Posts from Sakuramoria Auto-translated

In the "Know-It-All" shop, Varya somehow buys the "Law of Balance" and reads it.

The writing of this book was inspired by my journey to the mysterious Misurugi Islands or, to be more precise, an encounter with a young warrior who wielded the cursed sword "Sakimaru" — one of the many ancient blades of that land. Forged at the order of a shōgun who wished to end wars in the world forever (in those times when the islanders knew nothing of overseas countries), this sword possessed immense power but could only be used by people with pure hearts. So what then was the curse of "Sakimaru"? The matter is that whoever struck down an opponent with this sword was also bound to take the life of their own ally. For every enemy they killed, they slew a friend, and vice versa. For every foreign soldier — their own countryman or subject. Thus, the pure of heart fully realized the weight of human life and that those who might appear as embodiments of evil in one person's eyes were cherished by someone else. Hatred breeds even more hatred, and killings breed more killings — such was the moral and message for future generations from the smith who forged this blade. However, one sword alone was not capable of changing the whole world, and once it fell into the hands of an immoral warrior, it sank entirely into the pages of history, for such people ended up committing suicide, since they loved themselves above all others, and the price for an enemy's life became their very selves.  This story made me wonder, "what would our lives look like if the curse of 'Sakimaru' were one of the fundamental laws of Dante by which we all live? Perhaps then there would be no wars or violence. On one hand, people would know the weight of their deeds, and on the other, they would know that everything they do will inevitably return to them. Although such an experiment on a global scale was not possible, I still tried to distill the foundations of this curse and convey it in the form of a worldview system.  Love is the foundation of perception.  Our assessment of any given action depends on our attitude toward the one who commits it. For example, people may justify their actions to the very end, however unconvincing their arguments may be; we can forgive those we love and see the positive in traits that would repel us in people we find repugnant. When we hear that someone we hate has done something "good," we think they did it out of selfish motives. Such a concept can extend even to entire states and peoples. Therefore, in order to perceive the truth, one must be able to view a situation from three sides — from the side of love, its absence (a neutral position), and its opposite — hatred.  Good and evil do not exist | Justice is relative | All people are equal Law of Balance ✦ +5 attack, +100 health, +5 accuracy, +5 evasion, +5 speed, +5 willpower.  ✦ The character is subject to the law of "Sakimaru". ✦ In "real" battles, those felled by the character cannot be healed.  Refiteia bonus: the third trait does not apply.

Some people should switch to Mana...

The mentor had to find the best ideology for friendly duels.

Miho suggests holding a contest to choose the "Queen of Nails" – a student who will represent the Academy on magazine covers and during public events.

Added 7 minutes later
Dinorsis suggests making Levitation lessons mandatory for all students, not optional.

A man of culture and a man of culture.

— I suggest randomly reassigning all classes at the beginning of each quarter so that students don't get used to monotonous and comfortable conditions.
Aorih's proposal.

I suggest that each month, one student is expelled through a vote.

The mysterious disappearance of the equally mysterious Sisnemis made Leila somewhat wary, considering Ixora's recent proposal. Could it be that she hadn't abandoned her plan, and Sisnemis had become her opponent? Theoretically, the timing seemed to match. And yet, Sisnemis was not a warrior, not even close. Would an ingredient willingly tarnish her warrior's honor with a duel against someone so inexperienced? Still, she wasn't the type to seek out a presumptuous and unskilled opponent; she wasn't driven by a thirst for profit. Her motivation could have been a desire to hone her skills. Besides, Ixora would hardly share such ideas with someone not only lacking combat experience but also a complete stranger. Unless he somehow found out about it and persuaded the girl to duel, but that in itself was a big assumption on many levels. He could easily have decided, after such ideas, that staying at the academy was too dangerous, especially if someone had let slip about the incident with Carvia. Of course, the Taimanian knew very little about Sisnemis; everything was limited to rumors of the Aeolian's conflicts with Gideon. And, knowing Gideon's reaction to Aliduum, even before he showed his inability to keep his genius to himself, the elder could have been the instigator of the conflict. So, speculating about Sisnemis's behavior was like grasping at straws. Of course, even if all these questions were set aside, there was also the possibility that even if the duel did take place, General Mandragora decided to cover for Ixora. Given the old warrior's morals, he could well have considered such duels to be quite normal, despite the changing public opinion about them. Or he might simply not have wanted to ruin the girl's life, deciding that a good talking-to would be enough for now. The deed is done, and you can't turn back the clock. No matter how you look at it, Leila's attempt to say something about Ixora's idea, regardless of whether it was related to Sisnemis's disappearance, would put her friend in a very awkward position. It could ruin another life, and a person to whom the Taimanian had become attached in these months. Who may not even have had anything to do with the events that happened to Sisnemis.

After a month, Veilys made a few more entries.

