The Warrior’s Ballad
Chapter 93

Translator: Willia

The sun was setting at the far end of the Heiden Fields, where the ripples of grass swayed like calm waves. As the vibrant twilight spread, campfires were lit throughout the campsite.

The tents varied in shape, color, and size. Some were conical, while others had triangular cross-sections.

At the center of the campsite, a large campfire blazed, surrounded by adventurers soothing their weary day with alcohol and women.

Wherever money and people gathered, merchants were bound to be present, and the pleasures were offerings provided by them.

It might seem absurd for people on a mission to be engaging in such activities, but this was the common scene at any military encampment of the current era. Though this wasn't an actual army.

Ricardt was not particularly fond of indulgent pleasures. He preferred simply being alone in quiet contemplation or chatting with friends, which was enough for him to rest and feel content.

But now, staying still felt exceedingly difficult. The reason was Daisy.

Marie had gone inside the tent and was out of sight, while Volka, Boribori, and Ice were staring blankly at the two of them.

“Who’s this?”

Volka pointed at Daisy and asked.

“Hello. I’m Daisy, Ricky’s wife. We were married a long time ago, but due to unavoidable circumstances, we were separated for a while and have now reunited.”

Daisy greeted Ricardt’s friends with a bright smile. Having lived a life of being chased and wandering from a young age, she never felt intimidated even in unfamiliar places.

Though she now appeared like a clean and pure young girl, she had gone through quite a tumultuous childhood.

“Really?”

Boribori looked to Ricardt for confirmation and asked. Ricardt shook his head.

“No. Absolutely not.”

“Ricky is just shy. We even exchanged rings and made promises, didn’t we, Ricky?”

“Don’t make things up.”

Ricardt, half-dazed, responded like a machine.

“You said you were a follower of the Order.”

Ice looked at Daisy and asked.

“Yes. But I wasn’t particularly devout when I joined. It’s just that my prophetic ability was a good match with the Order, so I spent a few years there.”

“Prophetic ability? Don’t tell me...”

“Yes, within the Order, I am one of the Prophetic Nuns. So aside from being bored, I didn’t really...”

At the mention of Prophetic Nun, Ice was startled and quickly turned his head with his eyes shut. Even though he had left the Order, the teachings were so ingrained in him that he couldn’t bring himself to look directly at a Prophetic Nun.

Boribori stared at the girl, who was both beautiful and somehow strange, and spoke.

“Ice, I think the answer to your problem is right here? You just have to accept the women who approach you like Ricky does, instead of rejecting them all.”

“Wha, what? Bori, what are you talking about.”

Ricardt, momentarily stunned by Boribori’s unexpected words, suddenly snapped to attention.

“It just seemed that way. For the record, I don’t think it’s a bad thing. It’s something you should decide for yourself, Ricky.”

A friend was also a mirror of oneself. That once pure boy was speaking to Ricardt in Ricardt’s own tone, and Ricardt himself was left speechless.

He wasn’t going around saying nasty things to others, but the thought suddenly struck him, was I really this harsh?

“So what’s the prophecy?”

Volka asked. Then, even Daisy, who had a supernatural ability to control her expression, looked slightly somber.

“God will be resurrected. So, you cannot win. You should turn back now. I’m going to take Ricky with me too.”

At Daisy’s words, Volka and Boribori didn’t seem particularly convinced, but Ice appeared deeply shaken and momentarily stiffened. Because it wasn’t just anyone, but a Prophetic Nun who had spoken.

“Well, they all say the same thing.”

But Volka said indifferently. Because every follower of the Order of Judgement constantly sang of God’s resurrection.

Unfortunately, they couldn’t get any special information from Daisy. Not because information was lacking at the moment, but because there was too much of it, and the real challenge was sorting out what was actually useful.

Since the incident that occurred last autumn, in Nibelungen, hundreds of people had been hanged each day in efforts to root out followers of the Order. Naturally, torture was also involved.

During that process, they were able to gather an immense amount of information, but filtering out only the useful bits and discarding the useless ones was no easy task.

Hellauman, the current supreme commander, knew everything, where the Order's Holy Fortress was located, the infiltration routes, their daily lives, and their overall military strength.

The problem was not in knowing, but in how to act on that knowledge. It was similar to knowing that a tiger lives in a tiger's den, but not knowing how to go in and catch it.

