CH 6

The Major and the Automated Assassin Doll

Leidenschaftlich – upon hearing the name, people would say it was a military nation. Such was the kind of impression that his country gave off.

Said country was located at south of the continent. It was a maritime nation with its major cities set along the seacoast. The temperatures were mostly warm yearlong and snowfall was not common in winter. The main national interest were marine products and the natural resources surrounding the ocean, as well as utilizing them in foreign trading. Leiden, the capitol serving as a gateway to land from other continents, was known as a trade port.

There also were many countries which economy would not survive if trading ever stopped in Leidenschaftlich. That was why there were just as many threats from foreign enemies targeting his motherland. If one studied the country’s history, they would find it to be mostly recordings of battles against invaders. Countless soldiers of enemy nations coming either from the sea or from borders between other continents had died in front of its forts. It had been under the control of other countries numerous times as well.

In such occasions, every citizen was roused into driving off intruders and regaining their country. That could be considered the main quality and spirit of the people living in the nation called Leidenschaftlich. Due to many continuous conflicts, sharpening their defenses became a necessity. They would flexibly incorporate the cultures and weapons of other countries earned through trading and make use of them while incessantly improving them. Those experiences turned Leidenschaftlich into a military nation renowned in the whole continent.

Within Leidenschaftlich was a household that had existed since its foundation – Bougainvillea. It was a family which ancestors were worshiped as national heroes. Its beginning was marked by when the family head of the first generation, Ratchet, became a patriot devoted to the salvation of his country through driving a myriad of raiders away with his sword skills and military strategies, consequently saving many people.

Following the grandeur of their predecessors, it was tradition in the Bougainvillea family to have its children join the army as a matter of course, which had not changed even in current times, when the 26th generation ruled over the household. This story begins with a turning point in the life of Gilbert Bougainvillea, the family head of the 26th generation.

Gilbert Bougainvillea saw ‘it’ for the first time during a chance meeting after several years with his older brother, Dietfriet, in the most prestigious inn of the capitol city, Leiden.

Those who had the blood of Bougainvillea would be born with jet-black hair, emerald eyes, long limbs, thin waist and broad shoulders. Dietfriet grew his hair long like a woman and tied it with a ribbon, inappropriately wearing the standup collar of his white naval uniform wide open, displaying the gold necklace around his neck.

“Hey, Gil. Have you been well? As always, you have a depressingly serious face on. It’s just like Dad’s.”

On the other hand, despite being of the same bloodline, Gilbert was the opposite of his elder brother, who had a flirtatious air about him, in looks. His inky hair was carefully combed from his forehead to the back of his head and his irises were of a softer shade than his brother’s deep green, orbs glowing like a true emerald gemstone. Unlike his brother’s impartial expression, his was virile. His features resembled a marble sculpture, eyelashes so long they cast a shadow in their tendency of being half-closed. Perhaps the evaluation of those who looked at him objectively was on-point when it came to him being a beautiful man with a melancholic face.

Disapproving of his brother’s figure, he wore the quilted collar of his own uniform – a purplish black outfit paired with burgundy linen shoulder pads and a decorative accordion-pleats cloth glistening at his waist – diligently buttoned up to his neck. The stoic colors matched Gilbert’s persona rather well.

On the top floor of a 12-story high-rise building, in a room where the accommodation for one night was worth a month of an ordinary person’s salary, the two brothers tightly hugged and sat on a nearby sofa. There were people present besides them. They were the comrades Dietfriet had brought along as he visited his younger brother when stopping by Leiden. All of them drank and smoked at the bar counter set up in the exterior of each apartment. White smoke swirled around the ceiling.

“Brother is… the same as ever.” Gilbert commented, eyeing his older brother’s un-soldier-like figure, as well as the companions he led, who wore similar get-ups. He was outstanding presence in such midst.

“It’s vacation, y’know? Unlike the army, the navy becomes very liberal every time we come back to land.”

“Brother… you dress like that no matter if you’re in the sea or on land, don’t you? That hair… if Father saw this, he would definitely not have allowed it. He’d probably cut it with his saber.”

“That would be a hassle. It’s good that he died.”

Dietfriet intended to be lighthearted, but his younger brother did not let it slide. He gave the other a stern glance.

Perhaps due to being weak to receiving such a look from him, Dietfriet sighed. “Aah… my bad. He might’ve been a nice old man for you, but to me, he was the worst. That’s all.”

“Is that the sole reason why you didn’t come to his funeral and left me to take over the inheritances on my own?”

“It fits you better, doesn’t it? That household was never adequate for me, and I’m not cut to be the family head. Rather than let our brilliant bloodline’s honor be tainted by my poor skills simply because I’m the eldest, it’s better to have a suitable and righteous guy doing the job. Even for the sake of future descendants. Hey, Gil. Hasn’t it already been a long time? Just forgive me already. I don’t wanna keep being guilt-tripped during our entire reunion. I might’ve parted ways from the Bougainvillea house, but I wanna remain your brother. Let’s talk about something fun.”

As he was told so in rebuttal, Gilbert fell silent.

It was a general custom in the Bougainvillea family to join the army. Although the army and navy were defense organizations that served the same country and part of the military, they were separate entities. Each was conscious of the other and both were often hostile towards one another. The motive was mostly that the two had to share Leidenschaftlich’s military budget. Money and interest are causes of conflict regardless of the location or era.

In the history of the Bougainvillea family, Dietfriet had been the first to choose the navy over the army. Not only had he joined it, but also steadily carved a career path for himself in it. It was all due to his confidence in scoring achievements with his own efforts and talents, even without making use of his parents’ glory. Gilbert acknowledged that, which was why he could not help thinking that his brother was the one that actually should have succeeded.

“Since you’ve finally stopped by… how about paying Mom a visit? Please be our mediator together with me.”

Were his brother not bad at accepting reality, things would not have become so complicated.

“Our family is big, so if I went to see Mom, I’d have to greet our sisters, Grandmother and all the older relatives too, right? It would be a bother. I can clearly see myself yelling at them and leaving after they start their faultfinding.”

As Dietfriet laid on his back, legs loosely crossed, Gilbert let his shock show at the abusive language. “Aren’t we family? Can’t you make an effort to get along with them at least a little?”

“It’s exactly ‘cause we’re family that I wanna keep a distance… But you… I can actually be around you. It’s difficult with the others. Gilbert, I’m grateful. Our parents’ expectations were canalized to you because I joined the navy, and you’ve been accurately responding to them. Even I… understand that I’m not being told so often to come back home because you’ve been a good replacement for me. That’s why… I came in a hurry to the celebration of your promotion… since we’re brothers.” Even from his younger brother’s perspective, Dietfriet was very charismatic as he playfully smiled with his eyes closed.

Although Dietfriet had a self-centered and bossy personality, he had some sort of quality that drew others to him. He was always surrounded and respected by many people, never bashful of it. Since Gilbert could not love anyone due to being too stern, his elder brother had everything he lacked, to the point of making him infinitely envious as a fellow human being.

“That’s right, I brought something great for the party.” Dietfriet casually signaled with his hand to one of his friends close by.

As he did so, the man brought in his arms a hemp sack taken from a different room.

“This is the weapon I’ve been using lately but I’ll give it to you. With this, there’s no mistake that you’ll keep getting even higher promotions.”

The sack was carelessly placed on the oval table between the two of them. Dietfriet smirked stiffly as Gilbert noticed something moving from within the sack and immediately got up from the couch, firmly gripping the sword plugged to his belt.

“It’s okay. It’s okay, Gil. Calm down. It’s nothing strange. No, maybe it is crazy. Haha. It may be a bit difficult to handle and dangerous, but it’s well-behaved when you don’t give it orders. But don’t think of doing anything weird… since its looks aren’t bad. As far as I know, eight people tried to sneak into its bed and had their necks ripped. Its rough temper is troublesome. It doesn’t serve as a comforter.”

“What’s inside?”

“Only… use it as a weapon. Don’t think of it as anything else. Don’t get attached to it. It’s a ‘weapon’. All right?”

“I’m asking… what’s inside.”

“Try opening it.” Dietfriet’s words sounded like an invitation from a devil.

Gilbert and moved his hands to unravel the cord tightly tied around the hemp sack that had once twitched. The person inside looked like a mermaid princess for a moment as the hemp sack lay at her waistline.

“We haven’t named it. We just call it ‘you’.”

‘It’ was a girl. Her sooty-colored clothes were scraped rags made out of poor leather and fur. A choker that somewhat reeked of subordination was fastened around her neck. A smell that seemed like a mixture of rain, wild animals and blood wafted from her body. Everything that enveloped her was dirty. However, rather than it simply being a slightly muddy child that needed to be cleaned up…

——It’s unthinkable… that she is from this world.

…she was too beautiful. Gilbert’s breathing halted at the girl’s figure. Her waist-long ashen hair shone brighter than any gold jewelry. On her face were too many scratches and grazes. Her blue eyes could be seen beneath the slits of her disarrayed locks.

Orbs that were not exactly the color of the sky nor the sea looked straight at Gilbert. The two stared at each other for a moment. Neither moved, as though time had frozen.

“Hey, give your greetings.” Dietfriet aggressively grabbed the girl’s head and forced her to bow down.

Upon seeing that, Gilbert quickly pulled away his brother’s hand and embraced the girl with his own two. She trembled in his arms.

“Don’t be violent with a child! Have you been trafficking people!?” While hugging her as if to protect her, no matter how one looked at it, Gilbert was enraged. His face of pure anger with a vein protruding on his forehead silenced the blithe conversation of the other men in the room.

Amongst them, only Dietfriet remained collected and with a neutral expression. “Don’t spout nonsense. I don’t need slaves. I do want warriors, though.”

“Then what is this girl?! What’s so amusing about offering me such a small infant?”

“Like I said… this isn’t a kid. It’s a ‘weapon’. I just told you that, didn’t I? You’re some pretty distrusting younger brother.”

Gilbert observed the girl. Apparently, she was about ten years old. Her finely-adorned face gave off a slightly adult-like impression, but her youthfulness was delated by her petite shoulders and hands. Just what in her was a weapon? She was but a child that could easily fit within one’s arms.

Gilbert’s wrath subsided, gradually supplanted by sadness. Not letting go of the girl, he glared at his brother and got up from his seat. “I’m taking her with me. Calling this… little one a weapon… I… don’t want to see you ever again.”

At those words, Dietfriet burst into laughter while holding his eyes. So did his comrades. Gilbert was shrouded in coarseness and disgust, as well as a bit of fear, while countless underlying laughs resonated in his ears. It was a bizarre atmosphere. He felt different from them in some way, though the feeling was not quite of alienation.

——It’s almost as if… I’m the one who is insane.

From the beginning, only Gilbert was dissimilar amongst them. Perverse as something could be, the opposing minority would be considered the one in the wrong if it accounted for the majority. The vast majority’s anomaly progressively encroached the minority’s normalcy.

“What is… so funny?”

Dietfriet slowly stood up, walked towards Gilbert’s side and tapped his shoulder. “Gil… I’m sorry for the bad explanation. Certainly, just by looking at it, anyone would have that kind of reaction. You’re a serious and nice guy, too. You won’t understand in one glimpse that this is a weapon. That’s why… I’ll show it to you in a practical way that will be easy to get. You come too.” Dietfriet told the girl.

Without delay, she smoothly escaped from Gilbert’s hands and followed after Dietfriet. However, she displayed a questioning attitude towards Gilbert for an instant. Whenever she moved, her blue eyes, which seemed to leave afterglows, invited people over with that single glance.

Gilbert hurried to get up again. What he was guided to was the next room, where the girl had come from in the hemp sack – a luxury bedroom.

It was only natural that there was more than one commodity; the problem was how the other was being used. The bed was pressed against the wall side, leaving a widely open space in the center. What lay in it were five more hemp sacks. Their size was big enough for adult males to fit into. Unlike the girl’s, they moved constantly in rampage. Faint sounds akin to cries of livestock, which merged with words that could not be discerned, leaked from them. Most likely, whoever was inside had been roped and gagged.

No matter the motive, treating humans in that manner was wrong. Those who could remain with composed expressions in such a situation were wicked, Gilbert thought. The contagious madness spread from the tips of his toes up to his throat, yet he somehow managed to muster out his voice, “Who… are they? Why are they tied up? Brother, explain what’s going on…” His heart buzzed sordidly, as if predicting the future.

“Ah, I gotta introduce these guys first, right? They’re filth that infiltrated our ship when we had stopped by a harbor.” Dietfriet gently kicked one of the sacks with polished leather shoes. “Guess they were looking for valuable stuff. They entered without examining the inner structure, ended up bumping into three cooks in the kitchen and killed them to keep their mouths shut. For us, who live in the sea, having satisfying meals is very important.” He raised his leg backwards and swung it low enough for the tip of his shoe to hit the sack.

Gilbert grimaced at the scream coming from inside.

“These guys… killed our best cooks, including the chef. How great do you think they had to be, given that they came abroad our ship to cook for us by our solicitation? You can’t pay them with the same amount that you’d buy a woman for one night. We, the navy, deal with the things that happen in each ship according to our own laws. Well, we’re on land right now, but… that happened in the ship, so this is valid. Now, I’ll show you something interesting… hey, get them out. Also, give them weapons.”

At Dietfriet’s command, the fellow men who had also come to the other room untied the hemp sacks one by one and let the thieves out. As the men released the ropes while pointing guns at the thieves, they handed knives over to each. The puzzled five had their lips curled down in fearsome expressions while asking, “What’s the meaning of this?”

Ignoring them, Dietfriet gestured exaggeratedly with his hand. “Now, this is the start of the world’s most mysterious and fascinating game. Gentleman… well, there are none here. No ladies, either. Then, you bastards! What I’m about to show you is the wild brat I found in an Eastern continent.”

Upon being pointed at, the girl stared at his fingertips with a face that seemed to not pose any emotions.

He continued, “I met this thing about a month ago when we completely butchered a shitty armed fleet that was plotting to destroy one of Leidenschaftlich’s maritime trading ports. On a certain night, in the middle of the battle, we were hit by a huge storm. It was a grave catastrophe where both our allies and our enemies sank into the coastal seas. It seems this was in the news. I didn’t know about it because I was drifting at the time.”

Gilbert was skeptical at not ever having been informed that his brother had narrowly avoided death, but had no chance to discuss the topic in the flow of the story.

“The ship stranded, and I and some of my comrades arrived at a deserted island that wasn’t marked in any map by using a small lifeboat. I found this on that very island. It was all alone, looking into the distance from the top of a big tree. Did its parents die? Did it suffer an accident in the sea like us? We still haven’t found out its identity.” Dietfriet confessed. “Its appearance isn’t half bad, right? In ten or so years, it could probably twist an entire country, but it’s still a brat. I have no interest in brats. I don’t… but there are people in this world who do. Some of my former subordinates loved that kind of stuff. They gleefully approached it and attempted to molest it on the spot. We had just been drifting a while prior, yet they were so energetic. That was appalling. I was super annoyed, and was about to tell them to not irritate me any more than that as I went to try stopping those morons, but…” Dietfriet grabbed the girl’s shoulders and brought her right in front of the thieves, her blue eyes seizing them. “…before I could do so, this thing killed my underlings.” He grabbed her pale arms from behind and hurtled them around the air. The motion was of a wild beast about to attack a prey.

The thieves laughed dryly at the girl being treated as a puppet and at Dietfriet’s short play. It was an expected reaction. Exactly what could that child do?

