The Mess Hall

Little by little, the mess hall filled as one unit after another shuffled inside in loose formation.

When Hermann and Singe entered, the ringing in his ears still hadn’t completely faded.

He tugged at his ears with his fingers as if he could shake the noise loose, but it did no good.

He sighed.

I was so glad to be rid of this when they transferred me away from the front. I could do without going deaf before I turn thirty.

“What is it?” Singe asked curiously when she noticed.

Hermann shook his head.

“It’s nothing.”

When they stepped inside the hall, large gaps separated the soldiers seated along the long tables.

Hermann looked into weary, exhausted faces as the soldiers began eating in silence, lethargic and drained.

Too many casualties.

His hands tightened as his gaze drifted across the young faces, the bandaged heads, the wrapped arms.

“Come on! Let’s grab something to eat,” Singe chirped brightly as she stepped up to the serving counter.

Hermann paused for a moment, watching her in confusion while she hummed to herself and pulled a tray from the stack.

A ladle plunged into a huge pot, and moments later steaming food splashed into her wooden bowl.

“Oh, curry! We haven’t had this in ages!”

He frowned.

Why is she so cheerful? Nobody else is acting this way.

His eyes wandered back to the faces on the benches.

Some of the girls stared openly at him, only to hurriedly look away with flushed cheeks the moment their eyes met.

Actually, it seems everyone’s acting strange somehow.

When he received his own portion from the stern-faced mess attendant, his stomach growled almost on cue.

I haven’t eaten a thing since getting here. I’m starving...

He took a deep breath, and the smell alone made his mouth water.

Curry? I’ve heard of it before, but I’ve never actually eaten anything with it.

A shove from the side snapped him out of his thoughts.

Singe grinned at him broadly, tray in hand.

“It’s my favorite food. A real Grapevine specialty. Come on, before it gets cold!”

She darted over to one of the benches and sat down while Hermann took the seat across from her.

The soldiers beside them immediately scooted away a little, trying to hide the curious glances they kept throwing at Hermann.

Just like earlier. They’re staring like they’ve never seen a man before.

He blew lightly over the spoonful.

Then he put it into his mouth.

And froze.

This is…

The next spoonful went in without even cooling it first.

Then another.

And another.

...Incredibly good.

Moments later, the bowl was empty.

“Well? Tasty?” Singe asked with a grin, resting one cheek against her hand.

“I’ve had worse,” Hermann replied dryly.

He wiped his mouth.

“But tell me something. Why are you in such a good mood?” he asked slowly. “A lot of people died today, you know…”

She didn’t seem bothered by the reproach in his voice.

Instead, she tilted her head in confusion.

“Hm? Isn’t it obvious?”

He frowned.

“Explain.”

She leaned closer, lowering her voice.

“Because today was the first time they took heavier losses than we did.”

Hermann went still for a moment.

“The first time…?” he repeated in disbelief, barely audible.

Again, his gaze swept across the other tables.

Only now did he notice that beneath the soldiers’ exhaustion and apparent lethargy there was something else hidden away, something he hadn’t seen before.

There was a spark in their eyes whenever they looked at him.

Hope.

He looked back at Singe, who was scraping the last drop from her bowl.

She doesn’t seem bothered by all this, though. Or she just hides it better than the others.

“You remind me of someone.” 

Singe lowered the bowl from her lips and blinked at him in surprise.

“Oh yeah? How so?”

“Just as carefree.”

Her expression hardened instantly, and she looked away.

“So that’s how I seem to you, huh?”

Hm? What’s with that reaction?

He crossed his arms.

“Isn’t it true?” he pressed.

She looked back at him, her green eyes flashing above the dark circles beneath them.

“You don’t know me at all...”

The sharpness in her voice caught Hermann off guard.

Singe looked at him with an unusual expression, then she jumped to her feet.

“Whatever. I’m getting seconds! With all our casualties, there’s way more than we could eat.

She stomped off a few steps before stopping and turning her head slightly toward him.

“Do you… want some more too?”

“If that’s allowed here.”

She nodded, then disappeared, Hermann looking curiously after her.

