Rune Troopers Index
Chapter 3: In the city
Lety's daily work is preparing the café for opening every morning. She is yet to become seventeen this year. Her job is using her own beauty to attract customers. Her white long hair was gathered in a ponytail, she had put on an apron that gives her freedom of movement, and on top of that - her vivacious personality.
She finished cleaning the tables and went to the kitchen. She lit a fire to a kitchen stove and started to cook some soup. It was the first day she was doing this job so quickly. She had decided her prospects, so she now bought bread and soup, spending her last savings, and went to the third floor.
"Father, how are you?"
Right after she entered the room, she put on the band and got closer to her father's bed. Originally, there were two workers who ran the café. This "Seawolf’s rookery" is a small cheap restaurant with the front opening onto the central square. The first floor is a restaurant in the daytime and a bar at night. The second floor is a hostel for travelers, and the third floor is where they live. In this world, pretty much all of the restaurants looked more or less like this.
"I'm almost fine. I'll be able to stand up soon."
He had a sinuous body that you'd think was of a warrior if only he didn't stand in the kitchen. The regular customers often said that they were happy Lety looked like her mother. However, this father had been powerless against the "Meteor's eye". When he was trying to escape the war fire, the church closed its door and he was running around the city when a part of the meteor hit him. Lety was covered by her father, but he was seriously injured.
"That's good! It must be God's protection."
She smiled with ease hearing the father's words. He is the only relative after her mother died due to disease.
"Here is your breakfast!"
"Thank you."
Her father tried to hide his ashamed face from his daughter and took his tray. She sat down on the bed's corner.
"I was worried if those strange men would do something to you."
After the "Meteor's eye" had fallen, they run to the church for healing magic, but it was already full of injuries, there was no chance somebody would see her father's wounds. When they were at a loss, a strange green moving box approached. The box had a red cross on a white back. People in green and brown clothes got out of there and took her father inside.
"Acute care required! Triage red category!" they shouted, or something, she doesn't remember. But now father's alive. Lety couldn't believe that her father would survive after those strange men treated him.
Her father was eating his breakfast when he raised his face to his daughter.
"You know, Lety…"
"What is it?"
"Do you know that your father was in the army long ago?"
"Yeah. You met my mother there, right?"
He looked at her face that is similar to mother's and continued.
"That's right. Your mother was nursing wounded people. You know, usually, there was no chance to save somebody with such wounds…"
The father was looked like he doubts about his saving.
"Hey! Father, are you saying that it'd be better if you had not been saved?"
"Of course not! The strange thing is with my left leg. It was mangled so badly it would be hard to save my life even by severing the leg, but now my leg wound is closing up without even festering."
From his army experience, he knew survival rate for various kinds of wounds.
Medicine of this world is bad. It does not even have disinfection. Death caused by infections in a small wound is not rare. Therefore, it was strange for him to be alive with no physical defects. He couldn't possibly know that the reason for that are proper disinfection, surgical operation, blood transfusion, and even antibiotics.
"That's God's protection! God must have saved you instead of the church who drove us out!"
"I see, you might be right…"
"Those strange foreigners in green clothes helped us too, right? After you're healed, we'll go to worship them and give alms."
"U-Um."
The father continued to eat the daughter's breakfast and nodded, but the strange feeling did not disappear.
An SDF's Pajero is slowly moving in the city. It'd be dangerous otherwise. There are no intersections or traffic lights, no signs, and the roadways are not marked out. People are walking in front of the car as though that's how it should be. Driving normally is a suicide. Oh, not suicide, it's murder. The car goes slowly and stops here and there.
"There is no point to use a car, right?"
"Oh, shut up… Try to make the plan by yourself, then."
When he tried to submit a plan with no car, captain Itai rejected it.
"Can you be sure that you'd be able to get the required heaps of data? Can you give proof of risk absence?"
Kuze knows terribly well how hard to put own opinion through to his bosses.
"But there are few of people in the streets."
Ryumi was looking outside with sad expression when somebody runs in front of the car.
"Oops. What is it? There were more of them earlier?"
Kuze can't scare people due to the plan so he doesn’t use horn, so Kuze stopped the car.
"Yes. We're close to the central square, where many things take place. But now I rarely see even hawkers…"
Kuze looked around. Indeed, a part of the meteor caused serious damage here, so there not much of people now.
"Can we go to the central square?"
"Yes, if we would make a base point there, it would be easier to walk in all directions from there. That's how I studied this city when I just came here. By the way, I know a good café! What about having a lunch there?"
