Growlanser: Summoning Intertwined

Chapter 3: Operation: Steal The Weapon

...

-At a certain clearing where there is a gathering in session... ...

...All of those who are present, Dxion, the boss, Bauer, and some other three mercenaries under his team, Pamela, Regina, and then, there's Souji... Dxion is explaining the details so far, with it regarding some weapon that is to be transported by the enemy faction. ...With the summoned dragon earlier seems to be somewhat connected to it, like someone is supplying them with unknown weapons; and perhaps the legend about magics is true;... ...

"...We heard reports of a wagon transporting something in the open field; but, it's heavily guarded, and it's rumored that it's a Dulkheim technology, where it seems like those of the northern continent may be partaking in this; Iglesias and Dulkheim may be involved, but I don't know of which... but, right now, aside from that summoned dragon, which we may still have to investigate further, Pamela, have they finally find some source about it-!?"

"...No, for some reason, it seems like that was a summoning not done by magic; yet, it seems to be that of a different element." Pamela reported,

"What...?" Dxion asked, perplexed.

"We still don't know the details, ourselves. But... It seems like even that kind of power is something to watch out for, we don't know if there are still something like that in their arsenal, so; Be careful, okay...?" She pleaded,

"Ah... Pamela-san's like an angel watching over us," One of the mercenaries under Bauer, said, feeling charmed over Pamela's charming voice,

-The other two agreed, and seems to be in "La-la" land, or something... ...

"Huh, like you guys have something to share, you guys wouldn't get a second chance to hit a lady, when you hit one-" Bauer's sarcasm brought them back to focus-on the task at hand,

"Gaah! Aniki knows where it hurts the most,"

"Oh man, captain sure knows where it hits the anchor,"

-Everyone laughed at that, as this sarcasm and levity is very welcomed, but-

"Joking aside, I believe this weapon might pose a serious threat if not attended quickly, so to that... ...any suggestions, on this matter...? Anyone...?" Dxion asked for an opinion, from everyone... ...

...Souji frowned a bit, pondering, as well as Regina, and the others followed suit, "But, with that kind of distance, won't be leading to an ambush... ... ...?" Bauer asked, Dxion, at that,

"I'm sure they're aware of that... ..." Dxion responds, at that, "...But to be fair, they have a talented technician with them, battling them would be quite difficult in the open given his skills, and I have heard... that he has access to such weapon, so going for an assault sounds hazardous... ... ..."

"Ah, I see... ..."

"...But, with that kind of weapon, I'm sure it's not even worth that easy to steal it, since it's all guarded... ..." One mercenary said,

"...Yeah, and no one would have been able to figure that out, if no one took the risk to get the information... ..." Another one, informed...

"Huh, like you would have been able to figure out anything," Bauer said, sarcastically, again,

"Grgh... Aniki really knows how to drop an anchor... ..." The latter mercenary felt embarrassed, at that,

"...Heh, like when you know how to drop a bottle of ship on it, for the design of a bottle crane ship," Everyone laughed at that, again,

-Which Dxion pondered about this, but Regina retorted at the sarcasm of the others, then-Dxion ought to ask Souji of his opinion-"What do you think, Souji-kun...? ... ...What do you think we should do... ... ...?"

"Hm... Perhaps... just steal it...? We can disguise ourselves as them, by putting on the armors of the corpses about... ..." Souji suggested, quite cleverly, too. ...

""Huh...?"" "Huh...?" "Ah..." ""Ah...""

"Ah... Steal it, you say...? Hm..." Pamela pondered,

"Hm, stealing it..." That got Dxion pondering, as well... ...

"...Well, if we're going to steal it, we have enough pile of corpses to strip on, and we can get on the job, heh, had to hand it to you, Souji, I wouldn't have think of that,"

"Yeah-! You're pretty brilliant, bro-!"

"Yeah-!" ""Yeah-!"" Everyone cheered for Souji,

"Hm," Pamela smiled warmly, and quite seductively, towards his direction-

"Now then, regarding the operation, Regina, bring in the necessary plate armors for the disguise, Bauer, you bring along Remus and the others for the mission briefing." Dxion commanded,

"Yes-!" "Yes!"

"All right, time for dinner now-! NOW-! Everyone, time to eat-! Today, I'm going to introduce you to one of my new recipes, COME AND GET IT-!"

Everyone got riled up, at that... ...

...

...Later on, near the bushes... ...

