Translator: Skythewood
Editor: Hiiro
「── Is this the place?」
About two weeks after their last date, Elulufay and Greg took the day off at the same time, and visited the research lab built by Scientists on the outskirts of Norandot.
「Hmm? What’s the matter, Great Mother? Not going in?」
「Yes, I’m going in… I’m just thinking about how to explain our purpose of visit.」
Elulufay pondered at the door. Greg nodded in agreement.
「It’s a bit tough… Let’s start with idle chatter and work from there.」
「There’s no other choice. But I heard he is an eccentric man, what should we talk about── Hmm?」
She sensed a presence and turned around. Under the shade of a tree some distance away, a group of children were peeking at them timidly.
「... It’s strangers.」
「Are they also the Professor’s disciples?」
「So tall～」「Looks scary～」
She could hear their whispers. Elulufay was about to soothe them when the door suddenly opened.
「Welcome, thank you for coming, come on in──」
The man in a white coat who appeared── Bajin, turned stiff with his mouth wide open. Seeing the unfamiliar woman in uniform and a buff man much taller than him, he said something insane.
「── T-This is weird, the kids are getting really tall nowadays.」
「── Pardon the rudeness of my colleague.」
After welcoming the two visitors and the children into the lab, Nazuna served them tea and apologized. Greg bowed, and Elulufay accepted the tea with a smile.
「Thank you. I’m just getting thirsty, so this is a big help.」
「It’s rare seeing sailors here. Are you Major General Arkinex’s acquaintances?」
「Yes, we know each other, but he didn’t ask us to come.」
「Oh, is that so? Then who did?」
Nazuna asked in surprise. When Elulufay mentioned the dark-haired youth’s name, she opened her eyes wide.
「Huh! Ikuta asked you to come? What’s the story behind this...?」
「Actually, we were held prisoner in the Empire until recently. It’s a long story...」
「Prisoners… Oh, it’s fine if it’s not convenient to tell us. I see, you’re here to see Professor Anarai...」
At this point, Nazuna furrowed her brows. She glanced at the entrance and continued:
「Actually, the Professor isn’t in, and it’s not clear when he will return. I think he will be back tomorrow or the day after...」
「Hmm, I see. We came at the wrong time.」
After learning that the person they came to meet wasn’t in, Elulufay crossed her arms and looked at Greg. Shall we come next time?── She was about to speak when she saw Bajin and the children doing something at a large table. Intrigued by that, she asked:
「── Oh right, what are they doing?」
「Oh, that? He is teaching the children Science. We started classes recently, but it’s really popular. If it’s not too much trouble, would you like to take a look?」
Nazuna proposed kindly. As Elulufay and Greg watched on, Bajin explained to the children.
「── Okay, let’s revise a little. In the last experiment, I taught you the three states of matter. What are they?」
「Solid!」「Liquid!」「Gas～!」
「Good, you are correct. Well done, everyone.」
The children answered energetically, and Bajin praised them before continuing:
「Let’s talk about something else── has anyone seen a boat before?」
「No～」「No～」「I have!」「Me too! I boarded one with Dad last time!」
「I see, I see── then, have you seen a boat floating in liquid?」
「huh～? What’s that?」「It will sink.」「Bajin is saying weird things again～」
「It’s not weird～ we will be doing experiments about that today.」
Bajin said as he looked at the items on the table, then picked up a small item. It was a mini sailboat carved from wood.
「Oh, a boat.」「A small boat.」「How cute～」
「That’s right, it’s a boat. First, try putting it into this liquid.」
He placed the small boat into the glass container filled with liquid. But contrary to their expectations, the boat didn’t float, and sank down. The children frowned.
「... It sank.」「The boat didn’t float.」「How weird～」
「Hmm～ That’s right… what about here?」
Bajin used a spoon to scoop up the boat, washed it, then placed it in the liquid in a different glass container. They thought it would sink again, but it floated properly.
「Oh, it’s floating.」「The water has a different colour.」「Bajin, what’s this?」
「Well, actually── this is normal water, and the liquid earlier is oil.」
「Oil?」「... The thing used for cooking?」
「That’s right. This boat will float on water, but not on oil. The boat isn’t strange, it’s because the specific weight of these two liquids are different.」
Bajin continued explaining, then took out another glass bottle and placed it before him.
「By using this difference, we can accomplish interesting things. First, we will pour in water, and to make things obvious, we will add dye.」
Bajin mixed in half a spoon of dye to make the water blue, then poured it into the bottle. He stopped when it was about half full, then picked up another container.
「And now, we add in oil on top of the water. But we will be doing it with a small spoon gently...」
「They will mix together, you know?」
「Don’t worry. If we patiently add slowly...」
He used tenfold the time to carefully add oil into the glass bottle. On top of the blue water was a layer of transparent oil.
「... Oh!」「... Amazing!」「It didn’t mix, it’s separate～!」
「That’s right, when the specific weights are different, the liquid will separate into layers. And now── we will put the small boat into this bottle...」
Bajin put down the bottle of oil, then used a pincer to put the mini sailboat into the bottle. He released the pincer mid way through the layer of oil, and the boat sank right onto the border between the two liquids── it sank through the oil and was floating on the water.
「── And now, a boat floating on liquid is complete!」
「「「「Oh──!」」」」
The excited children shouted. Bajin smiled at their reaction and started moving.
「I will now distribute the same materials and tools. Try to do this by yourselves.」
He picked up a box under the table and handed out the tools inside. Nazuna who had been watching all this while turned to Elulufay and Greg.
「It looks fun, right? Want to join us?」
She took two portions of equipment from Bajin, then placed it on the table and said. Elulufay snorted.
「... It might be inside a bottle, but asking a sailor to make a boat float is a challenge we can’t back away from. Let’s give it a try, Greg.」
「If you say so, Elulufay.」
Greg nodded and walked towards the table with her. They started by putting the mini sailboat together. They listened to Bajin’s explanation, and got to work along with the troubled children.
