No Beast Girls on the Western Front

Page 14

"Oh, right, there's one more thing," Payne added. "Do you know why a bald guy is bald?"

"Uh... because he shaved his head?"

“Um…that’s true. But he shaved his head because he had head lice. You four need to be careful about hygiene lately, or I don’t want your fuzzy hair to turn into a lice breeding ground.”

Chapter 20 XX. It had absolutely no taste.

Although the mission involved tracking down poison gas, Lacey seemed quite relaxed—

The owner is really overthinking it. I've smelled poisonous gas so many times, and the worst time was just a headache for a few days. It's not as terrifying as he's making it out to be.

What makes the beast even happier is that since the other beast girls were left behind, wouldn't that be equivalent to having the master all to himself?

There aren't many opportunities like this.

Just thinking about this made Lacey's tail wag incessantly.

Even though he felt a strong gust of wind behind him, Payne didn't turn around, because he was preoccupied with worrying about lice and wondering if he should have Shawn shave his head to prevent the lice from infesting him.

Although that guy's hair is nice to pet, the price of getting dozens or even hundreds of bites all over his body is still too heavy.

But soon Payne lost even the will to think about it:

When Lacey saw the gas canister, she actually bent down and lay on the ground without being ordered to, and started sniffing it!

"Lassie!" Payne grabbed her by the back of her collar and lifted her up. "What did I teach you?! How were you supposed to handle this situation?!"

"You...you have to fan the air with your hand and smell it first..."

Lacey was initially startled and shrank back, but quickly relaxed. "Oh, don't worry, Master, I'll be careful. The smell here is very faint, there won't be any problems."

Payne raised an eyebrow and released his grip. "Even the faintest odor is still poison. How do you know there won't be a problem?"

"Because... um..."

Lacey stopped bringing her nose directly to the cylinder and sniffed, instead crawling around on the ground following the trail of scent. "Because... I think this smells pretty good..."

"Smells good?" Not only Payne, but everyone present was somewhat surprised. "How come I can't smell anything?"

Lacey stammered, "Um... it's... it's a kind of fragrance... I don't know how to describe it..."

Payne stroked his chin. "That's normal, after all, dogs can smell scents that many people can't..."

But then he asked with some doubt, "Are you sure you don't feel any discomfort?"

"No, this smells quite pleasant."

Seeing Lacey sticking her butt out and wagging her tail happily, Payne didn't say anything more.

Like tracking prey, the group followed the canine beastman for more than ten minutes before Lacey finally stopped under a large tree, sniffed around it, and said, "This should be it."

Everyone searched the area, but Carter, with his sharp eyes, pointed to a spot on the ground and said, "The soil here is very loose; it may have been dug up not long ago."

"Start digging," Company Commander Berynk ordered.

"Let me do it!"

Before the soldiers next to her could even take out their entrenching tools, Lacey leaped forward and began digging with lightning speed, the dirt flying everywhere like a tap being turned on.

Payne, who hadn't managed to stop her at first, could only stand aside thoughtfully. "Lassie seems to be in a really high spirits today... Did something happy happen?... Could it be the 'poison gas' that's affecting her...?"

Miller leaned closer and whispered, "I only knew dogs could dig, but I never imagined canine beastmen could dig so fast... Why didn't they do that when digging trenches?"

Payne rolled his eyes at him: "Why not use the tools if you have them?"

"That's not what I meant by fast..."

"You'll pay for the wear and tear on those claws?"

"Um...could we give them some durable gloves or something?"

"Great idea, the important task of communicating with logistics is now in your hands."

"Forget it..."

As the two were talking, they suddenly heard a crisp "clang." Lacey, who was half-submerged in the pit, crawled out with a mournful face, "Waaaaah... I dug up something hard... It hurts so much, waaaaah..."

"How many times have I told you, don't dig so hastily..."

Payne took the dog's paw that Lacey offered with a hint of pity, and examined it from head to toe. "It's alright, the nail isn't split, just the toe is a little swollen."

Lacey continued, her eyes brimming with tears, "Waaah, Master, blow on it for me..."

Payne rolled his eyes at her, then looked down and blew on her little hands covered in mud. "How are you feeling?"

"Waaaah, I want Master to rub it again..."

"You can't rub a freshly bruised area."

"Then... then let me rub your head..."

Why are you rubbing your head after hitting your hand?!

If this kind of interaction between a person and a dog were to occur in any other military unit, it would surely shock everyone.

But because this was Company B, they completely ignored the two men's actions. Company Commander Berjunk simply ordered the others to clear away the dirt and see what treasures the French had buried for them.

Two minutes later, Belyink realized that the baby was a bit too big.

"Back off, all of you back off. Damn it, there are at least twenty bottles down there... This is beyond our control. Kemerisi, Franz, you two stay here with me. The rest of you go back and report to the higher-ups to get the professionals here as soon as possible."

