***Arc 5 The One Who Obstructed, Chapter 93 Act of Compensation***
"Then Bald Eagle, rest and heal well until Krische summon you again."
The next morning, in front of the carriage headed for Bergash Fortress, Krische, her Century, and Begil, the First Battalion Commander, who was on good terms with Dagura, stood to see him off.
"Until then, Bald Eagle should stay at home and stay still, uuhh let's see, Bald Eagle shouldn't train for about three weeks."
"...Yes ma'am. I'll rest well, Krische-sama. It's been a long time since I've seen my family's faces, I'm sure I'll be better very soon."
Dagra saluted with a cheerful smile and looked at Mia.
"...Mia"
"Y-yes sir!"
"You're stubborn, rough, and sloppy. You talk back to me when I give you orders, and you are late in the morning even though you are the adjutant. Frankly, as military personnel, you're not even worth being evaluated."
"Eh, eeh...?"
The sudden words made her chestnut hair shake, and Mia froze as if in shock.
Those around them couldn't help but laugh.
But Dagra gives a rare (for him)--- ---soft smile and continued.
"...not that you don't have many problems like that, but, nevertheless, I appreciate your talent more than anyone else. And that innate cheerfulness and atmosphere you possess are now indispensable in this squad, if not in other squads. ...I also have high hopes that you will eventually surpass me as a commander.
"Y-yes..."
'Even though I'm not good at this kind of atmosphere', Mia muttered mutteringly, and Dagra slapped her head exasperated.
"That's what's wrong with you, you idiot. You talk too much about what you think."
"Uhh...yes"
But Dagra laughed and put his hand on her shoulder.
"Well, whatever. I'll leave the squad to you. I thought I could trust you because you're you. Will you do it"
"...Yes, Commander."
Mia also responded with a soft smile.
She had the smile of a village girl who didn't look like a soldier.
"Corinth, Tagel. ...Whatever the case it is certain that she is inexperienced. Please support her well."
"Yes sir!"
They saluted in unison.
In contrast to Mia, it was a respectful salute like that of a soldier.
"Kalua, you take care of the unreliable Mia."
"Ro~ger! Commander"
"...you would be a great soldier if it weren't for your antics."
Exasperated, Dagra held his eyebrows and smiled wryly.
"No...for a unit under the direct control of Krische-sama. Maybe it's just as well that we have a few oddballs here and there."
"......?"
Krische, oblivious that she was being referred to in a roundabout way as an oddball, tilted her head and the soldiers laughed again.
"I leave it to you guys. Well then..."
With that, he turned away, walked toward the carriage, and stopped.
Then he looked up at the sky for a moment, looked back, and said,
"...Krische-sama, may the God of valor Koreis guide you. Even if I can't accompany you, I sincerely wish you good luck in battle."
"Bald Eagle doesn't have to do that, please worry about yourselves and pray to the doctors, geez."
Dagra laughed as he saluted, and Krische, with her hands on her exasperated, continued.
"Then see you soon, Bald Eagle."
"Yes ma'am!"
Dagra got into the carriage, and the carriage departed, whereupon Krische announced dismissed.
From here, the next stop was Kielzaran.
The "things left undone" was there.
Kalua hugged Cliche and patted her on the head.
Krische puckered her lips happy but displeased.
"Geez, Krische's hair will become a mess."
"Commander Bald Eagle, no longer here, Krische lonely?"
"Kalua. Seriously, as soon as the commander is gone, you call him like that..."
Krische thought a little about those words and answered with a troubled face.
"... it, might be a little lonely"
"I see. Fufuf, shall Onee-san comfort you?"
"but......"
"Hm?"
Krische smiled happily.
"Bald Eagle is lively, Krische relieved. That might make Krische happier."
The little girl smiled embarrassedly, like a blooming flower.
Kalua, who was watching from up close, lost her words and pressed her to her chest.
"Mugu"
"Ooh, ah, what an admirable maiden you are. Onee-san worried that bad bugs will stick to you, geez."
"... I feel like Kalua is the bad bug though."
Mia said exasperated and smiled at the crushed Krische.
The others did the same, letting out their laugh.
In the midst of all this, the red sunrise light continued to shine brightly on them.
She was a cute little sister.