...As a carriage that is carrying some sort of cannon with great capacity, and magnitude, is passing by, Remus, another mercenary and Souji are hiding behind a boulder, with the mercenary instructing them not to stir closer, or they might attract unwanted attention; and then, take the whistle of the leader; so that the carriage birds that are pulling the carriage, will follow them;

"...Yosh, okay, we understand... Then, Hobson-san, you should get back to the others, by now..." Remus said, as he and Souji looked on the carriage that is approaching and passing by... ... ...

"Ah, no need to tell me that, okay, good luck, you two, I hope you two succeed at this... ... ...will be contacting you guys, again, later... ..." Hobson ran for it, as the two braced themselves, as they begun sneaking about, and are making sure they make least noise; less, the cricking sound they make by the bushes about, this might get messy... anyhow,

"Yosh, now, we just have to take out those two guards, now... ...!" ...Remus said, as they move in for the kill, and then... ...

...SLAMCHT-!

...TONKGGCHT-!

"Gughcht-!" "Agchtguucht-!"

...Both guards are knocked down-with both Souji and Remus having have knocked them, unconscious, then, Souji picked up the whistle-"Ah-! That's the whistle for-"

"Shhh-!" Souji hushed,

"Ah-!" Remus covered his mouth, realizing his error-but-

"There they are-!" Two soldiers from the opposing faction came out of the fog, ahead-

"Ah-We're-I-I'm sorry-! I'm so sorry-!" Remus said, bowing in apology on the ground to Souji, as if worshipping him-

"Not now, Remus-! Besides, I think they would have found out eventually if I sounded this whistle-"

Remus instantly stood up, at that-"Eh? R-Really...? Then, what should I-"

"-That's them-! The nerve of them, stealing my invention like that-!" The technician in question, accused both Souji and Remus of stealing, "You think just I'm tactician that I cannot fight-!? I have trained and graduated to the academy, too, you know-!" ...That was pointed directly, at both boys-

"I-Is that... The technician we were told of-!? T-Then, we should..."

...Souji decided to sound the whistle-TWEEEEEEEETT-!

-The birds have started moving backward, with them taking the carriage with them-

"Y-Yosh-! That's the way, if we get through the clearing, we shouldn't have any trouble passing through the fog, so that they may lose sight of us,"

"Ah... But... I rather... get rid of any bothersome flies on our tracks," Souji said, glaring at the direction behind them-and, he drew out his sword from the sheath,

"Wha-S-Souji-! Souji-! Wha-What are you doing-!?" Remus exclaimed, as Souji ran towards the enemy soldiers-!

"Enemy-!" "Enemy coming-!" ""Hyaaaaaahhh-!"" Both guards-soldiers, in common terms-charged and attacked at Souji's direction-

"Remus-!" Souji called out,

"Eh?"

-Souji fought off the soldiers while yelling towards Remus's direction-"Take the carriage weapon, and I'll distract them for a while, they can easily catc-" Souji just dodged an attack, with a sword, from the enemy, "-they can easily catch us, so I'll get them off the trail-"

"Eh? B-B-But... But..." Remus appears uncertain, as he eyes Souji take on the soldiers, then-

-The light of the sun is reflected on their surrounding, as it penetrates through the fog about, and then-SLIIIIICEE-!

"Gugh-!" "Gugh!" ...Both soldiers ended up getting injured, as Souji took advantage of that sparkle light, from the sun, and had them incapacitated,

"Damn you-! I'll get you for this-!" The tactician ran towards Souji's direction-

-Clash-!

-Souji clashed swords-in defensive stance, in his part-then, he went underneath, and managed to slip through-

"A-Amazing, Souji-san-!" Remus exclaimed, as both of them went for another strike with their sword, as the sun is emanating a sparkle light, again-with Souji and the tactician going at it, amidst the light and fog, surrounding them-

CLAAASSGGCHTGGCHT-!

...The sound of metal clashing is heard as they were covered by the fog, then, they were seen as it dispersed, and the tactician-blood poured out of his armor, "Gagcht-! D-DAMMMIIITTT-!" He said, as he lied on the pool of his own blood, and fell down on it, Souji emerged victorious, as he put his sword back on his scabbard,

"Ah... Ah..." Remus watched all that, as Souji then approaches him while dusting his shirt, "Ah-Ah, A-Amazing-! You were amazing, Souji-san!" He gives him a hug as he threw himself towards Souji-!

