Chapter 572
Ellen had no idea that her cute little cat might be treated as food by someone.
Ellen must have been unaware of the hunger problem in the refugee camp.
However, after the Gate Crisis, Ellen was put into the battlefield and returned through mass teleport, repeatedly.
That’s why the time he stayed in the ecliptic after the Gate Incident was extremely short.
He is currently serving in the Allied Forces.
Judging by the expression on her face, it is clear that she entered the refugee camp for the first time today.
Both adults and children starved, and today is the first time I’ve seen a dead body left unattended because of starvation rather than being killed by a monster.
It’s not because of me that I was surprised, but because it’s so shocking that I can’t handle it when I see it with my own eyes.
I wonder what I was thinking, Ellen sat me down on the bed and stood there blankly for a while.
“I will go alone.”
Ellen stroked my hair and left the room.
Unlike Ellen, I had seen the situation in the refugee camp firsthand, but I felt that the situation was worse than before.
The rations going to the refugee camp would have been reduced as much as the food to feed the army, so the hunger inevitably intensified.
Perhaps an epidemic was spreading, and starvation was not the problem, but people who looked sick were occasionally seen.
It is a moment when the divine power of Tuan, the god of innocence, is needed, but the refugees hate Tuan and the Als Church extremely.
Perhaps the priests are not functioning properly.
food problem.
It’s winter there.
There will be countless people dying of starvation, freezing, and disease.
The dense population of the ecliptic exceeded 100 million.
During the winter, the number of people starving to death or freezing to death in the ecliptic would easily exceed 10 million units.
It’s a pity, and it’s hopeless.
But that’s something I can’t solve.
The population of the ecliptic alone is ten times that of the entire Edina Archipelago.
Edina’s food situation is better than that of the imperial city, but it’s not as comfortable either.
Even if there is surplus food.
Even if there is food in Edina to feed tens of millions of refugees, there is no way to transport it to the ecliptic.
I cannot satisfy the hunger here.
what i can do
No, I don’t know if it can be done, but what I can try is to reach the end of the gate avalanche.
The next thing to do was to think about it then.
* * *
Of Heinrich and Ellen, who went out on patrol, Heinrich returned to the dormitory first.
-Aug
“hmm?”
The guy tilted his head when he saw me wandering around alone without Ellen.
“… … I thought you were going to take me?”
Heinrich didn’t seem to be hurt. There wouldn’t be many monsters near the ecliptic, and even if there were, they wouldn’t pose a threat to Heinrich.
That’s it.
If an orc appeared in the outskirts of the ecliptic and started to riot, dozens of refugees would die laughingly, but Heinrich was able to deal with the orc with a gesture of his hand.
“ha… … .”
Heinrich looks out the window and sighs.
If you were going to go around the outskirts, of course you would have had to go into the Refugee Zone, and you would have seen what Ellen saw today.
So, it was inevitable that the expression would be like that.
After Heinrich returned, about two hours later.
It was late in the evening when Ellen returned to the dormitory.
It’s natural that I’ll come back safely, but I couldn’t help but feel relieved.
Evening banquet hall.
There were other students, but the second year students were Ellen and Heinrich, and the four returning Ludwig and Dettomorian were the last.
The three researchers don’t come back from the lab.
Dettomorian originally had a bad complexion.
Ellen has a bad complexion because of what happened today.
Heinrich also has a bad complexion because he looked similar to Ellen.
Ludwig works in the guard. So he may have seen worse or done something terrible. He has a bad expression, of course.
That’s why dinner started with all four of them looking bad.
My stomach is full.
Ellen hesitated as she tried to pour some scrambled eggs onto my plate.
“… … .”
A feeling of guilt that can’t be hidden crosses his face.
Just like thinking about how extravagant it is to raise an animal in a world full of starvation.
I thought that Ellen would have no choice but to think that way.
Ellen looks down at me with a teary expression.
In the end, Ellen, as if she couldn’t starve me, gave me scrambled eggs and carefully stroked my hair.