「Ah, it’s mixed together...」「The boat sank! Why～?」
It could be done by following the instructions, but it was still difficult for children trying it out for the first time. They failed in all sorts of creative ways, while Elulufay and Greg swiftly completed the work.
「... Hmm, is this it?」
「Oh! It’s floating. As expected of the navy, boats are your expertise.」
Bajin who came to check on them cheered at their outstanding performance, then turned to the children.
「If you don’t mind, can you teach the other children? I have my hands tied checking around.」
Bajin said with an awkward smile. Elulufay nodded with a smile.
「Haha── got it, we will take on this mission… First, that kid over there. I understand the feeling of wanting to float a big boat, but aren’t you too greedy?」
「Ugh～ it’s not floating...」
「It’s fine, let’s pick it up to change it. Don’t worry, it will work if we do it together.」
「... Hmm～...」
「Hey, if you keep sniffling, that man will eat you up.」
「... Yeek? Scary～!」
Elulufay’s gentle instructions paired with Greg’s mean mug got the stubborn children to work. And so, the two of them took care of the children with Nazuna and Bajin.
「── Yay, it’s floating! Hey look, look!」
The boat of the sixth person floated an hour after they started. Their work stopped several times because of the whimsical mood of the children, but Elulufay accompanied them without any complaint. She had the same smile as when she first started.
「Yes, well done. It’s a majestic boat, and will surely be swift.」
「Elulufay, come here, here!」 「How sly, it’s my turn! Look at my boat!」
「Yes yes, I will be right there. So, what kind of boat did you make? I’m looking forward to it～」
She spoke gently and warmly, and would listen to them patiently, so she was more popular with the children than Bajin. When the rush subsided, Nazuna who was also taking care of the children said with a wry smile.
「Thank you for the help… We have a huge crowd today, so you have been a big help.」
「No, I enjoyed myself too. I still don’t know what Science is… but this is a good activity, and I will be happy to join in any time.」
「Please join us again, we conduct lessons rather frequently… But I’m surprised, Tenerexilla-san feels more like a nanny or teacher than a soldier.」
「Haha── suitability aside, I simply like the idea of raising children… Because my greatest wish is to not send the people I care for into the battlefield.」
She shared her feelings quietly. Sensing the struggles in her words, Nazuna probed:
「... This is a little rude, but did Ikuta said something to you about that?」
「Oh, I’m surprised that you can tell. He did said sternly that I will be crushed in despair if I go on like this.」
「... He said that?」
When she learned that fact, Nazuna thought about the intention of her junior disciple who introduced this woman to this place. On the other hand, Greg was tending to the kids as he observed them from the corner of his eye.
「──Hmm? Didn’t you finish long ago, little girl?」
「I want to do it again! Please wait, scary man!」
「That last part is unnecessary. Let me see… you put a lot of effort into the boat, huh?」
「Ahaha, Kasha always do her best.」
The other children already finished, but a girl continued working at a corner of the table. Bajin and the other children treated this as a common sight, as the girl put a boat together with amazing concentration.
「Yes, this will do! Next will be putting the boat in gently...」
Her hand holding the pincers was shaking a little. The boat slowly sank into the oil── when it reached the boundary with the water, the boat she carefully made stopped at that position.
「... Yay! It’s floating! Everyone, come and see!」
The girl shouted loudly to get everyone over. Elulufay and the children got closer and opened their eyes wide.
「This is...」
On the mini boat floating between the water and oil, there were two people. She took a lot of time to sculpt the figures, so even their clothes and hairstyle could be seen. One of them was the girl herself, but the other one was the problem── the white hair and dark green clothes resembled a certain person.
「Fufu, this is a masterpiece! With this, Jean will cheer up too!」
「Oh, so it really is him── Do you know Jean well?」
「Ah, you too, big sister? Then you should know that Jean is feeling down, right?」
「Hmm… It has been a while since I last saw him.」
Elulufay answered vaguely. She didn’t know how the white-haired officer was doing recently. The girl hung her head and continued.
「I wrote him a letter and received a reply. He… wrote something strange.」
「Strange?」
「Yes, something about...『Don’t be like me』.」
The Great Mother of White Wings opened her eyes wide open. That wasn’t something Jean Arkinex would say to his junior. The girl seemed to feel the same way.
「It’s the first time he wrote something like that. Jean must be tired.」
「......」
「So I want to cheer him up. Will him cheer up if I give this to him?」
The girl picked up the bottle with a smile. Elulufay narrowed her eyes at the bottle and nodded:
「... You are really kind. I’m sure Jean will be happy to receive it.」
「Yes!」
The girl answered energetically. The experiment ended on that note, so Bajin and the children started cleaning up. Elulufay naturally went to help, and Nazuna quietly stood beside her.
「Tenerexilla-san, if you have time… Why don’t we chat? We might not be as good as the Professor… But if you are fine with us...」
She looked right at Elulufay and suggested. Elulufay thought about it, then nodded in agreement. She signalled to Greg with a gaze, then faced Nazuna and said to her:
「I should be the one asking for your assistance… Even Jean is wavering, so I won’t last if I ignore this feeling of mine.」
The Great Mother of White Wings said with premonition in her heart── It was time for something deep within her to change.
Chapter 3: What the Heart Yearns
The Empress spent her days without much division between private and official matters. Even when she returned to the inner palace after finishing her work, the various national problems would still weigh on her mind. Being mentally prepared to deal with any problems no matter night or day was the style of Chamille Kitra Katjvanmaninik.
「......」「......」
But there were times for her to relax. That was when no one else was watching during the times she spent with the dark-haired youth.
「.. Solork.」
「Hmm?」
Hearing his name, the youth seated in a chair beside her lifted his head out of his book. His dark eyes were as gentle as ever.
