How to Survive on the Armored Front

Chapter 25

"They called the Alfraian Army into the village-what does that even mean!"

Early morning.

Rana, who had fallen asleep clutching the snack Yaan gave her, woke to the village head's shout echoing across the square.

"Cough, cough! Damn... blood again."

Covering her mouth as she coughed, Rana looked down: both palms were slick with blood. She wiped them roughly, stepped outside, and saw something unbelievable.

"Grandma, what's going on?"

"Shh. The adults are talking. Don't mind it; just go offer at the shrine."

"Tch..."

A week had passed since Yaan left. The visit of the giant Frame now felt like a fleeting dream, and Rana's everyday life had quickly returned to normal.

Dressed in her patchwork clothes, Rana slipped between the condiment jars at the edge of the square instead of leaving the village, eavesdropping on the conversation.

Whether they noticed her or not, the argument between the village head and his son never paused.

"You're the one who's lost his mind! Do you even know who they are? Humans! Soldiers of the Vailsar Empire!"

"Shut your mouth, boy! You saw the Frame with your own eyes and still spout such madness? They are guests!"

"Before they are guests, they are humans! The same humans who once bought and sold our ancestors as slaves! Just because they wield the Creator's legacy doesn't turn their bodies into elves!"

The young elves behind him nodded. While they had gone to the cities of the kingdom to buy daily goods, the village had let humans enter freely and even guided them to the Creator's ruins-something the hot-blooded youth could not understand.

"Look at the villages that cooperated with the kingdom army! They get food supplies, and when a colossus appears they're even granted knighthood! We should be siding with them right now, yet you bring humans-Imperial soldiers-into our village...!"

"Do those villages look fine to you? After hundreds of years of worship, their shrines were destroyed and they were forcibly converted to the Creator Church! I'd rather die than live like that!"

"Has that damned Creator ever given us even a single slice of bread!?"

"Everything we eat and drink was originally created by-"

"Enough with that Creator nonsense!"

Hearing the head's words, the young elves snorted in frustration. From their point of view, the resources and opportunities granted to cooperating villages were enviable.

Yet the elder elves nodding behind the head were unyielding. Ignoring their long-standing requests to side with the Alfraian army, the elders now invited humans without a word of consultation?

"I've already spoken with the knights. They are expected to arrive tomorrow; keep that in mind."

"So you plan to sell the village to the kingdom knights?"

"You were the one who let the humans in first! We can't take this anymore!"

"The guests are arriving today! If they run into each other...!"

"Fine. Then all the better."

Though the head shouted, his son snorted, clearly finished listening, and raised a hand.

"W-what are you doing?"

"I'll greet the guests. Father, go inside and rest."

"You wouldn't dare hand the guests over to the knights!?"

"If we hand over the Creator's relic, our tribe can join the kingdom and live in comfort."

At his signal the young elves seized the village head at once.

The elders resisted, but it had always been the young ones who protected the village from outside threats.

Once their minds were set, the old and infirm could do nothing.

"Unhand me! Would you sell the Creator's descendants for your own gain!?"

"It's wartime, Father. Tradition has no place here."

The head was dragged away by the rough hands of the young, yet still he shouted.

"Do you think I don't know that!? The kingdom of Alfraia-"

"Quiet, village head!"

The rough hands reached the other elders as well.

When the youths-each shouldering a rifle brought from the neighboring village-began to draw them, the elders gave up resistance and were locked away in a corner of the village.

"The humans arrive today! We'll disguise it as a festival, lull them into lowering their guard, then eliminate everyone except the so-called guest!"

At his command the young elves moved as one.

Hiding between the condiment jars, Rana saw her grandmother being taken with the village head and ran toward the shrine.

'Big brother is in danger!'

***

"The glow's stronger than before."

Twilight. The forest was already dark, the trees blotting out the sky.

Seeing lights and laughter coming from the village through the underbrush, Dandel raised an eyebrow.

"Looks like they're holding a festival. From the look of things, the young ones have returned."

"The young ones?"

At Rael's answer Dandel repeated the phrase; Rael gave a thin smile and spoke.

"They often go to the Alfraian border city of Bicmail to sell their harvest. On their return they hold a small festival to thank those who made the long journey."

"Then may we enter the village?"

So that was why the young elves had been absent.

