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Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari:Web Chapter 347

2018-09-14T01:31:23Z

172.68.189.220: /* Coronation */

==Coronation==

“Your Majesty, Queen Melty!”

Having come out victorious against Faubley, Melromark essentially became the world’s strongest country.

Having built up a favorable relationship with the Hero of the Shield, their relationship with Silt Welt improved, and Silt Welt’s evaluation of the new Queen was quite high.

The two countries formed an alliance as if their long years spent lashing at one another had been but a dream.

However, neither side made any changes to their slave policies.

Under the pretense that things would change someday, the two were merely in a union to rid themselves of the wave.

Having gained Faubley’s land, it was unavoidable that things like this would happen to Melromark. It became an unbelievable large country by the standards of the time.

Because of Tact’s influence, the royals that defied him had already been sent to hang.

The remaining ones, who hung onto their lives by clinging to him, had experienced a sharp drop in power.

The result was that Melromark was able to take control without much issue.

Well, in a world with deep-rooted belief in the Heroes, there’s no way anyone would wage a war with the country holding all of them.

Because of the wave strengthening monsters, everyone’s in a panic trying to maintain public order as it is.

Ah, right. It’s about Shield Freiden, but after they learned that Tact had experienced defeat, they had a sudden change of heart, and a bit of a shuffling of leadership.

They placed all the blame for siding with Faubley on a representative.

It’s an amazingly liberal country. When they feel the direction of the wind change, they take measures like this.

I guess all’s well that ends well.

Normally, their actions would provoke further conflict, but Trash proclaimed that now wasn’t the time for petty squabbles, and we hopped on his bandwagon.

Power is needed everywhere right now, it seems.

It’s just that we shouldn’t place too much confidence in them.

It’s not hard to see the path Shield Freiden will tread down in the near future.

By the way, while the relations between Silt Welt and Melromark were being built, a lot of money was collected from all over the place in the name of world peace.

After peace is achieved, I can see quite a few places making excuses to reclaim it.

And like that, the various actions of various countries were shaken up by Melromark’s victory.

For the general populace, it’s just that the head has changed.

Even though he technically held the blood of Faublian Royalty, Trash immediately gave up his right to the throne upon attaining it.

He proclaimed that he would work to support the country as a Hero.

As a result, the one who bore the brunt of the responsibility was his daughter, the new Queen Melty.

“Long Live Queen Melty!”

The Grand coronation of the new Queen that took place in Melromark involved not only those of the country, but all the allied forces as well.

The enemy of the country, Silt Welt’s Genmu Gramps messenger clapped his hands, and congratulated her.

Perhaps the past Queen’s wishes have been granted, but Melty herself is…

The coronation took place on the castle terrace that overlooked the city plaza.

As a Hero, I was also present.

Trash acted as a representative and he stood next to the throne, crown in hand, waiting for Melty’s arrival.

“From here, we will begin the coronation ceremony for Melromark’s Queen.”

Melty trudged over to Trash wearing an extravagant dress that seemed ridiculously hard to walk in.

She stood in front of the throne, and lowered her head to the Trash in front of her.

“Now then, Melty Melromark.” (Trash)

“Yes.” (Melty)

We have consulted the girl, for argument’s sake. She accepted the position.

She was raised as the future Queen to begin with, so she had no reason to refuse.

“Up until now, you have been working to maintain order in the land governed by the Hero of the Shield. Through your efforts, the land that had once been left to rot has become prosperous once more. It is not a simple feat. With momentum like that, I hope that you will govern our country of Melromark.”

The crowd begins raising their voices.

“From this day forth, you will accept the Duties of Melromark’s Queen, and gain the title in its entirety. Henceforth, you will be known as Melty Q. Melromark.”

“I accept it graciously.” (Melty)

“Then please take the crown.”

Trash balances the crown on Melty’s head before taking a step back.

“I hereby recognize Melty Q. Melromark’s rise to the throne.”

There was a moment of applause.

That goes without saying, as it was the moment a new Queen was born in Melromark.

And Melty set out from the Terrace to the plaza in order to let the populace get a better look at her. She waved her hand the whole way through.

“Long Live New Queen Melty!”

“Long Live the Queen!”

“Everlasting Prosperity to Melromark!”

The people shout out their various well wishes to her.

