Chapter 11
“W-what… did you say?”
Mika’s words made the messy-haired healer’s face turn red and blue with anger.
“I-I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”
I quickly grabbed the newcomer’s head and bowed deeply to the messy-haired healer.
“She’s still new and doesn’t know anything. I’ll scold and teach her, so please forgive her just this once.”
The Empire’s healers followed a strict hierarchy. Disobeying a superior could even lead to imprisonment. On top of that, most senior healers—seven out of ten—were nobles. If this healer was a noble, insulting them could make things much worse.
“How dare you… in front of me!”
Damn it. This is an emergency. Can’t we just let it slide?
At that moment, a knight ran frantically into the healer barracks.
“Evacuate immediately! Emergency! Monsters are heading toward the castle!”
Hearing that, everyone treating patients jumped up and hurried outside, following the knight’s orders.
“You’re lucky!”
Even the trembling, angry messy-haired healer ran after them.
Only those who were severely wounded or unconscious remained inside the barracks.
“W-what should we do, senpai?!”
The newcomer didn’t know what to do and began pacing nervously.
“You need to follow them. The most important thing in an emergency is a healer’s life. If we die, everyone else dies too. We need to escape.”
The newcomer hesitated.
“And what about the people left here? And you, senpai?!”
“I’ll handle that. Now go!”
“…!”
“It’s an order!”
Startled, the newcomer finally ran outside.
Phew… now, let’s see…
If I were a normal healer, I might have run too. But I couldn’t just abandon people I could save with my power.
I walked to the center of the barracks, now filled only with groaning, wounded people, and set down my healing wand. Mana surged from the wand with crackling energy, spreading throughout the barracks in a bright glow.
I remembered the high-level healer from my favorite game before I possessed this body and shouted the activation phrase for my area healing spell:
“Heroes don’t die.”
The mana brightened, crackling with energy.
In a flash, the wounds of those inside the barracks began to heal rapidly. When the light faded, all the patients were completely fine.
I shouted to those still asleep:
“Emergency! Monsters are heading toward the castle!”
One by one, they woke up and hurried outside. I followed them out after confirming the barracks were empty.
Then I heard it. From the distant castle wall came a terrifying roar, followed by a series of loud crashes.
Boom! Bang! Crash!
The wall crumbled as armored monsters poured in with weapons, killing anyone in their way.
“Aaahhh!”
“P-please… save me!”
“Ugh!”
Screams and blood filled the air. Wizards and knights fell to the monsters’ attacks.
My heart pounded.
What attack magic could I use? I gripped my wand tightly, but nothing came to mind.
Of course. I had only practiced healing magic, never combat. I hadn’t needed anything else in the safe temple for ten years.
Should I try healing them now? What should I do…?
The aura of death was so close I could barely think. There was no great mage like Iveliana Rosevalier in this world.
Then it happened.
Boom!
Something heavy fell from above. Monsters inside the wall were thrown back in smoke and flames.
Everyone froze, staring at the collapsing wall. Screams echoed in the smoke. As it cleared, bodies of monsters lay scattered.
As approaching monsters paused, one figure stood alone in the clearing.
The enraged monsters charged at him. Hundreds of them. I thought he’d be dead.
Ping!
A sharp sound rang out. Instantly, the monsters froze, then fell as chunks of flesh.
Among the falling bodies, a man in uniform stood with a sword. Blood dripped from the massive red-tinged greatsword. His uniform bore a dragon emblem on the right side.
I recognized the family seal from recent newspapers.
“Helderios…”
One of the overpowered protagonists of this world. The heroine’s twin brother and the one who had killed the returning villainess after her reincarnation.
Lloyd Helderios.
I remembered the conversation I had with Brie before coming here:
‘Ha. Maybe, just maybe, the handsome Viscount Helderios will appear, destroy the monsters, and save us!’
Ha, it actually happened.
All monsters entering the castle were annihilated, and people cheered.
“It’s Viscount Helderios!”
“Lord Lloyd!”
The survivors ran to Lloyd.
I hid behind the knights, trying not to be seen. Lloyd received thanks from the people without any reaction. Curious, I peeked to study his face. Tall, broad-shouldered, sharp nose and eyes. Truly a handsome nobleman.
If I were an ordinary person, I might have tried to get an autograph. Of course, that would be suicide here.
Then Lloyd’s gaze met mine. I panicked and ducked behind a knight. The knight tilted his head in confusion.
Luckily, Lloyd didn’t notice me and ordered:
“Treat the wounded.”
He walked toward the monster corpses near the wall, examining them carefully. I quickly followed the other healers back to the barracks.
All the monsters at Dorkan Castle were destroyed by a single protagonist. Without Lloyd, the people here—including me—would have been crushed.
Turning a horde of monsters into chunks of flesh with a single attack… terrifying power.
If the villainess—me—had appeared, it would have been a brutal death ending. That must never happen.
I calmed my trembling heart and focused on the task at hand.
Later, investigators arrived:
“No, so you’re saying a person, glowing all over, shouted ‘Heroes don’t die!’ and instantly healed everyone in the barracks?”
The wizard shouted excitedly, bloodied and torn robe showing he had been gravely injured, but his skin was unscathed.
The investigator replied skeptically:
“Come on. That level of healing would require a top-tier capital healer or the grand vizier. You weren’t seriously hurt in the head, were you?”
“No! You can ask the others in the barracks—they all woke up completely healed!”
“Really? A glowing person? Must’ve been an angel!”
At the Fifth Barracks of the Empire Healer Corps, all gravely injured patients had been healed at once. But no one saw who cast the spell.
With Viscount Helderios annihilating all monsters, few paid attention to this small miracle. The event was explained as a blessing from God.
People crowded around Lloyd, praising him. The lord of Dorkan brought out food and drink in a celebratory mood.
Meanwhile, I stayed hidden in the barracks, worried about encountering Lloyd.
