The Empire of Reimia (3) Auto-translated

//In anime, in such cases, the character starts bleeding from the nose and loses consciousness.//

- For... - Latro was speechless for a moment. - I... I think the same way.
He warmly extended his hand to Light.

Light seals their friendship with a firm handshake.

The kiss completely clouded Moriner's mind, his heart pounded in his temples, his bruised cheeks flushed with color, and a veil of desire clouded his eyes. Following the Nihonese woman's lips, he leaned forward more boldly away from the wall, continuing his awkward exploration of her charms with one hand, while unbuttoning his trousers with the other.

...
When it was all over, Nanako and Moriner found themselves in the company of several red-faced, but disgruntled men. As it turned out, one of the "Chronicles" employees noticed the commotion taking place in their publishing house and hurried to report it to the first soldiers he saw. Fortunately, everyone involved agreed to Nanako's offer to forget what they had seen in exchange for the opportunity to take the place of the exhausted Moriner, so this event was resolved without reporting to the commanders or involving the military police. The journalist himself did not feel any changes in himself, so most likely, his superstitious fears were unfounded.

When the Empress left the hall, Marey felt as if the air had turned to glass, completely restricting his movements and thoughts. It seemed he could sit there for eternity, staring blankly at the Empress's gift, still clutched in his hands, but the fragile silence was shattered, like a hammer blow, by the sound of Azarina's weeping. Still slightly stunned, as if he had just woken up from a dream, Marey sat for another half-minute before retreating to the bathroom to wash his face and hands. He repeated the procedure three times, but could water really wash away the filth with which he had sullied himself just a few minutes ago? Returning to the hall, he found everything as it had been before, but he couldn't distract himself. Marey poured himself a glass of wine, took a small sip, but the drink wouldn't go down his parched throat. He loosened his tie, but his breathing was constricted from within. And how could these people behave as if nothing had happened? Being lost in his own thoughts was unbearable. Marey approached Naru. He wanted to say something clever, something meaningful, but all he could manage was to nod towards the window and say: "Y-yes. Times." He took a small sip from his glass, using it as an excuse for the awkward pause, and quietly said: "The north wind and the flying snow, Outside is cold, and cold within. Resign yourself and endure, slave-man; Kneel down – or die."

I believe that after his event, Moriner should automatically complete the "Search for Motivation" upgrade.

— Alright, if that’s how it is. But if any problems arise or you discover anything suspicious, report it immediately. You’re dismissed.
As Bertrand moved away from the military police representatives, an unfamiliar man approached him. Judging by his uniform, he was a second lieutenant from the same corps as Bertrand.
— So, soldier, what the hell were they asking you about?

- Just the usual formal questions, they asked how I was doing and things like that, - Bert replied. - I think they were just getting to know the new recruits.

On the way back to their detachment's camp, Moriner was in a state of mixed emotions. Describing each of them in detail would be an unnecessarily difficult task, but like life, which has no monochrome stripes, the young journalist felt a strange mixture of black and white: pleasure, fatigue, satisfaction, fear, shame, and anger at his own recklessness. But this time, strangely enough, he didn't feel like indulging in self-analysis.
"Well, yes, I'm a bit weak-willed. I had a clear goal, and I immediately exchanged it for another. I knew all the risks, but I still didn't do anything. But should I have? As my teacher once said, 'shouldn't we just be simpler?' Maybe I should strive for that too? The future is far away, but the present is right here, and if it brings you pleasure, why worry about possible side effects?"
Nodding to himself several times, the student felt a certain lightness and relief. Yes, it was written correctly in the imperial books; it's much easier to live with such an ideology. He should try to fully embrace it.

It was unbearable to dwell on his own thoughts. Marey approached Naru. He wanted to say something smart, something meaningful, but all he could do was nod towards the window and say:
— Y-yes. Times.
He took a small sip from his glass, using it as an excuse for the awkward pause, and quietly said:
The north wind and the flying snow,
Outside it is cold, and inside too.
Accept it and endure, slave-man;
Kneel down – or die.

