The Tribal Wars

Returning to his quarters, Heisen found Yang reading a book. Despite the chaos of the battlefield outside, Heisen couldn't help but sigh at Yang's carefree demeanor.

"I'm going to treat Kakuzu soon. Come with me."

"Huh, did he get injured!?"

"It's okay. His life is not in danger."

"I-I see. Let’s go quickly. We can’t rely on Master Su’s condition."

"..."

Heisen brushed past Yang and sprinted with urgency. Watching this, Yang couldn't help but smile faintly.

"But I've done it now," Heisen muttered in frustration. He had let his emotions get the better of him. Unlike himself, Kakuzu had a kind heart and was sensitive to others' feelings. Heisen simply couldn't tolerate being labeled a monster. But from a practical standpoint, he knew he shouldn't have disparaged Major Shimanto or the 1st and 3rd battalions.

"Well, there’s nothing to do right now."

Unexpected events often occur in war. If they were dissatisfied with his command, perhaps it would be beneficial to appoint Captain Lorenzo.

Pondering this, he headed to the infirmary, where soldiers were waiting. Among them were lieutenants, junior officers, and non-commissioned officers from the 1st and 3rd battalions.

"What are you doing here?"

"Oh, Ensign Heisen. We, uh, behaved terribly towards that person."

"..."

The sight of General Gizar had instilled a deep fear of death in them. Yet, seeing someone voluntarily sacrifice themselves to protect them was overwhelming.

"Heh, you too?"

As Heisen glanced around, everyone nodded apologetically.

"With the authority of a captain, I order you to return and have a meal. Rest well."

"B-but..."

"Staying here won’t help. Additionally, Kakuzu will be out of commission for over a month. So, there's no one else to fight in your place."

"I understand. Tomorrow, we’ll fight in his place. We’ve all agreed."

"..."

"That’s all we can do to repay him for risking his life to protect us and show our gratitude."

"Heh. Fight with that spirit tomorrow."

"Yes!"

"By the way, tomorrow I’ll confront General Gizar alone."

"Huh? But without Kakuzu..."

"Originally, we planned to fight without him on the third day. But given the disparity in forces, letting our guard down would be disastrous."

"Y-yes!"

"Just so you know, I haven’t forgiven you."

"...Yes."

"But I appreciate your feelings. After this battle, if you’re lucky enough to survive, bring Kakuzu some extra food. He’ll surely appreciate it."

"Y-yes!"

Entering the infirmary, Heisen found Captain Lorenzo and Yang inside.

"They’re not lost causes, are they?" Even the soldiers."

"...I guess. But I’m relieved their morale isn’t as low as I thought."

Most of the lieutenants, junior officers, and non-commissioned officers seemed to have voluntarily come to visit.

"But what Major Shimanto did was too much. No matter how you spin it, demotions are unavoidable despite their outstanding accomplishments."

"I suppose so. But I couldn’t forgive him."

"Why? He was excited after the battle ended. And Heisen, you didn’t seem to understand."

"..."

After a brief silence, Heisen spoke.

"Once, someone risked their life, their entire being, to save someone I loved."

"And someone called them a monster? That’s terrible. Who would do that?"

"It was me."

"Huh?"

"It was me. I saw power far beyond my own and labeled him that. Over and over again."

"..."

"I had to do it. Otherwise, I would have died. They were treading on the continent itself. It was meant to protect someone I loved. There are various excuses. But I will never forgive myself for that."

"..."

After a while, silence fell.

Finally, Captain Lorenzo let out a deep sigh.

"Heh, I see."

"I spoke foolishly. Please forget about it."

"Ah. Well, I understand you’re human after all."

"I really spoke out of turn."

Heisen muttered irritably.

A few seconds of silence passed before Heisen sighed and looked at Yang. Unable to grasp the situation, Yang looked back with her mouth open.

Seeing her relaxed expression, Heisen sighed in exasperation.

"Don’t just stand there; come here."

Heisen placed his hands on Kakuzu’s body and began channeling magic.

"Normally, magical healers concentrate magic into their palms for treatment. However, due to the large area, the conductivity is poor. Therefore, it’s better to place your fingers on the affected areas and pass magic through them."

He explained the situation to Yang, who nodded and placed her hand on the wound.

"Like this?"

"No, that’s wrong."

"What do you mean!?"

"You lack finesse."

"How rude! I put it mildly!"

"I didn’t say to be mild. I said to be delicate."

"I don’t understand the difference!"

"I don’t know why you don’t understand."

"Ugh... ugh..."

"Just practice with your body. Do it a thousand times, and you’ll understand."

"You mean I’ll face criticism like this a thousand times?"

"Yes."

Heisen nodded firmly. He had no intention of sending this girl to the front lines. Although he intended to teach her minimal combat skills for self-defense, it was clear she wasn’t suited for military life.

The field of magical healing is very profound. Starting with intuitive handling on the battlefield can bring results beyond Heisen’s imagination. However, his disciple, who completely ignored Heisen’s intentions, continued to sulk and make excuses.

"But I don’t even have magic, and I’m just pretending to heal! How am I supposed to understand?"

"Let’s be serious. Once you have magic, you’ll need to tend to patients with severe injuries."

"I can’t suddenly deal with seriously injured patients like that!"

"That’s why you need to take it seriously now. Otherwise, you’ll end up causing harm to your patients."

"..."

As Yang’s head lunged forward to protest, Heisen stopped her with one hand and continued to touch the wound with his other finger.

"Like this. Try it."

"Is this how you do it?"

"No, that’s wrong."

"But it’s the same thing!"

"Where are you looking?"

Heisen pressed and squeezed Yang’s head.

"It’s the same! The difference lies in whether or not there’s magic! Absolutely!"

"I’m saying it’s different. It’s the difference between a skilled craftsman and a completely misunderstood amateur."

"Uwaaah! Captain Lorenzo! Please say something to this crazy person!"

"...Haha. Yang, give up. I’ve given up on Ensign Heisen’s methods."

Captain Lorenzo casually dropped this rather disrespectful comment.

"But to me, Ensign Heisen’s touch seemed smooth."

"You see? It’s just you. You don’t realize it, but you should. Follow my movements exactly as if they were your own. Continue doing it until you’ve done it a thousand times."

"...Uwaaah! I’m done!"

Yang shouted, and Captain Lorenzo chuckled. Meanwhile, Heisen continued to treat Kakuzu over and over again.

"But it’s quite impressive, even though you’re not a magical healer."

Captain Lorenzo couldn’t help but be surprised. If this skill is obvious at first glance, he can also use healing magic.

Certainly, learning simple first aid techniques is common for soldiers. However, mastering them requires significant effort. To survive on the battlefield, strength is clearly more important than medicine. Therefore, most soldiers neglect medical care.

"I learned everything at the academy."

"So you expect me to accept that?"

"What do you mean?"

"You’re out of the ordinary. Everything about you. And what you do doesn’t really add up to your age."

"..."

Captain Lorenzo appears easygoing, but he’s perceptive. In that sense, he’s more troublesome than other higher-ups.

"Who exactly are you?"

"I’m Heisen Heim. Nothing more, nothing less. And I’d like to offer you a piece of advice."

"A word of advice?"

"You'd better not underestimate me. It never ends well."

"...I understand."

"Then let’s discuss our future operations."

Heisen smiled.