headbr

But is there really going to be an inhabited village... in a place this desolate?

Captain, you don't think The Radiant Knight's testing you, do you...?

L—Look!

Over there, I think that's an old man.

What could it be, youngster?

Fresh faces are seldom sighted, out here in this tundra.

Is there a village around here?

Do you see that hut over there? Go past it, and you'll find our village.

You don't... uh, excuse me, but you wouldn't happen to know a Daniil, would you?

Daniil, eh...?

Chi—Chief! Trouble!

What is it?

There's a fire in the village! It's about to reach the storehouse! All our food for the winter is in there!

*pant*... *pant*... Captain Zima! We're done evacuating all villagers on the east side!

North side villager evacuation complete!

West and south villagers are all evacuated too!

Got it. Mousse, you go double-check the headcount with the village chief. Then help them put out the fire. These villagers built their own houses, brick by brick, so every room you can save is a win.

R—Roger!

Seanson, Lucci, with me. This next part of the job's gonna be tricky... We need to head into the storehouse, and get the medical supplies out.

What? So they <i>were</i> in the village!

Yeah... I'll tell you the whole story after we're done here.

But... you're telling me it's <i>all</i> in there? Captain, that's not a small fire.

I know, and this isn't an order.

If you don't want to go, I'll go by myself.

Captain, this isn't a want-to-or-not kind of scenario...

Dedushka, dedushka, will that bratan come back to help us?

In the spring, he said he'd return by autumn.

And then autumn came and he did, don't you remember? And he harvested the grains with us.

You silly little fool. That boy didn't say he'd come back in winter.

No, he said he'd come back the next time we're out of rye bread.

But—but...

...Dedushka, weren't you just saying, we might not have bread to eat this winter?

So the bratan must be coming back soon!

*sigh*...

Come, sweet child. Be good now, your babushka is waiting for us over there.

Change of plans. We rescue the villagers' food first.

B—But, Captain, given the situation, these villagers could well be in cahoots with Daniil!

They stole our stuff, and we're going to help them?

That's two different things... C'mon, you guys, with me.

That's an order this time. And if we can't get the medical supplies thing squared off... I'll take the blame.

Say, how much grain do you figure could be left in there?

Given the present conflagration, the portion closest to the fire's origin is out of the question. Still, at least some of the outer portion should remain.

Hm? I don't think so~ There's still a chance for the inside part, it might just be a little overbaked!

After all that training, we finally get a shot at the real thing, huh? Move move move, girls, full steam ahead!

All else being equal, we've arrived in time. If we concert our efforts, perhaps we can still avert complete disaster.

Y—You guys...

What are you doing here?

Back then...

You! You idiot... Do you even know what you've done?

I...

It was an accident...

Save it! Quickly, with the water! Bring the water!

It's no use! This little water's barely enough!

Th—The fire's spreading too fast!

Dammit... What are we waiting for, then?! Run!

N—No... This is our last reserve of food...!

Forget her! Let's run!

Daniil left us a letter. He said you might need the USSG's help, Sonya.

After reading it, we went looking for Nearl. She told us the location of this village.

That dumbass, Daniil...

Belay it, Sonya. No more hesitance.

The five of us should be plenty! What about those two, though?

Er...

W... We...

We'll go save the medical supplies!

Everyone, let's do this! After we're done, I'll make super-tasty grenki for all of us!

Sonya. Let's go together.

Anna, you absolutely didn't need to come.

The USSG's already disbanded.

Yes, by your personal statement. Being the initial proponent of the Group's establishment, shouldn't you solicit my view?

Not to mention those of Lada, Rosalind, and Natalya.

Okay, so what are your views?

We all object.

I can more or less guess what your thinking ultimately was.

To be honest, I've been deliberating over the USSG's continuation myself...

If we never encountered Rhodes Island, our lives might now be much the same as Daniil's.

But you see, Sonya... even for all Rhodes Island gives us, it doesn't mean we must lose anything.

We're not even in the same squad anymore.

Come, help me out.

This bundle's quite the heavy load.

I'll carry this side. We need to hurry up.

Sonya.

What is it?

We may not be in the same squad anymore, true, and I estimate we'll only be further split up in future, but...

At the very least, when you think to bear something alone, we'll come to your side like we are now...

Because we are eternal comrades.

Weird...

I can't believe the five of us are still together.

And we're facing a fire, just like we did back then...

If not for this fire...

No, there is no if.

Even if this fire is already lit...

Still we will link our hands, sing and skip.

Still we will lift the same food one and all.

The frozen earth will thaw to loose soil.

No longer will the seed cling to the seed's false name.

Once the winter night is through, she will spark tender, small blossoms.