Chapter Two: The Independent Cavalry Regiment Moves Out
I
How about now, Z? she asked.
No. You will miss if you shoot now.
How come? It’s not moving any more. I should be able to hit it.
The girl held her bow taut, ready to shoot. Her eyes were fixed on a small animal with pure gray fur—a gray fox, often found all throughout Duvedirica. This one twitched its black ears, restless.
The gray fox is a timid creature. It uses those ears to listen for noises over a wide area to alert it to any potential threats. Like sonar, in a way.
What’s sonar?
A machine that uses acoustic waves to detect objects’ precise locations.
I don’t know what that means.
Z was using difficult words again, and the girl frowned, bemused. Z sighed.
It matters not. The long and short of it is that, given your current level of skill, the fox will run away before your arrow reaches it.
What should I do, then?
What do I always tell you? First, closely observe your opponent.
The girl lowered her bow and, following Z’s instructions, stared intently over at the gray fox. Some time passed, and then the fox’s ears, which had up to now twitched in independent directions from each other, both turned to point in the same direction.
Z, the girl breathed.
It appears it has found what it was searching for. Now, where is it looking? Z prompted her. It drew closer to her and pointed. The girl felt a little embarrassed, but followed the direction of its finger.
Oh! A spotted rabbit. True to its name, the spotted rabbit had dappled fur in dark and light splotches. This one, however, had changed to match the color of the undergrowth so as to blend in with its surroundings. Thanks to its special ability to camouflage itself, the species was also known as the mimic rabbit.
Remember this well. No matter how cautious your target may be, that will change when it is stalking its prey. It is a living creature, after all, so it must eat in order to survive. It has dropped its guard in order to focus on its prey. Therefore, now is the time to strike.
Right!
The girl nocked another arrow and pulled her bowstring tight. She aimed at the gray fox, but Z’s dark arm nudged her bow towards the spotted rabbit.
Wait for the moment the fox pounces. Even you should be able to hit it then.
Right! The fox sat perfectly still for a time, then gradually shuffled backwards before, in an instant, it leapt upon the rabbit in a single bound. At almost the same moment, the girl loosed her arrow. As the fox’s jaws closed upon the rabbit, the arrow buried itself in its neck.
The girl and Z sat by a campfire under the light of a starry sky. The girl’s ebony eyes sparkled as she impaled their dinner for the night on skewers around the fire.
In a single day, you have gotten very comfortable with a bow, murmured Z, looking at her heap of bounty.
Yeah, I have. I still like the sword better, though, she replied. Her eyes went to the white blade that rested against a tree trunk nearby.
That may be so. But you will not always be able to engage your enemies at close range. Mastering a weapon like the bow has its conveniences, said Z. It clicked its fingers, and a maelstrom of black mist appeared out of nowhere. The girl watched with rapt attention as Z unceremoniously tossed the bow into its depths. It was swallowed up in an instant, before the maelstrom disappeared as though it had never been there at all.
Was that magic? Can I learn to do that? the girl asked, her eyes full of longing. The idea that you could put anything inside, like the Mysterious Box of Mysteries in her picture book, seemed wonderful to her. But Z’s reply put an end to that fantasy.
That was not magic, it said. It is, therefore, impossible for you. The girl’s shoulders slumped in disappointment.
Oh... That’s too bad. But look, Z! she said, immediately switching to a new topic. I think this is ready. Let’s eat—these vampire birds are so tender and tasty. She picked up a charred bird and bit into it, smiling as the juices from the meat filled her mouth. Z threw the small branch in its hand into the fire, shaking its head.
Huh? Aren’t you going to eat? What’s wrong?
Food is wasted on me. I do not taste it, and it does not fill me up. My way of sustaining myself is fundamentally different from that of humans.
Huh. Okay... said the girl. She stopped munching on the bird, and asked instead, So what do you normally eat? Thinking hard, she realized she’d never seen Z eating anything. Z gazed at the girl for a time before it answered.
