When I woke up, I found myself in a room that I recognized from previous visits.
It was an incredibly lonely room with only a simple wooden bed where I slept, and no discernible furniture apart from that.
Apparently, this was a guest room at the Adventurer Guild in Irz Village.
“Good morning, Chrono-san.”
Just as I recognized my surroundings, I heard the unfamiliar voice of a girl. When I shifted my gaze, I met the large, golden eyes of Fiona.
“…Fiona-san?”
“Yes, I am Fiona-san.”
Her expression seemed to say, “What about it?” although she retained her usual blank stare. Somehow, I got that impression from her aura.
There was a few seconds of silence as Fiona, seated in a chair right next to the bed, looked down at me.
“How long have I been sleeping?”
“About two hours, I would say.”
I somewhat grasped the situation.
A group of adventurers, led by Fiona, had likely driven away the remaining Crusader forces.
After exhausting my magical power and losing consciousness, I was brought to the guild to rest.
However, it was good that I hadn’t slept an entire day like the second time I fought Sariel.
There were many things to consider and do from here on.
“What’s happening now?”
“I’m starting to get hungry.”
“No, I meant not about you, but about what’s going on in the village.”
Why in the world do I need to care about Fiona-san’s personal state at this time?
It seems this person has a slightly skewed sense of things.
“The self-defense corps is freeing the villagers who were captured and has begun guiding them to safety in Kuar Village.”
“Captured? So everyone is safe, then?”
“It’s hard to say they are safe; it seems the Crusaders killed quite a number of villagers that came here.
If they had been taken as slaves, there probably wouldn’t have been anyone left in this village.”
“Slaves? Damn, they really made a conquest worthy of being in a history textbook!”
Since I witnessed the scene of them occupying Daedalus, I had anticipated such events—valuable young people would become slaves, while the elderly, sick, and rebellious would all be killed. I expected such atrocious rule would take place.
However, that prediction had already become reality.
“Damn it—shit…”
And I could not protect this village or my friends.
Regret and sorrow, which I could do nothing about, began to engulf my heart.
I had no cursed weapon to forget everything in my rage, and there were no enemies before me to unleash that anger upon.
Faced with the worst tragedy of seeing my loved ones killed, I was overwhelmed with the impulse to scream and cry.
“…But I’ll save the crying for later.”
I closed my eyes, concentrating as if using magic, gathering all my reason to suppress my wavering emotions.
I had things to do.
If there were survivors in the village, I had to ensure their safe evacuation.
And I would confront the Crusaders that would surely attack again.
“Besides, I can’t show a pathetic side again.”
I kicked off the white sheets covering my body and sat up.
Beside me was the small fairy, Lily, who lay curled up as if snuggling next to me.
“Hey, Lily.”
With her cute sleeping breaths, I stroked Lily’s long, smooth hair, which resembled golden threads.
Careful not to wake her, I got out of bed and put on the black robe that had been neatly folded beside me.
There were no abnormalities with my body, and the magic robe, the ‘Devil’s Embrace,’ had no damage either.
The hole pierced by Sariel, and the slightly burnt surface from receiving the priest’s light magic, had all regenerated, as if it still contained the life of a demon.
“But why is Lily sleeping here too?”
“Right after you collapsed, I ‘flew’ here.
After laying you down, I started healing the injured villagers at an incredible pace.
Once most of the healing was done, I dove into the bed shouting, ‘Chrono!’ while completely nude and then fell asleep; maybe I got tired from using continuous healing magic.”
“You’re impressive for healing them all so quickly, Lily. I can’t thank you enough.
By the way, was the dive onto the bed really necessary?”
“I was very excited.”
“I see, but since you’re small, feel free to act like that.”
I noticed Lily’s dress made of Ancient Velvet was discarded at the edge of the bed.
“I was curious about what was starting right in front of me, but I’ll decide not to concern myself with what you two do in bed from now on.”
“Hmm? Well, as long as you understand, that’s good.”
Although my response was somewhat vague, it seemed Fiona was satisfied, so that was fine.
“Alright, I’m heading out for a bit.”
“Are you going to help?”
“Yeah, and I need to pay my respects to my friends.”
“…I see.”
“What will you do, Fiona-san?”
“I have an important promise with Lily, so I’ll wait here until she wakes up.”
“A promise?”
“Yes, it’s a very, very important promise.
It can’t be fulfilled even a second late.”
“I don’t really get it, but for now, please take care of Lily.”
“Yes.”
“Oh, and you mentioned being hungry; I’ll bring something to eat when I return.”
