"The roads around the station are complicated, so follow me closely. Don't get distracted and lose me. Outsiders often get lost here."
"I got it. Let's go quickly."
"Why are you answering like that? I'm looking out for you because you keep falling behind."
"...I understand, but we'll be late if we keep dawdling."
Leonardo responded dryly as he stepped two paces ahead of the other person. The black uniform with highly polished military boots, a stiffly angled beret, and military gear as large as her own body were enough to draw people's attention. He was already suspicious-looking with his face covered, and walking with a noisy soldier would make him even more conspicuous, which was quite concerning.
"I'm leaving early because of someone, and you don't even appreciate it."
"If you just tell me where it is, I'll go alone? I'll even pay for your snacks before I go."
"I told you I can't explain it in words? And do you think I'm doing this for money? This is all— military spirit."
The woman who answered like that puffed out her chest and began walking ahead again with her whole body filled with energy. Her gait alternated between both feet in a regular rhythm, as if performing drill training. However, to the former Armsilver squad captain, there were many deficiencies. The excessively arched back and chin, and the angle of her arms were such examples.
Recalling his own stiffened appearance in the store, Leonardo shook his head.
'To think I was intimidated by someone like that.'
The words to relax her shoulders, straighten her back, and tuck in her chin rose to his throat, but he held them back. There was no point in pretending to know. What good would it do to lecture about proper form to a greenhorn who didn't even have rank insignia? Would she even understand?
Moreover, he was no longer a soldier. Recalling this extremely obvious fact made his heart feel considerably constricted.
He turned his eyes to the massive train station visible through the crowd ahead. Now that he had somehow acquired an unwelcome guide, he was heading toward the station with the soldier who had barged into the store earlier.
The magic supply shop owner's meddling played a large part in how the situation had turned out this way. The recollection went back about 15 minutes.
"Is this a smuggling scene?"
When the Imperial Army suddenly barged in, it was truly chaos. Though only one person was visible, the abrupt mention of smuggling made him think it was a surveillance officer who had been staking out and raided the scene.
Though the transaction between himself and the shop owner wasn't such a shady activity, they hadn't officially registered the items to avoid tracking. It was a kind of tax evasion under imperial law. Moreover, with blood that hadn't yet been absorbed and newspapers entangled on the floor, it was a quite suspicious scene to others.
With one misstep, he could end up greeting the Council again with an unsightly charge. Meanwhile, the thought crossed his mind that the owner might be an informant. Though there had been no such cases when he had checked, it was also unlikely that his trail had been followed.
Leonardo, who had been thinking of retrieving the heart and fleeing if necessary, snatched the memo from the owner's hand and took a step forward. But the owner's subsequent reaction was surprising. He grabbed Leonardo's forearm as if it were nothing and asked the soldier who had entered:
"There's a customer here, how rude to joke around. Is today recruitment day?"
At his nonchalant response, the soldier who had entered the store also answered in a much lighter tone:
"You're a villager anyway. More importantly, didn't I just look like a real soldier?"
Why is it so dark in here? I really thought you were smuggling. The soldier said this while pulling back the curtains of the window and fixing them herself. She also nagged that there was a foul smell and that they should ventilate the place.
Leonardo, who had been blinking at the rapidly changing situation, turned to look at the shop owner. The owner, who met his gaze, chuckled and said:
"Don't be tense. She's my daughter, my daughter."
As he later learned, she wasn't his real daughter; rather, children who had become war orphans were cared for together by the villagers, becoming like relatives. He said they had a comfortable relationship where they even played pranks, and she occasionally helped with the store.
Also, though she was wearing a military uniform, she wasn't an official soldier with rank insignia. She was a recruit scheduled for enlistment who had completed her physical test and medical examination about ten days ago and had only received her uniform and supplies. And her enlistment date was just two days away, so she had come to say goodbye to the shop owner, who was like a father to her.
The problem was that her enlistment unit was in the same direction as the destination in the memo. The shop owner asked the soon-to-be recruit to guide his customer instead of himself. Leonardo rolled his eyes as if it were unnecessary talk, but the owner continued, saying the path was somewhat difficult for a first-timer.
He didn't mention exactly what "the turtle that took the train" was, but said:
"You know the big inn at the station of beginning and end? Take the customer there. Get some snacks on the way too."
After explaining a specific location, he told them to go now and stuffed a few bills into Leonardo's pocket. At first, he wondered why he was giving it to him instead of his daughter, but it seemed to be payment for the amulet made with Siculus. He appeared to be someone who was unexpectedly meticulous about money calculations, regardless of whose money it was.
By the way, what was the station of beginning and end, and what was this talk about an inn? There were many questions, but the owner soon sent the two visitors out, saying it was time for the Council's patrol.
Thus, Leonardo, who ended up following the guide, fingered the bills stuck in his pocket. Thinking about it now, wasn't it his money that would be spent when buying something for that greenhorn?
