Chương 145: Day One Hundred And Forty-Four

Dear Diary, I swear, if Lancaster advances so slow that the 'Damn army has crossbows by the time we get to Newark I'mma be pissed. I get that right now he's winning a battle of attrition mostly by wiping out the enemy while they have no way to respond, but the longer you give somebody, the more chance they're gonna figure out a way to respond. Saffron coming over at night has become a nightly thing. At least I get a few hours with her every day, which is way more than most of the people in the field get.

I mean, yeah, there are those Heroes whose partners are also Heroes, or the couples we signed up as Volunteers, but for the most part? People just have to trust that nothing bad has happened to their loved ones. I get that, I really do, but even if Saffron weren't in desperate need of a rubdown every night I'd still keep her here for the few hours we can steal. Can't tell if the urge for that makes me a villain, or that I'd totally override my conscience to make it happen makes me one.

So not a lot new on the dream front. The previously localized itching spread a little toward the lake, but other than that? Pretty normal. I woke to quiet suckling noises coming from between Saffron and I. The menace had wormed her way in between us and started in on breakfast. I just lay there relaxing in the middle of our cuddle puddle until Marie stirred, shifted, and unwound herself to get up.

I would have tried to snuggle in more, but she'd shifted the blankets enough for a blast of cold air to hit me all the way across my back. Moving slowly and carefully, so as not to do the same to Saffron and Isnomi, I wormed my way out from under the blankets. The moment I got clear enough, I sprang to my feet and dashed for the armoire. While I struggled to get my slacks on, I looked to where Marie dressed herself with the same careful, slow nonchalance she normally did.

"It's freezing in here! Why is it freezing in here?" She just shrugged.

"Winter."

"Okay, yeah, I get that, but you're telling me the school can't afford some kind of magical heating?" I tied my pants off and pulled my shirt on, hopping from right foot to left repeatedly to build up some body heat. For her part, Marie had the grace to tilt her head and consider the question, even if she didn't show so much as a shudder at the temperature. Maybe the fur insulated her or something.

Right about when I managed to get my first row of jacket buttons buttoned, which meant that my torso at least started warming up a little, she replied, "Wards?"

"You mean there are wards to keep the place from getting cold?"

"Yes."

"So why aren't they..." it took me a second to remember what Saffron had said to me the night after the Equinox. I'd trashed the Wards on my room practicing my Mana Shaping. I guess they'd never put them back. Once I managed to get fully dressed, I grabbed up a uniform for Saffron and another for Isnomi, then wormed my way back under the covers. I pulled Isnomi away despite her mumbled protests.

The cold air seeped in despite my best efforts, but it was a seeping irksome thing, nothing like the massive blast that occurred when Marie got up. I put Saffron's uniform between Isnomi and her, then proceeded to dress the little one."' nomi?" Saffron muttered.

"Time to get up, love. Careful, the room is cold as fuck." Apparently something didn't click within sleepy Saffron-brain, because she muttered something annoyed sounding, then flopped the covers off of herself. I'm guessing that Saffron's brain runs on superconductors, because the moment the cold hit her, her eyes popped open, all traces of sleepiness gone. When that same wave of cold air hit us, Isnomi floofed. I let her stay that way until I finished getting her uniform, boots and all, wrapped around her.

"Okay, Menace. Time to put the fur away."

"Na!" she pouted.

"You know the rules. No cart for furry Isnomi." If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

"Ca!" She folded her arms.

"Okay, Marie. Looks like Isnomi's staying with me today."

"Na! Ma!" I lifted the blanket away, tossing it toward the bed before standing and scooping Isnomi up.

"You, little miss, are not going anywhere near a battlefield. Even one as one-sided as Lancaster seems to make one." She just pouted harder. Marie shrugged and headed out, but not before I glomped her with a sideways hug.

"Have a good day, Marie." She hugged me back, even tousling the little one's hair, then pushed her cart out of the room. A blast of not-really-warm, but warmer-than-here air flowed into the room as she left.

"So freezing my nipples off is yet another thing to lay at your feet, Goof?" I sighed and let Isnomi burrow her face into me.

"Yeah, looks like." She shook her head, laughing.

