What just happened?

That was what Rei felt as he saw what had happened.

No, he knew what had happened.

Kabajid had taken responsibility for the civil war with his own life.

But……

(What had Kabajid just said?)

Seeing Kabajid collapse to the ground……or more accurately, after hearing Kabajid’s last words, Rei muttered in shock.

He was frozen in shock as others rushed over to Kabajid.

The words Kabajid had spoken as he plunged the dagger into his body, Takato Castle Ruins Park.

Rei knew those words.

However, they were not words he had learned in this world, but on TV back in Japan.

It was one of the best places in Japan for viewing cherry blossoms.

The cherry blossoms there were so beautiful that the name of the place, Takato Castle Ruins Park in Nagano prefecture, had left a strong impression on Rei.

And, cherry blossoms didn’t exist in this world.

No, maybe they did, but after living in Elgin for nearly two years, Rei had yet to see cherry blossoms.

So……

「Your Highness Kabajid! Why would you do something like that!? Is there anyone who can use healing magic!?」

「No! His injuries are severe, but this isn’t the result of his injury, it’s poison! The dagger is laced with a powerful poison!」

「Poison!? Wait a second, I have an antidote! Here.」

「That’s great! ……No, it’s not working! The poison is so strong that even an antidote potion can’t do anything about it!」

「Damn it, where is the healer!?」

「Soon……they’re here!」

「You’re here! Please treat Prince Kabajid!」

A man in his thirties, known for his gentle demeanor, hurried towards Prince Kabajid.

However, his expression was tightened into a serious expression. He reached out to Kabajid, who was lying on the ground, and spoke an incantation.

『Light, heal this man’s wounds and grant him mercy.』

White light emerged from the man’s wand as it touched Kabajid’s wound.

『Healing Light.』

The magic was activated.

However……

「No way……something like this……」

The wound on Kabajid, who was already unconscious, had indeed healed from the magic cast.

However, the next moment, the wound reopened.

It was as if time itself had rewound, returning to the moment he had stabbed himself.

「What is going on!?」

A noble who saw what happened grabbed the man who had just used healing magic.

Seeing the wound recover, even if only for a moment, before returning to its previous state had made him even more confused.

The man who had used the healing magic seemed equally confused if not more.

Given his position as a healer at the punitive force’s main camp, his skill was first rate.

In fact, even if a limb had been severed, he was possible to reattach it with magic, provided it had only just happened. If rare materials were used, a limb could even be regenerated.

With such skill, he was undoubtedly one of the top five users of healing magic in the Bestir Empire.

It was impossible for him to be unable to heal a stab wound.

Thinking about how that could have happened in his current situation……he turned to look at the purple bladed dagger on the ground.

If it wasn’t a problem with his skill, that was the only other possibility he could think of.

「This dagger has some other effect aside from poison……possibly one that inhibits healing.」

The moment he said that, murmurs broke out around him.

If something was stopping the wound from healing, there was nothing that could be done.

If they had the proper equipment or rare healing magic items, they might have been able to do something, but this was a battlefield, not a laboratory or hospital.

As things stood, there was nothing they could do.

In addition to all that, the poison in Kabajid’s body was incredibly potent.

「It’s no good.」

The man who had been using healing magic in an attempt to sustain Kabajid’s life shook his head.

Everyone knew what that meant.

In other words……the flame of life of Kabjid, the First Prince of the Bestir Empire, had gone out.

「Impossible……Kabajid, why would you do something like this!」

Shurus shouted as he slammed his fist into the ground.

He had always felt a sense of mystery surrounding Kabajid.

But they were still blood brothers, and they had come this far as the punitive force, albeit for various reasons.

He was shocked that such a person would sacrifice their life for his own as tears began to flow from his eyes.

「Kabajid……」

It wasn’t just Shurus, Vihera felt the same.

However, perhaps knowing that Kabajid’s life would likely have been over after starting the civil war and then losing, or perhaps because the unease she felt about Kabajid was greater than what Shurus felt, Vihera wasn’t as sad.

However, Kabajid was ultimately still related by blood and Vihera shook her head.

「Vihera-sama, the battle won’t end unless we declare that Prince Kabajid has taken responsibility for their defeat with his own life……and that the civil war has been won.」

「……I see. It’s unfortunate, but this is war and there’s no other way. Shurus.」

At Vihera’s words, Shurus stood up from his crouching position.

He took one final look at Kabajid’s body before turning to the nobles nearby.

「The battle is over. Inform all fronts of our defeat and order those still fighting to cease. Also, I am offering my surrender to Mercurio, so please prepare for that.」

『Understood!』

Several nobles quickly responded at Shurus’ words and went straight to action.

Some nobles from the First Prince’s faction were still stunned, unable to believe that their master, Prince Kabajid, was dead. However, most also started moving at Shurus’ words.

The First Prince’s faction comprised of talented nobles after all. Because of that, they moved quickly once they were given orders.

At the same point in time, Mercurio’s army was also making their own moves.

Vihera ordered Tilleyle to send messengers to all fronts to inform them of the punitive force’s surrender and to bring the fighting to an end.

And……

「Rei, can I talk to you for a moment?」

Rei, still in shock, came back to his senses at Vihera’s voice and nodded.

