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goldentigerfestival · 5 days

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Book 1 Part 1 Chapter 2.1

Chapter 2: The Grey Alleyways

The girl stretched her hand out from the railing. In her hands was a wooden bucket, raised skywards like an offering. The bucket trembled precariously in her hands.

In front of her, a waterfall the width of a fully grown adult crashed down. It was far enough from the railings that the girl could barely reach it with her fingertips. The girl stretched her arms as far as she could, trying to catch as much water as she could into the bucket.

“If you lean too far out, you’ll fall.”

Yuri’s voice startled the girl, and she quickly jumped back. The water sloshed around in the bucket as she moved.

Yuri was careful not to spill his own bucket of water as he loaded it onto the cart. Inside the cart, there lined buckets of various sizes, all already filled with water.

Including Yuri, there were five or six people surrounding the cart, but all of them were children. Some of them were even younger than him. There were no adults.

Yuri set down his load with a pant. He looked around. Their party, along with the cart, was in a small square. In front of them towered a giant wall. The waterfall cascaded down from high above, directly into a pond that bordered the wall. There was a platform that jutted out over the pond, and the children used that to draw water from the waterfall.

The wall was large, ancient, and intimidating. It stretched all the way out on both sides, extending as far as the eye could see, half-obstructed by the buildings leaning on it, until it gently curved and disappeared from sight. It was also incredibly tall. Even the tallest buildings from the lower quarter were shorter than its halfway point. The waterfall flowed out from a lofty point in the wall.

The sky was clear, but their surroundings were dim here. The enormous shadow cast by the wall covered the whole area in darkness. From above, Yuri and the others probably looked like ants crawling around.

But when Yuri looked up, he could still see a hint of greenery peeking out from the top of the wall. Yuri knew it was a roadside tree from the citizen’s quarter. As he looked up from within the shadows, the tree appeared to be shining, as though it was emitting light.

Beyond that, he could see a row of spires. They had distinctive shapes, and were spaced out at equal intervals. These were the barrier blastia that protected the Imperial Capital. According to Hanks, its main body stood right in the middle of the Imperial Capital, while the spires were devices to help support it.

‘Other side of the wall’. Those words unconsciously appeared in Yuri’s mind. The other children probably thought the same thing.

This was the great wall that surrounded the Imperial Capital, Zaphias. And, it was also the line that divided the lower quarter from the rest of the city. A ‘borderline’. For the boy who had yet to understand everything, he at least understood that the word held numerous meanings. Most of them were bitter ones.

The castle gates were never closed, probably because of the barrier. They stayed open, even to the residents of the lower quarter. But to the residents of the lower quarter, the citizen’s quarter remained a distant place, and not one they could visit freely.

Yuri once visited the place out of curiosity. He remembered the looks of pity and contempt on the people’s faces, even though he was a commoner, just like them.

Whatever. Yuri squashed down the feelings beginning to well up inside of him. It doesn’t bother me. They don’t care about us, and we shouldn’t care about them.

The girl from earlier came back, struggling to carry a bucket that was too big for her to handle.

“Thanks for the hard work.”

Yuri said as he helped her load it into the cart.

That was the last bucket. The children all nodded, and surrounded the cart. At a signal, they all shifted their weight and started to push the cart.

Weighed down by the water, its wheels creaking, the cart slowly began to move. The children carefully made their way back to the lower quarter. Occasionally they would call out to each other, or let out exhausted groans.

Apart from rain — which happened irregularly — the waterfall that flowed from the castle walls was the only water source for the lower quarter. That precious water was quite literally their lifeline. The waterfall came from the waterworks system that extended throughout the citizen’s quarters and flowed out. The decorations on the waterfall’s outlet were similar to that of the Fountain Alley’s — namesake’s — fountain. It seemed like the fountain used to be one of the many extravagant devices used by the Imperial Capital, though it had long since dried up.

