Posts from ☀️ Arselia and Akonia Auto-translated

- Mohayo, - he nods in response. - Isn't it a bit late? It'll probably freeze over any day now, and you won't be able to catch anything. We'll have to go to the lake with a crate of vodka and drill a hole in the ice. Or just hibernate.

- That's also interesting and romantic in its own way; nature is beautiful in all seasons. Don't you want to join me?

- What exactly – polishing a fishing rod? I'm afraid my hands aren't suited for that... Or going to the lake with a box of rice vodka? But we need to live to see that, and who knows what tomorrow holds. And the day after tomorrow? And the day after that? And so on. Besides, I'm leaving in a few days, and whether I'll return is unknown. I mean, it's unknown when I'll return. So, by that time, everything might melt away instead, who knows.

- What exactly – polishing a fishing rod? I'm afraid my hands aren't made for that... Or going to the lake with a box of rice vodka? But we need to live to see that, and who knows what tomorrow will bring. And the day after tomorrow? And the day after that? And so on. Besides, I'm leaving in a few days, and whether I'll return is unknown. I mean, it's unknown when I'll return. So, by that time, everything might melt away instead, who knows.

- How can you say you're not made for it? There's nothing in this world that wouldn't welcome the touch of a beautiful woman, haha... And where are you going? Winter, with its coldest days of the year, hasn't even started yet.

- Yeah, just running some errands. Finishing up a few tasks, - he waved his hand dismissively. - What was I saying? Oh, never mind, it's not important. I was just passing by and decided to say hello. What's new with you? Did you find a mascot?

- Nope, I'm still waiting for you to be ready. As for everything else, it's the same as always: people are losing interest in fishing, and more and more of them prefer to come to the market and buy ready-made products.

- Well, that's how it is until the first catastrophe, until food shortages begin. And in general, who knows what they feed the fish at the market? Maybe they inject water into the meat to increase its weight, or maybe something else. And where did they catch it – not near a factory by any chance? It lies there all day, and everyone coughs on it. In general, I think all this is temporary, you shouldn't relax. You won't see Phantoms for sale at all, and even the prices for drowned ones are rising. Sooner or later, ordinary people will have to switch to scavenging.

-- I have some information for you to consider. Let's start with the good news: the Suzerain's coronation is scheduled for Monday. I don't know how it will be implemented, but please don't make any other plans for now, alright?

- Well then. Now we'll have to relearn how to switch from Your Highness to Your Majesty, - Beata smirked.
- So, does that mean we'll become the personal combat squad of the Queen herself? - Guyon whistled.
- Uh-huh. Actually, great news! I'm happy for her.
- I am too...

-- The second piece of good news is that there are only a few stones left to collect, just a couple. After that, Her Highness the Suzerain said she intends to complete her mission and secure Anuzish from all real and potential external threats. The Princess has learned very well how to use them; I am sure She will succeed.

- No more Rinze, hooray! - Beata clapped her hands.
- But what about... What about half of our squad? - Guyon grew anxious. - If anyone, we... we certainly aren't a threat to Anuzish.
- Quite the opposite! - Beata snorted. - All sorts of hopeless dragons and crazy guards are a much bigger threat!

-- Now for the news that I wouldn't call bad yet, but just is what it is: soon we will be attacked by Farellians and Nephirians, united in a coalition. Therefore, although Her Highness recommended Carneol to rest, I personally would not want to relax at such a moment ) You may have noticed that Welfern is going through times that far from everyone perceives with their head held high. It would seem this doesn't concern us; we are just a small mercenary squad for performing rare, precise surgical operations, but I must admit, at some point I stopped believing that.

- Ah, so that's what you meant when you told me not to worry about breaking the Hippocratic Oath! - Guyon slapped his leg. - No, well, you can't argue with that. You can't kill someone who is already dead 😆
- Seriously, do they all have nothing better to do? How did we offend them so much?! 😫 Hard to rest with news like this!

-- Time and again you, my comrades, demonstrate qualities that are not typical for simple thugs. You can be entrusted with diplomacy involving quite unusual entities, -- a glance at Kilika. -- You willingly engage in self-education. You easily find common ground with half the city. You learn not only new skills, but sometimes professions. You temper your body, mind, and spirit. You use and develop your imagination almost daily. One can discuss philosophy with you. You defeat enemies that normal warriors wouldn't even dream of opposing. At some point, I realized that I could no longer look at you as mercenaries; you are all my loyal knights )

Beata, who sincerely considered herself nothing more than a simple thug, was floored by such words.
Guyon, who had only recently begun to feel like a person rather than an object, smiled bashfully.
- This is about us too, Guyosha! About both of us, hear me?! - Beata whispered in his ear, squeezing his hand tightly.
- Yes... I hear you... - he exhaled, smiling.

