When Ardis regained consciousness, it was already dawn.
The enemy forces that had carried out the night raid were destroyed by mercenaries on their side, and it appears that Luchel, who was hiding, was safely protected at dawn.
Nonetheless, most of the non-combatants attacked were killed, and it appeared that only five people, including Ardis, survived the attack.
This case, which claimed more than twenty victims, casts a heavy shadow on the Westerian mercenary regiment.
In particular, after the raid, Luchel became enthusiastic about learning how to fight.
Looking after the mercenaries around Luchel warmly, the distance between the two appears to be narrower than before.
Of course, Aldis and I are saddened by our own impotence.
If Grace and the others hadn't come back, Ardis would have been dead.
I'm not obsessed with living, but I want to die in a meaningful way anyway.
Then it won't be enough to just be pruned.
Aldis is confused by the contradictory idea that he doesn't want to die in vain while he thinks his life doesn't matter.
I even held my sword to dispel the confusion.
"You're gonna be fine, kid."
I wonder how long I've been waving my sword.
After being spoken to, Aldis finally realizes that he is sweating.
"Nobody praises you for trying so hard without Victor."
The Lord of Voices was a man called Darwat by the mercenaries around him.
He seems to be the best of the Westeria mercenaries and has built up a strong position as Grace's aide with Victor.
The darwat distorts a large scar on the cheek and creates a teasing expression.
"... I'm not trying to get another compliment."
"Cool, cool, cool, cool! You'll see!"
Then Aldis swallowed the word "don't bother to ask" and waved his sword again.
"Oops, unlike that girl, I don't like her very much."
……
I don't know what Darwin was talking about, but at least it's annoying for Ardis right now.
I didn't feel comfortable with the opponent and ignored the words with my body devoted to training.
"Whether you like it or not, the one who dies eventually dies, and the one who doesn't die somehow doesn't."
……
Without knowing what the other person was trying to say, Ardis simply kept waving his sword in disarray.
Darwat, who had been watching Ardis for some time, suddenly said.
"Bad foot position"
"... what?"
"Open your feet about two more minutes wide.If you're in that position, you'll be late for the next move. "
Darwat opens Ardis' crotch with his feet.
"In real battle, you won't wave your sword all the time standing in the same place.Just don't pretend to be in the dark clouds, think before and after you swing. "
"But Viktor said, 'First let the sword swing into your body as a mold'...."
"Of course, that's not wrong.If you can wear it safely and with plenty of time, that's better.But we're mercenaries, and this is a mercenary regiment.Everywhere you go is a battlefield, and sometimes you get thrown into an unexpected battle like this.That's why I can't take such long steps.Even if you fly the basics, it's better to acquire the technology you can use in battle - you'll survive. "
The look on your face turns into something serious.
Ardis, who felt the genuine color of Darwat's voice, accepted the advice honestly.
"There's... there's..."
However, it is at this age of regret to be honest that the words of gratitude have gone out of hand.
"That's fine! If the kid dies prematurely, we'll be depressed too!"
Darwat strokes Ardis' head violently, laughing.
The sweaty black hair was scratched by the hand, and Ardis' forehead was revealed in the clap.
"What is that bruise? It's like a letter."
Darwat leans his neck looking at the number engraved on Ardis's forehead.
Ardis turned away from the sight and said it was a slug.
"It's just... a mole."
After pretending, Ardis left the scene to escape Darwat.
Head to the nearby creek where the mercenaries are camping and sweat from their heads.
Lifting her wet forehair and peeking into the gentle water, she looks at us with a familiar face that looks like she's about to cry.
Forehead number.
If you're not a human being, you'll come to reality.
I feel bleeding and pain if I cut myself.I get hungry after a while.I get sleepy at night.
It's like a human being, but not a human being.
I was supposed to be here right now, but my anxiety of not knowing where I was made me dream.
Interrupting into the thought of feeling dizzy is a dancing light footsteps.
"Aldis"
A familiar voice called out his name.
