As if he wanted to just talk to her, Suimei gently tapped the shoulders of the girl panting in pain.
Lefille looked up with blurry eyes, probably recovering her consciousness a little.
“Ah, uh…?”
The face that was lifted because of the voice still showed signs of the curse’s influence and was red with confusion.
“Ah…”
Lefille finally realized someone was calling out to her, and made a sound that she was aware. But as she stared into the eyes of the man who had a wavering look of pity, the girl’s pupils reflect despair like never before.
As they looked at each other, Lefille’s face gradually became twisted. Why are you here. Why are you looking? I didn’t want anybody to see my disgraceful sight. Lefille’s pained expression seemed to be screaming.
However, even after noticing another person’s presence, she didn’t stop as if her actions were forced by an unseen power. Because of the curse’s fever, she had no control over her body and she continued to rub herself against the rock to relieve the fever a little.
“Ahh... ahhh…”
Yes, from the perspective of a third party, it was a seductive action as if she couldn’t help soothing the fire within her.
“No... please, don't look… please…”
Lefille’s faint voice now was not because of the painful fever. It was a plea from a girl in pain, who didn’t want anyone to see her indecent side.
***
After some time, the curse’s effect seemed to fade, and she calmed down. To Lefille, who was on the ground putting on the knights clothes he had brought, Suimei quietly asked about the curse.
“Is it a curse?”
He asked to confirm. And as expected, Lefille nodded without looking at him. When Suimei was about to ask again, Lefille who was lowering her head with depressed eyes suddenly said:
“I am…”
“...”
“... I am someone related to the royal family of Noshias… No, Noshias is gone, I should say that I was someone related to them.”
Lefille looked down and sighed. It was a sigh as if she was mocking herself, as the girl continued her monologue depressedly. Lefille then continued:
“The Noshias royal family— as a branch family, the bloodline of spiritual power run in my clan. Because I was born with powerful spiritual powers, I was raised with the goal of protecting Noshias from early on. Day after day, I practiced my swordsmanship and ways to use my spiritual powers just to protect my homeland from the Mazoku that would attack from the north.”
Lefille then turned towards Suimei to confirm something.
“In the day, I told you that Noshias was defeated by the Mazoku right?”
“...Yeah…”
“Back then… about half a year ago, the northernmost fortress entrusted to us was stamped out by the hordes of Mazoku. And I was separated with the comrades that fought alongside me. By the time we fought at the capital, there were only a few people left.”
It was a harsh memory, and her voice oozed with pain. And yet, Lefille, as if she had to talk, continued on.
“The Mazoku’s attack was terrifyingly fast. There wasn’t even time for the citizens to escape out of the country. The Mazoku controlled the majority of the country in no time. By that point, we had almost no means to resist. Normally, a summoning for a hero would also be done, but it was too late. They could only call on my power, but my strength was futile against the Mazoku army. Due to the overwhelming differences in numbers and resources, our army renowned for being elite was also crushed. In the end, in order to show the Mazoku our resolve, the people of Noshias chose to defend the city until the very end.”
Making a last stand. In the first place, there was no option to run. Because of the pride of the northern people, they wouldn’t yield to the Mazoku, and struggled to the end to not let the Mazoku do as they wanted.
However—
“While everyone else was preparing for the last time, I was given a different task. I wasn’t allowed to die in the siege because of the spirit’s power. The spirit’s power could not be allowed to die out, and so, I was not permitted to fight until the end at the castle. As a result of this power, my father, my mother, my friends, everyone that was important to me, I had to run and abandon it all.”
This must have been the greatest regret in her life, and Lefille’s shoulders hung with regret.
Suimei was born in modern Japan, and would firstly be happy about being alive in such a situation. But for the people of this world who live for the sake of battle and took pride in the duty passed down by their ancestors, this situation was probably unbearable. For someone who was bestowed with more spiritual powers than power, this was even more true.
“It was in the middle of that. I got cursed. While escaping to other countries, I fought with the Mazoku, and then…”
“It’s that guy…?”
“...No, not Rajas. The one who cursed me was a female Mazoku commanding Rajas and the army. That Mazoku seemed to specialize in curses. What her intention was, I don’t know, but in that fight where I was fighting with every