“I see, that would be very helpful. Please bring something delicious as soon as possible, as much as you can.”
Having received such a greedy request, I left the room.
The Crusaders in Irz Village were officially said to have been repelled by a relief force made up of self-defense corps dispatched from Kuar Village and adventurers.
However, without Chrono and Lily, it wouldn’t have been possible for the Crusaders to retreat so unilaterally.
Chrono killed nearly a hundred Crusader soldiers and the unit commander, Priest Kilvan, significantly reducing their numbers and morale.
It was particularly unfortunate for the Crusaders that they had dispatched Deputy Commander Colus and nearly all the mages to subdue the Fountain of Light.
If that subjugation force had detected any irregularities and returned to Irz Village, Chrono would undoubtedly have been ambushed.
However, that subjugation force completely vanished from the surface without anyone noticing, thanks to Lily.
Losing their commander and forces, the remaining infantry immediately gave up on fighting and decided to flee.
In any case, the Crusaders, who had thrown Irz Village into the depths of fear, had now departed, and the villagers began evacuating to Kuar Village.
The evacuation proceeded surprisingly smoothly.
Small villages like Irz lack the military might to fend off a powerful dragon or large horde of monsters.
Therefore, preparations are made in every village, including Irz, to ensure immediate evacuation in emergencies.
Being eaten by dragons or cut down by the Crusaders are both tragedies where loved ones could die, yet the surviving villagers were resilient enough to face reality and act quickly.
Crying voices could be heard from everywhere, and there were villagers with grave expressions or vacant stares, but they were indeed moving their bodies to survive.
Chrono desperately suppressed the overwhelming emotions threatening to burst forth and worked tirelessly to help the villagers evacuate while also dealing with the bodies of those who had already perished.
There is a proper funeral procedure in Irz Village based on tradition, but with the uncertainty of when the Crusaders might return, there was no time to waste.
Moreover, due to the sheer number of victims, many bodies were burned and disposed of simultaneously.
With neither adequate coffins nor graves, the corpses were hastily buried together without anyone to mourn them.
There was no other way to handle all the bodies, and no one openly opposed such a rough burial.
All that was left was to shed tears of apology for not properly honoring the dead.
As Chrono gazed at the grieving people and the blazing flames reducing the bodies to ash, he pondered.
(If I had returned one day earlier, I might have been able to repel the Crusaders.
At the very least, I could have reduced the number of casualties.)
Discussing the ‘if’ of what had happened might be meaningless.
However, by contemplating it, I can reflect on what I failed to do and strive to learn from it.
Next time, I must aim for the conclusion I desire.
(The Crusaders will surely come again; after Irz, it will be Kuar, and even further beyond.
With Daedalus having fallen and the Dragon King dead, we can assume this territory has completely fallen into Crusader hands; there’s no mistake considering the fact that even this remote area has been dispatched with troops.
Without any military power to counter the Crusaders, it is only a matter of time before they govern everything within their domain. There is no safe place anywhere to escape to in Daedalus now.)
Chrono recalled the map of the eastern part of the Pandora Continent, including Daedalus, which he had seen several times at the village chief’s house.
(From both distance and terrain perspectives, it seems there’s no escape route other than Spada.)
To the west of Irz Village, located far on the western edge of Daedalus territory, lies the city-state of Spada, beyond the Galahad Mountain Range.
(Spada has established a defense army in preparation for Daedalus’ invasion; I don’t know the specifics, but so far it’s the only place nearby with military strength sufficient to hold back the Crusaders.
But the issue is whether Spada will smoothly accept evacuees from Daedalus, an enemy nation… No, I shouldn’t waste my thoughts on an unresolved refugee issue even in this modern world.)
Whether to accept people fleeing from the enemy or foreigners is a highly political refugee issue, one that an average high school student and adventurer of just three months like Chrono couldn’t solve.
Therefore, he decided he could think about it once the time came.
(The more pressing issue is whether the Crusaders will easily allow us to escape.
It would be ideal to finish the evacuation before the occupation force arrives, but what if we can’t make it in time? What if a pursuing unit is sent to target the evacuees?
Can we truly make it to Spada unscathed?)
Chrono took a deep breath and muttered softly.
“Can we do it? No, we will do it.”
Chrono reaffirmed what he must do.
(If the Crusaders are chasing, I will stop them; this time, I will protect what needs to be protected!)
Before I knew it, I had surpassed 8000 points! At this rate, it seems I can rank within the top 100 cumulatively. I thank all the readers supporting me!
Thank you!