Vallota Sidge is quite young for a teacher; she's closer in age to us than to them. She's always in a good mood. She teaches us to keep our bodies in shape, although I think we mostly just play ball. It's supposed to be fun, but it's actually quite the opposite. It feels pointless and a bit boring, although I don't mind playing with balls, but I would prefer the other two activities. ( . )( . )

Sysnemis was one of the newcomers who arrived recently. He kept to himself, so he wasn't very visible. This is probably due to his origins and animalistic behavior, which is typical of his kind. It's even stranger that he decided to leave the academy (as they say), because there was no particular negative attitude towards him, at least not publicly. Maybe the local environment was too unfamiliar for him, which is not surprising. I think the locals also felt uncomfortable being in Aeolia.

Alidum Sirabe is another newcomer who turned out to be the most noticeable, and not just because of his appearance. He doesn't look downtrodden or suffering, as demons and other non-humans are usually described. In fact, it's the opposite; he even reminded me of one of the older students. So, it's not surprising that some students are hostile towards him. By the end of the month, I even started to partially understand them, especially considering the situation with our nun. She was certainly attractive, but one should know when to stop and try to resolve the conflict rather than escalate it further.
PS Is it too late to take a whip as a second weapon?

Michaella Godwell is our nun, who may have a very strong intuition, or she is simply a prime example of prejudice. I don't rule out that both points are true, or that this is one of those cases where expectations match reality. Overall, the situation looks quite strange. Is there a law of karma at play here, or is it just a coincidence, or is something more going on, and what happened was not accidental? I feel that this is not the end of the story, and it will all lead to something bad. Be that as it may, after everything that happened, I even started to feel a little sorry for her, although initially she caused unpleasant emotions due to her actions.

Guard. I met one of the local representatives of this "honorable" profession, who turned out to be surprisingly intelligent. He said that some kind of job was being prepared for us, with the participation of the old man. I have a feeling that this is some kind of trick for the not-so-smart students, who will end up making fools of themselves and won't even earn anything. So, it's worth being wary of any offers that may come.

I’ll take Dante and get the experience skill.

— ... Starting in September of this year, some of the responsibilities and powers of the academy administration will be transferred to the student council. This is necessary to help you prepare to become full members of society and understand how it works. But before that, we will need to hold elections, because you probably wouldn't want someone who doesn't represent your interests to be appointed to this position, would you? Preparing for the vote will take three weeks, and it will be held at the end of the month. By the end of this week, you need to decide whether you want to run for president or not, and at the same time, decide what you want to change in the life of our institution. To do this, each of you must come up with one idea, which will be added to the common "pool of ideas," from which those who want to become president will have to choose three ideas for their campaign.

"I wonder what specific responsibilities and powers are being discussed?"
The vast majority of the ideas voiced by the students sounded like a parade of nonsensical ideas. Only one, Nira, put forward truly sensible and beneficial proposals for all students. Which Starlight immediately rejected, saying that "the budget won't allow it." But building an entire tower on the grounds for hitting dummies and setting up a restaurant with fancy waiters is all possible. In general, a lot could be changed in NAILS, and all sorts of technological things could be added, but with such an attitude towards the allocation of expenses, it was not possible to rely on a reasonable view of the administration towards the future. However, one can look to the future more literally and without any costs.

— I suggest providing students with a schedule of classes for a month instead of one week. This would allow everyone to better understand what and how they should prepare. And with such an understanding, interest and motivation to learn grows!

Who wants to draw?

I have an idea, but I won't do it...
Let them make them do it, since they let them off the hook the first time.

After finishing the book, the stunned Barbarian sat over the open book and didn't know how to react. It was simply something, something astonishing...
"Teacher Hatiora," the girl thought. "You just... Simply... Wasted a few hours of my life for no reason! And why did I still trust her enough to buy her book? Some kind of strange parody of the Abelia cult, but turned upside down. Risha, of course, teaches to be skeptical of other cults and beliefs, but here... I don't even know what kind of person you have to be to accept something like this."
"However, if I show knowledge from this book on the exam, I'll probably get an extra point, and if not, I'll declare a boycott against her."

