02x07 - Purgatory

[bunniefuu]

The tea I promised.

My, my. You have excellent taste.

From our Ildoan friends?

We must be grateful for
our allies' friendship.

For the moment, at least.

Once again, I thank you for your support.

Well done, as always,
Lt. Colonel Degurechaff.

You did everything you possibly could
to support the main offensive.

I simply threw my soldiers' lives
into the enemy's gaping maw.

No talent was needed on my part.

Which implies that the fault lies
with the man who gave the order?

A fascinatingly biting remark, that.

In my position, it's best for me to
respect formality and say nothing.

You never change.

You never, ever change.

I believe in myself.

And I always follow my own path.

Rather than entrust my fate
to people like Being X,

I believe in my own right
to make decisions.

As a person living in modern times,
I take pride in that.

I hate to interrupt our fancy
tea party, but I have bad news.

Andromeda has failed.

Th-They weren't able to
make it past the southern cities?

They didn't even make it that far.

They were able to make a lightning
strike all the way to Josephgrad,

but then their supply lines broke down.

And the Federation Army
strengthened its defenses.

They can't go any further.

Then the resource-rich areas
we were targeting...

They'll never make it.

I'm surprised.

General Rudersdorf
doesn't fail like that often...

He didn't get the supplies
he needed, I assume.

The railways department did the
best they could, it seems, but...

So I was right, and we just didn't
have enough supplies at all?

That is my assumption.

Not enough men, not enough food,
not enough ammunition.

While I was at HQ, it was my job to
make things work with what we had.

I heard that you were sent here after
an argument with High Leadership.

Correct.

Do the people back home
not know the truth?

Lt. Colonel...

The Empire is addicted to victory.

It's almost sad.

We must be victorious
in the battles within.

And for that, we're going to have
to learn to do the unpleasant.

Sir, you do mean...

If we're to be able to focus on the east,

we must be victorious in the
battles to the west, as well.

By the west, are you referring
to the western air w*r?

A little further to the
east than that, actually.

I knew it...

I'd rather not sh**t my own allies
if I could avoid it, but...

I'm going to ask you to
be my co-conspirator.

If I may, I am a soldier of the Empire.

I am a part of a military organization,
and I have a duty to follow lawful orders.

I cannot betray my duty.

Doing so would be treason against
both the army and the Imperial family.

I will fulfill my duty.

Neither a yes nor a no, huh?

Wonderful.

Any other answer, and I would
have been forced to k*ll you.

You seem to be laboring
under a misapprehension.

Well, whatever.

First, you need to see
what it's like back home.

See the reality of the Empire.

We're here!

Time for leave!

Lieutenant Colonel Degurechaff!

Welcome back!

Colonel! You've returned as well, I see.

The Rerugen Combat Team
is on leave back in the capital.

It makes sense for me to be here.

You're right.

Everyone! I've prepared
a resort for our leave!

May I speak to you, Lieutenant Colonel?

Major Weiss, prepare the leave
certificates and coupons.

Lieutenant Serebryakov, prepare the cars.

Ma'am!

I will now distribute
your leave certificates and coupons!

Everyone, line up!

I trust them completely, but...

It's necessary.

For now, let me tell you three things.

Yes, sir.

First, Strategic HQ and High Leadership
are in an uproar over

who takes responsibility for the failure
of the large-scale offensive in the East.

The army is being asked
for the impossible again.

"End the w*r immediately.
With an incredible victory."

I see. Then we need complete
air superiority in the east.

And that's the second thing.

The air situation in the west
has badly deteriorated.

We're looking at pulling back
forces not just from the east,

but the southern continent as well.

It's that bad?

And one last thing.

We may have you do an air raid
on another capital.

A direct strike on Londinium?

No, not there.

Another strike on Moskva, then?

No, Lieutenant Colonel.

Your target will be...

No, I won't say it here.

You won an incredible victory
during Operation Iron Hammer.

