Published: August 10, 2026
The Yamato Country is currently at war with the Kingdom of Reytis.
I knew the word "war," and I understood what it meant.
It was a slaughter between nations, where many people killed one another, and countless lives—soldiers and civilians alike—were made miserable. No matter which side won or lost, the grudges would remain for hundreds or even thousands of years. War breeds war, and all it creates is sorrow and hatred.
That said, even if I said I knew it, the war in our own country had ended before we were born. There were countries at war somewhere in the world, yes, but to us they were all things happening beyond the television screen—something like "events in another world." That would probably be the more accurate way to put it.
So I'm sure I'd only thought I understood war.
By the time we landed in the Yamato Country, two of the three fortresses near the Reytis border had already fallen and been occupied. The black smoke I saw from the carriage window that day had been from those places. Only one fortress remained on the Reytis side of the border, and since it was located between the two fallen fortresses, its collapse might only be a matter of time.
If all the fortresses were taken, the Reytis army would surely enter the country, push north, and begin an assault on the castle. If that happened, the Yamato Country would disappear from this world.
Though even before that, there was only so much that outsiders like us could do.
The three of us—me, Hosoyama, and Kazuki—had come to a village called Takane, close to the front lines, separated from Akira and the others. We were here on a request for healing that Hosoyama had received through the Adventurer Guild of the Yamato Country, and that probably meant the village name was written with the kanji "high peak." As the name suggested, it was a mountain village. It had taken more than a day by carriage from the mansion that had become our new base.
It seemed that one of the two fallen fortresses was on the mountain next to the one where the village stood. That was why wounded soldiers from that fortress were brought here, but only those who could still be saved. Which meant the ones who were already beyond saving, or whose injuries were so severe they would burden supplies, may have simply been abandoned.
I didn't say it aloud, but as those thoughts passed through my mind, I looked out from the carriage at the villagers, whose faces were heavy and gloomy because of how close the battlefield was.
"W-welcome! To Takane Village!!"
The one who greeted us as we got off the carriage was a young man about our age. He wore the same kind of outfit as the soldiers scattered throughout the village, but he didn't seem like he had ever seen battle. Maybe he hadn't had his first campaign yet, or maybe he was assigned to other work.
A cold wind seemed to pass between us as he stumbled over what was probably a prepared greeting.
"Good day. I am Hosoyama, a healer sent here on a request from the Adventurer Guild of the Yamato Country. The other two are my companions, Kazuki-kun and Asahina-kun, who came to help with protection and labor. We don't have much time, but please take care of us."
Without missing a beat, Hosoyama smoothly covered for the young man, whose face had turned bright red. If it were me or Kazuki, we definitely couldn't have handled it so naturally. As expected.
The young man, rescued by Hosoyama, nodded with shining eyes.
"Yes, yes! I'm Lark. I was assigned to guide you all and take care of you during your stay in the village!"
"Nice to meet you, Lark-san. Then, would you please take us there right away?"
"Understood!"
Maybe Lark was just clumsy, but even though he was from this village, on the short walk to where the wounded soldiers were gathered, he tripped over nothing twice and fell flat once. The two times he tripped were only prevented because I caught him before he went down. In other words, if I hadn't been there, he would have fallen three times. The path was well-trodden, even if it was a little sloped, so I wondered how he could lose his footing so easily, but judging from the atmosphere of the people around us, this was probably normal for him.