He downed a sausage with softened black bread, wolfed down quite a few thoroughly stewed and flavorful potatoes, and topped it off with another cup of still terrible coffee.
"Damn, that hits the spot~"
Mo Lin finally felt like he was alive again.
But that faint unease in his heart never fully dissipated.
He wiped his mouth and found Platoon Sergeant Klaus and his orderly, Hans.
"Come with me."
Mo Lin took the two of them, borrowed three bicycles from the supply train, and rode straight toward the only cathedral in the city.
It was also the highest point in the entire city.
He planned to climb the bell tower; he wanted to see the situation outside the city with his own eyes.
The church had not been affected by the previous battles, appearing solemn and dignified.
After explaining their purpose to a somewhat nervous-looking priest at the entrance, this priest who could speak Saxon hesitated for a moment before leading them to the stairs beneath the bell tower.
"Klaus, Hans, talk with this priest and get a general understanding of the city's situation. See if there's anything unusual."
Mo Lin gave the order, then stepped onto the spiral staircase leading to the top of the bell tower alone.
The stairs were narrow and steep, the lighting dim.
When he pushed open the small door leading to the top floor, he discovered there was already someone there.
Lieutenant Colonel Ludwig of the Teutonic Knights, and beside him another armored knight pilot he didn't recognize.
The former was holding up a telescope, seemingly also observing the movements outside the city.
Seeing Mo Lin come up, Ludwig lowered his telescope and said something to his companion.
The pilot named William looked at Mo Lin with some surprise, then nodded and turned to go down the stairs.
At the top of the bell tower, only Mo Lin and Ludwig remained.
Mo Lin didn't speak. He saluted Ludwig, then walked to the wooden railing and raised his own telescope, looking toward the northeast of Seville.
Cities of this era had no high-rise buildings, so the church bell tower, serving as the high ground, had an unparalleled open view.
The plains, forests, and roads outside the city were all clearly displayed before his eyes.
However, he didn't see any signs of the Royal Army massing on a large scale. Everything appeared overly peaceful.
"Their retreat was very orderly, without any signs of chaos."
Ludwig's voice sounded beside him.
"It doesn't look like a rout—more like pulling back a fist to strike a heavier blow. Your concerns are indeed justified."
Mo Lin lowered his telescope and turned to look at him.
Ludwig was also looking at him, his gaze carrying an element of inquiry and curiosity.
"Honestly, I really find it difficult to connect the you of right now with that Mo Lin I saw at the Stuttgart gala."
Hearing the other man's words, Mo Lin was taken aback.
So this was another acquaintance?
"You seem surprised?"
Seeing Mo Lin's unfamiliar expression, Ludwig smiled:
"That's not strange. After all, at galas you were always maneuvering among the noble young ladies; you wouldn't pay attention to me."
"Then I truly apologize, Lieutenant Colonel Ludwig. I'll be sure to pay more attention to you next time."
"."
Ludwig truly hadn't expected Mo Lin to respond this way. All the words in his stomach were ultimately held back, but he still stared carefully at Mo Lin and continued:
"But I truly can't understand how someone like that could display such bravery and sharpness on the battlefield."
Was he probing his background? Or was it simply curiosity?
Mo Lin's brain raced, but he found he had no way to explain at all.
Although he had gradually recalled quite a bit of the original owner's past, much of it remained a blank slate to him.
Thus, he chose the safest way to respond—silence is golden.
Ludwig didn't seem to expect an answer either. He leaned against the railing and began talking to himself like a chatterbox.
"But this is good too. What the Empire's army needs are warriors like you, not wastes of space who only know how to talk big at galas."
"Ah, and Ms. Cecilia. I wonder what her reaction would be if she knew you had transformed into what you are now~"
"I heard she sent a telegram directly to General Mackensen's command post, infuriating the old general."
He rattled on, completely unconcerned whether Mo Lin responded.
And Mo Lin was surprised that this Lieutenant Colonel Ludwig seemed to know quite a lot.
But he didn't engage either, just listening silently from the side, committing each piece of information about the original owner to memory.
The most important thing was learning that the "noble lady" who sent the telegram was a woman named Cecilia; it was just that he still didn't know what relationship existed between the original owner and this lady for the time being.
"Right, now it seems my self-important little sister also misjudged things this time."
"You have a younger sister?"
"."
The expression on Ludwig's face changed several times in succession, but eventually settled into calmness.
"It seems Second Lieutenant Mo Lin recovered quite quickly from the shadow of being rejected on the spot. I didn't expect you to forget Patricia so soon."
Hearing Patricia's name, a blurry image of a blonde girl flashed through Mo Lin's mind. Just as Ludwig had said, she seemed to have had some dealings with him.
However, Ludwig didn't continue on this topic. He quickly shifted to chatting with Mo Lin about other things, which also made Mo Lin discover that this noble pilot was a chatterbox.
The two remained on the bell tower for a long time. Only after confirming there truly were no unusual movements outside the city did they leave one after the other.
When Mo Lin returned to the edge district where the troops were stationed, he discovered the scene here was already completely different.
The residents of Seville, after confirming that those entering the city were the Nationalist Army and their allies, had emerged from their homes one after another.
It was evident that the Nationalist Army and the International Brigades enjoyed quite a good reputation among the common people of the Kingdom of Aragon.
At least in Seville, this was the case.
Enthusiastic citizens spontaneously brought out the not-so-plentiful bread, cheese, and wine from their homes to reward the soldiers who had "liberated" them from the rule of the Royal Army.
By extension, these "allies" of the Saxon Empire benefited as well.
The soldiers of the Nationalist Army and the International Brigades accepted the food offered by the citizens rather reservedly, their faces beaming with simple smiles. The entire square was filled with laughter and joy, an atmosphere of peace and delight.
However, the Saxon soldiers were still somewhat wary. After all, to them this was another country, and the Royal Army soldiers they had fought against were essentially composed of commoners from the Kingdom of Aragon.
So Mo Lin quite understood their reaction. In the military history courses he had studied in his previous life, it was mentioned that after the German army invaded Belgium during World War I, due to attacks by partisans and some Belgian civilians, they entered a state of extreme suspicion where every bush and tree seemed an enemy soldier.
Coupled with the pressure from several defeats in the early stages of the war, some German units exhibited incidents of attacking civilians and violating military discipline after entering towns.
Just as Mo Lin was wondering whether he should pay attention to maintaining his unit's discipline to prevent similar situations, the thing he worried about still happened.
A street in the distance suddenly erupted in commotion. Civilians screamed and fled, while soldiers gathered over.
When Mo Lin arrived at the scene, he couldn't help but feel there was definitely some metaphysical force at work.
Otherwise, how could it be that whatever he feared came true?
He saw several Saxon Empire soldiers at the door of a civilian house, raising their rifles in a standoff with surrounding Nationalist Army and International Brigade soldiers.
They had cheeses and salted meats strung on ropes hanging from them, clearly just looted from this residence.