Mushoku Tensei (LN) - Volume 18 - Chapter 9.3

Second Witness Testimony

NAME: Kanaluna

PROFESSION: Warrior

ASSOCIATION WITH THE ACCUSED: Fellow night shift guard

“Miss Kanaluna,” I said, “what was Pursena like on the day of the incident?”

“She kept saying the same thing over and over. ‘I haven’t eaten anything since this morning. I’m starving.’”

So Pursena was famished on the day of the crime. That was awfully strange, given the Pursena I knew was always chowing down on something regardless of whether it was mealtime or not. She was like a garbage can, eating any kind of meat: dried, smoked, or raw.

Something seemed amiss here.

“And can you tell me why she hadn’t eaten?”

“When we were exterminating monsters the day before, there were a bunch of people who got injured,” she explained.

That had been written in the report as well; the day before, an enormous group of monsters had appeared. They were fortunate that no civilians were injured, but many of their warriors were badly hurt.

“Hm,” I said.

“Pursena is the only one in the village who can use advanced healing magic. She was running back and forth constantly trying to heal all those who’d been seriously hurt. In the end, she collapsed from lack of mana.”

I had experienced that myself before; when you ran dry, you passed out and didn’t wake for half a day, or even a whole day in some cases. Pursena was no exception. She must have passed out, and by the time she awoke, it was her turn for guard duty. From the sounds of things, she went straight to work without eating or drinking a thing.

“Couldn’t you guys have fed her or something?” I asked.

Kanaluna shook her head. “The rules are the rules.”

During the rainy season, any snacking or eating outside regular meal times was prohibited. They kept strict tabs on their provisions to ensure they didn’t run out before the three-month period was over.

“What about letting her skip out on duty for the day?”

“So many monsters attacked the day before that a good portion of our warriors were still bedridden. We didn’t have enough people. As much as we would have liked to let her rest, even she herself said, ‘It’s just a little hunger, nothing serious.’”

It made sense. She probably felt a sense of duty as the future matriarch. That was admirable. She’d be a shining example to my past lazy self who tried every excuse in the book to skip out on his obligations.

“And that’s what led to the incident,” I surmised.

“Correct. I keep thinking, if only I had found her something to eat back then, this might never have happened.”

The circumstances seemed to warrant an exception in this case for Pursena’s offense, but that would be difficult since the suspect in question still steadfastly claimed she hadn’t done it.