Three days have passed since the first expedition into the [World Devourer Wood], and for three days, the fire have been burning the forest, sending clouds of dark smoke into the air, covering the sun, making day time seem like dusk. When the winds changed directions, flakes of ash would fall upon the village like snow, all the while smog covers the small hamlet, making it hard to see and unhealthy to breath for all living in the vicinity.

To treat those critically affected, mostly the old and the very young, Clerics from the capital have been sent. Around the village, Enchanters have begun erecting a large scale [Air Ward] to cast the smog away from the village. I look forward to the ward's completion, because I am frankly quite sick of the smoke, literally, I'm sick in bed thanks to it. It's had to breathe and I've been coughing nonstop.

"There, feeling any better, Aurelius?"

The princess had her hand on my chest, using her healing magic on me, alleviating my sickness greatly. However, so long as the smog remains, the symptoms will return soon enough, the problem won't go away as long as we're all breathing in this foul air.

"Much better, thank you. And on your side? I hope you're not pushing yourself too much."

"I'm fine, really. I'm just trying to do what I can."

She may say that she's fine, but I remain unconvinced. One look at her and anyone can tell that she's exhausted. Before the Clerics from the capital arrived, she had been the one tending to all the sick in the village. The Clerics from the military may be good with healing wounds, but when it comes to sickness, the princess is definitely more skilled. Apparently, even if it's the same spell, the effects varies from person to person. The princess explains it as the result of the difference in training, but even now I still haven't fully grasped it, perhaps because my spells and skills are something that I use via the assistance of the "system" rather than something I've learned on my own.

"I hope the ward gets set up soon."

"A large scale magic like that takes time to prepare, but it should be done before the end of the day. So rest assure, Aurelius, you won't be sick for very long."

"I'm not worried about me, more so the villagers."

"There's no need to worry about them, the Royal Clerics are very skilled, more so than I am."

"Ah, and yet you're here attending to me instead of one of you Royal Cleric, even when your skills are inferior. Is that how your treat your Champio- Ouch, ouch, I get it, I get it already! Mercy princess! Mercy!"

For the crime of mouthing off to the princess, I was sentenced immediately with a pinching to my thigh. The girl even used her nails, how horrid!

"Sheesh, talk about abusing your patient."

"Now, now, I'm sure that hardly even hurt for a Champion of your caliber."

She's not wrong, my Hp bar hardly moved a pixel. Still, it hurts, and being hurt isn't pleasant.

"I would still like to avoid pain if I can."

"Then I suppose you should do a better job of avoiding it then."

Oh, what's this, the princess appears to be in a bad mood now. Did I hurt her feelings? But she was the one who said that the Royal Clerics are more skilled than her in the first place. What to do, what to do...

"Regardless, skilled or not, I rather you by my side than a Royal Cleric I hardly know."

"Really?"

Oh man, she's so easy to handle.

"Of course, those Clerics of yours may be better for healing my ailment, but talking with you is healing for my mind."

"I'll have you know, flattery won't get you anywhere, Aurelius, but if you really think so, I suppose I could stay with you a little longer."

So she says, even while visibly blushing. Is it fine for the future ruler to have such a readable face? She's going to need to build up some resistance towards such cheap compliments, I'd say. Perhaps I'll tease her more when I have the time, though not right now, not when I'm in her mercy.

"I hope the villagers aren't too mad at us."

"Is that what you're concerned about?"

"Well, yeah. They had to suffer for our actions after all."

"While I'm sure there'll be some grumbling, rest assure, the villagers won't be mad at you. A little smog is a small price to pay for finally being able to drive the forest away. I'm sure they all understood that. Had it not been for you and the rest of the Champion, they would soon find themselves forced to leave their homes behind to be devoured by the forest."

"I sure hope so, princess, I sure do very much hope so."

"I'm telling you it is so."

It looks like the princess' mood is turning for the worst again, probably because I made it look like her words don't have much credit to them. I mean, I don't distrust what she's saying, I'm just a skeptical guy, I wish she would understand that. Well, I guess she's just at that sensitive age. If I recall, she's at a sensitive age. About sixteen? Seventeen? Around those numbers I believe.

"Speaking of which, how's the forest? Any change?"

"None, which is a good thing I suppose. There's no expansion, no growth, and the fire continues to burn."

"Good, I suppose all that work isn't for nothing at least."

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"But you're not happy about it?"

"Can you tell?"

"Well, you've been somewhat grumpy since your return. Did something happen?"

"It's just that I've been thinking that we may have been too reckless. The way we fight puts too much at risk, and even when we win, we overlook the far reaching consequences of what might happen due to our actions."

"Have you talked to the others yet?"

"No, I didn't want to ruin to celebratory mood after winning the fight, and then I got sick the very next day, so I didn't actually have the chance to talk."

"I see. Well, personally, I think the sooner you get it off our chest, the better. Best before your next battle."

"That's my intention, but I want it to be in a more private setting. It wouldn't do any good if the troops hear their Champion arguing after all. I'll have to do it after the ward is set."

"I agree with that idea. Not that I'm asking you to not show weakness, but if you think that it's best settled privately, you have my support."

"Yes, thank you for that. Now, I think you should get some rest yourself. If you keep pushing yourself, you're going to collapse, and then Merida's going to be real mad."

"That wouldn't be good, would it? In that case, I shall return to my own tent. Rest well, Aurelius."

"You too, princess."

***

Another day passed after that, and by the next day, finally, the large scale ward has been put up, clearing the area of smog and keeping more from entering the vicinity of the ward.

The massive [Air Ward] took fifteen Royal Enchanters the span of roughly two days to create. The effect would last for three days before another needs to be created again, and as the forest fire ranges on, it was said that this process will have to be repeated at least ten to twenty more times before the smog clears up.