There was nothing wrong with me, it seemed to say with that hand.
Ellen didn’t gobble it up like she did when she returned.
Do you feel guilty about feeding it, so it’s only natural to feel guilty about eating it.
You probably don’t know that eating well and resting is the right thing for people.
It just doesn’t go over well.
“How was the patrol? I was too wide to look around.”
It was Heinrich’s question.
“I didn’t have a problem because I didn’t go too far. What about you?”
“So do i. I was a bit disappointed because I couldn’t do anything, but I’m rather fortunate.”
“huh.”
The two moved to check the situation in the outer zone of the ecliptic.
If those two came back after slicing up the monster, there’s no reason to rejoice. That’s because the outskirts are dangerous enough to be infested with monsters.
That’s why it’s better not to have any results.
“I guess we’re not the only ones who have the same thoughts as us.”
“… … ?”
At Heinrich’s words, Ellen tilted her head.
“Since the Allied positions are in good shape, it seems that the Empire is trying to ensure the safety around the ecliptic during the winter. They seem to be running a large-scale punitive force.”
“… … I’m glad.”
surely.
What these two could do, the empire had no choice but to do.
It cannot save people from starvation, but it is calming the area near the ecliptic in order to eliminate the monster’s threat.
Ellen and Heinrich seemed to be contemplating whether to volunteer for the task of patrolling the outskirts of the ecliptic to find and subjugate monsters.
Of course, after thinking about it, Ellen shook her head, saying that it wouldn’t work.
Bertus wanted Ellen to rest for the winter, but of course she wouldn’t allow it if she volunteered for the punitive force.
It was clear that Heinrich would not be able to participate in the punitive force in a similar vein, so both decided to move separately.
There’s nothing wrong with having a lot of hands.
If there are any dangerous monsters roaming around, they will be eliminated, otherwise the ecliptic will be safe, so it can’t be a bad thing.
Both of them seemed to be going to a more remote area tomorrow.
just… … . Can’t you take a break?
Heinrich clicked his tongue briefly.
“The problem is food.”
What confronts refugees now is not monsters, but hunger.
Monsters in refugee camps can kill hundreds of people in an instant, but starvation slowly kills tens of millions.
Everyone knows what the real enemy is.
However, what cannot be defeated cannot be killed.
You can kill monsters, but you don’t know how to kill hunger.
“… … .”
In silence, Ludwig struggled to eat with his left hand.
* * *
The King of Kernstadt, Konstantin von Schwarz, inspected the Allies as they rested.
However, what was important to the king was not the inspection, but the whereabouts of the two missing princes.
Louise didn’t think lies would work for her father.
Even his aides are suspicious about the disappearance of the two princes.
And the current King of Kernstadt, Konstantin von Schwarz, had already been reported a long time ago.
He would have thought it over, and he would have deduced the truth.
With only Louise and Heinrich surviving among Schwartz’s royal family, he fully anticipated what his father would guess.
Louise made no excuses. because it won’t work
I didn’t even say it couldn’t be helped. Because it’s something that can’t be rationalized.
That’s why I said it directly.
“I killed him.”
He told his father, who was trying to find out the truth about the disappearance of his two younger siblings, that he had killed them with his own hands.
And he didn’t say anything.
Louise is not a talkative person in the first place.
There was no reprimand, no criticism, no surprise, no fear from the father.
Konstantin von Schwarz, who looked at his eldest daughter’s face for a long time, said only one word.
“Is there anything else you can say?”
apology.
excuse.
tear.
sadness.
guilty.
An appeal to it all, or an angry outburst.
At her father’s words asking such a thing, Louise nodded.
“Yes, no.”
The reason the daughter doesn’t talk much is because she resembles her father.
“Yeah, got it.”
Just as a daughter’s lack of words doesn’t mean she doesn’t have thoughts, a father’s lack of words doesn’t mean he doesn’t have thoughts.
Just as Louise was thoughtful in silence, so too was Constantine von Schwartz thoughtful in silence.
It was a woman who only had necessary conversations. Just like Heinrich and Louise are now.
