“Eh, we are not in the same regiment? Bummer.”
“Don’t mind the small details, at least we got in, right?”
“But everyone who signed up got in, you know. I guess the Empire is really on its last legs, haha.”
“Well, regardless of that, now that we are in, we don’t have to worry about food and shelter as much anymore. In times like this, the military has got the bulk of the resources, while the normal citizens have to scavenge for them.”
“That’s right! But we are soldiers now too, so got to enjoy the privileges while they last!”
I passed by the group of new recruits heading toward the other end of the living quarters, my gaze focused on the paper in front of me.
“Linux, wait for me!!!”
I stopped, turning around to face the owner of the voice.
“Fwahhh~ I almost got swallowed by the crowd of people back there. Complete chaos!”
The pretty girl with long, light blue hair and big azure-blue eyes looked up at me, giving me a big smile.
“So? Which regiment did you end up in?” she asked, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.
I showed her the slip of paper in my hand.
“Hmm…Regiment Seven…” she read.
There, she grinned, her eyes twinkling playfully.
She took out her own assignment paper.
“Tada~! I’m in Regiment Seven too…hey, don’t give me that look of suspicion, I didn’t do anything this time!”
She pouted.
I gave her a light pat on the head, before turning around, continuing down the path that I was walking toward before.
“Say…you haven’t really told me the real reason behind why you suddenly decided to join the WAF yet.” she commented, as she followed along beside me, “After all, if you really wanted to seize those traitors, you and I could’ve done it easily…”
As we walked past the halls leading to the living quarters of the seventh regiment, she stopped, gazing at the paintings of various individuals on the walls.
“Henry Weller, Leader of the Bertelemy Resistance Force…Ivan Islington, Heroic Defender of the Imperial Capital…William Milner…”
She read out the names of the individuals as we walked, until we came to the last portrait, an empty frame labeled with only the name of the hero.
“The Phantom Knight of Wariner…why is his portrait the only one that is blank?”
“Because no one really knows what he looks like.”
We both turned around.
“Uwah, you scared me! Don’t suddenly appear like that…” my lively companion said, startled at the newcomer’s sudden appearance.
The silver-haired girl dipped her head once in apology, before fixing her calm, lavender-colored eyes on me.
A moment of silence passed. Then, she held out a hand toward me, her face unchanging.
“My name is Hildegard Aquarina. Nice to meet you.”
Hildegard continued to gaze at me, her eyes never once leaving mine.
I nodded, reaching out to take her hand-
“Nice to meet you, Hilde! I’m Avrae, but just ‘rae’ is fine!”
Avrae leaped in front of me, taking Hildegard’s hand in hers and shaking it up and down dramatically.
She turned her face to the side for a fraction of a second, her eyes resting triumphantly on me.
Hmph, I won’t let her touch you, because you belong only to me!
…
“Hilde, don’t walk so fast…you know I get lost easily…”
A young man with short, dark-brown hair appeared, his light-green eyes wavering with worry.
Seeing that Hildegard was not alone, he approached us cautiously, half-hiding behind her as he gave us both a wary look.
“Hmm…” Avrae said, as she turned her gaze on to him, “Who is this? …Could he be your mate, Hilde?”
“M-mate!?” the young man blushed, his voice shaking with embarrassment.
Hildegard remained expressionless.
“This is my childhood friend, Leo.” she said, as he held out his hand awkwardly, his face still red.
“…Nice to meet you…” he said softly, his voice trailing off at the end.
“Nice to meet you! I’m Avrae.”
She shook his hand just as vigorously as she did with Hildegard.
Leo turned his eyes toward me, holding out his hand in greeting.
“…Nice to meet you too…” he said, waiting for me to introduce myself.
Beside him, Hildegard stood silently, waiting for my answer as well.
At that, Avrae jumped in.
“This is Linux. Because of an injury, he can’t speak, so I will introduce him instead.”
The two looked surprised for a brief second, then recovered immediately.
“…Nice to meet you, Linux…” Leo said, after a moment of pause.
I nodded, giving his hand a firm shake.
“So, now that the introductions are completed, mind if I ask which regiments you two are in? Oh, by the way, Linux and I are both in Regiment Seven, we are actually planning on heading to the living quarters right now.” Avrae said brightly, hooking her arm through mine.
“We are both in Regiment Seven too.” Hildegard replied, supported by a nod from Leo.
“Then, what are we all waiting for…let’s go~!” Avrae said, hooking her other arm through Hildegard’s, dragging both of us along with her as she skipped down the halls.
“Huh…wait…wait for me, don’t leave me behind!”
——————————
“Hmm…this is better than I’d expected…” Avrae commented, as we stood in the furthest section of the west wing of the castle, dedicated for recruits of Regiment Seven.
“I thought that they were going to force us all into a single stable, never mind the aspect of getting rooms for two…I’m actually surprised they have this many rooms.”
“We only have 2887 new recruits. Plus the original members of the military and the castle staff, we have no more than 3000 people.” Hildegard replied.
“Geh!? Only 3000? I was sure that there would be way more than that.”
“Most of the people capable of fighting died in the sieges in the past…the people we have left are mostly the elderly and the youth, who were evacuated first while others held off the enemies…” Leo added quietly.
The atmosphere became tense for a moment, before Avrae continued with a smile.