“With a stick that had been lying next to her feet, she stabbed one of them in the neck from the side, then stole a gun from his waist holster and shot him in the heart.”

Gilbert could notice from his brother’s expression that he was telling no joke.

“We all fled. There are numerous kinds of native peoples in this world. To think that we are the only strong ones is a mistake. If just one of their runts was that strong, how strong would an adult be? But no matter how much we ran, this thing hunted us down. It never got too close, but was also never far enough for us to lose it from sight. We went over the whole island. Our nerves were wrecked. I was exhausted and decided we had to do something, so I had my comrades ready their weapons and yelled, ‘Everyone, kill!’. I had… meant that we were going to kill it. Still…” Dietfriet went on with an icy face, “…in the next moment, this thing slaughtered everyone in that place except for me.” His way of speaking was of someone who obviously held a grudge. Dietfriet looked down at the girl with provoking eyes. “After that, I was pursued by this killer demon. It followed me around without leaving my side. It could have perfectly murdered me, but didn’t. Words didn’t work on it. While I couldn’t figure out how to talk to it, I slowly realized that it was the only inhabitant of that island. Have you any idea how frightening it is to have a killer demon glued to you? When my sanity was finally gone, I said, ‘just kill me’, and then that thing slew an animal hidden in the grass. That’s when I understood… that it had killed because I had ordered it to. Once I reckoned this, I did repeated experiments. For example, if I pointed to animals or insects and said ‘kill’, she would immediately do so like some sort of mechanical doll. Clearly, she would also exterminate people if told to. I don’t know why it chose me. Maybe it was okay with receiving orders from anyone, or might have just submitted to whom it perceived as the most influential person of the group it had encountered. This has little intelligence. It doesn’t speak any language, but can understand the order to massacre. It’s as if it doesn’t need to know anything else. Despite my worries, I let this be beside me as I survived and waited for rescue. I brought it home with me.”

In the meantime, the people standing by the room’s exit and center had scattered. Dietfriet pushed the girl towards the thieves after giving her a knife. It was too big for her hands.

“Brother.” While thinking that could not be happening, Gilbert rebuked, “Brother, don’t do anything stupid.” Knowing it would not be enough, he stretched an arm towards the two from behind.

Dietfriet smiled only with his lips, and then pointed at the thieves while nodding at the girl. “Kill.”

Gilbert was about to grab the girl’s tiny fingers, but in a second, her hand was gone.

The command’s execution was instantaneous. The girl jumped like a cat onto the nearest man with the knife in position, slashing his throat as cleanly as though cutting a fruit from a tree. From his neck, the ‘branch’, a large amount of blood burst out, and his head, the ‘fruit’, shook relentlessly.

She posed no hesitation to assassinate, and was fast to move on to the next action. Using the man’s body as a stepping-stone, the girl leaped and wrapped her bare legs around the neck of another thief, thrusting the knife into the crown of his head. Cries of deathly agony echoed in the room.

The girl then took the unused weapon from the second corpse and turned to face the remaining three people. The thieves, who had finally realized the seriousness of their circumstances, screamed and launched themselves at the girl. But she was quicker. Using her small body, she slipped past their feet and stabbed one after another from behind.

She was so light, yet the way she swung her arms with was so heavy. Her body was even more impressive than Gilbert’s, who had been trained in battle and martial techniques as well as wielding weaponry in the military. She looked as if she had no weight or center of gravity. Every time she flew around, fresh blood splashed along.

“Please stop… sto… stop…” the cornered last man implored for his life. He had completely lost the will to fight back, desperately pleading with trembling lips and a voice coated in fear, “I won’t ever do that again… I’ll compensate for my crimes… so please don’t kill me.”

Most likely, he was reminiscing to what the cooks had told him when finding themselves in the same situation, spitting out what he could remember. He then dropped his weapon to show no resistance.

The girl looked behind her shoulder while still clasping the bloody knife. She sought judgment.

Gilbert shouted, “Stop!”

“Do it.” at the same time, Dietfriet raised his thumb and motioned with it as if cutting his own neck.

The girl opened her mouth a little, showing reluctance. Her eyes darted between the two without settling on either. Seeing that, Dietfriet was perplexed for a moment, then started laughing. He seemed happy.

“Kill.” he ordered once again, still laughing.

The girl moved her arm while still gazing and Dietfriet, robbing the last man’s life. The series of murders took less than a minute altogether. Breathing heavily, she looked in their direction again. She did not speak, but her eyes inquired, “Is this enough?”

——What is this? Gilbert strongly asked himself. What? What on Earth is going on? He gulped lethargically. Is this reality?

“You got it, right? This, Gilbert… isn’t just a kid. Once you figure how to use it, it can become the best weapon in the world…”

He no longer doubted his brother’s words.

“But I’m scared of it.”

Even though she had just killed people, the girl simply stood there, apathetically awaiting further orders.

“It follows me all the time. It sticks with whoever gives it orders. It’s useful, but once I don’t need it anymore, I won’t be able to kill it. This is like an iron wall when it comes to its own protection. I want to use and discard it, but I can’t. This has a natural talent for carnage… no, for fighting. I’ll give it to you, Gilbert. Take it. Since it’s female, it might give some trouble during those days of the month, but if it’s you, you can pull it off, right?”

From his expression, Gilbert understood that Dietfriet was terrified of the girl from the bottom of his heart. Although he was smiling, it was strained.

“You’re definitely better fit for this too.”

The elder brother was pushing onto his younger one a living being that he could not handle by himself. It was for that reason he had called the latter over, with the excuse of celebrating his promotion.

“Hey… you’ll take her with you, right, Gilbert?”

Again, his heart made an unpleasant sound.

In the end, Gilbert took the girl with him. It was partly due to sympathy towards his confident brother, who had never claimed to be afraid of anything yet did have something he was fearful of. The rest was due to him deciding that nothing good would come out of leaving the girl with Dietfriet.

During the time of farewells, Dietfriet said to her, “Bye, monster. This is your new master.” Although he had never treated her like a human until the end, he gave her head a pat.

The girl remained silent, but turned to look back many times while being led by Gilbert, who held her hand. He put his military uniform’s jacket on the barefoot girl, took her in his arms and stood still in the middle of the street.

Even in the aftermath of such a huge incident, the city of Leiden was the same as ever. The scenery was bright enough to make one want to cover their eyes and wonder if it was not actually daytime. The butcher that had just happened had not been leaked to the outside world. The corpses would also most likely either be found at a completely different place or never be discovered at all. Gilbert knew that his brother was not one to take a matter of that sort lightly.

“Hey, don’t go thinking about leaving her in an orphanage or something like that. If it turns into a bloody murder site afterwards, it’ll have nothing to do with me.” The warning his brother had hammered into him like a nail replayed in his head.

After having witnessed the girl’s fighting style, he did not even cogitate letting her go anywhere his eyes could not reach. The child looking at him as if he were something enigmatic was nothing but an unfortunate orphan.

——In just one day, she killed five people.

How should he handle the little ‘killer demon’?

Gilbert seemed different from Dietfriet, but deep down, they were alike. Both viewed things objectively, determined exactly what was currently happening, and tried to deal with it in the best way. Even if they had a humane side to them of significant size, the equal amount of iciness was thanks to being part of the military.

He would not entrust her to anyone. What he should do with the girl he would never be able to neglect due to forgetfulness was obvious when he thought of her as a ‘weapon’ – he had to learn how to correctly ‘use’ her.

Leidenschaftlich was currently in conflict with many countries of the same continent and carried out war on expedition. Since the past, the reasons for clashes between fellow human beings varied from water and fuel to land and religion. All kinds of complex problems were included, but Leidenschaftlich’s main goal for participating the war was to prevent the monopoly plundering of maritime trade due to other countries’ invasions.

Wars between great countries were simply referred to as continental wars. The origin of the current continental war was that the North of the continent had moved towards the South and invaded its territory. It trespassed the South’s economic areas for poaching and illegal occupation. From the North’s viewpoint, that had been necessary.

For some time, many of the countries of both North and South had traded supplies and services with one another. The North, which lacked natural resources, depended too much on trading with the South. As the South realized that, the prices steadily rose. Once the North requested more reasonable fees, the South threatened to cease their mutual trading. Taking control of the opponent by economic domination had been an initiative from the South. In an irrational response, the indignant northern countries decided to take over the South. In cooperation with one another, they repeatedly invaded and destroyed it.

It would have been fine if the conflict were only between North and South, but a different one occurred at the same time – a holy war between East and West. The western and eastern countries had been originally founded as a single nation with one main religion. While revering the same God, differences in the ways of worship and interpretation of doctrine spread out, and so they were divided into West and East.

Although it was originally an east-western country, the West and the South formed an alliance, and the East, which had a strong friendship with the North, displayed a supportive approach in regards of the South’s invasion. The Northeast Alliance called for reconsideration of the South’s trade treaty and the surrender of the pilgrimage areas owned by the West. The Southwest League demanded compensation for aggression by military forces, thoroughly expressing their intention to resist. And so, the continent became enveloped in wars.

Amidst it all, Leidenschaftlich was the keystone to the southern countries. It was the number one trading country of the continent, as well as a military nation. If Leidenschaftlich fell, the South would decidedly lose and be ruled by the North. It just so happened that the South could be put to good use.

Neither could afford being defeated.

Leidenscahftlich counted with an interception unit for internal protection, a navy unit advancing overseas and the army (with the air forces being deployed in both army and navy), and ever since Gilbert had enlisted, he had been integrated in the army’s attacking unit. The relationship with the northern countries was worsening from the time he had joined. He was sent to the battlefield at the age of seventeen and fought in it for around eight years, returning to his motherland a few times a year.

It was only recently that Gilbert had been promoted to major in light of his wartime achievements and expectations from his bloodline. He was currently on temporary leave from the battlefield in order to complete ceremonial procedures, such as receiving an award for his promotion. Meeting the girl at such opportune moment could be considered destiny. It was the most appropriate time for him to grasp the chance of filling a higher-ranking position.

Gilbert decided to enlist her on a militant unit that he had been appointed to take overall command of in his promotion to major. The objective behind the establishment of said unit was to polish talents that would act as secret maneuvers, separately from the main forces, in the decisive battle against the northern countries, which would come at them eventually. It was an ideal place to raise the assassin soldier-like girl while keeping her at arm distance. Still, even if she were to become a member of his own troops, designating a girl not old enough to serve would never be allowed. There were also people who deemed it wrong to have children so close. For the approval of her enlistment, it was necessary to introduce her to the higher military authorities in the way Dietfriet had done with Gilbert.

It had been few days since he had filed a direct appeal to the chief supervisor. A permission to conduct private experiments at the training grounds as to whether the girl could really be a ‘weapon’ was granted to him. Gilbert himself was surprised that the case had passed, but the reason why the higher-ups had complied with the allegations of a young man who had just become major was courtesy of the appraisal he had accumulated. As he was the leader of an influential family, those who knew the man named Gilbert Bougainvillea were aware that he would not make such a proposal as a prank. The trust he had built had won in the end.

However, the brighter the light, the bigger the shadow.

On the day of the experiment, Gilbert and the girl found themselves in the training grounds of Leiden’s army base. It was an institution mainly used for training hand-to-hand combat techniques. As a whole, it had the shape of a rectangular, spacious box.

Gilbert had planned to show off the girl’s fighting abilities to a small number of people in private. Aside from killing, her physical abilities alone were astounding enough. However, when the time to put it to practice came, it was turned into a ‘spectacle’ rather than training.

“Those assassination hedonists…”

Dark curtains blocked the windows of the training room and a heavy, dirty large rug laid on the floor. Ten death row prisoners had been put in position. Amongst them were some who had committed post women violence and robbery murder. The one supposed to fight them was the girl alone. It was as though they meant to say that, if Gilbert’s suggestions were true, defeating ten violent criminals would be easy. Gilbert himself, as well as the Bougainvillea house, were part of the faction that thought badly of such evil testing mechanisms.

——Should I request a cancelation? Gilbert contemplated in resentment. No, but…

There was no other way of raising her while keeping her near him. He was a soldier, she was a killer, and for the sake of being able to live together with him, she had to assert her own existence and earn a place to belong. What good would come of hesitating at that point, he asked himself. If he ever took her to the battlefield, she would not have to face only ten enemies. Thousands of soldiers were allowed to slaughter by using war as excuse. The one who needed to reaffirm his resolution, Gilbert thought, was not the girl, but himself, in order to become her ‘user’.

While reflecting on that, Gilbert realized that the cufflink of his sleeve was being pulled. “What’s the matter?”

The girl was looking at him. As she was expressionless, he could not tell what she was thinking. She appeared to be simply observing the attitude of her new master with her huge blue eyes. It could be that she was concerned about him.

“Aah, I… am fine.” Although she supposedly did not understand words, Gilbert spoke to her gently.

Hearing the answer, she stopped moving for a moment, then pulled the cufflink again.

He felt she meant to say, “If you have any orders to give, please do”, and smiled bitterly at it. “It’s all right. More importantly…”

“Gilbert!”

As he was called from behind, he turned around midsentence. “Hodgins.”

A man of the same age as Gilbert approached him with a carefree smile. Just by looking, he seemed like a good man who got along with women. He had a handsome face and droopy eyes, his chiseled features exceptionally masculine. His characteristic red hair had smooth waves. His military uniform was worn-out, an ornamental plaid cloth hanging from his belt. He gave off a completely different impression from Gilbert, who was clad in the same outfit but without any accessories.

“Dammit… I’m so happy! You were alive! It’s been a while. And on top of it, you’re being promoted to major!” The man named Hodgins continuously slapped Gilbert in the shoulder without ceremony.

Perhaps because his body weight was unbalanced, Gilbert plunged forward as if about to leap. “That hurts… don’t hit me.” was what he opened his mouth many times to say. Such was the relationship between the two old friends.

The girl watched Hodgins with a cautious stare, but as though concluding he had no ill intent towards her lord, she let go of the latter’s cufflink.

“My bad, my bad. I just returned from receiving a medal. While greeting everyone, I heard you were in an extreme situation, so I asked my superior, who I get along with, to let me come here. Have you been well? Are you eating properly? You don’t have a fiancée or anything of the sort yet, huh?”

“You can tell by looking, right?”

“That chilly attitude of yours… it’s been so long that I’m kind of finding it endearing, how weird… Then, in place of a bride, you ended up getting yourself only a daughter?” Hodgins averted his gaze from Gilbert to the girl. He then naturally crouched down to meet her eye level. “What would your name be?”

Silence.

“This kid is quite the taciturn.”

“She… still doesn’t have a name. She’s an orphan with no education and doesn’t understand words.” Gilbert explained while unwittingly turning to the opposite direction. For some reason, he was hurt by his own words.

“You… that’s terrible. She’s so pretty. Just pick a name worthy of her. Right?” Hodgins asked, but as expected, the girl did not react.

He could almost hear ticking of a calculator coming from her blue eyes. It was as if she had isolated a target but was doing some sort of analysis as to what kind of existence she would deem him to be.

“I’ll get embarrassed if you keep staring at me like that… hey, Gilbert, I heard about your circumstances, but are you okay?”

“With what?”

Hodgins stood up after wiping dust off his knee. As he was taller than Gilbert, the latter had to look upward. “I think there’s still time to take it back. Are you really gonna let this child into a killing spree? It seems the higher-ups are looking forward to it, but I wouldn’t stand for a future beauty to be massacred so cruelly.”

