There are those who are willing to die for the sake of selfishness. All in order to make the Isle Rose Fortress fall and make His Highness Astina's Highness a deceased person--.

　However, if one were to ask Noin who set it all up for her with the underworld spirit in her, her life force would be sucked away by the underworld spirit. Already her skin is pale and her white hands are covered in her own blood.

...... Even if you live in this place and give us the benefit of the doubt, you have no future. You are only an enemy to us, and I don't think we should help your cause.

　I thought at first that it was a shunning word. Part of me thought it was the right thing to do.

　His Highness draws his sword. Then he swung it down towards Noin.

　-- Even though that sword flashed twice, Noin was still alive. The blade did not reach her body.

'When you betray me again, I will wield this sword again. I am not bonded to your affections. But I have decided that I can at least give you time to avenge those who have twisted your will. From now on, you will only fight for Läzenäire with all your heart. To save more people than you let die.

　There is no bringing back the life that was lost. His Highness knew that and still chose to let Noin live.

　If Noin could turn back time before he was inhabited by the underworld spirit, no one would have been able to feel so unfulfilled - he couldn't help but think that.

(...... How do I get out of this dark stagnation?　(How can His Highness, all of the Knights, all of the people of the Western Territories, stay away from the battle?

　I knew there was one answer.

　Break Zirconia's will to keep fighting. We will take Vale, who has been entrusted by General Alejandro with command of the fort, as a prisoner of war, take the warships and turn the enemy's trump card, Noyn, over to us.

　No - we don't stop at turning him. This mage, who was the best in our generation, is going to do a great job.

　What do we have to do to make that happen? As a 'spirit doctor', he will take on the disease known as 'underworld spirit'.

"...... If Your Highness says so, I can't let you die like this.
'But if we take her out as she is now, she won't last long with her condition. I know it's irresponsible of me to say this when I've told you to live: ......
'Leave it to me, Your Highness. If you've saved her life, I'll let her live. That's the duty of a military doctor.

　I was prepared to be told that it was the duty of a military doctor to do whatever it took, or that he knew what Noon had done - and I was prepared to be told that.

　But that was not the case. Even if I didn't affirm my decision, Preciousha-san, who is directing her resentment towards Noin the most, didn't blame me either.

　I thought maybe I was being soft on her. If I said it was what I said, Ms. Presha would not object - if it was true, I shouldn't repeat the reliance on compassion like that.

''Noin ...... If you are a water spirit magic user, you should be able to move the warships regardless of the direction of the wind. But if you follow my instructions to use magic, you will wear out your life.

　Even if he merely uttered the will to resist, the light of Noin's life was diminished.

　Then I'll perform the treatment when I board the warship. Even if the soldiers of this fort will notice me, I've made enough preparations to buy time.

'Never mind about me. We will need ships here to counter the Zirconian warships. If moving the ships and resisting the coercion of the Underworld Spirit has cost you your life, then wash my corpse into the canal. That is the last ......
We can't have you dying on the way. If you can help me get the warships to safely reach ...... near our fort, I'll need you to help me fight Alejandro's warships. To that end, Noin. You will be 'cured'.

　This was the first time since I became a doctor that I had ever said anything to a patient that was an imposition. He had always felt he had to think from the patient's perspective and respect their wishes.

　But now, Noin, who was on the verge of giving up on living and ending up using her life for revenge, needed to have the will to live. No matter how painful it may be for her to live on.

"You were supposed to die if this was the case. No. ...... Once you die, you'll come back to life. You must have suffered that much.
...... to come back to life. I don't think you can pull off the underworld spirit that dwells in me.
You'll never know unless you try. It's just not in my nature to give up before I've even tried.

　Noin doesn't say anything, he just looks at me. I don't know why he's so motivated to treat himself as a sinner - or so he says.

'Now Glass is not the man you know him to be. No ...... There must be a problem for some reason with the selection of spirits in this country and at the Academy of Magic, for some reason. Noin, in my personal view, I don't think Glass is not better than you at all.

　Even though His Highness had assured him of this, Noin did not deny it.

　In the academy, as 'a student with a promising future' and 'a student with no expectations at all', there was an absolute difference lying between them.

　However, just because he went out into the outside world didn't mean that his position was reversed. If I'm not bound by the underworld spirit and it's easy to make use of the power of the water spirit, she'll be able to do what I can't.

''The most revered spirits in the history of the ...... kingdom were none of the earth, water, fire, and wind spirits. Knowing this, no one would think that elemental spirits were unconditionally superior. Even more so if you are a court mage, I understand that.
'Well, ...... after all, the mages in this country seem to be bound. To a cause that has been going on since before we were born.

　His Highness has probably come up with a reason for interrupting the Rite of Election that she had undergone.

　The fact that she had the aptitude to be a mage was silenced because there were those who thought she should not be a royal maiden.

　The reason why His Highness didn't remember that was probably because someone had blocked her memory. However, now that he was connected to the divine tree, His Highness would be able to draw out the memories that he couldn't draw out on his own will with the help of the divine tree - because the divine tree had looked at the history of the kingdom for a long time.

　Noin also knows the darkness of the court mages. The time is approaching when we will get confirmation of who it is that is plotting against His Highness, rather than speculation based on circumstantial evidence.

　I remembered what His Highness had told me in the sunset. I questioned the will of His Majesty the King - but if His Majesty had sided with those who wanted to tilt the country to their own ends.

　What can be done to protect the Western Domain that was about to be cut off, and the soldiers of the Isle Rose Fortress? If the answer to that question is known by a divine tree that can see into the future, then I would like to know the answer to that question. Even if he knows that it is to cling to the power of Euselisis.