What Do You Wish For With Murky Eyes: Record of Highserk War - Chapter 43

After serving as a guard for a week, Walm was once again in the treatment room. Most of the severely injured soldiers had returned to the front lines, and the focus of treatment now shifted to those with minor injuries. The Four Nations Alliance had distanced itself significantly from the outer walls, focusing on reorganization. Aside from some scouts and spies, there were no new casualties.

Though not openly acknowledged, Ayane had gained an unusual popularity among the Highserk soldiers as a captive. It was only natural for soldiers to look at someone treating their subordinates or comrades on the verge of death from fatal injuries. Moreover, being a young and beautiful girl, Walm had resigned himself to the fact that soldiers, in need of warmth, would direct looks of affection and envy towards her. Some even sent gifts. Walm handed over things that posed no danger, but it had become quite exasperating.

“Walm-dono, next is the treatment of a soldier who fell during work on the castle walls.”

A charming young bald soldier, Moritz, spoke to Walm. Moritz was in charge of surveillance and took care of Walm’s surroundings. Originally a soldier assigned to the headquarters as a staff assistant, his loyalty and resistance to poison were recognized, leading him to take charge of the surveillance team.

Walm felt uneasy being referred to with honorifics by Moritz, who had a long military career, but the man was too afraid of the fire wielding knight to change his ways. Walm appreciated Moritz’s friendliness, attention to detail, and believed he was too good to be on the battlefield.

“Please put him on the examination table.”

The soldier brought in on a stretcher had fractures in his left leg and left arm. He had fallen foolishly down the stairs of the castle wall, but now there was a skilled healing mage.

“Ugh, aaah!”

In pain, the soldier closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. Maia handed a wooden mouthguard and a piece of cloth to the soldier.

“It’s going to hurt.”

Maia, addressing him, corrected the bent leg to its proper position. The soldier groaned in pain.

Ayane placed her hands on the broken leg and began the treatment. The soldier, who had been sweating from the pain, gradually relaxed his pained expression. The treatment on the arm finished faster than the leg. Truly remarkable skill. Even a simple fracture was fully healed in less than five minutes. The mouthguard and cloth were returned by the treated soldier. As he descended from the bed, he expressed gratitude to Ayane and Maia.

“I’m saved. I didn’t expect to recover this quickly.”

The hand of the soldier, who had been gripping tightly throughout the surgery, remained tightly closed. Walm, who had observed healers for a week, felt a sense of unease. Most individuals would relax after the operation, but why was this soldier still clenching his fist? Walm carefully narrowed the distance, his gaze alert.

The man noticed Walm’s approach. He wore a forced smile, but his eyes betrayed no amusement. Slipping his fingers, he retrieved something from his waist. It turned out to be a concealed weapon, a type of throwing dart.

“«Burst»!”

Walm, utilizing wind attribute magic, accelerated rapidly by kicking the ground. He grabbed Ayane’s arm and changed their positions.

A high-pitched sound echoed in the treatment room. The concealed weapon was deflected by Walm’s iron armor. Walm, shielding Ayane behind him, drew his longsword from his waist and slashed downward, but the man skillfully evaded the attack, leaping backward.

“Assassin!!”

Moritz, the guard, shouted. The assassin extended his arm, contrary to the concealed weapon, and Walm sensing an instantaneous surge in magical power prepared himself.

“«Release».”

A rod-shaped projectile shot from the assassin’s hand, propelled by compressed air. Walm, realizing the target was Ayane behind him, swiftly struck it with his longsword.

The assassin attempted to reach for his waist again, but Walm lunged forward, piercing his shoulder with the longsword and pinning him to the wall. Still, with his free hand, the assassin tried to stab Walm with a concealed weapon. However, when Walm applied fire to the wound, the assassin screamed and stiffened. Walm then pressed on his throat and arm.

“Tie him up. Don’t let him bite his tongue, put a gag on him.”

Moritz and the guards rushed in a bit late. The restrained assassin, wide-eyed and silent through the gag, seemed to have stopped moving.

“Did he choose to end his own life?”

Walm swallowed hard, looking at the motionless assassin with wide-open eyes. Moritz pried open the assassin’s mouth, sniffing and examining inside.

“Ah, it’s a poison primarily based on fire toxins. He must have hidden it in his molars. It’s a potent concoction of scorpion venom and fire poison plant. I encountered this during poison training in the past. It had a stimulating taste, and I suffered abdominal pain for a week.”

The poison resistant Moritz spoke with an expression that could be mistaken for ecstasy.

“You survived after tasting that?”

Skills twisted the rules of the world even outside of combat. Walm definitely did not want to taste it.

“If you have resistance through healing magic or strong fire attributes, you can endure it. Oh, it’s also applied to the concealed weapons.”

Feeling a chill down his spine at the audacity and determination of the assassin, who deliberately slipped from a high place to infiltrate the infirmary, Walm turned his gaze back. Ayane was huddled in the corner of the room, and Maia stood against the wall, forming a barrier.

“Are you both unharmed?”

In response to Walm’s question, Ayane nodded faintly.

“Why did they target me?”

“Probably Liberitoa or Ferrius planned it, anticipating the failure of rescue.”

Unable to erase the traces of Craist, there was no need for Walm to inadvertently reveal such information.

“That’s a lie right? I-I’m their ally.”

“Healing those who shouldn’t heal, bringing back those who stood on the brink of death. It’s a military threat in itself. I apologize for the rude words, but if those individuals were to kill enemy soldiers on the battlefield, it’s not much different from you indirectly killing people. It’s natural to aim for your elimination. Well, if you start talking about farmers producing provisions, ranches raising military horses, the list goes on. It’s war. No one can remain uninvolved.”

Upon Moritz’s explanation, Ayane slumped to the ground.

“Is that really…?”

From the perspective of the threat alone, she is an attractive target that even Walm judged to be worth taking a risk to try and kill.

“Let’s cancel today’s treatment. Safety can’t be guaranteed. Both of you are unsettled.”

Walm, seeing the girl being tossed around by her abilities, felt a tinge of sympathy, but he couldn’t afford to feel that way. He must not bend. He couldn’t deviate from the relationship between a soldier and a prisoner. It was Walm himself who forcibly separated her from her companions and took her to a foreign battlefield haunted by death. Comforting the girl now, pretending to be a hypocrite, was simply unforgivable as a human.