「Nothing… I just want to say your name.」
「I see.」
The youth nodded lightly and patted the girl’s head. Chamille closed her eyes and felt the gentle caress of his fingers── she no longer feared this amount of intimacy.
And of course, this change didn’t happen overnight. Ikuta and her spent a lot of time together and spoke a lot, and embraced her with his warm arms── the accumulation of countless interactions gradually melted the heart of the girl. He spent a lot of time to convey his unwavering love to her, and for her to enjoy this love.
「......」
What the old sage told her at the Three Nation Conference also pushed her… Yatorishino Igsem loved her just like Ikuta. The thing she could never think up by herself pushed Chamille to lean on the dark-haired youth, and acknowledge the existence of the vermillion-haired girl beside him.
This was a tranquil place that Chamille never had. The unquestionable love made it clear he wanted her to be here.
「... Ah──」
The more self conscious she was, the harder it was to believe… She shouldn’t receive such happiness. She shouldn’t── but she was too guilty to push it away.
「... Hmm...」
The youth was like the sun to her, and the girl basked in this happiness. At the same time, she believed firmly that her reckoning would come. The day when the corrupted bloodline ends, and all the accumulated sins were accounted for.
「......」
Ikuta also knew what the girl was thinking. No── it would be more accurate to say that he was always keeping track. How Chamille’s mentality was changing, and in what way? Learning that change was his most important mission.
His effort bore fruit. She received Ikuta’s love, got a friend in Vackie, and she changed a lot. However── it wasn’t enough to waver her resolve regarding her life. She was still yearning for her destruction. She still believed that was the fitting end for a descendant of the Eternal Sprite Tree bloodline.
「...Ugh...」
There was still around a year before the final battle… Even with Ikuta’s capability, it was too short to save the soul of the girl.
「.. Solork?」
The youth put down his book and turned to Chamille and embraced her. He did this as he repeated the vow for the uncountable times in his mind── I will save her. He would bet his feelings, the emotions of the vermillion-haired girl before her death, and everything in his heart.
「......」「────」
They embraced in the quiet room── and made contradictory resolve in their hearts.
＊
There was a long queue under the scorching sun, and everyone was holding a sack tightly, waiting hungrily for their turn.
「── Don’t rush and queue up! There is no need to hurry, everyone will get a share!」
At the front of the line, soldiers were taking the sacks and pouring wheat in. The one in charge was Senpa Sazarf. He and his unit were in the south of the Central Empire, giving aid to the impoverished citizens.
「I never thought a sudden distribution will draw such a crowd...」
「This seems to be the result of the price surge of crops. With news of the looming final battle with Kioka, there are a lot of hoarders...」
His adjutant Melza analyzed as she watched the impoverished citizens with a pained face. Sazarf sighed, he heard the same thing a few days ago.
「I know that… But can’t we solve that by banning this a few times?」
「It’s an economical problem… Given the instability of the world, the flow of money and resources is getting unstable too. In the end, aside from distributing food like this to deal with the symptoms, there isn’t much soldiers like us can do.」
After glancing at his adjutant showing a vexed face, Sazarf said quietly:
「... That’s true. What we can do is to end the war quickly and usher in world peace.」
He said casually, which made Melza stare at her superior officer with eyes wide open.
「──」
「W-Why are you staring at me like that, Lieutenant Colonel Melza. Did I say something strange?」
The sudden gaze made the man panic, but Melza shook her head before him.
「... I’m surprised because it’s not strange. Ending the war and world peace── I never thought I will hear such manly words from Brigadier General Sazarf.」
Ugh, Sazarf was at a loss for words. He averted his gaze awkwardly, and Melza went around to his front with a wry smile.
「Don’t make such a face, I’m impressed. Can I take it that… You’re finally aware of your position as a General?」
「... That’s hard to say. I still don’t get what kind of actions are befitting for a General. I can’t imagine conducting myself like General Remeon or General Shiba.」
He stated his true feelings. He had always felt troubled that compared to the aforementioned Generals, he lacked the dignity of the brass. He switched to a cigar because of that too. Sensing Sazarf’s uneasiness and willingness to improve, Melza advised him in her own way.
「It’s fine not to use them as your goal. Can’t you use other people as reference. Like Field Marshal Solork or others.」
「He’s the one guy I can’t use as a model… Regrettably, I can’t think of any General that I can aspire to be like. But I do know one negative example.」
「Negative example, huh?」
Melza was intrigued by his rare use of that term and asked. Sazarf nodded:
「That’s right, I won’t turn out like him no matter how hard I fall. However, he’s already dead──」
Before he could finish, suddenly── some distance away from him, a man who finally got his turn to get food from the soldiers locked eyes with Sazarf.
「......!」
That man immediately looked away. He pulled up his tattered shirt to cover his face and stood still with his head low. He was overreacting for just meeting Sazarf’s eyes, which made Sazarf tilt his head in confusion.
「... Hmm?」
「What is it, Brigadier General?」
「... Nothing...」
Bothered by that, Sazarf stared at that man. A while later, the man took back his sack from the soldier, as if he couldn’t take the pressure any longer.
「T-That’s enough.」
「Hey, wait! It’s just half full──」
With no regards for the soldier stopping him, the man turned and left in quick steps── but at the moment he turned, Sazarf caught a glimpse of the face under the shirt.
「──Lieutenant General Safida?」
He thought it was impossible and shouted that name in relex. Suddenly── that man’s back jumped as if he was whipped.
「U… Uwah!」
The man suddenly sprinted at full speed. His suspicion turned into certainty at that reaction, and Sazarf leaned forth with a start.
「Wait...! Seize that man! Quickly!」
The bodies of the soldiers and citizens were obstacles stopping him from chasing directly, so he ordered his men to do so. The troops were confused by the sudden order, but those who understood his intent still ran forth.
