"Okay, today we're celebrating Touri's return! Does everyone have their wine?"
"Yes!"
"Oh, Touri, you'll have juice."
"Am I the only one who can't drink?"
"Don't worry about it!"
After a charming exchange with Sergeant Gavel…
A few days later, I was invited to a party by Reitalyu.
"Elma, it's been a while. You work in a different ward from Cale?"
"…I didn't want to work in the same place as him."
Some familiar-looking nurses were gathered at the party.
These were the nurses who had once belonged to the "Touri Medical Platoon," led by Head Nurse Elma.
"I'm glad to see everyone is safe."
"Really, it's amazing we all survived that battle!"
Seeing them again after a long time, I felt that their faces and physiques had become more refined.
When I first met them I was worried because they were all selfish people wearing heavy makeup, but now there's not a trace of that fluffy vibe about them.
They are now playing an active role as the backbone of the medical department after having survived many life-risking battlefields.
"…Even though so many people have gathered, Cale isn't participating."
"He's the head of his ward, so he probably couldn't leave."
"…He must have ran away."
Cale was unfortunately the only one unable to attend due to his busy schedule.
I heard that he led the platoon after I left during the Battle of the North, so I really wanted him to join…
"The ward chief can't just abandon his job, so have fun Little Boss," Cale said, sending me off with a refreshing smile.
"That guy never learned his lesson. He tried to pursue multiple people again."
"He just tried to flirt with them simultaneously, saying it wasn't cheating since he wasn't officially dating anyone yet."
"…I'll give him a lecture later."
It looks like Cale really did run away.
Even though he's smart, I wonder why he doesn't learn…
"When I first saw you, I thought, 'Is it really okay for such a small kid to be a platoon leader?' But you turned out to be really reliable."
"Thank you, Bucha."
"…You're surprisingly mature for your age. I wish that idiot would learn from you."
"Cale is also someone you can rely on."
"Don't trust that man. You should never, under any circumstances, trust him with your body."
"I don't trust him in that regard, so please rest assured."
It was a very enjoyable meal with my comrades.
"Touri, this is delicious! It's bread with cheese spread on top and toasted."
"Thank you, it's very delicious."
Reitalyu prepared a variety of dishes for us.
Cheese, bread, bacon—these are all valuable resources on the battlefield.
She prepared them with her own pocket money, so I must be grateful.
"The thing that surprised me the most about going to the Sabbath was the bathing culture. There's this thing called Vanya…"
"Wow! There's such a wonderful facility! There's such a wonderful facility! Isn't that like an all-you-can-eat buffet?"
"You'll be banned from entry if you do anything inappropriate in the sacred Vanya."
I was asked many questions about what I had been doing in the Sabbath, and I talked non-stop all day.
Life in the Sabbath, adopting Sedol, participating in the revolution.
Everyone listened to my stories without getting bored.
It might be the first time in my life that I've talked so much to someone.
After I finished telling my story, I asked the members of the former medical platoon how they were doing.
The medical platoon disbanded after the Defense of Winn, and each member received different positions and were dispatched to various wards.
It was to pass on their battlefield experiences to the new recruits gathered in Winn.
"Elma is already a head nurse now, isn't she?"
"Everyone here has mostly been promoted to at least a corporal. She's a rising star among the new recruits."
Erma had become a head nurse, a rank on par with Cale's.
She's been entrusted with the role of head nurse in a frontline ward and is still making great contributions.
"I'm more important, you know!"
"There's no one more important than Reitalyu in the medical department."
"Right! So this is an order from your superior! All men, take off your shirts! I'll show Touri how to judge properly an item."
"…Director, that's bad for her education."
"Ouch!"
It's not just Elma, but everyone here is supporting the backbone of the medical department in various roles.
It would have been difficult to gather like this if Reitalyu hadn't skillfully adjusted the schedule.
So, let's consider her bad drunken state as endearing.
"…Warrant Officer Touri. The Director's disgraceful behavior is a regular occurrence, so don't worry about it."
"It's okay, it's quite cute. I've experienced more intense situations."
"I don't think there are many people with worse drinking habits than Director Reitalyu."
In the Sabbath, it's around the time when people start putting on Vok helmets or diving naked into the snowy fields to cool down.
So Reitalyu's tendency to start attacking men is rather cute.
"Hahaha! Such a good man!"
"Wow, the Medical Director is here! Run away!"
Have my senses become a little numb?
"Now that I think of it, Warrant Officer, are you not interested in romance?"
"Huh?"
"You're so cute, you know."
During the party, a slightly tipsy male nurse brought up the topic of romance while patting my head.
I hesitated momentarily about how to respond, and then—
"Well, um, I'm actually married."
"Oh, I-I'm sorry… Ouch!"