“Where is Heinrich?”
“… … I was sent back to the temple for a while.”
What that meant, the king should have known enough.
Since useless sparks could fly, he wouldn’t be unaware of Louise’s feelings for letting her son escape.
Konstantin von Schwarz did not say a word about the actions of the eldest daughter who killed her two sons.
The daughter made no excuses.
Only each other knows what the other is thinking.
There are relationships that are understood even without dialogue, and there are relationships that are not understood because there is no dialogue.
“Four princes died because of Heinrich.”
The two fathers and daughters belonged to the latter.
Both are in the hands of their son.
both in mother’s hands.
It was the day that four other princes had to die for one Heinrich von Schwarz.
In response to those harsh words, Louise spoke calmly.
“If they hadn’t all laid their hands on my son, he wouldn’t have died.”
A sharp answer goes back to sharp words.
The two princes who bullied young Heinrich were burned to death by Heinrich, who had awakened his psychic powers.
And the two brothers who tried to assassinate Heinrich died at the hands of Louise.
It was a problem that could have been solved by leaving Heinrich alone.
Sharp stories come and go, rough stories come and go, and in the end, irreversible words may come out.
But Louise was determined.
No matter what he said, he decided to protect his son.
That’s why Louise looked at the silent King.
“I thought it would be a little bit earlier.”
“… … yes?”
Louise was taken aback by Constantine von Schwarz’s words.
“I said I thought it would be earlier.”
“… … .”
“I thought you would lay your hands on your younger siblings a little earlier.”
Louise never thought her father would think so.
Konstantin von Schwarz thought it would happen someday.
Children do not know their parents.
Even parents don’t know their children.
Parents know their children better than children know their parents.
That is why Konstantin von Schwarz believed that what had to happen had happened.
I couldn’t take it for granted, but I couldn’t help but think that it was unavoidable.
“You must have been less wise than I thought, or trusted your younger siblings more.”
Even without Louise’s explanation, Constantine von Schwarz predicted what had happened in the Allies to make this happen.
children’s strength.
Jealousy and envy.
and stupidity.
And Louise’s guilt and love for her son.
Because of that, it was something that would happen someday.
“Did you love your younger siblings?”
“… … .”
Louise couldn’t answer.
I couldn’t say that I loved you or that I didn’t love you.
Watching my daughter shed tears mixed with inexpressible sadness, self-loathing, and guilt without even making a sound.
Watching my daughter, who has tears running down her cheeks but can’t even wipe them off.
Seeing the tears she couldn’t bear to shed in front of her son, and the daughter who couldn’t help but shed her tears in front of her father with gritting teeth.
“okay… … . If that… … . If that was the case, that would be enough.”
The father could not forgive his daughter for killing her brothers.
I had no choice but to accept that there was nothing I could do.
* * *
Whatever the real reason, Louise helped the king inspect Kernstadt County, as the original purpose was to inspect.
We talked about the current status of the military, power and supply.
And after the report, Konstantin von Schwarz said the same thing Louise had said to Heinrich.
“Rest.”
“… … yes?”
“I will assume command of the army during the winter.”
Just as a mother ordered a rest because of her son’s long fatigue, a father ordered a rest because of his daughter’s long fatigue.
“I will ask the emperor for permission. Since you have been wanting to go so much, spend the winter at the temple with Heinrich.”
An unexpected break.
And to spend it with my son in a place I wanted to visit even in my dreams.
I was able to go directly to places where I was not even allowed to see where my son had been and grew up.
The moment he heard of the disappearance of the princes, the king accepted what he had to endure and what he had to understand.
After all, the king is a cruel seat.
Thinking that his daughter might do such a thing, he had to watch it because he had to become a king.
What mattered was the heir to the throne.
Since what was expected to happen has become a reality, he must have thought that at least what remained was to be dealt with.
He must have thought that there might be no reason why those who remained should continue to suffer.
The king’s behavior is not understanding, but resignation.
Knowing that, Louise couldn’t help but feel more guilty.
