Iron Powder and Spellcasters

   Chapter 422 Friendship

  [Revodan]

  [Officer's Residence]

   The young man in uniform who walked in front quietly pushed open the door of the bedroom on the first floor, then turned around, lowered his voice, and said apologetically:

   "There were originally a few vacant officers' quarters, but Major Seber and the others returned from the wasteland some time ago, and they couldn't help but occupy them all. Sorry for your grievance, let's squeeze with Lieutenant Colonel Moritz first."

   Across the shoulders of the youth in uniform, Axel of Orange looked at the arrangement of the room:

  The tables, chairs, doors, windows, and doors have been wiped clean, apparently just after a meticulous cleaning;

  The bedding is readily available, and it should be taken out from the bottom of the box not long after. The creases of the sheets due to long-term pressing and releasing have not been eliminated, and they have a unique taste that has not been used;

   There are desks, chairs and writing tools in front of the bed, and there is a small bookshelf full of books on the desk ~www.readwn.com~ The titles of books on the spine should be specially selected types that he might like.

   "It's good enough here." Ike was a little moved and asked jokingly: "You should let me live in a cell, after all, I'm a prisoner, so you're not afraid of me running away?"

The young man in uniform smiled, pushed the door lightly, and explained in a low voice, "You live next to Lieutenant Colonel Moritz, which is safer than living in a cell. And Lieutenant Colonel Moritz is not like another major with a bad character. , he is easy-going and good-natured, and you won't be angry with your rank because you live here."

   Ike didn't quite understand what he meant, but he nodded anyway.

The young man in uniform remembered something, raised his hand to move his collar, and coughed lightly: "But there is one thing to pay attention to - don't make too much noise. Lieutenant Colonel... He has been in a bad state of mind recently, and he is very tired every day. Part of the time meditating, trying to sleep and sleep. If disturbed, he…he might hurt you…”

  Ike listened carefully, but the more he listened, the more puzzled he became.

  The youth in uniform blinked, and seemed to realize that he described the problem too seriously, he waved his hand hurriedly: "But it's only possible, you don't have to worry too much, the lieutenant colonel is normal most of the time."

"Otherwise, would you still send me to the dungeon?" After hearing the words of the young man in uniform, Ike couldn't help laughing and laughing. He involuntarily lowered his voice and asked in a feigned anger, "You made me live in a room with an out-of-control warhorse. Is it? Winters!"

"Possibly more dangerous than an out-of-control horse." Uniformed youth - Winters Montagne, Lord of the Iron Peak Rebels, Blood Wolf, Ike My classmate and close friend—looked down for a moment, raised his head, and answered rigorously and witty:

   "A runaway cannon would be a more accurate metaphor!"

   As soon as these words came out, both of them laughed.

   The two looked at each other, feeling both familiar and unfamiliar. Nearly three years have passed since he became a trainee officer.

  Three years have given Axel the demeanor and temperament of "high society". Just like carving out a delicate and delicate portrait from stone, Axel of Orange also lost his childishness and grew into a handsome and kind young man.

  The change in Winters is the opposite. Three years of tempering almost polished all the hypocrisy and pretentiousness of the "high society" he had left, revealing the tough steel billet inside. Time has not smoothed out his edges and corners, but has made his lines more distinct. He has become thin, heroic, capable, and vigorous. Every gesture reveals an untamable wild charm and a strong self-confidence.

   Looking at each other, Ike shook his head, fell tiredly onto the bed, buried his head in the pillow, and sighed comfortably.

   Then he turned around, gave his old classmate a thumbs-up, and half-truthfully complimented: "Have not seen you for two years, your sense of humor has improved a lot."

  The youth in military uniform untied the armed straps on the outside of the jacket, pulled out the chair, and sat across the opposite side. He put his arms folded on the edge of the chair back, tilted his head and asked with an innocent smile, "Why do you think I'm joking?"

   "Huh?" Ike sat up again with his arms propped up.