Apparently a long time ago, the walls didn’t exist, and the Imperial Capital extended further beyond the lower quarter. Remains of buildings from that era were scattered throughout the lower quarter area, and Some of them were even being used as residences.

They say the artificial waterfall was abandoned when the people retreated behind the city walls. No one really cared about its origin now, though. The water was safe to drink and there was a safe way to obtain it — that was all that mattered. Most of the water that flowed through the lower quarter was sewage water from the ‘other side of the wall’. The ruins underground blocked the water veins so wells couldn’t run, and the lands outside the Imperial Capital was fraught with danger.

As a result, for the lower quarter residents, fetching water from the waterfall was an indispensable part of their daily routine. In the poorer areas of the lower quarter, not just the adults, but the children too had to perform all kinds of manual labour, but the task of fetching water was an especially arduous one.

Also, they didn’t know whether the pond that the waterfall flowed into mixed with dirty water or not, but it definitely wasn’t clean — in the summer, area around the pond was filled with a stench worse than that of the sewage water. With the abundant humidity in the shadow of the walls, no one was willing to live nearby. And so, fetching water always involved collecting it as it came down, and then carrying it all the way back to the lower quarter. Furthermore, there were fields on the outskirts of the lower quarter that the residents managed. Water had to be delivered there too.

The lower quarter was an existence half-abandoned by the Imperial Capital's government. There was no chance a new water system would ever be installed there. Anger, doubt, and even hope… those feelings of the residents had already been lost many generations ago.

****

Even as they pushed the cart, the children continued to chatter. Doing so distracted them from the pain and monotony of their work. Even if they were poor, they weren’t slaves. As long as they went about it carefully, the adults didn’t make too much of a fuss about it.

Yuri was silent, and kept to himself. As an older child, it was his responsibility to supervise those younger than him, since fetching water was an important job no matter who did it. He didn’t mean to neglect that, but his mind was occupied by something else.

A month had passed since his unexpected confrontation with Flynn.

The season for flowers had come and gone, and there were gradually more and more days where it didn’t get cold, even at night.

After that incident, Yuri had never once visited the area where Flynn was. He had no reason to. He hadn’t seen Flynn since then, either.

He wasn’t sure if he wanted to meet Flynn again, or what he would do if they did. He tried not to think about it too much.

Despite thinking that, from time to time he would find himself thinking back to that scene. He’d recall Flynn’s movements, and then contemplate how he’d respond to them. If he comes from the right, I’d do this, if he comes from below, I’d do that. Once he became aware of it he would try to focus on something else, but soon he would find his thoughts leading back to the same place.

The adults were a different matter, but for Yuri, he’d never lagged behind any of the kids in the lower quarter. Winning and losing aside, he was surprised at how affected he was by the whole thing.

When he asked around, he was told Flynn was the same age as him. Maybe that was why.

Yuri grew irritated, and the fact that he couldn’t pinpoint the exact reason why irritated him even more. The other children were keenly aware of Yuri’s moodiness, and even those older than him didn’t dare bother him.

Regardless of the various childrens’ behaviour, the cart continued to creak as it rolled forward.

Their work had its own dangers. The Imperial Capital sat on a single hill, which sloped gently — or sometimes abruptly — the farther away you got from its centre. Naturally, the road back to the lower quarter was a downhill slope, so if they lost control of the heavily loaded cart and let it gather momentum as it rolled down, it could lead to a disaster.

And even if they reached the lower quarter, their job didn’t end there. Their job also included delivering water to the elderly and those who were unable to come and collect water on their own. Anyone would feel like not doing anything for a while after ferrying heavy buckets to and fro in the lower quarter, but Yuri actually welcomed it. If he worked until he was exhausted, he wouldn’t have the energy to think about unnecessary things.

If the days continued to pass like this, eventually Yuri might stop worrying about Flynn altogether.

It looked like Jareth and the rest hadn’t messed with Flynn ever since that day either. If that was the case, good. Let it stay that way.

……Is what he thought, but he was too naive.

