|
Wearing Power Armor to a Magic School (120/?)
First | Previous | Next Patreon | Official Subreddit | Series Wiki | Royal Road Nexus. The Crown Herald Town of Elaseer. Ambassadorial District. En route to the Adventurer’s Guild Hall of Elaseer. Local Time: 1752 Hours. Emma “Ilunor?” I turned towards the Vunerian, my two hands overflowing with thick paper bags stuffed to the brim with useless knick-knacks, a hundred and one cufflinks, and just about as many more gourmet pastries that could give the Paris Intrasolar Baking House a run for its money. “Yes, earthrealmer?” He craned his head back, one hand holding a thousand-layer puff pastry baked right on the stick, drizzled in what was boldly advertised as a syrup containing a hundred unique forms of ‘Crown-grade’ honey. “We’re burning daylight here.” I chided, pointing at the rapidly setting… ‘sun’, and the growing darkness around us. “You’ve done nothing for the past thirty minutes but to delay us by going on your silly little sidequests around town.” I doubled down, only for the Vunerian to narrow his eyes, deploying a privacy screen in the process. Following which, did he stop to kick me on the suit’s ‘ankles’. “Have you learned nothing from our conversations, Cadet Emma Booker?” He tsked. I opted not to respond. “THEATRE, Cadet Emma Booker! THEATRE! The princess has made it clear has she not? That these… nightly outings, are more often than not, thinly-veiled excuses made for the sake of attaining a reprieve from the Academy?” I cocked my head almost immediately at that response. “So… you’re just building up plausible deniability?” “Correct, earthrealmer!” Ilunor beamed. “It is an open secret that most ‘night pass’ requests are mere fabricated contrivances. Thus, if anyone wishes to delve even slightly beneath the surface of our little outing, these sidequests as you call them, will serve as evidence for patterns of behavior in congruence with what is expected of such falsehoods. Otherwise, they will find the lack of any petty ulterior motives to be suspicious!” “Prompting skepticism in our activities to grow, hinting to a more malicious ulterior motive to our outing. Perhaps even sparking more scrutiny on our actions on this night.” Thacea reluctantly corroborated, prompting Ilunor to beam bright with self assured victory. “Only in the Nexus would acting with decency and honesty be met with more scrutiny than the bold-faced acceptance of open lies and deceits.” Thalmin commented with a growl, capping off our little impromptu shopping trip into town, just as we arrived at our destination. Nexus. The Crown Herald Town of Elaseer. Ambassadorial District. Adventurer’s Guild Hall of Elaseer. Local Time: 1759 Hours. Emma I hadn’t at all expected to see Sym the moment I walked through those double doors. If anything — and if Aunty Ran was to be believed — this was perhaps fate in the making. However no sooner did we exchange our first words did a polite and cordial elf arrive to greet us. A woman wearing what I could only describe as a fantasy renaissance take on ‘business formal’. With a long flowy skirt, coupled with a tunic with a puffy collar set beneath a beige-orange open-buttoned coat. Though only about half of her receptionist vibes came through from her attire. The other half was all in the way she carried herself, as she smiled and addressed us in a way only a seasoned front desk receptionist could. “Good evening, my lords and ladies.” She bowed deeply. “Might I be bold enough to assume that you are here for the Guild Master’s evening appointment?” She kept things vague enough in order to not garner more attention than was necessary. Yet specific enough that it was clear she was firmly in-the-know. We definitely missed this lady on our first pass-through of the guild. I thought to myself. “Yes.” I nodded. “Excellent.” The elf responded with that perpetually cordial smile. “I will relay your arrival to Master Piamon and, if you so wish, you may follow me to the upstairs reception area.” However, before I gave my response, I quickly glanced over to Sym and the gang, my eyes narrowing at their… disheveled state. “Erm, I don’t suppose that they also just arrived?” This question prompted the elf to raise a brow. “Yes, my lady.” She replied. “Though if it is the matter of their physical well-being that is in question, then I wish to allay those concerns. I can assure you that all present are in sufficient condition to deliver a detailed report on the subject of your inquest.” “Oh, erm. Actually I should’ve asked about that first.” I mumbled out, rubbing the back of my head in the process, before turning to the adventuring party. “Are you guys… alright?” “Things are, as The Receptionist has pointed out, my lady.” Sym replied instantly, raising an arm to prevent the bat-like Thulvahn from responding first. “Well… I’m assuming you’ve been through a lot, still.” I added, my eyes running up and down their disheveled, muddy, soot and ash covered forms. “I wouldn’t be opposed to you guys taking like half an hour to get ready for the meeting.” This offer… clearly took both Sym and his troupe, along with the receptionist by surprise. However, all were more than willing to accept this offer, as the man simply gave me a deep bow, before walking off and into some back corridors. Presumably to some in-house dorms. “In any case, we will be more than happy to accommodate your wait up in the noble’s reception room, my lady.” The receptionist continued on seamlessly, as several vintage-looking baggage trolleys were quickly pushed our way. My eyes, however, quickly locked onto the kids behind those trolleys as two of them were immediately identified by the EVI. [N04 Garna. Trainee Adventurer. Desig: ‘Satyr’.] [N05 Loris. Trainee Adventurer. Desig: ‘Kobold’.] The pair looked… ragged and exhausted, sweat pouring down from the former’s forehead and onto his stained tunic, while the latter huffed and puffed up a storm. Their exhaustion probably stemmed from having to haul Sym’s gear and supplies prior to our arrival. This disheveledness didn’t stop them from conforming to decorum though, as they both put on their best customer service faces. However, in spite of their best efforts, there was one thing they couldn’t hide. …gurgle… Their hunger welling within. Which prompted me to take action. No sooner after they finished loading the cart did I grab a few of Ilunor’s shopping bags, handing two to both the satyr and kobold, respectively. “Here.” I offered with a smile. “You look and sound famished.” The pair, in shock, turned to one another with wide eyes. “Oh, erm. We…” Both of them stammered out, though it was Garna who finally won