Charging in blindly wouldn't work. Complicated issues arose, such as how to split up the unit divisions, how to organize the command structure, how to operate it, and how long the operation would last.

Volka, as both a branch manager and a clan master, had participated in the operation meetings and was aware of these issues.

That was why he couldn’t afford to pay attention to nonsense like prophecies, and Boribori also thought prophecies were nothing but absurd talk.

Boribori placed a hand on Ice's shoulder and said.

“If all those prophecies were true, then what’s the point of us being alive? So don’t let it bother you.”

But for Ice, it wasn’t something he could take lightly. And regarding the prophecy, there was a dilemma. If the prophecy was nonsense, then Armand’s words couldn’t be trusted either.

“I feel a bit bad for Marie. Ricky, I’m sure you’ll handle it well, but keep an eye on her. If I’ve got anything else to report, I’ll come back. For now, get some rest.”

Volka tapped Ricardt on the chest with his fist and walked away.

With that, Daisy’s status seemed roughly settled. From the perspective of the adventurers, Daisy was just a useless defector from the Order, nothing more.

If it had been like last year when a storm of purging and suppression of the Order was raging, they might’ve strung her up on the spot. But since she was acquainted with Ricardt and everyone knew that wasn’t what mattered right now, they let it go.

The most troublesome issue at the moment was that the operation deadline was only about a month away. Without a dedicated supply unit, even that timeframe was tight.

They had to complete the subjugation within that period, and the bigger problem was that there were still adventurers who hadn’t assembled yet.

This was reality. Whenever people were gathered to attempt something, all sorts of problems would emerge.

Of course, those matters were for the command to handle. They weren’t something Ricardt needed to worry about.

What Ricardt needed to worry about was the precarious balancing act between Marie and Daisy.

“Daisy, you go with him. He was also with the Order before, so you two might be able to communicate.”

Ricardt pointed at Ice and said.

“I don’t want to.”

“Ricky, I think it’d be better to leave Marie and her together, and you just stay away for now.”

“Wha, what are you saying, Bori?”

“Right now, you trying to comfort both sides is only making things worse.”

“You’re supposed to take my side...”

“What are you saying? I’m always on your side. I just want everyone to get along.”

When it came to relationships between people, Ricardt was somewhat insensitive, but Boribori was delicate and sensitive.

But was what he said really right? Putting Marie and Daisy together? Ricardt couldn’t accept that.

Then suddenly, he thought about the good thing about having friends. So he grabbed Daisy by the shoulders, shoved her toward Boribori and Ice, and bolted straight out into the twilight fields. He was running away.

It was a pathetic sight, like a TB patient gasping for air as he desperately ran away. Boribori held back Daisy, who tried to chase after him, watching with a bewildered expression.

“Let go.”

“For Ricky’s sake, just hold back for now. Don’t just force your feelings on him.”

“What if we end up separated again?”

“What?”

“Have you ever spent years, heart in knots, thinking about just one person?”

“No. But what does that have to do with me? Besides, we were all getting along just fine until you showed up and broke the peace. Right now, you’re an unwelcome outsider to us. So act accordingly. You can understand at least that much, right?”

Boribori valued his people, his friends, more than anything in the world, and he honestly didn’t like Daisy, who was starting to fracture those relationships.

Maybe it was because she had learned a lot, but unlike before, she no longer stammered and spoke quite coherently.

Unable to watch any longer, Ice stepped forward. He couldn’t look Daisy in the eyes and spoke with his gaze lowered.

“Sister, I will escort you.”

At that, Daisy, perhaps affected by Boribori’s words, allowed herself to be led away by Ice for the time being. Not that she agreed in her heart, though.

Marie was alone inside the tent, Volka was busy, Daisy was at least out of the way for now, and Ricardt had fled.

Left all alone, Boribori sighed and began walking. To look for Ricardt.

“Sigh...”

Back in the day, Ricardt had practically raised Boribori, but now, it seemed the roles had reversed somewhat.

But as they say, it’s darkest under the lamp, Ricardt hadn’t actually gone that far.

He had been hiding behind a nearby tent, observing the situation, and only when things seemed to have settled did he quietly reappear. Even in times like this, his deceptive tactics were impressive.

Ricardt slightly lifted the flap at the entrance of the tent where Marie was and peeked inside. With no candles lit, the interior was too dark to see clearly.

