Chapter 57
Chapter 57
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 57
Chapter Title: Scar-10
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The battle raged on.
The Orc Lord's movements had grown noticeably sluggish, and with my full concentration, I didn't allow a single additional blow to land.
But the front lines kept getting pushed back. Just because I was tied down here, the situation continued to deteriorate.
If we kept fighting like this, we could win. But it would be a hollow victory. Everyone behind me would die, and I'd either be left alone to flee or fall alongside them.
The arrows supporting me were dwindling. I had no desire to blame Nerwen. Right now, her arrows were needed not for me, but for the soldiers holding off the orcs.
"Huh?"
In that moment of resignation, an unfamiliar sound caught my ear.
Mingling with the orcs' roars and the humans' screams came the crisp clatter of hooves, accompanied by faint vibrations through the ground.
The soldiers erupted in cheers. It wasn't long before I spotted the source.
An armored white horse appeared first. And atop it was a face all too familiar, waiting for me.
"Hero..."
If I hadn't been so exhausted, I might have charged at her in rage.
But this wasn't the time for such idle thoughts. If anything, it was a relief.
The orcs outnumbered us, that was all. With reinforcements from the capital, we had a chance.
The orcs had the upper hand so far purely due to numbers; there wasn't an insurmountable gap.
And the knights she led galloped toward me, charging straight into the orc horde.
"Waaaaah!!!"
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Where are you going?"
Seeing Elenor don her armor, the knights couldn't hide their bewilderment.
The white armor in her hands—worn through countless battlefields, broken and repaired time and again—meant there was a fight ahead.
It wasn't armor for mere sparring or demonstrations. With sword, helmet, and lance in tow, she looked every bit ready for the battlefield.
Yet she hadn't called the knight order.
"It's personal."
They had only seen her proud demeanor lately; this change in attitude left them flustered.
Elenor had seemed deflated amid recent scandals, but they figured that once she donned that armor and gripped her sword, she'd revert to her cool, steadfast knightly self.
"I'm just doing what needs to be done."
"Leaving us behind?"
The knight order was split in half; they wouldn't follow her orders blindly anymore.
If it were an imperial decree, they'd pledge loyalty again in the end. But they had no intention of risking their lives on her personal whims like before.
Yet half still believed in her. And half of that half followed her blindly, as always.
"Lads, ready the horses!"
"...This isn't formally authorized."
To Elenor, this was a form of escape.
During their time in the Hero Party, it was she who had treated him harshly.
This was nothing more than a desperate struggle to minimize the damage, by any means necessary.
"You heard her? Everyone, gear up! There's a fight! I've been sick of sitting around anyway!"
Elenor bit her lip.
It was the first time she'd witnessed with her own eyes people following her—not out of loyalty, duty, or justice.
And she didn't deserve it.
"No need to follow. If you really want to, tell only those who do to come. There's a risk of punishment."
But her words fell on deaf ears for the knights who chose to follow.
"Who was it that let a mercenary runt into the knight order? How could we forget that favor?"
"Cherish that position a bit more."
It was her mistake. She'd borrowed the Hero's power—his power—and deluded herself into thinking she was the Hero. She'd piled excessive tasks on him and berated him for failing.
"I can't drag you into this on my judgment alone."
But as she looked up, Elenor had no choice but to realize: stopping them was impossible.
"At the very least, only those who want to come, follow."
Pushing aside the guilt stabbing her chest, she mounted her horse with part of the knight order and rode out.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ He stood with sword in hand, holding his own against the Orc Lord.
Wielding a holy sword that couldn't even emit sword aura, surrounded by orcs, he faced it unflinchingly.
But she couldn't let that sight sway her.
Steeling her resolve, Elenor shouted toward him.
"I'll take over from here! You did well, Enel!"
"What are you talking about?!"
He parried the Orc Lord's greatsword and shot Elenor a look of utter disbelief.
"Aren't you reinforcements? I'll hold this one, so focus on the fight!"
It was a reasonable point. If there were enough troops behind Elenor and her goal was victory in this battle, it would have been the right call.
Elenor hesitated for a brief moment.
The nation she'd sworn to protect was this pathetic. The world preserved at Enel's sacrifice was this selfish.
She, who had forced that sacrifice on him, was so very weak. Admitting it all made her tremble with shame.
But there was no time. She had to accept it.
"No. There are no reinforcements! We're all there is!"
"...What?"
"I didn't come here to lead this battle to victory..."
If the Hero's power still lingered in her, she wouldn't have needed this agonizing choice.
If only her body were intact, she might have staked her life to protect the citizens.
But she had nothing left.
"I came to get you—you alone—out of this battlefield!"
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ I realized the situation was worse than I'd thought.
For one, there were too few knights. Sure, if they were Elenor's, they were elites beyond mere numbers—but a single sword stroke still only killed one orc.
The knights' armor and the imposing steeds were formidable, but their number fell short of twenty.
And the Hero was far too unsteady.
No matter how hastily she'd mounted up, this wasn't like her to be gasping from mere riding.
It felt off. Unrefined. Even glancing away briefly while fighting the Orc Lord was enough to notice something was wrong with her.
"There are people behind you!"
"You bear no responsibility. The one who does... is me."
Dismounting, she instantly joined the fray.
"Grraaah..."
The Orc Lord burned with tireless fury, but Elenor was no mere fodder.
Her sharp blade carved a small gash into the orc's thigh.
"You don't look well."
"I can endure. And if I can hold out just a bit longer, that'll be enough."
"No reinforcements at all? With monsters like that near the capital?"
"His Majesty's authority has weakened. We can't leave the capital with minimal troops, or we won't handle any crises. The Imperial Guard's injuries haven't fully healed either..."
In the end, it all came back to me.
I'd held back reclaiming the power I'd lent her until the very last, thinking something like this might happen.
Because in a truly critical moment, she'd wield it better than I could.
"It's my fault. If I'd judged right, spared you a little more, not forced this responsibility on you that you shouldn't bear... none of this would have happened."
"Then get lost. I'll kill this thing myself."
"You could. But afterward, you'd be swept away by the orc tide and die. You have no duty to serve the Empire... but the mere possibility that you might someday is worth more than my pathetic life."
Her joining created a bit more breathing room. One more person drawing the Orc Lord's attention meant more effective hits landing. But killing the monster would still take time.
"Why go this far?!"
"The blessing the Hero's bloodline will grant when it ascends the throne is the most vital boon to the Empire."
Her expression hardened gradually. The confusion and regret that had lingered faded, replaced by knightly resolve.
"If you're ever thinking that, marry another woman of the imperial line and have children. No—marriage isn't even needed. Just enjoying yourself would suffice."
"If you have time for that nonsense, focus on the monster!"
"Not some weirdo like me, but a beautiful, obedient woman."
I wanted to yell at her to shut up, but the Orc Lord had me in its sights. Its massive sword slash tore through where I'd stood.
"Urk?"
Then from behind, slender arms pulled me back. A familiar scent wafted over.
Having stolen one of the knights' horses, the silver-haired maid yanked me backward.
"What the—it's dangerous!"
"The Princess is right. We need to escape first!"
Elenor glanced our way, her face softening with emotion.
"And whether you plan to grant my request or not... someday..."
I shook off the maid's arms. The horse bucked unsteadily, but it didn’t bolt.
"You have to come back."
Gripping her sword once more, she charged the Orc Lord.