It was as if someone had poured cold water over all the discussions that had previously been in full swing.
Although haters and fans alike realized that Emilia was quite ‘athletic’, none of them expected her to actually take part in any type of fight.
They couldn’t be blamed, really. Not only did it not fit her pampered princess image in their minds, but it was also highly unlikely to be allowed by the people in charge.
After all, who would want to bear the responsibility of getting her injured?
Plus, as far as her fans were concerned, even if a thousand lives were traded for a single drop of blood from their princess, it still wouldn’t be worth it. How could she be put in harm’s way while they were still around?
Naturally, not all of them were capable of being there in person due to various circumstances, but they felt that there must surely be people just like them who would do a good job of protecting her.
Unfortunately, no one expected that the entirety of the rebel movement was being led by the girl personally, and her ‘subordinates’ could do little more than to beg her futilely when it came to ensuring her personal safety, and sometimes they didn’t have the chance to do even that.
Of course, while Emilia appreciated their concern, she would never indulge anyone to that extent.
After all, she herself was the sharpest weapon in the rebel’s arsenal, and was also the single greatest motivator to her subordinates.
Every battle she got personally involved in would not only go more smoothly, but would also take the momentum of their ‘rebellion’ to the next level!
Moreover, since even most fatal injuries would do little but consume a tiny fraction of her energy to heal, Emilia felt she would be a little too sloppy as the princess if she didn’t personally lead her people.
Cynthia did still warn her of some uncertainties, but after Emilia assured her that she would be careful of grenades and headshots, she could only trust her and keep quiet.
Of course, since she found the concern of her subordinates more heartwarming than offensive or annoying, Emilia’s response was still quite soft.
”Since you’re willing to believe in me to lead you to victory, there’s no need to question whether I can keep myself safe, is there? Do you think this princess is so weak that she’d be injured by those fools?”
The leader of the rebellion in the central province, who had been ‘entrusted’ by everyone else to convince her, could only stand there awkwardly and nod, although he did still madly complain in his heart. ‘Princess, do you not realize how badly I’ll be beaten up later by everyone else?!’
Of course, Emilia didn’t even pause in her steps as she continued moving towards the ‘ward’ they had temporarily set up. “I’ll be helping people with the treatment for the rest of the day. Can I leave the matter of making sure that the runways we secured are done with the inspection and repairs to you?”
The burly man patted his chest enthusiastically as he continued following in her steps. “Yes, princess, of course! Actually, we’ve already made sure everything is working fine. So if you want to go on a vacation for a while after such a wonderful victory and let us handle things here—”
The rest of the words were stuck in his throat as the crimson-haired beauty actually stopped in place and gave him a sharp glare.
”Am I the type to indulge and ruin our momentum when we’ve just got the ball rolling? This is when we should press our advantage and crush the enemy in one fell swoop!”
The burly man nodded like a little puppet, not daring to refute at all.
Emilia’s tone softened as she smiled. “Well, whatever. Just make sure that the runways are secured and ready to receive international flights. We might be welcoming some very important guests soon, after all.”
The burly man could only sigh in his heart as the girl waved him away while heading back to her previous destination. ‘Hopefully she won’t overdraw herself… I wish I was as eloquent as the others, ahh!’
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Meanwhile, the forums, boards, and social media all over the world were almost flooded with people concerned about Emilia’s health, wondering if she had sustained injuries and if she was alright, revealing a large group of people who cared, but didn’t dare to speak up before.
Those who had been vehemently opposing her from the start hurriedly changed tunes from her being a ‘useless mascot’ to a ‘heartless killer’, but before they could even start gaining some momentum for their agenda, a live broadcast from Blue Dawn completely shattered their momentum.
Fans and haters alike flooded into the broadcast channel, almost causing Prancing Media’s servers to crash before more resources were allocated in a hurry to stabilize the situation.
This one was no longer some low-quality security footage, but the high-definition lens of a handheld camera that was following the crimson-haired beauty around as she walked into the ward of those who had been injured in the conflict, presumably to help them out.
Of course, since she was far from being a qualified doctor, the best she could do was console and bandage people while leaving everything else to the professionals, or so most people thought.
Cynthia naturally didn’t think too much about it at first either, but once they really got here, she couldn’t help but be worried. “Emilia… you’re not planning on using your blood or something, right?”
The crimson-haired girl hummed. ‘Don’t worry, baby. I know what I should and shouldn’t do.’
No matter how generous she wanted to be to those on her side, Emilia knew that doing such a thing wouldn’t be a good idea.
Putting aside the matter of how long she could sustain the consumption of her limited energy before it ran out, there was also the matter of her personal feelings.
After all, while she generally didn’t mind indulging those she liked, Emilia didn’t feel very comfortable sharing her energy with anyone who wasn’t her lover.
Plus, while she could indulge them to an extent, Emilia also knew the importance of not going overboard. Otherwise, it won’t be long before some even started expecting her to sleep with them as a reward.
”… Wasn’t that exactly the kind of thing you kept implying to those little monkeys just a while ago… uh, who was it, Dixie? Or did I remember that wrong?”
Emilia giggled. ‘That’s a reward reserved only for the most adorable, most favored of my friends, okay? Of course, you’re included.’
”No thank you?”
Fortunately, not to mention the people watching her through the camera, even those she was bandaging couldn’t tell what kind of silly conversation she was having in her mind.
Emilia actually hadn’t intended to stream this kind of thing live at first, but when one of Noelle’s subordinates spotted her upon entering the ward, she found the suggestion made by the girl quite logical.
Her intention in coming here was initially only to help those who needed it, but if it helped garner whatever support she could through doing so, wasn’t that just cherry on top?
After all, while they were currently winning, their advantage was far from overwhelming. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have suffered any losses at all.
Emilia already had the doctors on her side prioritize the most fatal injuries first, but due to the disparity between the number of people who had been injured versus those who could treat them, it would inevitably take a while for even some of the more seriously injured to get the required attention.
Since most of the injuries were of the same type, Emilia felt that she was quite ready to help people out after having observed the doctors in the emergency ward for a while.
After all, even if there was a difference in their skills, she could always more than make up for it with her abilities.
After putting on a pair of disposable gloves, the crimson-haired girl didn’t waste any time before she took on her first serious victim — a young girl with a bullet deeply lodged into her thigh.
The injured girl was already quite delirious due to both the wound and the drugs, and Emilia only patted her palm gently in assurance before she started. This was no longer the same as applying some disinfectant and covering it up with bandages, and even the lady helping her with the broadcast didn’t dare to come forward, as if afraid of disturbing her and causing her to make a mistake.
While the people watching the broadcast were panicking and questioning what she was trying to do or if she even knew what could go wrong, though, Emilia had already made an incision and leaned down to start extracting the bullet from the wound.
The camera only showed her from the back, and the people couldn’t really see how she was doing, but they could more or less imagine the gory horror show in their heads.
While many were pitying the ‘victim’, however, five flexible yet incredibly strong tendrils pierced through the glove from the center of Emilia’s palm, and entered the wound cavity to wrap around the bullet before easily pulling it out while supporting the surrounding tissue to minimize damage.
Of course, as they were quite thin and transparent, and also obscured by Emilia’s hands and the scalpel, no one was able to spot this anomaly, especially with the camera only showing Emilia’s back.
The sound of a metallic ‘clink’ of the bullet falling into a tray plunged the chaotic discussions online into complete and utter silence.
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