The other younger sisters were cute too, but she disliked their nagging, so she thought Elvena, who adored her calling her 'One-san, One-san', was even more so.
She followed Kalua everywhere she went, imitating everything Kalua did and sticking close to Kalua all day long.
Goodmannered, obedient, and a hard worker.
She was the kind of child who was loved by everyone in the village.
She was happy that she was attached to her, so she wanted to spoil her all the time.
But they could not stay that way forever.
Kalua had to study for the future and she was going to leave home.
What would happen to her sister, who always stuck to her like a koala, if she were to leave?
Feeling uneasy about it, she began to distance herself from Elvena at some point.
'Elvena, I have to go with a merchant in the city to study next year. You're no longer a child either, so you can't follow me around.'
'...Then I also want to go with the merchant.'
'Don't be selfish. ...Elvena will be an adult from now on, so you can't be like that. Be reasonable.'
Thinking about it now, she thinks it was much too sudden for a child who was barely ten.
If she had made more time, made her understand and convince her little by little, and had done it that way, Elvena might have felt differently.
Even though she was crying 'One-san, one-san', be an adult, sating just that would have been too abrupt for her.
Even when the other sisters said it was too cruel, she stubbornly said it was for Elvena's sake.
She wished she had told her more about her intentions to come back and how much she love her to Elvena.
----Don't go, take me with you.
Looking back, that was the first selfish thing Elvena said.
But at the time, she was too busy studying and worrying about the future to make time for her.
She didn't like seeing Elvena cry, so she avoided talking to her.
She was a little relieved when Elvena stopped approaching her.
she thought maybe she hated her, but she thought it was better for her, so she didn't mind it.
She later learned that Elvena had been reading books and secretly studying business.
A good and obedient girl----She didn't think that Elvena would think of such a thing, so she didn't mind that she didn't show up to show her off.
She didn't even realize she had gone with her until two days later when her father came running by horse.
She must have planned to come to Kahlua after the carriage had returned.
To avoid being taken back.
All she had were regrets, so she threw everything to save her.
Looking back, she wonders what she, who was into a village chief's family and raised in a greenhouse., thought she could do.
She should have known that it wouldn't work out like in the fairy tales.
'......What is One-san doing coming back now after speaking that furiously and abandoning your home? ,..Not only did you let Elvena go through all that, but you've caused trouble in so many places and homes that......Are you still going to cause trouble?'
'I just wanted to make sure. ...I've finished my business, I'm leaving now.'
'There's now she has come back right? ...It's One-san fault after all'
'...Yeah, you're right'
----Just like that, how many years ago was the last time she saw her home?
She was deceived by many people, killed many people, learned many things, and got tired.
She went back home to see if maybe she was there, and she wasn't.
However, that wasn't really all there was to it.
It's because she was just a bit little tired------she had a faint hope for the house she discarded.
Because the only things that piled up were unpleasant memories that she didn't want to remember and wanted to throw away.
She had a faint hope that they would let her to rest for a little while.
But perhaps that was for the best.
Thanks to that, she finally understood that there was no place to return to.
She couldn't stop herself anymore, because she knew that she had no choice but to continue even if only by inertia.
The first slave trader who bought Elvena was tracked down, tortured, and killed.
That was the end of the first two years.
It was a waste of time.
Even the slave trader did not know where the slaves they sold went.
She found the second one and tortured and killed him.
After that, she got information of the third, tortured him, and killed him.
The fourth had already died because of his life span.
With all leads gone, she returned home in faint hope, and then she was at a loss for a while.
But she couldn't give up.
Because if everything up to that point had been in vain, she would have nothing.
She kept moving with that kind of inertia.
She got better at doubting people and stopped making mistakes.
Her entertainment was fighting. Killing bad guys was enough to satisfy her sense of justice, and it makes her a little refreshed. At least he didn't give up even if it's only because of the inertia, and she thought she was doing her best.
Even though she knew it was just an act of pleasuring herself, she immersed herself in it.
----Or perhaps she herself wanted to die in the process.
Because then she could rest.
Because she would be allowed to give up, without thinking about anything and without being plagued with regrets.
He willingly took on dangerous jobs as a bouncer and traveling escort.
The payoff was good, and she felt more at ease doing dangerous work.
While she was swinging my sword, that was all she needed to think about.
It was around that time that there was a recruitment.
