Posts from Sakuramoria Auto-translated

By the way, the dismissal of Duncan and the return of Levizia were announced.

-- Yesterday, you tolerated a demon; today, do you want to tolerate this? What else will you tolerate? We had a chance, here and now. One for all, all for one, and the many against a couple of tyrants. But it's much more convenient to sit around with a sour face and hope that someday... But nothing will happen later. I don't know what else you will silently endure, but nothing good awaits you anymore. And I have made my choice.
He continues.

"Oh, brother, where are you going... You'll kill yourself and ruin your reputation."
Tioskets watched Fortis leave with annoyance and muttered something inaudible under his breath.
Gideon watched the ensuing escalation of the situation and the attack with bitterness and indignation. Fortis and Vari's actions seemed, in general, justified, but where was Veylis going? It was hard to believe that he was so touched by the fate of Ignat and Dion; he probably didn't mention the real reason. Gideon felt that his intervention and participation in the brawl between the tyrant and the rebels were expected, and involuntarily reaching for his pistol, he grabbed the strap on his shoulder, but for some reason hesitated to take out the weapon and jump into the battle. Shouldn't he, as a friend, join Fortis? Shouldn't he, as an elected representative of the class, stand up for his own? In theory, yes, but something persistently stopped him, and it wasn't even fear, but a quite conscious doubt. It was all wrong. In a fit of hot-headedness and stubbornness, to openly kill the deputy director at an official ceremony in front of the entire academy under the pretext of an honest duel? If this is possible, and they somehow manage to do it, what then? Definitely nothing good; it could turn out even worse than just expulsion, and that's if we don't think about the very likely casualties among them. Even though all the solemnity was completely shattered by Duncan's madness, and the ceremony was nothing more than a ridiculous farce, such a reprisal against one of the parties would be a very sad end to this page of history, on which one should not allow one's own name to be written in blood, whether it be one's own or someone else's.
Perhaps, it was this minute of doubt that saved him from rash actions; the royal commander, appointed as their new curator, stopped this unsightly spectacle. Gideon approached his comrades who were gathering to kill and be killed and looked at them with a heavy gaze. But not finding the right words, he gritted his teeth, turned silently, and walked towards the exit.

Indeed, what could he say to them? Scold them like naughty children or praise them for their desire to defend their principles? Well, of course, it's the perfect time for lectures, but it won't convince anyone, Mr. "class representative" - Gideon thought later, sitting on his cot in his room. The last thought was accompanied by an ironic smile.
Against the background of recent events, it became clear that this meant nothing compared to the real title and the accompanying hardships that Futaba faced, although in reality, it was clear anyway - how much sense is there in a demonstrative title assigned by an aunt to children who had just met? Now, it is unlikely that he will be able to convince himself that this is exactly what he should strive for. Fantasies of following an illusory duty, blind faith, and support for comrades were fading and flowing away like water, as was, perhaps, the time they had left in this world after opposing the general.
Gideon wearily ran his palm over his face and looked absentmindedly out the window. It was late, and a calm, warm July night was outside. As if no crazy scenarios had happened that day. At least some of his friends carefully avoided the incident, Leila, Nira... If there are good turns possible in this universe, he hoped that one would save Fortis and others from an unenviable fate at the very beginning of their lives. In any case, he needs to move on so as not to drown in the thickening darkness in the academy. And not only in it - the future of the whole country was under the shadow of the king, who decided to have fun at the expense of the students in his old age. There is something in common between them and Duncan; maybe they are even friends. Be that as it may, the question of how to act in the current circumstances did not give him peace, and he sat in the middle of the night in thought.

Although he was not locked in here, room 305 gave the feeling of a prison cell, and the presence of an unpleasant neighbor completed the picture. Now, he had been sleeping for a long time, and Tioskets had become accustomed to this rumbling sound that accompanied every night and even considered it a good sign - it meant that the demon was here and sleeping, not going to do who knows what. Still, there was no time or desire to constantly monitor him, although he was probably connected to what was happening. The young man put his watch on the table in front of him and simply watched phlegmatically for a while as the second hand went around in a circle. Then, he took out the small set of tools that his father had given him from the drawer, which he had intended to use on his very first day at NAILS. Think about the future, but live in the present - that's what his father had said to him then. But the future comes every second, tearing the ear with the unbearable creak of gears! Or maybe he misunderstood? After a while, instead of an accessory, all its constituent parts were neatly laid out in front of him. And a few hours later, the watch was back in its usual form, and he was again looking at the dial, constantly and relentlessly moving forward, the second hand, slowly but surely moving the minute hand, as if with all its might. A very simple task for him, seemingly meaningless, but it brought thoughts and emotions into order. It reminded him that he was not only good at shooting, that he knew and could do something even before entering the academy, that he had something to strive for and dream about. Just a symbolic ritual, like affixing a seal to a list of dry facts in a document.

