Chapter 14

(AN: This story is officially part time, especially with how rough school and work is, as well as the other stories I'm working on. Here's hoping I can manage it all. Thanks for the patience.)

- POV: Private First Class Brenner -

It was bright and early in the morning after the banquet, which lasted long past midnight. We slept in the guest rooms after the party, and we were served breakfast the next morning. Kirche and Tabitha had returned to the Institute, but Louise and I were called to the throne room for a meeting.

Sure enough, Princess Henrietta was waiting for us. Upon arriving at the steps that led up to her throne, Louise bowed quickly, motioning for me to do the same. Before I could, Henrietta got off her throne and stepped towards Louise. "Rise, Louise Françoise," she said.

"Please, I'm not worthy of such a prestigious reward, especially one as high as Chevalier," Louise said, her voice quaking in emotion. I couldn't help but smile - she was adorable when she was like this, though I wasn't sure if I could ever get used to the near dramatic ways the princess was referred to.

Thankfully, Princess Henrietta was as gracious and casual as ever, shrugging off any royal praise with a kind smile. "But it was what you've achieved that earned you such a title. You led the charge against a thief that kept the palace up in arms, succeeding in capturing her," the princess said as she rose kindly to her feet. "Though, I must imagine it was a very harsh fight. She needed medical attention before we could take her away."

I looked away awkwardly, and I felt Louise sweat a little. Regardless, the princess didn't seem to notice as she turned to face me. "And I must thank you. Headmaster Osmond relayed the entire testimony, including your brave actions to keep Louise safe. If it's alright for me to ask such a thing of you, I'd like you to continue to protect my friend from danger."

Louise blinked in surprise as I scratched the back of my head. "You mean...what have I been doing this whole time?" I asked. I let out an "Oof" as Louise elbowed me in the side.

"Show some respect!" Louise hissed angrily.

"You bring up a good point," the princess said with a light giggle before raising her hand towards me, palm down and fingers curled. "Regardless, please vow that you'll continue to protect my friend and make her happy."

Those words seemed to trigger panic in Louise's head, as she quickly pushed herself between me and the princess. "Princess, you must not allow the touch of a familiar upon your hand!" she cried.

Hey...

Thankfully, the princess didn't seem deterred. "Protecting you is the same as vowing to me, Louise. When one gives a vow: there must be a reward offered in return," Henrietta reasoned.

I looked down at the hand before blinking. I wasn't sure how handshakes worked, but I figured that the basic principle still applied. "Uhh...okay. I hereby agree to continue to protect Louise," I said. "By my honor as a soldier in the American Army."

I spat out a ball of spit in my palm before lightly clapping it against Henrietta's hand before shaking it, just to seal the deal.

I wouldn't know why I decided to go with a handshake, nor would I know why I'd return to the age old method of spitting. Maybe I forgot that I was in another world, and that standards here were different.

All I know is that I'd gotten my helmet knocked off by a punch so violent that I found myself sprawled on the floor with stars in my eyes. "...ughhhhhhhhhhhhhh..."

"You were supposed to kiss her hand!" Louise screeched as Lady Henrietta looked down at her hand, utterly puzzled and perhaps a bit grossed out.

"...to be fair, kisses are a bit out of my forte-" I tried to say as I shook the blinking fuzzy lights out of my vision.

"Stupid!" Louise growled.

"It's fine, Louise," Henrietta giggled, wiping her hand on a rag. "Regardless, he accepted his vow, and I can rest easy knowing you'll be looked after. Perhaps a proper reward shall be bestowed upon you afterwards."

"Hm?" I asked as I sat up, rubbing my jaw stupidly. "After what?"

"I have a favor to ask the two of you," Lady Henrietta said as she looked down, her amused expression going away rather quickly. "It's not very taxing if it'll be a concern."

"If it's to jump out the window, I'll do so with this idiotic dog in tow!" Louise snapped my way.

"I'll probably survive," I said as I picked up my helmet. Louise's fists clenched as her red face threatened to erupt.

