Understanding

"Boring. Are we just going to keep waiting around here?"

Private Jose West tossed some firewood onto the flames, sounding a little disgruntled.

He took a full bowl of porridge and stirred it vigorously with his spoon.

"What's wrong with waiting around? Are you in such a hurry to fight the orcs to the death?"

The Squad Leader beside him found it somewhat amusing.

Jose explained, "I mean, the sooner we finish fighting, the sooner we can go back. Sleeping in tents every day is nowhere near as comfortable as staying in a proper barracks."

The Squad Leader put on a stern face and warned him, "Finish early? Do you really think so little of the orcs? They aren't like those laborers who had just put down their hoes. Underestimating them will cost you. I figure the higher-ups must want to make thorough preparations before attacking."

"They're not as terrifying as the legends say!" Jose's eyebrows jumped. "It only takes one bullet..."

Recalling the battle from a few days ago, he found that terrifying yet exhilarating sensation impossible to forget.

Especially when those tall brutes wielding swords and blades charged right up to him, their savage, terrifying faces looming before his eyes. Jose had been so tense and frightened that he nearly wet himself, yet amid that urge to urinate, there had somehow been a maddening thrill as well. It was damn strange.

"Attention! Salute!"

The Squad Leader suddenly stood and shouted.

Jose hurriedly rose to his feet, as did everyone else.

Only then did they notice a tall, blonde woman walking toward them, followed by a group of people.

They were all dressed in well-tailored, lavish clothing. Their coats were embroidered with intricate, exquisite patterns, resembling the heraldic emblems of those ancient noble families in the south.

The Northwest