The hostess laughed and said, "I'm just the right age for conscription. I haven't been dragged away and am still running a tavern for you all. Use your brain; I've got connections."
"Ah, we know," a lieutenant joked, "you're the Emperor's mistress, right?"
The officer who just entered looked up at the hostess and whispered to the sergeant beside him, "Is she really the Emperor's mistress?"
"Of course not. Before the war, she was a movie star, probably hooked up with some general. That's why she could open her tavern here," the sergeant replied, then stared at the officer for a few seconds, "Haven't seen you around. Who are you?"
Officer: "I'm with the 600th Guard Division. Just escaped from enemy-occupied territory."
"Oh? Why didn't you just surrender then? You don't think that now you've returned, they'll give you the Iron Cross, do you? Even if they did, what's the use? It's said the Anteans are slaughtering anyone with the Iron Cross, calling them war criminals."
