No Beast Girls on the Western Front

Page 30

Payne watched this scene and couldn't help but laugh, reaching out to pat her head.

Ruby was quickly woken up by this action. She rubbed her sleepy eyes, stretched out her arms and hugged Payne's neck, leaning in to kiss him. "Mmm...I want a kiss..."

While they were kissing, the squirrel girl nimbly flipped onto Payne's body, and her wagging tail quickly pulled back the covers.

The good morning kiss ended quickly, and Payne looked at the rosy little face in front of him, asking expectantly, "How were you feeling today?"

After hesitating for a moment, Ruby nodded. "Yes, that's fine for today."

"Then...shall we begin?"

So Ruby stopped talking and leaned down to kiss Payne again, her body moving restlessly downwards as if searching for something...

But just as the two were getting into the swing of things, Payne suddenly felt the tent get darker, and then he heard Lacey's voice from outside: "Master! Master, are you awake?"

The man and the beast were startled again and quickly separated, asking as they dressed, "What happened?"

"The bald guy I met a couple of days ago is here. He says he needs to talk to you," said the pointed-eared shadow outside the tent.

"...Bald?"

……

A few minutes later, led by Lacey, Payne, now dressed, and the beast girls (certainly) arrived at the border between the two armies and met a somewhat familiar bald man.

At first, Payne didn't quite remember him, but seeing the drink in the other's hand, his memory was immediately activated: "Oh, it's you, John! What, haven't you had enough of the story from before?"

"Haha, that's true. If you have any good stories to tell, I don't mind trading a few cigarettes for them."

A burly, bald man approached—he was the soldier who had some reservations about the beast girl and had come to monitor Payne and the others, but who had been moved by a story Payne told him about class differences and had become like a brother to Payne before leaving.

After handing the bottle of wine to Payne, John continued:

"Thank you so much for that battle. If it weren't for that short orc coming to inform us about the poison gas, we would have taken down at least half of our men."

"This bottle of wine is no ordinary wine; I smuggled it from our battalion commander. You must accept this gift."

"Damn it, those damned Frenchmen, they've already come up with a new kind of poison gas so quickly, and it's spreading like a bird."

After grumbling for a while, John noticed Ruby standing behind Payne and said happily, "Yes, this is the little one who came to inform us. Orcs are really something, they run so fast."

Ruby didn't say anything; she just stood there with her head down, her face flushed.

However, it wasn't because she was shy from being praised; it was simply because she was enduring the discomfort caused by the splitter after her morning activities were interrupted.

Payne turned to look at her, smiled, and patted her head. "She's the beast I rely on the most."

"Really? Hahaha, it seems you two have a good relationship." John laughed as well. "If your orcs need anything, you can tell me, and I'll help you figure it out."

After thinking for a moment, Payne realized that they seemed to have no shortage of food, clothing, or other necessities, and Ruby even had an incredible ability to find food. So he declined the other party's offer: "No need, we're doing just fine here."

The bald man glanced at the beast girls behind Payne, then put his arm around Payne's shoulder and pulled him aside, saying in a low voice, "I don't think you noticed me back then?"

"When?"

"When we were digging through the collapsed trenches, those two orcs we dug out from underneath were yours, weren't they?"

Payne paused for a moment, then nodded somewhat dejectedly. "Yes."

“I was digging there at the time, but you looked very anxious, and after the beast was dug out, you seemed very depressed, so I didn’t call you.”

"Then...thank you."

"It's okay, it's okay, I didn't mean to tell you that."

John thought for a few seconds and asked, "Have you noticed anything unusual these past two days?"

"...Which aspect are you referring to?"

"Several days have passed since the last battle. The enemy is pressing in with a large army, but no new troops have been sent in."

Payne frowned. "It seems so... Because orcs are dying frequently, the rear usually sends me a few orcs every now and then. But this time, so much time has passed, and there hasn't been a single word about sending new orcs... Do you know anything about this?"

John took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. "Are your supplies still running smoothly?"

"It seems like nothing's changed. Have yours decreased?"

"Yes. Although the officers didn't say anything, we were all guessing that the best-case scenario was that our logistics and supplies had been severely damaged, and the worst-case scenario... it's not impossible that we've been surrounded."

This was definitely not good news, but Payne's mind went completely blank for a moment before he said after a few seconds, "That's terrible... Do you have something in mind?"

John waved his hand: "What, you still expect me to lead the troops to break through? Are you kidding me? Those officers won't say anything, so even if we wanted to help, there's nothing we could do."

"My idea is that we can't go hungry these two days; the brothers need to be prepared for any battle that may come at any time."

"Do you have any leftover supplies? We can trade them for things like cigarettes, alcohol, and spoils of war..."

Payne rested his chin on his hand. "Hmm... to be honest, if what you said is true, I doubt we'd readily offer any food over there..."

"Oh, it's alright, we can hold on for a while longer, it's not too urgent..."

“However…” Payne changed the subject, turning to Ruby, “I have a master food hunter here.”

Chapter 45 XLV. Even such a small wish cannot be fulfilled.

Even while suffering from the splitting mechanism, Ruby still wore a smug smile when she saw someone needing her strengths to help.

