Loggervia’s Rizlet

Loggervia Castle, Rit's room.

"What do I do…?"

The princess sat hugging her knees. Her master, as well as the

adventurers who she'd traveled with, were gone. They had been

killed by the Asura demon, Shisandan.

The army looking to capture Loggervia Castle had stopped their

offensive at the loss of their commander, but the castle was still

surrounded by the demon lord's troops. Supply lines had been

severed.

The gradual depletion of supplies, particularly the decreases in food

and fuel, was having a significant impact on the morale of the

castle's defenders. Loggervian winters were cold. Without fuel to

burn to stay warm, many people would freeze to death. It went

without saying what would happen without food.

Even if they held out, they couldn't win. The military might of the

Duchy of Loggervia had suffered several diplomatic problems with

their neighboring countries. In particular, they had gotten into a

small-scale squabble with the nearby country of Sunland over the

rights to a quarry near the border before the demon lord's army had

invaded.

If Loggervia didn't lower its head and send out a letter pleading for

reinforcements, they could not hope for help from the outside. But

with them surrounded, no envoy would survive. On top of that, it

was clear that the demon lord's army had more than enough

supplies. The orcs who made up a significant chunk of the army were

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resistant to the cold of winter. Loggervia's frozen climate was an ally

to their enemy.

In order to break out of that deadlock, Rit had tried to lead a force of

Loggervian adventurers in a surprise attack against the enemy's main

forces with the help of her master, Gaius, and his royal guard, but…

This is all I have to show for it…

Upon finding out that Gaius had already been killed, Rit's father, the

country's sovereign, had fallen prey to depression. The two of them

had been close friends from a young age. The reason he had left the

education of his beloved daughter to Gaius was because of his

confidence in Gaius's character. He blamed himself because, despite

his long kinship with the man telling him something was off, he had

not been able to see through the fact that someone had taken

Gaius's place. That self-reproach and depression caused the leader of

a dauntless military power to lose his will to fight.

It was the same for Rit, too. The fact that she had not realized the

master she idolized had been replaced by someone else, that she

had been deceived, and that she was responsible for so many people

dying because of that had wounded her spirit.

I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry…

Even though they had gotten revenge by defeating Shisandan, Rit's

heart was still shrouded in gloom, and all she could do was keep

apologizing.

Then came a knock on the door.

I knocked on the door to Rit's room. I could sense her presence

behind the door, but there wasn't a response.

"Rit, may I come in?"

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"…Gideon?"

"Yeah, it's me."

"Sure…"

Opening the door, I saw Rit sitting on her bed. Her eyes were red and

swollen from crying.

"Is it okay if I sit?" Seeing the girl nod, I sat down next to her on the

bed. "Today's war council is over. Apparently, they intend to

maintain the situation and hole up for a siege."

"Uh-huh."

"But everyone recognizes things will only get worse at this rate. With

Gaius gone, the people are disorganized."

"It can't be helped."

Rit's expression was despairing, as if she'd already accepted the

seemingly inevitable destruction of her home. The princess had given

up, like so many others. At this rate, Loggervia really would be

destroyed by the demon lord's army.

As an outsider, I was reluctant to intrude too much in other people's

affairs, but I resolved myself to confront the blond girl.

"Rit."

"…"

"Rit! Look at me!"

I grabbed both her shoulders and forced her to face me. Her eyes

were damp with tears as they met mine.

"I know you're hurting. I understand the country has lost its will to

fight, too. But, Rit, you said you were going to protect this country,

didn't you?"

"Yeah…"

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"If you tell me now that you really don't want to fight anymore, I

won't make you. But that isn't what this is. It's not that you don't

want to fight. It's that the sadness is weighing you down."

"Maybe. But it's hopeless. The swords I loved so much… I can't even

hold them anymore. I'm scared… I'm scared to lose anything else,"

she admitted as her tears started flowing again.

I gently drew her toward me, and she buried her face in my chest

and started crying, unable to hold it back.