“I’m not worried about that. Hodgins, it’s about time for us to go to the bleachers.”

“Hey, Gilbert.”

Facing the girl who only observed without taking part in the conversation, Gilbert opened his mouth, “You can… do it, right?”

It was a pointless question. She could not answer. However, Gilbert could not remain without a confirmation.

“You… are going to overcome it. This situation.” As he regarded the girl, his resolve was shaken. His friend’s words also increased his sense of guilt. Yet he would swallow all of it down and grab onto a future where he could live with her.

——From the moment I embraced you, our destinies intertwined.

Gilbert believed she had to assert her own near-impossible existence.

“I’ll be watching upstairs.”

Leaving the girl with the training referee, Gilbert sat on one of the bleachers closest to the ceiling. Hodgins sat next to him as if it were the obvious thing to do. As he pulled out a cigarette and asked “want one?”, Gilbert took it mutely. With the cigarette between his lips, he used the tip of Hodgins’s own to light it.

“It’s been a while since I smoked.”

“You were with a kid, after all! It’s hard to smoke around them.”

“She seems used to it, but coughs occasionally. Seeing her like that, I couldn’t smoke anymore.”

Hodgins’s eyes narrowed kindly at Gilbert’s profile. “Gilbert, were you always this type of guy? You’ve gone really soft. How about buying a house? It might be unexpectedly fitting for you.”

“Are you recommending that even though you have no intention to get married?”

“I’m a philanthropic, so I can’t get caught onto one person! Ah, I’ll ask again… does that child really have as much potential for battle as you alleged to the higher-ups?”

“Of course.” Gilbert had no concerns in that regard.

“Hey, don’t reply so quickly.”

“Even I surely can’t win against that girl. Same for you. Though it would be a different story if both of you were unarmed.”

“That’s a lie, right? There’s no way I could lose. Just saying it, but although I may be nice with women, I don’t hold back if they’re enemies.”

“Your resolution isn’t the problem. She is a genius…”

Hodgins leaned forward on the bleacher and observed the girl below. The man serving as supervisor was handing weapons over to her. Guns, swords, bows – they were apparently of free choice depending on preference. After a moment of indecision, she picked a small axe. Next was a knife and a one-handed mechanical bow.

Laughter spread in the place at her figure as she selected more than two weapons of different handling. However, as she equipped the mechanical bow onto one arm without reluctance and fired a trial shot, the room fell dead quiet. Subsequently, a noisy wave of whispers ensued.

“The stronger the weapon, the better.”

Everyone was starting to realize the whimsicalness of that beautiful creature little by little.

Gilbert had explained to the supervising officer that she would only move if ordered to ‘kill’. He had also received orders from his superiors stating that the one to play such role would be the referee, claiming that was for the sake of checking if it was not actually just a trick.

——There are no tricks or anything, but if that will make her strength acknowledged, we’ll have to comply.

The shackles on the prisoners’ feet were cut off with sabers. They were given batons. Their precision rate and power was unlike that of the axe, but those were not people who would falter before a child for wielding it. On top of that, it was an all-against-one match. Even if she had chosen a gun, she would be killed if she ran out of bullets, so in the end, it would be the same as if she let the axe slip from her hands.

“Huuh, then… who are you betting on?”

“Hah?”

“I mean in the wager. About who will win. After hearing what you said, I bet on that Little Lady. By the way, we’re wagering with cigs. Goods are more valuable than money right now.”

“Do as you want. And I don’t have any.”

“Aight, then I’ll lend it to you. You, too, should bet five on that girl. If we win, we get the triple of that. If we lose, treat me to a meal. With drinks.”

“I don’t need cigarettes.”

“Gilbert-boy, we’re using cigs to get our hands on other stuff. Like information or goods more expensive. If things go well, buy that girl actual clothes. Those primitive garments might be easy to move around with, but they’re not cute in the slightest.” Hodgins argued at his own convenience and left his seat.

Gilbert could not even call it surprising. Hodgins was the exact kind of man to bet on a child right after having said he would not stand to see her die.

By the time he returned, the bleachers were almost fully occupied. As the soldiers watched, the referee made his move. There was no one to clarify the meaning or origin of the occurring experiment; he merely required Gilbert for consent, to which the latter nodded.

After directing the girl and prisoners to opposing ends of the training ground, the referee said in a loud tone, “Now, commence.”

Wrapped in a hushed heat, the killing spree began. The prisoners grinned while staring at the girl. None moved immediately in attempt to kill her. Their bodies had been freed after a long time. They probably thought it would be boring to end things so easily. Meanwhile, the girl was completely immobile, even as she was commanded to ‘kill’ by the supervisor. Like a figurine, she stood still while holding the axe.

“So it really was a lie? We’ve been made to attend to something so pathetic…” Some bantered without caring about Gilbert hearing it.

“There’s no way that child can win against adults. Just take it back already. Poor thing.” Some murmured on behalf of the girl.

“The Bougainvilleas sure have fallen. To think he’d try to attract attention with a farce…” At such critical moment, some even spoke ill of the power retained by Gilbert’s family.

“What a waste of our time.” The surrounding soldiers talked raucously amongst each other.

“Hey, Gilbert.” Hodgins called out to him in apprehension, yet Gilbert remained quiet without outwardly displaying nervousness.

——Why won’t she move?

Gilbert observed the girl. She gripped the axe tightly. There was no way she had no will to attack.

——Back then, too, she was holding onto those weapons without hesitation. She also has no signs of being afraid. Some sort of cue is missing. But if that’s not the order, then, what is it?

While he reasoned, the biggest man of the group stepped out of line to charge at the girl, extensively swinging the baton and laughing. Although he was at a certain distance, the girl did not budge.

“Hey, Gilbert! She’ll be killed like that!”

With a twitch, the girl reacted to Hodgins’s scream-like voice, looking up at the bleachers. Her blue orbs found Gilbert’s green ones amidst the many other soldiers.

“Gilbert, go stop them! Hey!”

Their gazes merged and, for a second, Gilbert had the feeling their heartbeats were also in sync. Thump, thump, thump. He could feel the disturbing sound of his own heart resonate in his ears.

For some reason, time was running sluggishly. Hodgins was too noisy on his side. The higher-ups cursed the girl with inappropriate words. He could hear them, yet it was as if they were in a slow-motion video.

In his eyes, the prisoner approached the girl in a languid pace. The space between them was closing. In that immediate mortal peril, she looked only at Gilbert. No matter how many times the referee gave the order, her eyes reflected no one but him.

——She staring at… her chosen one.

In response to that, Gilbert recited the magic word, “Kill.”

He spoke in a volume that only the few people around him would have been able to hear, yet it had definitely reached the girl. The sound of the axe cutting the wind as it twirled soon followed.

The wooden axe’s blade was of about fifteen centimeters in length. The lethal weapon was released from the girl’s hand, flying into the air. It was flung after being held aloft from behind, continuously rotating in beautiful arcs.

The girl’s throw had been much too casual. She went for the kill without wavering, moving extremely smoothly and having no doubts as of what to do to defend herself from the looming adversary.

“Ah…” a moronic yet pitiful yelp escaped the prisoner’s lips.

At the same time, the people in the audience gasped with jaws dropped.

“AAA-AH… AAAA-AAAH… AAAAAA-AH, AAH, AAAAAAH!”

The axe had landed into his forehead. Glittering blood ran down from the injury.

“AAAAAAAAAAAHH! UH… AH… AUUAAAAAAAAH, AAAAH, AAAAAAAAAAAAH—AAH… AH, AAAH… AH, AH, AH!”

Immediately, the girl aimed the mechanical bow and shot an iron arrow. It perfectly hit the handle of the axe stuck in the prisoner’s head. With the impact of the arrow, the blade was buried further into his cranium. The prisoner continued screaming until he collapsed backwards with an agonized, painful expression.

All chatter ceased.

Without paying the crowd any mind, the girl moved her petite feet in the direction of the convulsing prisoner, aiming the bow towards his torso and firing another arrow as she drew closer. It was a ruthless, precise, mechanical murder. The iron arrow pierced his chest and took his life away for good.

The girl retrieved the axe from the corpse and swung it lightly downwards, the blood and fat on the blade splashed onto the floor. She also seemed familiar with the successive pattern of collecting the iron arrows and repositioning them. Although her frame was of a young child when she stood still, her image was that of a skilled hunter when she moved.

No one had foreseen that the rug laid on the training ground would be stained with the prisoners’ blood. But from then on, that place would be covered in it. A girl soldier who would engrave her name in the history of Leidenschaftlich’s army was about to be born. As the spectators fearfully embraced that premonition, their stares focused on Gilbert.

He stood up, leaning his body against the security rail. Once more, he gave the order, yelling on top of his lungs, “Kill!!”

The girl moved like an automated doll. She sped up, her small body progressively lowering. Again, she threw the axe, still glistening with blood, into the vital point of one of them.

The prisoners then separated into those who scattered off and those who charged at her wielding their batons in spite of being overwhelmed. The ones that ran away were shot merciless and repeatedly in the head by the arrows. The brave ones cooperated with one another and surrounded the girl. It seemed they planned to corner her and beat her to death. They attacked in unison, trying to steal her weapons.

But that scheme was a mistake.

In the meantime that the girl could not be seen through the gaps between their bodies, the prisoners screamed and rolled onto the floor. Their ankles had been hit, and it was not a random attack – she stabbed and slashed them over and over. Such tactic could be executed due to the girl’s effective flexibility. Her figure as she stood with the knife in hand in the middle of the fallen ones was horrifyingly extraordinary, like a fairy conceived from petals of blood.

As a prisoner attempted to escape while dragging his feet, she rushed to grab his head from behind and tear his throat with the knife, silently ending his life. Her hand movements were similar to that of a chef decapitating fish and chickens. She then turned to the prisoners waiting to be dismantled, murdering them one by one. In the process, the knife eventually became unusable and she could not kill with anything except the batons.

“No! No! No!”

“She’s a monster! Help us! Hey, please help us!”

“NOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

One baton was used and discarded per person. The faces of the prisoners were seamlessly turned into caved-in depressions. Gradually, even some of the soldiers on the bleachers, accustomed as they were to seeing dead bodies in the battlefield, started vomiting and turning their eyes away from the atrocity. However, Gilbert watched it all. Firmly gripping his sword and suppressing his emotions, he kept his eyes wide open until the end.

The one originally meant to serve as bait for such a homicidal game had been the girl. However, he had also not wished for her to be the only one breathing in the end. After all the prisoners had been killed, had they been insufficient as the girl stared straight at referee who watched everything while holding a gun?

The frightened referee pointed the gun at her, but whether he could kill her or not was debatable. Whatever weapon was used to confront her, the chances of winning were slim. She was absolute. Her fighting techniques using multiple weapons compensated for her lesser physical power. Her outstanding skills were superior to brute strength.

Where had she learned all of that and what did she use to do? Even if she could talk, one could not hope for a decent answer.

Her assassination techniques made clear that she had a gift for conquering things through butcher. Not even being outnumbered was an issue. The audience of that ‘show’ was enraptured by her and could not help but applaud her wonderful talent. She was a prodigy. If any gods that controlled death existed, surely she was dearly loved by them.

The little killer who had obeyed the commands of her lord directed her gaze at Gilbert. Blue and green eyes met.

“Stop.” He shook his head at the girl. As he did so, she dropped the baton she had been holding and knelt down on the spot.

Seated on the pool of blood, the girl breathed profoundly. Even as she was sultry with blood and fat, her figure as she inhaled and exhaled with such small lips was but that of a child. It only added up to her fearsomeness.

Hodgins had previously felt dreadful towards Gilbert, as the latter had been too nonchalant, but was a little relieved to see that his profile was pale, fist trembling from his own grip. Hodgins was the kind of simpleton who would try to act as a tease in such a situation, but since his own hands were trembling as well, he settled for slapping Gilbert’s back. “This is quite a discovery, Major Gilbert.”

Gilbert did not reply to the light-hearted compliment.

He had come to realize two things with the ‘experiment’. One was that the girl had an unparalleled strength and was truly a monster. The other was that she would most likely only listen to his orders.

The girl’s deed had stirred Leidenschaftlich’s army.

Later on, Gilbert received an internal command. The direct superior informed him that a new troop had been established for him to lead as captain-major. As originally arranged, the attacking unit was named the Leidenschaftlich Army’s Special Offense Force. Gilbert was required to guide said unit towards the upcoming final battle. Additionally, there was one more thing he was expected to do – to improve a secret weapon not included in the documents that listed the troop’s constituting soldiers.

Leidenschaftlich certified her existence as armament, not a person. Her user was Gilbert Bougainvillea. There was no registered name. In actuality, the attacking unit had been created for her sake.

The day was over in a flash as the various preparations and correspondences for the launching of the team were dealt with. Gilbert formally greeted her as a subordinate, and though she had been forbidden to go close to the front gates, she was allowed to walk around the headquarters. Despite not being registered as a human, she was the one who would always be by his side from then on.

In accordance to Hodgins’s words, he somehow managed to persuade a frightened female officer into taking care of the girl’s daily necessities. She who had her hair cut and was dressed in a brand-new military uniform became famous within the head offices, and there were those who went as far as going to Gilbert’s dorm room to see her. If they were in lower positions than himself, they would leave with a single shout, but he could not do anything reckless when it came to superior officers. There were many who would stare at the girl with perverted eyes as well, which would cause him to sigh multiple times a day.

——I’m doing something terrible.

It was certain that the girl was different from normal human beings, as well as that she was alarmingly strong and could slaughter several people in a row. However, it was also certain that she was a ‘young girl’. No matter how many had perished by her hands, she was only a small child, and the reason why she did not speak was that no one had taught her how to.

——If she’s a monster, is it really all right to use her like this? Is it all right to utilize her as a weapon? Although it was something Gilbert himself had started, he inwardly wavered. Still, in what kind of other place could I leave this child?

It was a realistic problem, but he ignored the pain of his conscience and pushed it to the back of his mind. If there was anything he could do, he believed it was to turn her into a great soldier. After all, she was a heaven-sent warrior child who sought his orders.

The departure ceremony was completed. On the night before the dispatch day, Gilbert decided to talk to the girl about his feelings at the dormitory.

Her figure just before going to sleep, wearing a negligee, was unbearably adorable. Her loose golden hair was as soft as a touch of silk. From the next day on, it would be stained in the color of blood again.

He had her sit on the bed, kneeling down on the floor to meet her eye level. “Listen. Starting tomorrow, you’re going to the battlefield with me. I’ll be borrowing your strength. Surely, you don’t yet understand why you have to be doing this, or why… you’re with me after parting ways with my brother.”

The girl merely listened to Gilbert’s words.

“You don’t know anything. You know nothing except how to fight. I am making use of this. That’s why you, too, should make an effort to use me. Anything is fine. Gold, positions of power… steal from me anything you might want. Become able to think of all sorts of things. You see, I… can’t protect you in any other way. I actually want to bestow you with parents to raise you appropriately. But I can’t.” Gilbert admitted painfully. “I am… scared… of you killing someone without my knowledge. I want you… to understand why that terrifies me so. It’s fine if it takes time. Even if just a little, please embrace my values. If you do that, you should be able to become something more than a ‘tool’, which is what you’re being treated as right now. Please find a place to belong by my side and live on.” He spoke desperately with his hands rested on her thin shoulders. She did not understand what he was saying anyways, but even while being aware of that, having no other method to earnestly transmit his feelings, Gilbert went on, smiling in slight distress at the girl who continued to not say anything, “I’ve decided… to call you Violet. Refer to yourself as that. It’s the name of a mythological flower goddess. Surely, when you grow up… you’ll become a woman worthy of it. Understand, Violet? Do not be a ‘tool’; be ‘Violet’. Become a girl fitting of that name.”

