If the foreign leave is overdue, the punishment according to the military law of the German Navy is nothing more than a close seal, fasting, and cleaning toilets, but if you add the item of "staying in a foreign country", I am afraid that you will have to bear the suspicion of "treason", and at least you will be investigated, and at worst, your future will be ruined, so when the captain of the ship publicly announced the punishment of himself and Christian - two days of confinement, Natsuki did not have a little frustration on his face. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

The dark rooms of the army are not as unbearable as people think, under normal circumstances, there is a lot of eating, drinking, and sleeping, but the unchanged environment is very testing people's patience and willpower, and on a wooden sailboat, squatting in the foul-smelling bilge to miss the fresh air on the deck, sometimes it is also an unbearable torment.

The confinement punishment was meticulously enforced, and the two German princes regretted missing military exchanges with the Swedish navy. A day later, the Charlotte departed for Karlskrona, and Natsuki did not say goodbye to Gustav or know what was going on with the Swedish prince, who was deeply troubled by the drama.

Two days passed in a flash, and the confinement ended, and the German princes left the bilge and went to the deck with relief, but they were not greeted by bright sunshine, but by a low and heavy cloud covering the sea, and the strong sea breeze brought the smell of torrential rain. Under the command of the officers, the naval cadets climbed the mast to retract the sails, and the deck was full of nervous and busy figures. Christian quickly returned to his position as a midshipboy signalman, while Natsuki, as the alternate boatswain, stayed at the stern of the ship to learn and observe.

In the middle of summer, the weather was changeable, and in the blink of an eye, the gale made a strong wave, and the hull swayed violently, and the cadets who had bound their sails hurried down the mast back to deck, and the helmsmen were like the enemy—it was much more laborious to control the rudder without mechanical assistance than on an ordinary ship. At this time, Natsuki suddenly heard that "someone has fallen into the water", and followed the voice, and the shouter pointed to the rear from the right side of the stern. The wind whipped the sails, the waves crashed against the hull, and people did not hear the sound of heavy objects falling into the water, and someone asked "who fell into the water", and the answer was quickly received: "Siriakos!" ”

Otto. Siriakos?

Natsuki has some impressions of this name, he is from a civilian background, taciturn, his body looks a little thin, but his ball skills are very good, and he works very hard in his schoolwork, and his comprehensive score can rank in the top ten of his class. This is obviously not the time to recall this, the sea and the sky are as dark as thick ink, a powerful storm is coming, if the person who has fallen into the water cannot be rescued in time, even if he is a good swimmer, the chances of surviving this stormy sea are extremely slim.

The trainees ran to the stern of the boat, some trying to find the traces of those who had fallen into the water, and some preparing lifebuoys and ropes. Finally, someone shouted: "There he is!" ”

The sailing training ship had slowed down considerably after all the sails had been lowered, but the violently undulating sea looked like a monster's bloody mouth, and it took extraordinary courage and courage to jump down and save people. A few clever trainees quickly threw out the first lifebuoy tied to a rope, and the bystanders hurriedly shouted loudly to guide the person who fell into the water to the location of the lifebuoy.

Natsuki soon found the unfortunate man who fell into the water in his sight, judging from the state of his struggle to swim to the lifebuoy, he did not lose his mind because of the fall, but his hope of survival, the red and white lifebuoy, was constantly shifted under the action of the waves, and the distance between the two was never closer.

The rough sea conditions are quickly draining the physical strength of those who have fallen overboard.

"Get out of the way! Get out of the way! "Boatswain Faith took off his clothes as he went, he was an experienced old seaman, with a burly and muscular physique, but the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes and the white threads on his temples clearly told people that time is not forgiving!

Would you rather be a coward for the rest of your life, or be a hero, even if only for a second?

――Faced with such a choice, Natsuki in his previous life would 100% choose to remain silent, but at this time he is no longer his past self. With a determination to defy all difficulties, with a sober judgment of the reality of the situation, he decided to take a risk.

