Group from a fallen nation.
Would it have been better to be killed by soldiers of the Imperial Kingdom instead…?
Surrounded by a group of guards, a girl walking this land - the Land of Death - was contemplating such things.
In terms of age, she was in her early teens…
With gentle eyes and shining silver hair that glistens beautifully even in this harsh land, one can tell at a glance that she comes from an extraordinary noble lineage.
What stands out is probably the absence of human ears…
Instead, from the top of her head sprout animal ears resembling those of a fox.
She was a beastman.
The girl belonged to the discriminated race of beastman in the Fine Kingdom.
Not only the girl but also the guards surrounding her were beastmen as well.
However, unlike the girl in a thin kimono, the guards were fully equipped samurais with armor and swords of various sizes.
“Uruka-sama, please, please give it your all a little longer…!”
Among the guards, the oldest man…
An elderly samurai, having reached an age of wisdom, encouraged the girl, Uruka.
“But, Banho…!
My feet… my throat… so dry…”
Struggling to speak due to a parched throat, which was exhausted beyond words, she managed to squeeze it out.
Even the water they had been sipping sparingly had run out entirely…
Since yesterday, not a single drop of water has touched their lips.
“In that case, please, allow me to carry you on my back…”
The samurai known as Banho crouches down and shows his back.
He’s suggesting she be carried on his back.
“But Banho and the others must be at their limits already, right…?”
It’s understandable for Uruka to hesitate.
To make sure Uruka drinks as much water as possible, the samurai escorts have been conserving more water than her.
No matter how elite they may be, as the survivors of the fallen beastman nation Latora… their limit must have long been reached.
What moves them is a determination that does not forsake them even in such circumstances…
And to try to prolong the life of Princess Uruka - a sense of duty.
“What…!
In truth, our entanglement in the imperial intelligence network led to Uruka-sama’s existence being exposed… That’s the reason…
Please allow us to handle this kind of matter…!”
“That’s right…!”
“Even if we all perish, as long as Uruka-sama, the last member of the royal family, survives, everything will be fine…!”
Other samurais also echo this sentiment.
However, Uruka hesitates to be their last hope…
“…Only me.”
“Uruka-sama?”
“If only I am left alive, what will happen!?”
This might be the radiance just before the candlelight goes out.
Uruka uses her remaining strength to push back the guards.
“Both my father and brothers have perished, and even I, who survived using a body double, am in this state now…
This place is the Land of Death...!
Only those skilled in magic can survive in this land…!
Even someone like myself understands.
The fact that the Empire opened an escape route to this place was intentional…!
They are indirectly commanding us to die here…!”
No one could refute that.
Uruka’s words were taken as truth.
Among the group, there was not a single one capable of using magic…
Crossing this Land of Death was impossible for such a group.
After all, what would be the point even if they managed to cross it?
From the neighboring kingdom, Lombard Kingdom’s perspective, there is absolutely no reason to help the princess and her retainers from a country that has already been destroyed.
“Let’s end it here…”
Kneeling on the parched ground, Uruka looks around at everyone.
“Please lend me a short sword.
…I will thrust it into my chest.
Banho, leave the mercy killing to me.”
“Uruka-sama, you can’t do such a thing…!”
Despite Banho’s attempt to stop her, Uruka shakes her head.
“It’s okay now…”
“B-but…!”
At that moment, while exchanging such words,
“Waaaait!
This is… the sound of water…!”
One of the samurai sharply declares, with the beast ears on his head twitching.
“Whaaat!?”
“Could it be an auditory hallucination…?”
“No, this is… the truth!”
Sounds from a distance so far that an ordinary person could never perceive them…
Leveraging the characteristics of beastmen, the faces of samurai listening to it transition from deep despair to hope.
“Uruka-sama!”
“Banho… I also heard it.”
The master and servant nodded to each other amid a dialogue about ending their lives.
Thus, the remnants of a fallen nation gathered their strength to reach their last hope - the sound of water captured by their beast ears.
…What on earth is this!?
This single thought crossed their mind as Uruka’s group reached the scene.
One of the samurai rubs his eyes vigorously, but it’s hard to believe… .
Before their eyes lay a scene that should not exist in the Land of Death, they had walked through so far.
It is likely emerging from the ground…
Though not a lake, there was a water source of ample size for a pond.
Moreover, in the vicinity centered around it, as if in jest, grass and flowers thrived… Apple trees hung with juicy fruits.
“Come on, Uruka-sama… have this!”
Banho plucked an apple and offered it to Uruka.
Uruka takes it without any manners and eagerly takes a bite!
“Delicious…! Truly… delicious…!”
The flavor and juice undoubtedly served as a savior for them…
The attendants followed suit, one after the other, taking bites of apples.
“Oh… what should I do…”
Guided by Eve, I was taken to the bridge of ‘Mamiya’…
The space was filled with equipment and tools I had no idea about, with no steering wheel I knew of. I found myself at a loss.
What floated before my eyes was a frame created as if to cut out the space itself…
Within it, I saw the people of the beastman country that was attacked and destroyed by the Fain Empire - the beastmen were surviving on apples that had just sprouted.
It was a view of the surface projected by an item left behind by the returning Keaton, called a ‘drone.’
“Is there any issue?”
Beside me, seated in the captain’s seat…
Eve, shining with rainbow-colored hair, inquired while manipulating the picture.
“Yeah, there is… this…”
Incidents pile up…
I sighed at the fact that on the day I discovered ‘Mamiya,’ an unwelcome group from a fallen nation appeared at this location.