Chapter 7

- POV: Private First Class Brenner: several hours later -

I sighed as I watched Siesta hand me the basket with all of the unmentionables that Louise had instructed me to wash. "Thanks for the help," I said. "The first few times I did laundry wasn't normally this bad."

"Because much of these clothes are made of silk," Siesta explained as she brushed a tuft of hair behind her ear. "You need to be gentle with your hands or the wrinkles will get worse. Or in more rare cases, you might tear it."

"Gotcha. Though I'm not what you call gentle," I said as I looked at my hands. They were calloused, with a scar on the palm of my left hand. "Not really fitting so well in this place. Even if Louise and Kirche seem to think otherwise.

"You are from another world, after all," Siesta said as she clasped her fingers together formally. "As hard as it is to really believe - it does make plenty of sense..."

I chuckled at that cute demeanor of hers. "Plus I was literally summoned. Out of thin air and an explosion according to some questions I asked some of the others. Tabitha just said I exploded into existence," I said. "So there's that."

Siesta just smiled. "Well, regardless of where you came from, I simply wanted to thank you," she said, and she bowed politely. "Even though you're not powerful, nor rich or a noble in general, you fought a noble in a duel regardless. That's given us peasants much courage."

"The soldier thing from the chef, huh?" I asked. "Don't worry too much about it. I did it because...well, fighting is what I do." I looked back to my rifle over my shoulder. The sword - Derflinger - was currently keeping Louise company back in her room. "Like I said. I don't really fit in."

Siesta's kind smile turned into a sad frown. "You don't need to focus on fighting. It's alright to smile and enjoy yourself every once in a while." I found myself deep in thought over her words as she bid me good night and left to finish her duties for the night.

Walking my way back to the dorms with the wooden basket of Louise's clothes, I walked up the stairs, past other students who were mingling by their rooms. They all fell silent as they watched me walk by them, but they didn't seem to be angry - nor mocking. In fact, they all seemed to be rather interested.

"Weird," I mumbled as I made my way to the third floor. Here, the hallway was empty, a straight shot to Louise's room. Sighing to myself, I made my way down the hall to head back when-

"Oh!"

I turned around to see one of the doors open, with Kirche standing by the doorway in her sleeping clothes. Specifically a lack of proper ones. The same frilly nightie with that exposed stomach and the far too small set of panties was what greeted me over her figure. "Oh. Kirche," I said, hiding my awkward blush by turning away. "Just heading back with the laundry is all."

"Is that all? But I wanted to talk to you about that sword," Kirche said with a pout. "Since I bought it and can't return it, I was wondering if you'd like to consider my offer from earlier."

"About the date? I don't really know. Not in the works for a relationship at the moment," I said honestly. "I guess...I can get back to you on that?"

"Hmmm...well alright then," Kirche said as she stepped out of the hallway. "But don't take too long to come to a decision..." she pulled my arm into the valley between her breasts, much to my nervous laughter in response to that.

"Well, gotta go! Thanks!" I managed to croak out before quickly hurrying down the hall, hearing Kirche's girlish giggle behind me. Opening the door to head inside, I quickly closed it behind me, dropping the basket at the table with a relieved sigh.

"What took you so long?" Louise asked. I turned to see her tucked in bed with a book in her hands, a candle resting by the base of her bed to provide her light.

"I got Siesta to help with the laundry. Didn't know how to clean silk," I said as I flopped on the floor with a thud - much to Louise's performance judging by that glaring frown resting on her face. "And Kirche ambushed me when I was walking down the hallway. Wanted me to consider her offer about the sword."

"You said no, right?" Louise asked, a bit too quickly.

I didn't answer right away.

"Brenner..."

"I said I would think about it," I said apprehensively. "And she stopped bothering me about it tonight because of it, so I figured it was fine."

"You know she'll keep bothering you for a chance to sleep with you," Louise remarked with a sigh. "I don't want you entertaining any of her wild means of seduction any longer."

"I mean, she only just asked for dinner and a talk. What's the harm?" I asked.

"She's a Zerbst! Not only is she my family's sworn enemy, she's going after you! Even if...even if she isn't just playing around and somehow means what she says, the repercussions that my family could go through could be bad!" Louise answered vehemently.

I sighed. "Why are your families at war exactly?" I asked.

"They're rival families. The reasons date back to years before my birth," Louise said. "Feuds such as this are common between high class noble families."

I waited for more, but Louise didn't say more - simply going back to reading. "...that's it?!" I finally said from the ridiculousness of this situation. "You don't even know why your families are fighting?"

"You don't need to know! The Vallière name is a noble and very powerful one, and our reasons are ours alone!" Louise answered, slamming her book shut and sighing before blowing out the candle. "We shouldn't talk about this any longer. Good night."

