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Chapter 17
The bullets flying about in the trenches were different from those in the world I knew. From the front, they emitted seven different colors.
A starry sky shines over a trench during the day on the battlefield.
This must be because the weapons in this world use not only gunpowder but also magic.
I’ve heard that the glow of magic stones comes in various types.
At first glance, the scene could be described as vivid and almost pop-art, like a video game screen.
If I had to compare it to something, it would be an aurora.
A mysterious and fantastical rainbow curtain is drawn around the edge of the trench.
The cacophony of explosive sounds, juxtaposed with that breathtakingly beautiful rainbow…
That was exactly—
“Charge like your life depends on it!!”
It was the view I saw as I stepped into the third defensive line.
The Platoon Leader climbed out of the trench and dashed forward while still forming a [Shield].
Senior Murrue and Senior Gray followed him, while Rodri and I were protected as we ran at the very rear.
“Ugh…”
The resistance at the third defense line was far more vicious than I had anticipated.
The moment we all crawled out of the trench, Private First Class Murrue… the commander of the advance force, was shot through the stomach and knocked back into the trench.
He groaned in pain, then stopped moving.
He likely wasn’t killed instantly, but he would certainly die if left alone.
“Don’t worry about him, keep running!”
Now, we were down to four.
Two of them, myself and Rodri… are rookie soldiers.
“Just follow me without thinking about anything!!”
In other words, the only remaining capable fighting forces are Platoon Leader Garback and Senior Gray.
What on earth could we hope to achieve by advancing in this state?
“As long as I’m alive, I’ll make it work!”
Perhaps Platoon Leader Garback intended to capture this line single-handedly from the beginning.
That must be why he placed a medic like myself on the frontlines…
“My left leg’s been hit! Hurry up and heal me, Touri!!”
“Y-Yes!”
It’s possible that he didn’t rely on his subordinates much and only trusted himself.
To end this war, perhaps he planned to use me as his personal first-aid kit, pushing forward while I tended to his wounds on the front lines.
“[Heal]!”
“Drink some elixir. I might need it again soon!”
“Understood!”
While I was treating him, the Platoon Leader continued running, blood spurting from his leg without any sign of slowing down.
So I treated him while running alongside him.
Platoon Leader Garback charged forward at the forefront of the battlefield with a fierce expression, bearing the brunt of this grueling defense line.
“Platoon Leader, my arm and your leg!”
“Follow me as if your life depended on it, Gray!!”
Senior Gray, who was following close behind Platoon Leader Garback, was soon covered in blood.
He had taken at least three hits, but fortunately, his leg wound seemed like just a graze.
His arm, however, had been hit in a major blood vessel. It wasn’t fatal… but it could become critical if not treated quickly.
“Your job is to guard the trench I secure! I don’t care if you die in ten minutes; for now, just run!!”
Naturally, permission to treat Senior Gray was not granted.
I can at least stop the bleeding once we get inside the trench. Please hold on, Senior.
***
The distance between the trenches where we were running is estimated to be about 20 meters.
The distance varies by location because trenches are dug in a zigzag pattern.
If it were a regular 20-meter dash, an athlete could sprint across in under four seconds.
But it takes soldiers like us a lot longer to cover 20 meters.
After all, we can’t do a crouching start, the battlefield isn’t level like a track, and we’re carrying over 20 kilograms of gear on our backs.
“Gray, throw in a grenade!”
“Got it!”
We also have to fight even while crossing these trench gaps.
Before jumping into the enemy’s trench, we have to take out at least some of the enemies inside.
Only death awaits us if we jump in without any plans.
“Tossing it!”
Since Senior Gray’s left arm was injured, he pulled the grenade pin with his teeth and tossed it toward the trench.
The grenade traced an arc and neatly descended into the enemy’s trench.
“■■!”
“Ah…”
Unfortunately, Senior Gray’s grenade did not kill the enemy.
A gust of wind was launched from the enemy trench, deflecting the grenade in a different direction.
It was an anti-air magic spell, similar to what Senior Allen used before.
“Gahahahahaha!!!”
However, it seems that Platoon Leader Garback took into account the possibility of anti-air defense.
He seized that brief moment of distraction and accelerated, diving into the trench.
That moment’s distraction was all it took.
“Let’s go, Rodri!”
“Woah…”
Although we have been left behind, we can’t afford to fall behind him.
The Platoon Leader had already begun taking control of the trenches.
If we have time to just stand there in such a dangerous place, we need to hurry and provide support as soon as possible─
“Senior Gray, hurry up!”
“Ah, ahahaha…”
Despite that, Senior Gray’s reply was weak.
When I turned to check, I found Senior Gray collapsed on the ground, missing his left leg.
“Sorry, It looks like this is it for me.”
“…!!”
Senior Gray’s left thigh from the leg down had been burnt and was gone.
This is bad. I don’t know if he was hit by an enemy spell or caught in a magical trap, but it’s clear that Senior Gray was injured.
“Come on, hurry up and go ahead.”
Senior Gray urged us to move on.
However, we won’t be able to secure the trench with just me and Rodri.
“Hk!”
The moment this thought occurred to me, I ran over to Senior Gray and put his arm around my shoulder.
“W-Wait! You idiot! Just leave me and go on!”
“If I leave you behind, the Platoon Leader’s efforts to seize the base will be wasted.”
If he had collapsed a little further away, I might have abandoned him.
But fortunately, Senior Gray had collapsed about 2–3 meters from the trench.
Moreover, the position ahead was currently being secured by the Platoon Leader. The attacks had stopped.
I judged that rescue was still possible.
“Uh, ugh.”
