Change 1: Takashi wants to return home from the battlefield. He wants to be discharged normally

1

Back at the barracks, packing my stuff, a flicker of unease crept in.

Is it really okay to just… leave like this?

I was conscripted, dragged into this mess. If I just up and go, what if they think I’m deserting or something?

“Desertion before the enemy” is a death sentence, or so they kept drilling into us.

But is there even a proper discharge process?

From what I’ve heard, regular enlistment involves a contract with the military. You serve your term, and when it’s up, you’re free to go. Quitting mid-contract? Near impossible unless you’re too broken to fight.

Those contracts are ironclad. Without a damn good reason, you’re not getting out.

That said, I wasn’t a volunteer—I was drafted. That should exempt me from some of the red tape… but honestly, I don’t know how it works.

I was so focused on surviving each day that I never had the chance—or the energy—to ask about what happens after.

What a mess.

I glanced at Natalie, who’d already finished packing and was rolling around on the floor nearby.

“Hey, Natalie. If I just head home without saying anything, you think that’d cause trouble?”

“Hmm~… Probably make a big stink~ Everyone’d be tearing the place apart looking for you~”

“Yeah, figured…”

“But, like, who cares~? Tons of guys have already bailed without a word~”

“Nah, that’s not okay…”

Talk about half-assed.

Everyone’s way too damn casual about this.

“Maybe I should tell the Commander I’m quitting.”

“Not sure I’d recommend that~ Knowing the Commander, he’d probably pull out all the stops to keep you~”

“Well… he’s got his own position to worry about, so I get why he’d try to stop me. But I’ll just have to convince him to let me go.”

The Commander’s not a bad guy, all things considered. If I beg hard enough, he’ll probably let me walk.

The war’s over, after all. Probably.

“If he starts yapping too much, I’ll handle the convincing for ya~ I’m pretty good at persuasion, y’know~”

“Knock it off. Your idea of ‘persuasion’ is just beating the crap out of people. That’s why everyone’s scared shitless of you.”

“Fufu~ You know me so well, Takashi~ That’s why I love ya~”

Grinning like a creep, she threw her arms around my neck.

This girl’s always clinging to me the second she gets a chance. Starved for human contact much?

“Let’s just get to the Commander’s office already. Standing around talking’s not getting us anywhere.”

“Why don’t we write a resignation letter or something~? Y’know, make it official~”

“A resignation letter? What’s that?”

“Like a quit notice~ Not sure about the details, but Sherry once told me it’s good to write something like that when you’re leaving a job~”

“Huh…”

So, basically, a formal letter stating my intent to retire. A resignation document.

Yeah, that might be better than showing up to the command room empty-handed. Putting my thoughts on paper could mean something to the higher-ups, too.

Not a bad idea for once, Natalie.

“Alright, sounds good. Doesn’t seem like much hassle. Let’s write that letter.”

“Yay~! Off to the shop to grab what we need, then~!”

Her twin tails bounced as she sprinted off, practically glowing with excitement.

I jogged after her, trying not to fall behind.

“Nfufu~ This envelope’s super cute~ And this stationery’s so pretty~ Oh, this brush pen’s adorable too~”

“Hold up, Natalie… Check the price tag… This stationery alone costs three hundred bucks…”

“What? Oh… they hiked the prices again~…”

“What the hell? That’s way too expensive! It’s, like, a hundred times pricier than normal…”

We’d made it to the shop, but the outrageous prices left us floored.

Sure, this is the front line, but this is straight-up price gouging. Three hundred bucks for stationery? That’s insane.

“Hey… isn’t there cheaper paper around? No way I’m dropping three hundred on this…”

“Hmm… cheaper paper… lemme see…”

“Forget it. At this point, I’ll take origami paper, loose-leaf, whatever. Just find something cheap we can use instead.”

We put the overpriced stuff back and started digging through the shelves for anything affordable.

As we rummaged, a woman from behind the counter rushed over, looking frazzled.

“E-excuse me! A-are you, by any chance, Deputy Sergeant Shibuzaki!?”

“Huh?”

She snapped into a rigid salute, practically trembling with nerves.

It’s rare for someone to approach me when Natalie’s around. This lady’s something else…

“Uh… and you are…?”

“I-I’m Daisy Reeves, formerly of the Integrated Special Command, Third Ground Forces! I was on the front lines until last month, but, uh, circumstances brought me to work here at the shop!”