"Wah-! A-Ah, sure thing." He said, hugging Remus back, and then,

"Come on, we don't have any time to waste, let's get this weapon back to the camp!"

...

...-Later on, at the base camp of Alten Schwart-...

"""YAAAAAAYYYYGGCCHHHTT-!""" Everyone cheered, as the mission was successful, and both Remus and Souji are back,

"That was amazing-! You totally had the environment at your side, looks like all of your training weren't for nothing, Heero-!" Regina said, giving a thumbs up, towards Souji's direction-she meant "Hero", by the way, which she just had it prolonged in pronuncing it-

"Well done, you two have done well, with this, it will provide more opportunity for us to get this mission be over with swiftly-" Dxion said, congratulating both boys, on a mission succesful,

"Man, I took a peek at their faces when they lost their tactician-Ah, I wish I could have shown it to you," Bauer said, boasting,

"Well done, you two, I may have more missions for you in the near future, for now, we'll be able to turn the tide with this weapon," Dxion said, as he's about to take care of the weapon-

"But... after this, we're going to have to find another contract soon, Iglesias and Dulkheim is up to coming soon in our own way... ..."

"That's not a bad thing, Bauer, but for now, we'll have to focus on ending the war, soon. ...Have your men focus on battling the men ahead, we may have no choice but to battle them at the plank-"

"Yes, Sir-!" Bauer said, in salute,

"Okay, Aniki, let's do this-!"

"Yeah, let's go-!"

...And so, Alten Schwart went to engage the enemy in battle, but... little do they know, that their end is also at near, at this very moment... ... ...

...

...

..

...At the battlefield, overlooking the entire forest area... ...

...Various mercenaries from both sides are going at it, with Bauer and his group, pushing through, with him swinging his large axe at the enemies-

"Gugh-!" Another enemy down, but... Suspicion is running on Bauer's spine, as he put his axe by his shoulder-

"This is too easy, you think they got something up their sleeves...?" Bauer asked, feeling suspicious...

"True... We haven't encountered any serious threats yet, as if they're ignoring us... or luring us to an open area..."

"Then... We should withdraw...? Aniki..." His two other mercenaries asked... ...

"Hm... ..." Bauer pondered,

-, and all the while, the enemies are going at it, as well as the allies... ...

"Damn it, they're doing better than I thought... ..."

"Gr, just a little more, until we get that buzz-up device running, we can hold this out-!"

"Ah-!" Hearing the enemies say that, Bauer decided to do something wise... ...

"I really mean it, this is really suspicious. Hey! We're withdrawing-!" He ordered of his two subordinates-

"Yes-!" "Yes-!" They both instantly agreed at that, and they ran for it for safety-at the non-battleground zone-!

-BOOOOOOOMMMMGGGCCHHHTT-! A loud, and very strong explosion is seen, and heard, at the South-

"Wha-What was that explosion-!?"

"Damn it-! Did that wizz-up thing went out of control-!?"

-BOOOOOOOMMMMGGGCCHHHTT-!

...Something exploded, then-some sort of crystal is seen glowing, it's crystalized green, in color and appearance, and-it seems to be gathering a lot of mana energies about-with it, then, gathering more mana power, for it to-

-BOOOOOOOOOOMMMMGGGCCHHHTT-!

-An explosion of light engulfed the area-and then-

...

...At the nearby camp, where Alten Schwart is stationed... ...

...Something very hot, is in the air... ... ...

"Hm...? What's going in there... ...?" A mercenary asked, then, the explosion of light has reached this far and- -BOOOOOOOMMMMGGGCCHHHTT-! -BOOOOOOOMMMMGGGCCHHHTT-!"Wha-Wha-G-Gaaarrggchh-!" ...The mercenary is engulfed by the light explosion-! -BOOOOOOOMMMMGGGCCHHHTT-!

-BOOOOOOOMMMMGGGCCHHHTT-! -BOOOOOOOMMMMGGGCCHHHTT-! -BOOOOOOOMMMMGGGCCHHHTT-! -BOOOOOOOMMMMGGGCCHHHTT-!

"Wha-What is that explosion-!?" Dxion asked, as he's accompanied by Regina, Remus and Souji, "Ah-!"

"Ah-!" ""Ah-!"" "Ah-!"

"Ah...!" Regina sees that lighting explosion-

-BOOOOOOOMMMMGGGCCHHHTT-! The explosion reached this far-!

