Chapter 115: Departure

I lost track of time, standing in the balcony and staring blankly at the sky after my talk with Lilith. Before I knew it, the skies had darkened and the sun was setting, turning the once-blue sky into a fiery orange.

"Damn…best to head back as soon as possible."

This formal ceremony thing didn't sit well with me, and I couldn't wait to get out of this formal number one uniform. Cringing against the touch of the starched material, I proceeded back toward the main hall, deciding to resume eating.

Fortunately, it seemed that there was still an abundance of food, so I grabbed as much as I could and stuffed myself. I had my men join me, and allowed them to indulge themselves in the rich food. After living off rations for a while, my soldiers were only too grateful to dig into the feast. Elia was absent, probably dealing with politics and stuff, and Lilith was talking to Claire McAlterize. It seemed like they were having a serious discussion.

Best not to disturb them.

"This is really good, boss!"

Jurgen mumbled as he chewed on a chicken thigh. Beside him, Gunnery nodded.

"Delicious!"

"And congrats is in order, Colonel!" Gio added, holding up a plate. Daniel nodded, having gathered the tank crews around to the buffet tables. Unlike the high-ranking nobles, my soldiers didn't have connections or dance partners, so we grouped together and spent our time eating and talking all sorts of nonsense.

"I can't believe we defended Moria!"

"Yeah…for a moment there, I thought we were in danger."

"Hah! With the Colonel around, we'll never lose! Not even to Evelyn's Chosen!"

"Hoo-rah!"

At Marko's shout, the vampire infantrymen let out a cheer. The veteran sergeant seized a chalice of wine from a waiter and downed it.

"To a job well done!"

"Hoo-rah!"

While it normally would have been pretty awkward to have my men all cheering and shouting boisterously, the main hall was packed full of people. Our shouts were drowned out by the music, the noise and the bustle of nobles, soldiers and royalty. In fact, there was a legion of dwarves having a drinking game near the center of the main hall, their sombreros sliding off as they chugged down huge mugs of beer.

Good thing the main hall was a non-smoking area or they would be filling the space with cigar smoke.

"You Helfortians and vampires fight well," Rhodes admitted as he swaddled over, along with his elite Terminator Company. It was a fresh change to see them out of their bulky Tactical Dreadnaught Armor, but even their unarmored forms seemed massive in comparison to us. Of course, they were shorter than us, but they were a lot broader.

"You Morian dwarves fight like berserkers!" Marko laughed and raised his chalice to clink against their mugs. "It was a great honor to fight alongside you all!"

"You weren't there, though," Daniel pointed out. He wasn't mistaken. Marko and the vampires were stationed at the outpost, at my orders, to defend against attacks coming from that direction. A good thing, too, for there were plenty of stragglers.

"Nonetheless, you all had vital roles. Even the lowliest sentry guard contributed so much to the war effort."

"Yes. That's why I want to thank my men and show appreciation for what they have done for me." I nodded and gestured toward my soldiers, who let loose another cheer. "I would love to give them a long vacation. They've earned it."

"As we all," Rhodes agreed affably as he slapped my shoulder so hard my knees buckled. "Hedas knows we want a break, but until we defeat the so-called Emperor of Humanity, I don't think we'll be able to rest easy."

"Yeah…we've to stay on high alert and watch out for him."

Knowing Kobayashi, there was no way he would stop at this.

After being humiliated like this, he would definitely return to take his revenge or something. He'll definitely not allow Moria or the demons to defy him. That's the number one thing he hates the most – people defying him.

I had experienced his hatred first-hand for not going along with whatever he wanted. The moment someone rebelled or defied him, he would do everything within his power to crush the enemy. I was sure he would do that against the demons. Perhaps not Moria, but Morten as a whole…after returning to the kingdom of Legnica to lick his wounds, he would regroup, rebuild and organize a plan of vengeance for this humiliation.

"Speaking of rewards, I was surprised you didn't ask for our princess's hand in marriage to strengthen the political alliance between Moria and Helsfort. You would be pretty much set for life too if you did that, you know?"

Rhodes laughed raucously as he struck me in the back. Marko snickered at that.

"Oh, you didn't know, Dwarf-san? Our Colonel here is engaged to our queen. The vampire queen of Haemorage."

"Ah…so you're already taken." Rhodes sounded disappointed. "What a pity. But I've to say, her highness Queen Scarlet is quite the catch too. She's almost on the same level as our first princess. I really admire you for staying loyal to her, though."