The girl – Violet – stared dazedly at the man calling her name, blinking several times. While doing so, although she was supposed to not know how to speak, for some reason, she nodded slowly and opened her mouth, “Major.”

Gilbert’s eyes widened in astonishment at the whisper that leaked from her lips. “You can use words?” His heart raced to the point of aching. The words he spoke in the countless days he spent conversing with her flashed through his mind instantly.

“Major.”

“Do you understand what I’m saying, Violet?” he asked, somewhat happy despite being anxious.

“Major.” No matter how much he inquired, she would not say anything else. Then, pointing at herself, she repeated, “Major.”

“Wrong, you are Violet.” Taking her tiny index finger, he alternately pointed at her and himself a number of times. “The major is… me. You are Violet. Get it? I am Major. You are Violet.”

“Major. Violet.”

“That’s right. You’re Violet.”

“Major.”

“Y-Yes. I am… I am… the major.”

Why had she suddenly started talking? Why was his honorific the first word she uttered? Had she learned that he was called ‘Major’ from hearing someone refer to him as such? Had she felt that he was trying to give her a name and decided to confirm his? Only she knew the answers to such questions. In the end, she still could not say anything besides ‘major’ and ‘Violet’.

Excessively saddened, Gilbert lay his head on her shoulder and sighed. She simply let him do so. Ignoring him as his head hung sloppily, she continued to whisper, “Major.” It was an attempt at memorizing it, as to never forget the word.

“Major.”

In-between her golden bangs, her blue eyes slowly opened.

Sounds of subsequent explosions echoed in the surroundings. The sky was a sunny azure, but from the eyes of the birds above, only a vehement firefight could be seen. In an inhabited plain that was almost a desert, the unit was divided into two factions, working on their offense and defense.

The owner of the blue eyes was a woman terribly mismatched for a land of war. With a beauty akin to that of a doll, her all-too-refined complexion was not seen as anything but unattainable for ordinary people. Her whole body was covered in dirt as she lay flat on her back over the soil, staring at the man agitatedly watching her and muttering, “Major… for how long… have I been unconscious?” The voice mustered from her red lips had a sweet ring to it.

“Not even a full minute. You just had a minor brain concussion because of an explosion’s impact. Are you all right? Don’t force yourself to stand up.” The one who replied was a man of huge emerald orbs. His battle uniform was made of grass-green fabric and white fur. He had handsome facial traits that harmonized with his gloomy expression.

The young woman immediately sat up, regardless of being told otherwise, and confirmed the situation. In the frontlines were soldiers who wore the same military uniforms, forming a protective barrier in the camp to block gunshots. Behind them was a gigantic hole with numerous corpses distributed around it. Combat medics were everywhere, but not many survivors were expected. On the other side of the allies’ barrier, beyond the blowing dust of the enemy grounds, a large-caliber gun, which had created the mountain of dead bodies ahead, was positioned out of sight. It had probably recoiled backwards due to the bombardment and did not show signs of moving anytime soon.

“Major, I will cross to the other camp, cause a disturbance and break their balance first-thing. Then I will bring down their cannon. Since it’s so huge, it should take time to reload. Please give me aid.” As soon as a she said so, the young woman lifted the battle-axe that she had been holding even as she had lost consciousness.

While sabers, guns and cannons were mainstream, the battle-axe was a classic weapon. It was menacing at close-range fights, but would be nothing but a disadvantage against a distant opponent. To compensate for that, the long-handle axe wielded by the young woman was enormous. The total length was probably more than her height.

The so-called ‘Major’ had an agonized expression for a moment, but immediately raised his voice and gave orders, “Violet will stop the cannonballs! Front vanguard, protect her from where you are! Rear vanguard, back Violet up and get rid of whoever interferes!”

The soldiers behind the major’s back quickly took formation as she readied herself, positioning her big-scale weapon’s handle, which had almost the same diameter as the body of a human child, over her shoulder. The reason for doing so could only be comprehended as she took off.

“Fire!!”

A cannonball shot after the signal flew far past Violet as she broke into a run, landing on the ground and creating white smoke as it burst. It was a smoke bomb; a way of hiding her figure from the enemy line. The other side could only see a rising fog. The troops with stars in their army flags – a proof of alliance with the North – stopped moving at the unexpected smoke curtain.

“Do they intend to flee?” one of the North’s soldiers asked in surprise while accidentally loosening the hand he had on the trigger of his gun and being scolded by the commander. The latter then yelled instructions to shoot at the smokescreen, but as the bullets were fired into the invisible target, they disappeared. It only gave way to anxiety, as it was an inevitable waste of ammo.

The white smoke spread like a thundercloud. Said sight was the sole nuance of the warriors whose mission was to take their enemies’ lives. It was not something to feel at ease for by any means; rather, it only caused disturbance. An indescribable ‘tremor’ surged within their bodies at the abrupt silence brought upon by Leidenschaftlich after such an overheated firefight.

The space in-between the two camps started to clear up. Whatever Leidenschaftlich army’s next move would be, there was no way it would suddenly charge at them. Once the smoke settled, would there be nothing left? Or rather, would there not be a terrifying ‘beast’ advancing towards them from within the forest of smoke ahead?

“So… So… Something is coming!” a shout ensued once the premonition became a reality.

Something that resembled a snake surfaced out of the smoke curtain and wrapped itself around the ankle of one of the soldiers. He was immediately pulled into the whiteness, and from it could be heard his screams of fatal anguish.

Before long, the unidentified object returned. Looking closely, it was a long counterweight chain. Its tip had an ornament in the shape of a physalis fruit. As its user seemed to attempt the same move twice, it was aimed at someone else’s foot and repelled by a saber.

The chain quickly withdrew, coming back after a few seconds. As if the previous speed had been merely a tryout, it came hitting all of the front guard shooters in the face with a remarkably differing swiftness. The move was done with the ornament of the chain’s tip, which was actually a cluster of sharp sickles. It painfully shed off the soldiers’ eyes and noses, promptly rendering tens of people unable to fight.

“AAH—AAAAAAH—AAH… AH, AH!”

“IT HURTS! IT HURTS, IT HURTS, IT HURTS! AH, AH, AH… NO… NOOOOO!”

“KILL IIIIIT! DON’T LET THAT THING GET UUUUUS!”

Multiple commands and screams intermixed.

The commander, whom the soldiers had been protecting, wound up uncovered. As if targeting a defenseless prey, the chain stretched out. The tip’s sickles caught his head. Following a blast sound similar to a gunshot, the decoration that ended up becoming a part of the armament crushed the commander’s face on the spot. Blood gushed out, flesh splattered. The commander fell to his knees and collapsed lifelessly.

The North allies became totally still for a moment at the unanticipated brutality, before the storm of shouting filled the space again.

“Attack! Whatever the opponent is, just kill them!” someone said amidst the unrest. It seemed the cannon being prepared from far behind the front guard was finally ready to shoot again. Their intention was probably to blow up the undisclosed enemy.

The blood-soaked chain mercilessly hurled off its victim and reverted into the smoke, aiming for the cannon once it returned. The artilleryman put himself in position once the preparations for discharge were done. However, he was not attacked in the same way as the commander – instead, the weapon bound him by hands and feet, as if to attach him onto the gun barrel.

Just as it had done up until now, the chain retreated to the same direction it had come from. It likely had an extension-and-contraction function, and could not pull anything too heavy. Given that, what happened next was the chain being pulled by the opposing side. Sounds of machinery could be heard from beyond the smoke.

The chain’s wielder at last revealed themselves. They could have been awaiting for the extreme chaos to reach its peak. A single soldier stood amidst the smokescreen, retracting the chain that firmly tied the barrel and the artilleryman together. They carried a battle-axe of the size of a person.

“What… is that…!?”

The unnerving intruder’s weapon was odd – the counterweight chain stretched from within the end of the axe’s handle. They advanced towards the enemy camp at high speed while propelling onto the chain’s automatic retrenchment. On top of that, they had a gun in one hand, shooting the people they passed by in the head, going as far as artistically jumping onto the gun barrel and exposing themselves to the soldiers of the northern alliance’s army.

The warrior with the peculiar battle-axe who had penetrated into the enemy defense was a blue-eyed, golden-haired girl. She wore Leidenschaftlich’s military uniform as proof that she was part of it. The soldiers were taken aback not only by the fact she was a female or that she looked too young, but also by her striking beauty.

“Warning. If you do not wish to die, surrender.” The stunning girl soldier kicked the chain with her military boots, causing it to shake violently onto the barrel, demanding submission. “Those who do not leave their weapons on the ground…” one of her hands held onto the battle-axe, the other onto the gun. “…will be seen as planning to fight back, and shall be annihilated in the name of Leidenschaftlich’s army.” Before finishing the last sentence, Violet raised the axe over her head.

Even without an outbreak signal, the battle restarted. Violet jumped into the horde of soldiers that came for her with bloodshot eyes. Multiple blades were pointed up simultaneously, as though to skewer her.

“I did warn you.”

No matter how incredible of a weapon she wielded, it was still extremely inconsequent to throw herself into enemy camp all alone. But even so, a shower of dead bodies erupted only in her surroundings. It was the same as when she had pronounced herself at Leidenschaftlich’s training grounds.

A rain of blood splashed onto the soil. In the middle of the red storm, she was a beautifully sprouting flower.

Manipulating the battle-axe, which was alarming enough just by looking, Violet struck and slashed the enemies. As her gun became unusable, she would steal firearm from them – pistols, bayonets, rifles, anything. She did not show disinclination to use any sort of weapon. Rather, as she stole them, they seemed to become even more vigorous in her hands.

Even against soldiers much bigger and stronger than herself, like an acrobat, she jumped about as if dancing, putting her extraordinary physical abilities to use. Her figure as she did so was spectacularly awe-inspiring. She possessed the strength of a thousand in body and weapon techniques.

The Leidenschaftlich troops came in a little bit after into the hell of agonized shrieks that enemy camp had been turned into. The victory belonged to the Leidenschaftlich Army’s Special Offense Force.

The battle had been triggered by the fact Gilbert’s troop was moving to the next battlefield. Whether by information leakage or a true coincidence, they had bumped onto the enemy unit of earlier and suddenly broken into combat.

After leaving the torture of the war prisoners to someone else, Gilbert Bougainvillea walked in a straight line while showing his appreciation to the troopers confirming the damage each person had received. Before his field of vision was Violet, who sat on the ground holding the battle-axe and leaning against one of the military trucks with her eyes closed.

“Violet, I’ve brought water.” He showed her the tubular water bottle in his hand.

Violet opened her eyes in a flash, accepted the bottle and, after momentarily bringing it to her lips, she downed the water over her head. Blood and mud were washed off her face.

“Don’t you have any injuries? Does it hurt anywhere?”

“Major, there are no issues. A bullet grazed my shoulder but the bleeding has already stopped.” The bandages underneath her combat uniform were dyed black with blood. A first-aid kit lay on the ground.

Despite being the one who had contributed most in the previous battle, no one expressed gratitude towards her other than Gilbert. Everyone merely observed from afar, as if a fence had been placed around her.

“You should rest inside. I’ve had a car with nothing but gear be cleaned up. It will take a couple of hours to reach the supplying city. Go sleep.” Gilbert pointed at the unit’s largest vehicle.

Violet nodded, staggering towards it as she dragged the battle-axe along. She hopped onto the military truck with a convertible top, squatting on a spot made for a single person to sleep in. Immediately, she fell into slumber.

After confirming that Violet had entered the car, Gilbert started giving orders to the other soldiers. The entire troop left that land behind, earnestly driving away.

The sun was setting, the sky changing from orange to dark cobalt, when the unit finally arrived at its destination. The city was the base of Leidenschaftlich’s army divisions. Gilbert’s troops were welcomed and greeted by comrades at the dormitory. They would stay there for a few days.

Gilbert briefly told those who were uninjured to “not overstep the boundaries” as an implicit form of scolding while giving them permission to go outside. In the end, the number of Special Force members that had remained in the dormitory was small. Violet’s slept in her room, which was the only private lodging instead of a shared one.

“Major. Major, you don’t have to.” As Gilbert headed for her room with a tray of dinner, one of the local division’s members nervously called out to him. “I will carry it.” the young man said while offering to take the tray, but Gilbert shook his head.

“It’s been said a few times before, but since some of our personnel wound up coming back as corpses, this is my job.”

“Eh, ‘corpses’…? Were… they killed by that woman? Is that… Violet?”

“That’s right. Well, when we asked about it, we were told it was because they were guilty of actions that would have unavoidably resulted in their deaths either way…” although his explanation was indistinct, anyone not disproportionately naïve could understand the implications in it.

“Is that why she’s getting a room for herself?”

There was not much of a reaction. In the eyes of other members, it probably seemed like Violet was receiving special treatment, since she was a girl soldier. Or was it because she was the object of Gilbert’s affections? There were many ways to see her in a lewd light.

Gilbert spit out a sentence that he had already become used to saying, “She’s substantially our unit’s most skilled member. In normal circumstances, she would have a suitable medal on her chest and you would be supposed to salute her. But since she’s unfortunately kept a secret, she can at least be treated in accordance to her achievements. Anyhow… even if your offer was out of courtesy, I can’t accept it. If there is anything I might want help with in the future, I’ll count on you. Step aside.”

The young man had a complex expression, but bowed and left regardless. As the sounds of his footsteps grew farther, Gilbert sighed.

——Makes me want a tattoo saying “don’t ask” on my face.

A few years had passed ever since he had taken in the little Violet. No matter where he went or whom he met, he would be sought after for explanations regarding her existence. There was no helping it.

A plausible rumor ran amongst the Leidenschaftlich army: that the son of the Bougainvillea family, the country’s heroes, kept a girl soldier who was celebrated as a War Goddess. It also seemed she was referred to as “Leidenschaftlich’s Warrior Maiden” – a nickname someone had come up with. It was not a title given to a mere girl soldier. That was when men had started to surround her often, and people who had created a monster-like image for her began spreading by word of mouth, after meeting her in person, that she was like a witch with the face of an angel. Having an underling with a demonic beauty and natural-born outstanding prominence in battle gave him a hard time as a boss.

——I’ve raised her to be too worthy of her name.

The tableware clanged as Gilbert climbed up the dorm’s old wooden stairs. Although various parts of the division had received cautioning not to go near her room, he found numerous men attempting to peek into it and barked at them. Just calling their names was enough to make them leave. He sighed again as he would have to arrange for their unit’s leader to give them punishment.

He opened the door after knocking. “Violet.”

At the call, she raised her head from her curled up position on the mattress, wearing an oversized men’s shirt.

“Let’s eat.” Gilbert, who had brought his own share along, put it on the table at the corner of the room and sat on the accompanying chair. He then handed her share to her on the tray. “Can you hold it… with that arm?”

“Thank you very much. The right side is unharmed.”

As she graciously bowed in gratitude, there was nothing in her actions that he could say to resemble the time they had met. Her body was also morphing from the one of a girl to that of a woman with the passage of the years.

“Major… are you all right with not going out?”

