—Present Day: Ilifelen calendar, year 5212, Hishen, 9th
Having departed the day before, Alum and the others had now arrived. The massive ship had been hovering for an hour, a bit away from the main base camp.
The crew was getting things ready for the landing. Modular golems helped them with the heavy machinery and other payloads.
"Nnngh!" Soliette stretched as she stood in line, waiting to get off. "Man, finally here~."
"Hmng…"
Viona yawned a little, as did Ottah. Both of them glanced at their Captain, then at each other.
"Captain… I've been meaning to ask. Since we're on a separate unit from the others and all, do we even have lodging? I was told to bring my personal gear, and since it was a bit abrupt…"
Alum turned around and looked straight into Viona's eyes. "I bought us a modular lodging space."
"Huh, buy? But aren't essentials provided?"
"You can think of it as an apology for Uncle Rig's sudden assignment. Unless you want to stay in a tent, that is."
"Wait…? Do we get to sleep in actual beds too?" Soliette joined in.
"Yes, bunker beds—don't get your hopes up though."
"Aww, Captain! You're the best!"
""…""
Somehow, something, somewhere, some... Whatever—Ottah and Viona had an epiphany.
"Wait… aren't we going to be inside the ruins for the most part? Wouldn't packing and unpacking the whole thing be inefficient?" Viona asked.
Ottah nodded, and Soliette stared at Alum.
"…" Alum smiled softly. "You can think of it as a home to return to."
"…"
"…"
"""We've been conned!"""
..
Near the campsite, a golem set down 3 void boxes containing all the parts for their temporary base. Ottah and the others got to work and began to unfold all the parts while a light gem projected the instructions.
It was a fairly large place with a sleeping room, a dining room, and a portable bathroom equipped with a short.
The team begrudgingly finished setting up the place, and thought—all this, and we'll only get to use it for a few days…
Meanwhile, Alum finished setting up an outdoor kitchen. The assisting golem was laying down limestone to connect their place to the main road.
Even though all of it was temporary, the ruin site was now similar to a village. The stone road was necessary since all the traffic muddied the place, and it all could get pretty messy with all the heavy instruments.
It was now getting quite late, the sky was orange, and it was about to transition into night. Alum locked eyes with the giant metal construct—it tilted its head.
"…"
Alum crystallized his mana into a blue gem and tossed it; like a dog playing fetch, the golem jumped and caught mid-air, landing smoothly as it proceeded to consume the gem's mana until it was unable to sustain its crystalline structure, dissipating to light. The golem looked satisfied and headed back to the engineering bay.
"…" His subordinates saw it all. "Ahem…" Viona cleared his throat. "We finished setting up the interior, Captain. And since you're our direct superior, you get priority on where to sleep."
"Doesn't matter," Alum shrugged.
Soliette clenched her fists and made a victory pose. "Yes! Vina, let's take the top bunk~."
"Heh… I prefer the bottom one, though, it's more convenient…"
"Same here," Ottah added.
"Whaat~. Then I want the bottom one too, Ottah, you take the top."
"…Selfish much? Besides, you already decided."
"Tsk…"
"Oi… Don't click your tongue."
"Tsk…"
Seeing the exchange, Alum couldn't help but softly chuckle—it's so mundane, he thought.
..
Initially, Ottah and Soliette didn't seem to get along, at least that's what Viona thought. And ever since their student days, she's known about the two of them despite being from different classes.
It was hard not to notice, considering both were the aces of their class. Still, despite being the ace of her own class, Viona didn't get as much attention as they did, which was good considering how awkward she was on the inside.
I'm never good at turning things down, and wasn't sure how this would go at first, and I haven't spoken much with them outside of training. But… they're both nice.
Ottah seems a bit cold or, rather, blunt with his words; he's like me—likes no-nonsense approaches to things. And Soliette, or Soli, who always seems to say some of the things I wish I were able to say aloud.
As for the Captain, he's quite weird, yet nice, but also mean? I don't get him. But he does seem to have our interests in mind—I can't trust him yet, but I want to believe in him. Trust comes with time, after all.
Perhaps being unable to say no isn't so bad after all—wait… isn't that why I've been swept all the way here… Ugh… have some more agency, me…
But even so… Even though it's been a short time, it's fun… more fun than I thought, and I think the others share this sentiment. In unit… unit? Now that I think about it…
"…"
"What's wrong, Vina? You're all spaced out," Soliette asked as she chopped vegetables.
"Well, I was just thinking… Our unit doesn't have a name, does it?"
"Ah… Now that you mention it…" Ottah joined in without looking their way, continuing to skin the prey Alum returned with.
They all turned to Alum, who was having tea with the other squad leaders. Having overheard their chatter and said, "Citrine."
"…"
—Like… the gemstone? Why…? They all seemed to wonder.
"The commander issued it."
"…"
"What?"
"…"
Yeah, but you seem very pleased about it though?!
..
Later that night, his subordinates had all gone to sleep. Alum jumped onto the roof and stargazed. In his hand was a crystal necklace from a previous date. It was just something cheap in the shape of a flower.
He slid the two pieces apart, and a picture of his lovely girl appeared. His arms were wrapped around her; her cheek nuzzling against his chest, eyes filled with contentment. He flipped the gem around. Another picture appeared. These photos might've been small, yet everyone was visibly happy under the Ilithran tree.
"Phew…" A light sigh escaped his lips. "I'm more sentimental than I thought—to have these feelings arise from seeing something I clearly remember."
Time passed slowly, and before he knew it, a distant light was approaching the settlement. There was no alarm. A few guards headed over to the barrier's edge.
Alum watched from a distance. He recognized some of the people. Jua, who had sharp eyes, looked his way. She frowned, her gaze sharp, but there was a hint of confusion. Jan also looked his way and didn't seem to think much of it.