— You sound upset, — the foreigner listened attentively to what her classmate said, but did not comment on the meaning of these words, — may I ask why?
She seemed genuinely not to understand the reasons for Marey’s gloomy mood.

- Just the usual formal questions, they asked how things were going and so on, - Bert replied. - I think they are just getting to know the new recruits.

— Oh, come on, they are just using their authority to harass us, ordinary soldiers. — The officer shook his head. — What do you think about this war?

"I never thought I'd see something like this," he said slowly, carefully choosing his words. "In the ninth century... It's hard to believe what happened. In fact, I've always been against prejudice, and I believe that my words and actions have as much meaning as they align with my actual thoughts, so, in reality, there was no catastrophe, but... Perhaps it's something on the level of prejudice. When our distant ancestors knelt, it was an act of self-denial – the one who knelt was defenseless and, thus, completely surrendered himself into the hands of the lord. In the Rhemic culture, this was always considered extremely humiliating. And just a few minutes ago... such a disgrace, against which the entire unconscious part of the personality rebels," Marey felt that he was starting to talk too much, to open up more than caution allowed, and quickly added: "No, of course, our magnificent empress only did us a great honor, and my annoyance is completely unjustified, but still... I've never knelt before, at least not so literally. And yet I'm used to obeying. The indifference of the others... is striking."

"Here's how I see it. I'm not very familiar with the Rhemic culture, so I shouldn't comment on its specifics. However, in terms of its form of government, this state, in its current form, is an absolute monarchy, and therefore I don't see anything particularly disruptive or unsettling in the act that was committed. On the contrary, I would be more concerned about the fact that disrespect for authority goes unpunished than about something like this, as that would indicate problems in the way society and the state function. At the same time, if the inhabitants of the empire are unhappy with this form of government, it needs to be changed to something else. However, since this is not happening, either the majority of the population is satisfied with the current state of affairs, or the state has the tools to impose its will on its citizens. In either case, there is nothing left to do but accept these rules of life or move somewhere else. As for what happened, I personally did not experience any significant inconvenience during the performance of this ritual. This procedure was not associated with physical discomfort or health risks, and it also did not pose any threat to mental state or financial well-being. I would consider low-paying work to be much more humiliating and dangerous to physical and psychological health than this, but, as far as I know, many residents not only of this country, but also of many others, agree to such conditions voluntarily."

-- As I said, not everything can be explained rationally. The remark about working conditions is certainly valid, but in this case, everything is perceived as an unavoidable evil, and expressing dissatisfaction with the need for hard work for most people is roughly equivalent to being outraged that people cannot fly or walk on water. At the same time, no one has had to kiss boots for a very long time. If respect for authority requires confirmation in this form, then its position is not so strong. As you probably know, some of the previous monarchs also liked such displays of, ahem, respect, and it didn't end well. They were proclaimed tyrants, and now... It seems everyone is quite content, and some even more so," Marei glanced at Rina-chan. "Something strange, very strange, is happening in the public consciousness lately. Perhaps people are generally more inclined to submission than it seems. You know, I read it in one author... Life doesn't deceive fools; fortunately, they ask for little: food, drink, warmth, and some toys that can satisfy their base and petty vanity. In other words, the people want bread and circuses. Modernity provides all this in exchange for a very small price – obedience. In a global sense, this is perhaps a good thing. But can we really limit ourselves to such considerations, completely denying the existence of more subtle matters? It seems I don't understand something about the moods and events of our time. And I really don't like not understanding.
Marei clearly felt that he was saying more than he should, while receiving only insignificant logical statements in response, but he could no longer stop. If usually communicating with people was like reading a not very interesting textbook – he received the information he needed and ended the dialogue, then now it seemed to him that he was grappling with some kind of mystery, and Marei really didn't like not understanding something.

