An hour had passed since the battle with the monsters. Each division was now reporting its casualties.
・Rear guard: all only lightly wounded.
・Mid guard: only the severely injured.
・Rangers: about 20 incapacitated, 70 severely wounded, and 10 dead.
・Vanguard: about 50 incapacitated, and around 500 with injuries ranging from minor to severe.
・Total deaths: roughly 60 (some bodies were too damaged to properly identify).
「So overall losses are about 130… of the incapacitated, around 70 can be saved depending on treatment.」
Sixty dead. Of those, 10 were so mangled beyond recognition, while the other 50 had died of fatal wounds or blood loss.
(With this condition, resurrection should be possible… I should go fetch Aerith.)
Honestly, considering how chaotic the enemy became and how fast the large monsters were taken down, our death toll was surprisingly low. Even Hawkeyes-san muttered, “I’ve never seen a battle with so few dead.”
「Hawkeyes-san! I’ll go bring Aerith now!」
「Oh? Ah… got it.」
With that, I teleported.
「…And here we go.」
Arriving inside the castle, I waited until the head maid appeared.
「Hero-sama, has something happened?」
「We engaged the enemy army on the way. I’d like to borrow Aerith’s power.」
「Understood. I shall summon her at once.」
Not long after, the door opened.
「Yuuki-sama!」
Aerith walked in, dressed in an outfit I’d never seen before. Was that… a military uniform? Honestly, it looked more like cosplay.
「Well? How do I look? This is one of Hinagiku-san’s new designs.」
「It looks amazing on you. Cool, cute, and dignified, all in perfect balance.」
「Thank you!」
She rushed up and hugged me.
「Whoa, easy. So… this outfit, is it a type of magic armor?」
「No, not quite. But it’s made from the same fabric as magic armor. If you attach magic stones, it can function the same way.」
「That’s… incredible.」
Hinagiku-san’s shop already sold enchanted clothing, but those fabrics were a step below magic armor. They could be imbued with magic power to resist dirt, keep their shine, or strengthen slightly.
This new fabric, however, was on a different level. Working with Yuffie, she had created it by processing silkworm cocoons into thread, then soaking the yarn in potions to improve the fibers’ quality and make them more magic power-conductive. For the dyeing process, they even mixed in powdered magic stones, so the fabric itself carried a faint magical property.
Of course, that alone wasn’t enough to activate full-on magic armor, it still required external magic stones for that. But the durability and stain resistance were far above normal, and the fabric was expected to become popular.
The whole initiative stemmed from Aerith’s policy ideas. She had been worrying about widows, wives left behind when soldiers or adventurers died, and wanted to create industries where they could find work. When Yuffie and Hinagiku invented this fabric, Aerith incorporated it into her policy plans.
As we were talking, the head maid returned, carrying two trunk cases.
「Princess, preparations are complete.」
「Thank you, Head Maid.」
She then turned to me.
「Hero-sama, please take care of Her Highness.」
「Of course. With my life, if need be.」
I took the luggage, stored it in my spatial storage, and teleported.
The place I arrived at was the morgue. Inside lay the bodies of about fifty people, along with the remains of another ten.
「Aerith, how many of them can you bring back?」
「Let me see… I can only resurrect those who have been dead for less than twenty-four hours, and only if their wounds have already been healed.」
「Got it. That’s where I come in.」
Using Appraisal and Restoration Magic, I began repairing the corpses. For now, I finished restoring the fifty that were not too badly damaged.
「Alright Aerith, use this.」
I handed her the World Tree bracelet I had been wearing, and she began the resurrection.
『Those who fell in battle, whose souls still cling with regret, by divine miracle, return to this world! ――Resurrection』
Aerith’s magic power spread out, and spheres of light descended from nowhere, entering the bodies of the dead. One after another, they awoke.
「Medics, take care of them!」
The revived were carried away. What remained were the ones who had been reduced to fragments.
「Now then… time to restore…」
Between the battle, teleporting back and forth to the castle, and repairing wounds, my magic power had been greatly depleted. Still, I could manage… somehow.
(But completely restoring an entire body from nothing… is tough.)
Restoration was easiest when the brain remained. If the brain was intact, repair was simple. But if it was missing, the process became incredibly difficult.
「Phew… I’m exhausted…」
「Yuuki-sama!!」
My magic power drained all at once, I collapsed onto the floor. Aerith rushed over in panic, but I stopped her with a hand.
「I’m fine, really. More importantly, are there any medics around? We need to move that pile…」
I pointed at the mound of remains.
「I’ll bring them right away!」
Aerith hurried outside, and returned five minutes later with about ten medics. Together we arranged the bodies neatly, covering them with cloth since they had no clothing.
『Those who fell in battle, whose souls still cling with regret, by divine miracle, return to this world! ――Resurrection』
She cast the spell again. Though only one-fifth of the number compared to before, sweat already glistened on her forehead.
Once again, light descended into the corpses, and one by one, they opened their eyes.
「It’s a miracle…」
「Saintess-sama…」
The medics around us whispered in awe.
「It… is done…」
Supporting the staggering Aerith, I let her rest on my lap.
「Good work, Aerith.」
「Yuuki-sama, you too…」
Together, we quietly shared in the joy while watching the newly revived being carried away on stretchers.
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆
The next day, Aerith, a few medics skilled in healing magic, and I moved through the camp, treating the severely injured whose wounds could not heal quickly even with potions.
The ten who had been resurrected from scattered remains said their bodies still felt unsteady, so they were loaded onto wagons and sent back to the fortress.
As for Aerith, she set out with a replacement horse to follow the front lines.
And by the following morning, we finally reached the battlefield at the very front.
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