High School Soldier
Take a chance

It was currently 9pm, but the atmosphere at the Student Army Headquarters was still very crowded with invited guests and soldiers.

It should have been finished after Suroso said things about the Expeditionary Force's struggle in another world. However, most of the audience is still in this place, enjoying the dishes provided, or just gathering to discuss certain things. So, there are some guests and soldiers who form groups and discuss certain things, especially telling the atmosphere of another world.

So far, no one has tried to get close to her sister and Lisa after her previous act. As well as, the otherworldly girls sat around Nio, they seemed to not notice if there were several pairs of eyes staring at them with astonished gazes.

Some TNI guests or staff still want to have talks on some matters with Sigiz and Sheyn, which relate to the continuation of the Peacekeeping Forces delivery plan. But, they chose to have the talks in this place again at the next meeting, because in two days there will be a meeting with the President about it, so that the talks can be more secret.

Volunteers have left this place, and the country has provided them with a hotel or inn as their residence while in Indonesia. But, for the safety of otherworldly people, all hotels and inns must remain within Karanganyar territory.

A combined TNI-Polri force of 2,200 personnel was deployed to guard the Karanganyar region from anything that threatened guests from the other world. Then, hundreds of TNI-specific warriors are assigned to guard the entire place that guests from other worlds use. In addition, anti-spy forces were deployed to prevent attempts at sabotage from other countries. This is done for the safety and comfort of guests from other worlds while in Indonesia to return to another world.

Meanwhile, despite having been ordered by their queen, the representatives of the forces of the Arevelk Kingdom and Yekirnovo remained at the Student Army Headquarters, and stood guard around this place in full combat attire.

Journalists interested in the representatives of the Arevelk and Yekirnovo forces tried to interview some of them, with the help of some translators the state provided for this meeting. Some photos of Arevelk and Yekirnovo warriors riding horses and carrying their long spears are amazing, and will be the most valuable archive and will not be spread to the general public.

Indeed, earlier some of the special soldiers who were guarding this place did not allow the reporters to take photos related to guests from other worlds, it included the representative soldiers of Arevelk and Yekirnovo. However, they (soldiers Arevelk and Yekirnovo) themselves do not mind the request of journalists who want to take their photos, as well as curious about a tool that can capture a moment very easily.

(olog note: reasonable too, because to capture a moment, other worlds often use the services of painters, but it requires expensive fees and only nobles can do things like ‘berfoto’)

Some of the soldiers who had previously banned journalists from taking photos of Arevelk and Yekirnovo soldiers asked to take pictures with them. They asked for help from friends or journalists to photograph themselves with otherworldly warriors.

The view of TNI soldiers taking pictures with Arevelk and Yekirnovo soldiers looks amazing. The representatives of the two other world countries did not hesitate at all to approach the Indonesian soldiers, different when they first saw the TNI in another world when visiting their country.

The first thing they think about the squad named TNI is ‘ very strong’ and ‘ very strong’. Some of them saw for themselves the fight of the soldiers of this country when faced with the enemy even if only with bare hands. Then, they also heard rumors about the person who was predicted to be a very strong soldier. Although they have not seen the truth for themselves because it is not clear who is the one who was predicted, but it is clear because the person predicted must be someone who is very strong.

The next goal of the soldiers of the two other world countries are happy to take pictures with TNI soldiers is to show if they are not less gallant with the soldiers of this country. According to them, although the soldiers of this country only wear field clothes without metal protection, but it does not show if the Indonesian soldiers are weak.

“I wonder, why can they fight without wearing armor like us?”

“Entaihlah, but without the metal armor like we wear, they don't seem to get hurt easily.”

Metal armor was the standard equipment for cavalry troops, in addition to long spears and steel swords. In addition to soldiers, horses that are the mounts of cavalry troops are sometimes also coated with metal protectors on certain parts, such as the head and stomach.

