Episode 298: Despair and hope(Third Party Perspective)

“Haa … Haa … I can’t do it anymore, desu …”

 Noelle, who has been stuck working with her sweaty white-based priest’s uniform stuck to her body today, is so tired that she drops the staff she is holding and collapses on the spot.

 She is gasping for breath, and her face is marked with fatigue, a testament to the rigors of her daily labor.

“Oops, is that okay? People will die again because of you?”

 A soldier who is watching her puts on a crazed smile and whispers in her ear from behind.

 A few days ago, a local was killed as a result of Noelle’s attempt to negotiate.

 Since the one who killed them was one of the soldiers behind her, there was nothing wrong with Noelle herself. However, Noelle is a person with a unique world view, and she has a kind-hearted personality. As such, she still feels responsible for the death of that one person.

 The soldier knows that, so he whispers to corner her.

“Kuh … You coward … Desu …”

 Noelle jumps back from the spot and turns around, glaring at the soldier.

 Normally, she isn’t the kind of person who would so such a thing, but perhaps because she is gradually cornered and her hatred for the soldiers is increasing, her heart is becoming rough.

“Feel free to say whatever you want. We are also heartbroken, aren’t we? We are compelled to sacrifice the few in order to protect the many, which is the life of the entire nation. Besides, if you work properly, nothing will happen.”

 Despite kidnapping Noelle and forcing her to work, they put their own incompetence on the shelf and try to put the responsibility of the food shortage on Noelle’s shoulders.

“Kuh … … … … … I understand, desu …”

 After being silent for a while with her head down, Noelle replies as if she has given up and forcibly stands up with her cane as support.

“Fufufufu! Yes, that’s good. Then, please spread the field more and more and apply the magic of growth promotion, okay? We are increasing our staff.”

“”Kukukukuku!””

 She struggles to get up even though she is dizzy, and the soldier laughs as he watches her trying to work again. The soldiers around him are also looking down at her with a mocking look.

 It’s like saying she’s just a food production machine.”

“Change Field!!”

 Noelle suppresses her frustration and chants magic.

“Kuh …”

 Her consciousness jumps in the middle of the magic.

 As is natural of Noelle, who is called a Saint, even though she has a huge amount of magical power, she cannot continue to use magic forever.

 In addition, the magical power consumption of Change Field and Grow magic varies greatly depending on the range and duration of the effect.

 After the local was killed, Noelle was forced to use magic with maximum efficiency. With almost no magical power left, using it normally would only make it impossible to use magic, but Noelle had a special skill, so she was able to use magic even when her magical power was gone.

 Vitality conversion.

 It was a skill that replenished mana with life force. It was a useful skill, but in a case like this, on the contrary, she was getting cornered more and more.

“Haa … Haa …”

 Change Field was used several times today. Ten hectares of wilderness, which was ten times the amount used in Egypt, was transformed into a field, and her consciousness became faint.

“Grow!!”

 However, she casts the next magic without stopping.

“Guuuuuuuu! …”

 The vitality leaves her body inevitably. It is a feeling that blood is oozing out of her body, and her body temperature is gradually decreasing, her consciousness becomes distant, she can no longer hear the voices around her, and eventually even her vision is gone.

 In other words, Noelle does not stop exercising magic even though she feels the fear of death approaching.

 This is partly due to Noelle’s own personality, but it is also a result of Japan’s anime education.

 The main character never gives up.

 Her feelings of such support her.

 And, if she doesn’t give up, someone will come to her rescue someday. She believes so, though she has no basis for it.

“Hey!! What is that!?”

“I don’t know!!”

“Is this a harbinger of something!?”

“What country is that from!?”

 Noelle continues to use magic even though her consciousness is hazy, but suddenly the soldiers around her become flustered. In her hazy field of vision, she looks in the direction the soldier is looking, there is a pillar of light extending straight into space.

“Th, that is … the Hero summoning light?”

 Noelle remembers seeing that light.

 Yes, it is very similar to the summoning that is common in anime. She’s watched it so much that she can’t even tell the difference between reality and fantasy.

“As expected … the Hero will come, desu …”

 Seeing that light, Noelle feels relieved.

 Her consciousness seems to fade away as it is, but she bites her lip and wakes herself up with the pain.

 A Hero will come to help her soon. Until then, she will never give up.

 With that strong determination, she puts on a determined expression and puts her magic into action.

“Saint-sama? We’re ready to go home. After that magic is over, you can take a rest. Oh, and this is today’s meal.”

 The soldier leader pretends to be calm and gives Noelle a meal, leaving the bare minimum of soldiers behind.

“Please come and help me quickly, desu … Hero-sama.”

 Noelle mutters while exercising magic.