Should I contact Miragen again? But it feels like we’ll just end up fighting again soon, so I decided against it.
I just took care of the immigrant warriors, but they’ll swarm in again and pick a fight once time passes anyway.
Sure, I fought them earlier as an example, but it would be my problem if their numbers increased.
I needed to respond a bit more calmly.
Right now, my goal isn’t to fight but to rescue Miragen, and getting out safely to join Adele would be the best course of action, wouldn’t it?
I checked my physical condition, and there wasn’t anything particularly bad.
Sure, I had spent some stamina, but I could handle a few more opponents without much trouble.
Temujin… well, I’ve fought him before and it’s manageable.
The main reason Temujin is a hassle is that he can easily escape with the wolf’s mobility, right?
The princess is staying inside, and if we do run into each other, it’s obvious she’ll be unprepared, so there’s nothing to be afraid of.
“Huff.”
Being accustomed to pain helps in many ways.
Should I credit this to Yuria? Thanks to my body being sore in various places, these wounds didn’t really hurt that much.
After bleeding a bit, I managed to stop it and walked slowly.
It was cold enough that my breath fogged up, but my gaze was looking for a passageway into the building.
In fact, I was quite a distance from the building.
After fighting the immigrant tribe and purposely taking a long way around, they probably didn’t notice I was here, but it’s still wise to be cautious.
Looking around, all I could see were snow-covered rocks.
Massive boulders stacked higher than a person surrounded the area like a mountain range.
This is why it’s called rough terrain.
In a place like this, maybe a person could barely move. As I groped around the area for a moment, I discovered one rock in a peculiar position.
The rock was barely covered in a thin layer of snow, and when I shifted it slightly, a small hole leading inward appeared.
If it’s like this, it should be easy to discover, but when I covered the rock back up, snow seemed to magically reappear.
Did they use concealment magic on it? It would be tough to examine each rock in this snowy area.
Unless someone like me pointed it out, they probably wouldn’t think to check around here at all.
After scanning the surroundings for a bit, I pushed my body into the hole.
“…It’s not as narrow as I thought.”
Inside the hole was just a building.
Since it’s a structure directly built by the princess, it looked quite luxurious, with fittings a bit better than an ordinary research facility.
Magic stones embedded in various places illuminated the inside, and as I walked down the hallway, I spotted stairs descending.
Miragen must be hiding down there.
I spread out my magic to sense any possible presence, but nothing clearly came through.
I thought they were probably all dead.
It was unfortunate that they sacrificed themselves to protect just one princess, but in this situation, I didn’t have time to dwell on that.
Their sacrifice will only be fulfilled when I rescue Miragen.
I quickened my pace and started walking.
As soon as I went down, I felt the overwhelming presence of overlapping barriers.
It might take a while to break through.
Since there hadn’t been any battles for a while, I took out my artifact and called for Miragen.
“Can you hear me?”
-Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?
I felt a bit pricked by her concern about my injuries, but I calmly replied.
After all, I’d be seeing her soon, so there’s no need to worry her unnecessarily.
“More importantly, I’m at the barrier now. I might need quite a bit of time to break through it, is there any way you can manipulate things from your end?”
-Ah, the barrier… the barrier. Just wait a moment, I know how to dispel it.
During the wait, Miragen kept asking me questions.
Are you hurt? How many did you fight?
“Did you fight?”
She was horrified by the mention of roughly thirty people, and afterward, she relentlessly kept asking how badly I was hurt.
“Well, I think I got a little hurt.”
“A little hurt? How bad is it? Did you get hit with arrows?”
“I did get hit a few times, but I’m probably okay—”
“A few times? How is that okay?!”
Seeing her yell through the artifact made a laugh escape me for no reason.
Was it like this before? It felt like being in a loop of history where Miragen and I had been lovers, even though it wasn’t a single occurrence.
We had met a few times… and even discussed marriage a couple of times.
Though, nothing ever actually came of it.
Thinking back, aside from the Saint, I realized I was entangled in various relationships.
As for Adele… well, our relationship wasn’t ordinary either. However, in this life, I didn’t want to form any ties with anyone.
Even if it meant hurting someone, I thought it would be better to refuse coldly.
So, the more I felt Miragen’s familiar presence, the darker my expression became.
