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Chapter 6: Nia Liston’s Occupation Observation
“We’re counting on you, Nia!”
Yes, yes. I stood up from my wheelchair and stepped in front of the camera.
“Three, two, one...” The director’s fingers counted down, and the moment the last finger curled, the cameras started rolling.
“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Today on Nia Liston’s Occupation Observation, I have come to visit the forge of a sword restorationist.”
With this being the fifth shoot for my show, I was already more than used to it.
W е̃ b̂n о̃ vе̄.l Е n ū m а
First had been the etiquette classroom of a woman who was a class-three aristocrat, then assisting a farmer with harvesting crops. After that, in order to save time and money, we did two different shoots that would break out into four cooking-themed episodes, one making regular meals, then one making sweets.
After recording, the footage was then edited, though that was a more specialized field that I didn’t see or know very much about. From what I could gather, they would cut out the parts that they didn’t want to show and stitch together the parts that they did, editing it to a suitable state for airing on magivision. That was also the part of the process where they added the music.
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Just yesterday, my third cooking episode had aired. My brother had now returned to Altoire, my parents no longer worried for my health, and for this sword restoration episode, Bendelio and his distinctive face were not here. This was the first shoot where he hadn’t been present, despite always sticking around before now.
It was clear that the people around me were no longer concerned about my illness.
Even I was pretty accustomed to the production environment, from Lynokis pulling no punches with her feedback whenever she looked over the footage to the way the production changed members ever so slightly each time.
A month had passed since my first recording, and two weeks had passed since the first broadcast. Winter had yet to pass, but the gentle heat from the sun was slowly warming the islands.
Е n̆ ùma .і̊ d̆
Spring would soon arrive.
“And cut! Onto the next scene!”
And with this, the first shot for this episode was complete. We would now head for the forge of the sword restorationist we would be working with this time. To be more precise, we would move to somewhere nearby and film me walking up to the forge, all while I pretended this was my first time seeing it.
While the unfamiliar young director gave directions to the crew, I sat myself down on the wheelchair that Lynokis was pushing towards me. It was still impossible for me to be active for long periods of time. Though my disease may have healed, my body was still weak. I was especially lacking muscle.
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I was somewhat able to force my body to keep moving during filming by manipulating my chi, but if I kept that up for too long, it would always leave me with immense fatigue the following day.
Regardless, I was making sure to eat and get plenty of rest. If I kept up that routine, I would be able to get rid of the wheelchair in a month or so.
W e b̈ n о̇ vè l̇ Е̂_n̊ ũḿа̇
“Young Mistress, the details on the forge.”
“Thank you.”
I left Lynokis to push me to our destination while I looked over the files about the sword restorationist.
Every episode, I couldn’t help but think about how rude it would be to intrude on a worker’s space without these files. If I didn’t even know the bare minimum about them and their work, it would be much harder for conversation to flow.
Before meeting him, my impression of Bendelio was a man with a strange face who seemed to do nothing but drink alcohol, but now, I could tell that there was a tension between his careful preparation and the effortless performance that the viewers saw.
These shoots were exposing me to a number of new things, which made them real learning experiences, and they were quite exciting too. I doubted my old self had gotten the chance to try out so many jobs.
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There was so much I didn’t know, so much I had never done that it started making these recording sessions almost fun...I think.
“This here job’s dangerous. Watch yourself.”
The work space was smaller than I had anticipated, and within it, three craftsmen were busying themselves with their jobs.
At first when we’d walked in, the craftsmen all gathered to meet us, but the dour elderly man who seemed to be in charge only warned us with a hoarse voice to be careful and then said nothing else as he left to do his own work.
We were supposed to sit down together for an interview, but...more importantly.
That man isn’t half bad.
Еň.u_m̀ӓ
The man in charge was both a craftsman and a swordsman. His posture, movements, and even aura were nothing like a regular person’s.
If this man was truly a martial artist before a craftsman, then I’d have liked to spar with him... If I could get him to try, he would be quite skilled. I didn’t think I’d be able to win without using both of my hands. I may not need my legs though.
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Well, I would put that aside for now.
“Could you please tell us what kind of work you do?”
The unscheduled departure of the elderly man put a slight bump into the recording for a moment, but I chose to proceed as we’d discussed. The two men that appeared to be his apprentices looked a little worried, but they were willing to move the conversation forward upon my prompting.
