15 – Squad 13 (4)
I moved in sync with Edan. Rather than about the girl, my curiosity was greater.
It’s probably something unimaginable…
Scarlet looked around, hoping to see Peridot.
“As you know, entering the city is prohibited, right?”
Ethan, the bald man, was quite talkative. Even though Scarlet didn’t say anything, he kept talking alone.
“Although there are female soldiers in the resistance, most of them are hard to recognize. They are managed separately. Oh! The only nurse you can see is Isabel Dora… “
Of course, he was talking about Isabel Dora in the ward.
As usual, we moved to a place where there were few people. Even though we were in a place where no one usually heard us, quite a few people walked with us.
“Well, you can’t necessarily hold a woman here. If you spend money, you can sleep with her twice a month.”
“How?”
“Criminal-turned-resistance fighters are prohibited from entering the city, but prostitutes are not prohibited from leaving the city. They’re quiet smuggled by the resistance. They are poor quality among prostitutes. To put it plainly…life-long losers who have to do business outside because they are pushed inside. Their condition is not good. However, what does it matter? They only come twice a month. Bargain with the appropriate girls. By the way, if they rip you off, you’ll be blacklisted, and you won’t be able to buy s*x again.”
“Hey, did you come again?”
“Yeah, I came again. How could I forget you? Hey! Drakan! Enjoy it too! Once you taste it, you can’t get away!”
Then Ethan hugged one of the women and disappeared into the reeds. I looked around for traces of Scarlet Peridot, but found none
I looked at her briefly. Although I was trying to hide it, the burn marks were clearly visible through the clothes.
“Oppa! I’ll give you five silver coins! Isn’t that a good deal? Huh?”
“Make it three coins!”
“Then it would’ve been pointless for me to come all the way here!”
I heard their bargaining from afar. As expected, one of them was cheap.
I rummaged through my pocket.
I handed her one of the silver coins.
“…Thank you.”
The woman spoke in a dry voice and pulled my hand towards a bamboo field.
But I didn’t obediently follow.
“I don’t need it.”
“…What?”
“Just keep it.”
If I were to analyze it, it would be because of sympathy.
I turned my head. I walked a few paces, but my sleeve was grabbed again.
“…I didn’t come here to receive charity.”
A beggar-like person who sells their body for money wouldn’t say something like that. But I had no intention of receiving the given coin.
“Then return it when we meet again.”
“……”
“Don’t hold onto me.”
I shrugged off her hand. I walked out of the bamboo field.
An elf with burn marks.
Her demeanor was peculiar and it seemed to linger in my memory for a while.
From Noble mtl dot com
Avakusa, who was diligently exercising, looked at me briefly. He smirked mockingly.
“Damn bastard. Are you a rabbit?”
“If you keep talking nonsense, I’ll tear you apart.”
“Hey! It’s normal for the first time! Don’t be ashamed! How much did you pay? Huh?!”
“Get lost.”
“You bastard. What virgin are you? Why is your reaction like this? How was it? Huh?”
“I didn’t sleep with anyone
＂You didn’t sleep? Why? Then why did you follow me?＂
＂I thought there might be someone I know.＂
＂……＂
Abakusha closed his mouth and set down the exercise equipment with a subtle expression.
＂…Do you have a family too?＂
A family.
…May have been a deeper relationship than family.
In that underground facility, we were always alone.
But I didn’t feel like answering directly. I just looked at him with a cold, stern look.
＂Why are you so interested in me? You don’t…＂
＂This damn guy.＂
Abakusha chuckled.
＂You’re not just a damn guy. You’re a very sly damn guy!＂
. . .
Once serious work was finished, the work site changed quickly.
Cleaning up the garbage outside the city, moving materials. Sometimes putting effort into building facilities.
Most days, I couldn’t see the faces of the people inside the Festival. But occasionally, there was one job where I could meet civilians.
Abakusha’s favorite work site. Assisting in the operation of a large collective farming facility.
＂You can relax once you hit the quota here!＂
＂Quota?＂
＂It’s autumn now…the harvest season. Hee hee. I really like this time of work. Don’t you know why? Damn guy.＂
＂Do you steal vegetables secretly?＂
＂…How did you know?＂
I knew you’d figure it out.
He was the type to focus most on food. Of course, there was a part of me secretly anticipating it as well.
I was mostly saving the wages I got without spending. My goal was to leave this place.
I chose to save funds to prepare for the future. It would be helpful when I leave later.
Two years later. When my service period ended, I planned on leaving here without looking back.
Finding any trace of Scarlett Peridot would be the first priority.
For my life to start properly, I needed to properly keep the parting with her in my heart.
I moved diligently. Avakusa and I fulfilled our quota in less than half a day.
The other squad members were struggling. The only one who was relatively better was Benzence.
The rest had big builds but lacked intelligence. They would get tired and gasp for breath while harvesting wheat.
“…Tsk.”
Since there was still time left, I helped them anyway. I distributed some of the harvested wheat to them, filling their quotas on their behalf.
Smiles appeared on the faces of the squad members.
“Thank you! Drakan!”
“You little brat! You’re a good guy!”
