*later that night—back at Tai*
{HIKARI'S POV}
"Catapults!" One soldier screams in terror.

They all make haste in running away from the area where the boulder arcing through the air will hit. The entire West Wall shudders like an earthquake. I fall to my knees from the impact. The handiwork of the people of Tai stands firm.

The ground below is lit with burning fires and spark arrows. Enemy soldiers are charging over the bodies of the fallen, trying to reach the wall.

Ladders are propped up and pushed down. The screams of the climbers pierces my ears as they fall.

"Return fire!" General Isamu shouts. "Wrap oil-soaked cloth around the tip of the arrows and dip them in torches before you shoot! Don't waste arrows now, lads! Aim for the wood of the catapults!"

A lone enemy soldier touches the wall, but there's nothing he can do to breach it by himself. I grab a slingshot from my belt and a piece of rubble off the ground. My aim is true and he drops like a rock.

Is he dead or just unconscious? I feel nauseous.

I'm not supposed to be in active combat. However, we were taken by surprise this time... and while I'm here, I might as well do some damage.

Being on the front line is a lot different from being behind the scenes. It's much louder, and bloodier, and smellier, and more chaotic. This is a grim reminder of the consequences of my decisions. It's a reminder to never let myself become complacent.

Luckily, only the west is being attacked tonight—the knight circle has time to recuperate from yesterday's fight. Unluckily, these soldiers are exhausted and are now under siege from a powerful new weapon.

I grit my teeth and load another piece of the broken wall into my slingshot. I can be a menace in my own right; I'm second only to Ebisu with a slingshot.

Isamu looks like he'd rather throw me over his shoulder and run me in the opposite direction so I don't get hurt, but he can't deny that I'm helping. Every little bit helps.

Even if I wasn't almost as good as an archer at downing assailants, seeing the princess fight boosts the morale of the soldiers surrounding me.

My lungs burn. I have to stop shooting and duck down to cough. The scent of smoke, blood, and rot in the air doesn't make it any better.

I'm overexerting myself again, but this was the best way for me to adequately assess the status of the West Wall. Now that I have, I'd best step back before I become a detriment rather than an asset.

I hurry down the narrow stairs, reaching the bottom of the stairwell just before another earth-shattering boom rattles the wall and sends me tumbling. I manage to grab the railing and steady myself before falling and bloodying my knees or hands.

Shouts above indicate that this round of the catapult fire did more damage than the previous.

Jun runs up to me, holding a giant, cloth-covered... thing. I don't recognize the shape. "Did I hear someone yelling catapults?!"

His question is answered by a third impact of a boulder catapulted into the West Wall. It trembles. Stone dust rains down on us and I cough after inhaling the irritant. Running around hasn't helped either. I have to go to the pharmacy and recuperate.

"They're too far back, the range of the archers isn't long enough." I manage between coughs.

"I think I can remedy that!" Jun grins. He pulls out his latest weapon. "It's a mechanical crossbow!"

"You're brilliant, Jun!" I praise him honestly. "Can it shoot fire arrows?"

"We'll see!" Jun shouts.

He bonks his head against mine before taking the stairs three at a time to get to the top of the wall quicker. I lower myself to the ground, heaving for air and rubbing my sore forehead. Per usual, Jun is quick to pick up on my exhaustion.

"Hikari-sama!" An injured soldier retreats from the wall, dancing around Jun on the narrow stairs. "Let me escort you to the medical tent."

I nod. "I appreciate your support."

She helps me to my feet, despite the shaft of an arrow embedded in her shoulder, which was only defended by leather armor. That arm is bloodied and useless. I allow the soldier to escort me to the medical tent, where my wuviry stock is replenished.

I inhale it deeply and assess the damage around me. Arrow injuries, shrapnel damage, so many people groaning in pain on cots.

The soldier who brought me here is quickly bandaged up to stop the bleeding, but the arrow can't be removed until the seriously wounded are stable.

If I can't be helpful on the battlefield. I can at least be helpful elsewhere. My lungs are doing better now that I'm away from the irritants and I've coughed up a lot of the junk I inhaled.

Lady Satoko and her assistants are swamped with patients. They appreciate any help I can provide, mostly menial tasks.

I ferry clean water from one of the wells we dug weeks ago, apply pressure to bleeding lacerations or suture them closed, and apply simple antiseptic herbs to wounds so they don't become infected.

I sterilize larger metal equipment by boiling it and grind up medicinal compounds in the mortar and pestle, per Lady Satoko's instructions. I can finally see why Aunt Shirayuki loves the pharmacy so much. This is fascinating work and I feel useful.

Now that it's nighttime, I can pick the koko grass and nanairoha for maximum efficacy. I only take a little, knowing that we need to keep some so it'll spread and we won't run out.

Jun walks into the medical tent. There's a huge gash above his right eye. Another soldier follows.

Carried on a piece of cloth between them is a badly injured man. Multiple lacerations, chunks of stone embedded in his mutilated body, and probably internal injuries I can't see with my eyes.

"What happened, Jun?" Lady Satoko rushes over, leaving the care of her current patient to her aide. She cups Jun's face in her hands and worriedly assesses his head for any other injuries.

"Hachi was on the wall where a catapult hit." Jun says, looking tired and dazed.

"Are there others?" I ask. "Surely not just one person was injured by the blast!"

Jun eyes me bleakly. "One lived."

Lady Satoko steps between us to assess the soldier. "His wounds are severe. I can remove the shrapnel pieces but he's in no shape for me to surgically explore for internal bleeding."

The wounded man, Hachi, gasps for air and spits up blood. He reaches out, his arm spasming. He finds my wrist and grabs tight, pulling me close.

His mouth is moving. Realizing he's trying to say something, I lean my ear close to his mouth.

He struggles to say, "No... treatment. Don't... waste... any... resources on... me."

"Is that truly what you want?"

"Yes..."

I purse my lips, tears welling up in my eyes. "You fought bravely. Rest now."

Hachi sighs, smiles, and closes his eyes. His body relaxes. The others look at me questioningly until I relay his final wish. I instruct Jun and the other man to set him down along the edge of the tent, slightly more out of the way.

The soldier cries and holds Hachi's hand while his friend breathes his final breaths.

I turn away and slap my cheeks. It's hard, but you have to keep moving. More people need help.

Jun for one. There are no more cots and floor space is difficult to claim with all the injured around. He's strong enough to stand while I clean and disinfect his head wound, then stitch it closed.

He stares at me with dark, red-rimmed eyes while my hands go into autopilot, but it isn't uncomfortable. No words need to be spoken.

The air in the tent is stale and a cloying scent fills the air; the scent of blood, death, and dying. My breathing is stressed and my heart is pained.

"Mother, do you need Hikari-sama?" Jun asks after I tie the final knot on his sutures, already dragging me towards the exit.

"Go." Lady Satoko waves us away, more focused on removing the arrow from the shoulder of the soldier who escorted me here.

"I'm not incompetent. I need to do something." I complain. My resistance is weak.

"You need sleep. How long has it been? You can't help others if you're about to pass out. Hikari-sama is precious to us. Please take care of yourself."

I can't pull away from Jun. He appeases me by doing a quick damage report. They were able to take out the wooden catapult frames with fire and the increased range and damage output of the crossbow. However, the enemy brought more out. The casualties are higher than any siege previously and the West Wall will need repairs if it even manages to survive.

The second horn has not sounded yet.

We look to the points along the wall where fires blaze, beacons in the night pointing to all the hard working soldiers of Tai.