Chapter 2
(AN: For those of you readers interested, I will not be intending for the story to go for the harem route, mainly because it went horribly for Saito - and an old fashioned young man that grew up in the 1930s would have a heart attack if put in that situation. As of now, I'm still deciding who his romance partner will be - if he'll even have one.)
- POV: Private First Class Brenner: the next morning -
I sat at the vanity in Louise's room, using her mirror to shave my beard with my bayonet. It was early the next morning now, and I hadn't been able to sleep since I'd taken such a long nap the day before, as impromptu as that nap was. My left wrist had been chained to the floor the moment I was brought back to the room - preventing me from running off again. Though there was quite a bit of slack to the chain, so I wasn't just stuck in one spot. At the very least, I could walk around the room. Still, the chain bothered me.
I wasn't very hungry either, so all of my K-rations remained untouched for now. When the morning light began to rise, I'd been passing the time with maintenance on my Garand - mostly cleaning it and keeping it in good condition. That passed rather quickly, and I found myself remembering to clean myself up.
And so, here I was. My helmet rested upside down like a bowl, catching all the hair I was expertly shaving off. My beard was mostly gone, leaving a stubble, and my sideburns were nicely trimmed as well. When I was done, I had very little facial hair left - with most of what was already there collected in my helmet.
I did plan on continuing to wear it, so I emptied it outside - shaking my helmet to get every last stray hair out before looking up. The sun was bright and the sky was blue - much bluer than yesterday's afternoon sky, and much more blue than any I'd ever see, back in America or in Europe. And the breeze...
It really was nice here, wasn't it?
I scrubbed my face with a little water from my canteen and my rag. When I was done, I was much cleaner than before - a far cry from the scraggly beard and muddy face I once had. I'd calmed down plenty since yesterday, and I was far too tired to really work on a plan of escape. For now, I'd bide my time and just play along with whatever sick games this place had to throw at me. Turning to see Louise under the covers, snoring softly away in her dreams, I sighed and put my things before walking over to the bed - yanking the covers off of her. "Wake up!" I shouted.
Louise yelped and jolted up in bed, nearly falling off before quickly righting herself at the very last second. "What in the world was that for?!" she cried.
"It's morning. Rise and shine, princess," I remarked as I looked towards the door. I may be tired - but I was also feeling rather petty. "Get changed and get ready."
"Hmmph," Louise pouted. "Did you at least have my clothes folded neatly? It's such a simple task that even a peasant such as yourself surely can't mess it up-" She would get her clothes hurled at her face for that remark, clean underwear included. "Hey!"
"Get dressed. I'll keep an eye out," I said as I drew my M1 Garand from over my shoulder, mostly out of habit. I felt safer with my rifle in my hands, especially in such unfamiliar territory. Things would not be so simple, I would learn.
"You will dress me as a familiar is meant to do!" Louise demanded - much to my disappointment and discomfort. I turned from the doorway to see that she was now naked, pulling on her own panties. At once, I looked away so fast that I was pretty sure my neck would've snapped had I not turned my whole body to look away as well - not willing to watch a girl change. My mom didn't raise me wrong, after all. "Hey!"
"Nope. I ain't no pervert. You do it," I said, defiant in my decision.
"It isn't a matter of being a pervert or not! Nobles always have servants to dress them!" Louise demanded. "And if you think of wandering your hands, I will hit you with so many explosions you won't be able to walk for weeks!"
"Well I didn't ask to be your goddamn servant!" I shouted angrily, not looking at her. "I didn't ask to be separated from my guys, so I'm not doin' shit!"
"Well then, I suppose you don't need a meal. Or that chain to be taken off of you," Louise pouted. The two of us didn't move for a while - neither of us looking at each other in the meantime. Then I sighed.
"Will you take off the chain if I...put your clothes on for you?" I asked. This could not be happening - I absolutely hated my situation right now.
"I will. Noble's honor," Louise said. Lord forgive me for what I'm about to do - as innocent as I may intend it to be.
