"Did you talk to Nauman?"
"Yes…"
"I see. Well then, let's wait."
I walked alongside Sergeant Gavel towards the tent.
It's already late at night.
The sound of gunfire behind us had stopped, and only the gentle flow of the river could be heard.
"Your command on the first day was splendid. Everything went just as you planned."
"It was only possible with the determination of Maeve and the others."
Since the bombardment had stopped, it means the fortress has been occupied by Aerys.
Maeve and Ember are presumed to have departed to paradise.
"I hope things go well tomorrow too."
"…Yes."
"If we're going to die anyway, at least it's for the sake of our homeland. I'm counting on you, our Lucky Carry."
Sergeant Gavel spoke to me in a light-hearted tone, carefully choosing his words.
He was probably trying to lighten the mood because my face must have looked pale.
…What good does it do to make someone who's about to die worry about such things?
"Sergeant Gavel."
"What?"
"Just now, Nauman pleaded for his life, saying, 'I don't want to die. Is there any way to avoid dying?'"
"I see"
"His words were so heavy I couldn't handle it."
"Well, that's understandable."
I conveyed Nauman's words to Sergeant Gavel.
To him, who must have been grappling with the same conflict.
"Do you think the same way, Sergeant Gavel?"
"No, I've made up my mind. …Though, there are times when I waver."
"I'm sorry…"
"Why are you apologizing?"
Not wanting to die. That's a perfectly natural feeling.
Even someone as seemingly enlightened as Nauman became so distraught.
There's no way a 15-year-old like Sergeant Gavel wouldn't be troubled.
"…This morning, Maeve called out to me and we exchanged words for the last time."
"Really? What did he say?"
"He said that, judging by how Sergeant Gavel likes me, I should give you a kiss on the cheek before you die."
"Hey!"
"Do you need something like that?"
"Why are you bringing this up now?!"
Sergeant Gavel has resolved to face death.
How noble and tragic that decision must be.
I want to do whatever I could for him, and before I realized it, I was saying such things.
"There's no guarantee that you'll be alive tomorrow."
"Stop saying such inauspicious things. I'm going to die the day after tomorrow."
"Yeah…"
"I intend to make the mission a success. So, let's save that for tomorrow night."
He said this and turned away, his ears red.
I guess his tolerance for this sort of thing really is low.
"Well then, is there anything you'd like me to do tomorrow night?"
"For you to do?"
"…That's about all I can give you in return."
"There are various things, but…"
Sergeant Gavel turned his face away at my question.
After a few seconds of silence, he let out a small sigh.
"Lieutenant Touri, you have someone you've decided on, don't you?"
"…Yes."
"And if I were to ask something, you'd respond earnestly, wouldn't you?"
"Well, that's…"
"Then I don't need anything."
He lightly tapped my forehead with a hint of irritation.
I tilted my head, wondering what that meant.
"It's just too uncool to die while making the face of the girl you like gloomy."
"…"
"From the way you look at it now, it feels like you'd do anything if I pushed you. But if you did do something, you'd probably regret it."
Sergeant Gavel began to say such things.
"Well, I will refuse requests that go beyond a certain level."
"Hey now."
"You're right. I've dedicated my body to a certain someone. I suppose the most you can get from me is a kiss on the cheek."
"How boring…"
Sergeant Gavel's naive words made me feel a little better.
…His earnest attempt to appear dignified felt somewhat endearing.
"Thank you. I've calmed down a bit."
"I'm glad."
"I'll go scout the area around the Aerys Army. Please call out to me if you see Corporal Nauman."
"Got it."
I said this, then turned to face forward again.
Under the starry sky, with the sound of artillery gone silent, I gazed at the now quiet downstream of Argalia.
***
The enemy is slowly writhing in the darkness of the night.
They are surely advancing towards this fortress bit by bit.
Today's battle should have taught them the dangers of trenches.
Tomorrow, they will probably use artillery magic before launching an assault.
That is the most basic and effective method for breaking through trenches.
We didn't have much time, so the trenches we built were shallow and narrow.
There is nothing we can do if we are hit by a carefully prepared bombardment.
Therefore, we scattered our troops' positions.
We placed soldiers even in the rugged mountain valleys to avoid being wiped out by artillery fire.
Artillery fire has a longer range than rifles.
