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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Prøks]
[Proofreader - Prøks]
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Chapter 107
"D-darling. Are you alright?"
"Huh? Oh. Where am I...?"
"That mage saved us."
Clear sunlight began to stream through the small window of the detention room.
'...Morning already?'
The day, which had been evening, had ended, and dawn had broken.
'By now, everyone must have switched shifts and gone out to the battlefield...'
"M-mage! Thank you. You saved us-."
"Thank you. Tha-"
The couple whose brainwashing I had undone last approached me and bowed their heads.
They seemed to be expressing their gratitude, but honestly, I couldn't hear them well.
I was exhausted and my mind was hazy.
It was no wonder, after spending 15 hours like this.
"You're welcome. R-rest..."
Damn it.
I could barely speak.
"...Mage, are you alright?"
I looked up to see Eos staring at me with a worried expression.
I weakly nodded and opened my mouth.
"...Next... person..."
I couldn't stop now.
If my memory served me right, there were very few people left to heal.
I just had to push myself a little more, just a little bit more.
"Yes."
After waiting for a while, Eos sat a young man in front of me.
Clack! Clack, clack! Clack!
He gnashed his teeth as if he were about to bite my neck off at any moment, but I was no longer fazed by such things.
"Hold... him tight..."
"Yes."
Whooosh! Srrk!
I imbued my mana with the light attribute and holy power, then poured it into his body.
Pasasasak!
And then, I found the location of the mark and destroyed it.
The series of processes, now completely ingrained in my body, flowed smoothly even in my hazy mental state.
"Next."
"This is the last one."
"The last..."
Those words gave me a bit of strength.
Since it was the last one, I squeezed out all my remaining power.
And then...
"Wh-where am I?"
"Haha, it's over..."
As I heard the voice of the healed young man, my consciousness faded away.
Faded far, far away.
***
Two soldiers, returning to their barracks after a grueling battle, stopped in their tracks.
"What's that?"
The reason was the unbelievably long line stretching from the detention center, seemingly endless.
"...What the...? What are those people doing?"
There had been no news of additional reinforcements arriving.
Of course, they could have arrived without any notice, but there were too many strange things about those people's appearance and behavior for that to be the case.
"They don't seem like reinforcements... Why are they swarming around like that? And why are they coming out of the detention center? Oh, could it be?"
Suddenly, an ominous thought crossed the soldier's mind.
"Are they escapees?"
Come to think of it, he had heard something.
That a large number of people had emerged from the rift, consumed by demonic power, and were temporarily imprisoned.
The soldier narrowed his eyes and scanned the people.
Their ragged clothes, their sheer number, and the location in front of the detention center.
There was no doubt, these were the people who had been imprisoned.
"Whoa, then that's dangerous. We need to report this immediately!"
"Let's go quickly!"
Realizing the gravity of the situation, the soldiers hurriedly turned back.
They had to report this situation as soon as possible.
Since they were possessed by demonic power, there was no telling what they might do.
Just then...
"There's no need for that."
A massive knight with an insignia on his shoulder blocked the soldiers' path.
Looking up, they saw a familiar face.
"Commander of the 7th Knights...?"
Elbert Tyron, the Knight Commander in charge of the soldiers in the 1st barracks.
He was a figure that no soldier belonging to Asternon could not know.
"There's no need? What do you mean?"
"Exactly as I said. They are not escapees, nor are they suspicious individuals, so there's no need to report."
"What? Then who are they?"
"They're just... people. Just like us."
"...?"
Although they couldn't understand what he was saying, the soldiers nodded for now.
"Yes, well then. We'll be on our way."
"Alright."
After all, they were just low-ranking soldiers.
If a commander like this stepped in, there was nothing they could really do.
It would only cause them trouble.
'If there's a problem, he'll take responsibility, right?'
With that thought, the reinforcement soldiers headed back to the barracks.
After confirming that they were gone, Elbert Tyron turned his gaze.
To the bizarre procession.
No, to the mage who was being carried unconscious within that procession.
"Huh, he really saved hundreds of people?"
It was unbelievable.
He knew the mage's abilities were impressive, but who would have expected this?
That he would actually undo the brainwashing of hundreds of people.
And alone, at that!
A little over 15 hours had passed since he had given him the task.
He could tell how difficult it must have been to achieve such a result in that time, even without witnessing it firsthand.
Perhaps that was why?
Elbert felt a strange tingling in his nose.
"...Good work."
A sense of responsibility to keep his word and the tenacity to accomplish what he set out to do.
This was the result of those two things combined.
No, it was the result of three things, including the humanity to treat the residents of Area 7 as people despite being a mage.
"Don't worry. Your will has been sufficiently conveyed."
That boy already had the qualities of a commander.
Elbert turned away, determined to see that bear fruit as soon as the war was over.
***
"Ugh..."
I woke up with my head pounding.
And I couldn't help but flinch.
"Why are you all staring at me like that?"
It was no wonder, with dozens of people staring intently at me.
It would be strange not to be surprised.
"They all volunteered to nurse you back to health, mage."
It was Eos who answered my question.
"Are you feeling alright?"
"Ah, yes. I can bear it."
To be honest, it felt like I had been hit by a truck, but I didn't say that.
Everyone was already gathered here because they were worried about me, so what would happen if I said that?
I hated being a burden.
"Phew... That's a relief, really. When you collapsed earlier, we were so worried..."
Eos exhaled with a relieved look and suddenly clasped my hands, saying,
"327 people, mage."
"Yes?"
"The people you saved."
"Ah... I see."
