Chapter 25: Tensions at lunch.
The procession of cars through the square until it stops in the center of it.
"And now?" Miho asked.
"Now comes the culmination of the ceremony." Hilda replied.
The procession of cars through the square until it stops in the center of it.
"And now?" Miho asked.
"Now comes the culmination of the ceremony." Hilda replied.
Hilda escorted her guests to a stage raised near her statue; an immense crowd had gathered in the square, hundreds of people or perhaps staring at the new arrivals, some waving flags of the various schools.
"If you haven't invited us, why do some students display our flags?" Anchovy asked.
"Evidently they misunderstood the statements of our führer." Himmler replied.
"Typical of Hilda… Raise a statue to herself. But where are, we in Pyongyang?" Klara wondered, receiving a slap from Nonna who left her stunned.
"Keep your tongue in check, comrade ... We must not offend the hosts!" She warned her.
The blonde did not reply, still shaken by what her colleague had just done to her.
Hilda, standing in front of the microphone, motioned for the audience to be silent. She waited a few minutes, then said:
"My loyal companions, I am pleased to introduce you to the commanders of the main Japanese schools, the best of sensha-do in the land of the rising sun: I present to you Miho Nishizumi, captain of the Ooarai ..."
Miho stepped forward, greeting the crowd.
"... Her sister Maho, captain of Kuromorimine ..."
The direct interested side by side with her sister.
"... Katyusha, commander of Pravda, with her deputy, the inseparable Nonna ..."
Nonna picked up Katyusha and stepped forward. The blonde waved goodbye.
"… Darjeeling, leader of Saint Gloriana; Marie, captain of BC Freedom; Kay, commander of the Saunders ... "
"Hi!" She greeted the blonde enthusiastically.
"… Anchovy, Duce of Anzio; Mika, commander of Jaktosota; and finally Alice Shimada, captain of all stars. Give them a warm welcome!"
Immediately a cry of joy rose from countless mouths, rising to the sky and flattering (or embarrassing as appropriate) the various captains.
"And us?" Murakami asked.
"You will stay on the sidelines." Göring replied.
"What? But why?"
"Because nobody cares about small fish."
"Who did you say small fish to?"
"Calm down, Murakami ... We're not here to stage a fight." Momo intervened.
"Okay, Momo-san ..." Murakami said, albeit against-will.
After the Miho ceremony and the others were escorted into the school, along a corridor, until reaching the dining room, a large room that housed two tables, one large and one a little smaller, with around a dozen respectively and eight chairs.
"I usually have lunch in the canteen with the others, but I can't leave my guests alone." Hilda explained, taking her place with her peers while the subordinates sat at the other table.
" But if you didn't invite us either..." Anchovy said, annoyed.
"Anzio is one of the weakest teams in sensha-do, her tanks are trash, you never win a tournament. Only Chi-Ha-Tan is worse than you. No matter how hard you try, you can never defeat Saunders, Pravda, Kuromorimine, BC Freedom, St. Gloriana or Ooarai with light tanks."
Anchovy sprang to her feet, nervous.
"We at Anzio are not weak!" Exclaimed.
"Ah, no?"
"No! We are strong!"
" Anzio ... Strong?"
"Exact!"
After a few moments Hilda erupted into a loud laugh, immediately imitated by Kay, Maho and Katyusha. Darjeeling, Marie and Mika chuckled compostly, Alice remained impassive, Kinuyo and Miho instead were amazed by that burst of laughter.
"What are you laughing at?" The Duce of Anzio asked nervously.
"Anchovy, your team is the second-poorest in Japanese sensha-do!" Saunders captain said.
"You lose all the matches, and your tanks are wrecks!" Her colleague from Pravda gave her support.
"Put simply, you can't call yourself strong if you are defeated by almost every match." Maho concluded.
"Ah, is that so?"
"Yes, it is." Darjeeling intervened.
In response, Anchovy, furious, slapped Kay, leaving her stunned, like the rest of the crowd.
"But are you crazy?"
"Stay out of it, Miho!"
Having recovered from the shock, Kay stood up in turn, staring at Anchovy with a murderous look.
"Do you want to play, Spaghetti?"
"Do not call me that!" She intimated her, pushing her.
"Now stop it, you two!" Maho said.
"Stay out of it, bitch!" Anchovy warned her.
"Don't offend my sister!" Miho warned her.
At that point Erika came forward, who got up from the other table and joined her commander.
"Retires what you said, Anzai!"
"When you and the others apologize for making fun of me!"
"Would you like to receive an apology from us?" Katyusha asked, offended.
"And immediately, too!"
Having said that, the gray woman punched her in the head, hurt her.
Here, perfect, go with the fight!
Saori thought anxiously.
Nonna, furious at the scene she had just witnessed, stood up in turn, standing next to the others.
"If you dare to hit Katyusha again ..."
"What will you do to me, little slave?"
Nonna didn't answer, glanced at Kay, who nodded. Suddenly the two girls punched Anchovy in the face, who fell on her back, covering her face with her hands.
"Duce!" Carpaccio shouted, rushing to her side. Pepperoni and Amaretto followed suit, defending their leader.
"How are you feeling?" The blonde asked.
"How did you dare to attack her?" The dark-haired girl asked, furious.
"She started it." Kay retorted.
At that point Hilda got up from her seat and stood between the two groups.
"I warn you, another scene of this type and I will have you kicked out of school!" She said sternly.
Silence fell for a few seconds, then Miho said:
"We are mortified."
"Now sit down!" Ordered the landlady.
One by one the girls obeyed. The last was Anchovy who, having recovered, gave the other captains a look of pure hatred, especially Kay and Nonna.
"Himmler, when is lunch ready?"
"The waitresses should come in moments, mein fuhrer." The bespectacled replied, looking at her watch.
In fact, after a few minutes, a dozen waitresses entered the room with white and black uniforms, who placed dishes containing various food on the tables.
"Not knowing your tastes, I wanted to be on the safe side by having the best dishes of European, Asian and North American cuisine prepared."
And it was true. Gamnodoki (a typical Japanese dish), potato pie, soupe à l'oignon, pizza, English balti other delicacies, which made the girls mouth water.
"It all looks very good!" Anchovy commented, almost forgetting what had happened just before.
"It is .. And these are only the first courses." Hilda promised her.
"So enjoy your meal!" Miho exclaimed enthusiastically.
