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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
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“Sergeant Belle!”
No sooner had I noticed something was wrong than Belle Meyer clapped both hands over her mouth and rushed into a side alley. I wasn’t the only one taken aback by her sudden action.
“….!!”
“L-Lumia!”
“Platoon Leader! We have to follow her!!”
After a brief pause, the two of us chased after Belle Meyer. We found her inside the alley, retching violently.
“Ugh—! cough Ugh… gasp…”
“A-Are you alright?”
I approached Bell and gently patted her back. Why the sudden vomiting? Was she sick? No, that wasn’t it. Belle Meyer hadn’t eaten anything today. She was only bringing up watery fluid.
“Cough! cough, Ugh… cough!!”
Belle leaned against the wall, coughing painfully. As I reached out to steady her, her body collapsed like a marionette with its strings cut.
“Belle!”
I quickly caught her and managed to prop her up. Belle Meyer was unconscious. If I hadn’t been close by, she would have hit her head hard on the ground.
“Platoon Leader…”
Lumia Blyue said in a worried voice. Whatever this was, we couldn’t go pick up the uniforms like this. Getting Bell back to the quarters was the priority.
“Sergeant Blyue, could you help me carry Sergeant Meyer on my back?”
“O-Okay!”
Lumia approached and helped me lift Bell’s limp body onto my back. Since she was completely unconscious, I had to secure her properly to avoid losing my balance. I wrapped my arms tightly around her legs.
“Ugh…!!”
“Platoon Leader!! Are you okay!? Sh-Should I carry her?”
“No…! I’m fine!!”
While my legs wobbled with each step due to my frail body, I had been doing some strength training since my back gave out while rescuing Lumia, so I wasn’t about to collapse.
‘I can’t let that happen again.’
I had only gotten away with it because Lumia was unconscious. If she’d been awake, she would have definitely given me a look of pity. Lumia still believed I had been injured in combat.
Well, it was hard to believe that someone would win a fight and then throw out their back while trying to pull someone out of the ground.
Even if I told her the truth, she’d probably think it was a self-deprecating joke.
We finally made it back to the quarters, where the annex manager, who had been attending to guests in the lobby, exclaimed in surprise,
“What!? What happened!?”
“We’re not sure. She suddenly collapsed while we were walking…. Is there somewhere we can lay her down?”
“Here! This way!”
The manager calmly guided me to a sofa in the lobby. It was large enough for someone to lie down on.
“Ron, get a doctor immediately. Luna and Isla, bring pillows and blankets!”
As I carefully laid Bell on the sofa, the manager gave orders to the servants. As if they had a manual for such situations, the servants dispersed efficiently.
While giving instructions, the manager approached Bell and briefly checked her condition.
“Her breathing is normal, and there are no visible injuries.”
“That’s a relief.”
I finally breathed a sigh of relief. The immediate crisis was averted. I checked Belle’s consciousness again.
“Belle, Sergeant Belle Meyer! Can you hear me?”
“Ugh, uh…”
“Sergeant Belle, open your eyes!”
I held her hand, and her eyelids fluttered open, revealing her red eyes.
“Platoon… Leader…?”
“Are you alright?”
“Where… am I…?”
She turned her head weakly. Lumia, who had gotten a glass of water from a maid, helped Belle sit up and drink.
“Here, drink.”
“Mmm…”
Belle drank the water obediently. I had worried it might be a precursor to a mana runaway, but fortunately, that wasn’t the case.
“But where are we? This feels familiar…”
“We’re back at the quarters.”
“The quarters…? But this isn’t our quarters. It doesn’t look like this…”
A distinct sense of unease. Seeing Belle Meyer’s bewildered expression as she looked around, I realized something was wrong.
Dissociative amnesia. Belle Meyer’s forgotten condition had resurfaced.
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The doctor diagnosed it as a neurogenic syncope caused by sudden stress. Since there were no major health issues, the doctor left without any further instructions.
“Then I’ll go to the clothing store.”
“Yes, please.”
Since we still had to meet the King, Lumia went to pick up the uniforms alone. I stayed at the quarters to watch over Belle Meyer.
