Volume Five: Return from the Other Shore - Homecoming (I)

"What kind of sparring is this?!"

Faced with the half-frantic questioning of Molyna, the commander of the 10th Division, neither of them glanced at her.

Do you guys even know what 'discretions' mean?! You're clearly friends, aren't you?

"Oh? No, that's not it."

"Even if it's not true, you can't do it like this! You too, you don't care about your own bodies at all when you attack! Even if you all have self-healing methods, it's still not okay! Even if your body isn't tired, your will will get tired! If you don't control yourself and exceed your limit, it'll be terrible! Auntie has met so many idiots like this before, each one of them relying on their youth and strength to do whatever they want! And what's the result? Now the grass on their graves is this tall! What's even more hateful is how can you use those ruthless moves on your important comrades? Anyone who didn't know better would think that you all attacked with the intention of killing the other party!"

"Of course we're serious!"

"Otherwise, it wouldn't be meaningful, would it?"

"You kids these days—sigh! This child wants this, that child wants that, why do you all mistake bloodlust for personality? Do you think it's cool to be ruthless to your companions? Of course not! What's important is unity, is friendship! Only by increasing mutual understanding and eliminating past unpleasantness can we unite and cooperate in the face of a common enemy! This is absolutely necessary and extremely important! Therefore—"

"It's so noisy, so annoying."

"Could you please be quiet, ma'am?"

"Eek!!!"

Molyna was furious, her face turning pale, but the two lying sprawled on the ground didn't seem to care. Xiao Wu's injuries were healing at a visible speed, but noticeably slower than usual; Haoyue was surrounded by more than a dozen healing runes, like a cocoon of light enveloping her, and her broken leg was slowly growing back.

The two looked at each other in silence.

They've been spending their days like this for the past few days.

Early in the morning → Haoyue efficiently processed Loxue's documents, while Xiao Wu trained the revolutionary soldiers with astonishing rigor → The two met in an area of Sadington's ruins that had already been searched → They chatted briefly, often starting with someone's rude remarks → The fight began → They fought hard → They fought and fought and fought → Blood and flesh flew everywhere → It was noon, and they were hungry → They each used their methods to recover, and incidentally collected the limbs dropped during their previous sparring, roasted them, and ate them → They wiped their mouths and continued fighting → They fought to the death → They bickered while fighting → Until it was late and both of them were lying on the ground unable to move → They returned to the barracks for dinner → While taking a bath, Haoyue started mocking the issue of breast size → In the bathroom The fight begins → They fight and fight and fight and fight and fight and fight and fight and fight and fight and fight and fight and fight until the newly built temporary bathroom is destroyed again → Under the angry but resentful gazes of all the soldiers, they pull each other's hair or ears and act affectionately (just kidding) and go back to their rooms to sleep → Before going to sleep, they fight again over trivial matters → They stop fighting only when the pillows and blankets are almost torn to shreds → They obediently sleep under the same blanket → In the middle of the night Xiao Wu kicks off the blanket and wakes Haoyue, or Haoyue's masturbation is too loud and wakes Xiao Wu → Without saying a word, they slap each other across the face → They fight and fight and fight and fight and fight and fight and fight and fight and fight and fight and fight and fight and fight and fight and fight and fight and fight and fight and fight and fight and fight and fight and fight, they go back to sleep and fight and fight and fight and fight and fight and fight and fight and fight and fight and fight and fight and fight, and wake everyone up and fight and fight and fight and fight and fight and fight and fight and fight, and then go back to sleep and fight and fight in the morning → In the morning, Haoyue wakes up first and goes to wash up and slaps Xiao Wu / Xiao Wu up first and goes to wash up and kicks Haoyue awake and fights and fights and fights and fights and fights and fights → Another lewd day begins~

"Start my ass! It's not like I'm some big friend of this guy!" Xiao Wu suddenly yelled in a direction where no one was around.

"Who are you complaining about?" Haoyue rolled her eyes.

"I don't know, it suddenly feels like some idiot made a long, tedious, and meaningless explanation..."

"I have a feeling you've offended someone you shouldn't have?"

Who did you offend?

"The invisible hand that controls our destiny."

"I'm not buying that."

"Maybe it's because you always speak without thinking that you always end up losing so badly in battle?"

"You're clearly in a worse situation."

"As long as it's for Xiao Ye, even being tortured is a pleasure."

"Masochist."

"Good women these days are both assertive and submissive."

"I'm sorry, I can't do it."

"So your popularity will never surpass mine."

"... ah?"

"Characters who are always cold and aloof are no longer popular."

Even if you say that...

"Actually, it's quite simple to salvage the situation. Do you know what 'gap moe' means? Xiao Ye told me about it."

What do you mean?

"Hmm... It's like, a character who's usually very aloof might do something cute at a special moment that's inconsistent with their usual image... or something like that?"

"Why is it in the question form...?"

"For example, it's like a girl who's an upright and incorruptible disciplinary committee member, always saying things like, 'School is a place for learning, don't corrupt the rules!'"

"What an annoying and boring person."

