Torn Asunder by War, A Sword Saint for Tomorrow X The Knight Wizards!! – Chapter 127

Chapter 127: Don’t Mind Us, Please Take Your Time By Fine
  A lucid dream, or perhaps the butterfly dream that Zhuangzi presented in the Qiwulun.
  
  During the Warring States period in ancient China, a man dreamt that he was a butterfly, flitting about and enjoying the flowers. When he awoke, he wondered if he, the butterfly, was actually dreaming of being a man.
  
  Simply put, it’s nothing more than a dream, an illusion with a strong sense of reality…
  
  ‘But it’s troublesome that I can’t wake up even though I understand that.’
  
  Spread out before my eyes are a child whose stomach has been torn open, an elderly person whose limbs have been ripped off, a couple whose bodies have been severed in half, their internal organs spilling out as they cling to each other. To the right, to the left, there’s nothing but corpses, corpses, corpses scattered everywhere.
  
  I’ll admit it plainly. The gruesome scene of the city of Leipzig that I saw yesterday is stuck in my mind, and despite my outward calmness, my spirit is worn down.
  
  Perhaps I even wanted someone to vent my anger on. The smaller Aberrations, which were mostly driven out by the Imperial soldiers and I never actually encountered, suddenly appear in my mindscape.
  
  As if to add insult to injury, the two-headed magical beast and the owl-headed bear I saw many corpses of in the city have been revived and are attacking me, drooling.
  
  ‘Hah, how ridiculous.’
  
  Scoffing at myself, I take a step forward, resting my left hand on the iron sheath. I draw the Cursed Forged Blade “Shiranui” in a Saya Bashiri, deeply slashing through the flank of the magical beast that tries to bite my throat.
  
  With that motion, I deflect its aim and let it pass by my left side. Ignoring the other one, I barely dodge the powerful arm swung down by the bear as it collapses, cutting it diagonally. With a lightning-fast reverse blade, I also sever its thick neck.
  
  Taking advantage of the opening in the sword fight, a ferocious killing intent approaches from behind. I dodge with a circular motion while dropping the blade, slicing through the torso of the one I had ignored earlier, bone and all.
  
  I take a breath and wipe the blood off my weapon. Feeling a growing emptiness at the reality that no one can be saved even if I fight bravely, I feel a pleasant sensation of a warm hand on my cheek, and my consciousness rapidly rises.
  
  “You seem to be having a nightmare. Can I wake you up?”
  
  Prompted by the small voice, I open my eyelids to see a cloth ceiling and the familiar face of Revia, sitting beside me and peering down at me.
  
  A sense of relief washes over me, dispelling the unpleasantness of waking up. The stark reality that if I make a wrong judgment in battle, we will both die, mixes with this relief. Almost unconsciously, I wrap my right hand around the back of her head and pull her closer.
  
  I had already been sorting out my feelings to respond to her straightforward affection, so I had already made up my mind to live together with her. For a moment, I ravenously kiss her beautiful cherry-colored lips.
  “Nn… Claaaude?”
  
  Even the self-paced, red-haired mage girl is taken aback, but she soon gently opens her cherry lips and accepts me.
  
  When Revia, who had been holding her breath for a while, breaks away, I try to raise my supine body, but she embraces me midway and pushes me back down.
  
  “D-does this mean… it’s okay?”
  
  She murmurs, slightly excited, and starts to take off my undershirt… but I take the initiative, grab her slender shoulders, roll over, switch our positions, and pin her down.
  
  “I’m going to take you. You don’t mind, do you?”
  “Ah, I’m not much, but if you’d like…”
  
  I express my gratitude to her for responding in her unique way and reach for the blouse of her military uniform, tailored for female mages.
  
  I unbutton the brass buttons from the top, revealing her seductive bra with embroidery and the skin beneath, tied with strings between her breasts. Just as I start to knead her soft mounds without hesitation… I sense a familiar presence near the entrance of the large tent, and my hand stops.
  
  “Are you two awake? I’m coming in?”
  
  “Wait, Fine!!”
  “Whoa, why now!?”
  
  My sudden attempt to stop her fails. The fact that we frequently visit each other’s tents, assigned to pilots who are childhood friends, backfires, and the Knight Commander’s adopted daughter freezes as she lifts the curtain.
  
  She stares at us with suspicion for a few seconds, then seems to understand the situation. As if nothing had happened, she gently closes the blackout curtain that serves as a door. However, it seems she had something to tell us, as she speaks in her usual calm voice.
  
  “It’s about time for breakfast. Fine and the soldiers in charge will be troubled if you don’t eat soon, so I came to check… I’ll set aside your portions. Don’t mind us, please take your time.”
  
  “Even if you say that…”
  “Hmm, maybe another time.”
  
  Following Revia, who has begun to quickly adjust her disheveled clothes, I put on my slightly worn-out white shirt and fix my appearance.
  
  I leave the black necktie lying at my feet and pick up the Cursed Forged Blade, hanging it on the sword belt at my waist. My red-haired partner, who has already finished getting ready, hands me my military jacket.
  
  I gratefully put it on, then we walk out of the tent to the winged Clawsolas, which we had laid down using another Clawsolas as a crane, and join the sparsely populated food distribution line.
  
  Due to the pragmatic customs of the Knight Kingdom and Xenos’s principle of not enforcing rank during meals, Fine, in an apron, serves us, the last ones this morning.
  
  “To cheer up Kotono, who’s been feeling down, I made ‘Nikujaga,’ a dish Yamato people crave, using beef procured in the city. There’s only bits of boiled potatoes left, though.”
  
  “W-what…?”
  “Fufu, learn your lesson and don’t oversleep next time.”
  
  I’m speechless in front of the nostalgic local dish, and she adds insult to injury. However, the wooden bowl she hands me does contain beef and carrots.
  
  Feeling grateful for her consideration, I enjoy the “wheat bread” and “Nikujaga,” which surprisingly go well together. As I head towards the maintenance crew to check on my Clawsolas, which was moderately damaged in the battle the day before yesterday, the twin elves pop their heads out of the cockpit of the Clawsolas lying on its back in the devastated farmland.