By Zephyria Signe returned from the next car with her arms full of snacks. Like a squirrel before hibernation, she stuffed small sweets such as candies and chocolates into her backpack pockets. She said she would share them with her comrades when she arrived at the port.
Leonardo, who was spraying muscle relaxant on the back of his hand, was about to say something when he saw the increasing volume of her backpack, but stopped himself. She was so excited about enlisting that she couldn’t sleep, and he didn’t want to ruin her mood by telling her that her personal belongings would be confiscated as soon as she entered the port.
After all, nine out of ten people regret enlisting in the military. There was no need to scare her in advance. He only told her to eat as much as she wanted, seeing her tearing open a new package of crackers.
The mark on the back of his hand, which had been bothering him all along, disappeared, leaving only a faint outline after running for two hours with the train. It didn’t hurt. However, it was sometimes very hot and itchy, enough for him, a Mage of Fire Magic Power, to feel like he had been burned.
With about 30 minutes left to their destination, Leonardo and Signe changed trains. The newly boarded train was a new-style locomotive heading towards the military demarcation line, which was much faster because it added Magic Power, a driving force, to the internal combustion engine.
There were no seats left, so they put their backpacks down in a corner in front of the window and stood leaning against the wall. There were many ordinary passengers inside, but there were also quite a few rookies in military uniforms like Signe. They were nervously smoking cigarettes in the car.
In fact, Signe was a special case, and the usual pre-enlistment expressions that Leonardo remembered were mostly those of gloom.
Unlike the Imperial Knights or Council legions, which are difficult to join among the three main military institutions of the Empire, the Imperial Army has relatively low barriers to entry. Anyone can become a trainee as long as they pass the physical fitness test and do not have any major disqualifications such as mental illness. Becoming a regular soldier is more difficult than that.
In other words, there were quite a few enlistees who had lived at the bottom of their lives. The reasons why they volunteered for the military were generally similar. To make a living.
“The atmosphere is kind of dark….”
“That’s what the military is like. It’s not a place to go for fun.”
Leonardo answered Signe, who was muttering cautiously, firmly this time. He also gestured to her not to look to the side, as if she might be bothered.
Perhaps it was because he was reminded of his own appearance when he enlisted in the military.
The boy, who was so small that almost none of the military uniforms fit him, was folding up the long pants and smoking cigarettes like them. The boy’s eyes reflected in the window were full of venom. There was anger towards the enemy, but there was also a deep sense of desperation to survive in this isolated land.
To jump into war to survive. It seemed like a contradictory choice, but it was also the most reliable fence for a boy of that age to be protected from the threat of human traffickers or pedophiles. He only realized later that there were plenty of those guys in the military too, but at least there weren’t many big-hearted guys who would covet the back door of their allies in a situation where the enemy was close enough to cut their throats.
‘Has it been more than 10 years already?’
That day, he had boarded a train heading to Lederpol, the old city center. During the early stages of the war, when the Turandos army captured the western fortress of Belmeyer, people were fleeing to Kastelvel, and the only train that went against the crowd to Lederpol was that one.
The old cargo ship, which was not as fast as it is now, carried young soldiers who had volunteered for the military as if they were being sold off, and slid into hell. Of course, after the end of the war, the military set an age limit of at least 15 years old to enlist. But back then, the war was in full swing, and they were conscripting indiscriminately, regardless of whether they were children or the elderly. The military would not refuse the rolling-in cannon fodder.
The sky outside the window, which looked like it was going to rain, was cloudy and gloomy, and flames and ashes were scattered. Beyond the horizon, the sparks of explosives and the blood-soaked sky were all dyed red. The inside of the train was filled with an unpleasant silence, as if those who were about to die were barely breathing.
The humid and sticky heat unique to cargo ships. The creaking noise of makeshift chairs every time the iron wheels turned. One guy, who was hiccuping and crying at the time, was clutching an old-fashioned communication Magic Tool in his hand. A voice mixed with static came from it. The owner of the voice delivered breaking news that Laina Rogia’s army, which had been confronting the enemy at the forefront, had failed to recapture the fortress.