The souls...of humans, it said slowly.
Wow. Do those taste good? the girl asked. If they did, she thought, she’d like to try one.
It...depends on the quality. Humans of recent years have extremely low Odh. As a result, it has become rare to find any high-quality souls, Z replied. The girl got the sense that its mood had grown dark. As a being of darkness and shadow, however, Z gave no visible sign of this.
You mean they don’t taste good? she asked. Z nodded.
I suppose that’s right, if I were to put it in human terms. Besides that, rapid advances in civilization have extended human life spans considerably. Humans these days do not die easily, unless war breaks out. In today’s world, I have to content myself with scraps.
Why don’t you kill humans and eat their souls? asked the girl. It seemed to her if only Z killed some humans right away rather than waiting for them to die, that would be much faster.
I do not kill, Z replied shortly. It threw another branch onto the fire, then continued. Or rather, more accurately, with the exception of some few cases, we cannot kill. As I taught you once before, we may only interfere with humans who have just died, or infants who have not yet reached full sentience. However, while I can kill and devour infants, their souls are so small that it is hardly worth it.
The girl considered Z’s words, then asked, You mean they don’t fill you up?
Simply put, yes, said Z. After this, Z taught the girl a great many things about souls. She was most surprised to learn that the human soul lived on, though only for a few moments, even after the body had ceased to function. The whole course of that person’s life was contained in that soul, and that gave each one its character. The girl, who had always thought of human bodies—which unlike those of animals, she couldn’t eat—as no more than garbage, reflected on how important it was to learn new things. Z also told her that souls who escaped being devoured went to a place called the Zero Boundary. They drifted there until the day they were given a new life.
Thank you for teaching me all that, the girl said. It sounds like eating souls is really hard work. What if I went and killed some humans for you? There’re lots and lots of humans outside the forest, right? How many do you need to feel full? Ten? Or maybe more like twenty? she asked. Z stared at her, processing this barrage of questions.
Truly, you are worthy of observation. You don’t want to return to the human world? Not even a little?
I’ve never wanted to. Why would I? Though, I would like to try the bread and cake that show up in my books... the girl said, tilting her head. She looked utterly bewildered by the question. Z threw its last branch onto the fire. The flames crackled and a few sparks, beautiful and ephemeral, flew up into the night.
Is that so... said Z. But it seems I have made you worry. It is unnecessary, I assure you. I eat well enough. The girl made a thoughtful noise, then smiled, her worries alleviated.
That’s good, then, she said, and began to stuff her face with bird meat again.
Z watched her for a moment. When you are done with that, it said, I will teach you about some other foods. You will be hitting a growth spurt soon.
What’s a growth spurt?
Simply put, your bones will lengthen, and your body will grow larger. A limited diet will adversely impact that growth. You need to eat plenty of vegetables, not just meat.
The girl giggled. Okay, she said. You really know everything, huh, Z? Her smile was full of trust and admiration. Z gazed up at the hundreds of millions of stars above them. That smile had reminded it of another girl from long ago.
That’s what happens when you live an eternity without purpose... it murmured.
“Morning already...” Olivia mumbled, turning her head to look out the open window. Sunlight streamed in, accompanied by a breeze that carried the scent of new leaves as it brushed her cheeks.
I think I overslept... It’s been ages since I dreamt about my childhood, though. I wonder what Z’s doing now, and where it is... Oh, I hope I can see Z soon. These thoughts preoccupied Olivia as she reached for the silver pocket watch that rested by her pillow. She pushed the lever to open it, and saw that the hour hand was already pointing to nine o’clock. Breakfast was long over. There wasn’t even any point using Swift Step to rush to the mess hall.
