Another World Story

Day Seventy:

"Your Majesty, we have found her!"

"!!"

All of the available Generals were assembled in a room inside the King's palace in the capital of the Memphis Kingdom, and they sat around a circular table, and the King, who sat at a somewhat higher seat than the rest, widened his eyes from the words he heard.

"...You've brought her back?"

"Your Majesty, yes, but..."

"Why? Is Elenora hurt?"

"..."

"Please tell me.... Is she in critical condition?"

"...Yes, Your Majesty. Princess Eleonora is-"

Slam!

"Your Majesty!"

The shadow who reported was unable to continue his words. King Albert stormed out of the conference as soon as he heard the word 'Yes,' leaving the Generals stunned. The Generals followed behind their King, with Prime Minister Jacob in front of them.

-

White mages, maids, and physicians were in chaos inside the castle's medical ward.

"I need another healer here!"

"Why won't his wounds heal?"

".... I need hot water here!"

Shouts from the doctors filled the room, accompanied by the endless noises of hills hitting the ground. The physicians would look at the patients and immediately treat them, and the white mages would close the wounds, while the maids, who had only a rudimentary understanding of what the two classes can do, would prepare the materials they would require. Despite the fact that the environment was chaotic, their teamwork was notable.

The patients within the medical ward were all victims of the confrontation between the 2nd seat of the 8 Arrays and the possessed Greg Urman, and the most of them were Soldiers from the Legions of the assembled Generals. They were all caught up in the fighting while assisting the 6th Legion in their rescue operation. Some have already died, some are on the verge of death, and some are perfectly well. Although the medical ward in the palace was large, the quantity of patients made it appear inadequate. Fortunately, they did not rise. Or so they thought.

"Make way! Make way!! We've got the Princess!! Someone tend to her right away!"

With those remarks from a Knight in red armor, the physicians, white mages, and maids come to a halt. They turned to face him.

""....""

"There's a clean bed here!"

A maid yelled, bringing the people back to their wits, and the Knight, who heard, swiftly moved and placed the princess on the bed.

"....She doesn't seem to have any...?!?!?"

"Wait, what's the matter?"

"C-c-call the Saint Candidate!!"

A woman in a white lab coat approached them, holding the princess's hands and checking her pulse, but the moment she did, her face was filled with shock and fear. The Knight who brought the princess was taken aback by the sudden reaction and asked, but the woman didn't bother answering his question and shouted an order, and a few of the available maids who heard the order promptly left, they were going to look for Vanessa Welpir Lougue Memphis, a Saint Candidate and the 3rd Princess of the Memphis Kingdom.

"Is the princess okay?"

"......She's dying.... slowly"

"!!"

"I'm not sure what's happening to her; we need Princess Vanessa's power to confirm it..."

"Princess Vanessa is now caring for Miss Dawn Velan... She has previously exerted considerable power..."

"Are you certain?!?"

"I was just with her a few moments ago."

While the Knight and the woman physician were conversing, a female Knight approached them, wearing a grim expression as though anything she was about to say was not good, and what she had said was actually not good for the current scenario.

"SOMEONE! I NEED A WHITE MAGE RIGHT NOW!!"

A desperation-filled cry resonated within the ward, and everyone turned their heads to see where it was coming from. And what they saw made their stomachs turn; it was the worst patient they had ever seen.

"Blurgh..."

"Hurpp-"

"...."

A maid who wasn't used to the gore vomited, another tried to cover their mouth, and the rest turned away from the sight.

"A WHITE MAGE RIGHT NOW!"

A Knight in the most impressive armor was shouting as he held the injured individual in his arms. No, injured was an understatement. Count Rudolf Von Vinceral was holding on to what may be called Kaiser's remains. It was a scene that no weak-hearted person should see unless they wanted to die. Kaiser's arms and legs had all been amputated, and he was wrapped in a white cloth that had turned dark red from the blood that had drenched it. His eyes appeared to be gouged out, with blood flowing from them, and his ears were torn, with the insides bleeding as if penetrated by something. His upper body was wrapped in a bandage to cover the major wound, but the cuts, bruises, and other wounds on his body were visible. He was already a dead man in anyone's eyes, no matter what they thought.

"C-count, he's already... healing wouldn't do anything for him in his current state, and if we used it, it'd simply be poison to him."

A man in a white robe stated as he gazed at Kaiser's body, which Rudolf was holding. But Rudolf, with bloodshot eyes, scowled at the white mage before calming down and speaking again.

".....Please, stop the bleeding; it doesn't matter if it turned into poison; he's still alive."

