Sitting on a stone by the riverbank, Noie dipped her feet into the water and lifted them again.
Making soft splashing sounds… she repeated the motion with her usual expressionless face.
Dragon extermination in summer was especially busy in the morning and evening.
During the day they moved to shaded areas and took care of any dragons that had fallen behind.
Dragons, which basically had lizard-like habits, were weak to both cold and heat. There were rare types strong against either climate, but those more specialized kinds did not live in regions with four distinct seasons like the Kingdom of Univance.
She had taken off her boots and was soaking her bare feet in the water. No one could tell what she was thinking.
Her emotions never showed on her face, and even the 『ahoge judgment』 that her husband talked about didn’t work when her hair formed a perfect arc.
So everyone left her alone without saying anything. That was how the squad had learned to handle Captain Noie over the past four years.
The only exception was the knight apprentice who had joined at the start of the year. She had no shyness and would speak to Noie whenever she noticed something.
「Captain? What are you doing?」
「Feet… cool.」
「……」
Lutte’s original job was 『dragon searching』, so when the hunter Noie was on standby, Lutte naturally had to rest too. She took off her own boots, sat down beside Noie, and dipped her bare feet into the river.
The river originated from a spring upstream, so the water was clear and cold.
After the initial sharp sting, a tingling warmth spread through her feet.
「Whoa… this actually feels pretty nice.」
「Yes.」
Imitating her superior who was staring at the water and moving her feet, Lutte also swung her legs gently.
Alternating between cold and warm felt surprisingly pleasant.
The soldiers watching the two girls moved their training spots farther away so that dust wouldn’t reach them.
Many soldiers who originally belonged to the royal guard had been forced to transfer as part of the preparations for establishing the anti-dragon squad. A few refused to let go of the prestige of 『royal guard』 and stayed behind, but the majority had moved over.
For now, this place remained the frontline against dragons.
The work content and pay were exactly the same as before… but the working environment had improved dramatically.
The facilities were better, and the meals were far richer than one would expect on the front line. Sometimes they even handed out wine to take home.
Word had spread to the kingdom army and royal guard, and transfer requests were flooding in, but both General Schuzere of the kingdom army and Halfren, commander of the royal guard, kept rejecting them all.
It wasn’t widely known, but most soldiers sent here were chosen for quality. They needed not only individual combat ability but also the skill to command groups.
This place served as a training ground for future officers… teaching them through real combat.
While the soldiers watched over them, Noie and Lutte continued swinging their feet in the river.
Mische and Frea were away on other business, so no one was particularly watching them.
Then Noie’s feet suddenly stopped moving.
「……」
「What’s wrong, Captain?」
At this temperature it was still too early for dragons to be active.
They were probably still resting in the shade. Even so, Lutte was about to use her blessing.
「……Arg-sama.」
「Yes?」
「……」
She started to say something but closed her mouth.
Her ahoge swayed gently… it almost looked a little troubled.
While listening to the sound of horses running behind them, Lutte waited for her to continue.
「Arg-sama. Lately… acting strange?」
「Even if you ask me that…」
Lutte was genuinely at a loss for how to answer.
Her husband, Battalion Commander Argusta, was basically lazy, sloppy, and did his work half-heartedly. The only thing he put full effort into was making his own life easier, which often led to clashes with his older brother, the royal guard commander.
If she had to describe him in one word, the only thing that came to mind was 『devoted husband』.
For the sake of his wife Noie, he would pick fights with grand generals or foreign dignitaries. He would regret it later when he was buried under an insane amount of work, but he would never forgive anyone who spoke badly of his wife.
After thinking it over, Lutte came to one conclusion.
「Argusta-sama is—」
「He’s a weirdo, that shitty boss!」
Her words were snatched away. Lutte turned around.
Mische, her senpai, came walking over with an angry pout.
「When I casually asked him, 『Could you introduce me to a nice guy～?』 he told me 『Go to a pig farm』! I’m not a pig! As if I wanted to become a sow!」
She clenched her fists and passionately explained.
Lutte, who was only fourteen and had almost no experience in that area, thought 『Then maybe Argusta-sama’s words were correct?』 while watching her.
Her appearance was quite mature. Especially her chest.
Mische took off her boots and sat down with a plop, dipping her feet into the river as well.
Boots in this season trapped heat and got extremely stuffy. Even if uncomfortable, they had to wear them for protection.
「So, Captain. What exactly about Argusta-sama is strange?」
Remembering the topic, she turned to Noie, who moved her hands up and down in front of herself.
She seemed to be trying to express 『like this』, but Lutte imagined the curves of a woman’s body, while Mische pictured a man’s… well, that part.
Both of them seemed very interested in that subject.
「……Lately, strange?」
With just that gesture, Noie’s explanation ended.
『I’ll leave it to you』—Lutte, whose experience points in this field were nearly zero, tossed the entire matter to Mische.
The vice-captain nodded with a beaming smile and began explaining to Noie.
She passionately described, with gestures and body language, very vivid ways to make married life at night more fulfilling.
Noie listened with her usual expressionless face, while Lutte’s face turned redder than a ripe tomato… and both of them burned Mische’s words into their hearts.
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