Gate: Thus the Reich Empire Fought There, Revised

Chapter 1: The Reich Empire

Itami stared at the dried paint stained across Forest's saddle bags. All the potential artwork that flowed through his heart would remain trapped there. Forest whined before nuzzling him to ease her rider's lament. He petted her back and exhaled after looking at a Christogram on the wall.

Itami and Forest rested inside a massive furnished bed chamber specifically designed to fit a dragon. The knight sat on the bed while Forest lay on a vast pile of gold and silver laid out for her. After the battle a day earlier, Duke Wilhelm and his wife, Dutchess Brunhilda, held the prisoners in their estate and housed Itami there. Despite the comfortable accommodations, Itami's stomach turned to stone as he looked out the window and saw the rising sun.

"Why did this all have to happen? Why me?" He groaned.

Itami glanced back at the Christogram and supposed there were far worse circumstances he could find himself in. With a heavy heart, he dressed himself in a fine button-up green jacket with silver trimmings and cords before draping his epaulet jacket cape over his shoulders. He did not bother with his spiky black hair and glared at Forest, who licked his head in an attempt to order the unkempt mess. Years of doing this gave the dragon ample skill, and her rider appeared presentable as they entered the hallway and saw Bruno waiting for them. He, too, wore his military jacket but wore a black variant and smiled.

"Guten Morgen, the duke and dutchess are ready to go."

"Already? What about breakfast?"

"We aren't traveling far, and your uncle wishes to dine with our 'guests'." Bruno chuckled.

Itami almost moaned with Forest after their stomachs growled together. Still, he kept up a facade after entering the furnished carriage with Bruno, Pina, and Bozes. Forest whined a little but took off with Suzaka, the Duke, and Dutchess as their convoy moved out across the countryside. Pina and Bozes sat together and remained dead silent. Both wore elegant dresses of red and blue provided to them. Bozes stared down at the floor of the carriage but occasionally shot nervous glances up at Bruno, who sat across from her. The giant knight almost did not fit in the carriage and returned her glances with warm smiles, earning a few blushes from the young woman. Pina, however, did not sit idle.

She looked out the carriage windows and clearly took note of everything in sight. The equoferri mounted knights escorting them and their suits of gothic armor just like the variant Bruno wore into battle. As they traveled further, Itami observed what she had done. Her eyes fixed themselves on an Imperial lord's estate where the peasants tended to crops using the three-field system. One field rested, a second grew crops, while the third underwent cultivation by the farmers. Men, women, and children used equoferri-driven plows that moved with no effort at all before spreading seeds. After this, priests and nuns washed over the fields with glowing water and did the same to the resting section. Pina blinked upon realizing the half-grown crops had a faint blue glow to them and glistened like the water. Her eyes shot to the enclosures of cows, pigs, and other domesticated animals.

Itami tried to ignore the smell of manure and grazing animals but chuckled when he saw Pina cover her nose and turn a little green. She gritted her teeth and kept on her observations, soon realizing that the animals who ate from fodder and feed also had a faint magical glow. She looked at the crops and then at the local Reich people. The men all stood tall and broad at roughly six and a half feet on average, with broad shoulders and muscular bodies. The woman stood tall, too, some even reaching six feet with beautiful features. They moved about their village, conducting business in wonderous spirit, smiling and talking to each other as if they were one large family. Blacksmiths pounded away at top-rate armor, carpenters crafted masterful woodworks, and bakers filled the air with a far more pleasant smell that renewed Itami's hunger pains.