Note: Touri sometimes addresses Bern as Captain Bern or just Bern. She doesn't even use Bern-san like she does with people like Verdi or Aria, probably because she hates this dude.
"■■■…"
There's a woman sitting at the back of Captain Bern's personal tent, reading a book.
She was a delicate-looking woman with long, pure white hair and skin as translucent as a snow fairy.
"■■■■"
"Touri, this girl is Remi… What do you think?"
The moment I laid eyes on her, I couldn't look away.
It's like she had a captivating charm.
When I looked into her eyes, I was completely enchanted, as if I had fallen in love for the first time. I was at a loss for words.
Remi appears to be in her teens, still holding onto a youthful innocence, but she possed a beauty that could easily be described as the kind of alluring charm that could bring down a nation.
I understand why Captain Bern was so taken with her.
"Kind… I think she's very kind."
"Oh?"
"She's like a pure, innocent child, with a transparent kindness… This is the first time I've seen someone so beautiful."
"I see."
Captain Bern chuckled softly upon hearing my words.
It was the first time I'd ever been so moved by just meeting someone. I felt a strange sense of elation as if I'd met an idol.
If such a person were in an enemy village, of course she would be captured.
"You're praising her a lot. You really trashed me when we first met."
"Uh, I'm sorry."
"It's fine, I don't mind. But there's just one thing I want to ask."
As I was gazing at that woman as if entranced, Captain Bern cleared his throat…
I think I had lost myself a little after meeting such a beautiful person.
"Hey, Touri."
"Yes?"
"Why did you back away just now?"
Captain Bern said this with a pleased look on his face, and finally…
I realized.
"Huh?"
Even as my eyes were drawn into the beauty of that woman, my body trembling, desperately trying to escape.
***
"Nice to meet you. My name is Remi."
She stood up when she saw me, introduced herself, and bowed slightly.
"Are you the medic I've heard about?"
"Yes. I am Chief Medic Touri Noel."
I returned her bow, steadied my breath, and sat down in front of Remi.
Captain Bern was staying silent, acting purely as an interpreter and not joining the conversation.
"Nice to meet you, Touri. It's surprising that there are girls younger than me in the military."
"Yes, enlistment is permitted from the age of 15 in Austin."
"Are there many young girls like you in the military?"
"…Yes, I even had one in my unit."
"I see. I'd like to talk to her sometime."
Remi smiled slightly as she looked at me.
"Thank you for indulging my selfish request today. I was really in need of someone to talk to."
"No, thank you for inviting me."
It looks like she knew I would be brought here today.
Or rather, from her tone, it sounded as though Remi had urged Captain Bern to bring a woman around her age.
"Being a woman in the military must be tough, right?"
"…Well, to an extent."
"Then, Touri, why are you participating in this war? Don't you think it's absurd for so many people to be killing each other?"
Remi seems to hold a deep disdain for war.
It's natural, considering her village was burned down by the Austin Army.
Her reluctance to open up to soldiers might also stem from that reason.
"I hate war too. If I had the choice, I wouldn't want to be a part of it."
"Then why?"
"Because the Sabbath won't stop fighting."
I answered her question honestly.
Austin once offered unconditional surrender.
I held some resentment toward the nation of the Sabbath, which had rejected that offer.
That may sound vindictive, but it's my honest opinion.
"…? Isn't it Austin that started this war and continues it?"
"…"
"If you all stop fighting, I believe we will as well."
However, that was only information I knew because I'm from Austin.
The people within Sabbatian territory must not have heard about our unconditional surrender.
"Did you not hear about our surrender announcement from a few months ago?"
"Austin is surrendering?"
"No, we've already surrendered. It was announced on Austin's capital broadcast, but the Sabbath refused it."
"I've never heard of such a thing. Isn't that just a rumor?"
Each country's citizens believe what their own government tells them.
It''s no wonder our views and claims are in conflict like this.
"Then, if the Sabbath stops attacking, Austin won't continue to fight?"
"We wouldn't fight. …No, we barely have the strength left to fight as it is."
"If I went back to my homeland and could persuade the leaders, would the war end?"
"I'm sure it would."
I answered Remi's question this way.
It is difficult to say for certain because such military policy is decided by the higher-ups, but given the circumstances, I don't think Austin would want the war to continue.
"I've been speaking out against the war in the Sabbath for a long time."
"…"
"But no one listened to me. When I opposed the war, the police came to arrest me."
"That is horrifying."
