80. It Might Be Tough
‘Tired…’
Everything drains out of me. I can understand why they say that just debating makes a person age rapidly.
All the way heading south, how much had I tussled with that woman named Eloise?
I had to be on high alert the whole time, lest that elf try to snatch the seat next to Karl.
Lavrenti would have been better. At least that person could communicate, right?
But what about Eloise? I feel like she's determined to get her way no matter what, and I can't ignore that.
Whenever Karl looks somewhere, she turns her gaze there to make eye contact.
Whenever Karl tries to move somewhere for a bit, she follows to entangle herself.
If she were acting with some cunning, that would be one thing. But this is too blatant.
“Tone it down a bit.”
Eventually, a somewhat nervous tone slipped out of me without me realizing.
In a fight like this, showing emotion first puts you at a disadvantage. I realized I'd made a mistake.
If Eloise uses this as a pretext to gain the upper hand, it could be quite troublesome—
“I don't like it.”
“…”
Wow, really. How can she answer so nonchalantly with a faint smile?
What's more infuriating is that she's not laughing to provoke or tease me. She's just laughing because the situation is too interesting to her right now. She's enjoying it.
“Why are you doing this?”
By aggressively blocking, most people would give up or pretend to, and think of another way. It's only natural.
But Eloise was different. She just laughed ‘Hehe!’ and charged straight at me enthusiastically. It was like watching a puppy that had found a new toy and wouldn't let go.
“I'm happy.”
“Happy? With this?”
“Yes! It's great! Just being here is already wonderful?!”
“…”
Something… a strange aura that was hard to handle. Madness? That's what it felt like.
I can't even figure out what kind of character she is. If they're elves, they should be arrogant, prideful humans looking down on others, right?
“And, Senior Selena. Be careful. The shield may block, but the spear wins!”
Wait, hold on. No. No way! I don't care about the other stuff, but this I can't overlook.
The spear wins against the shield? This is the debate I had with Karl before! I heard it!
“Is that true? Everyone knows the shield is much more advantageous.”
“What do you mean? The shield is advantageous?”
“The spear has to pierce it, after all.”
“The shield has to block it, and there's nothing else?”
Wait… hold on. What was that? Ah, right!
“So! My point is, no matter the configuration, the shield is ultimately more advantageous. Even if both break and are damaged, in the end—”
“If the spear breaks and the shield is destroyed, the innocent bystander is better off, right?”
“That's… well, yes? Thinking about it, that makes sense?”
The first thing that came to mind when hearing Eloise's words was, of course, Lavrenti.
If Karl and Eloise separate, that woman naturally becomes the final winner. Broken spear, destroyed shield, and the innocent bystander doing better in an absurd situation!
“That's right? So, Selena. We should fight fairly between us!”
“…”
It's strangely persuasive. I can't deny it right away—
“And since we're going to fight fairly, it's good to just pretend not to notice! Me getting next to Karl too…”
“Don't dream.”
Lavrenti would be better. You're too dangerous! Too obvious!
*
The four idiots laughing happily. And the two women between them making a crackling sound.
Finally, in case real passengers flock in and go ‘The train conductor said he's the hero! Amazing! Waaaaah!!’ the Medal of Honor recipient who stubbornly refuses to leave his own cabin as much as possible.
They left early in the morning and spent the time until darkness fell, finally arriving at the destination.
“Ladies and gentlemen, our train will be arriving at the final station shortly.”
“And before that, the Medal of Honor recipient will be alighting, so please sit in your seats and wait for the Empire's hero to disembark.”
Enough. Please stop. Karl had to clench his burning face.
I wanted to hide in the train, but if I did, the other passengers would have to wait in the train forever. I couldn't do that.
“Empire's Hero!”
“Medal of Honor Recipient!”
“We will salute!”
Unaware of Karl's inner turmoil, Schlippen, Wilhelm, Alexander, and Joachim were busy teasing.
Originally, Selena would have stepped in to give a hint to tone it down, but she seemed too busy with her tense standoff with the preliminary elf raider.