- POV: Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière -
The next three or so minutes were spent with my familiar - Brenner, putting my clothes on for me. Surprisingly, he was gentle. I found no complaint with how he slowly pulled up my stockings for me, one leg at a time. He even pulled his hands away from my thighs as soon as the stockings were on. He buttoned my skirt quickly without much blunder as I put on my brassiere.
"I ain't touching that," Brenner had told me in those exact words when I held out the brassiere for him to put on me. I didn't push it - he likely didn't wish to touch my...not so impressive breasts. I didn't wish for anyone to touch them either, and he said he wasn't a pervert. He didn't look at me - that stupid looking bowl blocking his surely stupid looking face all the while. I didn't wish to look at him either - it made me shudder to make eye contact with the lowly servant who dressed and undressed me.
He did put on my shirt for me, buttoning it quickly before he quickly looked back down, surely in an awkward manner. I put on my own cloak and grabbed my wand before going to the vanity to start working on my hair. At least until I looked down and spotted a few brown short hairs on the wood. "What is this?!"
"Oh. I shaved while I was waiting for morning. Got pretty bored," Brenner said. I clenched my fists. My familiar would dare use my vanity? Without my permission? I whirled around to scold him before I froze, getting a good and proper look at his face for the first time.
Gone was the scraggly beard that made him look like a filthy peasant. Gone was that stupid grimy face under that ugly green bowl on his head. In its place was the face of a young man with a chiseled jawline and a light but visible stubble on his face. He was much cleaner, and rather good-looking now that I thought about it - no. He's a servant and I'm a noble. He did not deserve such attention. I shook my thoughts clean, simply going back to looking in the mirror and grabbing my hairbrush - which was thankfully clean and untouched.
"Hey. The chain?" Brenner asked, jingling it in front of me. I ignored him for now, humming to myself and brushing my hair. If he would keep up the attitude, I would simply show that I would not be pushed around, no matter how nice he may look. Besides, my hair brushing didn't take very long to finish up.
When I got up, the young man had been continously jiggling the chain louder and louder, waiting for me to unlock it. "Ugh, you are so infuriating!" I finally snapped, grabbing the key on my person and gripping his wrist as hard as I could. It didn't seem to hurt him - but I reveled in that little flinch when I grabbed it, almost as if I were to slap him - which I likely would have if he'd been more annoying than he currently was. The key was in, and I twisted - opening the cuff and dropping it on the floor. "There, are you happy?"
"...yes. Thanks," Brenner muttered, holding the gun in his hands. I looked down a little nervously - it was much bigger and more imposing than the muskets I'd seen growing up. But surely he knew attempting to hurt me would not end well for him.
Regardless, I shook my head as I grabbed my wand, ready to go. "Come on, we should get going," I said, opening the door and gesturing for him to follow.
"And...where are we going?" Brenner asked. So many questions from that idiot - when will this sorruy excuse of a peasant learn to shut his mouth and do as he was told?
"Breakfast, of course," I said, trying to keep from yelling. I didn't need to start my day off with such trivial arguments, after all. "Now follow close behind me or else you'll be skipping breakfast next." Whatever Brenner was about to say was cut off by a loud growl - from his stomach. His mouth clamped shut, and I hid a smirk from him - that was another victory in my favor.
We arrived at a large hall with three massive tables, where students were piling in to find their seats. I noticed that my faniliar was looking around, likely searching for the other familiars. Not a single one of them had those familiars from yesterday with them.
"Familiars aren't normally allowed at the table, but I'll make an exception for you. Regardless of your peasant standings," I said, as pridefully as I possibly could. "After all, I need to keep you around with me at all times to prove that I can do this."
"...where are the other, ahem - familiars?" Brenner asked. Why would he want to know that?
"Outside," was all I said before continuing my walk down the aisle between two tables. "Now come." I found my seat with Brenner beside me, gesturing for him to do as a servant was expected to do. I smiled as the young man in green pulled out my chair for me, and I moved to sit-
The man sat down in my chair, effectively blocking me from my breakfast. "Hey! Get out!" I cried, noticing the nobles that sat around my chair blinking in surprise at the green clad peasant undeservedly sitting in my spot.
