You Are Dead
Chapter 40……………………………………….
By the time preparations were finished, Kardin was nowhere to be seen.
The vice commander of the Archduke’s household knights, Knox, was receiving a report on the monsters from Raymond.
The Holy Knight Order was also busy moving to the positions they had decided on the day before.
Alec came over to me as I stood there blankly and spoke.
“Saintess. You may stay inside. I’ll inform you if any wounded are brought in.”
“Commander.”
“Yes. Please speak.”
“May I go to where the monsters are?”
He frowned as if he’d just heard something he shouldn’t have.
“It’s dangerous.”
Alec wasn’t wrong. I had only seen monsters once, and now I was saying I wanted to go to their habitat—it must have sounded absurd.
“But if I’m there, I can treat the wounded more quickly.”
“No. That’s too reckless.”
As Alec and I continued a conversation that seemed unlikely to end, Raymond and Knox walked over.
Knox no longer showed any sign of bandages—his shoulder must have fully healed.
Perhaps he had overheard us, because he tilted his head.
“Are you going as well, Saintess?”
“Is that not allowed?”
“Our lord didn’t say anything about it. Have you spoken to him?”
I shook my head timidly.
“I was planning to today, but I couldn’t find him.”
Raymond stroked his chin and gazed toward the wasteland.
“If it’s the Archduke, he’s probably already dealing with the monsters.”
“Ah.”
So that was why he wasn’t around.
I glanced at Alec, but his expression was firm.
If everyone opposed it, perhaps it really was right not to go.
I couldn’t become a burden to others just to satisfy my own sense of accomplishment.
Without looking at me, Raymond spoke.
“Saintess.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Do you know of the Flower of God?”
It was something Kardin had mentioned to me when we went down to the village.
“I heard it’s a legend passed down around this area.”
“If it exists, would you be able to sense it?”
I couldn’t be sure. I had never even touched a holy relic—let alone a flower I’d never heard of.
When I didn’t answer, Knox spoke to Raymond.
“Why bring up the Flower of God all of a sudden…?”
Alec frowned.
“Does it make any sense for a flower to bloom where monsters appear?”
I thought the same. Kardin had told me as much.
“Still, it’s worth checking. It may only be a rumor drifting around this border, but since the Saintess who could confirm its presence is here…”
“Didn’t you say yourself that it wasn’t certain? And yet you’re trying to put the Saintess in danger?”
Alec’s voice was sharp. I knew he was worried about me.
But the fact that the two people in command were even discussing the Flower of God meant they were taking it seriously.
“I’ll go. But I can’t be certain that I’ll be able to tell whether the flower has truly been touched by divine power. If that’s still all right.”
“Then we’ll prepare.”
For a moment, I wondered if Raymond had created this excuse because he knew I wanted to go.
Once we were a bit away from the others, Alec called out to me.
“Saintess. No matter how I think about it, it’s too dangerous.”
“Commander. I’m not someone who must only stay in safe places.”
“But—”
“I know you’re worried about me. But if you’ve decided to follow me, then please trust me.”
If you’re going to follow me, then when I do something dangerous, just trust me.
“I don’t want to hide behind those who care for me. I want to protect those who are here for me. So… stand beside me and go together.”
For a moment, Alec’s eyes widened and his brows twisted.
“…I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking clearly.”
I shook my head and gave a faint smile.
Raymond decided to go with us as well. Despite having fought monsters all night, he showed no sign of fatigue.
Standing beside me, he asked,
“Are you truly all right?”
Even though it had been his suggestion, the danger must still have worried him.
I had already been thinking of going to where the monsters were, so it was a good pretext for me.
“With Your Highness accompanying us, is there any reason not to be?”
Raymond raised one eyebrow slightly.
“Then I suppose I must protect you closely.”
“I’ll be counting on you.”
Before departing, I bestowed blessings upon Raymond, Knox, and Alec, who stood at the front.
Then, taking a deeper breath, I extended my blessing to the knights of the Archduke’s household behind them.
Everyone wore dazed expressions at the unfamiliar sensation.
Even those at the front were no exception.
“Huh. So this is what a blessing feels like.”
Raymond muttered to himself. I watched the corner of his lips lift slightly.
He turned to look at me.
“Why are you staring like that?”
“I was just curious what it felt like.”
The others’ attention turned toward me. I smiled awkwardly and looked ahead.
When those at the front began to move, the knights behind them followed as one.
I walked with them, gazing toward the wasteland-like terrain ahead.
It was a long distance.
Since monsters were present, we couldn’t ride horses and had to walk the entire way.
Even without the blessing, they wouldn’t have looked exhausted, but having received divine power, they seemed brimming with energy.
Unlike them, my legs began to weaken from the long march.
“Saintess.”
“I’m fine.”
I forced strength back into my legs and kept walking. All I had brought were white dresses, which made movement awkward, but it was bearable.
“We’ll arrive soon.”
No sooner had Knox spoken than a strange smell brushed my nose.
The smell I had sensed yesterday.
The monsters were nearby.
Their screams were now closer, and in the distance I could even see them faintly.
And the figure facing them was a single person.
Knox was issuing orders to the knights behind us, while I stood there, transfixed by Kardin alone.
My eyes trembled with shock. When I looked at the knights, they seemed used to it.
“Was the Archduke alone all this time?”
Raymond shrugged casually.
“He’s not someone who would die from something like that.”
At his words, my chest tightened, but I hid my emotions.
“First, we should reduce the number of monsters before searching for the flower.”
Raymond was right. Monster screams echoed from all directions.
They had said the number had increased—far more than I imagined.
The knights tightened their grips on their swords and rushed forward.
Alec, Raymond, and I followed behind.
“Even if the flower doesn’t exist, please don’t resent us.”
I found it surprising that he could smile so calmly in a place like this.
Suppressing my nerves, I smiled back.
“Yes. As long as Your Highness protects me.”
At my playful reply, he chuckled.
Even so, I wanted to help—in this situation, where they were fighting monsters.
Since my holy power had been unlocked at the lake, it had continued to surge within me, overflowing.
It might disappear at any time, but I hoped it would be used to its fullest before it did.
Raymond stopped. Alec tightened his grip on his sword.
With the sound of a blade slicing through flesh, a monster collapsed near where we stood.
Thud!
As the sandstorm settled, I stared calmly at the monster before me. It looked like a beast, but its size was clearly different.
Raymond nudged it with his foot.
“Even so, this one’s relatively decent-looking.”
“Yes. It seems so.”
Kiiieeek—!
At the ear-splitting shriek, I lifted my head. It was the same sound I had heard yesterday.
And my suspicion was correct.
A monster flew toward us, spewing fire. Just as I had practiced yesterday, I immediately deployed a barrier.
“Oh?”
Raymond let out a short exclamation, glanced at me, and smiled faintly.
Then he stepped forward and drew aura into his sword.
Red aura wrapped around the blade, and when he swung it skyward, the monster crashed to the ground just as it had when Kardin dealt with it.
As I was about to turn my gaze, grotesque cries suddenly erupted, and monsters burst up from beneath the ground.
Their numbers were impossible to count.
I knew it instinctively.
With a barrier of this level, there was no way I could help them against something like this.
