Chapter 5

- POV: Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière: a few minutes earlier -

I'd heard everything. I listened to Brenner rejecting Kirche right outside the door, talking about his own requirements for a happy relationship. Was he really such an old fashioned man? Everyone knew nobles and even some peasants saw multiple people at once - claiming sex with more than one person was favorable over one.

But Brenner didn't seem to think so.

He even scolded Kirche for being like Guiche, something no man had the guts to do simply because any male who saw her would be so infatuated with her. But my familiar was different, so different. Then he mentioned me. He said that I was too rude. That he wouldn't want to be with me. He brought up what I told him - when I said that I'd be willing to be more patient with him.

When was I one to break promises? I felt a hole begin to open up in my stomach as I realized how badly things had gone between me and my familiar - and that he clearly believed that it was my fault. Unable to hear more, I had opened up the door and demanded for him to leave with me.

And now we were in my room. I was sitting on my bed, thinking about what I'd talk to my familiar about. But I had nothing. What could I say? I couldn't apologize to Brenner - he would either get a big head, or he'd rub my apology in my face. I needed a proper way to fix things between us. But I had pride - a noble's pride. How was I to do such a thing for a peasant?

No, he was no mere peasant.

Thankfully, Brenner spoke first before I could think of something. "Want some chocolate?" he asked. I blinked in surprise. Chocolate? That was a delicacy that only a small percentage of nobles could get, mainly because of how hard it was to make it. And to my surprise, there was Brenner - holding a bar of chocolate in his hands.

"W-wait. Where did you get that?" I began to ask. "If you stole it, I swear to-"

"I had it with me. In my pack. Soldiers carry it where I'm from," Brenner said, cutting me off as he took out a long and thin knife from his belt. How did I not notice that he carried one? He held up the bar in one hand and began to shave off whole curls the length of the bar with his knife. He plucked it off and held it off to me, knife pointed downwards as he did so. "Want it?"

I gingerly took the odd curl and crunched on it - the awkward stale feeling of chocolate being the first thing I noticed. Then the sweetness came, and it was incredibly sweet, almost sweeter than the way nobles ate their chocolate. "How...how does it taste like this?"

"Oh. I think it's the added sugar," Brenner remarked as he ate his own curl. "I dunno, I don't usually ask what it's made of other than chocolate. We just get them."

"Your whole army gets chocolate? Isn't that hard to make?" I asked, admittedly a bit bewildered at this knowledge. Peasant soldiers with chocolate bars?

"Yeah. But there's a lot of it around. Our country's super huge, so we can afford to get all sorts of stuff. Like chocolate. Blankets. A shovel. And..." Brenner pulled up the large gun in his hands, and I got a good look at it.

The gun he held had a small but longer barrel and wooden finish - with what appeared to be a second one right under it. Muskets were ornate, with the wooden shape decorated to fit on flowery gold markings to showcase their exquisite design. But this looked different. Nothing fancy was on this weapon - but at the same time, it was almost as if it were designed to portray much more power than muskets.

"When you fought Guiche...you fired more than once. What kind of musket-" I began.

"Rifle," my familiar said, cutting me off mid sentence. "It's a rifle. It's gas operated and it fires bullets. Not balls." He pulled something back on the rifle, and he revealed that the metallic top near the back opened up. Something popped out, bouncing on the floor with a clatter - and he picked it up.

It was cylindrical in nature, with a pointed top - with the curve of the top smooth and uniformly perfect in design. "It fires these very accurately, very fast, and at very long ranges. It's been our standard issue main weapon for our army since...what? Seven years now?"

"But...but a repeating gun?" I asked, still struggling to comprehend this. How was this kind of weapon even achieved? And how could I possibly have not noticed how lethal it could have been until after the duel? To think, if armies today had these...

"I talked to Colbert about this when he saw me the other day," Brenner said as he set down his rifle, shaving off some more chocolate from the bar and handing it over to me. "He probably took notes on what I said. But enough about that, what did you want to talk to me about?"

I tensed up as soon as I ate the other piece. "...well, I just wanted to let you know...that you shouldn't trust Kirche. Especially given her-"

"Yeah, I know. I mean, Kirche's nice and all but did you see all those other guys she pissed off? I dunno if I could stomach being with someone who treats me like a toy," Brenner said, much to my relief. So he wasn't like any of the other men in this school. But that was just part of the point.

