Tensei Oujo wa Kyou mo Hata o Tatakioru Chapter 78

　
“…sama.”

　I could hear someone's voice faintly calling for me.

“…Mary-sama.”

　Waking me up were a whisper and a waving hand.
　When I finally managed to pull open my eyelids that were tied down by drowsiness, Klaus' grim expression appeared.

“…?”

　I helped myself up while rubbing my eyes.
　It's still dark. The air was cold and humid, it's probably foggy outside.

“Kl“

　His palm covered my mouth before I could say his name.
　Putting his mouth near my ears he quietly shushed me, making my eyes to open wide in surprise. His serious expression blew all of my drowsiness away immediately.

　When I gazed at Klaus and nodded silently, he let go of my mouth.

“I heard a sound coming from above just now. I will go and check so please wait here.”

　I don't know what sound he heard, but I have a bad feeling about this.
　Sitting next to the bed, Klaus looked at me silently biting my own lips in anxiety. Gazing up at me, he took my hands and gave me something.

“Here…”

　When I saw what he pushed into my hands, I stopped breathing.
　It was a dagger. The heavy feeling it gave off somehow scared me.

“Please use this for self-defense should the need arise.”

　'What on earth is going on? What are you afraid of?' There were so many questions I wanted to ask but they were all stuck behind my throat, refusing to come out.
　My instinct was sounding off alarms in my head without knowing what the danger was.

　Scared. I'm scared. So scared I can't stand it.

　Klaus held my quivering hands tightly.
　His emerald eyes reflected in mine.

“Mary.”

“Br-…Klaus…”

　I nearly called him 'brother'.
　He would probably laugh at me with a 'big brother' expression plastered on his face.

“I will protect you. So don't worry.”

　*Pon pon* He tapped my head lightly while giving comforting words.
　I stared at him, surprised at the sudden change into his 'brother' mode.

“Klaus?”

“I will go have a look so sit tight. If you're scared then you can go stay with Bianca. She's a funny woman but I know that she won't hurt you.”

　How could you say that with such a serious face?
　Looking right back at me, Klaus eased his expression.

“I’ll be fine, believe me, so wait for me here.”

“!”

　I just understood his intentions. He was trying to cheer me up.
　It certainly worked. I don't feel as scared anymore.

　Klaus nodded with satisfaction to me who grasped the dagger firmly in my hands.

“I’ll be back.”

　After he left, I pressed my ear against the door and held my breath.

“……”

　Turbulent ocean waves and creaking wooden floors could be heard.
　But my heartbeat appeared to be the loudest.

　Sweat coated the dagger in my hand as tension persisted. A few seconds felt like minutes. Minutes felt like hours.

　'How long has it been?'
　All of a sudden a thunderous noise of the s.h.i.+p hitting something sounded. At the same time the whole room shook and I lost my balance which hurled me onto the floor. The door flung open with a bang.

　Cold air immediately pierced into the room along with the sound of metal clas.h.i.+ng. Klaus' loud voice could be heard.

“Enemy raid!!”

“!!"

　The screams were repeated again and again.
　People eventually vacated their rooms and the s.h.i.+p became noisy.

“Are they pirates!?”

“Hey! Get up! We're under attack!"

　Said a voice outside. Topless sailors ran through the corridor with rough footsteps.

　I was dumbfounded as I repeated their words in my head.
　Pirates, under attack. A jumble of words floated in my head incoherently. My brain refused to comprehend the situation and my body trembled like a leaf.

“…”

　The door, I have to shut it.
　The wooden door was creaking back and forth with a dry sound. I kept staring at it before willing myself up.

　But my legs won't listen.

　While I was fixed to the floor, the hustle outside became even noisier.
　Angry roars, screams and metal clashes. I want to close my ears and forget everything, but my body hadn't been listening to me since a while ago.

　I crawled slowly towards the door.
　And just before my fingertip reached, a shadow loomed over me.

“Hii!“

“Mary! Are you alright!?”

　As I was embraced in someone's arms my eyes flew open in surprise.
　A familiar smell and feeling. 'What a relief' was heard from the whispers of the people I know surrounding me.
　I forced out a small voice.

“Miss…Bianca…"

“Hey! Can we leave the touching reunion for later and close the door first!?”

　Wolf who came into the room shut the door tight behind him.

“Mary-chan, are you hurt?”

　Miss Bianca grabbed my face and examined every inch of it.
　Because the room was dark, she ended up tracing her fingers all over instead.

“I-I'm fine.”

“Right. That's good. By the way, where might your brother…”

“My brother went upstairs.”

“Hah?”

　Miss Bianca was clearly startled.
　On the other hand Wolf retained his composure and nodded.