Now, I could hear her diligently breaking the barrier.
As she swept away the disappearing barriers with her hands, the door inside suddenly opened with a loud creak.
“Just how badly are you hurt—oh my.”
I honestly didn’t think she’d come out so quickly, and I ended up showing her the blood on me just like that.
I should have removed my cloak along the way; it must look a mess.
Staring at me blankly for a moment, Miragen then approached with a bewildered expression.
“Are you crazy? Seriously.”
“…I tried to not get hurt.”
“This doesn’t look like the effort of someone trying not to get hurt. Do you think I’m a fool? Where would a person bleeding like this not be hurt?”
“Not all of this is my blood. I’d say it’s just a little.”
Miragen, glaring at me, sighed in frustration while examining my wounds.
Counting one by one, there were quite a lot. How could one fight thirty people without any injuries?
About when I started to feel a little disappointed, Miragen suddenly poked my chest with her finger.
“Don’t give me that sad expression. I even ordered you not to get hurt, and then you come back like this. Do I look like an easygoing person to you?”
“Yes, very comfortable.”
“No… uhh. What am I supposed to say to that?”
Seeing her reaction, I couldn’t help but chuckle, causing Miragen to pout and shake her head.
If I had to name the person I felt most comfortable with in this life, it would probably be Miragen.
In fact, isn’t that the case across all iterations? I didn’t know if this kind of relationship would continue, but for now, that’s what it was.
“I want to heal your wounds, but I can’t do anything right now. Are you okay?”
“If I weren’t okay, I wouldn’t have made it this far. I used magic for hemostasis, so I should be fine for a few more fights.”
With a doubtful look, Miragen nodded as if she had no other choice.
In truth, it wouldn’t be a problem to stay here. I could wait for Adele, and when she arrives, I could join her then.
The only issue was that the opponent was Temujin.
If it’s Temujin, he might even think about blowing this whole place up.
“I’ll take the passage I came from. But is there any other way out?”
“Of course there is. But there’s a chance he’s noticed that route too.”
“…It wouldn’t hurt to consider the possibility of going that way. After all, didn’t you not expect an immigrant tribe to come all the way to the Northwest?”
“But what happened to the other soldiers?”
When I didn’t answer that question, Miragen figured out some meaning and let out a bitter smile.
As someone who’s often expressed disdain for her status as a princess, Miragen probably doesn’t appreciate this situation either.
But she had to survive.
For the sacrifices of others to truly become sacrifices, she must escape from here safely.
“Wait a second.”
Stopping me from moving forward, Miragen shoved something into my arms and patted my back.
When I asked what it was, she faced forward again and opened her mouth.
“This is an artifact I secretly brought. It has a function to temporarily hide your body. Since Duke Taylor will be the one fighting, isn’t it better for you to use it instead of me?”
A body-hiding artifact, but I wondered how exactly it would be useful during a fight. If we considered the possibilities, it would probably be better for Miragen to have it. However, her serious expression left me unable to refute and all I could do was express my gratitude.
After walking down the corridor for a while, I noticed the bloodstains I had left behind. I dragged my feet in an attempt to erase them, yet Miragen furrowed her brow as if she had just noticed.
I couldn’t help bleeding, could I? I didn’t think it was my fault.
If we had to point fingers, it was the immigrant tribe that shot arrows at me.
During our walk, Miragen didn’t say a word. She seemed preoccupied with the deaths of those who had tried to protect her, glancing occasionally at the direction the soldiers had fought with a slight frown on her face.
Saying anything in this situation would provide no help. It was better to just give her time to think alone.
In the meantime, my task was to release my magic power and sense the presence around us. It was wise to strike before the immigrant tribe located one of the passages.
Calmly, slowly.
A strange atmosphere lingered as we walked down the quiet corridor together.
Was there something she wanted to say? With Miragen staring at me intently, I shrugged my shoulders.
“Is there something you’d like to say?”
“…No, it’s just something I’ve been curious about.”
After a brief hesitation, Miragen sneaked a glance at me and continued speaking.
“Why did you come to rescue me? We only met for a short time. There was no need for you to come alone; you could have joined the Grand Duke. There was really no need to come alone, was there?”
“There was a necessity.”
