“Sigh…”

Dawn breaking wasn’t nearly as enjoyable as one would be led to believe. Well, it was tranquil though, and it helped calm my nerves a bit, but I wouldn’t be lying if I told you I was running on fumes by this point. Seeing as I’m sailing alone, I can’t get even a wink of sleep, lest I stray from my path and end up stranded on an unpredicted destination. When you take into account the fact that I had to not sleep for my trip to and from Seils, you can imagine how much my eyelids were quivering.

“Ugh…” I started swaying from side to side, “Can’t… fall asleep… yet…”

“Want me to sing you a song to wake you up?” A rather bubbly voice scared me from behind.

“Fueh?!” I slipped and fell from the boat, “V-V-V-Vivia?!”

“Good morning!” She giggled at me, “Sorry for scaring you, I promise it wasn’t on purpose… maybe.”

No, but what the hell is she doing on the boat with me? And for how long has she been in here? The boat isn’t that big for her to somehow manage a stealthy stowaway, so what gives? Wait, don’t tell me she hid in those boxes this entire time?

“It’s as you assume, Sir Edward!” She once again called me by that odd nickname, “I, the Goddess of Song, Vivia, verily awaited your return to the island so that I may feast as soon as possible. But when I saw you hadn’t tied up the boat to the dock, I knew that something was amiss! So I, in my quick-wittedness, hopped aboard and hid in those boxes sitting right next to you.”

“Wait, you were in those boxes the entire night?” I thought for a second, “Wasn’t that uncomfortable, being cooped up in such a tight space for so long I mean?”

“Very much.” She looked away, embarrassed, “But nevertheless, I remained undeterred as I sat for what felt like countless eternities, listening to your rather sad self-monologues and rambles.”

Ah, she heard those… Since I was alone, or at least thought I was, I kind of used the solitude to my advantage and started talking to myself as a form of therapy. Since I’m super tired, I don’t even remember any of the topics I talked about, but just knowing that someone was there when I thought I was alone is really embarrassing.

“Alright.” I started turning the boat around, “Let’s go get you back to the others.”

“What?!” She started wrestling me for the oars, “Are you crazy? We’re so far out, don’t go changing directions all of a sudden!”

“Vivia, I’m going back to Trivis Numerica.” I told her with a serious tone, “The country doesn’t really have a military force, but I heard rumors of a bootcamp being set up by some Lis soldiers. I was tasked with keeping you safe, so please don’t go throwing yourself into trouble.”

“But you can’t just turn around now all of a sudden!”

“Don’t care.” I said, stopping for a moment to rub my eyes, “I’m, yaaaawn… I’m turning us… back…”

As my eyelids started blinking uncontrollably, I tried my best to not go to sleep while rowing, but the sudden surprise of Vivia being here, plus the cold water that was dragging me down after I had fell off of the boat had made it pretty hard to do so. In just a split second, I had somehow found myself lying down, my head firmly being held down on Vivia’s lap.

“What are you doing…?!” I tried to squirm about only to get pulled back down.

“There, there.” She comforted me, “Alright, we’ll go back to the island, so for now I think you should rest.”

“Huh? Really?” I could feel my eyelids growing heavier.

“Yeah, I’ll even sing you a lullaby to help you.” She smiled warmly, “This one is actually my Birthsong, so you should be thankful that you get to hear it.”

Really now, to think that even she can sometimes be this kind and reasonable… Eh, who cares? Now that I know I’m not the only person on the boat, I can at least get some proper shuteye. Ooh, her lap is really soft. The fabric of her dress must be silk or something similar, it makes for an amazing pillow. Sorry Anna, I hope you don’t take too much offense to this…

“Alright, you ready?” She cleared her throat, “Alright, here I go!”

Almost immediately, she began humming a serene and beautiful tune as I started to relax my face muscles. The first two or three bars would contain repetition, albeit with the last note varying to add a sense of novelty and emotion. You could tell that whoever composed the piece really cared for Vivia to gift her with this song. The lyrics foretold a Princess that’d bring smiles to her people, and glory to her country. Put simply, it was the best song I’ve ever heard in my life.

