TMLHGCFTV 25

Chapter 25

The children began eagerly boasting about their heroic deeds.

“I was the one who banged the pots! Like this—clang, clang, clang!”

“I saw the one finger and went to the right!”

“I fell down, but Vanessa made a fist, so I immediately dropped flat! Then its leg swoosh-ed right over me!”

“I slipped right underneath the cart, you know? But the nasty monster couldn’t get in! It was too fat!”

One of the children raised his hands like claws, imitating the monster, and the others burst into laughter as they scattered as though fleeing from it.

I stood there dumbfounded.

They really did it?

Vanessa, her face bright red, spoke slowly.

“I-I don’t really know how it happened… I just thought about what Rosana would have done…”

My throat tightened.

These people had never even held a sword before. They had been brought along on the expedition like mere baggage. If they died, they would have been nothing more than numbers added to the casualty count.

And yet, tonight, they had protected themselves.

“…You really did well. You were incredible.”

That was all I could manage. My voice came out terribly cracked.

“You did so, so well.”

The children smelled of dirt and soot.

It was the scent of life.

Seraphine, who arrived late, stared at the children in astonishment. The children rushed toward her as well.

“We protected everyone, Sir Seraphine!”

Kael was still standing before the corpse, staring down at it. I had no idea what he was thinking.

But I saw the stiffness around his mouth ease ever so slightly.

Perhaps he had seen a flame of hope burning there.

The morning sunlight was pouring over the camp.

It wasn’t until the sun had risen completely that we could properly see the state of the camp.

It was a complete mess.

Nearly every tent had been torn apart, and four of them had even had their supports broken, making them completely unusable. Not a single drop of oil remained.

On top of that, the enormous spider’s corpse was lying right in the middle of the camp.

Millers went around with a list, checking the situation before reporting to Kael.

“…There are no fatalities.”

He only said it after checking the list twice.

“There are nine people with minor injuries. Three of them fell from the carts last night. Nothing is broken, and they should recover within a week.”

Standing beside Kael, I heard everything Millers said.

Actually, the original story had also featured an encounter with the spider clan. The only difference was that there were more of them this time, and they were larger.

Either way, more than twenty people had died around this area in the original story. It had been described in nothing more than a single line: Many people were sacrificed.

But everyone had survived this time.

My heart swelled with emotion.

We all survived.

My nose stung, so I rubbed it.

The sky looked unusually blue.

“We were truly lucky.”

Kael glanced at me.

“Perhaps it wasn’t merely luck. In any case, we need to reach the next village. We need to replace the tents.”

“Yes, and we’ll probably need to purchase various other supplies as well.”

Millers let out a deep sigh.

Register, the supply officer, was standing there with a pale face, touching the ruined tents as though unable to believe the damage.

There certainly seemed to be a lot of places where money would be needed.

But, actually, I had something to say about that.

It wasn’t like I had been hanging around Kael for no reason.

I stopped absentmindedly fiddling with the hilt of my sword and carefully spoke up.

“How about we arm all the non-combat personnel?”

Their courage in trying to stab a monster with a kitchen knife had honestly left me speechless.

Kael stared at me.

“Considering the courage they showed last night, they could certainly be of help.”

Looking back on last night’s battle, there had been more than a few moments when things had come dangerously close to disaster.

“I think the price of weapons is cheaper than the price of a person’s life.”

Kael rubbed his face.

“You’re right, Lady Rosana. But our expedition is suffering from a chronic problem.”

Kael smiled coldly. His eyes had darkened.

“We spent quite a lot of our funds purchasing supplies in Willow. Once we buy new tents and oil, it seems impossible to afford any further expenses.”

Kael fell silent.

If we could continue receiving support and supplies, it would be different. But that wasn’t possible.

Kael’s expression hardened. A quiet anger lingered in his eyes.

The Emperor and the nobles were probably diverting the supplies meant for us and refusing to send them, just as they had in the original story.

Where was the next supply point again?

Was there a blacksmith there?

No, more importantly, how much money did the expedition have left?

And how much personal money did I have?

How much of it could I afford to burn through?

Who would have thought I’d still be worrying about money even after being reincarnated into another world?

Kael summoned Register.

“How much of our military funds remain? Do we have enough to replenish our weapons?”

“As you know, that’s impossible, Your Highness. Purchasing tents has to come first.”

“…My personal funds?”

“Your Highness, haven’t you already used your personal wealth to procure additional weapons and equipment? The amount of money you can mobilize immediately is almost exhausted. If you wish to liquidate the rest of your assets, it will take time.”

At his aide’s answer, Kael ground his teeth.

Arming the non-combat personnel had been considered several times since the beginning of the expedition, but every time, justification and money had gotten in the way.

The nobles hired people to take their children’s places and sent those people into danger, yet they were stingy when it came to putting weapons into those same people’s hands.

And last night, they had nearly paid the price for that stinginess.

The price of weapons is cheaper than the price of a person’s life.

Kael let out a hollow laugh.

Rosana had been right.

They had nearly paid the most expensive price of all.

What if they had lost the Saintess?

The damage from that would have been anything but insignificant.

Kael ran a hand through his hair.

He felt as though his hands and feet were tied.

There were things that needed to be done, things that absolutely had to be accomplished, yet no one was willing to help.

All because the danger wasn’t directly at their doorstep.

Was this expedition really going to end simply by retrieving the sacred relic?

The ultimate goal of this fight was to completely eradicate the monsters from this land.

“Send an urgent letter to the Imperial Capital and demand support. Tell those who remain behind not to sit on their hands, either. Tell them to do something—anything.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Kael let out a long sigh.

That evening.

As usual, I went to check on Lilia at the place where the clergy were staying.

Because the tents had been damaged, all the children were going to spend the night together in a single tent.

But one of the priests was standing anxiously in front of it.

“Is something wrong?”

“The Saintess hasn’t woken up even once since this afternoon. She seemed fine at first, but as time passes, her condition is becoming increasingly alarming.”

The priest looked anxiously toward the inside of the tent.

A bad feeling came over me, and I immediately went inside.

Lilia was lying on the bed.

Her face was deathly pale.

Her forehead was drenched in sweat, yet her fingertips were cold as ice.

“Lilia.”

As I approached to wake her, the priest hurriedly stopped me.

“No! It seems she’s having a prophetic dream.”

The priest stopped me in a shrill voice.

The other children were also watching us with frightened expressions.

A prophetic dream.

In the original story, Lilia had suffered terribly from those prophetic dreams.

There was no way it could be pleasant for a child to face disasters alone within her dreams.

Fortunately, after waiting for a little while, Lilia slowly opened her eyes.

But her unfocused gaze wandered through empty space for some time.

Eventually, the child’s lips moved faintly.

Moisture gathered in the corners of her eyes.

Yet the voice that came from her mouth was so unfamiliar that it was difficult to believe it belonged to the Lilia I knew.

“We shall meet again. The nightmare is already at your side, and no one shall be able to escape it.”

With those final words, all strength left the child’s body.

Her eyelids slowly fell shut.