「Yeah, what is it?」

「Could you please send a message back to the main camp announcing our victory? I’ve sent out orders to stop fighting, but we need a more official ceasefire order from the main camp to enforce it. In addition, it will be faster for the main camp to send messengers to a few locations than to send them from here.」

「……I see, I understand. I’ll go immediately.」

「Yes, please. ……Rei, is something wrong?」

Even from their brief exchange, Vihera had noticed that something was off with Rei. She asked worriedly, but Rei shook his head, pretending that nothing was wrong.

「If we have to send out a ceasefire order, it’s best to do it as soon as possible. Sorry, but I’ll get going first.」

Without waiting for Vihera’s reply, Rei got on Set’s back and took off into the sky.

Rei had a lot of things on his mind at this moment. He apologised to Vihera in his mind as he flew away.

「Gururururu~?」

As Set turned his head around worriedly, Rei stroked his neck.

「It’s nothing, so don’t worry about it. Let’s head back to the main camp for now.」

「Gurururururu~!」

Set gave a loud cry in response to Rei’s words as they flew away.

Hearing Set’s cry and seeing them in the sky, the people fighting on the ground paused for a moment, bringing the fighting to a temporary halt. This all happened without them knowing of course.

(Kabajid was clearly referring to a famous cherry blossom location in Japan. So, was Kabajid originally Japanese? At the very least, there has to be some connection. Was he like Takumu Suzunose, the Numerologist from Zepairu’s group, and somehow transported to Elgin? ……No, that’s impossible.)

Rei immediately rejected that thought.

Kabajid’s features were befitting of royalty.

At the very least, his appearance wasn’t very Japanese.

More importantly, Kabajid was a prince of the Bestir Empire. In other words, he was the son of Emperor Tragist.

From that alone, it was clear he wasn’t like Takumu Suzunose.

(Then, was he like me? But by whom? In my case, I almost died because of Zepairu’s search for a successor to his Magic Beast Art……no, I did die and my soul was caught by Zepairu.)

As Rei thought about that, he suddenly remembered that he hadn’t fed Set any magic stones recently.

To be exact, he hadn’t fed Set any magic stones from new monsters that could potentially give new skills.

(No, that’s not the point. I was thinking about Kabajid. Did he come to Elgin from Japan as a soul and possess Kabajid’s body? If he went throught he same process as I did to posses a body, then that would undoubtedly be the case……but then, why did he want to die? If he came to this world like me, he should have died at least once already. If he had wanted to live……)

As Rei thought to himself worriedly, Set flapped his wings, pushing through the sky.

As a Griffon, Set was naturally faster than a Wyvern. It didn’t take long for them to travel from the punitive force’s main camp to Mercurio’s army’s main camp.

「Guru~?」

Set’s cry brought Rei back to his senses as he hurriedly looked down towards the ground.

There, he could see several soldiers in the camp looking up at him.

「Let’s go down, Set.」

「Gururururururu~!」

Set gave a short cry at Rei’s words, flapping his wings as he descended to the ground.

The soldiers tensed up for a moment at Set’s appearance, but quickly relaxed.

While they knew it was Set, it was still nerve wracking seeing a Griffon flying about.

……Of course, after confirming that it was Set, many of them would start doting on him.

「Captain Rei, thanks for your hard work.」

「Yes, I have an urgent report to make, so please let Theorom, Mercurio, and the others know.」

「Yes sir-!」

Seeing the soldier leave, Rei lightly tapped Set on the back.

That was enough for Set to understand what Rei wanted. He moved to a place where he wouldn’t get in the way and lay down.

Several soldiers looked at Set as he gave a cry and closed his eyes.

Watching that familiar scene, Rei thought back to what he had been pondering.

(The only reason I can think of for Kabajid’s death……is that he couldn’t adapt to this world and it’s incomparable lack of convenience to life in Japan. Well, it’s certainly understandable if he had been born as an ordinary citizen, but Kabajid was Bestir Empire royalty. With magic items and similar things, he could have lived a life not much different from that in Japan……maybe even better in some cases.)

Unlike Rei, who had been sent to Elgin without any backing, Kabajid had undoubtedly faced fewer inconveniences.

(Although, having come from Japan, that would have meant he would have had to deal with the restrictive lifestyle of royalty……could that be why?)

Even Rei, who had lived an ordinary life in Japan, would have said no if asked if he would want to live a life where every aspect of his life was controlled.

To eat whenever he wanted, to complete requests he wanted to do, to sleep whenever he wanted.

The adventurer life was already ingrained in Rei.

(But, would that be enough to make him wish for death? That doesn’t sound convincing enough.)

Rei looked at the ground, caught in a strange sense of understanding and dissatisfaction at the same time. Then, he suddenly looked up.

There, he saw the soldier from earlier returning.

「Rei-dono, Prince Mercurio would like to see you. Please come in.」

「Understood.」

With that brief exchange, Rei entered the tent.

There, in addition to familiar faces like Mercurio, the leader of Mercurio’s army, Theorem, the person who actually ran the army, and Cyanus, Theorem’s second in command, there were also several nobles.

The main reason why there weren’t that many nobles present was because most of them were still on the battlefield.

「So, Rei. What’s the news? You’re an important force in the army, so there must be a reason for you to come back all this way.」

Nodding at Theorem’s words, Rei spoke.

「The punitive force has surrendered unconditionally. Futhermore, taking responsibility for the civil war, Kabajid committed suicide. We tried to save him, but……」

Rei silently shook his head to indicate that they had failed.

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