They will bombard our positions from a distance where rifles cannot reach.
However, we cannot afford to lose Fort Argalia tomorrow.
We still need to hold out for another two days.
It will be open plains past that point.
From there, a company-sized force like us will be unable to do anything.
We must hold the enemy back here at Argalia.
Several magical lights flashed in the direction of Aerys' army.
It's likely that Aerys' artillery units have begun to draw magic circles.
The bombardment will surely begin as soon as the sun rises.
I'm sure they're feeling the pressure too.
They shouldn't be delayed in a place like this.
If they don't advance quickly, they won't be able to launch a surprise attack in time.
That's why they are spending magic stones without hesitation to bombard us.
…To hold them back, we must risk our lives.
I must crush the lives of 150 comrades to hold them back.
I will burn their courageous figures into my memory, report their achievements, and convey their bravery and thoughts to their families.
That is the job I must do.
"…"
'I don't want to die…'
Nauman said that while crying and screaming.
Sergeant Gavel also put on a brave front, but deep down he must be trembling with fear.
How did it come to this?
We were happily training together just a little while ago.
Austin's victory was within reach, and morale was boosted for the final battle.
"… Sylph?"
Looking up at the night sky, I saw the figure of Sylph Nova with a mocking smile among the stars.
Once a comrade who I fought alongside the battlefield of the Sabbath as her subordinate.
A kind-hearted, lonely, and stubborn genius girl.
"Sylph Nova…"
She looked down on me, grinning with a gleeful smile.
She is taking pleasure in seeing me struggle and suffer in the land of Argalia.
I felt a boiling rage pulsate throughout my entire body the moment I realized this.
The enemy who destroyed my hometown by proposing the strategy that burned down Noel Orphanage.
The woman who caused the death of the kind Rodri.
The villain who brought such a cruel end to Lenalee just after we had reconciled.
The sworn enemy who took everything precious from me.
And now, perhaps the mastermind behind this situation…
"Sylph… Nova!!"
Before I knew it, I was shouting towards the night sky.
Hate, hate, hate.
I detest Sylph Nova from the depths of my heart.
I wouldn't have lost so much if it weren't for her.
And even now, if only Sylph weren't here, I wouldn't have lost anything.
It might be said that blaming others for one's own shortcomings is inexcusable.
Yet, I can't help but despise that woman.
Because, if only Sylph weren't here…
The war might have ended, and Rodri might still be by my side.
I might have become friends with Lenalee and had enjoyable tea parties with her.
…It's unlikely that everything would have gone so smoothly.
But I can't help but think that.
If only Sylph weren't here.
If only that woman had never been born in the Sabbath─
"…"
Sylph looked down on me and snorted.
She was mocking me for being powerless in front of my dying comrades.
Even though it's because of you that we are in this dire situation.
What is so funny, Sylph Nova?
"…Don't laugh."
I know it's a hallucination, but I couldn't help but shout.
I was frustrated.
I realized that I had opened up to her, even if just a little.
It was only when I found myself facing this dire situation as enemies that I finally realized it.
Indeed, Sylph and I are irreconcilable.
It's sad, but without a shadow of a doubt, Sylph and I are bitter enemies.
"…"
Sylph continued to chuckle, her face full of composure as she laughed at my frantic and screaming self.
…This is a delusion I created.
There's no point in continuing to engage with this phantom.
I need to calm down before people think I've gone crazy.
I closed my eyes and took deep breaths, trying not to see any more illusions.
"Why are you looking away?"
"…!"
…It's no good. The hallucination won't go away.
She speaks to me in a playful and provocative tone in my head.
This is a bad sign. It's a late-stage symptom of being on the brink of mental breakdown due to stress.
"You're really cornered, aren't you, Touri?"
"…Shut up."
"What happened to your usual expressionless face? Why don't you calm down?"
No matter how much I avert my gaze, the auditory hallucination keeps speaking to me.
Her words irritate me to no end and disturb my mind.
Losing composure due to being stirred up by delusions of one's own making is the height of folly.
"That's right. You should calm down."
"…"
"Now, take a deep breath."
The illusion of Sylph continued to taunt me with a joyful demeanor.
What does this phantom want?
What is going on in my head?
"Have you calmed down, Touri?"
There was a time when I thought I could become friends with her.
