No Beast Girls on the Western Front

Page 76

“It won’t be too much trouble, just give her the cut raw meat,” Payne said.

Fortunately, the chef here was as easy to talk to as the doctor. He agreed without waiting for Payne to launch his supply offensive. Payne was so grateful that he even lit a cigarette for him himself.

After finishing all these things, a carefree Payne returned to B Company's base and collapsed heavily on the grass.

Company B was not assigned any new missions, and the soldiers were still resting in twos and threes, including the beast girls. Only Lacey lay on the grass with her head tilted back, her ears darting around like radar, seemingly searching for something.

Seeing that she wouldn't completely calm down and rest for a long time, Payne went over and rubbed her head. "What are you looking for?"

"Didn't the master hear a buzzing sound?" she asked in return.

"A buzzing sound?..."

At first, Payne thought she meant there was a beehive nearby, until he spotted a small, slowly moving black dot in the cloudless sky.

Chapter 118 CXVII. Miss Mary is Coming Soon

"Ah, so it's a French plane..."

As he said this, Payne's mood became somewhat complicated.

At first, airplanes were simply seen as "something new and exciting," and were only tasked with small missions such as reconnaissance of enemy deployments and movements on the front lines.

But after so much time has passed since the war started, even if the French were incredibly foolish, they should have realized the value of airplanes by now.

Seeing airplanes in the sky is not a good sign; they are increasingly taking on the role of artillery observers.

Fear of flying has spread among the soldiers, with veterans warning new recruits: "If you see a bird in the air with its wings not moving, be careful, a shell may soon be hitting your head."

It is said that the German military is also conducting related research and development on aircraft, and is also working on establishing its first early warning and air defense force.

However, judging from the technology tree that Germany has already developed, they may be able to produce results in their research on bird-like animal girls even faster.

Bird-like beast girls...

Payne vaguely remembered seeing someone calculate that if humans wanted to fly, their wingspan would need to reach eight meters.

Moreover, from the perspective of limb function, arms and wings both belong to the "forelimbs".

In other words, theoretically speaking, no creature can have both arms and wings at the same time.

If scientists were to actually create a bird-man, would it simply have wings, or would it be like the angels people imagine, with arms on its sides and wings on its back? ...

The reason why Payne was not nervous after seeing the plane and even had the leisure to think about these things was because he had already observed that the field hospital had taken countermeasures to prevent artillery fire.

Although Germany and France have not signed a legal document similar to the Geneva Convention, both countries currently consider themselves "just" and "gentlemen" and still have some sense of decency, so they would not do something like deliberately attacking a hospital.

In Germany, hospitals display large white and red scepter symbols on their roofs to prevent accidental injury.

Unless the French want to admit "we are barbarians," Payne and his men are safe.

When they retreated earlier, the wagons that transported the wounded were not dedicated to transporting wounded soldiers and did not have the white background and red scepter insignia, so they had no recourse if they were beaten.

That said, what happened to the French troops who were caught between Minston and them? Did they manage to escape? Or were they completely annihilated? ...

Thinking this, Payne looked up and saw the skyscrapers in the city center clearly visible—they were already very close to the city center.

In any case, there shouldn't be any French people left here.

Those Frenchmen are really persistent. Even though we've already driven them away, they still send planes to scout our rear.

What are they trying to do? Are they planning to bombard the troops in the rear with artillery?

Payne didn't know how far the battle had progressed, nor how far he was from the front lines, but the range of ordinary artillery was at most a dozen kilometers, so they probably couldn't reach them.

There are no bunkers or similar fortifications nearby. Are the French planning to use siege artillery of the like to attack these infantrymen? Are they desperate?

Payne didn't know what decision the French command would make, but after carefully listening to his inner feelings, he didn't perceive any threat.

Veterans on the battlefield trust their instincts implicitly, so Payne felt completely at ease and lay back down on the grass.

The noise from the field hospital was gently carried away by the breeze, while the sounds of gunfire from the front lines continued unabated. The annoying planes in the sky had disappeared without a trace, leaving only fluffy white clouds drifting in from the direction of Minnesota.

The aroma of fried meat began to fill the air.

It seems like it's almost lunchtime?

Okay, I'll just take a nap and wait for dinner...

"Paine!"

It was Kermeris's voice.

Payne, who was initially annoyed that his sleep plans had been interrupted, was immediately wide awake by the news the other party brought:

“Paine, I just saw someone asking about the whereabouts of our B Company, so I went up to ask her. She claimed to be a reporter who came to interview you, and said that you are pen pals. She said she followed us here after hearing that we had moved.”

Because Payne's attitude towards beast girls is different from that of almost all other beast tamers, several reporters have interviewed him so far. This news alone is not enough to excite Payne.

What really matters is that the other person said he was their pen pal.

Payne was born into this world as an orphan, and the orphanage where he grew up did not leave him with a good impression. Therefore, since becoming financially independent, he has had almost no contact with the orphanage.

From elementary school to middle school to university, and even in his workplace, he never made any friends with whom he could maintain a lasting relationship.

On the contrary, after joining the army, he made many good comrades-in-arms who were close friends in life and death. However, these people were either still by his side or had already been buried, so there was no need for him to ask someone to pass on a message.

