Chapter 88 – NTO
It was the point where a day had passed since the Battle of Prasion had ended.
-I got the report. Lien Commander.
One city suffered devastating damage. But the senior commander’s voice was very calm.
No, on the contrary, Rien felt disgusted at the sight of her feeling somewhat refreshed.
──I never thought the death worm would attack the city in the rear first like that… What a surprise.
Contrary to what he said, there was not a hint of surprise on the face of the senior commander—Count Sibert.
It was something that had always been questionable, but thanks to him, Rien was certain.
‘···No way.’
It was only then that Lien seemed to know roughly what the battle record Count Sibert was trying to hide the other day.
They have already been beaten by the Death Worm once.
Just like Prasion suffered yesterday. Otherwise, such a reaction would not occur.
Then why did you hide those records?
It could be said that it was simply because there was an incident so serious that it was difficult to disclose to the public,
Perhaps, in a true sense, he considered this as an opportunity. A chance to disintegrate Prasion without getting their hands dirty.
They succeeded in taking revenge on the citizens of the city who first rebelled against them.
-Certainly, this incident is very unfortunate. Still, it wouldn’t have ended like this if it wasn’t for your excellent command.
A great conductor… Stupid story. Lien also suffered from the Death Worm in the same way. In that respect, there was someone else who became the greatest strength in this situation.
And···. He is still unconscious.
Lien barely managed her expression and stared at the senior commander—Count Sibert.
At that moment, a cold color flowed from inside her walls.
“…Senior Commander. Are you sure you didn’t know?”
─What do you mean?
“About this situation. Did you really not know that the Death Worm would deliberately attack the rear?”
If I had given you a hint, none of this would have happened. He must have gotten more support from other units and prepared for the death worms that would appear from the rear.
—So you’re saying we hid it?
Count Sibert’s eyes, which had been filled with kindness for a moment, slowly began to narrow. Rien replied with her cold face without avoiding her gaze.
“…Then isn’t it?”
─That’s an interesting story.
As if hearing a funny story, Count Gibert snorted.
—I know you are shocked by this incident, but don’t doubt yourself unnecessarily. In a precarious situation like now, is it okay to cause a fuss?
“·······”
—Besides, we did as you asked. He helped me to recruit not only holy weapons, but also tactical magic bullets and reinforcements from other units.
Yes, for some reason, I wanted to cooperate well.
Because the situation was critical, I couldn’t bear to see through their intentions. What they needed was ‘proof’ that they did their best.
Although they failed to defend the city this time, they did their best. They needed something like that.
Evidence of ‘effort’ to proudly present to citizens.
In fact, from the perspective of people who don’t know anything, everyone tried their best in this case, but they just couldn’t stop it.
-I’ll say it again, from our point of view, this is a very unfortunate thing.
Is it really so? Do they really think so?
Have they ever really thought about the people who died in this incident?
······I don’t know.
I just have a small hope that it would be nice to have it.
If they have at least a conscience, this should not be taken lightly. You shouldn’t be happy that you’ve just succeeded in your personal revenge.
—Anyway, don’t worry about the large-scale evacuation plan for the citizens of Prasion. This time, the headquarters will do their best to help you.
···This time?
It was at this moment that I realized the meaning of the words.
Communication was lost.
“·······”
Ryen’s expression contorted, and she leaned back in her chair and pressed her hand against the pit of her eye. The coldness at the tips of her fingers seemed to cool the heated emotions at least.
But this can’t make it any better. Rien bit her lower lip, barely suppressing her throbbing emotions.
2.
Maybe it’s because it rained all night long?
The sky was very clear today. The sight of the sun pouring down without a single cloud made me wonder if the previous day’s battle was just a dream.
Of course, even if you turn your head a little, you can see traces of the past battle here and there.
And yet the man hadn’t even woken up.
With Netoru still lying in bed,
For the time being, Unit 393 was stationed in Prasion, out of the area it was in charge of due to the consideration of superior units.
Of course, this was no mere consideration. Since the entire unit was not in a fighting state anyway, the policy was to help clean up the city that had been devastated by this battle.
