"Pfft..."
..
..
"Ahahahaha!" - exploding into a series of shared chuckles and laughter!
"—flies fast."
"We did It..!"
- Then a with a final smile, did the three collectively yelled. Earning them a smile and a nod from Foryan, alongside Yenna's adorable, and docile clapping.
————
"Wonderfully done.." - Foryan whispered as she continued to gaze with shimmering eyelids towards the lasses that panted repeatedly while bathing in sweat.
"haah..haah..tha..that was..close.."
"...ugh..haah..i-i feel..so crappy.."
"fi-finally..I made use ..of that damned..reserve..!"
*Phew!*
The air gradually lightened as their pants subsided and was replaced by a collective of small, and soft smiles on their tender lips.
"You see that..? That's my girls..!"
Foryan released a proud scoff while Yenna found herself being infected by their contagious joy that caused her to remain still and stare; revering in silence.
"They look so..joyful..!"
Foryan then stepped forward towards the three before commanding out;
"Alright Alright! Chop Chop!
An announcement please."
- Whilst lightly clapping her palms, earning her a turn of gaze and a slight eyebrow raise from the three that remained seated atop the floor.
"You three did an amazing job today."
- Foryan finally revealed her teeth through a gleeful smile, catching the three of them off-guard.
"..Huh..?"
"..Commander..?"
"..Smiled...?"
"So I'm very proud of you all!" - She then flashed a thumbs up at the dumbfounded trio that remained that way for a few more moments before they—
*Pfft..*
"..?" - Foryan's gesture faltered for a moment as her ears heard the sound of a quick puff from the three, causing her to innocently inquire;
"Di..did I do something..funny..?"
"Ahahahahahahahah!" - The trio once again broke into a unity of lighthearted chuckles!
"Hm?" - Foryan leaned in, face ridden with confusion.
"No..No..Commander.." - Mila replied, trying her best to suppress her cackles. - "It..It's just that..tee hee!" - But she failed miserably, resulting for; "Ye-yeah..! Fufufu..! Co-commander..! That's..that's why..!" - Layla to chime in.
"..?" - Foryan's face became the textbook definition of a question mark. "..Hmph. You three..are making fun of me are ya..?" - Foryan diverted her gaze in mock annoyance hoping to assert some dominance over the childishness of the trio, only failing miserably in the process as she couldn't erase the shimmering of her irises.
"..No..!" - Charlotte exclaimed, grin unwavering on her sweaty countenance.
"It's just that..!" - Charlotte, suppressed the escaping air of yet another chuckle before she opened her mouth again;
"It's..It's the first time we saw you smile..!"
- A profound realization then struck the innermost corners of the Female Commander's head, causing her eyes to slightly widen while her mouth remained agape, no voice being squeezed out.
-
A sudden stream of water resembling that of a river poured itself inside of Foryan's mind, consisting not of fresh water, but of fresh recollections that slammed like a speeding carriage.
—
...
- As soon as I've arrived, I saw cannons pointed at my direction.
"A New Private..?"
"Keep your expectations low.."
"Didn't she..just appeared out of nowhere..?"
"..Apparently..her hometown was destroyed.."
- While expecting it to be loaded with distaste and suspicion, I was instead barraged with;
"..Have you eaten? You know you should not skip meals."
"..Why are you out here all alone..? Big Sister..?"
"Hey. Why not mingle with the other privates? They've been dying to get to know you.."
- Flowers, enough to make a bouquet of dozen.
"Ma'am Foryan.. Do you perhaps need some assistance?"
"Little Sister Foryan then! We in the medical division call each other by sisters, not privates nor commanders!"
"..Hey..! Little Foryan..! Come and dine with us..!"
- The cannons that I thought were pointed and loaded with ice-cold projectiles at me, were actually filled with hospitable interactions, and meaningful connections.
"..Oh..! You didn't have to.."
"..Ahahahahaha..!"
"..Thank-thank you all..!"
- Until I realized,
"...It's..near.."
"..hm..then..prepare the defences.."
"..Wait..what's going on..?"
- They were not meant for me all along, they were pointing at something else.
"..KYAA...!! N-NO..!"
"ARGH..!! ME-MEDIC..!"
"RE-RETREAT...! THERE'S WAY TOO MANY OF THEM..!"
- And soon, every garden started by the bouquets withered and turned into a battleground.
"..How many..are alive..?"
"..Quite..the catastrophic one..so..brutal..Are there any corpse with its intestines still intact..?"
"..One family was wiped out. The parents were found mutilated and the bodies of their children were nowhere to be found.. except for a severed hand retrieved underneath the rubble."
- Stampedes. They started occuring one by one with each wave bringing forth a new array of monsters, that trampled..with the flowers..
"..Where's Jenny..? GRHK.!!! No..!!!"
"At least.. the heads were still recognizable.."
"..It seems as if they are getting more and more violent with every..occurrence..no more gouging the..intenstines..hiek.. just flat out ripping the bodies apart and gulping it."
"..This..this is horri..fying.. ack.."
- All solutions either leads to death or a fate worse than it.
"..Evacuation..? To where..? The Imperial Capital..? The roads are filled with bandit hideouts..! they can enslave us..!"
"It's dangerous..unlike these beasts.. Bandits are quite cunning. I don't want to endanger our.. women."
"..Those shitheads..are quite notorious.. ever heard..of comfort women?..aghk."
- It was as if the entire world was funneling all of its anger on this one, defenseless, little town.
"...So..we cannot escape.. but we cannot hold on forever."
"Therefore..young lady.. seeing people hang themselves are a normal occurrence around here."
"Just.. don't let it..get into your head."
- So I said to myself..
"This is Hell."
I'm in Hell.
————
Act 45 — FIN.