"…"
Alum's face naturally relaxed into a smile, which confused the two foxes.
Expectedly, their group was heading his way. It was natural since there were plenty of spaces around. A path had also just been connected to this part of the settlement.
It was quite dark, and the area was faintly illuminated. It shouldn't wake those still asleep, but patrol might not have appreciated the sudden spike in brightness. Either way, tents were set up beside Citrine's lodging unit.
Having spotted Alum on the roof, Turen waved. "Hey, sorry in advance if we're being too loud."
"No worries." Alum jumped down from the roof and approached them, then stretched out a hand. "My name is Alum, Captain of the Citrine Unit."
"…" Turen paused for a moment, staring at his face before smiling warmly. "Nice to meet you, Alum," he replied and shook his hand.
Both Jan and Jua glanced at one another. Noticing the others' reactions, Nuli's eyes widened. At this point, Alum figured that they knew who he was. Seeing the reactions of the two snow foxes was proof enough.
Further away, Sarah approached—curious as she always was. "Oh? What do we have here~?" She grinned after seeing Alum's face. Sarah then brought forth her hand. "Nice to meet'cha. The name's Sarah, but you already knew. So? What's your name, Big Bro?"
"Alum, Captain of the Citrine Unit."
"Oho? Wanna spar—"
Just as she asked for a spar, an elf with green hair grabbed her by the collar.
"E-Excuse me, Sir… she's a little rude, but she doesn't mean any harm. Oh, um… my name is Lyn, I'll be taking her away."
"…"
The members of Night Ouen chuckled as Sarah protested being dragged away, as did Alum. Some things never change.
They later caught up with each other, how they landed this job, or why they didn't take the airship like many other adventurers. The answer was simple: there was a job request on the same route.
"Well then, I won't keep you up anymore. Good night."
"Yeah, good night," they replied.
Alum headed back inside and noticed that Soliette had gone missing, only to find Ottah on the floor. He looked where Ottah was originally supposed to be, quickly finding the culprit.
He shook Ottah awake. A pair of red eyes flung open. They appeared to be confused at first, then the eyelids sank. His expression was deadpan as he got up and stared Soliette down.
Alum leaned on the door frame, his arms crossed, watching as Ottah scooped the sleeping elf out of bed and carried her outside. He returned, gave Alum a quick nod before lying down and falling asleep on the spot.
Going outside to check on Soliette, she was deep asleep by the fire under the outdoor kitchen roof with a blanket over her. Alum sighed and went inside. He carried Ottah outside and placed him across from his rival—well, this is going to be somewhat amusing, he thought as he jumped onto the roof and slept until sunrise.
..
Early in the morning, Viona groggily got out of bed. Rubbing her eyes, she headed to the bathroom. In the mirror was a young maiden, and a pair of half-lidded violet eyes stared back. Her long, pastel purple hair was messy, sticking out on the sides.
Touching the bracelet on her arm, a hair tine and a comb materialized. Her lips softly nibbed onto the tie as she began to comb her hair, tying it when she was done.
"Nngh…"
She rubbed her eyes; her headache was mild, but annoying. Her eyes, as one could say, were more than she could handle, and putting on a pair of glasses alleviated most of the mental load.
"Glasses on…"
Then, lastly, she finished changing, clipped the cloak over the white formal shirt, and, like most girls her age, strapped a belt over her coat just above the waist—popularized by none other than Saint Amethely herself.
After finishing her morning routine, she went to check on the others. They weren't in the bedroom or dining room. It was very quiet after all.
By the time she got out, the sun had just barely risen. She could hear flames crackle by the fireplace. And what did she find?
"…What?"
Ottah and Soliette slept soundly on the seats with blankets covering them, on opposite sides. Just as it was strange enough, she sensed a faint trace of mana in the air. Moments later, she found Alum on the roof with a bunch of fish, birds, and whatnot—all made out of water.
"Good morning."
Alum glanced her way; a little water bird flew over, landed on her shoulder, tilting its head somewhat adorably.
"Good morning, Captain."
With a nod, Alum jumped down. The water animals followed. "Let us wake the two," he said calmly. "Prepare yourself for morning exercise; there is a river nearby. And since the meeting is in the afternoon, we'll go hunting to preserve rations."
"Affirmative."
When they went to wake the two, they'd already been glaring at one another.
"Ottaaaah~. Why the hell am I out here?" Soliette asked, smiling, her eyes weren't.
"You stole my bed. It's a light punishment—rather, why am I out here as well?"
"Did your dumbass forget to get inside? Pfft… Idiot~" Soliette burst out laughing. "Don't tell me, did you want to sleep close by?"
"No way in hell, elf," Ottah grumbled. He couldn't remember much after carrying her outside. "Did I really fall asleep before getting in?" he murmured to himself.
Alum, the instigator, with a non-changing expression, cut in between them. "If you're awake, go get ready." They both turned toward him.
"Got it, Cap…"
"Yess! Got it, Captain~."
The two glared at one another again.
I'll need more time. You might not believe it, but I'm still a beautiful girl, y'know?
Yeah? Isn't that more of a reason why I should go first? I'll be done way before you. Ottah huffed. Hah, isn't it better to leisurely take your time with no stress?
"Hmph…" Soliette frowned. No tact at all, huh? She scoffed
Ottah shrugged.
Viona, despite her emotionless face, displayed a noticeable distress signal as her eyes darted between the two and Alum.
Alum averted his gaze—crack. A cookie snapped.
Mundane issues aren't mine to solve, he thought as he munched on the treat, leaving the exasperated Viona to fend for herself so not to get into their crossfire.
A/N
Sorry for the delay. I was catching up on reading. Dunno if you'll see me next week. Game updates + a new warbond next week, lol.