「Wait!」「Sorry, passing through...!」「Stop right there! That man over there, halt～!」
But when they started taking action, that man had mixed into the crowd. The soldiers couldn’t give chase through the crowd properly, and stopped after losing sight of the man. A few minutes later, they returned to Sazarf and reported:
「My apologies, we lost him...!」「He blended into the crowd of impoverished citizens...!」
Sazarf grit his teeth. He shouted with an intimidating face:
「Don’t stop here, tell the troops to spread out! He couldn’t have gone far!」
「B-Brigadier General? Please wait, do you want to stop the hand outs?」
Melza restrained him in her role as an adjutant, since this was as good as abandoning an ongoing mission. Sazarf turned stiff.
「... Tch...!」
If he thought about it calmly, this was obvious. Without clear instructions, the organization couldn’t swiftly switch from their distribution duties into a tracking mission. And sending a large group to search would deviate from their current mission.
Sazarf rewrote the orders in his mind as he glared in the direction where that man ran off to. He might be long gone, but the face he saw for an instant lingered on his mind.
「──Lieutenant General Safida is still alive?」
Ikuta was surprised when he heard that report through the Sprite. He never expected to hear that name.
「No, pardon me, It should be Private Safida now… After the Northern Unrest, he should have been executed after getting sentenced in a court martial. Did you really see him?」
「I won’t forget his face even if I forget my parents! He should still be around here! Please allow me to send the main forces here to search!」
Sazarf’s anxiety was clear even through the Sprite. Ikuta sensed Sazarf was losing his cool and asked.
「Please calm down, Brigadier General Sazarf… I want to check a few things. Is the suspected Private Safida armed?」
「...? No, he appears to be unarmed...」
「Any signs of his companions? Is he moving as an organization, are there any signs of a conspiracy?」
「...... No...」
Sazarf’s voice sounded puzzled whenever the youth confirmed something with him. The dark-haired youth knew it was harsh, but he said firmly:
「In that case, even if that man really is Private Safida, I can’t permit a large scale search at this point.」
「B-But why?」
「Because it is pointless strategically. Sending out search parties will delay the progress of the current mission. We can’t make up for the losses even if we capture Private Safida… We don’t have much time until the final battle. I want you to complete the food distribution on schedule and return to base as soon as possible, Brigadier General.」
「......!」
Sazarf couldn’t find the words to refuse what Ikuta said as the top commander of the Army. There was a time limit before the final battle, and the main reason for this food distribution was for Sazarf to build up experience in commanding a brigade. There was still tons of work waiting for Sazarf but on base, so his superior would obviously halt the search.
「I will question the person in charge back then about the chances of Private Safida still being alive. How many people did you send out to search?」
「... One cavalry platoon and one infantry platoon...」
「When did you order the search?」
「... About an hour ago...」
Since the cavalry was dispatched and such a long time had passed, it meant they had lost track of the target. With no chance of solving the problem immediately, he couldn’t permit sending more people out.
「Don’t send any more troops. Execute the distribution as planned, and return on the scheduled date… I will be counting on you to continue the mission.」
Sazarf didn’t refute── a while later, Ikuta silently ended the call.
The cavalry kicked up a dust storm when they ran past. In the lowlands covered by grass, someone was watching intensely.
「... How is it?」
「... A lot of riders just went by. I don’t think they saw us.」
A childish voice came from the depression. When the sound of the cavalry faded away, the short figures got up one by one.
「That seems to be the case. Isn’t that great, old man.」
「... Ugh...」
It was a group of young children holding sacks. There was also a shivering middle aged man squatting by their feet. He had a medium built, and wore ragged clothes. He was the former commander of the Northern Stronghold who had slimmed down a lot, Tamshiikushik Safida.
「By the way… Tell us earlier if you are wanted by the army. If I knew, I wouldn’t have asked you to collect the hand outs.」
The oldest girl who was the boss of the children muttered. The other children crowded around Safida.
「Hey～ What kind of trouble did you make?」 「Murder? Banditry?」 「Old man, you are actually a terrible villain, right?」
The children kept asking questions without any malicious intent. He glanced at them as the boss girl peeked into the sack Safida brought back.
「There’s only half the expected amount of wheat…? Well, you did well not dropping the sack. Good work, old man.」
She said as she patted the shoulder of the man squatting down. Safida realized that the danger had passed, and he looked up timidly.
「Alright, let’s go back! The old man will rest one time! You guys, carry back the stuff!」
「Yay～!」「Got it～!」「Food～! Go back and eat～!」
The children yelled energetically. As if he was drawn by their enthusiasm, the man got up unsteadily from the depression.
──Safida couldn’t really remember how he got into this situation.
His memory after being sentenced to death in court martial was a blur. The only thing he remembered was the fear he felt when he was sentenced to death by gunfire as a class one war criminal.
He spent his days in jail fearfully. The execution date wasn’t told to the criminal, so he would spend each day worrying if it would be his last. Whenever the prison warden sent him food, he would fear their footsteps, squatting on the floor and pray that the warden wouldn’t take him away.
He couldn’t remember how much time passed when a strange thing happened. The presence of the prison wardens disappeared. No food came no matter how long he waited, and he didn’t get any response even if he shouts. In the one man prison cell, Safida thought── this is his only chance to break out of prison.
He kicked the iron bars with all his might. The bars wouldn’t break with just that, but the one man cell for class one war criminals had not been used for a long time, and some places that couldn’t be seen had deteriorated badly. So Safida kicked the bars for two days and two nights, and barely made a gap for one person to squeeze through. His old physique wouldn’t have fitted, but he had grown thin during his time in prison.
He made it above ground, and found two factions had made the base fall into chaos. The Imperial soldiers had split into two groups and faced off against each other, the base had lost control, and no one suspected that he broke out of prison. He learned a long time later that this was the result of the Remeon faction’s military coup.
Anyway, Safida used this chance to break out of prison. With nowhere to go, he started wandering.