He put the watch on his hand to check if he had adjusted the strap correctly. A thought flashed through his mind that he was like locking a handcuff. The guy frowned and looked at the cheerful pictures of Alidum on the walls - that's where such comparisons come from. The drawn shackles on the walls reminded him of the very real ones on Futaba - the shackles of other people's power and choice. He did not forget his words to Fortis and, to some extent, sympathized with her. He could believe that she would not allow power to corrupt her, but it would still be better to help her as much as possible or at least not create problems. To play along with Her Majesty a little and put the mad old dog on a leash - that sounds like an idea.

The new week began with yet another series of changes, as if Risha herself was closely monitoring everything happening at the academy and making sure the students didn't get bored. For example, Duncan was given a swift kick in the rear for the performance he staged at the "coronation," and Levisia suddenly returned from her supposedly very important diplomatic mission, without any explanation. It was as if she hadn't been gone at all, although she looked rather tired and gloomy. Clearly, there had been some internal conflicts within the royal family, and it seemed that Futaba was involved in them. It wasn't entirely clear how the quiet, but extremely brave and determined girl fit into all of this. However, her phrases about "my king," along with the special way she was treated, suggested certain possibilities. And the director's condition could also explain these thoughts. The saddest thing is that answers to these questions were unlikely to be obtained. First, it was not customary to air dirty laundry in Sakuramor. Second, the neighbors of Sakuramor would certainly try to take advantage of the internal conflicts of the royal family to advance their own ambitions. So, keeping silent was, in general, the right decision. The fate of their former curator, Laurence Hatioar, also remained shrouded in mystery. No explanations. None at all. The NAILS administration was diligently pretending that nothing had happened, despite all the events of the past few weeks. And many of the students, if you look at it, were diligently trying to forget what had happened. This was a perfectly understandable reaction, although by burying their heads in the sand, they wouldn't achieve anything. They would only step on the same rake again. It would be wiser to accept what had happened, learn from it, and move forward, morally and physically preparing for any other sudden twists of fate.

Shortly before the start of a new school day, Ixora turns to her roommate.
— How are you doing, Leila?

Shortly before the start of the new school day, Ixora turns to her roommate.
— How are you doing, Layla? Are you holding up?

— Thank you for your concern. I'm disappointed in some people, but I'm holding on, what else can I do? — the Taimanian nodded wearily, — they say adversity builds character. And there's probably some truth to that. If it weren't for the incident with Carvia, I would have coped with the events of the past few weeks even worse. But at least I was able to learn some lessons from them. I would like to hope that they will not be useful to me in the future, but common sense suggests otherwise. And how are you doing, is everything okay?

Shock. Horror. Panic. Tears. Like mice that have sensed a cat, the students hid in their burrows, waiting for the predator to come for their souls, a predator against whom they were all helpless. Not even because they were weak, that was only a minor reason. A more serious reason was that now, after such blatant humiliation, seeing their own comrades abandon others to their fate for fabricated reasons, they were all truly convinced that there was no point in doing anything. They were just pigs sent to the slaughter.
But no matter how bleak Varya thought about the fate of the academy students, she herself was calm. First, her roommate (by the way, it was surprising that they hadn't been separated) clearly didn't deserve pitying glances. Futaba was in the worst position; she was the least free of them all, and she was the one who was mocked the most. This should be respected. Second, frankly, the refit was too busy.
Whatever situation they had gotten into. It used to be unclear whether there were enemies or fools around, but now there were no options left, which meant that the war was in full swing, and that meant Varya was calm – this was her element.
The first thing the girl did was bring rugs into the room. One might think that this was just a decoration, but there were two clever caveats:
1) It was forbidden to step on the rug when entering the room from the door or coming in through the window;
2) The old carpet fibers didn't like being stepped on, and footprints remained on it for a long time.
In this way, Varya hoped to protect her own dwelling. Of course, she had always kept a weapon close to her bed, so she could grab it immediately, and the door had always been locked since the April events, but now she had stopped trusting these measures: somehow, the king was watching Futaba, and if it wasn't magic, Varya wanted to know how and when this was happening, without arousing suspicion in herself.
Although, in this regard... Of course, the situation didn't favor the Barbarian at the ceremony. All her efforts at self-control were almost wasted because of the stupid stubbornness of their classmate. All that remained was to hope that the teachers would take this as it should be: the official acceptance of the official challenge from the school principal, coupled with subordination to her comrade, and with Futaba giving permission. It was quite obvious that Varya had not violated any rules; rather, she had obediently used the rules in the form in which they were presented, and this could even be seen as an attempt to gain favor, in a way.
Okay... Her head was already aching from all this, but the main thing was that it all ended well, and the war could continue.
The situation, however, was not great, no matter how you look at it. What was the next step after improving her reconnaissance? Oh yes, they not only had a war, but they also had to study...
Varya would try to settle down in the library to prepare for the exams, with Michaela and Naira (she had promised the latter!)

