Chapter 302 - Chapter 294: Scars
Mid-June, Royal Year 219.
One week had passed since Noein returned to the Arqvist territory. On this day, a territory-wide funeral for those who died in the Betumia War was held in the plaza of the capital city, Noeina.
Of the 250 men who had marched out from the Arqvist territory, twenty-four were dead. The wounded were roughly double that number. Considering that more than half of the Lordberg Kingdom's Western Army had been killed or wounded, it could be said that the damages were kept low for the Arqvist territorial forces.
However, behind these numbers were the lives of the people. They were the lives of those who were family, neighbors, friends, and colleagues to the people living in the Arqvist territory. In this war, everyone had lost someone they knew.
The Arqvist territory had been protected upon their sacrifice. If that were the case, they should be seen off as heroes. Noein thought so, and thus created this funeral.
A platform had been set up in the plaza, and upon it were lined small boxes containing parts of the deceased's bodies—the ring finger of the left hand, which is said to house a fragment of the human soul.
Since it was impossible to carry all the bodies back to their hometowns from the battlefield, only these fingers and a lock of hair as mementos had returned to their families.
Each small box serving as a coffin was a magic item, with an exquisite holy seal engraved in magic paint. They emitted a faint light.
"—And so, they have finished their duties in this fleeting world, and return to the presence of the gods, the Father of the Great Sky and the Mother of the Great Earth. Having stood within the cycling world and lived their days as individuals, they become part of the cycling world once more, joining the wheel of reincarnation, and after a long time—"
Upon the platform, Priest Hasel quietly chanted the holy verses for sending off the dead.
Surrounding the platform, the members of the lord's family including Noein, the squires and servants, the soldiers who had lost comrades-in-arms, and the territorial residents who had lost family and acquaintances, all watched in silence.
Noein wore military attire with a robe draped over it, having removed all removable ornaments. Matilda likewise had removed the decorations from her military uniform, and Clara was dressed in a solid black dress. Eleos was wearing something black from among his several sets of children's clothes.
Among the squires, the soldiers were in military dress, and the civil officials wore their respective ceremonial attire. Since the territorial residents did not necessarily possess formal wear, many were in their everyday clothes. This posed no problem in terms of etiquette.
Eventually, Priest Hasel finished chanting the holy verses and quietly stepped down from the platform. The next to ascend the platform was the lord, Noein.
He stood in the center of the platform, before the installed Voice Amplification magic item, looking down at the residents.
After a short pause, he opened his mouth.
"I... I am sad. I am sad that we send them off here today, that we part with them, that I can no longer be with them. Coan, Rodder, Liam—"
Noein spoke the names of each of the fallen, without looking at any notes. At the lord's action, several spouses, children, parents, and siblings of the deceased were overcome with emotion and began to cry aloud.
"—Yorai, and Barry. When I think that this will be the eternal parting from these twenty-four people, my heart feels as though it might break from sadness... That is precisely why I wish to look up, and see them off on their journey without my voice trembling."
The plaza could not hold all the residents, and the streets were overflowing with people. Not a single one of them made a sound; only Noein's words and the occasional sound of the wind echoed through the capital city of Noeina.
"They are heroes. Each and every one of them is a hero. They staked their lives to protect this Arqvist territory from the hands of the invaders. I will not forget. We must not forget. That the peace of this land exists upon their sacrifice, upon their greatest devotion."
There, Noein paused again for a moment and continued his words.
"I have lost beloved people. And you have lost family, neighbors, and friends. Within my heart, the memory of having walked alongside them as the lord will remain forever. And I pray. That within your hearts, the memories of happy days spent with them will remain forever."
After that, the funeral proceeded solemnly, and everyone living in the Arqvist territory saw off the departure of the fallen.
...
A few days after returning to the Arqvist territory and finishing the funeral to see off the fallen. Noein was gradually returning to a peaceful daily life.