Oh no... she thought, but quickly cheered up. Not to worry. I’ll get Ashton to make egg and mustard sandwiches later. Maybe ten or so. Olivia jumped out of bed, then went over to the wall and raised one leg up perfectly vertically. She leaned in towards the wall, loosening her muscles. Just then, a knock came at the door, along with Claudia’s voice.
“Are you still not up, Major?” Claudia called, sounding exasperated. Olivia, immediately remembering that today was the day they left for the Emaleid Citadel, grabbed her uniform from where it hung on the wall, threw it on, and dashed over to open the door.
Two hours later, they were out on the parade grounds. A steady stream of soldiers filed in, awaiting their imminent departure for Emaleid. Claudia ordered them into four columns, sweat beading on her forehead.
Meanwhile, beside her, Olivia sang, “The ants go marching one by one, hurrah, hurrah,” amusing herself with some ants on the ground. Claudia became even more unsettled when she muttered, “It’s been ages since I ate an ant...” with a hungry look in her eyes.
Thinking she wouldn’t put it past Olivia to actually start eating ants, Claudia said hurriedly, “Major, would you please stop playing with the ants now? The soldiers are all assembled. It’s time.”
“Right, okay,” said Olivia. Claudia motioned her towards a raised platform. Olivia clapped her grimy hands together then trotted over to mount it. She looked out over the ranks of soldiers. The members of the former detached force, along with a number of new conscripts, made up the three thousand soldiers who would form the new Independent Cavalry Regiment. The point of difference from standard cavalry regiments was that their commander—Olivia, that is—had been granted discretionary powers. This was entirely thanks to Paul, who doted on Olivia less like a parent than as a grandfather.
The soldiers who had been in the detached force gazed solemnly up at Olivia, waiting for her to speak. The new recruits, on the other hand, generally thought one of two things as they laid eyes on their commander for the first time.
“Have you ever seen a girl that gorgeous? Is she even human?” said one, totally enraptured.
“This little girl’s the regiment commander? They do know our lives are on the line here, right?” said another, full of skepticism.
Of course it’ll take time for some of them to accept her, thought Claudia. A girl that young in the military, and a regiment commander at that—it’s unheard of. Ah, well. They’ll get over it once they’ve seen her in battle. She pictured Olivia running unfettered across the battlefield, beautiful and majestic.
“Regiment Commander Olivia will speak now! Stand to attention!” she bellowed. All eyes pointed towards Olivia up on the platform. Olivia coughed once to clear her throat, then stood in a wide, imposing stance, putting her hands on her hips to drive the point home.
“In war, humans die easily. Dying means no more tasty food—and that includes cake. So Claudia, Tactician Ashton, and I are going to come up with a good strategy to make sure we’re all harder to kill. So, for the sake of tasty food and cake tomorrow, do your best to stay alive, everyone,” Olivia finished. She then turned on her heels and jogged back down the steps from the platform. Ashton stood off to one side, burying his face in his hands. Almost all the new recruits stared open-mouthed in total confusion.
At this point, Gile cried out in an absurdly loud voice, “Oh, how Commander Olivia’s words pierced my heart! That’s our Silver-Haired Valkyrie!” He went on, crying out some unintelligible nonsense like “I could weep!” and such that no one really followed. Claudia hurried over to the platform and ran up the steps.
“Y-You heard her! Regiment Commander Olivia is working on a plan to keep you alive, so you can ride into battle without fear! Independent Cavalry Regiment, move out!” she bellowed. The soldiers of the former detached force began to mount their horses. This seemed to pull the new recruits back to reality and they jumped into action. Olivia stroked the neck of her favorite black horse, then leapt up onto its back. The black horse swished its tail with a happy neigh.
“Major, all preparations are complete. We await your orders,” said Claudia, riding up beside Olivia. Olivia punched a fist straight up into the sky.
“Righto! To the Emaleid Citadel!” she cried. At this, trumpets blared to signal the soldiers to move out, and Olivia’s Independent Cavalry Regiment began their journey to the Emaleid Citadel.
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