This is a Youjo Senki Fan Fiction Only.
One of my subordinates decided to come closer to me and she even pretended to clear her throat so I guess some things never change. "Vicktoriya if I don't want to hear that we should be merciful from you, I don't care that the idiots expect us to go easy on their munitions depot because of the place they put it in."
As I looked at the depot through my monocle I could see that the idiots actually placed their arms and munitions inside what looks to be a rather large children's hospital. I could see no less than a battalion inside the building, along with several dozens of wounded or sick children.
In another life, I would feel like this was a war crime waiting to happen, but I was no fool, I read every regulation, every law regarding combat, within the Empire and those that are respected by other nations or should be respected. It is clear that my decision was within the laws, be they national or international.
"They think they can use a hospital as a munitions depot because we would take it easy on them, for the sake of the injured or sick patients. As long as that depot exist, or those enemy are alive, our people will suffer. For the well-being of our soldiers and the safety of the Empire, we must strike."
"You want to blame anyone blame the idiotic enemy, they are the ones using children as a shield. The second they decided to turn that hospital into a munitions depot, that thing became a legitimate target. If your conscience troubles you, then think of it this way, I gave the order, and thus I will carry the same of this act on my shoulders, but make no mistake people, that thing will be rubble before Second Lieutenant Degurechaff."
They did look troubled, but since I told them I would bear the burden of guilt that seems to ease some of their minds. As soon as we were closer to the hospital and they were within firing range I told them to target the support beams of the buildings as I mentioned them. Looks like my monocle can even detect the munitions if I concentrate hard enough.
"Alright, you each have your assigned targets, load Artillery Spells and open fire, I don't want a thing in that depot to survive, we are not taking prisoners, and there will be no survivors, show no mercy to the enemy, FOR THE FATHERLAND!"
As I said the men under my command began firing, my aim was in another place altogether, the place that looks to be the barracks of the enemy. "May the winds of the underworld carry my malice, may the fire of hell come down on my foe, become my blade and strike them down."
A single shot came from my rifle, a small projectile that for some reason looked in my monocle as a small green skull, and killed all the birds in the path to the enemy. It hit and the entire side of the building began to be covered by strange green miasmas, and as soon as cause their munitions to explode the gas began to burn and cause the entire hospital to catch flames, the flames were accompanied with the screams of the dead and dying.
The entire hospital was as I said, nothing but rubble in a matter of a couple of seconds. Even the grass around the hospital seems to have died. I guess an attack during the night was the best option. We managed to kill off most of the enemy in the area and now we just had to return to the designated meeting point.
Viktoriya was looking at me with a bit of hidden anger and fear as we flew towards our meeting with Tanya and her men. All in all the two targets were taken care off and I call that a mission success. I guess the only horrible thing about it was the death of those children, and the fact that Victoriya is probably going to hate my guts for the rest of my life.
When I met her she sort of reminded me of my old high school girlfriend I once had, like I was thinking the more things seem to change, the more they seem to remain the same. That Vicky broke up with me once one of my classmates found out what I did for fun during my weekends. Even to this day, I don't see what is so wrong with being into weapon's maintenance and shooting a few dozen times at the local shooting range.
As we got back and we saw the troops under Tanya's command I saw her fly towards me. "I guess by the look on the face of the only lady soldier with you that the targets have been taken care off. So tell me, Karl, what happened to make her look at you like that? I will tell you a secret, some of my men think she actually volunteered to go with you because she has a little bit of a crush on you."
I began to reload my bolt rifle and looked at her checking the sights. "Well if she had any romantic feelings for me, they are pretty much dead by now. The enemy used a children's hospital as a munitions depot. I gave orders that pretty much caused the entire thing to burn down to the ground, and since it was at night, well there were no survivors."
"She probably thinks we could have given them a warning, but be honest Tanya do you think they would be moving the children if we gave them the chance? No, they wouldn't and we both know it, they would be securing their munitions and arms."
As we flew back to our commanding officer I was ready to get yelled at and even demoted truth be told, but Tanya was smiling for some reason, she was really smiling like it had been a good day, this is war, there are no good days in war, well except for me, I managed to send a message to the enemy, hopefully, they will think twice before using children as a shield again.
As we went into the tent of our Commanding Officer, we both saluted him. "Second Lieutenants Degurechaff and Sturm reporting sir, all mission objectives achieved, my unit managed to route three mage killer scout groups, and Sturm managed to eliminate the Artillery units, and the Munitions Depot."
The man looked at me and I took that as a sign to tell him what happened on my side, "The Artillery units are fussed, they will not be operational any time soon, unless they want to use them as scrap metal, the munitions depot was built inside a children's hospital, my men may not be happy, but we completely destroyed the depot, I will take blame and punishment should there be any for this decision."
The man began to look at me and honestly I expected him to bunk me down in rank, but instead, he began laughing. "You do not need to worry about me or high command Sturm, I see nothing wrong with your decision. I value the lives of our countrymen more than of the enemy, be they children or adults, this will give us a little more of a breathing room, and the situation will not be as hard for our men, job well did you two, well done indeed. Now you two, go have something to eat and turn in for the night, you two deserve a good night's sleep, I know I will sleep a lot easier with those Artillery Cannons and that Munitions Depot took care off."