“Daisy Reeves… Oh, right, you were assigned about six months ago…”

“Y-yes! I-I can’t believe Deputy Sergeant Shibuzaki actually remembers me! It’s an honor beyond words!”

Despite her sharp, cool appearance, Daisy-san’s voice trembled with raw emotion.

She stood ramrod straight, saluting with an intensity that screamed effort.

Man, this lady’s way too tense… I’m younger than her, so she could totally chill out and be more casual.

I decided to try breaking the ice.

“You’re from the Third Ground Forces, right? Fei Ron’s unit? We owe you guys big time for the last battle.”

“N-no! We’re the ones who owe you! Your kind words are far too generous!”

“Nah, seriously, with Natalie’s Second Ground Forces being a total mess, having your unit keep formation was a lifesaver. For real, you guys came through.”

“S-such praise… It’s… It’s an honor…”

“Hey, hold up, Takashi! Don’t sneak in a jab at me like that~ I’ll kiss you silly, you jerk~!”

Natalie jabbed my side, grumbling.

I wasn’t dissing her. Just stating facts.

Your unit was a mess, Natalie. Ignoring orders to hold formation and charging in solo? Come on.

I jabbed her side right back in retaliation.

As we traded playful shoves, Daisy-san, the woman who’d introduced herself, suddenly raised her voice even louder.

“Deputy Sergeant Shibuzaki! I’m terribly sorry to interrupt your flirting! Could I have just two minutes of your time!?”

“Uh? Two minutes?”

“Thank you so much for everything!”

She bowed deeply, bending at a perfect ninety-degree angle.

Whoa, what’s with the sudden gratitude? What’s going on?

Caught off guard by her outburst, I watched as she started speaking, almost like a soliloquy.

“The truth is, until a year ago, I worked at an orphanage in a neighboring country! My homeland treated human rights like a suggestion, drafting everyone into service, but even so, I worked there as a staff member!”

“Uh, oh… really? Hey, you can lift your head…”

“I dreamed of a day when peace would come, teaching kids who’d lost everything to the war! Playing with them, talking about their dreams… all sorts of things…”

Her voice began to tremble.

A faint sniffle reached my ears.

The cool, composed impression I had of her was crumbling fast.

Her voice now thick with tears and sobs, Daisy-san pressed on, words spilling out desperately.

“N-now… those kids… they won’t have to go to war… hic… I won’t have to hear about their deaths anymore… sniff… I know it was a burden working with Natalie-buchō’s unit, but… I just had to thank you…”

“Uh, um… well…”

“I… hic… I’m so grateful you ended the war… sob… Thank you… thank you… waaah…”

Drops of water pattered onto the floor at her feet.

With every sob, more tears fell, pooling beneath her.

An awkward, heavy silence settled over the overpriced shop.

What is this vibe? This is way too uncomfortable…

“N-Natalie, let’s wrap this up. This is getting rough.”

“Huh? Weren’t we looking for cheap paper?”

“Forget it. Just grab something, anything. I don’t care about the price anymore.”

“Fiiine~ Got it~”

If some stiff-necked normal saw this and started talking, I’d be in deep shit.

To Daisy-san, still sobbing quietly, I stammered, “Uh, w-well… stay happy!” and bolted out of there like my life depended on it.

Back in the stark, lifeless room with its triple-decker bunks, we spread out the stupidly expensive stationery on the table—costlier than some designer brands.

“Man, that was intense… Never expected her to just start crying like that…”

“She didn’t seem jaded like the rest of our unit, huh~? Straightforward, honest, that kinda thing~”

“Probably got pulled from the front before she could get sucked into our dumb antics…”

Guessing she was sidelined by injury or something. Her reaction felt so… normal.

But, man, getting thanked that hard? It’s kinda embarrassing. I’m not used to praise, so I had no idea how to respond.

Getting caught up in more of that would wreck my heart, so let’s just write this resignation letter and get it to the Commander.

Switching gears, I dragged over a chair and sat down.

Natalie, catching my move, flashed a happy little smile and grabbed a chair of her own.

She plopped down right next to me, close enough that our skin brushed. Way too close, and it’s freaking hot.

This girl’s sense of personal space is so broken it’s a problem.

Oblivious to my grimace, Natalie started cheerfully scribbling her resignation letter, clearly in a great mood.

