Posts from The Empire of Reimia (3) Auto-translated

Everything is as expected. Did you really think you'd spend the entire game learning at the Academy, making friends, falling in love, and being happy?

"The bygone glory – is that the time of Theria, or what? My premonitions didn't deceive me – troubled times are coming. And – what a delightful coincidence – the only person capable of explaining what's happening and preparing for the future has vanished without a trace from the academy." – Marey rubbed his face with his left hand, his expression tense. His fingers brushed against a boil above his eyebrow, and the student instinctively crushed it, splattering pale yellow pus on his fingers. – "Well, all that's left is to wait."
In reality, it couldn't be said that he was particularly concerned about the well-being of the empire – for Marey, his country, his homeland, meant only a set of conditions in which he had to exist, and he didn't feel any particularly strong emotions towards it. The sorcerer wasn't particularly afraid of troubled times either – the idea of peaceful prosperity bored him, and, objectively speaking, his malicious, selfish, and ambitious character was completely unsuited for a quiet life. But he wasn't ready, the possibility of his plans being disrupted irritated him, and, unconsciously, he was afraid that he might not survive the coming storm – and Marey was much more attached to life than he himself could imagine.

If the past few weeks had been filled with nothing but warm and joyful news, then everything suddenly plunged into an abyss of utter darkness.
First, there was that idiotic business with the statuette, which was now causing Moriner a great deal of trouble. No matter how hard he tried to put it out of his mind, "accidental" misfortunes kept bringing him back to that ill-fated purchase. He had never been to a medical center in his life, but now, in addition to a concussion, he had also managed to sprain his leg after tripping on the stairs and dislocate his shoulder after a chance encounter with some burly upperclassman, not to mention the minor annoyances that constantly plagued him.
The news of the new Empress's first "deeds" only further saddened the unfortunate student – overnight, he lost the safe place to study, which would now undoubtedly be used for its intended purpose, and his favorite teacher and kind, understanding mentor was dismissed by the new government.
The icing on the cake was the long-awaited reply from his father. Carefully, fearing to damage the contents, Moriner opened the envelope and eagerly devoured the words. But almost immediately, he noticed the absence of his father's neat, precise handwriting – instead, illiterate scribbles were penned by his maid, Mityonna.
His father had hired old Mityonna shortly after the death of his eldest son, the departure of his wife, and his own breakdown – and since then, she had taken care of not only the partially paralyzed civil servant but also his growing children. Moriner, being the youngest of them, spent more time with her than with anyone else and became even more attached to her than to his own mother.
The letter made it clear that old Sinon Leveristos was not only unable to write on his own but could not even dictate his thoughts to the maid. Mityonna diplomatically mentioned that everything was fine at home and that his father was glad to hear about his son's successes and hoped that he would continue to work hard.
But what about his job now? What was his condition? Should Moriner ask to be allowed to go home for a week? But who would he ask, since their mentor had been dismissed just the other day? How could he lift the curse of the statuette? Should he ask at that camellia shop? Finally, what future now awaited their country? Would he have to go to a real war? All these, and many other questions, continued to torment Moriner's troubled mind. He sat at his desk, his hands folded on the table, his face buried in them, expecting only the worst from life.

Bertrand sat and thought about how he might end up among those authors whose articles led to their execution, and this fact troubled him. Such a thing clearly does not fit the concept of a free and modern state, and things could only get worse from here, and then it might become necessary to decide on one of the most important questions in life.

"An Empress executing her citizens for harmless thoughts?"
Xenomia's mind was filled with many thoughts, mostly anxious ones. Okay, an ungodly ruler is having a terrible influence on the entire country; that's obvious. But what to do in such a situation? It seemed that the best thing to do was not to succumb to the upcoming temptations, but rather... Well, maybe this was just an isolated case of intimidation? To show her power, so that people wouldn't talk about the new ruler as they did about Eugene, that she was indecisive, and then the Empress would back off?
The new history teacher also caused concern. Is Eugene no longer overseeing the academy? If so, why did Kamiya Yuki no longer feel safe here and leave? If not, can we expect that the new teachers will be able to handle their responsibilities?
Miya recited prayers for the well-being of both the country and their class.