"It was really frightening. I'm heartbroken from seeing my friends tortured and killed."
Tears began to stream down her face as she shared this with me.
Apparently, she had been protesting the war in the Sabbath all along.
But doing so meant the police wouldn't leave her alone, and she became a fugitive for having "dangerous ideas."
She fled the capital and made her way to the border, where she was captured by the Austin military, leading her to this situation.
"I asked Bern to stop the war, to end the fighting."
"Yes."
"He promised me. If the Sabbath stopped fighting, he would move directly into peace negotiations. But as things are now, neither side is showing any sign of stopping."
"…That's probably true."
"I find that so sad."
This was the background of Remi, the woman Captain Bern has chosen to protect.
She had reasons that deserved sympathy. If I were in Captain Bern's place, I would have protected her without a doubt.
However, at a time when Austin was preparing for a decisive battle to crush the Sabbath's forces, they couldn't afford to let such an outspoken pacifist go freely.
That's why she was secretly hidden away like this.
"We just have to be persistent and keep speaking out."
"Touri?"
There are people in this world who are against war. Knowing that, I feel a small sense of relief.
Of course. No one wants to continue this tragic slaughter.
"For ordinary people like us, without any power, all we can do is keep raising our voices."
"…"
"And if an overwhelming majority of people grow to detest war, then surely the war will end."
Once war breaks out, resentment builds up.
Unless the entire population is completely wiped out, the embers of conflict will smolder for a long time after the war ends.
As long as a nation has history, the seeds of war can never be completely extinguished.
Therefore, we must spread the common understanding throughout the world that "war is evil and should be abhorred."
In my past life, the idea that "war is detestable" was a natural sentiment.
Unfortunately, there is no such modern concept in Austin or the Sabbath today.
When there is conflict between nations, it's expected that war will ensue, and casualties are seen as normal.
Such outdated values were the trigger for this war.
"War brings suffering to the people and profit to the powerful."
"…."
"That's why it must be the people who take the lead in opposing it."
I didn't really understand the meaning of it when I was taking history classes in my previous life.
For example, President Woodrow Wilson's "Fourteen Points for Peace" were principles outlined to guide nations on how to maintain peace, proposed during World War I.
At the time, I wondered what the point was of big shots preaching about maintaining peace.
I thought that even though Woodrow Wilson spoke such noble words, World War II still ultimately erupted.
However, coming to this world and seeing the shallow aversion of national leaders towards war, and I realized how amazing he was.
Fostering a shared understanding among nations that "war is something to be avoided" is extremely important.
Just having this common understanding can lead to the risk of international isolation if military force is brandished as part of diplomatic negotiations, thereby helping to prevent war.
Now that I've become a soldier in this war, I can't help but think how incredible it would be to have a head of state like him who could openly declare such ideals.
***
…At least at the start of the war, both Austin and the Sabbath still viewed warfare as a form of "diplomatic strategy."
I get the impression that they were hoping to demonstrate their national strength by using force to gain an advantage in negotiations.
However, the gravity of war increased with the development of firearms.
At least, it is no longer something that can be casually undertaken as a diplomatic strategy as it was before.
Both sides had failed to recognize this change, and now both nations are in a state of confusion.
They had both suffered unexpected casualties, and now they were losing sight of when the war should end.
Correcting this understanding will surely crucial be for us from now on.
"That's my personal theory."
"…"
I spoke to Remi, presenting this as my own theory.
I understand that it's not going to be that easy.
This is a conclusion that people in previous generations finally reached after suffering countless casualties in two world wars.
People learn from experiencing great losses and much sorrow.
On the other hand, humans do not learn unless they themselves experience hardship.
As things stand, we are the ones who are on the verge of becoming the victims of this painful experience.
"Do you think this is really possible?"
"…"
"Men like to fight. I've seen many young men at the Sabbath who said, 'I'm going to volunteer to be a soldier and kill the enemy.' Some people enjoy killing people."
"That may be true."
Remi spoke with melancholy.
Such words might certainly come from someone before they volunteer to become a soldier.
But…
"I'm sure that the Sabbatians who spoke those brave words will come to hate war when they lose so many of their comrades right in front of their eyes."
"…"
"Remi, you're not wrong. War is something that should be avoided."
I continued speaking, reassuring her.
***
"Thank you, Touri. I'm really glad I could talk to you."
After that, I continued talking with Remi for a while.
Little by little, she opened up more, her expression growing brighter as she spoke.
"If only there were more kind people like you, there wouldn't have been any war."