＊
「... Is the information accurate?」
Inside an office in the palace. Ikuta perused the documents on his desk and listened to the report. Yorga nodded.
「On your request, General Remeon confirmed things with the wardens at that time… They colluded their testimonies to pretend that the execution had been done. So it’s true that Private Safida broke out of prison during the chaos of the civil war.」
He stated the facts he had sorted out. The dark-haired youth sighed.
「And he had been hiding all this while? … It’s possible. The Northern Territories aside, not many people know the face of the former commander of the Northern Stronghold.」
「I don’t know that person, but is he a dangerous man that can’t be left alone?」
They couldn’t ignore it if that was so. Yorga asked with worry, and Ikuta shook his head.
「He might hate the people related to his downfall like Brigadier General Sazarf and me, but he is not a threat. He already lost his network, and lacked the leadership to do anything big. At best, he can just hide his identity and erk out a living. Hence, the problem is that Brigadier General Sazarf found him...」
He was hesitant to continue when Kusu gave an incoming call notification. The youth thought about his explanation as he picked up the call.
「... This is Solork.」
「Sazarf here. Have you found any clues regarding the matters about Private Safida?」
He asked stiffly right off the bat. Ikuta didn’t beat around the bush and answered:
「... Yes. Starting from the conclusion, there is a good chance that the person you saw is Tamshiikushik Safida.」
「── As I thought!」
「It seems that he broke out of prison during the civil war, and the wardens back then colluded to lie.」
After Ikuta said that, Sazarf asked with a resolved tone:
「Field Marshal Sir… I know I’m repeating myself, but can you increase the number of people conducting the search?」
「... I know how you feel, but expediting the capture of Private Safida is inconsequential. That place is filled with people of dubious origins, and the terrain is suitable for hiding. Even if we mobilize all the men or search for witnesses steadily, this can’t be done in a just a day or two.」
「I know that very well. So, it will be fine even if it’s on the day my mission here ends, please send in a battalion to join the search. I will make arrangement to complete the distribution on schedule and return to base without delay.」
Ikuta was troubled about how to answer. It wasn’t impossible, but this plan was very reckless, so he couldn’t accept this easily.
However── Before he could answer, Sazarf suddenly stopped using honorifics.
「... Hey, a lot of people died in the war, right.」
「... Yes.」
「There are many of them we didn’t wish would die… But contrary to our wishes, they will keep on dying, that’s the reality of war. I’m a soldier too, so I can accept that much.」
Ikuta nodded firmly. In the Northern Unrest, the naval battle, and the coup── they witnessed this reality countless times until it was branded into their eyelids. However, that was why…
「However, people like this always die first, while those who should be dead will somehow survive── I can’t accept that. Isn’t this a nightmare?」
That was why Sazarf drew the line he wouldn’t back down from. Both the good guys and the bad people would die indiscriminately── that was the reality of the battlefield he could accept. For the soldier Senpa Sazarf, this was the only pride he would not let go off.
「My dead subordinates won’t come back, so I want to make up for their deaths. I believe this to be the only way to mourn them, and had worked hard until this day.」
「......」
「So── please, First Lieutenant Ikuta.」
He pleaded with his comrade from the northern unrest, instead of the Imperial Field Marshal. Since he went that far── the dark-haired youth couldn’t think of any answer beside giving his consent.
＊
──Where did I go wrong?
After he broke out of prison and started wandering, Tamshiikushik Safida often thought about that. He couldn’t find the answer. He just had a vague impression that he made a fatal mistake at a certain juncture.
He had a powerful backing all his life. His Safida house’s relation with nobles had always been like this, and anything that could be called a trial was cleared away with the power of his privilege. When he was a child, he could get whatever he wanted, and anything he found to be an eye sore was taken out of view. He only realized a long time later that was a special privilege.
When he grew old enough to read, he got interested in war stories and lost himself in them. The cool images of the soldiers and the exploits of heroes made him forget the time. How much of the records were fact, and how much of it was fiction── that didn’t matter to him back then. He took for granted that he would be a hero in the future too. It wasn’t a wish, but a certainty for him. He never considered the possibility of him failing to become a hero. He lacked the experience of being denied things he wanted while growing up.
During dinner one night, he casually told his parents that he wanted to be a soldier, and his parents swiftly paved the path for him. To them, getting a noble as a backer was normal when they did something, and this was done in a way beyond his expectations. In order to keep the nobles' influence in the military, they needed more soldiers with collars around their necks.
And so, without him knowing, Tamshiikushik Safida’s dream didn’t belong to him alone, and became a major project holding the schemes of many nobles.
Because of the excellent education environment prepared by his wealthy parents, he was smart compared to his peers. But if his goal was to pass the Officer Cadet School exams, it wasn’t enough.
When he was studying to pass the exam, he ran into a wall for the first time in his life. He realized that it wasn’t easy to win against the numerous aspirants within the nation.
However, that drove him to work harder instead. The soldiers in the stories all overcome adversaries to greatness, and he felt he could accomplish the same thing. This exam was his first battle. He motivated himself this way to study── and put in a lot of effort too. If it was just the written exam, it wouldn’t be strange if his academic abilities reached the minimum standard.
The first exam soon arrived, and he faced it with strong tension. The thought of everything he had worked for so far was being tested, his hand started to shake. He persevered through force of will to fill in the answer sheet. He ripped through a few sheets of paper because he used too much force, but he displayed all the efforts he had accumulated so far. He passed the first selection splendidly, and progressed to the second practical stage.
However, the problems started here. Unlike the first selection where he faced the questions one on one, the second selection required coordination between the aspirants and how they competed with each other, testing for abilities different from the first selection. And of course, Safida also trained for this. Although he made preparations, the 「training partner」 arranged by his parents didn’t argue with him seriously or tried to ostracise him, and treated him adequately because of the difference of their status. Without realizing that, Safida went into the actual exam with other blood thirsty competitors.