— Thank you for your concern. I've been disappointed in some people, but I'm holding on; where else would I go? — the Taimanian nodded wearily. — They say that adversity builds character, and there's some truth to that, I suppose. If it weren't for the incident with Carvia, I would have handled the events of the past few weeks much worse. But at least I was able to learn some lessons from them, even if they're not very pleasant. I'd like to hope that I won't need them in the future, but common sense tells me otherwise. And how are you doing? Are you alright?

— It's good to hear that you're taking this unexpected reality in stride. I'd like to think that what happened hasn't affected me, but I must admit that I lost my composure during the ceremony, and I'm ashamed of that. Nevertheless... as one of my countrymen once joked, "if our country had a constitution, it would consist of two articles: 1. The king is always right; and 2. If the king is wrong, see article 1." Therefore, the most sensible thing to do is to accept the situation as it is, instead of torturing my mind with doubts.

A knock is heard on the door of Fortis's room.
— It's Duke... — a voice comes from the corridor. — Fortis, are you in there? Listen... Sorry if I'm intruding, but do you happen to need any help?..

-- Eh, -- Fortis gets up. -- It's unlocked, come in... Help, well, not really, but yes. I mean, I'm okay, but if you know anything about medicine, I would be very grateful. And tell me, how did that circus of yours end? What happened to Futaba?

Once inside Fortis's room, Duke first provides first aid to its resident, and then turns to Mane to help the injured man, and miraculously, the wound on the boy's body slowly heals. Since his lips were occupied with prayers, he could only answer Fortis's question after he finished.
— To be honest, I don't know. I caught a glimpse of the new teacher as I walked past the window in the hallway, but I haven't seen Futaba since they both went somewhere together.

-- Wow... Impressive. Thank you. Just the two of you... well, even if it were just the two of you, it would be more interesting to know where your lord, with his "gray hair and demons in his liver," went, that is, even just to understand why, where he went... Never mind, maybe something will become clear tomorrow. I don't even want to think about it, it's a waste of time.

- That's right. You should get some good rest and regain your strength now so you can face the upcoming events in good health. Well, I'll be going, but feel free to contact me if you need anything.

— It’s good to hear that you’re taking this unexpected reality in stride. I’d like to think that what happened hasn’t affected me, but to be honest, I lost my composure during the ceremony, and I’m ashamed of that. Nevertheless... As one of my fellow countrymen once joked, "If our country had a constitution, it would consist of two articles: 1. The king is always right; and 2. If the king is wrong, see article 1," so the most sensible thing to do is to accept the situation as it is, rather than tormenting ourselves with doubts.

— You may have lost your composure, but at least you saved a few hotheads from making an irreparable mistake. I, for one, am very grateful to you. They probably are too, — Leyla encouraged her friend. — Perhaps the others will learn something from this, after carefully considering everything in a more calm environment. I wouldn’t count on it, but for now, they still have that opportunity.

probably AFK until Thursday, but if it's possible to recalculate last month, I'll keep the old bonus: Laurence + scholarship. I'm drinking tea (+540 OP), and I'm leveling up Eloquence 1+2 (-1275 OP).
This month, I'm focusing on Tools.

— You may have lost your composure, but at least you saved a few hotheads from making an irreparable mistake. Personally, I am very grateful to you for that. They probably are too, — Leyla encouraged her friend. — Maybe the rest will learn something from this, after carefully considering everything in a more calm environment. I wouldn't count on it, but for now, they still have that opportunity.

— Okay, if that's the case. The main thing is that no one does anything rash out of anger. We are all in the same boat now, and one person's actions can have consequences for everyone else. By the way... You study in the same class as Futaba, can you tell me what kind of person she is? I want to know what to expect from her in the future.

— That’s good, if that’s the case. The main thing is that no one acts rashly. We are all in the same boat now, and one person’s actions can have consequences for everyone else. By the way… You and Futaba are in the same class, right? Can you tell me what kind of person she is? I want to know what to expect from her in the future.

— Unfortunately, I’m afraid someone will mess things up. You yourself saw the looks some of our peers gave Futaba. And now, with General Mandragora gone, she is the only person they can direct their accumulated hatred towards. We need to be prepared for this. We should try to restrain them, if possible,” the Taimanian concluded gloomily. — As for Futaba herself, I can’t tell you much that you don’t already know. She is very withdrawn, quiet, and unsociable. It would be fair to call her an enigma. Before her speech at the debate, she spoke very briefly and to the point, and the closest I’ve come to a discussion with her was our conversation in the language of steel during the tournament. In fact, her campaign speech surprised me – I didn’t expect her to even run for office. But her words seemed sincere to me, especially since they were confirmed by her actions. And her part-time job at “Hopeless” and the uniform she wears there are not something I could have predicted. However, she behaved as usual. But overall, she tries to keep to herself; she only became Barbarian’s neighbor due to the latter’s persistent insistence. And she didn’t immediately accept a gift from some of our other peers. She has never spoken about her past – it is a mystery to us. Although, there is a certain impression that she has experienced a lot of hardship in her life. Nevertheless, she continues to move forward and even takes care of her comrades. It’s a pity that not everyone sees this.