"…I wish there were more people like Remi in the Sabbath."
"There were many people like me who were against the war. They were just all arrested."
Remi wiped away her tears and extended her hand to me.
"I'll ask Bern to help me return home somehow. And this time, I'll work even harder to get more people to oppose the war."
"…Please don't do anything too reckless."
"Yes, thank you, my dear Touri."
I took her hand in mine.
"When the world becomes peaceful someday, let's have another tea party."
"I'd love that."
With that, we parted ways.
***
"Hehe, wow. You did great, Chief Medic Touri. I really think leaving it to you was the best decision."
"Well, thank you."
After the tea party with Remi was over, Captain Bern led me outside the tent.
He's going to personally escort me to the field hospital at Paschen.
"Remi looks much better now. She's really starting to recover."
"Yes, it looks that way to me as well."
"Now it's my turn. I'll make sure she safely returns to the Sabbath, no matter what. You can count on me."
"I'm counting on you."
Captain Bern said this with a dubious smile.
I'm sure Remi will be sent back safely if the Southern Hero, Captain Bern, says so.
"What did you think of Remi?"
"I think she's kind, beautiful, and has a mysterious charisma."
"I see. In that case, you'll never see her again. From now on, I won't allow any meetings with her."
"Huh?"
Then, Captain Bern prohibited me from meeting Remi again.
When I blinked in surprise, Captain Bern looked away from my gaze with an ambiguous expression.
"…Not to sound conceited, but I think I really cheered her up. So why?"
"Yes, you did a better job than I expected. Your words today had a big impact on Remi. I didn't realize you had thought so deeply about the outcome of this war."
"Then, why?"
"You yourself understand that, don't you?"
I felt lonely that I would never see Remi again, so I asked Captain Bern about it.
He just smiled broadly and said:
"You tried to run away from her, didn't you? Even though you spoke of being attracted to her, deep down you were terrified."
"That's not true. I…"
"No, that's fine. That's the right answer, Touri."
He patted my head and told me:
"After all, she's much more of a villain than I am, even if she isn't aware of it."
"…Huh?"
***
After that, Remi successfully returned to the Sabbath thanks to Bern.
Moreover, Bern didn't just help her return home. He also provided her with a large amount of firearms and financial support and sent her back to a certain Sabbatian base.
"I've learned many great things while I was in Austin."
The base was used as a cover by an extremist anti-government organization.
Remi was a member of that organization.
"If we increase the number of people who oppose the war, the war will end. A great man from Austin will help us stop the war."
Remi had been hiding in a village near the border to escape the eyes of the Sabbath's national police.
She was one of the dangerous ideological criminals that the Sabbatian government was desperately searching for.
─────Because of her incredible charisma, she was chosen as the leader of the anti-government organization at a young age.
"Let's end the war. Let's change the Sabbath with our own hands."
"Yes, Remi-sama."
"Starting with small steps. Slowly, we will move forward."
Thrown back into the Sabbath by Bern, the small spark Remi…
Eventually stirred up a whirlwind of madness in the name of peace in the Sabbath.
"Those who support the war are the high-ranking government officials, the nobility, and the wealthy businessmen."
"Yes, that's right."
"As long as they hold power, peace will never come. People should be equal. The country should be governed by the people like us, with discussions in parliament."
I had made a huge misunderstanding.
Remi acted with good intentions. That's why I had described her as a kind person.
"To achieve that, one by one…"
"Let us diligently kill the wealthy."
However, her true nature was…
A fanatic who wouldn't even hesitate to commit murder if it means achieving her goals all in the name of peace.
"An equal society for all people."
"Governance through parliament."
"Let us end this war."
Out of goodwill and kindness, she divided the Sabbath in two.
With the help of Bern, they organized a revolutionary group called the "Workers' Council" in the Sabbath.
The Sabbatian Revolution.
Eventually, she executed a major revolution and created a sea of blood in many Sabbatian cities.
Seeking peace, loving equality, and abhorring war, her group… if the opponent was 'on the government's side,' they did not hesitate to massacre even women and children in despicable acts of terrorism.
Many citizens sympathized with her, and under the pretext of seeking peace, looting and murder became prevalent, plunging the Sabbath into great chaos.
The rise to prominence of the Workers' Council, which received secret support from Austin, became the catalyst to the Sabbath's collapse.
She would go down in history as the one behind this terrible tragedy.
It is not widely known that it was orchestrated by Austin's hero, Bern, who did it for the salvation of Austin.