The Feelings of the Three Friends (2)
With sweat on our foreheads, my Mother and I, along with Father, laughed together. We had arrived at the hall where the Knights were. It should be safe for a while now.
The inside of the hall was in terrible condition. There were people covered in cloth, unable to move, and others sitting powerlessly with blood-soaked bandages around them. When my father noticed that His Majestly was also there, he told us to stay quiet and went in that direction.
“It’s broken, huh…”
The bracelet had indeed broken in just one use. It was a powerful barrier, but the strain must have been too much. The bracelet was split into two.
“Was it something important?”
“No. Alice told me to use it when things got dangerous… but if the ‘next time’ comes…”
I shook my head in response to my Mother’s question. However, the idea of the next time scared me. Monsters would definitely come this far. I still didn’t want to die… I could only tremble.
“…… Keena, it seems Sharon… is over there… pray for her safety.”
Sharon was not given the bracelet. Unluckily, she wasn’t present at the time, and Alice, who hadn’t returned yet, was forced to return to her homeland, leaving Sharon defenseless. So, she was attacked by monsters while trying to escape. I could only cry at that moment… but Alice was amazing. If it were Alice, she might have been able to come up with a smart plan to help Ostland. Alice might have been able to reduce sacrifices and cast a barrier over the Royal Capital. Yet, Alice chose Sharon.
Sharon was revived. By the hands of the embodiment of an incredible miracle, through extraordinary magic. After that, many things happened. There were moments of confusion and many times my thoughts stopped. I only remember playing games with Alice for some reason, but Alice did save me. I was surprised but also understood when I learned that Alice was of Royal blood. The Royalty of Arland is known to be unconventional.
Thanks to Alice’s efforts, 100,000 out of the 300,000 monsters were annihilated. The rest fled after their leader fell. But Alice collapsed. After all, doing things like bringing people back to life, casting barriers, and exterminating monsters, even for a story’s hero, is something impossible. So, the people of Ostland call her “Saintess Alice.”
I pondered in my room. I don’t know how to interact with Alice from now on. Because she’s Royalty. She’s like someone from above the clouds, right? Can I continue to be friends with her as before? I’ll ask her next time… and express my gratitude as well.
With the face of my incredible friend looking lonely in my thoughts, I finally slept in my quiet room.
ENTER
ENTER
Sharon’s Point of View
My name is Sharon Yastin, the daughter of the Viscount family in Ostland.
I have a good friend. This time, I’ll talk about Alice, who I am closest to among my newest friends.
At first, I thought she was a peculiar child. I couldn’t tell if she was extraordinary or just normal, with a kind of unbalanced feeling. But my Father told me to befriend Alice.
“I want to know the manufacturing method of that carriage. Get close to her and find out.”
He’s a bit greedy, but I don’t want him to exploit children. I wasn’t too keen on it myself, but somehow, I became close to Alice, and she became attached to me.
It’s the same with my friend Anon; for some reason, when you become close to certain children, they get attached to you.
Before I knew it, the circle of me, Anon, and Keena, which was initially three people, became four. Alice, who entered the circle very naturally, is amazing, but Anon and Keena also seem to like Alice. So, I decided to ignore my Father’s request. Even if I ask, she’ll probably dissaprove, and using friends is not the right thing to do.
My Father often asks how close we’ve become, but I say non-committal things to avoid the subject. If things get worse, I’ll consult with Anon and Keena. I’ve decided not to get involved.
And then, summer vacation came, and I returned to our territory. It was to purchase the specialty of our territory, the Wuumin fruit, and sweets made from it. You can buy them in the Royal Capital, but the ones from my family’s territory are fresher, and I have acquaintances among the craftsmen in the territory, so I headed there for the purchase. My Father didn’t oppose when I said I was going to buy souvenirs for Alice and others.
However, on the way back, out of nowhere, monsters attacked. The guards fought them off, and somehow we managed to reach the Royal Capital. Unfortunately, the Royal Capital was also under attack by monsters. Although we managed to enter through the city gate, our carriage was destroyed, and we had to escape on foot.
In times of emergency, the academy’s auditorium was announced as the evacuation location for the Royal Capital, so that’s where we were heading. And before I realized, we were already in the auditorium. My friends were all clinging to each other, and Alice, whom I saw after a long time, looked exhausted.
It seems a monster’s claw happened to hit my heart, and I died. I don’t remember being attacked by a monster, and I don’t feel the sensation of having dead. I just found myself here. I don’t really understand, but apparently, Alice saved me.
Resurrection from the dead, huh? It must be an amazing thing, but I don’t feel it, so I don’t really understand. Also, it seems there is still a large horde of monsters attacking, but somehow I feel like everything will be okay.
They actually managed to overcome it. Alice worked incredibly hard to repel the monsters. Just putting it into words doesn’t do it justice, it’s truly remarkable. Anon even said it was something unimaginable. Normally, we would have been at the stage of thinking about ways to escape.
Alice is amazing, isn’t she? But I hope she doesn’t push herself too hard. Since Alice collapsed, Anon has been feeling down, and Keena seemed a bit off too. I don’t want Alice to push herself too much. I want us to be together as we always are… Haha, I’ve also come to think that having Alice around is just natural.
She’s a princess, but she’s an unexpectedly tomboyish and incredibly intelligent girl. She’s so peculiar that if you don’t consciously think about it, you might forget. I don’t know how to interact with her, but I want to become closer. I feel like we can become even better friends in the future. It feels like I have a somewhat troublesome little sister. I find her incredibly cute in a restless way, not knowing what she’ll do if I’m not watching. It would be great if she showed more expressions, though… Maybe I’ll try tickling her next time.