Interlude 13
Birth of a Goddess
Translator : PolterGlast
The fierce, brutal battle between the Ville Kingdom and the Empire Army cavalry
unit led by Viscount Durul had drawn to a close. Yet, for the Holy
Mage Rosa, this marked nothing more than the opening curtains of her
own solitary battle, a grueling ordeal that would challenge the absolute limits
of her latent abilities and physical stamina.
The immediate sight that walloped her eyes upon rushing to
the blood-soaked crossroads was the crumbling form of her lifesaver, Viscount Durul,
the very man who had protected them acting as an unyielding shield with his
life on the line, about to meet his absolute end. Bearing deep, catastrophic
wounds all over his body yet having a serene, satisfied face, he was lying on
the earth, already unconscious and taking repeated shallow, agonizingly thin
breaths. In addition to the lacerations that seemed like fatal wounds, the
heavy arrow piercing his chest seemed to have penetrated deep enough to rupture
his lung.
「 Rosa-sama, His Excellency! I implore you, please save His Excellency!
」
The soldier desperately presenting the frantic plea was a
company commander under Viscount Durul's direct command whom Rosa
also recognized well. He too was formerly a subordinate of Marquis Bradley,
who had been left behind for dead inside the narrow bottleneck with severe,
near-fatal injuries; as a result of receiving Rosa's treatment in Teigoon
after the battle, his life was prolonged and he became a prisoner of war. Rosa
had once been informed in Kusanagi that in the prisoner return conducted
at a later date, he had formally returned to the Empire together with the then-Baron Durul and become his
loyal subordinate.
「 His Excellency boldly declared…… he
would safeguard the children, and you, even at the cost of his life, and he
fought bravely to the end in the midst of the fiercest battle, but finally his
vessel ran out of strength…… 」
While listening to the desperate report, she, who was
surgically examining the Viscount's lacerations to perform treatment, had
unconsciously taken a posture of cradling the lying Viscount's upper torso
against her body. The knowledge of his suicidal, heroic stand had already been
conveyed to her by the retreating escort soldiers he had forcefully let escape
midway.
『 Why
would you go to such lengths for someone like me……? Why is this person always
like this……? 』
Thinking so, Rosa could not stop the endless torrent
of overflowing tears. Why on earth had she not faced the pure devotion and
feelings of the person who had done this much for her seriously until now, she
wondered.
『 I
haven't responded to you in any proper way yet. It's definitely not that I hate you—not even a little
bit. I was just so intensely embarrassed when everyone around teased us,
and I lacked even the courage required to accept those straightforward
feelings. 』
Such tears pouring down her cheeks were a chaotic, blurred
mixture of two things: profound feelings of gratitude and an intense sense of
repentance. Yet, even amidst the tempest of her emotions, she never for a
single second forgot what she had to do. First, she accurately confirmed the locations of the injuries and applied hemostasis as initial treatment,
but due to the raw depth of the wounds, the
bleeding seemed too extensive. In all likelihood, the prestigious medical
academies in the Royal Capital might have already thrown their hands up in
resignation, branding it untreatable. Even knowing it was a severe situation
that made her think so, she refused to give up.
「 This time, it is my turn to protect
you! Even if I must grind away my own life-force, I will definitely show you
that I swear to God I can save you! 」
Even while wiping away her tears, Rosa's resolve
hardened into absolute iron. As if responding to such immense devotion of hers,
as a result of perfectly demonstrating the medical knowledge and Holy Magic
she possessed to the maximum, she somehow managed to successfully keep the
Viscount's fading life-force anchored. In that blurred process, just a little,
she was also able to wring out and convey her current honest feelings.
『 Oh
heavens, what should I do……? In the panic of the treatment process, I feel like
I inadvertently blurted out something incredibly embarrassing…… 』
Though a violent blush of embarrassment threatened her,
those were words that naturally flowed from the very depths of her heart, and Rosa
herself had made the absolute resolve to honestly face her own feelings without
a shred of dishonesty from now on.
『 But
right now, it is not the time for me to be caught up in personal feelings. Because just like the Viscount, there are still
countless brave souls across this field whose lanterns of life are rapidly
fading. 』
With that fierce realization, Rosa stood up tall and
began executing the paramount duties required of her now.
