Chapter 23

I was a bit surprised when Sergeant Lakhdar intercepted us just outside Installation 17B’s walls.

“She can’t know about the targets yet,” whispered Kiyo. “Right?”

“She won’t if you keep it quiet,” hissed Gabriella.

Kowalski looked a bit uncomfortable as she approached, but he didn’t blurt anything out. Was that Lilya’s influence making him feel more confident, or my own corrupting sway? Either way, it made him a better accomplice.

Gabriella drew her shoulders back, her ready manner evaporating in an instant. Her hand shot up to her forehead. We all followed suit, not wanting to be punished for being too slow.

The Algerian woman seemed surprised at the formality, but returned it in kind. “At ease, cadets. How did the target practice go?”

“Smashingly, Sergeant,” I replied, unable to resist the pun.

“How close do you think you are to mastering the True Spell?” she asked.

“Give me a couple more days and I should have it down,” I replied. “Is that a new one? I haven’t seen it before.” I’d have remembered fending off a spell that destructive in my Captain Malthus days.

She nodded. “We don’t have time to get you all up to speed on a whole year’s worth of magical spells before you’re out of basic. So, you’re learning some new spells that R&D has been cooking up. Any thoughts on it?”

“W-well,” said Kowalski, surprising me by speaking up. The blond boy really had grown a bit. I was oddly proud. “It seems like it’s a bit dangerous for the person marking the target.” He gulped. “Ah, ma’am,” he added hastily.

Sergeant Lakhdar nodded. “Good observation. It can also be a disaster if your teams don’t coordinate and several people are casting it at once.”

I cocked my head at that. It seemed we weren’t as observant as we’d thought. “Oh, is that a known issue?”

“That it is,” she said.

“And we were sent out to cast it without that warning?” I added.

She only shrugged. “You were all seen as worthy of skipping a year; I knew you’d sort it out yourselves.”

“There really has to be a better way to mark the target than walking right up to them, then getting the heck out before getting splattered!”

“You’d think so, but it’s still in beta,” she replied. “Moulham is out working on a fabricata to take the job of the anvil, but the trick is finding a delivery method.”

Kiyo stroked her chin. “Well, uh, I guess you could load it in a fabricata bullet and fire it at the enemy, but then why not just shoot ‘em to start?”

“An arrow would have the same problem,” I said.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“Besides,” said Gabriella, finally relaxing a bit, “don’t devils usually have layers of barriers and shields all over the place to cover their formations? A bullet or arrow would get blocked partway there.”

“That’s exactly the issue with everything we’ve considered,” said Sergeant Lakhdar. “But, that’s above your paygrade. For now, learn the spells as-is. If you can coordinate properly, they can do something about all of those barriers. You’re all dismissed… except Marlowe.”

As drill sergeants went, Carine Lakhdar was surprisingly big on Socratic dialogue. Despite that, the other three looked relieved as they returned to their quarters.

“Have I managed to get in trouble again already?” I asked.

“I don’t know, have you?” she countered, her voice completely bereft of humor.

“Not that I’m aware of.”

“Keep it that way, Sir Marlowe,” she said, adding a bit of sarcasm to my new title. “No, I have a real question for you.”

“Yes, ma’am?”

“I just mentioned you all skipped a year, and most of you have lived up to my expectations.”

I heard a ‘but’ coming, but I also didn’t want to run more laps. So, I waited.

She hesitated, probably expecting the obvious rejoinder. “What in heaven’s name is Cadet Yamada doing here?”

I winced on her behalf. “She is improving a bit, isn’t she?”

“She’s improved in that now she’s actually held a sword,” replied the sergeant. “She learns magic quickly, when she puts her mind to it, but there’s spells she refuses to put her mind to. Also, she managed to beat The Gauntlet, thanks to your little spell, but it takes her twice as long as anybody else.”

“Mariko is damned… darned brave.” I winced as I let slip the true curse.

“Keep going,” she said, seemingly unbothered by my casual blasphemy. So much for the third commandment.

“I’ve been in three fights alongside her,” I said. “She really is a fantastic support mage, and she managed to keep Asahi Maki alive when he had some ghastly wounds.”

“If she were being trained as just a medic, then that would be fine,” she said. “However, I’ve been asked to turn her into a soldier, and at this rate, I’ll get my pension before she’s combat ready.”

“I appreciate that she can be a bit difficult about all of this—”

“Difficult?” she spat. “She argues constantly about it, no matter what I say or do. I asked Moulham about it. Was she really given an exemption from learning combat magic at your school?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“And no physical conditioning?”

“Outside of a morning jog, no ma’am.”

“I didn’t want to believe Moulham.” Her scowl deepened. “I love Yosuke Tachibana like a brother, but damn his soft heart!”

Ah, that’s why I hadn’t bothered her before. Recalling the crucifix in her office, it seemed odd, but this wasn’t the time to get into applied theology. “We make a good team in battle; I can keep her safe.”

“How positively romantic,” she said. “And what happens when you’re being swarmed by goblins and orcs while you’re keeping the devils at bay? There’s a dozen spells that could clear them out or drive them away, but they’re all on her boycott list.”

“You have a point, ma’am,” I said.

“Good,” she said. “You’re her boyfriend. Maybe you can have some influence over her that I don’t. I already have you scheduled for extra lessons with her tonight; maybe take some time out to talk some sense into her.”

“Ma’am, I’ve honestly tried many times,” I said. “I can tell you that her beliefs are sincerely held, and there is a reason for them. I’ve learned to be tolerant.”

“Tolerance is going to get her killed! I heard from Sato and Takahashi about how Yamada was in those fights,” she said. “She nearly died several times over, and was half-maimed once. She might want to be a martyr, but I want her to survive the service and get on with her life.”

“I seriously don’t think that she’ll budge,” I said.

“If you promise to try, I might just find other assignments for your chaperones.”

“Ma’am?”

“It’s going to be a private conversation anyway,” she said, a hint of a smirk playing at her lips. “We wouldn’t want any outsider interrupting you.”

Was she giving me a pass to make my play? There went commandment number seven. It seemed she wasn’t the sort to let doctrine get in the way of results.

“I’d have done it anyway, ma’am,” I said.

“I know you would,” she said. “Just be convincing; she’s been immune to my punishments so far, and I’m getting tired of assigning them.”

“Did Mr. Lahlou mention that everybody at the school has tried at one point or another, including me?”

“He did,” she said. “However, you seem to have a record of achieving the impossible. Give it another shot.”