-- What do you think distinguishes a knight from a simple barbarian warrior? The fact that a knight rises to their ideals, while grounded warriors are accustomed, on the contrary, to bring their ideals down to the level of their flesh. Therefore, you are not the latter; by all signs, you are precisely the former. And you work for the Crown ) An absolute match; only a corresponding title is missing, but you know, purely formally, I don't have one either ) Though I am a knight by lineage, from a formal point of view it is not enough, so we are similar in our situation here.

- Long live the "Carneol" Knightly Order! - Beata shouted with laughter, raising her fist.

-- The main thing I wanted to say through all this: I believe that we can do more, and it is time to show some initiative. We have the opportunities to do more for our country. Starting with the well-being of our squad, but not limited to it, if you have corresponding thoughts!

😤😤

-- First and foremost, of course, is the squad. Let's put it this way: what gaps and weaknesses do we have at the moment, what are we lacking, and how can we work on this? We have already discovered one weakness: it's quite hard to live without a ranger. It risks dangerous losses of time... Alaria said she has an address for such a person; perhaps it's worth visiting him? I am not needed for this; if you decide to go, you are all worthy of enough autonomy so that together we can achieve more.

- Great idea! A ranger is a useful thing.
- Agreed.

-- What else? At the moment, provided there are funds, I can provide us with any member of the squad regardless of profession, conviction, or origin. And if regarding origin I already suspect that we should replenish the pool of spellcasters thinned after Merel's passing, then what about the rest? I'm counting on a brainstorming session here.

- We definitely need mages; it's not good to hang all our magical needs on one Kilika, she wouldn't mind a partner! Other than that... we wouldn't mind a musician, a psychiatrist, or a biologist. A musician would inspire us in battle with their music, a psychiatrist would help us get to know new acquaintances better, and a biologist... Just in case, like Guyosha, we end up somewhere in the middle of nowhere with our luck.
- O-origin? Lunarians? - Guyon muttered quietly, tensing up. He said it very softly, so that only Beata could hear. She gently squeezed his hand so that no one would see.
- And we need to find a person for the duration of Astellia's maternity leave, well, we already reminded you about that, - she said, changing the subject.

-- People are not the only treasure we may be lacking. Perhaps our squad needs something else? Some specific equipment? Maybe someone is ready to train a dog? The scent of these animals can be useful for more than just tracking. How about devices that detect magic or similar? I haven't discussed financial matters with our Patroness yet, but everything points toward me wanting to reorganize things on a large scale so that we can be ready for literally anything. After all, it depends on our preparation whether we will be kicking ourselves later if we fail at something.

- Our hunter could train a dog if he wants to join. A dog is a necessary beast, useful around the house, so yes, good idea. We could even get two or three.
- I've already stated my wishes... In light of the news, the issue is less acute, but still, we must be ready for everything. Also, we should concern ourselves with the survivability of our squad; I would enchant the working armor of our frontline fighters for health regeneration. Purchase medical consumables... It's a pity there's little time; I want to finish reading about the emperors and reread the medical textbook, maybe I'll discover something new.
- If we are threatened by undead, maybe we should prepare to oppose them? I know very little about them...
- I've only heard of them too, never fought them personally. I'd like to listen in.
- By the waaaaay... You sketched a very gothic flag design. Do you think it might inspire us to oppose the undead?
- Well... It is rather gloomy after all.
- It can also be interpreted as "Someday we will all die, but not today, take that, bony!".
- Well... - Guyon smiled. - We'll have to check the flags, yes. Once Alexandra makes them.

-- If you have ideas that could benefit the whole country or even just the city, and you are ready to pursue them... then that is the best possible outcome of this conversation I dare hope for. Now let's conduct this experiment and open our discussion )

Beata thought it would be nice to organize a small circus performance to lift the spirits of the townspeople, but decided she had neither the strength nor the time for it, and felt discouraged.
- What's wrong? - Guyon pestered her.
- Forget it... I'm back to my nonsense again.
- Beata...
- I decided that since the theater is destroyed, maybe something similar should be organized? An improvised theater or circus. People need to rest and have fun... But I'll likely not have time, and I'm a lousy organizer.
- That's a very worthy idea! Art is very important! Even if we don't get to it now, we must definitely plan the restoration of Margel's cultural life in the future!
- If you think so, - she smiled.

