“Hey partner. Do you hear me? Hold on there, I’ll tell you something nice. At that time, that girl wore those black cat clothes just for you. She wanted you to push her down again.”
Derflinger waited for a while.
However, no matter how long he waited, there was no answer.
Once Derflinger’s power wore off, Saito’s hand lessened its grip. Free from Saito’s lifeless fingers, Derflinger muttered with regret,
“…tch, you can’t hear me anymore.”
Louise awoke and found herself on the deck of the Redoutable.
Because of the wind brushing her face, as well as the sound of the fluttering sail, she finally woke up.
Malicorne and Guiche were staring back at her face.
“Wow, Louise is awake!”
“Good! Good!!”
Seeing friends nodding their heads constantly, Louise asked in a surprised voice:
“I… why…?”
“We don’t know. When the ship departed I found you sleeping here.”
“…Here, this is a ship?”
As she watched the moving scenery for a few minutes, Louise suddenly remembered a very important thing, abruptly springing to her feet.
“I, I must go stop the enemy army. I have to prevent the Albion army from catching up!”
Malicorne and Guiche both stared at her with surprise.
“Stop the enemy?”
“Yes! I have to delay the enemy to buy us time to retreat.”
“We already retreated.”
“This is the last ship from the port of Rosais.”
“…Oh?”
Louise looked confused as she stared from the forecastle, as the continent of Albion became smaller and smaller.
“How can it be? What happened to the Albion army that was chasing us?”
“They said they couldn’t catch up with us, although by a small margin”
“Good, Good, this means we can get home safely.”
“But when we get back, there will still be a lot of trouble.”
Malicorne and Guiche stared at each other, then the two start laughing.
What really happened?
Why did the Albion Army slow their march?
In that moment… she suddenly remembered something more important.
She could not see Saito anywhere.
Louise ran around the ship in a circle, and met Siesta and her family on the forecastle.
“Miss Louise… you woke up?”
“Don’t talk about it! Where is Saito?”
Siesta’s face turned white upon hearing this.
“I was waiting for Miss Vallière to wake up to ask it, shouldn’t Saito-san be with you?”
Louise shook her head, looking at her worried face, Siesta became paler every second.
“Miss Vallière, where is Saito-san? Where, please tell me!”
In that moment, they heard two soldiers talking behind them.
“I heard from a buddy from Navarre's ship, they said they saw a single person ride off to stop the Albion army.”
“Haha, stop joking, it is just one person, what can he do?”
Louise walked near one of the soldiers and said,
“Hey, what you just said, is it true?”
The soldier was surprised to be questioned by nobility, and showed a face full of shock and stammered,
“Yes, yes. But I don’t know if it is true or not, someone else told me this story, that part is true.”
Louise’s face lost all colors, the tint of blood instantly withdrew from every inch of her body. It must been Saito. It was impossible to be wrong. I don’t know what he did to make me fall asleep, then dropped me off on this ship… then went off against the Albion army.
Louise ran up to the hedge and screamed
“Saito!!!”
“Miss Vallière, what happened? Please tell me, tell me!”
Worried Siesta pressed Louise.
“Saito!!!”
Louise screamed, jumped over the railing, and then tried to jump toward the ground.
“HEY! HEY! You want to die?!”
Guiche and Malicorne saw the situation, and grabbed her before she could leap.
“Let me go!!! I am begging you let me go!!!”
“NO! There aren’t any of our men on the ground anymore.”
“Let me go!!!”
Louise’s wails and howls echoed across the White Country's sky.
The Albion army that arrived at Rosais, looked up into the sky and ground their teeth.
They were just a hair away, but now they could not do anything but watch the allied army escape.
They would have continued the chase, but there were no ships left.
After occupying Rosais, Cromwell entered the red-brick base… then bit his fingernails in anger.
He already had General Hawkins, who failed to accomplish the mission, confined and sent back to Londinium.
“Why didn't Gallia send their soldiers? If they had been attacked from both sides by both countries, the Allied Forces would not have been able to leave Saxe-Gotha…”
He asked Miss Sheffield… who was nowhere to be seen.
Cromwell was nervous after losing a fight. He was afraid to carry this war any further. He was at the breaking point. He was at the point where he was shaking uncontrollably…
Shouts of joy sounded from the other side of the window.
When he stepped up to it…
He saw a large fleet piercing the sky.
On fluttering flags one could see two wands crossed… Gallia’s fleet.
Cromwell went ecstatic.
“Ooh! Finally you came! As expected from the large country of Gallia! How many ships are there? But… why did it come now… after the enemy ran away?”
And once he bit his fingernail again, it hit him.
“That’s right! They are going to chase the enemy fleet! That's good! Messenger come here, immediately!”
When he was about to call messenger… the messenger jumped into the room himself.
“Gallia’s fleet! It arrived!”
“I know! I saw it myself! Now! Tell Gallia’s fleet commander that- …”
The messenger interrupted Cromwell’s orders.
“There’s a message from Gallia’s fleet, Your Excellency!”
“Message? Oh! I see!”
“They wanted to know your whereabouts in order to greet you!”
“Greeting? Is that so, ha ha ha! They are really very cordial! They have a cordial king and secretary, so the fleet commander must be too! Now, rise up an assembly flag in front of the door.”
“Understood.” The messenger left.
After a few moments, in the courtyard, the Holy Assembly flag of the Republic of Albion was raised. After that, dozens of ships lined up around the building one next to another. It was a spectacular naval scene.
What kind of greeting would it be? He waited excitedly…
Then, before his eyes, the building’s door opened and people ran out in panic. Why are they running away from here? Just like rats from a sinking ship.
He looked up at the fleet again. Hundreds of cannons from the gangway shone at the same time.
Cromwell hadn’t seen anything more beautiful during all 30 years of his life.
Thousands of cannonballs, after an order to fire, hit the red brick building where Cromwell was.
And in an instant, the official base turned into a pile of rubble.
Epilogue
The left hand of God is Gandálfr, the ferocious shield of the lord. His left hand wields a large sword and his right hand wields a long spear, protecting me with endless vigilance.
The right hand of God is Vindalfr, the kind-hearted flute of the lord. He dominates all beasts of life, leading me through earth, sky, and water.
The mind of God is Myoznitnirn, the book that carries the crystallization of thought. It carries all knowledge and provides advice whenever I am in need.