AZI Volume 1 Chapter 22

As Li Xue, Qing Yue, and Yu Ji sleep in their tents, Ye Chen and Long Hua sit around the fire. Held in the two's hands is a canteen containing drinking water.

"…"

"…"

As neither of them is willing to start a conversation with one another, Long Hua looks up at the night skies, and counts the stars out of boredom.

"Don't those gears just make the scenery feel surreal?"

Unwilling to let this awkward silence continue, Ye Chen asks this question.

"…Wouldn't others feel like they're normal?"

With how much time has passed since the start of the Great Immortal Wars, the general populace should have accepted the Gears of Descension that are embedded into the planet's exosphere to be a normal part of their lives by now.

That means to say, that the thought of seeing these gears in the skies shouldn't be considered surreal at this point.

"I heard that there was a time in which those things didn't exist in the skies."

"Heard, but not seen."

Thinking of an answer to Ye Chen's question, Long Hua eventually answers—

"The true skies and the true stars that decorates it, are a lot brighter than this."

A look of surprise appears on Ye Chen's face, as he remarks—

"I was told the same thing."

"Who?"

"Li Xue's father."

"Has he seen a sky without those gears?"

"He was also just told."

"…"

"I'd ask if you've seen it as well, but I doubt it."

With how many years Long Hua has lived for, it goes without saying that he wasn't around when the skies were but an ordinary sky.

(Some part of me wants to mock this cheap looking ceiling for trying to mimic an impossible to recreate masterpiece, and yet…)

Inwardly shaking his head, Long Hua laughed at himself in ridicule.

(I don't recall when it was that I had actually seen this supposed masterpiece.)

Turning to Ye Chen, Long Hua raises a snort, and answers—

"Should I have seen it then… I am perhaps some 10,000-year-old fiend, a creature unbefitting of this realm, a creature that should just scurry back to the hell it had emerged from."

Towards Long Hua's archaic manner of speech, Ye Chen raises an eye.

"Is that just something that you try to suppress, or is it actually a habit?"

"A habit that surfaces every now and then. Who would speak like that all the time?"

Almost as soon as he had answered as such, Long Hua couldn't help but doubt himself.

"Hey, captain."

"What's wrong, second lieutenant?"

"You seem awfully on guard against something throughout the day and even now."

"…Call it a soldier's instincts, but I feel like this trip might get more interesting starting tomorrow."

Towards these words, Long Hua raises a sigh while grasping at the air with his right hand.

"Would be nice to have something to drink if that were indeed the case."

"Oh? I must agree. Even something cheap would be nice right now."

"The price of the liquor matters not; what matters is who you're drinking with—for to drink, is to drink the mood."

"Sounds like a fancy excuse to just get wasted."

"Perhaps that's one way to interpret it. Feel free to use it whenever. Captain, about what you said day one."

"I said a lot of crap day one. Which one are you referring to?"

"About looking forward to seeing us make it through our first year of service."

"Oh that. I'm being serious about that."

"And if we don't?"

Towards this question, Ye Chen takes a drink from his canteen, and answers back with an unusual air of confidence—

"I'll make sure you three do."

"Would you have just said those words and been serious about them, regardless of who showed up in that office?"

"I would. I told myself—that I'll take care of whoever is put under my wing for the next five years."

"Whoever… Does the vice-captain count too?"

"Li Xue… Ai, let's just say, I'm making amends to her for… You know."

"Sounds like a lot of baggage, a sob story that I don't feel like hearing."

In place of alcohol, Long Hua takes a gulp of the water in his canteen.

"Hahaha talk about harsh. That actually stings a bit. At least show some interest."

"Didn't you say that the topic is a bit more private? Regardless… Looking forward to seeing how you entertain me for the next five years, captain."

"Look forward to it as much as you want then second lieutenant, I see quite a lot of fun to be had with this squad."

Continuing to talk about trivial matters, Long Hua and Ye Chen pass their hours of guard duty peacefully—prior to having the task taken over by Li Xue and Yu Ji, granting them five hours of rest before having to continue their trip through the patrol route.

"You two talked quite a bit last night."

"What about it?"

Upon shutting the doors of the truck, Li Xue raises an eye towards Ye Chen.

"Just curious about what you two had to say to one another."

"We talked about going out for a drink together and… The various ways vice-captain has tried to kill the captain in the past."

"Oh?"

Towards Li Xue, Long Hua can't help but give her an odd eye. According to those stories this woman is quite serious about what she said.