Just as the light coming through the windows of the sanitation building was turning the color of sunset, a horn sounded, announcing the enemy's retreat.

　The drawbridge came down, the soldiers returned to the fortress, and the wounded were carried one by one into the sanitary building.

　Swords, spears, arrows, hammers - the soldiers were wounded with a variety of weapons, some with only minor injuries, while some were carried in on their backs, unable to walk.

　Far more wounded than the thirteen I've already seen - my predecessor must have worn out his mind as he treated them.

　I wish for a moment that she was here. Just having two doctors who can perform surgery would dramatically reduce the time it takes for the injured to be released from pain.

　But I can't whine about it. I'm going to ask you, Katie, and one of the medics to pick one of the most skilled of the medics to take charge of the moderately injured.

'Mr. Rendle, when you're done treating the seriously wounded, take a break. We won't be able to help you if we go down.

　Mr. Lendl just nodded back. He's not exactly well versed in the medical arts either, but he's doing a good job - he's able to do the post-op procedure without me having to say anything.

　Everyone on the medics is doing a great job, too. Even if I'm a new guy, I should still try to improve the morale of the field regardless. Like I said, what's important is that I don't break, no matter how tough the job is.

　I'll go into a few stitches and treat the arrow wound in my second arm - no matter how fatigued I am, I can't let my hands get out of whack. During the practical exam, I performed the actual surgery with guidance, but even in the face of such a wide variety of wounds, I definitely put what I learned to good use.

　I was able to encourage patients who were dazed by pain and stop the bleeding quickly. Research into 'how to compensate for the loss of blood' is still in its infancy, and transfusions of other people's blood have been considered, but have not yet been achieved.

　I don't know if it will be possible to keep all patients alive. There may already be soldiers brought in too late - and I'm not even afraid of that.

　If I stopped to do so for fear, more people would die. Because I knew that.

　　　◆◇◆

　Alejandro, the Zirconian general, divided his force of two thousand five hundred men into almost two halves and attacked the Isle Rose Fortress from two directions.

　The enemy's casualties were over two hundred and fifty on the west side of the fortress. On the flank, thirty-seven men lost their lives.

　When the siege tower collapsed, the morale of the enemy was greatly diminished and the chain of command was disrupted. The allied forces were able to successfully poke at it and further reduce the momentum by striking the collapsed enemy soldiers, and the rest of us were able to keep our damage to a minimum by remaining on the defensive.

　In the battle to the northeast - even with the efforts of Knight Captain Raquel, and His Highness and Preciousa-san, twenty-five people were killed.

　The death toll of the enemy's army was well over four hundred. His Highness Astina himself wielded a sword in the front line and cut down as many enemy soldiers as the sixteen cavalrymen of the Kingsguard who were accompanying him combined.

　The battle results of the Raquel Knight Captain and Presha Attack Squadron Captain were aligned with His Highness Astina. The reason why the Raquel Knight Captain chose to charge alone was because the power of the Demon Warrior was so outstanding that he could in fact slay a hundred men with a single rider.

　Most of the soldiers were lightly wounded, and those who were severely wounded were carried into the fortress and survived.

　Many, however, were unable to return to the fortress and lost their lives on the battlefield. To hear that they were still alive when the battle was over, it was just unfortunate to hear that they were still alive.

　Still, there was a definite life in the eyes of the soldiers as they fought off Zirconia.

　I carried Katie to the couch, who was asleep, propped up on the desk, too tired to do anything about it. Mr. Lendl was also asleep in his sitting position - it would be best not to speak to him now.

　I left the sanitation building. The medic building alone couldn't accommodate the seriously injured, so the medics were dispersed to other quarters to deal with any sudden changes in their condition.

　Ever since Raquel's men told me the outcome of the battle, one thought kept going around the same place in my head.

'...... General Alejandro ...... and Zirconia ......'

　What was the enemy general's objective - did he think that if he mobilized that many troops and made a surprise attack, he could take down the Isle Rose Fortress?

　Or did they have other aims? The damage to the enemy's troops was heavy, and the commander, the general, is likely to be blamed, but if the general has other aims, it is possible that this time was not just a defeat for the enemy.

　I was a student until the day before yesterday, so it is inappropriate for me to think about military matters. However, if I simply work as a military doctor, the death toll will continue to rise, and if we drafted troops to replenish the army, the nearby territories would lose their loyalty to His Highness Astina.

　It seemed very unlikely that experienced soldiers would be sent from the center. Now that there was one case of ''a royal person communicating with Zirconia,'' it was impossible to think of such an optimistic thing.

(...... Under these circumstances, I can't even ask His Highness to visit the divine tree. After a night after last night's enemy attack, a massive attack ...... If this kind of thing is done, His Highness will not be able to leave this fortress even for a moment)

　On the contrary, talking about the divine tree in this situation might itself cause displeasure.

　The erosion of the dead earth will eventually begin again - and when it does, it will be too late.

...... Glass Weed.

　I didn't notice the figure standing in front of me until his name was called.

　The person who was standing there - the Raquel Knight Captain.

　But she was fierce on the battlefield, calm and collected in normal times, always radiating the chi of a warrior - she looked as if she had lost her supremacy, her pale face and her lips were trembling.

''Raquel knight-in-chief, what in the world ...... is in danger!

　The person who must be her tangles her legs and almost falls forward. As you support its shoulders and hold it back, you can feel the shaking coming from its body.

''Are you okay ......, get a grip, Knight Captain Raquel!

　She shook Raquel's shoulder, and the light barely returned to her vacant eyes.

　Then she said in a muffled, weak voice that seemed to wrench from her lungs.

...... His Highness Astina has been knocked down.