“I tend to believe that there is something in people that cannot be explained rationally – things that are purely individual and subjective, and therefore, in the grand scheme of things, do not really matter, just like tastes and any other preferences of a person as a unit of society. As for pride, in my opinion, it borders on stubbornness and is sometimes destructive. There are objective things that can be a reason for pride or shame – physical characteristics, skills and abilities, or their absence, achievements, and certain events from the past, and much more. But pride in relation to what happened today is subjective, because one person may feel humiliated because they had to touch someone else's boots with their lips, while another person may be proud of exactly such an act, again – depending on their preferences and attitude towards the recipient of this action. At the same time, the person from the first example could try to preserve their pride and refuse to perform this act or somehow express disrespect for the authority that forced them to do it, but what would be the result? Most likely, either imprisonment or the death penalty. Yes, this person will preserve their pride based on their subjective perception of it, but can this be admired? I don't think so, moreover, exchanging one's life for a fleeting feeling of illusory freedom, succumbing to emotions, suggests that the person lacked either wisdom or intelligence, or perhaps both. I can understand such a decision from a person in bondage, forced to lead a hopeless existence, because they simply have no other choice, but from a person endowed with freedom, albeit somewhat limited, and having a number of opportunities in their life, it will seem foolish to me. In the context of the relationship between a citizen and the state, obedience is a positive quality, as it is one of the requirements for the organized functioning of society. Of course, it is not for me to say, but if the Rheian people have agreed on such a form of government, then they should live according to the established rules or look for another place to live.”

-- And I'm not arguing that performing this ceremony, however strange it may seem, was the best and inevitable option, but that doesn't make what happened normal. As for emigration... many things can play a role here: the power of habit, patriotic ideas, a lack of prospects; in general, this usually only happens under the influence of extraordinary circumstances. It usually boils down to the idea that things won't get any better. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe all my dissatisfaction stems from the fact that changes are happening faster than I can adapt to them, but I can say for sure – Reims is entering a new era. Whether it will be better or worse – time will tell. Of course, these concepts are again subjective and of no global significance... But it seems strange to me: how do a club of primitivism and the idea of denying the individual outside the state correlate?

— Not at all, because the themes of this club and the study of related issues are among the interests that have nothing to do with my worldview.

Previously, for maximum efficiency, Xenomia wore an intelligence-enhancing amulet, but now, during wartime, they were not studying as usual, and besides, the risk was too great to allow for such a thing. What if Mia falls on the battlefield and no one will be there to help others, heal them, and simply provide cover from enemy fire? Xenomia's life, and not just her own, depended on it, so even if she loses some experience, survival is more important.
That's what she told herself and put the stamina-enhancing amulet in the water slot. Of course, it was a little sad to lose the only advantage that Mia still had in training, but what could she do?
Another problem was that with all these moves and the stress she experienced, Xenomia was unable to make progress in either weapon mastery or the study of Camelian philosophy, as she had hoped. For now, the month was passing in vain. In the few free evenings she had with the Camelian book, Mia would almost immediately start to doze off. And she had hoped to become stronger and more devoted in the very near future, and what's more, the mystery of the statuette still hasn't been solved, and no clues have been found!
This could also be related to her appetite. Xenomia had always eaten poorly, often receiving reprimands from her mother for it, and she sometimes neglected meals at the academy, but in the last month... She had to admit that at this rate, she risked remaining a frail little thing, which she didn't want, and, of course, there was no energy left to study the book.
In this regard, Xenomia decided to force herself and go to the dining hall to eat a good meal and gain strength before what lies ahead.

-- Hmm, I see... I probably bored you with this conversation. Anyway, today is a holiday, and it's not the best time for such topics, -- Marey turned towards the hall again. People were having fun, chatting casually, enjoying food and drinks, and giving each other gifts. Someone, already quite tipsy, was dancing vigorously in the middle of the hall... How he probably stands out among all this carefree youth, with his heavy thoughts, serious expression, and expensive suit! Usually, Marey was proud of this feeling without any ulterior motive, but now he felt a slight pang of annoyance. Could it be that even on a holiday, he is unable to simply enjoy the pleasant flow of life, without any unnecessary thoughts, agonizing analysis, and futile worries? If so, either he is incredibly intelligent, or, on the contrary, quite foolish, unable to direct his mind in the desired direction. Marey drained his glass. -- Do you want to meet again before the end of the month?