Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Leasis had been standing in front of the thatched house since early dawn. She took deep breaths several times, looking at the old, tightly closed door. It took her quite a long time to open the door.

Creak.

A stuffy smell came through the open door. Inside, many women were sitting with a haggard look. There were many familiar faces that she had seen the day before.

Their eyes were smudged black. Everyone was staring blankly into the air or was shaking their heads. They were avoiding or denying the upcoming death. Fear was prevailing over anything else.

Leasis energized her heavy feet. As she walked in, someone recognized her and approached her.

“Oh, you are the benefactor from yesterday. What’s bringing you here?”

He was the elder of the island. She greeted him briefly and brought up the main point.

“I’d like to ask you a favor, Elder-nim.”

“A favor?”

What did she mean in this critical situation? The elder looked at Leasis with astonishment. She had a very serious face. He was a little puzzled, but she had been a lifesaver the day before. He nodded his head.

“Okay, let’s hear what you want.”

“I want the people here to join us in today’s battle.”

The elder doubted his ears. Her red eyes were shining intensely. He only understood it as the spirit of a young person who did not know the world, so he sighed.

That was ridiculous. The intelligent monsters were powerful enough to keep even the healthy young men restless. Furthermore, the thatched house was full of people who could hardly stand, and the number of swords and spears was far from enough. The only thing Leasis could mean was for them to be a meat shield. The elder raised his eyebrows.

“Oh, thank you very much for helping us yesterday, but I don’t know what you’re saying about old men and women joining the battle.”

“You can do it.”

Leasis was surprisingly determined. She began to persuade the elder seriously.

“There are a lot of small but solid stones on this island. It’s a special material that is even valued in the Imperial Palace. If you hit monsters on the cliff with these stones, you’ll definitely cause a lot of damage.”

“There is no means to carry it. What the…”

“A skirt.”

Leasis showed the white apron tied to her waist. Most rocks and stones were small enough to fit in.

She looked around the house once again. It was as she had seen yesterday. Most of the women were wearing aprons or long skirts.

“You can use the skirts worn by the island women to move them. That’s enough.”

“Are you… are you serious?”

“Yes.”

The village elder swallowed dry saliva. He thought it was just a joke, but it was not. Her eyes were shining sharply. She was like an experienced warrior ahead of the battlefield.

Leasis tried to persuade the confused elder. He brought up his opinions and grounds several more times.

However, the elder had no choice but to shake his head. The inhabitants here were women who only knew daily life and weak, elderly people. None of them had the courage to throw stones at monsters with their bare minds.

They had already witnessed the deaths of their families, friends and neighbors. Their minds and bodies were exhausted and in distress. Some people were even wishing for death.

At the elder’s words, Leasis did not give up. She said she would try to persuade the people herself.

“Are you crazy?”

“You go out and die!”

Of course. People were all hostile. They stared fiercely at her as she tried to convince them.

Leasis was calm. Her face was stung by strong gazes, but she did not avoid them. She strengthened her neck.

“Help me. It’s something we have to do together.”

“Who are you to tell us what to do! Get out of here!”

People threw wooden cups, sticks, and other objects at Leasis. She did not avoid getting hit a few times. Her face got hurt and she started to bleed. Embarrassed, the elder tried to calm the angry people.

At that time, Leasis said in a low voice.

“You have the strength to throw wooden cups, but not to throw stones?”

“What, what?”

“How many of the dead islanders wanted to be armed?”

There was no smile on Leasis’ face. She had been gentle and kind, but that sight was nowhere to be seen now. The girl who was healing their wounds yesterday and the girl in front of them now seemed like two different people.

Blood flowed from her head hit by a wooden stick. Her forehead and eyes were soaked with blood. But she did not blink at all. The sight was also bizarre.

“Who in the world is not afraid of death? Those who died to protect you must have been scared at first.”

“…”

“They even took the courage to stand to protect you and the island. Why do you want to just wait for death? More than half of you could die in today’s battle. Everyone should join forces to fight together.”

“Crazy! Count Dratius is here! He’ll protect us!”

Leasis turned her head toward the person who shouted. The young woman was huffing. Instead of getting angry, Leasis spoke in a low voice.

“He can’t protect all of you. And I’m telling you this with permission from the Count-nim.”

“What… what?”

“You know the terrain here better than I do. Enemies can come from all directions, east, west, south, and north. Do you think the Count-nim can stop them all?”

“…”

“We don’t have to take care of all of it, but if we can just block the cliff, we’ll manage to avoid a lot of damage.”

A heavy silence fell. The harsh breathing mixed with fear, agony and guilt. No one looked at Leasis.

She spoke earnestly.

“Count Dratius-nim is not a god. He can’t protect all of your lives. Mother, brother, and children next to you can all die right now.”

No one was determined to face death, and neither was Leasis. When she had opened the door of this thatched house, she had to be prepared for her death, from the moment she had talked with Hizen yesterday. So it was also scary for her.

She said with a cold sweat running down her spine.

“I’m scared, too. But I want to take the lead and protect you. Please fight with me. Please.”

A breathtaking silence ensued. Was it impossible as Hizen had said? Frustrated, Leasis slowly closed her eyes.