Understanding the sense of dissonance he had felt on earlier visits, Dandel nodded.

"Of course. They were raised in the Creator's faith; they won't bar a guest's visit."

A deep smile crossed Rael's face. As Dandel tilted his head at the unfamiliar, eerie expression, Glaepnir appeared overhead with a heavy thud.

"Lieutenant!"

Glaepnir stopped at the call.

Dandel relayed Rael's words.

Soon the lieutenant's voice came through Glaepnir's loudspeaker.

- Sending the whole unit is too risky. Ten including myself will accompany you; the rest camp around the village.

"Is that really necessary? The troops are exhausted from the long march..."

Rael asked again, but Yaan's expression did not change.

- If the local personnel have changed, we don't know how they'll react.

"Still..."

- The command authority lies with Lieutenant Dandel and myself. Even if he is an acquaintance of His Highness, he may not interfere with the unit's movement.

At that Rael nodded reluctantly.

"Forgive my presumption."

With the conversation over, Dandel nodded and called the soldiers.

Soon Yaan, Rael, and eight others set out for the village with Glaepnir.

"Sir."

"Yes, Company Commander."

Just before they split up, Yaan called Dandel aside and whispered.

"Three of them?"

"Yeah. Keep them hidden nearby."

"Understood."

Dandel turned and went back to the soldiers.

Soon Yaan and Rael, Glaepnir leading, approached the village.

Seeing the giant colossus, the villagers began to gather.

"Greetings. It is an honor to meet our guests."

As the young elf spoke, every elf in the village bowed as one. It was the disciplined precision of a well-trained army.

'Well trained. Not like ordinary villagers.'

Aside from this scouting mission, Yaan had never visited an elf village of this size; he rested his chin on his hand and studied the youths.

[Report for pilot.]

Nill's sudden voice made Yaan's eyes widen. The AI rarely spoke first. Surprised, he asked,

"What is it?"

A small screen appeared before Yaan.

After showing an aerial view of the village, the hologram peeled away a layer of wall.

[Multiple small arms hidden inside building.]

"Oh?"

In one corner of the screen: a building that looked like a warehouse.

Seeing dozens of neatly stacked rifles, Yaan's eyes sharpened.

"Anything else?"

[Multiple elves concentrated in one building. Request visual confirmation.]

The next image showed the interior of the adjacent building; Yaan's lip curled.

Inside were the village head and the elder elves, arms bound, under guard.

"How should I take this..."

While rubbing his brow, Yaan studied the faces of the young elves surrounding him.

A different atmosphere from the previous villagers. Unlike the way they treated any human other than him as if he didn't exist, they now carried a friendly air toward the humans as well.

'Did Rael know about this situation and lead the entire unit to the Elf village?'

Recalling their earlier conversation, Yaan quietly watched Rael greeting the elves outside his Frame.

If Rael had ordered the unit into the village knowing the situation, he would have to be immediately detained as a spy for the Alfraian Army.

"Lieutenant Yaan! Please come down!"

While all this was happening, Rael was calling for him to come down.

If it hadn't been for Nill, he would have pushed the unit inside without any information.

'Judging from the footage, I don't see Rana.'

The reason they had brought Glaepnir to the village was the weapon inside the preservation facility, yet the key itself-Rana-was nowhere to be seen.

"Tch."

Clicking his tongue, Yaan opened the cockpit hatch and stepped outside.

"Lieutenant, this elf here is-"

Tap. Tap.

While Rael was introducing the young elf, Yaan's boot heel tapped the Glaepnir's hatch floor twice.

On that signal, confirming the eyes of the accompanying company members focusing on him, Yaan sent a hand sign while descending from the Frame.

Dangerous situation. Stand by for flare. Guarded stance.

One by one, the soldiers who nodded found their positions. They could have threatened them with Glaepnir, but with Rana's location unknown, they couldn't ignore the risk.

Since the villagers knew Rana was the key to entering the ruin, she might be taken hostage-or, worst case, killed.

"Company Commander."

Speaking in a voice the approaching soldier couldn't hear, Yaan said:

"There's a girl in fancy clothes. She's important. Secure her and bring her the moment you locate her."

"What if she resists?"

"Tell her she's a guest's friend. Give her this."

Handing the candy he had given before to his subordinate, Yaan spoke.

Meanwhile, the elf who had approached him.