Though she’s but a small girl, she smiles as she receives the hopes of the people all at once.

“Everyone! I am the one who has been crowned the New Queen of the country, Melty Q. Melromark. From here on, for the country and the world, let us fight together!” (Melty)

“Yeah!”

“Currently, the world is forming itself into a single lump in order to combat the menace that is the wave. The previous Queen, my predecessor, wished for this, and I am also in agreement. I hereby declare that we will succeed her will!” (Melty)

Deafening applauses sound out once more.

Well, that’s how the coronation went. To put it bluntly, we were done showing the girl off to the people.

“Fuuu…”

In the throne room within the castle, Melty fell back into the throne. She seems exhausted.

The Heroes and the leaders of the country. The representatives of the allied forces got together to congratulate her.

Her fatigue is understandable.

“Mel-chan is pretty~. Everyone was cheering for you.” (Firo)

Firo stands next to her, praising her.

In the honest way that a friend would.

“Thank you, Firo-chan.” (Melty)

“You’ve sure made your way up, Melty. For the princess of a small country to become the ruler of the world’s largest must be quite a promotion. You rose up quite a way.” (Naofumi)

I offer some cynical words of praise to Melty.

“What’s with your attitude?” (Melty)

“Nothing really. I was just thinking of the sort of deeds Your Majesty, Queen Melty, would perform as the ruler of the world’s greatest power.” (Naofumi)

“Good grief… why must I go through something like this…” (Melty)

Melty unpleasantly grumbles to herself.

As always, her ambition is quite weak.

When her sister wanted to be so famous.

But it’s not my problem.

“It’s going to get hectic from here on out. You’ll have to do quite a few pain-in-the-ass jobs for the people, and the world… etc.” (Naofumi)

“Isn’t that the same for you, Naofumi!?” (Melty)

“My term’s ‘til the wave’s over, while you have a life sentence. What’s more, unlike me, who just has to do well in battle, you have to do the work behind the scenes. Man, Heroes sure have it easy.” (Naofumi)

“Mu… I’ll have you eat those words. Just watch me!” (Melty)

With a stiff expression, Melty stands, raises both hands above her head, and declares.

“For his efforts in the previous war, I hereby grant the Hero of the Shield, Iwatani Naofumi, the title of Archduke!” (Melty)

Wha-

“You bastard!” (Naofumi)

“Ahahahahaha! You won’t get away with trying to push all the troublesome stuff onto me!” (Melty)

“I don’t want it even if it kills me! Hurry up and retract it!” (Naofumi)

“As if I would! This is an imperial command! Oh, I’ll add on some more.” (Melty)

Oh god!

The allied forces representatives begin clapping their hands.

Why is it? She’s acting so lax, and taking on a childish attitude, but no one tries to caution her!

“Then shall I award some of the Faublian Land we gained during this war to Iwatani-dono? Currently, with the monster problems, they’re facing a bit of trouble, but you should be able to levy a tax of some sort.” (Trash)

From the Shadows, Trash appears with a map, and Melty fills in the areas to be given to me.

Status is status, but this is quite a bit of land.

If I did end up staying in this world, I think I would be able to play around for the next 100 years with this much.

“Don’t proceed the conversation without me!” (Naofumi)

“But Iwatani-dono, it is a fact that your efforts led us to victory in the war. If I do not award you with some form of reward, my country’s honor will be affected.” (Trash)

“Trash! That goes for you as well!” (Naofumi)

In fact, the biggest contributor should be him.

Without holding any heroic title, he commanded the battlefield.

“I merely acted as a representative of this country. My role hasn’t changed before, or now.” (Trash)

Trash’s standing is a fact, and he’s the next most important person next to the Queen… so I guess he’s something like a manager.

But I’m still not satisfied with this.

“There are plenty of things I have for you to do, Archduke Naofumi!” (Melty)

“Shut up! Don’t push your troubles onto me! Screw being an Archduke!” (Naofumi)

“It’s not like I want to be Queen either!” (Melty)

“Um… both of you don’t have to be that angry at getting promotions…” (Raphtalia)

Raphtalia is holding her hand out towards us with an apologetic expression.

No idea what she’s talking about.

Originally, I only wanted land so that Raphtalia would have a place to spend her days in peace once I was gone.

So why is it that I have to deal with so many stacks of paper?

I guess it’s the same for Melty.