“Thanks a bunch, Nia.”
Ẃ ěb̀ n̈ о̃v е̊l Ē.n u ḿ а
Hm?
After we’d finished filming that scene and he’d finished giving his instructions to the rest of the crew, the young director came over to me.
“Really, I should have been the one to move that forward, but...”
Ah, he was referring to the old man walking off.
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“These kinds of unexpected developments happen all the time. Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it in no time,” I said.
During the etiquette lessons, the aristocrat lady leading had been quite overzealous with her teaching and we had ended up running over time. The farmers wouldn’t stop piling food onto us, and when we had the cooking lessons, the oil had splashed onto my face while we were chatting. Even though I had been more than willing to continue, Bendelio and Lynokis had frantically cut the shot to check on me.
Еň u m а̊ . і̊d
The cookies had come out even better than I’d imagined, and I had been strangely moved by it, all while Lynokis kept begging me, “I want to eat the Young Mistress’s cookies! I’ll pay whatever I must!”
There was always at least one unexpected event every recording. This kind of thing just seemed to come with the territory.
The youngest and friendliest of the craftsmen saw me taking a break in my wheelchair, and his eyes went wide. “Wait, Nia, you use a...”
“Ah, no need to pay it any mind. I recently recovered from an illness, so I get tired a little easier right now.”
“Oh, right, I did hear about that,” he muttered.
I wasn’t a fan of being worried over when it was unnecessary, so I changed the subject. “That aside, reforging swords looks like tough work.” This was honestly something I had been curious about myself anyway.
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I had the sense that in my past life, I had snapped swords in half and crumpled metal armor without a care. But if there were those who broke, there would be those who repaired.
I had the process of reforging a sword explained to me, along with how much time it took, and it sounded brutal. Now that I know just how much work goes into this, I’ll refrain from going too crazy in the future.
I think I used to break famous swords, sacred swords, cursed swords, you name it. And almost every day too, as if it were all just for fun... I broke them left, right, and center without restraint...
Maybe I could pretend I just made that all up...
A sword was the embodiment of a craftsman’s skill and passion, a work created through shaving off a part of one’s soul. My past self would have thought it wrong to destroy something like that for simple joy. Right?
Surely I hadn’t done anything like that.
Еn ů m а̃.і̃ d
The way I so naturally thought about doing that kind of thing made it seem way more likely I had actually done that in the past... No. Nope. Mm-mm. Absolutely not. I may not have had my memories to say for sure, but I definitely had never done anything of the sort.
After a small break, we entered into the second half of recording.
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“There are stages to restoring a sword.”
The youngest craftsman returned to work, and then the second youngest... Well, there were only three craftsmen working there, so I guess I could call him the middle craftsman. He carried out the explanation and demonstration. Despite this likely being his first time on magivision, his speech and manner were both very calm.
We moved from the shop front—where a lot of items were placed—to the work space behind the counter. There were three worktables each set with tools and a sword in the process of being restored. There was also a forge for melting the metal nearby up the back. Even from afar, I could feel a slight heat from it. The youngest appeared to have completely forgotten about the cameras and was completely focused on some detailed work.
“He’s currently mending some small surface scratches,” the craftsman said, pointing at the table with the youngest. “The boss is in back repairing swords that can’t be mended by just filing them down or coating them.” This time he pointed farther inside. I could see the elderly man from before with his back turned to us. The middle craftsman continued, “We repair more than just swords and armor, though. We also deal with accessories and ornaments. We fix leather goods too, but there hasn’t been much demand for it.”
Е n u̇m̄а̄
Wow, even leather.
“Perhaps people aren’t aware that you’re taking orders for them.”
“Ah, maybe so. That would certainly explain it.”
They did have a very strong reputation for primarily working with metal, after all, and a sign that specifically said they restore swords.
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“We’d like you to work with this today,” the middle craftsman said, guiding me to one of the workspaces.
Since this was a program in which I experienced other people’s jobs, I would get the opportunity to actually repair a sword myself.
Ẁ.е́ b̌ n̆оv́ еĺ Е̇ n̄ǔm a
“Oh my. A shortsword.” The voice that came out when I took the heavy sword sheathed within its metal scabbard was a little higher than usual.
