Violet Evergarden

The debate became heated. Amidst it, only Gilbert was reticent as he paled in silence. His ears registered everyone’s exchanges. He was also formulating in his head what proposals he should verbalize, as doing so might be necessary. However, a single fact dominated his entire body and halted its outward functions.

——Violet is on board.

There was no way he could have mistaken her figure as he spotted her in a photography of people trying to buy tickets for the first trip. It was extremely natural for an Auto-Memories Doll traveling around the world to rely on trains. Meaning there would be no one else to be aboard the intercontinental train in her stead.

——If I called Hodgins, would he answer?

He had judged Gilbert for leaving Violet without a trace. In their last conversation, he had said he would be cutting their ties until Gilbert reconsidered it.

”Gilbert…? You’re… quiet, but don’t you have any ideas?”

As Laurus spoke to him from the side, Gilbert turned towards his direction. He was probably making a face that he normally would not. Laurus leaned back with a start.

The major-general promptly noticed it. ”What’s wrong, Laurus? Don’t hold back in giving your suggestion.”

”No… I… right, I agree with the ambush at the water supply point. It will be off-the-cuff from the garrison on the railway, but I think we can’t do anything other than prepare the troops and stand in wait… I believe that organizing a plan and personnel that can back us up during a seizure battle after the waiting is most crucial. The fact that stopping at the water supply points is mandatory for the train is its trait, after all.” Once Laurus had uttered his proposition, perhaps due to thinking Gilbert was feeling sick, he asked the latter in a low tone, ”You okay?”

Gilbert nodded without saying anything. As the major-general requested his opinion as well, Gilbert settled for saying, ”I approve the flow of the current situation’s discussion.”

Since he was worried about Violet’s and the passengers’ safety, Gilbert favored the course of action of a short-term decisive battle.

——Still, it is only a matter of time for an antagonistic view to manifest. Just as he thought so, what Gilbert dreaded soon became a reality.

”I sense an incongruence in this trend. To ensure the success of our scheme, wouldn’t it be better to formulate a plan for us to take control of the train at the last station in that northern port?” After Laurus and Gilbert had expressed their valuations, a colonel who had been solely observing, much like Gilbert until that point, raised his voice.

”Ahmar, when you object, you have to explain your plan in detail.” The major-general urged colonel Ahmar to speak further.

Laurus had an obviously unamused face on. Bearded and enormous, the man named Ahmar was on par with him, but the two of them were like cats and dogs. The people present were aware that the fact Ahmar had not voiced his own suggestions until then was due to wanting to oppose Laurus. The air became heavier.

”This opinion was given just a bit ago, but if we target them at the water supply point and end up letting them pass, the number of deaths would go up, right? The perpetrators would kill hostages for revenge, and their demands towards us would be bound to increase. In that meantime, I can already see that they would use a ransom for their requisitions. If that will be the case, making the other party think that things will proceed as they requested and then taking them down at once is a better idea. I’m sorry for regressing the discussion, but if this is an emergency, I believe we should choose an assured plan.”

”No! If you think about the citizens, we should act immediately! How do you think the people in that train are feeling right now? Are you saying that while knowing how long it takes to reach the last station?! Their families, too, want the army to do something as soon as possible!”

”Laurus, you always show off your principles with emotion-oriented arguments, but that’s unnecessary for a strategy. Results are everything, and we can elaborate the process later on. Are you giving those suggestions by picturing the aftermath of the aftermath? There have already been casualties, and for the sake of causing no more of them, we’ve no choice other than have the passengers endure it.”

The subject of the meeting was split into two sides: Laurus, who thought about the citizens’ rescue before anything else, and Ahmar, who prioritized bringing the situation under control.