Thus, while the individuals from the allied forces dwelled in their own thoughts and cleaned up after their recent battle, the people on Steelwall’s side also got to work.
“Please get us some bandages!” Lubella’s pure white clothes that symbolized her Saintess status had been dirtied by blood and dirt a long time ago, not leaving a trace of their previous sacredness. It was the same for her face. Her hands were soaked with blood while her dainty face was blotted with red. Her hair which fell down like a waterfall was also in the same state. If anyone saw her, they would have misunderstood her to be one of the wounded.
Even a random homeless person wandering in a downtown market would have looked cleaner than her, but Lubella didn’t care a single bit about her appearance. As always, Weig was standing next to her. He would have usually maintained a distance while walking beside her, but it was different in this state of emergency.
Crunch!
“Ahhh!” The wounded person beneath him screamed and turned his body, but Weig used his other leg and pressed down on the patient harder.
Crunch! Another chilling sound resounded, and the bone that had penetrated out of the soldier’s skin returned to its original position.
“Good, it’s done! You endured it well!” Weig said. The soldier didn’t endure anything at all and shrieked as much as necessary while he was contorted, but Weig complimented the soldier for enduring the pain and patted his shoulders.
Lubella and Weig were at the place where they treated the injured Steelwall soldiers. Although the Steelwall side had fewer casualties than the winners of this battle, they still suffered a significant number of casualties. Naturally, Lubella healed the injured with her outstanding skills, but even as the Saintess, she had her limits. The fact that she was still young and hadn’t allowed her full talents to blossom yet also played a factor, but Lubella refused to rest even after she ran out of holy mana.
Karuwiman priests learned other methods of healing besides using holy mana and magic. When Lubella ran out of holy mana, she used her knowledge in various fields to continue treating the injured. Weig respected her decision and helped her by staying by her side. Karuwiman holy knights couldn’t use healing magic, but they also learned basic treatment methods. Furthermore, since his occupation meant that he was injured on a regular basis, he also had professional knowledge in treating bodily trauma—the way he had just fixed a soldier’s protruding bone was a result of this.
Yet, even as Weig respected Lubella’s decision, as the Saintess’ protector, he needed to stop her from overexerting herself. Weig took Lubella and went out of the barracks where the soldiers were.
“Why don’t you take a break now, Lady Lubella?”
“I’m all right physically. I have trained myself after all,” Lubella said. Then, she bent one arm like she was trying to show her muscles. A smile formed on Weig’s face at this inspiring sight, but he quickly fixed his expression and turned away.
“No, you have to rest. Other people are also working hard, so it will be fine even if you leave for a bit, Lady Lubella. Moreover, other people have already taken their breaks. You’re the only one who hasn’t yet.”
“But…” Lubella started, but one voice stopped her.
“Sir Weig is right.”
Both Lubella and Weig turned their heads. Zich was approaching them.
“Sir Zich!”
“You both have done so much,” Zich said.
“We only did what we were supposed to do as Karuna’s servants.”
“I know that, but isn’t it another matter to express my gratitude for the hard work you both have done?” Zich said and then looked at Lubella. “Lady Lubella, I really think you should rest as Sir Weig said.”
“I can still move,” Lubella retorted but Zich shook his head firmly.
“One of the most important things that a healer should be careful of is their own condition. If a healer gets sick, then there’ll be no one who can treat people. The sick won’t be able to do anything then. Is that what you want to happen, Lady Lubella?”
“…I understand. I will rest a bit.”
“Thank you, Lady Lubella.”
Weig smiled, satisfied. Then, he said, “I will stay here a bit longer and help treat the soldiers. Will you be able to go to your lodging by yourself?”
“I’m not a child. Besides, are you seriously telling me to go rest when you are going to continue helping here?”
“That’s just the way it is, Lady Lubella, since holy knights have overwhelmingly better stamina and priests. If you want to change your position from Saintess to a holy knight, I am willing to show you the ropes though,” Weig joked.
“No, thank you.”
Weig laughed. Then, Zich chimed in, “Since Lady Lubella could secretly head toward where other injured people are, I will guide her to her lodging.”
“As expected of Sir Zich. He’s very sharp.”
“That’s enough, you two.” Lubella looked a bit peeved as she lifted her head.
“Ooh my! I don’t know how I would handle the aftermath after teasing Lady Lubella! Please guide her safely to her room, Sir Zich.”
“I’ll certainly do that.”
Weig bowed his head once toward Zich and Lubella each and went inside the barracks again. Zich also guided Lubella to her lodging, but while they were heading to the location, Lubella expressed that her feelings were hurt by not facing Zich. Of course, this didn’t last long. Even if she tried to act, Lubella was too kind to even act angry for a long period of time.
“How was treating the injured soldiers?”
Thus, when Zich asked her a question like nothing was wrong when she was thinking about how to better express her anger, Lubella answered right away.
“Honestly, it’s hard. But it’s necessary to work and also save lives. It’s only expected of me to do it as a Karuwiman.” Lubella’s mindset was completely opposite of Chelsea, who complained about doing the same work. Lubella’s bright face as she said these words clearly showed that she was speaking the truth.