"Well...if you didn't want to sleep with her, then why were you in her suite in the first place?" I asked. A sprig of doubt began to rise from the depths of my heart. Was he lying to me?

"Oh, that. Flame dragged me out of my hole in the ground and brought me there. I wasn't about to argue with a fire breathing lizard," Brenner muttered. "I'd rather remain friends with him if you ask me."

I winced. Kirche mentioned that he had been trying to sleep in a hole in the ground before he was taken to her room. And to think I had yelled at him to not come back... "I see," I finally mumbled to myself. "Were you really going to sleep in some hole outside?"

"Yeah. We do that in the Army. That's how we camp out and keep ourselves hidden in enemy territory," Brenner said, and I felt my heart leap in my throat. His army does that? All the armies in Halkeginia never did that! They always set up camp with tents and large fires to keep warm, not sleep in the cold dirt!

"If you're worried, then you don't have to be. I've been doing it for a few years," Brenner said as he shaved off some more chocolate. "Where I'm from, we're in the middle of a war. Other nations needed help, so we enlisted and were trained to fight. How to shoot a rifle, how to handle close quarters combat, that sort of stuff. Then off to the meat grinder we went."

"M-meat grinder?" I asked.

"It's what we call war. I was part of the 29th Infantry Division," Brenner continued. "They pushed their way through the enemy defenses, then had to stop after they lost too many men. And that's where me and my unit came in - to replace them after we cleared a village."

"A war?" I whispered, subconsciously taking another bit of chocolate from him when he offered. I was worried that he wouldn't be willing to talk with me at first - that he'd stubbornly deny a conversation with me because of unjust punishment - which I would have denied. He did cause me a lot of trouble in classes today. But hearing him talk about war - about replacing deaths as if they were nothing...

Brenner must have noticed my distress because he sighed. "Sorry...I shouldn't be talking about this kind of stuff. We should probably sleep," he said as he began to unroll his blanket on the floor.

"Maybe...maybe I should invite him to my bed...perhaps I should be more patient with him and allow him a proper place to sleep-" I began to think before I shook my head, feeling anger build up against my pride as a noble. "No, what would everyone else think if they heard? They'd mock me for sleeping with my own servant! He said he normally sleeps on the dirt, so a warm floor should be much better!"

I moved to get into bed, thinking about what I should do for Brenner to prove that I wasn't a bad master. But what? I fell deep into thought, rolling under the covers as I tried to think of something, anything. Then I remembered...

Tomorrow is Hollow's Day, after all. Maybe... I turned to see Brenner lying on the floor under his blanket, asleep as if he were knocked out. I scoffed and turned away - wondering how someone like him could sleep so easily without a bed.

- POV: Private First Class Brenner: the next morning -

I woke up later this time - judging by Louise shaking me hard under my blanket. "Wake up!" she shouted. "I can't shake you any longer, my arms hurt!"

I yawned as I rolled over, my eyes feeling watery and my bones feeling very stiff. "Ow," I mumbled as I sat up, looking around. Since we started training, I picked up the habit of waking up very quickly with a few tricks. One was to start moving as quickly as possible, which I did as I rolled to my feet. "Agh, my neck..."

"Come on, we're leaving the school," Louise said. I turned to see that she was already dressed in her uniform. How early did she wake up?

"Why? Isn't there class today?" I asked. "Running from school?"

"No today is Hollow's Day, which means we get the day off!" Louise barked, and I winced at the sudden headache I felt. Quickly though, Louise stopped and breathed in. "Right, you don't know our customs here. Today is a day of spiritual rest - and it comes once per week!"

"So like Saturday," I mumbled to myself. I finished stuffing my blanket roll in its designated pocket before getting up. "Man, I need to brush my teeth."

"Here!" Louise said, handing me something. A white tablet, it appeared to be. "What does it do?" I found myself asking.

"It helps your breath and it whitens your teeth," Louise said. "Though it has a nasty aftertaste, so I don't use it. You can have them." How nasty of an aftertaste? I decided not to care as I popped the pill and let it sit on my tongue. At once, my mouth was filled with some cool mint flavor as it began to slowly dissolve. Was this just some sort of magical breath mint with extra steps?