She was already fighting with the dreadful stacks at my place, but now that she’s Queen, the amount of work will increase without end. It’s easy to imagine.

I truly wonder why Witch wanted the position so much.

Did she plan to push all the work onto her retainers, and party?

That sounds likely.

But reality isn’t so generous.

“How did the Pig King manage the country anyways?” (Naofumi)

Not much time has passed since Tact took office, so I can’t really look to him.

I’ll bet he entrusted it to the competent women of his harem.

“Besides crucial decisions, he left it to his subordinates.” (Trash)

Trash explains.

He did live in Faubley’s Royal Palace before, so I guess he has some knowledge about it.

“But a capable king who truly cares about the country and its people should take the initiative in tackling the country’s problems. Like my wife did…” (Trash)

Trash stares out into the distance, and Melty goes quiet.

Well, I’ll bet she spent a long time watching her mother.

“Is it hard, Mel-chan?” (Firo)

The future Queen of Filo Rials seems to be completely at ease…

“Yeah, a bit. Firo, you have to make sure to support Melty properly.” (Naofumi)

“Sure! Firo will cheer for her.” (Firo)

“Firo-chan, thank you…” (Melty)

Having lost her mother, and having the direct cause of her mother’s death, her sister, be executed.

She’s behaving all prim and proper, but Melty’s going through a lot.

Trash has become decent, and he’s supporting her, but I’ll bet she’ll feel a bit lighter with Firo by her side.

“However, for you to award Iwatani-dono with the title of Archduke… as expected of Melty. I’m proud of you.” (Trash)

“Eh? Ah!” (Melty)

Melty’s making an ‘Oh Crap!’ face as she looks at me.

I believe that Archduke is the highest rank among nobles.

Well, I’m not too sure about its level within this world.

“I’m not sure if Iwatani-dono understands or not, so let me explain. In this country, an Archduke is the one whose importance is only second to the Queen. A rank denoting one’s position as the future king.” (Trash)

Um… but Melromark is Matriarchal, right?

Trash was a representative when he acted as King.

“Yes, in the past, I held the title of Archduke as I acted as representative ruler.” (Trash)

“What?” (Naofumi)

“You still do not understand? To summarize, our majesty, Queen Melty has just acknowledged Iwatani-dono to be her fiancé.” (Trash)

“Ge!” (Naofumi)

Melty is covering her face, and grumbling.

Her face is screaming, ‘ah, right. I forgot.’

“Due to your position as the Hero of the Shield, we’ll need permission from Silt Welt now that we’ve formed an alliance, but… there shouldn’t be any problems, right?” (Trash)

On Trash’s proposal, the Silt Welt representatives nod.

“There is no problem. As long as your side agrees to let a few of ours get married to him as well.”

Chance!

If I put Melromark at a disadvantageous situation politically, we can pretend this never happened.

“I refuse!” (Naofumi)

“Is what I thought he would say, so could you, by chance adopt the Demi-Humans from his village, or their children (when they come around) into your royal families? We’ll permit that.” (Trash)

“I refuse!” (Naofumi)

“Let’s do that after we overcome the wave. I’ll leave it down to the Hero of the Shield’s generosity when the time comes.”

Uu… this is like when I was teasing Raphtalia with Sadina.

Thinking about the future, if I want to keep the village alive for as long as possible… something like that.

I have no plans of refusing at this point.

Thinking about what’s to come, the villagers, and my… when I think about it, my face turns red.

“This conversation is-” (Melty)

Just when Melty was about to bring an end to it…

“But there is an individual I would like to recommend if the marriage of Iwatani-dono and Queen Melty falls through.” (Trash)

Trash starts staring at Fohl.

Why is it Fohl?

“Eh!?” (Fohl)

A chill runs down Fohl’s back, and he throws his head backwards.

So he doesn’t want to. Well, I guess that’s obvious.

Seeing the scene, the Genmu Gramps nodded.

“Yes, if it’s the Hakuko’s lost memento, the Hero of the Gauntlet, I’ll bet there will be a few takers, and it will help bridge the gap between our countries.” (Genmu)

“Wait, wait, wait. Wasn’t it that the Hakuko had lost their power in your country?” (Naofumi)

“Taking into account the Hero of the Gauntlet’s deeds, I don’t believe it to be a bad move. Even though he contains mixed blood, it’s not that his lineage is bad, or anything… also, his position of following the Hero of the Shield no matter what will gain him some acceptance.” (Genmu)

“Aniki!” (Fohl)

Fohl’s eyes are asking me for help.