“Although many died, there are also many who lived thanks to our treatment. When I see their faces, I forget that I’m tired.”
“As expected of Karuwiman’s Saintess.”
“You praise me too highly. But you’re aware of this, right? The people I treated won’t be able to participate in this war anymore.”
“Yes, I know.”
Even though Lubella was staying in the Steelwall Estate, the Karuwimans were staying neutral in this war and couldn’t help the Steelwalls. Thus, they formed a contract. Soldiers no longer fit to participate in the war would be treated by Lubella, and even if they recovered, they would be completely excluded from participating in the war.
“They would have died if you hadn't treated them anyway, so the Steelwalls wouldn’t have been able to send them out regardless of the contract or not. Thus, the Count decided that it would be better to save people’s lives instead. I have nothing to say against this.”
“Then, that’s good.” Like this, Lubella and Zich approached Lubella’s tent. Then, they heard two voices.
“So, that’s how you went on a journey with Zich?”
“Yes, sir!”
One voice sounded annoyed and strained as if they really didn’t like the person they were talking to, and the other voice sounded extremely stiff from nervousness. Zich and Lubella looked at each other and quickly headed toward the direction of the voices.
Lubella said, “They’re…”
Zich replied, “It’s Snoc and Mr. Dwayne.” It was a funny combination. Snoc and Walwiss also noticed Zich and Lubella.
Walwiss said, “Ah, you came back.”
“Did something happen?” Zich asked a question, but judging by how the corners of his mouth were twitching into a smile, it seemed as if he could roughly guess what was happening.
Walwiss replied, “Well, it’s nothing much. I was merely asking questions to this young man here because I was really curious about a few things. This happens when you’re old—you get awfully curious for no reason.” Walwiss waved his hand as if he was not doing much, but anyone could see that he was intensely investigating Snoc’s background and drilling him with questions; his attitude far surpassed mere curiosity due to old age.
“Grandpa!” Then, a new person appeared.
Walwiss’ shoulder flinched as a sharp voice rang throughout the space. In contrast, Snoc’s shoulders, which had been stiff, relaxed a little bit and got lower. Elena approached them with an angry expression and shouted, “I can’t believe it! Are you bothering Snoc again?”
“What do you mean, bother?! I merely had some questions I wanted to ask him, so we were having a conversation.”
“Is that true?”
Snoc nodded at Elena’s question. It seemed as if he couldn’t overcome Walwiss’ fierce eyes that were pressuring him to agree with him.
However, smart Elena wasn’t asking Snoc. “I wasn’t asking you but Nowem.”
Nowem, who was always stuck on Snoc’s shoulder, stared at Walwiss, and Walwiss also intensely looked at Nowem. However, the great magical beast of the earth Nowem didn’t back down from a mere glare.
Koo! With a short cry, Nowem nodded his head.
“Look at this!”
“I’m going to immediately put this blasted mole on a lab bench!” Walwiss furiously let out his anger like someone whose dirty secret had been revealed. However, he couldn’t help lower his tail after seeing his granddaughter’s sharp eyes.
“Don’t hurt Nowem! If anyone’s going to try to put Nowem on a lab bench, I’ll be the first one to do it!”
Koo? She still hadn’t given up on that yet?Nowem had been bravely standing up to Walwiss, but he looked extremely betrayed by Elena’s declaration.
Grandpa and granddaughter fought for a while, and it only ended when Elena dragged out Snoc.
“How can a granddaughter raise her voice to her own grandpa!” Now left alone, Walwiss grumbled to himself. However, compared to his fierce words, his shoulders looked slightly defeated.
“Sir, you don’t seem to like Snoc,” Zich said while suppressing his laughter.
Compared to him, Lubella didn’t know what was going on, so she asked, “Did he do something wrong?”
Walwiss replied, “There are some people you don’t like for no reason.”
“However, there is a reason why you don’t like him.”
At Zich’s words, Walwiss became speechless and closed his mouth.
“Seriously, people who’re always talking about their age always act like little kids.” A new voice chimed in.
Walwiss’ frown deepened as he sharply said, “Why are you eavesdropping on other people’s conversations? Where did you learn such awful manners?”
“I didn’t eavesdrop. I just heard it because our hearing is way better than human’s.” Leona leisurely walked toward them, and pointed at her ears.
“How convenient.”
Leona replied, “It sure is.”
Anyone could see that Leona and Walwiss’ second round of fighting was about to begin. Zich slightly glanced at Lubella. He didn’t want to be part of such a useless fight. Lubella understood Zich’s signal and nodded.
Zich said, “We’ll be leaving first since I’m taking Lady Lubella to her place. Since she’s been treating the wounded until now, she desperately needs to take a break.”
Fortunately, Leona nor Walwiss tried to stop Zich or Lubella. They only glared at each other and bared their teeth. After Zich and Lubella left, a small quarrel between two natural-born enemies recommenced.