The stronger the metal armor worn and the better the fighting ability of cavalry troops, it is certain that the country that has troops on these conditions has a very strong military strength. Plus if a country's cavalry army had a large number, it was a perfect force. Because the cavalry troops had quite an important task in battle, as they would be in charge of breaking down the enemy defenses and performing surprise attacks to pave the way for the infantry troops, and the cavalry troops had superior mobility.

Meanwhile, TNI soldiers who took pictures with representatives of Arevelk and Yekirnovo also had questions, such as:

“What metal armor they wear is not heavy?”

“Do they always wear metal armor? It looks like it's very heavy?”

“I was curious to wear such metal armor and hold that long spear.”.

“It looks like metal armor that covers almost the whole body it inhibits movement when fighting.”.

After taking pictures, TNI soldiers shook hands with Arevelk and Yekirnovo soldiers they took pictures with. Some representatives of the two countries consider that the handshake is a symbol of friendship and close relations. Though it is just a symbol of familiarity with new people, and the selection of a handshake is in exchange for ‘ thanks for taking pictures with us’, because some TNI soldiers have not been too learning other world languages.

This is the result of the previous big battle, seen TNI soldiers and representative soldiers from the two countries create an atmosphere that looks friendly even though there are still many problems. And the biggest problem of the world's second army is language.

That is clear, because the education of other world languages among the TNI is only devoted to soldiers who are members of the army that will be sent to other worlds. That is why, some Indonesian soldiers do not understand other world languages at all.

(olog note: the other worlds in this story use only one universally spoken language)

The main weapon to build a relationship is to make friends, as did the representative soldiers of the two countries with Indonesian soldiers. They also do this after knowing the plans of their respective countries that will strengthen relations for a great cause.

Although constrained by language, the sound of laughter produced from the soldiers of both worlds made the atmosphere outside the Student Army Headquarters no less crowded with the atmosphere inside the building.

**

Some attendees have left this place to go home or rest in hotels that have been provided specifically for invited guests and soldiers.

Meanwhile, Nio had to carry out two missions after the event was completed, namely meeting the families of two fallen soldiers. The first person who will be Nio's goal is a friend and sister of Surya. While the Sucipto family, they still spoke with the President in one of the places for guests.

Meanwhile, the otherworldly girls have headed to the inn, then Arunika and Lisa head for their residence.

Arunika and Lisa decide to rent a boarding room that both of them live in. For the funds problem, Nio ‘forces’ they both to use his money to pay for the daily living expenses while the young man is on duty. Nio did that because he did not know how much leave was earned. While Lisa and Arunika have both gotten odd jobs as staffers of a childcare home.

Moreover, Nio did not restrict the two of them from using his money. He didn't care if they both spent money on useless things. After all, Nio was sure that all the money in his savings was enough to buy several container houses.

Because of this, Arunika and Lisa are both afraid of having to use Nio's money only for daily expenses during the youth's stint, and choose to use the money they made themselves. Indeed, at first they were both shocked when they saw the nominal money in Nio's savings.

Nio feels she has to pay for what Arunika has done since the death of their parents, and pays for all Lisa's help for her and her brother. Nio felt protecting the two of them was still not enough to pay for what he had received from them. If necessary, Nio planned to buy a house so that the two of them would no longer think about the matter of paying the boarding, and could leave the two of them to duty quietly.

After checking his suit pocket to convince himself that he has not forgotten the letter Surya wrote, Nio runs to look for Nike. He was sure that the girl was still in this place, and started to wander around this place until he finally found the glasses girl.

Nio saw Nike standing in one corner of the room with a flushed face with the area around their eyes more due to crying too much. The girl carried a photo of her brother, and carried the Kartika Eka Paksi Star and Major rank marks that Surya received for all forms of his devotion during his service as a soldier. As Surya's only family, Nike was allowed to attend the ceremony, as well as the recipient of the award her brother received.

Nio did not directly approach the girl, and chose to sit down while paying attention to the few people who approached Nike.

