Book 3: Chapter 1: (1)

Book 3: Chapter 1: (1)

Episode 4 Do the right thing: the face of a thousand lies

Nyaths memory of the last time he looked at his hometown was the sight of a port city engulfed by flames.

The Zambenikan troops were starting the pillaging, and his mother was pulling him by the hand as they were running towards the very last Moz.

His mother was just the average Farbanian peasant, but to his young self she was the worlds most beautiful woman. Hurry up, Nyath She was trembling in fear of the attackers and, breathing heavily, she would turn around time and time again. She was desperate to flee from the attackers as quickly as possible. We have to hurry

Several bodies were lying on the road. Even corpses of people Nyath knew. Neyani, the Mildita with the scary face. The old man Nuza who was always giving him Moray shells. Catinna, the craftsgirl from the neighborhood that he played with countless times. All these people that laughed and cried, they were all lying dead on the ground. Dont look. Its just a little longer until we get to the Moz At that moment, he felt a woosh above his head, and heard a nasty sound. As he raised his eyes, he saw an arrow that had pierced his mothers head from the side. The tip of the arrow was sticking out of her other cheek, and her right eye was in an odd position. Ny A strange voice leaked out of her throat.

His mother began falling slowly in his direction. The warmth of the fresh blood on his face, and the weight of the body both left a lasting impression on him. Nyath screamed as he was crushed by his mothers body, and began to cry uncontrollably.

He could see the Zambenikan archers getting closer, despite his sight being blurred by his tears.

It was an organized rank. They were wearing the silver masks that imitated the man-eating demons from Obiza. The completely merciless murder squad was coming to get him.

One step, and then another step.

Within the ever lingering smoke and fire the troops kept getting closer

Nyath Maybell woke up from his dream. The morning light coming in from the gap between the curtains was dazzling. He reached for the Seiko alarm clock on the side of his bed, and squinted at it. It was one minute before his alarm rang. Ahh He flipped the alarms switch, and languidly got up. That was an awful dream. A dream about back when he was over there. It was a dark and distant memory.

He didnt have that dream all the time. Maybe once a month, or even less than that. He felt as though it had become even less frequent recently.

The nightmare where he failed his language knowledge exam was a lot more common. He had become able to use English in a non-awkward way, but to learn Latin on top of that! What a stupid decision that had been.

There was a knock on the door

Hey, Nyath? I heard a scream, are you okay? Ah yeah, Im fine dad.

His adoptive father, Stan Maybell, opened the door, and leaned into the room.

The usual dream? Yeah. But Im okay. Im already used to it

Nyath forced a smile, and in a very Dorini-like gesture, shrugged. Stan glanced carefully at him, and subtly nodded several times.

Oh okay. Moms making breakfast. Come down soon.Updated from novelb(i)n.c(o)m

He heard his mom, Polly, humming downstairs in the kitchen. Stan vanished behind the door. Nyath washed his face and tidied his hair in the bathroom, came back to the room and changed into his Sherwood School uniform, and stood in front of the mirror.

No problems. He couldnt really call himself the cool type, but at least he didnt look like a lame Semani farmer. He hung his bag full of notebooks on his shoulder, and went to the dining room.

Nyath hurried. He would make it in time if he ran. But just as he was about to cut through the crossing right in front of him, he got into a small accident. Someone had come flying from the side at the corner, and rammed right into him.

Ow

The moment he aggressively hit the ground, the contents of his bag scattered all over the sidewalk. His notebooks, writing materials, and his paperbacks. Nyath addressed the other person, as he hastily gathered his belongings.

I- Im sorry. Are you okay?

He stopped mid-sentence without thinking.

The person that had run into him was a girl in a school uniform. For some reason she was carrying a baseball bat case on her shoulder. Her hair was long, and her eyes were big. Her skin was smooth and shiny. A girl so pretty she looked straight out of a CG anime. She still had a youthful air to her, while also having a smug presence.

Basically, if it werent for her sitting right there with her legs spread open like a letter M, probably feeling a pain on her tailbone so strong it made tears well up in her eyes, she wouldve stolen Nyaths heart.

U-um

And with that, Nyaths gaze went straight into her skirt, clearly gluing itself to her thin underwear. From where she was sitting still, he could see it was wonderfully snow white and cerulean. And with horizontal stripes on top of that! It was not flashy, but there was a modest cuteness to it.

Ugh ah eh?!

Having overcome the pain in her butt, it seemed like the girl had finally noticed her immodest position. She hastily closed her thighs, and lowered the hem of her skirt.

D-dont stare that much! You rakebye! I-Im sorry

Nyath, surprised at her insulting him in Farbanian, averted his gaze. Those features, and that accent. This girl was a Semanian, just like him.

Are, are you hurt? Obviously. I cant just get bumped into and shrug it off like you. If I were normal, you wouldve torn my gorgeous body in half! Eh? Nevermind, forget it. Anyways, you should at least look in front of you when youre walking, you crapdunce!

That wasnt a very elegant way to speak. It definitely irritated Nyath.

Thats not even a word, is it? And werent you also ignoring what was in front of you? I even worried about you and asked if you were okay, what the- Oh!

With just a glance, they saw the bus at the stop, and passengers had just begun getting on and off. The girl smacked her lips, stood up and started ferociously sprinting towards the bus, leaving Nyath behind.

Ugh I cant be late on my first day after transferring Hey, wait

The girl crossed the street at full speed, and ignoring the several cars that honked at her or had to stop on their tracks, rushed to the bus right in front of her. She barely made it in time, and the bus slowly drove away.

That uniform. It was the same as his Sherwood uniform. He thought he was the only student in the area. But even more importantly, him being late was a problem. However, the bus had already left. What am I going to do?

Nyath gathered his scattered belongings, shoved them into his bag and looked up to the sky.

Semanian for transport shipSemanian for idiot