Chapter 20

Justice had ordered the head chef to prepare a victory banquet in advance, and upon returning to the base, a lavish lunch awaited the team.

The smiles on their faces were unstoppable. Even as they laughed, some began to cry while still chewing their food. They had poured so much effort into this day; the bitterness had finally passed, and they were overwhelmed with the urge to weep.

The head chef came out carrying a large platter of roasted lamb bones. Seeing them cry, he boomed, "What are you crying for? Eat your fill! There's plenty more!"

The Meris base, which had been the laughingstock of the circuit and had never even entered a competition before, had taken first place this time. Everyone at the base was thrilled for them.

Those who had been crying a moment ago now reached out to grab the lamb bones, the aroma simply too intoxicating to resist. After eating, everyone returned to their quarters to sleep soundly, exhausted beyond measure.

Justice stood on the balcony, watching the sun dip below the horizon. She stood there from dusk until nightfall, smiling bitterly. Winning first place had changed nothing. Her reward was a promotion from Captain to Major, but she remained trapped right here. Frank had regretfully informed her that Hayes had applied pressure to block her transfer. Justice gazed out at the same unchanged landscape and turned back, her footsteps heavy.

She spent the night adjusting her mindset so she could face her jubilant team. Three days later, Pudiva’s transfer orders arrived. He said to Justice, "Sir, once you get out, I will come find you and become your subordinate."

"All right." Justice smiled as she watched him leave. The two silver bars on her shoulders had been replaced by a pair of silver wings.

Louis and Malcom retired early. Arkes was promoted to Sergeant First Class, and the four snipers were promoted to Sergeants. The snipers were then poached and transferred to a combat zone. The seven new recruits were promoted to Corporals; no longer relegated to logistics, they became infantrymen and enjoyed the full benefits of military service. Their families were sent to boarding schools in the city, where all expenses were covered and they were well cared for.

With the brutal training behind them, the eight men felt a sense of emptiness, suddenly finding themselves with too much free time. Justice remembered her promise to Arkes and granted him leave to go on blind dates. His parents, overjoyed, wrote to urge him to marry soon, promising to cover the wedding expenses. Arkes wanted to find a girl nearby in the village so they could meet easily, and he could spend his leave in town.

Justice asked him, "What if you can't communicate with a village girl?"

Arkes replied, "Sir, I don't get much time to see my family anyway. Whatever way the girl wants to live, I'll let her. I will do my best to ensure she and our children live well. As for communication—how many family members truly have deep conversations? As long as we can speak to each other properly, that's enough."

Seeing that he was prepared for marriage, Justice nodded and summoned the village chief. Marriage required mutual consent. Arkes explained his conditions to the chief, and since his requests were not unreasonable, the chief took a cigarette and promised to find him a suitable, good-hearted girl.

During his leave, Arkes began meeting potential partners. Many girls were willing to accept his terms: he had a new house in town, a salary that could support a family, and no worries about his future children's education. Though his features were rugged, he was clean and tidy. Arkes was looking for marriage, and his attitude was sincere, earnest, and not frivolous. The girls were favorably inclined toward him; at the very least, none disliked him.

Two months later, Arkes and Ellie were together, and his parents came specifically to visit. One holiday, they met at Marguerite to dine and finalize the wedding details. Ellie’s parents were also doting and did not make things difficult for Arkes, asking only that he treat their daughter well.

Toran returned home and inadvertently told Marcia that Arkes was engaged and would be holding his wedding in three months, and that he and the others would serve as groomsmen. Marcia’s reaction was very flat; she only said she wished him well. Toran, not being particularly sensitive, failed to notice that her eyes had turned cold.

The weather had turned chilly. Back at the base, Arkes was cheerful every day. He had received a sweater hand-knitted by Ellie, which he kept by his bedside to look at constantly, his heart and lips filled with thoughts of her. He decided to take Ellie to have photos taken on his next leave, just like the seven of them had, so he could hang her portrait on a necklace.