That's why it's so hateful and infuriating.
It's maddening that Sylph is laughing in the face of the 20,000 enemies coming to kill us in this desperate situation.
"Really. You're surprisingly narrow-minded."
Whenever I feel cornered, I always see someone in a hallucination.
It's probably a necessary defensive mechanism to maintain sanity.
I am now on the brink of being crushed by stress.
That's why I'm conjuring up this illusion of Sylph Nova in the void and hurling insults at it.
How pathetic─
"Look carefully, Touri."
While sneering at the illusion of Sylph, she turned in her Sabbatian military uniform and pointed with her right hand to the Aerys Army in the distance.
"Look at the whole picture, not just what's in front of you."
"…?"
Sylph Nova spoke to me as if admonishing me.
Her tone was gentle, and she gazed into my eyes.
"…"
Drawn by the illusion, I looked at the enemy camp in front of me.
Countless magic circles appear in the darkness of the night.
Numerous artillery units are preparing to fire from just outside the range of our guns.
An incredible number of artillery mages. Our positions will surely be reduced to rubble within half a day.
…The problem is after that.
It's only after we lose our trenches to the artillery magic.
The real battle starts when they launch their assault.
The main strategy for tomorrow is the pincer attack by the Austin soldiers hiding in the mountains.
We've also set up trenches in the mountains and decoy positions in the riverbed─
"Wrong."
As I reviewed tomorrow's strategy, Sylph shook her head:
Her eyes held not just derision, but something else.
"If I were you, I wouldn't use such a poor strategy."
"…Poor strategy?"
"Think. What would I do?"
…Hearing those words, I looked up at Sylph's face.
What would she do?
Sylph loves surprise attacks and is an expert in guerrilla warfare.
An ultra-aggressive commander who can see through her opponents' weak points and decide the battle with a single blow.
What on earth could Sylph do in a situation where we are forced to defend like this─
"They seem very strong, but they've made a careless move."
Sylph stood beside me.
With a seductive smile, she pointed straight ahead.
"If done well, you can suffocate your enemy."
"…Ah."
I looked at the place Sylph was pointing to.
Countless artillery units wriggled about. Magic lights were emitted, expanding the artillery positions.
Ample military supplies were probably being transported.
The fighting has already ended, and countless campfires are lit on both sides of the river.
────But that's impossible.
It can't be…
There is no way that a military that understands modern warfare would do such a thing.
"Why haven't the Aerys Army dug any trenches…?"
For some reason, the enemy has pushed their artillery force, their "weak point," to the front.
And instead of protecting it with trenches, they had placed it at the very front of their formation.
"Why? It's impossible."
"They have no culture of digging trenches. They believe that the attacking side doesn't need trenches."
"…Ah, ah, ah."
"Look. Aerys is exposing their vital points."
The Aerys Army didn't even understand the very basics, like digging a trench before eating.
The conditions for victory began to shift in my mind.
If done well, we could crush the enemy's artillery units. But what happens then?
Would reducing the artillery change the course of the battle?
How can I take advantage of this situation?
"Well, now all that's left is to pack it up."
"Syl— huh…?"
"Touri, what's the weakness of a large army?"
The moment I realized this, a surge of blood rushed through my body.
A chance for victory that had never existed before raced through my mind like a torrent.
"Just this once, Touri."
After saying such audacious things, Sylph gave a defiant smile.
And then, she vanished like dew into the darkness of the Argalia night.
***
"Touri, have you sorted things out yet?"
I must have been staring blankly at the night sky for several minutes.
Eventually, Sergeant Gavel called out to me with a worried look on his face.
"Nauman has apparently also prepared himself mentally."
"…Sergeant Gavel."
"Touri?"
I wonder what kind of expression I had at that moment.
Was it a grotesque expression like when I was shouting at the illusion of Sylph?
Or was it an innocent expression like a child, illuminated by light in the darkness?
I haven't looked in a mirror, so I'm not sure myself.
But there is one thing I can say for certain.
"…Gather the soldiers. Not just Corporal Nauman, but all the remaining survivors."
"Wh-What's wrong?"
"The briefing is canceled. No need for shovels. Everyone, gather in front of me with your guns."
All I know is that my emotions were uncontrollably heightened and that the corners of my mouth were twisted up.
"We will now launch a night raid."