"Come on, to the stables!" I heard, and I turned to see Louise at the doorway, waving her wand in the air. Shrugging, I grabbed and slung my rifle over my shoulder and moved to follow her.

We ended up finding a wide array of available horses a few minutes after departing the building, with Louise having gotten permission to leave on horseback much earlier before she woke me up. Just how early did she get up today?

"Come on!" Louise said, having climbed on the horse's saddle, scooting forward to give me space as I went to board the horse, climbing behind Louise and scooting forward a little bit, rifle in one hand as I grabbed Louise's arm with the other.

"I can't exactly ride like this," Louise scolded. "Put your hand somewhere else."

"Hmmm..." I mumbled as I looked around as the rest of that magic mint Louise gave me dissolved. Then the aftertaste came - and it tasted more or less like stale bread. I resisted the urge to gag and just guzzled down a few gulps from my canteen before looking back at my belongings. I suppose I didn't really need my rifle on horseback - so I quickly slung it over my shoulder and used both hands to grab Louise on the waist. "Is this fine?"

Louise looked very tense, and she even shook for a while before letting out a loud hiss. "That's...that's fine," she finally said, almost as if she were choking the words out. I couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed for the invasion of personal boundaries, but I didn't say a thing, even as we left.

Louise and I galloped out of the main wall of the school - down a dirt path that cut through an open field of nothing but green. Even as awkward as I felt in my current predicament, I couldn't help but feel amazed at the sight around me. I grew up in a city in America - and the closest I got to a sight like this was the truck ride from our training base to the docks on the East coast.

Not even Europe had fields as open and green such as this. There were houses everywhere, and anywhere else that didn't have houses were either dense forests or completely shelled areas - with smoldering black remains and craters everywhere. "This place...wow," I whispered after an hour of travel.

"Enjoying the sights?" Louise asked. I turned to look at her, and I noticed her head tilted up at the sky. "Tristain is known for its beautiful landscapes."

"I'll say. I heard Europe had plenty of places like this before the war ruined it," I mentioned before sighing. "Look, about last night-"

"You have every right to talk about your home. It is somewhere completely unknown - so I can't fault you for not knowing about our holidays and lifestyles," Louise said. "But do ask questions instead of drastically assuming what we do or have."

I sighed. "Yes, ma'am," I said. It was a rather fair request.

Louise let out a "Hm?" and I turned to look ahead. There were still open fields around the dirt path, but something was different. There was something ahead, blocking the path as we kept galloping along the path. "Hold here," I said.

"What?" Louise asked.

"I said hold here," I repeated, and Louise stared at me in bewilderment before she indeed pulled on the reins. The horse slowed down and stopped, a few hundred feet away from whatever was in the way. It appeared to be a carriage on its side - with no horses. Quickly sliding off the horse, I unlatched the holster of my sidearm, walking towards the carriage. Something didn't feel right.

"Hold here," I said as I stepped towards the downed wooden cart. Its wheels looked snapped, which suggested that it probably ran over a rock. My unit and I had come across a few broken carriages that suffered the same fate before.

"What are you doing?" Louise asked. "If you start trouble, I swear-"

""I'm clearing the area!" I called as I approached the wreckage in the way of the road. It was an enclosed carriage - completed with doors and windows. Maybe some nobility got stranded here and went to call for help?

But if that was the case, why did we not come across anyone on the way from the school to here? Louise said it was a very far ride from the school grounds to where we were going, and there was nowhere else that seemed to be inhabited. No town, not even a single wayward house. Something didn't feel right.

The first thing I did was walk around the wreck, searching for anything or anyone hiding in the grass before I approached the carriage, seeing that it looked abandoned. It all seemed quiet, and I pulled out my M1911, the steel casing and the familiar rough grip fitting perfectly in my hand. Climbing atop the carriage, I began to lean for the door, expecting something - anything.

I quickly swung the door open with one hand with my M1911 aimed in the carriage with the other hand. Nothing. It was empty - with no sign of any blood or attack. Sighing, I quickly took a look around me before I holstered my pistol and turned to make my way back to Louise.

"What in the world was that all about?" she demanded as I climbed back on.

"...just checking to be safe. It could've been an ambush," I said.

"Hmmph. Bandits haven't been around these parts in years. I don't know what that thing is doing here, but it couldn't have been attacked," Louise said, and she snapped the reins again - quickly galloping around the carriage and quickly regaining our heading to our destination, which was a huge trading town.

