Chapter 18

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Hello. I’m Luvenis. I’m at the battlefield today.

… Yup, the civil war finally broke out.

Many people went through hardships to get to this point, but I didn’t know about that.

It felt like we were instantly chased out to the battle as soon as talk of the war began.

For me, all it took was looking at our formation to get nervous.

So. Many. People! Like, what!? Did this country have this many people!?

I had no idea as I never went outside much… since seeing so many people made me restless.

I had studied up on commanding, but all that knowledge had gone in and out of my brain already.

And my subordinates knew that, so they always stared back at me anxiously whenever I made an order.

Stop it! I’m anxious too! Don’t look at me like that!

One idea was to bring Tina along in secret and repeat whatever orders she told me… but I didn’t.

Listen, I’ve got good reasons for this! First off, everyone knows I’m useless as a commander, so it would be super suspicious if I gave good commands! Second, if I do well, they’ll ask me to command in the next one too!

I’m happy being useless… not really, but I am.

In the end, despite my rank as general, I was placed on guard duty for headquarters. Good choice, princess.

Today’s battle had ended, so both armies were withdrawing.

I could tell the enemy army had taken serious damage from how lively Princess Iris looked. She enjoyed bullying her enemies.

However, she had to hold back from torturing every soldier to death, as they needed to end the war quick.

Other countries were bound to intervene if the civil war dragged on. We needed to beat them quickly and bring everything to a close.

As the violent princess returned to our tent in the woods, I got someone to switch guard duty with me. I headed to the back of the woods.

The sudden influx of people made me restless… and besides, if an assassin were to come, this was the prime location.

I looked around, spaced out until I heard footsteps.

Hm? Who could it be? An enemy?

I hid behind a tree, daggers out, and looked towards the direction of the sounds.

When I saw who it was, the surprise that overcame me left my mouth wide open, speechless. I was so speechless in fact, that I accidentally revealed myself from the tree.

Thanks to that, the other person noticed me and pointed at my face.

“Oh, you’re the baked sweets and simmered meat person!”

“Hello….”

You’re right, but that’s not the right way to remember someone, Princess Amalia.

I bowed, my fervour dampened. The three officers and Miss Dyna, who were escorting Princess Amalia, made wry smiles.

The two unique princesses of this country were very close.

Due to their age difference, Princess Iris doted on Princess Amalia a lot.

And today, Princess Amalia wanted to see her big sister in all her glory! Her big sister was just being a ruthless commander in my eyes though.

Anyhow, Princess Amalia lied to her family, saying she would visit her cousin’s castle, and came all the way here…

What incredible initiative! Doesn’t it take four days to get here by horse!?

Excitement filled the princess’ eyes.

“What kind of provisions are there?” she asked.

“…”

Stop it! Our provisions will disappear once you start eating them! You’ll trouble the whole army!

Food is one of the most important factors during war, so bring your own food if you’re visiting!.

Miss Dyna seemed to notice my internal screaming as she pulled out a basket to the princess.

Inside was a lunch handmade by Miss Dyna. Wow, I’m jealous. Would she swap that with my provisions?

Although we were at the rear, this was a battlefield. It was dangerous. I decided to bring them to Princess Iris so she could persuade them to go home.

As I took the five of them towards the tent, a change in air pressure bothered my ears.

I paused and drew my swords. I put a finger to my lips for the others to be quiet. Miss Dyna looked puzzled.

The feeling in my ears was gone already.

But I knew what it was. I knew it was the distortion in the air when a magician teleports nearby.

As if to prove that, voices came from the woods—a woman’s and a man’s voice.

“Is that the princess? Should I kill her?”

“No, the princess isn’t a child. But there’s nothing wrong with killing her either.”

The woman who appeared from the trees had white hair. Her glass-like eyes gave off a mysterious light. Is she even human?

The other one, a man, was dark-skinned and had brilliant red hair. This one didn’t seem human either. Something was off about him.

The two looked at me, or more precisely, Princess Amalia who was behind me.

It all happened in an instant.

The man drew his sword and dashed. The distance between us had disappeared.

“Get back!” I shouted.

I warded off his sword with the one in my right hand.

Then, with a half-step forwards, I raised the short sword in my left hand.

But the man aimed a kick at my belly, so I twisted my body to dodge his attack.

Aargh, he’s strong!

I won’t be able to help the others! Shit!

One of the officers headed towards the white-haired woman. A white flame materialised in front of her palm. That one’s a magician!?

No one in this country had any experience fighting magicians. Oh dear.

I continued parrying the long sword that endlessly struck down upon me. Cold sweat ran down my back.

Tina! Get over here already!

Tina asked me to promise her something when we decided to fight the witch together.

The promise was to never say her name, no matter what.

If I broke it, I’d be in danger, even if we won.

She was a witch too. The people here only knew of one witch, and in their eyes, she was no different.

That was why I couldn’t call for her.

The scream of the burning civil official echoed throughout the woods.

I’m sorry I couldn’t help you. But I pray that your voice reached the headquarters.

I threw a dagger at the man’s leg, forcing him to move back, to whisper to Miss Dyna behind me.

“I’m, I’m sorry. I’ll definitely take care of this, so please wait…”

“I will. I believe in you.”

Her voice was encouraging.

It supported me more than I could ever imagine.

I… had never fought to protect someone. It was a strange feeling.

But, despite the situation, I felt happy.

“You have an unusual sword style,” the red-haired man said.

Yet he showed no sense of surprise.

Keeping my eyes on his long sword, I drew another dagger with my left hand.

A dagger I prepared for killing. I stood ready with my poison dagger.

I trusted Tina just as much as Miss Dyna trusted me.

She’s coming. She’ll make it in time for sure. So until then, I had to protect these two.

The man smiled.

It was a sickeningly cold smile. A smile of a man who could kill without hesitation—just like me.

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