"What? You were saying I could sit, right?" Brenner asked in a look that was way too confused. My face had to be red from how angry I was - and that fury was only growing when I heard the snickers from the others around me.
"No! I was waiting for you to pull my seat out for me, familiar!" I screeched, much more loudly than I thought. Most of the dining hall was silent, and Brenner blinked. I waited for him to get out and apologize for utterly embarrassing me for this with his selfish display.
But instead, he slid the chair out and stepped away with crossed arms. "Then tell me that! I can't read your mind, you know," he complained. How dare he!
Laughter arose, and I immediately lost it. "You know what?! Go outside with the rest of the animals! Now!" I yelled. It was early in the morning, and I was already regretting unshackling him. To my surprise, Brenner didn't complain - he simply walked out, his odd looking weapon slung over his shoulder. I glared at the other nobles, daring them to say something.
He ran into Kirche almost immediately close to the entrance - who stopped in surprise. "Excuse me, do you know where the other familiars are kept? I got kicked out," he said quietly, though not quietly enough since there was really no other noise to drown his words out. Kirche blinked upon noticing my familiar in front of her, and I actually caught the hint of a blush on her face before she hid that unexpected surprise behind one of her trademark smirks. Oh, if she tried-
"Oh? How rude of your master to deny you basic sustenance," Kirche purred, as infuriatingly flirtatiously as ever. "Why don't you sit by me? Breakfast provides rather generous portions, and I could share. After all, I'm trying to watch my figure..." She made an effort of patting her near flawless shape, much to the disgustingly perverted boys' excitement - if the wagging tongues were anything to go by.
To my surprise, and everyone else's, Brenner turned her down. "No, I'll just hang out with the others. I'd rather not get bombarded in the morning. See ya," he said before swiftly turning away and heading for the door, leaving a rightfully shocked Kirche standing there. With all of the attention on the rejected snob, I took the opportunity to sit down and wait quietly for blessings of the meal to begin.
- POV: Private First Class Brenner -
It didn't take me long to find the familiars Louise spoke of. The field outside the school's mess hall had several animals ranging from mammals to reptiles lounging about. A red scaled lizard with a burning tail and an even larger blue scaled creature with enormous wings. All of them eyed me in curiosity as I approached.
Normally, I would've been very awkward or nervous around such...alien creatures, but I was in too much of a bad mood to notice. I was beginning to regret saying no to that one kinder girl - she'd offered to share her food with me after all, and it all looked so good at the table.
Maybe that offer would be around tomorrow. For now, I'd have to either go hungry, or start snacking on my own battlefield rations. My stomach growled again, and I found myself picking the latter option, opening up my pack and pulling out my blanket roll with my K-rations, specifically a breakfast box.
K-rations were battlefield meals meant to be eaten when fresh rations weren't available. Canned foods and nonperishables like biscuits and chocolate were a staple in these rations - and they were something I was used to. I had twelve boxes in my pack, four breakfast boxes, four dinner boxes, and four supper boxes.
After unrolling my blanket, I opened up my breakfast ration pack and spread out what I had on the blanket - as if it were some sort of a makeshift picnic. A can of ham, cheese, and eggs, a pack of biscuits: specifically K-2 defense biscuits, instant coffee, chewing gum, oatmeal, milk tablets, sugar cubes, and a dried fruit bar. Inside was a pack of four cigarettes and a matchbook, though I didn't take those out. Alongside the box was a can opener, a metallic cup with a handle, and a small spoon.
The first thing I did was pry open the can with the can opener in the pack - digging inside with the small spoon and munching on spoonfuls of processed salty cheese and chewy dry ham. It didn't taste good by any means, but it was a familiar taste - something that allowed me to keep eating.
Plus, Louise would likely see it as fitting - me eating processed foods that were overly dense in calories while she ate hand prepared fresh meats and vegetables. As much as she pissed me off, my own temper was somewhat dimmed by the calorie dense foods. Opening up my biscuit pack, I slid out eight moderately large hard biscuits - very chewy and not at all as sweet as most other biscuits or cookies, but very calorie dense. I was somewhat tempted to take out my chocolate bar from one of my dinner rations, but I stifled that urge down with another spoonful of gooey meat and cheese.