I was so certain that since I was a child, they would have me restore something that would be okay for a child to potentially ruin, a junk sword, something worthless. I had been so certain that they were going to underestimate me because of my age and give me something completely pointless to do. And yet, they were presenting me with a real weapon.
This was completely unexpected.
Even if this was a boring, low-quality shortsword, this was the first weapon I’d touched in a long time. My heart was frantically racing!
“A sword... Can I really manage this?”
“Oh, no, I’ll be asking you to do the scabbard. I’ll be the one doing the sword,” the middle craftsman quickly corrected.
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Oh, what? So I won’t be the one with the sword, after all. I had been so excited at the chance to touch a real sword too. What a waste of my happiness!
Well, there was nothing I could do. This was what I had expected. No sensible adult would allow a five-year-old child to handle a knife, let alone a weapon. They didn’t even let me hold a knife during the cooking lesson. I knew this.
“Then I’ll leave the fun job to you. I would be very happy to repair the bori—the very important scabbard which holds the sword.” It was really not a good idea for me to insult the scabbard. Even if it was what I really felt.
But even though I thought I had covered it up well, the young director had his arms crossed in an X from behind the camera. Guess it wasn’t good enough.
Yes, okay, I’ll redo it.
The process of restoring the scabbard was more fun than I had expected.
Ѐn̂ um̆â.ì.d̃
As I took the battered and bruised sheath and polished it and filled the grooves with clay, it slowly returned to its original form.
It was somewhat ironic that someone who used to do nothing but destroy was now here doing the mending...
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Wait, no, I have no definitive memories, so I still can’t really say if I had a habit of breaking people’s gear. And the little girl Nia Liston most certainly hasn’t. That act is still unattempted in this life. Oh no, I said “still.” You know what, let’s move on. My mind was starting to get restless, so I decided I may as well just stop thinking.
“I’ve mostly finished now. What do you think?”
I sat side by side with the middle craftsman in front of a large table. We’d been working away while being recorded the whole time. The whole process was quite peaceful, with us sometimes talking to each other as we worked.
Most of it would likely be cut in editing, but there was plenty of footage that could be used, I was sure.
Е̃ n̈u̇ m a
I hadn’t been told how to handle the really minute scratches, so my work was done. I told the craftsman that I had finished with the scabbard.
“Wow, this is pretty good...” the craftsman muttered without thinking as he looked over the scabbard in detail.
I had no idea what was good or bad, so I would just take it as him being polite.
“My hands are very skilled. How about your enjoyable sword restoration?”
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“Ah, yes, take a look.”
Wow...
Ê n̄ü m̀а. і̆ d̃
When I’d first seen the sword, it appeared quite dull. But its age showed in a way that you could tell its wielder had used it with care for many years. If I put it a bit more bluntly, though, it was just old. I had been concentrating on the scabbard, so I hadn’t been watching the craftsman, but his hands had turned the old, plain shortsword into quite the sight.
Working on the sheath hadn’t been as boring as I had initially thought, but I still thought that sword would have been more enjoyable to work on.
The second half of recording proceeded without incident, until we finally reached the grand finale.
“All right, fine.”
We would round off this session with a test of the sword that the elderly man had been restoring in the background.
Round the side of the forge was an area that they likely used for testing, with rows of pillars that had been lined up and hammered into the ground. One of the younger craftsmen placed a battered wooden shield up against one of the pillars. With the scene set, the old man faced the pillar and made a downward strike with the longsword.
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The blade wedged itself cleanly into the middle of the shield.
Not bad.
“Cut! Thank you very much!” And that marked the end of the recording of the forge.
All that’s left is for me to say my farewells to the craftsmen, I think? If there was nothing else, that would be the end of that.
I went to speak to the elderly craftsman while the film crew was wrapping up. “Is that sword not intended for real battles?”
“Huh?”
Ѐn̆ üm̌ a. іḋ
The nature of filming an actual sword being swung had already caused some tension, but my question had made a completely new tension float in the air.
The only ones paying attention here were myself, the elderly craftsman, Lynokis, and the younger apprentices who were watching us. The production crew was too busy packing up to watch or listen.
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“You’re good enough that you should’ve been able to slice that shield in two even with a dull blade, no?” Swords were not my forte, and even I was capable of that much. So this man who was more skilled than me should have most certainly been capable of it.
“Hmph. What’s a kid like you know?”