His sturdy build and sharp eyes showed he represented the village's young people.

"Welcome, honored guest."

"...Thank you for your cooperation. It's made our forest exploration much easier."

"It's true that humans have never entered before, but since it's your request, Father couldn't refuse."

The elf spoke with a smile, but it wasn't hard to read the meaning behind it.

'If you weren't a guest, would we have let humans in at all...? That's what he's saying.'

Unlike his father the village head, he couldn't restrain his feelings and showed them openly. Either he was hot-blooded or believed himself completely superior-or both.

"As it happens, I've brought liquor from Bicmail. Since we're fated to meet, shall we share-"

"My apologies. Drinking on duty violates military law."

Saying so, Yaan scanned the situation of the other company members guarding him.

Sure enough, a few young female elves were clinging to them, urging drinks.

"My apologies. We're on duty."

"Surely one drink won't hurt?"

"My apologies."

Though the soldiers were normally helpless before liquor, the elves urging it couldn't budge them.

The elves clicked their tongues quietly at the unmoving soldiers.

"Damn, if they were other humans they'd have fallen long ago."

"Humans, so pointlessly loyal...!"

The elves thought so, but the soldiers refusing the liquor swallowed dryly under Yaan's gaze and didn't notice.

'If they show even a hint of wavering...'

'The Company Commander will kill us.'

Watching them, Yaan nodded and spoke casually to the elf before him.

"First, a small token from His Highness the prince."

So saying, Yaan handed over a small bundle.

Inside lay twenty gold coins used in Alfraia.

"This is..."

"I heard that possessing Vailsar gold is dangerous, so I prepared these specially."

"I gratefully accept. How can I ever repay this kindness..."

"Then I'd like to ask one thing-I'm looking for a girl who serves as shaman in this village."

Shaman, suddenly?

Thinking so, the elf soon recalled why Yaan had come and spoke.

"If you mean Rana, she's probably praying at the shrine. Come to think of it, it's about time..."

It was then that he heard Rana calling him.

"Big brother!"

Rana ran toward Yaan, shouting.

Seeing the bandage he had made still wrapped around her arm, Yaan frowned.

"You came back, Rana."

Saying so, Yaan hid Rana behind his back.

Seeing this, the elf and the young people hardened their expressions.

"Um, honored guest? I'm sorry, but that child is our village's..."

"Shaman. And the key to entering the ruin."

As he spoke, Rana hidden behind Yaan's back shouted to him.

"Big brother! Those people said they'll catch you! They'll catch you and hand you over to the knights!"

"What!?"

"Rana! What nonsense are you saying...!"

The elves shouted, startled by Rana's sudden cry.

"Damn it, first take out the one who rode the colossus!"

Saying so, the young elf drew a pistol from his pocket. An elf army officer's sidearm. A military issue not available in civilian cities.

'Even a mana knight couldn't draw this fast!'

Thinking so, as he pulled the trigger-

Pak-!

A rifle bullet struck the hand holding the pistol, blood spraying.

"Aaaargh!?"

"A sniper!? When did they get this close to the village!"

Covering Rana's eyes with one hand, Yaan watched quietly.

"Yes. I knew."

Saying so, Yaan raised his hand skyward and pulled the trigger.

Peeeewww-!

The flare rose into the sky.

The signal: unexpected situation. Request support.

In response to the flare, flares began firing from every direction surrounding the village.

"Crazy!? The entire village is surrounded!"

"They knew from the start and still entered the village!?"

"Impossible!"

While the panicked elves shouted in the village now bright as noon, the eight soldiers guarding Yaan surrounded him protectively, rifles aimed in all directions.

"Down! Move and we fire! Subdue the ringleader and bring him!"

"Hands where we can see them! Don't move, you bastards!"

Thud-!

The soldiers formed a semicircle around Yaan.

Right behind him, Glaepnir knelt and extended a hand.

"Big brother, that sound just now... it was gunfire...!"

"Nill. Can this elf ride in the cockpit?"

[Possible only when accompanied by a pilot.]

"Then first, onto the hand."

[Order confirmed.]

After first placing Rana onto Glaepnir's hand, Yaan looked at the elf clutching his own hand dripping blood and spoke in an icy tone.

"Hostile action confirmed. From this moment on, this village is under the control of the Imperial Army 87th Independent Company."