CHAPTER 6 - II -

 

We found Lily sitting by the campfire (which she uses for cooking food for the people).  There were a handful of high-ranking paladins from the corps, and some refugees as well.

 

“…”

 

Honestly, from the looks of it, I can tell that something is about to happen.

 

“Kuro!  There you are!  How’s Maddie?”

 

“She’s sleeping for now; I told her to because she’d surely over-exert herself once again.”

 

“Right…that’s Maddie for you.”

 

“Haha…true.” I couldn’t help but agree, “Anyway, talking about something?”

 

“Ah, yes…” Lily’s voice drifted for a bit, “Actually, I have a favor to ask from you.”

 

“Hm?  What is it?”

 

“Well, as you can see, we’re talking about what happened to these people with us.” the Head Maid explained, “According to them, they came from a village called Janais, west of our position.  A group of armed men attacked and pillaged their place earlier, that’s why they’re escaping towards the safety of the capital city.”

 

“Armed men?  Any idea who are those?”

 

“Sir, we don’t know.” a refugee told me, “But we are almost certain that they are mercenaries in the employ of the nobles.  They were hired to bolster the armies of our lord; however, they were an unruly bunch, and our villagers never got along with them.”

 

“Are these mercenaries had been with you long before we came?”

 

“Yes sir.  If I remember, they came to this land at the start of the last season.”

 

Start of the last season?  If I’m correct, that would be the Season of the Crystal Rain, back from the time when we went to Fen for the Saint’s vacation.  Certainly, that’d be an extremely long time.  A lot of things happened in-between that time up to now, so it’s possible that these mercenaries got bored with inactivity and went on a rampage.

 

And I doubt if they are being paid well by their employer.  After all, mercenaries only get their money once they go to battle and kill their share of enemies.

 

“Sir, I beg you.  We had a lot of other people we had to leave on the roadside because of their failing strength.  As much as we’d want to come back for them, we’re afraid to do it because of the mercenaries.  They might go after us.”

 

“Man…that’s fucked up.” I could only say.  Well, it’s not a secret that I’ve read about these things in many history books that I encountered, both here and from Earth.  Back then, I treated it as ‘history’—it happened, so be it.  However, it felt way too different when you’re confronted by the face of those two words: ‘attacked’ and ‘pillaged’.  Those children that I saw earlier had a missing arm, or a damaged eye, or that old lady that was bleeding from her shoulders because of a slash of a blunt saber…

 

I can’t treat them as mere numbers!

 

Fortunately, Maddie could heal all of them.  But I didn’t think she could heal the mental damage those people were inflicted with.

 

“Well, these folks had been telling us that there were still people lying on the side of this road, a few miles away from here.  They say that those were the elderly and children who were too weak, or severely injured, to move.” Lily further explained, “So, I was thinking maybe you could stay here with Maddie for a while.  I know how to apply first-aid, so I’m going to come with the Marquise of Monfort to scout the road for other survivors.”

 

“Hmm…actually, if it’s alright with you, why don’t I be the one to join Lady Monfort for the search?”

 

“Eh?” Both Lily and Monfort looked at me with surprise in their eyes.

 

“Look, I think it’s the most logical arrangement.  The threat of a roaming mercenary band in this area is clear.” I explained, “Now, if we divide our group—with Her Holiness on one side and the search party on the other, the one we should prioritize would be the protection of the Saint, since her safety would’ve to come first.  I believe you could hold out on your own and would be best suited to protect Maddie while we search.”

 

The Marquise of Monfort then said with uncertainty, “Uhh…on second thought, I guess we could manage on our own, Head Maid.  Her Holiness taught us how to do basic first-aid, after all.”

 

“I’m trained in first-aid myself!  Back in my world, I’m part of several Red Cross seminars!”

 

The Marquise of Monfort and the others save for Lily stared at me.  The Head Maid was making a ‘shut up’ face.  And then, I realized I made a mistake…

 

“I-I mean, my country.  Yes.  I’m trained in first-aid to the highest level possible.”

 

“What’s a red cross?” the Marquise of Monfort asked, “Some weird stuff in your country?”

 

“Well, yeah.  It is weird, but it saves lives.”  What I meant by ‘weird’ was the nation-less, race-less, and selfless dedication of that organization in saving lives.  By Chersea’s standards and values, its concept would surely be strange.  I guess I’d have to explain that to them next time.

 

“Okay…so what’s your decision, Head Maid?” the Marquise of Monfort eventually delegated the decision to Lily.

 

“It’s not like we’re sure of going to battle.” I added that point to further convince Lily, “And if it comes to that, I could say I could handle myself if my safety is your concern.”

 

“Just to reiterate, Kuro…” the Marquise interjected, “Based on what the locals say, the raiding party couldn’t have gone too far just yet.”

 

Lily remained silent for a few moments.  And then, with a sigh, she told us, “Well, I guess we have to go by Kuro’s proposal.  I’d remain with the other guards, while Lady Monfort takes a contingent of the Paladin Corps to search for other survivors.  Since he also knows first-aid, Kuro would’ve to go with you.”

 

The Marquise of Monfort and her other companions exchanged doubtful looks.  Although they agreed to Lily’s orders and immediately prepared to head out in the end.

 

 

“Answer me honestly.”

 

“W-What?”

 

The Marquise of Monfort had a sardonic smile on her face, while we’re riding down the road in search of survivors, “Aren’t you too excited to jump into battle to test the skills I taught you?”