out in the end. “Our dinner comes after the senior and junior level adventurers, my lady.” He explained sheepishly, pointing to the west wing’s dining hall that was beginning to fill up with the adventurers in question. “Oh, so it’s like a seniority type thing?” “Yes, my lady. The guild master eats first, then the senior adventures, and then so on and so forth.” I cocked my head at that, as a disturbing thought cropped up as a result. “Please tell me you’re not given the leftovers from the dining hall…” “Not here, my lady.” Loris responded this time around. “Though lesser halls have been known to practice that given their limited—” The elf suddenly paused at the behest of the receptionist who’d silenced her with just one stern look. “B-but you needn’t worry about our bellies, my lady. We’re well-fed here.” The kobold quickly reiterated, though that did nothing to sway my decision. “Gotcha. But, hey, just consider this a treat then, alright?” I countered deftly. “That is, of course, if it’s allowed within guild rules?” I quickly turned to face the receptionist, who maintained a polite smile as she responded. “It is well within the rules to provide gifts, if it pleases my lady.” “Alright then.” I hid a barely contained grin. “Then here—” I reached over, grabbing yet another one of Ilunor’s many treat bags. “—take this as well. Share it amongst your friends and whatnot.” A myriad of expressions formed following this. With an incredulous one from Ilunor, a cordially neutral one from the receptionist, and two bright and beaming faces of the adventurers in training. “Thank you, my lady!” They declared in-sync with radiant grins. The likes of which were infectious enough to make me feel all warm and bubbly inside. “Oh, don’t thank me. Thank Lord Rularia here for his charity.” I gestured towards the Vunerian, who simply turned his snout up at the whole affair. “Credit and gold where it’s due, after all.” Nexus. The Crown Herald Town of Elaseer. Ambassadorial District. Adventurer’s Guild Hall of Elaseer. Guild Master’s Office. Local Time: 1835 Hours. Emma The slime’s room was just as I remembered it, save for the addition of a buffet table nestled haphazardly in one of its formerly empty corners. It was apparently customary — and part of expectant decorum — to offer both adventurer and quest-giver alike dining options if a meeting were to take place during mealtime. And it was clear that everyone was taking advantage of this, save for of course, me. Both parties currently sat opposite of each other on the two couches in front of Piamon’s desk, with the coffee table in between it used as a sort of ‘middle ground’, stacked high with selections from the buffet table. Though, much to Ilunor’s chagrin, there seemed to be a distinct lack of tableside service. “Thank you all for your punctuality.” Piamon began, choosing to remain in his slime form this time around. “This meeting is to conclude the matter of the quest contract issued by one Cadet Emma Booker, to the adventuring party officially registered as Sym’s Troubleshooters. Given the quest’s unique nature, I will act as both arbitrator and primary witness to this conversation. So please, feel free to begin.” The man spoke politely, and in a surprisingly succinct manner for a Nexian noble. “Thank you, Guild Master.” Sym bowed deeply from his side of the couch, his eyes landing on my visor. “To begin, I acknowledge that all terms issued within the contract have been fulfilled.” Sym started, prompting the guild master to form a slime tendril to begin jotting down notes on the contract in question. “Moreover, I would like to note that we managed to fulfil the contract’s obligations not only within the allotted time, but likewise earlier than demanded. This grants us the bonus of fifty gold per day per person in accordance with the additional terms laid out verbally.” “Does the quest issuer wish to comment, argue, or clarify on any of these points before continuing?” Piamon chimed in. “No, a deal’s a deal. The base pay and bonus are still on the table. Provided, of course, full details of the dragon’s location are shown to us.” I replied firmly. “Understood.” Piamon nodded, gesturing for Sym to continue. At which point, did he reach for a satchel, revealing a rolled up piece of paper, and several other artifacts I wasn’t at all expecting. Some of which… were caked in both soot and dried-up blood. The table in front of us was quickly cleared of food, though only after some back and forths with a frustrated Vunerian, who compromised on having just one tray of treats on the couch’s side table. Following this, the piece of rolled-up parchment was promptly unfurled, taking up much of the table’s surface area. Though thankfully, this wouldn’t be a problem, as Piamon casually extended its length through a small display of magic. ALERT: LOCALIZED SURGE OF MANA-RADIATION DETECTED, 200% ABOVE BACKGROUND RADIATION LEVELS What appeared in front of us now was a completely blank, though admittedly large, piece of parchment. Though all of this was quickly about to change. “Let’s get straight to the point.” Sym began, taking a knife and casually pricking himself on his pinky finger. After drawing a small splotch of blood, he began smearing it at one of the parchment’s far ends, causing the whole thing to begin… stirring. ALERT: LOCALIZED SURGE OF MANA-RADIATION DETECTED, 300% ABOVE BACKGROUND RADIATION LEVELS “Do you happen to have the ink I sent you, Cadet Emma Booker?” Piamon abruptly asked, prompting me to nod as I grabbed one of the vials the slime had sent along with the note. Following its uncorking, the man simply… poured the vial onto the paper directly. However, instead of simply spilling everywhere and causing a Bim Bim-level mess, the parchment somehow acted like one of those hyper-absorbent fabrics, guzzling up every last drop of jet-black ink. It was only after the whole bottle had been emptied did we see the true magic at play here, as the formerly blank parchment started glowing with life. Slowly, but surely, lines and map markers were drawn up. Grid coordinates criss-crossed the entirety of the parchment, followed by the sketchmarks of terrain, landmasses, and important natural geographical features such as forests, lakes, rivers, and mountains. The entire map had this… almost sketched aesthetic to it, as if it was actively being drawn by hand. It was only after the roads, towns, and other such important man-made features were filled in that the aesthetics became more refined. Sketchmarks were replaced by clean lines, and splotches of shaded-in greyscale were replaced by a rich sepia tone. It all felt like we were watching one