novelBirthday Party
| ← Ch.68 | Ch.70 → |
On a certain night.
The young soldier was quietly reading a book while resting on a chair. He had finished all his work and was enjoying a leisurely nighttime.
Katamimi entered after knocking a few times on the door.
「What's wrong, Katamimi? It's rare for you to come at this hour. 」
He closed the book and wore a slightly interested look. Katamimi spoke to him with the same expression as always,
＜Actually, there is something I would like Captain to see. Won't you come with me?＞
「Is that so... I'm not sure what this is about, but... I don't mind since I have time now. 」
The young soldier rose from his chair and followed Katamimi. The place where he was led to was the gymnasium, a building right next to the barracks where his living quarters were. The inside was pitch black, so he didn't know what to expect.
Suddenly, the entrance closed and the young soldier twitched in surprise. He tried to talk to Katamimi, but she was no longer there. He didn't know what had happened so he tried to gauge his surroundings, but before he heard a beautiful song coming from somewhere.
The volume gradually increased until it was a chorus sung by many. A song about celebrating a birthday.
When the chorus ended, the ceiling lights turned on. All the homunculi he owned were neatly lined up there. And on a large banner fixed to the ceiling were these words,
「Happy Birthday!」
That's right. They were secretly preparing for a birthday party for their captain. Now that they finished their song, they all voiced in unison,
＜＜＜＜＜Happy birthday Captain!＞＞＞＞＞
The youth saw this spectacle and his eyes began to moisten. He had never thought that they would be able to do something like this.
A small cake with 16 candles was brought in front of him. He held in the tears that were about to spill and ignited each candle. With the 16 candles lit, he bowed his head and gave a prayer to the goddess,
(...O Goddess...
...please, please, let these happy times continue...
May these girls eventually live in a world where humans and homunculi live hand in hand...)
When he raised his face, the homunculi began a long applause, until he could not hold it in any longer and tears finally spilled from his eyes, thus setting the party into full motion.
The homunculi gave him various "self-made" gifts.
There was a pen of processed bone.
There was a jacket of processed skin.
There was an accessory that used woven hair instead of thread that connected several beautiful eyes.
He gave light smiles when he received these gifts made with love.
When all the gifts were given, a play of his favorite story began. The story of the female scholar and the homunculus girl.
The homunculi, who had been practicing hard in secret, presented him a marvelous play. The youth sat on a comfortable chair and watched their drama while chewing on the cake made by the cafeteria platoon.
The play lasted for about an hour, until finally the performers thanked him for watching and the curtains fell. He stood up from his chair and applauded, with visible streaks of tears running down his cheeks.
「Everyone... thank you, really! I never thought that I would celebrate my birthday in such grandiose while on the front lines, you know? I will treasure this memory. This is the first time that I've been so moved... again... from my heart, thank you!」
And so, he approached the homunculi who were in a line, and hugged each one of them.
When he embraced them they wagged their tails with so much vigor he was concerned that they might tear. Some of them even pecked him on his cheeks.
He spent a few hours hugging each homunculus. When he finished the birthday party was officially done. Several homunculi brought the gifts to his room, while the rest began cleaning up the venue.
The young soldier trembled with emotion as he looked at the pile of gifts in his room.
From that day onwards, the child soldier began to make more physical contact with the homunculi.
He stroked the heads of homunculi who did their jobs well.
He embraced the homunculi who nearly faced death.
He also high fived homunculi when they passed by each other.
The homunculi were pleased with this change, evident from their swinging tails and twitching ears.
Thanks to his command and the efforts of the homunculi, the situation on the front line significantly improved.
Of course, it's not just the front lines. Various defence facilities had been built around the garrison, and the reserves bases behind them had been greatly enhanced.
If things went smoothly, he would be able to live happily in this garrison. Come next near, his achievements would be evaluated, and he would see the most promotions among his contemporaries.
But reality was fickle.
?????
There were those who watched the homunculus battalion working on their mission from a forest a short distance away. The observers wore camouflage uniforms and had carefully applied makeup to their faces to better match their surroundings.
They were all combat homunculi. Some of them used clairvoyance spells to monitor the defences around the garrison, while several others held their wands to cover all possible directions that could see an attack.
And these homunculi recorded in detail the defences being built at the garrison.
It was recorded that many garrison buildings were repaired and ready for use.
It was recorded that the road leading to the front line was expanded, allowing for the mobility of large units.
It was recorded that the trenches had been strengthened, dramatically improving their defensive ability.
A cute cat girl stood at the forefront of that group. They were a reconnaissance unit sent by an enemy country.
They performed their missions as ordered by their superiors and submitted detailed data to the command center. Seeing the data coming in, the commander of the enemy army looked like he had bitten a worm.
An enemy frontline where a construction battalion did not exist until recently was dispatched and greatly strengthened its defences. The expansion of roads for better mobility and the repair of previously abandoned facilities. On top of that was the construction of defence facilities around the garrison and the construction of more reserve base facilities...
For them, there was only one conclusive answer.
「Enemy forces are preparing for a major offensive. 」
From here, what the army does will depend on what person is in charge.
A cautious commander may start building defences in his army in preparation for the enemy offensive. A commander who thinks highly of his own life may propose a strategic retreat before the attack. An optimistic commander might not even come to the conclusion of said offensive.
But this commander was a well known warlord. And this is what he thought,
(If the enemy completes their preparations, then we will have no chance of victory. But now they are off guard.
The reconnaissance reports that the enemy has maintained the same units aside from the construction battalion. If I gather supplies from other garrisons, I can attack with momentum before the enemy.
It is difficult to prevent an invasion with an overwhelming numbers difference, but it's easy to attack an enemy who's off guard. Above all, I know I'm good at relentless attacks like a fiery blaze, but I struggle at defensive and withdrawal movements.
...I should go on the offensive here even if we have to go all out. )
The enemy commander swiftly decided to make an all out attack.
He pulled out the reserve forces on other friendly garrisons and ordered tons of invasion supplies from supply stations in friendly territories. And in just about a week, the commander had prepared a division scale force for the invasion.
The commander, exhausted from all his preparations, called for his subordinates to launch the attack.
Author's note:
Katamimi showing off I-shaped balance as a birthday entertainment
Yet another record for his drawing growth! Will Shimamon be able to draw illustrations on his own?? Now available at-
| ← Ch. 68 | Ch. 70 → |