Seeing that I wasn't about to get any more answers from her, I sighed and lay down on my blanket roll, setting my helmet aside and resting my head on the floor. "This world is frickin' ridiculous."

"Chin up, partner," Derflinger's voice rang out, muffled from under his scabbard. "You'll be used to it in no time-"

"I said good night!" Louise said, more loudly this time.

"...jeez," Derflinger mumbled before falling silent. I did the same, closing my eyes and waiting for sleep to come and claim me.

...

...

...

"Right stick!"

I held on to the back of the Sherman as machine gun fire pelted the heavy hull of the tank's armor. The vehicle slowly turned left as we made our way down the devastated streets of Aachen. Next to me was a fellow soldier, firing the .50 Cal on top of the tank's turret as the commander barked orders to his crew inside.

Behind me was another Sherman, its 105mm howitzer turning towards one of the buildings. Between both tanks were a dozen troops, most with M1 Garands with one holding an M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle, and one with an M1 Carbine.

"Stay down, stay down!" the squad leader yelled. "MG on the second floor!"

"I'm on it!" the gunner next to me shouted, and the .50 Cal opened up - tearing up the second story window of the building on our left. "Second story is clear!"

"Anti-tank, anti-tank! Watch it!" the tank commander peeking his head out of the hatch yelled as he pointed to the right. The Sherman's cannon turned towards an alleyway, where a German Pak was parked and aiming at us.

The cannon fired before the Sherman's gun could finish aiming - with the sound of the initial *boom* being followed by an even louder *clang* and an explosion on the left. "Ricochet, ricochet!"the commander yelled. "Fire!"

The Sherman's gun let out an even louder boom, striking the building next to the Pak and burying it in an avalanche of debris and dust. "Off, off, off!" I heard - and I quickly clambered off the Sherman to rejoin the squad.

We were at an intersection - with small arms fire pinging off the tank as it kept moving. "One-three, right stick! We'll rendezvous with One-two at the end of the street!" the commander called from his place on the turret. "One-four, left street!"

"Copy! Left stick, left stick! Gunner, traverse right!" The second Sherman turned left while the first Sherman turned right. The rest of us quickly pushed our way into the nearby buildings as the tanks split off.

"We'll clear this building and provide fire support from the high ground! Third and fourth squad is making their way here and we need to pin the Jerries down!" the squad leader ordered. "Come on, let's move!"

"Go go go!" We all pushed into the building, hearing non English shouts above us. "Germans, above!" I heard, and I instinctively aimed up, towards the stairwell, smack in the middle of the first floor.

I was immediately met by automatic fire. Tripping in my attempt to get to cover, my helmet flew off my head and bounced off the cracked concrete floor as gunfire was exchanged between my group and the Germans above. "Hey, get up! Get up!" I heard, and two hands gripped me under my shoulders, dragging me to my feet and quickly helping me towards the stairwell. Two more guys had moved up, firing at the floors above as we continued to move.

"Granate!"

A familiar wooden stick flew down and landed behind one of the troops closest to the next set of stairs. "Grenade, get down!" I heard, and before I could react - I was thrown back against the wall from the explosion of fragments and heavy dust.

"Wake up!"

I shot up, nearly bashing Louise in the head with my own had she not jumped back in surpise. "What was that for?! Do you know how long I've been trying to wake you up? I swear if you're getting spoiled sleeping late, then you have another thing coming-" I heard Louise say before she stopped.

I felt my forehead with my hand, and I found it to be completely sweaty. "Are you alright?" I heard her ask.

"Yeah. Just...just a nightmare," I mumbled, getting up and reaching for my helmet. As I put it on, I heard Derflinger ask Louise something, with her replying afterwards. But I wasn't thinking about what they were saying - too focused on what I'd seen earlier.

I was back in Aachen in my dream. It was the worst three weeks of my life, clearing the entire city block by block, building by building. I shook my head, trying to keep my thoughts away from those horrible days of clearing the enemy via urban warfare.

"Hey, partner!" I heard Derflinger say, interrupting me from my thoughts. "If you have something bad, you should probably tell someone about it."

"Sorry...just thinking about the war," I said.

"War?! There's a war that I missed? Oh no, how long was I asleep?" the sword moaned, and Louise scoffed in response to the rusty old sword's sudden bout of panic.

"He's talking about the war on his world. He said that he's a soldier who was fighting for his country in his own world. That was before I summoned him here as my familiar," Louise explained to the sword before she looked at me. "Brenner, are you sure that you're alright?"

"I'm alright. Thanks," I said. "Come on, you'll end up missing class." Louise didn't pursue any further, remaining silent for a few moments before she went back to her normal self - ordering me to help her change into her school uniform.

