Chapter 10: 10

Chapter 10: [STAGE 0] End of the Tutorial

– Bro!

In the empty chat window, a single message line appeared.

– Bro, you’re amazing! How did you clear this?

I was speechless.

That was the first message I received after I started streaming, and I wasn’t sure how to react to it.

While I was frozen in surprise, one more line appeared.

– I’m going to drop a follow to your channel! You’re going to be streaming next time too, right?

And…

…I can’t quite remember what I replied.

* * *

“Huff!”

I opened my eyes.

A burning pain ran through my arm and shoulder as I tried to force my sweaty upper body to go up. Ouch!

“Ow, it hurts…”

Swallowing down the scream that almost came out, I looked down. And I was able to see the state my body was in.

Bandages were wrapped around my upper body. Both hands were sealed like a mummy, and I couldn’t lift a finger.

“What is this now…”

“I suggest you stay in bed for a bit longer, Your Highness.”

As I was examining my body which was unable to move, I heard a soft female voice.

“Demian treated your wounds with his healing magic, but your burn is pretty severe, so it will take some time to completely heal back.”

Surprised, I looked in the direction the voice came from.

Sitting on the bed next to me, I saw a red-haired magician… who was writing down on a pile of documents next to her.

I muttered her name in a dumbfounded tone.

“Lily?”

“You’ve been asleep for 3 days, Your Highness.”

Lily put down her quill pen and smiled.

“ I thought you weren’t going to open your eyes ever again, after defeating the Black Spider army.”

“You… survived.”

“It’s all thanks to Your Highness’s commands.”

Lily shrugged her shoulders, waving the papers in her hand.

“So would you like to hear the report? Or would you like to rest some more?”

I wanted to rest because of the pain in my body, but hearing the report now was more important. I requested a briefing on the current situation.

“The Spider Queen died after the final shot, and the Black Spider Army ceased its actions.”

Lily reported the result briefly.

“We’ve won, Your Highness.”

“……”

“All the survivors were injured, but thankfully, there was Demian, a healing priest… While Demian was healing the injured, and others on maintenance, the reinforcements arrived on the second day.”

Lily pointed at the window. I could see the soldiers busily moving outside.

“Reinforcements cleared up the allied corpses, and also cleared up the remaining stopped spiders. Now the clean-up is almost over.”

“…I see.”

It was then that I felt a little bit of reality.

I survived.

From this damned tutorial stage, just barely.

“Your Highness has been inflicted with serious burns on the hands, arm, shoulder, and neck.”

Lily told me about my injuries in a calming voice.

“You will have to visit the temple once we return to ‘Crossroad’. However, your scars will remain even after the wounds completely heal.”

“That’s a cheap price to pay for my life.”

I actually meant what I said. If that’s what it took to survive, scars and burns were only some medals I was willing to receive.

Breathing a sigh of relief, I suddenly looked at Lily. Lily also had bandages wrapped around her upper body.

“Lily, what about your injuries…?”

“When I ran out of mana, one of the spiders slashed my back. The queen died right after, so I didn’t receive any additional attacks, but…”

Lily put a bitter smile on her face and patted her legs.

“It seems that my nerve has been damaged, and I can’t move my lower body anymore.”

“……”

“There’s nothing for you to worry about, Your Highness.”

Lily said calmly to me who was at a loss for words.

“I’m thankful, for just being able to get out of there alive.

“……”

Lily changed the topic for me, who was struggling with not knowing what to say.

“The survivors, excluding the 4 artillerists, are Lucas, Demian, Your Highness, and I. That is all.”

“……”

8 people.

Before the final battle, there were at least a few hundred people remaining, and yet only 8 survived.

“Ugh…”

I clenched my teeth and put my bandaged palm on my forehead.

What if there was another way?

A better method that I overlooked?

Maybe there was a way for me to save at least one more person from that…?

“Your Highness. You are not some kind of deity.”

Lily said carefully, seeing me in agony.

“There was no such method that could save everyone from that situation. You’ve tried your best.”

“…However, the one that brought the troops here in the first place was me.”

It was something Ash had done, not me. But this wasn’t the situation for me to use that as an excuse.

Since I’ve entered his body, this is also something that I must take responsibility for.

“Your Highness. No one knew that the Black Spider Army would appear here. No one knew that the monsters would move on a massive scale for decades. That was why nobody stopped you from going to war.”

Lily was conscious of how I was feeling and comforted me.

“Your military tactic might have been reckless, but it wasn’t unreasonable. In the final moments of the battle, you showed your wits and carried out a bold operation, and in the end, led us to victory.”

“……”

“So… please, don’t be too hard on yourself.”

I bit my underlip very hard.

It was right then. Lucas rushed in after opening the door and looked at me with his eyes wide open.

“Your Highness!”

Lucas rushed to the side of my bed.

Since Lucas was a big guy, it felt like a giant Golden Retriever was running toward me.

“Lucas.”

“I’m so glad you’re awake, Your Highness…”

Lucas even had tears welling up in his eyes.

“Are you suffering from any discomfort at all? I’ll quickly go call Demian right away.”

“No, it’s fine. I can endure.”

I smiled and pointed to the bandages wrapped around his body.

“Weren’t you severely injured as well? Is it okay for you to be walking around like this?”

“You know me. Being sturdy is one of my strengths!”

Well, of course. He is an SSR-rank knight.

Still,  I was relieved to see him okay. Lucas smiled awkwardly and pulled out a bundle of papers from his pocket.

“I’ve been completing the list of those killed in the battle. There were many who we couldn’t manage to find the bodies of… But we’ve tried our best to collect as many as possible.”

“And where are the corpses right now?”

“In the northern plains of the forward operating base.”

“I’ll go see them.”