Were there really 327 people?
I didn't know because I hadn't counted them myself, but it was quite a large number.
Well, it was ridiculously small considering the number of residents who lived in Area 7.
Many residents had already lost their lives before I could persuade Elbert.
And surely many had died before that, when the demons attacked Area 7.
327 people remained.
Rather than feeling guilty that I couldn't save more, I felt a sense of accomplishment.
I had saved the lives of this many people with my own hands.
And above all...
"How long did I work? Time-wise."
"Ah, you worked for about 15 hours and 30 minutes."
"That means it took about 3 minutes per person."
After the arduous work, my magic manipulation skills had increased tremendously.
What initially took 2 hours per person had been reduced to an average of about 3 minutes.
Actually, considering that the first few people took quite a bit of time, my skills must have improved even more than that.
In fact, towards the end, it only took about 10 seconds to heal someone.
'This wasn't what I expected, but it feels good.'
An unexpected magical growth.
In a way, it was more valuable to me than the lives of 327 people.
After all, the magical growth I was achieving now would save thousands, tens of thousands of lives in the future.
Anyway.
"Do you happen to know the situation on the battlefield?"
The task I was assigned was over.
What remained was to return to the battlefield.
"Ah, yes. From what I saw, it seems they're about to start closing the rift."
"And the shift change is done?"
"Yes, this barracks is empty now, and I heard that the royal forces will arrive soon. But... are you thinking of going to the battlefield right away?"
I nodded confidently at Eos's words.
There was no question about it for me.
"I have to. My comrades will be waiting."
I had been away for too long without a proper explanation.
They must be incredibly worried about my safety.
Besides, judging by the setting sun, it must have been a while since the 3rd wave started.
As this was the most crucial moment that would determine the outcome of the war, it was right to return as soon as possible.
Of course, my body felt like it was about to crumble... but I had to endure it.
"It's just as he said. It seems your own safety isn't that important to you, mage."
"Yes? What do you mean?"
"The commander visited a while ago. He said you would probably try to return to the battlefield as soon as you woke up."
"Ah, is that so?"
It seemed he had figured out my personality...
I quickly glanced around and was relieved.
They were just staring blankly, which meant he probably hadn't ordered them to stop me.
No, rather...
"He asked me to give you this."
"This is...?"
"It's an [Elixir]."
"What?"
Elbert had taken a very unexpected approach.
He had handed over the precious [Elixir].
An unexpected magical growth.
In a way, it was more valuable to me than the lives of 327 people.
After all, the magical growth I was achieving now would save thousands, tens of thousands of lives in the future.
Anyway.
"Do you happen to know the situation on the battlefield?"
The task I was assigned was over.
What remained was to return to the battlefield.
"Ah, yes. From what I saw, it seems they're about to start closing the rift."
"And the shift change is done?"
"Yes, this barracks is empty now, and I heard that the royal forces will arrive soon. But... are you thinking of going to the battlefield right away?"
I nodded confidently at Eos's words.
There was no question about it for me.
"I have to. My comrades will be waiting."
I had been away for too long without a proper explanation.
They must be incredibly worried about my safety.
Besides, judging by the setting sun, it must have been a while since the 3rd wave started.
As this was the most crucial moment that would determine the outcome of the war, it was right to return as soon as possible.
Of course, my body felt like it was about to crumble... but I had to endure it.
"It's just as he said. It seems your own safety isn't that important to you, mage."
"Yes? What do you mean?"
"The commander visited a while ago. He said you would probably try to return to the battlefield as soon as you woke up."
"Ah, is that so?"
It seemed he had figured out my personality...
I quickly glanced around and was relieved.
They were just staring blankly, which meant he probably hadn't ordered them to stop me.
No, rather...
"He asked me to give you this."
"This is...?"
"It's an [Elixir]."
"What?"
Elbert had taken a very unexpected approach.
He had handed over the precious [Elixir].
"He told you to give me this? To me?"
"Yes. And he said he wouldn't ask for payment."
"Huh."
I couldn't easily believe it.
[Elixir] was a healing potion known to contain the power of pure spirits.
There were various types, but even the cheapest ones cost tens of thousands of gold coins.
Pop!
I immediately uncorked the [Elixir] and sniffed it.
Sniff! Sniff!
'Hmm, doesn't seem like poison.'
I wondered if this was some kind of assassination attempt because I had defied his will, but fortunately, it didn't seem like it.
My heart was fine.
Of course, I still felt uneasy about this unexpected kindness.
"Oh well, I don't know. It can't kill me, can it?"
I trusted my intuition and drank the [Elixir] in one gulp.
Gulp, gulp.
From my mouth to my esophagus, stomach, small intestine, and large intestine.
A burning sensation spread through my insides as if I had just drunk strong alcohol.
And then...
Tingle.
With a thrilling sensation, I jumped to my feet.
"Whoa."
"Are you alright?"
"I feel like I could fly!"
It wasn't just alright.
Not only was my mind clear, but my whole body felt as if it had been reborn.
It was incomparable to any potion I had ever taken before.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
The feeling remained the same even as I moved my arms and legs vigorously.
Somehow, it seemed even better than the recovery effect of 'Level Up'.
"No wonder it's so expensive."
[Elixir], which I had tasted for the first time in my life.
Its effects were beyond my imagination.
Well, it was so expensive that I wouldn't be able to obtain it personally.
Anyway.
"Then I must be on my way now."
Yuhan, the 5th Circle Mage, was revived.
It was time to end the war.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Prøks]
[Proofreader - Prøks]
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