Resigning myself, I followed suit, letting my pen glide across the paper.

A few minutes in, a question I’d been meaning to ask popped into my head.

“Hey, Natalie, I just realized… I don’t know much about you. Where’re you from? Mind sharing?”

“Huh? My hometown~? Hmm, what to do~…”

“We’re gonna be living together, so you can at least tell me that. No need to hide it, right?”

At my words, Natalie’s big cat-like eyes narrowed to slits.

No idea what’s got her so pleased, but she let out a syrupy, teasing purr.

“Fufu~ You’re such a naughty boy, Takashi~ Wanna know everything about me, huh? You perv~”

She pressed her hands to her cheeks and started wiggling in this creepy, exaggerated way.

After playing up her cutesy act for a bit, she dropped her voice to a shy whisper.

“So, like~… The truth is~… I was a princess in a Nordic royal family! A real-life princess!”

“Quit lying, you idiot!”

“Hahahaha! You don’t believe me at all! Hahahaha!”

After all that buildup, that’s what you come up with? Are you mocking me?

A royal princess? Yeah, right. As if she’s anywhere close to that kind of class.

While I stared, dumbfounded, Natalie cackled, smacking the table with glee.

This so-called royal princess, with zero grace or dignity, just kept laughing her head off.

“W-what’s this…?”

“It’s our resignation letter~♡ Packed with all my feelings about going back to Japan~♡ Please accept it~♡ Eek~♡”

“Denied.”

“Why!?”

In the command room next to the barracks, I handed over our handmade resignation letter, only for Commander Garnet to shoot it down without a second’s thought.

This stationery cost more than some fancy brand-name stuff! Why’d you reject it like that!? At least read it!

“B-but… Takashi-kun, you were using that super creepy voice… That’s basically sexual harassment… It’s grounds for a court-martial…”

“Look, I’m just a sensitive teenage boy, alright? Calling me creepy is kinda harsh, don’t you think!?”

“Sensitive? You? If you’re sensitive, then everyone’s a delicate flower… Idiot, idiot…”

“Lucky-for-you thick-eyebrow jerk…”

She’s got this kind face, but her words are brutal…

I’m not letting this rejection slide.

“Fine, don’t accept it. Just start the discharge process already.”

“Process…? What process…?”

“We’re heading back to Japan, so get the retirement paperwork going. I wanna see my family soon.”

“We’re gonna start living together~ Uhehe~ Pretty cool, right~?”

“Ughhh…”

The Commander’s soft, fluffy expression hardened.

Here it comes, that “you finally said it” vibe.

After a series of groans—uuu and grrr—she exploded in a reverse tantrum.

“Why are you talking about retiring!? Have you even thought about how the Commander feels!?”

“W-what’s with the outburst…?”

“We’re swamped dealing with the war’s aftermath! Instead of spouting whatever you want about retiring, how about helping out a little!?”

“Swamped…?”

I tilted my head, and she started muttering complaints like a curse under her breath.

“You probably don’t know this, Takashi-kun, but… soldiers have to sign nondisclosure agreements with the military…”

“Nondisclosure agreements?”

“In simple terms, it’s a contract saying you can’t talk about what you saw or heard during the war.”

“Huh…”

Makes sense. There’s plenty we did that’d be… messy to talk about.

Throwing ethics, morals, and humanity into the gutter just to survive—over and over. Shitty stuff like that.

I get why they’d want it kept under wraps. Honestly, I don’t wanna talk about it either.

“But… everyone keeps leaving without a word… The Commander’s getting chewed out by the higher-ups over it! If classified info leaks, who’s gonna take responsibility…?”

“I feel bad for you, but what’s that got to do with our retirement? We’re saying we’ll do it properly.”

Sure, I’ve got the fancy title of Deputy Sergeant, but I’m just a sixteen-year-old punk.

I’ve got no real authority or responsibility. What’s whining to me gonna do?

“What’s with that look, like it’s not your problem…? Don’t you feel sorry for the Commander getting yelled at…?”

“I said I feel bad! But isn’t that your responsibility as Commander? What’s the point of complaining to a grunt like me?”

“…Ughhh!”

Guess she didn’t like my “not my problem” attitude.

Her thick brows furrowed, and she started yelling the most annoying crap.

“Fine, whatever! If you’re gonna be a jerk, your retirement’s denied! You’re gonna be the Commander’s personal partner from now on, Takashi-kun! You’ll serve in the warzone recovery efforts for eternity! No retirement for you! Too bad!!”