"U-UWAAAAGGGCCHHTT-!"

"R-Regina-!"

"G-GUAAAAARRRGGCHHTTCH-!" Souji had ducked Remus over, as the explosion took over, and it can be seen all over the island- -BOOOOOOOMMMMGGGCCHHHTT-! -BOOOOOOOMMMMGGGCCHHHTT-! -BOOOOOOOMMMMGGGCCHHHTT-!

-At the docks, at the harbor...-

"Hey-! What was that-!?" Bauer exclaimed, as everyone else is here-!

"Bauer, what is the-" Pamela came running, but- -BOOOOOOOMMMMGGGCCHHHTT-! "AAAGGGCCHHTT-!"

"Ah, PAMELA-!" -BOOOOOOOMMMMGGGCCHHHTT-! "AAAAAAAAGGGGCCHHHTT-!" "AAAAGGGCCHHHTT-!" Bauer covered Pamela, as the entire island is engulfed in an explosion, with some ships managing to get away as fast as they can... ...and... ... ... ...

-and-``

-At the sight where Remus and Souji are... Souji is lying on the ground, with burns all over him, "Agh... agh..." He sees the carnage before him, it's all burning... the forest... Regina's and Dxion's corpses... they're smelling like being burned, all over ... ... "Agh... agh..." Tears have rolled down from his eyes, and Remus... ..."R-Re... mus..." He comes over to him, and... ..."...Huh...?" He sees some sort of device that seems to be like a teleportation device... ... "... ..." He takes Remus's unconscious body, and walked, slowly, towards the device, which he's not familiar with it, so... ...he just pushed a button, at it, which seems to have activated it, then... ...he and Remus are at the teleportation position-which then, it glowed light about-and they were gone-(Note: Similar to that teleportation device that Lumis used to get everyone to safety from the Angel Replica's attack)

-BOOOOOOOMMMMGGGCCHHHTT-! -BOOOOOOOMMMMGGGCCHHHTT-! -BOOOOOOOMMMMGGGCCHHHTT-!

-and everything was engulfed by the lighting explosion, afterwards, killing all of those who remains in the island of Lamplast Island, and then to it then to... ... ...

...

...at a certain ruins called "The Ruins of Hope", it's raining hard... ...and Souji is lying by the wall of it, and Remus is still unconscious... this appears to be Dulkheim borders, as it seems... ... ...

... ...

... ... ...

... ... ... ...

...a voice... a voice in the hinge... of the darkness... ... ... "...Please, wake up... ... Please, wake up... ... ...! ... ... ... You cannot die here, we haven't even met yet-!" ...A woman... ... ...? She seems to trying to heal Souji, of his wounds, which are working... ... ... and she's without clothing, or anything... ... ... Souji could feel the warmth of her skin, which he's being soothed, and healed... ... ... Souji opened his eyes, "... ...Thank you."

"Hm... ... ... ... Now, please stand up," She commanded, gently... ... ... Souji stands in the darkness, and the girl's voice ... ... ... ... ... ... "We'll meet again, soon ... ... ... ..." ... ...The girl's voice disappeared ... ... ... ...

...

... ...

... ... ...

- , a sound of thunderbolt woke up, Souji, from his state of unconsciousness, and a wailing, and mourning Remus is by the grave sites, as he just made them for Dxion on the others, "Dxion-boss... ... ... Regina-san ... ... ...Why... ... ...? ... ... ...I thought, I thought ... ... ... I finally found a new family... ... ... ... ... am an... ... Am I to be denied of that, as well...? ... ... " ... ... Souji eyed him from the corner, and ... ... "... ... ...ah... ..." He, too, begun to feel like wailing ... ...

"Huh...? ... ..." Remus has turned to Souji, who has just woken up, "Ah-S-Souji-!" He ran up to him, "Are you all right...? Huh...? All of your wounds... they're gone... ...?"

"...Someone healed me... Did you see someone... ...?" He asked him, who is kneeling in front of him... ... ...

"...Someone...? Ah, uh, no, I didn't... ...see anyone... nor... where are we... ..."

... ...The rain continued dropping heavily, and it seems like it won't be stopping any time, soon... ... ...

...

...

... ...

...Later on, ...after the rain subsided, both Souji and Remus seem to have recovered, now... ..."...None of their traces were gone... what was that explosion just then... ...? ... I hope Bauer-san and the others are all right, they were near the harbor-! So they should be... been able to escape... ...right-?" He asked, desperately, Souji at that, direct question,

"Ah... ...probably. But... Where are we...? ... ..."