"Oh, that would be great. I've only eaten bread this morning, so I'm pretty hungry…"
"Okay, let's move there."
Ryumi explained the way very clearly and thoroughly. Probably, she had a good practice as a priest explaining God's teachings. In either case, Kuze reassured that he chose the right person, and started to drive. Suddenly, Kuze noticed something unusual.
"I notice some armed groups from time to time. Are they the reinforcements of the Inland Army?"
Ryumi was surprised.
"No way! They are vultures!"
"Vultures?" - Ichinose turned back to the rear seat.
"They are mercenaries. They must have come to the city because they smelled war," - answered Ryumi with rare disgusted expression. The small group of armed men is walking as if it's their own place and drinking alcohol despite the sun has rose not so long ago. Their vulgar laughter is scaring common passers-by. They don't have united arms like the Inland Army; they have various arms. On the face of them, they're not diligent people. If a pure girl like Ryumi calls them "vultures", they must be hated.
"Could it be they planned to go to the Mariesa Army, but their plans got corrupted, and they are angry?"
Well, mercenaries are by definition always looking for hirers. Yet, Ryumi shook her head.
"No, sir Kuze," - said Ryumi and looked at them with disdain.
"They wanted to enter the Empire Army."
"I see," - mumbled Kuze and made a deep sigh.
It was the first day Lety opened the café since the war. She wanted the locals to see their well-known Seawolf's rookery opening once again and remember the past. Also, her father's wounds are healing so she is in good mood. The provisions are not restored enough, so the café is operating during lunchtime only, but still, it's a good step forward after the war.
"Okay, that's great."
She did all she had to do without her father and put the table "Open" before the door.
"Hello, please come to us! Hello! Mariesa food is open again!"
Lety was calling for customers on the square. But there are not many people, it's nothing in comparison with activity before the war. But she hoped to have customers even now and called them with a wide vivid smile.
"Okay!"
She returned inside and began to wipe plates. When the meteor fell, a good part of them was broken, and the plates that remained intact were covered by dust. She didn't finish cleaning yet. Well, it's okay since there won't be too much of customers. She was polishing intact utensils.
After a while, a strange sound came from outside.
Ro-ro-ro-ro-ro-ro-kin!
It was the first time she heard it. She thought it's a traveling performer imitates breath of some bird from far away. But why would somebody do that?…
(What is that sound?..)
She sat calmly, when she heard voices near the café.
"Why won't you get a parking ticket?"
"I can't find "No Parking" sign, so it's okay."
"Yes, it's okay, carriages are often parked here."
Those were voices of two young men and a girl. Lety remembered the girl's voice.
(That voice… Could it be!…)
She stood up and in the same moment the door was opened and the girl came in.
"Hello there! Are you opened?"
"Priest Ryumi!"
Lety jumped out of joy.
"Lety-san, I'm glad you're well."
Ryumi and Lety are smiling at each other.
"I'm so happy you're the first customer today!"
"Thank you… Also, I'm just a priest disciple yet…"
"Oh, don't be shy! Please, take a seat anywhere."
Lety was very happy. Ryumi was a regular customer here for ages. She was explaining the teaching to people with no affectation, talk about other's problems, so she was something like a saint for devout Lety. She could even think that her father's condition is improving owing to Ryumi.
Excited Lety heard man's voice.
"Ryumi-san, do you know her?"
"Eh?"
Lety's breath was taken away when she saw the man. She saw that uniform comprised of green, ground-brown, and black blotch pattern; he should be the heretic or one of those mercenaries.
"Priest, please stay back!"
Lety quickly covered Ryumi by standing between her and the men and glared at the men.
"Why did you come, you heretics!"
"H-heretics?.."
Lety gave an angry glare at the two men.
"You're wrong, they're our saviors…" - said Ryumi, and Lety made a terrifying guess. Priest Ryumi is a kind person, so she could approach them out of compassion or preach to them. And something terrifying had happened to her, like to the father.
"Priest, don't do it! Don't listen to their words! They must have applied hypnosis magic on you!” Lety gets excited on her own, while Kuze and Ichinose have a feeling that they are seeing something they should not see. That's kind of scary.
"That's not it!" - Ryumi's voice resounded in the café.
A well-polished glass cup with water is on a table.
"Please, priest, water."
"Thank you, Lety."
Ryumi took the cup by both hands. Then, Lety threw two more cups.