It was then.

“I… I’ll do it, too!”

She saw a young girl when she opened her eyes. She wondered if she was only 13. The skinny green-haired girl was raising her hand.

“Dion, sit down now!”

The old woman sitting next to her hit her daughter hard on the back and scolded her. But Dion jumped out of her seat.

“We’ve been on the run! It’s time for us to fight back!”

“Dion, are you crazy? Get your act together and sit down!”

“Mom, wake up! How many people died protecting our island… Everyone, wake up!”

Dion’s light-green eyes became wet. She cried out, wiping her eyes with her old sleeve.

“There’s no one in the world who wants to die! Don’t hide cowardly, but help us live together!”

A heavy silence fell. Everyone was looking around and someone murmured.

“Yes. You’re right… They say even strangers are helping us.”

A middle-aged woman sitting against the wall raised her body. She rummaged through her arms, pulled out a small dagger and tore off her long skirt.

Leasis looked at her with surprised eyes. It was a woman who lost her son not long ago. She muttered with a long, cropped skirt.

“Even if my son is dead, I can’t let another son see hell like that. I’ll follow her.”

“So will I. I can’t let other people suffer from the pain of losing a husband.”

They cut off their skirts one by one and took off their aprons. It was the start.

*

Leasis left the thatched house with an exceptionally large stride. She ran as hard as she could toward Hizen at the edge of the cliff.

“Count Dratius-nim!”

A red-haired girl appeared in his blue eyes. He asked in an emotionless voice.

“What’s the outcome?”

“As I said. The islanders decided to trust me and Count-nim!”

It was an unexpected result, so Hizen was lost in thought. He could hear a clear voice.

“Now, Count-nim, please grant me my request.”

Her red eyes burned like fire. It was intense. A flame that would never go out even in the face of death, it was quite a sight. It was similar to Neren’s eyes.

Hizen took a small breath and looked up at the sky. His blue eyes shone sharply.

“Get ready.”

“Yes!”

Responding vigorously, Leasis examined carefully the topography of the island again. In order for the operation to succeed, she had to revisit the battlefield several times. That way, even one more person could be saved.

Hizen lowered his head and saw something. There were wounds on her forehead and her cheeks. It certainly was not there last night.

Hizen’s expression hardened subtly. He could not understand why she was doing this. No matter how fierce one could be, it would be fearsome to see the battlefield with the corpses scattered in such disorder.

And now a maid who had been mopping her whole life was going to fight at the most dangerous position. In addition, she had tried to persuade people by hurting her own body.

“Hmm… Count-nim. Do you have something to say?”

Leasis had a thick and awkward smile. Hizen said nervously.

“You’re funny. Do you want so badly to look good in front of me?”

“What?”

“I think you’re trying to become a knight because you see me well. Do you want to give up your life like that?”

At first glance, it could be offensive. But Leasis was not worried. She smiled brightly.

“Sometimes Count Dratius-nim is wrong. I’m not doing this to make me look good to Count-nim.”

Then what was it? Leasis answered seriously.

“A knight’s duty is to protect the weak.”

“…”

“I learned it from the chivalry taught by Count Dratius-nim. It’s… it’s in Neren-nim’s book, ‘War Hero’.”

“Sounds foolish. If you die here, you can’t be a knight, a maid, or anything. You would just be one of the many dead people not recorded in history.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

Leasis stretched and did some gymnastics. It was to warm up her body in the face of upcoming death. She was calm. No, she tried to stay calm.

“I’ll do everything I can to protect one more person rather than run away like this. That’s what I’m going to do.”

Why? Leasis’ words penetrated deep into his heart. Hizen felt neither positive nor negative. He just lowered his eyes to the floor.

Strange stones could be seen. Unlike ordinary roadside stones, they had a subtle gloss. They were made of a special material called ‘retan’ that was cut off by the local sea breeze.

Leasis’ red eyes twinkled. Next to Hizen’s foot was a special stone she had seen in a book. It was one of the weapons that had been used in the Harknon Empire, in ancient times.

She was lucky to have found these stones here yesterday.

At that time, Hizen had said derisively.

[Congratulations. It doesn’t seem like heaven has completely abandoned you.]

Leasis did not want to meet Neren yet. She wanted to keep her promise with Neren and meet him when she became honorable. She spoke with a deliberate bluff.

“I will survive and be recognized as Count-nim’s maid. Oh, and I’ll be a knight.”

“What a dream, isn’t it?”

“Hehe. Thank you.”

Why was she laughing like that? Hizen looked at Leasis who was smiling shyly. She opened her apron and looked at the floor enthusiastically. It was an effort to find one more stone.

It was desperate. Hizen bit his gums and said warningly.

“Don’t be mistaken. You were only lucky to manage to use the healing technique of Commander Ramashter. You’d better throw away the idea that you’ll be so lucky today.”

“I’m not mistaken. I don’t have time for that.”

Today, Leasis was determined. So Hizen had nothing more to say.

Leasis picked up a stone and smiled happily. With one stone in her apron, she lifted her head.

“Oh! Count Dratius-nim.”

Hizen looked at her with a cool look. Then she grinned and pointed under his foot with her chin.

“Can you pick up the stone there?”