Elma immediately stomped on his foot from under the table.
The male nurse also sobered up and came up to me apologizing with his face completely pale.
"There's no need to treat it like a taboo topic. If someone brings it up, I'll just modestly brag about it."
"…"
The lively atmosphere of the party suddenly froze. I guess everyone knew about Rodri and I.
I tried to lighten the mood with a joke, but it was just ignored.
"Uh, it's really not a big deal for me."
"R-Really? Then, how about I talk about something else instead! Let me tell you about Cale's recent escapades."
"…That's something I don't want to hear, so please stop."
"Eh?"
Being the one who needs to be considerate is also quite troublesome.
In times like these, it would be helpful if people could just lightly brush it off.
"Well, it's not exactly a romance story, but I've been having some interpersonal issues lately."
"Oh? What's troubling you? I'll help you out."
"Thank you. Actually…"
Since I had no other choice, I decided to bring up a topic I came up with on the spot.
It was supposed to be a fun dinner party. I wanted to dispel this frozen atmosphere as quickly as possible.
***
"So you tried to get along with your prickly sister-in-law and ended up getting a declaration of war from a guy over the senior you admire?"
"…Yes."
"To be honest, that's hilarious!"
When I brought up the issue with Lenalee and Gavel, Reitalyu started getting extremely excited.
I'm not sure what's so funny about it.
"Your sister-in-law, Lenalee, she's the girl who runs around with that gun, right? She was here last week with an injury."
"There was a lot of talk about why a communications officer was training."
It sounds like the people in my former platoon knew Lenalee well.
They remembered her face because she frequently got injured.
"She's a girl, but she always comes in with injuries that leave scars. It's quite difficult to treat her."
"But even when we show concern and talk to her, she just insists, 'Please treat me without unnecessary conversation.' Her attitude is a bit rude."
"I wonder why she's training so desperately."
Lenalee is apparently quite unfriendly even while receiving treatment and hardly engages in conversation.
She only provides the bare minimum information, such as where it hurts.
If the treatment isn't done well, she sometimes sarcastically says, "It's amazing that you can be a medic with such skill."
"Anyway, that girl should reconsider her training regimen. She's getting injured way too often."
"I don't want to say that training injuries are a nuisance… but it's not pleasant having to deal with the extra work. The attitude of 'getting better quickly' also seems a bit much."
"Can Warrant Officer Touri give her some advice to make her understand?"
The topic of Lenalee never seemed to run out.
She's become infamous because of her arrogant attitude and frequent injuries.
They really are brother and sister…
"So, what about the other one, Sergeant Gavel? I don't know him. Sorry."
"…Who's that?"
"If he's a sergeant, I'd think you'd remember his face if you saw it."
By the way, no one knew about Sergeant Gavel, who is another source of trouble.
When I think about it, Sergeant Gavel is in the transportation unit, so he's not usually on the front lines.
Of course, nobody knew him.
***
The celebration of my return continued until sunset.
The evening party was truly an enjoyable time.
"Well, Director Reitalyu, if we don't wrap it up soon, we'll have work…"
"I don't want to. I'm going to enjoy myself and pass out for the night."
"There's a pile of paperwork that needs to be finished by tonight."
Reitalyu was immediately taken away by her subordinates as soon as the meal ended.
…It looks like she'll be working through the night on paperwork. I feel a bit guilty about this.
"…Well then, see you later, Warrant Officer. If you have any problems, don't hesitate to consult with me. I'll help."
"Thank you, Elma."
Elma and the others each said their farewells and headed home.
Both they and I will be back to work tomorrow. Let's do our best.
***
"…It's already night."
The medical ward managed by Cale was located a few kilometers away from here.
Looking around, night had already fallen, and the chirping of insects from the grass was faintly heard.
The season's changing, with a cool breeze beginning to blow through the humid summer air.
I could reach my tent in about 30 minutes if I ran.
However, I decided to walk slowly, savoring the nostalgia of reuniting with kind and gentle people.
"Ugh…"
"Hk!"
But after walking for about 10 minutes, I heard a painful groan coming from the roadside.
I immediately held my breath and became more vigilant about my surroundings.
"…ugh, …ugh"
Someone nearby is breathing heavily and doing something.
────Is it a battle?
Although this is Austin's territory, it's not impossible that remnants of the enemy could be hiding here.
I hid myself among the vegetation and slowly crept towards the direction the voice was coming from.
"Still not enough…"
There was a girl in the path I walked towards.
She was standing there wearing a dirty tank top on her upper body, with blood dripping from her shoulders and arms.
"…Ugh! Hah!"
The girl closed her eyes and struck a tree trunk with her fists.
A heavy thud of flesh echoed through the darkness of the night, and bark and blood splattered everywhere.
