SDFG 06

Chapter 6

Please Let the Child Grow Up Brightly

The bruise on Sasha’s face began to fade into a faint shadow after two days. Sasha hummed a tune, peeking out through the open gap of the barrack door.

Outside, dust drifted lazily through the barren air. It seemed summer was slowly approaching, as bright sunlight poured down onto the earth.

It was also the first day the usual harsh smell of gunpowder didn’t linger in the air.

While thinking this, a dark shadow fell over Sasha’s eyes. The child looked up at Eisen approaching with a clear smile.

Shh—

Eisen crouched down to meet Sasha’s eye level through the barrack entrance.

“Uncle!”

As if saying that, the child giggled and pushed the barrack door wider open.

“You can go outside now, you little rascal. I’ve already scolded all the bad guys, thanks to me!”

He said this while roughly ruffling the child’s straw-like hair. The short hair, uneven from the aftermath of bombardment, felt rough from long neglect.

Whether Sasha truly understood him or not, the child nodded vigorously and smiled. Watching that, Eisen couldn’t help but look at Sasha with pity.

Too many things had been experienced at such a young age.

One could say it was natural, since war had broken out. There were surely countless children who had suffered even worse than Sasha.

But if the nobles of Salvator had not been greedy, this war would never have happened in the first place. All victims were made into sacrifices.

Once he understood that, Eisen only found Sasha even more heartbreaking.

“Honestly, you stubborn little brat.”

Even if he said that, he realized the child would never step outside the barracks. So he pinched Sasha’s soft cheek, like a ripe peach. Sasha could not resist.

The moment Eisen released his hand, Sasha held both cheeks and shot him a sharp look. Only then did Eisen raise his hands in surrender, laughing heartily.

“Alright, alright. I even brought snacks today. Want to try some?”

At that, Sasha’s eyes sparkled. Lately, Sasha waited for Eisen more than for the sergeant. He always brought something sweet enough to make the tongue tingle.

“Ta-da!”

Eisen presented something wrapped in a square paper box. Sasha quickly accepted it and peeled back the shiny wrapping paper inside.

Ch—choco!

Sasha’s cheeks turned bright red as the child screamed internally. Seeing this, Eisen quickly put a finger to his lips in a shushing gesture. The child imitated him immediately, going “shh.”

“It’s from the combat rations. I snuck it out.”

Eisen said this as if he had accomplished something extraordinarily difficult. Sasha’s eyes widened.

Then the child frowned and wrote something in a notebook, showing it to Eisen.

[You snuck it? Then does that mean all the snacks you’ve brought were stolen?]

Eisen stared down at the tiny Sasha, dumbfounded. The child stood with hands on hips, as if scolding him.

Sasha carefully rewrapped the opened package and politely handed it back with both hands.

“Sasha, y-you loved this, didn’t you?”

The child turned away with a “hmph,” crossing their arms in firm refusal.

“…Then I’ll eat it?”

When Eisen asked in confusion, Sasha shook their head and wrote again.

[Put it back! It’s combat rations!]

Eisen clicked his tongue.

“Good grief, you little fussbudget. Just eat it—it was sneaked out anyway.”

He shook his head and handed the chocolate back. Sasha looked uncertain, then accepted it again.

“Why aren’t you eating it?”

As Eisen had said, Sasha was simply holding the chocolate tightly to their chest and smiling.

“…You want to share it with the sergeant again?”

Sasha nodded as if it were obvious.

“Sasha, you silly child. The sergeant eats much tastier things than you do.”

After thinking briefly, Sasha wrote something else.

[Even so. If I make a good impression on the sergeant, maybe I can stay here longer. The sergeant is the commander here.]

Eisen fell silent for a moment.

After writing that, Sasha seemed to lose energy and quietly hid the notebook, offering an awkward smile.

Eisen let out a short sigh while watching the child. What was the sergeant planning by leaving this child here? He was an incomprehensible man.

After thinking for a while, Eisen gazed at Sasha.

“Little one.”

“….”

“Would you like to come to my house?”

At Eisen’s words, the child slightly opened their mouth and looked at him. The clear blue eyes blinked repeatedly.

“Hm? There’s a boy there who’s a little younger than you—would make a good sibling.”

Eisen laughed lightly as he exaggerated his tone. Sasha immediately began writing something.

[If I go there… will I be able to see the sergeant sometimes? Even just occasionally?]

So that was why the child had been quiet.

Clearing his throat, Eisen hesitated. The sergeant would never visit his home.

Well, if anything, maybe a photograph in the newspaper of the sergeant’s handsome face.

He decided to speak honestly.

“Well… the sergeant isn’t the type to visit someone’s house. He’s very busy.”

With every word Eisen spoke, Sasha’s head lowered further.

[Then we are in the same region as the sergeant, right?]

“Of course. Of course we are.”

[Good! I can do housework! I helped my mother prepare meals and do laundry. And I won’t cause trouble!]

The child eagerly wrote and flashed a bright smile.

Eisen imagined what he would say to his wife. It felt daunting—but with Sasha, everything somehow felt alright. Surely his wife would agree once she saw the child.

He patted Sasha’s head with his large hand.

“You’ll be loved wherever you go.”

That was his sincere belief.

He had to admit it—the child had changed even that cold, sometimes almost mad sergeant’s heart.

After giving Sasha one last look at their smile, Eisen stood up.

“Already leaving?”

“Yes. I need to speak with the sergeant.”

He intended to negotiate with the incomprehensible sergeant. He didn’t think the child would be sent to a detention camp, but an orphanage was possible.

However, Eisen hoped Sasha could grow up in a better place, smiling brightly.

He wanted that smile to never disappear. Eisen Harper made a somewhat hasty but firm decision to take Sasha as his second son.

The Verus Army began to move.

The man had requested support from the Grenfell family via telegram, but he did not know when the vehicle would arrive. It only needed to travel through territory already cleared—but whether it would arrive on time was uncertain.

The blue eyes and faded golden hair of the boy lingered in his mind.

At first glance, the child had seemed merely cunning. Fortunately—or unfortunately—he was still young and fragile.

Perhaps that was why the matter weighed on him.

Sasha’s silent tears had not sat well with him either.

That was why.

He would place the boy under the Grenfell family’s care. Adoption was impossible for an Infernian. Therefore, there was only one option.

He would raise the child as a guardian.

That was his decision.

He did not know how the Empire of Salvator would take it, but he was as skilled at shaping public opinion as he was at handling a rifle.

The boy being an Infernian would not be a problem for him—and he would make sure it wasn’t.

Perhaps the boy would bring further changes to Salvator in the future.

Clearing future obstacles one by one, he walked calmly into the command center. As soon as he entered, he saw his deputy, Eisen. For some reason, Eisen’s expression looked almost solemn.

The sergeant had barely sat down when he understood why Eisen had stood there so gravely.

Eisen Harper’s determination to adopt Sasha as his foster son collapsed in less than a day.

“…The sergeant, that child?”

Eisen asked again, thinking he must have misheard—despite knowing the sergeant hated repetition.

The sergeant’s thick eyebrows furrowed sharply. He tapped the edge of the pale map on the desk with his finger, then stood up from his chair.

Eisen flinched at the sergeant’s massive frame and leaned back. The combination of the intimidating sergeant and the fragile, pitiable Sasha made no sense.

Of course, in terms of appearance, even compared to Eisen’s rough and intimidating face, the sergeant would fit better.

Most importantly, the sergeant was only twenty years old. Rumor had it that after the war ended, he would marry the fiancée appointed by the Imperial Court.

And yet—he was going to take a child with him?