However, the rest of the day would be plagued by many incidents, starting with Kirche and Tabitha ambushing Louise and me outside the dining hall. "Tabitha and I were just wondering if you'd like to feed Sylphid and Flame for us. I'd be willing to share some of my breakfast with you in return," Kirche said. She was wheeling a tray of all sorts of plated food, like scrambled eggs topped with greens, assorted breads and other fancy looking foods.

"I can feed my familiar just fine, Kirche! So just leave him and me be!" Louise answered.

"Oh? But he's a growing man! Someone such as him should be rewarded for having to put up with you on a daily basis," Kirche mocked - much to Louise's anger. "Besides, it's not like you have much to share, considering..." She leaned forward a little, swaying side to side.

I didn't know what she was doing, at least before turning and seeing Louise looking down at her chest in red faced fury. That moment of realization made me realize that this argument was going nowhere good, especially with a male like me mixed in the fray. "I'll take care of them. You three all enjoy breakfast, alright?" I said.

"I knew you'd be so kind as to accept!" Kirche cooed as she wheeled the cart closer to me - and by extension, herself. "Hmmm, maybe you could pay me back some of that kindness by-ow!"

She was interrupted by a little smack on the head from Tabitha's staff. "Tabitha, I was just about to make my offer heard again!" Kirche whined, rubbing her head despite the hit not being quite so hard. Tabitha didn't say anything, simply walking by us in the direction of the table.

"Well...see ya," I said, taking the cart outside as Kirche and Louise got into another argument. As I left the hall, I found myself in the same field on the first day I met Sylphid and Flame. Speaking of which, those two were currently playing around before they spotted me - coming over to greet me eagerly. "Okay, okay, calm down!" I chuckled.

Looking down, I started with the plate of bread and rolls and began tossing them to the two creatures, who eagerly munched on them with rigorous hunger. Sylphid got the steak next, and Flame ate the whole plate of sausages. Sylphid got the berries next, and Flame burned the salad before eating what was left of it.

About ten to fifteen minutes of feeding passed, and I ended up feeding almost the entire cart of food to the two familiars, who were now sleeping lazily with full bellies, while I got one plate to myself - the scrambled eggs. And I was glad too, they tasted really damn good.

"Oh, Brenner!" I turned to see Kirche approaching me from the door, Louise right behind her. "I see that you took good care of them! Oh, and you played with them as well! I hope you liked the food."

"It was great," I said, a bit more at ease now. Louise scowled. "They especially loved it. I didn't know you could ask for that much food for familiars."

Kirche blinked. "Wait, what do you mean?" she asked.

"You gave me the food to feed Sylphid and Flame, right?" I asked as I got up, rolling her the cart with the empty plates. "They were pretty hungry. I mean, all I ate were the eggs but they're really good eggs."

Kirche blinked once more. "I...I gave you that food...for you. I thought you still had that other food in your pack to feed them like last time!" she exclaimed, sounding flabbergasted. Louise snickered for a moment before she exploded into laughter.

"Oh," I muttered, realizing that the whole cart of food was more or less a gift rather than an errand. It wouldn't have been the first mistake I made regarding misunderstood orders. "I mean...they are happy now, right?" I asked.

Kirche sighed, defeated before smiling. "I suppose there's no harm in my dear Flame being spoiled rotten," she admitted as she came over and rubbed the sleeping salamander's belly - which caused a burp and a ring of fire to fly out of his mouth.

Louise finished her fit of laughter with a cough and grabbed my hand. "Come on, we're headed to class," she said, yanking me to the classrooms across the fields. "I don't want us to be late."

"Hey, soldier!"

Louise and I turned to see the chef - the one who offered me leftovers a few days ago - walking up. "I need to talk to you," he said.

"Hm? What about?" I asked before I felt another tug from Louise's hand.

"Come on, we'll be late-" she protested.

"Louise, do you need me in class with you?" I asked. I knew the answer was no, simply because no one else had a servant with them - and I was the only known human familiar so there was likely no big exception in the rules to include me. "If he needs to talk to me, it's probably important. So I need to see if I can help."

Louise clearly looked like she was going to argue further before she sighed. "Fine then. I want you back in my room once all of my classes are done," she said before whirling around and storming off to class, clearly unhappy.

"Well she's as spoiled as ever," the chef grumbled as he began to lead me elsewhere. "First things first, are you hungry?"

"Well...I did get some of those scrambled eggs. Boy, they were hella good," I said, smiling a little.

"I don't know what hella means, but I'm gonna assume that's a good thing," the chef said. "We do have some leftovers if you want some." I felt my stomach growl at that, and he laughed in response. "I guess that's a yes. Come on."

I was brought over to the kitchens, where I not only got a helping of those same seasoned scrambled eggs, but a whole leftover steak, a small loaf of bread and some stew as well. I ate like I hadn't eaten in a week - that's how good this food was. All the while, the chef was asking about Louise. "I mean, I heard stories from the few servants who were near her. She's snappy and rude, and she likes to blow people up with a wave of her wand!" he said.

