Chapter 1202: Running in the Rain

The village’s evacuation was progressing slower than expected.

Fran woke up for a moment to store most of the luggage and heal the half-insectkin, though that was just me in disguise.

The villagers were giving their all, but many of them didn’t have experience with such rocky terrain. Determination alone wasn’t enough.

Moreover, the number of magical beasts we encountered was substantial. In fact, it seems our caravan was attracting tons of them.

Small magical beasts normally wouldn’t approach such large groups of humans on their own. I know this from our past experiences.

However, the magical beasts were so starved that they couldn’t think clearly. They viewed us as a feast, without any concern for being outnumbered.

An additional challenge was the rain. It unfortunately started pouring heavily at the worst possible time. The torrential rain acted as a curtain obscuring our vision, which forced us to heighten our vigilance even more.

Furthermore, the cold rain sapped our body heat and stamina, as well as making the ground muddy and slippery.

The villagers were forced to slow down to crawl.

While the rain did have benefits in terms of masking our scent, the disadvantages were far greater. Nevertheless, the villagers continued marching forward without complaints.

「Everyone, hang in there!」

「Watch your footing!」

「You can do it!」

Even the soldiers, who should be tired from battling magical beasts, encouraged everyone.

After witnessing such dedication, it was hard to voice any complaints.

Meanwhile, the half-insectkin were constantly on alert for approaching magical beasts, without showing any signs of fatigue. They were clearly working the hardest, despite not even being members of the village.

Well, I’m sure the mercenaries have way more stamina, so they’re probably not tired at all… But it appeared to the villagers that they were acting lively to boost morale.

「Fran-oneechan still isn’t waking up.」

「We’ll protect her.」

「But more importantly, we need to support her so she doesn’t fall.」

The voices of the children rang out from Urushi’s back. This was another reason the adults kept pushing themselves, as they needed to do their best for the sake of the children.

The girl who had saved the village was still asleep, so it would be audacious to whine about their fatigue.

『Fran’s been sleeping for a while now…』

（Woof.）

Finally, while I was in the middle of conversing with Urushi…

「…Ugh…」

『Fran?』

Fran woke up. With unfocused eyes, she looked around at the children and slowly moved her hands to examine her surroundings.

Those hands were clearly searching for me.

『Fran! I’m right here, it’s fine.』

「Nn…mm…」

Still somewhat drowsy, she reached out and grabbed me after slightly shaking her head. Slowly, she sat up and gazed to the east.

『Fran?』

「They’re coming.」

「Woof?」

Immediately afterward, both Urushi and I sensed the approaching army.

『Tch. The rain was hiding their presence.』

（Woof.）

But how did Fran notice them?

『Fran, are you okay?』

「Nn.」

Fran stood up, radiating an otherworldly aura. It resembled her state during Sword God Transformation, but the released divine energy was extremely faint.

No wait. How is she emitting divine energy when she just woke up?

『Fran! You can’t keep pushing yourself! Let me handle it!』

「…I’m fine. I found out a little more.」

『Fran?』

I was about to ask Fran the meaning of her words, when the children started crowding around her.

Well, Urushi had magically secured most of the children to his back, so only the closer ones could reach her. Mimi and the other children practically jumped for joy as Fran got up.

Fran called out to Quint.

「I’ll deal with the ones coming from behind. You go on ahead.」

「…Understood. We’ll try to hurry.」

Since someone needed to protect the villagers from monster attacks, the mercenaries understood this was a job only Fran could take. Quint nodded with a sense of resignation.

『Fran, how’s your condition?』

（I feel refreshed.）

『Really?』

（Nn.）

Doesn’t seem that way to me. Fran looked so completely exhausted that she could barely stay awake. If that was an attempt to hide her fatigue, she wasn’t doing it well.

But for some reason, her movements were smooth.

『Did something happen?』

（I somehow figured out how to use divine energy while I was asleep.）

It seems Fran had been manipulating divine energy in her semi-conscious state. As a result, she grasped the technique, allowing her to reduce the strain on her body.

「Hmm.」

Fran began circulating divine energy throughout her own body.

《Individual Fran has acquired Divine Energy Manipulation.》