Interlude: Nina
As a priestess, I was involved in supporting refugees.
The number of people driven from their homes by the Demon King’s army’s invasion was increasing day by day, and someone had to help them.
At the beginning of our activities, we were able to receive support from various countries. However, as the war situation worsened, every country became preoccupied with their own affairs, and the helping hands extended to us dwindled. Now, no country would accept refugees, we had insufficient food, and we were pushed to a state where we didn’t even know if we’d see tomorrow.
It was then that a man and a woman appeared before me.
The man glared at the refugees with a stern look, while the woman approached me, seemingly bewildered by the sheer number of refugees. I didn’t recognize the man, but the woman seemed familiar somehow.
“Are you Nina?”
The man who addressed me had carelessly cut blonde hair. He wasn’t tall, but had a well-trained body and a piercing gaze.
“Yes, I am. And you are?”
“I’m Leonard.”
“I’m Sophia.”
The woman wore glasses and had long, beautiful black hair with a purple tinge. She was clearly catching the eyes of the male refugees.
“What business do you have with me?”
“Oh, we just wanted to talk,”
Leonard said with a frivolous smile.
I had a few ideas about what this conversation might be about. A request to join their country’s army due to the shortage of priests in the war. Or an invitation to join an adventurer’s party as a priest, taking on mercenary-like requests to earn money on the battlefield.
They looked like typical examples of the latter.
“If this is an invitation to become an adventurer, I must decline. I’m fully occupied with helping these people here, and I can’t spare time for anything else.”
I glanced at the people sitting nearby.
They’re called refugees by society and are looked down upon. They have no place to live, barely anything to eat, and have been abandoned by everything.
“Are you stupid?”
Leonard furrowed his brow deeply.
“Whether you’re with them or not, these people are at a dead end. There’s nothing that can be done. If this continues, you’ll all go down together. What’s the point of that?”
“This is what I want to do. I’m not seeking any meaning in it.”
“Self-satisfaction, huh?”
Leonard shrugged his shoulders. A gesture that mocked people. As I would later learn, this was a habit of his.
“In the end, you’re not really trying to save them, are you? You’re just reaching out to what’s in front of you, feeling good about yourself somehow? That’s bullshit.”
His way of speaking was direct and unfiltered. It was the truth, and it hit a sore spot for me. I had never met anyone who said such terrible things right off the bat.
“Would you please leave? This is unpleasant.”
Saying that, I turned my back on Leonard.
“Wait a moment! Please listen to me for a bit!”
Sophia, the woman, hurriedly addressed me.
“Don’t you remember me? We haven’t spoken directly, but we fought together in Malica ten years ago…”
As she said this, my memory gradually returned. I remembered that there was a young female magician about my age in the volunteer army I had joined in the Battle of Malica.
Indeed, that girl had also worn glasses and had long, beautiful black hair. Although, since our positions were different, I didn’t know what had happened to her during that battle.
“I remember. So you survived…”
Tears involuntarily flowed down my cheeks. This was the first time I had met someone who had survived that battle. The volunteer army was said to have been completely wiped out, and I thought I was the only survivor.
“There’s no need to cry. I just survived shamefully by pretending to be dead.”
Sophia spoke as if it was a joke, but her eyes were also moist.
“I’ll apologize for what this idiot said,”
she said, hitting Leonard on the back of his head. Leonard rubbed his head with a disgruntled expression. The scene was a bit funny, and I thought that perhaps he wasn’t as bad as he seemed.
“Why don’t we talk about old times? Preferably somewhere private,”
Sophia suggested, conscious of the eyes around us. Indeed, we were now the center of attention among the refugees.
“…Alright. Please, this way.”
I invited them into my worn-out tent.
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“To put it simply, we’ve come to recruit you,”
Sophia said as soon as we entered the tent.
“As I said before, it’s impossible. I’ve been with these people all this time. I can’t just go somewhere on my own now.”
“You’re going to stay with them even though you know there’s nothing that can be done? Isn’t that running away?”
Leonard’s attitude was as harsh as ever, not at all like someone trying to recruit me.
“You, be quiet,”
Sophia tried to hit his head again, but this time Leonard dodged. It was like watching a long-married couple, somewhat heartwarming.
After missing her swing, Sophia clicked her tongue and addressed me again.
“Well, I understand your position. But let’s talk anyway. About each other.”
Saying that, Sophia began her story.
She told me about how she was originally a noble, how she hated it and became an adventurer, how she was saved by a magician named Lei in the Battle of Malica, and how she was running an apothecary when Leonard came and took her away.
“I think I had been frozen in time since the Battle of Malica, unable to move forward. This guy may be unpleasant, but he gave me the push I needed to take a step forward again. He’s not as bad as he looks, probably?”
Sophia smiled mischievously.
“I see. Then, let me tell you my story. I can also tell you a bit about what happened to Luke afterwards.”
At the mention of Luke’s name, Leonard’s expression turned serious.
“I was born as a merchant’s daughter. We were a fairly well-off family, and my parents were devout and kind people. Influenced by them, I too believed in God from a young age and spent my days offering prayers. When I reached a certain age and began to learn the formal methods of prayer, I discovered that light dwelled in my hands when I clasped them in prayer. It was a modest light, but it was a miracle from God. I had talent as a priestess.”
“Everyone seems to be blessed with talent,”
Leonard said, seemingly exasperated, and Sophia glared at him.