of those speedpaint montages. Though it took a solid five minutes before the whole map was finally ‘complete’. At which point, did it take me barely any time at all to realize what we were looking at. This… was a map of the entirety of Transgracia and its surrounding neighbors. A fact the EVI could corroborate, given Professor Articord’s timely introduction to the Nexus’ political map just yesterday. One Day Prior Professor Articord’s Class “To ensure we finish the class in a timely fashion, I will no longer be taking class participation. So listen carefully or you will surely be unable to complete this week’s homework.” The fox-like professor continued, as she pointed at both the blackboard and the growing magical ‘hologram’ in front of her. “This, as all of you should already know, is the Nexus.” The Nexus’ signature flat disc was both drawn behind the professor and projected in front of her. The blackboard displayed the disc as seen from above. Whilst the hologram in front of her displayed it from its ‘side’, showing the various layers beneath the surface. “Or at least, the physical extent of the Nexus. Everything within this mortal coil, everything we can touch, feel, see, hear, taste, and so on and so forth. Astral projection and the various layers that come with it are a matter for second-years.” She spoke casually, completely sidestepping that ‘minor’ detail as we moved on. “Given that this is a history and politics class, I will refrain from making grand sweeping discussions on the nature of the Nexus. Rather, I will focus on providing you what you need to know about its political organization in the contemporary era.” The professor quickly pointed to the blackboard, the hologram quickly disappearing, in lieu of the rapidly moving chalk pieces that now divided the Nexus into four distinct zones; resembling something that would’ve been more fitting in a bar or a rec room. A dartboard. With a near-perfect circle at its very center and three concentric rings emanating from it, complete with what appeared to be finer divisions within the rings and circles. It was this latter detail that saved it from looking completely absurd. Instead, creating a sort of border gore that strategy gamers would probably blush at. Though to be fair… given no scale was given thus far, it did remind me of how ‘simplified’ station maps and divisions could be. Planet-bound minds struggling to comprehend the beauty and simplicity of Spacer Perfection. Was the meme I was immediately reminded of here… “At the center of the civilized world, we have the Crownlands.” The professor quickly swung her scepter at the blackboard, coloring in the nearly perfect circle at the center of the disk. “Home to His Eternal Majesty, the Privy Council, the Royal Palace, the Royal Estates, the Royal Cities, His Eternal Majesty’s Royal Mandates, and the vast swaths of Royal Domains, Wards, and Provinces. The Crownlands was once the entirety of the known civilized world prior to the start of the Eternal Era.” Both Ping and Qiv raised their hands at that, but were equally shot down by the professor. “The topic of the Eternal Era and the war which preceded it will be discussed on a later date.” This prompted both to lower their hands, as the professor moved on. “Here, we have a region now known as the Midlands.” The professor paused, pulling out her scepter towards the first concentric ring drawn around the Crownlands. “This region, now home to long-established kingdoms and territories established following its incorporation into His Eternal Regime, was once shrouded under the malevolent influence of spiteful gods and ancient beings. Hence its former name, the Outerlands. Nowadays, however? You’d be hard-pressed to find any signs of this once-wretched past.” The first concentric ring was promptly colored in after that explanation, before the professor moved on, her scepter now hovering over the second concentric ring that surrounded the Midlands. “Though as time progressed and as the continued its unending growth, so too did the Midlands grow far beyond its original extent. This forced a reevaluation and a shift in administration, culminating in His Eternal Majesty’s brilliant Third Compromise — the establishment of a new Outlands.” The territory in question was now promptly colored in, though interestingly, a small circle within it was highlighted as if to emphasize her next point. “This is where you find such places as the Transgracian Academy, and its host kingdom, the eponymous Transgracia.” A part of me was both relieved and intrigued to see exactly where we were on the Nexus’ ‘world map’. However, another part was equally frustrated by the lack of any clear map legends or scale markers. Much to my chagrin, the trend would continue on unabated, her scepter moving back even further, highlighting an area of undulating borders beyond the Outlands. “Finally, we have the unstable and still-forming regions known as the Farlands. There is little to say on this as it remains politically irrelevant. Thus, let us continue with the history of…” My eyes were locked onto the map of what I clearly recognized was the ‘middle left hand corner’ of the Nexus’ discworld. Right around the ‘nine-o-clock’ mark, smack dab in the middle of the ‘Outlands’ ring. The location of both Transgracia, and the Academy. Indeed, the map was much more detailed than Articord’s generalized depiction of the world, as it showed not just the Academy and the town of Elaseer, but also the entirety of the road networks that connected it to tens and hundreds more towns within this small chunk of an even greater, wider region. I counted at least two-thousand towns and just under ten cities listed on this map. A map of just the Kingdom of Transgracia. Not even taking into account its neighboring kingdoms, of which there were at least five which bordered it. And when taking into account the relatively ‘middling’ size of the country in comparison to its peers along with Articord’s vague assertion of there being ‘tens of thousands more like it’ just in the western outlands alone… the scale here was starting to balloon to ridiculous extremes. However, I didn’t allow my mind to wander too much this time around, as I honed in on Sym’s annotations, detailing the path he took to where the dragon was currently holed up at. With a swift motion from what appeared to be a set of callipers, the man began drawing and annotating similarly magical brush strokes onto the dynamic map. The whole thing… looked and felt like e-ink, similar to the ‘moving text’ the Academy used on its letters and announcements. “The amethyst dragon’s lair is here.” Sym stated plainly, highlighting