Chapter 16

- POV: Private First Class Brenner -

"Brenner..."

I didn't say a word on the long and boring carriage ride back to the Institute. Ever since the inn's problems were solved, I'd given her the silent treatment. I avoided bathing that night, and I ignored Louise's complaints about me sleeping on the floor.

Scarron did let us keep a few bags worth of gold before leaving, which was but a moderately sized portion of the money left behind as well as what we'd earned for working in the inn for the day. Overall, we probably got three or four hundred gold coins in total - though each gold coin was worth about five U.S. dollars if I was making some estimations on the matter.

A message had been written and sent to the Royal Palace, informing the princess of the events that had taken place, minus the part about the noble's identity and the fact that he'd bribed his way out of proper and just punishment.

Despite our earnings and the accomplishment of our mission, my mood didn't improve.

"Brenner, I know you aren't happy with what I did. But we did our job," Louise said after a moment of silence.

"You know for a fact that it's not just the job that I'm upset about. He got away freely. What if he does it again? Or if he tries to get revenge and does something more drastic?" I asked. "You should have arrested him."

"You don't understand, Brenner. Even with the power wielded by the princess, she must still conduct an investigation by legal means. Nobles can always stonewall that process no matter who carries out the investigation, and it would've caused more trouble in the end," Louise said.

"So you're saying that nobles can always get away with all the bullshit they cause just because they're wealthy," I muttered. "...fuck." I noticed Louise wincing out of the corner of my eye, likely from my profanity. At the moment, I didn't care. "Alright. I guess I get it now. But still...you didn't even try."

"And what exactly was I supposed to do? Drag the issue out? Cause more trouble than that stupid noble is apparently worth?" Louise asked, her tone getting somewhat defensive - reminding me of the first few days I knew Louise. "Whatever your world is like, things here work differently. You need to remember that."

I sighed as I slowly looked away, back towards the window as the Institute slowly came into view over the hill from afar. "...I know. I'm reminded of that every damn day," I found myself growling.

The conversation ended there, and the rest of the carriage ride was spent in silence. My eyes flickered towards Louise for a second, and I noticed her facial expression having mellowed out - now looking a little sad rather than angered or upset.

Upon reaching the institute, we were greeted by...absolutely no one. The school beyond the gates was utterly quiet, and it almost seemed like the place was abandoned. "Where is everyone?" I muttered as the carriage stopped just inside the gates.

"Everyone is on summer vacation. They're all either returning home to visit their families or they're traveling to enjoy their break," Louise said as she opened her side of the carriage, climbing out. I raised an eyebrow as she left the carriage, expecting her to wait for me to disembark and come over to open the door for her.

I didn't say a thing - simply getting off before grabbing our things. As I made my way towards the school, I turned to see Louise tipping the carriage's coachman with a few gold coins before bidding him a good day.

When she turned to head in, she stopped, her pink eyes locked on mine. "W-what? What're you staring at?" she asked.

I shook my head. "Nothing," I muttered as I turned back around and spotted a second horse drawn carriage by the main tower. "Looks like a few others are still here."

"Yoohoo! Brenner!" a familiar voice called out loudly. I could practically hear Louise's mouth turning downwards into an annoyed frown behind me as a familiar red haired girl bounced her way over to us - and I mean bounced.

I didn't struggle as I was instantly jumped by Kirche. I stumbled back as the girl squeezed me in a tight hug, her entire body leaning against me all the while. "Oh, I'm so happy I got to see you today! I was so worried I wouldn't be able to see you before leaving today!"

"Hm? Where exactly are you going?" Louise asked, her tone curious.

"Oh, I'm off to visit Tabitha's home. Nothing more," Kirche said as she let go of me, making her way towards the other carriage. "Anyways, ta ta!"

We watched as she hopped in, closing the door behind her before proceeding to wave at us constantly, not stopping even as the horses pulled the cart past us. As they rolled on by, I noticed the familiar blue haired girl sitting inside, next to Kirche - though she didn't look up to notice us.

Eventually the carriage rolled out of view, over the hill down the road leading away from the institute. With that interaction done and over with, I sighed and headed towards the dorm rooms, where my rifle, my uniform, my helmet, and Derflinger were waiting.

"Brenner..." Louise began.

"I'm not mad at you. Not anymore. Just kinda mad at the world..." I muttered. "I just need some time, okay?"

"I...okay," Louise said. "I plan on seeing the headmaster anyways."

