Chapter 44: Waking up

Since the medical examination is over, there might be problem if the two of us remain in the maid’s room, so I move a chair to the corridor and prepare to wait for Her Highness condition update, but–

“Don’t just worry about us. Isn’t it better if Grass would take a rest too?”

As Raquel-san stand beside me, she glances here and there. With a wry smile, I answered,

“When I was a trainee, I was assigned to one of the most complex hospital in the royal capital….Even at midnight, the condition of some patients would suddenly change so I often had to deal with it by myself. That’s why, no matter how deep I slept, I learned a trick that could wake me instantly.”

“N-Not that… I’m not saying that because you’re tired you’ll fall asleep during important times. What I meant was that since I’m here, why don’t you take a rest in the room…”

“I’m fine. There’s a good reason why I would like to sleep while sitting in a chair. The chair is mostly made of wood, so if I ask it to “wake me up in an emergency”, it will wake me up.”

“…Grass, are you diligent or just unusual? I feel like both of them. I can’t really understand how an adolescent man thinks.”

Raquel-san folded her arms and closed her eyes. Looking at her profile, I feel like asking the thing that I’m always curious about.

“Raquel-san, I don’t think our age is that far from each other. Presha-san is younger, but Raquel-san…”

“I’m one year older than Dite, I’m 20 this year. I became a knight apprentice at twelve, and I became an attack captain at fifteen. Before I moved to Isle Rose Fortress, I was given the position of a knight captain. But…..for that position I still…”

“N-No… you’re too humble. 20 years old… to do so, you’re just one step below my stepsister.”

“Is that so?…. I’m almost the same age as her huh. I heard that Her Highness has an old friendly relation with her but I haven’t heard much about it.”

Raquel-san suddenly laughed. Somehow, when I said that I have an older sister, I feel like the way she looks at me have become kinder –I have too little immunity towards women you know!Translated by Yume Neiji

“To send Grass as a military doctor… there may have been some conflict right? When I first saw it, I thought it would be nice for a student to come to the battlefield but…. Grass’ sister must have been worried, isn’t it?”

“Yeah…But my dream was to become a court magician. I can imagine the severity of being a military doctor and I knew it would even be tougher. Still, I’m glad I came here.”

“…Even in this situation, you’re glad huh. That’s what you think. The people who you meet might lose their lives tomorrow. At such frontline, there are a lot of people who get sick.”

Many soldiers died today. Even if the damage done to the enemy is many times greater, I don’t think one could be insensitive towards the sense of death.

“Even if I met them or not, I want to help as much as I can. Using magic on the battlefield is the same… it’s within the scope of the work of a military doctor. Without having any casualty is part of medical care for me.”

Raquel-san closed her eyes and she seemed to be thinking about something.

―Right now, she must be thinking of the subordinates who lost their lives today. Her thinly opened eyes is not looking here, it seemed to reflect somewhere that could never be reached.This is translated by Yume Neiji (yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com)

“Rita was a lively girl. She was very competitive and was always competing with her best friend Sara for the best spearman. Anna was born in the Western Territories and she would always say that she wanted to protect her hometown with her own hands… She was such a patient girl. Rebecca was an excellent sword user. Astina-denka found her swordsmanship promising… From now on, she will be a big part of our Knights….”

Forty-two died on the war. Each of them had a dream that they wanted to fulfil but it was cut off in the middle. Many people died on Zirconia’s side too. I wonder how many people had died in the waves of the war before this fortress.

I think that rather than feeling sad, I now feel a stronger urge. No matter what happens, the war must end –as soon as possible!

I didn’t look at Raquel-san. If she is crying, I think that she didn’t want me to look at her face. However, I strongly grip my right fist. What can I do in order not to repeat this regret that I could not do anything for those who died?

..Stop Zirconia. Bring it to a ceasefire… For that purpose, I need to think of what should be done. From my position, what on earth can I do?

“Doctor-sama…, Her Highness has regained consciousness…!”

“Uh… I understand, I’ll be there at once.”

After Soara informed us, she re-enters Her Highness’ bedroom. Her Highness, who was sleeping a while ago, woke up and is sitting on the bed, she is looking this way.

“…Grass Weed. And Raquel… Please come here.”

In accordance with Her Highness words, Raquel-san and I stood near the bed. As the Knight Captain, Raquel-san tightens her facial expression –she didn’t show her fragile side in front of Her Highness, and I can feel her strong determination.

“I…..Once more, I lost consciousness again. At the time of bathing…”

“Y-Yes…. We carried Your Highness to this room.”

Soara and Karin are waiting behind us and listening. These two brought Her Highnesses to the bedroom, it means that they are also the ones who did the first aid.

“…I knew that my body was losing power. Fighting and reading the enemy’s “course”… both of these is putting strain on my body.”

“Yes…it’s exactly as what Your Highness says. Your Highness has a very strong magical power, but for some reason you can’t control it.”

Her Highness places her hand around her abdomen. The point below the navel ―it’s around the part where the spirit mark is, the half moon.

“…I felt that the force flowing in my body was stagnant somewhere… it was an unnatural flow. To identify the cause, I have to recall my childhood, but some of my memory is missing. In that missing memory… I know the reason why I can’t control my magic is in there…”.Please read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com

“Yes, probably… Umm about that, Your Highness, earlier I…”

“…You examined me right? After I woke up, I somehow felt it. It was you who woke me up… Grass Weed…”

I applied medicine to her lower body and used magic to help her restore some magic. If she realized it at that time that my magic had entered her body –she would have known how I treated her.

“Don’t be so reserved. Since what you have done is just a treatment… The warmth of the power you sent inside me conveys your integrity. Even though you came here to be my direct subordinate, because of my narrow-mindedness I didn’t accept you readily…. I’m sorry.”

Her Highness bows to me. Her long blonde hair flows smoothly like a thread –for a moment, I don’t know what happened so I couldn’t react immediately. Her Highness thanked me for treating her. It was also the moment when I was recognized as a court magician both in name and reality.

“I have something to tell you. This is a request from me… Zirconia will attack in no time. At that time, I will do my best so that the soldiers would not get hurt even a little. I want to do everything I can.”

―Zirconia, which should have been defeated, attacks the border again.

In the eyes of Her Highness, who speaks of that nightmare like reality, there is an unwavering will. She has the strong desire to overcome this predicament and protect everyone.

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