At night, on the shore of the lake, a cold wind blows.

Two men in military uniforms, walking side by side on the dirt road leading to the castle of Clumber-Heisen.

From behind, they are almost the same in size, but the shoulders are obviously one wide and one narrow, and the waist is one thick and the other is thin.

"Sneeze ......"

The one who sneezed was the soldier on the left with broad shoulders and thick waist and strong hips, his clothes were dry, but his hair was wet.

"Run!" The soldier on the right smiled and proposed, "It's hot when you run!" ”

The soldier on the left bared his teeth and said, "Ah...... You're talking about it easily! Another day, let's try dragging your Flyer 97 for a few miles in the lake to see if you still have the strength to run! ”

The soldier on the right laughed as if he had no heart or lungs.

"I'm doing it for you, too! What if Leng gets sick and goes back to military school? In a few days, it's time for the mid-term test! ”

"Your broken flying machine should be rebuilt to increase the capacity of the fuel tank. It takes more than two hours to fly with a full tank of fuel, and you have to stop and refuel once from Aocheng to Metz, which is really weak compared to flying battleships! ”

The soldier on the left snorted disdainfully: "Weak? Our aircraft and flying battleships are two completely different things, okay? Flying Battleships rely on Star Source Stones, a unique and prized material that is very difficult to mine, and the existing reserves are close to exhaustion, making it difficult to scale up the construction of flying ships. The materials of the aircraft are ordinary and inexpensive, and in the foreseeable future, they will definitely replace flying warships as a means of air transportation that everyone can ride. ”

"There's nothing wrong with that!" The soldier's tone on the right suddenly became serious, "However, flying battleships have the advantages of flying battleships, such as strong carrying capacity. It is believed that for a long time in the future, they will be the first choice for rapid transportation and long-distance supply, and aircraft will replace flying warships as the main force in air combat by virtue of their low cost, huge number and constantly improving technical level. ”

"Do you really think so?"

"In your eyes, I'm a person who says things against my will in order to please you?"

"Hmm...... It doesn't seem to be! ”

"Isn't that the end of it?"

The two chatted as they walked, and the brightly lit castle in front of them looked not far away, but it was quite a long way to go on foot. There is no way, who let their seaplanes run out of fuel, and even the nearest shore has to be towed by manpower......

A low, labored roar came from behind them, fading from far and near.

The two stopped and stood on the side of the road.

After a while, I saw a small black car appear at the corner at the end of the uphill road, and the two lights in front of the car did not seem to be as bright as the kerosene lantern.

In the car, a middle-aged woman wearing a fur coat and a pearl necklace complained to her husband, who was driving, with great resentment: "I have long said that the oil-burning machine is unreliable and expensive!" You see, if we had come by carriage, we would have enjoyed the hot food in the warm and comfortable hall a long time ago, and it would have been a shame to have been so late! ”

"That is, when will we get there? I'm so hungry......" said the big boy in the back seat of the car, wearing a white shirt and black dress, black round-framed glasses, and a shiny oily comb.

The middle-aged man who was driving was also wearing a white shirt and black dress, but his face and hands were stained with a lot of oil, and he wiped the cold sweat on his forehead: "Don't worry, don't worry, it's here in ten minutes!" Today is an open dinner, and even if we arrive at the last quarter of an hour before the banquet is over, we will be able to fill our stomachs! ”

The woman said coquettishly, "If it had been a quarter of an hour at the last hour, I would have never had a chance to show them my new necklace!" My dear, this is the wedding anniversary gift you paid me for a great deal of money! ”

"It's worth the money, it's definitely worth it......"

The middle-aged man turned his head and smiled, and when he turned around, he suddenly saw two soldiers standing on the side of the road in front of him, and thought that something had happened, so he hurriedly braked.

Fortunately, the speed of the car was not fast, and it did not mess up the woman's hairstyle, nor did it make the big boy in the back seat roll into the front seat......

The middle-aged man poked his head out of the cab and looked: "Huh? Isn't this Master Clumber-Hazen? Are you back for Miss Clumber-Haisen's birthday dinner? But why are you here? ”

"Take a ride along the way, talk as you go!"

