X: Sheila and Frau
“LADY Frau, I’ve come here today because there is something I would like to ask of you,” Sheila said resolutely, tensing up the muscles in her face. Her severe expression hinted at her determination to finally lay down the law with Frau.
Frau’s face, in contrast, was devoid of all emotion, but in such a way that seemed to Sheila like that of a pure and innocent young girl. She only looked at Sheila, her head tilted in confusion.
Gah, this isn’t easy…
Sheila already felt her resolve cracking. However, she came from the lineage of the Twin Blades, and she was a swordswoman who had gained the title of S-rank adventurer in her own right. She quickly regained her focus.
“First, I must thank you again for defeating the king of Vulcan,” she said. “I am also grateful that you are fighting the enemy armies closing in on Thracia.”
Just as Sheila said, Frau had been constantly battling the armies of the pro-king faction that had surrounded the capital city. It might have seemed like a simple task because of Frau’s immense magical strength, but Vulcan had always put more effort into swordsmanship than other countries. They were unsuited to battling with magic themselves, so they had developed an exhaustive list of countermeasures against wizards.
Vulcan’s few wizards specialized in magic barriers, and the country’s knights used shields and armor with a resistance to magic. Knights and soldiers alike were taught that wizards were their hated enemy, and to always attack them first. They were so strong that wizards from the surrounding region feared the country, calling it “Magicslayer Vulcan.” Frau’s Mages’ Guild had only been able to defeat the king’s army because they had targeted his wizards first on a narrow forest road, and had subsequently burned them to death not with magic, but with the forest fire that their spells had started. Of course, Frau herself had killed the king directly to test Matou’s specialty dark magic…
Regardless, it all meant that even Frau’s Mages’ Guild struggled when facing Vulcan’s armies head-on. Their current strategy was to drive away approaching enemy armies with hit-and-run magic attacks while using the monster army to distract them. Even so, there were some incredible archers among Vulcan’s knights who sniped wizards from afar as they flew through the sky, and many had been injured in such a manner. The popularity of archery in Vulcan was no doubt due to the fact that the country couldn’t rely on magic for long-range attacks.
Of course, Sheila and her people were also fighting day in and day out, so it wasn’t like the Mages’ Guild were the only ones shouldering the burden, but it was still true that they were going through a lot of trouble on Sheila’s behalf. That was why she had begun by expressing her gratitude to Frau; Sheila’s manners gave a sense of her noble upbringing.
Sheila was about to move on to the main issue, but before she could put her words together, Frau lowered her face and spoke in a faint voice.
“It has been really hard…”
She sounded like a tender young girl being forced to perform heavy labor. Frau was a taciturn person, so when she uttered any words at all, they carried a great deal of weight.
Wait, could I be the one at fault here? Sheila thought, confused. She wondered: what if she and everyone else were in the wrong for forcing this sweet, quiet girl to fight? What had she been about to say to someone so hard-working and dedicated? Then, she vigorously shook her head.
No, no, no, that isn’t it. Lady Frau is no innocent girl. First of all, she’s older than me, and second of all, she’s the queen of Farune. She naturally has plenty of responsibilities.
Her resolve rekindled, Sheila continued: “M-My deepest apologies for making you go through something so difficult, Lady Frau. But despite that, I have a favor I’d like to ask of you. Would it be possible for you to rethink the way you fight with magic? Our opponents may be our enemies, but too many of them are dying in battle.”
Frau widened her eyes, like a little girl asking, “Oh? How’s that?”
Gah, I can’t be discouraged. Sheila slapped her cheeks again, refocusing herself.
“Um, Lady Frau,” she began again. “When a lot of people die, it creates too much resentment. Please, think about it carefully. Defeated soldiers have families too. And those families will keep living where they are, even after Farune has conquered Vulcan. Don’t you think that in the future we’ll have problems governing this land we’ve gone to so much trouble to acquire if there are too many people living here who hold grudges against Farune? Even now, many in Vulcan are opposed to us. And many of those are the families of the twenty thousand soldiers you killed. If you hadn’t killed them, Lady Frau, but had just limited yourself to injuring them, it may have reduced the number of people resisting Farune. Shouldn’t you take that into consideration?”
After she finished listening to Sheila, Frau averted her gaze forlornly, then muttered, “But I was just doing my best…” It was as though she was the put-upon heroine of a tragedy.