"Okay," I said, hoisting my bag over my shoulder before walking off. As I headed up the stairs towards the dorms in the upper levels, I felt my mind begin to wander, specifically about the state of the government's rule in this country.

Kingdom.

I turned and headed down the hallway of the second story, sighing as I forced myself to remember that this was a kingdom run by a monarchy, not a government run by people or the law.

I sighed a second time in a row, rubbing my eyes once more. The building felt far too quiet, and he found himself actively resisting the urge to draw his M1911 and kick down every door to search for hostiles. Lord knows he did enough of that in the bombed out buildings in Saint Lô and Aachen.

There I was again, thinking all about the war. Fighting on the beaches, fighting in the cities, fighting in the forests, fighting in villages and rivers. I gritted my teeth and sped up my walk, forcing myself to set aside the thoughts of fighting, how I couldn't handle the quiet because of how used to gunfire I had become.

How the hell do people handle the first war, much less the second? I was starting to wonder how I would've turned out if I ended up fighting in the Great War rather than this one...

I reached the room, and I opened the door to head inside. Sure enough, Derflinger was inside - the sword sitting on the table. "About time you got back! Where in the world were you?" the sword asked, his voice more annoyed than relieved.

"We were just out doing work. You don't have to know any more," I said as I began to change into my military fatigues. "So did anything interesting happen while we were gone?"

"Do you really expect me to answer that?" Derflinger said, his tone flat.

I pulled on my suspenders, hooked onto my belt before checking the things I had with me. "Fine, don't tell me about the riveting days you spent lying on a table in a dark room," I sighed as I reached for my rifle. The moment my beloved M1 Garand entered my hands, I grinned - the feeling of smooth and furnished wood against my fingertips akin to holding silk. "Baby, I missed you."

"Yeah, yeah," Derflinger muttered. "Come on, at least take me with you. And at least tell me if anything interesting happened in your secret work."

I rolled my eyes as I placed my helmet over my head, not bothering with the straps. Nearly nobody in the Army bothered with the straps, a habit I picked up when it came to getting equipped for battle. Slinging my trusty semi-automatic rifle over my shoulder by the strap, I grabbed Derflinger and wore the strap of the scabbard over my shoulder before pulling my backpack on, pressing the scabbard between my back and the backpack.

"If you must know, I got a taste of how justice apparently works in this world," I said as I left Louise's room. Closing the door behind me, I headed down the hallway towards the stairwell, intent on making my way out of the building.

I talked about how Louise had dealt with a noble that had used his wealth to squeeze more money out of people trying to live normal lives. I neglected certain parts of our experiences - like how it had been a mission assigned by the princess, or how we'd worked at that inn for most of the few days we were out of the institute.

"Apparently if nobles go and commit crimes with their power, they can either bribe their way out of punishment or stonewall legal processing," I said. "How the hell do things get done if nobles can just get away with everything? It's bullshit, and I was so close to just shooting the fucking guy."

"I see. You're mad about greedy nobles using their money to get out of any kind of trouble," Derflinger said. "Sorry, partner. That's just how it is. Well, that's how it's been for as long as I can remember. Life isn't exactly fair."

"I know that life isn't fair, but that's more than unfair - that's complete and utter bullshit. And besides, that doesn't answer my question," I grumbled as I hurried down the stairs, turning to see the door out of the dormitories. "How does anything in this kingdom get done with nobles doing whatever the fuck they want?"

"You know, you underestimate just how much influence the people have in the kingdoms all over this world," Derflinger said. "Don't tell me you actually think the people have bo right to do anything."

"Do they?" I asked.

"Duh. Even if kingdoms run on monarchies, you can bet your ass that they still rely on the people. Nobles run the political and leadership aspect of a kingdom while the people run the economics. Nobles are wealthy and don't work, but they have much more responsibility than the people do," Derflinger explained.

I sighed. "I guess that makes sense. And if the noble abuses the hard working people?" I asked.

"Then they can fight back in their own way. Believe it or not, I've seen kingdoms go through changes due to peasants. And there have been nobles that get disgraced because of their own fault. Trust me when I say that th guy won't get away scot-free. Not for long, anyway," the sword explained.

I stopped at the door, thinking about Derflinger's words for a moment. "I guess you're right. I dunno, I'm way too used to the court of law," I muttered.

