Julius was heading to Plimene's house with a bouquet of flowers. What kind of expression would she make when he handed this to her?
She would probably scold him outwardly, asking why he brought such a troublesome thing to manage. She always did that. But did Plimene really know? That gaze fixed on the flowers even while saying such things. And even the smile that subtly lingered around her lips.
Yes. That was enough for Julius.
Then, droplets of rain began to fall one by one from the gloomy sky.
"Oh no. Suddenly it's raining."
In Tirna, where water vapor rises thickly, it wasn't uncommon for rain to fall at times like this. Julius raised blue mana and floated it above his head like an umbrella.
Before long, the raindrops grew thicker and poured down heavily. With the thought of making Plimene happy even a little earlier, Julius quickened his pace.
When Julius arrived at the house where Plimene was staying, he had to stop in his tracks upon seeing Plimene standing outside blankly.
Julius belatedly approached Plimene and covered her with the umbrella made of mana.
Plimene looked at Julius with a vacant gaze and Julius was momentarily speechless.
It was the first time she had shown such a despairing expression. Even in difficult situations, the flame burning in her eyes had never gone out, but now it was different.
When Plimene recognized Julius, she immediately became tearful and hugged him. Julius held the bouquet with one hand and stroked Plimene's back with the other.
"Julius. What should I do? I, what should I do?"
"Plimene. Calm down. What on earth happened?"
"Phillis, Phillis is..."
Julius's expression hardened stiffly.
Julius comforted Plimene and then headed to her house. From inside, Phillis greeted the two of them.
Phillis, who should have been resting in his room as usual, was outside his room.
"Phillis."
"Ah, brother Julius. You came?"
"You..."
Julius looked at the paper Phillis was holding. He had intended to talk slowly about it, but Phillis had seen it too.
While Julius was pondering what to say, Phillis spoke first.
"Actually, I had a vague feeling this would happen."
"Phillis."
"Well, of course, since we're in a wartime situation right now, aren't we? Moreover, even though they're accepting voluntary enlistments, the war shows no sign of ending."
What Phillis held in his hand was a draft notice. Although Tirna had been accepting voluntary enlistments, as they still lacked manpower, they had now begun forcibly conscripting people.
And Phillis was no exception. It didn't matter how sickly he was. Those above would want to increase the headcount by even one more person somehow.
"Phillis. Don't worry. Considering your physical condition, if we speak well to the officials..."
"Brother, you know too. That won't work for people in our situation. Only the children of wealthy families can avoid military service. People like us who have nothing can only be swept along in the end."
Julius tried to say that wasn't true, but Phillis' voice was too resolute. In fact, Phillis' words weren't wrong.
The targets of forced conscription like now were mostly the poor working class.
The wealthy class of the city? They would continue living as usual even during this war. They wouldn't go to war themselves. Even if conscription was attempted, they would settle it with money. Tirna was such a place. There was nothing that couldn't be done with money.
Those who went to the battlefield and died were the poor people who, knowing nothing, got swept up in the atmosphere and picked up guns. The end of those seduced by propaganda is invariably miserable.
Phillis knew this well too. He was only physically weak; conversely, his mind was very sharp. He could tell how the situation was flowing from just a few lines of newspaper articles.
"I thought this would happen someday."
"...Phillis."
"Sorry, brother. It seems I'm not in the mood to talk today."
Phillis shut himself in his room with steps twice as heavy as usual but Julius couldn't say anything.
-Whoooosh.
Rain poured outside the window, and the world was gloomy due to dark clouds. However, what made his heart damper than the humid air was the atmosphere filled with terrible despair. Rain only wets clothes, but despair penetrates to the bones and eats away at the heart.
-Clench.
Julius clenched his fist. He couldn't end it like this.
For several days after the draft notice came out, Plimene had to live in hell.
Her younger brother, who was her reason for living in the world, was being dragged to war. For Phillis, who was already so weak that he had to lie down all day, to go to that terrible battlefield with no end in sight meant death but Plimene had no power to stop it.
She didn't have money like the privileged class or the wealthy to exempt her brother from military service. Those who had nothing could only follow along with whatever this massive flow commanded.
The powerlessness of being unable to resist unfairness made Plimene even more despairing. The strong will that had sustained her so far had been for her brother. Now that her brother was in danger of disappearing, Plimene's flame was slowly dying out.
Then the doorbell of her house rang.
Plimene's vacant gaze turned toward the door.
"It's me. Julius."
An answer came from beyond the door. Plimene got up with staggering steps and opened the door.
Instead of the bouquet that would have normally appeared suddenly before her eyes, what appeared before her was Julius wearing a military uniform. And it wasn't just any military uniform, but a dress uniform symbolizing an officer.
"Julius? You, why on earth..."
"I'm also going to participate in this war."
"But you said you had no military obligation..."
Julius smiled bitterly.
"It's something I chose myself. Those city government guys, still thinking I'm a mage, immediately put me in an officer position."
Plimene looked at Julius with trembling eyes. She realized why Julius had made such a choice.
"You, you don't need to do that! Why are you going to such a dangerous place!"
"Do I need a reason?"
"If it's because of Phillis, you're a stranger to us in the first place..."
"I'm not a stranger."
Julius gently stroked Plimene's gaunt cheek with his right hand.
"How could the person I love, and that person's family, be strangers to me?"
"..."