Futaba lay across the bed, her legs propped up on the wall and her head hanging over the opposite edge, holding a theology textbook in her outstretched hands. The amount of feverish nonsense concocted by people to justify their ignorance of how the world works, as described in this book, exceeded all reasonable limits. The stories themselves about various spheres of influence of supernatural forces didn't contain any particularly new information, unknown to the average person, but when compiled into a school curriculum as a single unit, they allowed one to look at them comprehensively and assess the scope of theological fantasy as a whole. Apparently, we used to live in water, waking up to happy, cheerful laughter, all rosy-cheeked, and fish would jump right into the pot. And then, suddenly, it all stopped – Mother was offended about something and threw her children into a hostile environment. It's like when a young, impoverished mother drowns her baby, just like a kitten in a sack, simply because she can't afford to raise it. People look askance at this, of course, but it turns out it's for nothing – the newborn will return to the gods in their realm anyway, so what's there to fear? Futaba remembered Oppaito's face – her drowned younger brother – bluish and bloated, covered in water striders, nibbled on by crabs and perch; that image, which had haunted her consciousness for so many years, came to her in her dreams every night and tormented her many times each day. It didn't resemble the happy, serene expression of a person returning to an underwater paradise, or one ready for rebirth. Maybe she should have eaten a smelt in honor of her grandfather in the clouds, and then everything would have worked out? Why do creatures like Alidum, the headmistress, or Karvia Imas live long and fulfilling lives, while her four-year-old brother, who hadn't harmed a fly, meets a painful death? Futaba couldn't find any adequate explanations for such basic things in the book. From the theologians' point of view, it all boils down to vague statements like "well, he probably didn't follow the commandments" and "well, that's what the gods wanted, you wouldn't understand." But are these gods worthy of worship then? Apparently, this thought also occurred to the creators of the "cult of seven." Deciding to demonstrate civic responsibility, they rejected the idea of the old gods and began to worship ordinary people. In doing so, they glorified people who hadn't done anything in their lives except spill rivers of blood – one idea is more remarkable than the other. And they even extolled degenerative personality traits as virtues, in mockery of the old teachings. Indifferently flipping through the pages, Futaba stops at the section devoted to Ira. She clicks her tongue and shakes her head at the expression on her face in the official image, then flips the page, but a few seconds later she goes back. The "goddess'" idiotic smile, her theatrical wave of her hand – all of this captivates her and evokes an irresistible desire to take off her slipper and slap her in the face. "Well, what are you grinning about? Are you having fun? You don't even have the highest rank," Futaba grumbles and gives the picture a tap. Then she gets out of bed, takes a pencil, and draws a toothbrush mustache, a bruise, and a couple of chipped teeth on her. After all, a "goddess of war" can't be without battle scars. With a sigh, she slams the textbook shut, throws it aside, stretches, and looks at the clock – it's time to go to her shift at the perverted store. In the process of getting dressed and gathering her things, she glances at Barbarian's desk – she has several bookmarks sticking out of the same textbook, and next to it lies a thick notebook, the contents of which Futaba once glimpsed from behind her neighbor's back. It was a very brief, fleeting moment, and the lighting in the room at that time might have been deceiving, but it seemed as if the notebook had a pentagram drawn in it, with a goat-headed figure in the center. Barbarian always seemed a little strange, and Futaba attributed it to her foreign origin, but such symbolism, as well as the unintelligible mumbling that came from her side at night – something about Risha and her exceptional qualities – were warning signs that could no longer be dismissed as cultural differences. At the moment, this didn't cause any direct problems, other than anxiety – it was quite possible that the stress from endless studying had overlapped with the undesirable events that had been happening in recent weeks, but the trend clearly did not bode well, and the fact that a girl, raised in some strict religious rules, jumped into the arms of forbidden materials when left unsupervised – did not allow dismissing what was happening as unworthy of attention. Probably, in the near future, she will have to somehow solve this issue, and for now, in addition to the usual sharpened object under her pillow, there is a separately equipped hidden place in the folds of the bed for a bat, and an additional invisible mount for a katana under the bed frame – so that, if necessary, she could quickly reach out, grab the weapon, and deliver a sweeping blow to the kneecaps with one movement. Leaving the room and going down the stairs to the exit, Futaba grimaces at the overall situation. "The current thing" of the last few weeks is on the lips of every other schoolchild, echoing from all the corridors – a heated discussion of theological views. It's as if you've lived your whole life in a vacuum, in a dilapidated village with savages, and haven't heard anything about these matters, but now you've been introduced to some fictional tabletop game. Some fools argue with each other about which god will defeat which – mine will defeat yours, no, mine will defeat yours; others, with burning eyes, discuss what superpowers they will gain if they swear allegiance to one or another fictional image; the third group is the worst – adjusting their horn-rimmed glasses, they analytically weigh the pros and cons of which god it is more advantageous to worship, completely disregarding the very concept of faith. In other words, they are children, no matter how old or high-ranking they are, no matter how sophisticated monologues they deliver and try to pretend that they are making conscious decisions in this life. Habitually lighting a cigarette at the exit and releasing the first puff of smoke, Futaba headed to work, concluding her reflections with the thought that if the gods-planners killed her brother for some great purpose, then it may have been done so that the vicissitudes of fate would lead her to the right time and place, where Karvia Imas would fall from her hand. Or maybe not just her. Goddess of revenge, Futaba thought, would be a cool title when you're fifteen. If someone like Irka has found her place in the pantheon, then displacing her, or expanding it to eight – is a вполне real task.