Having spent months immersed in days of battle wrapped in tension, his body was exhausted and his heart was worn down. Within the days of peace he had finally reclaimed, Noein was gradually recovering that body and heart.
There were many things to do from here on, but it was not yet to the point where he had to work while begrudging every minute and second. Rather, he had to rest and recover as much as possible before various instructions arrived from the royal family.
For that reason, Noein woke up late in the morning, finished his duties early at night, and kept his daytime work to the level of leisurely handling paperwork.
One such morning.
"~~!"
Having his shoulder shaken, Noein leaped up with a voiceless cry.
His face was pale, and his body was drenched in sweat. While breathing raggedly, he looked around and realized he was in the bedroom of the manor.
Then, confirming that Clara was to his left and Matilda was to his right, he finally let out a sigh of relief and collapsed back onto the bed.
Looking out the window, the sky was just beginning to turn white.
"You were having a terrible nightmare. I thought it best to wake you..."
"...I'm okay now. Thank you, Clara. You helped me."
To Clara, who was stroking his cheek with a worried expression, Noein answered with a forced smile.
"Noein-sama, some water... it seems you have sweated quite a bit."
"Yeah, thank you, Matilda."
Matilda took a pitcher from the table beside the bed, poured water into a glass, and brought it to Noein's lips. Noein raised his upper body slightly and moistened his dry throat.
"Did you have a bad dream again?"
"...Yeah."
For a while now, Noein had been occasionally attacked by nightmares.
During the war, he had slept like a log every day without even dreaming, but the nightmares began after the Betumia Republic Army left and the war had completely ended. Noein thought to himself that the thread of tension had likely snapped.
What he saw in his dream today was the scene where the Western Army failed to prevail in the battle at that narrow pass and were defeated, and they all died. And the scene where even the Arqvist territory was trampled by the Betumia Republic Army, and the people, vassals, and family died.
Even though it was a dream, the sight was so vivid that just remembering it now was terrifying enough to bring tears to his eyes.
"...Dear."
"Noein-sama."
Seeing Noein's state, the two of them snuggled close, embracing Noein's arms from both sides.
"I intended to be perfectly fine the whole time, and I intend to be relieved that the war is over, but I suppose I'm carrying various things somewhere in my heart... well, I think time will solve it."
Saying so, Noein smiled a bit forcedly.
"You are okay now. We will always be by your side. From now on, forever."
"If it is to put Noein-sama's heart at ease, we will do anything. Just as Noein-sama desires."
As Clara and Matilda spoke, they kissed Noein's cheeks, forehead, and neck over and over again.
It was a bit ticklish, and terribly pleasant. It made him feel that he had protected the things he needed to protect, that he had been able to return to the place he should return to, and that he had not died.
"...Um, dear. It is still early morning, so there is plenty of time. Therefore..."
"...Please give us permission to heal Noein-sama."
The kissing suddenly stopped, and the two of them brought their faces close to Noein's ears and spoke.
Incidentally, since they had naturally loved each other before falling asleep last night, all three of them were completely naked. Furthermore, both Clara and Matilda were currently pressing their bodies against Noein.
When whispered to in such a state by the women he loved, the body of a healthy adult male naturally showed a healthy reaction.
"...But, I've sweated a lot."
"It doesn't matter. I love your sweat."
"We love everything about Noein-sama. Anything that comes from Noein-sama's body, whether it be sweat or anything else, everything."
The words of the two reaching his ears along with their breaths were so sweet they made him shiver involuntarily.
"............Well then, I suppose I'll let you heal me."
When Noein answered, Matilda, wearing an expression as gentle as could be, pulled Noein's face into her breast, and Clara, wearing a bewitching smile and licking her lips, brought her face close to Noein's waist.
That day, it was not until just before noon that Noein began his duties.
[Author's Note]
I have posted a simple map of the northwestern area of the Lordberg Kingdom on my Twitter.
It is really just for grasping the positional relationships, but please take a look if you like... It will come up if you search for the author's name "Enoki Surume" or the work's title.