Golden Wheat And The Army Of Death

“Wha…”

Arthur let out an astonished cry as the knight before his eyes was healed. That woman—her healing range had expanded!!

Of course, Arthur’s raw healing ability was still superior, but this wide range was incredibly effective against weak monsters like these.

As he glared, thinking ‘She’s stealing my glory…’, Elaine smiled mockingly at him from the corner of his vision.

‘Damn it all!! At this rate I’ll be the one shown up!!’

Panicking, Arthur ignored the monsters swarming around him and called out to the wounded knight.

“Hey, you!! What’s the current situation!!”

“Lord Arthur!? But isn’t this the Founding Festival…?”

“Never mind that. Explain the situation.”

The knight, startled at Arthur’s sudden appearance, nevertheless recalled that this was an emergency and quickly explained.

“Yes, the Army of Death is attacking, and the golden wheat is on the verge of being devoured. Their locust underlings we can manage somehow, but…”

“The main body is beyond your ability to handle, huh…”

Arthur groaned as he remembered how neither sword nor magic had any effect earlier. If only Tristan or Gawain were here, things would be different…

With those two, at least the underlings swarming here could have been dealt with, and they might have even stalled the main body. Then the wheat wouldn’t be suffering such heavy losses…

As he thought desperately about how to save the golden wheat, he noticed something. The patches where Elaine had used her healing magic were faintly reviving.

“This is… no way… oooohhh!!”

“Lord Arthur!! It’s dangerous—the Army of Death is there!!”

As Arthur suddenly sprinted forward, the knight tried to stop him in alarm, but Arthur was already running. The locust monsters bit at his legs and hands, yet he ignored them completely.

But there was a limit. Just one step away from the devoured wheat, Arthur was entangled by the insects and immobilized.

“I want to eat delicious bread and cakeeeeee!!!”

Arthur shouted at the top of his lungs and stretched out his hand toward the golden wheat ravaged by the Army of Death, releasing healing magic.

‘If Elaine can do it, then there’s no way I can’t!!’

It was his pride in healing. Whatever else, when it came to healing magic, Arthur was a genius. And now, with Elaine’s example in mind, he succeeded in projecting his healing magic just a little farther—by the distance of an arm’s length.

The golden wheat that had been ravaged now shone with radiant light, as though resurrected, and began to grow again.

And it grew far larger and stronger than before, becoming a magnificent stalk of wheat.

“What… is this…?”

“This is… a miracle!! Lord Arthur’s miracle!!”

“Could it be that Lord Arthur possesses the power to bestow divine blessings upon plants!?”

The wheat grew larger and larger, swelling like a great tree. The knights, as well as Hervé and Elaine, all stared in shock at the unbelievable sight. And Arthur himself thought…

‘I don’t know anything about this. What is this—it’s terrifying!!’

He had only tried to heal the wheat, just like Elaine had. Yet now it was growing to absurd proportions!?

In truth, this was impossible. Healing magic was never used on plants, and golden wheat absorbed magic to grow unnaturally fast. This combination had produced the miracle.

“Hahaha! Behold the power of Arthur Pendragon!! I shall protect the golden wheat!!”

For now, Arthur decided to play along. Honestly, he had no idea why the wheat had grown like that. But he did realize everyone was staring at him with respect. That being the case, he thought it best to claim the credit before Elaine said anything. Truly underhanded.

‘Well, whatever, it’s my power now. This should improve the situation a little…’

“Uwooooooah!?”

“—!!!”

Just as Arthur grew a little cocky, the Army of Death attacked him. Drawn to the magical wheat, they could not ignore such a powerful lure.

“Lord Arthur, are you all right!?”

“Mmmmmm!!”

The knights called out in worry, but of course he wasn’t all right. The bites caused no pain, and his body healed instantly, but being swarmed by bugs was simply disgusting.

Imagine it—locusts crawling all over his body, wings buzzing incessantly right in his ears. Pure trauma.

‘Think… what do I do in times like this… swords won’t work… right, magic. Maybe there’s some magic to drive off insects?’

“Magic… I need magic…”

“Magic, sir? But…”

Arthur shouted desperately, but the knights only looked bewildered. The truth was Arthur knew nothing of magic outside of healing—it was his entire world.

So he didn’t realize there was no pinpoint spell to drive away monsters. If such a thing existed, they would have used it already.

“Everyone… isn’t Lord Arthur telling us to forget about him and use magic against the monsters!?”

“…What!?”

Elaine cried out to the confused knights. Naturally—they couldn’t imagine casting magic at their own prince without committing treason.

“Lord Arthur said magic. It’s common sense that there’s no spell to precisely drive away monsters. Meaning—he’s telling us to attack, even if it means hitting him as well!”

There wasn’t!? So healing magic really was the best, Arthur thought. And what nonsense was this Saintess spouting? Who would ever blast their own prince with magic? he snorted, still surrounded by bugs.

And as the locusts swarmed closer, buzzing louder in his ears, he stopped hearing Elaine and the others altogether.

“W-wait, Lady Elaine. No matter how great Lord Arthur’s healing power, using him as bait to cast magic is unforgivable…”

“…Are you familiar with the Flame of the Condemned once performed by the Holy King? Could it be he intends the same?”

Hervé protested in shock, but Elaine’s words left him wide-eyed.

“The Flame of the Condemned… that tale where the Holy King plunged into monsters unleashed by criminals and burned himself along with them… But Lord Arthur may have remarkable healing power, he is no Holy King. Isn’t this overthinking?”

“Are you sure? He’s rumored to be the successor of the Holy King. He heals to protect the people, sacrifices himself to save others. When we fought the Cockatrice, he even threw himself alone into the poisoned marsh to defeat it. In that moment, I saw the Holy King’s image in him…”

Her voice, fevered with emotion, and her expression as she spoke of Arthur shone with beauty, as if she were describing her own god.

Seeing this, Hervé understood.

“You truly believe in Lord Arthur from the bottom of your heart… in his power…”

“No. What I trust is not only his power, but his virtue. I believe he is the true successor to the Holy King.”

Blushing faintly, Elaine’s words were the highest praise possible.

The Holy King, recognized as a saint above nations, now spoken of as an equal to the modern Saintess. Hervé had never heard greater honor.

And after speaking with Arthur earlier, misunderstanding his nature, even Hervé found himself strangely convinced. After all, Arthur had praised the food made from Hervé’s golden wheat, and now risked his life to protect it.

“…Very well. Mages!! Unleash your magic upon the Army of Death!!”

“But then Lord Arthur will…”

The soldiers wavered at the order, but Hervé pressed on firmly.

“Do it! I will take full responsibility!!”

“And I shall do all I can to heal him. Rest assured!!”

And so, an overwhelming barrage of magic was unleashed in Arthur’s direction.