There were still wreckage of collapsed buildings all over the city, so it makes sense to borrow the power of the holy cavalry to clean them up.
Still, it was practically close to a break period.
Clearing rubble isn’t as hard as fighting bugs. Rather than being nervous every time, not knowing when to sortie, helping the citizens in the city was more comfortable.
Of course, if Unit 393 falls behind, a vacuum will be created in the existing observation area. Then you can’t detect bugs penetrating into the area.
Therefore, the area that Unit 393 was responsible for was decided to be taken over by another unit that came from outside.
In any case, under such circumstances.
Returning to the hospital room, Ceres placed the vase she had just filled with water by the window and sat down on the chair next to Netoru’s bed.
Then, resting her chin on his hand, she stared at him.
In the lukewarm silence.
Ceres broke the silence and murmured softly.
“···You. Are you not waking up today?”
From that day’s battle, Netoru was still in a coma. Sometimes Ceres tries to talk to her like this, but there is no response. He’s just breathing.
···Really. Does this person wake up?
Even though she told Karen she would be fine with her calm face, at this point Ceres can’t help but worry too.
The nervousness in my heart is getting worse day by day.
But Ceres continued to take care of Netoru with a calm face. Originally, Karen helped him by the side, but today Ceres took over.
First of all, it was because Ceres was Netoru’s coupling partner, and it was because he was in a state where he couldn’t do anything because of overheating anyway.
Perhaps if Netoru helped her recover, Ceres was in a state where she needed to rest for a month or two.
So, unlike Ceres, who had no choice but to wait at the hospital, Karen and Natsuo were scheduled to go out to clear the rubble from today.
Of course, neither Karen, who overreacted in the last battle, nor Natsuo, who was hospitalized, were in good health.
However, since this was not a battle, it was a simple task of clearing out the rubble of a building, so there was less strain on her body, so it was said that there would be no problem even with light maneuvers.
Anyway,
‘…I wonder if those two will be okay.’
Ceres was worried because the relationship between the two seemed strained since yesterday.
When she asked what had happened, Karen didn’t answer.
It’s just a vague sense that Natsuo did something wrong.
‘…It would be nice if we got along well.’
Ceres, who had seen the two as cute younger siblings, felt depressed.
Ceres, who could not bear this gloomy feeling in the end, pouted his lips and carefully reached out his hand.
“… Eight.”
Before long, Ceres’ fingers moved forward and touched Netoru’s cheek. Something you wouldn’t normally do. But since he was unconscious, he had no qualms about his actions. So Ceres teased Netoru by poking him in the cheek.
To be honest, I myself wondered what it was doing to an unconscious patient,
If you don’t want to suffer like this, get up early.
However, even as she was actually playing around with Netoru, Ceres put on a blurry expression rather than feeling joy.
Even so, Netoru did not respond.
Just breathing quietly like a sleeping child.
Before long, Ceres’ finger that had been poking her cheek stopped.
“Wake up. Because it is a request.”
His eyes are red with tears, and his eyes are blurred again. I don’t know why they are doing this these days. Had he known this, he would have said something more before we parted at the end.
They said don’t worry and cheer from behind, what is this?
Remembering his bluffing back, Ceres wiped away her tears with the back of her hand.
And that was then.
“······You, I feel it every time, but you cry really well.”
Ceres was taken aback by the sudden voice. Then, he slowly lowered the back of his hand that had been stealing his eyes.
For a moment, I thought it was an hallucination.
“Are you crying because of me?”
But it’s not hallucinations. He was staring at Ceres with clear eyes. Ceres looked blankly at his face.
It’s the voice of Netoru I’ve been waiting for so long.
What should I say about this…
Ceres whimpered and asked him.
“······You. When did you wake up?”
“When you’re poking your cheeks at eight?”
“···Ah.”
“Thanks to you, I had a lot of trouble. Whether this should happen or not.”
“Therefore···. That is···.”
“But Ceres, since you suddenly started crying… I, too, couldn’t just watch it.”
“… Ugh.”
Seeing Netoru’s smirk, Ceres couldn’t stand the shame and shook his head.
Very much… Nice to meet you,
Should I have woken up right now?
