Sargon Street, which is crowded with people, becomes less crowded as it gets late at night, so the lights of the streetlights and the guards guarding the streets are absurdly visible.
In a place slightly north of the center of town, there is a large site of the military headquarters that oversees the security forces residing in Sargon. Much is done here
In the corner across the road in front of the castle gate, I sat in front of the bricks planted with flowerbeds, held my hands on my cheeks and my elbows on my knees, and yawned while leaning back against the still sleepy Buffer and the lamp post. There was Aki reading some kind of book while standing with a book in her hand.
Aki, who noticed something in front of the castle gate, closed the book and talked to Buffer.
"Looks like it's over"
At the entrance to the military headquarters grounds, there was an iron-barred door that looked like a castle gate, and on both sides of it were guards who kept their faces facing the front and didn't even change their facial expressions.
Jin and Michael walked out through the searchlight that illuminated the front of the castle gate as if they were going through between them.
"I kept you waiting"
"No, thank you for your hard work. So... how was the reaction from headquarters?"
"It's mostly as Aki expected.
Although it is said that the upper echelons will also consider dealing with it, in any case, the resources to allocate to outside surveillance will be insignificant due to the lack of human resources.
And the nature of investigation is the domain of biologists. There will be no curtain for us to leave."
“…The captain said something similar to that would appear again?”
"Come on. At least the flag shouldn't face something like that in the future."
“I hope that’s the case.
"That's the story, but it seems that the people at the headquarters assumed that it was an interpersonal incident."
"Anti-personnel assumption? No way. Alf said. The guards were rumoring that there were monsters at Sargon Base."
"... what happened to that important Alf?"
When Jin said so, Buffa silently turned to face him and quickly pointed backwards with his thumb, which was curved toward the back of the flowerbed where he was sitting.
Behind the dark flower bed, Alf sat quietly asleep, leaning against the flower bed so that it could not be seen from the street.
No matter where you look at the gentle boy's expression, you won't think that he is a warrior who has just returned from the battlefield.
“Well, even though the Flag Squad puts priority on ability over courtesy, I moved it to a place where people can’t see it. ”
“It can’t be helped. I treated Alf-san with ether so many times that it was inevitable that this would happen.
──Although I was surprised by Mr. Alf's combat skills, I learned a lot from the tactics, cooperation, and skills of everyone in the Flag Squad.
Then, I'll excuse myself around here."
"Don't you have to talk to Al? I'll wake you up."
"No, it would be rude to wake him up now... I have a feeling I'll be able to meet him somewhere again... then."
After bowing to the Flag Squad, Michael turned to head back, and when he was about to start walking, Jin began to speak.
"Oh, Mr. Michael. Can I have just one?"
Michael stops him and looks back to answer the question.
"Yes, how have you been? Jin-dono."
"Even though it was a turnaround, Alf was really indebted. I would like to convey my regards to your superior."
"──Yes, definitely."
Michael left the place with a dignified demeanor until the end.
"Such a stylish person is in the central guard army."
“Michael Farrens… I think I heard it somewhere…?”
“Well, it’s time to go home. Ah, and it seems that Mr. Collins will finish the report this time.
It's bad over there, but it's originally under the jurisdiction of the security forces."
"Really!?"
"Yeah. When you get home, take a good rest each time. And Buffer, carry Alf on your back."
“Yes! …… Huh? Me?”
"Alf is thinking he's going to die and is sleeping with his physical strength and mana exhausted, isn't that good? Besides, you still have some physical strength left, right?"
"That's Vice Commander Aki..."
"Oh, Buffer. You're the kind of guy who enjoys himself and lets women do the heavy lifting. I didn't know that."
"ingredient……"
Thus, the Flag Squad walked through the night of Sargon Street and returned home──────
──────The boy was dreaming.
A child running away from "something" in a hallucinatory world where you can't even see your foothold in the darkness.
Frightened by that ``something'', he almost stumbled as if he had forgotten how to run, but more than anything else, he was afraid to look behind--
(Huh... hah... help me...! Someone...-- but... ah...!)
The limp child stumbled and fell.
With turbulent breathing that was not due to exhaustion of physical strength, he timidly ─ his gaze was ahead as if he had forgotten to turn his head in fear ─ slowly, slowly looking back.
Despair grows in the child's eyes as if the ``something'' he feared is approaching...
"Ha...!"
In the silence, only the sound of the mainspring of the clock resounded at regular intervals.
It was dark and only moonlight was shining through the window, and the boy awoke with heavy breathing and sweat dripping from his forehead.
The familiar view of the room, that's what I see every time I wake up.
I slowly made Alf, who had just woken up, realize that this was the reality of Coco.
"dream……"
Alf looked at the clock while breathing slowly on the bed.
"It's about the time of the wind (Aero)... I wonder if someone from Flag brought me back... Sleeping again... I don't think it's possible."
Alf got up from his bed, took his own weapon from his desk and left his room.
Alf quietly left the home and slowly closed the door, thinking that all the members of the corps were resting in their rooms because the ether lamps had gone out throughout the home.
When he looked up at the sky and saw the light of the moon, he closed his eyes and imagined an 'enemy'.
The enemy was a white shadow, but I lowered my center of gravity and prepared my weapon against an enemy that I could only build in Alf's image.
As soon as he opened his eyes, he swung his dagger wildly, and Alph silently continued to swing his dagger while being alone in the moonlight, continuing his training for combat on the moonlit night.
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