“Huh!? What the hell!? Don’t screw with me!!”

“Why should I let a capable soldier go!? For the Commander’s mental stability, you’re staying by my side!! I’ll take good care of you!!”

“I said no way! If you want capability, talk to Natalie! Right, Natalie!?”

“I’m one with Takashi, so no way I’m splitting up~! Rot alone in misery, you idiot~!”

“Idiot, you say!? Then both of you are staying!! I’ll use every ounce of my authority to make sure you never retire!!”

“Screw that, moron!! Moron, moron!!”

In the end, the retirement process was a massive pain in the ass.

No matter how much we begged, the Commander wouldn’t budge. She was practically in tears the whole time—guess the higher-ups were really tearing into her.

And Natalie, being Natalie, just had to egg her on with, “Ohhh, too bad~! Sucks to be you~! Pfft~!” That only pissed her off more.

She got so heated from Natalie’s taunting that even when I said, “Fine, leave her behind, just let me retire,” it was a no-go.

Don’t take it out on me just because Natalie got under your skin… Geez…

In the end, they said I could go home as a reserve soldier, but… I’m not okay with this. Not one bit. The war’s over, and I didn’t want any ties to the military anymore.

Dammit all.

On the plane to Japan, I was stewing in my own resentment.

“Don’t be so mad, Takashi~ From now on, it’s just you and me, living our lovey-dovey newlywed life~!”

Next to me, the idiot poked at me gleefully. This is your fault, you know. Get a clue.

“Lovey-dovey, my ass… We’re stuck with the military because you pissed off the Commander. Show some remorse, would you?”

“No biggie~ They’ll still pay us as reserves, right~? We can live it up~!”

This moron and her short-sighted thinking…

“Are you dense? The second we take their money, we’re on the hook to come back someday. I’m done with the military.”

“You’re such a stickler, Takashi~ If they try to call us up, just ditch ‘em~ No way they’re catching us, right~?”

That’s not the point.

It’s not about whether we can escape or not.

Why the hell should I have to start a fugitive life with you just because the war’s over? Do that crap on your own.

“Bringing you along was a mistake.”

“Oh? You’re gonna say that? I’ll cry, you know! I’ll totally cry~!”

“You’re not the crying type. I’ve never seen you shed a tear.”

“Alright, bet. I’m gonna bawl my eyes out right now~!”

With that, Natalie let out an ear-piercing wail and kept sobbing the entire flight to Japan.

It was so effective that, by the time we landed, we’d earned ourselves a spot on the airline’s blacklist.

After a four-hour train ride from the capital, I finally made it back to my hometown. A crisp May breeze swept through, refreshing and clear.

Unlike the war-torn hell we’d been in, my hometown was untouched by the aliens, looking pretty much the same as it did three years ago.

Your typical rural suburb, with a decent smattering of shops downtown. My hometown, same as any other.

The unchanged scenery hit me with a wave of nostalgia.

I really made it back alive…

“Oooh~! So this is Takashi’s hometown, huh~? Perfect spot to build our little love nest~!”

Just as I’m getting sentimental, this idiot chimes in…

I slammed an iron claw onto Natalie’s head for her nonsense.

“We’re almost at my folks’ place, so let me warn you now—don’t say anything stupid.”

“I got it~ I won’t ruin your tearful, touching reunion~ I’ll just introduce myself and announce our marriage, so relax~!”

“That’s exactly the stupid stuff I’m talking about… Stop pretending to be an idiot every now and then.”

“Ehehe~ No way~!” she chirped, grinning even as I tightened the iron claw.

She’s practically glowing, thrilled just to get attention.

“Looking at you makes me think… dogs or cats might actually behave better.”

“Pfft, all those mutts can do is suck up. A wild, cute gal like me? I don’t need to play nice~ You’re one lucky guy to have a beauty like me fawning over you~!”

“That’s not something you say about yourself. You’re so full of yourself it’s almost charming.”

“Right~? Fall for me even harder~!”

“Greedy, aren’t you?”

No point arguing with her. Thinking I could rein in this gorilla was my first mistake.

The moment I brought Natalie along, things were bound to get messy. No escaping it now.

I let go of the iron claw and patted her head a couple of times.

Part hope, part resignation—praying she doesn’t go off the rails.