Which suffering should I choose (Trails in the Sky FC og)

I'm playing this game for the first time and I picked hard but so far it has been a slog fighting enemies. I'm seriously reconsidering starting a new game or to suffer through hard mode. I'm already 5 hours into the game and getting through it again is kind of grueling, so:

Should I persevere in hard mode or drag myself through the prologue again? I may consider finishing it in hard mode if it gets easier but the dilemma I'm facing is making my breaks from the game longer and longer as much as I'd like to see why others love the story so much.