Liars’ Dice

“You know what most people don’t understand? It’s really not easy to specialize in both offensive magic and healing magic! They think you can just switch between them on a whim, but that’s not true at all. I’m telling you: the requirements are completely different!!”

Linly’s voice was high-pitched and animated, nothing like Hermann had come to know it.

“Uh… is that so?” he replied flatly.

She nodded emphatically, took another sip from the mug she was clutching in both hands, then leaned even closer toward him.

“Absolutely! At the academy, they only tell you which schools of magic are in highest demand. But how they actually work together, how difficult it is to switch from one to the other…”

She made an overly dramatic gesture, sloshing part of her drink over her hand.

“…not a single word!”

Linly kept rambling into his ear, her warm breath smelling faintly of alcohol and something sweet.

“You see, there’s this offensive spell where you have to guide the flow of magic so that...”

Hermann was only half listening by now.

His gaze wandered across the barracks hall: the low ceiling, the dark wooden interior, the round tables where the soldiers sat drinking together.

The atmosphere was strangely mixed.

Some of the girls sat silently in corners, staring blankly into space while clutching their drinks, as if their minds were somewhere else.

Others joked around in small groups, laughing almost hysterically at the nonsense they traded back and forth.

And still others listened to music coming from a lute-like instrument with three strings and a long, narrow neck, being played rather roughly by one of them.

A faint smile crossed his face.

Only thing missing is cigarettes. Man, what I’d give for a smoke right now…

Meanwhile, Linly kept talking at him.

“…if I’d specialized in barrier magic like Tong did, things would be completely different. It’s actually much more similar to offensive magic because the alpha and beta waves intertwine with each other, which is...”

“Oh, for crying out loud, stop drowning him in all your ‘would’ve, could’ve, should’ve,’ Lin!”

“I-I’m not doing that at all!” Linly protested immediately as Singe stepped up beside them, shoved a brimming mug into Hermann’s hand, and clinked her own against it.

Her long black hair was tied into a messy ponytail, her usually pale face already beginning to flush.

Hermann examined the brownish brew and sniffed it before cautiously taking a sip.

“Some people say Chu-Rai’s the only reason humanity hasn’t rolled over and died yet,“ she said with a hint of pride while Hermann let the taste settle on his tongue.

That’s... awfully sweet. Almost like some kind of plum juice. And this is supposed to have alcohol in it?

“You got anything else? Beer maybe?”

Singe and Linly exchanged a brief look before the latter tilted her head.

“B… beer? What’s that?”

Hermann merely sighed.

Would’ve been too nice...

“Nevermind.”

He emptied the mug in one long gulp.

At this rate, I’d need ten more…

The door opened, and with a cool gust of air rushing in from the upper decks of the Grapevine, Tong stepped inside.

Her brown hair looked tidier than usual, and even her eyebrows seemed less bushy somehow.

She headed straight toward Hermann and the others.

Closely followed by another person.

“Hey, everyone. This is Flam.”

The slender soldier nervously brushed a hand over her thick braid, only briefly meeting the curious gazes around her before dropping her eyes hurriedly to the floor the moment they met Hermann’s.

“H-hello…”

Not long after, they were all sitting together.

Only Singe seemed to regard the newcomer critically.

“Weren’t you with the ground troops we supported today? Pretty sure you collapsed, if I remember correctly…”

Flam nodded weakly.

“Y-yes…”

She looked at Tong, sitting close beside her, with shining eyes.

“Without her, I’d be dead right now… I owe her my life.”

A rare blush crept across Tong’s face, and she quickly took a drink.

“Just helped out a fellow soldier…” came her muffled reply from behind the mug.

Singe narrowed her eyes as she looked back and forth between the two of them.

“So how long have you been stationed on the Grapevine?” Linly asked curiously. “I’ve never seen you around before.”

“I-I only came aboard during the last departure a few weeks ago…”

Tong gave her shoulder a friendly pat.

“For someone fresh out of basic training, she showed real guts today!”

“Y-you really think so?”

“Of course! You could turn into a real aviator someday. Maybe you should join the scouts!”

Hermann noticed Singe flinch.

“Me… an aviator…” Flam repeated dreamily, while Singe crossed her arms, her gaze turning cold.

“It’s not that simple. You don’t become a scout ‘just like that’! Learning to properly control a flight disc takes brutal, difficult training…”

Tong and Linly exchanged a glance before Linly leaned in slightly.

“But… didn’t you almost fail the exam yourself back then because you couldn’t manage to...”

Singe slammed her hand on the table.

“T-that was different! Besides…” She shot Flam a disdainful look, making the girl shrink deeper into her seat. “…she’s way too quiet and shy to be an aviator. If you can’t come out of your shell, you’re not suited to screaming commands at wind speeds of a hundred knots!”

Tong let out a long, irritated sigh while Flam sat frozen, staring at the tabletop.

Hermann glanced curiously at Singe, who leaned back with satisfaction and took a deep gulp from her mug.

So there is a strong esprit de corps in their air force as well. Feels familiar…

His thoughts drifted back to obstacle courses, endless marches, and sleepless nights. Always accompanied by the instructors’ constant yelling.

He looked at Flam, who still hadn’t moved while Tong gently patted her shoulder.

So she’s supposed to come out of her shell more, huh? I know just the thing for that...

A faint grin spread across his face as he felt around in his pocket.

“So… I don’t know about you guys…” he began while dropping something onto the table. “But I’ve got the feeling it’s time to make things a little more interesting around here.”

The others leaned forward to stare curiously at the two cubes lying there.

“Stones…?” Linly murmured with interest.

“Dice,” Hermann replied, grabbing one of the empty mugs and turning it upside down over the gaming pieces.

He gave the mug a casual shake.

“It’s easy. Everyone rolls in secret. So only you can see your result. Then you announce out loud what you supposedly rolled.”

“Supposedly?” Tong asked.

Hermann’s grin widened.

“You’re allowed to lie.”

The girls exchanged attentive glances.

“The next person has two choices. They can believe you, roll themselves, and announce something higher. Or they can say, ‘You’re lying.’”

“And then what?” Singe asked.

“Then we reveal the dice.”

He lifted the mug and let the dice tumble across the table.

“If the caller was lying, they lose. If they told the truth, the doubter loses.”

“And the loser…?”

Hermann grinned from ear to ear.

“…drinks!”

Singe’s eyes lit up instantly, and she snatched up mug and dice.

“I’m starting!”

Once the clatter of dice echoed across the hall, it didn’t take long before the first curious glances turned toward them.