"I wished to ask you two to live in town for the next few days," Lady Henrietta requested. "There's an urgent matter I have concerning the well-being of the people. Rumors have gone around that a handful of wealthy and very corrupt aristocrats have been oppressing the peasants. Whenever I tried to start any investigations, I was turned down. Nobody believes that aristocrats would dare be anything other than role models for plebians..."

"Hm?" I said. "So it isn't just that Mott bastard."

"I...yes," Lady Henrietta said, probably a bit taken back from my vulgarity - at least judging by Louise's sour expression. "I'm fully convinced these aren't rumors. So I'd like the two of you to investigate the matter secretly if that's alright."

Louise nodded promptly as I slowly got to my feet. "Alright, you can count on us! I shall fulfill your request even if it costs my life!" she shouted, way too enthusiastically.

"Louise, what did we talk about the other day?" I scolded. I went unheard, however, only forced to bow as the princess thanked us.

The events that happened next were no less grueling.

A few hours passed, having been brought into town before Louise dragged me to a line of stores to buy a change of clothes. Peasant clothes were similar to what we had at home, so there was that. However, there was one issue that made me more than uncomfortable.

"What do you mean, I can't bring my gun?" I complained in one of the dressing rooms.

"We're only meant to investigate in secret. We are not going to be shooting anyone, and you're going to stand out immediately with that drab of yours," Louise said. "Surely even you can understand what I mean."

"Yeah, but...it's sentimental, okay?" I muttered as I pulled on the shirt. "I've had that rifle since I got thrown into my first battle. It's always kept me alive."

"Hmmph," was all I heard Louise mutter. "Surely a weapon can't be worth that much to you."

"How would you feel if you lost your ability to do magic? Like any magic?" I asked. "It'd be like losing a part of yourself. It means a lot to me, you know. Unless being an idiotic dog means I'm not allowed to have feelings about stuff." I knew it was probably unfair to bring up an insult from earlier, especially since I did do something stupid by smearing spit on a princess's hands. I'm fairly certain that was grounds for execution.

Louise's silence didn't feel very good. Sighing as I got up and checked myself once more, I smiled. The attire I'd chosen was simple: a white short sleeved shirt and a black vest paired with some gray slacks. The material felt different: a little rougher, but clothes were clothes. I kept my boots, however - and the rest of my uniform was stashed away in a bag brought in from the palace.

Derflinger and my rifle weren't around, but I had my Browning M1911 stashed away in the bag, just in case things ever got dicey. Stepping out of the changing room, I closed the curtain behind me. "How's this?"

- POV: Louise Francois le Blanc de la Vallière -

I gaped for a moment as I saw what Brenner was now wearing. Basic pants, a basic shirt, a basic vest, and...those grimy boots of his. I didn't care about the last part, not when I began to truly take in what Brenner looked like. I'd only seen him naked once, but the details were fuzzy in the heat...

Details in form fitting clothing tended to be much more memorable.

The pants weren't too loose: with the cuffs tucked into his boots. They hugged his legs, showing shapely calves under the few wrinkles that were there. His thighs were a little bulky as well, almost bringing about the presence of a few stretch marks.

The shirt was basic, but it outlined his form well. One need only think of what his chest looked like: especially since there was little left to the imagination. The black vest paired well with the white: and there was something about how he was posed...like he didn't care about looking good. His stance was lazy and his hands were shoved in his pockets, bag slung over his shoulder with little care.

I looked up at his face, seeing a notably curious expression staring back at me. "It's fine, right?" he asked.

I shook the blush off of my face and looked away with a "humph". I'd already dressed up in my own peasant clothes: a brown dress and a brown beret that clashed poorly with my pink hair. I would've been mad if he had said it looked good on me because I know he would have been lying.

Though, he didn't seem very concerned about her dress, to say the least.

"Alright," Brenner mumbled. "Let's get going. So, how're we gonna start our investigation?"

"We need a form of transportation," I said. "And so..."

A short trip later, Brenner and I stood outside the horse stables. "...four hundred gold?" she asked.

"Well, we should probably find a place to stay for the night," Brenner said. "We didn't exactly get here before noon, so it'd be too late to start doing any sort of official investigating."

"Hmph. Leave it to me," I began. One trip to a five star hotel later, I trudged my way out the glamorously shiny doors. "Not here..."

