“We’re almost at the Royal Capital. Everyone, keep it up!”
Several days after Kent and his companions returned home from the forest, a unit that had been dispatched for a retaliatory attack against the Duchy encountered a giant creature in the forest separating the borders. They were severely beaten, lost their combat capabilities, and were forced to retreat. The battered unit had moved close to the Royal Capital. Fortunately, there were no fatalities or seriously injured individuals, but many suffered abrasions and minor injuries. They should have rested midway, but since they were withdrawing with unusable supplies, the higher-ups decided it would be more efficient to move the army towards the Royal Capital rather than wait for new supplies to arrive, as most of them were still mobile. They had been enduring a difficult retreat, sharing the little remaining food among themselves, but as the Royal Capital drew nearer, their faces lit up with relief at having safely returned this far.
“Captain, I see a supply unit ahead.”
“Finally. Now we can rest.”
Upon receiving news at the Royal Castle that the retaliatory force had been annihilated and was retreating towards the Royal Capital, a rescue unit was hastily formed. They secured as many supplies as possible, including food, and organized a medical team to treat the wounded, then set off to rendezvous with the retreating unit.
“Now we can finally eat.”
“I thought I wouldn’t make it, I was so hungry, but it looks like I’ll survive.”
Upon spotting the supply unit and the prospect of receiving food, the unit’s morale, which had plummeted to the lowest depths, slightly improved. Their steps became lighter, and their marching speed naturally increased.
“I see the main force of the Kingdom’s Army ahead.”
“Hmm, thank you for the report. We will construct our camp here. Hurry with the food preparations and setting up tents for the injured. I apologize to them, but I’ll have you walk on your own for a little longer until our preparations are complete.”
Although this rescue unit was a hastily assembled group, most of the aristocrats with bases near the Royal Capital, eager for merit, had committed much of their private armies. Furthermore, apart from the units guarding the frontier and the Royal Capital’s defense forces, almost all of the Kingdom’s Army that could be mobilized near the Royal Capital had been summoned. However, the Duke, the father of Josette and Elnet, who had objected to this operation, did not mobilize his private army. Consequently, this rescue unit was primarily composed of the Duke’s Army, which meant it was relatively well-disciplined. By this point, information was being exchanged via swift horses between the main force and the rescue unit, and the Duke was aware of the damage status. Therefore, judging that the unit requiring rescue could move on its own to a certain extent, they calculated the distance to allow for arrival and set about preparing to receive them without waiting for the rendezvous.
“It seems that forest truly was something we shouldn’t have touched. Fortunately, there weren’t too many casualties among the people, but the loss of supplies was immense. I wonder how the King will handle the responsibility.”
The Duke, watching the retreating unit approach, worried about how the post-war settlement would be handled.
“They were thoroughly beaten, weren’t they?”
“Kk, we didn’t know such monsters lived in that forest.”
Eventually, the two units merged, and the soldiers, who had endured hunger during their march, were able to have their first proper meal in a long time. The Duke then arranged a meeting with the influential noble who had commanded the retaliatory force. The Duke, with a hint of sarcasm, immediately addressed the failure of the mission. The commanding noble argued that the encounter with the giant creature was unforeseen and that he was not at fault.
“Fortunately, at least we didn’t suffer any fatalities, only injuries. Our unit will do its best to ensure a safe journey back to the Royal Capital.”
“Kk, it’s frustrating to be indebted, but I suppose I have no choice but to accept it gracefully.”
Since the Duke had been ordered by the King to assist the unit, the commanding noble could not argue too strongly. He disliked the increasing influence of the Duke’s family, but he had no choice but to accept the Duke’s favor.
“Those who can walk, head directly to the tents. Those who cannot walk or are severely injured, this way.”
The Holy Knights dispatched from the Sanctuary were also part of this rescue mission. They primarily attended to the wounded and worked alongside the medical team, including doctors. Otsupain, the captain of the Holy Knight unit, along with other Holy Knights, was busy sorting the influx of wounded individuals to determine if they required basic treatment or a doctor’s assessment. Those requiring only basic care were handled by an emergency first-aid unit organized from dispatched Holy Knights and members of other units. Those deemed to need a doctor’s examination were attended to by the medical corps, consisting of doctors and nurses.
“I heard it in the reports, but there are more injured than I expected.”
Otsupain thought as he looked at the stream of incoming wounded. Those with leg injuries who couldn’t walk were carried on stretchers, but most were lightly injured and could walk on their own, making the sorting process relatively easy, though he was surprised by their sheer number.
“Although it’s a small proportion, it seems to be placing a great burden on the other side as well.”
Otsupain looked towards the tents where those requiring a doctor’s examination were housed and worried about the workload of a certain individual increasing.
“Hmm, it’s broken. Well, if you get it splinted and rest, it will heal quickly, so don’t worry.”
*Smack!*
“Gyaa!!”
Inside the tent where those requiring a doctor’s examination were housed, the attending physician was examining an injured soldier. The elderly male doctor finished examining a soldier and slapped the soldier’s arm to move on to the next patient. Incidentally, the spot the doctor slapped was the fracture, and due to the force of the blow, the soldier let out a loud scream of pain.
“Alright, I’ll splint it and bandage it so the bone heals nicely.”
“Oh, please do. By the way, isn’t that doctor a terrible quack?”
“Is that so? They say he’s a famous doctor in town. He can’t pinpoint the exact location of a fracture just by examining it, but with him, you see, he uses the spot he hit as a reference for easily splinting it.”
The young female nurse said so, explaining while showing the condition of the spot the doctor had hit. The injured soldier’s arm showed a reddened area, which was where the doctor had struck it earlier.
“But isn’t that other, smaller doctor more amazing?”
“That doctor? Ah, the Saintess. She’s off the charts. In all my years as a nurse, I’ve never seen anyone treat injuries the way she does. I was surprised at first, but thanks to her, we’re really being helped.”
The soldier receiving care from the nurse’s gaze was directed towards Catherine, clad in a white coat. She busily moved around tending to the wounded soldiers, but her actions differed from those of other doctors. The nurse assigned to her was also initially surprised by Catherine’s treatment methods, but after a considerable amount of time spent in the tent undergoing treatment, she had grown accustomed to it.
“Excuse me. Where does it hurt?”
“Around my right thigh.”
“Alright, pardon me. Ah, it’s wide open.”
Catherine, who had been summoned for this rescue mission, was initially instructed to use her wind magic to calm the soldiers’ hearts. However, she was now examining the wounded, just like the doctors. In the early stages of this mission, she would feel faint every time she saw other people’s blood, but thanks to the mental stabilization magic from Moe, who accompanied her, she was able to remain calm.
“Moe, could you do me a favor?”
“Yes, I understand.”
Catherine quietly conveyed her request to Moe, who was accompanying her. Moe, being a fairy, was invisible to others, so no one, except for the Holy Knights, noticed her presence.
“There, this should be fine.”
“Y-you healed it. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Please take care.”
With Moe’s recovery magic, the injured soldier’s wound was instantly healed. The soldier thanked Catherine, who responded with a smile and moved on to the next wounded individual. In this way, Catherine, with Moe’s help, treated many injured soldiers, and this would later be recounted as one of the episodes in the legend of the Saintess. With the help of many people like this, although the retreating unit lost a large amount of supplies, they safely returned to the Royal Capital without a single fatality.