“Well… as expected, dragons are dragons.”
“You are the best!”
Despite the shower of compliments, I didn’t feel bad about it.
Benzence refused my help. He claimed he could do it alone and shook his head.
The only one who seemed dissatisfied was Avakusa.
“Hey. You little sh*t.”
“What?”
“Do you always think kindness is necessary?”
It was an unexpected question.
“If you have spare time, it’s good to share.”
“There’s garbage in the world. And there are far more of those than good guys.”
“What nonsense is that?”
“We agreed to manage this workplace for a week, you little sh*t. It means we have to keep filling the quota for a week.”
Avakusa, who was chewing on stolen vegetables, wiped his mouth.
“Keep acting like that. Your thoughts will change when you experience it firsthand.”
At first, I didn’t understand what he meant.
But on the third day of working in the same workshop, I could grasp the truth of his words.
As usual, Avakusa’s and my quota was finished before half a day had passed.
But the workload of the other squad members…
“Oh, it’s so tiring.”
“I’m dying here.”
“Why is it so bright?”
“Will anyone come and help me?”
They slackened.
They were all looking at me, with broken wills and work speed.
I peered at them from the shadow. When I sat still, a few of them got up and came close to me.
“Drakan, help us a bit.”
“If you’re here, we’ll finish early, right?”
“Will you help? Huh?”
“You’re nice. Aren’t you our friend?”
Abacus roughly trimmed his nails. He sharpened it with a twig.
“You bastard, do you know the price of kindness?”
I bit my tongue.
“Hey.”
“What, what?”
“You expected me to do it, didn’t you…”
I didn’t regret the kindness I showed, even though there were trash running around demanding more.
“Talk to me, and you die.”
“……”
“…Ah, dammit.”
“So annoying. Dammit.”
“You son of a b*tch… What’s so hard about that…”
The muttering was loud enough for me to hear. Abacus chuckled.
“Half of the bastards who came here are those guys. You son of a b*tch
“When I came in, there was a brat who was about to do the laundry.”
“It’s Kigang. A stubborn brat. You must have seen the first reason to tame him, you little sh*t.”
Abakusa threw a vegetable at me. I caught it with one hand.
“He’ll come crawling if you let him loose. You have to show your scary side often for him to crawl towards you.”
“For that kind of thing, it’s a mess.”
“It’s because of you. Stupid brat. Because of you, those bastards treat me like a fool in front of me.”
“Can’t you just do what you’re good at?”
“There’s a reason for not doing it. If there are two leaders in one group, it’s a mess. That’s my experience in war. You little sh*t. Since you beat me, you’re the leader now.”
“…Are you admitting it willingly?”
“Admit? What’s that? Clean up your damn head. I’ll break it soon.”
Abakusa said threateningly. Yeah. It’s better to openly show hostility like that than the other guy muttering behind my back like he’s going to stab me.
“Do you not eat vegetables, you little sh*t?”
“I do.”
“You were grumbling about it last time, right? Hey, you little sh*t. It’s about nutrition. You have to consume it evenly to grow tall. Do you want to live as a dwarf all your life?”
“I eat them.”
“You funny bastard. Why did you eat vegetables while frowning last time? Why bother putting it in your mouth when you hate it?”
Vegetables don’t taste good. They still don’t sit well in my mouth.
…But I still have to eat them, don’t I?
Because I promised.
“You don’t have to know.”
“You’re a secretive little sh*t.”
“Shut up. You little calf.”
“Oh, are you gonna fight?”
“You come at me. You little calf.”
“I won’t kick you out of the workshop.”
“Showing off on a topic you don’t want to be hit on.”
I munched on the apple.
Still, fruits were more palatable than vegetables.
…That aside, is it because I’m with these rough guys?
The tone gradually becomes vulgar. I should be careful.
…
Avakusa’s expression hardened as he received his breakfast.
“Hey, you little sh*t.”
He called me. I put some soup in my mouth.
It still doesn’t taste right. I can’t tell if it was seasoned or not.
“Well?”
“Do you know about jinxes for soldiers?”
“Jinx? What jinx?”
“It’s a phenomenon that predicts something sh*tty is gonna happen. I have one too.”
“What is it?”
“…f*ck. The soup has five pieces of meat in it.”
“What?”
I confirmed it. There really are five pieces of meat.
“It’s not luck, is it?”
“Luck, f*ck no. Absolutely not. Do you have any idea how unlikely it is for there to be five pieces of meat in this soup? It’s a clear sign that something really sh*tty is gonna happen. A whole portion of bad luck made up of five pieces of meat…”
“At best, it’s just bad luck that’s gonna trip you up on a pebble.”
“You don’t know because you’ve never experienced it, you f*cking piece of sh*t. Ahh, f*ck. Please, let it not be true…”
The sound of sirens echoed and spread.
Avakusa slammed his head into the soup.
“…f*ck. I knew this would happen.”
“13th Platoon, fall in!”
Elliot Moot’s voice rang out as he rushed out of the barracks.
“We’re forming up for battle immediately! Move!”
The first battle.
I sprinted to the barracks to grab my weapon.