HEI!
THHRROONG!!
Ha!
TRRRAA!
HAA!
In the headquarters of the New moon knights, on the training grounds, the sound of multiple swords clashing could be heard by anyone near.
TRRHOONG!!!
TEEK!!
"Haaah~"
Inside a beautiful office, Bartolomeo sighed looking out the windows... his earlier fit of anger had ended, and now, he just stood there like a lifeless statue.
He was quietly observing the training of that small army made of young yet proud warriors...
'The weakeast army.'
'The sixth division, also know as the New moon knights...'
Bartolomeo remembered well of that poor army... they who were almost entirely made of inexperienced soldiers were led by an even more inexperienced commander... No one but himself, Bartolomeo Di Siracusa.
"Hah~"
"Haaaaaah~"
As more time passed observing them, noisier his tired groanings got...
"Haaah~"
"Haah... fuck, I can't believe I really came back..."
He muttered rubbing his glabella in a rather depressing way, his face seemed to be full of guilty, as he walked back to the desk.
TAK!
TAK!
TEK!
He needed only few steps to reach the wooden carved desk...
Tek.
He stopped before it... just to stare at a crumpled, yellowish paper on top of it.
"Tch!"
He frowned, looking at that paper with utter disgust, he seemed to have so much aversion to it that if glares could burn, it wouldn't be there at all.
"Haah~"
He tried to calm down because he didn't want to hate it, but that was simply an impossible feat for him.
He would never like these damn numbers...
(CONTINENTAL CALENDAR : October 992)
Monday, 29th (x)
Tuesday, 30th
Wednesday, 31st
(ISSUED BY UKESTER MERCHANTRY)
It was nothing but a calendar, with a normal everyday date marked on it.
October 29, 992...
A date not memorable by itself, yet, it was a prelude of ruin... the month when the rebels started to contact the neighboring empire...
October 29, 992...
Barely five months remained before the fall of the Axiass kingdom...
"Haaaaaaaaah~ Fuck!"
"What I'm supposed to do? Escape..?"
"Tch!"
'I have to think, I will be damned if my emotions control me.'
Bartolomeo sat on the sturdy desk chair, rubbing his tired eyes to calm himself.
'What do I do? What do I do?
He thought, as the urge of biting his nails kept growing.
'I want to escape... but it's not like I can...'
'But if I stay here, I'll probably die again...'
"Haah~"
"By the gods..."
"If I knew, this was the past, at least I would never lose that due-"
TOK, TOK!
TOK, TOK!
His tired mutter was interrupted by sudden knocks on the door.
TOK!
"Captain!"
"Sir, It's me, Johannes! I brought the monthly reports, as you asked!"
The man outside the room stated, with a respectful and serious tone.
'What...? He's already here??'
'Just how much time did I watch that training???'
He thought looking at the old long case clock he had in the room.
"W-What..."
When he saw it, he even stuttered in shock, after all, it showed he had spent almost all of the morning just watching it...
'Damn! I have to organize everything here, fast!!'
Bartolomeo thought looking at the papers and quills that were scattered across his desk.
Uluuuuuff~
Uluuuf~
Tuk! Tuk!
'The papers are all ready...'
Skkkruuk~
'Hhmm... quills go here..?'
He wondered, opening the somewhat tidy drawer.
Clek, clek..
Clek..
Skkkruuk~
'Glasses... my reading glasses... where are they...'
Skkkruuk~
"Oh, here they are are."
Bartolomeo muttered relieved when he found it in the last drawer.
'Everything is right?'
Putting the glasses on, he looked at everything one more time...
"Hu-hem!"
Seeing that everything was okay, he straightened his posture, cleared his throat, and looked at the door.
"Hah! You may come in vice-commander."
He said with a strong and haughty tone.
Tlaak!!
Tlek!
"Good morning sir! I brought the documents you asked!"
Entering the room, Johannes saluted, holding a stack of papers in one arm.
"Hmph, I ordered these papers yesterday... you are late as ever..."
"You were probably procrastinating, heh, what I expected from you..."
Bartolomeo said, shaking his head with contempt.
"Ah.. cap-sir! I wasn't procrastinating!"
Putting the stack of papers on the desk, Johannes said with a more or less upset voice.
"Heeh~ so what you were doing, soldier?"
Bartolomeo asked with a mocking voice.
"Captain! It just took me an entire day because you asked the report of three entire months."
He answered with a clearly upset face.
"Heh..."
"Johan, we proud Axian soldiers, don't hide behind words."
Bartolomeo said with a clearly fake rightful expression on his face.
"What, cap-"
"You are dismissed for now Johan."
"But Capt-"
"You want to go against the order of your superior!?"
Whatever Johannes wanted to say, was cut off by Bartolomeo's angry yell.
"Ah... yes sir..."
Leaving the room with loud steps, Johannes saluted, holding back his annoyance.
Tlaak!!
"Ah, wait Johan."
When he had already opened the door, Bartolomeo called him again.
"Uh.. what is it, sir?"
"Heh, if you have time to be sulking, go there and help Volga in his trainin- Urk... training..."
Bartolomeo muttered, calmly putting a hand on his mouth in a lofty manner...
"Ha.. Yes, Captain!!"
Tlek!
And with a last head salute, Johannes angrily got out of the room.
Tik... Tik...
Tik...
"Haaah, fuck..."
Bartolomeo, now completely alone, murmured looking at his now bloodied hand.
"Again... this fucking blood..."
"What kind of punishment is this..?"
"Of all things I could suffer..."
Bartolomeo muttered, visibly upset, thinking about the problem he found out living few days in the past...
He wasn't sick...
He wasn't dying...
The blood was because of a harmless curse...
One that made him bleed every time he acted in a way unlike he did in the past.