Chapter 134 : Request
Request
Once you master mana, you no longer catch minor illnesses like the common cold.
This is because, starting from the 1st-rank, one can strengthen their body through mana.
I had heard that self-healing abilities like this grow stronger as one's rank increases.
'I can't recall the exact principle—only roughly heard it in passing.'
If I were to compare it to martial arts, it might be like how a martial artist who has mastered inner energy can even withstand poison.
Or perhaps, like those Japanese comics where slayers contend with wounds through breathing techniques—it's a similar concept.
Anyway, basically, mana users are comparable to superhumans by modern standards.
So Hank, too, must have been able to withstand wounds that would have easily killed an ordinary soldier.
And now—
A green aura slowly began to spread from Hank's body.
"Phantom Crest."
With this, Hank had, if only temporarily, reached the fifth rank.
From here on, whether he survived or not depended on how he used the power of the 5th-rank.
He had to restore his body as much as possible within the time permitted by the OOPArts.
'Honestly, his chances look far too slim.'
It took me some time to master my senses when I advanced from the 3rd-rank to the 4th-rank as well.
The difference in abilities between ranks was vast, and naturally, adjusting took time.
'Can Hank really master his sense during the short time OOPArts allows him?'
I was thinking this as I prepared to cut off the mana I was channeling into Hank—
"?!"
I almost snatched my hand back from his shoulder in reflexive revulsion,
but I managed to suppress it.
Even when giving him mana during the OOPArts installation, it had been inefficient and difficult,
and now Hank was greedily demanding even more mana.
'Damn it. Isn't this too much to be taking?'
But I couldn't back out now.
If I stopped providing mana, Hank's death would be certain.
If so, the death of the battalion commander would also have been completely meaningless.
'I can't stand to see that.'
Right. I'll worry about details later.
For now, I had resolved to save Hank, so I slowly opened my mouth.
"Don't die."
Hank's green aura wavered wildly.
Regardless, I let as much mana as he wanted flow through me.
Playing the role of a high-capacity backup battery for Hank,
I kept up the endless outpouring of mana for a moment—
'... Could it be he's actually pulling this off?!'
I didn't know exactly what he was doing, but
he was doing his utmost to back away from the River Jordan.
I could visibly see his vitality growing stronger.
'That's some insane talent.'
No wonder Schutmann praised Hank's ability.
He had become 5th-rank and was restoring his organs to their fullest.
Just when I felt relieved—
Clink.
I heard a sound like a lock disengaging from inside my heart.
"?"
For a second, I was disoriented by this unfamiliar phenomenon,
but as my mind became unusually clear, I immediately figured out what was happening.
'Fragment of the Firmament's special effect just activated!'
With my status ailments cleared and my prefrontal cortex as refreshed as after a good rest,
my mana had noticeably recovered as well.
However, considering the activation condition of this special effect, this was a really bad sign.
'If my remaining mana drops below 1%, it auto-activates!'
In other words—even if my mana pool had increased by 50% and my mana recovery was now ten times faster thanks to Fragment of the Firmament,
it meant it still wasn't enough to keep up with the mana Hank was draining.
So—
'It's not the OOPArts' time limit that's the problem. I can't hold out!'
Now that I had done the calculations, I shouted urgently.
"I can't last much longer! Hurry up and finish!"
With a pounding heart, I stared at the back of Hank's head,
but unfortunately, my consciousness didn't last much longer.
As my mana ran dry, my eyelids grew heavy.
"Dam...n."
Through my narrowing field of vision, I saw Hank's body slump over to the side.
Not even able to check if he lived or died, I fainted.
*
I opened my eyes to the excited voice of the supply officer.
"This is... the condition has improved remarkably!"
I was seated—not on Hank's bed where I had collapsed, but shoved to one side of the tent.
To be exact, "crumpled up" would be a better way to put it.
'Is it okay to treat a war hero like this?'
Grumbling inwardly,
I decided to keep quiet and squeezed my eyes shut again as soon as I opened them.
Because the faces of Lantz and Legion, who were listening to the supply officer's report, looked very grave.
"Didn't you say he was unlikely to survive?"
When Lantz asked, the supply officer hesitantly replied,
"It seems Company Commander Hank has picked up a coin dropped by the gods."
It was an expression that his luck had been nothing short of miraculous,
but also a smug way of claiming his diagnosis had not been incorrect.
However, Lantz didn't bother to press further.
"All right; you may go."
As the supply officer slipped out of the tent, I half-opened my eyes to peek outside.
It was already fairly dark—seems a lot of time had passed since I fainted.
By now, not only would the battlefield cleanup be done, but mealtime too.
'Damn.'
Just as I was weighing whether to pretend to stay asleep a bit longer,
Legion, examining Hank's body, spoke.
"His breathing and organs have both improved significantly. Especially his vitality has become visibly stronger. The supply officer is right."
Hearing this confirmation, Lantz exhaled deeply and replied.
"In that case, we should ask the very person who picked up the gods' coin."
Wait, did I flinch just now?
I thought this, as a bead of sweat trickled down my forehead.
"Enough pretending to sleep, don't you think?"
At Lantz's voice, I slowly opened my eyes.
Legion's and Lantz's pupils were both fixed on me.
"I just woke up..."