“Nothing, that’s why I’m asking,” I said as I sat myself down on the wheelchair that Lynokis had wheeled over. “I apologize. That was rude of me.” There was a difference between not cutting and not being able to cut. I wasn’t entirely sure which it was so I decided not to pursue that line of conversation, instead...
“But...even I could cut that shield in half. You just didn’t let me do it.”
Éǹ ûm а .і̌ d
“Excuse me?”
Hey, he got mad. All according to plan!
Could you blame me? I was in a forge filled with weapons, and yet I wasn’t being allowed to swing a single one. I just couldn’t hold it in. Admittedly, I wasn’t the biggest fan of weapons, but I would use anything if it meant I could just get the smallest taste of a real fight again. Truly, I would use anything.
“Then how about you show me how it’s done, hm? If you can, then I’ll show you. My swords aren’t little toys.”
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So you just didn’t want to show off, huh?
“Young Mistress, you can’t,” Lynokis quietly begged by my ear. But I ignored her and stood up.
We b̂ n̄ ov́е l Е n̆u.m̃а̀
“Allow me to borrow your blade.”
When I held my hand out, the old man looked at me like he couldn’t believe I was really going through with this, but he still passed the longsword over to me.
Yep, it was heavy. But it was a good kind of heavy. It was completely different than a wooden sword. It may actually have been a bit too heavy for this body, but...since I only had to make one swing against a still target, I figured it shouldn’t be an issue.
Let’s get this out of the way while the crew isn’t watching.
Raise it up high—and then swing it down. A whoosh ripped through the air, and the blade stopped just short of the ground. A part of the left side of the wooden shield had been cut clean off.
“As I thought, this isn’t for a real battle. It doesn’t seem like a very good-quality sword.”
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The center of gravity felt off and there had been some drag as I swung the blade down. It may not have been obvious to a casual observer, but the blade hadn’t been sharpened properly. Maybe this had never been intended for actual use but just as an antique. Or maybe it was some important memento.
When I held the blade out to them, the three craftsmen were staring at me in shock.
“Nia, we’re heading to our next spot now! Thank you for agreeing to be recorded today, everyone!”
The director was calling for us. I suppose that was all for now.
“Thank you for today.” I made sure to say my own farewells and left the forge in my wheelchair. And with that, my fifth occupation observation was complete.
Ahhh, that was fun! It might not have been for very long, but I finally got to imagine I was in a real fight again! It feels so good! The sensations I had forgotten are coming back to me!
W̄е̊bn̊о̃ v̆еl Ёṅ ū_m̆ а̄
I needed to hurry up and train my body and finally have a real fight with someone.
Apparently, my popularity was only increasing.
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My winter of nonstop recording had ended, and spring had begun. Neal would be returning home soon for the spring break, but the day before that...
“Nia, you’ve really gotten quite popular. Thanks to you, sales of the MagiPads are increasing every day,” my father praised me as we were sitting eating breakfast.
The amount of fan letters I received each day hadn’t particularly changed in number; I was still receiving only two or three at a time, and some days getting none. Likewise, my brother was also still receiving fan letters with the same frequency as he was before.
Honestly, I didn’t think Neal should be given his fan letters, even if the more extreme or disturbing ones were removed. I wasn’t in a position to say anything on the matter, though.
W̆е̂ b nо̃ v ё.l Ӗ ň ù m̆а
Him aside, there were no real changes around me, so I hadn’t thought there was much of an impact, but apparently there had been a positive to me appearing on magivision, after all. All I was able to do was keep making appearances on Nia Liston’s Occupation Observation, so I hadn’t actually been aware of the reception.
Thinking it through, though, it couldn’t be cheap to keep making episodes of a show. The fact the recording sessions were still continuing at all was a reflection of how well the show was doing. There was an actual reason to continue despite the costs.
I see, so it was actually well received. Maybe it hadn’t been my imagination that my parents had been in much happier moods recently.
Seeming to be in a good mood today as well, my parents started saying they wanted to buy me something as a reward.
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I only wanted one thing right now: someone strong who would not crumble. Someone who was so sturdy that they wouldn’t break even if I punched them at full strength...
Of course, I couldn’t say that, so I just said, “I’ll leave it to you.” Ah, I would happily take an unexplored island, though. There would be wild animals and monsters roaming all over it. Naturally, though, they’d never give me something like that either. In times of financial hardship, sharing your property with your child would be difficult.