- Well, that's how it is until the first catastrophe, until food shortages begin. And in general, who knows what they feed the fish at the market? Maybe they inject water into the meat to increase its weight and trick the buyer, or maybe something else. And where did they catch it? Not near a factory by any chance? It lies there all day, and everyone coughs on it. In general, I think it's all temporary, you shouldn't relax. You won't see Phantoms for sale at all, and even the prices for used ones are rising. Sooner or later, ordinary people will have to switch to scavenging.

- I can't even say for sure, are you a pessimist or an optimist! Probably a pessimistic optimist? Or maybe an optimistic pessimist after all? Time will tell how things will turn out... As Arselia sees it, maybe you'll finally become a mascot, hmm? By the way, I'm thinking about starting a new business... Recycling underwear, what do you think of that idea? Instead of throwing it away or using it as rags... People will recycle it. And here a reasonable question arises - do you have anything like that that you'd like to get rid of?

- Probably, - he answers, responding to the question of whether he's a pessimist or an optimist. - A mascot? With all my work? And for my face to pop into people's heads when they smell fish?... You're just asking for a smackdown, Kraken-sensei.

By the way, I'm thinking about starting a new business... Recycling underwear, what do you think? Instead of throwing it away or using it as rags... people will recycle it. And then a logical question arises - do you have anything you'd like to get rid of?

- ...
- ...
- ...And what is the business idea itself? Because it seems to be slipping away from me a bit.

-- Let's do it right now. For example, I have a very vague idea about the type of undead called "lich," who make up the Nephirian elite. Am I correct in understanding that they are professional soul manipulators?

"I've pushed Guillon to improve his cooking a bit. Right now, I'm giving a lecture on the undead. Maybe I really will teach them Baldr's school someday?"

— Alas, in my home world, we heard nothing of such a type of undead. So I can only rely on local information from public sources. We know that Monogat was a powerful spellcaster during his life, and therefore this type of undead is corresponding, inaccessible to ordinary mortals. My experience clashing with one extremely vile Warlock confirms this. He claimed that it would be "just right for him to become a lich." We also know about Monogat's nickname — "The Many-Faced." In the context of my knowledge of dark spellcasters, I venture to suggest that our "lich" is capable of jumping through the bodies of his puppets, and perhaps even others. We also know that he is capable of turning people into undead, ripping them out of the cycle of souls. That is, to some extent, you are right, and soul manipulation does indeed take place. It would be logical to assume that the nature of a lich multiplies his magical abilities. At least in this field. The problem arises from how we are to overcome such a potentially immortal opponent. Perhaps some way of catching souls, preventing him from escaping into a new shell, would help? Either way, even if my assumptions are correct, I doubt the stone of Akonia will jump through bodies along with him. Which means there must be a "main" body somewhere — Monogat's vulnerability, which he must hide somewhere. But all my suppositions about him are based on assumptions. I believe Her Majesty can tell us more about this opponent.

— Continuing the theme of Nephiria. As far as I have heard, the miasma created by Monogat covers the entire territory of the kingdom and turns anyone entering its territory into a walking dead man. Protection against curses and diseases seems critically important for confronting such an opponent. Most likely, our patron has some ideas on this matter, but that doesn't mean we should sit still and wait for a miracle. It is better to be over-cautious than to hope someone will think about this for us.

— Now let's discuss the ordinary types of undead, which will be the main, so to speak, "backbone" of the Nephirian army, — the inquisitor looked meaningfully at the audience, — liches will most likely be assigned the role of commanders, if not generals. As I already mentioned, this is clearly a "complex" type of undead. But the bulk of the enemies will be provided by zombies and skeletons; I don't know if any of you have encountered them before. Let's start with zombies. They are "living dead." Contrary to a misconception popular in some circles, they do not differ in slowness compared to their past lives. There are no obvious weaknesses either, other than those common to all undead. Despite this, they are much tougher than ordinary soldiers. It is unlikely there will be many sword masters among them, but one should still not relax. And never leave a "defeated" zombie, even its hand, behind your back. At any moment, they can be returned to non-life. Any defeated undead must be immediately committed to the cleansing fire to avoid risks.