He tilted his head and rolled his eyes around as he scanned the inside, when suddenly Boribori appeared behind him and gave him a hard shove.

Even brilliant deception tactics could be easily seen through by someone familiar.

"Ah!"

Ricardt, stumbling into the tent, was startled, but when he saw Marie with her face buried in a pillow, he froze in place. She seemed to have been crying for a while.

“M-Mari...”

Ricardt didn’t dare approach her. Still, he cautiously sat by the bedside. He couldn’t even offer comfort easily, nor did he know what to say.

“It’s not like I cheated... It’s just something from the past... just a childish thing from back when we were little...”

It was not at all comforting. It was merely an excuse. But honestly, wasn’t it true that he hadn’t done anything wrong? He felt a little wronged too.

Not knowing what to do, he aimlessly touched the tips of Marie’s toes. As if it were a joke, or not, he fiddled with her toes one by one. Then Marie suddenly pulled her foot away.

But seeing her react at all made Ricardt feel a little relieved.

“She’s just a pitiful girl. Even if she was placed in the care of the Order, wasn’t she basically abandoned? But it’s not like I have any special feelings for her. The only one I’ve ever opened my heart to is you. That’s the truth, and I mean it sincerely. I don’t even need to swear it. But if a vow is what you want, I’ll make one.”

“......”

Silence followed. From afar, the sounds of adventurers drinking and laughing could be heard. Occasionally, vulgar words drifted in too.

Ricardt silently stayed by Marie’s side.

Then, after crying so much, Marie finally spoke in a stuffy, nasal voice.

“......Swear it.”

“How should I swear it?”

“That you’ll love only me.”

It might’ve sounded a bit childish, but that was how she felt at the moment. Even the poised and brave Marie had times when she just wanted to whine to Ricardt.

But Ricardt didn’t treat her childishness as childish. Without hesitation, he swore immediately, like a pure knight.

“I, Ricardt, swear to love only Martellia. Unchanging even in death."

A moment later, Marie finally turned her head with a sniffle. Honestly, she looked a bit of a mess, but she was so naturally beautiful that it only made her seem more pitiable. The pillow cover was soaked.

Ricardt wiped her tears and snot with his hand, then casually wiped his hand on his own clothes.

Still not enough, he used his sleeve to wipe her again. He tidied her hair and gently caressed her face, which seemed to help.

Her nose tip remained red, though that couldn’t be helped.

“Did you drink a lot?”

“Huh?”

“Your nose is red.”

At the light-hearted joke, Marie finally let out a chuckle.

“Oh? If you laugh while crying...”

“You want to check?”

“Check what? I was going to say that laughing after crying means happiness.”

“Tch...”

“Are you secretly a pervert?”

“What did I do? What exactly do you wanted me check?”

“Who knows?” (T/N: There is a saying in Korean which means something like if you laugh while crying then hair grows out of your butt/bottom/bum/🍑/whatever you call it so that is what it means.)

Just moments ago, things had been serious, but strangely enough, Ricardt and Marie were soon exchanging lighthearted jokes as usual. However, the way they looked at each other sparkled like stars.

Even without trying, it was natural for them to grow closer, and that alone was enough.

These peaceful moments were so precious, and the fact that they were allowed only to each other was both touching and heartwarming.

There was no such thing as a perfect human in this world. Everyone had shortcomings, wounds, and could unintentionally hurt others. Even so, what mattered was to give one’s whole heart.

Like following the stars, Ricardt and Marie looked at each other in that way. Though not perfect, what they shared was sincerity.

Sometimes, their hearts would misalign and they would hurt one another, like tripping over a stone. Yet even then, getting back up, looking to the stars with a prayerful heart, and giving it their all, that required courage.

Fortunately, Ricardt and Marie were brave. Though they had lived different lives, they resembled each other in that sense, and that was why they were inevitably drawn together. Like stars pulled by gravity.

But time that sparkled like stars did not last long. Because, after all, this was a battlefield.

It might seem unbelievable that such a fact was overlooked, but the command had not expected the enemy to attack. Their focus had been solely on how to crush the enemy, and that had created a blind spot.

The Heiden Fields were a place where the stars bloomed more brilliantly than anywhere else. And in that place, where starlight poured down like rain, the first battle began.

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