Second Tour of the Battlefield (1)
I had always figured I would end up back on the battlefield someday. No—I had been certain of it.
How could I not be? A young girl who had stepped onto her very first battlefield and walked away with a medal reserved for the heroes whose names filled the empire’s history books.
A war hero like that retiring after a single campaign? The optics would be terrible. Just terrible.
Still, the Four Heavenly Kings had only just appeared. I had only just become a Saintess and had already come within a hair’s breadth of martyrdom. So even if I begged to go out again, I had assumed the Church leadership would dig in their heels and keep me off the front for a good long while.
“Do not give ground!! The future of humanity rests at our backs!!!”
“…I really didn’t think they’d send me out this soon.”
I moved with the roar of battle cries and the screams of the dying as my constant companions.
Total war. That was the only phrase that truly fit the conflict the empire was waging against the demonkin right now.
An unprecedented host of demonkin had come pouring across the border—large enough that the empire had to throw every last scrap of its strength into the fight.
Which meant even the Church could no longer afford to coddle me.
I steadied my breathing, never stopping as I swept my gaze across the field in a rapid scan.
What I needed was the number of demonkin lined up in a straight path. One clean bombardment to wipe out as many as possible in a single shot.
“Found them.”
The moment the words left my mouth, a line was drawn with my position as its origin. Then came the now-familiar thunder of the bombardment.
The result… was mixed.
A handful of tough demonkin who had sensed the shot coming threw themselves forward as living shields. They had just denied me the chance to erase dozens of their kin in one blast.
Every living thing ought to possess a survival instinct. Demonkin simply did not.
That was why they could so casually use their own kind as disposable shields—an act no human would ever even conceive of, let alone copy.
Living weapons of slaughter, purpose-built for nothing but killing humans. That was the most accurate description of the demonkin.
“Uwooooooooh!!!!!”
In that instant a bull-headed demonkin brandishing a massive axe charged straight at me—right where friendly forces would get caught in the blast.
A fantasy staple: a minotaur. In Grand Fantasy they were intelligent enough and strong enough in a fight to rank among the more dangerous demonkin.
This was exactly why I hated enemies that could learn. I clicked my tongue and muttered under my breath.
“Status of the Holy Shroud?”
The Bombardment Fairy asks if you really intend to take that hit on purpose.
“Yeah, fair point.”
The minotaur closed the distance in a single rush and swung its axe without the slightest hesitation.
The Bombardment Fairy warns that there is an enemy behind you as well.
“I know.”
I twisted my body just enough to slam the flat of the axe with my left hand, hard and precise. At the same time I put spin into my body and drove my heel into the skull of the demonkin trying to ambush me from behind.
Bone cracked. The failed ambusher went flying and crashed into the minotaur.
The minotaur could not absorb the impact and was shoved back—far enough that no allies would be caught in the blast.
Without a moment’s hesitation I pulled the trigger. For all the swagger of its charge, its death was almost pitifully anticlimactic.
“Might as well have used a cannon to butcher a cow.”
I muttered the words while continuing to bat aside the attacks of the demonkin still rushing me. I had become the perfect target.
They had learned not to give me distance.
“But aren’t you forgetting something?”
Holy Knights came charging in to keep demon blades from ever reaching me. The moment I saw them lock the demonkin down, I took a measured step back.
Kill. The howls thick with that single-minded intent still reached my ears.
But that only worked while I stayed on the front line myself.
“Herd as many of them together as you can. I want to wipe them out in one go.”
I gave the order to the Holy Knights as I withdrew. I had already fought hard enough on the front today. Even I could feel the fatigue settling in.
I had no intention of playing the reckless hero. I had already smashed plenty of demonkin. From here on I would support with bombardment from the rear.
Of course, ordinary fire lacked the range, so I would need Limit Release. In my current condition, if I still wanted to be on the field tomorrow… five shots was probably the limit.
Even those five had only been possible thanks to the recovery boost from the World Tree’s final blessing. Good thing I had secured that item ahead of time.
While I was moving quickly toward the rear—more precisely, toward a good firing position—the Bombardment Fairy spoke up.
The Bombardment Fairy tells you to just rest for at least one day.
“With that in front of me?”
I glanced around.