— Skeletons, another common type of undead, do not possess the same physical toughness. In this regard, they are roughly comparable to a living human. The problem with them lies elsewhere — they dodge long-range attacks extremely deftly. So, my advice to you is, never enter a firefight with them. Unless you are a sniper whose every shot hits exactly on target. Magic and melee weapons will prove much more effective here. I venture to suggest that the same skeletons will make up Nephiria's ranged units, while zombies will act as a screen. So for our shooters, in such situations, it would be wiser to focus on creating a breach in the enemy ranks. And be sure to stock up on melee weapons if you haven't already. Skeletons must also be burned. Or point out the remains to me.

— Ghosts complete the common trio. And they are the most unpleasant. Only those possessing great strength of spirit have any chance at all of harming them, so keep that in mind. Being semi-material, they are capable of seeping through physical obstacles, like walls, and bypassing traps. Moreover, as long as ghosts do not show aggressive intentions, they are absolutely invisible to the human eye. If the shield protecting Margel from such guests has fallen, I strongly recommend you be on your guard. It is possible that the capital is already swarming with such spies who are only waiting for their moment to strike. I would recommend acquiring some masks that allow us to see spirits without problems. Such things definitely existed in my home world. Here... I assume you are unable to create something similar, Erephir? In that case, Crag is probably our only hope. But that will clearly cost us a pretty penny.

— Now let's move on to more exotic options. I venture to suggest that these may be provided by Nephiria's elite troops. I am talking about death knights, mighty warriors whom even death could not overcome. They are not as tough or enduring as zombies, and they are extremely vulnerable to the light element, but they compensate for this with their combat skills and affinity for the darkness element. Clad in dark armor, they are clearly not an opponent to be underestimated. Perhaps their most curious feature is the knight's connection to his weapon. As long as it exists, he cannot be disarmed. Furthermore, in the event of a "premature" demise, — she chuckles unpleasantly at the unintentional joke, — the knight's soul will find a new home in the chosen weapon. I think you already understand what I will say next? Correct, do not touch suspicious items. Even if it is a masterfully crafted sword that looks tempting. Whenever possible, death knights' weapons are also subject to destruction. Perhaps your Ikigayan friend can help with this?

— I am not sure if we will encounter them in the ranks of the Nephirians, but I also think it right to mention banshees and dullahans. Moreover, I personally have not encountered them, so my knowledge on this matter is quite superficial. Banshees are ghostly women of unprecedented beauty, capable of foretelling another's death. They can turn men into undead dependent on them, which should be kept in mind — a very unenviable fate. While dullahans are women beheaded in the territory of Vishnia or neighboring territories, characterized by high resistance to magic. There is only one mage among us so far, but it's still worth considering.

Alaria concluded her lecture with stories about techniques used against undead and Necromancers in her native Tanarsis. Any knowledge could be useful in the coming conflict.

- Probably, - he answers, responding to the question of whether he is a pessimist or an optimist. - A mascot? For all my works? And for my face to pop into people's heads when they smell fish?... You're just asking for a smack, Kraken-sensei.

- My face already pops up, - the kraken puts his head forward, anticipating the smack.

- ...
- ...
- ...And what is the actual business idea? Because it seems to be slipping away from me a bit.

- Uh... Well... It's hard to explain and even harder to understand... First, you need to get a financial education at a prestigious imperial educational institution...

The couple listened attentively to Alaria's lecture. Guyon took notes in his diary, and a rare thoughtful and focused expression appeared on Beata's face. "A priest wouldn't hurt," she grumbled, summarizing. "Just a normal one, like Eugene. One who won't chase half the squad around with a censer." "I'm interested in the artifacts that detect undead," Guyon admitted. "We definitely need those." "Yeah. And it would be good to learn about liches. They sound like a big, bony, walking problem."

- A priest won't hurt, - she said, summarizing. - As long as he's normal, like Eugene. Someone who won't chase half the squad around with a censer.

Instead, we'll have a priest with a fetish for aliens.

- You wretched alien girl! Go to confession immediately! You'll have to work hard to get your father to forgive all your sins!

While everyone else was discussing the undead, Klin was also filling out a test. He thought that maybe if he remained absolutely still, he could fall through the textures and end up somewhere else.