「 Someone! Is there anyone here who
has been formally trained to perform triage?! 」
Rosa, who
shouted her challenge across the crossroads, had a profound, certain
conviction. Years prior, in a high-level military council she had also
participated in, Viscount Durul had, for reasons entirely beyond her
understanding, suddenly sworn his steel to become a knight protecting her. At
the next opportunity, when they shared a quiet tea together as 'friends', Rosa,
completely fumbling for a topic to break the heavy silence, casually talked
about the structural mechanics of triage. Rosa still vividly remembered
the figure of the Viscount who, while floating a gentle, supportive smile,
nevertheless listened to her explanations with absolute, unwavering seriousness.
And at the very next opportunity when she was formally
requested to meet him……
『 I
must extend my deepest apologies for trespassing upon your time like this. I profoundly desire to integrate this thing called
"triage" that you showcased last time directly into our military
apparatus as well, so I have personally brought ten of my finest subordinates
who possess basic training in medicine and emergency field treatment. Could
I humbly request you to impart your wisdom to them as well? 』
Saying so, the Viscount had brought as many as ten of his
direct retainers to that place. Hearing that, Rosa was thoroughly
stunned by his staggering earnestness, but deeply moved, she had gladly spoken
to them in response to the Viscount's sincere feelings. Since then, the
Viscount had repeatedly petitioned Takuhir and officially contracted the
task called 'training seminars' many times, regularly paying substantial
institutional fees for her expertise including the first time. Naturally, both Takuhir
and Rosa adamantly declined to accept the personal compensation, but
seeing their stance, saying "if that's the case," he channeled all of
the compensation…… no, injecting a monumental amount exceeding that out of his
own vaults, straight into donations to the public clinics in Kusanagi.
From that pivotal period, Rosa's heart had been
dynamically moved by his immense benevolence that cared for his soldiers and
people, and the Viscount's unyielding, straightforward attitude towards her
every word.
「 Yes, Rosa-sama! We shall
assist you and take command of the sorting arrays! 」
Those who stepped forward with crisp hand-raises after
saying so had attended the training seminars she held previously, and Rosa
also instantly recognized their faces.
「 We took the liberty of jumping the
gun ahead of your order, but we split up and completed the triage sorting
arrays, categorizing them into red (critical), yellow (severe), and blue
(minor) just exactly as we learned in the training seminars. For those placed
under the critical state, we are performing emergency stabilizing treatment on
the spot without moving them carelessly to avoid aggravating their traumas. 」
Just as their report stated, transport teams had already
begun systematically accumulating those who had yellow and blue cloths wrapped
around their wrists in organized medical zones, and for the critically ill,
spears had been forcefully driven into the earth directly beside their bodies,
tying red cloths to them so their prominent positions could be known across the
wide field.
「 Everyone, you have executed this
flawlessly! Then I must present one more secondary request. While I
systematically administer care to the red ones, please do the exact same
sorting arrays for the fallen soldiers of the Ville Kingdom. Our absolute priority must remain strictly with the red
tier first, regardless of their banner. 」
「 Understood, Rosa-sama! We
too are the direct retainers of His Excellency Durul. We meticulously
understand the absolute laws of the 'Matsuyama' style doctrine, so those of us
who have completed our direct sorting duties and have free hands are moving to
deal with the enemy wounded right now. 」
『 This
is magnificent. I wonder if even Takuhir-sama's
direct army is able to act this autonomously and compassionately entirely of
their own volition…… The Viscount has truly infused his sincere devotion
into responding even down to these details of his command structure…… 』
Indeed, all 120 Imperial returnees, including Viscount Durul,
were warriors who had their lives snatched from the jaws of death and received
the most warm, tender nursing care in Teigoon from the very enemy army
they had been fighting until just before. Therefore, the Viscount's army,
structured entirely with them as its cultural spine, possessed absolutely zero
psychological resistance or friction to relieving enemy casualties. Rather,
viewing it as a sacred opportunity to pay forward the monumental debt of grace
they had once received themselves, everyone was taking the initiative and throwing
their entire souls into tackling it. In the subsequent brutal campaigns against
the Sura Principality, that distinctive cultural movement expanded
aggressively further, and it had now reached the point where the entirety of
the Viscount's army moved that way as a specialized apparatus of humanitarian
field care. As a direct consequence, there were a staggering number of
defectors from the Sura Principality and those even in the enemy army
who had tasted their benevolence and harbored a profound devotion to them,
ensuring that 'Matsuyama' had risen to become a universal, recognized common
tongue used even across the borders of the Sura Principality.