Soldiers were fighting with their lives on the line. They did not run. No—they could not run. The moment they fled it was summary execution for insubordination.
And yet I could leave the battlefield whenever I pleased.
I could hardly blame the soldiers if they resented me for it. The thought crossed my mind unbidden.
So even if it meant wearing my body down a little further, I intended to help.
Because that was what a person ought to do. That was how I saw it.
The Bombardment Fairy says that no matter the reason, repeating this for an entire month is excessive.
The Bombardment Fairy says it is a choice that eats away at your body.
“…I’m still fine. For now.”
I said it while tightening my grip on the Holy Relic.
“Thanks for the treatment.”
“Then rest well, Saintess.”
With those words Andreus withdrew from my tent.
“We managed to hold off the demonkin’s assault again today.”
I muttered it while trying to remember how long I had been here.
A month. Nearly a full month since I arrived at the front. And still there was no end in sight.
Then again, an offensive of this unprecedented scale ending quickly would have been the stranger outcome.
“…There’s definitely a scheme behind this.”
This massive offensive was completely different from anything the demonkin had shown before.
Normally they never launched a large-scale assault unless they had already punched through several fronts—unless a hole had opened in the empire’s defensive line.
Demonkin waited for the empire to make a mistake. The moment a gap appeared, they tore into it with merciless precision.
That was why a full-scale demonkin offensive had always been called a crisis on the level of humanity’s extinction.
This time was different. They had thrown a massive force forward even though the existing defensive lines had not collapsed.
As a result the empire was stretched thin, yet it was still managing to weather the assault reasonably well.
At this rate the demonkin host would eventually hit the culmination of its offensive. After that, the empire’s counterattack would begin.
The demonkin had overreached. Every officer of rank was probably thinking the same thing.
So why, then? What had driven them to launch such a reckless offensive?
I was just about to close my eyes and sink into deeper thought when a voice came from outside.
“Saintess, it is Andreus. May I enter?”
“Ah—yes, come in!”
I answered at once. Andreus carefully lifted the tent flap and stepped inside, a wooden box held in one hand.
“…What’s that?”
“A delivery from the Holy See.”
The moment I heard those words, a smile touched my previously gloomy face. It was not solely because I was looking forward to whatever was inside the box Andreus carried.
“Supplies from the capital, then?”
“Yes.”
Of course. Common sense said they would never send only my personal package. Even for a Saintess, the proper way was to include it with the regular resupply.
…Though knowing the Holy See leadership, they really might have sent only my things and nothing else.
Either way, everyone would finally get a proper meal for the first time in a while. To boost morale they would certainly ease the ration restrictions here.
I had been voluntarily cutting my own portions because it felt wrong to eat my fill while everyone else went hungry. Now I would finally be able to eat properly again myself.
“And good news arrived with it.”
“Good news?”
“Yes. The demonkin offensive is gradually weakening.”
My face brightened far more than it had a moment earlier. That was how welcome the news was.
“Is that true?”
“Withdrawals have already been confirmed on two fronts.”
“…That’s a relief.”
Had they hit the culmination of their offensive sooner than expected? I had thought it would last at least another month—possibly longer.
With a somewhat lighter heart I accepted the box Andreus held out. It felt surprisingly heavy for its size. Quite a few things must be packed inside.
The instant I confirmed Andreus had left the tent, I carefully opened the lid. As expected, it was packed full.
The first thing that caught my eye was a letter. With the imperial seal stamped boldly across it, it was impossible to miss.
It had to be from Chartia. There was no other reason the imperial family would send me a letter.
…Right?
“Wonder what else is in here besides the letter.”
I began taking out the items that had been neatly layered inside the box one by one.
First was something so thick it could have been mistaken for fruit jam, sealed in a glass jar. Without hesitation I twisted off the lid, dipped a finger in, and touched it to my tongue.
“Sweet.”
Tangerine? Or orange? A similar flavor spread across my entire tongue. This would be good stirred into hot water.
Most of the rest were sweet treats—chocolate, cookies, and the like.
And every single one of them was high-end. You could taste the refinement in them. Actual class.
Maybe it was just because I had not had anything sweet in so long, but the stiffness that had settled into my body seemed to ease a little.
“All right. Time to read the letter.”