The results were terrible. He had a difference of opinions with his teammates, and didn’t dare to stand his ground to the very end. He failed to gain the initiative of any discussions, and was toyed around. His team also fell repeatedly for the tricks of their opponents, and they were almost wiped out. His opponents back then were the future famous generals, Solvenares Igsem and Terushinha Remeon, so another factor was that he was just unlucky.
When he returned home after the exam, he didn’t say anything to his parents who welcomed him, then hid in his room and cried the whole night. For the youth who had never known failure, the shock of his first defeat was too great. The gulf between his ideal and his current state made him furious, and he shut himself in his room without eating or drinking for several days. He needed time to get his emotions in order.
── Suddenly, his parents shouted joyously outside his room.
His parents knocked on the door of the son who had not shown his face for days and said── Cheer up, Tamshiikushik, your acceptance notification has arrived. You are amazing, and will definitely become a general──
He rushed out of his room, snatched the acceptance letter and stared at it. When he saw his name on it── he didn’t feel joy or surprise, just a strong sense of dissonance. He was holding something he always wanted, but it was also critically different.
In any case, Tamshiikushik Safida started his career as a military officer. He didn’t suffer any setbacks or frustration── everything happened according to his expectations.
「──old man. Hey, old man.」
He snapped back to reality. The man was immersed in his past, and returned to the present when he was called.
「W-What is it?」
「Your hands aren’t moving. You have to finish all that by evening, you know?」
When he heard that, Safida looked at his hands. In the rundown room with a low ceiling, he was using a crate as a makeshift table, and working with the light of a Luminous Sprite. He remembered when he saw the pile of notes stacked up to his right.
「Y-Yes… That’s right...」
「I’m counting on you～ The money you earn is important, old man── Ok, settled.」
The girl fixed the hole in the ceiling, then walked over to look over Safida’s shoulder. She then groaned a few seconds later.
「Uwah, just looking at that makes my head spin… Old man, you are amazing to handle so many words and numbers in one day.」
「No, I’m not doing much… I was educated, anyone can do this...」
「Is that so? We can write too, but we can’t write such a long essay. I want to be educated too～ it seems tough, but I can do all sorts of things after learning that, right?」
The girl said as she wielded a rusty hammer to repair the crack in the wall. I’m amazed we can live here. Safida thought as he watched her. No, can this be called a house? The walls and ceilings were just makeshift planks, and the floor was a thin straw mat. Unlike the children, Safida had to kneel inside the house since the ceiling was too low.
「I want to find proper work── I don't want to make a living by stealing or robbing anymore. It might be easier if things go well, but we often fail and our comrades get injured. I got beaten before too── Look.」
The girl then pulled up her shirt to show a painful bruise on the side of her belly. Safida frowned. This was an injury from being kicked really hard several times.
「We only have herbs we can gather, and we can’t visit the doctors, so we will die if we get a grave injury～」
「......」
「Like I said, I want to earn money properly. Then we can get food, and we can live if we eat. Good things will come if we are alive. Right, old man?」
His room mate patted his shoulder, and started repairing the house again. Safida glanced at her back and thought about what she just said.
「... If we are alive, huh?」
＊
「──Hmm? L-Lieutenant Colonel Melza, aren’t you staying?」
Inside the large tent set up in the wild, First Lieutenant Metrache Lance who was suddenly tasked with continuing the mission asked her Superior. Melza sighed.
「I wanted to do so, but the situation has changed. I will leave this place to you, so continue the distribution as planned before we come back. Any questions?」
「W-When will you be back?」
「Three days in the latest. I will leave my partner behind, so use it to contact us in an emergency. Any other questions?」
「Erm, well...」
Metrache looked anxious. She was working peacefully beside Melza, and felt uneasy when she was entrusted with command of the site. Realizing how she felt, Melza grabbed her shoulders firmly.
「Straighten your back, First Lieutenant Lance. You can easily assume command over a site of this level, just what is troubling you?」
Metrache held her breath. Her superior officer stared right at her, wiping away her urge to rely on Melza.
「...! Yes Mdm, I have received my orders.」
Metrache saluted with the serious face of a soldier. Melza nodded with satisfaction, then turned to her superior who was on the other side of the tent.
「Sorry for the wait, Brigadier General Sazarf. The handing over of command is complete, we can go at any time.」
She said to her superior who was staring at the map on the table. Sazarf raised his gaze slightly.
「Yes… But I’m surprised. Since I’m going, I thought you will stay here.」
That made Melza furrowed her brows.
「...I see. So you think you’ll be fine staying by yourself?」
「... Huh?」
「Never mind, this made it clear to me that my judgement is on point── time is precious, let’s quickly formulate the plan.」
She ended the conversation and looked at the map. It was already marked with the settlements nearby which were potential targets.
「The time limit is three days. Even if we send out the cavalry, searching mindlessly will likely lead to failure. We need to narrow the search area. Brigadier General, do you have any plans?」
When his adjutant asked him that, Sazarf nodded.
「... From how he looked when I saw him, I don’t think he is living a normal life. He must have forged his identity, and a suspicious person like that can only work temp jobs at best.」
「In that case… He might be a beggar digging through trash.」
「Yes, there are limited places where he can survive. Places with larger populations── But just a larger village won’t do. For a suspicious person to gain employment, it has to be a somewhat prosperous town.」
He looked at the map with his speculation in mind. The search area they should focus on naturally appeared.
「There are limited places that match that criteria within walking distance from here. Even if we check in order from the closest town… Three days should be more than enough.」
「I have no objections. Should we split the units to the potential places?」
「No, to avoid any lapses, I want to sweep each place thoroughly. This might sound inefficient to you, but let’s move as a group this time.」
「Understood── the first destination should be here then. Let’s go.」
They nodded at each other and left the large tent. They started their search for Tamshiikushik Safida under this strict time limit.