"The officer who lives in this apartment with you." Winters pointed to the ceiling, half teasing, half showing off: "Not necessarily the most powerful spellcaster in the Republics, but certainly the most powerful spellcasters in the Republics. The Republic's most dangerous spellcaster. Do you still think I'm joking?"

  Ike subconsciously held his breath, the cold hairs on his arms and back stood up, and he sat up involuntarily.

  While Ike was still digesting the shocking information, the young man in uniform patted Ike on the shoulder and said optimistically:

"But don't worry, I've taken all the pointed things in this house, and now I don't even have a fork. So even if the cannon is out of control, it's an out-of-control cannon without ammunition. And Lieutenant Colonel My mental state is improving recently, so it shouldn't hurt anyone."

  Ike's heart filled with a strong curiosity: "Uh, this... Lieutenant Colonel Moritz, what happened to him? As for what you said..."

   He instinctively wanted to find out, but suddenly remembered his captive status, and stopped immediately—because he didn't want to use his friendship with Winters to find out about the rebels.

   "You better not tell me." Ike shook his head: "I won't ask again."

   "It's okay." The frankness of the other party's attitude made Ike unbelievable: "The lieutenant colonel is trying to stop drinking. It was scary before I heard that - but I was away during that time. He has improved a lot recently."

"The more you explain, the more scared I am. Otherwise, will you let me live with you?" The more sincere the other party, the less Ike wanted to hear it. He changed the subject and said in a long voice on purpose, "Oh, I forgot. Now, you already have a wife!"

   "Fiancée." The face of the young man in uniform turned red, and he explained embarrassedly, "Fiancée."

   "But a great beauty!" said Ike enviously.

   "Huh." The young man in military uniform unbuttoned his collar, pretending not to care, and said, "That's it."

Ike couldn't help but sighed: "You are a horse racer and don't know how hard it is to pull a horse! I heard that you have a beautiful woman with a rich family who took the initiative to post you, and everyone is jealous of you! When we were in Guitucheng, let alone beautiful women. Post it upside down, even if you get invited to a prom every now and then, you can only watch people make the ladies giggle."

   "It can't be called upside down, to be precise..." The young man in uniform held his forehead and thought hard: "I don't know how to describe it, the two are in love?"

   "Tell me about it." Ike became interested: "Tell me how you two 'love each other', and let me learn a little bit of experience."

   "This has to start with a slap in the face."

  The young man in uniform was very interested at first, then he tilted his head and looked at the ground in thought. As if he was recalling bits and pieces, sorting out the language, and after a while, he sighed and said with a smile: "It's a long story, I'll tell you later."

   "Okay." Ike vaguely felt that his friend seemed unwilling to tell his story with his fiancee in a frivolous manner, so he stopped asking. He turned the subject off again, deliberately scolding: "But you are engaged, and you don't tell me, is it too much? How difficult can it be to send a letter? Winters Montagne, I didn't think you were Such a cold-hearted person."

   "Actually." The young man in uniform cleared his throat awkwardly: "Not yet engaged."

"You took someone over to live with you before you got engaged? Me, me, me..." Aike's eyes widened in shock, and then he fell softly on the bed like a broken water bag, whimpering unwillingly: " I really envy you!"

   "You are in Guitu City." The young man in uniform asked, "Have you heard about me?"

Ike didn't answer. He sat on his knees, looked directly at his friend, and said solemnly: "Winters, please don't ask me anything about the military situation in the province - I won't answer. At the same time, I won't inquire about you. Military situation. Can you?"

   "No problem." The young man in uniform smiled cheerfully: "You are my captive, and you are also my classmate and good friend. This is not a conflict."

   Ike let out a long breath.

   Honestly speaking, from the moment we met, a faint estrangement pervaded between the two. It was invisible, but it was real.

   How can there be no barriers? Even if they are close relatives, seeing each other after a long absence will inevitably feel strange. Not to mention that Winters Montagne and Axel Orange were not only friends but also enemies, each with different responsibilities and missions.

   So the reunited Winters Montagne and Axel Orange are both trying to maintain the atmosphere of the conversation, tacitly not asking about things that might offend the other party, and carefully looking for "safe topics".