"Uh…well, I don't want to betray her trust, and I'm completely in love with her so there's no room in my heart for any other woman. I'm going to stay true and utterly devoted to her, and I will never take a concubine or mistress."

By this point I was just rambling stupidly, but it was partially the truth. I had no intention of ever indulging in a harem. This wasn't the genre for it, and I always found it incredibly stupid that manga or light novel protagonists were surrounded by a posse of beautiful girls clamoring and competing for his affections. It just wasn't realistic.

To be frank, it was actally quite disturbing and gross. In real life, if the person you liked was already in a relationship with someone else, or was indecisive, any normal girl would move on. Life was harsh and practical like that. There would be no childhood friend clinging onto her first love for over ten years. She would meet new people and fall for other guys. Similarly, if a girl saw that you were already surrounded by girls, chances are she would move on because it would be incredibly stupid to get into catfights. Furthermore, if the guy was indecisive and wishy-washy enough that he refused to commit to any single relationship, the girl would most likely be turned off instead of doing her best to attract his attention.

That was just ridiculous.

"Hello? Colonel Tanaka? You listening?"

"…huh? Ah, sorry. I was thinking about something."

Rhodes chuckled. "You have a weak tolerance to alcohol or something? Come on, young man. The party's only getting started. You still have lots to drink!"

"I'll pass." I held up my hands in surrender. "I need to stay sober, or my fiancée will kill me. I would rather stay on her good side."

"Ha ha…how romantic." Rhodes shook her head. "But you've got to keep your woman in check, whelp. If my wife nags at me for drinking too much, I'll put her right in her place."

"I'm a firm advocate of gender equality," I replied with a shrug. "And besides, Lilith-san is a queen. She outranks me, and I'll be the one put in my place if I ever get a bit delusonal about the power relations. Besides, I don't really care about all this. I have a huge respect for her. If there's something she doesn't want me to do, then she has a good reason for it."

"…right. Careful you don't turn into a henpecked husband who's led around by his wife like a dog!"

"Her highness would never do that to the Colonel!" Gunnery shouted. I shook my head and gestured for him to stay back.

"He's just bantering," I whispered. Gunnery stared at me blankly.

"…oh."

To be honest, I didn't care if Rhodes was serious or not. I had my own values and I was going to abide by them. At the same time, I wasn't going to force those values on other people. That was also my code of conduct. Just because I believed in something didn't mean everyone else had to believe in it as well.

I wasn't Kobayashi Kenji, after all. I would never impose my will on others.

The drinking party broke up and we dispersed for the night, or so I thought. I met up with Lilith to check on her, but her Haemorage garrison was posted in a different part of Moria.

"Don't worry," she assured me. "I'm sure we'll meet up again shortly. The Haemorage army will be returning to Haemorage tomorrow or the day after. But I'm going to set out and keep the enemy in check."

"That sounds reassuring." I considered her words for a while. "I don't know what my battalion will be doing. I guess I'll have to wait for Emperor Regis's orders. Knowing him, his Excellency probably promoted me to Colonel because he wants something from me."

"As much as I want to tell you not to be paranoid, I'm afraid you're right." Lilith sighed. "Don't underestimate that man. Yes, he's been good to you, but he has his own ulterior motives. You're just a chess piece…a pawn. Lord Regis might be a decent demon, but he's still the Demon Lord after all. It'll be dangerous to trust him too deeply."

"At least he hasn't backstabbed me or tried to kill me like my former classmates did," I muttered. That alone put him high up in my books.

"…not yet, anyway."

With that ominous warning, Lilith leaned in and gave me a kiss on my cheek before she took her leave. I watched her go, and then returned to my battalion. It appeared that my men were getting really drunk or really high.

Before I reached them, I suddenly turned around. Just as I suspected, Donorea was peering from behind a pillar, looking a little disappointed. When she caught sight of me, she blushed furiously, but mustered her courage to approach me.

"Colonel Tomoyuki!"

"Your highness." I bowed politely. Donorea giggled and waved my greeting away.

"Oh, there's no need for that."

"No need for what?"

"The formality." Donorea sighed. She turned to glance at the leaving Lilith. "So you're already engaged to her highness Queen Scarlet, huh?"

"Yeah. It sort of happened." Then realizing what Donorea might be driving at, I added, "And I'm entirely devoted to her."

"I can see that." Donorea twiddled her fingers wistfully. "I'm kind of jealous of her. I mean…well, never mind. It's nothing."

I was smart enough not to inquire further. Some matters were best left alone. And I wasn't insensitive to her feelings like some dense protagonist.

