Vol 7 Chapter 1 (1/2)
Chapter 1: The Start of the Year 3306
The 14th day of the first month, the year 3306 of the World Calendar
There was a blue planet with a very large moon
90 percent of the planet was covered in water, and the poles were covered in ice
There was an oval, potato-shaped continent in the northern hemisphere of that planet
The southern part of the continent was a brown desert But as the latitude increased, the land exploded in a splash of green
There was a inning at the desert The mountains, capped with snow even in the middle of summer, ended abruptly about halfway up the continent The two rivers on either side of thethe ht north and into the sea
There were two nations on the continent, one on either side
In the east was the Roxcheanuk Confederation, also known as Roxche It was made up of 16 member states and territories
In the ere the Allied Kingdoms of Bezel-Iltoa, also known as Sou Be-Il It waswith a handful of small subordinate countries
For eons, the people of the East and West had warred against one another with the Lutoni River between them
In ed alliances, and Roxche and Sou Be-Il were formed almost simultaneously What folloas a cold war, one massive war, and many smaller conflicts
But about 20 years ago, the cold as ended by a certain incident
The threat of another Great War was beginning to fade
The capital of Roxche was the Special Capital District, a region independent of any country within the confederation
It was on the northeastern end of Roxche, very far from the East-West border but also a fair distance from the sea
The Special Capital District was a circular area about 30 kilometers in diameter It had been built when Roxche was first formed
The city center was home to the presidential residence, the Confederation assembly Hall, civic centers, and courthouses Outside the center was a business district croith department stores and hotels Further outside was a residential district full of aparts
It was daytih chance of snow
Strauski Megmica was in a roos
Because she was fro’
Meg was turning 17 next tails She had fair skin and large dark eyes
She wore the winter uniforreen jacket, a white dress shi+rt, a red ribbon, and a green checkered skirt
“Say,” she began in Bezelese, sitting at the dining table across froirl, “about that boy who caht? did you meet him there?”
The girl across fro was also in the same uniform Her name was Lillianne Schultz, also known as Lillia
Lillia’s full narandparents and was very long, but she almost never used it Because she was Roxchean, ‘Schultz’ was her family name
Lillia had long brown hair and light brown eyes, and in contrast to Meg, looked very self-assured
“Huh? Y-yeah, I did,” Lillia replied, taken aback
“Lillia Did you talk about anything i into Lillia’s eyes Her eyes glinted with hunger for information
“Huh?” Lillia raised an eyebrow “No I didn’t Things were so hectic that I barely got to say hello,” she replied nonchalantly
“Is that all?” Meg sounded unimpressed
“That’s all”
“Did you make plans to meet next time?”
“Actually, no, We just didn’t have time to plan that stuff,” Lillia said with a sip of tea, not sounding bothered in the least
“That’s so sad,” Meg mumbled
“Huh? For who?” Lillia asked
“Both of you”
“Really?”
“You al said with a serious look
“I guess, but…” Lillia began, but stopped Shehappen?”
Meg’s eyes widened for an instant, but determination quickly rose to them
“Yeah I wanted your advice on so”
“Oh? On what? What happened?” Lillia urged, pouring herself more tea She then put the teapot on the hot plate on the dresser by the table to warm up the rest
Meg took out a cru at her feet
“It’s about this letter”
“Oh, gi the newspaper off the table Meg put the envelope on the tabletop
The envelope was an extraordinarily normal one, sold at the campus store in the 4th Capital Secondary School It was addressed to Strauski Mego
“Is this a love letter, Meg?”
“Kind of, but not really”
“Can I read it?”
“Yeah, but don’t tell anyone, okay?”
“Of course! I, Lillianne Aikashi+a Corazòn Schultz, solemnly swear to speak to no one of what I am about to see!” Lillia vowed, and picked up the letter Upside-down, she spotted the name of the sender with no return address
“Huh? I’ve seen this name before…” She trailed off
“That’s—” Meg began, but Lillia cut her off
“I ree student who studied here in the autu the name on the newspaper”
“That’s right This is the club’s newbie You have such a goodexclaimed
“Hah hah It’s nothing that i of the year that I wasn’t just a stupid girl after all, you know! …Anyway, can I read it?”
Meg nodded firmly “Please Tell me what you think about it”
“Right”
Lillia gingerly pulled the letter out of the open envelope
Inside was a piece of stationery paper froe was filled with handwritten Roxchean
“Let’s see…”
Lillia’s eyes scanned the page quickly
The letter began with greetings and an expression of gratitude beforeon to the issue at hand
The issue was si and that she should kno he felt
“This is…well, ” Lillia breathed When she looked up, Meg atching stone-faced from across the table
Lillia reread the letter to make sure she understood its contents Then she placed it on the table
“Er…well…” Lillia cringed
“I’ve beenexplained, “I didn’t tell anyone in the newspaper club about it”
“Well, I guess I understand,” Lillia nodded, still cringing
“I couldn’t confide in anyone from the club”
“That makes sense…”
“To be honest, I wanted to tell you about it when I came over at the end of last terain for a while I had to visit home, too”
“Right”
“And I don’t even know if any of this is true Our newbie isn’t the type to play stupid pranks—so ?”
“Hmm…”
Lillia read over the letter on the table for the third time
“What do you think I should do, Lillia? Should I ask the newbie to clarify? But I don’t have an address or phone nuht know, but if she asks me why I want that info I’ll have to lie to her I don’t think I can lie convincingly”
“You know, I’ve never seen you this serious, Meg,” Lillia said, “but you can’t just stand around worrying about this letter forever”
“Yeah To be honest…I’m so tired of it”
Meg’s expression darkened She picked up her teacup with both hands, drained it, and put it back down
Lillia quickly folded up the letter, put it back in the envelope, and handed it to Meg
“Seron’s that guy, right? The one frouy nahtly
“So…has he ever co to ask you out, or so like that…”
Meg shook her head “No, I don’t think so Iout more with him since we joined the newspaper club in the summer, but not particularly more than Larry or Nicholas”
“No more than the other boys, huh”
“I’ve never really gone somewhere alone with him, and he’s never asked me out I talk to him about as much as I talk to the rest of the club”
“Hm…” Lillia folded her arms
“So I…I…” Meg gasped, on the verge of tears Lillia tried to calm her down
“Don’t cry, Meg You have to get a hold of yourself”
Meg nodded
“Letcheerful, “you don’t kno to contact the newbie, and you have no way of getting any contact information Which means there’s only one option left”
“What is it?”
“You have to ask Seron yourself”
“…Is that really the only way?”
“Yes! More tea?”
“Yes, please”
Meg held out her cup and found her eyes drifting to the envelope She glared resentfully at it
“Here,” Lillia said, filling the cup “Look, it’s the new year; it’ll be better than just ht?”
“On the 19th, yeah I’ll probably see Seron again then”
“Then you have to ask hie, but there’s no other option You can’t stay depressed like this forever”
“All right So there’s no other way,” Meg said, looking rew more serious
“Be honest withWhat do you think of Seron?”
“Huh? Er… I don’t know”
“You said at the end of last year that you weren’t interested in anyone”
“Yeah You really have a good memory, Lillia”
“Well, yeah Anyway, you don’t like hiht?”
Meg’s gaze rose to the Schultz fahter
“You know, I still don’t really knohat it’s like to be in love with someone Seron’s a club member and a friend, so I don’t not like hi hi like I want to date someone”
“Mh her elbows on the table
“And! Most ihtly
“Yeah?”