"It's okay. Most of the houses in Camden Yards rely on stoves and body heat. This might be a little sudden, but it's no worse than it is in the field at the moment."

"Really?" She nodded.

"Really. You expected it to stay warm all year long? Is Camden in the tropics where you're from?"

"Nope. Global Warming's done a number on the place, I guess."

"Global what now?" I sighed.

"That one is gonna take a long, long time to explain. Short version? You get enough people burning enough stuff, and the atmosphere itself starts to heat up. Guessing the population here and now is way less than that, though. She snorted.

"How many people did your world have, anyhow?" I shrugged, "Somewhere north of seven billion. Maybe eight billion by now." She froze, then slowly turned to face me.

"Did you say 'billion'?" I nodded.

"Yep. Like eighty percent of them live in cities, the rest live in suburbs or farms or shit like that." She stood there working her mouth while her hands automatically went through the motions of making sure everything remained just so.

"How?"

"It takes people a couple generations to realize they don't need to have ten kids to make sure there were enough kids to support them in their old age." She got that faraway look as she chewed on that. She stayed silent as she walked to breakfast with Isnomi and I. Between a bit of a late start and our slow progress as she worked through whatever my population data had prompted in her, the halls were clear when we got to the Dining Hall. Right before we went in she turned and forced me back to the wall.

"Beloved, will you do me a favor?"

"Anything, Kitten."

"Should this war drag on longer than it takes me to sort out how to replicate what you've told me about just now? Just kill them all." I lowered my voice.

"The 'Damn Army? The Gods?"

"Those would both be a good start." She kissed me, then led me into the Dining Hall. Breakfast was back to normal, although we had butter on the table along with the various fruit preserves, and each table got a tray of mixed breakfast carbs. I managed to snag a short stack of waffles, Saffron went for the 'custard toast', and Isnomi rolled up a pancake, said, "dahda!" and managed to cram the entire thing into her mouth without suffocating herself or spitting it up. I have no idea how.

I also wasn't about to stick my hand in to figure out how, since she wasn't in any apparent distress. Saffron and I left a little early, what with breakfast officially ending at dawn, and her standing orders being to return before dawn. We walked out of the Dining Hall, she walked me up to class, gave me a kiss and both of us a hug, then stepped back to her unit. I went in to the classroom, set Isnomi on the four desks that still stood together like one big 'table', then worked on my Air Shield.

Just to confirm it worked, I picked up a chair and dropped it on the shield, watching as it slowed down to hover midway through the shield, then slowly slide sideways until it hit the edge of the shield and tipped over. I did that for like half an hour until I remembered that Doc DeLeon probably wasn't coming today, what with everybody being out in the field except me. Kinda weird, being the kid who cut school so much she got Isekai'd, and now I'm the one who comes to class even when the prof cuts.

Late in the morning Saffron touched base. This is strange. What's that? We've leapfrogged forward twice now, and we haven't hit any resistance. No sign of the 'Damn Army whatsoever. You're checking for traps, right? Absolutely. The quiet just has everyone on edge. Have you found any traps yet, by the way? Mental shrug, followed by, Some. Enough that if we weren't looking, we'd be taking serious casualties. So enough to keep us slow, I guess? Maybe they decided to give up space to buy time?

Maybe enough time to set up some real defenses? Could be, but something isn't right. Stay frosty, and keep in touch. You need me, I'll be there. I know you will, and I will as well. With that she went quiet again. Honestly, I'd rather have her focused on making sure she didn't step on a landmine than listening for my random bullshit, so I wasn't too upset. Not upset at all. Really. Right before lunch Isnomi crowed, "mama! Mama! Mama, loog!"

I turned to face her and saw her hovering like two inches off the tabletop, slowly sliding sideways toward the edge.

"Menace! That's awesome! Did you do that all yourself?"

"Yeh!"

"Just by watching Momma?"

"YEH! DAHDA!" She waved her arms around above her head, which not only set her to spinning, but slid her far enough to one side of the table that she upended herself and fell. I caught her before she hit the floor, and she looked up at me, disappointment clear in her face.

"Wah mama na ah seeld?" At least I wasn't practicing Fire Bolt.