Fortunately, this was reality. Donorea will certainly move on and find someone else. That was how life worked. No normal girl would pine for a guy forever, not unless he had some sort of protagonist power that drove them to be obsessed with him for plot reasons. Life changed, people changed, and the objects of their desire changed too.

"Sorry."

"No, why are you apologizing?" Donorea frantically waved her hands. "Please…don't do that. You're making me feel bad."

"Ah, sorry…I mean…"

"It's fine." Donorea shook her head. "I'm just pleased to meet you like this. Make sure you take good care of her highness Queen Scarlet, all right?"

I nodded. "I'll do my best. I don't deserve her, but I will do my best to protect her."

"Oh, I'm sure you'll suit each other very well." Donorea smiled brightly, even as her eyes glistened a bit. "I've seen her fight. She was defending the gates of Verunhive. She's a powerful warrior…even more powerful and skilled than I am. You're a very lucky man. And…her highness is also a very fortunate woman."

"…"

I merely nodded again, not sure what I had to say to that. The atmosphere was becoming a little awkward.

"A…anyway! I'll go check on my brother. It'll be terrible if he drank too much again. It wouldn't do for a king to pass out in the middle of a party that he's hosting."

"Sure. I'm sure his majesty King Hedol is fine, but he'll be relying on you."

"He relies on me too much." Donorea laughed. "In this kingdom, the women hold political power. My brother is at a disadvantage because he refuses to marry."

"Oh?"

That caught my attention. I wasn't aware that King Hedol actively avoided marriage on his own volition. I had assumed that he had a queen, even though I hadn't actually seen her. Evidently I was mistaken.

As they said, never assume…

"Yes. He's waiting for me to get married first…uh, well, Brother dotes on me a lot. And he's worried. There's a lot of…men trying to take advantage of me because of my position and status. Brother has been so busy keeping them away that he neglected his own love life. I've been trying to tell him to stop and settle his affairs first, but he just wouldn't listen."

"So his majesty King Hedol is a siscon, huh?"

"?"

Donorea stared at me, puzzled.

"Siscon…? What's that?"

"No, nothing. It just means he's a really caring brother who loves his sister very much."

"Ah…yes, then my brother is a siscon indeed." Donorea giggled proudly. Uh oh. I realized I had just made a very terrible mistake there and then.

In future, siscon became a term used to describe doting and loving brothers, even if their love for their sisters was pure and normal and not creepy at all. And it all stemmed from me making up this stupid lie on this very day to escape an awkward situation. Instead of its original meaning, the term became widely used as a compliment.

But that would be another story, and it wasn't relevant right now.

I bade Donorea farewell, and then proceeded back to my battalion, who were drinking, bantering and laughing boisterously.

"Hey, sir! Come to join us?"

"Have a cup, sir!"

"You sure took your time, boss!"

Despite myself, I smiled. Shaking my head, I declined the mug of beer and merely watched as my men enjoyed themselves. It would be good to allow them this night to get drunk and wild, for the next day we would surely be posted elsewhere in the battlefield.

The war against Kobayashi and the human kingdoms were only just beginning, after all.

*

"Don't worry, we'll take care of your factory for you! Have a safe trip!"

Two days later, Belisarius and the team of engineers from the manufactorum had gathered to send me and my men off.

"It's not my factory," I reminded them. "It's yours…ours."

Belisarius guffawed at that. "Sure thing, boss."

"Well, thank you anyway." I raised my hand in a mock salute. "I'll be counting on you to mass-produce those Hellbade tanks and their variants. Keep me posted on the progress of the Elemental suits too. And I'm sure we'll be able to advace to Titan-class armor suits in the near future. Morian technology is always improving, after all."

"Hah! You can count on that!"

Belisarius clapped my arm in a friendly gesture. After I returned the appreciation, I turned to the other two people who had arrived to send me and my battalion off.

"Your majesty King Hedol, and your hightness Princess Donora. Thank you for coming to see me off."

"No, it's nothing. We're still grateful to you for saving Moria."

"Nah, it's not just me." I gestured to my battalion. We were all packed in our Malthas tanks and Cerberus APCs, getting ready to depart at a moment's notice. "All of us contributed to the war effort. My battalion. His Excellency Emperor Regis and his armies. Lilith-san and her vampire soldiers. The whole Demon Alliance."

"Yeah, yeah." Hedol cut in to have a word. "I've been going around thanking each and every one of them personally. Let your soldiers know I'm grateful to them too, and that they're always welcome to Moria. Make sure you come back and visit sometime."