Don’t look at me with those eyes. What sort of commercial is this?<ref>TL: I’m not sure of the reference, but I imagine a general humane society Ad here</ref>

Fohl is starting to look like a kitten on the verge of tears.

“Naofumi!” (Melty)

Eh… if I refuse the marriage, then it looks like those two will be forcefully paired together.

But Melty will probably just keep it up in image alone, and their relationship won’t be that good.

I’m not sure if Trash wants to treasure the keepsake of his little sister, but he seems to be going out of his way for Fohl.

“Then Fohl-dono, since you worked alongside Iwatani-dono, I’ll have to award you with a title as well. In the unlikely case that something happens to me, I have to give you a position high enough that you will be able to pull this country together-” (Trash)

“Aniki! I’m seriously begging you! Please!” (Fohl)

“Naofumi!” (Melty)

Ah, I guess there’s no choice.

“I get it, so calm down, okay? There’s Queen Melty’s age to consider, and her body can’t deliver children yet, correct?” (Naofumi)

“Wha-” (Melty)

Melty’s really glaring at me now.

There’s no helping it, right? If I don’t put it like this, they’re going to find some excuse to get us hitched.

“Please do not worry about that. Melty has already developed a body capable of the feat.” (Trash)

“Why would father know!?” (Melty)

“There was plenty written about Melty in my late wife’s memos…” (TRash)

Oy, he’s trying to end this on a melancholic note.

And wait, that Queen knew about Witch’s virginity, and she knows about Melty as well?

Just how much surveillance does she have?

No, before that, why is she leaving things like that to future generations?

With one wrong step, she could embarrass them for ages to come.

“N-no, thinking about Melty’s body, I would like to put it off for a while. By my standards, she’s still too wet behind the ears. She’s just a child.” (Naofumi)

I’ll leave it vague, and pretend it never happened after I return to my world.

“What did you say!? I’m already plenty an adult already!” (Melty)

“Idiot! Be quiet!” (Naofumi)

It was then that I remembered the standards through which people were recognized as adults around here.

As long as the parents recognized them as such, they were treated as adults.

A smile full of good intention floats on Trash’s face.

“Then there are no problems. As she has expressed her opinion, it appears that we can treat Queen Melty as a bonafide adult. And so… Iwatani-dono, I leave Melty to you. I really want to see the face of my grandchildren soon.” (Trash)

“Someone please save me!” (Melty)

When she’s the one who instigated it, why is she crying out for help?

“Mel-chan, do you want to run?” (Firo)

Melty’s scream reached everyone but the oblivious bird beside her.

<noinclude>

==Translator Notes==
<references/>

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| Back to [[Tate_no_Yuusha_no_Nariagari:Web_Chapter_346|Web Chapter 346 ]]
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| Forward to [[Tate_no_Yuusha_no_Nariagari:Web_Chapter_348|Web Chapter 348 ]]
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</noinclude>

Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari:Web Chapter 304

2018-09-11T23:05:00Z

172.68.189.220: /* A Price Too Great */

==A Price Too Great==

I step in front of the bursting Houou. To protect Raphtalia. To protect the Heroes, and the slaves, and the Allied Armies. I stand against the flames scorching the ground before me.

I have no time to worry about the damage from Blutopfer.

I can only count on the Wrath Shield’s defense power.

Perhaps the Spirit Turtle Shell would work as well, but this one has higher defense at the moment.

“UWWWOOOOOOOOHHH!ǃ” (Naofumi)

I let out my voice as I go forward, step by step, to push away the flames coming at us.

Besides the area I defend, everything is charred black.

Gu… It’s gotten past my Shield’s defenses, and I feel the excruciatingly hot flames eating away at my flesh.

The sense of feeling in my arms disappears, along with the pain.

My instincts scream that my body is in danger.

Should I switch to the Spirit Turtle Shell?

It has high fire resistance. I imagine it changing in my mind.

And, from the Shield… I feel something screaming out.

Even if I change to that shield, I still won’t be able to stand this.

「Change Shield」!

I change one of my Float Shields to the Spirit Turtle Shell.

