White, Transparent, and Soft (2)
The instructor stared at me for a long while, then furrowed his brow deeply.
“Name!”
“Private Second Class Chloe Winterland. Assigned to the 7th Replacement Training Center.”
“Why aren’t you wearing your helmet!”
“The helmet I was issued doesn’t fit my head size, so it obstructs my vision. I’ve secured it safely inside my backpack.”
Ah, this seems like things are getting tangled.
“A soldier does not make judgments.”
“…I’m sorry.”
I immediately did what I needed to do.
That was to take the helmet out of my backpack and put it on my head.
It was already too late….
But I had to do it now. What else could I do?
“Stop.”
“Yes.”
“Don’t put on the helmet.”
“Yes. Understood.”
Even the instructor could see that wearing the helmet was impractical for me.
I was lucky to get away with it this time, but if it had been another instructor, it wouldn’t have gone so smoothly.
I stood up again and faced forward.
“I’m going to inspect.”
The instructor immediately bent down and began unpacking my backpack.
A military coat that seemed much taller than me, a long cloth strap, gas mask, entrenching tool, canteen, a pot that doubled as a mess kit, hardtack, a bar of solid soap and a lice comb, a towel, blanket and tent cloth….
There were a few items whose purpose I couldn’t discern.
The long cloth strap and blue pebbles stood out the most.
“…Hmm?”
After emptying all the supplies, the instructor made a strange sound while searching the pockets on the outside of the bag.
I felt a slight unease.
What emerged from the pocket was a small rectangular paper box in his hand.
…It was cigarettes.
The instructor straightened his posture and stood up.
The height difference was significant.
I kept staring straight ahead, my gaze stopping around the instructor’s stomach.
He looked down at me from above.
“Explain.”
“…I don’t know either.”
“It came out of your bag.”
He shook the cigarettes right in front of my nose.
“This backpack is something you received directly from the distribution center. And you’re saying you don’t know about an item that came out of your backpack?”
“…I don’t. After receiving the backpack, I put the helmet in and never opened it again. I didn’t inspect the contents.”
I wanted to look around.
Since we had marched in two columns, someone probably slipped the cigarettes into my backpack from the side or behind….
‘Did they think the inspection would be sloppy because I’m young?’
It was frustrating.
“This little bastard….”
“…….”
“Private possession of personal items and concealment of luxury goods is strictly prohibited. Are you aware?”
“I am aware. But that is not my property.”
“Then?”
“I grew up in a poor orphanage in the north, in an environment where I couldn’t consume luxury goods.”
The instructor shouted.
“I said explanation, not excuses! Then whose property is it!”
“Presumably, it was either a mistake by the distribution center soldier, or someone used my backpack as temporary storage to avoid inspection.”
He fiddled with the cigarette pack while staring at me intently.
I didn’t raise my head, but I could feel his gaze.
Then the cigarette pack slipped into his pocket.
And immediately, pain followed.
Thud!
His military boot sliced through the air.
“Guh….”
A strong impact to the abdomen, the hard studs of the boot….
Bile rose in my mouth.
I swallowed it and rolled on the ground.
Yes. That’s better.
“Stand up straight.”
“…Yes.”
If I showed pain and whined, the kicks would only increase.
Mud was smeared messily on my hair and uniform, but I stood up anyway.
My stomach hurt like it was being torn apart, but I maintained a blank expression.
This was right.
This was the correct answer.
‘Ah… Still, if possible, I’d like to see the expressions of the people around me looking at me.’
I was used to it anyway.
Bullying, getting hit — I was used to it all.
As long as I could get out of that orphanage, as long as I didn’t have to become a noble’s concubine, nothing else mattered.
Then, a kick flew to the shin of the guy standing behind me in line.
“Ugh!”
With the impact sound, his body collapsed.
Next was the large recruit standing right next to me.
The instructor moved behind the line and drove his boot into the recruit’s solar plexus.
“Guh….”
He couldn’t even scream and curled up on the muddy ground.
They were guys who couldn’t live up to their size.
“What is the reason you were just hit?”
No one answered.
I glanced around and opened my mouth.
“Negligence in management.”
“Hmm?”
“I failed to notice that something else had entered my backpack. It’s my responsibility.”
“And the reason those guys were hit?”
“That is also negligence in management.”
The instructor maintained a blank expression and stepped out of the line again.
Whether my answer was correct or not didn’t really matter.
Because that’s what the military organization was.
They just needed someone to attach a reason to their own baseless anger.
Anyway, my stomach was still throbbing.
This frail girl’s body had such thin and transparent skin that even a slight impact would leave a bruise quickly — a strange constitution.
The bruise from this time would probably last quite a while.