Maybe I am wrong about her after all...

When Singe returned with two more steaming bowls, she already seemed completely back to normal.

“Man, you really have to fight the kitchen staff for seconds. It’s not like they can use all this up anyway!”

Hermann ignored the complaint and blew at the steam rising from his food.

“So... where are the rest of your squad?”

Singe looked at him as if surprised by the question.

“You mean Tong and Linly? As far as I know, Tong wanted to visit someone in the infirmary, don’t ask me why. Linly’s there too, but for duty. Since she knows healing magic, she’s required to help out.”

She winked at him.

“So for now, it’s just you and me!”

Hermann had no idea how to respond to that, so he simply accepted it in silence.

He inhaled deeply and folded his hands, deep furrows forming on his brow.

What a grotesque place I’ve ended up in.

So alien. So strange in every possible way. Magic. Flying cities. Monsters. Girls forced to be soldiers.

His gaze drifted over their faces again.

Why does this even bother me so much? 

They’re not my people…

Suddenly, the great double doors slammed open.

Commander Zirka strode in with long steps, closely followed by her officers. 

She stopped beside the serving counter and turned.

“Soldiers!”

Every conversation ceased instantly, while Zirka slowly let her gaze sweep across the mess hall.

Across the empty seats. The exhausted faces.

For only the briefest moment, her eyes lingered on Hermann.

“Today, we lost two hundred and eighty-six comrades. Sixty-four of them are missing.”

Silence.

“The Grapevine suffered severe damage. The great barrier was destroyed, along with most of our flight discs. Our magical reserves are barely sufficient to return us back home.”

No one moved.

“And yet…”

For the first time, she lifted her head slightly.

“…we drove the enemy back.”

A barely audible murmur spread through the hall.

“Through the will and sacrifice of every single one of you, we will live to see another day.”

Her voice remained hard.

“And for the first time in a long while, this victory has shown that humanity will not be wiped out without a fight!”

The murmuring grew louder, filled with excitement and cautious hope.

“You should be proud of that.”

She clasped her hands behind her back.

“And for that reason… tonight the storehouses will be opened. Every unit will receive extra rations, and as much Chu-Rai as you can drink!”

Only then did cheers erupt. Tentative at first, then louder.

Then the entire hall burst into applause.

Even Singe jumped to her feet beside Hermann and let out a loud “Woohoo!” that Hermann could only stare at in bafflement.

A victory? This is supposed to be a victory?

He thought of the rows of body bags lined up on the platform above.

While the cheering continued, the commander whispered something to her officers.

Then she turned and strode back out past her soldiers.

I have to ask her.

Hermann immediately rose and hurried after her.

“Hey, where are you going?” Singe called after him.

But he was already gone.

Outside, Zirka had almost reached the staircase leading down into the lower levels of the Grapevine.

It was dark, and only the pale glow of lanterns illuminated the square outside the mess hall.

“Commander!”

She stopped, though she didn’t turn around.

“Why didn’t you mention it?” Hermann asked bluntly.

Her head tilted slightly.

“Mention what?”

“The machine gun.”

Only then did she turn and study him for a long moment.

She stepped closer and stopped right in front of him, examining his face carefully.

“You know war,” she said softly. “Don’t you?”

Hermann nodded, and a faint smile spread across her face.

“It shows.”

A brief pause, and the smile vanished again.

“But what we witnessed today won’t merely change our war against the Manylegs.”

Now her icy blue eyes locked onto his.

“What you brought us threatens the entire order our society is built on. Which is why I cannot allow it to fall into the wrong hands.”

Hermann met her gaze without flinching.

And understood.

She is afraid.

“So what do you intend to do, Commander? With the weapons? The plans? And with me?” he finally asked.

Commander Zirka turned away and resumed walking toward the stairs.

“For the moment… you have my thanks. So rest, eat, and celebrate with the others. We’ll deal with everything else once we reach Stratum.”

One final cold glance over her shoulder.

“But keep your hands off my girls. Get one of them pregnant, and I’ll kill you.”

Then she vanished into the darkness of the creaking stairwell.