Guardian Prayer

A heavy stench of sweat, damp fabric, and the sour reek of Manyleg slime hung in the corridor.

Most of the soldiers had already stripped out of their uniforms, the acid-eaten holes still visible.

Before long, a line had formed outside the communal washroom door in Barracks Five.

“What do you mean we have to wait?” an irritated voice shouted.

Like the others, she stood barefoot on the dark wooden floorboards in nothing but her underwear, armed only with a towel and a bar of soap.

“Yeah, why can’t we wash up now?”

Singe crossed her arms and refused to move away from the door.

“Because it’s his turn first.”

A wave of outrage swept through the crowd.

“And why does it have to be our washroom, huh?”

“Exactly! Let him wash in the ground troops’ barracks…”

But Singe stood firm.

“He’s quartered here with us aviators because Squad 77 is responsible for him. The commander decided that personally. So deal with it!”

Indignant murmuring broke out.

“We should just go inside! Doesn’t bother me bathing with a guy, I’m not gonna steal a glance or anything,” one girl remarked with a grin.

A few laughed.

“Yeah! Or is he afraid we’ll jump him? Hahaha!”

The others burst out laughing again.

“K-knock it off already!” Singe shouted, holding out her hands, a magical shimmer flickering across them. “If you want in there, you’ll have to get past me first!”

A tense silence followed.

Until another voice echoed from the end of the corridor.

“And us too!”

Heads turned toward Tong and Linly, who slowly walked across the creaking floorboards and took their places beside Singe.

“So Squad 77’s throwing its weight around again, huh?” hissed another soldier, at least two heads taller than Singe, with short red hair. “If that’s how you want it…”

She cracked her knuckles, magic crackling around her fingers as well.

The tension thickened, and for a moment it seemed as though a fight was about to break out.

Creeeeak.

The washroom door slowly swung open with a squeal of hinges.

Hermann stepped out, and the hallway instantly fell silent.

“I’m done,” he said flatly, a towel draped over his bare shoulders, his ribbed underwear clinging tightly to his still-damp skin.

At once, the soldiers who had been laughing so loudly moments ago flushed bright red and stared awkwardly at the floor.

Only now did Hermann notice how worn out most of them looked.

Even Singe stared at him wide-eyed without saying a word until he finally turned to her.

“Shall we?”

She blinked.

“Huh?”

Hermann tilted his head.

“You were going to show me my chamber. Or did you forget already?”

Only then did her thoughts seem to snap back into order.

“Oh, yeah. R-right this way!”

The others kept watching them until they disappeared around the fork in the corridor.

Tong leaned toward Linly, her voice barely above a whisper.

“Hey, did you notice that Singe’s acting kind of…”

Linly merely nodded.

“Yeah. Definitely.”

A faint smile spread across both their faces.

Then they were shoved roughly aside.

“H-hey!”

“Get out of the way, already!” the tall soldier barked as she yanked open the washroom door and disappeared inside, closely followed by the other soldiers.

***

Meanwhile, Singe led Hermann to a small chamber at the end of another corridor.

It was nothing more than an emptied-out storage room with a narrow cot in the middle and a stool beside it holding a small oil lamp.

“We don’t have anything else. So if you’ve got a problem with it, you’ll have to…”

“It’s more than enough,” he interrupted matter-of-factly.

Singe cleared her throat.

“A-anyway. Our squads’ room is just three doors down. If anything comes up…”

But his eyes were already fixed on the bed, where his uniform lay neatly folded.

Surprised, he ran his hand over the clean field-gray fabric and the silver-embroidered eagle.

“It looks brand new…”

Singe gave a crooked grin.

“Because it is. That was Tanna’s last job before she collapsed. She’ll need a few days to recover before she can use creation magic again. Guess you pushed her to her limit. Heh.”

Hermann raised an eyebrow, then nodded.

“She saved a lot of lives thanks to that creation magic of hers. If you ask me, she deserves a damn medal for that.”

“A medal? What’s that?” Singe asked, confused.

Hermann frowned.

“An award. Something you wear on your uniform. Recognition for outstanding service. Don’t tell me you people don’t have anything like that?”

Singe scratched her head.

“Hmm… not that I know of. Usually we just get extra rations and Chu-Rai…” She turned toward the door. “Anyway… I should probably go wash up too. If I don’t hurry, those idiots are gonna use up all the hot water again. We’ll see each other at the mess hall...”

She took a step back, but before she could leave, Hermann turned toward her.

“Wait.”

“Hm? What now?”

Hermann lowered his eyes slightly.

“Angel in heaven, my guardian dear...”

Singe’s hand slipped from the doorknob while Hermann continued.

“...be my keeper and my guide, stand by me, throughout the night, until the morning brings its light...”

Something glimmered in her eyes.

“Keep me safe in all I do, and let my heart stay kind and true.”

A short pause.

”Amen.”

For a moment, Singe simply stared at him, lost in thought, before a spark returned to her dark-circled eyes.

“About time,” she said quietly, turning toward the door again.

“Though... I probably won’t remember any of that anyway,” she said, casting him one last curious glance, “so you’ll have to tell me again tomorrow...”

Then she pulled the door shut behind her, leaving him alone.

That girl...

A crooked smile spread across his face, and he dropped onto the creaking cot, letting out a deep breath.

The persistent ringing in his ears still hadn't vanished, when a crushing exhaustion overtook him.

A short nap can’t hurt. Maybe… I’ll be back home… when I wake up...

His thoughts kept returning to everything that had happened.

Again and again his muscles twitched, his pulse spiked, as though his body refused to believe it was finally allowed to rest.

Half-asleep, his hand automatically reached toward the space beside the cot.

Damn it, where’s my?!

Only after several seconds did he realize there was no rifle there.

Right… they took it away from me after the battle…

And just as he finally drifted into a deep, dreamless sleep, distant voices soon made him jolt awake again.

Hermann’s eyes flew open in alarm.

But instead of smoke and mud, all he saw was the flickering oil lamp beside him.

Breathing heavily, he wiped the sweat from his forehead.

“Still here...“

Distant voices echoed through the corridor outside.

Boots thudding across wooden floorboards.

Sounds like everyone’s heading to the mess hall already.

Hermann sat up and reached for his uniform.

“Well, let’s see what they serve for food here.“

For a moment his thoughts drifted back to the stinking carcasses of the Manylegs and he froze while buttoning his shirt.

“They wouldn’t... or would they?“

His worry lines deepened as he strode toward the door. 

“Dear God, please no.”