Do these really count as Supports? I'll let you decide.

Chapter 47 – Eagle Aces (Lone Moon)

Salia found it hard to ignore all the glances she was getting as soldiers passed by her while she read a book on Nohrian history. Few outside of the Black Eagles knew she was a bookworm, with many common soldiers in the army believing she was too strict for personal indulgences.

After another group of soldiers left her, whispering their confusion at her hobby, Salia groaned in aggravation as she shut the book and stood up from her chair. This had to be the fourth time that day that she had to find another place to read. The past three spots had all been rife with distractions.

Scowling, she said, "Can I not get a few minutes of quiet today? Ugh…!"

Just as she was about to storm away from her spot, Hubert walked up to her and said, "More foreign history, I take it?"

"Lord Vestra!" Salia said as she gave a quick salute to him.

"At ease, Major."

"Is there something you require of me?"

"Nothing of import. I was merely curious as to your choice in literature. I've seen you often reading up on foreign history and other such texts."

"If you must know, sir, I have plans to travel the world once the war is won."

"Oh? How interesting."

"My great-grandfather was an explorer, you see. He roamed from continent to continent until he met my great-grandmother and decided to settle down in Fódlan. He left behind a journal of his adventures that I've read since I was a young girl. He visited so many interesting places that I could not help but want to follow in his footsteps."

"And yet you remain here in Fódlan."

"My family isn't exactly wealthy. Mother barely gets by as a cobbler."

"And your father?"

"He died in a hunting accident."

"I see."

"Since we're so poor, going on a journey around the world was out of the question. I've got three siblings that need me to support them."

"And that is why you enlisted in the army?"

"I first served as a militiaman in Count Bergliez's army, fending off bandits and beasts that prey on the local farms. The Count saw me in battle at one point and offered to make me an officer."

"I imagine training under him was… unpleasant."

"You don't know the half of it. I'd never been more exhausted in my life than after I went only ten minutes into his training regimen. But it paid off. I eventually got recommended into the royal guard where I met Ladislava, and the rest is history."

"And now that you have led a distinguished military career, you plan to journey abroad once the war ends?"

"The benefits I've received from my service in the army have done wonders for my mother and siblings. They live comfortably now. But I'm not about to finish my service to the Empire yet. I'd hate to leave my family without first seeing Fódlan under Imperial rule."

"Ah. How responsible of you. And that responsibility of yours carries into your work as second-in-command of the Black Eagles."

Sighing, Salia said, "If only. Trauare and Zola wouldn't know discipline if it hit them in the head, outside of missions that is. And even during them, Zola's always doing her own thing. And I'm always the one having to clean up the mess she makes."

"Perhaps I should arrange for her to join Count Bergliez in one of his training regimens."

"I doubt that'd do it. I think she'd enjoy almost exercising herself to death."

Hubert could not help but chuckle at Salia's sarcasm.

…

Trauare blew a flirtatious kiss at a crowd of men as they watched her bathing in a fountain near the center of Fort Merceus. The blue-haired mage had stripped down to her undergarments, allowing her onlookers to gawk at her curves. Their female counterparts, however, expressed envy toward the water mage and displeasure toward their male comrades.

But just as Trauare was about to take another seductive pose for the men, she stopped as she heard Edelgard say, "Lieutenant Wrede, what are you doing?"

Turning, Trauare said to the emperor, "Ah, Lady Edelgard. Came to have a gander?"

"Is there a particular reason you feel the need to bathe here?" Edelgard asked crossly.

"I didn't feel like walking all the way over to the bathhouse to clean myself off. And if I can give our boys and girls something to gawk at, all the better."

Trauare winked at Edelgard. The emperor frowned in response and said, "I'd have thought Ladislava or Salia would've taught you to conduct yourself more appropriately by now. This fountain is meant for drinking, not bathing. And aren't you ashamed to be seen in nothing but your undergarments in public?"

"Not in the slightest. It's my body, so I get to decide if I want people to see it, and how much they get to see."

Trauare took another pose for the men, prompting several catcalls and whistles of approval.

Giggling at the men, Trauare then turned back to Edelgard and said, "Of course, I bet you wouldn't be very keen on letting people see you in nothing but your skivvies."

"Lieutenant!" Edelgard snapped, and this time Trauare's blue eyes widened in alarm. "Dress yourself this instant. That is a direct order."

Nervously, Trauare said, "Y-Yes, Your Majesty!"

Edelgard sighed in exasperation as Trauare dressed herself without bothering to dry off, much to the disappointment of the men watching her.

"That's better, Lieutenant," Edelgard said once Trauare finished.

Sighing, Trauare said, "You know something, Your Majesty? You're no fun, a trait you share with Ladi and Sally. They're always too serious for their own good. You only live once, so why not enjoy yourself along the way?"

"In case you had forgotten, Trauare, we are at war. I haven't the time for personal indulgences."

"If you say so. But take it from me, if you took yourself a little less seriously, you'd live a lot longer. At least, that's what Old Man Rushi used to tell me, and he got himself up to his nineties before he finally kicked the bucket."