Are we done for today?
Ah.
When Ardis stood up, he turned his face away from the nearby Luchel and replied briefly.
"Why don't you look over here?"
Rouchelle circles around the other side and peers into Aldis's face.
"No... nothing..."
Aldis hid his forehead with one hand.
My forehead, which was usually hidden behind my forehead, is also covered with water and now it is revealed.
Even if it seemed like a mole to others, Aldis knew it was a branding.
I liked it and didn't want to show it to anyone.
"Don't you want to see that number?"
Ardis, who was turning away from Luchel's gaze, turned away without thinking of the words.
"Can you read?"
"Doesn't that mean" eight "?"
Sometimes they say it looks like letters, but no one in the mercenary regiment has ever understood that this is a number.
I don't know why Luchel understands this number.
However, after a small shock, Ardis managed to squeeze out only meaningless words.
"... I see."
At the same time, I know that I was not mistaken.
Now that no flat mirror is at hand, Ardis can only see his distorted appearance reflected on the shaking water surface.
Moreover, I have not been sure until now because the left and right sides are reflected in the opposite direction.
But Luchel's words come here and finally point to the fact that there is no escape.
The number eight engraved on the forehead.
There were different numbers engraved on each of the other foreheads in that place, but some of them were missing.
One of the missing numbers is eight, and the number is on his forehead.
What it shows is that Ardis was the eighth most prolific replica.
Even if I knew, I would be reminded once again that I was a serially numbered experimental animal.
It went deeper than I had thought of the spirit of Ardis.
But Luchel doesn't know anything about that.
"Aldis, don't push yourself too hard."
I switched the conversation to the main topic.
"I'm not impossible."
To Ardis, who answered quickly, Luchel shouted loudly.
"I am! I've been waving my sword alone ever since Victor was trained... Even before that."
Last time, it was when the enemy was attacked by night with non-combatants.
Luchel and I escaped into the mountains, and Ardis was singled out to protect her from the chasers.
"Hey, why did you do something like that when you were chasing me?"
"If the enemy doesn't come after me, there's no point."
Luchel raised her eyebrows to Ardis.
"Because that's not dangerous for Ardis!In fact, I heard that if Grace and the others hadn't come back, it would have been dangerous. "
"Wouldn't it be more reasonable to keep one side safe than the other?"
"I'm also teaching Lexie how to fight!Well, that was the first time someone died in front of me, so... hey... I don't know if I could fight. "
You remember the ugliness of seeing people die and vomiting, and Luchel's words lose momentum.
"I don't care.Normally it will be. "
"Is Ardis... different?"
"I don't know...."
There were a number of scenes that looked like that in a silly memory, but Ardis didn't even know which one was the first.
In the first place, I didn't think I had the humanity of seeing people die and being upset or unexpectedly vomiting.
The idea that you are a numbered experimental animal stops all thinking anyway.
It would be, in a sense, an excuse for yourself.
You don't have to think about the future because you're not human.
You don't have to want anything because you're not human.
You don't have to hate death because you're not human.
That is why you are now intrigued by the human nature of protecting the girl in front of you, sporadically and with inertia.
He was cool.
Aldis kept turning a blind eye from the fact that he had become obsessed.
Because if you die, you don't have time to fall into despair, while shielding yourself from the cause of protecting Luchel.
"I may still have my feet tight right now...I'll do my best to protect myself. "
And yet he didn't forgive me.
"So don't do anything dangerous to yourself."
Luchel tries to strip away the false aspirations.
Dark eyes speaking sincerely confused Aldis.
After all, if you are an experimental imitation, the identity of the tentative assembly that you have finally assembled can be easily wobbled.
"You don't care about me."
Without knowing what to do, Luchel bites back at Aldis with anger.
"It doesn't matter!"
"I don't care!"
Disturbance, confusion, rebellion, shame, and impatience - words spilled out of Ardis's mouth that were mixed and could no longer be handled.
"Anyway, I'm not... human."