"Dulkheim border, as it seems, look, there's a sign there... ..." He pointed at a certain sign, "Why did this had to happen, when all of my family members are... ... ..."

"... ... ..." Souji eyed the nearby ruins... Remus does, as well... ... ..."Where do you suppose this leads...? ... ..."

"... ...I don't know. But, one thing for sure," Souji said, "..We need to find shelter to rest on... ... ..."

"...You think we can find some here...? ... ..."

"...I don't know, but... ...I'll try it." He said, opening the metalic door, about... ...and they come across a hall that is filled with blackness about, and inside this hall-is an intersection path with four paths, each having a tile of sort with different colors, orange, yellow, black and white-gray...

"Eh...? This are... ...What are these for... ... ...?" Remus asked, examining the surrounding, Souji is eyeing one path with a yellow tile, on it... He goes to follow it,

"Ah, ah-! W-Wait for me, please, don't leave me behind like that... It's too dangerous to go on alone, and... ...I don't want to be... alone... ..."

...Souji stopped and turned to Remus, with him feeling sympathetic and very pitiful ... "Ah, we'll be together... always..." ...Souji said, feeling family matters is what important here,

"Eh...? Th-That's... uh... A-Ah, o-okay." Nonetheless, Remus smiled at that, and followed after him, "We'll always be together from here on, right...? We'll be together... as we brave hardship, and... and more... more on, and more... on."

"Ah, we will... ..."

"Hm, thank you... You're really... sob... my last family let... let's do this." He said, as they braced the dark hallways... ...

...Later on, they come across a doorway of some sort... ...

...Souji and Remus eyed it, "This is... a doorway, hm, it seems to be closed tight." Remus said, going over by it, "Hm, let me see... Hmmmgghh-! Hmmgghh-! ... ...sigh, not good, it won't budge at all..."

Souji walked over by it.

"...Are you going to try it, it won't budge when-"

-Suddenly, the door opened as Souji approached it-

"Eh...?" "Eh...?"

Which surprised both boys at that development, at that,

"Eh...? I-It opened... H-How did you do that...? Was it magic...?" Remus asked, somewhat excited...

"I... didn't do anything..." Souji said... ...

"Hm, that's strange... when I tried to open it, it wouldn't budge. Well, anyway, let's look around here, let us see what we can find out..." ...They look about at this room, with a stone podium on the middle, which immediately caught attention-from the boys, themselves. ...They then approached it, and found a pendant of some sort, which seems to be of that of a right-half pendant, as a whole-"...What is this...? A pendant...? ... ...Hm, it looks... mystic. Well, anyway, let's search the whole place, all over... ..."

-They continued looking all over, and Souji found some sort of glowing... egg? (Note: This is not a familiar's egg, sorry, but in this story of mine, as the protagonist is a speaking main character, the familiar-element in this story is not present, unlike in the game... sorry.) "... ..." Souji ought to touch it, and seems to have found the orb of omnipotent, which seems to be able to carry magic energies, and when it's unleashed-

"Why are you looking at your hand...? It looks like you're pretending to be touching something... ... ..."

"...?" Souji was greatly surprised at that, and looked over his hand, and realized that Remus cannot see the orb of omnipotent. "You don't... see this egg-thing...?"

"Eh...? Egg..." Suddenly, they heard a mechanism triggering-"Eh...?" "Eh?"

-The door to the corner opened, and they took a peek inside, and found a capsule of some sort... which seems to fit a person... Souji comes in, "What is this place...? It looks a chamber for strange technology, and... ..." ...Souji has knelt before the capsule before him-throb-! throb-! throb-! ...He suddenly stands up, feeling very shaken for some reason, as his legs are shaking, as well as his arms... ..."Eh...? Wh-What's wrong...? You look like... you're not feeling... well... ..."

..-bloooooodddrrggchht-! bloooooodddrrggchht-! bloooooodddrrggchht-! -Suddenly, all of the sudden, wings of blood poured out of Souji's back-

"Gaah! Y-You're bleeding-!" Exclaimed Remus, then, Souji fell on the ground, barely conscious... ..."H-Hang in there, please, hang in there, I can't afford to lose you, too-!"

-SLAM-!

-Suddenly, the door opened, with two Dulkheim soldiers coming inside-!