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As an addendum, here's a picture of what the Imperial Capital looks like in the game overworld!

The river over there totally doesn't come into play later in the novels or anything...

#Vesperia #Novel #GotC #Yuri #Flynn #Fluri #baby crush mode yuri

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goldentigerfestival · 6 days

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This is so cute.

#Legendia #Jay #Moses #develop...ment......... for they.......

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goldentigerfestival · 6 days

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Book 1 Part 1 Chapter 1.2

Chapter 1.2

When people focus, their sense of time becomes warped. Long periods of time can pass by in the blink of an eye, while at other times an instantaneous moment can pass excruciatingly slowly.

Yuri felt like that, facing Flynn. He started to lose track of how much time had passed.

After assuming his stance, Flynn was completely motionless. Yuri started to wonder if time had stopped, but of course that couldn’t be the case.

Behind him, Jareth and the other boys from the lower quarter were probably watching their match with bated breath, but he didn’t have the leeway to pay attention to them.

If he lost focus for even a single moment, he would be taken down in an instant by a single powerful blow. There was no doubt about that. No, it might not be a single blow, judging from Flynn’s behaviour in Jareth’s match earlier. It might be a relentless flurry of blows that wouldn’t give Yuri time to surrender even if he wanted to.

Will I even be able to make it back home without any help, Yuri wondered. It was a passing thought from the back of his mind, but he found it funny that he still had room to make such witty remarks to himself.

To a casual bystander they might look like nothing more than children playing at sword-fighting. While that might be true, at the same time it was also a serious competition — the complete opposite of the words ‘for fun’. Yuri made a conscious effort not to dwell on the irony. Anyway, regardless of what he thought, the reality of his situation wouldn’t change.

On the other hand, Flynn had also sensed that this second challenger was somewhat different from the first. Yuri was obviously playing at it by ear, and his stance was full of openings, there was something about him that made Flynn uneasy. Like there was some kind of hidden power within the boy. If he struck carelessly, he could suffer an unexpected counterattack. Flynn decided to be cautious, and wait for his opponent to move first.

Another long moment passed.

Although they appeared to be at a stalemate, the situation was anything but. Beads of sweat started to gather on Yuri’s forehead.

If I knew this was going to happen, I would have learned how to use a sword at the very least. Though at the same time he thought that, he realised there wasn’t really anyone who could teach him. He hardly saw anyone in the lower quarter carrying weapons, to begin with.

Outside the Imperial Capital, he heard it was essential to be armed in order to defend against monsters. With things like swords and armour. Or blastia. While such convenient and powerful magical devices were regulated by the Imperial authorities, people capable of handling a sword in the lower quarter should be common enough… Or so Yuri thought, but he had never heard talk about it.

Perhaps among the residents, some of them were people who once lived adventurous lives. Well, even if they existed, Yuri had no way of knowing who they were. In the first place, all of the adults of the lower quarter looked like they had zero fighting experience. When he pictured Hanks holding a sword, he could only think of it as a funny joke. Violent weapons such as swords only befitted someone like Jiri.

— Jiri?

The moment he became aware of that name, Yuri felt his thoughts being drawn to it, and he thought, Oh, crap, but it was too late.

“Make sure you’re back by dinner time.” That terrifying voice resurfaced in his mind.

He started to grow worried. What time is it? How much time has passed since then? If we don’t make it back in time for dinner, she won’t stop at just a scolding—

Suddenly, Flynn grew bigger. No — he’d only thought so because Flynn had suddenly closed the distance between the two of them. Flynn thrust out his stick fiercely, as if he was wielding a real sword. Yuri immediately leaned back, barely managing to dodge the blow.

Immediately, Flynn twisted his hand, swinging his sword horizontally. Yuri barely managed to dodge this as well, almost flattening his body against the ground in the process.

He isn’t trying to kill me, is he?!

Without a moment’s hesitation, Flynn’s stick swung down from above. Yuri managed to roll on the ground to avoid it, using the momentum to get back up while putting some distance between them.

