Mochitsuki Tearmoon Empire: Volume 4

1. Auflage 2021
ISBN: 978-1-7183-7154-5
Verlag: J-Novel Heart
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 250 Seiten

Reihe: Tearmoon Empire

Mia just can't catch a break! She ran for student president, won, and bent the arc of history away from the calamitous developments Bel foretold. You'd think saving the future would be enough to earn her some rest, but all she got for her troubles was an urgent letter from Ludwig requesting her immediate return to the empire.

She sets out for Tearmoon, only to learn upon arriving that the academy city, which she was counting on, is now falling apart before their very eyes. The headmaster? Bailed on them. The teachers? Fleeing by the boatload. The project itself? At risk of grinding to a halt. And to make matters worse, the Greenmoons are apparently the ones behind it all! Ludwig offers a solution: they need a new headmaster with enough clout to stop the exodus of teachers, and his former master fits the bill. Sounds great!

The only problem is...the man's a stubborn old badger who hates nobles with a burning passion!

Autoren/Hrsg.

Mochitsuki, Nozomu

Weitere Mitwirkende

Gilse

Teng, David

Leseproben

Chapter 5: Princess Mia... Acts in a Considerate Manner

The day after her conversation with Ludwig, Mia made her way to the Newmoon District with Bel and the others in tow. Apparently Ludwig’s master was a bit of a hermit and didn’t subscribe to such mundane beliefs as “having an address” and “being locatable.” Since nobody knew where to find the man, they decided to leave the issue of the headmaster for later and search for other teachers first.

As for what exactly that conversation entailed, allow us to rewind the clock a tad...

“It seems easier said than done though, this finding other teachers thing...” said Mia with a frown.

“Indeed...” agreed Ludwig. “Might I propose a talk with the priest in the Newmoon District?”

“The priest?” Her momentary expression of surprise quickly changed to comprehension. “Ah... I see what you mean.”

Among the educated, it was true that those of the Central Orthodox Church were significantly less susceptible to influence from the nobility. They were definitely worth considering.

“The Church already runs schools here and there, so they’d also be able to put their existing know-how to good use...” Mia said to herself contemplatively. “And, since we’re planning to open the academy to the masses, maybe we can take in some children from that church orphanage...”

Doing so would give her an avenue to approach the Central Orthodox Church for financial support, potentially creating a second source of funding aside from the nobility. With that kind of money, she could then...

Her unhatched-chicken-counting was cut short by a grimace from Ludwig.

“Granted, I wouldn’t place too much hope on it working out.”

“Huh? How come? I’m pretty sure the priest there will be more than happy to help us out.”

“In order to realize Your Highness’s plan, I’ve spoken to many noble families and tried to explain its merits to them. To make things easier to understand, I’ve always used Saint-Noel as an example, asking them to imagine if an academy city that rivaled it in size and prestige were to exist within the empire.”

“Yes, I’m aware of that.”

Mia had already been informed about how Ludwig was framing his sales pitch, and she understood its necessity. When persuading nobles, patriotism tended to be a direct channel to their hearts, resulting in more generous pledges. The method worked well, and as a result, the academy city project was on firm financial ground.

“At the time, I’d thought that to be the optimal approach. However, Saint-Noel Academy is, for all intents and purposes, the Central Orthodox Church’s Holy Land. It’s more than a school; it’s a symbol of Belluga’s influence and authority. That alone would make the existence of a rival problematic, but Your Highness has also defeated Rafina in the student council election, effectively ousting their Holy Lady to become president yourself. With these factors combined, I can’t help but think that acquiring their church’s help in this matter will be...more than a little difficult.”

“Ah. Well...”

Only then did Mia realize that in hindsight, she’d actually done quite a lot of things that the priest probably didn’t appreciate.

She briefly considered bypassing the priest and speaking directly to Rafina before dismissing the thought. Under the current circumstances, such an act could easily be construed by other nobles as begging Rafina for help, which would then make the orphanage’s children seem like bargaining chips. The spots saved for them in the academy would be framed as an arrangement forced on the empire by Rafina in exchange for her assistance. It would give those opposed to the academy city project plenty of fodder for political attacks, such as claiming the empire caved to foreign pressure. With her actions having inflamed a sense of competition between Tearmoon and Belluga, the only religious organizations she could appeal to for help were those inside the empire. Rafina was now off-limits.