The two of us disembarked - with me following Louise in the public area. As we walked, I found myself the subject of many odd stares and inquisitive whispers. "Why did you need to bring me here?" I asked.

"Today is the day off, so I figured if you're going to be my familiar - then you'll have to look proper like one," Louise said, confidently strutting down the street. "And that means getting you a proper weapon."

"What's wrong with my rifle? Don't you have muskets? You know back where I'm from, muskets are about two hundred years old. So if anything, I have the proper weapon compared to all of you-" I said, a bit offended.

"Obviously, but swords are the norm here, and guns can attract so much attention! And you'll do well not to insult the muskets here - many countries hold them with much pride in their armies, like Germania. Especially Germania..." Louise growled.

Germany. Germania. I wasn't sure if I'd heard it before but I wondered if that was a coincidence. Louise eventually led me to a shop - one full to the brim with weapons of all kinds, mostly swords and hammers. And a lot of them looked cool. There were flailed maces, axes, cleavers, and more - all sorts of medieval style weapons that existed in museums and paintings.

I picked up one in particular - a sword that was probably around twice the size of my 21 and a half inch bayonet. It was shiny and silver, with a slim crossguard and smooth leather grip. "This one's pretty damn good," I said as I swung it a few times - before spinning it in my hand flawlessly. A bit too flawlessly if one were to ask me. "Whoa. Didn't know it was that easy..."

"Welcome! Here for a sword?" a nasal yet deep voice called. Louise and I turned to see the owner behind the main counter - a man with glasses, buck teeth, a weird mustache, and a big nose. He wore a leather cap on his head and was scrawny as hell, way too scrawny to be a blacksmith. Perhaps he just sold weapons of different kinds?

"Yes," Louise said. "One of the best you have."

"Well, that blade over there is a slow cast heavy longsword. One of the nicest blades I ever got my hands on," the shop owner said, pointing at the weapon in my hands. "A dense blade makes it good for cleaving through armor with ease, and it's wide enough for some great blocking."

"Blocking, huh?" I asked. "It definitely feels great." I spun the blade once more, once more surprised of how easy it seemed to do so before swinging it around a few more times. "Haven't used a sword before."

"I see someone has an eye for particular quality," the shop owner remarked with a smirk. "This kind of sword is ideal for beginners. The longsword is one of the most straightforward and simple weapons to master, and-"

"Not big enough," Louise interrupted. "Do you have anything else?"

"I...huh?" The shop owner stumbled over his words. "But a sword such as this is the correct size and weight for this man."

"I said something bigger! Longer! Heavier!" Louise demanded. "Now go!"

The shop owner scrambled behind the counter, leaving the front of the shop as Louise let out a "Hmmph!" I looked down at the sword before setting it back where I found it. "You know...a weapon doesn't need to look good to work."

"I know that! But if Kirche goes after you again, or if you get yourself into another stupid duel - then you need to defend yourself!" Louise demanded. "So I'll only get you what is necessary!"

"...I have a gun," I said.

"It's the looks that matter! Guns are seen as uncivilized and barbaric!" Louise shot back. "Swords are a sign of status, that you should not be messed around with! I won't allow my familiar to be seen as weak, lest Kirche come after you again!"

I decided to remain silent for now, thinking over her words. It seemed less and less that she was thinking that I look shabby or unprofessional, and more that she was concerned for my well-being. Even if she sounded harsh.

My thoughts were interrupted when the man came back. "Sorry for keeping you waiting," he said as he held up what was probably the brightest most golden sword in existence. It was huge - probably greatsword sized. "This is the best item we have in our stock! Forged by the great alchemist mage of Germania: Lord Schvert."

"Fancy..." I muttered. "It seems less for fighting, more for show."

"We'll take it! How much for this?" Louise asked, much to my dismay.

"Three thousand, if you're using new gold coins," the shop owner said. Three THOUSAND? In GOLD? No one was that rich, especially not Louise, judging by the look on her face.

I saved her the trouble of having to haggle or demand a lower price by stepping in. "You got anything...less expensive? Without sacrificing too much quality?" I asked, handing the sword back to the man.