But Flynn had no intention of giving Yuri time to recover. He immediately stepped forward and closed in on Yuri, swing his stick without any shred of hesitation.

The attacks came in a consecutive sequence. Yuri managed to evade them by exerting every part of his body to the utmost. He didn’t bother parrying. A clumsy parry would only end up like what happened to Jareth. Until he figured out how to counter that disarming technique of Flynn’s, such a risky move was out of the question.

Yuri knew far too well that Flynn’s technique and skill far surpassed his. Amidst his dodging, he looked for an opportunity to counterattack, but that was out of the question — it was already taking all he had to hold on to his stick, let alone think about attacking.

For a newcomer, he sure knows a ton of skills… and this is despite him being a kid just like us. Yuri licked his dry lips. Did Hanks and the other adults know? Well, even if they knew and told me, I doubt I would have remembered.

Flynn’s movements were flawless and merciless. There was no doubt about it, he had received professional lessons from someone. I don’t know much about the ‘other side of the wall’, but I don’t think they’d teach all of the residents inside how to wield a sword. Which means—

The unrelenting attacks suddenly stopped. Flynn took a step back, readying his stance.

Is he going to unleash a new attack? Careful not to show any sign of doubt in his expression, Yuri observed Flynn warily.

But Flynn was also wary of him.

Flynn had let out a series of consecutive attacks, but unexpectedly Yuri had dodged all of them, even if it was by a hair’s breadth. It’s true he had looked down on them for being rough and uneducated kids, but he hadn’t gone easy on them either. Though black-haired boy’s foundation was lacking and he lacked any sort of refinement, his movements were surprisingly agile, like that of an animal. Flynn still looked down on Yuri with contempt, but that fact alone had to be acknowledged in his favour.

Yuri had no idea Flynn was thinking all this, but thanks to that he had acquired some breathing room.

Taking advantage of the lull in the fight, Yuri voiced the thought that had been running through his head earlier.

“……Do you, by any chance, come from a family of knights?”

He was just blurting out his thoughts, and he wasn’t expecting it to have any effect. But upon hearing Yuri’s words, Flynn’s demeanour changed completely. It was as if a living and breathing thing had suddenly turned into stone, or water had frozen into ice. Flynn’s body stiffened, and his stance relaxed. He lowered his face slightly such that his golden-coloured fringe hid his expression.

Yuri also realised something was wrong. Just as he was about to say something, he heard a sound akin to low growl.

“…………up.”

“What?”

“I said, shut up!”

With a yell, Flynn furiously attacked Yuri. The swing came in so fast, it made Flynn’s previous moves look like a trial run in comparison. Even if it’s just a stick, it can still be life-threatening if it hits me in the right spot!

“H-Hey, wait just a moment!”

But it didn’t look like Flynn had any intention of listening. His once complicated expression was now filled with fury. He looked like he was planning on giving Yuri a thorough beating.

Yuri desperately parried, somehow surviving the onslaught of attacks. Wait, I can parry them? Unlike before, Yuri was able to block Flynn’s stick with his own. Despite the anger-fuelled attacks growing in intensity, they were more predictable than before, Yuri realised.

Something about his words must have triggered Flynn. His golden hair had puffed up in anger, to the point it was detracting from the finesse of his movements.

Swordsmanship — knights — mother and son. So it was like that.

He could provoke Flynn even further. If he did it right, it could even expose him to a counterattack — No, that won’t work.

Yuri firmly dismissed the idea. He didn’t like the idea of relying on such dirty tricks.

Then what should I do? The attacks were easier to handle than before, but only by a small degree. It wasn’t like Flynn was giving him an opening big enough to exploit. And if he dawdled for too long, Flynn would eventually cool his head. If that happened, there would be no chance of winning.

But then, what?

Yuri quickly leapt back, putting distance between them. before surging forward. He swung his stick over his head with all his strength and leapt forward. He got in front of Flynn’s face and, with a battle cry, swung his stick down at his opponent’s head.