"Hmph~~ Leave it to me~~"

She then mysteriously pulled a slip of paper from her pocket and unfolded it in front of the two of them.

John leaned closer to take a look, but couldn't recognize what the scribbled-like thing was at all.

But Payne recognized it after a few seconds: "A treasure map?"

Ruby nodded smugly: "That's right. Beasts' memories are always limited, so I drew all the food we found along the way and the places where we hid our supplies on the map."

Payne praised, "See, I told you learning is useful. If it were before, you wouldn't have thought of this method, and you certainly wouldn't have been able to draw a map."

"Good, good, good, learning is useful."

John was somewhat stunned: "...How did you recognize this as a map?"

……

Led by Ruby, John's company, after a morning of hard work, identified several locations where they could pick wild fruits, mushrooms, and wild vegetables.

While these supplies are insufficient to support a large army, they are adequate as an emergency measure in case of supply shortages.

To show their sincerity, John and his men gave a wooden crate containing 20 bottles of wine in exchange, which undoubtedly laid a good foundation for future exchanges between the two units.

Sometimes things are like this: there's no need for painstaking persuasion or lengthy lectures. All it takes is for the soldiers to see the role of the beast girls and realize that they can indeed help them in many ways, and their hostility towards the beast girls will quickly dissipate.

After all, they are now facing an imminent survival crisis.

Payne didn't know how long their attitude would last, but maintaining the status quo was enough for now.

As for this case of liquor, Payne planned to distribute it among the brothers in the company.

The excellent education he received in his previous life made him a model young man who neither smoked nor drank.

But in this war-torn world, if someone stays on the front lines for two weeks and still refuses to touch tobacco or alcohol, they can only be a devout believer—and clearly Payne is not that kind of person.

However, he clearly did not intend to keep the whole case of wine for himself, so it was better to distribute it. Such a favor was enough to make him a father to the entire company.

Moreover, soldiers would be happy to exchange their food, tobacco, medicine, or errands for his alcohol.

Although the soldiers in a company are all brothers, even brothers should keep clear accounts.

Payne planned to use the surplus supplies from the trade to bribe the difficult cooks and doctors, so that he could exchange them for food and medical care for the beast girls when necessary.

But that's a matter for later. Right now, his problem is how to get the case of wine back—it's just too heavy.

While foraging for food, the two herbivores stumbled upon a lush meadow. So Payne made Lacey act as a temporary sheepdog, letting the three animals roam freely, and agreed to return to the tent at lunchtime.

"If only there were a rope, we could drag it back..." Payne thought to himself. "Ruby, do you know where there's a rope?"

"I didn't notice. I usually only remember where the food is." The squirrel shrugged.

Just as the man and the beast were discussing whether to drag the case of wine back by pushing and pulling, a deep voice rang out:

"Paine! We've finally found you! The company commander is looking for you!"

The voice was so distinctively gruff that Payne knew who was calling him without even turning around:

Haile Wieshus, a few years older than him, had been a coal miner since adulthood. He was not only very strong, but also the strongest in the entire company, almost on par with the beast girl.

His hands were ridiculously large, easily grasping the rationed bread, and he loved to clench his fists and make others guess what he was holding.

Therefore, Payne was very happy about his arrival and quickly called him over: "Ah, perfect timing! Help me carry this case of wine back! But what does the company commander want with me?"

"Wow! This is good stuff!"

Haile, who was a full head taller than Payne and resembled a small mountain, strode over with an earthquake-like aura. He easily lifted the wooden crate of liquor and continued:

"The company commander told you to go to the mess hall to find him, but he didn't say why."

"Looks like it's nothing serious," Payne said, placing his hand on Ruby's head. "Let's go."

"Hmm." The usually rebellious little squirrel didn't push away Payne's hand, but just silently followed beside him.

……

It was lunchtime, so Payne went back to the vicinity of the tents and found the beast girls. He gave Lacey a piece of meat and let them roam freely.

He thought Ruby wouldn't be interested in human food and would eat his own nut reserves, but to his surprise, the little squirrel said, "No, it's nice to have a hot meal once in a while."

Are you sure? Your face clearly says you don't want to break up with me—although that's what he thought, Payne was worried that if he said it out loud, she would hit his head on the table as lunch, so he kept quiet.

So he took Ruby to the kitchen truck and soon found Company Commander Belyink in the queue.

"There's no rush. You should eat first, then we'll go."

Although the company commander spoke casually, Payne could see a hint of unease on his face.

During the meal, Payne intended to ask what they were going to do first, but when Hale placed a whole case of liquor in front of them, making a clattering sound, the company commander was shocked.

"...Did you get this?"

“That’s right.” Payne proudly raised his head, putting his hand on Ruby’s shoulder beside him. “But all the credit goes to her. Ruby, thank you so much for today!”

Ruby appeared unusually calm. She simply hummed in agreement, then leaned close to Payne's ear and asked, "Shall we...do it when we get back?"

"No problem, I'll reward you properly when we get back~~" Payne rubbed her head vigorously and whispered in her ear.

Ruby gave a barely perceptible smile, blushed, and lowered her head to continue eating.