Chapter 25
The Male Lead Went Crazy for the Troublesome Villainess — Episode 25
The children began eagerly boasting about their exploits.
"I banged on a pot! Like this, clang-clang-clang!"
"I looked at one finger and went right!"
"I fell over, but Vanessa made a fist, so I dropped flat right away! Then its leg whooshed right over me!"
"We slipped right under the cart! And the bad monster couldn't get in! Because it was too fat!"
When one child raised their hands like claws to imitate a monster, the rest shrieked with laughter and scattered as if fleeing.
I stood there blankly. They really pulled it off?
Vanessa, her face bright red, spoke slowly.
"I-it just...... turned out that way. I thought about what Rosana would have done, and......."
My throat tightened.
These were people who had never once held a sword. People who had been carted along with the expedition like baggage. People who, if they died, would have been reduced to nothing more than a number.
But tonight, those people had protected themselves.
"......You really did well. You were truly amazing."
That was all I managed to say. My voice cracked badly.
"You did so, so well."
The children smelled of dirt and soot. It was a smell full of life.
Seraphine, who arrived late, stared at the children with startled eyes. The children rushed over to Seraphine too.
"We protected everything, Seraphine!"
Kael was still standing in front of the corpse, looking down at it. I couldn't tell what he was thinking.
But I saw the rigid line of his mouth soften very faintly. Kael might have seen hope blazing like a flame over there.
Morning sunlight was pouring over the camp.
* * *
Only after the sun had fully risen could we see just how bad the camp looked.
It was a wreck. Nearly all the tents were torn, and four of them had broken support poles and looked completely unusable. Not a single drop of oil remained.
On top of that, a massive spider corpse was lodged in the middle of the camp.
Millus went around with a list, checked the situation, and then reported to Kael.
"......No fatalities."
Millus said that only after checking the list twice.
"Nine with minor injuries. Three of those fell from a cart last night. No broken bones, and they should recover within a week."
Standing beside Kael, I heard everything Millus said.
In the original story, they had encountered the Spider Clan too. The slight difference was that there were more of them now, and they were bigger. In any case, in the original, more than twenty people had died around this area. That had been described in just one line: "many were sacrificed."
But everyone had survived. My chest swelled. We all lived. The tip of my nose stung, so I rubbed it. The sky was especially blue.
"We were truly fortunate."
Kael glanced at me.
"Perhaps it was not luck. In any case, we will have to enter the next village. We need to procure new tents."
"Yes, it seems we will need to purchase various supplies."
Millus's sigh deepened. Register, the supply officer, was fidgeting with the ruined tents, his face pale. There were plenty of things we needed to spend money on, and I had something to say too. I wasn't hovering near Kael for nothing. I stopped fiddling with my sword hilt and casually spoke up.
"How about arming all non-combat personnel?"
I was astonished by the boldness of trying to stab a monster with a kitchen knife.
Kael stared at me.
"Considering the courage they showed last night, they could be genuinely useful."
Looking back on yesterday's battle, there had been more than one close call.
"Weapons cost less than lives."
Kael rubbed his face.
"You're right, my lady, but our expedition is suffering from a chronic problem."
Kael smiled coldly. His gaze had gone dark.
"We spent a considerable amount of funds purchasing supplies in Willow. Once we buy new tents and oil now, further expenditures appear impossible."
Kael fell silent. It would have been different if they could keep receiving support and supplies, but that was impossible.
Kael's expression hardened. Quiet anger showed in his eyes. The Emperor and the nobles were probably embezzling supplies and refusing to release them, just as they had in the original.
Where was the next supply point again? Was there a smithy there? No, how much money did the expedition even have left in the first place? How much were my personal funds, and how much of that could I afford to burn?
To think I'd be worrying about money even after transmigrating.
* * *
Kael summoned Register.
"How much military funding remains? Can we afford to procure more weapons?"
"As you know, we cannot, Your Highness. Replacing the tents has to come first."
"......What of my private funds?"
"Your Highness, have you not already used your private funds to procure additional weapons and equipment? The funds that can be mobilized immediately are nearly depleted. Disposing of your remaining assets will take time."
At the aide's answer, Kael ground his teeth.
Arming the non-combatants had been considered several times since the beginning of the expedition, but money and the lack of a convincing justification had gotten in the way every time.
The nobles bought substitutes to send in place of their own children, yet they were stingy about actually putting weapons in those people's hands.
And last night, they had nearly paid the price for that stinginess.
'Weapons cost less than lives.'
Kael let out a hollow laugh. Rosana was right. They had nearly paid the highest price of all. What if they had lost the Saintess? The consequences alone would have been severe.
Kael swept his hair back.
He felt as though his hands and feet were bound. There was work to be done—work that absolutely had to be done—yet no one would help simply because the danger was not right in front of them.
Would this expedition really end once they recovered the holy relic? This fight would not end until the monsters were completely wiped from the land.
"Send an urgent letter to the imperial palace requesting support. Tell those who remain not to sit idle, and to try anything."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Kael let out a long sigh.
* * *
That evening.
As always, I went to where the clergy were staying to check on Lillia. Because the barracks had been damaged, all the children were going to spend the night in one barracks. But one of the clergy was pacing anxiously in front of the tent.
"What's wrong?"
"The Saintess has not woken once since midday. At first she seemed fine, but as time passes, her condition is becoming alarming."
The cleric glanced back into the tent with a nervous face. A bad feeling came over me, and I went straight inside.
Lillia was lying on the bed. Her face was deathly pale. Her forehead was drenched in sweat, but her fingertips were cold as ice.
"Lillia."
As I approached to wake the child, the cleric urgently blocked me.
"You mustn't! She appears to be having a prophetic dream."
The cleric stopped me in a shrill voice. The other children were watching us with frightened faces.
A prophetic dream, huh.
In the original, Lillia had truly suffered through those prophetic dreams. There was no way the disasters a young child faced alone in her dreams could be a pleasant sight.
Fortunately, after waiting a little, Lillia opened her eyes with difficulty. But her unfocused gaze wandered through the empty air for a while. At last, the child's lips moved faintly.
Tears welled at the corners of her eyes. But the voice that slipped from her mouth was so unfamiliar it was hard to believe it was the usual Lillia.
"It shall come again. The nightmare is at your side, and none shall escape it."
With those final words, the strength drained from the child's body. Soon her eyelids slowly lowered.