After telling Violet to eat up as she was holding the spoon without touching the meal, Gilbert replied, “The reports have been accumulating, and there’s also a meeting to decide the next battle’s strategy. Playing around is other people’s work. It’s another story if you want to go outside, though. You would have been allowed if you had gone with someone.”

“With whom?”

“Who knows? Anyone is fine.”

Violet shook her head in negation. She did not speak to the comrades who worked in the same unit. It was probably due to the so-called ‘one tablespoon of fear and two teaspoons of tactlessness’. Those who continuously watched her fight from up close would inevitably want to keep a distance. Gilbert was acquiescent, but that did not apply to everyone.

——This is nothing much.

Just like that, she had grown up rarely ever talking to anyone other than him.

——However, if she becomes attached to someone else, it would be a problem.

That had to do with his concerns about his ‘weapon’ being stolen, but lately, there were also forbidden emotional reasons involved.

“If you’re lacking anything, just ask a female officer to buy it for you. Or do you want to do that yourself?”

“No, I have everything I need, so it is fine.”

“Since you don’t use your savings, they’ve piled up… you’re a teenager now, so it’s okay to buy an accessory or two. There might not be many opportunities to wear it, but it’s good just having one.”

“What is a ‘teenager’?”

“Kids who look as old as you are. You appear to be… a little… older, though.”

Four years had passed since the two of them had first met, without Gilbert ever finding out her actual age. Supposing she was ten at the time, she now was fourteen. Were she normal, Violet would still have cherubic face. Yet her extremely sophisticated features erased that innocence and made her look like a mature woman.

After teaching her how to speak, Gilbert had tried questioning her about her past, but she did not have memories prior to meeting Dietfriet. Before she had realized, Violet had told him, she was in an inhabited island awaiting someone’s orders.

“What do teenage girls buy?”

“Let’s see… I’m not married and haven’t seen my sisters very often after being dispatched to the battlefield, so I can’t say much, but… I believe it’s things like dresses, brooches, rings and cute dolls.”

Violet looked at her battle-axe and military bag placed in the corner of the room. The axe rested behind her lord, wrapped in a dirty cloth. Her baggage consisted of only that.

“I think there’s no meaning in me having something of that sort. Just… receiving Witchcraft from Major is enough. The design is just as I had hoped for and it’s fairly easy to wield.”

The axe she had used in the previous battlefield was a special order-made one that Gilbert had requested for her. The name given to it by the inventor was ‘Witchcraft’.

Gilbert smiled bitterly at the fact that it was very much like Violet, who had yearned for a fatal weapon, to not want things that ordinary people would. “If I… had done more for you when you were younger, I wonder if you would have interest in these things.”

He had never tried to buy her dresses or dolls. During the four years after meeting Violet, the unit was constantly moving around the continent, never taking a long enough break. Such was the military life. Gilbert, who had just been promoted to Major and carried the responsibility of leading the troops, was always busy with daily affairs, and had made teaching her how to speak his utmost priority. However, it was both hers and Gilbert’s achievement that she had managed to build and maintain a solid reputation in the army despite being so disparate. He had spent quite some effort to make that unique girl familiar with society. And he had been successful.

Gilbert stared at Violet. Her creamy skin never darkened, no matter how much it was exposed to the sun. Her facial traits were remarkable even without make-up.

He had once said she should become worthy of her name. She was developing as he had wished. Her beauty was slightly god-like. It would most certainly become even more elegant if she wore something other than a military uniform. Surely, she could become a flower prettier and tenderer than any woman of nobility.

——At first, she was supposed to follow that path.

Gilbert had given her words and taught her manners. She never killed aside from when ordered and for her own protection. Rather, she was like that from the start, even before she had become able to speak. Had he cast his fears away and sent her to an appropriate caregiver organization, she might have moved on with her life without ever having contact with the battlefield. As result of being taken under Gilbert’s wing, Violet had been shot, her exhausted body resting on the bed as she sipped a cold soup. It made him feel miserable.

“Violet, tomorrow… no, the day after… I will make some time, so why don’t we go outside together for a bit?”

“Why?”

“You’ve become taller, and you haven’t bought clothes for a while now, right? Let’s get some.”

“The ones I’m being provided with suffice.”

“You’re not being provided with sleepwear, are you? It’s very worn-out.” Gilbert pointed at her shirt’s sleeve.

He always left the purchasing of her daily necessity items to female officers standing by and had never done it himself. Her sleeping garments had all become stained from killing perpetrators, so he had merely lent his own to her as temporary measure.

Even though she was not attached to anything else, Violet refused, as if the items she received from Gilbert were exceptions. “But… it’s something that Major gave me, so I can still wear it.”

Gilbert’s voice softened naturally at her lovable attitude, “I don’t want you to wear… negligees like the ones you used to when you were smaller in the dorms, but there are similar things that are just as comfortable. No, it doesn’t have to be sleepwear. It can be something you want to eat.”

“If Major wants to go out, I will wait here. You will be at ease if I do not leave the room, right? If I lock it up, people cannot get in either.” She gestured to represent someone sneaking into her bed. “I cannot hold back when I am injured, after all.”

Violet was self-conscious about killing people. It was commendable that she made use of her unstoppable defense instinct to restrain all those who attempted to violate her, but murdering comrades was going too far. She was aware that Gilbert kept her at a distance from others for the sake of protecting them.

“I… you… I want to… go outside with you. Just once in a while… would you let me act like a parent?”

It was a slightly forceful excuse, but if Gilbert had married early, it would not be odd for him to have a child about as old as Violet. He had taught her everything, from language to day-by-day lifestyle. Their relationship could be described as parent and child, older brother and younger sister, teacher and student…

“Major is… not my father. I do not have any parents. It is strange to use Major as replacement for that.”

…and, of course, superior and subordinate. Her delicate voice pierced Gilbert’s chest.

“Even if… you think that… for me, you are…”

——You are…

He could not properly go on. What was she for him? What word defined her best? ‘Weapon’ might be the most appropriate. Nevertheless, it was clearly inconsistent to be protective of a mere ‘weapon’ out of self-awareness for her being of the opposite sex. In that case, she was either his ‘daughter’ or ‘little sister’. Still, no matter how much he tried to copy family-like actions, she did not pay much attention to them, and did not treat him as such.

Violet herself did not think of Gilbert as her parent. Although he was of a higher status, if Violet did not see him as above of herself, once she turned her fangs at him, he would automatically be done for, and the reasons why they had their current kind of relationship was that Violet sought his orders and possessed grandiose fighting attributes. Between them was an interchangeable cooperation – he gave her instructions in the battlefield and she lent him her strength for victory. Such was the immutable truth.

“I… you…”

Gilbert and Violet did not have any actual relation.

“I…”

Watching as Gilbert shut his mouth, Violet’s eyes moved about in a rare display of confusion. “If Major wishes, I will go.” she told him, “If Major orders me to…”

“It’s not an order…”

“If… it is your desire…”

No matter what, Violet did not let him have any hopes. Yet Gilbert smiled, regardless of feeling so awful, as she attempted to comfort his dejected self. “Yeah, it is my desire, so please fulfill it.”

Once the smile appeared on his face, Violet exhaled deeply as if relieved and nodded. “Yes, Major.”

She was almost like a doll.

On the evening of two days after, for the first time in the four years they had spent together, the two went outside for matters unrelated to their jobs. Gilbert had somehow managed to get free time by starting work early, and went to pick her up in her room.

He had informed his co-workers that he would be leaving the headquarters, but instead of receiving cold looks, he and Violet were seen off by the members of their unit as if the latter were witnessing something exceptional. In Violet’s case, just stepping outside was already rare. In Gilbert’s case, since he was normally busy with documents and meetings with stakeholders, he personally never had time to go out. The reason he had presented for his leave was that he had a ‘compromise’, so perhaps everyone believed he was off to work. Not being interrogated about it was favorable for him.

They headed downtown on foot. Being side-by-side was only the usual, but walking around the city beside Violet as she was clad in a skirt made Gilbert feel ticklish. He wound up constantly side-glancing her.

The sky had become a bit dark. Street lamps illuminated the shopping district. Strings with lanterns linked the buildings sandwiched between one another on each side of the large road, imitating the brilliance of stars. The weather was warm, the atmosphere suitable for having a drink while listening to cheerful music. Yet neither Gilbert nor Violet smiled as though enjoying themselves, only walked expressionlessly.

The duo entered a big clothing store that was still open. It was a strange shop, with clothes hanging from ceiling to floor. Perhaps because that was the city where the army headquarters were located, as the two soldiers came in, they were welcomed without any reactions of surprise.

“This looks good. This looks good too.”

The shopkeeper was a woman in her forties. She spoke to Violet as if choosing clothes for her own daughter to try out.

As Violet stood still with a troubled attitude, Gilbert spoke on her behalf, “These are too flashy. Any color looks good on her… but don’t forget she’s a combatant.”

“Then, how about this, Mister?”

“It has a fine design. I will stay here, so please pick undergarments as well at your own discretion.”

The shopkeeper gently touched Violet’s chest, her face growing sour. “Really. It feels like the ones she’s wearing don’t match her size.”

As the two women disappeared into the backroom, Gilbert was finally able to breathe. He put a hand to his mouth and turned to the side, glad they had not seen his cheeks go bright red.

“Thank you for buying so much stuff! Come again.”

It was further into the evening when their shopping for clothes ended and the shopkeeper saw them off. They could have gone home at that point, but Gilbert changed his mind as Violet stopped to observe the road glittering with lanterns.

“It is as if the stars have descended to the earth.”

Since they were already there, he decided to look around the evening downtown area. First, they went to the drink stalls. Liquor joints with alcohol collected from various placed and food carts with broiled meat and fried potatoes attracted customers from everywhere with their delicious smells. Some who appeared to be already tipsy sang merrily, a band playing an improvised tune to match them. People gathered to the seemingly entertaining atmosphere, dancers taking advantage of it to earn coins.

As the two walked forward, the number of shops that dealt with food decreased, giving space to a line-up of street vendors who sold precious gems and ethnic accessories. Gilbert had heard from a member who had enjoyed his break from the very first day that the shops changed from day to nighttime, but the two of them did not know the daytime assortment. However, although the number of people did not differ much, unlike the previous liveliness, that part of the district had a more serene air.

It did not seem like anything had particularly sparkled Violet’s interest, but upon going there, her feet halted for a moment.

“Is there anything you want?”

“No…” she denied, but her eyes continued staring in the same direction.

Gilbert held her by the arm and took her for a closer look by force.

“Welcome.” The good-natured elderly shopkeeper greeted courteously.

Glass boxes containing jewels lay in rows over a black velvet carpet placed on the floor. Gilbert could not tell if they were genuine, but felt that the workmanship put in them was more elaborate and elegant than the goods of the other sellers. Violet keenly examined the products and Gilbert flinched when she directed her gaze at him as if to shoot him dead with it.

“What is it…?”

“Major’s eyes are here.” Violet pointed to a gem. Her slender white finger stretched straight ahead, toward an emerald brooch.

Certainly, it did resemble the mysterious color of Gilbert’s irises. It was a big, shiny oval, blooming from within its glass box in a more conspicuously gorgeous way than the other jewels.

“What… do you call this?”

While Violet opened her mouth and frowned as if she could not get the word out, the shopkeeper offered assistance, “Emerald.”

“Not… the name…”

“If it’s not the name, what did you mean?”

“When I… saw this… I wondered what kind of word would be fitting for it…”

“So that’s what it was.” The shopkeeper laughed at her. “It’s ‘beautiful’, Young Lady.”

From the shopkeeper’s viewpoint, laughing was the obvious reaction. He was a jewelry merchant. It was surely a word ingrained to his routine. Yet Violet, who was more worthy of it than anyone else, felt her mouth ruminate as she pronounced for the first time the term she had just learned.

“‘Beautiful’…”

“What’s… with you? Did you not know that word?”

“I did not know ‘beautiful’. Does it have the same meaning as… ‘pretty’?”

“Is that true? My, I’m surprised. You seem so intelligent…”

——Ah, what a situation.

Gilbert stood flabbergasted between the two. His body grew intolerably hot. The feeling was similar to committing a terrible blunder, with cold sweat, racing heartbeats and embarrassment burning his insides.

He was the one who had taught her how to speak. During the four years they had lived together, he had trained with her the necessary for everyday conversations. That included military jargon.

——Still, I…

He had not taught her a word so simple. Once she had learned how to talk to a certain extent, he might have thought she would logically know other words. He had measured her linearly, on his own accord, even though she used to be a little girl who could say nothing other than ‘major’.

“Are you a war orphan?”

“No, but I do not have parents.”

She did not seek any word apart from ‘kill’. After taking her in and becoming her guardian, he had only brought her to battlefields. Today had been their first day going out for a shopping trip like that.

——Ah… there I was, talking about acting like a parent, and yet…

He had not properly taught words to her at all. It was extremely disconcerting.

——To think I’ve never said “beautiful”, even though I can say “kill”… even though the word truly matches her…

While Gilbert fell deep into regret, the chatter went on.

“What about writing? Can you do it?”

“Only my name…”

“Whoever gave birth to you is incompetent, then. Even I can write.”

“Is it a good thing to know how to write?”

“You’d be able to write letters.”

“Letters…?”

“If you live far from your hometown, you should at least write some.”

“Is that so…?”

Gilbert slammed his wallet onto a glass box to interrupt their exchange.

“Wait, you… can’t do that. The goods…”

“I’m buying one… Violet, choose.” he said in a low tone, as if angered.

Violet blinked. “Is that an order?”

“Yes, it is… choose something. Anything is fine.”

The truth was that he had not wanted to call it an order. However, he did not think she would obediently listen had he said otherwise.

Violet looked at the glass boxes again and, as expected, pointed back to the emerald brooch. “Then, this one.”

As Gilbert pressured the shopkeeper with a stiff expression, the latter simply smiled and handed over the brooch while saying, “Come again anytime.” Being it a pricy brooch, it was only evident that, as the shop’s owner, he would be as satisfied as possible.

Accepting the brooch, Gilbert pulled Violet by the arm once more and left the spot. The streets were packed with people that had come to enjoy the evening city. Within the crowd, the two of them, usually always questioned about their relationship and existence no matter where they went, were but a part of the congestion.

As Violet was not used to multitudes, her eyes moved about in every direction and her legs lagged. In the process, their hands let go of one another and both became separated. It was then that Gilbert finally turned back to look at Violet. Her golden hair was hidden in the mass of bodies.

“Major.”

He could hear her call amidst the noise. Regardless of how many people were there or of not being able to see her, there was no way he would miss that voice. Always, ever since the first time she had said ‘major’, her wind chime-like timbre had been engraved in his ears. He hurried to go a few ways back from the path they had come.

“Violet…”

Violet stared at the flustered Gilbert with a tranquil expression as he breathed heavily. It seemed getting lost had not made her the slightest bit nervous.

“Major, what should I do with this… now that I have it?” she showed him the brooch that she had been holding firmly all along.

“Clasp it somewhere you’d like.”

“I will end up losing it.”

Gilbert sighed. “In a battle, yes. But you can just wear it on your days off. Though, since your eyes are blue, maybe it would have been better to have bought something also blue.”

Violet shook her head at the last sentence. “No, this one was the most ‘beautiful’.” She said as she pierced the brooch’s needle into her clothes, “It’s the same color as Major’s eyes.”

Her assertion was clear. Gilbert’s breath caught for a second at the words said by her sweet tone.

——Why… are you… saying that my eyes are beautiful… at a time like this?