This is the moment of true fearlessness, and the cadets on board will eventually become the pillars of the German Navy, and what better way to capture the hearts of these hot-blooded young people than "heroes"?

In the confusion, the trainees threw down several untethered lifebuoys one after another, but they obviously didn't have much significance. Natsuki decisively snatched the rope prepared for the boatswain from the two cadets and tied it around his waist in twos and threes.

"Hold on to the rope and pay attention to the retraction!"

He shouted at the stunned cadets, and before they could react, they leaped out of the boat and into the water in an unpretentious motion, while the boatswain took off his second boot......

The buckskin boots on Natsuki's feet were newly bought when he returned to Berlin for the crown prince's wedding, and they were a full 4,000 marks, a typical luxury, and they were all given to the sea before he had traveled far.

Taking a cool shower in the scorching heat was a pleasant thing, but the waters of the Baltic Sea were so cold that Natsuki soon found himself not only fighting against the tremendous resistance of the waves, but also beware of the accelerated loss of physical energy. So, instead of paddling like a drowning man, he maintains the posture and rhythm of freestyle. With no person in sight of the person who fell into the water for the time being, he walked straight ahead with his sense of direction. The rope, soaked in the sea, swayed with the waves, gradually forming a backward pull, which further slowed down Natsuki and added to his burden. Even though the muscles in his hands, feet, waist and abdomen were constantly aching, reminding him that his physical output was close to his physical limit, Natsuki gritted his teeth and kept the rhythm of his swimming, and never looked back at the distance between the sailboat and himself - as long as the ropes continued, he could return to the ship, and the drowning Siriakos had no control over his own destiny.

Hang on! Hang on! Persistence is victory!

Natsuki tried his best to get rid of distracting thoughts, and he only had encouragement for himself in his heart, but for some reason, Louise's sweet smile still faintly appeared in his mind. The two years of no guesswork have formed a wonderful clue between them, and they can understand each other's feelings without verbal communication, and the tacit understanding on many ideas makes outsiders envious. Natsuki believes that Louise would be very worried if she saw this scene, but she would support and encourage herself, and she would be extremely proud of her bravery.

The mental power from the bottom of his heart made Natsuki's mind extremely strong, and before he knew it, he had swam hundreds of meters on the rough sea, and the "Charlotte" had turned around, and despite the interference of the wind and waves, he could still hear the shouts from the ship. When he realized that the shouts of his companions had increased suddenly, he guessed that he was closer to the man who had fallen into the water.

So, he breathed a sigh of relief and shouted: "Siriakos! ”

"I'm here!" The voice was weak and tired, but full of hope.

The wind and waves on the sea are getting stronger all the time, and the rain is starting to fall. The sound sounded close, but Natsuki's limbs had become very numb, his joints were barely obedient, and each meter he advanced required an astonishing amount of willpower. Finally, he found the wet black hair on the other side of the wave, and the other party also saw him at the same time, his face full of disbelief.

Come on, the last ten meters up, swim past is a great victory! Natsuki said to herself. The hands and feet have lost their original rhythm, purely mechanical paddling, and the other party is also using all his strength to move closer to him. However, this last distance was like a moat between two continents, and the rope tied to Natsuki's waist seemed to be fixed to the bottom of the sea, and no matter how hard he tried, it was difficult for him to take a step forward.

A fierce wave hit, and the two of them retreated a little, and the distance did not decrease but increased!

Stabilization! Stabilization!

Natsuki forced his overheated mind to calm down, and he relaxed his arms to rest, only swaying his legs evenly to keep him floating. The damn life-saving rope sank like lead, and the bean-sized raindrops crackled in the face with the wind.

Seeing Natsuki stop, the person who fell into the water on the other side was full of panic, no one wanted to fall back into the abyss of despair when hope was once close at hand, but he didn't even have the strength to maintain the status quo,

There was only the sound of wind and waves and rain on the sea, and the people on the training ship were watching intently.

"Never give up!"

