“I see…”

  “I see?”

  “You’re definitely going to be useful in this battle,” Wilhelm smiled. “As you may know, right now, morale is low, supplies are not up there, and we’re experiencing major communications issues on the battlefield.”

  “So…I can use my ability for that?”

  “Indeed. I’m going to need you to synchronize and resonate with a communication network I already established with my skill.”

  Wilhelm produced a bluish crystal from his coat. Alexa eyed it curiously as it glowed softly.

  “What is that?” Alexa asked.

  “It doesn’t have a name. But all battalion commanders and special squad commanders of the 101st possess this, and they’ve resonated their minds on the specific crystals they have. This means that no matter how far they are, even if I don’t activate my skill, they can send me messages telepathically.”

  “Whoah…”

  “Most importantly, it isolates the information I need to receive. Considering the nature of my ability, it’s a bit tiring to sort through what my mind receives. With this, I receive messages directly from the people I work with. With your ability, only they will hear you. We’ll be able to control who gets to hear you and who doesn’t.”

  It sounded both magical and sci-fi to Alexa. Did Wilhelm create this on his own then?

  Of course, he must have. Considering how efficient and well-designed his glyphs are, it seems that this is where Wilhelm’s area of expertise lies. Enchantments and magical tools…

  Alexa leaned back.

  “But I’m still unsure of this ability of mine,” Alexa said, shaking her head. “And what if this ‘synchronization’ and ‘resonation’ thing takes too much time? Don’t we have to defeat her now?”

  “It shouldn’t take much time. All you need to do is have a mana crystal of your own, and imagine imparting your skill on it. That’s ‘resonation’. Once done, I’ll place it on a ‘synchronization’ ritual with the mana crystals held by my subordinates. It should probably only take half a day to set up and another few hours of testing.”

  “Can we afford to do that under these conditions?”

  “Yes. But first of all, I need you to try to write down a speech.”

  “A speech?”

  Alexa didn’t understand Wilhelm. Why a speech?

  “You’re the only blue-blooded person left in the Schengen Region aside from my brother and Adele. And you’re the highest-ranking one of them. You, Crown Princess Alexa Theresa von Wolgast, as of now, represent the Empire to those who are still desperately fighting for mankind.”

  He patted her shoulder.

  “You need to speak to them and tell them to fight harder. Give them a cause. Give them a reason. Tell them why they have to put their neck on the line for you and for the millions of people who left them here.”

  Those words stabbed through Alexa’s heart. Was this true? She had to…speak to them? But there were thousands of them. How would she even know what to tell them in that case?

  “I…uhm,” Alexa was unsure of what to say. “I’m not really sure how to do this. I’ve never been a public speaker…”

  “Oh well, but how will you become the Empress if you cannot speak to your subjects?”

  “T-that’s still more than a year away—”

  “Do you think those soldiers have that much time to wait for someone to tell them why they should fight and die in this hell? No. They need their leader now, because we need them to fight now.”

  “Can’t you do it? You’re their leader!”

  “They follow me because they know when I am in charge that even if they die, there will be victory. But I cannot sell them what that victory is, and why it’s worth it for them to die for it. That’s not my place. I’m just a lowly military commander. My job is to lead them to battle. You, on the other hand, your job is to tell them why that battle must be fought.”

  “I…” Alexa couldn’t believe this. This peasant was handing her too much work! But, but…

  She looked back at those soldiers earlier that she had watched die earlier. Sure, they had the vague idea that they were here ‘defending mankind’, but what else? What else?

  They were all just soldiers forced into the line of duty because they were unfortunate enough to be picked for it. Anyone else could do that, they didn’t have to, but ‘mankind’ wasn’t here to replace them.

  The ones asking to be saved had already fled.

  All that was left here, were those forced to bear the duty of saving those who fled.

  There had to be a better reason for those young, dead soldiers. And there had to be a better reason for whoever would find their demise next. That was her job as the next leader of this country, to give everyone a future, even those who may not see it because they sacrificed themselves for that.

  He’s right. I can’t back down from this. I need to give those peasants a good reason why they should…fight for someone like me…

  Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

  That sounded like a difficult task, but…

  “Alright, fine,” Alexa frowned and nodded. “I’ll do it.”

  +++

  A soldier watched a lumbering armored snake slithering on the streets ahead of them. It seemed to be searching for its prey. His platoon had already been badly mauled by the constant battles around these miserable streets.

  He held his crossbow with a slightly shaky hand, wiping the sweat off his eyes to keep it from messing up his aim. His stock of basic enchanted arrows was running low, and no one but his buddy beside him held any portable anti-demon staff for this monster.

  The rest earlier had been used up, and were abandoned since there likely wouldn’t be mana crystals to replace the depleted ones on them. With the pace of their constant fighting retreat, keeping those weapons with them would only mean extra weight they couldn’t afford.

  So…this was it. The end of the line for him and his buddies. A monster they couldn’t deal with, for they were just low-level rookies of the Defense Forces with low supplies and manpower.

  What use was there to fight anymore? Once all was said and done, they’d die here, that snake would advance, and someone else would kill it. All they would do was delay its onslaught.

  “And for what?” The soldier cursed. His buddy, who held a heavy-looking grey staff, turned to him with a frown.

  “For what? What are you saying? Tell me where that snake’s weak point is. It’s our only chance.”

  “It doesn’t matter. That thing isn’t going to go through its scales. We’d be better off running away now while it doesn’t see us.”

  “Our job is to fight that monster!”

  “And for what?!”