Even though she was a girl who acted as if she had no heart, she worshiped the man that had raised her without teaching her how to express emotions.

——I have… no right… to be told such things.

Without having any clue about what Gilbert was thinking, Violet continued, “I have always… thought they were ‘beautiful’. But I did not know the word, so I had never said it.” As if she could not accurately put the brooch on, she thrust the needle continuously. “But Major’s eyes, from the moment we met, were ‘beautiful’.”

Gilbert’s vision blurred at the whispered words. It was only for an instant. His eyes were soon able to capture the world clearly again as he pushed back whatever was burning within him.

——Erase your feelings. You can’t let yourself be seen with a face like this.

Suppressing his sentiments and pleasures had been paying off. Working as a soldier required that in particular.

“Let me…” he took the brooch from her hand and put it on her instead.

Violet dropped her gaze to the twinkling of the gem on her collar.

“Major, thank you very much.” Her voice had become a little fainter. “Thank you very much.”

As he was repeatedly told so, he grew uncomfortable and his chest felt like it was being boiled.

——I can’t… say anything. I don’t have the right to.

He pondered on how relieved his heart would be if he earnestly put his thoughts into words. Guilt, regret, bitterness, frustration, anger, sorrow. The soup of feelings mixed up in his head was about to overflow.

The battlefield suddenly changed a few days after. The continental war that had begun with a monetary conflict between North and South and the religious conflicts between West and East, which broke out in the same period, interconnected and made the circumstances even more complicated. Gilbert and the Special Offense Force of Leidenschaftlich’s Army were not usually dispatched to large-scale, definite battlefields, but to smaller ones in different places. The role of bringing things to an early end was up to the Raid Unit. And diversified battles – in other words, skirmishes – spread steadfastly in the continent. They were not easy clashes in which the opposing forces collided at only one area.

The extensive battlefield shared by the defense lines of the northern invasion and southern inhibition was named Intense. It based itself right in the middle of the continent. The entirety of its region consisted of sacred lands, according to the religion shared by the countries of West and East. It was a city made of stone and the largest supply center in the southwestern territory. Desiring to take possession of the West side of the sacred lands, the East lent their strength to the North as an allied nation, and consequently, the West joined the South.

It was three in the morning when a report informing that Intense’s defense lines had been destroyed arrived. Said defense lines, which had been full of military camps, were rapidly annihilated by the North’s attacks, going into a continuous state of abeyance. At the same time, smaller conflicts in various areas were settling down. The details of the incident denoted that the North, which lacked natural resources from the very beginning, and the East, which had offered it support, had become unable to draw supplies, quietly focusing their military forces on Intense, betting everything in an all-out confront.

The Southwest camps, which had been unprepared to respond immediately to surprise attacks of overwhelming difference in power, resumed moving forward. Orders of convocation were delivered to Gilbert and his unit, which belonged to the Allied Union of the Southwest Nations and had heard the report on the defense lines’ breakthrough. A messenger had come to officially announce that every soldier there assembled was meant to take part in the decisive battle, in which all armies would gather.

It seemed the Northeast allied nations’ troops had already reached the sacred grounds and taken control of it. In reality, the next battle was not simply for a replenishment site or reclaiming of sacred lands – it would be a full-fledged final battle. Whichever was unsuccessful would clearly have their constrained territories and countries robbed by the enemy. Platoons that had been directed to various places congregated at a stronghold established in the outskirts of Intense’s sacred grounds.

It was late into the night when Gilbert and the others arrived in the headquarters. At the camping, he reunited with Hodgins after so long.

“You were alive.” This time, it was Gilbert who found Hodgins and patted his shoulder.

The red-haired man smiled broadly as he turned around. “Gilbert… hey. So you were alive too. Were you worried about me? Many of my subordinates died, but… I survived.”

He was responsible for a part of the troops stationed at Intense. His fatigue and pessimism of losing his companions were not hidden underneath his smile. He had laughed at his own joke, but the bags under his eyes were deep and his face was dirty.

While changing locations, Gilbert and his troop had taken a look around the site of Intense’s defense line’s battlefield, but found nothing other than a heap of corpses that had not been condoned scattered on the ground. There had not been even time to offer a silent prayer – all were supposed to prepare for the decisive battle.

The conditions were likely hard to bear for Hodgins, as those had been comrades he entrusted his life with and confided in on a daily basis. However, the moment he saw Violet as she came along, he finally showed a genuinely cheerful look. “Is this… that small girl?”

“Violet. That’s how I named her…”

“You… can come up with some pretty pompous names. Little Violet, huh? Well, this isn’t your first meeting with me, but you don’t remember it, do you? I’m an one-sided acquaintance of yours. Call me ‘Major Hodgins’.”

Holding a cup of the soup that was being distributed, Violet saluted him. Even in the darkness, her fascinating looks hypnotized him for a moment, highlighted by the lamp-fire. Gilbert cleared his throat, bringing him back to reality.

“You’ve become a beauty…” Hodgins put an arm over Gilbert’s shoulder and spoke in a low voice as both turned their backs to Violet, “You… this is… really bad, y'know? A young woman like this in a combat area… well, I mean… it doesn’t seem like there’s any need to be wary of her body… even my corps know about her deeds.”

“I’m keeping an eye on Violet so there’s no need to worry.”

“That may be, but… how can I put it? It’s a waste. It’s not as if physical strength is the only gift she was endowed with from birth. It would… be great if she had a job that made use of her other attributes.”

The words pierced Gilbert’s heart. It was quite painful to hear his thoughts being pointed out by someone else. Moreover, the cause of everything was Gilbert himself. After all, while being her guardian, he was first and foremost a military officer who willingly made her fight.

——I know that… better than anyone.

No matter how stunning she was or how much she seemed to brim with other talents, for as long as she was chained to a soldier such as Gilbert, she would be but an automated assassin doll.

“Y'know, I… am thinking about quitting the military and opening my own business once this war is over. When that happens… I wonder if I should invite… little Violet.” Hodgins took a cigarette out of the box that had become crumbled and put it in his mouth.

Since there was only one cigarette in the box, it was grabbed by Gilbert. He was not foolish enough to not accept the offer of his friend in the night right before the decisive battle after countless weeks of not smoking. Bringing their faces close to one another, the two of them shared the fire.

“When a soldier says something like this right before the last battlefield, it normally means ‘that’.” Gilbert said with a grim expression while exhaling smoke.

“No, I won’t die! Absolutely. I’ve actually been thinking for a while now about buying an existing company…”

“Where would you get the money for that?”

“From a wager at a certain gambling organization, in which we bet our whole fortunes on who would win this battle.”

“Why… do you lead such an ephemeral lifestyle…?”

“Y’see, I don’t come from a household of mostly soldiers. My family runs an ordinary business back in our country. And I’m the second son. I joined the army because the one who would succeed the family business was my older brother. If there is anything an unemployed second son can contribute to his family with, that would be protecting it by protecting the country, right? That’s why, if the South wins and Leidenschaftlich doesn’t have to fight anymore even if just for one hour less, I’ll open my own agency. Y’know, I’m the kind of guy that can do anything if I put my mind into it, so I could rise a few more ranks if I stayed in the army like this, but… something about that felt wrong. I’ve finally understood what.”

Gilbert was sincerely envious of Hodgins as he shyly spoke of his dreams. They might not have a tomorrow. In such circumstances, his friend was able to say that there were things he wished to do and plan a future with them. There could be people who would laugh it off as silly, but Gilbert saw it as something dazzling.

——I have nothing that I want to do, and can’t think of any other place I could go.

He had come that far by acting as expected of a child born into the noble military family that was Bougainvillea.

——Then, what about Violet?

She sat on the ground at a little distance, staring at the bonfire. As she was always on Gilbert’s side, no one would call out to her, but he could feel in his skin that the gazes of the soldiers in the camp were concentrated on her. She was not suited for such space.

——Supposing she could… live the rest of her life clad in prettier clothes, fitting of a teenage girl like herself… No, it’s fine if they aren’t pretty. If she could live in a place… where she would be able to take actions on her own will, and not by my orders… I feel… that she would be able… to gain something more unique from it.

“Right. If your business is safe, I might end up leaving her to your care.”

Gilbert had aptitude for the military. He never felt any anxiety or fear when receiving promotions in the army. God had bestowed him with a destiny that matched him perfectly.

As Hodgins was did not anticipate that he would receive consent, he was about to drop the cigarette as he uttered a “Hah?”, as if to request for repetition.

Violet, who had been silent, slowly reacted and raised her head in their direction.

“Like I said, if it’s appropriate for Violet, I might leave her to your care…”

“Really!? I’m taking that as a pledge! Write a testimony!”

Gilbert coughed as he was grabbed by the collar of his uniform’s jacket and shaken back and forth. “I said ‘might’! It’s not confirmed!”

“M-My business will definitely require a girl that can travel to dangerous areas without hesitation…”

“If you’ll make her do dangerous things, I refuse.”

“Well, even if I say it’s dangerous… it’s… not like I’d be the patron.”

“Let’s continue this discussion later. See you, Hodgins.”

“Hey, Gilbert! Don’t forget what you said just now no matter what! No matter what, got it!?”

Ignoring Hodgins’s coaxing, Gilbert took Violet with him back to their tent. They would be spending the night by themselves. Since several troops were gathered together, there were not enough accommodations for everyone, and Violet could not have a room for herself. Additionally, if she were appointed to the other big tents, there would be a risk of people attempting inappropriate actions and the number of soldiers decreasing right before battle.

The tent both were directed to was meant for keeping luggage and had a limited space to lie down in. If they happened to turn around while sleeping, their bodies would surely touch. Gilbert realized he was strangely nervous about that fact.

——No, but… I went home with her in my arms when we first met.

Back when she was covered in blood and did not know how to talk, although he was terrified, he had still embraced her. All the while, she had watched him as if he were something mysterious. In the present moment, as he observed her profile while she let her hair down, despite having developed into a slender young lady, she was still a girl age-wise. However, her mature features appeared to be nothing other than that of a woman, and within her body dwelled the soul of a fierce warrior.

Perhaps because Gilbert was staring, Violet turned to look at him. Their gazes locked.

“Major.” She called in low tone, as if about to tell a secret.

“What is it?” He asked back in the same manner.

“What… should I do… later on?”

“What do you mean…? Tomorrow is the last battle. We will fulfill our duties as the Offense Force.”

“No, I mean after tomorrow. What should I do when tomorrow ends? Major, you… were talking about it with Major Hodgins. That you would entrust me to his care.”

“You were listening?”

Violet was expressionless as usual, yet her voice sounded oddly nervous.

“That… hasn’t been decided yet.”

As Gilbert spoke in a mud-dent manner, Violet inquired, “Am I… no longer necessary?”

“Violet?”

“Am I going to be transferred to Major Hodgins… as a result of being disposed of? Will I be unable to receive Major’s orders?” The questions denounced that she thought of herself as a ‘thing’. “I… most likely… cannot take Major Hodgins’s orders. I myself… do not… understand it very well… but I cannot move if not by the orders of those whom I’ve acknowledged. That is why… I would be the most useful… staying by Major’s side.”

Gilbert’s face clouded at the machine-like sentence. “Do you… want my orders that much?”

He was a superior who would say nothing but “kill”. Such was the kind of parent that had raised her. Such was the kind of man that he was.

“Orders are my everything. And… if they are not given by Major… I…”

——Why… am I feeling so miserable again…?

Things were always the same. Violet would admonish him while thinking of herself as a tool. She would do so even without anyone wishing for it. Such was her nature. Such was her way of life. Such was the kind of being she was.

——Still, why…

It was too hard for him to continue seeing her that way.

——…does… it…

“Why… does it… have… to… be me?”

“Eh?”

His mutter had been one that could not be heard, regardless of how close they were. Gilbert painfully spit words out with an expression of frankness that he had never showed Violet before, “After this battle… you don’t have to take my orders anymore. I… plan to let you go. You should do as you please as well. You don’t have to listen to anyone’s orders. Act on your own will. You can… live by yourself anywhere now, right?”

“But… if I did that, whose orders would I…”

“Do not listen to anyone’s orders.”

With the face she was making, Violet was but a young girl. It made him want to ask why she was going to a battlefield. Why was her body inclined for war? Why did she entrust herself to other people and become their tool?

——Why did she… choose me as her Master?

“Is that… an order?” as though rejecting the idea, Violet desperately appealed with little change in her expression, “Is that Major’s order?”

——Aah… why? How come?

“That’s… not… it…”

“But you said ‘do not listen’…”

——Aah, that’s not it.

The frustration of things not going as he wanted seethed within his head and burst out. “Why… do you think of everything as an order no matter what?! Do you… really believe I see you as a tool? If that were the case, I would not have held the little you in my arms or made sure that no bugs would sit on you as you grew up! Regardless of anything… you don’t realize… how I feel… about you. Normally… anyone would… surely understand. Even when I’m angry, even when things are hard, I…!” He could see the reflection of his pathetic face on Violet’s orbs. “I… Violet…”

Those blue eyes were always looking at Gilbert. However, it was the same for his green ones. Before he realized, he would avert his eyes towards her. From a month to four years, they would go anywhere together.

“Ma… jor…”

From the moment her rosy lips had said her first word, Gilbert had done all he could to protect her. He was also a mere young man when they had first met, and did not know left or right about raising children.

“Do you not have feelings? That’s not it, right? It’s not as if you have none. Isn’t that right? If you didn’t have feelings, then what is this face? You can make a face like that, can’t you? You have feelings. You have… a heart just like mine, right!?”

His yelling could probably be heard in the nearby tents. Thinking about the other party for a second, he felt his chest tighten. He did not have the right to lecture her so conceitedly.

“I do not… understand… feelings.” Violet said with a trembling voice, as if to indicate she did not know that her expression was of apprehension.

“You… think I’m scary right now… right? You didn’t like… that I suddenly yelled, right?”

“I do not know.”

“You’re irritated at being told things that you don’t comprehend, right?”

“I do not… know. I do not know.”

“That’s a lie…”

“I do not know.” Violet shook her head, appealing seriously. “Major, I really… don’t know.”

She was missing something essential as a person. Even if she had feelings, she could not perceive them. She had been raised that way.

——Who… is to blame for this?

Gilbert put a hand over his lids and closed his eyes. That way, he could no longer see her face. All he could hear was the sound of her breathing. He could not see any of her.

“Major.” As he rejected reality, Violet’s voice echoed in his ears. “I do not… understand myself. Why was I made so different from other people? Why can’t I… listen to orders from anyone except for Major…?” She sounded extremely hopeless. “Only, when I… first met Major, I thought to myself, ‘follow this person’.”

Just by listening to her, he could tell how young she was even if he did not want to.

“While wondering what was being said amidst the whirlpool of words I could not discern, the fact that Major embraced me first-thing… that was… probably… what did it for me. There has never been anyone who did that for me… then or now… with the intention of protecting me. That is why… I want… to listen to Major’s orders. If I… have Major’s orders, I can go anywhere.”

Ever a child, she earnestly sought for Gilbert alone.

——Who… is to blame for this?

After a moment of silence, Gilbert whispered lowly, “Violet, I’m sorry.” He opened his eyes and extended a hand towards her, placing the blanket over her body up to her mouth line. “I ended up talking as if I was accusing you of something you’re not at fault for… I’d like you to forgive me. Tomorrow is… the decisive battle. The expectations of many lie on your strength. So, go to sleep. Let’s talk later… about what we’ll do after that.” He used the gentlest tone he could manage.