Back then, if only I had known that she had her ulterior motives to her sudden compassion, I wouldn’t have fallen asleep so easily like I did…

***

“Ngh…” I blinked once or twice, awaking to Vivia’s smile, “Hm? Where are we?”

“We’re at the dock.” She smiled warmly.

Huh? The dock? But how did she steer…? No, never mind. As long as we’re back on the island, I think I should just be happy we didn’t get stranded somewhere or worse, attacked by a sea monster. Ah, I feel pretty refreshed, but I do feel bad for Vivia’s thighs. I can only imagine how much endurance it took for her to stay in such an uncomfortable position for as long as she did. I mean, just looking at the time, I must’ve slept for three, no, four hours?

“How long was I out?” I turned to her as she wobbled into a standing stance.

“Whoa! Ah, my legs fell asleep.” She giggled, “Since you’ve been asleep for the past two days straight, it really is kind of hard to readjust to using them.”

“Two days-?!”

Wait, no, don’t be gullible, Ed! Just think about all the times she’s pranked you in the past! There’s just no way I had slept on this rickety boat for two days! Plus, wouldn’t that cut off the circulation to her legs to a dangerous degree if what she said really happened?

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She noticed my skeptical gaze, so she burst out laughing as she explained, “Ah, sorry! I was just joking.”

“Right, of course-!” I sighed in relief before she interrupted me.

“Yeah, I didn’t actually hold this position for two days. That’d just be impossible, not to mention someone had to row the boat to here.”

“Right, let’s just get off the boat and explain the situation to the others…” I said as I turned to face the dock, “Err, Vivia?”

“Hm?”

“When you said we’re at the dock, what you actually meant was…?”

“Ah, so you’ve finally noticed!” She donned a proud yet equally as smug grin, “That’s right! While you were conked out, I redirected the boat so that we would make it to Trivis Numerica! Proud of me?”

“Of course not!” I berated her, “God, this is really bad! How the hell did you even know where to go?! I didn’t bring a sextant, and I only had the Sun to guide me. If it’s only been two days, which means you must’ve oared day and night!”

“But of course?” She tilted her head in confusion, “I am the Princess of this continent’s Kingdom. It’s only natural that’d I’d know exactly where it is on the map no matter the time of day.”

That’s definitely not how it works, though?! Or wait, is it? Gah, this Princess can be really scary when she’s capable, so much so that I’m starting to think if it was really a good idea to go through with this plan in the first place!

“…Sigh, guess you leave me with no choice, then.” I utterly accepted my defeat, “You can go with me to the boot camp, but you’ve gotta promise that you’ll behave!”

“I’m not a child!” She pouted.

“No backtalk!” I started talking to her as a father would, “This is a serious situation! Just the mere fact that you’re here is making my enrollment in the army ten times more difficult!”

She couldn’t really deny my claims, so with folded arms and a pouty look on her face, she followed along sluggishly while we made our way to Wheats, where the boot camp was being set up.

“Hello.” I awkwardly approached one of the many soldiers in their traditional green uniform, “U-Uh, take me to your leader.”

“Piss off, kid.” He spat at me, “We already have enough of your kind. Lousy, good for nothing teenagers who think they’ll make a difference in the war, but not realizing they won’t because mommy and daddy sheltered you too much throughout your childhood.”

“I haven’t seen my parents in ages…” I struck a thinking pose as I realized how rarely I visited them.

“Eh?” He looked apologetic for a moment, “I-Is that so? Ah, sorry for your loss. I really didn’t mean anything by it.”

Hm? I think he’s misunderstanding something, but I don’t really mind. Since he thinks I’m an orphan that might help with my likeability, so I think I’ll stick to the lie. That’s what Grim taught me, at least. Alright, now I just need to reel him in on our little “situation”.

“No worries, it isn’t your fault.” I looked down to make myself look sad, “But if you really wanna make it up to me, could you please lead me to the leader of this army camp? I’d like to enroll.”

“Don’t get me wrong, kid.” The older soldier replied empathetically, “I understand you wish to help out as much as you can, and we appreciate it, but I’d suggest you turn around while you still can so you don’t end up throwing your life away.”

