Currently, we, the Party Members of “Princess Harem,” are traveling in two carriages.
I, Hal Harem Von Raymond, am driving the leading carriage, with Sophie, our guide, seated beside me, just as we were at the start.
Meanwhile, Eria, who received training as my substitute, and Edele, Freyja’s substitute, are being exchanged to gain more experience.
There might be differences in teaching methods between me and Freyja, so it will be a good experience for both Edele and Eria.
Inside the passenger carriage, Ilisha was accompanied by Tirna and Alicia.
Ilisha had previously collapsed when we moved from Raymond Mansion to the “Princess Harem” base mansion, and she was occasionally feeling unwell this time as well.
Each time, I used Healing Magic, but her condition was gradually worsening.
By the way, the current seating arrangement is as follows:
Leading carriage: Hal, Sophie, Ly, Liliana, Edele, Tirna, Ilisha, Alicia
Rear carriage: Elise, Mai, Swan Hilda, Kirika, Freyja, Dietlinde, Shera, Eria
Additionally, during a stop for a break, I peeked into the passenger carriage and saw Tirna giving Ilisha a medicinal soup for motion sickness.
Ilisha’s poor condition is due to her being a Homunculus of crude construction, but they are likely trying to prevent her from getting motion sickness.
And when Ilisha rushed to drink the medicinal soup and choked, Alicia gently patted her back to comfort her.
I already knew Alicia was a kind-hearted girl, but Ilisha also has a patient personality.
Edele watched them with concern.
Ilisha should have a few more months of remaining operational time, or rather, estimated lifespan, but she must be suffering from pain and discomfort due to impaired bodily functions.
Even so, Ilisha bravely lives each day to the fullest, without despair, and is receiving etiquette training from Liliana and the others.
I strongly wished to somehow save such a devoted Ilisha.
Ly and Liliana were engaged in a secret conversation.
They were probably discussing Sophie’s punishment.
Even from my perspective, Sophie went too far yesterday.
Incidentally, in the rear carriage, Elise and Freyja were, as usual, being served by Shera, enjoying her Fox Ears and fluffy Fox Tail.
Currently, Shera can transform into “Shera-san” or “Older Sister Shera” by her own judgment using Beastification, but it must be troublesome for Shera to go along with Elise and Freyja.
The remaining Mai, Swan Hilda, Kirika, Dietlinde, and Eria seemed to be engaged in aimless chatter.
Our carriage had now entered a forest area.
The place where we stopped for a break earlier was a clearing made by travelers for resting.
In the center of the clearing, a simple stone hearth was built, and there were stakes for tying up carriages.
Tirna put firewood in the hearth and boiled water in a kettle to make and serve herbal tea.
Furthermore, she distributed cookies that had been made and stored at the “Princess Harem” base mansion as a snack.
“Hal-sama, I feel a bit feverish. May I rest in the passenger carriage?”
“That’s fine, Sophie. I’ve already asked for directions, so you can rest in the passenger carriage.”
“Thank… you… Hal-sama.”
After the break, as we were about to resume our journey, Sophie complained of feeling unwell.
It was probably due to last night’s activities.
She’s hopeless, but I couldn’t afford for her to collapse, so I decided to let her rest in the passenger carriage.
“It seems Hal-sama’s side is now empty. May I sit there?”
“That’s fine, Dietlinde.”
“As expected, Hal-sama understands.”
Dietlinde, who quickly noticed the empty seat next to me, asked to sit there, and I permitted her.
When I gave my permission, the tips of Dietlinde’s pointed ears twitched with joy.
Come to think of it, Edelgard, who was with me in the Hero Party in my previous life, also honestly expressed her emotions through her ears.
Considering that, elves might be surprisingly easy-to-read beings.
“H-Hal-sama! There are some questionable individuals up ahead!”
After we set off again and had been slowly proceeding at a walk up the gentle slope of a hill for some time, Dietlinde suddenly exclaimed.
Then, Dietlinde extended her right arm and pointed towards the top of the hill.
“Wh-what is this! This is bad!”
Following Dietlinde’s finger, I saw a group of vulgar men gathered under a tree at the top of the hill, with a noose fashioned from a rope hanging from a branch, dragging a person who was bound behind their back.
They were probably about to place the noose around the unfortunate victim’s neck and hang them.
As we watched intently from the driver’s seat, the noose was placed around the victim’s neck, and the lynching was about to begin.
“Dietlinde, can you burn through the rope they are using to hang the victim with Fire Spirit Magic from here?”
“Of course, but is it alright to do so?”
“I permit it, so please do it!”
“Understood.”
Just as they pulled the rope and began to hang him, it suddenly ignited from the middle and burned through. The victim collapsed to the ground.
Immediately afterward, the men who had been observing the situation seemed to realize that we were responsible for burning the rope. Five dirty-looking men ran down the hill towards us.
Their clothing had no uniformity, except perhaps that it was all soiled.
They were likely bandits.
The five men, presumably bandits, charged at us with swords and spears, letting out war cries.
“How foolish.”
“Gyaaaah! Hot, it’s hot!”
“Gwaaaah!”
“Why is my clothes! Gyaaaah!”
Dietlinde’s lips curled slightly into a devilish smile. Immediately after, the clothes of the five men ignited, and flames rapidly spread across their bodies.
The five men rolled on the ground, struggling desperately to extinguish the flames, but soon stopped moving, appearing to be dead.
“Dietlinde, you’ve improved.”
“Naturally. More importantly, please check the victim’s condition.”
I praised Dietlinde’s skill for incapacitating the enemies in an instant.
Dietlinde seemed pleased, but immediately composed herself and asked me to check on the victim.
Generally, elves have a high aptitude for magic.