"Then we should find somewhere cheaper," Brenner said, almost as if it were the most obvious solution.

It probably was, but not for a dignified noble such as myself! "No, we can't! A cheap room won't do!"

"Look, we're supposed to blend in as peasants anyways. Rich stuff will only make us look more suspicious, got it?" Brenner asked.

"But-" I began before shutting up. The look in his eyes almost portrayed something weird. Almost like...like he was disappointed in me. The thought of someone looking down on me made me shiver inside, but I didn't speak up.

Why didn't I scold him this time?

"We can split up for now," Brenner sighed, his odd chastising expression dying down into one of mild exhaustion as he wiped his eyes. "I can look in one direction and you can look in another. We'll meet at the fountain in front of the hotel by sundown. How's that sound?"

I thought it over. We were supposed to be trying to fit in, after all. "...fine," I finally muttered. "I'll look for a good hotel. Or figure out a way to get more money..."

"Sounds good. I'll ask some questions here and there around town, see if we can't jumpstart our job for tomorrow. Nothing too drastic," Brenner said. It was a good idea, so the two of us split up.

Even though there wasn't that much gold, I needed to figure out a way to feel...comfortable. We were supposed to live as peasants, but it hadn't even been a few hours and I was already anxious. I was a noble, why did I even agree to this stupid assignment...

No. Not stupid: very important. Sacrifices had to be made for the greater good, and the greater good was what Lady Henrietta wished. Still, there had to be some comfort to be had as a peasant...

Brenner doesn't need it. He was willing to sleep in a hole in the ground after you kicked him out.

I cursed internally at my thoughts. What if Brenner could share more of what luxuries nobles had? What if he didn't need to sleep in a hole like he did in wartime?

The thought of making Brenner feel better somehow pushed its way into the top priority of my current list of things needed to be done. Yes, that's what I'll do! But I need to get more gold...

A muffled song from the distance caught my attention, and I slowly stopped walking. Turning around to see a large building alight with music and colors, I felt my eyes widen.

Casino.

I grinned. Perfect.

- POV: Private First Class Brenner -

A few hours had passed since Louise and I had split up in town. While she was off doing whatever she needed or wanted to do, I was asking questions. Unfortunately, the hundred or so people I'd cornered and inquired about the state of the aristocrats didn't have any straight answers. They either had no idea or wouldn't give much in terms of information.

My last inquiry didn't go quite as well as I'd hoped either. I walked out of the nearby pathway between a pair of large store buildings, a hand in my pockets as I heard the groaning of a back alley thug in the distance. "Just wanted some answers. I don't appreciate having to get robbed," I said.

Looking down at the shoddy knife in my hands, I let out a sigh. The man had been drunk and clearly out of his mind. Then again, approaching him was probably avoidable. I wasn't seriously hurt, but he'd thrown a bottle at me.

Cheap red wine trickled down my head and stained all of my clothes. "Asshole. These were new too," I mumbled angrily. Looking down at the knife, I huffed and tossed it aside, hearing the tinny metallic blade clatter against the cobblestone.

Sundown had started. Almost everyone had made it inside, and I was as exhausted as I usually was after any and all training days. Except spaghetti days.

I smiled as I thought of the few days of the training regime when lunch was spaghetti: mainly, noodles with meaty ketchup. It tasted nothing like marinara and it made a soldier's stomach feel like shit...at least it did for me. Regardless, it was the closest thing to tasty and homely that one could eat in a mess hall.

I shook myself out of my memories as I made my way around the bend towards the large hotel Louise and I had stopped by much earlier. Sure enough, Louise was sitting on the bench, legs huddled up with her face resting on her knees.

"Louise?" I asked.

"Brenner. I...BRENNER!" Louise screamed as she leapt to her feet. She nearly tripped a total of five times as she made her way to me. "Oh no, what happened to you?! What did you get yourself into?! W-we need to find a clinic, a doctor, a-"

"It's wine. I was asking questions and some back alley jackhole decided it'd be funny to cover me in red," I sighed. "I'm fine. He didn't get very far after I knocked him out."

"I...you aren't hurt?" Louise asked.