"I hope so." I glanced at Belisarius, who grinned back. "I've plenty of stuff here that I need to do."

"So I've heard." Hedol shook his head wryly. "I wish you luck on the frontlines. As much as Moria would love to assist, we probably won't be able to move out much. But we'll definitely supply the Demonic Alliance with war materiel, ammunition, vehicles, armor and tanks. The blueprints you've provided might change the war entirely."

"I hope so. My only interest is whether it'll save more lives."

"Oh, I'm sure it will."

"Thank you." I bowed to the royal siblings. "Then, I'll take my leave now. I've a new assignment."

Clambering into the new Hellblade tank, The Savior of Moria, I dropped into the commader's seat. As I did so, the visual display flickered on and Captain Elia Kratz's pretty face appeared on the screen. She saluted the moment she saw me online.

"Colonel Tomoyuki!"

"Hey, Elia. What's up?"

"I've received word from his Excellency Emperor Regis," Elia explained smartly. "He sent me a message. Cobalt level. It's regarding our next assignment."

"Already?!"

Gio Vanni's image popped up in the display screen next to Elia's. Further down, in the gunner's seat, Geoffrey Gunnery let out a loud groan.

"Don't we get a vacation first?"

"Regarding that….this is what his Excellency said. Rest is for fools. And we are to depart as we are, immediately. Sir!"

"Yeah, I get that."

With the war against the humans still raging on, we couldn't afford to take a vacation. Not when the enemy was still raging at our doorstep and continuing to invade vast swathes of demon territory. We had to fight just to survive.

"So where's our next assignment?"

"To the sea, sir."

"I see. We're going to the sea to see the sea?"

"Not exactly, sir." I rolled my eyes when I saw that my joke was entirely lost on Elia. "We're heading to the Trisseidon Sea, to be precise. Our destination is the Marrina Isles! Sir!"

"Marrina…Isles?! Did you just say Merian Isles?!"

Gio's reaction was comical, to say the least. I glanced at him, only to see that he had turned so pale he was literally a ghost.

"What's the matter, Gio?"

"You don't know, boss?" Jurgen called out from the front. I glared at him.

"If I did, I wouldn't be asking, would I?"

"Right…you're a marebito, after all."

"What the heck is a marebito?!" I shouted. Gunnery chuckled.

"A person from another world. The sarge's been reading too much manga. There's one series he's obsessed in at the moment because it involves the protagonist sucking ambrosia from the heroines' breasts…"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Jurgen shouted frantically, cutting his gunner off. "That's not the point! The point is that Marrina Isles is the home to the largest naval port in the world! The humans…all their battleships, cruisers and destroyers…they're located in the Marrina Isles! It's a naval fortress! No demon army would ever be able to invade it!"

"At least it's not a labyrinth."

"Huh? Where did that come from?"

"The same manga Jason's reading," I replied, and then sighed as I returned my gaze to Elia. She was waiting as patiently as ever.

"Yes. Our target is the Marrina Naval Base."

"Is his Excellency trying to kill us or something?!" Gio complained. "There's no way tanks and mechanized infantry can fight the largest naval fleet in Restia!"

Evidently the Marrina Isles were in human-held territory. It was once ruled by the royal family of the Merian Empire…until Kobayashi executed him for siding with King Leric in petitioning to stop the war. Now it was under Kobayashi's rule, but it was too remote for him to rule directly. He most likely had a vassal or another one of my former classmates stationed there.

"We'll be getting some inside help."

"Oh?" Elia's words caught my attention. "From who?"

"Sir! Well, before we head to the Trisseidon Sea, we are to stop by Helsfort first. Apparently his Excellency Emperor Regis says you know why."

"Ah…"

I suddenly understood why. I recalled the conversation I had with Regis during the fancy ceremony two days ago.

He had approached me regarding the prisoners-of-war, and the request that their highest-ranked commander had made. Apparently it had something to do with the home country of the Marrina Marine Corps, which was mediated through Major Kracauer, the highest-ranked commander among the prisoners.

"…I was being sarcastic, but it seems that his Excellency Emperor Regis actually thought I was serious…no wonder he chose my battalion for this mission."

I began regretting that quip I made when Regis approached me for advice.

"Huh? Sir? What are you talking about?"

"Do you really want to know?" I asked. Gio looked confused, but he nodded.

"Uh…of course."

"All right then…but you're going to have to wait until next chapter, and we'll be going straight into one of those flashbacks I hate so much…"

Sighing, I slumped against my seat and watched as the final words of this chapter trailed off into nonsensical drivel…