＊
When Safida joined the military as an Officer Cadet, the war between the Empire and Kioka was deteriorating. The main reason was the failure in diplomacy instead of strategy.
Skirmishes occurred frequently at the borders, and it was common for them to grow into small scale battles. Back then, the cabinet often orders the military to 「recover the lost territories in the name of the Emperor」, demanding the army to recover lands that didn’t matter much strategically. Kioka exploited that stubbornness to bleed the Imperial Army’s resources in the long term. In the end, their offensive campaign turned into the defensive, and the Imperial Army always suffered greater losses than the enemy.
However, Safida wasn’t too pessimistic. He thought the Empire still had national power to spare, and the more battles there were, the more chances soldiers could earn merits. The defeat during the Officer Cadet School Exams left a wound on him, and made him yearn for accomplishment. It wasn’t just to boost his reputation, this was also a way to get him closer to his ideal image of a soldier.
And as expected, he was deployed to live combat shortly after his commission── however, it wasn’t an intense battle, with both sides shooting from afar, a small scale skirmish to keep each other in check. During situations like this, both sides would deploy as many troops as possible to pressure the other side, so they would gather inexperienced junior officers to make up the numbers. Keeping the soldiers in formation on the move, deploying in line formation according to the books and firing at the target── just that standard was good enough.
It might look like a farce in some ways, but it was still a war. Safida was very eager. Since it was the battlefield where the enemy was, he would have a chance to perform too. The officers from his batch all looked nervous because of their first battle, but he was the only one with eyes filled with expectations.
However, something strange happened during the march── only his platoon was ordered to deviate from the assigned route, and forced to stand by indefinitely in a corner of the battle line. Safida protested. That place was far from the main battlefield, and there wouldn’t even be a skirmish happening there. But his protest was rejected, and Safida’s unit was stationed outside the battlefield. The irrational treatment made him frustrated and anxious── he wondered if his failure during the exams caused him to lose the opportunity to fight properly.
The order Safida found unfathomable kept him safe from danger. That was because the battle line which was meant to keep both sides in check could be ignored at any time. The Kioka army used that lapse in mentality to launch an attack. The unprepared Imperial forces suffered heavy losses, and when the frontline commander was killed in action, they had to engage with their command structure in a mess. It wasn’t as bad as the quagmire of the Northern Unrest, but it was still a terrible loss that left its mark in Imperial history.
From the big picture, they simply fell for the Kioka army’s scheme for this battle. But with a closer look, this had a different significance. Because── three soldiers performed admirably during this terrible battle, and became famous generals.
Two of them were the aforementioned Solvenares Igsem and Terushinha Remeon. With higher ranking officers just watching from the side, they used their unique talents to open a path to safety. As the descendents of 「Igsem of the blade」 and 「Remeon of the gun」, great things were expected of them when they entered the army, but their debut battle was incredible. However── They were just young Second Lieutenants back then, and couldn’t comment on the battle as a whole. The situation was worsening by the day.
At the same time, a certain unit deployed behind the frontlines for a different reason was being mustered. It was deployed in the back for a simple reason, because their commander had terrible results during training, so he was assigned to manage the backline. They were nominally set as a reserve unit for this battle, so when the main forces were in trouble, they were mobilized since having them as reinforcement was better than nothing.
The commander was Bada Sankrei, a Second Lieutenant back then. His unsoldierly behaviour made people roll their eyes, and his comrades scornfully call him a day time lantern── Later in the battle, his proposal allowed several thousand soldiers to retreat to safety, and was celebrated as a major accomplishment in Imperial history.
On the other hand, Safida wasn’t aware of anything. From the beginning to the end, his unit wasn’t involved in the battle. He was cut off from the front, and when the enemy’s advances turned dangerous, he received orders to retreat to Central. He carried that order out in confusion. He was eager to fight, but he wasn’t told about what happened in the frontlines.
Soon after, the war that gave birth to three heroes ended, and to maintain the facade before the citizens, the cabinet was eager to honor those with meritorious actions. Solvenares Igsem, Terushinha Remeon and Bada Sankrei received medals, and their accomplishments push them up the ranks swiftly.
In the award ceremony that Safida was attending, he watched with gritted teeth at those hailed as heroes from his generation. He was vexed── why were they the only ones to perform? Why didn’t I get a chance? I can fight too. If I go into the battlefield with them, I can stand up there too.
When his heart was filled with frustration── someone called his name. 「Second Lieutenant Tamshiikushik Safida, come up to the stage.」
Safida didn’t understand why he was called. He walked up on stage, showered by the dubious gaze of his colleagues. The senior officer who just gave medals to Bada’s trio walked over timidly and said to him with a smile── 「in honour of your valiant battle, I will now award you a medal in recognition of your efforts.」
Ignoring the surprised Safida, the senior officer put a medal onto his uniform before turning to the audience to explain── the performance of the three aforementioned officers were obvious, but they shouldn’t forget the hero behind the scene. His unit was deployed away from the main battlefield, but they stopped a Kioka detachment attempting to flank the main unit. If he didn’t block the enemy’s advances, the allied forces would have suffered incalculable losses.
The senior officer fluently stated something Safida heard for the first time. His colleagues looked at him with a mixture of suspicion and bafflement, and he felt the same dissonance when his parents told him he passed the Officer Cadet School Exams── That feeling sent a chill from his toes to his head, and made him realize something.
He realized that he wasn’t standing here by his own merits, but brought here by a great, unknown power──
「── man. Hey, old man, don’t daze off.」
Safida stood stiffly while staring into space, so the girl kicked his leg from behind.
「The head worker will yell at you if you stop again. We can’t get paper work today, so we have to take this job.」
「Y-Yes...」
When he heard that, he remembered his current situation. He couldn’t find work that made use of his high level of education, so he had to do temp work to dismantle a house. Feeling the gazes of the other workers, Safida swung his borrowed mallet in a panic.