“HAAAAA!”

But Flynn blocked the incoming attack diagonally with the side of his stick. Then he twisted his wrist, hooking his stick under Yuri’s, and flicked it upwards. It was the same disarming technique Flynn had used on Jareth — the moment Yuri recognised it, he released his grip on his stick.

Yuri’s stick flew into the air, and Jareth and the others let out a gasp.

Flynn’s eyes widened in surprise.

Paying no heed to his lost stick, Yuri continued his momentum and rammed into Flynn, hitting him squarely in the shoulder. The two boys crashed onto the ground in a tangle of limbs.

Cheers resounded.

Amidst the dusty ground, Flynn lay on his back, while Yuri sat on top, straddling him. His knee pinned down Flynn’s right arm so he couldn’t lift up his stick, and his fist gripped Flynn tightly by the collar.

He was breathing heavily. Sweat dripped down his temple. He had taken a gamble and won — as expected, Flynn wasn’t on guard against attacks outside of swordsmanship. Now he just had to hope that Flynn wasn’t just as skilled when it came to a fistfight.

Will he calm down if I hit him two, no, maybe three times? If so —

Underneath Yuri, Flynn suddenly relaxed, and all of the strength in his body went away.

“!?”

With a confused expression on his face, Yuri looked down at Flynn, who lay underneath and gazed up at him with unwavering eyes. His eyes are blue, Yuri thought. It matches his golden hair perfectly.

“Are you satisfied?”

Flynn’s voice was cold, as if all the passion he had shown just moments before was a lie.

As Yuri searched for a response, Flynn furrowed his eyebrows with displeasure.

“If you’re satisfied, can you move out of the way?”

Surrounding them, Jareth and the others started to get noisy.

“Yuri won!”

“Serves him right for acting so high and mighty!”

One of the boys picked up Yuri's fallen stick and brandished it at Flynn.

“Stop it!”

The shout came from Yuri. The boy holding the stick flinched as if struck by a whip, and threw away the stick.

“We’re done here. No more of this. Understand?”

After seeing Jareth and the others nod with confusion, Yuri slowly got up. After a pause, Flynn got up too — leaving his stick on the ground.

Flynn brushed the dust from his clothes and turned his back on Yuri and the others. Without saying a word, he started to walk back to his house.

Should I say something? Yuri wondered. But what do I even say? Jareth and the others were holding their breath, waiting to see how Yuri would react. Dammit, how can they act so carefreely?

“Flynn?”

A voice that didn’t belong to any of the boys rang out.

Yuri turned around and saw a woman standing on the streets. She wore simple clothes typical that of the lower quarter residents, yet there was a certain air of refinement about her that made her look out-of-place.

“Mother.”

Before Yuri could recall who she was, Flynn spoke — and then the memory came back to him. Several months ago, she was the woman who came to the lower quarter with Flynn — Flynn’s mother.

She looked haggard, as if she had just recovered from an illness, and there was a worried expression on her face. She shifted her gaze from Flynn to Yuri and the other boys.

“And these children are…? Were you all…”

“It’s nothing. They just came to… play. They’ll go home soon.”

Flynn said in a cheerful voice. It was the first time Yuri and the others had heard such a bright tone coming from him. Flynn was even smiling, even if Yuri could tell it was a little stiff.

Yuri noticed Flynn staring at him.

Please shut up and go home. That was what his eyes were saying. It was less of a demand and more of a petition.

Jareth opened his mouth to say something, but Yuri lightly elbowed him in the side, and he fell silent. He gave a small nod to Flynn’s mother, hoping he didn’t look too unnatural.

“……I see. Thank you for coming all the way here.”

Whether or not she knew what Yuri was thinking, she smiled faintly. However, that smile soon disappeared like vanishing mist.

“I’m really sorry, but I have to start preparing for dinner now. Flynn, could you come in and help out?”