   Because they value this friendship and do not want it to be sullied, destroyed and desecrated.

   However, this "deliberately pleasing" and "cautious" way of getting along is precisely the main source of "a sense of alienation".

  After Ike made the bottom line clear, the invisible sense of estrangement disappeared, and the two returned to the state of being inseparable and talking at school in the past.

   "It's actually nothing." Ike propped himself up, sat back, and said with a smile, "Many classmates know about you."

   "Oh?" The young man in uniform was surprised.

"After learning that you were sent to Pratu and that Pratu's classmates were sent overseas, everyone was very angry, and felt that it was neither honorable nor fair." Ike sighed: "Everyone I care about you all very much, so I tried every means to inquire about your situation. The students in the 21st period will know quickly about who has any new news. When they learned that your military rank has risen rapidly, everyone also joked that you are a blessing in disguise. "

  The young man in uniform listened intently and kept nodding his head. Ike watched his friend's expression—the latter seemed to have a lot of questions to ask.

   But the young man in uniform didn't ask anything in the end, he just laughed and laughed at himself: "I just said, when did I become so popular? However, if there is a chance, thank everyone for me."

"Your information is the most popular." Ike was recalled, he pulled the blanket under him, leaned on him, changed to a more comfortable position, and said cheerfully: "Everyone thought you were dead, There was a memorial service for you. There were still people crying at the memorial service, do you remember Danilo Olsper?"

   "Of course I remember, but isn't he from the cavalry division?"

"He said that although you were not likable, you weren't a **** either." Ike imitated the tone of his classmates: "As a result, you died so inexplicably, under the hooves of a barbarian, and even the body could not be recovered. So worthless! So worthless! Why?!'"

  The young man in uniform touched his nose subconsciously: "Why do I feel...he still remembers the revenge that I beat his nose to bleed for three days?"

   "Didn't he beat you so badly?" Aike asked with a smile, "Then you two cleaned the toilet for a month?"

"I want to clarify." The young man in uniform said solemnly: "It was you who provoked us first and scolded us Veneta profiteers before we beat you up. And I was forced to help, rushing in. The first one was obviously Andre! Zhang Luo was also the one who fought! In the end, I cleaned the toilet for a month."

  Ike's mouth hung with a smile that only came from recalling the past: "Can't a fight without a winner be called a 'beat'?"

   "Anyway, your students from the United Provinces bullied our Veneta students the most." The youth in uniform couldn't help laughing: "It's better to fight a few times in the end."

   "It's not good to fight." Ike corrected: "It's because the curriculum and training are too intense, and the instructors are particularly annoying. In the end, everyone is against the enemy and the instructors, so naturally there will be no conflicts."

   "Yeah." The young man in uniform sat slouched against the desk, and his face showed the same lazy and rude smile of his school days.

   Both seemed to have thought of something, and the small bedroom fell silent.

   "That's right." Ike tried to break the silence with a new topic and said, "I saw Andrei. The big guy in the cavalry department, the stupid one... Ah, you shouldn't need me to explain."

   "Really?" The youth in uniform answered cooperatively.

  Ike said lightly: "If he hadn't confirmed my identity, I'm afraid I would have stayed in the prisoner of war camp for a long time."

   "Did he say anything weird?" The young man in uniform asked curiously, "Or satirize you?"

   "No, he didn't say anything. He also comforted me a few words - although according to his tone, what he said sounded a bit ironic." Ike forced a smile: "So I think he is not as annoying as he used to be now."

"Oh."

   Another moment of silence.

   "Bud is in the south, and he will come to Revodan soon." The young man in uniform raised his voice a little: "He must be surprised to see you."

   "Ah, Mr. Bishop—I'd love to see him too."

   Another moment of silence.

  Although both of them were trying their best to find a light topic, the atmosphere inevitably became heavier and heavier.