"No," I said. "But what about you? You looked pretty damn sad earlier."

"..."

Louise looked away.

"..."

"Louise? What happened?" I asked gently.

"...I may have...lost all of our gold," Louise whispered. "In the casino."

"The casino?" I asked. Louise nodded, and I groaned tiredly. "Great. So what do we do now?"

"I...don't know," the girl said meekly. She hadn't looked quite so distraught before. Was it because she realized how stupid gambling was? Or was it because of the pressure of this assignment?

I sighed again. I didn't have the heart to be mad at her. The princess wasn't a military general: she was Louise's friend. I wasn't Louise's superior: quite the opposite in official terms. "Look. Sleeping on the ground ain't so bad. At least here, it's dry. And quiet. And there isn't some soldier sneaking up on you to bury his knife in your throat-"

Louise paled, and I shook my head. "Not helping, sorry. I'm just saying that you should probably try it out first. Not like it's the worst experience," I said.

"I'm a noble...I shouldn't be expected to-" Louise began.

"You aren't a noble. You're Louise. Come on," I said as I wrapped my arm around her little shoulder, pushing her into my side as I held her close with one arm. If she complained, she didn't act on it: simply letting her head rest against me. Maybe she was just tired.

However, that tiredness went away as soon as we had the living daylights shocked out of us. "Tres bien? I can see a lonely couple that seems to be in trouble!" a very buff and very effeminate man cheered. I didn't even want to comment on his outfit - if it could even be considered an outfit, but he had a lot of chest hair.

"Uhh...yes?" I asked. "What's your name?"

"My name is Scarron, and I run an inn down the road!" the man cooed. "Would you like me to lend you a room?"

Louise and I exchanged apprehensive looks.

"B - u - t, on one condition!" Scarron continued before pointing his finger directly at Louise.

I could practically feel the question marks orbiting both of our heads.

As it turned out, Scarron was telling the truth: with a moderately sized inn awaiting our arrival when Scarron brought us over. It was a nice place. Even though the tables were empty, the atmosphere felt warm and kind, and the smell of food being prepared filled the air.

Furthermore, nine beautiful girls dressed in somewhat skimpy maid outfits stood in a line in front of Scarron. "We have a new friend at the Charming Fairy Inn!" Scarron cheered with a clap.

From another door came Louise, wearing the same maid outfit as the other girls: though she was clearly uncomfortable with it. One upside was that it covered a few more millimeters of skin in comparison to the other girls.

I was in the kitchen, wearing my wine stained white shirt. Scarron had offered a full clothes wash when the inn's dinner rush was over: something I wholeheartedly agreed with. The owner of the inn was rather apprehensive when offering me a spot in the kitchen, but I immediately accepted. Mess hall duty was something every soldier did: and I had my fair share of preparing food and dishes for hundreds of soldiers.

The kitchen was simple, with counters housing basins, racks for plates & bowls, as well as stoves for pots and pans. There was a kitchen island where I was to plate menu items upon completion, and I smiled. Plenty of space to move around and work with.

"Hey there, newbie." I turned to spot a girl just a few years younger than me approaching. She wore an apron tied around the waist of her green dress, and she wore a cloth around her head. "We're opening soon. Let's get started."

"Gotcha. So what're we serving?" I asked as I stretched my arms. The two of us made our way to the basin, working on getting the plates and bowls clean for service. Soap and water was thankfully commonplace for peasants, so I had little to no doubts that the food we would serve would be safe.

"Seared and smoked hambones." the girl said, pointing at a large fire pit where several of the aforementioned hambones were cooking. "Lamb stew, a sausage plate with steamed vegetables, garlic rolls, potato salad, roasted chicken, and cottage pie."

"Alright, sounds good," I said as I finished dunking and scrubbing one of the plates before handing it over for her to dry. "I know how to make half of those recipes. Want me to get started on the pie?"

The girl blinked. "Hm? You can cook?" she asked.

"Yeah, I have plenty of experience in a kitchen. Hope you don't mind me being loud," I said. "As long as you correct me on any recipe changes I need to be aware of."

The girl smiled. "Of course," she said. "You know, you have a cute sister."