“Hey, don’t push yourself!”
But the moment I tried to lift him, I realized my mistake in judgment.
Senior Gray’s body is too heavy.
Infantry soldiers carry a variety of equipment. A well-built male soldier like Senior Gray would weigh over 100 kg.
There was no way a petite child like me could carry him while moving quickly.
I should have at least made Senior Gray drop his gear before trying to lift him.
“First, one step… ugh.”
However, what’s done is done.
Just a few steps forward from here and I’ll reach my goal.
Dragging Senior Gray’s body along with me, I took a sudden step forward with all my might.
“W-Wait?!”
“I won’t let you die yet, Senior… I want you to protect us within the trench…”
I caught a glimpse of what was happening inside the trench. The Platoon Leader was unstoppable, chopping off the enemy’s heads.
It looked like there were hardly any enemies left.
Thank goodness, it should be safe enough to jump in now.
“Even if you die in ten minutes, please defend the trench that the Platoon Leader secured. That’s an order from our superior officer.”
“Then I guess I can’t die just yet… You’re pretty demanding, Touri.”
Senior Gray was incredibly heavy, but once I managed to take that first step, I found I could drag him along.
If I could just pull him into the trench, the rest would be up to me.
I could also perform first aid on him while defending the secured base.
“Just a little more…”
Right before I took that last step, the enemy from the neighboring position, which I had foolishly neglected to monitor, launched a surprise attack.
Just as I was about to take the final step
I carelessly let my guard down, and support came from a nearby enemy base.
“────Ah.”
────Softly, a round object flew towards us.
To my right, a soldier from the enemy’s adjacent position threw a grenade at me and Senior Gray as we attempted to enter the trench.
By the time my brain processed the fact, it was already too late.
“Hkk!”
My [Shield] won’t make it in time.
I had to extend both arms forward to create a diagonal [Shield], but since I was using my arms to support Senior Gray, I could only form a useless flat [Shield].
“What’s wrong, Touri…”
“A-a-ah!!!”
No, in the first place, there was no way I could block a grenade that was flying straight at me with my flimsy [Shield].
In this situation, my only means of survival was to abandon Senior Gray and dodge.
I must have let my guard down just before reaching the finish line. The moment the grenade was thrown, my mind went blank for a moment.
────I’m dead. At that moment, I clearly envisioned a future where I would die tragically like Salsa.
With Senior Gray on my back and unable to move freely, I could only accept my approaching death in a daze.
It felt as if time and the world around me began to slow down.
It was as if my life was flashing before my eyes as the grenade drew near.
I could only stare blankly at the grenade falling slowly to my feet as if it were in slow motion.
Ah, so this is how I’m going to die…
I’m so sorry, Salsa. The life you sacrificed yourself to protect was wasted.
I shouldn’t have joined this war. I shouldn’t have become a soldier.
I hate the carefree version of myself that had so thoughtlessly killed people in a game in my past life.
Because of my past experiences as a pro FPS player, I took war far too lightly. I want to curse my own stupidity for enlisting so carelessly.
If I could be reborn again…
In my next life, I would like to live in a peaceful world without war, even if it’s just an ordinary one.
“Great, I found one…!!”
Well, at that time, I was completely prepared to die.
At that moment, a joyous murmuring interrupted the simmering negative emotions I was feeling during the flashback of the short 15 years I had lived.
“Thanks for the gift!!!”
“Eh?”
As if in slow motion, a hand suddenly shot out from next to the grenade as it was about to land.
The hand caught it by scooping it up just before it hit the ground.
And…
“Thanks for that!!!”
“Whaaat?!”
With a loud laugh, it was thrown back towards the enemy position that had tossed it at us.
As expected, the enemy was too surprised to react, and the grenade landed into the enemy base without being intercepted by any air defense, creating a loud explosion.
“Die!! Ahahahahah!!!”
Yes, it was Rodri.
Rodri performed the incredible feat of reacting to a grenade that was thrown towards us and tossing it back.
“T-Touri! Now’s our chance!”
“Y-yes!”
Thanks to Rodri’s miraculous save, we survived and were able to safely enter the trench.
I’m unharmed, and while Senior Gray was seriously injured, he was still alive.
This is… a great achievement for Rodri.
“Hmm, you’re injured, Gray. Can you defend the base?”
“I can’t use my left arm, but I can fight if I can get the gun in a fixed position.”
“Hmph, that’s fine then. Touri, bandage him up.”
Inside the base, Platoon Leader Garback had already annihilated the enemy forces.
The Platoon Leader was swinging his sword, splattering blood everywhere. From the looks of it, he didn’t have any major injuries.
“Oh? They’re all dead already…”
“Rodri is safe too? Then you all stay here and defend the base.”
“Understood.”
“I wanted to kill some too…”
With that, the Platoon Leader quickly ran off to the neighboring position.
Still, he has incredible stamina.
“…”
“What? Why are you staring at me?”
As I treated Senior Gray’s injuries, I absentmindedly glanced over at Rodri.
Well then, what should I do?
The last time I thanked him, he mercilessly insulted me.
But I couldn’t help but feel grateful for his courageous action just now.
Even if he gets angry, I should properly express my gratitude.
“…”
But I think that maybe, from his point of view, he didn’t consider helping us and just wanted to kill the enemy.
If that’s the case, thanking him might just annoy him.
So, what should I say to him right now?…
“Well, umm. N-Nice explosive kill.”
“Huh? What are you talking about? I’ll kill you.”
I guess that was wrong too.
This isn’t based on this chapter but I had to include this GIF somewhere. Link to artist’s twitter.
Ozy Translations 
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