a forest way, way north-east from Elaseer. “The North Rythian Forests, a relatively young forest with little development near or around it, let alone through it.” The man sighed. “It took us about a day’s trekking on enchanted golem steeds and monotreaders to get there. Though it should be noted that we did use the transportium network to connect us to the closest town to the forests—” The man paused, highlighting a town a good ways away from Elaseer to the far north. “—the town of Telaseer. Without the transportium? It would’ve taken us a solid three to four days trek, perhaps even a week in rough conditions. However, from Telaseer, it should take you about a full day to get to the forest.” “Aren’t the transportium networks only reserved for like, nobility or those with royal charters and warrants and whatnot?” I countered, recalling what the late Lord Lartia told me. “Aye, though it perhaps is a bit less stringent than you may think. You don’t always need a Crown Warrant. Sometimes, just being a ‘regular old’ Nexian noble is fine and dandy for the odd jaunt or lazy stroll or what-have-you. Typically, most areas of the transportium are free reign for those of the Landed and Entrusted nobility, though there are certain areas that require explicit warrants from the Crown to access. For the most part however, the Outlands lack any of those sensitive areas.” The man explained, prompting me to cock my head in response. “I’m assuming though, since you’re not a Landed or Entrusted noble, that you hold a warrant?” “Aye, of sorts. We’re Crown-Registered adventurers, see?” Sym spoke, twirling his fingers for the dramatic Thulvahn to pull out what appeared to be a rolled up document with an official looking seal on it. Unfurling it, a picture-perfect portrait of all four adventures were presented front and center, complete with personal details such as age, race, appearance, as well as their adventurer rank and title. All four of them even did a little dumb grin to match the grins present on their official registration, garnering a little snicker from my end. “I apologize for not clarifying earlier, my lady.” The man dipped his head down in a show of apologetics. “But Crown-Registered adventurers hold something of a similar privilege, by virtue of our professions, in the free-rein use of transportiums, within reason.” “No need to apologize, Sym. I was just curious.” I nodded, as the man promptly continued on from there. We refocused our attention on the map, now honing in on the local area where the dragon was. “In any case, the dragon resides here.” The man pointed his callipers at the center of the forest. “You can’t see it from this official map, but beneath the dense canopy lies a large rocky hill with a cave nestled next to a small stream. There exists no roads or paths that lead towards it, so we charted our own, and got within three hundred or so paces from it.” More annotations were made on the map, first around the dragon’s cave, then towards a path highlighting the most navigable route from the closest dirt road. “It is about a thousand paces from the nearest dirt trail.” He clarified. More annotations were drawn, now highlighting the aforementioned dirt trail, and a series of meandering dirt paths that zig-zagged their way through and then finally out of the forest in question. “Getting to the forest itself is no issue. But navigating your way through the forest becomes a bit tricky.” The dwarf took a moment to compose himself, his features shifting to something far less casual, or even professional, framing his next words as more of a warning than anything. “I must be clear about something, my lady. I say this with no judgement nor doubt over your capacity or character, but as a man who wishes to fulfil my duties to the best of my abilities.” He began, as he gestured towards one of the clauses in the contract. “As this is a scouting mission, it is within my services to inform you not only of the location of this beast, but the dangers it and the surrounding environment poses.” He took another deep breath. “Considering your armor, I doubt I need to warn you of the dangers posed by the spores of the forest’s mushrooms or any other environmental danger besides the threat of quicksand and mud pits. Of which this forest has none, considering its rather temperate climate.” He gestured towards the map, highlighting some areas annotated with rather toony drawings of mushrooms. “However, it is the dragon I wish to warn you of. Because the manner in which we secured the dragon’s location so quickly was through the unwitting sacrifices of others that came before us.” The man finally grabbed hold of the scorched equipment from earlier, laying it out on the table, along with a surprisingly pristine cylindrical tube. Without wasting time, the dwarf popped the cap open to reveal the contents within. “A royal warrant.” Ilunor observed in between sips of tea. “One issued for the capture of the dragon, no doubt?” “Aye, my lord.” The man nodded, bowing deeply towards the deluxe kobold. “We discovered a literal trail of failed missions. Men-at-arms, arriving by the caravan. Yet none of them made it past the threshold of the dirt roads. It was only because we decided to leave our conveyances that we were able to slip past the dragon’s sight.” “And even so, it wasn’t long before it saw us and chased us outta there.” Kintor quickly added, a shiver of fear coloring her voice. “Hence the scorch marks and such, no doubt?” I offered, garnering a nod from all four. “We were only able to make it out of there because of the dragon’s… mercy.” Sym postulated. “I assume it is not indiscriminate in its hostilities. For it attacked caravans and formations of men at arms with great prejudice, but not us. I… may be well into the realm of conjecture here, but I’m assuming that it chose to spare us, as it saw us as mere intruders rather than those that would do it harm.” This answer seemed to garner the raise of several brows, with Ilunor especially turning his nose up at the man. “This actually begs a really important question.” I began. “You’re talking as if the dragon is intelligent and smart, but you still refer to it as an ‘it.’ Now, you’ll have to excuse my ignorance here, but are Nexian dragons actually sapient? Or are they just ‘animals’?” “They’re sentient.” Ilunor answered bluntly. “Not sapient.” He concluded. “Animals, not people.” “If I may, my lord, ancient legends say that a select few were, at one point, sapient.” Piamon offered, the greater slime clearly being the only one from the adventurer’s side of things that could stand up to him, by virtue of his own noble heritage. “Those were ancient legends.” Ilunor shot back. “And even so, those were, as you said yourself — a select few. More specifically, the Great Dragons of the Vunerian Mountains who ruled over the kobolds and typical dragons of old.” The Vunerian sighed, taking a swig of tea in between his words. “Even then, their numbers were mere pittances. Moreover, this rare breed of thinking dragons were the size of entire strongholds. This amethyst dragon clearly does not fit any of these descriptors.” The deluxe kobold concluded. I turned to both Thacea and Thalmin at that answer, the former of which nodded in acknowledgement. “Aye…” Sym quickly added. “The beast we met was certainly quite an intelligent creature, but not sapient. Not at all.” The man breathed in deeply, slowly sliding the warrant back into its case. “Forgive me for overstepping my bounds once again, my lady, but I must ask… what exactly do you need the dragon’s location for?” His voice darkened. “Well…” “We need one of its crystals.” Ilunor answered audaciously. “For a school class project, and as a goal for our Class Sovereign gambit.” That answer… was actually decent. Though it was clear Thalmin had some issue with it, owing to a sharp glance he cast towards Ilunor. In a rare disconnect in our consensus’ though, I wasn’t at all annoyed by this particular save. If anything… I was impressed. Craning my eyeballs over to Thacea, it was clear she was just as impressed as I was at Ilunor’s quick thinking. Because despite it being a bit… blunt, it was a logical next step off of Thalmin’s original cover-story. That being, this whole thing was ‘a personal academic matter’. “I am, if nothing, a frank and earnest man.” He quickly added, forcing me to hold in a chuckle. Nevertheless, as believable as that answer may be, the group in front of us… was still nothing short of stunned by that answer. “I’d assumed something of the sort.” Sym sighed dourly. “And is it only one of its crystals that you seek, or the dragon’s head as a trophy?” He practically mumbled out. “Just its crystal.” I answered. “I wouldn’t say I’m relieved to hear that, my lady. But at the very least, it takes the danger from near-assured death, down to extremely hazardous and life-threatening.” The man paused, leveling his eyes towards me with severe intent. “I’m assuming it’s possible then? As in, the procurement of a dragon’s crystals without actually killing it or getting into a full on life or death fight?” I asked, prompting the man to pinch the bridge of his nose, drawing out a long sigh in the process. “Aye, there are ways.” The man began dourly. “But I must ask again, are you certain about such a foolish venture?” I maintained my gaze — fruitless as that might’ve been — as I delivered my next few words without a glimmer of hesitation. “Yes. Now tell me, what options do I have?” First | Previous | Next (Author's Note: We head to the adventuring guild where Sym debriefs Emma on the intel he gathered from the quest! We also get a brief glimpse of what we missed from Articord's class, or at least, the relatively important bits of context that may prove vital in understanding the geographical organization of the Nexus! :D I really do hope you guys enjoy! :D The next Two Chapters are already up on Patreon if you guys are interested in getting early access to future chapters.) [If you guys want to help support me and these stories, here's my ko-fi ! And my Patreon for early chapter releases (Chapter 121 and Chapter 122 of this story is already out on there!)] submitted by /u/Jcb112 to r/HFY [link] [comments]
|
reddit.com |
Jcb112 |
Mar 23, 2025 |
|
Is The Order A Rabbit? / Gochiusa is set in an alternate reality where Japan won World War II.
DISCLAIMER: This is my entry for the writing contest. There will be spoilers, read this at your own risk! Though given the nature of the Gochiusa as a moe slice of life, there isn't really much to spoil. EDIT 1: No this is not meant to be serious, just a fun exercise exploring a what-if scenario. Taking a plunge down the rabbit hole, if you will. In the words of Neil deGrasse Tyson: "The human talent for pattern-recognition is a two-edged sword: We’re especially good at finding patterns, even when they aren’t really there." EDIT 2: Obligatory thank you for the gold, kind internet stranger! Have some coffee. EDIT 3: A lot of people have commented on Cocoa's part and the conclusion not really matching up with the rest of the essay. I might be rewriting this part soon. Need to put on more tinfoil hats first. EDIT 4: Cocoa is an angel confirmed. Thanks to /u/Grue for providing this irrefutable proof! At first glance, Gochuumon wa Usagi Desu ka? (or Gochiusa for short) might seems to be just another “cute girls doing cute things” slice of life. But I believe there is a darker secret to the show hidden beneath the fluffy surface. Is there more to this anime than meets the eye or am I just reading too much into this because I have nothing better to do? Probably the later, but that’s beside the point. In this essay, I seek to prove my (completely sensible) theory that Gochiusa is set in an alternate reality where Japan has won World War II, and is now ruling over Europe. After that, I will discuss the characters and how their stories fit into this scenario. All supporting evidences will be coming from the two seasons of the anime. Gochiusa is set in Europe - after Japanese occupation. The story in Gochiusa is quite straightforward. One day Cocoa arrives in a certain town - where she will be living and working part time at the Rabbit House cafe. The show follows the daily lives of Cocoa and her friends as they have fun and generally be adorable. Pretty standard moe SOL fare, nothing to write home about. What makes Gochiusa stand out the most is its unusual setting. Immediately upon watching episode 1, it is clear that Gochiusa is not set in Japan. So where it is exactly? In the anime, it is referred to as the “wood-framed town”, or simply “the town”. Based on the architecture, we can tell that this place is located in Europe. In fact, it is no secret that this town is directly inspired by Colmar - a real town located in the Northeast of France. Someone else has already made a very detailed comparison so I won't go over it again. So is Gochiusa set in Colmar, France? Maybe, maybe not. According the various signages around the town, the majority of the text seems to be a mixture of French, German, English and some Eastern European language. It is uncertain which country this is supposed to be, we can only be sure that it is located in Europe. Now that we have established that Gochiusa is set in an Europe, we can safely