The Vanished Mountain

I listened to Andreus without a word.

I had no choice. The voice reaching me was nothing like the one I was used to hearing from him.

It was low and heavy with something ominous — and yet worry bled through every syllable.

"Just what did you do? When I arrived, Your Holiness looked no different from a corpse."

"…Was it that bad?"

"It would have been faster to search for a single uninjured part of your body. No — I wasn't even certain there was an uninjured part left."

Ah. Um. I honestly never imagined it had been that severe.

"You only survived because treatment reached you in time. If the demons hadn't suddenly withdrawn, you would have been in truly mortal danger."

"They withdrew suddenly?"

Andreus nodded at my question.

"Yes. The moment Your Holiness's bombardment landed, every last demon began a frantic retreat."

The instant I heard that, a sigh of pure relief slipped out of me on its own.

"Then we won completely, right?"

"That is…"

Andreus hesitated, clearly reluctant to finish the thought.

Ah. I already had a pretty good idea what he was about to say.

"In the end, I couldn't bring him down. The demon in the black armor."

Even the bombardment I had fired by burning my own body hadn't been enough to fell him.

I had steeled myself to die and poured everything I had into that shot, and I still hadn't closed the gap in power. The realization left a bitter taste in my mouth.

"I am sorry. I let the once-in-a-lifetime opening Your Holiness created slip away through my own incompetence."

"No. If anything, you saved my life, Andreus. Twice, even."

Demanding anything more from a man who had already saved my life twice would make me something less than human.

That demon had been strong enough that even Andreus couldn't defeat him.

I ought to be grateful we had survived at all with a monster like that appearing on the battlefield.

"Thank you. Truly."

"…Your Holi—ness."

"H-hey?! D-don't cry!"

Why was this middle-aged man suddenly bursting into tears?!

Excuse me? I have never made anyone cry before, thank you very much!

Stop painting me like some habitual tear-jerker who goes around reducing people to sobbing wrecks!

Once he had stopped crying, Andreus kept apologizing for showing me such an unsightly side of himself.

I told him it was fine and immediately changed the subject.

If I didn't, he looked ready to keep saying he was sorry forever.

"So what happens to me from here? Do I stay on the battlefield?"

"Proper treatment is difficult to obtain in this place. You must return to the Holy See at once and receive thorough care before your injuries worsen."

"I see. Already heading back… I told His Holiness the Pope so boldly that I would take the field myself. Ending up like this is a little embarrassing."

At this rate, would they even let me onto the next battlefield?

I had gone out with such fanfare only to come back injured on my very first outing. If I were in their shoes, I wouldn't send me out again either.

Still, once really wasn't enough. Wasn't there some way I could talk them into it?

I was turning that worry over in my mind when Andreus spoke again.

"…Your Holiness. There is something I would like to show you, if only for a moment."

"Hm? But I can't move."

"I shall assist you."

With that, Andreus carefully lifted me into his arms.

My body throbbed for an instant, but I kept the pain off my face. If I so much as winced, he would only start worrying again.

He clearly meant to take me outside the tent and show me the view beyond.

I wondered how everyone was doing. Were they drunk on the joy of victory? Or drowning in grief for the comrades they had lost?

Maybe Andreus wanted to show me how many people were still alive — to let me see what I had accomplished. And if that was the case, how would they react when they saw me?

I did my best to calm the faint flutter in my chest as we finally stepped out of the tent.

"…Huh?"

And then I saw it. I couldn't not see it. It slammed into my eyes that hard.

There had definitely been a mountain over there.

A small one, sure, but a mountain had absolutely been standing right there.

"It… it's gone?"

What? How? Why had the mountain suddenly vanished? What happened while I was out cold?

I blinked blankly, still failing to process the situation, when Andreus spoke.

"Your Holiness's bombardment blew the mountain away."

"…Excuse me?!"

That much firepower?! And that Four Heavenly Kings guy or whatever had taken a direct hit from it and still survived?!

I was so flabbergasted my jaw refused to close. I didn't even know where to begin objecting.

"…Your Holiness?"

A voice called my name just then.

I almost answered on pure reflex — but someone else's voice got there first.

"…Did someone just say the Saintess?"

A murmur began to spread.

"It's true. The Saintess has woken up."

More and more gazes turned toward me.

"The Saintess?"

And then—

"It's really her!"

"THE SAINTESS!!! THE SAINTESS IS AWAKE!!!!!"

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!"

The roar crashed over us.

My brain genuinely felt like it had short-circuited. It simply refused to accept what was happening.

I had never experienced anything like this in my life.

What the hell was this?! Was this the Truman Show?! Had someone circulated a memo that said, "When she shows up, do this"?!

And why were they all shouting my name with such ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠perfect, unified passion?!

Seeing me freeze in panic, Andreus spoke quietly.

"…Did you know, Your Holiness?"

"Know what?"

"The demon clad in black armor is one of the four known as the Four Heavenly Kings."

"Is that so?"

I already knew. I had seen it on the status window.

"And whenever one of those Four Heavenly Kings has appeared on a battlefield, the Empire has never once escaped near-total annihilation."