Following that, grim news arrived that even rear units and boy soldiers were being投入 into the front lines.
Someone probably connected the communication to inform the living corpse on his way to enlistment about the current situation, but it was a useless kindness that I wanted to kill.
Leonardo realized at that moment that not only he, but all the nameless comrades in the car were focusing on the sound coming from the Magic Tool. The threads of fate that bound them together were pulled taut, and the emotional turmoil was felt directly. Afterward, two guys vomited in the car, and one guy wet himself. None of those on the train cursed or spat at them.
“This stop is Belmeyer Port, Belmeyer Port!”
Leonardo was awakened from his heavy thoughts and returned to reality by the shout of a crew member from the next car. The scenery outside the window, which he had been unconsciously glaring at, had already recovered from the scars of war, with flames and ashes gone, and vegetation sprouting buds and new leaves.
“Theo, it looks like we’re almost there.”
“Yeah.”
The sour and disgusting smell of the past tried to brush past the tip of his nose, following his memories, but disappeared. The stench of stale cigarettes still filled the car, but Leonardo thought this was much better, at least. Because it was an era when the enlistees on the train could envision the future.
And he thought that his role was not entirely absent in bringing about that era, even though his name would remain on this land as a dishonorably discharged soldier.
The two got off at the Belmeyer Port Station platform and easily passed through the checkpoint. After passing through the waiting room side by side and going out to the plaza in front of the station, they bought various private military supplies that Signe said she needed. Leonardo helped her dismantle her military gear and hide the purchased items in various places in her luggage, remembering that they had turned a blind eye to things like camouflage cream, even if they didn’t allow snacks.
Afterward, they walked together to the tram stop leading to the transport vehicle boarding area. In the distance, there were crowds of figures wearing the same colored uniforms. It was a sight that made any former soldier sigh.
Signe also seemed to realize that her enlistment was real from around that time, and she spoke less and less. Leonardo quietly matched her pace, as her stride seemed to have shortened for some reason. It was when they had only one crosswalk left to the stop that she suddenly stopped walking and spoke to him, seemingly embarrassed.
“Thanks for coming all the way here with me.”
Leonardo, who was about to cross the road, stopped in his tracks. Signe smiled shyly and continued.
“Still, it’s not lonely to come talking to someone on the way to enlist.”
Leonardo glanced around for a moment and pulled her inside the sidewalk. The traffic controller blew his whistle again toward the crowded street, as the two did not seem to want to cross the road.
The crawling carriages began to pick up speed again. Leonardo, who adjusted his hat in the shade behind the corner of the wall, replied nonchalantly.
“No need to thank me. I just did as much as you did. I went to that weird place with you, after all.”
“Still. You could have just parted ways there, but you came to see me off because you were thinking of me.”
Signe seemed a little embarrassed even after saying it, and nudged Leonardo with her elbow as if asking for confirmation. Leonardo shrugged, meaning she could think whatever she wanted. A moment of awkward silence passed, and he thought it was time to wrap things up, so he took out the wallet from earlier from his inside pocket.
One, two, three… He counted the bills one by one, then gave up and grabbed a dozen or so at once. It was too much for pocket money, but his hand moved on its own.
Leonardo folded several bills in half and pressed them flat, then knelt down on one knee at Signe’s feet. Then, without permission, he rolled up her pants leg a little. Signe, startled, took a step back reflexively.
“W-what are you doing?”
“Just stay still. This is the safest place.”
Leonardo approached Signe again while still kneeling. He grabbed her ankle with one hand and stuffed the wad of bills inside her sock and military boots. He then neatly arranged her pants leg again and even retied her bootlaces, which were about to loosen, tightly.
He looked at both sides alternately, then suddenly smiled and looked up.
“Sometimes bad guys play the role of drill sergeants and take money from the kids. In that case, don’t fight back and just give them the money in your wallet. You use this.”
Leonardo got up from his seat after finishing his business and dusted off his knees. Signe, who was looking at him, lowered her gaze and stared blankly at the bootlaces he had tied. They were much prettier and tighter than the ones she had tied herself. It was only natural that her face flushed slightly when she faced him again.