…It was burned to a crisp in no time! I deploy the Shield again in front of me to buy some time.

Even with the Wrath Shield, I’m taking this much damage.

If this attack gets past me, those behind me will be reduced to nothing but cinders.

I feel the world around me slowing down.

I guess this is the sensation you get when your life is in peril. I think I read about it in a book somewhere, once. When humans sense their lives are in great danger, their thought process hastens, and time seems to pass slower.

The merciless flames from Houou endlessly surge against me. In order to reduce everything into ash.

Barely… I’m barely containing it, but I get the feeling that only 5 seconds have passed in real time.

How long will I have to do this?

I deployed Meteor Shield long ago, and it was instantly destroyed.

There’s no point in using a reflecting Shield, and my Float Shields are already out.

But by deploying my floats one after the other, I’m just barely getting through this.

What do I do?

「Dreifach Resist Fire!」

Something from behind me… is it Ren? A magic that increases my fire resistance flies at me.

I guess it isn’t Revelation level because there wasn’t enough time.

A wise decision.

I feel that the damage I’m taking has reduced ever-so-slightly.

But that’s merely delaying the inevitable.

!?

Houou’s fire’s output increased.

As if to tell me there was more to come, the fire power suddenly jumps up. The flames burn through me.

The heat seeps through the cracks forming on my Shield. My shoulder is now a nicely baked entrée.

“Naofumi-sama!” (Raphtalia)

“Naofumi!” (Ren)

“Gu…” (Naofumi)

Raphtalia and the others call out to me.

A few of them cast recovery and support magic on me. I’m impressed they were able to muster that up in this short amount of time.

But it’s still not enough to handle Houou’s inferno.

Gugu…

I frantically pour all of my strength into keeping my Shield arm steady.

The force hitting me seems like it’ll blow me away at any moment. My limbs are turning into charcoal. The HP bar on my status is unsteadily teetering into the critical zone, and I guess I’ll be burned away to nothing at this rate.

I’m impressed that the past Seven Star Hero was able to take on this monster.

Looking back, isn’t this explosion more powerful than the one on the mural?

Ku…

In ten seconds or so, I’ll be blown away, won’t I?

No, there’s a single way.

If I use that, I’ll save everyone’s life.

But if I do, I’ll definitely die…

But…

“I just have to do it!” (Naofumi)

It happened at the same time as my scream.

Next to me, a single little girl stood.

“It’s fine. I’ll protect… I’ll fulfill Naofumi-sama’s wish.” (Atlas)

“What!?” (Naofumi)

Me and… that girl’s brother cry out.

The girl firmly nods… she holds out her hands as she jumps forwards.

I can’t let her challenge the impossible. I immediately reach out my hand to grab her.

But my outstretched hand never reached Atlas.

Having studied defense under me, that girl… uses one of the attacks we made together. 『Collect』. She directs all of the flames towards her, and collects them. She creates a Wall to redirect them, and sends them in a direction devoid of human life.

“Atlas!” (Naofumi)

In response to my voice, the girl’s mouth forms a kind smile.

She’s letting off an immeasurable amount of sweat… the meat on her arms has been burnt to a crisp, yet still, she uses her Chi to redirect the flames… And in response to her great will, the flames obeyed.

What came next was an explosive sound strong enough to destroy my ears, and a flash too loud for me to keep my eyes open.

When I open them, the smoke prevents me from seeing anything.

“Geho, Geho! Atlas!” <ref>TL: Sound of coughing.</ref> (Naofumi)

I wave my arm as if to brush away the smoke. I shout out.

And I turn and ask a question.

“Are you okay! Is everyone safe!?” (Naofumi)

The smoke clears, and behind me, I see everyone standing.

It seems that we managed to change the direction of Houou’s flames, but the flames we missed came into contact with the army, and caused large casualties.

There are corpses all around. Many have collapsed on the ground.

More importantly, Atlas.

She ran in front of me, into the flames. I look for the young girl who took drastic measures to save us.

And… I look above.

And I realized the fact that something was falling down from the sky.

I hold out my arms to catch it.

“Ah…” (Naofumi)

Heavy emotions run through my head, yet the item in my hands is so light… that thing, that item… was a girl missing an arm, with both of her legs turned to charcoal. It took me several seconds to realize that I had found Atlas.

“Atlas!” (Fohl)

Fohl runs over.

“KYUIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!” (Houou)

At the same time, the shadows of two large birds cover us.

“Naofumi! We have to retreat!” (Ren)

Ren shouts at me.

“Ah… bu-but…” (Naofumi)

“The current you can’t fight! We have to heal your wounds! And… We need to hurry up and treat that child! There are many injured people. This is the time where… the best healer among us should step forward. This is the time for you to act!” (Ren)

No words can come out of my mouth… what do I do? What can I do!?

“Quickly! Leave this place to us!” (Ren)

“U-understood!” (Naofumi)

“Raphtalia-san, hurry and get those two out of here! Fohl, you get back too!” (Ren)

“Y-yes! Firo!” (Raphtalia)

“Yeah!” (Firo)

In response to Ren’s stern words, I was brought to the back lines. My mind was still blank.

“Ah… ah…” (Naofumi)

I still can’t form any words.

Atlas is on the verge of death.

Looking closely, it isn’t just her legs that have turned to charcoal. Everything under her stomach has been burned to a crisp.

It’s amazing that she’s still alive.

“Hah… ha… hah…” (Naofumi)

I leave her to rest in a temporary medical tent, and go around treating those on the verge of death with the rest of the medics.

But the most severely wounded was Atlas.

The rest are… only those that survived made it here.

In my blank mind, I look over everything I saw and heard once more.

“Atlas! Get a grip!” (Fohl)

Fohl grips Atlas’s remaining arm, and desperately starts talking to her.

Atlas responds in a whisper.

Don’t waver…

What I have to do now is treat the wounded.

I need to save as many lives as I can.

I’m a hero. I’m the Hero of the Shield.

Defense, Support, and Recovery. I’m perhaps the best in the world in those aspects.

…I can’t concentrate.

Even so… I can’t let anybody… I can’t let Atlas die.

Calm down. Concentrate, and cast the highest level healing you can.

「Revelation Heal」!

The glow of my recovery magic envelops Atlas.

But… it didn’t bring back her missing limbs.

“W-why!?” (Naofumi)

Healing Magic is all-purpose, right!?

Ah, right, when I got back, the magic they cast on me healed my wounds, but it didn’t seem to have an effect on Atlas.

No… It’s probably healing her, but her wounds are too severe…?

Then… I take out Yggdrasil medicine from my Shield, and apply it to Atlas.

It works as an ointment, and if drunk, it can save patients on the verge of death. If I use it in all ways possible, she should get better.

But…

“WHY!?” (Naofumi)

There’s no sign of Atlas healing.

I take out my anger on a nearby healer.

“Why won’t she heal!?” (Naofumi)

“… She’s crossed the line where healing is impossible.” (Rato)

Rato came forward, and muttered this.

“What… do you mean?” (Naofumi)

“The fact that Atlas-chan is even living is something close to a miracle. Starting with the healers, and the Marquis’s magic and medicines, keeping her alive is the best we can do. Also…” (Rato)

“Rafu…” (Mii-kun)

Under Rat’s arm, Mii-kun’s core cried out.

“This child also had her body destroyed as he protected everyone. He did this much…” (Rato)

“Rato-san. Is there any way you can save Atlas?” (Raphtalia)

“Can’t you do anything!? Can we give her life like that Mii-kun in your hands?” (Naofumi)

“Monsters and Demi-Humans are different. If we used homunculus technology, then perhaps we could get her arms and legs to move, but that girl’s also burnt up most of her organs. Alchemy isn’t omnipotent.” (Rato)

“This can’t be…” (Raphtalia)

“Even by replacing parts, it’s not enough. No matter what we do, she won’t be saved.” (Rato)

“That’s a lie!” (Naofumi)

I won’t believe it! Never! There has to be a way!

Where!? Where is the Shield that can save Atlas’s life? There has to be one.

What the hell is the Hero of the Shield? What the hell is with this hero that had to sacrifice a little girl to survive…?!

“Naofumi…… sama…” (Atlas)

I turn to Atlas.

“Did we protect everyone?” (Atlas)

“Yeah, but more importantly, you-” (Fohl)

“Onii-sama… please bring Naofumi-sama here…” (Atlas)

“…Okay.” (Fohl)

Fohl grabs me, and drags me next to Atlas.

