Tyranny of Steel

Berengar stared at the beautiful woman in front of him with astonished eyes. He knew he must be dreaming, because this was a scene he did not remember from his past life. At the moment, he was Julian Weber and was dressed in his ACUs. He had just returned home from an operation in Afghanistan. It was his second deployment, and the war was still far from over. 

Standing in the doorway to greet him was none other than Mizuno Ai, who had recently graduated herself. However, there was something noticeable about the Japanese Beauty, her belly was extended as if she were several months pregnant. She quickly hugged Julian and kissed him on the lips before rubbing her belly with a pretty smile on her face.

"Daddy's home!"

Julian gazed in astonishment at the woman. She was truly radiant, but he did not know how to explain the bitterness in his heart. This was clearly another lucid dream that felt as if it were reality. Ai saw the tears growing in her man's eyes and quickly dragged his head into her bosom to console him.

"What's wrong? Hey come inside and tell me all about it, I prepared your favorite, tonkatsu and takoyaki!" 

Julian sniffled as he wiped the tears from his eyes. He did not know why he was having these realistic dreams, but he was instantly suspicious. Perhaps it was an effect caused by him drinking from Urðarbrunnr, or perhaps it was simply the gods playing a cruel trick on him. Whatever was the reason, he decided to enjoy the moment. Because of this, he wore a warm smile as he shook his head and expressed that his tears were a misunderstanding.

"I'm sorry Ai. I just missed you so much. You have no idea what life is like without you. Let me put down my luggage and I'll be right in to join you!"

The woman quickly grabbed hold of Julian's luggage and tried to take it herself.

"Allow me, you just rest!"

However, Julian wasn't having it. The woman was visibly pregnant, and thus he would not allow her to physically strain herself.

"It's fine, I've got it. You just go grab me a beer, okay?"

Ai wore a pretty smile and pecked Julian on the lips before nodding her head in agreement.

"Okay, don't wander for too long!"

After saying this, she ran off to the Kitchen of their house where she prepared the table for Julian's eventual arrival. Meanwhile, the man had slowly walked around the halls and witnessed the pictures on display. This dream must be taking place after the last one, because there were photos of their wedding, and other important dates they had gone on. 

Apparently, after confirming how each other felt during his graduation, they had pretty quickly gotten married. It had been over a year since then, and they were a happily married couple. The sight of these pictures only furthered the agony in Julian's heart as he gazed upon them, thinking about what life could have been for him. 

After taking a look at the hallway pictures, Julian climbed the stairs to the bedroom, where he placed down the luggage. There were more photos of the two of them, as well as their friends and family, hanging on the walls and sitting on the desk. He took a deep sigh before deciding to descend the staircase and reunite with his wife. 

After arriving in the kitchen, Ai handed him his favorite beer with a pleasant smile on her face before taking a seat at the table. She seemed to be in a very good mood as she said a brief prayer before taking a bite from one of the many octopus dumplings she had made. After enjoying the treat, she quickly asked Julian about his deployment.

"So, how were things over there? I hear the war is not as bad as it once was..."

Julian shook his head when he heard this before answering the woman's question to the best of his ability.

"We've taken a back seat in the war. The Afghan National Army is doing most of the fighting, but they're an absolute joke. If we truly want this puppet state to succeed, then we will be in the region for another hundred years at least.

I'm telling you, half of these guys show up to training, get their gear, and then defect to the Taliban during their first deployment. You would be surprised what those fuckers are equipped with now, thanks to those fucking traitors. I honestly don't even know why we are still in this fucking war. Afghanistan can't stand on its own. It's better to cut our losses before more of our boys get killed."

Those last few words stuck in Julian's throat as he had a sudden flashback of himself getting fragged by a mortar in Afghanistan. Ai could tell something was wrong by the sweat on his brow and quickly inquired about it.

"Are you sure you're alright? You can tell me anything you know that, right?"

However, Julian quickly shook his head and used his chopsticks to eat his ramen. It's not like he could tell the woman that this was all a dream. If he did, it would just end up like his last one, and he wanted to enjoy this moment a little while longer.

"I'm fine. It was just an unpleasant thought. You don't need to worry about me so much..."

Ai nodded her head, before following up with more concern.

"Okay, I understand if you don't want to talk about what goes on over there, but just know I'm here for you if you need to get something off your chest."

Julian chuckled when he heard this before commenting to the woman sitting across from him.

"Who are you, and what have you done with the girl who used to pester me in the library every day?"

Ai immediately blushed when she recalled all the fights she had picked with Julian just to get his attention. The sight of the woman, who was so embarrassed, immediately caused Julian to laugh and tease her more.

"You are so cute when you get embarrassed like that. What the hell did I do to deserve such a wonderful wife?"

After taking a few seconds to calm down, Ai answered Julian's question with a smug grin on her pretty face. 

"You were the only man I had ever met who was smarter than me! Naturally, it drew my attention..."

In response to this, Julian could only chuckle once more before teasing the girl again.

"Oh, so you admit that I'm smarter than you? That's a first!"

Ai became flustered once more while she lowered her head and muttered in the cutest voice that Julian had ever heard her make.

"Stop teasing me..."

After seeing such an expression on the girl's face, Julian could no longer make fun of the woman, and thus he took a sip from his beer before commenting on her appearance.

"You look lovely, Ai, so have you found out whether it is going to be a boy or a girl yet?"

The woman rapidly shifted her mood from embarrassed to excited as she nodded her head thrice before answering the man's question.

"It's going to be a boy!" 

Julian did not know why hearing such a thing made him so happy, but a wide grin formed on his face as he responded to the woman's assertion.

"To think I will have a son, Half German, and Half Japanese, huh? I don't think this world is prepared for such a little warrior!"

Ai giggled when she heard this before lecturing the man on his ideas.

"Like hell I'll ever let my son join the military. I get worried enough when you are away at war. I don't think I can go through another eight years of that after my baby boy finally grows up. No, he will be a civilian, maybe a CEO like his grandfather?"

Julian went silent when he heard the last words escape from the woman's mouth. According to the memories he had in this dream, Ai's parents did not approve of him. Primarily because he came from a poor background. Though they were impressed with his ability to climb from nothing, he was still in the military and thus not making as much money as they wanted their son-in-law to have. 

He did not let it bother him. This was all just a dream, after all. Still, it would have been nice if he could have gotten along with his in-laws. Oh well, such things were life, and he would have begun to consider the possibility he had died in his sleep if this world was so perfect.  However, Julian could tell his time in this dream was coming to an end, and smiled bitterly as he said goodbye to Ai for a second time since he had reincarnated into his current life.

"I had a really fun time. Ai, I want to thank you. The time I have spent with you here and now has really helped me gain some closure. I don't know if we will be able to meet again, but I just want to thank you for everything you did for me. It is just a shame it took me two lives to realize what could have been."

After saying this, Julian kissed the woman on the forehead and walked out the door. Ai only stared at him in shock as he walked away from her. The moment Julian exited the house, he awoke in his tent in Southern Italy.

It took him all of three seconds to realize he was back in the real world, and he could only sigh when he thought about the dream. Well, there was no way he was going to get any more sleep on this night, and because of that, Berengar got up from his sleeping bag and began his day's work.