“Well, I’m in room 71, what about you three?” she said, holding up her piece of paper with her number for everyone to see.
“I’m also in room 71.” Hildegard said, her expression not carrying a single element of surprise.
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“Really!? Then, we will be roommates! Please take care of me in the future too~!”
Hildegard nodded, while Avrae held her hands in excitement.
“And you two?” Avrae asked, her blue eyes shining.
“Room 72…” Leo said shyly, holding up his number.
I held up my number as well.
“Room 72…wait, that means Linux will be roommates with Leo…grrr, I’m kind of jealous…”
Avrae peered at Leo, who blushed, looking everywhere but at her, and then finally down at the ground.
“Well…let’s hurry up and unpack first then! The General said we were supposed to meet our new instructors in Training Room A right before dinner, so we should head there soon.”
She waved at me and Leo, before heading into her room after Hildegard.
Silence followed. Neither of us moved from our positions.
…
“…”
…
“…”
…
“Erm…should we go too…”
—————————-
“Settle down, everyone.”
The chatter ceased as a beautiful lady dressed in a pure white uniform entered the Training Room, her long, pure black hair flowing behind her.
“My name is Felicia Ascelin, the commander of the Seventh Regiment and the Deputy General of the Wariner Assault Front.”
There, she gave the group a smile.
“I hereby congratulate you all on being accepted as a part of the regiment…”
The group responded with a small cheer.
Felicia swept her gentle red gaze over the crowd, before smiling once again.
“That is what I would like to say.”
A hushed silence fell, as the people stopped cheering, unsure of what will happen next.
“Before you all are officially accepted into the regiment, I would like you to complete a task. A very simple task.”
There, she gestured toward the icy field behind her.
“You may be wondering why this room is designed like this. Well…let’s just say that it may be simpler to demonstrate its use to you, instead of explaining it all at once.”
She smiled, tilting her head slightly to the side.
“So, does anyone like to ice-skate?”
The crowd did not respond. Then, a hand rose.
“I do.” the man in his mid-forties said, pushing his way out of the crowd.
“Oh, is that so?”
Felica turned her gaze toward him, reaching over to touch the side of his face lightly.
The man blushed, completely enchanted by the commander.
“I’m so glad you volunteered to demonstrate.” she whispered, smiling softly at him.
“…Yes…”
“Now, if you would please…I would like you to run across the ice once.”
The man beamed confidently, patting his chest.
“That I can do. Watch me, commander. I won’t disappoint you.”
Felicia nodded.
“Did you hear that, regiment seven? Make sure to watch our brave volunteer, alright?”
People in the crowd nodded, fixing their gazes on the man.
The man threw the commander a smile, before taking a deep breath.
Then, he dashed across the ice, toward the other end of the field.
The crowd watched in silence as he neared the end, just a few steps away from his goal.
“Are you watching me, commander? As I’ve said, this is nothing to me, I am strong after all!”
At that, he leaped toward the icy wall on the other side, his hands reaching out toward his final destination…
…
Crack.
“What was that sound…” he said, stopping inches away from his target.
…
Crack. Crack. Crack.
The crowd watched in shock as the ground beneath him split open, revealing the dark waters below the ice.
“Hey…what the hell is this!?” he shouted, as he struggled to stay balanced on top of the ice, “Hey, commander, what is going on-”
…
Snap.
Time seemed to move in slow motion, as the group watched in absolute horror, as a giant icicle fell from the ceiling, piercing the man right through the skull and splitting him into two halves.
“Huh…”
The man, wide-eyed and unable to comprehend his fate in time, crashed to the ground.
The area around him became dyed with an expanding pool of red, mixed with gruesome bits and pieces of the man’s innards.
…
“Oh my…so he couldn’t do it after all.” Felicia commented, shaking her head in pity.
The crowd stayed silent, half in disbelief and half in fear, unable to tear their eyes away from the corpse of the man that was just dashing across the ice, moments ago.
“Well, that’s that. This is your task for tonight. Just run across the ice, 500 times. Simple, right?”
A moment of silent passed. Then, the crowd snapped.
“Cut that bullshit out, what kind of ‘simple’ task is this!?”
“You are basically forcing us to kill ourselves, what kind of commander are you!? This whole situation…this whole situation…what the hell is this!?”
“I’m out of here…blergh…no more. I didn’t sign up for something like this…”
As the crowd scattered chaotically, people trampling each other to exit through the door, Felicia sighed, shaking her head once again.
“Geez…it’s no good this year again, huh.”
In a flash, she was in front of the door, her sword raised in the air.
“Don’t be mistaken, Regiment Seven. You only have two choices. One, run and you may live. Or two…”
The crowd watched in shock and terror as a man fell to the ground, his head completely detached from the rest of his body.
“…try to leave, and you will die. Just like that.”
With that, she smiled, her eyes reflecting the light eerily, like a sea of blood.
“Oh, I forgot to say…Welcome to Sigrune Castle! We, the ‘Wariner Assault Front,’ look forward to your cooperation, these next four weeks.”
To be continued…
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Note: Hope you enjoyed this chapter! I know it is a slow read at first, but it will pick up of course, starting from now on. Any comments would be appreciated, as I would love to hear back from you guys any time.
-Hikaru