Elder brother's garrison

Page 10

"Lexington said this thing would make people lose their humanity."

"Oh? That's very apt." The brother's friend nodded in agreement. "That's exactly it."

"If sacrificing one hundred people could save one thousand, would you agree?" Xiaobai asked, recalling the question Lexington had posed to him earlier.

"...Maybe." The brother's friend thought for a moment and then answered.

"Wouldn't that mean losing our humanity?" Xiaobai asked.

"Huh? What does that mean?"

Xiaobai repeated what Lexington had said earlier.

"...Oh." There was a brief silence on the other end. "Little White Sister, I think you've misunderstood."

"Huh? What's wrong?"

"So you mean the person who agreed to this decision has lost their humanity?" the brother's friend said.

“…Hmm.” Although Xiaobai didn’t say it directly, she was thinking the same thing.

“You can actually think about this problem from the opposite perspective,” the brother’s friend said. “Sacrificing one hundred people to save one thousand people is, in other words, sacrificing one thousand people to save one hundred people. It’s just that the answers to these two questions are opposite.”

"..." Xiaobai fell silent.

“What Lexington meant earlier wasn’t that people who agree with this answer lose their humanity,” her brother’s friend said. “In fact, agreeing with the answer is the correct one. It’s just that most people don’t want to answer it.”

"Your 'Sulfur Ersan Si Pao Ba Si' means..."

“Well, what I mean is, the answer doesn’t really matter. The core of this problem is the process in between, which is so annoying and I don’t want to answer it,” the brother’s friend replied. “When you realize that your every move will affect lives, it’s different from when you’re just playing chess. When you’re exchanging pieces, no one will pity the pieces.”

Compassion?

"Well, you could say that. Well... no, it should only apply to feelings of kinship among humans."

"But there are many people who don't experience that either, like the terrorist activities shown on TV or something."

“It’s not quite the same. They also realize that what they are doing is harming their fellow countrymen,” the brother’s friend said. “It’s not the same as the conventional disregard for human life. Here’s what you do: there’s a target in front of you, and you have a stone in your hand. You’re not very good at throwing, so you might not be able to hit the target, but if you hit the target, you get a hundred dollars. Would you throw it or not?”

"Throw it away."

“People who have lost their humanity see human life as nothing more than stones in their hands. It’s not an exaggeration; they truly see them as stones, stones inferior to themselves. So, such people have no idea what they might do,” my brother’s friend said. “Because they no longer find the act of sacrificing the minority for the benefit of the majority objectionable; they will do it as a matter of course. Even if there might be a path that allows them to save both a hundred and a thousand people, because they cannot see it.”

“The position of admiral should absolutely not be handed over to someone like this.” After a moment of silence, the brother’s friend said firmly, “There is only a fine line between a hero and a demon king.”

“…Oh.” Xiaobai took the medicine bottle out of her clothes and put it in the pocket of her new clothes. “I understand.”

“Personally, I don’t recommend you eat this. Or rather, I don’t recommend you eat it now,” my brother’s friend said. “Let’s wait until you’re mentally prepared. After all, this stuff doesn’t change your mindset so quickly just by eating it. The changes happen gradually in daily life. You might not realize it, but at some point, you’ll have already lost your so-called human essence.”

"have you eaten?"

"I have an office job, so I don't eat this kind of food. Although I do have some ship girls, that's for sure."

"Have you ever seen an admiral who has lost his humanity?"

"..." Another silence fell.

Little White waited quietly.

“...I’ve met him,” said the brother’s friend. “He was in the same class as me and your brother.”

"..."

"It's terrifying, really," he said, seemingly unwilling to confront the issue. "That's it, Little White, do you understand?"

"Yes, I won't eat it anytime soon."

"That's good. Is there anything else?"

"Nothing."

"Okay, then hang up."

"Thank you."

"……come on."

Xiaobai hung up the phone.

After sitting on the bed for a while, Xiaobai left the bedroom.

In the living room, Saratoga and Tirpitz had somehow gotten together in front of the TV and started playing a two-player game on the console.

These two seem to have a very good relationship.

Xiaobai looked over and saw that Saratoga and Tirpitz were playing a two-player battle game.

Xiaobai doesn't usually play games, so he can't tell what type of game it is, but there are many games of this style in the arcades where his older brother used to take him when he was a child.

It's the kind of game where two middle-aged men, one in red and one in black, fight each other, shouting "Ao Yougen" as they beat people into the air.

It's a game my older brother used to play happily with while shouting "Holy crap!" when we were kids.

Xiaobai sat down behind Saratoga and Tirpitz.

Neither of them are the talkative type. Their game is rather dull; all you can hear is the creaking of the controller being pressed.

Xiao Bai watched the intense battle between the two characters on the screen.

...It's a bit boring.

"I... went out..." Xiaobai felt that he should probably go back to the admiral's office.

"Oh, have a safe trip," Tirpitz replied without even breaking a sweat, clapping away at the controller.