“Yes.” Violet sighed in relief. “I will definitely try to be of use. Goodnight, Major.”

“Aah… goodnight, Violet.”

There was a slovenly rustling for a moment, but soon, Gilbert could hear the regular sounds of sleeper’s breathing. Turning his back to Violet, he attempted to induce sleep into his body the same way as she had. However, tears overflowed from within his closed eyes.

——The insides of my lids feel hot. It’s like my eyeballs are burning.

The tears that had accumulated for so long that he could no longer stand it poured down incessantly. He did his best not to let his voice leak. Bringing a hand to his face, he endured the pain in his chest.

——Who… is to blame for this?

That was all he could think about.

A gigantic wall of stone protected Intense’s sacred grounds. Its outward appearance gave off a vicious atmosphere, yet the inside had a structure almost like that of a box garden, containing a complex waterway, windmills and an open field. There was only one entrance and one exit. A long single road, named the Pilgrimage Road, ran into the center of the town, the slope increasing as it progressed, ending at a cathedral. It sheltered scriptures that credibly depicted the Continental Genesis and the several gods worshiped in the whole continent, as well as their ancient battles and what would happen during the apocalypse.

The place was regarded as sacred due to being where the cathedral in which the original scriptures were kept had been built. The Continental Genesis described the characteristics and actions of the gods, and ultimately, original scriptures were the most accurate object of faith, no matter which gods one believed in. It was a land of peace where all sects met by chance through the diffusion of the original materials. Gilbert and the Southwest Army had to break into said land of peace and reclaim it.

“The problem is coming up with an infiltration method.”

Early in the morning, while the sun was not yet rising, the commanders reconfirmed their plans in a meeting. As a surviving leader, Hodgins was entrusted with the progress of the main strategies. He drew small diagrams and wrote notes with a feather pen over a luggage box. “There is only one gateway”, “The town is like a garden”, “Capture would be troublesome”. According to Hodgins, who had unceasingly battled in the Intense defense lines, there existed an order of knights to protect the scriptures in the sacred grounds, and a groundwater path had been made for dispatch in the occasion of anyone attempting to steal the originals.

“The main forces will engage in a defense-offense battle at the gates. We thought of hand-climbing the walls for a surprise attack, but the they are too enormous. It’s impossible. In the meantime we would be making a ladder, the morale of the troops would drop and the northeast would make of the sacred grounds their citadel. That’s when I would like to rely on the irregular forces allied to the Southwest Union, which have turned out in great numbers. First, Major Gilbert of the Leidenschaftlich Army’s Special Offense Force.”

Beckoned by Hodgins, Gilbert raised his hand. Other than his, the names of the four raid units’ commanders, who had joined forces with Leidenschaftlich, were called. They were separate units formed in different countries. It was the first time the members met face-to-face.

“To tell the truth, the scriptures kept in the cathedral for pilgrim worship are a copy. The originals were moved to another place by the Order immediately after the invasion of the Northeast Army. I don’t know whether or not the enemy has noticed this… but the underground aqueducts are still usable, so we’ll have the Raid Unit sneak in from there. Squad 1 will take control of the cathedral and fire a signal flare after the suppression to declare victory. Obviously, it will be a farce, but causing disturbance is an effective blow. Squads 2 and 3 will head to the center of the city. The battle will concentrate in the only entrance. Watchdogs will probably dispersed around the town, of course, but if we don’t distribute our military forces, the suppression will be impossible. The enemy will be surprised by the victory declaration and come climbing up the long, long Pilgrimage Road, so we’ll shoot them down. Squad 4 will attack as vanguard for the gateway’s breakthrough.”

Selected as Squad 1 was Gilbert’s unit. Whichever position it were placed in, the dangers would not change, but they would be responsible for the most important mission.

“I mean, this is a plan based on ideal conditions, but clearly, things won’t work so swimmingly in reality. If the Raid Unit fails, there’s the option of withdrawing and burning the place from outside. The fields are extensive, so the fire will be big. They will burn faster, after all. It’s a roundup… but setting fire to the sacred grounds is unacceptable, emotionally speaking. Please don’t hate us, officials of the West Army. We of the South Army are not atheists. I’m not an atheist. But, seriously. This is a last resort. However, now is our only chance. The more time goes by, the more the other side progresses with fortressing Intense’s pilgrimage area and the harder it becomes to regain it. The people inside would also suffer more damage. I want to put an end to this resources-starved war, even if it costs smearing the faces of the southwestern countries with mud. Everyone thinks the same, right? The keystone will be… the Special Offense Force of Leidenschaftlich’s Army. We’re counting on you.”

Being told so with a firm tone, Gilbert replied lowly. “I know. The defense of the cathedral is probably the strongest. But there’s no need to worry about it. Leidenschaftlich’s… ‘weapon’ guarantees that. I’d like each unit to be at ease and concentrate on the suppression.”

Gilbert’s words seemed to infer power into his comrades as they were about to leave for war. All present wished him good luck while raising their hands to shake his. Additionally, the oath contained Gilbert’s wishes.

“I really… want this to be the last battle.”

Around the stone fence that surrounded Intense’s sacred grounds was an irrigation channel. It was an waterway deep enough for the water to reach an adult’s waist. Along its course, numerous cascade-like abysses where one would fall underground could be spotted. The interior of the drainage system divided into many paths, and if some led into the city, there should be those that led to the cathedral.

The units started their infiltration while carefully descending an installed ladder. Squads 2, 3 and 4 went separate routes one after the other, and ultimately, only Gilbert and Squad 1 ran their way into the extremely long underground aqueduct. They had strongly believed there would be an ambush awaiting them, disappointed as no signs of it were found.

Some of the troop members were optimistic about the decisive battle to the point of starting lighthearted chatter, but once Gilbert glanced at Violet, he concluded she would not take part in it. The face she made whenever her own life was threatened was still emotionless, yet slightly different from the usual.

——Violet is… sensitive to danger.

After a while of running, the intricate irrigation channel’s end could be seen. There was a ladder, and over it was something similar to an iron lid. Beyond it was the outside world.

Violet’s legs completely stopped moving. Everyone else naturally halted as well.

“Major, the enemy is likely already in position above us.”

“Did you hear anything?”

“No, I presumed this because I heard nothing. If I were their commander, I would eradicate the Raid Unit right here while it attempted an exultant invasion. If we simply climb up the ladder and go out there, we will probably be killed. Major, I will go ahead on my own.” Violet stated, detaching the battle-axe that was made especially for her from the holder on her back.

“You can’t. We don’t know how many we’re against.”

“If they are in big numbers, all the more reason for me to rout the enemies so that everyone can come up safely. Your orders, Major.”

Gilbert’s chest clenched at the word ‘orders’.

“Major, your orders.”

It was like a euphemism for telling her to go die.

“Major!” She was asking him to say such a thing.

Not only Violet’s but everyone else’s gazes centered on Gilbert.

“Is the signal flare ready for use?”

After a short while of planning, everyone lined up against the walls while Violet alone stood positioned beneath the iron lid. Holding firmly onto Witchcraft, she maneuvered the counterweight chain. Twisting her body with all her might, she fired the chain’s tip towards the iron lid. The lid then flew with an outstanding clang. A glimpse of the enemy soldiers’ surprised faces could be seen from the other side. However, before they could shower Violet with bullets, the stretched chain’s tip squeezed a capsule and released the signal flare. The blinding light overwhelmed the enemy soldiers.

“Here I go!”

Violet swiftly climbed up the ladder and disappeared into the ground floor. Soon enough, screams could be heard.

“Alright, we’re climbing too! Let’s go somewhere we can hide ourselves while Violet backs us up!” Gilbert climbed the ladder, leading everyone, as Violet lay great waste to tens of people.

What the underground waterway led to was not the cathedral but a shortcut to it. With their line of sight focused on her, the unit members hurriedly ran towards the building that would work as their shield and concealed themselves.

“Sniper! Prepare!”

The aim was set on the soldiers surrounding Violet. She pushed Witchcraft against the ground, leaping high. As she placed her feet on its extremity, she appeared to be dancing in the air while moving away from the riffle’s mark.

“Fire!!”

The flywheel bullets passed by Violet and reached the soldiers cornering her. At the same time, she spun in the air and took a gun from her military uniform’s holster. Before landing, she shot two enemies who were about to attack Gilbert and the others from the shadows. As her feet touched the soil, she grabbed not Witchcraft’s handle but its chain and turned around. The necks of a few others who attempted to escape flew off. A few paths that had been previously blocked by the enemies were then opened and Violet broke into a run after slaying the vanguard. Everything happened in an instant.

“All men, continueee!!”

At Gilbert’s order, everyone drew their sabers and followed her. There was not a single soul who doubted that small back. Today, their best assassination techniques owner was exerting herself.

“OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!!”

The Special Offense Force of Leidenschaftlich’s army charged towards the cathedral.

Meanwhile, a desperate battle spread at the main gates between South and North. The Suppression Unit led by Hodgins was successful in breaking through the gates despite the many casualties, engaging in the vicinities of it.

“That was a pretty elegant fight.” With the role of giving directions from behind, Hodgins licked his lips. “Very, very easy for a merchant like me. Too easy. I can clearly see the profits from both the losing and winning sides of this war. Are they really that scared of the town being destroyed? It’s their precious new supplier, after all. The sacred grounds that they saw even in their dreams. Isn’t that right? Isn’t that right?” he raised his voice with a fearless smile. “Support Squad, bring a catapult! Let’s obliterate the windmill that the enemies are using as cover! We’ll bring it down and crush their rear guard! Their soldiers will come one after another, but don’t yield! Whoever can make better use of this fort wins! Teach them which side does it best!”

“Yeah!” shouts of agreement ensued in reply as each warrior acted promptly.

The outcome was not yet visible. However, that also meant they had a chance of winning.

At the back of the slope stretching behind the enemy could be seen the majestic cathedral. Not a single notification had come from there yet.

——Gilbert, I’m counting on you. I’m dead tired of everything.

“I’ve been angry since yesterday… no, since forever! Let’s end this stupid war already!” raising his gun, Hodgins entered the cloud of dust to fight alongside his comrades.

“The main forces have started the invasion from the gates. The northeastern units in control of this area are divided into two bands for both the gates and the cathedral. The main General is probably in either of them. In order to be victorious, we must cut his neck and take control of the cathedral. If their morale goes down, we win.”

The members of the Special Offense Force of Leidenschaftlich’s Army were hiding in a nearby building facing the cathedral. They sorted out the circumstances after listening to correspondent soldiers dispatched from the main gate.

The cathedral that could be seen from the building’s windows was protected by such a steel wall-like security that it was almost laughable. Armed soldiers surrounded the periphery of the cylindrical cathedral tower. In contrast, the remaining personnel of the Offense Force was in scarce number. Although the injured had been brought along to the building, they could not be counted, and the cathedral’s top was quite a way from the ground. In order to climb onto it, the aboveground gate, which was the only entrance and exit, was the only option. There seemed to be no other hope. However, coming in directly from the front would end in nothing but throwing their lives away unnecessarily. Everyone was exhausted. They had escaped to that place to prepare themselves for the time being, but could not stay there forever.

Despite others sitting on the floor, Violet stood by the window the whole time. Gilbert thought she was watching the enemy, but she seemed to have planned something.

“Major, please look at that building.”

He glanced outside. It was a square structure with no peculiarities to it.

“The rooftop is open and the distance to the cathedral is not too great. If it’s me, I should be able to jump onto it from here if I do an approach run.”

“Evidently, something like that is…”

He believed it was impossible. Although the gap between the building and the cathedral was certainly close, there would be no foothold even if the leap were executed. The fall was visibly fatal.

“There are stained glass windows in the laterals. If I break it and jump inside, it will be a little far from the top but more accessible. Of course, while I do so, it will be necessary to break the glass with firearm. After the firing, our position will soon be discovered. Major and the others should retreat, meet with Squads 2 and 3, and solicit assistance. Taking over the cathedral will be impossible with our current numbers. Once I arrive at the top, I will fire the flare. Our goal as Squad 1 is to make the enemy think we are in control of the cathedral no matter if it is a lie.”

“Even if this works, it means you’d have to fight alone.”

“I trust that Major will safely bring everyone back here. I cannot think of any other method. It is absolutely necessary to restrain the other party for us to be victorious.”

“Are you prepared to die?”

“I do not know… whether death is something that I must be ready for… or not.”

It was the same as saying she was not afraid of it.

“I can’t consent.”

“Then, do you intend to wait here until the Suppression Unit comes?”

“You are… the one person… that I don’t want to sacrifice.”

“Myself aside, many of our comrades have died coming to this point. And this is not a sacrifice but an important measure. Major should simply make the right decisions, as always. Please relay them to me. Please command me, no matter what happens… Major. And then, I will… definitely…” Violet canalized her clear purposes into her voice, “…become your ‘shield’ and ‘weapon’.” She stared at Gilbert’s green orbs as if they were something dazzling. “I will protect you.” Her words held no lies. “Please do not ever doubt this. I am ‘yours’.”

Strangely enough, the corners of Violet’s lips slightly curled upwards. Gilbert had never seen her smile. Out of all things, she was doing so in such a timing after spouting such a sentence. It was terribly frustrating, sad and maddening.

Gilbert balled a fist. “I understand it perfectly now.”

“May I ask what?”

——I…

“What is best… and what is worst.”

——I cannot compare you to anyone else. Even if countless of my underlings die, I want you to live. I…

“I’ve been thinking all this time… about the fate brought to me as result of always prioritizing my own benefits.”

——If possible, I want to prepare an escape route only for you and make you promise not to come back to me ever again. I… understand it perfectly now.

“You are right. Favoring oneself is wrong. There are other things… that should be prioritized.”

——I am… a deadly poison for you.

“I get it, Violet. Let’s do that. However,” Gilbert added, “I won’t let you go alone. We’ll separate into a group for the assault and a group to request reinforcements from Squads 2 and 3. We’ll fire a steel cord into the terrace and have you descend from it as well. Once done, not only you but also everyone else will be able to get inside.”

Violet blinked in surprise at what she was told. It seemed she had not thought about that possibility. “Everyone, I’ll lay out the strategy. Lend me your ears.”

The infiltration began at last. Moving to the building pointed at by Violet was easy. Perhaps due to how terrible the state of the war was, other than those placed in the cathedral, all the soldiers around the town were headed to the gate.

As they arrived at the rooftop, the sky could be seen enclosed by a rusted steel net. They removed only the parts that would be an obstruction to the passage, making it easier for Violet to run. They then fixated the iron cord to the ground at the approach run’s distance point. All left to do was for her to make the way.

“I will be… the first in line. You all can follow down in order.”

Everyone took a part of the iron mesh net that was cut into smaller pieces. They would use it to hang onto the iron cord and slide downwards.

“Here I go!” Violet started running with a shout.

The troops of the troopers left behind set their guns and shot the cathedral’s stained glass right before their eyes. Sounds of fragmenting glass echoed as its richly colored pieces rained onto the earth. And Violet leaped. Like a bird, like a deer.

The voices of the enemy soldiers could be heard from downstairs. It seemed they had been noticed.

Making sure that the iron cord attached to Violet’s body was tight enough, Gilbert descended vigorously. As he hit the wall and somehow managed to climb upwards, Violet immediately offered her hand. She stood firm on her feet and endured the weight her other comrades coming down the iron cord.

