LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 15: The Banished Young Girl Awakens
When I came to, I found myself in bed.
Huh? What was I doing…?
I remember… the goblin horde attacked… Oh! That’s right! I was fighting the Goblin Mage!
As I tried to leap out of bed in a panic, a sharp pain shot through my entire body.
“Ugh…”
I let out an involuntary groan.
“My Lady!? My Lady!”
“…Huh? Marie?”
“Yes! My Lady! Oh, I’m so relieved!”
“Um…”
Marie, holding my hand, looked exhausted, tears streaming down her face.
“Marie, what’s wrong? Why are you crying?”
“You’ve been asleep for a whole two days!”
“Wha!? Two days!?”
“Yes. You can’t imagine how worried I was…”
“Uh… yeah. I’m sorry, Marie.”
“No, it’s alright.”
Marie tightened her grip on my hand.
“By the way…”
“Yes?”
“Why am I in bed? I was fighting the Goblin Mage…”
“That’s because I carried you here after you collapsed.”
I think I heard Marie’s voice just before my consciousness faded.
“Ah, I see. Thank you, Marie.”
“You’re welcome.”
Marie had a complex expression on her face.
Yeah. I’m really sorry for causing you so much worry.
“Um… so…”
“Yes?”
“What happened after that? The goblins? The village?”
“Well, first of all, the goblins scattered and fled after you defeated their leader. The villagers, including the elders and women, teamed up with your skeletons and managed to defeat the goblins that had entered the village.”
“I see. And the damage?”
“That is…”
Marie’s expression turned troubled as she looked away.
Ah… I see…
It’s frustrating. I was warned that the wooden walls wouldn’t hold up against goblins, but I prioritized the fields instead. That was a mistake.
Even though I knew how dangerous a goblin king’s horde could be in a game, a horde led by a Goblin Mage was still this severe.
And I lost Will too…
Being a lord is hard. Just a small mistake can cost lives.
In this world, you can’t just reset things like in a game…
“My Lady…”
Ah. I made Marie worry.
“Yeah, Marie. I’m okay. So, what’s the damage? Who was hurt?”
“Yes. Anton, Alice, and Roland were killed by the goblins.”
“I see…”
Anton and Roland were skilled farmers, the third and fourth oldest men in the village. Alice was a woman in her thirties, a mother of three from her previous marriage, and had remarried Maurice, a former thief and self-defense volunteer. She was supposed to be working hard to have a child with Maurice…
“…Wait. What about Will?”
“He’s severely injured, but he’s alive.”
“I see…”
I thought he might not make it, but… I’m glad he’s safe.
“There are also many other injured people, and the livestock in the barn near the point of entry were all killed.”
“All killed… I see. That makes sense.”
Given how drastically things happened, it’s understandable.
“There’s also damage to the barn and some facilities, including the water wheel.”
“The water wheel… That’s painful.”
“Yes.”
The damage was indeed extensive. But there were things I needed to do right now.
“Okay, I understand. If there were casualties, I need to go…”
“My Lady!?”
“Because I need to send the souls of those who died. Also, I created skeletons, even though they were goblins.”
“What do you mean? What’s the difference from zombies?”
“Well, unlike skeletons, making someone into a zombie is a cruel act of trapping the soul of the deceased within the corpse.”
“…”
Marie looked like she didn’t fully understand but was trying hard to grasp the concept.
“Basically, it means forcibly binding a soul to the physical world when it should be in the afterlife. It’s something you really shouldn’t do. So, I need to free them and send them on.”
In the game, Olivia, the villainous noblewoman, used zombies without a second thought. By the end of the story, she had even trapped people she disliked in goblin or animal zombies, committing heinous acts.
Of course, I don’t want to do that, and I believe it’s important to properly send the souls to the afterlife.
That’s why!
“But, with your current condition…”
“Thank you, Marie. But this is something I must do. Will you help me?”
“…”
“Please, Marie.”
“…Understood.”
With Marie’s help, I managed to get out of bed.
“Ah! It’s the Ladyship!”
‘’My Lady!’’
‘’Angel!’’
As I was carried outside by Marie, the villagers rushed to greet us.
“We’re so glad you’re safe!”
“You’re awake!”
“Oh, thank goodness!”
“Yes, thank you. I’m sorry for causing so much worry.”
“Not at all!”
“The village’s safety is thanks to you, My Lady!”
Everyone expressed their gratitude, but the damage from this attack was my mistake.
“But, there were casualties…”
“That’s not true!”
“Compared to before!”
“Yes! Thanks to you, My Lady, it only got this bad!”
“…Yeah.”
I managed to nod in agreement.
“Marie, first, take me to the place where I was fighting. I need to send the souls of the goblins I turned into zombies.”
“Yes.”
Thus, with Marie carrying me, we headed towards the place where I fought the Goblin Mage.