As I staggered to get up, Lily and Lucas, who were surprised, stopped me.

“Your Highness!”

“You cannot, Your Highness! You must rest a bit more…!”

“They lost their lives under my command.”

I had pain all over my body. But I didn’t give up.

“I will go see them. Support my steps, Lucas.”

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Not knowing what to do, Lucas turned around and knelt on the floor, putting his back toward me.

“Please, get on my back, Your Highness. I’ll take you there.”

* * *

Mid credit:

[Translator: Dawn]

[Proofreader: Alissa]

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* * *

Lucas’s back was wide, and his walking posture was clean, so there was little swaying. This is convenient.

“Lucas, wanna be my personal vehicle?”

“If that’s your wish, then I shall be.”

“It’s a joke. Don’t take it seriously.”

As I came out of the building on Lucas’s back, I saw a boy leaning against the wall.

It was Demian, the healer with curly brown hair who looked out in the distance with blank eyes. His glasses with broken rims were not worn and were held in his hands.

“Demian.”

When I called out his name, he slowly turned his face toward me.

“Your Imperial Highness. You’re awake.”

“How are your eyes?”

He bled when he overused the Thousand-Mile Eyes, so I was worried that he might have a problem with his eyesight.

Demian smiled faintly with a haggard face.

“It’s… okay. I started seeing a little again yesterday. Now, I can see things like usual.”

He was going all around the place using recovery magic while he couldn’t even see. He too faced harsh situations this time.

As I looked at Demian’s haggard and young face, I was feeling sorry for him and said,

“Demian. It is thanks to you that we were able to successfully carry out this plan.”

“……”

“If you wish, I’ll reward you with a financial amount you can live off for the rest of your life, and make sure that you don’t have to come to battlefields ever again. You’re a mercenary in the first place, so you’re free to do whatever you’d like.”

“Your Imperial Highness.”

However, Demian slightly shook his head.

“You told me back there, that I am your trigger.”

“……”

“I… want to find out.”

Demian looked over the wall again.

“The source of those monsters…! Who—and why—someone created monsters like those. And why Van had to die.”

“……”

“Please allow me to follow after you, Your Highness…!”

I smiled bitterly and gestured.

“Okay then, come with me right now. We will need a priest to commemorate the dead.”

Demian followed us as we headed to the northern plains.

* * *

The northern plains of the Forward operating base.

An uncountable number of corpses were arranged, lying in line with each other.

Those who collected the corpses were able to gather them and lay them down, but there were many who did not even leave their bodies behind.

A fire was kindled for them.

The holy fire brought from the Temple of Crossroad blazed in the middle of the empty vacant lot with blue embers.

I silently looked into the flame. As if swayed by the grudges of the dead, the flames danced.

“……”

I already know.

There was no such thing as a better strategy. There was no such thing as a better method I overlooked. There is nothing more foolish than thinking about ‘what-ifs’ for things that had already happened.

I’d chosen a strategy and executed it, this is merely its result.

So I must take responsibility.

Place them on my shoulders and keep moving forward.

“As soon as this abbreviated funeral is finished, take all the bodies and transfer them.”

“Pardon?”

Lucas opened his eyes widely after hearing what I said.

“We’re not leaving them here?”

 In ‘Crossroad’, thousands of casualties happen every year.

Funerals are more expensive than the lives of the people in this world. Cheap lives flowed into the monster front here and evaporated in exchange for maintaining the front.

If something like a cemetery was to be built within the city, it will quickly explode beyond the limit of acceptance. So the corpses were usually scattered in the mountains.

In a world where death is more common than wildflowers,

I planned to change this world.

“There is a vacant lot on the west side of Crossroad. Bury them there, and mourn the lost ones.”

I ordered the cemetery to be built in the vacant lot to the west where the memorial facility was built back when I played the game.

“And the last day of the second month every year… Shall be the day to commemorate the sacrifice of these people.”

It wasn’t just for these people who were sacrificed in this battle.

It was for every character that I had killed with no remorse during the hundreds of playthroughs. This was my atonement to them.

Lucas swallowed back what he was about to say, and slightly nodded his head.

“I shall follow your order, Your Highness.”

Shortly thereafter, the abbreviated funeral was held.

The priests of the temple, who came with the reinforcements, sprinkled holy water over the corpses and blessed the afterlife of the dead.

Although the funeral was informal, the funeral took a considerable amount of time, since there was a very large amount of casualties.

I watched every moment of the process without stepping back.

“Lucas.”

When the funeral was over, it was nighttime. The rising moon gave off a cold light.

“I shall never fail again.”

Death emanates cold from itself. A cold air that could not be warmed by the flames of the torch filled the field.

I trembled and leaned against Lucas’s back, grinding my teeth.

“Never again…! Shall I fail.”

“……”

Lucas kept his mouth closed, and listened to what I had to say.

“Let’s head back.”

The battle was over, but the war had just begun.

After putting the sight of the soldiers that I had left to die in my eyes clearly, I spoke out.

“To Crossroad.”

* * *

[STAGE 0 – CLEAR!]

[STAGE MVP – Demian (N)]

[Leveled up Characters]

– Ash (EX) Lv.5 (↑4) (You can now choose a class!)

– Lucas (SSR) Lv.27 (↑2)

– Lily (R) Lv.17 (↑2)

– Demian (N) Lv.15 (↑5)

[Dead or Injured Characters]

– Ken (N): Dead

– Lily (R): Severe Injury

[Obtained Items]

– Magic Crystal of the Black Spider Army: 388

– Magic Core of the Black Spier Queen (SSR): 1

[Clear reward has been sent. Please check your inventory.]

– EX Rank Reward Box: 1

>> Get Ready For The Next STAGE

>> [STAGE 1: The Tombstone City]

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