“Violet. Are you all right?”

Upon being asked so, she suddenly fell down on the spot. The steel cord was being shot by enemy firearms. The soldiers on the way fell to the ground and died. Gilbert signaled to the companions left on the roof, “please call for support” solely with his hands. In the end, only two people had succeeded in the infiltration, but Gilbert had somewhat felt that such turn of events was meant to be.

“Violet, are you listening?”

“Yes, Major.”

She looked abysmal. Her white cheeks had scratches from the pieces of stained glass. Her battle clothes were torn apart. She was covered with the smell of smoke, wet with the blood of enemy soldiers, and her breathing was disturbed, as if her physical strength was at its limit.

“It’s just the two of us. We might be killed.”

“Yes.”

Gilbert’s shoulders also heaved from fatigue. “But this is an order: no matter what, don’t die.”

“Yes, I will definitely live and protect you, Major.”

“Good girl.”

——You’ve really… become able to speak so well. You’ve grown up. You are… not a ‘thing’.

“But that’s my line.”

The room they had sneaked in from was about five stories beneath the rooftop. Musical instruments and bronze statues were kept in it. It was likely a mere antic.

Outside of the room was a spiral stairway that led to the terrace. The two looked out the windows as they went up, observing as the ground appeared to be so far below. A tall cloud of smoke rose from the gates. Gilbert anxiously wondered if Hodgins was still alive.

“Major, we’ll soon reach the top floor.” Violet grabbed once again onto her unraveling battle-axe.

Soldiers who had been on standby heard their footsteps, drawing their sabers and descending to attack them. Simultaneously, other soldiers roared as they ran up the stairs.

“Major!” Violet turned backwards after mowing the soldiers that had attempted to charge at her with their blades.

Gilbert drew out his own sword and stood on the way to the lower stories. “Go, Violet. While I keep them busy, kill the ones above and fire the signal flare. With just that… it will be the same as a victory declaration upon this battle. Even if we’re inferior in number, the odds are in our favor.”

Despite never having hesitated when making cruel choices, Violet wavered. If all the soldiers from the inferior floors were coming up, she could hardly imagine Gilbert having a chance on his own.

“Allow me to fight back too, Major!”

“It’s an order! Go!”

“But I—”

“I said it’s an order! Go, Violet!”

As she was barked at, Violet’s body moved on automatic halfway through. She went up the stairs without being able to reply, kicked out the door to the top floor in which the figures of the gods were drawn and went outside. As she did so, before her line of sight was a scene so beautiful it could make one regret laying their eyes upon it in such a situation. A gently murmuring petite fountain. Flower beds growing greenery and blossoms. Their sweet, pure aroma mixed with the stench of smoke.

The terrace of the cathedral was a garden in the sky. For a moment, Violet was shocked at the excessive absence of reality.

“It’s the enemy! Kill her!”

There were four soldiers. They were long-range shooters and observers. How many of her comrades had been killed by them as they tried to invade the cathedral? They were at a great shooting spot.

Screams and gunshots echoed from downstairs. The sound of Violet’s heartbeats sharply increased.

“Move…” She swung the battle-axe, the blood of those she had killed splattered around the place as she glared at the enemies in front of her with a beastly look. “Move, move, move, move, move!”

She was only concerned about the sounds behind her.

“Move, move, move, move, move, move, move, moveeeeeeeeee!” Violet jumped widely towards the soldiers. She slashed the arms and legs of three of them, shredding them to death.

“Move, move, move, move, move, move!”

The feeling of impatience dulled Violet’s ability to handle weapons. A bullet grazed her belly and dented the flesh of her arm. It was a gaffe she would usually not commit. Her vision blurred with the pain.

Gilbert was defending her from below. She had to return as soon as possible and give him aid.

“Moveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!”

She slew the neck of the last man. Her legs naturally fell to the ground due to the pain of the shot. Standing back up, she fired the signal flare that had been wrapped in her gun holder towards the sky. White brightness scattered in the air. It was like a flower of light.

She would not let things end with just one shot. She would triturate all the remaining debris.

The last signal flare made a flashy sound. Immediately after said sound, Violet collapsed headfirst.

“Ah… Augh… ugh…” The next sound she heard was not from the signal flare she had just fired. Curt yelps leaked at the overwhelming circumstances. Her right shoulder had been shot at close range, which had opened a big hole in it. Her face was immersed a pool of her own blood.

Violet heard the sound of a gun being loaded behind her. She instantly took out her own gun with her left hand and fired a shot while turning around. She killed a soldier holding a large rifle who had failed to shoot her in the brain.

She could not breathe properly. The shoulder of her dominant hand only hung floppily. The senses of her right hand were faint.

“Uh… Augh… uugh…”

She was not supposed to stand up. The more she moved, the more blood flowed out.

“Major!”

Even so, Violet returned from where she had come. The sole reason she could move her body in spite of the serious injuries was her obsession with her one and only Lord. She left a trail of red as she walked.

“Major, Major! Major!” she called several times, seeking Gilbert. Dodging the corpses of the soldiers she had killed at the penultimate floor, she searched about, wondering if he was there. “Major!” Violet screamed, sounding like breaking glass.

Gilbert lay in the middle of the stairs, about to be stabbed to death by an enemy soldier’s bayonet. The enemy’s hands derailed at Violet’s voice, but the bayonet’s tip pierced into Gilbert’s face.

“Yo… YOU BASTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARD!” She threw the battle-axe I with one hand and cut the enemy’s torso. He collapsed. Violent also fell down with the momentum. She then crawled towards Gilbert. “Major, Major, Major!”

One of Gilbert’s eyes had been gouged and he bore severe wounds. He would no longer be able to see light or colors with it. He looked inexpressibly like a dead body that could not speak but still breathed. However, his breathing was critically shallow. His hand and legs were bloody with bullet and sword scratches.

Would it be quicker to die from profuse bleeding or from being killed by enemy soldiers coming from downstairs? Either way, the brilliance of life was on the verge of disappearing for him.

“Major, Major!” raising her tone, Violet leaned her superior onto her shoulders, but he did not answer. She forced her dangling hands to carry him on her back. “Uugh… ah… uuugh… ah…”

Her dominant arm could not withstand it and she succumbed. She rolled down a few steps, stood up once more and stretched a hand out towards Gilbert. As she had used up too much strength, her arms sagged from her shoulders. Her dominant one was unlikely to be able to wield weapons.

Violet did not even cogitate discarding either Gilbert or the battle-axe as a choice. She threw the battle-axe away and tried to get down with Gilbert using the arm that still worked. While doing so, a group of armed men rushed in from below.

“UUUUUUUUUUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!”

Violet picked up the battle-axe once again and slashed the enemies with one hand. She mercilessly struck the counterweight chain towards those who tried to make their way through and cracked their skulls with its tip.

She then repeated her previous actions. Still trying to carry Gilbert, enemies would continue to come from downstairs. She would kill them. More would appear. She could not move forward. It suffers seriously, it is a consumable battle over it.

“Di… DIEEEEE!”

Ultimately, Violet wound up allowing a lone young soldier, who shouted as he rushed in, to deliver a blow. Her scream was not audible. His saber gnawed through the base of her other arm.

It was an enemy with no fighting skills. In normal conditions, he would probably be but a young boy who had no connection with warfare and did not need to wield a sword.

Dropping the weapon he had stabbed her with and standing up, the soldier yelled. He eyed her from a short distance, shrinking back upon realizing the one he was supposed to eliminate was a young girl.

“You can…” blood dripped from her lips, “kill me… so please… don’t kill… Major.” Violet begged for Gilbert’s life. The flabbergasted soldier was reflected in her beautiful blue eyes, but she could not see him properly due to blood and sweat trailing down from her head. She could not discern what expression he was making.

“I’m… I’m sorry… I didn’t mean it… I…” the soldier’s voice cracked.

“I didn’t mean it! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean it!”

“Plea… se.”

“That’s not it! This…! I didn’t mean this!” the soldier shrieked as he fled.

For safety, Violet watched him retreat before returning to Gilbert’s side. “Major…” Her feet were unstable, perhaps because she was about to lose consciousness. “I… did it, Major… Major…”

“Violet…” Gilbert, who had been with his eyes closed the whole time, barely opened one of them as he spoke.

Hearing her name be called, Violet responded with a tearful voice, “Major…”

It was a tone that he had not heard from her until now. Her earlier demon god-like aura had disappeared and her face was that of a scared child curled up in a corner of the battlefield.

“Violet… what is happening… right now? Where… are we?”

Violet replied to Gilbert’s question with a congested voice, “This… this is still the cathedral. We have accomplished our mission. Now we just have to wait for reinforcements so we can flee from here, but they have not arrived yet. The enemies are coming from downstairs. There is no end to them. Major, please give directions. Please give me an order.”

“Run… away.”

“How am I supposed to run… while taking Major with me?”

“Leave me… here… and escape.”

Unable to understand what she had been told at first, Violet was in doubt as how to answer. “Are you telling me to… abandon you?” she shook her head in refusal. “I cannot do that! Major… I am bringing you along.”

“I’m fine. If you leave me here and go… you should… still… have a chance to survive. Please escape, Violet.”

A loud explosion could be heard in the distance. Only the place the two of them found themselves in was quiet, as if it were a different dimension.

“I will not run away, Major! If Major is staying, then I will fight here! If I am supposed to escape, I will take Major with me!” she shouted while using both of her arms, bleeding and cramping, to hold onto the collar of his battle uniform and drag him.

“Violet, stop it…”

He could hear the sounds of blood vessels bursting. She was probably in tremendous pain as her flesh tore apart.

“Violet!”

Her dominant arm, which had been only hanging flaccidly, fell to the ground. Without even looking at it, she continued to pull Gilbert with her other arm.

“Stop… stop it… stop, Violet…”

Violet did not listen to the order. Her breaths came out as wheezes and, putting her remaining strength on the arm that had been stabbed by a bayonet, she went down one step at a time. The more she moved, the more the blade cut into her flesh.

“Violet!”

Her only arm left betrayed her and fell apart as well. Violet then returned to her previous position. Like a bird which feathers had been pulled off, her arms bled abundantly. As per her own habit, she moved her neck left and right to confirm the situation and felt like smiling dimly.

“Major, I will save you now.”

Even so, while biting her lips tightly, she resumed climbing the stairs using only her knees. Yet her body had lost its balance without her arms. She slipped onto the steps many times and rolled down the stairs. She would fall and get up, fall and get up. Worrying only about Gilbert, she turned the stairway into a sea of blood.

Although she was not in his field of vision, once Gilbert realized she had lost her arms for his sake, tears started pouring from his eye. “Stop it…” his pleading voice echoed ruefully, “Just stop it, Violet!”

“I don’t want to.” Again, she declined immediately. “Major… just… just… a little more…”

“It’s enough. It’s enough already… your arms… your arms have…”

“The enemy soldiers are not coming. Most likely… reinforcements have arrived downstairs. I can hear… the sounds.”

“Then you go downstairs first! That’s right, it’s better like this. Call the reinforcements. Go, I’m fine!”

“I don’t want to! If… If Major dies while I’m not around, what am I supposed to do?”

“If that happens, it will be over for me. It’s all right, just go down!”

“I don’t want to! No matter what… I don’t want to! If I leave Major here… and by the time I come back…”

“It’s fine if I die. It’s fine as long as you live!”

“I cannot obey this order!”

Crouching down, Violet continued attempting to pull Gilbert. She had no arms anymore, and therefore could not carry him. She could barely walk using her joints, but not take him with her.

“No matter what… no matter what… I will not let Major die.” Violet’s teeth dug into Gilbert’s shoulder. It was like a dog carrying something in its mouth. “U… Uuuuuuh!” Her voice leaked out agonizingly. Her frame trembled as she repeatedly attempted to pull him. However, with wounds as grave as hers and a body that was not of a dog, but of a human, there was no way she would succeed. “Ma… jor…”

“Violet, stop it… ve you…” Gilbert choked, “ove you… I… love you!” He shouted, vision blurred by overflowing tears, “I love you! I don’t want to let you die! Violet! Live!!”

It was the first time he had ever said it to her. He had not said “I love you” until now. There had been plenty of opportunities, but he had remained silent.  “I love you, Violet.” Always, always, always, it was what his heart had whispered. Even so, he had not said it aloud even once.

When had that feeling been born? He had no idea what the trigger had been. If he were ever asked what he fond of about her, he would not be able to put it in words.

“Violet…”

“Major.” Before he realized it, he was happy whenever she called out to him. He believed he had to protect her as she followed him from behind. His chest pounded with immutable devotion.

“Violet, are you listening?”

It did not take long for him to return the burning gaze she would stare at him with. Using her as a weapon had pained him, and throwing her life away became his greatest fear.

“I like you.”

——I… want to stop asking God what is right and what is wrong. If saying this is a sin, I want to settle all my accounts in death.

“I love you.”

She was the first person that Gilbert Bougainvillea had truly loved.

“I love you, Violet.”

“Lo… ve…” blood still pouring down from her arms, Violet pronounced the word as if hearing it for the very first time. She dragged her body to Gilbert’s side, flopping down next to him and peeking at his face. “What is… ‘love’?” she sounded sincerely confused. Her tears fell from above, wetting Gilbert’s cheeks. “What is… ‘love’? What is… ‘love’? What is ‘love’?”

Her messy crying face was something he had not seen even when she was a child. She would not cry as she killed people, or as she was lonely from not being loved by anyone. She was a girl who had never cried before.

“I do not understand, Major…”

That same girl was now weeping.

“What is love?” It was a genuine question.

——Ah, that’s right.

Gilbert’s heart hurt much more than his body. She did not know. There was no way she could. After all, he had not told her. He had not ‘taught’ her about it.

——She doesn’t know… love. At that, Gilbert once again shed large tears. What a… fool I am.

Not being able to express his feelings to his loved one was the result of himself neglecting love. Was there a more disgraceful way to die?

“Violet.”

Nevertheless, his heart was strangely peaceful. He had a hunch that the pain in his body was gradually subsiding. It was a peculiar feeling. The fact that he was finally able to muster out his most honest sentiments was probably the cause of it. He somehow felt that everything had been forgiven.

“Violet… love… is…” Gilbert said to the girl that he loved the most in his whole life, “to love is… to think that you… want to protect someone the most in the world.” He whispered gently, almost as though lecturing her, as if she were still the small child of when they had first met, “You’re important… and precious. I don’t ever want you to be hurt. I want you to be happy. I want you to be well. That’s why, Violet, you should live on and become free. Escape from the military and live your life. You’ll be fine even if I’m not around. Violet, I love you. Please live.” Gilbert repeated, “Violet, I love you.”

After the declaration, the only thing that could be heard were the cries of the one in the receiving end. “I do not understand… I do not understand…” she complained through her sobs, “I do not understand… I do not understand love. I do not understand… the things Major talks about. If this is how it is, for what reason have I been fighting? Why did you give me orders? I am… a tool. Nothing else. Your tool. I do not understand love… I just… want to save… you, Major. Please do not leave me on my own. Major, please do not leave me on my own. Please give me an order! Even if it costs my life… please order me to save you!”

The child that primarily could not listen to anything other than ‘kill’ was wailing for him to make her help him. In place of reaching his hand out to embrace her, Gilbert could only mutter one sentence as his consciousness faded, “I love you.” He could then hear noises of someone coming from downstairs, but was no longer even able to keep his eye open.

The records of the girl soldier named Violet ended there.