“…I know. I have no time left, right?” (Atlas)

“What are you saying? You have as much time as there’s time in the world.” (Naofumi)

On my answer, Atlas, weakly shakes her head.

“Naofumi-sama… It’s fine already. Don’t worry about me.” (Atlas)

“Of course I would worry about you!” (Naofumi)

Right. If one Yggdrasil medicine was no good, then if I use more, I should be able to save a single life.

But my supply is limited to two. But if I just get more, then definitely.

I signal the healer to come closer, and order him to bring some Yggdrasil medicine.

“Quit it already, Marquis! I just said it, but she’s past the limit.” (Rato)

“We won’t know if it works until we try!” (Naofumi)

“And I’m telling you because we do know!” (Rato)

I ignore Rato, and apply the second vial to Atlas.

First, rub it on the wounds…

But as I touched her skin, I noticed.

The parts that had become charcoal wouldn’t come off no matter what.

“Sorry, Atlas!” (Naofumi)

I took a knife meant for medical use, and cut off the charcoal portions.

But… still, there’s no sign of her healing.

“Hah… hah…” (Atlas)

It seems she can do nothing but breathe. She puts her remaining hand on mine.

“Please… stop already.” (Atlas)

“Never!” (Naofumi)

Don’t say such things in front of me!

No matter what happened, I never gave up.

Even when I was betrayed by those I trusted, even when I was called a devil, even when I was almost killed, I never gave up.

Even so… I can’t give up in the face of this… this unreasonable turn of events!

“Naofumi… sama. Please understand… I can’t be saved anymore. I’m the one who understands that best. Every second, part of my Chi, my life force leaves my body, so… I understand.” (Atlas)

“But, even so-” (Naofumi)

Water scatters from my eyes, which I thought had withered long ago.

“With Naofumi-sama’s miraculous power, I am… here talking to you. Please… calm yourself.” (Atlas)

Weakly, as if her body would crumble at any second, Atlas stroked my face.

“Hah… hah…” (Atlas)

“…” (Naofumi)

I close my mouth, and Atlas smiles. It’s a smile like one a mother would give to comfort a crying child. Using her hand, she wipes away my tears.

“Naofumi-sama, I love you more than anyone else in this world. And I said this before, right? I wanted to become your shield.” (Atlas)

“…Yeah.” (Naofumi)

And that means you’ll accept a fate like this!?

If you died because you acted as someone’s shield, do you understand just what sort of emotions the person you protected would experience!?

When I was thinking that, I understood what Atlas was trying to tell me.

What she did was exactly what I was trying to do.

Using Collect to gather the flames, and release them somewhere else.

If put into practice, what would happen? I was the one who understood that best.

If Atlas didn’t step in front first… I would be where she is now.

“Even so... this…” (Naofumi)

I can’t muster up anything but a cracked voice from my throat.

“I am… satisfied. Like this, I was able to use the life you saved to save yours.” (Atlas)

“No, you can’t die. You can’t die from protecting someone like me.” (Naofumi)

That was something that I should have been doing.

It’s not like I wanted to die.

If it was me, I may have survived it.

“Naofumi-sama… I don’t think I can… answer that request.” (Atlas)

“Why!?” (Naofumi)

I know! I already know.

But can’t I pray for a miracle too?

Someone. Anyone is fine. God, I pray to you.

I don’t believe in anyone, but I’ll pray to you!

I’m well aware that this is a selfish request.

Even if the God of this world is the Four Heroes, even if I go against myself, if you can save the girl before my eyes, then… I…

“Naofumi-sama, please… listen to my last bit of selfishness.” (Atlas)

“What? What is it? I’ll definitely grant it. That’s why you can’t do anything like dying!” (Naofumi)

“…I wished to become your Shield. That wish hasn’t changed…and…I don’t want to return my blood, flesh, or soul to the earth.” (Atlas)

“Eh?” (Naofumi)

The hand grasping mine moved to my Shield.

“I knew from the start I could never become Naofumi-sama’s number one.” (Atlas)

“What are you…” (Naofumi)

“But still, I wished for it. If at least this body can be closer to yours than anyone else…” (Atlas)

I remember the Atlas that came to my room every night.

She always wanted to be by my side.

“Even if I lose my form, please let… me be with you.” (Atlas)

At this girl’s goal… I trembled.

<noinclude>

==Translator Notes==
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