Even my excuse, meant as an ice breaker, didn't shift their expressions.
Both faces seemed very serious, wanting the truth from me.
Legion spoke first.
"The battalion commander..."
She seemed overcome, unable to finish her sentence.
Only then did I realize what they had seen.
The battalion commander who had, in dying, transformed into an OOPArts.
The old man died, leaving his artifact One Point and other gear strewn about,
which they must have confirmed while I was unconscious.
'Damn. I didn't calculate for this.'
I was flustered, not having figured out what to say to them.
If I was careless, it could seem as if I'd killed the battalion commander.
Where to start, and how to explain it so they accept it without a burden?
Just then Lantz's voice brought me back to reality.
"Platoon Leader Ian."
Lantz was looking at me with piercing eyes.
His gaze felt far more like the old man's than Hank's ever had.
"I want to know as vividly as possible what the battalion commander's final moments were like."
Thankfully, their mental picture didn't seem to feature me killing the battalion commander.
After all, Hank, who was all but declared dead, had survived, and I had fainted at that spot.
Just for that I was free from suspicion or getting blamed.
'At first I was reluctant, but I'm really glad I saved Hank.'
Truly, life is unpredictable.
I smiled wryly and brushed off my seat as I stood up.
"The soldiers and the other officers don't know yet, right?"
They nodded to my question,
and I pointed at the chair in the tent and said,
"I will tell you everything, without a shred of falsehood or embellishment."
After that, I recounted all that I'd heard.
The blood relationship between the battalion commander and Hank,
that the old man was a brother of the Sovereign,
the terms of exile set by the king,
and that these were the reasons the Duchy's knight order got involved.
Of course, I left out matters concerning the outsider.
After all, what they wanted to know was the battalion commander's last moments.
At any rate, I explained that the battalion commander had told me all this and then, out of nowhere, sacrificed himself to save Hank,
and that I, receiving his will, had struggled out of necessity.
"That's all."
While I spoke, my eyes darted over the faces of Lantz and Legion.
Their complexions barely changed,
but their mana halls were in an uproar.
It was clear they'd just learned something completely new to them.
'So Fragment of the Firmament lets me perceive this level, too.'
I was briefly impressed by my upgraded field of vision's new utility,
when Lantz broke the heavy silence.
"Special Investigator, did the battalion commander tell you anything else?"
At Lantz's question, Legion didn't answer immediately.
Her eyes grew red and bloodshot,
and she managed to speak with quivering lips.
"He told me... that now our war was over, I could leave Granfen. That I could freely seek out someone else to serve."
Lantz answered the barely composed Legion.
"Yes. After all, your promise with the battalion commander was until the war ended."
"But to think Brain Voice was the last..."
I didn't know what promise or past they shared,
but for her, who was Light of Shizua, to have stayed in the North this long, it must have been a deep story.
"Lantz, how about you?"
Legion asked Lantz with sharp eyes,
and Lantz replied without meeting her gaze, his blank eyes locked on me.
"As for me..."
As he trailed off, my whole body prickled with goosebumps.
I didn't know what he meant to say, but his mana was surging unstably.
'What is this?'
Tension making me swallow unconsciously, Lantz finally said:
"He said he was sorry."
"...?"
Both I and Legion pulled faces that said, 'Is that it?'
Lantz drew a long breath and went on.
"He said I probably wouldn't become battalion commander for another five years or so."
A chill ran up from my feet to the crown of my head.
If the battalion commander said that to Lantz, the 1st company commander, before dying,
'That means the next battalion commander isn't him. Does that mean—could it really be me?'
While I was reeling, Lantz added in a resigned tone,
"I figured that, even if the battalion commander became one-armed, it would only make sense for me to inherit the post much later... but I never could have expected things would turn out this way."
Lantz's voice sharpened near the end,
hinting at some envy,
which Legion seemed to pick up on.
"So, you're not thinking of rejecting the battalion commander's last order, are you?"
She all but interrogated him.
Lantz gave a helpless laugh as he replied.
"Of course I wouldn't."
I was rendered speechless by their exchange,
but I couldn't just let this pass, so I quietly intervened:
"Excuse me, but don't I get a say in this?"
But Lantz and Legion didn't even glance at me as they answered in perfect unison.
"Platoon Leader Ian, you just stay put."
"Platoon Leader Ian, you just stay put."
... These punks?
"So, Special Investigator, what about you? What do you intend to do now? Are you going back to being the Light of Shizua?"
"Why would I go back there?"
With a crooked smile, Legion continued,
"Granfen is still in danger from outside forces. Just because the beasts can't take the spirit stone quarry doesn't mean the Duchy or White Fang won't try something either. Someone has to be here, don't they?"
As soon as she finished, both Lantz and Legion looked at me simultaneously.
Feeling awkward, I said:
"So now are you ready to hear my—?"
Thump.
Both of them stood up, cutting off my words.
"Ha. Are you ready?" asked Lantz.
"Of course," replied Legion.
Trying my best not to look flustered, though surely pulling a funny face, I—
Chak!
"I swear upon my steel!"
"I swear upon my steel!"
With the formal salute, both Lantz and Legion raised their voices.
I could not object.
I couldn't trample on their pride as soldiers.
In the end, I stood from my chair and responded.
"Loyalty shines upon you."
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
Damn...
【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】