Now Edelgard was truly angry with Trauare, whose eyes again lit up with concern. But to the mage's relief, Edelgard chose to storm off instead of speaking to her any further.

"Uh, was it something I said?" asked Trauare.

…

Edelgard groaned at herself after leaving Trauare's presence, realizing she had gotten herself worked up over nothing. Trauare couldn't have known how much her comment stung the emperor. How could she know that Edelgard would never live to be old and gray?

In truth, Edelgard longed to be able to enjoy herself more, and to not be burdened so much by responsibility. But she knew she was the only one who could lead Fódlan into a new dawn. She could not afford to shirk her duties for personal pleasures. In a way, she envied Trauare because of it. Trauare wanted excitement above all else and did what she wanted to get it. Edelgard, on the other hand, had to live up to the expectations of her people. Sure, she occasionally got to go to the opera house in Enbarr, but even at those times it was usually so she could speak with someone else in private.

As she dwelled on her lack of enjoyment in her life, Edelgard smelled an unusual aroma. Small trails of incense were rising from a nearby staircase. She wasn't anywhere near the blacksmiths, and the scent wasn't that of a burning torch.

Curious, Edelgard walked over to the ledge of the stairs and looked down to see Setiawati kneeling before a small makeshift shrine. Several sticks dipped in incense burned before her as the Brigid huntress offered a prayer in her native tongue. Around her, men and women of the Empire only gave the green-haired woman a passing glance, with some whispering their unease at the foreigner's ritual.

Edelgard knew the whispers were of no substance. Setiawati was simply practicing her people's beliefs, which the emperor had no objections to. As much as people thought she wanted to tear down the worship of Sothis, this wasn't Edelgard wanted. She simply could not stand how Rhea had twisted the worship and the Church into a means of control over Fódlan.

The emperor walked down the stairs and made her way over to Setiawati, whose eyes were shut in prayer as she continued to speak.

"Semoga perburuan kita diberkati dengan karunia, dan malam kita dengan penghiburan…"

Setiawati stopped her prayer as she heard Edelgard approach.

"You wish something of me, Maharani?" asked Setiawati.

"Was that a prayer to your gods?" asked Edelgard.

"We of Brigid do not worship any gods. We pay tribute to the Dewata… the spirits of tanah, langit, api, and lautan. Earth, Sky, Fire, and Water, to name but a few."

"And that was a prayer to them?"

Setiawati nodded and asked, "Do you take issue with that, Maharani?"

"Not at all, Setiawati. I have no problem with whatever you put your faith in."

"Yet you do not approve of the worship of your Goddess. Did you not start this war to topple her rule?"

"I can understand if you may think that, but my grievances were not with the worship of the Goddess. It is the Church's abuse of power that I oppose. They have exploited the people's faith to control Fódlan for centuries, creating and enforcing a brutal, irrational system where those in power are defined by bloodline, not by deed. That is what I seek to topple, in order to change Fódlan into a land ruled by the strong and capable."

"A worthy goal. You would make a nation akin to my rumah in some way… my homeland."

"Is that so?"

"Those who are weak in Brigid do not survive. My people must all be strong, for we are all pemburu, nelayan, prajurit. Hunters, fishers, warriors. If you are weak, you cannot hunt. You cannot catch fish. You die."

"That isn't exactly the kind of nation I'm looking to make, Setiawati. I acknowledge that many people in Fódlan are weak and incapable. Yet that does not mean they deserve death."

"You and Ladislava say the same strange things."

"Oh? What's so strange about it?"

"You desire Fódlan to be a land of kekuatan and kemampuan, strength and ability. Yet you do not rid yourselves of those who are weak."

"Why would I do that?"

"In Brigid, if we give our food and our clothes to those who are weak, there is not enough for those who are strong. If we give to the weak, the strong become weaker, while the weak do not get stronger. And should the strong become weak, they die."

"As cruel as your words sound, I understand your logic, Setiawati. But I hope to create a world where there won't be any need to abandon those who are weak or incapable."

Setiawati smiled and said, "Your ambition is admirable, Maharani. It would be good to have the world you desire. Not just for your kekaisaran, but for Brigid as well."

…

Zola finished punching out another drunken soldier as men around her either cheered her on or booed her for beating up their friends. Though the blonde killer was a little tipsy from having three pints of beer so far, that didn't diminish her skill in fisticuffs. She had already beaten down six men after they mocked her for getting on Edelgard's bad side, and it didn't look like she'd be finished anytime soon.

"Come on, who else wants to lose their teeth today?!" Zola said boastfully.

"Get her!" shouted another drunk as three more men rushed her simultaneously.

With sinister laughter, Zola caught the first man's punch with her hand and responded with a blow that broke his nose. Immediately afterward, she was hit by a blow to her left cheek, leaving her tasting blood mixed with the beer she had recently consumed.

The taste only made Zola laugh more. A fight was never as fun if one didn't lose some of their own blood.