Why does it feel like I’m the one who’s saying something wrong?! Sheila shrank back at Frau’s touchingly pitiful behavior, but then she somehow managed to recover and continue.
“I’m well aware that you’re working hard, but it would be a great help if you were to weaken your magic somewhat. Perhaps you could use spells that are less fatal,” Sheila suggested. “You’re called the Lightning Empress, so aren’t you adept at lightning magic that can paralyze your enemies? You don’t necessarily have to use overly powerful spells, do you?”
For an instant, Frau shot Sheila a look of pure boredom. But it really was only an instant before she quickly lowered her eyes.
Hm? Sheila sensed that something was off.
“I can’t really do that very well…” Frau mumbled again. As she meekly lowered her gaze, she resembled nothing so much as a child who was being made to help out with chores for the first time.
“No, I’m sure that isn’t true,” Sheila said reassuringly. “Aren’t you the leading wizard in Ares, Lady Frau? Surely you can go easy on them, can’t you?”
Her face still downturned, Frau shook her head. “Fighting is too scary. So, I can’t.”
“Huh? But Lady Frau, I heard you have the most combat experience in Farune…”
Frau had been known as a child prodigy from a young age, and she had participated in her first battle at the age of six. Though she had mainly fought monsters, she had seen more combat than anyone else in Farune.
“I can’t believe that someone like you would be afraid of—” Sheila tried to press her, but Frau covered her face with her hands.
“I’ve always been scared,” Frau said. “I feel like if I don’t make sure I kill them, I’ll be killed myself…” Her voice was as flat and mechanical as always, but that only made her seem all the more credible.
Has she actually been pushing herself this much, and for such a long time? Sheila thought, surprised by what Frau had said. Come to think of it, there was no way that such a well-mannered girl would simply kill people because she wanted to. It made sense that her almost excessively powerful magic was an expression of her fear. Because of her talent, Frau had been forced to fight from a young age, but in fact, she was so afraid of combat she could hardly stand it.
Sheila bit her lip hard. I’m so ashamed, she thought. Even though she was relying on Frau’s help, she’d had the gall to ask her to restrain her power. I didn’t have the slightest idea that she was going through all this. I’m truly sorry. She instantly hardened her resolve, then gently placed both of her hands on Frau’s shoulders.
“I understand, Lady Frau. There’s no need for you to force yourself to fight anymore. Please, leave Vulcan to me. I am the fourth princess of Farune. I swear upon my twin blades that, even if I must do it alone, I will fight to the bitter end!”
Frau furrowed her eyebrows ever so slightly, but Sheila didn’t notice.
“Please, return to Farune, Lady Frau! I will inform Lord Mars, and ask him not to make you fight anymore. We mustn’t put someone so fragile on the battlefield.” Sheila tried to get up from her seat, but Frau pulled on her sleeve.
“It’s all right,” she said after a moment. “I can do it.” Her porcelain face looked even paler than usual. To Sheila, it seemed like she was really pushing herself.
“You don’t have to anymore!” Sheila spontaneously wrapped Frau in a tight embrace. “I’ll do everything I can, so you can live quietly in Farune’s castle with Lord Arthur!”
Sheila was often perceived as cold and unemotional, but she was actually a deeply compassionate person. She was pregnant with Mars’s child herself, after all, but she set that aside for now and resolved to fight for Frau anyway.
“Oh, were you still talking?” asked Keely.
She and the other wizards had just returned. Sheila hurriedly separated from Frau. Though she couldn’t quite place it, Frau almost looked somewhat confused.
“By the way, Lady Frau,” Keely went on, “I just spoke with Mika and Noa, and for our next strategy, let’s do exactly as you suggested and torment those impudent archers first. Even we were put off by it when you first told us about the plan, but we agree that it seems like our only option.”
“Tch.” Frau quietly clicked her tongue in irritation, as if to say, “Keep out of this!”
Sheila stilled. “Excuse me, what sort of strategy is that?” she asked, a look of suspicion on her face.
“Right, so first we’ll locate the archers’ families in Thracia, take them hostage, and use them to lure the archers out,” Keely replied. “We’ll make sure monsters and undead are lying in wait to wipe them all out in one fell swoop. It’s a truly cold-blooded strategy… Um, Lady Frau, where are you going?”
Sheila turned to see that Frau was trying to escape through the window.