Therefore, the only person who had made such a secret agreement with him was Miss Mary!

Payne didn't think it was necessary, but Miss Mary, whether for the sake of secrecy or simply because she thought it was exciting, made an agreement with him that if she came to see him, she would ask someone to tell him that it was his classmate/pen pal/distant relative who came to see him.

After all, the topics they were discussing were indeed not very safe...

Therefore, upon hearing Camerissiere's penultimate sentence, Payne jumped up from the ground, gave him a thumbs-up, and was about to rush off when he was grabbed.

"Wait a minute, wait a minute, that person also asked me to give this to you."

Seeing that Camerissiere had handed over another envelope, Payne was now even more certain that the person who had come was indeed Miss Mary.

The envelope would contain a hastily drawn map of the surrounding area, with the meeting place marked in a way that only the two of them could understand.

This girl is really being delusional. Does she really think someone is spying on the private relationship between a reporter and a soldier?

Payne was certainly aware that the military would randomly check soldiers' correspondence, but generally it was a broad screening rather than special surveillance, done to prevent the leakage of military secrets and to ensure morale at home.

When he examines Miss Mary, he often uses historical country names, personal names and events to make veiled references, pretending to be a history enthusiast, and he avoids discussing sensitive issues.

Those that are truly sensitive should be discussed in person, like today.

However, since Miss Mary felt that such a step was necessary, he was naturally happy to cooperate.

When Payne opened the letter, he saw that the hospitals next to the B Company and F Company's bases were clearly marked. In addition, he had drawn the surrounding groves and hills, as well as some unidentified markings such as circles, crosses, triangles, and squares.

After their last meeting, the two agreed to use a cross symbol as their meeting point next time.

Pine almost immediately found the fork in a grove of trees not far from here, next to a conspicuous little house.

"Let's go see Miss Mary!" Payne strode away.

"Remember to come back early! There's a big meal for lunch!"

Kermerly called out one last time, but it was clear that Payne's attention was elsewhere.

Chapter 119 CXVIII. Grace's Present

After deciding on the destination, Payne casually handed the letter to Ruby, saying, "Here, study this carefully."

Ruby, having already passed the divergence stage, showed no sign of jealousy. She simply examined Miss Mary's hand-drawn map carefully and reluctantly admitted her inferiority: "Tsk, she used a drawing tool, and I didn't..."

Payne immediately retorted, "That's because you don't know how to use it, okay?"

"You didn't teach me either."

"I don't have any tools either."

"Then it's over."

"What do you mean it's over? Do you think ordinary soldiers like us need to learn how to draw maps? Look at the state of this war, it's been half a year and the front line hasn't moved an inch..."

"Then what do you suggest?"

"I remember Boycha always carries a complete set of compasses and rulers with him, I'll ask him to borrow them..."

The man and his five beasts chatted idly as they entered a deserted grove of trees and soon arrived at the location marked on the map as a small house.

Since the grove was not large, Payne did not think it was a ranger's cabin, but he also couldn't guess what the house was for.

All he could see was that the small house, built entirely of red bricks and with a tiled roof, was completely covered by moss and ivy, and he couldn't even see where the windows were. It was clear that it had been abandoned for a long time.

Payne circled around for a moment, but didn't see Miss Mary. Then, as if remembering something, he slapped his forehead—

Among the obstacles she set for their meeting was staggered arrival and departure times.

It seems this time it's his turn to wait for her.

Since he had nothing better to do, Payne thought he should explore the small room a bit, but he found that there was a rusted lock on the wooden door, and he couldn't see what was inside the dark room through the crack in the door, so he had to give up.

After obtaining Payne's permission, Stephen decided to run a lap around the grove before returning to meet Miss Mary, and Lacey went with him.

As he watched the horse and dog disappear into the woods, Payne realized it had been a while since he last saw Miss Mary, and many of the beast girls in his party had changed. Then, a brilliant idea struck him:

"Ruby, although this grove is small, it's still a grove, isn't it? Why don't you go explore and discover some things?"

"...?"

Looking at Payne's comical expression, Ruby, though unsure of his intentions, said in a helpless tone, "Okay, okay, I'll leave for a bit too," and climbed the nearest big tree.

"Xiao En, I just saw some alfalfa behind the house. Do you want to come and have a bite?"

"Really?!"

As a military sheep, Xiao En either ate feed or casually nibbled on some grass. She had only heard of alfalfa, a delicacy for sheep, but had never seen or eaten it.

So when she heard what Payne said, she didn't think much of it and immediately ran to the back of the small room.

"Wow, there really is alfalfa! Let me try some... Mmm, it's delicious! It's so crunchy and fragrant!..."

A sheep bleated from behind the little house, followed by a series of appetizing gurgling sounds.

Payne chuckled, then turned to Grace standing beside him. "I remember cows love alfalfa, right? Since you didn't go, then... you want to whisper something to me?"

The mature and composed Sister Niu didn't show any embarrassment. She just smiled, put her hands behind her back, and walked to a tree trunk lying on the ground next to her. "Sit down and talk slowly."

Payne knew he should project an air of ease and confidence in front of Grace in order to better manage his beast girl squad.