Well now the only thing I want is two things, I know that after this you would agree with me, a bath and a few hours of sleep, I am not going to say nice because who am I kidding? We are sleeping in tents and in conditions boycotts would be complaining and crying to their mothers. I guess I also want to shoot the first idiot that expected to sleep in a camp like this was the same thing as sleeping in a classy hotel.
As I get undressed and wash my self-clean as well as I could, that is when I hear something I was not expecting at all, "That is the soap, and the other bottle is the shampoo." Why the hell is Tanya in the same place I am trying to take a bath? Then again this is Tanya we are talking about, why am I surprised? It's not the first time she had done this.
"I was using the soap for everything to leave you a bit more shampoo for you. Call it being considerate to my dear childhood friend. Can you wash my back? Or should I go without that since I can't see if you are holding a dagger." She began laughing and hit my back with her open hand.
"Like I would kill you, you have no idea how happy you made me when I heard from the soldiers that went with you what you did! I am not kidding, I was laughing my head off, you basically said prayers to hell and the devil on a battlefield, what a way to stick it to Being X. Aren't you surprised I am willing to take a bath with you?"
I just finished throwing some water over me, before I decided to wash her back. "What is so surprising about it? You told me way back when that you are the reincarnation of a guy, a salaryman no less. As far as you are concerned it's just two guys taking a bath. There, your back is done, and you are welcome."
I jumped into the water to soak a little to relax my muscles and she decided to join me just after I finally got comfortable in this field bathroom that our people made. I would think this was an open-air sauna if there was no roof truth be told.
"I think that it is rather nice of you to treat me so casually, be honest with me, what do you think of Viktoriya? You know you can tell me anything." I wonder if in his other life this guy was actually gay, why would Tanya even want my opinion on something like this.
"I think that if there was no war, she would make a great bride for some guy, she has the cute looks, she is developing a rather nice figure, she will certainly become quite the beauty if she is not considered one already. I think she hates my guts and probably thinks of me as a monster at best or the son of the devil at worst."
Tanya began laughing and I was simply trying to relax my aching muscles to even care to comment on that. "Or maybe she has feelings for you, and seeing the guy whom she is attracted do something so barbaric shocked her." Ok, this is getting weird, and not in a way I ever experience with another guy.
"Alright Tanya, this is weird, I knew you for quite a bit, and you never showed this much interest in my feelings before what gives? You told me you were a guy in your previous life since you want to know so many things about my private life, here is a question for you, are you sure you were not gay in that previous life?"
She splashed my head with water from a bucket and began laughing, "Wasn't the rule back then don't ask, don't tell? I am just concerned about my poor celibate childhood friend that is all." And I was just nominated to be the next pope, like I am going to believe that from her, especially after everything we been through.
As I got up from the water and decided to wrap dry myself off, I felt something odd, it was almost like someone was watching us. I don't think this someone is a person that I would expect, not human at the very least. I was about to put on my underwear when everything just froze.
Alright, I only know of one person who would freeze reality like this, and knowing him, he wanted to have a word with Tanya or a lecture for me. "How very perceptive my child, I was not expecting you to realize that it was I, to answer your question it is a little bit of a lecture for you both, you both have to disappoint me in different ways but equally as offensive."
Again I could not move at all, let's just say standing like I was, it was not what I would call dignified. I had been pulling up my boxers, so being frozen with my ass hanging in the open is not something I found comfortable. "I should have known you were a pervert Being X, and you wonder why I am so disappointed in you in my previous life."
"SILENCE! You have disappointed me in your lack of faith, you still refuse to accept my existence and worship me like you should. What must I do to make your faith grow in me salaryman? You, on the other hand, have done something even worse, you did offer prayers to alright, but instead of praising me you praised the very ruler of the underworld with your little chants."
"I have given you a chance for a second life, I have given you a chance to prove yourselves and to spread my faith among the people, but instead, one of you refuses to acknowledge my existence and the other mocks me. What must I do for you to have proper faith like all my other children?"
Well, my attempts to show my dissatisfaction have not gone unnoticed that is always a plus. I am a soldier born and bred, he wants me to fall on my knees and worship like I was nothing more than one of his sheep, I am a wolf, you do not ask a wolf to become a sheep, we may dress as a sheep but it is always to hunt better.
'You want me to worship you, then make it so that my life is not a constant contradiction with your religious teachings. I told you already, the way I live my life breaks your laws by me existing. My situation is far easier than trying to get Tanya to believe in something she does not think it even exists.'
I waited to hear his retort that I had to obey or something, even some yelling on his part but nothing came, 'I told you I don't need you, My friend here and I are doing just fine on our own and with little help from you. Why should we give you our prayers when we receive nothing from you or need anything from you? What have you done for us? For me you do nothing, and for my friend there, you deny his existence by making him follow rules he can not follow.'
"I see you both want my aid, you both need proof of my benevolence before you start to have faith in me. I had not thought that I needed to for a lack of better terms buys your praise and faith in me. I see that the situation I sent you has not made you change at all. You do not see why you should praise my kindness, well you have given me much to think about, and soon you will see why you indeed should praise me and only me."