Compromise - 1
"Captain!"
In that instant, my mind froze. My feet halted, refusing to budge. Logically speaking, that salute couldn't possibly have been meant for me. I was just a civilian now, strolling down the street with Yukiko and Mikoto flanking me. So why did that shout feel directed straight at me?
Thinking it over, it hit me—it was the voice. Her peculiar accent lingered miraculously in some forgotten corner of my memory.
"Damn, you nearly scared the soul out of me..." I finally let out a sigh of relief.
Turning around, I saw two familiar faces in military uniforms standing side by side, saluting cutely.
"Captain, who are you trying to send back to the army for a second tour? You wanna get killed?"
"The captain was just happy to see you!"
Just seeing those green digital camouflage uniforms made my stomach churn on its own, but the women wearing them were so familiar and welcome. They were my old subordinates.
/////
We ducked into a nearby café and sat face-to-face with my old subordinates. Mikoto kept stealing curious glances at them.
"Thanks for the coffee. And hey, I'm not a sergeant anymore. After the war, I got my commission pinned—I'm a captain now, captain!"
"Wait, is it even okay to promote that fast as an officer? You enlisted as a grunt, didn't you?"
"You enlisted as a grunt and snagged an officer spot too, Captain. And you were already a staff sergeant when we served under you!"
During the war, ranks shifted constantly amid the chaos, and I had bigger things to worry about. I'd just called her "Sergeant" out of habit, but apparently, a lot had built up.
"I thought that was just a temporary rank!"
"You have no idea how much headache it caused me—other sergeants trying to one-up me because of it. It was temporary back then, but with no one else to pin it on, I naturally got promoted."
Mikoto quietly giggled at the banter between me—this captain now—and her.
"So... are you two... girlfriends?"
"W-Well... these two are... slaves."
Saying "I keep women as slaves" in front of women I'd known since before the war wasn't easy.
"Pleased to meet you. I'm Shinohara Yukiko."
"Um, I'm Misora Mikoto! Nice to meet you!"
The two soldiers shook their hands with stunned expressions. The way they looked at me didn't sit right.
The captain averted her gaze slightly. "You... do it... with them too, right?"
I couldn't answer right away.
"The master becomes quite intense at night."
Yukiko, sipping her coffee leisurely, answered for me. Owning slaves wasn't a crime. But considering my old ways, it felt like a twinge of guilt—like I'd done something shady. And having old subordinates witness it made it worse.
"Whoa, Captain, for real?"
"Yes..."
But the captain's face showed relief more than disgust.
"Phew, what a relief! No wonder you've gotten all soft and round lately—you found these amazing women!"
"Truly, he's too good for the likes of us."
Contrary to my worries, the captain seemed genuinely happy for me. It was an unexpected reaction.
"Congrats, Captain! Mind if we snap a photo with all three of you?"
"I'm fine with it... but why?"
"To drop the hammer of justice on the doubters who questioned your sexuality! The bet was from years ago, no deadline, so it's still on!"
I mulled that over, then felt a bizarre mix of hollow laughter and rising anger. I quickly pulled Yukiko under one arm and Mikoto under the other, striking a pose. Click. The captain snapped the shot.
/////
With people I hadn't seen in ages, there was plenty to catch up on. I asked about folks still in the service; they quizzed me about Yukiko and Mikoto.
"The master never boasts of his merits, so as his servant, I know far too little."
Yukiko's words commanded everyone's attention. I tensed up especially.
"If it wouldn't be rude, could you tell us what the master was like on the battlefield?"
"Whoa, this girl's got presence... Captain, how'd you land someone like her?"
"It just... happened."
Yukiko and Mikoto's eyes sparkled with interest at the soldiers, who glanced at me for approval.
"It's fine. No point hiding what can't be hidden..."
"Roger that! Permission granted—time to spill on our captain's army days!"
The captain lightly drummed the table—thud thud thump.
Was my story really that entertaining? A flicker of unease hit me.
"Our captain, y'know, the guy smiling all goofy now or nitpicking over nothing? Impossible to imagine back then. He was terrifying!"
Mikoto shrank back a bit. I waved her off frantically.
"Hey, starting with the hype already? We weren't at each other's throats like that."
"Look at her using formal speech now. Think she did that on active duty?"
"So what..."
"Picture it: the company commander in wartime, sweet-talking privates all polite-like. Screams total psycho, right?"
I couldn't hide my fluster at the sudden exposé.
"Back then, new subordinates popped up outta nowhere, it was awkward, and after seeing so many die, even giving orders felt off..."
"Don't play shy now! Brass chewed you out for not sounding commanding enough, and you snapped, 'What the fuck business is it of yours how I talk?' Scared the shit outta everyone!"
"I... lacked peace of mind then."
"And now you're all chill, hitting me with formal talk? Say 'Soyoung~' instead. Soyoung."
I'd half-forgotten her real name—Lee Soyoung—but it clicked instantly. Her cheeky grin brought back fond memories, a small warmth.
"You always respected us grunts as individuals, never called us by name, teeth gritted. Now you're a civilian, just a guy I knew—woman to man. That hard to say my name once?"
Unlike my indecisive ass, she was all action. Unable to withstand her leaning in, I mumbled her name softly.
"Soyoung...?"
She beamed, satisfied, and sat back.
"Sounds way better than 'Sergeant.' We had four in the unit—every time you called 'Sergeant,' three-quarters chance it wasn't me. Heartbreaking."
"Sorry about that..."
"Even with top brass orders, you'd react like that—us rookies too scared to complain. I was salty as hell!"
"All my fault..."
Even now, but especially then, I obsessively hated changing. Everything "military" held only bad memories, so I rejected it all.
"Anyway, our captain's unit? No big merits. Supply company—if we dished out chow right, that was merit enough."
I nodded at the captain's words. Unlike others fast-tracked to combat command just for being male, I had no talent or love for fighting. But idling a precious male vet late-war made no sense, so they stuck me with logistics.
We saw small skirmishes, but never anything major outsiders would know.
"Y'know that ghost story? The one where he caught a ghost..."
The quiet staff sergeant chimed in.
"Oh yeah! That insane sword nut in Japan who wiped a platoon on a night raid. Uh, saying this in front of Japanese folks..."
The captain caught herself mid-sentence, realizing Yukiko and Mikoto were there.
"It's fine. I figured this story was coming."
Come to think of it, Yukiko asked about my merits, but Japan lost. It was like asking how her country fell. Left a bitter taste.
"I-I'm okay too!"
With both their okay, the captain continued.
"So anyway, late war—a swordsman raided with a blade, annihilated a platoon."
"That? Circumstances were weird, but no big deal in the end. Talked it out..."
But Yukiko and Mikoto were hooked, ignoring my downplay.
"Such a freak exists? No guns in your unit? Or sabotage to disable them?"
Yukiko sought logical explanations for the unbelievable.
"Disabled... yeah. Not the swordsman's doing, though. Platoon leader—the male one—raped and beat his troops; they scattered hunting women to offer him. Found out later: total shitshow."
But the truth was even more absurd than Yukiko could grasp.
"From the same unit as that man?"
Yukiko was genuinely shocked. Having just seen men fight, it defied belief.