“That’s right. I was blessed with talent as a priestess. I was even nominated as a candidate for sainthood at one point. It’s my little pride.”
The current Saint is said to be a girl named Maria. Although I’ve never met her, I’m sure she must be a wonderful person, pure and full of compassion.
“Why did this Saint candidate go to the Battle of Malica?”
Sophia tilted her head. She went to the Battle of Malica because she was an adventurer, but I wasn’t.
“Because I thought it was the right thing to do. I believed that fighting the Demon King’s army and saving people was God’s will.”
“God’s will, huh…”
Leonard wore a vacant expression.
“So how did Nina survive the Battle of Malica?”
I took a breath before answering Sophia’s question.
“Well, as Sophia said earlier, it was a terrible battle. Even I, who was in charge of recovery, had to wield my rod and fight as monsters closed in. In the midst of that, I saw Luke. His figure, slicing through enemies like lightning, was overwhelming. Whenever he swung his sword, monsters would surely fall. Even demon folk seemed to cower before Luke. However…”
I glanced at Sophia cautiously.
“Lei, who should have been close by, was already gone, and he was fighting all alone.”
I heard Sophia gulp. This was probably the story about Luke that she wanted to hear.
“With most of the other adventurers fallen, Luke fighting alone was truly heroic. But it was impossible to remain unscathed without any help. He was dyed dark red with both enemy blood and his own, looking battered and bruised. I thought, ‘This is when my power is needed. I must deliver God’s miracle to him—'”
“…Then what did you do?”
Sophia urged me to continue as I paused.
“I did nothing.”
“Huh?”
Sophia was surprised, and Leonard’s face contorted.
“My legs froze, and I couldn’t move. Before I knew it, I was gripped by the terror of the battlefield, frightened by the fearsome demon folk. So I couldn’t move forward anymore. As a result, I left Luke to die.”
That’s why I never go to battlefields anymore. The real me is a coward who couldn’t do anything when it really mattered.
“It can’t be helped. We were both young back then.”
Sophia’s words of comfort seeped into my heart. She probably understands because she’s felt something similar.
“So… what happened to Luke?”
Leonard asked in a hard voice. As Luke’s comrade, he must be curious about what happened next. It’s understandable that Leonard lost sight of Luke in that chaotic battle.
“He charged into the enemy lines all alone. Luke probably aimed for the demon folk commanding the monsters. In that clearly disadvantageous situation, it was the only way to win. I just watched him go.”
“I see…”
Surprisingly, Leonard didn’t blame me. Instead, he hung his head, as if blaming himself for not being able to act alongside Luke.
“What happened to Nina?”
Sophia asked, seemingly concerned.
“I was mercilessly cut down by a demon folk. From my shoulder to my chest.”
I traced the wound, running my hand from my shoulder to my chest.
“How did you survive that!?”
Sophia’s eyes widened.
“I had talent as a cleric, at least. After being cut down and left for dead, I unconsciously performed God’s miracle and healed my own wounds. When I was rescued by the royal army that arrived later, my wounds were already healed. The priest accompanying the royal army praised me, saying, ‘As expected of someone who went to Malica of their own will.'”
I shook my head.
“It was a terrible misunderstanding. I’m just a filthy woman who abandoned Luke and saved only my own life. That’s why I now try to live for others, helping refugees. I can’t possibly become someone’s comrade and fight again.”
I closed my eyes, indicating that the story was over.
“Don’t be ridiculous. If your legs froze then, you just need to move them next time.”
Leonard drew closer to me.
“Is it over after one failure? No second chances? How perfect a life have you led?”
Leonard’s words were very straightforward, conveying his anger and sadness.
“Why are you so sad?”
“I’m not sad. I’m just angry at people like you who keep running away. Fight again, Nina. Are you really okay with ending it like this?”
—Of course not. I knew that too. My feelings of wanting to fight for others back then weren’t a lie. And if I abandon the world’s plight now, I won’t be able to face those who died, including Luke.
I stepped out of the tent and looked at the refugees who had come this far with me.
Everyone was looking at us anxiously.
“…Still, I can’t abandon these people.”
That was also my honest feeling.
“Even with you here, all they can do is run away together. It’s useless. If you want to save all of them, it would be more constructive to earn with your body.”
I opened my eyes wide in surprise. What does this person intend to make me do? Sophia was also glaring at Leonard with an angry expression.
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“No, that’s not what I meant.”
Leonard hurriedly denied.
“I’m saying you need money to save people too. Even lives can be bought with money. That’s why you should return to being an adventurer.”
“No matter how high an adventurer’s reward is, I don’t think it could save this many people?”
There’s a limit to how much reward can be, no matter how good it is. It’s impossible to support this many people.
“Ten times.”
Leonard grinned mischievously.
“I’ll show you how to earn ten times what ordinary adventurers make. And that’s not all. With that reward, I’ll save all of these people.”
It sounded like a devil’s temptation.
While waiting for next chapter , I implore you dear readers to read other masterpiece novels that also written by the same author :
- Monster Meat Led Me to the Throne
- The Wicked Princess and 12 Eyes – The Strongest Squires and the Legendary Evil Woman, the Second Time in Her Life
- The Suspects of Necromancy
- The Exiled Merchant Saves the World with the Power of Gold (translated by my friend meerkat)
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