red with anger.

"Y-y-y-you, as a servant, to put your butt on me――"

"Ah, come to think of it, it\'s been a while, Kreschenta."

“come to think of it…?”

Kreschenta stiffened and her eyes watered.

Krische didn\'t show any sign of caring about it.

"O-Onee-sama! Just how much does Onee-sama think I――"

"...what are you angry about? Geez, that’s no food.”

Krische said, closing the door and kissing Kreschenta.

She stroked her head as she straddled Bery\'s lap.

"Good girl, good girl"

"...I-I won’t be happy with just that..."

Even though she said that, half of her anger had already disappeared.

Kreschenta looked at Krische’s hand as she stroked her head with upturned eyes and red cheeks.

"I-I\'m sorry, I didn\'t notice I..."

Realizing what she had done, Bery, her cheeks flushed, apologized,

"... do you think you\'ll be forgiven just by saying that?"

Kreschenta glared at Berry,

“Kreschenta”

Krische tells her with a sideways glance.

Kreschenta fell silent.

As if she just remembered, Krische pulled out a candy from a small bag around her neck.

"... properly, Krische brought it back to Bery."

"Yes, I\'ve been waiting for Krische-sama for a long time."

Then pressed it against Berry\'s lips.

With a chuckle, Krische put it in her mouth and wrapped the completed scarf around Krishce’s neck.

Krische confirmed the strange feeling with her hand, put it on her cheek, and smiled happily.

‘It\'s warm,’ she pressed her face against Bery\'s chest,

"……I\'m home"

Then, after a short pause, she continued, leaning back.

Bery\'s eyes welled up at these words, and looked down and wiped the tears that were about to spill out.

She nodded and raised Krische-‘s body, and put her hand on her cheek and smiled.

"yes. ……Welcome home, Krische-sama.”

She closed her eyelids, her long lashes fluttering, and slowly moved her face closer to hers.

The kiss was long, as if to show that there was no falseness in her words.

The honey of the blotted candy smelled sweet.

The kiss sweeter than any fruit was special and full of love.

――For Krische, it felt like the end of a long war.