Natsuki roared, not only to cheer himself up, but also to calm the other party. As the words fell, the long-term recuperated and rigorously exercised body began to release its youthful potential, with its vigorous arms waving like the long oars of an ancient Roman warship, and its strong legs and feet expressing the galloping style on the green field. The distance is closer by meter, time passes minute by minute, and the limit of the flesh has long been reached. With a lot of willpower, he's still moving forward......

"Oh...... Banzai! ”

When the two figures on the sea in the distance merged, an extremely strong cheer finally broke out on the "Charlotte". Whether or not people were mentally prepared to lose their comrades who had fallen into the water, at this moment, they were deeply shocked by the fighting spirit of this almost miraculous miracle. They saw the amazing willpower of the strong and felt sincere admiration for it.

Holding the unfortunate and fortunate Siriakos tightly in one hand and pulling the cable in the other, Natsuki gradually relieved himself and whispered in a sonorous voice: "Thank God, I caught you, you are the indispensable one among us!" ”

Hearing the words of the rescuer, the person who fell into the water was already moved beyond words. After two years of classmates, he always felt that it was easy for a person with the status of a prince to stand under the halo of glory, and organizing mutual aid associations and holding football matches was just a manifestation of money and wealth...... Injustice, but it is a reality that cannot be changed. After falling into the water, watching the sailboat drift away, his companions simply threw down the lifebuoy in vain, and Siriakos had already resigned himself to his fate. Prince Joachim's appearance completely upended his outlook on life and values, knowing that the tyrannical sea was not a show, and before jumping off the deck, he should know the risks he was going to take - and the price could be precious lives!

In the midst of the storm, the cadets worked together to pull two extremely tired people onto the boat. Seeing Natsuki raise the V-sign with a tired smile, there was another round of enthusiastic cheers on the boat. Christian took the lead in shouting "Long live Joachim", and everyone shouted.

Now except for the helmsman, no one cares about this temporary bad weather.

Surrounded by his companions, Natsuki grabbed Criakos' hand like two rivals at the end of a boxing match.

"For the sake of our companions, we will never give up! For the sake of victory, we will never give up! For the sake of the motherland, we will never give up! ”

The three neat sentences were like beating war drums, and each sound made the naval cadets present feel their blood boiling. The pursuit of victory and honor has been a faithful creed of the army since Prussian times, and Natsuki's use of the theme is intended to create a spiritual atmosphere of close unity without distinction between each other, and he, the unique hero today, stands at the center of this atmosphere.

"Cadet Joachim von Prussia!" Captain Feng. Lieutenant Colonel Kells' angry shouts silenced everyone instantly.

Xia set up a positive direction.

"Who allowed you to jump into the sea without permission to save people?" The lieutenant colonel glared viciously, and if the German prince had an accident on his ship, even if he had not been guilty of any negligence in the laws and military regulations, he would have become a sinner for the royal family and for the whole of Germany, and the tainting of honor would be even more painful than death.

"I'm sorry, sir, but I did it myself!" Natsuki said solemnly, "I am a champion swimmer at the Naval Academy, full of energy and energy, and Siriakos is a part of us, whether it is in training or on the real battlefield, we will not leave any of our comrades behind!" ”

This resounding answer made Lieutenant Colonel Kells's sharp eyes change, and he puffed up his chest, put his legs together, and raised his right hand to give Natsuki a standard military salute.

Led by the captain, all the officers and cadets around saluted Natsuki, and everyone's eyes were full of respect.

Natsuki raised his chin slightly and raised his hand elegantly.

The wind was still raging on the sea, and waves several meters high were hitting one wave after another, and the sail-shaped "Charlotte" was sometimes pushed up to the crest of the wave, sometimes sliding into the trough, and when the hull swayed the most violently, people could not stand safely on the deck, and the heavy rain made the people on the rear deck almost invisible to the foredeck, and the terrible waves surged onto the deck and gushed out from the drainage holes in the leeward area. This was the most feared situation for the cadets, but Prince Joachim's bravery encouraged them to keep their posts and respond with composure, and the officers' commands and "yes, yes, sir" responses came and went.

(End of chapter)