"Winters." Ike hesitated again and again, but chose to speak. He sat up, leaned forward, and looked at his friend earnestly: "Many of the militia in Shovel Harbor are bandits. There are also many ordinary civilians - desperate tenants, forced expropriated farmers, refugees who just want a good meal."

  The youth in uniform listened without saying a word.

"I know that the defeated are not qualified to make any requests." Ike's Adam's apple twitched, he knew that he was interfering with other people's actions with personal friendship, but he felt it was his responsibility to do so, and he asked with difficulty: "Can you let them go back? Home? You can rest assured that they won't have the courage to rebel against you again."

   After a moment of silence, the young man in uniform said, "Sorry, I can't agree to your request."

  Ike endured his disappointment and nodded in thanks.

   "But I promise that they will be dealt with justly." A smile appeared on the mouth of the youth in uniform: "Actually, I plan to include the tenants, farmers and refugees you mentioned."

   Hearing his friend's words for the first time, Ike was a little caught off guard, so although the other party's words were clear, he asked subconsciously, "What did you say?"

   "I'm going to incorporate the 'good parts' of your troops and incorporate them into my troops." The uniformed youth repeated calmly.

Ike saw the apology and praise in the eyes of the youth in uniform. The latter explained: "Originally, I planned to release the other Shovel Harbor militiamen on the spot after the criminals were identified. But according to the battle report, the performance of the Shovel Harbor militiamen An unimaginable level of training and discipline..."

  Ike felt a bitterness in his heart: "'The level of training and discipline beyond imagination', but the result was a complete defeat on the premise of superiority of troops."

  The young man in uniform tries his best to find a reason, consider his words, and doesn't want to hurt his friend's self-esteem. In the end, he spit out a sentence with great effort: "That...that's not only the gap that training can make up, what's more, the militias in Shovel Harbor are seriously lacking in actual combat experience... It is already very powerful to train those rabble like that, I ask myself. Can't do it..."

   "Okay." Ike shook his head: "Don't excuse me. It's a battle—a loss is a loss, there's no excuse."

  The young man in uniform was silent for a moment, then brought up the topic just now: "All in all, it is a pity to disband the captives in Shovel Harbor. Both of my company commanders suggested that they be incorporated."

   Ike's heart was even more bitter: "You mean, because of me, you won't release them on the spot?"

"right."

"They...I'm afraid they won't be willing to work for you." Ike wanted to try harder: "Mayor Portal has instilled them with a lot of propaganda that you are a rebel. Even if you force them into the army, they are not reliable enough. , it is difficult to guarantee that someday in the future they will not surrender again."

   "Then we'll wait and see." The young man in uniform answered succinctly.

   Another moment of silence.

  The youth in uniform stood up: "You can move freely in the block of the officer's quarters. Sorry, Ike, but you can't go in and out freely in other places."

   "Why are you apologizing?" No explanation needed. Ike could understand his friend's kindness. He smiled and said, "If I see something I shouldn't see, isn't that putting myself in a moral dilemma?"

  The youth in uniform tightened his belt again and invited, "Come to my house for dinner? I'll introduce Anna to you."

   "Okay." Ike waved his hand and said with a smile: "Let's go, let me be sad for a while. I'm anxious to cry, so I won't send you."

  The youth in uniform nodded and walked towards the door. After opening the door, he turned to look at Ike.

   "Don't take it to heart," he said.

  Ike said helplessly: "I didn't make a fuss about committing suicide, what are you doing?"

   "Then I'm leaving." The young man in uniform gave Ike one last look and strode away.

  As the footsteps faded away, Ike felt an indescribable feeling of loneliness, frustration and confusion in his heart.

   When the footsteps completely disappeared, he buried his head in the pillow, and for the first time shed tears silently.

  Outside the window, a pine branch that had just sprung out was swaying alone in the wind.

   [67884/100000]

   [Classic recalling the glorious past—referring to leading students of the same nationality to make an appointment with students from the United States, and finally cleaning the toilet for a month]

   [Thanks to book lovers for their collection, reading, subscription, recommendation tickets, monthly tickets, rewards and comments, thank you all]

   (end of this chapter)