At the time, I was part of
the peace negotiations in Ildoa...

That was the real goal.

If only those damn politicians would've
accepted the military's peace proposal.

So if we want to change things,
we need to wake up the politicians?

Lieutenant Colonel Degurechaff.

I've come to receive new orders.

It's been a while, Lieutenant Colonel.

I'm glad to see you're doing well.

It seems you're doing well too, sir.

I keep getting stuck with
more useless work, but yes.

You did excellent work in the east.

Still, I apologize for my unit's
difficulties during Project Andromeda.

We can skip the formalities.

No matter the reason, the fact
that I failed doesn't change.

And that's why I want your honest
opinion as a frontline officer.

Yes, sir.

At a minimum, we managed
to reorganize the battle lines.

But that's not enough.

Merely stopping the bleeding
won't be enough to win.

Over the long term, we may be forced
to make unavoidable decisions...

Stop.

I'm not Zettour.

I don't have his bad habit of enjoying
long speeches during debates.

Your conclusion. I want
your conclusion first.

Sir, I am simply a mage
and a lieutenant colonel.

I completed the strategy
curriculum during training,

but I've spent too long
on the front lines.

Your conclusion, or you leave the room.

Choose.

All right.
I will defer to your preference.

I see no way to win this w*r.

No one on the front lines understands
how command intends to fight this w*r.

How do we intend to end it? Do we
have any practical plan to do so?

Are we to destroy the enemy's field army?

Occupy their important cities?

What is our goal?

What goal is the Empire,
as a nation, pursuing?

Victory.

"Victory"? But to end this w*r,
what kind of victory are we to—

Victory.

Nothing more. Nothing less.

So...

The military's only been
ordered to bring "victory"?

Correct.

Is that... so?

So High Leadership is incapable of even
coming up with a concrete objective?

Correct.

But that's ridiculous...

Correct.

If it weren't for the fools
who deprived us of the option to quit,

this w*r would've been over
a long time ago.

We can cry. We can pray.
But that will not change.

Colonel Rerugen looked
very tired as well.

How do we make the leadership
understand reality?

You seem to be misunderstanding.

Is this what they call missing
the forest for the trees?

Lieutenant Colonel,
the politicians at High Leadership

are living, breathing human beings,
and they're afraid of public opinion.

Public opinion is like lava. And they
don't want it to get trapped in it.

Public opinion?

Yes. You've spent your whole
young life as a soldier.

You've never lived anywhere
but the front lines,

so perhaps this is strange to you.

Hmm...

You need to see what the capital
is like right now for yourself

and learn how the public feels, it seems.

Be at the plaza in front of
Central Station at 1500 tomorrow.

I'll have my attendants
make preparations.

Is that what General Rudersdorf said?

Yes. I was a little surprised...

His old boldness was still there, but...

How do I even describe it?

You can see part of what
he mentioned right now.

Lieutenant Colonel Uger, this is...

Herb tea. Very popular right now.

Good for your health, they say.

I won't deny that health is important,

but as a civilized woman,
I'd want some caffeine.

Here you are.

w*r sausage and K-Brot?

This cafeteria is known for its good food.
I didn't expect it to be like this.

Everything back home is substitutes,
because the real stuff

is going to the front lines.

My, my...

A full-on w*r is a scary thing, huh?

But it's not that much to ask.

During wartime,
they'll just have to put up with it.

Lieutenant Colonel...

I'd like to make you a proposal.

I don't want you to
take this the wrong way,

but I'd like you to understand
how human beings feel.

In a broader sense, I'd like you
to behave like a normal person.

Are you...

Are you doubting my character?

I certainly don't intend to insult you!

Please understand that.

But you're always too quick to seek
an immediate answer for things.

Which leads you to disrespect those
who are incapable of doing so.

Emotions are a stubborn thing.

To loosen them up requires time.

I understand how you feel.

But need requires reason.