As I reached for one of my biscuits, I heard a loud sniff. A sniff so powerful that I actually felt my head being pulled up from how strong it was. Looking up, I spotted the blue dragon practically standing over me, huge green eyes staring me down from above. With a surprised shout, I dropped my half empty can on the blanket and nearly reached for my rifle when the dragon leaned forward, sniffing the biscuits I laid out on the blanket.
Was it hungry? I didn't have to answer as the dragon looked at me, then to the biscuits. Then it looked back at me expectantly. Was it asking for permission to eat? Did dragons normally tend to do that? When I sat up again, it leaned back and moved to sit in front of me - tilting its head as it waited for something.
At the time, I wasn't thinking about how intelligent this dragon was, only that it was likely deciding whether it would eat me or the biscuits. I'd rather lose my biscuits than my life, if anyone were to ask me, so I picked up two of the breaded items and tossed them in the air for the dragon to eat. Hopefully it would eat them and not assume I was throwing them at it in a form of some attack.
With surprising speed, the dragon caught the biscuits in its huge mouth, chewing a few times and gulping them down at once. I reached down to one of the six that I had left and moved to pick it up, only for the dragon to lean closer to me at once - clearly expecting more food.
I was beginning to regret feeding the creature in the first place. I threw four more at the maw of the beast, leaving me with only two of my eight biscuits left. As the dragon munched on the calorie dense treats, I moved to eat what little I had left before getting stopped by another creature.
Specifically, the red salamander, who was eyeing my two biscuits left with an obvious hunger in its eyes. "Baaah!" I shouted, throwing the last of my biscuits at the creature, who snapped them up in an instant. "Who needs carbs anyways?!"
I settled for leaving myself with the nasty taste of preservatives from the eggs, cheese, and ham, finishing the can sourly before deciding that coffee was what I needed to get better. Filling my cup about halfway with water from my mostly full canteen, I began to strike a match before noticing something.
Specifically the flame on that salamander's tail. I wondered...
The salamander was sleeping lazily in the grass after having munched down my defense biscuits, and I brought my cup over to the little flame on the tip of its tail, holding the rag from my pack around the handle of the cup. Surprisingly, the flame was very hot and I began to heat up my water for the coffee.
As I waited, I turned to see other familiars either sleeping or doing nothing. The salamander remained asleep, its breathing guttural yet soft. It was sort of cute in a way - even if the thing was oversized and clearly reminiscent of some lazy cat. And the monstrously sized dragon...the big blue dragon was staring at me with what appeared to be mild interest. I didn't bother looking back for long, keeping an eye on my coffee.
Once the water was bubbling with wisps of steam, I set it down by the stone wall and opened up my instant coffee packet, dumping all of it in the cup and stirring with my spoon, having washed it beforehand with the canteen.
Once that coffee was done and well mixed, I poured some more water and two milk tablets, as well as two sugar cubes, stirring it as I did so. Soon, my averagely strong coffee was complete - piping hot and sweetened just as I like it. With a grin, I took a little sip and sighed. Not as good as freshly brewed coffee, but it was the best I could get.
Another sniff got my attention. As I sipped my coffee, I saw the dragon leaning closer, sniffing at my cup. Biscuits were one thing. Coffee was absolutely another matter. "No," I said. "Nope, no coffee for you. It'll probably kill you anyways..." The dragon didn't back off, and I sighed. "Here..." I mumbled, holding out the sugar cubes. "Not like I'm gonna need it..."
The dragon didn't hesitate - licking up the sugar from my hand and crunching on the tiny cubes with its huge mouth all the while. Wiping my hand of any saliva, I sipped my coffee once again, taking solace in my peace and quiet.