I'd need to talk to Louise - maybe to apologize and to properly explain my attitude. I didn't feel wrong about my thoughts, but I was now definitely aware of how just differently everything about this world was - including every day life.

"Court?" Derflinger asked, his tinny voice sounding rather confused.

"Another time," I said before opening the door to head outside, greeted by the noontime sun. And with that, the conversation was over - and I began to make my way towards the kitchens to meet a certain somebody.

Sure enough, Siesta was there, sweeping the floors when I opened the door and walked in. When she looked up, I watched the biggest smile grow on her face. "Brenner! I was wondering when you'd come back!" she said.

"Nice to see you too, Siesta," I said, closing the door behind me. "Sorry for being gone and not telling you about it. Important business, real hush hush stuff."

The maid simply smiled. "Ah, I see. It likely has to do with the Princess, I imagine," Siesta said. "I won't push the matter, especially if it really is meant to be kept a secret. So what brings you by here?"

"Just wanted to say hi," I said. "Cleaning up for vacation?"

"Yes. I plan on finishing my work here and visiting my uncle and cousin in town for the summer," Siesta said. "It's been months since I last saw them."

"Nice," I remarked. d as I leaned on the wall. "Do you have time to talk? I'd like to hear about them."

Siesta blinked in surprise at the request before she grinned once more. "Well...I was born in Tarbes. have seven sisters and brothers, all of them younger than me," she began as she continued sweeping.

"Seven? Jeez, your parents must have gone at it like animals," I muttered without really thinking. Barely any families in America had any more than three or four children, and here was a girl that came from one twice the size.

I turned to look at Siesta, and I just now noticed the reddening of her cheeks as she looked up at me, somewhat gobsmacked at what I'd unwittingly said out loud. "Oh. Sorry," I muttered. "I just...uh..."

The maid giggled, her cheeks still reddened as she went back to work. "Don't worry, you aren't the only one surprised," she said. "Having such a large number of children isn't common, but some families do tend to have that many children, sometimes more. Most of the time, they're nobles."

"I...I see," I muttered. "Not at all common where I'm from. Anyways, tell me about your family."

"Tarbes is rather far, so I can't visit them for a summer vacation. However, the town where my uncle and cousin works is close, so I can visit them in person. I plan on writing to my family at home though," Siesta continued.

"Heh," I sighed. "Wish I could write to my family right now."

"Oh, right! Do you have any family?" Siesta asked.

"My mom and dad are fine. No siblings here, I'm an only child," I remarked. "We're not very rich, just making enough money to get by. My uncle fought in the first war, and he managed to get married. I imagine I'd probably have a cousin if I could get back."

Siesta blinked. "The...first war?" she asked.

"It's a long story. Short story is that the second one broke out like...five, six years ago? Our nation got attacked and dragged in about three years ago. So, I'm fighting in it now," I said. "Or I was."

Siesta kept sweeping, falling silent for a moment before she spoke up once more. "You must miss your family very much," she said softly.

"I do," I said, leaning back and resting the back of my helmet against the wall. "I just hope that they're all okay."

"There he is!"

I yelped as I was dragged into a headlock by the chef, who simply laughed heartily. "I'm glad to see you're back safe and sound. Siesta here's been worried sick!" he chuckled.

"I-I was not!" Siesta croaked.

I just laughed as I quickly pulled myself out of the headlock with some effort. "Yeah, I had some business to do. Important stuff," I said. "It's over now and I'm done. So I'm probably stuck here for the rest of vacation unless Louise wants to drag me somewhere else before school starts."

"I hope she doesn't," the man said with a laugh. "Come, you must be hungry! We can whip something up quickly and-"

I held up my hand. "That's really kind of you, but I already ate," I said, feeling more than a little bit comfortable with the somewhat familiar atmosphere the man provided. He reminded me of a few other riflemen in the 29th - very friendly and helpful regardless of the harsh realities of war. "Just wanted to say hi, that's all. I was planning on heading to the bathhouse, grab a nice soak while I can."

"Well, what a coincidence!" the chef bellowed. "Siesta here was just finishing up her work for the day. In fact, she was just about to wash up and enjoy her early day off."

Siesta's face exploded in bright red once more, but I'd turned back towards the man. "Uhh...I see," I began to say, stroking my chin as I fell deep into thought. "Well, I might as well knock out two birds with one stone. Couldn't hurt to relax in company."

"B-but I'm not allowed in the bathhouse! That's reserved for nobles - er, students only!" Siesta protested.