Every now and then Nike gets a phrase of condolence from invited guests or from fellow members of the fallen soldier's family. Nio did not know if it would make Nike's heart improve or vice versa, but he saw Nike answering people's expressions for him with a sad smile.

Nio thought he felt what Nike felt when he lost Surya, but he felt what Nike felt was much more depressing. Nio himself could not imagine if he was in the position of Nike.

Nio walked up to Nike after the time was right, and there were no more people who would approach Nike. Nio was doubtful if the letter Surya wrote would be received by the glasses girl, the chances were that Nio would receive bad words from Nike.

But it was just Nio's thought, and it was too late for Nio if he had to think about it now. He had been standing in front of Nike, and he clearly saw the sadness that Nike felt. As if she was also about to cry, Nio suppressed those feelings and ventured to speak.

“Nio... is your struggle that difficult? Is the enemy as strong as I thought?”

Nio was silent after not expecting that the one who would speak first was Nike, and he was shocked after receiving such a question.

“Do this Nio...” Nio encourages himself.

Nio's expression darkened as he looked at Nike's smile that did not hide his overwhelming sadness at all. What am I supposed to do, is he going to accept reality? Nio's brain was filled with his mind arguing about the right move to talk to Nike.

“Nike sorry, brother-.. wrong.. I mean Major Surya ordered me to give this to you.”.

Finally Nio said it, and took the letter from the suit pocket and gave it to Nike. Since the young man's body was much taller than her that was 155 centimeters tall, the girl's head had to look up to look at Nio's nervous face. It was indeed not wrong, because Nio was as strong as he could muster the courage to give this letter to Nike.

“I'll read it.”

Nio turned to hold a photo of Surya wearing a field uniform, with the left arm uniform, precisely under the red and white flag emblem wearing a armband bearing the symbol of the Student Army. Nio looked at Surya's 2-second face in the photo, and thought that the young man was indeed ready to fight the enemy.

“What's up?”

Nio took a few steps back after hearing the small laughter from Nike, and it gave him goosebumps.

But, the smile that Nike put on lasted long enough, so it made Nio feel if Nike's mood began to improve.

Nio frowned even more as Nike chuckled again after continuing to read the letter from her brother. In other words, maybe Surya thought if there was a sad end to his struggle, and chose to write this letter with a humorous sentence.

“Eh..?”

Nio's face was filled with question marks after suddenly Nike looked surprised, and little by little his cheeks were blushing.

“This... read it..”.

Nike handed back his letter to Nio, and the young man received it with a confused face as Nike looked nervous with Nio. Though he had just finished reading the last letter from his brother, but Nike's nervous face was too clear and made Nio more and more interested in the contents of the letter.

“Nio. If I die, he will definitely be confused, and it is likely that he will lose his way in life.”.

Nio read the letter with a wry expression as Surya wrote his own death prophecy. Nio blames Surya, “He shouldn't have written this if he thought he was going to die after helping..”.

“... You're the only person I can trust, and I'm sure you won't turn down Nike. Nio, do you want to take care of my sister, at least until she finds her happiness. This is my command as a soldier of a higher rank than you.”

**

A car drove down the deserted road of the Forbidden Area, exiting the region keeping its speed. Inside, there was a male driver and a female passenger. The two of them had only kept quiet since the car drove by, and the atmosphere felt very awkward.

The car only travels at 60 kilometers per hour, and there are some motorcycles and other cars that are noble. The provincial road that passed by this car was a little crowded by employees who had just returned from overtime work, or teenagers who had just come home hanging out.

The lighting is pretty good, so the accident rate on this track is very small at night. A group of residents doing night patrols, stalls and roadside angkringans, and a group of teenagers still hanging out are typical night views of the region. At the very least, it was accompanied by a low crime rate, except for the muting of chickens and other livestock.