Ёn̆ú m̄а
Anyway, back to magivision. According to calculations, about three percent of the citizens of the Liston territory now owned MagiPads; that was how remarkably well they were selling. It was still too expensive for the common man to buy one, but they were now being sold to smaller companies and territory-lord-run facilities like theaters or information centers in addition to the large companies that had been using them before.
This was partly a result of prospective customers inquiring about if they could take out a loan for the MagiPads and the company agreeing. I wasn’t told the specifics, but apparently, they’d implemented a system of payments done over installments. The company or shop in question would have inspections done concerning their profits and how long they had been in business for, and if they passed that screening process, they were given permission to purchase a MagiPad with the installment system.
And as for why this was happening in the first place, well, that was because of my Occupation Observation.
As we saw with Bendelio’s show, the shops introduced on magivision would end up with a massive influx in sales and inquiries after the episode featuring them aired. In other words, we had shown that magivision could have a positive effect on publicity.
There were inevitably calls from businesses that wanted us to show off their shop or let me have work experience there, which in turn added to their profits. Though the ways to make money from magivision were still being explored, there was clear progress being made.
If things continued to go this well, the Liston family’s finances would be back to normal in no time.
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Neal said that our assets would be fine for another year or two, but...was this rate really enough to make it in time? That was my main worry right now.
“Thank you for the meal. I will excuse myself early.” I finished my breakfast and stood up.
“Ah, Nia. Hold on a moment.”
The entire meal, my parents had been arguing about how to reward me, somehow also flirting with each other at the same time, but my mother called out to me as I went to leave.
“Would I not be getting in your way?” This had originally been about me before they started getting all lovey-dovey with each other. I would only be third wheeling if I stuck around, no?
“You’re never in the way, darling,” my mother said, smiling at me.
Wѐ b̊ n̂ о̄_v̂ е.l̆ _Е̇n̆ũ m ӓ
I didn’t really appreciate those kinds of lies. If a couple who was getting along very well in their bedroom in the middle of the night were suddenly interrupted by their child, that would be a problem, wouldn’t it? What if a regular child believed such words? I wasn’t a normal child, so it wasn’t such an issue with me, but if it were my brother, that would be a very different story.
“A different work request for you came in.”
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Something new, hm?
“You mean outside of Occupation Observation?”
“Mm-hmm. And unrelated to us, as well.”
Well, this was a first. The broadcasting station belonged to the Liston territories, or more specifically, my parents. Whenever I took jobs as part of the Liston broadcasting initiative, it was more akin to a public service or a family business.
Е n̄ùm̃ а́
I had been working according to the plans laid out by the company, but this was from an external client, a private commission from a civilian.
“Do you remember Mrs. Rhyme?”
Ah, yes, I did.
“She’s the one who carried out the etiquette lessons, yes?”
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She was that passionate lady I had met for the first episode of Nia Liston’s Occupation Observation. She was actually a higher-ranked aristocrat than the Listons, being one of the third class.
“She would like you to act in a stage play, with her serving as the referrer.”
W еb̊ n о̇ v̄еl Ѐ nù mă
A...what now?
“Young Mistress, Young Mistress! This could be your debut as an actress!” Lynokis whispered in my ear upon seeing my confusion.
My actress...debut?
I...still didn’t quite understand what they were prattling on about.
“Wow, the Ice Rose Theater Company is quite famous even within the royal capital.”
Altoire had entered its spring break, and Neal had returned home. He was currently flipping through the thin script I had received as part of the acting work that I had accepted a few days earlier.
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“Apparently so.”
There were still shows I was banned from watching—or perhaps that had just been forgotten. Although I had become a part of the magivision scene, the programs I was allowed to watch were still restricted, just as it had been while I was sickly and confined to my bed.
From what I was told, theatrical productions were another type of program that aired on magivision, and they were especially popular with the female demographic.
Of course, there was no way that our local magivision fanatic, Lynokis, wouldn’t be keeping up with this. I had made sure to ask her all about it in preparation.
My appearance onstage would be as an actress for the Ice Rose Company.
The troupe was founded by a beautiful blue-haired man, Julian, who was the current artistic director of the company. He had split off from the most popular theater company in the capital and become independent.
Е̊ ṅŭmǎ
Naturally, Julian was also a famous actor, but so was his twin sister.