"Nonsense, it's the servants that clean the bathhouse anyways, and you're not going to get in trouble with most of the student body on vacation," the man said as he began to stroke his beard. "Treat yourself and relax, Siesta."

"Come on, it's not gonna hurt to enjoy hot water, will it?" I asked.

"That's the spirit, soldier!" the chef laughed as he came over and gently took the broom from Siesta's hands. "Enjoy the rest of the day, you two."

I raised an eyebrow at the man's seemingly mischievous smirk before sighing. I was never good at reading body language, much less any social cues that this world could have. "Alright, let's get going," I said as I turned towards the door. "If you'd like, I could talk a little bit about my world."

"R-really? I'd like that," Siesta said as she began to walk alongside me, the two of us heading towards the bathhouses underneath the school.

- half an hour later -

I slipped into one of the few dozen larger baths, sighing as I felt the hot water burning away the tension in my body. I hadn't been to one of these larger baths before, only seeing the private bathrooms with the old fashioned porcelain tubs.

This was different, with the baths essentially being large circular pools constantly being fed hot water from large spouts in the wall, which served as hot showers of sorts. The pipes of the spouts were within hand carved stone figurines, which resembled the heads of dragons and other creatures.

My clothes, equipment, and weapons - including Derflinger - were locked in a separate room near this bath, and there was currently nobody else in this wing of the institute, which allowed some privacy - as well as plenty of time to enjoy the bath with no possible interruptions.

"Excuse me," Siesta said. I turned to see the maid slowly lowering herself into the bath, her waist disappearing into the hot water followed by her midsection and torso. Thankfully, the steam was very thick, more than enough for me to prevent accidental peeping. "But I was just wondering...why do you continue to wear your helmet?"

I was indeed wearing my M1 helmet despite having nothing else on, complete with the typical combat netting and the now fogged up Army goggles that I kept on the helmet. I wasn't worried about any damage from the steam - as the chin straps and suspension webbing were made of a heavy duty and very durable cloth, with very little leather or material capable of being damaged by steam or water.

Besides, I always liked my helmet.

"Eh, I like it," I said, leaning back and resting my elbows on the heated stone rim of the bath. "It's my one and only hat."

"I see," Siesta giggled as she too sank deeper into the water, which now went up to her shoulders as she leaned back. "It's rather...odd. The helmets I see on knights cover the entire face. They tend to look rather intimidating."

"Yeah, helmets like that exist in my world too. Maybe like...oh, I dunno. Three hundred or four hundred years ago?" I muttered. "Then the gun showed up. Helmets can't do much to stop a bullet - so we decided to just ditch armor and stick with uniforms."

"Ohh..." Siesta muttered, nodding as she listened. "I noticed that the gun you carry looks a little different than what we have. What exactly does it do?"

And so, the next several minutes were spent chatting about many things in my world, ranging from the weapon I carried, to some of the technology that was considered the norm where I lived, all while the two of us continued to soak in the hot bath.

And in return, Siesta talked to me about her family - specifically her uncle and cousin. It took a few minutes of discussion, but I eventually had an epiphany about who they were.

"Your uncle...he doesn't run a big inn in town, does he?" I asked.

"Why, yes!" Siesta said, her smile slowly widening. "He does - it's called the Charming Fairy Inn! How did you know?"

I blinked. "Muscular with a lot of hair? Flamboyant? Very touchy and kissy?" I asked.

Siesta's smile slowly morphed into one of abject confusion. "You...met him?" she asked.

"Yeah. I worked in his inn for a few days in town. He offered us a place to stay after Louise ended up gambling all of our money away trying to make more," I said before coughing awkwardly. "Uhh, don't tell anyone. Or tell her that I told you that, okay? I'd rather not get blasted into a wall or something along those lines."

The girl let out a cute little giggle, admittedly a cute sound. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone," she reassured.

"Yeah. Jessica and I got along. I don't know much about the other girls, but Jessica's a pretty damn good hard worker. If she worked here, she would probably be my first friend," I said.

"She's a kind person. A little playful at times, though," Siesta said as she sighed. "I see her more as a sister than a cousin."

"Anyways, I worked in the kitchen with Jessica. Scarron's her dad - which is a little weird, but I won't ask questions," I said. "And apparently, now I know he's your uncle."