A lack of firm resolve leads
to missed opportunities

and is nothing more than a hindrance.

That's what I'm talking about.

I can't understand how your mind works.

Not everyone can live
their lives the way you do.

I'm an adult. I've lived a long time.

As an Imperial strategist, I've undergone
training in the military code as well.

And yet...

Right now, I'm like a little child.

I want to cry more than anything!

Lieutenant Colonel...

I can't continue being the monster
that a strategist needs to be.

I'm sure things started to change
when my daughter was born.

To be honest, I thank you
for suggesting I serve in the rear.

I'm a soldier, and this is how I feel.

Tomorrow, you'll see
how exhausted the Empire is.

What reality is like in the capital.

To think I'm being called to
a ceremony for fallen soldiers...

If the general and I had come
here in our military uniforms,

we would've stood out, in a bad way.

I'm lucky he prepared
this funeral outfit for me.

You can't see?

U-Um, I'm not tall enough...

Given where we are, I can't
put you on my shoulders.

Excuse me. Would you
please allow her to see?

Look at them.

Those coffins don't have bodies in them.

Even if they're just pretending
the coffin is heavy...

It's a horrible thing to see.

Is this what you were talking about?

Yes.

The sick and the young,
carrying the coffins of the dead.

There's no better way to describe
the current state of the Empire.

But there's more to the story than that.

Look at the faces of
the people around you.

What you see here is daily life,
but twisted in strange ways.

A broken peace, where what should not
be normal has long since become so.

The madness has spread
all the way back home.

Or did you think it was
only the front lines...

...that destroyed one's humanity?

All logic in the world
has been destroyed,

and chaos continues to grow stronger.

And so they seek a greater being.

They seek faith.

Everyone you see is afraid.

The coffins of the w*r dead
are a part of daily life now.

Zettour would've likely called it
the omnipresence of death.

But we can see hope, too.

What?

The people's lack of overt emotion

is proof that they still care
about the national interest.

We are modern men and women.

If we have logical discussions,
based on the principles of free will...

Are you stupid?

You are stupid.

Use your damn head.

And get back your common sense.

When anger goes too far,
it turns into calm.

Someone who's crossed their boiling point
can actually seem restrained.

While you have the strength
to scream, you scream.

But once you've hit the bottom
and lack that vigor...

So you're saying this quiet
itself is dangerous?

Yes.

The capital is a powder keg
that's about to explode.

The Empire itself is
trapped in purgatory.

Lieutenant Colonel, public opinion is
a dangerous thing when it's inflamed.

More than any monster.

Yes, if we ignore public opinion,

there'll be chaos after
the w*r even if we win.

Public opinion is something
I'll never understand, in any era.

Then that's all the more reason
that we have to do our jobs.

For peace.

I didn't know you loved peace so much.

I'm a coward, you see.

A coward? You?

That's a surprise.

You could write a fairy tale about that.

I'll ask Strategic HQ to publish it.
Please share the royalties.

Royalties, you say?

Very well. I'll promise you that.

If we can end this w*r, I'll make a
picture book out of what you just said.

What an honor.

We could title it... Hmm...

How do you like "The Cowardly Hero"?

Total bullshit.

I thought part of propaganda was writing
something people would believe.

Everyone wants to believe in a dream.

A great victory for the great Empire.

To be honest, it makes me
feel like I'm going crazy.

Not everyone can live
their lives the way you do.

You are stupid.

Use your damn head.

And get back your common sense.

No, maybe I'm the crazy one.

Until now, my goal has been to live
a civilized life in the rear.

But as long as the Empire is like this,
that won't happen here.

Being X, you f*ck, you're going to pay

for throwing me into this
sh*thole of a world.

Wh-What is this?

General Rudersdorf asked us to find
an outfit that would make it look like

he was going out with his granddaughter.

So we prepared something special!

I heard we're going to
a funeral for the w*r dead.

Then...

How about these?

Not happening.