While there was no immediate risk of a mana runaway, I had to be prepared for the worst.
“Belle.”
I knocked gently on the door, and a voice came from inside.
“You can come in.”
I entered Belle’s room. She was sitting on the bed in comfortable pajamas, holding her legs close and looking at her parrot. It was a stark contrast to her usual image in the battalion, a truly vulnerable sight.
“Has your memory returned?”
“Mostly. I don’t think I lost too much. I just can’t remember anything from when we left, hehe.”
Belle Meyer said in a brighter voice. Her forced smile was apparent, and it made me feel even worse.
“I momentarily forgot about your dissociative amnesia. I apologize.”
“You don’t have to apologize, Platoon Leader. This is the first time it’s happened since you were assigned to us,” Belle Meyer added with a bitter smile.
“I thought I was getting better… but it was worse than usual today. It’s been a while since I lost consciousness.”
“Was this… a frequent occurrence?”
She nodded in response.
“I don’t know how much I forget until after it happens. It used to be so painful, but after coming to the 3rd Battalion, it’s been better because no one pays attention to me. No one asks if I remember things.”
“Sergeant Belle…”
“I’m used to it now. But I’m sorry you were so surprised, Platoon Leader.”
I couldn’t respond to her apology. I was the one who should be apologizing.
“…”
The heavy silence returned. There wasn’t much I could do at this point, with her dissociative amnesia, a serious condition, resurfacing.
And the doctor’s diagnosis of “neurogenic syncope caused by sudden stress.” Belle Meyer had started retching right after seeing the escorted Strigoi.
It seemed likely there was a connection between Belle Meyer and that group, regardless of the circumstances. It was probably related to how she went from being a noble daughter to a reject magic NCO in a remote battalion.
But I couldn’t ask her directly. Like Lumia’s ‘incident,’ it was highly likely to trigger Belle Meyer’s trauma. What if I made things worse by bringing it up?
“I’m really okay. This isn’t even that bad.”
“How bad does it get?”
“Hmm, to the point where I forget my name and where I’m from? Sometimes I lose years of memories, forgetting everything that happened.”
Why wouldn’t they discharge someone like this? The more I heard, the less I understood. Belle Meyer’s condition was far more serious than I thought.
I thought dissociative amnesia meant losing bits of information, but this was different.
“…Sergeant Belle, this isn’t right. You should request a discharge—”
“No, Platoon Leader. I like it here. Actually… I want to postpone my discharge as much as possible,” Belle Meyer’s calm voice struck a chord within me.
“The military is the only place where I can confirm my identity. Even when I lose my memories, seeing my uniform in my room brings me comfort.”
Her red eyes reflected a hollowness, a resignation to her fate. And I understood exactly what Belle Meyer meant.
My own past, which I both hated and loved intensely. The faded combat uniform. The acrid smell of gunpowder and blood. I, too, was a ghost bound by my identity as a soldier.
“I understand. I was… out of line.”
“That’s why I brought my parrot. In case I lose my memories in a foreign place. I’ve raised him since I was young. Even if I lose all my memories, the stories I told him can help me regain them.”
I turned and looked at the yellow parrot in the cage. He was perched quietly on his stand, preening his feathers. The parrot seemed to be a trigger for her memories.
“Well, I think I understand now. Why I’m here, and what I need to do.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. If I want to meet His Majesty tomorrow, I need to get some sleep.”
“Rest is important.”
“…Then, will you stay with me, Platoon Leader?”
Belle Meyer asked, averting her gaze slightly. Even though she said she was fine, I knew she was still uneasy. Without a word, I pulled a chair over and sat beside the bed where Belle was curled up.
“It’s not a problem to stay until you fall asleep.”
“You’re… surprisingly kind, unlike your appearance.”
Belle Meyer wriggled under the covers. I watched her quietly and leaned back in the chair.
“See you tomorrow, Platoon Leader.”
“See you.”
She tossed and turned for a while before finally falling asleep. And just then…
“Platoon Leader…? I’m back.”
“Shh.”
Lumia had just returned to the quarters.
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