Ah. That part I hadn't known.

I had figured we might lose if we failed to take the Four Heavenly King down, but that had just been my own guesswork.

Honestly, I had even wondered whether I was overestimating them a little. Turns out I hadn't been overestimating them at all.

Seriously, hadn't they cranked the DLC difficulty way too high?

Even if the whole game had transformed into something else, did they have to rewrite the difficulty curve too?

Grand Fantasy hadn't exactly been an easy game to begin with, and now they had gone and made it harder.

While I was busy tearing into the developers of Grand Fantasy in the privacy of my own head, Andreus continued.

"And Your Holiness drove that Four Heavenly King off single-handedly."

…Ah.

Only then did the situation snap into perfect focus.

Why the people had erupted the instant they saw me.

What Andreus had wanted me to witness.

"Your Holiness has become the first hero in history to protect the Empire's children even after a Four Heavenly King took the field."

I couldn't say a word.

All I could do was draw a few breaths in and let them out again.

I felt the weight of what I had accomplished. I accepted it as real.

And then—

"…I did well, right? I wasn't… a burden, was I?"

I asked in a trembling voice.

My own selfishness had dragged me to the front lines. Had that selfishness ended up hurting Andreus and the other Holy Knights?

I had declared with such confidence that fighting on the front would help our allies — but what if I had only harmed them instead?

From the moment I said I would take the field, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I had been drowning in regret and worry.

Hearing those feelings poured into my words, Andreus's expression went blank for a second, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠as if language itself had failed him.

The silence stretched just long enough for anxiety to start clawing at me.

He closed his eyes briefly, then opened them again and spoke — quietly, but with absolute force.

"…I swear it. You fought more splendidly than anyone."

Only then could I—

For the first time since waking—

"I'm glad."

—smile with my whole heart.

That said, when was this cheering going to stop? Five minutes had already passed and it was still deafening.

I was wondering whether I ought to say something and fretting over what that something should be when someone approached my side.

"Ah, Kalpas?"

"You have awakened, Your Holiness."

Kalpas bowed his head deeply as he spoke.

"As commander of the Allied Knights and supreme commander of the Twenty-First Front, I have come to offer Your Holiness my gratitude. Through Your Holiness's spirit of sacrifice and devotion, countless soldiers' lives were saved. This battle was brought to victory. You have my deepest thanks."

Ah. Um. This was bad.

I had been praised and elevated so much that I was starting to feel good about it, and my mouth was refusing to stay under control.

I cleared my throat once, then did my absolute best to manage my expression as I answered.

"Sh-shouldn't we do something about this chaos first?"

I truly hadn't expected the uproar to still be going strong five minutes later — even after the front's supreme commander had arrived.

At this point it was starting to look like the realm of pure frenzy.

"You make a fair point. However, a commotion of this magnitude will settle on its own once Your Holiness withdraws from the area."

"That makes sense. Let's do that, then. If you would, Andreus."

Lying around all day wouldn't accomplish anything; getting some fresh air would have been nicer. Even so, I had no desire to leave this riot running unchecked.

It was starting to feel like a genuine burden.

Andreus nodded at my words and prepared to carry me back into the tent.

But Kalpas spoke up before he could.

"Ah — in that case, might I say one more thing inside the tent? I came not only to convey my gratitude, but also to deliver glad tidings."

…What was this? Why did it feel so ominous?

How to put it — the second I heard those words, I got the distinct impression that something extremely bothersome was about to occupy me for a long while.

I had already suffered enough. All I wanted was to rest properly for a bit.

"Then I shall speak inside the tent."

Curiosity won out, though. I couldn't bring myself to turn Kalpas away. In the end he followed us into the tent as well.

"All right, go ahead."

The moment I was laid back on the bed I spoke with as much force as I could muster.

Of course, there wasn't a scrap of saintly dignity in it. How could there be, when I couldn't even move?

But I knew one thing for certain: if I got embarrassed here, I lost. I had to be bolder than anyone.

"Understood. Your Holiness — congratulations."

See? Because I was bold, Kalpas felt nothing odd about it and simply cut to the chase.

…Hm? Why the sudden congratulations?

"The Imperial Court has decided to bestow a medal upon Your Holiness."

"Ahh. A medal is certainly worth congratulating. …I'm sorry, a medal?!"

I went to the battlefield once and I was getting a medal for it? That was even possible?!

"Your Holiness accomplished something without precedent in the Empire's entire history. You may take pride in it."

In that instant an ominous thought flashed through my mind.

It couldn't be. Right? No matter how generous they were feeling, they wouldn't just hand out that medal so casually… right?

"…Which medal is it?"

My voice trembled a little without my permission. Please, anything but that one. Not now. Absolutely not now.

But the heavens had abandoned me.

"The Imperial Merit Medal!"

"…Wow. The Imperial Merit Medal. I'm so happy."

I spoke without a single drop of soul in my voice.

The Imperial Merit Medal.

With a single outing onto the battlefield, I had been awarded the second-most prestigious decoration in the entire Empire.