Payne, who was scratching the inside of Lacey's ear, slapped her on the head when he heard this, then turned and left. "Alright, let's go. This place makes me uncomfortable..."

But Lacey didn't seem uneasy at all. She was excitedly grinning and running around Payne like a spinning top, almost making Payne dizzy.

Why is Lacey so excited? Surely the cylinder doesn't contain stimulants or poison...

However, after observing her for a while and not seeing anything unusual, Payne gradually relaxed and turned his attention to another matter:

When they returned, the sun had completely set, and the occasional thunderous sound of artillery fire could be heard in the distance. Sparse lights were lit in the nearby villages, and the soldiers had emerged from their trenches and gathered around the field kitchens, waiting for their meals.

However, Payne wasn't concerned about what to eat; the supply lines were running smoothly, and the cook would take care of that. What he was worried about was—where they would sleep later.

They were only temporarily assigned to dig trenches, so the inhuman generals above them naturally didn't care about their living conditions.

Fortunately, the brother units that were already stationed here were quite righteous. Although the front line was already a bit crowded, they worked hard and managed to create a semi-underground shelter for each squad.

When it was Payne's turn, the soldier leading the way said apologetically, "I'm sorry, there's really no room left, so you'll have to stay with the orcs."

Payne, of course, didn't think anything of it and instinctively said, "It's nothing, it's just what I wanted."

Back in the rear camps, annoying officers kept a close watch on everyone, and the human soldiers could only sleep in the barracks; the beast girls could only sleep in the warehouses or stables. But on the front lines, no one cared.

However, after seeing the surprised expression on the other person's face, he felt that the answer might have been too provocative, and added, "Um, what I mean is, at least there are fewer people and it's spacious."

The other person stared at him for several seconds, "...If you're not a brother, it's amazing you can stand that smell."

"Taste? What taste?"

Paine was puzzled, so he turned to the beast girls and asked, "Can you smell anything?"

"No." Ruby crawled into the trench without looking up. "So tired... time to sleep..."

"Lassie, you're here."

The dog girl came running over excitedly, and Payne pinched her ears and sniffed them. "There's no smell. Lacey, smell me."

Lacey wagged her tail and sniffed Paine's chest, "Ah...it smells like Master..."

Finally, Payne shrugged at the soldier and said, "I didn't smell anything. Or did you smell something?"

The other person didn't say anything, but took two steps back and then turned and left.

Chapter 21 XII. Let me see.

It was completely dark when Payne, who was in the trench, lit a kerosene lamp, removed the lampshade, and placed a kettle on it, intending to boil some water to make tea.

He had previously had the opportunity to visit the enemy's trenches during an attack and even captured several flashlights, which shows that the French were quite technologically advanced.

However, on ordinary days, Payne would still like to light a kerosene lamp to illuminate the trenches.

Aside from the fact that he had to borrow flashlight batteries from the French and therefore use them sparingly, he felt that a bright flame was warmer and more lifelike than a light bulb.

You can also boil water while you're at it.

Under the flickering firelight, Ruby had wrapped herself completely in the blankets, Troy (number 2) was also lying on the bed, but was still staring at the ceiling with her eyes open, while Shawn sat on the bed with her legs covered by the blankets, nervously playing with her fingers.

As for Lacey, she was comfortably curled up on the bed with her eyes half-closed, nestled in Payne's arms, a happy smile on her face, letting a pair of rough hands rub her head.

Although Payne was completely satisfied with the touching, and Lacey was also completely satisfied with the touching, Payne still felt a little strange:

Lacey has been like this all day. What's wrong with her?

And although it was somewhat sudden, her actions weren't unusual, and she didn't seem to be affected by any chemical substances...

Could it be... that we've reached the branching point?

That doesn't make sense either. The last divergence ended in May, and the next one isn't until September. It shouldn't be at the end of June now...

Although that's the logic, Payne still wanted to double-check.

His left hand continued to scratch Lacey's ear, while his right hand patted her belly, causing her to instinctively roll over and lie flat on the bed, her limbs curled up and her tail tapping incessantly on the bed, looking like she was desperately seeking a pat.

Payne continued scratching her stomach, then moved it down a little bit, and when she didn't react, he patted her leg.

Payne stared intently at her face, and seeing that she still had that silly, grinning look on her face, he reached up and touched her again.

This time, his hand was swatted off by the dog's paw.

"Stop it, stop fooling around!"

Lacey wasn't unhappy, but she also seemed to have no desire for it.

Payne stroked his chin, pondered for a moment, and then commanded, "...,..."

"Woof?"

"..."

Although she was somewhat confused, the dog girl instinctively carried out the order.

Payne, quick-witted and agile, examined her closely by the dim light of the kerosene lamp, then swiftly... and casually patted her dog...

"That's not right, there's nothing wrong with that... and my appetite at dinner was as good as ever, it's not a sign of a splitting mechanism at all..."