On the day the nine of them received approval for their leave to visit family at the same time next year, Arkes said he would take Ellie to Enisha—or, as the city folks liked to call it, for a honeymoon. Justice rolled her eyes at him. "And are you going to go off on your own?"

Arkes scratched the back of his head, embarrassed. "Don't bother us... no, wait, I mean, Ellie and I won't bother you, Sir." He corrected himself, his smile radiant.

It was November now, and their leave was in June of the following year. Everyone began to look forward to the trip to Enisha.

During the month-end holiday, Arkes drove everyone into town. Ellie’s family had already tried on the wedding attire and finalized it. The eight men sat in the shop, helping Arkes choose his wedding suit. This was the most important day of his life; he wanted it to be grand, solemn, and beautiful.

Seeing Arkes try on his suit, Sander said he was envious. Justice pretended not to hear, but the seven pairs of eyes remained fixed on her. She finished her drink, the glass clinking against the table, and said, "Polygamy is illegal."

Willian replied, "If we just hold the ceremony without registering, we aren't breaking the law."

Cold sweat began to bead on Justice's back. She chuckled dryly, "Don't listen to his nonsense."

The others looked as if they were seriously considering it. Justice shouted urgently, "Arkes, are you done yet? Come out!"

Toran suddenly said, "I do."

Justice urged, "Arkes, hurry up!"

"I do, too."

"Let's go to Enisha for a honeymoon."

"Where should we hold the ceremony?"

"Sir, when are you going to buy a big house?"

"Let's try on suits, too."

Justice couldn't stop them. The shop assistant was beaming, pulling out dozens of outfits for them to try. Three hours later, Justice was pushed into the bridal shop by the group to try on wedding gowns.

"You aren't serious, are you? Stop messing around."

The answer was the closing of the fitting room door, leaving her face-to-face with the shop assistant. Justice didn't mind taking responsibility, but not through marriage.

Outside, Arkes shouted in his booming voice, "Sir, we won't register! Don't worry, just marry us!"

Justice cursed under her breath. To save on wedding costs, Arkes was helping them. When the assistant brought out the gown and Justice walked out, the men held their breath. She was wearing an off-the-shoulder wedding dress. They knew she was beautiful, but seeing her in a dress, revealing her feminine side, made their hearts race.

Holding the wedding became a certainty. No registration was fine; they wanted the status. Justice looked like she wanted to beat them to a pulp, but the gown made it difficult. In the time it took her to try it on, they had already picked out their suits and would come back later to pick them up after alterations.

Arkes looked into wedding venues; since there were many of them, they could split the costs, and he wanted the best. Without waiting for Justice's permission, they drove off and disappeared in an instant. Justice was so angry she nearly burst out of the gown. Although she was an orphan, marriage wasn't something to be taken lightly. Still, if marriage could make Hayes leave her alone, she wouldn't rule it out. This group, however, was just too impatient.

In one afternoon, they ran all over the place. After they made their choice, they took Justice to see it—a large, barren plot of grass.

"You chose this?" Justice frowned. The staff member immediately explained, "Once it warms up next year, this will be a massive field of marguerites. Look at the video; these are weddings held here in the past."

The staff showed her videos of past weddings held there, with marguerites of all colors blooming brilliantly and intensely. It was a beautiful sea of flowers. Justice glanced at it once and said, "We'll go back and discuss it."

The eight men hung their heads as they returned to Arkes's house. Sitting at the dining table, Justice called a meeting. "Why do you want to get married?"

Arkes answered first, "Marriage is the most beautiful thing in life. Having family by your side means you're never lonely, and it gives you the motivation to move forward."

Sander said, "You said you would be responsible for me."

Toran said, "I want the status."

Willian said, "My family will only be at ease once they see me married."

Next was Raven, "I don't want to be impure and go to hell."

Then Lucy, "I want to have children in the future, even if they're illegitimate, it doesn't matter."

Justice took a deep breath. They had even thought that far ahead.

Lakra said, "It provides security and peace of mind."