Ludwig’s grimace showed he was also aware of the subtle dynamics at play. It was the kind of thing that Mia found incredibly exasperating, but complaining about it wasn’t going to do her any good. Viscount Berman might have been a somewhat extreme example, but on some level, all nobles were creatures of pride. Having appealed to that pride to loosen their purse strings, she could no longer remove it from the equation. With that said...

That

As a seasoned survivor of hopeless situations and certain death, Mia was hardly going to be shaken by such a minor problem. She was so unshaken, in fact, that she proceeded to spend the rest of the day not thinking about it at all! Nor did she devote any brainpower to it during the night. The next morning, having lost no sleep on it whatsoever, she was chewing on her breakfast, eyelids still droopy with slumber, when inspiration suddenly struck.

“That’s it! I remember now! That priest who’s infatuated with Miss Rafina... There’s a thing that he really really wanted! If I get it for him, he’ll be so happy that he might just agree to help!”

She wanted to give her past self a medal for remembering the priest’s request. Heck, she deserved two medals, because not only had her past self remembered the request, she’d gone above and beyond the call of duty to acquire something extra. Mia, in her opinion at least, was a thoughtful person who looked out for others.

Having figured out the perfect plan, she rounded up the Princess Guard and headed off toward Anne’s home. Along the way, she just so happened to glance up at one of the guards walking beside her.

“Oh my.” She recognized the man. “Aren’t you...the vice-captain who was with Sir Dion?”

“Hey, so you remember me.” The bear-sized guard grinned and scratched his head with a hint of bashfulness. “I’m here because that Ludwig fellow of yours was strengthening the Princess Guard. You remember the guys from our squad back then? Most of ’em got folded into the guard.”

“My, is that so? I had no idea.”

“Didn’t think it’d really happen, to be honest. I mean, a bunch of thugs like us in the Princess Guard? Thought he was messin’ with us, honestly.” That was when he leaned toward her and lowered his voice. “I don’t blame him for wanting some extra muscle though. Based on what I heard, it seems like you picked a fight with some pretty bad folk. Keep your eyes open, eh? Assassinations can be surprisingly hard to defend against, even for us.”

“I see. So that’s why...”

“Yeah. So my apologies, Your Highness, but you’re gonna have to bear with us big, sweaty men lumbering around you for a while.”

“Nonsense. If anything, I should be thanking you for being so diligent, Vice-Captain.”

“Hah. Gotta say, that attitude of yours is like a fresh breeze in an outhouse! Feels good to deal with someone so down to earth. Also, I’m no vice-captain anymore, so please call me Vanos, Your Highness.”

“Certainly. I leave my safety in your hands then, Vanos.”

She performed a cheerful curtsy that earned her another grin. Big men and Mia tended to get along well.

“Ah, Your Highness!”

Upon arriving at Anne’s, Mia was greeted by her maid’s numerous younger siblings. An army of smiling faces, chest high at best, quickly surrounded her. She looked around at them, their eyes wide with wonder, and waved her hands downward in a pacifying manner. Her mouth said, “There, there. It’s just me. Nothing to get so excited about,” but her pleased expression suggested she quite enjoyed the attention.

“Ah, Elise,” she said, noticing the girl approaching. “It’s been so long. I’ve been reading your stories. They’re so enjoyable.”

“He he he, thank you very much, Your Highness.” Elise beamed at the compliment. Then, with a sudden intensity to her eyes, she asked, “U-Um, about the wing— Wait, that’s supposed to be a secret, isn’t it? About, uh...that horse... Is it really true that you can ride it?”

“‘That special horse’?” She lifted an eyebrow. “Well... I suppose it’s true that I’ve ridden some pretty special horses before.”

Saint-Noel’s horsemanship club kept a number of horses. Most of them were large stallions meant for riding into battle, but some were bred for speed, their superior stamina making them better-suited to delivering messages. There were even some smaller breeds that looked like foals at a glance. They were called ponies, she recalled.

While she was reminiscing about when she’d met the ponies, the glimmer in Elise’s eyes shifted from curiosity to awe.

“So it really...