Tears welled up in Plimene's eyes. She immediately buried her head in Julius's chest and her shoulders shook. Julius carefully embraced Plimene, who was sobbing silently.
After several minutes, Plimene's trembling subsided.
"Promise me just one thing."
Plimene said with her face still buried in his chest, her voice still full of moisture.
"That you'll definitely return safely."
"Yes. I promise."
Julius recalled his meeting with his master. When he expressed his intention to voluntarily participate in the war, Julius thought his master would be furious.
It had to be that way. He was in the middle of an important magic project, and he was saying he would drop out alone. Moreover, when asked what his disciple was doing instead of being absorbed in research, he said he was going to the infamous trench warfare. Even if it wasn't a master but an acquaintance, it would be something to beat him up to stop him.
But Julius's master wasn't flustered by those words. Rather, as if he had vaguely expected this to happen, he asked Julius.
-Julius. Do you have no regrets?
-No. This is the choice I made.
-I am your master, but at the same time, I am also your teacher. From a teacher's perspective, if I don't stop my disciple who says he's going to die on his own, people around will point fingers.
The master gazed out the window with his hands behind his back.
-Even so, I won't stop you. You, who never said a word asking for anything normally, made your first request to me. As a teacher who has given you nothing, how could I refuse that?
-Master. You have given me many things.
-Julius.
-Yes, Master.
-I put tremendous effort into reaching this position. I gave up so many things for great success as a mage.
Julius silently listened to his master's words.
-When I became the master of a school and received people's admiration. I suddenly thought that I was lonely.
-Master...
-I ran here without rest and passed by too many things. Sometimes I think like this. Couldn't I have gone a little slower? Couldn't I have paid a little attention to my surroundings?
The master turned to look at Julius. Not scolding his disciple who made a wrong choice, but with a smile proud of his manly choice.
-Julius. Don't regret like I did.
-...
-Magic is important to a mage. Theories, new formulas, unknown discoveries that didn't exist before. They're really great things. Still, if I had to tell you to do just one thing, yes, this would be good. Julius. Fall in love.
"Master. Thank you for indulging this insolent disciple's whim."
Julius muttered this while recalling his last meeting with his master inside the assigned barracks. He soon put on his military uniform and went outside.
Outside, his platoon was waiting. And among those platoon members was Phillis too.
In the eyes looking at him with tense gazes, there was vague expectation. The expectation that since a mage was leading them, at least minimum safety would be guaranteed.
It wasn't wrong. Units led by mages had higher survival rates because they had better response capabilities against enemies compared to other units.
Julius had voluntarily come here to protect Phillis. Hoping that his beloved Plimene wouldn't be sad.
"Let's go."
The war was not yet over.
Throughout the continuing war, Julius gave Phillis many conveniences. But even so, Phillis' weak body deteriorated to an incurable degree.
When rain fell on the land torn by bombardment, it became muddy. Living in trenches dug in that mud inevitably caused sanitary problems.
Since maintaining a clean environment was only enough to stabilize his condition, Phillis' state was at the point where he should be sent to the rear immediately.
But the higher-ups didn't allow it. From the moment they gave such convenience to just one soldier, everyone would surely beg for the same treatment.
There was that too, but now the situation was so bad that they couldn't spare even one sick person.
'Not good.'
For the past several months Julius' unit had fought countless battles. Each time, they had survived without major problems thanks to Julius' active role, but that too was slowly coming to an end.
Julius was getting exhausted by this war with no end in sight. By the despair that he might never see Plimene again. By the regret that he might have made a pointless choice.
'No. Still, I must endure.'
Julius headed to the barracks where Phillis was staying. When the platoon members saw him, they saluted, but Julius waved his hand saying it was fine.
The platoon members also knew that Julius gave Phillis conveniences. But no one felt jealous about it.
Rather, they knew that thanks to Phillis, Julius stayed with them, so they could survive without dying.
The quick-witted platoon members cleared the space on their own, leaving only Julius and Phillis alone.
"Phillis. Are you okay?"
"Ah. Platoon leader."
"You brat. Just call me brother comfortably like before. There are no watching eyes, so what. How's your physical condition?"
"Yes. Thanks to the conveniences you've given me, I've gotten much better."
It was a lie. That his complexion was worse than before was obvious enough for even strangers to notice. But Julius didn't bother to point out that fact either.
"There's talk that the war is ending. They say the higher-ups are having ceasefire negotiations now. So if we endure just a little more, we can return home. You understand?"
"...Yes."
He knows it's false hope. He also knows this is just a rumor. But if he didn't say this, it would be hard for Julius himself, not Phillis, to endure.
Returning to the barracks, Julius sent a letter he had written in advance. It was a letter to Plimene. The higher-ups would censor the content, but it didn't matter. It was just conveying the situation as a greeting.
'The ceasefire negotiation is a rumor, but at the same time, there are no baseless rumors. The hope that the war might end is good, but conversely, right before that is the most dangerous.'
If the ceasefire negotiations were real, both sides would likely wage total war to occupy even a little more territory before the final ceasefire.
'God, please, just once, let us be safe.'
Julius, despite being a mage who didn't believe in religion, desperately sought God for the first time.
Several days later, both sides played the extreme card of deploying all forces to the battlefield. It was to occupy even a little more territory before signing the armistice agreement.
It was three days before the ceasefire was concluded.