“Trust me, I don’t intend on dying here.” I replied confidently.

“Yeah, does anyone?” He retorted, “Look, you’ve got your whole life ahead of you. I understand your house probably got taken by those Carmen bastards, but that don’t mean you’ve gotta enlist here. I mean, you and your girl can just go to Great Hiana or somewhere even further to start a new life together. It’s really never too late for that.”

“Eh?” I glanced back and forth between him and Vivia, “N-No, you’re mis…!”

“Why, thank you for the kind suggestion!” Vivia tightly hugged my arm, “But I’m afraid it’s just not possible. My fiancée here had actually just proposed on the day the attack started, so we really didn’t have much time to properly pack our essentials before escaping. We didn’t bring our passports, and so we can’t leave the country.”

What the hell is she blabbering on about? It took all the courage I had to propose to Anna, even if it was a bit lackluster, but for her to just lie about me and her being together? That’s too much!

“Oh, I see…” He donned a serious expression, “Well then, run along to that there tent. General Pierre should be inside writing letters to relatives of the deceased soldiers.”

“Right, thanksies~!” Vivia dragged me by the arm to the tent.

While we were leaving though, one of the soldiers could be seen approaching the soldier that we had just talked to. I couldn’t quite make out what they were talking about, though.

“You’ve got an awfully suspicious look on your face. What’s the matter?”

“Oh nothing, it’s just… Only the Carmenians call the war The Attack, as opposed to everyone else who refers to it as I just did…”

***

“Knock knock!” Vivia said out loud.

“Who’s there?”

“PersonwholetsEdenlistinthearmysayswhat.”

“What?”

“Hah!” She opened the door all proud of herself, “There we go, simple as that!”

“….” The General wasn’t at all amused, “What business do you have with me at this hour? I’m busy. And hold on, do I know you, young lady?”

“Wha~t? Of course you don’t! I’m so sorry, General!” I tried my best to mimic the soldiers’ salute, “U-Um, I’d like to… enlist, please.”

“Someone who’s that unsure of their own decision is not fit to be one of my men.” He casually replied, “I’d advise you leave while I still have my nerves.”

“Please!” Vivia groveled at his feet, “We’re refugees looking for shelter! Please let us stay!”

Wow, to think even she ran out of petty lies to trick the General. Maybe she too was intimidated by his serious glare? I honestly didn’t expect her, the Princess of all people, to grovel at anyone’s feet. What is she planning…?

“Hmm…” The General was undeterred.

“Please!” She begged once more, “I’m pregnant, our baby won’t have a safe place to live through its early life!”

“Hey!” I lifted her up from the ground by the collar, “Don’t go spouting that stuff!”

“Wait, you’re pregnant?” The General dropped his quill and approached us, “Why didn’t you say so earlier, dammit! A child must always be with their parents, no exceptions! I’ll definitely secure a safe place for you.”

Eh?, I thought as I looked over at Vivia, who had the look of a person who turned out to be right.

“Heh.” She proudly puffed out her chest at me, as if signifying victory.

“Eh?” I still couldn’t believe the plan worked as I stared dumbfounded at the two of them shaking hands.

And so, I was officially enlisted among the other rookies by the General’s recommendation. During rollcall, everyone’s gazes were fixated on me, as I was the only person who wasn’t there previously. The anxiety of being the center of attention was suffocating, but even still, out of everyone there, only one person didn’t even for a second judge me.

“Meil Deram.” General Pierre called out.

“Present, sir!” He yelled out, before smiling over to me, “New here? The General doesn’t really allow anyone to enlist after the first batch, so I’m really interested to hear your story.”

“Ah, thank you for telling me.” I replied, “I’m…”

“Edward Saint!” General Pierre called out my name.

“A-Ah! P-Present!” I voice cracked in the most inopportune time, resulting in everyone laughing at me.

“Don’t worry about it.” Meil comforted me without breaking his perfect posture, “Being nervous is natural in this situation. Oh, but don’t forget to add sir at the end of the sentence each time you talk to the General.”

“I’ll be sure to remember that…” I blushed as we began our training.