"...."

"This young man risked his life to protect the princess.... Please"

".... Argh! I need help here!" exclaimed the white mage.

"Please don't expect anything... if he died, we wouldn't be held accountable."

"I understand; thank you."

He examined Kaiser's condition while laying him on a bed.

'Despite the amount of blood he lost, he's still breathing.... Even in that state, you're still fighting. Thank you so much.'

Rudolf recalled what he saw when they arrived at Marquis Urman's mansion's basement. The basement was still intact, despite the fact that the mansion itself was now dust, but the instant they entered, they noticed countless decapitated corpses laying on the ground, and the floor died in crimson.

At first, they assumed it was the two monsters battling above ground, but as they went deeper, they observed the same scene, with no other damage to the area, but the victims were all headless and the cut was so clean. They reasoned that with the strength those two possessed, they could destroy the entire basement, therefore they concluded that it was either them or a third party's fault. When they came in front of a pile of debris and cleared it, they found their target leaning against a wall, her skin pale, and her breathing shallow. And there was a limbless young man in front of her with gouged out eyes and torn ears. He sat in front of her, his amputated arms wide open, as if to protect her.

".... Won’t.... allow.... you" he said this with blood streaming from his mouth, and they could see that several of his teeth were already gone and that blood was continuously flowing from the deep wound on his chest.

"Kaiser"

Rudolf whispered his name, a pained expression on his face; he couldn't tell if he was pained by his plans falling apart or by Kaiser's current appearance. But he could tell he was in pain just by looking at him.

"Noah! Take the princess to the ward right away!"

"HA!"

A Knight approached the princess and carried her in a princess carry, then departed the basement holding the princess without saying anything.

"Ah-" He exclaimed, as if he knew the person he was guarding had been taken.

"......You did a good job."

As he neared him, Rudolf remarked. His footsteps were echoing in the nearly empty room.

"Rest now.... I'll deal with the futu- !!!" He stated. Rudolf knelt on one knee and attempted to hold Kaiser's body, but Kaiser moved as though reacting to the touch. That move stunned not only Rudolf, but also the Knights who accompanied him.

"Commander...."

"....Start First Aid!! We're returning this young man to the ward!!"

""HA!""

And that's how they wound up here. Rudolf, hoping that Kaiser would survive, observed the white mages and physicians doing their utmost to heal him. Rudolf's chest felt lighter after witnessing it, but his fears persisted. He then proceeded to his main goal, the 2nd princess's.

"....How is she doing?"

"It's horrible, Count; we could only prolong her life by giving her mana.... We still need Princess Vanessa's confirmation."

"Is her mana ice-aptitude? Do we have that many people who can offer her that?"

"Fortunately, despite my inferiority to her, I still have the mana affinity for the ice element."

"Wonderful...Hooo..."

Rudolf exhaled a breath of relief as he gazed at the 2nd Princess, Vanessa Shuvan Ascorte Memphis. Although her complexion remained ashen pale, her breathing had improved slightly as a result of the mana that was being supplied to her to transform into life force. They don't know what her ailment is, but the woman, Countess Airrene Von Lone, could tell from her years of expertise that Eleonora was slowly but steadily losing her life energy. And, because she was not an expert in the field, she needed the Saint Candidate, Vanessa's confirmation.

"By the way, Count Rudolf,"

"Hmm?"

Airrene muttered to Rudolf, perplexed as to why the Commander of the 6th Legion, known for being brutal and cold-blooded, was desperately attempting to save someone who was clearly on the brink of dying. Rudolf turned to face her.

"Can you tell me who that young man is?"

".....He's the one who kept Princess Eleonora safe; even when he was in that pitiful condition, he still fought to guard her; even without eyes, he knew where she was; even without limbs, he tried to fight back against us; even without his hearing, he knew we took her."

"That's extremely impressive... But why would he do that? Did you order it?"

"No, he's a student of the servant course, he was supposed to be Her Highness Eleonora's butler in place of Miss Dawn Velan, but I'm not sure why he was there, and why he risked himself to save her, as far as I know, that young man is not someone who would do something without expecting something in return."

"....So he puts himself in danger just to receive something from the Royal family, huh?"

"I doubt"

"Hmm?"

"No, it's nothing"

It wasn't clear to Rudolf what Kaiser was after, but he knew Kaiser isn't the type to scheme such things; after all, he's a decent person at heart. Rudolf returned his gaze to Eleonora, then to Kaiser. He then shut his eyes.

'Please. Goddess Reil....' Rudolf prayed from the depths of his heart.