Siesta rubbed her forehead, seemingly as exasperated as I was about the subject. "I find it hard to believe as well, but he really is a sweet uncle," she said. "Despite how he acts, I enjoy visiting him and Jessica every once in a while. Though, I did hear that the inn was going through a bit of trouble with the tithes that have to be paid."

I just grinned all the while. "Oh, I wouldn't worry about that any more," I said as I looked up at the ceiling, which I could barely see thanks to just how much steam was rising up from the heated water. "Anyways, I had no idea that those two were family. Then again, I guess you got your kindness from your uncle's side of the family. Seriously, he's super nice."

So nice that it felt uncomfortable, but I wasn't about to say that out loud.

"T-that...that is really kind of you to say," Siesta whispered, looking away. "I mean, I'm not a noble, and I'm not exactly remarkable...yet you still like to talk with me."

"In case you forgot, I'm not much of a noble myself. And if you saw the rest of the men I fight with, you'd hardly be able to tell any of us apart. Trust me, I know what unremarkable is like, and I don't care," I said as I sat up. "I like hanging out with you because I like hanging out with you."

Siesta looked back at me for a moment, and I was quick to notice her eyes had widened - almost as if she hadn't expected me to compliment her. "Shit, I wasn't creepy, was I? Fucking hell, it probably was. A guy saying that to a girl while we're both naked in a bath? Shit!"

"You're...you're very kind to say that, Mister Brenner," Siesta finally said after an awkward moment of silence.

"Just being honest. And it's just Brenner," I said as I got ready to get up. "Anyways, I'm just about fully cleaned up myself. Better not spend too long in the bath or I'll end up pruned."

"Pruned?" Siesta asked, tilting her head curiously.

"You know. Pruned," I said as I stood up, the water at waist height. "When your skin gets all weird for being in hot water for too long...kinda grippy...you know."

"Oh. I wouldn't know," Siesta muttered. "Baths for us servants tend to be short. And cold."

I winced. "Yeesh," I muttered. "It's like that for us in the Army. In training, we get two showers. One in the morning when we wake up, and one after training well into the afternoon."

"Showers?" Siesta asked.

"Yeah. Basically you get freezing water dumped on you, and-" I began. Siesta's gasp of horror following my statement made me chuckle. "Yeah, Louise pretty much said the same thing when I told her. It's to wake us up earlier. And then you have the weather we'd have to fight through."

"How bad would it get?" Siesta asked as she too stood up.

I tapped my chin as I began to remember moments of the harsh beach landings. "Well...we landed on the beaches for our first fight in the war. The weather was bad - like raining and dark skies. The boats were thrown off course and delayed us."

"Boats?" Siesta whispered.

"Yeah, we took landing ships to the beaches. The ground was rough and the enemy had a lot of high ground. It was a massacre, and I think we only won by throwing numbers at them," I said as I felt my own mind start to wander. "Radios said that elements of the First Division got scattered, and we ended up having to fight without much support. It took us a few hours to clear out the entire area and secure a landing zone for the rest of the Army."

I blinked, and I realized that I was back at the bathhouse, standing in the steam coming out of the hot water bath next to me. "I won't say much more than that - it was pretty damn brutal..." I said before shaking my head. "Enough about that. That was months ago," I muttered.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..." Siesta whispered.

"Don't apologize, it isn't your fault," I said before I headed for the door. "Anyways, I'm getting changed. I gotta go and make sure Louise isn't blowing herself up or something. See you around?"

"O-oh. Yes, I will," Siesta said, bowing in the water.

I grinned and walked out of the room, closing the door behind me before too much steam could escape into the hallways. As the wooden door slowly creaked against the doorway, I sighed and rested my wet back against the stone wall. "Damn," I thought to myself. "I'm gonna live with this for the rest of my life, aren't I?"

A croak filled the air, breaking me out of my stupor. Turning to look down the hallway, I saw the familiar face of Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière. "Oh. Hey," I said.

She didn't respond to my casual greeting. Her eyes were wide open in what was likely shock, and her face was blood red. Her mouth gaped open and shut almost like a fish out of water, and her entire body was trembling ever so slightly.

"B-B-B-Brenner-" was all I could hear her choke out before her eyes rolled back, stumbling back and flopping to the floor with a thud. Her legs kicked up in the process before dropping to the stone floor limply.

I winced at the loud noise as I looked down at her sprawled form. What the hell was that all about?

I felt a chill in the air and I looked down - greeted with my answer.

Oh right. I was still naked.

Whoops.