I blinked before remembering the cover story: Louise and I being related and running off to avoid my 'sister' getting married off to settle our father's gambling debts. I remembered hiding my snort when the debts were mentioned. "Yeah. She's a bit much, but she's family," I said.

The girl giggled. "Sisters would be like that," she said as she took another plate I handed her. "My name is Jessia. And you are?"

"Brenner," I said.

"Hm. That's a rather strange name," Jessia pondered.

"Yeah, well...I do get that a lot," I said before holding out my soaked and soapy hand. "Nice to meet you."

Thankfully, handshakes were a thing in this world because Jessica shook it with a grin. "Nice to meet you as well. If you have any questions about getting work done, just let me know, alright?" she asked.

"I will. Thanks," I said.

Eventually, the dinner rush started. It didn't take long for business to pick up, and soon the inn was full of noisy customers. Plenty of rich people showed up: mainly aristocrats. As I served food and took in dirty dishes, I kept an eye out for anything or anyone suspicious.

It was easier said than done. The kitchen was busy as hell being run by two people, and I was constantly cooking food and mixing salad while Jessica finished plating items and handed them over to the servers to be brought to the guests. "Five minutes on the pie filling! Three on the potatoes!" I called.

"Okay!" Jessica called back as she drizzled a ladle of savory gravy over a large ham, which had been surrounded by cooked vegetables and a bed of mashed potatoes. As she set that on the counter as well, I moved onto the large pot of lamb stew, stirring them with large wooden spoons before tasting it with a much smaller spoon.

"The stew needs more salt. Got any?" I asked.

"Here!" Jessica called, and I turned to see her tossing a little wooden container at me. It wasn't a saltshaker, but rather just a little shaped tube of salt. I unscrewed the cap and poured out a moderate bit before stirring it. The second taste test was much better, and I tapped the wooden spoon against the pot. "Ready!" I shouted before grabbing the bowls from the ready rack against the corner of the kitchen counter.

"Order up!" Jessica cheered, and the server girls clambered over to grab the large bowls of steaming savory lamb stew to bring to their respective customers. Needless to say, this job was a lot harder than any kind of mess hall duty. Less than two hours in the job, I was already forgetting about our objective in favor of getting all of this food out.

"You've done this before, haven't you?" Jessica asked as I began to mash the potatoes: having just taken the cut pieces out of boiling water. I stopped to turn and eye the attractive girl. She simply smiled. "You've done this kind of multitasking before."

"Yeah. It's a rough thing to manage," I admitted as I stirred the spoon, crushing the softened potatoes. I sighed and closed my eyes. "It isn't just cooking either. I've done a lot of hard stuff, so working with food is kind of a relief."

"Well, we sure are lucky to have someone with your talents working with us," Jessica said before her tone took on something with an undertone. "Say, you wouldn't happen to be interested in staying here, would you?"

I stopped stirring, reaching for the butter and the milk. "Why do you say that?" I asked.

"Well, it's a peaceful town here, and it can be so hard working here alone. The wait time for food isn't normally that long, but with you helping, we've cut it down by half. You've made a lot of people happy tonight, Brenner," Jessica praised. "It doesn't sound so bad, does it? Working in a kitchen that keeps you busy, making others smile, working alongside plenty of gorgeous girls?"

I blinked and looked at my coworker. "Well...I'm not sure," I said. "It's nice here, and you are pretty, but..."

I slowly stopped stirring the bowl, and Jessica's smile slowly fell into a curious look.

"...I just wanna go home," I muttered. For a moment, work stopped in the kitchen - at least until the sound of panicked yelling broke through my thoughts. "Huh? What was that?"

"That was just Scarron providing some service to an unsatisfied customer," Jessica giggled. I shuddered, unwilling to even entertain the thought of what Scarron considered service. He was already very flamboyant to an uncomfortable level.

"Well, back to work," I said as I began to lather the fluffy mashed potatoes on the bed of fried beef, peas, carrots, onions, and mushrooms, spreading it in a layer before reaching for the cheese. "This pie won't bake itself."

Unbeknownst to me at the time, Louise had been listening, frozen in thought when she was reaching for a bowl of potato salad to place on her tray.