Finally, Perrin, "If I don't marry, people will point fingers and I won't be able to hold my head up."

Most of their upbringing came from their families, so family was very important to them. They accepted non-exclusivity, but deep down, they all wanted to be married.

Justice drank some water to calm herself. "You all just want a contract to bind the future."

The group thought about it; that seemed to be the case.

A minute later, Justice made her decision. "We can hold a ceremony without registering, but you must first become my legal manservants. You cannot go back on this in the future. Don't answer yet; think it over."

They were afraid she would back out; she was afraid they would betray her.

Sander shook his head. "No need to think. I do." He was constantly thinking about establishing an inseparable bond with her. The others all nodded, willing to become her lifelong manservants.

Justice's heart was pounding. "Arkes, bring me a drink. I can't stay calm right now."

Arkes got up to pour her a drink with ice. Justice downed it in one gulp and looked at them. "Once it's decided, there's no turning back."

"No regrets!"

Back at the base, Justice tossed and turned in bed. Sander was woken by her movement. He opened his eyes and asked, "Do you regret saying yes?"

Justice sat up and turned on the lamp. "I wasn't thinking about that. My father left me a sum of black money, but I can't spend it; it needs to be laundered. You seven want me to buy a big house, so I have to buy one."

Sander sat up too. "We'll help you launder it. You say the word, we'll do it. We'll buy a huge house, and have plenty of cars."

"Go and call them."

Sander went immediately, his footsteps light. His voice had been trembling when he asked her, terrified she would say she regretted it.

Five minutes later, the seven were gathered. Justice checked the lifetime contract; it had been approved. From a legal standpoint, they now had a duty to care for one another and could not be separated. Justice took a slip of paper from her safe. When the seven saw the amount, their hearts skipped a beat.

Justice sat in a chair, twirling a pen. "This money is enough to buy an estate, but it can't see the light of day."

The seven men’s throats went dry, their emotions still unsettled. An estate—something they hadn't dared to imagine, something only the nobility could own.

"Sander, you go register a repair shop. Toran, you register a medical instrument store. Willian, you register a used car dealership. Raven, Lucy, you two register a restaurant. Lakra, Perrin, you two go buy a large farm. Stagger the times so you don't arouse suspicion."

"Yes, Sir."

Justice withdrew all her savings. Except for the farm, everything was opened in the nearest city, Corsian. She hired people to run them, but kept the books herself. Corporate profits were faster but less safe; individual private operations were harder to detect, and cash accounts were difficult to audit. Justice used a fake food poisoning incident to clear out the previous farm's partners and signed a supply contract with her own large farm. In such a remote area, nobody cared about such small change.

Marcia and Tally registered a dessert training class. The consumption of ingredients was massive, and the books recorded large daily purchases of fresh ingredients. Funds began to appear in their public accounts. Every month, they withdrew cash from the big bank in Corsian; in a city, that amount of money didn't stand out.

Justice began selecting a suitable estate. She searched online for properties for sale. Barring any accidents, she would have decades of military life left, and would only return during annual leave, so the location didn't matter. What mattered was that it allowed her to spend her leave in comfort. She didn't want anything dilapidated that needed renovation, she didn't want anything remote that required many servants, and she didn't want anything with bugs.

In the end, there were three locations to choose from. The seven men, plus Marcia and Tally, all chose the estate by the sea. The reason this estate was being auctioned was that a murder had occurred there—the owner's father had been shot—and it was considered unlucky.

The exterior of the estate was unremarkable, sitting on a high grassy ridge, and it took only three to five minutes to reach the beach. The surrounding scenery was beautiful, but it was far from the small town, a forty-minute drive away. The enemies of Justice's father were long dead; no one was watching how many assets she had.

She bought the seaside estate, paying in full, but there was a fake contract written as an installment payment. The original owner wasn't a clean person, and as long as they got the money, they didn't mind helping with the deception.

Justice became the owner of the estate. Those who followed her were overjoyed; they would go swimming in the sea on their leave next year.