Episode 17: “Conrad’s Diary”
“This is where every record of the ‘Frontier Hero, Conrad’ is kept.”
The next morning, Lutz led Fiine and the others to an archive room in the basement of his estate. Inside were photographs of Conrad, along with biographical accounts written about him.
The biographies were of the sort she’d seen before, back at the magic academy’s library.
“And this… this is something we’ve never shown to anyone outside the village. His diary.”
A thick, brown-spined diary. Opening to the first page, handwriting came into view — thin, careful strokes.
“I don’t want to die.”
That was all the first line said.
She closed the diary reflexively and lifted her head. When their eyes met, Lutz looked away from her.
“…The ‘Frontier Hero’ known to the outside world is, I’m afraid, a very idealized figure. He never studied magic at any academy, nor trained as a soldier. He was simply a strong-armed young man who happened to know a little magic.”
The Frontier Hero — the young hero who’d protected Schnee Village.
At a time when monsters had overrun the land and attacks spread everywhere, while the push to defeat the Demon Lord left the countryside thinly defended, he’d been the one who protected his home.
A gifted, courageous young man, born on the frontier.
Fiine had never once doubted this figure, who existed as something close to legend.
But thinking it through calmly, Lutz’s explanation made sense.
Self-taught magic wasn’t impossible, but a small rural village like this one would have had, at best, no proper magic teacher and barely any magic texts at all.
There was no way anyone could have learned magic systematically under those conditions.
And at the time, the Magic Corps had been desperately recruiting anyone with real power, doing whatever it took to produce a hero capable of defeating the Demon Lord.
(A young man never recruited by the Magic Corps, raised in the countryside, fighting monsters on his own…)
He’d had no choice but to fight. The Magic Corps of that era had no strength left to spare for defending a small rural village.
In an age overrun by monsters, the threat that mattered was monsters, not neighboring nations — and villages near the border had simply been left to fend for themselves.
“…Lutz-san.”
“Yes?”
“What do you want me to bring back — Conrad, the person? Or the ‘Frontier Hero’?”
A magic doll was made from the soul remaining in a keepsake.
But it couldn’t actually use magic — only Fiine’s own magic, made to look as though the doll itself were casting it.
Lutz drew in a deep breath, then bowed his head deeply to Fiine.
“Please. What we need is the ‘Frontier Hero.’”
◆
Left alone in the archive, Fiine first threw herself into reading through the books about the “Frontier Hero.” There were many of them, but the contents were nearly all the same.
Thanks to the Frontier Hero’s efforts, peace had been preserved in Schnee Village.
He’d fought monsters alone, protecting the village without end. And after the Demon Lord’s death, he’d engaged in single combat with a powerful monster from the remnants of the Demon Lord’s army, and died from it.
But his strength had struck such fear into the surrounding monsters that Schnee Village remained protected even after his death.
(Same as what Count Rehmbruck told us. The real Conrad probably isn’t known much outside this village at all.)
She returned the biographies to the shelf and picked up his diary instead.
(What I’ve been asked for is a magic doll of the Frontier Hero. So I don’t technically need to read through his diary too, but…)
When a magic doll was dispelled, Fiine would be erasing that person’s soul from this world completely.
Getting to know Conrad, at least, felt like the bare minimum of courtesy she owed him.
“I don’t want to die. But I have to fight. Today, monsters attacked Max’s field. Max’s father got hurt trying to stop them. Relief supplies don’t even reach the village, so we can’t abandon the fields either.”
“Killed a monster for the first time today. It looked like a dog. Looked a lot like the dog my grandfather used to keep. Stabbed my sword into its back as it tried to run. Even a monster’s blood was warm.”
“Tried attacking a monster with magic. Can’t move while I’m casting it. If more monsters show up at once, I’m done for.”
“Monsters attacked in broad daylight today. Melanie called for help. Had no choice but to go. Managed to win, somehow. What happens if a bigger one comes?”
“A monster bit my leg. If it had actually broken, maybe I wouldn’t have had to fight tomorrow.”
“The same kind of monster I killed before showed up again. Maybe it’s holding a grudge. Maybe it knows I killed one of its own. Maybe it’s after me specifically.”
“Why am I the only one who can use magic? If I couldn’t, no one would be calling me a hero.”
“I want to run away. I don’t want to die. But I hate the thought of everyone in the village dying even more.”
“Melanie died today. If I were stronger, Melanie wouldn’t have had to die. I’m weak. And even though I’m weak, I have to keep fighting. Even though I’m weak. Even though I want to run. I’m sorry, Melanie. I’ll probably be joining you soon.”