assume that the majority of the characters are not Japanese, but European. We all know that eyes and hair color are meaningless in anime when it comes to identifying nationality, so let’s look at names. Consider the first name of the five main girls (Cocoa, Chino, Rize, Chiya and Syaro), only Chiya and Rize are actual Japanese names. Chiya also happens to be the girl whose heritage is the most apparent - I’m 99.53% confident that she is Japanese. The same cannot be said for the other girls. This brings up a question: If the characters are not Japanese and the town is not in Japan then why is everyone using Japanese? This is not a case of in this world the language barrier doesn’t exist. Otherwise, Cocoa and Chiya would not have to study English. Japanese influence goes beyond the usage of written and spoken language. As we can see, the main currency is the Yen, not the Euro and the legislation system is using the Six Codes - which is from Japan. Even more puzzling, the town does in fact, has a name - which we can spot on Cocoa’s letters to her family. Ogikubo - Suginami does not sound very European doesn’t it? What exactly is going on? Here's my theory: Japan has won the second world war, and much of Europe has been occupied and under imperial rule ever since. It makes sense that the empire would enforce Japanese law and Japanese currency in occupied territories. They renamed the town from whatever it was into the name of an area in Tokyo. A long enough time has passed that Japanese has become the main language for the common people - this land is now essentially annexed into Japan. What’s more, the war is most likely not yet over. Where are the men? They are all drafted into military service. Yes, you occasionally see other men in the town, but the number of actual male characters in Gochiusa can be counted on one hand. Is it easy to overlook the lack of male characters in a show like Gochiusa, after all this is a moe SOL. However, when you consider that there is a war going on, a much more sinister scenario arises. And there is definitely a war - seeing as both Chino’s and Rize’s fathers are ex-soldiers. What is this war? Who is fighting whom and where? We do not know. What is clear is the lack of male presence in this town. Following along with our theory of Japanese occupation, the most logical explanation is that most of the men were conscripted into mandatory military service - so they are all presumably off fighting somewhere far away from home. This explains why in such a picturesque town you would expect to see a lot of tourists, yet the cafes our girls are working in seems to be empty all the time. Even on Christmas night, one of the rare occasions when the Rabbit House is actually full, the customers are almost entirely women. Also what about the lack of male students in high schools and middle schools? There are at least three different schools that the characters go to, yet we don’t really see any boys around. Maybe they all go to female only schools? Unlikely. But wait, what about Chino’s dad and Rize’s dad? They are men right? Remember that both of them are war veterans, and have seen their share of combat. They probably have already completed their terms of service and were released from military duty. It is worth noting that out of all five main girls, only Chino and Rize still have fathers. None of the other girls had to worry about a gift for father’s day besides these two. Chiya only has her grandmother and Syaro lives alone. Cocoa even helped in making the gift for Chino’s dad, but not for her own dad. When they were saying goodbye at the train station, her sister Mocha said that mom is waiting for Cocoa at home, but there was no mention of their dad. The implication is clear: They no longer have a father. A war casualty perhaps? Let’s not forget Cocoa’s two older brothers. Very little is known about them and they only show up briefly in some flashback scene. At the end of season 2 we see her sister Mocha together with their mother at home, but the brothers are nowhere to be seen. Could it be that they are old enough to be serving in the army at this point? Next, let’s take a deeper look at each characters and how their backgrounds fit into this. Rize is daughter of a warlord, she is being trained to become an assassin. When we first met her, Rize mentioned that she has been trained in self-defense ever since she was small. While most of us dismiss this fact as just another quirk that makes Rize even cuter (it really does), isn’t it really weird when you think about it? Who train their little daughter in using firearms and CQC, drilling into her military discipline at such a young age? While Rize tries to act like an average highschool student as much as she can, at times she displays an alarming level of ruthlessness. Not to mention, no normal teenage girl is such a complete gun nut or possess such incredible physical strength. Considering that they were both in the army together, Chino’s father and Rize’s father led utterly different lifestyles. The Kafu seems to live on modest mean, yet Rize’s family is really wealthy - living in a huge mansion complete with maids and bodyguards. We never really see police or any kind of crime (except those committed by rabbits) in this peaceful town, so why the heavy focus on security? Rize’s father is certainly not simply a soldier. While we do not know what he really does now, guessing that he is a underground warlord operating some kind of private military is probably not far from the truth. The man is ambitious, in training Rize to become some kind of super soldier, he apparently has big plans for his daughter. Is he preparing her for the eventuality that the law will caught up to him, so that she could fend for herself should the need arises? Maybe he grooming Rize in case she has to take over his position in the organization? Or getting her ready for something even more sinister? Rize also has a little bit of a father complex. This goes beyond admiring her dad as a role model. Out of the five girls, Rize is the most mature and often act as the voice of reason for the group. Yet whenever her dad is involved, she becomes completely flustered. Like when she is too shy to give her dad his father’s day present or grow totally red face when he saw her in the maid uniform. And who can blame her, when daddy is both quite good looking and is a certified badass! Another troubling sign: Rize has a stuffed rabbit toy called Wild Geese that she likes to cuddle in bed. Wild Geese wears a rifle on his back and has an eyepatch. Doesn't that remind you of a certain one-eyed soldier? Rize seems to be rather fond of the