“What? Why?”
Lorraine couldn't help but ask why.
Wouldn't he be curious about her past if things had gotten this far?
It was more than a little disconcerting for Lorraine to realize that she had offered to tell him, but he didn't want to hear it.
“Do you think that if a person who is about to die says sothing like that as his last words, you will listen to him? There is nothing more unpleasant than a will that is passed on without permission.”
Lorraine's nausea set in as he spoke as if she were about to die.
“Can’t you even grant a last request from soone like that?!”
“You didn't tell when I asked, and now you want a favor? I'm not the kind of person who grants wishes, so tell soone else.”
“Oh, co on, that's so an! What good would it do ?”
“My mood.”
“Listen to ! I'll tell you everything you want to know!”
“I don't want to know anymore. I guess I can just go.”
Lorraine bit her lip in anger.
It would have been a good idea to ignore Osian and pass by without showing off her pride. However, doing so would have been quite aggravating.
Still, she’s a senior, and she can't ask for a favor on her way out? That's how small-minded he is!
“I'm going.”
“No! You're not leaving until you listen to !”
“Let go of . I'm leaving.”
“No!”
Lorraine grabbed Osian's leg as he tried to leave.
Their roles reversed, the two argued in the rain for about ten minutes.
*
Lorraine squatted on the steps of the canopied store entrance.
Her face was flushed as she rembered her behavior in hindsight as the emotions subsided.
It was only then that Osian, standing still with his arms crossed beside her, spoke up.
“How's it going? Have you cald down a bit?”
Lorraine didn't answer, only nodded her head slightly. It was an embarrassnt she would die to think about.
But strangely enough, she felt more clear-headed than she had in a long ti, after having that exchange with Osian. She even felt a sense of relief in her chest.
Did he do that on purpose?
Lorraine's head snapped up and she looked at Osian.
“You look better than before.”
As Osian stared at her face, Lorraine realized that she had played right into his hands.
But she didn't feel bad. In fact, she felt a little grateful.
When Lorraine was finished, she spoke slowly.
“As you may have guessed, I was a soldier before I beca a fixer.”
Osian didn't bother to interrupt her calmly told story.
Whereas before it had been the rambling ramblings of a dying person, now it was the confession of soone who wanted to speak purely of her own volition.
“You know, secret service, black ops or sothing.”
“From the na, it sounds like an organization that does things in secret without the world knowing.”
“Yeah, the military, it's a big organization, and of course there are so many different branches within it. The thing is, they need permission from the top to move.”
The ultimate commander of the military is not a starry-eyed general.
They're higher up, the mayor of Tirna and other council mbers.
The soldiers were, after all, the tools of the people's elected leaders, the prefects, mayors, and councilors.
“If the military has the power to do as it pleases, its blade could be aid at the heads of those above it.”
The army that was supposed to protect Tirna pointed its guns at Tirna. It was necessary to prevent a coup from happening in that way.
In fact, sothing similar had happened in the past, just as the system of civilian control didn't co into being overnight.
“Yes, but that doesn't an that the military does nothing and just follows orders from above, just look at the recent assassination attempt of Princess Orlea. There are plenty of people in the military who act on their own.”
“So the unit you were in was built for that.”
“Yes. They bring in orphans with no connections from Tirna, force them to train, and turn them into naless soldiers.”
Naless soldiers, a unit that literally exists but doesn't, with no number and no rank.
Its purpose was to be a dumping ground for those who could be discarded in the unlikely event of mission failure.
“I've been trained to death since I was a little girl who didn't know anything, but I'm okay, because, if I do say so myself, I'm very talented.”
Lorraine was very talented at marksmanship.
Not just shooting, but in the handling of modern firearms, she was unrivaled.
Even the instructor who taught her had repeatedly lanted the fact that she wasn't an official soldier.
It was a natural progression for Lorraine to beco the commander of a unit that didn't even have a na.
“There was no unit na. They just called us by our numbers for convenience. Like, 121st Ranger Unit.”
Fifteen n. It wasn't even a platoon, just a squad.
There were more than five such squads.
“That's where I t my friends.”
Lorraine recalled their faces one by one as if she could rember them from the distant past.
“They all ca from the sa orphanage as . Kids with nowhere to go, just desperately trying to keep up with their training. We almost died several tis, but that’s why we ended up helping each other.”
Lorraine's unit, the 121st Rangers, operated inside Tirna and around the world.
They continued to successfully solve secret missions that were not supposed to be seen by the public but there was no reward and no honor.
Even when a fellow soldier died at the hands of the enemy, there was no small ceremony.
Not even a tombstone for the ritorious, with their nas inscribed on it; they were simply forced to bury their dead comrades in their chests.
“I was like, what on earth is this?”
Lorraine said it casually, but the truth was far more horrific than she let on.
It started with training.
The brutal training thods that pushed young children, regardless of gender, into the abyss of death were shocking even from a modern perspective where children's rights do not exist.
It was called training, but disobedience to orders was t with summary execution on the spot.
Sotis you had to kill your fellow cadets. If you didn't kill them, they would kill you.
Blood and mud, madness and death.
Lorraine, who survived it all, had to endure unimaginable pain and hardship.
Perhaps that's why she beca so attached to her unit.
The army had turned them from children who knew nothing into cold weapons to fulfill a mission.
Lorraine wanted to take care of them as colleagues so they wouldn't lose their humanity.
“We went on a lot of covert missions, crossed a lot of lines.”
It was hard and painful, but they had each other.
They were more than coworkers now, they were family.
She still rembered that day.
When they were sent out into the desert on a covert mission, they sat around a campfire in the middle of the cold desert talking.
The desert nights were bone-chillingly cold.
But with only the countless clusters of stars in the sky, a warm campfire, and their trusty companions to keep them company, they were able to endure.