Letting out a sigh, Karl was about to pack his things to get off, but the crew waiting outside saw it and rushed over in panic.
“Please, I'll take it.”
“Eh? Ah, it's fine, but…”
“We're not fine with that. We'll take all your luggage too.”
Strange. When we got on, they were polite, but this is too much.
The crew members taking the luggage bags almost by force from Karl's hands.
Is it because there are no attendants? But that doesn't make sense either, since there should be attendants waiting in the south already? Or did the four idiots' families request it?
Just as Karl was about to leave the train door with his head tilted in confusion, he realized the reason.
Clap clap clap! —
Even Karl, who had rolled around the battlefield for 3 years, was startled by the enormous applause.
The cheers weren't loud, but the applause was enough to drown out any ordinary cheering.
‘…South.’
Yeah. Because of the group, I had forgotten for a moment. Where I was going.
This is the Empire's south. From here, it takes a few hours by carriage to reach the region where Empire soldiers like us fought.
Obviously, to the people here, war wasn't just some distant thing. For the Empire's other regions, it was just ‘fighting elves’ level, but to them it was a matter of survival.
Many Empire soldiers had been conscripted here. Those who lost comrades, arms, legs, and finally became living corpses returning home.
So, to them, it was urgent. For some, it was just a distant war to worry about, but for them, it was the war against elves that was too important. They wanted it to end quickly.
In such a war, a person who received the Empire's highest honor, the Medal of Honor, appeared.
A noble youth who enlisted as a private soldier himself. And the sudden collapse of Luzens shortly after he saved the soldiers.
To them, it seemed like that young nobleman was the key to ending this war.
And to prove it, when other things happened later, he didn't back down and achieve another miraculous achievement of receiving another Medal of Honor.
“…”
Meanwhile, Karl receiving the praise just smiled awkwardly and followed the crew.
He raised his hand to respond, but didn't show any gesture to boast or be praised more.
Nor did he act as if it was nothing, like ‘this is what you get for receiving it’.
Now, he thinks he's receiving it on behalf of those who can't receive it anymore.
That was the word that defined Karl Adelheit, who was currently hurriedly escaping the station.
*
‘Heehee.’
I barely managed to hold back the exclamation that almost escaped my lips.
If Selena heard this, she would have been on high alert again, right? Phew. Good thing.
‘As expected, it's different. With the male compatriots. It's too different.’
What if it was a male compatriot instead of Karl in that situation? I imagined it once.
And the conclusion that came out was that he would move his feet quite clumsily, saying ‘Praise me more. I deserve to be praised.’
Is it because I've lived too long? Or was I born too outstanding?
Our compatriots have no choice but excessive pride. It seems a bit excessive even to me.
Then, after being beaten by the Empire, their pride must have been wounded a lot.
As a result, those who couldn't endure became Luzens, and those who managed to survive became Heigens.
‘Me? Well, I don't really care if I win or lose. It's just that the process is good.’
Anyway, seeing Karl fleeing in a trot while ashamed, a bashful smile came to my face.
He's the Empire's hero, but seeing him like this makes him look childish. Hehe. Isn't it too cute?
“Do you know where the accommodation is and are running away?”
“What's to know. First, get out of the station.”
When I caught up to Karl and asked, the answer was that.
I wanted to tease more, but if I did, the score I hadn't even accumulated yet would be deducted. So I held back.
“Karl.”
Still, I had to say something. Honestly, how could I endure this.
“You really are a cool guy.”
“What are you talking about all of a sudden. Did you drink? Are you drunk?”
“Huh? Ah! I'm drunk! Drunk on a very great human man, unlike the male compatriots! Hehehehe!”
“…This is really crazy.”
You don't know, probably, and forever. Originally, all heroes don't know why others worship them.
But that very appearance is why everyone keeps getting drawn to that hero.
So be careful, Karl! You're too deep in it, and now I can't escape!
Even abandoning my work and coming here! During the study period, even if I managed to survive with severance pay, from now on you have to feed and clothe me!