name Wild Geese, as she gave the same name to the feral rabbit taking up residence in Syaro’s house. Wild Geese is also the name of a mercenary group according to the Metal Gear wikia. Seeing as the show likes to reference Metal Gear, Rize's father could very well be a version of Big Boss. Syaro is a war orphan, and she has amnesia. We know that Syaro is a poor teenage girl living by herself. She works hard at multiple jobs to make a living and goes to a prestigious school thanks to earning a scholarship. What the show totally glosses over is the obvious fact that she is an orphan. Everyone else has at least some family members, but Syaro is alone. How could a 15 years old girl afford such a large house? The house might be run down but it is still in a prime street front location, not some shady back alley - seeing as Ama Usa An is right next to it. The answer is simple: she is not renting the place, because it has always been her home. She grew up there. How do we know this? In a flashback, we saw a young Syaro playing together with a young Chiya - this means two things. First, that they have always been friends and neighbors ever since they were little. Second, that Syaro must have had parents taking care of her back then. A 15 years old living alone is believable, but she could not have been on her own at such a young age. What’s worrying about Syaro is that she possibly has light amnesia. Chiya mentioned that they used to play blowgun together and that Syaro was very good at it. Yet she is completely baffled to discover her own excellent blowgun skills. Syaro struggles to recall anything regarding the rivalry between Rabbit House and Ama Usa An, going so far as to keep hitting herself trying to remember. Whatever happened to Syaro and her parents was traumatic enough to create a mental block in her mind, making her forget certain events of the past. Judging by her dress and toy back when she was young, as well as her rather refined taste, Syaro was not always poor. Her natural grace and elegant manner might be a result of her upbringing. This is also why Syaro is able to fit in perfectly with the rich girls at school, where no one suspected that she is actually poor. Whoever her parents were, they are gone - perhaps they had become victims of war. The fact that Syaro is all by herself now makes her an orphan. Remember when Chiya was worried that Syaro might have been involved with some questionable establishments? This proves that her financial situation was desperate enough that the scenario of Syaro working for a cabaret (or something worse) is a very real concern. The girl is not exactly stable so it is a good thing that her nextdoor childhood friend Chiya is always looking out for her! Chiya is a foreigner, and the truth behind the rivalry between Ama Usa An vs Rabbit House. While the nationality of all the girls remains mysterious, Chiya is definitely Japanese - and she is really proud of her heritage. Aside from her fascination for all things Japan, certain aspects of Chiya’s character tell us without a doubt that this girl is Japanese and not just a Japanophile. Chiya absolutely loves manzai comedy, and she takes any chance she can to play jokes on her friends. The girl is committed to staying in character entirely, going so far as to gather up an entire basket of poisonous mushroom, just waiting for someone (the “straight man”) to point out her error (the “punchline”). Manzai humor itself is very Japanese, not something that the average Western person would enjoy. Yet when it comes to serious matters, Chiya has a tendency to not voice her feelings, we see this time and time and time again. When she actually has to express something difficult, she does it in the most roundabout way possible. When Chiya wants to convince Syaro to work with her, she left a package of sweets with a note stating her wish instead of just saying it directly. This passive-aggressiveness and non direct approach are very typical Japanese traits. We have other evidences regarding Chiya’s origin as well. When she first came to Rabbit House, it is revealed that Chiya has never seen a Western coffee menu before. While Chiya’s kimono is part of work, her grandmother always wear the kimono although she is never in the front of house. Plus, Ama Usa An is nothing like all the other buildings in town - the place looks like something that belongs in, well Japan. We can safely say that Chiya and her grandmother are foreign to this land. They came from Japan to open a tea house in this European town. This explains the supposed rivalry between Ama Usa An and Rabbit House. How you ask? First we have to consider how exactly are these two establishments competitors in any way? They offer completely different products: Rabbit House sells coffee and Western pastries while Ama Usa An sells Japanese sweets and tea. Which means they are not directly competing in terms of products. Second, it’s not like Ama Usa An is directly next door to Rabbit House. Chino has to walk quite a long distance to Ama Usa An in order to get medicines for a sick Cocoa. In fact, it is about an hour trip back and forth. In this town, Rabbit House surely does not lack for competitions within the immediate vicinity before we even get anywhere near Ama Usa An. Which means they are not directly competing in terms of location. If they are selling different products and are not even nearby, then why did the old master considered Ama Usa An a rival to Rabbit House? As it turns out, the rivalry is only in his mind and Chiya’s grandmother never thought anything about it. This is our hint to the truth. Chino’s grandfather is old, probably old enough that he can remember a time before the Japanese occupied this town. He held a grudge against the Japanese for taking over his home, and for marching his son off to war, leaving him a with struggling coffee house and a little girl to take care of. Ama Usa An stands out like a thorn in his eye because it represents everything that went wrong in his life. And now this Japanese tea house wants a piece of his business as well? The old man is having none of that. Ultimately, the master is a good man. And we see that he actually adores Chiya just like with all the other girls. Unfortunately he still can’t stand Ama Usa An, though for a different reason entirely. Chino had a lonely childhood and the master’s last wish. Chino is a very polite, timid and reserved girl. Despite being rather mature and responsible for her age, she is quite shy around people, even with those close to her. This is a result of her growing up without much social interactions. After meeting young Cocoa, the master