The other students in class III shared the feelings of their classmates, and only Eli, Berwang, and Shogo seemed completely unperturbed, as if this news did not concern them or as if they didn't care about it at all. Relgar and Anelotta were contemplating leaving the academy. Light cursed the "old hag who seized power," but, of course, he only did so in his head. Ifeon was mentally preparing himself for the new realities that awaited the citizens of the empire in the very near future. Azarine really wanted to know Romeo's opinion on what was happening, but she could only guess. And Imir simply withdrew into himself. In general, the atmosphere in class III was unhealthy. Finally, the door to their classroom opened, and a business-like woman walked through it. "Greetings, students of class III, I am Evriala Grace, your new supervisor. I am extremely pleased to meet you. Rest assured, I will train you to become soldiers that Her Majesty will be proud of." Having finished her greeting, the new teacher did not waste time on further pleasantries and got down to business. "I want to inform you that starting this month, your life at the academy will undergo some changes. First, from today onwards, you are prohibited from aimlessly wandering around the academy during classes (blue events will be unavailable every day except weekends at the end of the month). Second, new rules regarding uniforms are being introduced." Evriala glanced at some members of class III. "Girls, this concerns you. From now on, no more trousers, understood? You are warriors, yes, but first and foremost, you are young women, and you must not forget about your femininity. Therefore, only skirts, strictly pleated, in the colors of the academy above the knee. Keep in mind, I will monitor this. Now, thirdly, for students who cannot achieve satisfactory scores on combat training tests (strength or dexterity, or both), additional training days will be organized to improve these miserable, unworthy-of-a-soldier results. Also, please note that a satisfactory rank from now on starts with rank D and higher. Fourth, your previous teacher somehow lost your assignments, and I cannot assess the extent of your knowledge without retesting... But, unfortunately, there is no time for this in your schedule, so we will postpone it. Fifth, a new subject will appear in your schedule - "Leadership and Tactics," make sure that at least some of you attend it. Sixth, military exercises will be held between the first classes of the academy in August to determine the representative for the national Competitive event; you need to provide me with a list of eight participants before the end of this month. Parfinorochka, I am very upset by the fact that a vice president has still not been appointed in your class. The reasons for this delay are unknown to me, but this misunderstanding needs to be rectified immediately. I give you one day." Evriala paused briefly to allow the students to process what they had heard. "If you have any questions, I am listening carefully. But let's avoid nonsense; you are already adults and should be serious.

The new curator didn't make the best impression on Moriner, but fortunately, as always happens, she mainly focused on social matters, which didn't affect him in any way. Of course, the intensification of the combat training program will negatively impact his schedule, but he had expected something like that.

"Lost, huh... Thanks, Yuki. Who knows how many you saved from expulsion, or even something worse, with your loss. She's gone off the deep end. The ban on trousers, in all its absurd pettiness, perfectly complements this new atmosphere of a military camp. Yes, she's definitely 'one of us.' Yuki definitely didn't leave on his own accord."
Marey suppressed the urge to say something cutting to this mixture of a suffering, senile war veteran and an instructor at an institute for noble young ladies, and continued to sit in silence.

The new curator didn't surprise Nei; it was quite predictable that someone with a similar approach would be assigned to them, given the direction Rinze had taken. The only surprise was the comment about trousers, but in the context of everything else, it was just the final touch. The unfavorable image of Evriala was only made worse in comparison to her predecessor, who treated her students with kindness and understanding. The only somewhat positive news among what she heard was the mysterious disappearance of the essay – a farewell gift from Yuki, no doubt.

Lat raised his hand. - Latro Dekt, - he introduced himself before asking a question. - Could you tell me more about the competitions? One of the teachers mentioned them, but we've never been given detailed information. It's very interesting to know what they entail, especially since they're already in August, and we have no preparation beyond our regular subjects.

- More tasks and less free time? - Bert thought sadly, looking at Berwang, expecting to see the same reaction on his friend's face.

Xenomia was actively taking notes. Should all girls wear skirts? Maybe it's a good thing; now everyone will be united in their suffering. Are lectures not allowed to be skipped? This should improve academic performance (but, alas, before, Mia at least managed to succeed through her diligence, but now what? We should expect that others will surge ahead, which means we need to try even harder!). All of this seemed quite draconian, but overall, strangely enough, upon reflection, it seemed positive. And yet, something still worried Mia about the new teacher. Maybe it's because of the fear of changes in the state, because of Yuki's departure, who she liked very much, and also because of the measures he took before leaving his post... It's hard to say the exact reason, but unlike the also strict Mari Kamii, this new teacher made a rather unpleasant impression so far. Although Mia tried not to think about it.

Parfinorochka, I am very upset by the fact that a vice-president has not yet been appointed in your class. I do not know the reasons for this delay, but this misunderstanding must be corrected immediately. I give you one day.

- I apologize, Miss Grace. This will be rectified.
That evening, Parfinora offered the position of vice-president to Imir:
-Imir, I have thought a lot about how rashly I acted in the past, towards Romeo and Yaspis. Therefore, I would like you to be by my side, so that you can prevent me from making similar mistakes in the future.

That evening, Parfinora offered the position of vice president to Imir:

I wanted you to not just point at the sky; let the students raise their hands during class and say who would be interested. But okay, I think Imir will agree.

For the Competitive event, I suggest the following lineup: Parfynora, Linnea, Ifeon, Ely, Bert, Light/Larto, Berwang, and Azarina.
In my opinion, Ely, Linnea, and Ifeon are definitely essential. A commander would also be helpful, and here we have a choice between Moriner and Parfynora. However, magic is prohibited in Competitive events, as Revan once told me (but it's probably best if someone asks this in-character), so Marey, Shogo, and Imir are not the best candidates for the team. It would be good to have an engineer, at least one, and Light and Larto are ahead of the others in this regard. I'm not sure, though, if they will agree. I think they can be replaced by Xenomia or, as a last resort, Imir. Of the remaining candidates, Relgar has no skills, and Anelotta's modest skillset is overshadowed by two serious drawbacks, leaving us with Bert, Berwang, and Azarina.

Added 5 minutes later
I noticed that Ely and Ifeon have one common drawback: they don't know how to use enhancers.