Saratoga's large, bright blue eyes glanced towards Little White for a fleeting moment.

—However, it seems that games are attracting her attention more now.

"By the way, I have a farewell party coming later, Tirpitz, are you coming...?"

"Hmm? That's too much trouble, no thanks."

Tomoe Miojiro also... I really don't want it...

The game announced the end of the battle with a "KO" signal.

"You're terrible," Tirpitz said casually.

"One more round," Saratoga said defiantly.

It seems like Tirpitz has won.

"Then I'm leaving..." Xiaobai left the living room, and after confirming that she still had the key, she opened the door.

"Snapped."

"boom!"

The moment Xiaobai opened the door, she heard the door next door seem to slam shut.

Little White went out and closed the door to the Bismarck house.

...By the way, the room next door belongs to Hood, right?

Little White walked to Hood's door.

There was no one in the hallway, so someone must be home.

Xiao Bai gently knocked on Hu De's door.

Let's make a brief visit then.

Human society is not entirely ignorant about ship girls.

Among them, the battlecruiser Hood is a ship girl well-known to human society, said to have a beautiful appearance and the most ladylike manners.

She has a gentle personality and is easy to get along with.

Xiaobai has a strong liking for this ship girl.

...By the way, it seems the door wasn't open.

Little White stood on tiptoe to take a look.

no one there?

She knocked on the door again.

Logically, they should still be there. Can ship girls teleport?

……

I waited a little while, but there was no response.

Xiao Bai thought he would give it one last try and knock on the door one more time.

"Thump..."

Before the first knock was even finished, Hu De's door was kicked open from the inside.

What Xiaobai saw next was a huge cannon turret.

The dark muzzle of the cannon was pointed at him, as if it would fire at any moment.

A blonde woman with red-rimmed glasses was crouching behind the gun emplacement, holding something that looked like a detonator while biting a handkerchief and shouting, with a "I'll fight you to the death" expression on her face.

"Come on, come on, you white-haired, black-cat! **Hey, I, Hood, am going to blast this German ship's face with a cannon today! Aaaaaah!"

Hu De.

The glory of battlecruisers.

She has a beautiful appearance and the most... ladylike manners.

Brother, it turns out everything taught in the textbooks is wrong.

Xiao Bai looked at the cannon and raised his hands in surrender.

Tears welled up in my eyes as I walked in the wind.

The woman crouching behind the cannon seemed to finally realize that the person in front of her house was not the one she had expected. She frowned, pushed up her red-rimmed glasses with one hand, and carefully examined Xiaobai for a few moments.

Liu Ling'er San Si Qun "Um...you are..."

"Excuse me, I knocked on the wrong door." For some reason, Xiaobai's first thought was to run away, and she turned around to run away.

As the saying goes, running away is shameful, but it's useful, isn't it?

"Please wait a moment!" At this moment, Hu Defei ran out from inside the door and quickly grabbed Xiao Bai's sleeve.

Although it was just a simple grab on the hem of her clothes, Xiaobai felt as if she were being clamped in some kind of pliers and couldn't break free.

Ah, she's a ship girl after all. Her strength is far beyond that of an ordinary human like Shiro.

"Help! Murder! The ship girls are rebelling!" The moment she was grabbed, Xiaobai thought of that dark cannon muzzle, and a chill ran down her spine as she shouted.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Hood quickly covered Little White's mouth. Looking at Little White's terrified expression, she slowly explained, "It's a misunderstanding, it's a misunderstanding. I thought it was Bismarck knocking on the door. Um, I won't hurt you. Can you let me explain?"

After saying that, Hu De gave a very gentle smile.

That smile truly befits someone of noble birth.

With her mouth covered, Xiaobai secretly glanced at the large cannon emplacement next to Hude.

It would be better if there wasn't such a big fort.

"Ah, this is my ship equipment. Don't worry about it, it won't fire accidentally. I'll put it away now." Hood noticed Xiaobai's gaze. She withdrew her hand from Xiaobai's grasp, gently touched the turret, and then the huge turret disappeared in a flash. "See, it's safe, right?"

"Is it magic?" Xiaobai's eyes widened instantly when he saw something so interesting for the first time, and he couldn't help but murmur.

"Hmm." Hood seemed like a completely different person now, nodding with a faint smile and speaking in a tone as if he were playing with a child, "I am, well, a magician... just kidding."

This is completely different from her hysterical state just now.

"Ohhhhhhh!" For some reason, Xiaobai suddenly felt incredibly excited.

Looking at Little White, Hu De couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

"Well, would you like to come in and have a chat?" Hood gestured to his front door. "The new commander?"

"Do you know me?" Xiaobai asked.

"Hmm, you smell like your brother." Hu De walked into the house, chuckling as he waved to Xiao Bai.

On that hand, a ring was sparkling.

"Well then, I'll take my leave." Xiaobai bowed slightly to Hu De and then walked in.