The namesake of the Ice Rose was the title of a famous stage actress from the last era of theater.
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“They’re a much newer theater company, but they’re so talented that I would honestly call them a key figure in the industry already. Ahh, to think the day would come when I would get to see the Twin Ice Princes in person! I could just cry!”
So said our resident magivision buff.
Incidentally, that whole “Twin Ice Princes” thing was apparently the title given to Julian and his sister. There were so many titles in this industry, they were hard to remember.
“Have you ever seen a performance by the Ice Rose Theater Company, brother?”
Е́ n ù mа. id
“Yeah. Well, not in person, but I have on magivision.”
Well now.
“Do you think I should give them a watch too?”
“I would say so. Having just a bit of knowledge goes a long way,” Neal said, nodding in affirmation.
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“Lynokis. Tell me when magivision is showing a stage play. I don’t particularly care what it is.”
When I asked her to do that, she didn’t approve.
Ẃ e b n̄ ӧ v̄ е̌l̇ _Е̌n u m ā
“I’m afraid I can’t do that, Young Mistress. You still haven’t been given permission...”
Oh, right. I hadn’t. I had just been thinking about that too.
Neal sighed. “Is there really any point in keeping this up? The performance that Nia will be a part of is The Girl Who Fell in Love, and Nia’s role is Sachute, a girl abandoned by her mother.”
Neal was absolutely correct.
It felt like these restrictions had been put into place because my parents didn’t want me to see the dirty and shocking reality of adult life, but we were way beyond that now. This production was quite literally going to immerse me in said dirty and shocking reality.
As Neal had mentioned, the play I was to perform in was the love story of a widow who was torn between following her duty or following her heart, trapped in that gap between being a mother or just a simple girl, having fallen in love with a man and being torn between the decision of her lover or her child.
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It ended with the widow abandoning her child and running to be with her lover. Such a conclusion would be quite shocking from a child’s point of view.
It was ever so slightly better that I was the one taking this role, but it still seemed like a strange thing to ask a child to participate in. Maybe if you were a child who was aiming to become an actor, this would be exactly the kind of role you’d want, but I wasn’t interested in that path, so that didn’t apply to me.
“By the way, Nia,” Neal said, looking at me curiously.
“Yes?”
“I noticed you’ve been doing...something for a while now. Is that training for the play? Or is it dancing?”
What Neal was referring to was my practice of the forms found in martial arts. At least, I assumed that was the case. I was doing them without real intentional input. I had no memories of it, so I didn’t know the specifics.
Е̂ n̊uḿ а́. і̊ d
“Just some light exercise.” I left my explanation at that.
Since winter had turned into spring and I had finally graduated from using my wheelchair, I was able to get some meat on my bones, increase my stamina, and complete my daily tasks without issue. That was what had led me to practicing my forms.
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Technically, I could do it in the garden, but I had a bad feeling I would attract the eyes of the servants, so I decided to do it in my unnecessarily large bedroom.
Slowly.
Slowly, I moved my body while tempering my chi.
Refrain from using speed, recoil, acceleration, or force in your movements. Simply slowly allow your body to flow. Move your body with precision, and remain still and silent once complete.
Еn̆.umӑ
After doing it once, I was out of breath, and sweat was pouring off me.
After doing it twice, I was so exhausted I could barely stand.
I could move on to the next step once I was able to do this for a whole day, but it seemed like that would take a while, as well.
And while my brother hadn’t caught on, Lynette and Lynokis were silently, yet intently, viewing my movements and seeing neither theater training nor dance, and naturally not light exercise either.
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They were no doubt starting to see the strength inside me through my forms, as they watched me with serious expressions on their faces.
I immediately requested I be allowed to watch plays on magivision, and my parents agreed.
Ẃ е̃bǹ о̆ v_е l .Enum̃а̃
Tch...
Honestly, I really wanted to watch those shows that followed adventurers around the floating islands, but my parents were not so kind as to allow that.
Ugh, I just wanted to see blood again. I wanted to witness the gory scene of a battle. Well, whatever. The Liston family’s finances were more important than my desires for now.
The moment the ban was lifted, I spent my free days watching all kinds of plays with my brother. Among those were plays put on by the Ice Rose Company, but there were also productions from other companies who performed The Girl Who Fell in Love, as well. It certainly helped to have a reference. So I would be performing in this kind of play, would I?
