Does the Assassin Girl Dream of the Mana Doll?

As they journeyed west, they came across several former guild hideouts. Some were still occupied by Gold’s subordinates, which they eliminated. However, as they progressed, they encountered more and more former guild members who were still alive. By giving them their severance pay, they were able to lighten their load. As they approached the border, they met more and more people whose main job was to cover for the guild’s work, which was understandable given the lack of work and targets compared to the capital.

Leaving another town behind, their next destination was Azal, a border town. It would take about three days to reach Azal on foot, so they decided to camp on the way. Both of them were skilled at setting up sleeping areas and building fires. Once they had finished, Ellie took out the pot she had bought. After building a simple campfire and heating the pot, she lightly oiled it and fried sliced potatoes. When they were lightly browned, she added a suitable amount of water, then threw in the dried meat that had been softened in white wine, along with the wine.

“Hey, Letty, I was looking at the map Bob gave us, and I noticed something… isn’t the border around Azal kind of… strange?”

“Hm… well, that’s because Azal only recently became the border,” Letty nodded briefly in response to Ellie’s sudden question.

Ellie looked at the map again, as if trying to confirm something.

“Oh? …Ah… with this shape, was it attacked?”

“That’s right… you’re quick to catch on.”

“Oh come on, Letty, you don’t have to praise me so much♪”

Ellie giggled, playfully tapping Letty’s shoulder. Her touch was just right—not too soft, but enough to feel it. Since they had started their journey, these kinds of physical contacts had increased. And surprisingly, she didn’t mind it at all. In fact, she found it rather pleasant.

“It was about two years ago… The Kingdom of Balandia in the west attacked.”

At that time, the border between Jurastin and Balandia was a region called the Uris Frontier. A marquis was given the title of frontier lord, with the authority and honor of commanding the kingdom’s army at the forefront in exchange for being stationed on the frontier. The Marquis of Uris was a worthy figure, but two years ago, he was apparently killed without much resistance.

“It seems they used some sort of large-scale magical weapon…”

“I see… Well, I had a feeling, or rather, I guess I kind of expected it…”

Letty tilted her head slightly at the word “expected.” Then, something seemed to occur to her.

“Could it be that this is what you want to see, Ellie?”

“Yes… I think so… Probably, that’s what it is.” Ellie smiled bitterly. Letty stared at her for a while.

“…Can you tell me more about it?”

“Yes, I was planning to tell you eventually.” Although the bitterness remained, Ellie nodded with a smile.

“What I wanted to see was Wiskeraf… a city, or rather… it itself was a strategic magical weapon, a city embedded with magical devices… it’s where I was created.”

“So… it’s like your hometown?”

Letty pondered the strange information. She connected the words and managed to come up with a plausible explanation.

“Yes, I think you could call it my hometown. …It’s not a very homelike… place though.” She looked away and up at the sky. The starry sky looked no different from the one she had seen before. The only sound was the wind rustling through the trees.

“It sounds strange to say, but I was created as a tactical weapon. So, I was treated accordingly as one… So I don’t really feel nostalgic or anything…”

“Why do you want to go see it then?” Letty pondered out loud. Their eyes met, her golden and black hair swaying in the wind.

After a while, Ellie spoke. “I wanted to confirm if it still exists. If it’s still ‘alive’… then I might be able to put it to rest. It’s… something that… really shouldn’t exist in this era.” Ellie smiled faintly, her expression almost fragile. At that moment, it seemed as though she might… entirely disappear, and Letty, without thinking, grabbed her hand.

“Letty?”

“I just felt like… you were going to leave,” Letty murmured, trying to explain herself, though her voice faltered.

Ellie’s eyes widened for a moment, then narrowed again. She squeezed Letty’s hand.

“It’s okay, I’m not going anywhere. How could I leave such a cute master behind?”

“I’m not cute…”

Feeling a little relieved that she was back to her usual self, Letty looked away.

“You really are,” Ellie said with a grin.

“No, I’m not.”

“No, you’re very cute. You’re the first master who’s ever treated me like this.”

“I’m not sure what your standards are…” Letty said, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion, turning away slightly.

Ellie grinned mischievously. “Oh? Are you blushing?”

“I’m not.”

“Liar! You totally are.”

“I’m not,” Letty said, pulling her hand away and turning her face to the side. Even when Ellie teased her not to sulk, Letty kept her face turned away. But despite the teasing, she somehow felt comfortable.

As they were talking, the water boiled, and the dried meat started to fall apart. They added salt and some herbs and stirred it. After a while, Ellie spoke up.

“Come to think of it, why did Balandia stop after taking over Uris? If they were really using Wiskeraf, they could have easily taken over all of Jurastin.”

“Well, it’s a matter of supply and occupation not going well.”

The Uris Frontier was not a very large territory. Being a frontline region, it had more military facilities than farmland. Even after occupying it, they couldn’t produce enough food. In addition, remnants of the former frontier lord’s army carried out small-scale attacks, and the farmers either rebelled or fled.

It seemed that the Marquis of Uris was also a good ruler and was loved by his people. If he had been alive, they could have controlled the territory by detaining him or negotiating with him. But unfortunately, he was said to have been blown away by a magical weapon. As a result, Balandia’s occupation was not going well, and they had to rely on supplies from the rear, making it difficult to advance any further at this point.

“It’s true what they say… history repeats itself.”

“Really?”

“It happened in our time too. They would blow up commanders and leaders with strategic weapons, and then things would get out of control…”

“That’s why strategic mana dolls, which were developed first, were no longer used on the front lines. They were sometimes deployed for base defense, but… Wiskeref was originally intended for that purpose. And that’s why people like me were created, with their power suppressed and carefully controlled,” Ellie continued to explain.

War is often used as a means to acquire territory. It is, after all, merely a means, not an end in itself. However, people often forget that and become obsessed with winning. It seems that this has not changed much over the years.

“…Maybe the previous king understood how difficult it was to use… He died suddenly five years ago. Since the crown prince was still a minor, the queen became Monarch, and that’s when the expansionist policy began.”

“So the queen got messed up… she got drunk on power…” Ellie sighed. The wind blew again, and the trees snapped. After a moment of silence, Ellie turned to Letty with a serious expression.

“Letty, I have something to ask of you, my master… If Wiskeref is really in the hands of Balandia, trying to put it to ‘rest’ would be like declaring war on the country of Balandia itself. I know that. But… if it comes to it, would you help me?” Hesitating, she finished her sentence.

Letty nodded without hesitation. Ellie’s face twisted slightly, as she rested her forehead on Letty’s arm.

“Honestly… why do you have to be so kind? You’re supposed to be my master, yet you indulge me so much…”

“Because you’re cute… I guess,” Letty replied, teasing her in return.

Ellie froze momentarily, then wrapped her arms around Letty in a tight hug, her ears bright red.

“…I’m not cute.”

“…You are.”

Letty was certain of her feelings.

Who knew how much time passed…

“…Let’s eat,” Ellie said, breaking away. She cut some bread and threw it into the pot. When it was soft, she scooped it up with a wooden spoon and handed it to Letty. After chewing for a while, Letty said,

“…It has flavour.”

“…Is that a compliment? I hope so?”

Ellie also ate some and nodded in satisfaction. The soup was very warm.

**Next: Border Town of Azal**