"There you are." I turned to see that taller girl approaching, her shirt half unbuttoned like it was every single time I see her. "I believe I didn't introduce myself. My name is Kirche Augusta Frederica von Anhalt-Zerbst, a noble, and a triangle fire mage. And I hope I didn't make you uncomfortable earlier in the hall."
She was much more polite than Louise, that was for sure. Even if she did turn a few eyes on purpose, she wasn't rude nor demanding. "I'm Brenner," I said as I stroked my chin, feeling a bit weird without my beard. I'd been growing it since graduating basic training, even if the others didn't like it. I didn't want to shave it, but I probably would've kept looking like a hobo if I didn't. "And you don't need to apologize. I know I was probably...unrecognizable if I hadn't shaved. You're done eating or something?"
"Indeed," Kirche said as she sat down on the blanket next to me. "A girl does need to grow. In more ways than one..." I wasn't blind to her leaning closer to me, and I instinctively coughed and looked away, sipping my coffee all the while.
A purr filled the air, and I turned to see that salamander waking up - yawning and making its way over to Kirche. To my surprise, it laid its head in her lap and closed its eyes as Kirche began to stroke its head affectionately. "Aww, who's an adorable lazy salamander? You are..." she cooed.
"Does this familiar belong to you?" I asked while I swirled my coffee a little, the tan beverage steaming ever so slightly. The coffee was strong as I liked it - especially since I used all of the pack for just over half a cup.
"Indeed. This is Flame, and he's just the best fire breathing best friend ever, aren't you?" Kirche giggled, the salamander rolling over and exposing his belly. Luckily, the tail continued to remain pointed away from the ground.
"I...may have fed him. Earlier," I admitted. "With biscuits. Not sure if he has a designated breakfast time or something."
The girl blinked curiously. "You did? Oh, that's so very kind of you!" Kirche praised me. "I wasn't very certain what I should feed him other than meat. What was it you fed him with? Biscuits?" Then I noticed her eyes falling to the little mess on the blanket, specifically my empty can, wrappers and crumpled packages for my coffee and biscuits, and the cup in my hand. "In fact, where did you get this? Did Louise really leave you with...such undeserving peasant foods?"
I frowned. "I brought this with me. When I was...dropped here," I said. I gestured to my pack for Louise to see. "It's stuff I had with me."
"I see. Were you camping? On a hunting trip? That is an odd helmet and gun you have...and you don't seem to have any armor on, though I don't mind" Kirche inquired, still stroking Flame's belly, much to the reptile's delight as he let his tongue hang out of his mouth limply all the while. I wasn't blind to this girl looking up and down at my body as she spoke.
"Oh. I'm actually a soldier," I remarked - much to Kirche's surprise. "Reinforcements of the 29th Infantry Division after they took Saint-Lô. We were advancing from there, actually."
"I'm sorry, I don't follow. We're in Tristain, not...not Saint Low, as you call it," Kirche said, her tone clearly baffled.
I sighed and sipped my coffee as my suspicions were confirmed. "I guess I really am from another world..." I muttered, a bit saddened. There was a bit of silence as Kirche set a hand upon my knee, and I turned to see a worried look on her face. Surprising, given her...apparently shameless nature.
"Louise summoned you from a different world?" Kirche asked. "What's that world like?"
"...I dunno if I'm ready to talk about that right now," I said as I finished off my cup, setting the warm metal on the blanket. I pulled out my Dromedary fruit bar, getting ready to open the little bar shaped cardboard boxit as a sort of breakfast dessert. These bars were probably my most favorite item, mainly because it was the closest taste to home I could get. "What's Tristain, exactly?"
Kirche's response was cut off when that big blue dragon stuffed its face between me and her, sniffing hard at the bar in my hand. Kirche let out a squeak of surprise as I sighed in defeat. "Sure. Take this as well," I mumbled as I opened the box and offered it to the dragon. With no surprise, it snapped up the bar and munched on it - much more slowly this time. Once it had swallowed the last of my edible K-rations for the morning, the dragon lowered its head between me and Kirche, looking up.
"I don't have any more food right now," I complained. I refused to give it my dinner and supper boxes as well.