"Hmmm, well..." the man said as he set the blade down and began to rummage through a barrel for a blade in particular - specifically a particularly long but thin blade that looked old and rusty. "I did have this sitting around for a while. Normally it would cost two hundred, but since I'm looking to get rid of it, I could knock the price down to a hundred and twenty."

"It's so old!" Louise complained.

"Well, if you give it some care and repair, it should be as good as new!" the shop owner said, but if was clear that he didn't really want to hold onto this.

"I...I only have one hundred on me," Louise muttered, looking disdainfully at the sword.

"Just one hundred? Hmmm..." the shop owner said, stroking his chin. "Deal."

And with that, Louise forked over her coins and fled the store, with me right behind her with my newfound weapon. "Great..." she mumbled. "Now I don't have anything left to buy lunch, and we skipped breakfast to get here so early!"

"We could always go to the horse and ride back to the school," I said. "Pretty sure we can eat there."

"You have food in your pack, don't you? Why don't you share?" Louise asked.

"I...I dunno if you'd like it," I said before seeing Louise's clenched fists. "Alright, but if you don't like it, don't complain."

We found a cozy spot outside of the city - near the fields in the direction of the school. Like I'd done before - I rolled out my blanket and sat down with Louise before opening up my supper box - one of the bigger K-rations normally issued. Inside were a few cans and packages, with one can holding smoked sausage, one package of sliced meat, one preserved beef loaf in a cardboard box, and four defense biscuits - the same that comes with every other K-ration.

There was some additional stuff as well, like a packet of bouillon powder for basic broth, something I intended to use. "This all looks...odd," Louise said as I set aside the cigarettes and began opening up the can of sausage and the sliced meat.

"These are defense rations. Army use only. They're designed to be full of energy, not flavor," I said, and Louise took the package of beef loaf, trying and failing to read it before she opened it up and eyed the brown slab of meat. Picking it up and biting it, she chewed for a moment before choking and dropping it on the blanket.

"Ugh! So...so salty!" she complained as I filled up my metallic cup with water before taking out a few matches and lighting them under the cup, rag in hand over the handle.

"Don't worry - you get used to it," I said, lighting another match as the heated metal cup itself began to raise the water temperature. "Army food is usually better - mostly the A-rations or B-rations."

"And this is?" Louise asked, coughing awkwardly. Regardless, she took another bite - she was probably that hungry.

"The K-rations. Short term use and used for advancing troops in the line of fire only," I said. "It's what I've been living off of for months, so like I said, you get used to it." A few minutes passed, and the cup was now hot with the water warm. Setting the cup down on the dirt at the edge of the blanket, I opened up the bouillon packet and gently dropped the solid block of vegetable stock and seasoning inside before taking my fork and beginning to stir it.

"What is that?" Louise asked. She had finished the loaf and was looking curiously at my cup.

"Vegetable flavored soup," I said as I took a quick little sip. The cup had cooled down a little quicker than I'd expected but there was quite the little burn when my lips touched it. But the soup tasted great, being a departure from the preserved canned and packaged foods that I was used to. Even if it didn't taste fresh, it was much better.

Louise slowly held out her hand, and I gave her the cup - wrapped in the rag. She sipped it a little, before drinking about half of it in one go. Once she was done, she handed it back to me with a sigh as I drank the rest. "I...do you really eat this a lot?" Louise asked.

"Yeah. It's usually me and the guys sitting in our holes in the ground, munching on defense biscuits and telling stories to pass the time," I said, taking one of the biscuits and breaking it in half before picking a sausage from the can and sandwiching it between both halves. "This doesn't taste as bad, trust me."

To my surprise, she did and took a bite of the stale biscuits and chewy sausage. She didn't complain - but I could tell the food was likely worse than the fancy home prepared meals she was used to. As much as I wanted to feel bad, another more spiteful part of me was happy to see her eat what was clearly peasant food - no, army food: which was arguably worse than any cheap meal back in the city in America.

But like her, I held my tongue - helping myself to the biscuits and the sliced lunch meat. Our little picnic was a short and quiet affair - but it was also a civil affair between Louise and I. In fact, it was the longest we'd ever gone without arguments or insults ringing out.

When we were done, Louise stood up and cleared her throat. "Thank you. For sharing your food with me," she said, clearly in an awkward manner. "Even if it's a given, seeing as I am your master."

Of course she added the last part. But I sighed - much too tired and getting a little used to her tendencies. "No problem."