Sixty-three seconds later, when I thought it was all over,
the attacks towards Yuzuriha, prepared for her imminent death, suddenly eased, as if a thread had snapped.
It was evident that the Ogre King had been defeated.
(Even at this distance… you narrowly saved me again, my partner…?)
My partner seemed to be a bit too good at saving my life—
That was Yuzuriha’s solitary musings.
11
We fought relentlessly for three days and nights, unable to get a wink of sleep.
It seemed like every Ogre in the Great Forest was coming at us.
Perhaps it was the last command of the fallen Ogre King.
Mutated Ogres, even with their command structure in disarray, were still formidable opponents.
Moreover, the Ogres we faced had likely undergone training that made them seem almost non-monster-like. While it was possible to defeat each one individually, facing them collectively was quite challenging.
Furthermore, we had only anticipated dealing with a few Ogres, so we only brought standard equipment. This proved to be a significant drawback.
“…Am I… alive…?”
After defeating the last Ogre and collapsing, Yuzuriha-san, upon waking up, uttered these words as she recognized the figure embracing her.
Upon confirming that she was indeed being held in my sturdy arms, Yuzuriha-san blinked her eyes repeatedly.
“No, that’s not it. To be held gently in your strong arms, it must be… oh, I see. Is this heaven or perhaps a dying dream?”
“It’s reality. Um, sorry, I had to undress Yuzuriha-san for magical healing and held her to provide support.”
“No need to cover up. If I’m to die, I’m glad to do so in the arms of my partner at the very end… It feels like a dream, such a blissful way to die, even if it’s just a dying dream.”
“But it’s reality.”
“It’s fine; there’s no need for such consolation. It’s my sincere feeling. But if there’s one point to add intentionally…”
“Eh, ugh!?”
“Haha, this is fine. I wanted to embrace your face in my chest at least once. To make you realize that, beneath the partner you see, there’s a fully matured woman who desperately wants to create a family with you.”
“Uh, um, Yuzuriha-san…?”
“Let’s get married before the gods, and when we have children, we’ll teach them the sword together. In the garden of our new home, there’ll be cherry blossoms we planted on our anniversary, and even when we become grandparents, we’ll sit on the porch every year, gazing at the cherry blossoms. And then, and then… sigh.”
Having said that, Yuzuriha-san fell asleep again.
After all, she had fought tirelessly for three days without any rest.
My amateur healing magic seemed to have worked, and giving her plenty of sleep would likely aid her recovery.
“…But Yuzuriha-san seemed unusually high-spirited…?”
Was it the prolonged excitement from three days and nights of continuous battle, or was it because of my inexperienced healing magic?
Yuzuriha-san not only called me her partner but also hugged me in her ample bosom and spoke of love as if in a dream.
Or maybe it was the “suspension bridge effect” I heard about from Suzuha in the past.
When one is on the brink of death, the opposite sex nearby appears attractive, they say.
“…You’ll forget when you wake up, right…?”
Even though she was somewhat conscious, I, a mere ordinary commoner, had Yuzuriha-san, the direct descendant of a duke and a national hero, talk sweetly to me.
If she remembered upon waking up, I’d likely be plagued by intense regret. It might even lead to being silenced to keep me from talking.
“Well, it’s Yuzuriha-san, so I don’t think she’ll do that… but I absolutely can’t pretend not to know, right…?”
Oh well, I’ll switch my mindset.
“Rather than that, we need to treat Suzuha and the Amazoness twins… They shouldn’t die immediately, but at this rate, they won’t last until we return to the fortress.”
After that, Suzuha and the others seemed to be attacked by similar delusions or hallucinations as Yuzuriha.
I had the rare experience of having my head sandwiched between the ample bosoms of my sister and the Amazoness who dislikes men, while they passionately spoke of love.
By the way,
when Yuzuriha woke up, it seemed she remembered everything perfectly. She looked at me and blushed or turned pale alternately.
Of course, I maintained an attitude of not knowing or hearing anything.
12 (Toko’s Perspective)
One late night, a tired Toko visited the study of the Sakuragi Duke. There, she found the head of the family looking equally fatigued.
“Good evening… You seem to be in quite a state too.”
“Well, yeah.”
Just a few days ago, shocking news had shaken the continent.