Heading towards the outskirts of the village, I have Toto and Cecilia in tow, and from their solemn expression, I'm sure they know what is to come.

"I'm going to cut straight to the case. Why didn't you two tell me about that little maneuver of yours, the one with the [Meteors]?"

"Look, Aurelius, Toto just wanted to help. If you're going to blame anyone for this, blame me. I'm the one who gave her the go-ahead."

I shake my head, showing my disapproval and disappointment.

"That's not what I'm talking about right now. I just wanted to know why I wasn't informed about it."

Toto comes forward, her eyes down cast and half her face hidden by her witch hat, making it hard to tell what her expression is. However, from how fidgety she looks, she's akin to a child trying to hide after being found out for doing something she's not supposed to.

"It... It was something I came up with on the spot. I've been experimenting and I knew that you could ignore the cooldowns. So when more and more [Demons] start to appear in the forest, I told GodSlayer about it. She said to wait for her signal before going through with it. Since she's our guild master, I thought telling her would be enough. I'm sorry, sorry that I didn't tell you about it. B-but, you seemed occupied at the time so..."

I reach out my hand and place it upon her shoulder. Upon feeling my touch, Toto tensed up a little, perhaps thinking that I'm going to be mad.

"Well, it's not like I don't get it. It's hard to communicate properly in battle. I won't blame you for not telling. But still, don't you think that it's all a little reckless? What if my [Frost Ward] isn't strong enough to defend against the fire? What if Michaela's healing can't keep up? What if our target wasn't actually the power source?"

I try to put it as gently as I can since Toto seemed like a very timid child, but even as I speak with the most harmless voice I can conjure, she ends up shaking anyways.

"That's enough, Aurelius. It was in the middle of battle. I'm sure she didn't think that far ahead."

"Fair enough, but what about you, Cecilia? You're the one who gave her the go-ahead. If it's you, then you could have considered the risks right?"

"Well, we won didn't we?"

"But in exchange, we caused to smog to fall over the village and some people got very sick. If it weren't for the princess, some might have even died."

"This is a war, Aurelius, collateral damage happens."

"There could have been a better way. We could have fallen back and return with a better plan, couldn't we? To rely on a plan so spontaneous is too dangerous, to both ourselves and those around us. We're not playing a game here you know."

"You don't think I know that!"

All of a sudden, Cecilia snaps at me.

"C-Cecilia?"

This is the first time I've seen Cecilia so openly angry. Even Toto seems shocked, and those two knew each other in real life.

"I've already promised everyone we'd win! I can't take that back just because things got a little hard! I had to push on! What else was I supposed to do!?"

Cecilia continues yelling, apparently throwing a tantrum and breaking down right before my eyes. I see now, I was mistaken. All this time, I only though about how mature and understanding she was being. I thought that she was handling it surprisingly well, this whole being summoned and made to fight for a dying world situation. With the weight of having to lead us and the Beastkins into battle, and with the idea that while we're busy fighting here, another [Demon] horde may be invading elsewhere, with everything being so dire, she must have felt the pressure to succeed, too much pressure as it would seem.

I did not even think for a second that it all may to too much for her, too much for anyone here. No, maybe it's because we all were somewhat expecting Cecilia, our reliable guild master to shoulder it, that Toto and Six handled it as well as they did. But I should have known. Unlike me, Cecilia might not have the experience I have in dealing with such desperate situations, the feeling of being boxed in. Through my long monotonous life, I have encountered such situations before, the endless "crunch hours" that pops up whenever a game is close to its release dates, when everyone is expected to work overtime for little to no pay, when it was normal to sleep in the office, or even not sleep at all in order to make the deadline. I can't recall how many times I've broken down crying back then before I learned how to deal with it. Now that I think about it, that wasn't normal, that definitely wasn't normal. I don't think of myself as anyone special, but I should have understood that the kind of things I got used to aren't necessary ordinary to someone else.

I stretch my arms wide open and reach out. This is the only way I know to make her feel better, it's something I've learned since coming to this world, something the princess did for me every time when I seemed down. In the past, I didn't think much of it. That it's just a hug, jus two people in close contact with one another, what's the big deal? I'll be fine so long I have something fluffy to stroke on. But that's not quite right, feeling the warmth of the other person, feeling the heartbeat of another person, surprisingly, it naturally calm you down, at least, that's how it was for me.

Cecilia hardly hesitated before diving into my arms, falling onto her knees and burying her face into my torso. Then, all of a sudden, I feel something warm leaking on to my clothes, followed by unrestrained sobbing.

I reach my hand down, caressing her soft silky hair. Meanwhile, Toto comes closer, and with her small hands, she too embraces Cecilia from behind.

"It must have been hard on you Cecilia. I'm sorry I didn't notice."

"I'm sorry too, I had no idea."

After hearing out apologies, Cecilia shakes her head even while it's buried in my belly.

"No... I'm the one who sorry. I'm sorry I couldn't do better. It's all my fault that the village is-"

"The village is fine. The princess and the rest did everything they could to help, and now the village is fine. You're not alone in this, Cecilia, we're here with you, and the people of this world are here with us as well. We're not fighting this war alone."

Cecilia nods as she continues her sobbing.

"It really does suck doesn't it, this whole situation we got stuck in without our consent. But, I promise, I'll stick by your side till the very end. You will never have to face anything alone."

"Me to, I promise too. I'll be with you, forever."

To the promise from Toto and I, Cecilia again, nods in reply, her sobbing stronger now, and her grip on me seemingly tighter than before. I'm going to be completely soaked at this rate, but that's fine I guess, since we're in this together. For you, I'll gladly soak up all your tears.

***

End of Chapter 24