She lightly patted her somewhat scalding cheeks to force her face to tighten up before she completely lost her composure. One reason for that was because she knew how her relaxed face made others wary, while the other, more important reason was because it deeply embarrassed her.
Neia did not want to walk around outside with an unseemly look on her face. She would have to meet others later, so at the very least she had to look presentable.
More to the point, Neia was the squire of the Sorcerer King, so anything disgraceful that she did would also damage the Sorcerer King’s reputation.
Still, I’m only acting as his temporary squire, so it’s the Holy Kingdom which would be disgraced…
However, the people who hated the Sorcerer King would not think that way. As the saying went, one was blinded by one’s hate. Or rather, it was like how those who hated swords hated swordsmiths as well.
Alright!
Neia did not want the Sorcerer King to regret the fact that she was his squire. In other words, all Neia had to do was her job.
As Neia headed for the place where she had arranged to meet, she thought incessantly about the kindness that the Sorcerer King had shown just now.
— Is that so, is that how it is, what a shame.
She had sensed deep regret from the Sorcerer King when he said those words back then. There was no way he could have been rattling them off casually.
…His Majesty really is a kind person…
The Sorcerer King had grieved for someone from another country who had died in battle as though she had been one of his own people. Where in the world could you find a king like that? Of course, Neia did not know any other kings, so perhaps that simply reflected her dreams.
For instance, if Neia and the others had held on a little longer, they would have been saved along with Neia, and that father who had lost his child would also have survived.
Neia was not unhappy that the Sorcerer King had been late in his rescue. In the first place, she was grateful for the fact that he had come to rescue her, because he had already said that he had to conserve his mana for the battle with Jaldabaoth. In addition, she had heard some of the militiamen in Remedios’s unit say that he had fought several powerful demihumans at the west gate before he had come to rescue Neia.
The Sorcerer King had fought two demihumans who could each kill a paladin in a single attack and another one whose strength was on par with that of the Holy Kingdom’s strongest paladin.
The militiamen telling Neia all this had been hard-pressed to hide their excitement as they rattled the proceedings off like a machine gun, and they added, “We’d all have been killed if not for the Sorcerer King.”
Indeed. Neia felt a surge of heat in her chest.
The Sorcerer King had gone elsewhere to help others before coming to save Neia.
While she was slightly disappointed that the Sorcerer King had not prioritized helping her, it was wrong to feel that way. The defense of the city wall was important, but it would be a far worse matter if the city gate were to fall. If the gate had been breached and the demihumans managed to get into the city, there would have been merciless slaughters everywhere.
Anyone with any sense would have prioritized the city gate to save more lives.
People who acted according to logic were more reliable than people who were ruled by their emotions.
That’s the Sorcerer King for you!
Neia thought of the strongest paladin in her country.
Just comparing the two of them is disrespecting His Majesty!
After that, the Sorcerer King had also hunted down the few demihumans who had made it into the city, and many people had been saved as a result. In fact—
“Ohhh! If it isn’t His Majesty’s squire-sama! Did you tell him for us?”
It would seem that Neia had reached her meeting point while she was pondering how cool the Sorcerer King had been.
In a certain sector of the city, six men gathered on a street which still smelled of the battlefield.
They addressed Neia like they had been waiting impatiently for her. In fact, they had actually been quite impatient.
“Yes, I’ve relayed your gratitude to His Majesty.”
Several people unconsciously went on the defensive as Neia looked at them, but after hearing her words, they smiled and thanked her.
“Ah, thank you very much. It’s hard to express your gratitude to the king of another nation. No, it’s hard enough just to thank the Holy Queen-sama.”
“That’s true, you can’t even meet her to begin with.”
The people before her had ages which ranged from fourteen to forty. However, all of them were squad leaders. Some of them had even been professional soldiers once.
Judging by their attitude, they did not feel any sense of dread toward the Sorcerer King because he was undead.
It was true that some people were still wary of the Sorcerer King because of his undead nature. In addition, people like that were more common among the smallfolk than the priests or paladins. They often said that the Sorcerer King was being kind in order to betray them at the right moment, and other such things.
However, Neia felt that their reaction was because they did not understand the Sorcerer King and had simply acted out of the usual disdain for the undead. The reason for that was the group of people before her. There were many people who had changed their way of thinking once they got to know the Sorcerer King.
“No, please don’t worry about it. I simply conveyed your gratitude to His Majesty. Ah, yes, His Majesty said that your thanks made him very happy.”
There were bashful looks on the representatives from the militiamen.
“No, we’re the ones who should be happy… oh, what should we do…”
“That’s right, His Majesty really is compassionate. I’m embarrassed by how we used to fear him because he was undead.”
“His Majesty is truly a kind person. However, I hope you will not expect such good fortune to happen again and again. After all, His Majesty did say that he had used a great deal of mana in this battle, and he would not be able to help you again next time.”
The group’s faces immediately sobered up.
“So we might not have His Majesty’s help next time… this is bad.”
“A lot of people will be afraid if they know they can’t rely on His Majesty to help them, my team especially.”
“It’s not just your guys. It’s the same on my side too… we can’t tell them about this.”
Neia quietly addressed the shaken group.
“Everyone, I have come to understand one thing. That is: weakness itself is a sin.”
As puzzled looks appeared on their faces, Neia slowly explained herself.
“Do you get it? If we were strong enough, things would not have gotten to where they are now. We could have saved our parents, our children, our wives, our friends, we could have saved all of them with our own hands. The Sorcerer King once said that we are the ones who place the most value on the things which are important to us. After all, His Majesty is not the king of this country, and he simply came to assist us for a special reason.”
Neia took a breath.
Neia raised her voice, so the people watching her and the people of the Holy Kingdom passing by would hear her words.
“…When the Sorcerer King defeats Jaldabaoth and returns to his own country, what will we do when the demihumans attack again? Will we cry and beg the Sorcerer King, the king of another country, for help once more? For all we know, the Sorcerer King might not help us next time. That’s because this time was an exception. Have you ever heard of a country’s king working so hard for another nation?”
Nobody answered Neia, because such a thing was nowhere to be found.