"Intruders! You won't go anywhere-!" One drew forth their sword, and goes to arrest Remus-and the unconscious Souji-!

"You intruders... How did you get in here-!? Never mind, you're coming with us-!"

"Uwa... W-Waah...!" Remus shrieked, at this sudden development-

...

...Later, at an officer post office... ...

...Souji is being interrogated inside this very room with the only thing available is a table for two-the interrogator and the interrogated-"Well-!?" -SLAM-! "Will you tell us now what did you come to steal at the ruins-!?" The interrogator demanded of Souji, who has been silent for the mean time, even though he was threatened that they have all the time they need to make him squeal-

-knock, knock-!

-Someone suddenly knocked, with the officer standing, annoyed, at the sudden intrusion-

"Who is it, I'm interrogating a suspect here-!" The interrogator shouted, but then, a well-dressed middle-aged man, came in, which made the interrogator gasped, "A-Ah, I-I'm sorry for my rude behavior, Sir-!" He said, saluting in apology,

"...Never mind, about it. But, I would like to be alone with him, for now."

"Yes, Sir-!" He said, as he left the man and Souji alone.

"... ..." Souji eyes this person, who seems to be very high-ranking and very important ranking officer, in the Dulkheim army,

"Now then... I need you to repeat what you told him."

...Souji nodded. "Yes."

...

...

...Later on... after that...

...Ludwig, as he's the well-known war hero of Dulkheim border, is looking out the window, with him having have heard and listened of Souji's story, "I see... So you opened a door that your companion couldn't open." He said, looking at the direction of the window, he then, turned to Souji, "Those ruins are under the military's jurisdiction, if you attempted to enter without authorization, they will arrest you. That pendant is something we have not examined, as we lack the means to open the door that you just managed to open-at this, I will be taking the medallion, while you keep this magical orb."

"...magical orb...?" Souji asked, with a raised eyebrow,

"That is correct, it is something that can contain mana energy, release it, and unleash it a full force-something like that is not rare, so you may keep that."

"Oh," Souji keeps it, "Thanks." He said, tossing the orb upward, and catching it-

"Now then, onto my main point and my main business here," He said, walking about in a pace-then, he turned to Souji, "I want you to join our army."

...Souji just nodded, "Yes."

"Hm, I'm glad you're quick to understand, all ruins are under our army's jurisdiction, if you wish to explore them, you would need permission. You may be interested in ruins, as such, and such, you will be permitted to enter it, in exchange, your skills will be put to good use by the army-the same army that needs also your skills. Hm, I say it's a fair deal."

"Hm, you got it." Souji nodded with a respectful nod, and vice versa,

...Later on, at the main hall of a barrack of a fort, where both Souji and Remus are enlisted among the ranks of the Dulkheim military...

"...You are all here for the election ceremony, where you may all be enlisted in the name of our beloved Dulkheim nation..." Ludwig is making an opening speech at the podium in front-

"Oh, that's..." Remus seems to recognize him, as whispers go on about, something about Ludwig being regarded as a war hero, when he managed to defeat the Iglesias army with consisting only of 2000 men, while defeating 10,000 units on the field, which was astonishing-but then, those whispers were hushed by the senior officers who are on the watch-"It's him who recruited us, right...? Hm, I guess we should be grateful that we're being treated properly." Remus whispered to Souji,

"...Now then, your efforts and mistakes are and will be that of the Dulkheim army, we do hope you will expose your abilities in the outer world, and show forth your own prowess to serve this nation, as part of the whole, as it shall serve you, should you serve it. We shall now hold onto the main shift of this opening ceremony, you shall all be compensated for your patriotism should the time comes-" Ludwig bowed in a patriotic manner, and left the podium to get back to his office-with Prof. Abraham taking in position on the podium-

"Yosh, well then-time for you all to be introduced to proper training regimen in our nation, in here, you shall all be inquired and be tested on the usage of magic summon, where you will be summoning each Summons that may answer your calling-and you may be able to train and harness such power, in due time."

"...Summon... magic...?" One soldier asked, among the ranks of this row,

One raised a hand, "Excuse me, did you just mention "summon magic", and this is not mistaken, as I heard it?"

"That is correct. It is not a mistake, you, of all the among those who are chosen as elites, shall be trained here in the usage of magic, and to this, our military have begun using them for a while. We shall see forth just how much you will progress in this training regimen-Oh, but first, you will need these summoning gems, to perform a summoning-all of you will fill one, and take one, as you are called..."