"…Scared. I'm so frightened… I knew the people who died. Clive had

a wife. They only just got married last year, and he was always

talking about how great his bride was. Danny had a sick father. He

always worked so hard to pay for his father's medicine. Old man

Soret was going to retire in another year. He said he was going to

bake tons of cookies for his grandson once he retired. Bobby was an

orphan who I helped once when he got involved with some

delinquents. He ended up becoming an adventurer after that

because he wanted to be like me. I…I…told him, 'Do your best; I-I'm

sure you'll become a strong adventurer someday.' If I hadn't said

that…he'd still be alive now. The royal guard and the adventurers…all

of them… I…"

"They were good people."

"There were bad people, too. And folk somewhere in between. But I

talked to them all. I knew their faces. I knew what sort of

personalities they had! What sort of lives they led! Why they were

willing to fight with me! I knew it all! But they're all gone now.

Because of me, they're all dead. I'll never see them again. It's scary,

and it's lonely." Rit sobbed.

Hugging her shoulders, I tried to share as much of the pain in her

heart as I could. I felt her sobs as she kept talking, saying just enough

to let her keep going and occasionally nudging her to continue.

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I had no idea how much time had passed. Exhausted from crying, Rit

leaned limply against me.

"…"

"We'll put together a concrete plan by the day after tomorrow, but

we intend to break through the siege and go call for reinforcements.

We're going to go through the bewitching woods."

"The bewitching woods?"

"Normally, it would be impossible to get through there, but we're in

luck. A high elf named Yarandrala whom we've adventured with

before is in a village nearby. They're still fighting the demon lord's

army there, so I'd guess Yarandrala has probably taken command of

their defensive forces. Her blessing allows her to communicate with

plants, and she can make it through that dangerous forest. We're

going to save the village where Yarandrala is, meet up with her, and

then travel through the woods."

The demon lord's army wouldn't go all out against some tiny little

village. Their forces there were likely to be weaker.

"I'll leave it to you all, then. Even if I don't do anything, I'm sure the

Hero will be able to resolve it," Rit responded, hardly roused, with

her eyes averted. The determined woman hailed as a hero in her

own right was nowhere to be found in that face.

"Maybe. But that way won't lead to the best result."

"Why not? It's best for the Hero to save the day, right? All of you are

strong. Much stronger than I am. Wouldn't it go smoother than if I

fought?"

"Maybe, but if that happened, it would just end up being another

case of the Hero passing by and happening to save the day before

leaving again."

"What's the difference?"

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"I'm sure Ruti could pass through the bewitching woods, lead

reinforcements back here, and defeat the demon lord's army. But if

she did, then the victor would just be her and her party. It wouldn't

be a victory for Loggervia."

"If reinforcements were to come, we'd be glad to fight, too."

"That's not what I mean. What's important here is whether

Loggervia's resolve—their pride—is part of it."

Rit's shoulders trembled slightly, but she was still looking down.

"Rit, please listen to me. This is really important."

"…Okay."

"You need to endure the sadness you're feeling and stand back up.

You need to break through the bewitching woods with us, be there

to request the reinforcements, and fight the demon lord's army side

by side with our party."

"Why?"

"If you don't, this battle will only be remembered in Loggervia as the

day the great head of the royal guard was lost. Even if the demon

lord's army is pushed back, that bitter memory will leave a scar in

this country's heart that will never heal."

"…"

"Rit, I've said it before, but you are my comrade. You are one of the

Hero's comrades."

The girl looked up slowly. Her expression now hardened with

determination. Her blue eyes, still wet with tears, met my own.

"It would be simple enough for Ruti to force your father to write the

letter. But it would be even better if you persuaded him. I want

Loggervian determination behind the victory in this battle. Without

that, even if the country makes it through this hardship, once the

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Hero is gone, they won't be willing to fight should the enemy

return."

"Because we weren't the ones who won."

"Exactly."

"…I got it," Rit said, nodding.

Tears still stained the young woman's face, but a heroic resolve had

returned to her expression.

We rose to leave. The remaining things to discuss were better

covered in the council room, not her bedroom. Rit walked ahead of

me but suddenly stopped and turned around.

"Gideon…truly, thank you. For coming to this country with the Hero,

for meeting me, for being willing to call me a comrade…for saving

me… Truly, thank you."

There was a gentle smile on her face.