"Hey, I don't know are you priest's slaves or servants, but be glad you can sit in the same seat with the priest," - said Lety with the coarse voice. The cups she gave them was not glass cups, but cheap wooden cups. They were so old they smelt rotten wood, and something floated inside. It's hard to call civility. The water that is sold to customers and the water for washing that was taken from a draw well are two different types of water.
"Oh, thanks…"
Kuze and Ichinose took those cups, but they didn't drink that, looked at each other and threw that water in a window. They used water that they brought in canteens. Ryumi pretended she didn't see that and worried if Lety would do something provoking anymore.
Ryumi failed to convince Lety that Kuze and Ichinose saved their lives, so she told that they are converts from another country who are under her education now.
Ryumi was still a teenager, but her stomach was hurt, and she couldn't taste all that cooking.
"I'm sorry, sir Kuze…"
"It's okay, we're grateful to you," - answered Kuze with a bitter smile. It wasn't a joke, in fact, they wouldn't have been here without Ryumi, and didn't enter the café. Kuze didn't think bad of Ryumi, however he is suspicious towards the church. According to Ryumi, archpriest Geroud is a schemer and egocentric man. He guessed that SDF has no covering, so it's fine to use them by the church's authority.
It was bad that people were deceived by the church, like Lety. What should we do?
The quickest way is that SDF shows own power making the church to retreat, and the Inland Army would be unable to say a word against them. However, this way is the way of creating an enemy. Attacking something that the people believe in would make all of them hate SDF, like Lety.
(The church's elite must have understood that as well.)
It was unrealistic to imagine usage of power in order to oppress the opponent. SDF never in its history worked like this. The SDF officers would not act like yakuza. Kuze is not thinking about that seriously. So what next, then? While Kuze was thinking, a place fell in front of him.
"Hey, eat it."
Her voice tone was rude, but the cooking looked very tasty. Also, it was not a single table. She was bringing plates one after another. This place is near the sea, so most of the dishes were fish. Ryumi was very proud of Lety's cooking.
"Go ahead, sir Kuze, sir Ichinose, until it's cold."
"About cold… It doesn't seem like that girl's attitude changed. Oh!"
Kuze remembered about the duties. He put out of the pocket his camera and took a photo. Understanding of the this world's cooking is an important mission that stupid people don't do. Every country or church can have food taboo and manners. This is an important duty as well that should be done before the provisions delivery began. However, it was simply because the church was responsible for that.
"Sir Kuze, what are you doing?" - Ryumi heard the camera sound and looks at it.
"I took a photo," - answered Kuze, but she is amazed. Well, that's natural. Kuze smiled and showed her the photo he just made.
"Wow! How could you make pretty picture so quickly?"
Ryumi mistook the unmoving photo with a painting, apparently, and comparing the photographic subject with the photo.
"It's called a camera, a device that can make a replica of what we can see."
"It's like magic thoughtography?"
"I don't know whether magic can do this, but you're probably right."
"That's strange… Thoughtography demands long concentration, but you did it instantly."
Ryumi is looking at the camera with curiosity, while continuing to eat the food.
He tried to eat a boiled fish. For a Japanese, it has a deeper taste, but lighter aftertaste. Something similar to a salted salmon. Kuze and Ichinose are young men who are working using their muscles, so they need saltiness and greasiness.
During the Period of Warring States of Japan, a simple fare was the exceptional right of the privileged classes. The warriors who were fighting on the front lines had quite heavy meals. The cooking in front of those two officers was just perfect for them.
"Whoa, what a tasty chicken meat, second lieutenant Kuze!"
"Yeah, we're eating only canned meals recently, so this is good."
They two forgot about the duty and enjoyed the cooking of this world. Ryumi seemed to be happy that they liked it, and began to eat salad.
"How is it, priest?"
"It's very good. Isn't it great that you could open your café again?"
Lety was very happy and gave Ryumi a bonus plate.
"Oh, I can't!"
"hha! It's okay, consider this as a repayment. The church saved us by the provisions."
Kuze and Ichinose frozen. Ryumi's smile frozen wide, too. Lety didn't see her face.
"It wasn't just me. We couldn't get any food after the war, so we couldn't die of hunger without help. My father couldn't move, and he was depressed because there was not enough of food, but you… you didn't just give us food, you gave us finished meals! I am a cook, so I can understand how difficult it is to cook so much every day."
Lety was dreamy, holding Ryumi's hands.
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