After being beaten down on the price of the heart, he had properly taken on a burden. And he couldn't just send off someone who was about to enlist...
As he grumbled, he pulled his face mask, which had slid down to the middle of his nose, back up to below his eyes. Just then, the soldier walking ahead turned around again. The distance between them, now quite familiar, closed as she approached and spoke:
"Why are you going to the station of beginning and end? There's not much to do there."
Leonardo glanced at the woman. She had helped with the store business, but she seemed to have a talkative personality that liked to meddle. While being careful not to leak information, he responded moderately so as not to seem dismissive:
"I have someone to meet."
"...Hmm. Family?"
His brow furrowed automatically at the thought of that mad scholar being family. Sensing his displeased demeanor, the soldier hastily added:
"Ah, I used to go there often with my family when I was young. That's why I asked."
"...."
"We're separated now, but I still drop by occasionally, thinking I might meet them there. It's a place with many memories."
When the sudden family story came up, Leonardo continued straight ahead, looking only forward with his nerves shut off. People who brought up heavy topics when the distance wasn't sufficiently close were uncomfortable. If he had the leisure and interest to listen, it might be different, but in a situation where he didn't, it was only embarrassing and tiring.
Moreover, listening to a war orphan's family story was torture in a different sense. Perhaps because he was entangled in a similar situation. There was also some concern about whether he might have been involved in the circumstances that led to her separation from her family.
Taking advantage of the moment when she was adjusting her military gear, Leonardo shifted the conversation without deviating too much:
"Why did you apply for the military?"
Though it was a dry question without even making eye contact, the woman stared at the person beside her with a surprised face. It was the first question from the customer who had been cold all along.
"Don't people in this area usually dislike the Imperial Army?"
Perhaps happy that a conversation topic had been established, the woman answered in that bold and spirited tone from before:
"My sister is a soldier, and honestly, though I hate to admit it, she's really cool. She enlisted in the military four years ago and was immediately deployed to the Irandel Siege. She's a Turandos War veteran. I want to be like my sister."
Leonardo's eyes twitched for a moment. Ah... the topic selection had failed. The woman's subsequent story was content that he couldn't help but know.
The Irandel Siege, though major forces including Leonardo weren't deployed, was a significant battle that destroyed the Turandos Army's fortress hidden in the valley after four days of intense confrontation. That battle, by securing a new infiltration route through the valley, became a turning point that tipped the balance of the stalemate in favor of Raina Logia.
Therefore, no imperial citizen could be unaware of the siege that had been a hot topic at the time. However, Leonardo just walked silently as if hearing it for the first time. The question that once again slightly deviated from the topic was clearly not his intention:
"Is she alive?"
"What?"
"Your sister, is she alive? You said you're separated from your family."
"Ah, that was about my parents, and of course she's alive. My sister is so ill-tempered and tough. She's someone who even received special forces training, saying she'd take at least five enemies with her when she dies. She'd probably come back alive even if she fell into hell?"
Though she spoke like that, the woman seemed to really like her sister. She praised her as her hero, even while feeling embarrassed.
Even when they lost their parents to the Turandos Army's bombardment, her sister carried her on her back and walked non-stop along the railway to this Riverside. She herself doesn't remember the details because she fainted after crying a lot, but her sister's shoulders never wavered once, even as they crossed through the gaps between artillery fire and screams.
That was about 11 years ago, the second year of the war's outbreak. They were just fourteen and nine years old. It would have been an age where it was difficult to accept the reality of suddenly becoming war orphans while living peacefully. Just as he had been.
Leonardo stared blankly at the greenhorn soldier who was talking about her hero with shining eyes. It was fortunate in a way that she had maintained a cheerful personality despite going through difficult times.
Just as he was about to ask the name of the person called her sister, a shadow fell over his head, and he turned to the front.
"It's the station."
The woman, who had been chattering, also raised her head and looked up at the tall building. The complex building style created by arch-shaped windows attached closely to the stone exterior wall stood out. In the middle, a wide entrance leading to the waiting room interior was spread out in left-right symmetry.
Numerous passengers were busily coming and going through the entrance, breathing life into and out of the station building.
The soldier, who had fixed her beret again, muttered as if somewhat amazed:
"Wow, we just talked for a bit, and we're already here?"
Saying she hadn't even noticed the weight of her gear because they had been talking while walking, she adjusted her military gear once more.
Leonardo, who had been observing her, answered calmly:
"The shop owner told us to hurry, do you have a ticket? Isn't it departing soon?"
"Ah, right. This way."
The soldier gestured for him to follow and climbed the stairs in front of the station building. Though people occasionally looked when the black uniform entered, Leonardo was already calmly accepting the gazes.
Instead of pulling his cap down further, he matched his stride with hers and followed her half a step behind. He didn't bother to tell her that someone was holding the buckle of her military gear and lightening the weight.