The existence of an extremely organized army of magical creatures in the Ogre’s Great Forest.
Camouflaged by illusion magic, a massive army of monsters, capable of destroying nations, had been organized deep within the Great Forest. They aimed to invade human society.
And that monster army was completely crushed by just five elite individuals.
“Even in our Duke’s household, the top military officials seem to be in an uproar. Those idiots are apparently scheming to somehow take credit for annihilating the monster army.”
“Huh!? What’s that about!?”
“It seems they intentionally dispatched Yuzuriha and the others because they were aware of the monster army from the beginning—crafting a story like that.”
“No way! If, hypothetically, they knew about such a dangerous monster army in the Ogre’s Great Forest and kept it a secret from the king and neighboring countries, that would be an ultimate betrayal! It’s on the level of wiping out the entire family, isn’t it!?”
“Exactly.”
“Moreover, if that’s the case, those idiots who were dispatched are praising Suzuha and the others to no end! Even if it turns out to be true!”
“That’s correct. However, even now, they seem to have no intention of acknowledging the abilities of Yuzuriha or that man.”
“Well, of course. Not only Yuzuriha, but Suzuha and his brother, everyone from the Sakuragi Duke’s family is being looked down upon! Probably because if they were to recognize their abilities, the power of the Duke’s family would become overwhelmingly dominant, right?”
“Foolish indeed.”
“Yeah. Whether they acknowledge it or not, the fact remains the same!”
Toko was getting angrier at the foolish military officials.
As a result of capable soldiers falling in battle or being defeated through political maneuvering, the current top military officials were a bunch of sycophants towards superiors and bullies towards subordinates—essentially a group of incompetent leaders.
Despite that, the frontline forces led by Yuzuriha, among others, continued to achieve victory after victory on the battlefield. This only exacerbated the corruption in the headquarters.
According to Yuzuriha, there were times when she seriously considered intentionally losing.
However, in a situation where the number of soldiers dying around her would increase if she pulled her punches, she couldn’t bring herself to do it.
“Well then, how about the movements of the royal family?”
“It’s kinda similar on our end. Both the First Prince and the Second Prince are desperate to use the eradication of the monster army as their trump card to gain control.”
“Foolish. If they wanted a trump card, getting that man would be the easiest way.”
“That’s beyond their comprehension. They keep on with these low-level conflicts. But if they ever try to touch Suzuha’s brother, I’ll crush them for real!”
“Of course.”
“But those idiot brothers have finally realized over the past few days that snatching the credit is impossible.”
“At least they didn’t try to fabricate credit forcefully.”
“No, they initially tried to fabricate it. However, after the neighboring country issued an official statement, they seemed to realize it’s too dangerous to overturn that.”
Yes, the neighboring country’s response was swift.
They issued a statement to the entire world promptly after verifying the facts, disclosing every detail about the incident.
And they did it in a way that favored our country.
Most of the foolish nobles only received the surface information, but a minority with sharp minds wonders why they missed such a golden opportunity to showcase their country’s achievements and military power, even if it were true.
To Toko, the reasoning was clear.
That country had no intention of missing an opportunity to showcase themselves.
Because Suzuha’s brother, who stood at the top of the Amazoness tribe, happened to be affiliated with our country, praising him resulted in making our country look good.
Toko sighed,
“Well, either way. I’m really glad Yuzuriha and Suzuha’s brother are safe. The credit Suzuha’s brother earned in this incident is more than enough to make him a first-generation noble. I was surprised and thought I’d die when I first heard about it, but ultimately, it turned out well.”
“Is that so?”
“Why? Even the foolish nobles and our idiot brothers can’t ignore Suzuha’s brother’s achievements this time. And if they did, they would either be torn apart by an enraged Yuzuriha or face an Amazoness invasion in their territory and be wiped out.”
“However, our intelligence agency suggests that some part of the military is considering a different use for this achievement.”
“Huh…?”
“To claim this achievement forcefully as their own without revealing the details, what should they do? The answer is to make it seem like a part of an even bigger achievement. It’s a dirty but effective strategy. Unfortunately, they obtained the pretext they needed through the eradication of the monster army this time.”
“Wa-wait a minute! Are you kidding me? What on earth are they trying to do!?”
The Duke, head of the ducal family, responded with a serious expression, devoid of any joke.
“Invasion war.”
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