Hmmm.
I must say...
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Every single one was so unnecessarily roundabout and convoluted. And sometimes they would just start singing and dancing out of nowhere. Were there no plays where everything was solved with a single strike from an iron fist?
It was because they spent all their time dragging it out that they caused problems for those around them and ultimately turned their relationship into a whole sludgy mess of love and hate. Just say it straight. What good was it for adults to not even be able to sort their own problems out? Those kinds of troubles should have already happened when you were an inexperienced, self-conscious child. Those were my thoughts, but clearly those around me did not agree.
“That was amazing.”
My brother was fascinated, and both of the attendants were so moved that they were crying. Was what we had just watched good? The play had followed the life of a man from his days as a child until he was sixty. He’d had a crush on a girl since his childhood, and that first love was finally reciprocated right before his death, but was it really good? That boy could have lived a different life if he had just said he loved her, or, depending on the situation, kissed her, or pushed her down. If he was too shy, he could have sent her a love letter or a bouquet of flowers. Was this really, truly good?
It must have been. They were crying, after all.
You know, I’d started to get the feeling that, um...perhaps my own emotions were the issue here. Or maybe I was just too tactlessly blunt?
Wеb n̄o v е l Е̊ nu̇ m̂а̂
Oh, and there was also one more thing I noticed.
No matter which theater company we saw, no matter which actress was onstage, none was as cute as my brother. When I asked Lynokis and Lynette about it while Neal was out of the room, they both agreed with me. No wonder he was still getting fan letters.
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“He’s really improved,” Lynokis remarked.
“Yes. I’m excited to see how he’ll grow from here.”
Afternoons were spent watching my brother’s sword training.
“Nia, we’re counting on you!”
Е n̂ u̇ m̌а̌
“Yes, I’ll do my best.”
Days were spent recording Nia Liston’s Occupation Observation.
“Why am I still getting fan letters? I only appeared on magivision once...”
“You’re so popular, dearest brother.”
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Breakfasts were spent admiring how cute my brother was and watching over him every time he despaired over the passionate fan letters that were still coming in.
Those days passed by in the blink of an eye, and before long, my brother’s short spring vacation was coming to an end, and I had also finished packing. My wording may be misleading—I left the packing to Lynokis, really.
Еn̄ũm̆а
A small airship was on standby at the port on the edge of the island.
“Your airship is such a relief to see, brother.”
I had ridden airships plenty by this point, but even now, I still could not believe that those lumps of metal could fly in the air. I simply couldn’t get rid of my skepticism.
The exterior of my brother’s was made of wood, and for some reason, that was enough to make me much more comfortable. Wood seemed like it could theoretically fly in a way that metal shouldn’t.
“The inside is really cool. Wanna see the engine?”
“No, I’m fine.” There was no need to show me anything metallic. In fact, I didn’t wantto see it at all.
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“Be careful, you two. Lynette, Lynokis, do look after the young master and mistress.”
Jayes saw us off, and the vintage airship took off from the Liston estate.
My work this time would take me to a theater in the Royal Capital of Altoire. You could get there in half a day by airship, but flying there and back every time for rehearsals would just be a waste of time, so we decided that I would stay in the capital for a while. The times didn’t completely overlap, but Neal’s school break ended around the same time, so I took the opportunity to piggyback on my brother’s journey back to the dorms.
“Would you like me to show you around the capital once we arrive?”
“That would be lovely. I’ll ask you later once my own schedule is sorted out.” It wasn’t that I had no interest in the capital, but I wasn’t going there for a simple visit, so I would rather take a look around during my free time.
The first thing I needed to do when I arrived at the capital was to meet with Mrs. Rhyme, whom I hadn’t seen since she was featured on the first episode of Nia Liston’s Occupation Observation.
Е̌ ṅ úṁа̀ . іd́
The only reason this opportunity came in was because she was good friends with my parents, and they gladly accepted it. And the job this time was actually coming from a third party, so she was just acting as an intermediary. In other words, the company was asking for me to be introduced to them.
Mrs. Rhyme had been aiding us plenty on the surface already, both by appearing on the Liston Broadcasting Channel and by introducing me to the client this time. And there were likely things behind the scenes that I wasn’t even aware of. I couldn’t thank her enough.