‘Should I pretend it was an accident later and show it to the guys around me?’
Ah, if my stomach had been completely ruined, maybe I wouldn’t have to become a noble’s concubine or a soldier, and could live peacefully?
I resented my past self for not thinking of this earlier.
There must have been various permanent contraception methods.
Like puncturing it with a needle, or finding an unlicensed back-alley doctor — things like that.
It would have been difficult to avoid the director’s eyes, but wasn’t it worth it?
‘The gazes of those around me looking at an infertile me might have been quite enjoyable too.’
It was just a pointless thought now.
The instructor suddenly spoke to me.
“Recruit.”
“Yes.”
“Do you know what these straps and pebbles are for?”
“I’m sorry. I don’t know.”
I unconsciously tensed my stomach, thinking another kick might come.
Fortunately, no kick came.
The instructor pointed to the blue pebbles with his hand.
“These pebbles are mana batteries. They’re for putting into lanterns or firewood to burn. Remember that well.”
“Yes. Understood.”
“And these long straps are gaiters. To prevent trench foot.”
Trench foot?
“Trench foot occurs when you wear shoes for long periods in cold and damp environments. In short, it’s frostbite. Frostbite that occurs even when it’s not cold.”
I think I’ve heard of it before.
“Understood.”
“Wrap them tightly around your calves to support your ankles and promote blood circulation. I’ll teach you starting tomorrow, so familiarize yourself in advance. Extra socks, ointment, and oil will be issued when you go to the front lines.”
“Yes. Understood.”
The satisfied instructor turned toward the other recruits.
‘Now I can finally relax.’
I packed the supplies he had unpacked back into my backpack neatly and slung it on again.
Tap.
Someone tapped my shoulder from behind with a finger.
My face naturally frowned in displeasure.
When I turned around, I saw the recruit who had been hit by the instructor along with me earlier.
He was a boy slightly taller than me, and looked about the same age.
Men without mana aptitude were sometimes sold from orphanages, so he was probably around 15 to 17 years old.
He whispered in a small voice.
“Sorry.”
“…?”
“I put those cigarettes in.”
“Why?”
“Do you always talk like that….”
“No. It’s because this is the military. Normally, I speak normally.”
The other person was also a Private Second Class like me, a boy soldier who had just entered the training center.
There was no need to be particularly cautious.
Hoo.
I let out a deep sigh.
The mask slipped a little.
“Answer my question instead.”
“Huh?”
“Why did you put the cigarettes in?”
“What? You could’ve talked normally, couldn’t you?”
“Why did you put them in?”
The boy waited until the instructor nearby disappeared before answering my question.
His voice was still small.
“The instructor looked like he would inspect your backpack carelessly.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re pretty and cute. You’re a girl!”
“…….”
“Women can enlist at 17, men at 15, right? But no matter how I looked at you, you didn’t seem 17.”
…In other words, he assumed I was a 15-year-old girl who had luckily gotten enlistment permission due to having mana aptitude, and slipped the cigarettes in.
He was someone whose head seemed to work and not work at the same time.
‘By the way, people with and without mana aptitude training in the same place.’
It was a bit unexpected.
Well, they would separate us once we entered the training center, but marching together until then?
Then why did they bother separating us at the distribution center?
Sigh.
I let out a deep sigh.
Only then did I have the leisure to look around.
I slowly observed the boy who had spoken to me.
Freckles, fair skin, lips with a strangely smiling expression, strange hair mixed with blonde and black.
Overall, he had the typical image of a naive teenage boy.
Not really my type. His expression didn’t seem that good either.
‘Wait, a teenage boy thinking of hiding cigarettes?’
Thinking about it made me annoyed.
Because of this guy, I got hit for no reason, right?
Well, getting angry wouldn’t solve anything, and the bruise on my stomach wouldn’t disappear.
The bruise on my stomach could be used.
I felt slightly grateful.
Regaining my composure, I looked forward again.
A voice came from behind again.
“What? Ignoring me?”
“…….”
“Hey, we might become comrades from now on, right?”
“…….”
“Ah, seriously… Let’s just get along well, us parentless kids. Okay?”
We’d just met, and he was already making parentless jokes so naturally. I hoped I wouldn’t have to see this guy again.
Not my type either.
Should I bury that guy in the ground too?
After quite some time, the instructors all gathered at the main gate.
The gate slowly opened.
At the time, I had expected to go through the normal process at the training center.
The original three-month course had been reduced to two months as the war progressed, and later to one month.
Right before the armistice, there were many cases where people were sent to the front lines after just two weeks.
This point wasn’t right before the armistice, but I ended up completing the training center course in two weeks.
Because one exception occurred.