Radio broadcasts were heard in the car at a moderate volume, and broke the awkwardness between Nio and Nike since then. Nio's face seemed very focused on the streets, but the expression he showed showed showed his disbelief with the letter he read earlier. While Nike, this girl only hopes that the letter written by her brother does not include sins, and hopes that Nio does not take the contents of the letter seriously. The glasses girl's face and short hair were still flushed red, and could only look out the window beside her without turning a dime towards Nio.

The two of them slightly arrived at the Nike home, which was Surya's gift. Nio occasionally yawned long and covered his wide-open mouth with his left hand. The area around the eyes that are still black is almost the same color as the black hair. According to Nike, Nio's eyes look sharper than most other teens. Nike blushed, realizing that he stole a little glare and Nio noticed. Nio turned his gaze forward realizing the graceful eye view from Nike.

The two of them again silenced each other, until the car stopped at the destination.

The house Surya bought with the savings plus the salary he collected looked dark, and only street lights illuminated the porch. Nio walked behind Nike towards the front door of the girl's house.

“You can sit..” afterwards, Nike walked towards the room.

“Thanks.”

The living room is not too big, about 2 meters wide. The walls are decorated with some photos of Nike and Surya while still in the underground city, and they both look happy in the photo. The light that shines is not too bright, and seems dim. Then, there are displays of fake assault rifles that can be purchased at online stores.

Nio took off his suit, and placed his butt on the sofa that looked very soft. He put his suit on the pundank without folding it first, and waited for Nike to return. Every now and then Nio checked his phone, and only received notification messages from his brother and some of his subordinates in the Explorers Squad 1.

“Sorry, this is all you-I mean, this is all I have.”

Nio was sure if Nike had previously wanted to say the word ‘we’, but he tried not to think too much.

“Not bother... but thank you.”

Nio received a cup containing hot sweet tea, then Nike sat in the front seat of Nio while putting a jar containing dry biscuits that can be purchased at nearby stalls.

“Nio, is fighting on another world battlefield so hard?”

Nio was surprised if Nike would open the topic this front. He then put down the cup after sipping a bit of its contents.

“You saw for yourself, right? We were able to return to Indonesia, thanks to our struggle, and ended with the loss of many of our friends. It indicates that the other world we are connected to is not like in a novel that shows a peaceful fantasy world. In another world, there are many things that have not been revealed.”

“Especially with the presence of heroes who have unreasonable strength, they could have destroyed the Expeditionary Force if there was no relief force.”

“Hero? What are they like?”

“Wait a minute, will you believe everything I say? Other worlds there is magic like in fantasy worlds in novels.”

Nike nodded with a confident face, he was quite curious about the other world connected with Indonesia. Meanwhile, Nio thinks that Nike thinks his words were taking references from fantasy novels that are sold in the market.

“Yah.. said the heroes are humans who have great power. They were the cause of the deaths of many Expeditionary Force soldiers, and made us almost desperate.”

Nike can imagine if the Expeditionary Forces struggle when faced with a powerful enemy. He could see the aftermath of struggling in another world through Nio's already absent right eye and his right hand that had been replaced with a bionic hand. Nike concluded that the other world is really dangerous, and not like it is struggling with a world whose civilization is thousands of years old.

The other world connected to this world was a very dangerous world, and fighting there would not be easy.

“Maybe my brother was killed by that damn troop. They are lower than anything.”

“Yeah... to be honest, I feel very lucky to be alive now. I don't know how to pay for your brother's struggle.”

After hearing Nio's words, the girl seemed to have found an opportunity. Rika once told him that she should dare to take all the opportunities in plain sight.

Nike's chance was her brother's last message stating that Nio was the one her brother trusted the most. And from what Nike knew, a soldier of the Lieutenant level like Nio could not refuse orders from a Major-level soldier like his brother.

“You... you can pay for my brother's struggle by taking care of me..!”.

Nio responded to that with a smile and said inwardly, “Anjir, nih girl sinter really meritsin chance.”.