Among them, Dietlinde, being royalty, is loved by the fire spirits, and her Fire Spirit Magic was exceptionally powerful.
Come to think of it, I recalled from my past life that Edelgard, Dietlinde’s half-sister, also used wonderful Water Spirit Magic.
We proceeded cautiously, checking for any hidden enemies, besides the five we had just defeated.
As we passed the fallen five, they had all been reduced to charred remains.
Further on, a carriage lay overturned on the roadside. Around it were the bodies of three stout men, presumably knights, and two women, who appeared to be maids or attendants.
The men seemed to have been ambushed, as they had been cut from behind or had arrows in them and were already dead.
The two women, on the other hand, were dragged out of the carriage, raped, and then strangled, their bodies exhibiting a horrific scene.
Their clothes were disheveled, exposing their breasts and crotch areas, with semen dripping from their labia.
They too were dead.
“Such cruel acts…”
Myria and Dietlinde, who had dismounted from the carriage, began an on-site inspection of the surrounding area. The air was thick with the smell of death.
The carriage had been entrusted to Edele in case of an emergency departure, and Freyja was waiting at the reins in the rear carriage.
“Given this gruesome scene, my actions were appropriate. Now, will you save one of these individuals with Resurrection Magic?”
Dietlinde, her beautiful face contorted, investigated the ambush site and justified her use of spirit magic before asking who I would save.
“With my ability, I can only save one person, so a ‘choice of life’ is necessary.”
“It may seem cruel at first glance, but Hal-sama’s Resurrection Magic is akin to a miracle from the God Clan… it cannot be helped.”
With my Resurrection Magic, it was possible to revive one person, but not all, so a “choice of life” would be forced.
This decision must be made carefully.
As I was contemplating this, we reached the summit of the hill.
Using the branches of a large tree growing here, the last of the victims appeared to be about to be hanged.
Searching at the base of the tree, I found a woman lying in the undergrowth, with a strangulation noose around her neck.
I approached the fallen woman with Dietlinde, who was accompanying me.
However, the woman’s neck was turned at an impossible angle.
“This woman is also dead… It seems her neck bone was broken when she fell…”
In the end, there were no survivors.
We laid out the victims’ bodies and began the examination.
There were a total of six bodies: three men and three women.
“It seems they are refugees who escaped from the Yver Duchy. Please, Hal-sama, save at least one of them.”
Sophie, who had rushed to the bodies, pleaded with me, almost to the point of rubbing her forehead on the ground.
“Then, please tell me who I should revive.”
Taking this opportunity, I left the “choice of life” to Sophie.
“– This woman with the rope around her neck seems to have had the highest status. Please revive her.”
I proceeded to examine whether the woman, no, perhaps a girl? – designated by Sophie could be revived.
The cause of death appeared to be damage to the cervical vertebrae from falling awkwardly when Dietlinde burned the rope at my instruction.
She was blowing red, bloody foam from her mouth.
However, her face seemed to have been brutally beaten during the rape, and the severe swelling made it impossible for even Sophie to identify the girl’s identity.
The reason I determined she was a girl was because her body shape was not that of a mature adult, but rather in the process of developing secondary sexual characteristics.
This girl’s clothes were also disheveled, her breasts were swollen and red, and there were even cuts from a blade.
Looking at her crotch area, there were no pubic hairs around her labia, confirming she was a young girl.
It appeared a penis had been forcibly thrust into this girl’s vagina opening, and her vaginal wall seemed to have been torn.
Her anus was also in a similar condition.
Her lower body was stained bright red with the blood she had shed, and her clothes were smeared with a viscous fluid mixed with semen.
Fortunately, there were no missing body parts, so it seemed there would be no hindrance to applying Resurrection Magic.
“Sophie, it looks like I can manage. However, her clothes are in tatters, could you remove them?”
“Understood, Hal-sama.”
Sophie skillfully removed the girl’s clothing with a knife.
The girl appeared to have been wearing travel clothes. While the sturdy fabric of her top remained partially intact, her lower body was bare, exposing her genitals.
Looking around, I saw trousers and panties of the same color as her top lying on the ground.
While this was happening, Sophie turned the remnants of her top into scraps, and soon the girl’s body was completely naked and lying on the ground.
“Now, I will cast Resurrection Magic.”
As I chanted Resurrection Magic, the girl’s body was enveloped in phosphorescence. First, the semen and bloodstains on her disappeared.
Next, the bruises all over her body vanished, and the swelling on her face subsided.
“Ah! I’ve determined this girl’s identity! Her name is Lisanna Roses Von Patus, the daughter of Chancellor Patus, the former owner of the mansion where we were staying!”
The girl I revived turned out to be the daughter of Chancellor Patus, a high-ranking official of the Yver Duchy.
She was likely attacked by bandits while fleeing from pursuers of the Espana Imperial Kingdom.
Lisanna’s heart began to beat again, but she remained unconscious in a coma.
She must have hit her head badly when she fell, as she seemed to have been truly dead.
I had hoped, like with Ly, that she wouldn’t be completely dead and would regain consciousness while coughing and sputtering…
Based on past experiences, she would likely wake up tomorrow.
Once Resurrection Magic was successful, Elise immediately retrieved clothes from the Item Box using Space Magic. The Party Members gathered around, helped her dress, and lay her down on the floor of the carriage.
Afterward, we collected any useful items from the remaining bodies and the overturned carriage, and Dietlinde cremated them using Fire Spirit Magic.
Still, Dietlinde’s Fire Spirit Magic has improved in power and accuracy.
Despite the presence of flammable materials like trees and fallen leaves around, there was no spread of fire.
After that, without any further incidents, we arrived at Hout, our planned lodging for the first night.
Thank you for reading.
episode31-4 Sudden Darkness △ has been scheduled for pre-release at 0:00 on March 31st.