"Hehehehe, it's on now!" Zola snarled as she smashed her elbow into her attacker, followed by punching him in the jaw and, as she had promised, knocking out several of his teeth.

The third attacker tried to land his own punches on Zola, who blocked them with her wrists before uppercutting him, breaking his jaw.

Men cheered and booed at her as she gestured for anyone else to try her.

Angrily, one of the men she had injured earlier drew a dagger and snarled, "I'll show you, you bitch!"

Zola smirked at the dagger-wielding soldier, knowing he'd be in deep trouble for drawing a weapon. But she wasn't just going to wait for someone to show up and arrest him.

"You think you're a big man with that little knife of yours?" Zola taunted.

Roaring, the man shouted "DIE!" as he rushed her.

Zola responded by grabbing the man's wrist as he stabbed at her head, the blade stopping less than an inch from her face. Zola squeezed hard on his wrist, and the man began to cry out in pain as his bones cracked in her iron grip. The dagger dropped from his hand, with Zola catching it in midair.

"I think that's my line," Zola said, licking her lips as she prepared to plunge the blade into the man's ribcage.

"ZOLA!"

Zola stopped at hearing Ladislava shout her name and turned to see the Black Eagle commander at the door to the tavern.

"Drop it!" Ladislava said furiously.

Zola stood still for a few seconds, and then said, "Fine."

She then dangled the dagger from her fingers and dropped it, the blade plunging into her attacker's boot. She released him as he screamed in pain from his shattered wrist and the knife in his foot.

Seeing Ladislava was angry with her actions, Zola said, "He'll live. Serves him right for drawing a weapon during a brawl."

"A brawl I have no doubt you started, Sergeant!" Ladislava hissed.

"Not true, actually." Zola waved her hand at her victims, who were all still alive, and said, "They started it. Ask anyone."

Ladislava turned to the barkeep and said, "Well?"

"It's true. They struck the first blow," said the barkeep.

A few other taverners confirmed the barkeep's statement as Zola said, "And technically speaking, that means they struck a superior officer. They're lucky I don't kill them for it."

"And why is that?"

"Because I'm being on my 'best behavior', Ladi."

Scowling, Ladislava said, "Outside. Now."

Zola strode out of the tavern with Ladislava as the wounded drunks lay on the floor, their friends tending to them as the door slammed shut.

Once outside, Ladislava said angrily, "I don't understand why you have such a compulsive need for violence, Zola."

"Don't give me that crap, Ladi. Would you have let it go if one of them punched you?"

Sighing, Ladislava said, "No."

Zola was about to say something else when Ladislava whirled around and punched her, sending the blonde to the ground.

"But since you want a fight so badly, I'll give you one myself," Ladislava said as she assumed a hand-to-hand stance.

Zola got to her feet, laughing as she said, "Now it's getting interesting! Come on then, Ladi! Give me your best shot!"

Ladislava knew how Zola fought. Most thought she was clumsy and relied on sheer power, but the blonde murderess was far more skilled than she let on. She would either use her strength to flow from one blow to the next, overwhelming her enemy, or she would goad her opponent into attacking and then punish them for it, sometimes deliberately leaving openings that her enemy thought they could exploit. Even if her style was undisciplined, years of fighting had honed her skills considerably, and it was no surprise that few could beat Kill'Em-All Zola in a fist fight.

But Ladislava was one of the few who could. And she planned to do it again.

Zola made the first swings, which Ladislava dodged rather than blocked. She knew she wasn't a match for Zola in raw strength, but Zola wasn't as fast as her. And though she could try to tire Zola out, Ladislava wanted to teach her a lesson.

Ladislava swung at an opening Zola made. Zola, smirking viciously, swung her elbow hard at where she thought Ladislava's right arm would be.

Had the blow landed, it would've broken the Crimson Warrior's arm.

But Zola realized too late that Ladislava had baited her into trying to counter a feint.

Before Zola could respond, Ladislava landed three hard punches to her head before grabbing her by the shoulders and then slamming her knee into the blonde's gut. Zola clutched her stomach as she toppled onto her back, allowing Ladislava to pin Zola's collarbone beneath her boot.

"Had enough yet?" said Ladislava.

Zola took a moment to catch her breath and then, with another chuckle, said, "You know, that's why I like you, Ladi."

Knowing the fight was over, Ladislava stepped off Zola and extended her hand to her, pulling the blonde off the ground.

"You're one of the only people I know who can kick my ass," Zola said respectfully.

A strange sort of respect, don't you think?

Fleshing out the Black Eagles some more was rather enjoyable, and I hope it'll get you a bit more attached to them. Even Zola, when you think about it, can at least be worthy of respect at times, as unsavory as she may be.

Also, once again, I hope I haven't butchered the Indonesian translations too much. I'm using either Google Translate or Papago for it.

We'll get at least one or two more BE chapters, and then we'll go over to either Dimitri's side of things or Claude's. I know I said I was going to go to the Loyalists, but I think there's a small bit at Fódlan's Throat I want to cover first.