Since the other party was also going to the banquet, Weiss gave Nikolai a look, and then opened the door and got into the car, sandwiching the big boy with a freckled face and a three-and-seven-minute hair in the back seat.

After starting the car again, the middle-aged man chattered: "Master Clumber-Haysen, you should remember me!" I was born and raised in Somsonas, where my father, Schneider Sr., first ran a grocery store in the east of the city, but later switched careers to trade. Ten years ago, our family moved to Metz, but I come back a dozen times a year, and I guess the willow wood in my hands accounts for half of the Clumber-Haysen family's purchases! Hey...... By the way, have you already graduated from military school? That's the Barston Military Academy! When we were young, it was the top military school in the Federation, and I remember that there was a man named John Drenx in Somsonas City who was admitted to the Gaston Military Academy, and it turned out to be a sensation in the city, and after that, there was no such young talent for many years! ”

Weiss had no choice but to politely say, "Oh, Mr. Schneider...... Uh, it does have an impression...... Hello, beautiful Mrs. Schneider, it is a great pleasure to meet you! And Mr. Schneider Jr., ha, it's so big in a blink of an eye......"

At this time, the big boy who was squeezed by Weiss and Nikolai and shrunk his shoulders asked, "Why is your hair wet?" ”

Not only Mrs. Schneider, but even Mr. Schneider, who was driving, turned his head to look at Weiss's hair.

Weiss explained: "Ah...... It's a bit awkward. We came by plane, and because we ran out of fuel, we couldn't get ashore, so I went into the water to swim and dragged it to the shore. ”

Mrs. Schneider took a handkerchief from her bag, told Weiss to dry his hair, and asked, "What is a flying machine?" ”

"I know!" Schneider Jr. helped him with the black-framed round mirror, "The flying machine is to install paddles on the car engine, and then make a pair of big wings like a bird, so that it can fly into the sky." ”

"Ha, that's right!" Weiss said, "How do you know?" What did you learn in school? ”

"Schools don't teach this." Schneider Jr. replied, "The school doesn't teach anything related to the war, because our headmaster, Mr. Hobbes, thinks that the war is a military affair and has nothing to do with us, and it is better not to have anything to do with us." ”

"Dreamy pacifists!" Nikolai suddenly said, "Although the population of the Norman Empire is less than two-thirds of ours, they can mobilize much more troops in the short term than us, and the reason is that they have established a complete military mobilization system, and men over 14 years old and under 60 years old, as long as they are in good health, must receive the corresponding level of military training." Even if war never breaks out, their universal military training will bring all male citizens closer physically and mentally to the military. If you have been to the Norman Empire, whether in the cities or in the country, you will see that their male citizens walk vigorously and strongly, and always with their heads held high and their chests held high......"

This topic intrigued Weston, who asked Schneider Jr., "Do you agree with your Mr. Hobbes?" ”

"Of course not!" Schneider Jr. replied without hesitation, "History tells us that when the enemy invades our country, everyone is obliged to join the ranks of the fighting, otherwise, we may become a colony of the enemy, and the vast majority of us will live a very miserable life." ”

With such insight at a young age, Weiss couldn't help but think highly of this family.

Mrs. Schneider, however, seemed very disgusted by this kind of subject, and she reprimanded: "Hey, Bout, you're talking nonsense again!" Don't you want to eat prune cheese and cod cakes tonight? ”

The older boy asked unhurriedly, "If it's gibberish, how can it be written in a book and sold publicly?" ”

Mrs. Schneider could not refute, and in order to hide her embarrassment, she changed the subject: "By the way, Master Clumber-Hazen, you haven't even introduced this handsome gentleman?" You said that you were the one who went into the water before, and you think that you have always taken good care of him in the military academy, right? ”

Weiss looked up and laughed, "I'm sorry, Mrs. Schneider, I'm afraid you're mistaken about this." The reason why I went into the water was that I was a passenger, and he worked hard all the way, and secondly, he took good care of me on weekdays, and today was a small reward. ”

"There is another reason...... "I am not a good swimmer, and I don't like to swim." I won't go into the water unless I have to. ”