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“More importantly, how has school been going for you, brother? Are you making sure to keep up your work? Are you eating well? Should you get into a fight with a friend through your own fault, you must apologize. Oh, and when you take your clothes off, don’t throw them any which way.”
“Are you my mother now or something?”
Oh right, our mother had been saying similar things to him. But, well, what did he expect us to say? A boy still so young going to live in a dorm away from home. What relative wouldn’t worry?
“I assure you that as the eldest son of the Liston family, I am living my life to the fullest in a manner that would not bring shame to our name.”
W̄ebñо̌v̀ еl̈ Е ń ů m̃ а
What a proper response.
“Glad to hear it. And? What about the rest?”
“The rest?”
“For example, you haven’t been making any girls cry by leading them on or anything, have you?”
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“...”
Ah, this silence and the way he averted his gaze. He’d already done it.
Е̌ n̊ũ ḿ a
“Well, it... It’s fine. Lynette is strict with how I interact with people, anyway. At the very least, though I may be inexperienced, I’m not living a life of laziness.”
So Lynette had been guiding him. She was always by my brother’s side, but we had little reason to interact, so I didn’t know very much about her. We’d only spoken a handful of times. Actually, she was literally standing with us at that moment.
If she were a little stronger, I would be more interested, but... Well, it was a little much to ask for excessive strength from a personal attendant, I suppose.
Now that I think about it, Lynokis had said that she was classmates with Lynette at Altoire.
Perhaps that was something to think about later.
“You said that you would be recording for Occupation Observation in your spare time here as well, right?”
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“Yes, apparently so.”
It was decided that I may as well do some shoots in the royal capital while I was here. It had been some time since he was at my shoots, but Bendelio and his distinct face had made their appearance at the Liston estate for the first time in a while just to make this suggestion.
Given its name, Tales of a Liston Stroll could only record within the Liston territories, so Bendelio never got to film episodes in the royal capital, or anywhere outside the territory, for that matter.
But in my case, the show was purely about trying out different occupations, so I had no such restrictions. That’s why he had suddenly pushed for me to do more than just the work with the theater company.
The broadcasting station was probably in a frenzy right now, drawing up a proposal, finalizing schedules, and arranging appointments with the people I would be visiting. As nothing had been decided, even I didn’t know what the filming would be like. It was a little exciting.
“Would you like to make an appearance too, brother? Since we’re actually filming in the capital for once.”
Ŵ e b̃n o v̇ е̇ l Еn̊u̇m̃а̊.
“No way. I’m never appearing on magivision again.”
Oh my, so immediate. Neal was quite cute when he pouted too.
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The relaxing flight through the skies ended exactly on time. Half a day had passed since we left the Liston estate in the morning, and the royal capital came into view by the evening.
The vast land rooted into the ground was dyed red in the evening sun. Its imposing appearance as not a floating island but a part of the land had a majesty and strength to it befitting the land of a king.
The airship safely arrived at port, and so we entered the Royal Capital of Altoire. This was a port specially for Altoire students and staff, so when we arrived, we were able to leave Neal’s airship to the port workers.
“Young Master Neal, the time is fast approaching,” Lynette said upon their disembarking.
E nŭ m̆а̌ .i̇d
“Yes, I know,” he responded, nodding. “I’m sorry, Nia, but I have to go.”
“Curfew, yes? Please don’t worry about me.”
I had heard many things on the way here, including that the dorms for those in the elementary school division of Altoire Academy had quite an early curfew, and if you didn’t return before then, you would be locked out.
The original schedule probably left them with some leeway, but with me asking to join them, all their plans would have been moved up enough that their arrival was just in the nick of time. Avoiding some of the large clouds along the way would have added to the time lost, as well.
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If they were late for curfew, they wouldn’t be able to enter the dorm until morning, giving them no choice but to spend the night elsewhere. There was still time before the spring vacation ended, so it was no problem for students to stay off campus, but Neal appeared to want to go back to the dorms right away. Given the current financial situation of the Listons, he probably wanted to avoid any unnecessary expenses.
“I’m sorry. I’ll see you later.”
W̃_е_b̃n̄ о̊v ê l Е̇ṅu ṁ ă
With a short farewell, my brother and Lynette jogged off into the evening capital.
Now then.
“Shall we also be on our way?” I said to Lynokis.
“Yes, Young Mistress.”
And so, Lynokis and I also began slowly making our way down into the capital’s streets.
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