「... Ughh...」
But he felt a sharp pain in his waist when his mallet struck, freezing him right there. The girl rushed to him when she realized that.
「What is it, your waist hurts again? Really now.」
The girl lent a shoulder to Safida and brought him to a corner of the worksite. After sitting him down, the girl turned around.
「I will give an excuse to the head worker, so come back as soon as you can. There are human traffickers lurking around our shelter recently, so I want to go back early.」
She returned to work right after saying that. Safida was impressed by her attitude again. Dismantling a house was a laborious job, but the girl worked around the workers, bringing them tools and making footholds. Work proceeded smoothly when she was around, and she was a big help.
「... Hey, why are you taking care of me?」
Safida endured the pain in his waist and went back to work, and dusk finally came after being shouted at all day. The two of them walked side by side back to their shelter, and he suddenly asked the girl.
「Hmm? Why? It’s better to have more comrades, and our income will be more stable.」
「... Then, why did you let me join? Considering your safety, you shouldn’t approach adults from dubious backgrounds.」
Safida said, realizing he didn’t even tell her his name. Hmm～ the girl groaned as she scratched her cheek.
「That might be true── But when we first met, you were getting beaten up by other vagrants when you were scrapping for leftovers in their turf?」
「Ugh...」
「I understand after seeing that scene. Oh, he isn’t familiar with the rules in this place. He doesn't know how to survive here, and doesn't have food or a place to go. He really is living on the edge.」
Safida had no words and fell silent. The girl continued with a laugh.
「Surprisingly, people like you don’t have evil thoughts because you can’t spare the effort to do so. You don’t think too much about things and will pounce on anyway to survive without hesitation. Isn’t that right, old man?」
「......」
「And I’m not letting you go out of good will. When I talked to you, didn’t I ask if you can read and write properly? We don’t have someone like that, so I want to recruit such a person, since it’s inconvenient to not have one.」
The girl explained, and her face suddenly turned serious.
「And also── maybe because you are ostracized.」
「...? What do you mean?」
Safida asked puzzledly. The girl thought for a moment before pointing at her arm.
「Look, my skin tone is a little dark, right? I have some Shinnack blood in me.」
「... Oh...」
「The people around won’t accept me for this reason. So I have no choice but to hang out with other ostracized people, and look for lonely people like you. People like that all have weird personality and are hard to get along with── but we won’t betray each other once we become comrades.」
The girl said a little happily. It felt difficult for him to look directly at her face, Safida stuttered:
「... It might be strange... for me to say this...」
「Hmm?」
「You have to be more careful in picking your companions… There are many villains with weird personality, hard to get along with and stay alone.」
He said some self deprecating words. The girl was shocked for a moment before bursting out in laughter.
「Haha, what is this, are you talking about yourself, old man?」
「......」
「Oh… Speaking of which, you are wanted by the army? What did you do~ Oh~ Did you sneak into the kitchen in their base to steal dinner?」
Guu～ When the girl said that in jest, their stomachs growled at the same time.
「... We got hungry chatting here── Let’s hurry back, old man. The others are waiting with a famished stomach too.」
「... Yes──」
On the girl’s urging, Safida quickened his pace. What could they eat with the money they earned today? ── Having gotten used to his life, he started thinking about that.
「── Finally found you.」
A familiar voice pierced his back like an ice lance.
「I was looking for you for so long, Lieutenant General Safida. What are you doing here?」
「A-Ahh──」
The girl turned around in shock. However, Safida was too afraid to turn back. The other party was holding his shoulder with an incredibly firm grip.
「I thought you already went to the other side, but you’re wandering around in a strange place. How troubling, there’s a limit to going the wrong way, right?」
As the man drew near, he gradually appeared before Safida. Senpa Sazarf stared right into his eyes── there was obsession and murderous intent in his hunter-like eyes.
「Let’s go back. I will bring you to the right destination── you won’t go the wrong way this time.」
Safida’s teeth were chattering. To him, that was as good as a second death sentence.
However── while he was standing still, someone acted in a way they never expected.
「── Ugh...?」
The impact of the sudden pain made Sazarf’s face contort. He looked down and saw a girl biting his wrist with a menacing face.
「Tch── old man, run!」
Using the gap when Sazarf relaxed his grip, the girl kicked Safida’s back. He was still grabbing Sazarf’s arm as she pointed out the escape path to the man.
「Go down that alley! You know the path, right? Shake off their pursuit── hurry!」
Her words pushed his back and Safida sprinted off. Sazarf tried to give chase with his men, but the girl grabbing his arm refused to let go.
「Wait...! Hey, let go! Please let go!」
「Why will I let go!? You’re going to kill the old man, right!?」
After saying that, she grabbed his arm and bit again. Sazarf frowned from the pain, but he was more worried about harming the girl’s teeth if he was too rough. He couldn’t stay cold to the end, and tried persuading her even though he knew it was a waste of time.
「Don’t misunderstand, that man is a criminal! Not someone you should protect!」
「Oh, is that so～! I don’t remember being protected by the soldiers either!」
The girl wasn't going to listen anyway. She tightened her grip on Sazarf’s arm, and Melza who couldn’t stand it anymore interjected.
「Calm down, Brigadier General Sazarf!── you let go too! If you don’t stop, we will retaliate!」
「Try it then, dummy～!」
The girl taunted as she back dashed. Seeing that she would get captured if she continued making a scene, she turned and ran. The girl disappeared into an ally in no time, and Sazarf groaned.
「... Why did that child...」
「Please don’t move! I need to bandage your wound!」
Seeing her superior was injured, Melza immediately summoned a medic. But he raised a hand to stop her and took action.
「Leave the bandaging for later, I have to chase him… He ran off again, I have to get him...!」
Sazarf muttered as if he was in a feverish rant, which made Melza gasp. She had never seen her superior officer act this way.
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