"--However, this very good student, this obedient girl, would run to the red-light district after school, put on heavy makeup, and, arm in arm with a disgusting, fat, greasy-faced old man, say in a coquettish voice, 'Uncle, do you need any services? I'm very skilled~ If you're good enough, maybe they won't even charge you~'--and things like that."

"... Are you sure this is cute? She's a total slut hiding her true colors."

"For example, the eldest sister who always says, 'You're so old, why do you still like these childish things?' actually has her house full of fluffy teddy bears, and as soon as she gets home, she hugs her toys and rolls around on the bed—things like that."

"He's just like a clown."

"You should also explore your own cute side! You'd be perfect for the contrast between your personality and your cuteness!"

"Not interested... and what's it to you?"

"Fun."

"You're deliberately picking a fight!"

"Anyway, think about it carefully, you delinquent girl! Do you have any cute little habits?"

"I think the 'cute' you're talking about is hard to define..."

For example, do you like plush toys? Or do you collect dolls?

"Who would spend their time on that?"

"Do you have any cute verbal tic?"

Have you ever seen me add 'meow' or anything like that to the end of a sentence...?

Have you ever picked up an abandoned kitten on a rainy day?

Small animals run away when they see me.

Do you have a collection of cute clothes? The kind with lots of frills, lace, and bows?

"I like close-fitting clothes that allow for easy movement, you know that, right?"

"Using cute nicknames for specific people? Like what Xiao Ye said... like 'Onii-chan' or something?"

Does calling you "Qipao Woman" count?

"Is he gentle to everyone in private?"

No.

"You like reading romance novels?"

"I don't like reading."

"Is her other identity a chivalrous magical girl or a school idol?"

"I've only ever worked Scavengers."

"Actually, you're a foodie?"

You can eat more than I can.

Are you afraid of caterpillars, cockroaches, rats, or the like?

Why be afraid of something that can be crushed with one stomp...?

"Is he/she actually a brother-complex, sister-complex, or younger brother-complex?"

I am an only child.

"Does she have a mother complex?"

I want to slap my mom.

"Actually, she's a homebody?"

"No, that's not true."

"Very persistent in love?"

"I have zero romantic history."

"Are you actually a fujoshi (female fan of BL)?"

I'm not interested in men.

"Yuri woman?"

"I think I'm the only straight girl among us."

"Bad memory? Or maybe she's just directionally challenged? A forgetful girl?"

"My mind is still pretty sharp."

"..." "..."

"Don't you have even the slightest bit of endearing quality about you?"

"... Probably not."

"..." "..."

"Bad girl."

"Um?"

"You're hopeless."

"... Trying to cause trouble?"

"So what if you looked for it?"

"Court death!"

After lying on the rubble for so long, the two of them had already recovered to about 70% of their previous state.

He slowly stood up, and then--

"Take this!"

Come on, come on~

--At the same time, they attacked the enemy.

The two got along well today (laughs). (Author's note: Silly Yue-chan, all Mai-sama needs to do is be handsome!)

With a screech, the old brakes emitted a piercing wail, kicking up dust that covered the car windows. I wrapped a towel from my bag around my face as a makeshift mask to keep the dust out.

We've finally arrived.

I opened the car door and looked at the scenery outside.

In a daze, I felt as if I had arrived in a desolate village in Northwest China.

"Tsk tsk..."

The land was a grayish-yellow color, overgrown with weeds that resembled camel thorns, and faintly visible were the jagged edges of piled stones. The old houses were long gone, only a few remaining intact; most had collapsed or even weathered away. What should have been wheat fields were now cracked, and where livestock pens should have been, not even the bones of the animals remained. Two hundred years was enough to turn this once vibrant, ordinary village into a desolate, forgotten wasteland.

"My Husband, my lord?"

"... This is it, this is the place."

I took small, careful steps toward the deserted village, as if afraid of disturbing something.

Entering the village along a barely visible stone path, though only a few steps away, felt like entering another world. The closer I got, the stronger that feeling of familiarity mixed with strangeness became.

New memories have surfaced, like opening a photo album filled with pictures. Scene after scene, moment after moment, the thriving landscape of two hundred years ago has now fallen into such a state, making one sigh with regret.

I squinted slightly, letting the images from my memories overlap with the reality before me. I could almost see farmers humming songs as they pulled carts along the village dirt roads, country women drawing water from the well to wash, children chasing and playing with straw like swords, and young and strong laborers working in the wheat fields. It was definitely not a beautiful scene; its textbook-like lack of distinctive features was its greatest characteristic, but it was precisely this that brought me peace of mind.

I paced among them, passing one ruin after another, my heart gradually filled with a certain emotion. This emotion was indescribable; it wasn't sadness, it wasn't sentimentality, it wasn't melancholy, there was nothing to worry about, but it gave me a sense of trepidation, as if walking on thin ice.

"... arrive."

Finally, I stopped in front of a very inconspicuous little house.

The supplies looked no different from the other buildings, but the roof and side walls where the chimney was located were broken, exposing the internal structure of the house—of course, all the items inside had vanished over time.

We've finally arrived.

The place where it all began.

The place where someone was born.

The place where someone grew up.