mentioned that Chino gets lonely when Tippy (the rabbit) is not around. This tells us that she really has no other friends beside the angora rabbit. She spent most of the time alone - therefore she does not know how to deal with people. Chino lacks the social skills to make friends, and ended up keeping distance to everyone except those she is truly comfortable with. This explains why Chino always keep Tippy around whenever possible, because the rabbit’s presence makes her feel at ease - although it seems like Cocoa is slowly taking over this role. While it was only implied in the anime, in the manga it is stated that her mom died when she was younger. As for her dad, he was away at war during most of her childhood. When young Chiya and Syaro was checking out Rabbit House’s menu - the old master was the only person there. And then there’s Aoyama Blue Mountain who knew the master when she used to frequent Rabbit House asking for his advice, yet she has never met Chino’s dad before. It means that this entire time he was in the army and had only gotten back to manage the family business once grandpa has passed away turned into Tippy. And it makes sense, as we’ve seen that Chino is rather adept at house chores - precisely because she is used to be by herself all the time. With her grandfather at work managing Rabbit House, her mom passed away, her dad away at war and no friends other than Tippy, Chino must have had a lonely childhood. This stress of having to take care of both the family business and Chino is probably what lead the old master to complain that he would rather be a rabbit instead. We still don’t know whether he truly died and then his “soul” somehow get transferred into the body of Tippy or he simply ceased existing as a man and just become Tippy instead. Seeing as the rabbit was already the family pet even before the encounter with young Cocoa, I’m gonna go with the former theory: he died of old age but his soul lives on in Tippy. I imagine the master was full of regrets before passing away: his country taken from him, his business struggling to stay afloat, his son is away in some war he wanted no part of. And most of all, he did not have the time to properly takes care of Chino. He told Cocoa that he wish to become a rabbit so he wouldn’t have to work but I think what he really wanted deep inside was to spend time with his granddaughter and see her smile. In the end, he got exactly what he wanted - now in the form of Tippy, he can make up to all the time he did not get to spend with Chino before, and he does not have to work anymore! As for Chino, she is slowly opening up and start making friends, plus she now gets an annoying older sister who fawn over her all the time! A curious detail regarding Chino: she also has a one eyed stuffed bunny similar to Rize’s. But in a flashback with her mom, we see the same rabbit had no eyepatch. So is this somehow connected to her mother? Does the eyepatch signify loss? And if so is Rize’s mom gone as well? Cocoa is an angel sent by a higher force, her job is to make everyone happy. It is easy to dismiss Cocoa as the annoying klutzy genki girl. But she actually has a very important role to fulfill - the reason why she came to this town in the first place. Before we talk about Cocoa, let’s take a brief look back at the other girls: Rize is raised by a dangerous warlord and being trained into a killing tool for her father’s own nefarious intention. Syaro is a war orphan with amnesia, struggling to make ends meet everyday. Chiya is coping to live a foreign land far away from her ancestral home, having to deal with hatred from the locals for the war crime committed by her people. Chino grew up lonely with no friends, socially awkward and insecure. As we can see, most of the girls have rather unhappy background. They are all trying to move on from past traumas, striving to live a normal, peaceful life. This is the reason why Cocoa exists - according to my theory she must be an angel or supernatural entity and she was sent to this town by some higher force to bring happiness to these girls. Although Cocoa being Cocoa, she most certainly is not aware of her own true nature. Or she might have forgotten. Either way, there are many signs pointing toward the fact that Cocoa is not a normal girl. I’m sure you are tired of reading paragraphs at this point, so I present: bullet points! The most obvious display of her power is when she listened to the Rabbit House’s old master’s wish and granted him exactly what he wants: to become a rabbit and spend time with his granddaughter a.k.a Cocoa makes people’s wishes come true. When Cocoa first started working at Rabbit House, she can immediately detect Rize’s presence - Rize the super assassin who has been trained in stealth since her childhood! When finding the way to her new school, Cocoa displays her super dimensional walking power, constantly passing by Rize within the span of 5 minutes, prompting the poor girl to question her own sanity. Cocoa constantly demonstrates supernatural skills, but she has no idea how to properly use her powers. When trying to do cafeomancy she was able to accurately predicts three future events, although she did not know those events would be happening to herself. In another display of inhuman genius, she can instantly completes the jigsaw puzzles that takes Chino days to finish and then unconsciously solves a difficult wire puzzle without breaking a sweat. What about her amazing ability to make instantaneous calculations or to memorize prime numbers? During their study session at Chiya’s house, she can easily list every prime number up to the thousands before getting distracted by a picture album. Cocoa can create life! We see her making a snow rabbit shortly before getting sick. Over night it had spawned at least three other baby snow rabbits! During their camping trip in the mountain, Cocoa shares her power with Chino, helping her to fish with powerful fluffy magic. In front of Chino’s camera, Cocoa can instantly make a pose at such lightning speed that even Rize could not react in time. Cocoa is a being made of pure love. She famously stated that if she knows you for 3 seconds then you are her friend. Plus, she has proven time and time again that she can be instantly happy no matter what. Just her presence alone is enough to bring these girls together, adding a little bit of happiness into their unfortunate lives. This tells us that Cocoa’s main function is to bring joy and love to the people around her. Chino’s dad might be on to something here. submitted by /u/twoduy to r/anime [link] [comments]
|
reddit.com |
twoduy |
Mar 22, 2016 |
United States