-Have you heard the story? When we're done with this tireso task, we'll have a chance at freedom.
Guess who said it first. David? No, it was Miller.
His voice was unusually chilly and cold, but it was filled with excitent.
-What? What does that an?
-We've been doing this for a long ti, and they've decided to recognize us as an official unit.
-What kind of freedom is that?
-To have a proper na, to be a soldier with honor and pride, not a throwaway word that no one rembers when you die.
David grumbled at Miller's words, wondering if they made sense, but there was a hint of anticipation in his eyes, as if he was secretly looking forward to it himself.
-You know, Captain. What do you think?
Rosa, a woman like Lorraine, asked. Since there were only two other won, they were as close as sisters.
-Well, it wouldn't be so bad if that's the case.
Lorraine replied nonchalantly. She knew how unlikely it was, but she didn't want to blow the candle out of the water.
-If I beco a proper soldier, I'll get a better paycheck, and then I'll marry a pretty wife.
Boris, who usually likes to talk about his dreams, told Nada about his dreams.
-Boris. You can't tell that with your face.
-David. You don't realize how attractive I am. I'm better than you.
-Boris. Not even close. David is much better.
-Rosa! Whose side are you on?!
Laughter erupted around the campfire.
Lorraine, who would normally have warned them to be quiet, let it slide this ti.
Boris said.
-Yes. Let's ask the question. What does everyone else want to do? I'm sure you have things you want to do once you're officially recognized. Dreams you want to fulfill.
A dream.
It's a word that would normally be scoffed at. For them, dreams are an unattainable fantasy.
No dreams, no honor.
That was the position of the naless troops.
Perhaps for all eternity, the word would never co to them but today was an unusually good day.
Part of it was the subtle reminder that this was their last mission, and part of it was the unusually beautiful starry sky.
Yeah.
It's only one day, but it wouldn't hurt to dream.
-I want to open a bakery!
Rosa said coldly. It was fitting for the woman who usually cooked for her troops, even if she thought the battle rations were tasteless.
Perhaps emboldened by Rosa's words, David said in a shy voice.
-I want to be a teacher.
Rosa smiled and replied.
-You'd make a good teacher, David.
-What, you're not going to be a soldier anymore?
Boris asked, and David scratched his head.
-I'm tired of shooting, and I don't want to live like this forever.
-Hmm. If I beco a regular soldier, I'll work my way up the ranks and beco soone very high up.
-What, after all that insulting to the higher-ups, you wanted to be one of them?
-You idiot, of course not. I'm going to be very high up, and I'm going to have a bunch of guys like us working for .
Just as I'm about to say, “That's so you,” Boris adds, as if embarrassed.
-So they don't beco like us.
-Ohhhh.
Miller responds to Boris's words by clapping, lest his courage be in vain.
-That's good. I want to be an airplane pilot. I've always thought it was so cool to fly in those things, Air Force guys.
-Are you trying to be Top Gun?
-That would be even better. Fade, what are you going to do?
Fade. At the na, Lorraine stopped tinkering with her gun and looked back at him.
He was the most timid of the group, and at the sa ti, the one who cared most about his comrades.
He was as sensitive as a girl, and often gave his companions handmade trinkets as gifts.
Fade replied with an awkward smile that didn't match his gruff deanor.
-I want to open a little trinket shop, where I can make all sorts of things and trinkets and live in peace.
-Trinkets. It suits you. Can I co over later?
-You're welco. If you co, I'll make you a nice accessory and give it to you.
-If you like.......
All eyes turned to Lorraine.
Everyone else had spoken, and now it was the last remaining leader's turn.
Lorraine t those expectant gazes, smiled, and spoke in a firm tone.
-Enough about . The important thing right now is to complete tomorrow's mission. I'm afraid I'll get into trouble for saying it again.
-Eh! Captain, what the hell do you an, you're going to back out now because you're embarrassed?
-You're loud, Boris. Keep your voice down. Don't you realize we could be spotted by enemy scouts?
Lorraine spoke sternly, but her eyes were smiling.
-But if I may say so, I think everyone here will make it ho safely.
-Captain.......
-I'm sorry, I wouldn't call it a dream.
But no one laughed at Lorraine's words.
They all knew how much they cared for each other.
The unspoken camaraderie between them was stronger than anything else in the world.
Soon the stars were gone, and the first light of dawn broke over the sandy ridge.
-Co on. Rise.
At Lorraine's command, the n of the 121st Rangers extinguished their campfires with sand and sheathed their weapons.
-It's ti for the mission. Anyone who lags behind will have their asses kicked. If you don't want to be beaten, follow to the end.
-Yes! Of course!
Spurred on, they marched on toward the dawn to claim their future and to walk proudly in the sun one day.
In the end, the mission was a failure, with the death of one of their own.
*
“What are you talking about?”
An angry old man's voice rang low in the large room.
“My son Armand is dead?”
“With all due respect, yes.”
Confirming the report his secretary had posted, the old man, Vinur Jaycee, had to cool his simring anger.
But even the most level-headed of n could not be stoic in the face of the death of a kinsman.
Especially when it's an only child, soone he trusted and cared for.
Vinur never asked who the killer was. He couldn't help but think of the n who had sent the most recent, similarly threatening letter.
They demanded money for their cause, and if he didn't, they would kill his family.
He'd gotten these prank letters before, so he shrugged them off. Of course, he increased the number of his bodyguards, just in case.
But then Armand was dead and his bodyguards were wiped out.
Vinur's eyes sparked.
“Gather everyone, those who are resting, those who are off duty, those who have been away for a while.”
“It’s raining, sir.”
“This is war. I'll show them what happens when they cross .”
Ghost troops?
True to their na, Vinur intended to turn them into real ghosts.
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