"I believe Sylphid wishes for you to...show her affection," Kirche explained. I blinked in surprise at that.
"Sylphid? Wait, is this yours too?" I asked in shock. Two familiars?
"No, her master is my best friend, Tabitha," Kirche explained. "Sylphid is a...very hungry rhyme dragon, but very loyal. What else have you fed her?"
"...six of my biscuits and probably a dozen sugar cubes," I muttered. "I ain't giving it...her more."
"You may have just won yourself her friendship. Rhyme dragons are very sociable creatures," Kirche said, watching as I awkwardly began to pet her. The dragon seemed to enjoy it, and I sped up a little bit, much to Kirche's amusement. "You are a kind soul, aren't you?"
I frowned. I was not kind. Nor innocent. "I'm...I'm just a normal guy," I said. Kirche raised an eyebrow, as if she didn't know what to make of that.
"You!" I jolted and turned to see Louise rushing over. "I've been looking for you and the first thing I see is you...flirting with this...this..."
"I've been waiting here this whole time. Like you told me to," I said, stopping my scratches for a moment. Sylphid let out a coo, and I went back to scratching her head.
"Well, I don't need you conversing with the enemy here," Louise spat. "Come on, we have a lot to do-"
"But we have the day off, Louise. We've been given this break to bond with our familiars. Well...bond more with our familiars. I don't think you and Brenner here have been getting along so well," Kirche said, winking at me. I wasn't sure if that was a flirting wink or an 'I got your back' wink, but I appreciated her words regardless.
"Hmmph! I don't need to take advice from a Zerbst," Louise scoffed. "Brenner, come. Now."
"I'm just saying, Zero. If you are to prove that you're not a failure, you need to put effort into taking care of your work. Especially since your work is a living and breathing person-" Kirche continued on.
"Brenner, NOW!" Louise barked.
"...goodbye," I whispered, petting Sylphid and Flame before getting up - pulling on my pack and picking up my rifle. "Oh, can you...uhh, get up? The blanket."
"Oh, of course," Kirche said, apparently scooting her butt off of my blanket rather than just getting up. As if that weren't enough, she made a show of standing slowly with her ass pointed in my direction. "I'm sorry for taking up your space."
"Uhh, no problem..." I mumbled awkwardly, quickly rolling up my blanket and quickly stuffing it in my pack. As I made to join Louise, Kirche grabbed my jacket collar, smiling as she pulled my face right next to hers. "Uhh, what is it?" I asked.
"I just wanted to say, you look very handsome without that big old beard," she whispered before letting me go slowly. I decided not to think about that as I quickly made my way to Louise, who looked very peeved.
"Ugh, about time you left her," she grumbled. "Come on, let's get going." The two of us walked away, with me trying hard to not be affected by her words.
"You shouldn't take them seriously," Louise muttered, breaking me out of my thoughts. "She's slept with almost half of the boys in this school. She may act sweet and kind, but it's all an act."
"Well...I did help take care of her familiar - his name is Flame, by the way. She seemed to appreciate that," I said. I turned to see Kirche rubbing Flame's belly - the salamander flopping happily on the ground.
"She will likely rope some way to get you some sexual favor in return. Just be careful," Louise said, and I realized that she wasn't just her spiteful self - she was actively warning me. While Kirche didn't seem so dangerous - physically, at the very least - Louise was sounding a bit worried.
"Aye, ma'am," I remarked. "So, where to now?"
"We're going to have tea. And...we're going to talk," Louise said. "My responsibility is to take care of you, and that includes getting to know you."
Surprise was an understatement. Now she was willing to listen? I chose not to say a thing - especially since this would be the turning point to our master and servant relationship.
Man, that felt weird to say.
Louise then stopped in her tracks, and I nearly walked into her in the process. "I'll wait here. You'll bring me tea, and then we'll start talking," the pink haired girl said with a dismissive wave of her hand.
I sighed at that haughty tone. Maybe not the turning point. But if Louise was serious about talking, then it would be a start.
(Next up, a certain maid is met, and a certain duel takes place.)