She thought it was just right.
The opponent was a familiar name----the notorious Gildanstein.
It seems that he was famous among slave traders for playing with slaves.
She remembered the name after hearing it several times, so she accepted the invitation and joined the army.
It had been a long time since she could find any clues, so anything was fine.
If it gave her a reason to fight, then anything is fine.
'----The second one from the right is black.'
The Century was a strange group.
A farmer who had never even wielded a sword, a merchant's third son, and a group of amateurs.
The commander was a young girl, no more than 15 years old.
It was a strange place, different from the army she had imagined.
As she spent her time there, she came to think that it was wrong.
The sensation of knowing that her feelings will wither away.
The most problematic thing was that the monster girl named Krische, a crazy but clumsy girl.
The Black Century, with few military personnel, was more like a town pub than an army, and her unique sensibility and purity added to the situation.
There was a sense that her reason and purpose were getting farther.
A feeling like she no longer knew her own core.
Or perhaps, since the beginning, she no longer knew herself from a long time ago.
Because in her heart she already gave up.
----Perhaps, this is an act of compensation.
"Ehehe, it's warm."
"It's getting cold after all. Usa-chan is prone to catching a cold, so you have to be careful."
Although the weather was clear, the air was mixed with winter.
Walking on the plain, not on the street but a little off the beaten path, she wrapped Krische inside her cloak.
She was a child who could not be left alone.
She was young, even in terms of her age.
She is sharp-witted and has no equal in swordsmanship, yet inside she is more like a child than a little girl, and just looking at her makes her uneasy.
She seems to have a hopelessly serious temperament, and even if she caught a cold and developed a fever, she would move around with a calm face, coughing loudly and not resting.
In her sensibilities, which were not well understood, it seems that catching a cold or showing fatigue was something to be ashamed of.
She insists that if her body can move properly, it's not a cold, and she thought probably the phrase 'fools don't catch colds' was used to refer to people like her.
She was strangely stubborn in this area, and she also got sick often, making her exasperated.
"Kielzaran, are you sure we don't have to do anything?"
"It seems that the Skeleton spy and Dagris------Roland's former spy are making good preparations. Krische doesn't matter if Kalua and the others are resting."
'That's why Krische said it's okay if you don't follow Krische', Krische said embarrassedly.
At first, Krische was planning to go to Kielzaran alone, but she would need someone to act as a contact in case something happened the 1st squad------Mia and the others advised to accompany her.
And so the six of them were walking together.
The situation was stable. There was no particular problem with splitting up the group, and since Krische understood that Mia and the others were saying this out of good intention and goodwill toward Krische, she agreed, but she also suggested, goodwill, that it would be better if they rest.
"Hmm. Usa-chan says this, but what do you think, Squad Captain Mia?"
"M-me?"
Mia, who was walking absentmindedly next to them, was confused when the conversation was suddenly pointed at her, and she groaned and answered.
"But as expected, when Corps Commander need someone, it will be inconvenient if no one is there... and even if we stayed back we don't really have any particular business."
"Hmm...Krische is fine either way. If you want to come, you can come, but Krische think there won't be anything particularly interesting, you know?"
"Even if I stay in town, I have nothing to do, so I'll just follow you. If left alone, Usa-chan will probably follow strangers after all."
Certainly, and so on, the other three agreed, and Krische puffed out her cheeks.
"...Krische isn't a child."
Krische said displeased, and Kalua chuckled.
"Geez, Kalua. She's more or less the corps commander, so don't say things like that. You were like that even in front of the General, I was sweating cold sweat inside you know."
"I don't think that Mia can say anything about other people when you also use that 'more or less'. Corps Commander, Mia may think that the corps commander is an idiot in her heart."
"Muu... is that so? Mia"
"I don't think so! ...Kalua, if you keep on instigating the corps commander like that, I'll get angry, alright"
Kalua happily holds Krische in her arms, waving her hand and saying 'don't get angry, don't get angry'.
Mia sighed and suppressed her anger.
"Well, anyway, I'll go with you. Are you happy, Usa-chan?"
"Huh? ......Hmm, Krische might be happy."
"Fufu, it's nice to be honest."
She laughed and said that while patting her head.
In her heart, she realized that it was a compensatory act, but now, however, it was also a reason for Kalua.