"Well, I like to think I've been changing her for the better," I said. "I talked about what war in my world was like, and she actually mellowed out." I swirled my spoon in the bowl of stew for a bit as I leaned my hand against my helmet on the table. "We've been talking for a bit. And...well, she's bothered with hearing me out instead of yelling at me nonstop. And...I sorta get why she's so catty."

"And why's that?" the chef asked. He was still leaning by the window, arms crossed.

"She has trouble with magic. She apparently works hard on her studies, but she hasn't been able to activate any real spells. The others make a lot of fun of her for it," I said. "Apparently worse than some of the non magic people here get it. Kirche does it too, though I've been trying to get the two of them to simmer down."

"Hahaha!" the chef guffawed. "Getting two girls to stop arguing is like trying to stop a tidal wave with your bare hands! Much less two nobles!" His smile died out afterwards, however. "Though if what you're saying is true, I guess it makes sense. Such a shame for her attitude to be the one to turn sour."

"Yeah..." I mumbled as I finished the last of the steak, swallowing first before I spoke up again. "In any case, I have been working on helping her. She's been nicer lately - so that's a victory in my books."

"Uh huh," the chef said, sounding somewhat unconvinced. "In any case, I wanted to talk to you about Siesta."

"What about her? Is she alright?" I asked, a bit concerned. Come to think of it, I hadn't seen her around lately.

"She was called to work somewhere else," the chef said, his frown deepening as he spoke. "Some nobleman named Count Mott decided to call upon her to work in his estate when he visited the school today. Siesta said she hadn't told you, and planned on keeping it from you but...I figured you deserved to know."

"So she got transferred?" I asked, a bit saddened by the news. Siesta was a sweet girl. "Damn..."

"Yeah. We didn't want her to go - and she didn't want to leave either. But nobles always have to have their way. Sometimes us peasants really can't do a thing about it," the chef said with an upset sigh. "I'll let you finish your meal."

I felt myself zone out as the chef turned to the kitchen, barking at them to quit socializing and go back to work. The food didn't taste quite as good after that.

Siesta was gone?

- a few hours later -

"Count Mott? Why do you wanna know?" Louise asked when I sprung the question on her after class.

"I heard he stopped by today. And he apparently picked up Siesta," I said, deciding to tell her the truth. "And I figured you'd know what he does around here."

"Well, the count is a messenger from the Royal Palace. He stops by the Institute on occasion to deliver news and updates of political nature," Louise explained. She was sitting at the vanity, brushing her hair as she eyed the mirror.

"Well, why would he go out of his way to get someone like Siesta transferred to his place?" I muttered as I scrubbed the windows. Louise had ordered me to do so and I accepted - menial work was the life of the Army, after all. Plus her room had one window, so it would be done fairly quickly.

"When a peasant - usually a girl, is called upon by a noble by name, it's usually an order for her to be his mistress," Derflinger chimed in from his spot on the table. "You really don't know anything, do you?"

I froze at that. A mistress?

"I heard stories about that, actually," Louise said, unaware of my pause as she continued to brush her hair. "But I didn't think a servant of a school would be called for that matter."

So Siesta was practically going to be someone's sex servant? I didn't very much like the sound of that...

"Hey, Derflinger? Wanna take a walk?" I asked.

That was well over an hour and a half ago. I'd gone to Guiche to get some answers - mainly to ask where Count Mott lived, as well as directions and a map. He was true to his word, as I found myself at an utterly massive estate after jogging for a half hour. From the distance, there were a few guards surveying the area. Some of them were walking dogs - dogs with bat wings. This world could literally not get weird enough.

But enough about that, I had to find a way to sneak inside. The grounds were huge, but there were plenty of guards around. The front door was the easiest obvious solution, but there had to be another way - especially since there were a few more guards walking by the fountain between me and the doorway. Maybe if I could lure them out of that position somehow...

"If you're thinking of sneaking inside, don't bother," Derflinger said - thankfully quietly. "There's guards on the roof as well. And those hounds can sniff you out the moment you step inside."

"Great," I muttered. I was back at square one. Come to think of it, I never left square one.

Peering around, I saw another rotation of guards making their way by. This guy had tight security. If the Germans had as many machine guns as they did men, then Aachen would've taken months instead of weeks. I had to play things smart.

...

Or...I could be extremely risky and try to go in the front like a jarhead would do.

"I don't like that silence. What're you gonna do?" my sword asked as I pulled my goggles down from my helmet and snapped them over my eyes.

Sighing to myself, I stood up straight, slinging my rifle over my back next to Derflinger. "I'm gonna knock."

I stepped forward as the barks and yells around me filled the air.