  The two stopped their hushed bickering beneath the rubble, when suddenly, a voice—soft, girly, and with the cadence of an upper-level noblewoman, suddenly spoke to their minds.

  “Ahem. Test. Test. Test. Ahem…am I even being heard? Is it working? W-wait, it is?! Wilhelm, why have you not told me when I started?!”

  The girl squeaked loudly, like an adorable chipmunk would. She seemed to be extremely embarrassed. For a while, there was silence, and the two soldiers looked at each other with growing horror, both thinking that they must have been possessed by some sort of demonic entity.

  But what kind of a demon sounds that cute?

  “Alright. Apologies for what I said earlier.”

  Her voice now turned more elegant, serious, and composed.

  “Defenders of Perlenstadt—to all members of the Defense Forces, Imperial Army, and Royal Guard. Whoever you are, whether you are a soldier, a knight, a medic, a cleric, or a random civilian caught in this conflict, if you are hearing me, I would like you to listen to me as you do your jobs. If I am too distracting, ignore me. Focus on living. Focus on what’s important, but, at least…if you can, lend me one of your ears for a while.

  “Let me introduce myself first. I am Crown Princess Alexa Theresa von Wolgast, the heir to the throne of the Holy Empire, and I am speaking to you using a special ability of mine. I know, yes, that my voice is probably the last thing many of you will find preferable during these difficult hours, but…this is the best I can offer.

  “I shall not mull my words. I’m not like any of you. I was born in the highest strata of this great Empire. I eat cake, while you eat gruel. I wear the finest dresses, while you wear rags. I have an army of servants, and you are probably one of those servants. But, I am still here.

  “I’m not sure why I chose to stay here. I believe that at this moment, I want nothing more than to run to the Monile Palace to escape this filthy, violent, and scary place. But I cannot and I won’t. If this is the last time I’ll be heard by anyone, I’ll still stay here. Because I have to, because even if I’m not the same as you, I am human, and in the end, we’ll all end up as demon food if we don’t stay here and fight.

  “What am I even saying? I’m not even sure if you can understand what the people of this land live for, or what humanity is like. I’ve learned recently that many of you have been on the battlefield for ages, which is unimaginable for me. What would I even do if I had been outside of society for so long? Will I even fit in? Will I even know what to do if I go back home? Will I even go back home? Then why would I die for such a thing if I can’t even answer that?

  “I won’t know, so I’ll try to let you know. Right now, while most people run away from here, and I know many of them, like me, are absolutely terrible for running so easily because they’re rich and powerful—most are still true people. They live day after day, toiling to survive. They have friends, families, and loved ones.

  “Are they worth saving? Are they worthy of your effort? I don’t know. I can’t answer that. Only you can. So please, look around you. Look at the ruins around you. Look at those dead civilians: wives, sons, fathers, sisters, the list goes on. Are they worthy of being defended? Should any of those who fled end up like those corpses too?”

  “Damn her,” the soldier negatively cursed as he looked up at the sky, as if she were some goddess who spoke to them from the heavens. “Just because she’s here, she has the gall to think she can speak to us like this?”

  “If your answer to that is no, then…that’s that. My answer can easily be no too. That’s human. If you’re facing such eldritch entities we can’t even properly comprehend, you’d be so stupid and silly not to run! Why stop to think about those behind you or those who died, you have to save yourself first!

  “But if you still somehow chose to stay there and fight, if you still somehow chose to think that the people behind you are worthy of being saved from the fate in front of you, then you, good soldier, no matter how weak or how scared you are—you are the finest soldier there is.

  “I don’t care what anyone says. I don’t care what your reputation is, or if people think that you’re a crazy, scary, inhuman monster for staying in the front to fight, because you are a defender of mankind. I lift whatever stupid, stupid order that decrees that you cannot run and retreat. I don’t care what any officer says, even if Wilhelm tells me not to do this.

  “If you have no reason to fight, run! If you have a reason to fight, then stay put and fight! And if you choose the second option, then you are a hero worthy of respect and honor, because if you do not fight, we cannot win, and if we cannot win, all of us will be dead. That right there, I believe is the quality of the few finest men who will save us in our darkest hour.

  “Yes, I probably won’t know you, and the people behind you won’t know you either, but the result of your valiant decision will echo throughout history. And that, I believe, is something you can proudly fight for. So please, to all those who think like me—I urge you to stand your ground and fight!”

  The soldier couldn’t believe what he had just heard. Wait, was he in tears? Even his buddy was beside him, his face blank as he breathed in deeply. That…that was just the princess. How could she speak that way to them?

  She didn’t tell them the true reason for fighting. Instead, she allowed them to give their own reason to fight. It sounded so stupid, but somehow, when the soldier looked at a crushed doll on the rubble ahead of them, with blood splattered on it…

  An image popped into his mind. His little sister, so naive, innocent, and childish, still probably playing with those stupid pigs on their farm…was suddenly eaten by a demonic wolf. Torn limb from limb as she was devoured.

  He couldn’t accept that.

  “Damn it!” he tapped his buddy. “That snake can probably be killed if we’re lucky, so aim slightly above its neck to hit its weak point. If that doesn’t work, I’ll blind it with my crossbow.”

  “Are you sure?!”

  “Yes,” the soldier aimed with his crossbow. “I’m staying here to fight. What about you?”

  “...I…I guess I’ll stay too,” his buddy’s voice cracked a bit. “I wanted you to say that we should run earlier, because I would have followed you.”

  He aimed his staff, hands now turning steely and focused.

  “But if we let this thing run free, it could be my mother next on its menu. No way, I’ll kill it now!”