On the side of the road stands a house. Two floors tall, with windows covered by white curtains hanging above to hide whatever was inside.
Outside of the main gate of the house stands two soldier. Their rifles firmly held in their hands with an expressions full of grim. Their awareness strengthened with vigilance as well. Even rats who roam in darkness they could detect with ease.
Inside of the house was Kazuto briskly walking as he could feel his heart racing and his hands shaking.
He was tense and scared, but his expression was completely stern and resistant. He had gulped his fear down his throat as the longer he walks the louder he could hear his footsteps.
He then made his turn to the right as his mouth fallen in shock, standing between the threshold and baffled to what he witness.
Inside of the living room about a hundred and half were cramming like a pack of sardines imprisoned in a can. Not a single one were given leg room to relax nor had a space to sit down to.
They were all just standing there with faces damped in sweat. Even those who just cleaned themselves were already starting to smell like vinegar.
With no room of thought, Kazuto gaze around the room searching for Otto. He later saw him standing in the left corner trying to get a glimpse of what was in front of him.
"Isn't this room a bit too small for us all?" Kazuto asked, walking forward towards Otto with a concern look on his face.
"We can't really argue about it." Otto shrugged. "The sergeant wanted this to be the rallying point, we had no choice but to comply."
All of them were just confused and are waiting for answers as to why they were rallied in such a confined space. However, none of them had the guts to ask why.
Even Adolph who is known to be ferocious didn't even have the guts to raise his hand. Instead, he only gazed towards what's in front of him standing with the tip of toes, also trying to get a glimpse.
Seeing Adolph struggle somehow made Kazuto chuckle in a devious manner. Leaving a smug look written on his face as he tries to look away.
Adolph, noticing the small noise of mockery made his eyebrows clenched down as he stood back with both feet on the ground, glimpsing back to Kazuto with a glare of murderous intent.
"What do you want?" Adolph asked, irritated.
"Nothing!!" Kazuto replied, looking away. His eyes darting to the ceiling wall.
Finally the wait ended as Sergeant Wilhelm standing near the door arrived and ready to speak.
"Is this all the soldiers from the 16th division that are resting in the village!?" Sergeant Wilhelm asked, his tone more terrifying than Adolph's.
"Yes sir," a soldier in front of him replied.
"How many are you in here?" Sergeant Wilhelm asked.
"About a hundred and forty-two, sir!" the soldier answered.
Sergeant Wilhelm sighed after receiving the answer, slowly closing his eyes and leaning down to the wooden door behind him looking like a care free person with no troubles in the world.
"All right, I want all ears to listen carefully!! no one talks unless if it's a question. All of you got that!?" Sergeant Wilhelm warned them as he gazed towards the men standing in front of him.
None spoke, not even a cheep after hearing what the sergeant had told them, rather they all just stood with a firm face waiting for him to continue.
He then sighed after a fraction of a minute with a small smile as he straightened his back.
"Listen up! Tomorrow morning all of the soldiers from the 16th division are going to be sent fighting to the front lines to invade the enemy trench!"
One of the soldiers who were in front had broken their firm expression as he gazed towards the sergeant with a crazed looked.
His eyes were starting to shake in fear, his mouth slowly mumbling, and his head filled with memories that wasn't supposed to be remembered.
"That's a death wish, sir! All of us are just going to die out there!! Do you even remember what happened to the 8th division!? What about the 10th division who were sent to take the trench that we are now staying in now!?" The terrified soldier protested.
"What happened to them?" Kazuto whispered as he gazed towards Otto in a curious yet firm gaze.
"They all died, thousands of them, none of them survive even when we tried searching for survivors. Just like he said, it's a death wish," Otto replied with a dull tone, maintaining his firm expression with his eyes locked towards the Sergeant's expressionless face.
Kazuto gazed forward with a saddened expression, feeling sorry for the lost lives of the past assault.
However, Kazuto couldn't help but notice Otto's eyes slightly darting after answering to his question. He later noticed Adolph's fists clenching and trembling as well, as if a sense of regret linger inside of the very room alone.
"Are you defying the Generals' orders, soldier?" Sergeant Wilhelm asked with a calm tone.
"N-no, sir—"
"Then shut the hell up!!" Sergeant Wilhelm replied, as he slowly glared at all of the soldiers in the room.
Still, all of them were gazing forward without a slight inch of fear showing from their expression. However, some of their hands were already shaking as they hid them behind their backs.
"Stand straight, and don't ever show me a face of weakness ever again!" Sergeant Wilhelm demanded as he glared at the terrified soldier.
"Y-yes, sir!"
The soldier hurriedly fixed his terrified expression as he stood firm together with the rest of his fellow comrades standing behind him.
However, his eyes were still darting. He was still afraid, but he didn't want to humiliate himself any further.
"As I was saying. I want all of you back to the trenches. My advice, take your naps as early as possible. I don't want any of you fatigued and worthless when we are outside of the fields." Sergeant Wilhelm informed them, standing still with his eyes glaring in every each one of them.
"Is that clear?" he asked.
The soldiers just stood there without a response, their expressions straightened without a hint of the slightest joy nor fear in their faces.
"Is that clear!!" Sergeant Wilhelm yelled.
"Yes, Sir!!"
The soldiers hastily chanted, their expressions still not changing in the slightest.
"Alright! This might be your only night that all of you will sleep peacefully without any bombardments, so cherish it while you still can." Wilhelm said to them all.
Kazuto hearing those words coming from the Sergeant made him wonder. However, his curiosity wasn't too strong enough to press himself any further to think this one through.
Sergeant Wilhelm then closed his eyes and sighed in frustration as he opened the door behind him and left.
Soon the soldiers started walking outside of the house as well. One after another they left through the door, slowly filling up the street as they go as if it was a parade.
The room was slowly becoming less and less more crammed, the soldiers who were left behind started opening up the windows once more and grabbing their rifles that were leaning down the walls.
They soon strapped it all around their shoulders, carrying it as they were also heading back to the main trench.
"I got my rifle and the lamp. Let's go," Otto informed Kazuto.
Kazuto wasn't responding. He was still there standing with his back straightened, and his expression firm.
His eyes were locked watching the sergeant who was leaning down near the door, smoking a cigar as he puffed a big cloud of smoke with an expression that was somewhat troubled, as if he was thinking about something, something that wasn't right.
"Hey, are you listening?" Otto asked with a puzzled face, waving his hand near Kazuto's face to attract his attention.
"Huh, what is it?" Kazuto asked, getting back to his senses.
"I got my rifle. Let's go," Otto replied.
Kazuto nodded as the two walked out of the house, leaving the rest of the soldiers who were still preparing themselves.