『 To
properly honor Viscount Durul's beautiful devotion and respond to the
immense expectations he holds for me, I must wrench even one more living soul
out of the jaws of death! 』
Re-consolidating her absolute resolve anew, Rosa's
unrivaled, peerless performance officially detonated across the plain from
here. She transformed into a blur of motion, sprinting around the places where
the red spear-markers stood, systematically unleashing a relentless cascade of
absolute miracles one after another. Naturally, the veteran soldiers of the
Viscount's army also continuously moved within her shadow, flawlessly managing
the clutter and supporting her behind the scenes so that Rosa could move
easily and unhindered.
Rosa, a Holy
Mage said to be the absolute finest across the entire Kyle Kingdom,
operating in flawless, synchronized harmony with the dedicated soldiers running
around perfectly supporting her. This magnificent coordination utterly
overwhelmed the onlookers, and the crossroads, which until just hours prior was
a suffocating inferno filled with an unvarnished brutal atmosphere of violence
and slaughter, transformed into an open-air sanctuary where thunderous roars of
jubilation erupted from everywhere, echoing
across the wilderness as cheers praising it celebrated the return of the
living. Most specifically, among the invading soldiers who witnessed the divine
marvel of Holy Magic for the very first time in their sheltered
existences, and those whose lives were miraculously saved, there was an endless
succession of people weeping openly, shedding tears and pouring out frantic
prayers thanking her.
『 The Goddess of the Battlefield 』 『 The Goddess Overflowing with Infinite Benevolence 』 『 The Miracle Healer 』 『 The Conscience of the Demon King 』
On this monumental day, the combined soldiers of both friend
and foe aggressively showered Rosa with a series of staggering new
aliases and grand titles she had never had before. Naturally, among them were
also ones that, when they eventually trickled down to Takuhir's ears at a later date, would leave him completely, utterly drop-jawed and speechless upon hearing……
And furthermore, one more secondary situation erupted across
the camp—one that left both Viscount Durul and Rosa entirely at a
loss for words.
「 I harbor the utmost reverence for
His Excellency, and I swear my ironclad, unchanging loyalty to his banner! But……
as a man, my romantic feelings for the Goddess-sama operate on an entirely
separate wavelength! 」
「 I finalized my sacred vow on that
field! That I shall dedicate my entire existence to safeguarding the
Goddess-sama for the rest of my life to my absolute last breath. Of course,
hopefully claiming her as my wedded wife…… 」
「 I extend my deepest apologies to
His Excellency, but as a fellow man, to transform myself into a warrior worthy
of standing by her side, I shall forcefully show that I can surpass His
Excellency's limits! 」
「 I am perfectly content to
permanently abandon my homeland! I shall gladly consecrate the entire
trajectory of the rest of my life to the Goddess who single-handedly saved the enemy army, the invaders, from destruction! 」
「 Even though it was executed under
the absolute command of my sovereign lord, I feel nothing but burning shame for
myself for having allowed my black heart to be driven by base, selfish avarice.
Until the day I thoroughly wipe away this stain from my soul, my steel shall be
together with her presence! 」
Mirroring the exact historical phenomenon where the elite
soldiers of the Istoria Imperial Kingdom had once completely lost their
minds and transformed into fanatical disciples toward Marianne and Lanatoria—a
massive, overlapping succession of people from both the Empire Army and the Ville
Kingdom army also collapsed into an
endless sea of infatuated devotees, worshipping, fascinated by, and completely
dedicating themselves to Rosa.
However, while Rosa let her face twist into a
massive, violently twitching grimace of pure existential dread upon hearing
that, it is said that Viscount Durul merely let out a short, flat
murmur—“It is only natural”—his features washing out into an expression of
profound, thoroughly smug satisfaction as he rested.
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