『Protect everyone!!』

 
 ”What?!”
 
 Surprised, Graham-nii-sama glared in the direction I pointed… the sun.
 
 Falling behind by a moment, His Highness Gerald also looked up at the sky.
 
 ——— I feel it.
 Fluttering above our heads, a group of different magic powers.
 
 The magic power’s pressure suddenly increased, and came rushing at us.
 I too looked that way.
 
 ”-!!”
 
 Squinting as I looked up at the sky, four shadows were fluttering about.
 Those shadows soon formed a line, and began a sudden drop.
 
 In the mouth of the flying dragon in the lead, a fire glimmered.
 
 
 
 ”Enemy cavalry, straight above!!!!”
 
 Onii-sama shouted so.
 
 ”All hands, cease fire! Set up magic shields!! Defensive spells, expand at full force!!!!”
 
 His Highness Gerald rattled off instructions.
 
 People casting weapons away in a fluster, running to grab a magic shield. People beginning their chants for barrier magic.
 
 The surroundings fell into chaos.
 
 
 ——— the words of the one-armed knight, were once more brought to my ears.
 
 
 ☆
 
 
 [By the time I realised it, it was too late… no, even if I’d noticed, there was still probably nothing I could have done about it.]
 
 [The flying dragons’ flame ball, it blew away the surroundings in an instant. His Highness and Graham-sama’s unit, who took a direct hit, were annihilated. My unit was somewhat distanced from them also received damage, and this is the result.]
 
 
 ☆
 
 
 At that time, there were probably some who had their shields up.
 There were probably those who also put their all into defensive spells.
 
 However, it was no good.
 
 Brother Graham and His Highness Gerald’s unit were burnt to a crisp with not even a strand of hair remaining as a memento^[1], annihilated in an instant.
 
 
 
 ”….”
 
 Now.
 Within my sight, my brother was chanting a barrier spell in order to protect His Highness.
 
 And in order to protect His Majesty, my father was pouring magic power into a ring of protection, putting up a barrier spell.
 
 Even these efforts, they were powerless in the face of the coming mayhem.
 
 Within my head, something was whispered.
 
 [It’s already hopeless]
 
 [We’re all going to die]
 
 I had a flashback of old memories.
 
 In the rain, a corpse-less coffin being covered in earth.
 Worn out by torture, my father still desperately pleaing for my life to be spared.
 And then, those who were together with me till my final moments at the guillotine, my dear…
 
 
 [Letty!!]
 
 
 ——— those children, I could hear their voices.^[2]
 
 
 
 ”Coco! Mel!!”
 
 At the same time I shouted, those two flew out of the shoulder bag.
 
 ”Letty!”
 ”You’re late!!”
 
 Coco called my name, and Mel scolded me.
 
 ”Please! Help us!!”
 
 ””Of course!!””
 
 Shouting so at the same time, Coco and Mel whirled above my head.
 
 Beyond them.
 Falling from far above, was a black shadow clad in death.
 
 There was already fire glimmering in the mouths of all four flying dragons, and the flame in the lead dragon’s mouth had grown to dazzling proportions.
 
 And then, the fireball was released.
 
 Falling straight towards me, was a light of death.
 
 
 
 In my first life, those precious to me were snatched away for reasons I didn’t know, and I myself lost.
 
 In my second life^[3], by being just a little more honest and diving into them, I found out just how much I was loved by everyone.
 
 My father.
 And also my brothers.
 And also Anna and everyone at the workshop.
 
 I was loved by everyone.
 Those people, I don’t want to lose a single one of them!!
 
 ——— no, that’s wrong.
 I will [definitely] never lose anyone precious to me again!!!!
 
 I held out my left hand to the sky, and shouted with all my might.
 
 
 
 ”Coco! Mel! ——— [Absolute Defense]!!!!” ^[4]
 
 
 
 That, was the [key] to activate the magic circuit embedded in the teddy bears.
 
 In the next moment, the magic power was completely sucked out of my left hand.
 
 ”… Ugh!?”
 
 The vast magic power I possess.
 That magic power flowed into the air as though it was being dragged out, and went towards the two teddy bears.
 
 From the teddy bears’ both hands, a dazzling light shone.
 
 ””Absolute Defense!!!!””
 
 Above my head, a rainbow-coloured barrier spell spread out.
 
 There’s no limit to the speed at which magic power can be expended.
 The all-out magic power pressure and magic power flow rate that I put out bent light, and even bent the surrounding space.
 
 ”Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!!!!”
 
 Convulsing from the entirety of my magic power being dragged out, I screamed.
 
 ”Letty!!!!”
 
 ”Lettyyyyyy!!!!”
 
 Calling my name, were my brother and father.
 
 ——— it’s ok.
 If it’s for everyone’s sake, I can endure this.
 
 ”Aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!!!!”
 
 The thickness increased, of this rainbow-coloured defensive wall of magic power.
 There, the enemy’s flame ball rammed itself.
 
 Boom!!
 
 Boom!!
 
 Ba Boom!!!!
 
 White and red flashes burst overhead.
 
 The barrier spell surged with so much magic power, that the destructive energy scattered out into the surroundings.
 In the aftermath, one of the main castle’s walls was blown away.
 
 A preposterous power.
 But my [Absolute Defense] defended against all four flame balls.
 
 Having fired a full-bodied attack, yet having it defended against, the flying dragons changed direction right in front of my barrier and flew out northward.
 
 ”Coco, Mel, [Thanks]”
 
 The moment I uttered that keyword, the outflow of magic power from me stopped.
 
 ”Haah, haah, haah…”
 
 Sapped of my strength, I fell to my knees, using the magic rifle’s gunstock shoulder pad as a cane.
 
 ”Letty!!”
 
 ”Leticia!!!!”
 
 … somehow, I managed to hold on to them.^[5]
 
 With a sigh of relief, Graham-nii-sama and Otou-sama rushed over, and I fell into their arms just like that.
 

TL Notes:

[1]This doesn’t really make sense. Anyone who’s spent enough time too close to a fire would have noticed this, but hair is definitely the first thing to go, possibly even before cloth. It would’ve made sense to rather say, no bones were left to bury, or something like that. ↩

[2]Once again, we ask ourselves: does she have sentient stuffed toys, or has she gone crazy from one too many deaths? XD ↩

[3]second life in magic world, not the Earth dream life ↩

[4]que the OP stuff. Admittedly, they at least have a reason for her being able to pull this off, though this dues ex machina does still feel like a bit of a let-down. Luckily, this WN isn’t about the battles, so I suppose you could say the author just wants to jump to the good parts? Anyways, what I’m trying to say is, even though she’ll be showing us just how stereotypically OP she is as an MC in the next few scenes, this WN at least makes up for it in the areas it was designed for in the first place. ↩

[5]it’s a shame, but I couldn’t accurately translate this word. It reads literally as “I got to protect them” but as a whole it’s “I held onto them”. The former is what applies to the current situation as it is, while the latter is in reference to her declaration earlier that she absolutely won’t lose anyone again. ↩

 

am I being biased towards this story and author because I’m translating it?
 
Possibly.
 
Take the opinions I give on the quality of the work with a grain of salt.