 

I didn’t answer her.

 

“I see that I’m right on track, eh?”

 

Well, a little.  The reason I proposed that arrangement to Lily was influenced mainly because Lily’s more qualified to be with Maddie.  She’s more experienced than me in battle, see?  She’s the Iron Princess, and I’m sure that the name alone was enough to deter any rampaging mercenary group from attacking them.

 

And she also had other paladin guards to assist her…not to mention Maddie’s abilities as the saint.  Just make sure that she’s awake in time to do battle, that is.

 

“…”

 

Oh, who am I kidding?  Of course, I wanted to test the techniques and skills the Marquise of Monfort taught me.  Besides, a battle against mercenaries right now was just a probability; I’d like to experience it first-hand if such an event happened.

 

There’s no way I can tell when such knowledge will come in handy soon.

 

“Okay, Kuro.  I know you’re excited and all…” the Marquise of Monfort told me, “But since you’re with us right now, let me remind you that once we got involved in a battle, it’s every girl on her own.  We’ll be focused on fighting, so you better look for yourself.  If you think you’re in danger, run away as fast as you could.”

 

“You sound like we’re sure of encountering those mercenaries.”

 

“Well, we can’t be sure.  After all, if those men were pillaging, I think they’d still be around, helping themselves to plunder.  We should have a plan of action.”

 

I’m disappointed.  However, what the Marquise said had reasons for it.  So, I had to agree.

 

“Anyway…” she continued, “Be careful with whatever you wish for, you know.  Or you might end up getting more than what you initially expected.”

 

“Yeah, I will remember that,” I answered.

 

 

Soon enough, not too far away from where we left our main camp, we met some more refugees coming up the road.  A few of them could still walk, while a good number of them were lying by the roadside—most were wounded; others just collapsed from extreme exhaustion.

 

It was a horrifying sight.  Some children were missing limbs or eyes, and were crying incessantly because of the pain.  The injured adults lay silent on the grass and trees, too tired to move or even speak.  They would also try to run away from us when we approached—a testament to the horrors they might’ve witnessed.  

 

Talking to the few who had the strength to do so, we learned they were also from Janais, with some disturbing reports coming in that another nearby village called Halverata was being besieged by the same men that pillaged the first village.

 

“…”

 

“Fuck this…” I could only say.

 

The look on the Marquise of Monfort’s face was terrible.  I could sense anger boiling from within her as she listened to the stories of the refugees that we met, and her companions agreed with her.  Because this grossly violated the Saint’s Peace, everyone in our group felt righteous indignation at those rampaging men.  I could tell that they’d attack the mercenaries at the soonest opportunity; despite that, the Marquise told them off.  

 

“Ladies, remember Her Holiness’ instructions before we set out!” she spoke to us, “Never intervene unless we’re attacked, or we’ll jeopardize our mission!”

 

Fortunately, the Marquise was a level-headed person.  Though the emotions were running high amongst our group, she was a beacon of reason for us to look at.  And personally, even if I’m with the other paladins, my first concern was with applying first-aid to those who could be saved.

 

“…”

 

Heck, it’s difficult to do first-aid with this amount of people, even if I have the paladins and a fair number of able-bodied refugees helping me.

 

“Check their injuries.  Put priority to those who were gravely wounded.” I told those who were with me.

 

“How do we know their injuries are severe?” a paladin asked.

 

“Well, most of you are experienced warriors, so seeing wounds is not new to you.” I explained, “Can you determine who would most likely to live, and the ones who’d die, regardless if we did some aid or not?”

 

“Quite.  So, what do you propose?”

 

“Try to separate those who are lightly wounded, and those who were severely injured.  Then for those who were severely injured, determine who’s going live if we give aid.  Those lives are our priorities.”

 

My companions gave me a long stare, and the others who were helping were bewildered by my words.

 

“Hey!  I thought you said earlier that you’re someone who knows first-aid?” the paladin confronted me.  I could tell from her voice that she didn’t take that lightly.

 

“I am.  That’s why I’m doing this.”

 

“Then what about those who are going to die?” she had a concerned look on her face, which was also reflected on her comrades, “Are you proposing that we leave them to their fates?”

 

I didn’t want to hear that.  No, I’m not offended by that paladin’s words; I could fully understand her issues raised.  However, I must make them see the point of what we’re doing, “Well I know it’s hard, but this is an emergency, and we have limited people and medicines.  We’d like to help everyone, but then again, if we focused our energies on a person who’d die regardless of the amount of medical attention, I don’t think we’re being reasonable.  What if a hundred others end up dead while we’re trying to save one?  Isn’t that more despicable?”

 

The paladin had no answer for that.  However, she and her companions remained unconvinced.

 

“My ladies, I am fully aware of your stand, and I’m also of the same opinion.  But I would like to reiterate that we must save those who could be saved so that the sacrifice of those who did not make it would never be in vain.”  I further added, “Isn’t that something your noble hearts would do if you and your loved ones were injured and dying?”

 

“…”

 

The Marquise of Monfort and her paladins remained skeptical.  But they had to agree on the points I raised, so that we could move on with helping those poor souls.

 

At least, with proper wording, I could fuse their chivalrous beliefs and my suggestions into something we could all agree upon.  After all, even I never wanted to do this.  But, when someone implements the ‘triage’ system, one should use their heads over their personal emotions.

 

We’re all humans, after all.  And we can’t save everyone.