Longmen Memoirs

"Then, I'll leave it to you."

The latter gave a less than standard military salute.

"Order."

w felt that their reactions were like a drama on a stage, although he had not seen much of it.

But Lucille hurried away, probably to get tools.

"...Sigh." The woman sighed softly and looked at the stuck door, feeling a little disappointed: "Rhode Island...will it be long before it can be put into use?"

"Rhode Island?" w couldn't help but repeat the name softly.

It was as if the woman discovered her existence belatedly.

"Ah... you are... I remember you were with Hedley." The woman looked over. She had a pair of bright and transparent red pupils, wearing a white long skirt and short boots. Her face was gentle and beautiful, and she had a Such an indescribable purity, as if the war had never left any trace on her body.

Those clean eyes made W couldn't help but look away slightly. He couldn't make eye contact with her, but he reluctantly looked away.

She was just wondering, was she scared by her actions just now...

"Mercenary W, I was looking for Captain Hedley, and then I accidentally got lost..."

This may not be a good excuse.

"Be careful when investigating. Some areas are still under construction and the cables are exposed. Be careful of electric shock." The woman reminded: "But this level of caution should be considered the nature of your mercenaries."

w didn’t have a good answer for a while.

What does she mean by this, kindly remind me?

"Really, call me Theresa." She said, looking at W who didn't answer: "Hedley chatted with the doctor for a few words after the meeting. He should have returned to the temporary ward now. Don't let My companion is worried, so you should go back too."

Unimaginably gentle, but not surprising, just what is going on with this caring tone.

"...Thearesia...Your Highness?"

w asked with some uncertainty. For her, His Highness was a distant word. She had been making a living on the chaotic battlefield of Kazdare since she was born, picking up the weapons of dead mercenaries and rummaging through battlefields and corpses for things. Later, of course, he became a mercenary.

I don't have much feeling for the lords and nobles, so I can't say I'm in awe. It's just that no matter how much money I give, it's good to be able to save my life. It's not a pity if I can't.

This is how she's always come.

"Huh?" Theresa was a little confused, as if she had thought of something: "Ah, this is not Kazdaele, so there is no need to be cautious."

Reticent, ha, how can you be cautious.

W seemed to be thinking to herself that she was not the kind of person who would be frightened and restless when hearing the name of a noble.

"Then Theresia... why is Your Highness fighting against a door here?" Her tone was not very respectful, but even a little teasing: "The little man just now was an engineer, maybe. This is such a small thing..."

She couldn't understand how a big noble could personally come to ask about such a trivial matter.

"This is no small matter."

"Is it...?" W blinked, a little confused, but mostly indifferent.

"How many things are really not worth paying attention to?" Theresia asked.

"..."

W didn't have an easy answer. She was actually quite good at finding faults, but she couldn't bring up the thought of finding faults and ridicules when facing this woman.

Had to change the subject.

"What about Rhode Island?"

"Did you hear that?" Theresa asked.

w nodded.

"It's the name of this ship. Although there hasn't been a formal naming ceremony yet, I... want to call it that." She explained, shaking her head slightly: "It's just wishful thinking. Maybe the doctor and Kelsey will object to it. It’s his destiny.”

"Ha, real name? From this ship?" w was a little confused.

"You have also seen that this ship was not made by Kazdaele." Theresia said patiently: "In the deepest part, among the remaining information, I found this name."

"Rhode Island." She said: "I don't know what it means. Well, Kelsey should know better, but I want to name it this way, now that it already has a name."

W's expression suddenly became very strange. It would be better to say that he was surprised but not relieved.

Fighting against the regent who usurped Kazdaele... Is this the virtue of Princess Therasia, who has almost single-handedly reunited most of the Sarkaz clan?

He was trying to repair a broken automatic door himself, and he was confused and even a little, how should I say, indecisive.

Isn't it because he should be a bit tougher? At least he should show a bit of majesty. What's going on with this soft look?

"What's wrong with you? Your expression is a little strange." Theresia asked looking at the strange-looking mercenary in front of her.

"Well... laughing out loud in front of His Highness... does that count as transgression?" she asked tentatively.

"No, it doesn't count..." Theresia was not so sure: "But Kelsey and the doctor are both serious about words, and Mr. Chen Mo has never smiled. The soldiers are burdened with a lot, and it is not easy to open their hearts. "

"If possible, I hope you can all smile, but this is an irresponsible extravagant wish, and I can ignore the burden that is weighing on everyone."

"Then it should be okay if I laugh for a while, right?"

She does not have the natural awe of the nobles that the Sakaz mercenaries have, let alone the respect for the royal family. Maybe she doesn't even have the slightest favor. After all, everyone only has one life.

This innocent and even dazed look made W suddenly lose the idea of ​​laughing.

"You are like this, and I suddenly can't laugh anymore..." she said.

Unexpectedly easy to talk about.

"I always feel like it's my fault."

"Haha...cough." She still couldn't hold it back. The Theresia in front of her was so different. W, who laughed twice, quickly calmed down. "Don't dare."