“What did you just say—”
But Miragen’s words didn’t continue. As a sudden presence was felt, my expression stiffened, and Miragen covered her mouth, holding her breath.
Moments ago, everything had been calm, but a group had now entered the building.
Not just one or two, but several were clearly headed this way with the intent of capturing Miragen.
“…It seems the immigrant tribe has entered. It looks like the defense line has been broken.”
Miragen didn’t respond, merely nodding her head as if waiting for me to say something.
The direction the immigrant tribe had entered was unfortunately close to the passage we intended to go through. That meant we couldn’t head that way.
It would likely be nearly impossible to protect Miragen while also fighting.
We had to find another direction. However, the fact that I couldn’t take her along weighed heavily on me.
The large and powerful presence I sensed could only belong to Temujin. It quickly became clear that the chances of both of us escaping with him around were slim.
“We need to go a different way.”
“Then we have to change direction. Why are you standing there?”
Miragen grabbed my wrist, but I politely released her hand and responded.
“I can’t go. I have to block them here so that your Highness can escape.”
“…I don’t understand what you’re saying right now. Are you seriously thinking of blocking the immigrant tribe by yourself? With your condition?”
“Yo? Are you really in that body right now?”
Without answering, I just nodded.
Miragen put on a feigned angry expression. It seemed like she was determined to find a way to come with me, insisting that it was unreasonable not to go together.
But that was impossible.
Even if we went together, the immigrant tribes would definitely block the path and lay siege to this place.
Even I wouldn’t be able to break through while protecting Miragen.
“It’s the only way. We need to survive, don’t we?”
“What about the prince? Are you saying he’s just going to… die here?”
“He won’t die. I don’t have the luxury of dying, and if it’s the chief of the immigrant tribe, it’s worth a fight.”
Half of it was bravado, but Miragen hesitated, staring intently at me. It felt like the situation had flipped from before.
Miragen opposed the idea of fleeing together, and she ended up dying after leaving alone.
If I could hold off the immigrant tribes here, Miragen would surely escape safely.
Temujin alone wouldn’t be able to handle me, so he would surely rally his subordinates toward this direction.
I gently held Miragen’s hand, which was staring at me intently.
It was an act to reassure her, while simultaneously giving her the artifact.
“You can use this in case of emergency. If you escape, head north and join the Grand Duke. I’ll take care of the immigrant tribes and find my way out.”
“……Hah.”
I could feel Miragen’s gaze on me, looking incredulous.
Her eyes were turning red in no time. Isn’t it a little strange to look at me like that? It’s not like I’m going to die.
Capturing the immigrant tribe wasn’t all that difficult. I might get a bit hurt, but I surely wouldn’t die.
Tap tap. I tapped Miragen’s shoulder to signal her.
There was no time to waste. If I drew attention, Miragen needed to run in the opposite direction, and I had to hold Temujin here.
Miragen seemed to understand, as she turned her back without saying anything.
The way she hesitated made it seem like she had a lot to say.
But Miragen didn’t say another word.
She dashed forward and disappeared from my sight like that.
Only after confirming that Miragen was gone did I let out a sigh and mutter to myself.
“I don’t feel like I’m going to die.”
There’s a feeling you get when it’s time to die.
I didn’t feel anything like that, and if worse came to worst, I could always hide. After living a hundred times, would I really die here?
And it was I who picked up the sword for situations like this.
If a situation like the thirty-fifth day were to arise.
Then I would finally be able to protect, to not have any regrets.
That’s why I held the sword.
I deliberately raised my mana to the maximum.
As the blue magic illuminated, I could sense Temujin’s presence shifting towards me.
Holding the sword, I thought about something.
The reason I held the sword and the goal I aimed to reach.
Realizing my own weakness, it was to overcome that, even if it meant using force.
To not lose those I cherished right in front of my eyes, to not surrender easily under the excuse of weakness.
That was my goal.
Slish—
There were a few things I had done for someone.
They remained vividly in my memory and would sometimes surface strongly when I recalled them.
But what was certain among those was the reason I held the sword.
Miragen.
The life where I held the sword was a life for you.
Recalling the thirty-fifth Miragen, the one hundred and first Robert grasped the sword.
There was a life lived for you.
That much was an undeniable fact.
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