...At that, each by one, they each take one crystal gem, which will serve as their catalyst to be able to summon a Summon, which is a beast that will be under their command, and Abraham just gave out all of them-

"Yosh, now then, I know this is still too early, but since Ludwig, our war hero, is here, we shall hold this ceremony short, and let us now get into proper assignments-" He said, then, everyone scattered for a bit-

...A while later... ...

...Remus came to Souji, "I got my own Summon gem, now-! Wow, I'm kinda excited now, with this, we can explore ruins and explore more about magic-! Oh, that's right, I almost forgot, we're near the boss's hometown, have you seen it?"

"Hm, no, we were wandering in a few months now, so I didn't have the chance to go there. Anyway, you should write a letter."

"To the boss's hometown? Yes, right away, but, it may take some time for it to be delivered so... ...we'll just have to wait. But you know... about that explosion at the island... What was that about...? ... ... it was like..."

"Ah... Ah, your guest is as a good as mine, what in the world is going on here... ...Well, someone is said to have been fetched to get us, so we'll just have to wait here..." Souji said, relaxing a bit, and Remus does the same...

...Later on... ...

...A young female recruit, Tricia, came to fetch the boys-as instructed-then, as they-"Ah, you are the fresh meats, right-!?" Both boys turned to her as she greeted them, "Nice to meet you, I'm Tricia. I've just joined in the ranks as well, but I'll be your senior and mentor during your stay here, nice to meet you! Oh, let's see, you are... Remus-kun, and that is... ah, Souji-kun, yes-! Haha, nice to meet you-!"

"A-Ah, nice to meet you, Tricia-san." Remus said offering a handshake,

"Ah," Which she gladly takes,

"... ..." Souji is eyeing this lively conversation,

"Oh, by the way, you guys were formerly mercenaries, right...? Were you guys able to pass the aptitude test, as well, that you were able to join...?" ...Both boys turned to each other, when that was asked, but then... ...

"Well, to be able to tell truth, we were sort of enlisted or scouted, when they found out about our background... ..." Remus said, scratching the back of his head.

"Ah... Ah, I can somewhat relate, since they also scouted me, at first, but hey, just hang in there, and eventually you'll come to love it. Just have fun, and you'll have fun using magics for the rest of your training semester here, he he, and I guarantee, it's very fun!"

"...Have fun with magics...?"

"Ah-! It sure is! Hehe, the ancients sure did have amazing technology to be able to use magics, oh, and more to that, it's very, amazing that they can also use Summon gems-! It's quite right here, too." She said, showing her green Summon gem, "Hehe, my Summon is something called a deer's head, but it's also quite capable, as it's can send winds that can shiver down on the spine of those who would abuse it-Hehe," (Note: A reference of Io, from Persona 3, yes... the wind element, and deer's head pretty much gave that gaveaway, if you know the plot of the game or personas, that is.) She said, which she seems to be energetic and bright... ...too bright,

...Souji smiled at that, "Eh, it sounds useful." He said,

"Hm! And you're Souji, right...?" She goes closer to Souji, "Nice to meet you, I'm Tricia." She said, offering a handshake.

"Ah," He accepted it, "Nice to meet you." Then, they stop shaking,

"You know, if you guys are going to live here, you ought to learn of the rules and regulations here, hm, let's see... well... oh, for one, you'll have to salute at all respecting rankings around here, instructors and seniors-alike, oh, but only those in rankings, not those in those high above you-Oh, and that includes me, too-!"

-Both of them instantly stood up straight, and saluted at that-which Tricia giggled at, only-

"Hehe, just kidding-! Hehe," ...It was just a cute joke, huh.

"Eh...? But..."

"Oh, but you really should salute at the other high-rankings here, okay...?" She said, a bit strictly, which the boys nodded solemnly, "Hm, wow, I have a feeling this gonna be fun, but hey, we can relax around one another, okay? Since we are all of the same age, around here."

"...Sounds good to me." Souji said,

"Hehe, I have a feeling we'll get along well."

"...Eh...? Eh?" Remus feels like a third-wheel, for some reason, as he eyes the two-with them conversing lively, like boyfriend and girlfriend-

"Oh, that's right, follow me, I'll show you to your room-"

...And so begins the lives of Remus and Souji in the army of Dulkheim... ...will they fit in...?

End of Chapter 3