"Haa! Haa! … Haaaahh!!"
…It was a terrifying expression.
Her eyes were shadowed with a dark hue, and she repeatedly struck the tree trunk with her fists, making a hoarse sound as she tried to suppress the pain.
"Lenalee…"
The girl possessed by the desire for revenge, Lenalee Lowe, continued to beat the tree alone in the empty space with her body covered in wounds.
I don't know of any training like this. It's probably a close-combat program for infantry, but…
Is it really necessary to focus on hand-to-hand combat training in this era?
I would think it's better to master handling knives and guns first.
"…!"
Lenalee took off her jacket and continued her training in a casual outfit consisting of a tank top shirt and military pants.
Without caring about injuries, she continued to hit the tree with all kinds of techniques: fists, elbows, kicks, and tackles.
With wounds all over his body.
"…Hah!"
Next, she began climbing the tree with her battered arms.
I thought she was doing core training with climbing, but she started practicing falling from the tree and taking the impact.
"—Hrk! That hurts…"
Lenalee landed on her right shoulder with a nasty thud and writhed in excruciating pain for a while.
Then she stood up again, resuming climbing the tree while protecting her injured shoulder.
…Her shoulder is likely broken. It's hard for her to lift it, and climbing the tree is difficult.
Looking closely, the area where she landed was gouged with dirt and crushed vegetation stained with dark red blood.
She must have repeated this training many times.
The training Lenalee is doing can hardly be described as efficient.
Even if it's close-combat training, it would be ineffective without a partner.
Practicing falling should be done with multiple people.
If you break a bone and can't move, you'll stay that way until someone finds you.
If you injure your cervical spine, you may stop breathing and die.
"…"
Linari was performing such extremely dangerous training alone.
Without being watched by anyone, without being given orders by anyone, she worked alone in silence.
With a beast-like gaze, she stared towards Flamel and clenched her teeth as she trained.
"Alright, almost there."
Lenalee's childlike face was stained with mud. She landed on her right shoulder again, groaning.
Her right shoulder began to swell and turn black and red, with a nasty grinding noise.
"I'll come and see you."
Her once-beautiful black hair was disheveled with dirt and sweat.
A fallen rock had dug a large hole in the flesh of her shoulder, and a shocking amount of blood began to ooze out.
Holding her injured shoulder, she let out a soundless scream—
"Father… Mother!"
She tried again to climb the tree she had jumped from.
His dark, hazy eyes stared fixedly at "death."
"No…"
No, this is different. It resembles Rodri, but it's entirely different.
Rodri simply wanted to avenge his comrades.
The hostility he showed towards his companions was because he was pained by the deaths of those he had become close with.
He never sought death himself.
"That's not right, Lenalee."
But she is different.
Lenalee, the girl who has lost everything, under that expressionless mask—
"It's still too early for that…"
Is burying her suicidal tendencies under the desire to kill Flamer soldiers.
It's hard to imagine a 14-year-old girl not feeling lonely after losing her family.
There is no way that a girl who had been living a peaceful life until then could remain calm now that she is all alone in the world.
That's why Lenalee wants to see her parents and brother.
She continued her harsh training, believing that her family would be waiting for her after she died.
"…"
That's why she wants to go to the front lines.
The reason she distances herself from others is because she plans to die soon on the front lines.
The reason she is carrying out this obviously reckless training is that she doesn't care if she dies during it—
"Private Lenalee Lowe!"
"…Huh?"
…As soon as I realized this, I couldn't help but approach her.
Lenalee will definitely die if I leave her like this.
She will disregard her own life and will surely die in an accident during this reckless training or by charging into enemy lines.
"Warrant Officer Touri? Is there something I can help you with?"
"Who assigned this training program to you? It's dangerous, ineffective and reckless."
"This is self-directed training. I'm doing it all at my own risk, so you don't need to worry."
I can't stand by and let the sister of my dear comrade choose to end her life. There's no way I can leave her like this.
"No. What if you die from such inefficient and meaningless training?"
"It doesn't concern you."
But Lenalee is a stubborn girl.
No matter what I say to try and persuade her, she would only listen with a deaf ear.
Since she has already chosen death, nothing anyone says will have any effect on her.
"This is the path I have chosen. Please do not get involved."
"No, that's not what I want to say—"
To Lenalee, I am a stranger.
At least for now, no matter what words I offer her…
I will not be able to change the way she lives.
"Isn't your training is pretty lax? I just wanted to laugh at you, Lenalee."
"…!"
So I thought desperately.
A way to get my words across to Lenalee.
"…What would a medic like you know?"
"Despite appearances, I'm a former member of an assault unit. Have you heard of the 'Lucky Carry?'"
She probably won't listen to me no matter what I say if I try to do it the normal way.