“Ah, your brother. The one useless in the kitchen? Isn't he part of a knight division or something?”

　With everything happening right now, I couldn't hide my surprise anymore.

“The reason we're not overrun by the enemy right now is all thanks to your brother.”

　Said Wolf as he pressed his ear against the door to keep a lookout.

　Just like he said earlier, it was noisy above us but there were no such sounds coming from our floor. It was obvious that Klaus was fighting, but how long can he hold his ground?

　'Are you having trouble? Aren't you pus.h.i.+ng yourself too hard?'
　Just thinking that brought my heart in pain. Even if I go help him, I would just be a dead weight. Rather, it will just endanger the both of us even more.

　Wolf saw me biting my lips.

“…Worried?”

“…Of course I am.”

　Why did you even ask something so obvious?
　I glared at him vexingly but was met with his cold eyes. It was as if those eyes can see through to the deepest depths of a person's heart. It honestly made me jump.

　Leaving me confused on the spot, he put his hands on the door.
　Suddenly, a sound of a door opening and something falling down the stairs could be heard, followed by a small groan.

　Thinking there's an injured person out there, I turned pale in worry.
　But when I was about to reach for the door, I was hugged by Miss Bianca. She whispered in my ear that it could be the enemy.
　After seeing me covering my mouth with both hands, Wolf pressed his ear against the door. After a moment, he gently pushed the door open.

　Leaving us in the room, Wolf entered the corridor alone.
　The person on his shoulder as he came back had a familiar face.

“Kurt!”

　Kurt was part of the crew in charge of the kitchen and a man I knew well. Normally his face would be full of friendly smiles but right now it was pale and contorted in pain.
　I carefully checked his body for any slash wounds and noticed that his arm was positioned in a way it shouldn't be.

“The bones are broken.”

　Wolf's calm voice didn't quite reach my ears.

“Something to prop it up… Mary can you handle this?”

“…”

“…Mary!”

“Eh?”

　Wolf raised his voice. Seeing me trembled and not moving, he spat out.

“…It’s fine if you can't move. Just lie down so you don't get in the way.”

“!”

“And the lady over there, you can move right? Come and help me.”

“Alright.”

　I was disappointed. I knew that better than anyone.
　But at the time it didn't even cross my mind that it was sad or frustrating. I was just glad for a moment that I was told not to do anything.

　And shortly afterwards, a sense of disgust came over me.

　Klaus was fighting. The sailors were fighting.
　Even Wolf and Miss Bianca were doing their best.

　Am I going to be the only one crying in a corner?
　Did I go on a journey just to do this?

“Tsu… Ah…”

　Kurt moaned in pain.
　Sweat were flowing from his forehead from all the pain. Kurt grabbed my hand that was reaching out to wipe the sweat.
　It was firm and strong.

“Kuu…”

　Tears started to flow down my face.

　Get a hold of yourself, Rosemary.
　For what purpose did you get up by yourself? You started to walk on your own two feet. What did you want to do? Why did you leave the comfort of the castle you came from?

　Even though there were people suffering in front of my eyes.
　Even though there were people seeking help.

　How could a woman ignoring that ever change the world!

　I removed Kurt's hand from my arm and using my own two hands, slapped my cheeks on both sides.
　*Slap* A loud noise rang within the room

“Eh!?”

“Just-“

　Both of my cheeks started to feel sore.
　Contrary to my sight that was blurred with tears, my mind was clear as day. I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand and stood up.

“I will help with the treatment.”

“Mary…”

　Not waiting for Wolf's reply, I reached for the sheets. He called out to me as I cut them with a knife.

“Can you handle this?”

　They were the same words as before.
　But this time I firmly nodded.

“This will be my first time doing it, but I know what to do.”

“Is that so? Then I leave him to you.”

　Wolf threw his sheathed knife at me and told me to use it as an immobiliser. I caught it mid-air.

“Eh? But-“

“You're not a kid who take on things you can't do. If you say you can do it, then you can do it, right?”

　That was not a question.
　He looked at me with his sharp eyes and I stopped breathing for a moment. However, I endured it and gave a reply.

“Yes.”

　Let's stop being indecisive.
　If I don't do what I can now, I will absolutely regret it.

　To me who declared with strong conviction, Wolf showed his first smile today.

“Good. If that's the case then leave your brother to me.”

“…Huh?”

　What did he mean? I was about to ask but he was already flying out the door.

“Wolf!?”

“Be a good girl and wait for me here~! <>

　Wolf looked back over his shoulder and threw a kiss at me as he headed for the stairs.

TN: Last TN section was long so I thought I'll cut this one shor-