"What about you?" Theresia asked again.

"I?"

"I'm Theresa, it's Rhodes Island, what about you?"

"w..."

Theresia shook her head and said, "That's not what I mean. W only represents a mercenary, and your name can represent yourself."

"Don't let this pretense full of war breath last too long. It's not just about name, it's just me meddling."

w suddenly calmed down.

She was stunned, those eyes and her words seemed to be able to see through her own thoughts.

"Ah... I'm sorry." Theresa said, "Don't you have your own name?"

"For Sakaz who was born in Kazdare, this is a common thing." W replied indifferently, and it was not clear how much he cared about it: "Few Sakaz would care about...names. People are forgotten too quickly, and it’s very inefficient to spend effort remembering so many people’s real names.”

"But I don't want to forget them, and I can't forget them." Theresia said: "If we wait until Kazdaele's fate is settled... wait until you are no longer w, and we still have the opportunity to talk like this, maybe You can also have a better name that is more suitable for a Sakaz woman like you, just like Rhode Island. If you have a name, it will sound much warmer, right?"

"..." w was silent for a while.

"I never thought about this..." she said.

She thought about a lot. When she was on the battlefield, she thought about how to survive. When she was surrounded, she thought about how to deserve to die. When she ran away, she thought about using others as bait.

I thought about killing someone, and I also thought about killing someone else.

The only thing I haven't thought about is the name...w.

Maybe she never thought about becoming herself one day.

"Theresia, communication." A strange voice said, "Kazdel is making moves, and the doctor is already making arrangements."

"Well, I'll be there right away." Theresia looked at Kelsey who was walking over in a hurry, and then looked back at W in front of her.

"w?"

"Ah, um, I'm here." The mercenary came back to his senses.

Theresia said seriously: "If you are willing to fight for us, no matter what you are doing at that time, you are always welcome here."

She didn't have time to answer.

It seemed that things were urgent over there, but the woman stayed behind.

Kelsey sighed helplessly.

His cold eyes fell on the mercenary in front of him.

"I won't dictate Theresa's decision, but... don't think you will be popular here. I have seen your resume and you are very dangerous." Her words were mixed with an unabashed warning.

w was a little surprised and subconsciously retorted.

"Each each other."

"Your body is recovering quickly, but it is far from being able to wander around at will. Go back to your hospital bed, otherwise someone will carry you back."

w tsked lightly, she was not used to the feeling of being dependent on others and the woman in front of her who was more difficult to deal with than Ines.

Rhode Island was quieter than she expected at night, and she did not see Ines and Hedley in the ward.

Rhode Island is far away from the flames of war and smoke, like a safe habitat. However, this kind of safety makes W, a mercenary, very uncomfortable. She can't help but think of the scene during the day.

Only now did she suddenly realize that from beginning to end, she had not dared to look into Theresia's eyes.

why?

She obviously looked so innocent, even a little funny.

It doesn’t look like one of the leaders who presided over this cruel war at all...

Naive...?

Is it a disguise, or is it a deliberate way to win people's hearts?

But innocent people don't have that kind of look, that kind of...sad look.

w was very unsure. She suddenly envied Ines's magic. It would be great if she could have Ines's eyes, so that she could tell whether it was true or false.

But she still couldn't help but think about it.

If... I can stay with that highness.

What kind of scenery will I see?

Once some ideas are born, they are difficult to fade away.

ps: How about giving it a Machiavellian label?

Chapter 12 Hedley’s next chapter is very melancholy.

Hedley's mercenary team stayed, and the soldiers were incorporated into the escort force together with the transport team from the Tower of Babel. In fact, it was a escort force. Apart from the attack they encountered after entering Kazdaele, they later I didn't encounter any decent battles.

This made W, who was full of anger, very dissatisfied.

From time to time, she would raise her head to look at the figure of the huge land cruiser they were responsible for escorting, and occasionally think of the strange His Highness she met on the ship that day.

To be honest, there is no such emotion as awe and bowing. At most, it is curiosity because of identity and speech and behavior, and perhaps a restraint that even I am not aware of.

She still didn't think that the person who could say those innocent-sounding and stupid words would be one of the main leaders in leading this war. She seemed too gentle and harmless, and she even doubted that she would actually step onto the battlefield. She may be too frightened to move.

But how is it possible?

That's Theresa.

w hugged his knees and stared at the burning bonfire in front of him, the firelight reflecting the scarlet eyes of Sakaz.

"The main person who led the war is just like this... Theresia..." she murmured softly.

A feeling of irritability lingered.

In the past, she didn't dare to imagine that one day she would meet such a big shot. To her, identity was not important, which made her realize that no matter what important identity it was, she only had one life.

In fact, the people in the camp didn't like her very much. She knew very well that she was a mad dog in their eyes, and she was happy for others to see her this way.

It is better to put on a fierce and unpredictable disguise than to be looked down upon by others and then die inexplicably. You must know that there are not a few mercenaries like her in Kazdaele.

No one deserves to die, and no one can guarantee that he will not be the one to die.

In this case, why should we work hard to survive?