If she's going to be interested in anything, it would be…
"…I have no intention of compromising my training. What am I missing?"
"What use is it for a female soldier, who is physically inferior to men, to learn close combat? If you have time, why not try running for even just one second longer?"
"Huh?"
If she wants to join the infantry, this is about the training she will need to undergo.
"Infantrymen are supposed to run. Before jumping down or engaging in hand-to-hand combat, you need to run to the destination."
And so…
I decided to resume my daily running routine together with Lenalee.
"In actual combat, you'll end up running a marathon until you're ready to engage with your weapon. You won't even be able to hold your gun if you don't enough stamina."
"I-I see."
"If you want to be an infantryman, stop making foolish injuries by jumping around and start running."
First, I started by correcting the training routine she had been doing on her own.
When I healed her shoulder injury, I asked her who had given her current training instructions.
It turns out Lenalee had been recreating training methods she heard from her grandfather who had been a soldier.
Her grandfather was a soldier in an era before firearms. Training methods from half a century ago were indeed quite inefficient.
"What's with that way of holding the gun? We assumed this is a security zone. The gun should be slung over your left shoulder, and you should keep your grip on the handle with your left hand."
"I-I'm sorry."
"You have to be aware so that you'll be ready the moment you spot the enemy. As soon as I give the signal, aim your gun in the specified direction."
Training like that could leave her incapacitated at any moment.
Today's infantry training focuses on running before practicing close combat.
I will also teach have to teach her how to hold a rifle properly.
"Enemy sightings at 3 o'clock! Aim at the spot!"
"W-What?"
"Too slow. Think of it as if your life depends on it. Let's do it again."
Although Lenalee had been ignoring most of what I was saying, she was willing to listen when it came to the details of infantry training.
She genuinely wanted to learn a proper training program.
"Enemy sighting at 1 o'clock! Crouch down and get into the kneeling shooting position."
"K-Kneeling position?"
"Like this. Get on one knee and spread your legs at a right angle. If there's cover, you can fight back while hiding."
Platoon Leader Garback didn't teach me about this, but I learned it during Mr. Zafqua's training.
The person who reacted the slowest to instructions would be made to do a penalty game, so everyone was desperate.
"Enemy sightings at 3 o'clock! Prepare to intercept immediately!"
"…Yes! Haa, haa."
"What is it? Are you out of breath already? Weren't you supposed to be an infantryman?"
"Is it normal for infantry to run this much?"
"During a march, you're constantly running while carrying heavier equipment."
"Ugh, ugh…"
With this training content, Lenalee should be less likely to get injured even if she tries hard.
At the very least, it's far more useful than the reckless activities like jumping from trees she was doing before.
I need to ensure we have water and salt to prevent heatstroke.
"Enemy sightings at 2 o'clock. Crouch and get into the defense position!"
"…Yes!"
"Good, let's end the running for now since it's a good time."
The night's infantry training lasted for about two hours.
By the end of the training, even Lenalee was exhausted. She hadn't been doing any stamina-building training before, only dangerous ones.
It's a shame because nothing beats running for training.
"Finally, it's over…"
"Hey, why are you lying down? The running is over, but that's all."
"Eh?"
But running alone isn't enough.
Infantrymen require muscle strength for situations like jumping over walls or marching through rough terrain.
Running and strength training go hand in hand. Strength training doesn't take up much space, and if you're aiming to be an infantry soldier, you must do it.
"Now we'll do core training. Let's start with sit-ups. 100 repetitions."
"Eh?"
"This is just the warm-up routine for standard infantry training. If you can't even keep up with this, infantry might not be for you."
"…"
The late Platoon Leader Garback had made me do endless muscle training and running when I was a new recruit.
His methods were extreme, but they made sense. I find them useful as a reference.
"Oh, are you at your limit? Shall we just give up and call it a day?"
"…What?! I'll do it. I'll do it!"
"Very well."
Lenalee Lowe is quite a stubborn girl.
The training was a bit hard for a new recruit, but she kept up with my training.
"Hah!! hah…!"
"Good job!"
Maybe seeing me, smaller than her, handling the training with a calm face motivated her.
Lenalee successfully completed the training that made the athletic Lakya flee on the first day.
"Good job, the training is over. If possible, continue this training daily."
"…"
"Ah, are you okay?"
"…"
Lenalee somehow managed to push through only with sheer willpower.
Immediately after the training ended, she was drenched in sweat and passed out.
"Well, let's carry you for now."
Since I couldn't just leave her, I carried her to my tent for the night.
I'd like to find a suitable place to take a bath. For today, I'll borrow the water supply, and from tomorrow, I'll train near a water source.
…Proper training feels good after all. I'll invite Lenalee to train with me on my free days from now on.