Speaking quickly, the mother walked past Flynn. She went through the doorway and disappeared into the house.

It was just the boys once again.

Flynn looked like he wanted to say something to Yuri, but he only turned on his heel and followed his mother, disappearing into the house.

The front door closed. Yuri and the others stood there for a while. No one moved or spoke, like actors that had suddenly lost their turn on a stage.

“……Let’s go home. Grandma Jiri won’t leave any dinner for us.”

Yuri finally spoke. As if the tension had dissolved, Jareth and the others silently nodded.

On the way back, Jareth and the others were quick to forget their lesson, running their mouths about how Flynn narrowly escaped with his life, as expected of Yuri, and so on. At first Yuri only listened silently, but soon he started to grow angry at Jareth and the others, who were the ones to instigate the whole thing. He felt like he wouldn’t be able to settle down unless he told it to their faces.

“Listen here, you all. I’ll let it go this time, but next time, you’re on your own.”

Now that they know what Flynn is capable of, if they choose to mess with him they’ll get what’s coming to them. Jareth and the others probably wouldn’t be able to win even if they all ganged up on him.

But soon became clear that Jareth and the others didn’t take Yuri seriously.

“Don’t be like that, come and help us again.”

“Yeah, yeah, and give that guy a beating again.”

Even Jareth, who had been thoroughly beaten by Flynn, acted like he hadn’t learnt his lesson. To them, Yuri was a person that, no matter how harsh his words were, when it really came down to it, he would always come in and save them. And that Yuri’s current displeasure only stemmed from the lingering feelings of his match. Yuri let out a sigh.

“Today’s win was a fluke. I just got lucky.”

Of course, Yuri knew that luck had nothing to do with it.

That confrontation. When he was straddling Flynn, he noticed that Flynn wasn’t even breathing irregularly. Yuri, on the other hand, was breathing heavily and sweating like crazy. Even though there was a moment where Flynn lost himself in anger, it didn’t affect him as much as Yuri thought it would.

If the fight had continued, and they started exchanging blows with their fists, who would have won?

Yuri felt torn between feeling relief at having been saved, and feeling like he would have preferred to let it play out and see who would have won.

Did I want to beat him? I’m not sure. I didn’t really go into that fight with that intention in mind. But then, what’s this itchy feeling in my heart?

Yuri walked silently and alone, with a frown on his face, all the way until he reached ‘his home’.

It was well past dinner time by the time they got back.

Yuri was prepared to receive a fist the moment he stepped through the entrance, but Jiri only glanced at his face and the faces of the children following him, and must have read something from their expressions, because she only let out a snort and said nothing. She reheated the food and served it to the boys.

In exchange, Jiri remained there and watched with her arms crossed in silence as the boys ate. Even though she hadn’t ordered them not to speak or said anything of the sort, not a single line or conversation was spoken during the meal.

Overwhelmed by the pressure in the air, everyone tried to finish eating as quickly as possible, barely even conscious of what they were eating or how it tasted.

The dinner was more bearable than to a badly thrown fist.

Unaware of the plight of Yuri and the others, Hanks sat in a chair in the corner of the room, snoring away.

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#Vesperia #Novel #GotC #Yuri #Flynn #Fluri #snippy leader baby Yuri my precious #also love how Jiri's standard existence let alone pose is just. arms crossed. frowning.

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goldentigerfestival · 6 days

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Book 1 Part 1 Chapter 1.1 (2/2)

It’s funny to think that he remembered where they lived even if he didn’t even remember their name. Maybe it was because even though he had no interest in the people, he thought the event was worth remembering. Maybe there was no reason to begin with. Regardless, Yuri walked unhesitatingly towards the district where the mother and son lived.

No matter what the other children felt, Yuri had no personal grudge against the mother and son. It certainly was a memorable scene. He vividly remembered the sight of the blond-haired boy, with his head hanging as he stood by his mother’s side, under the grey, cold sky.

And just like the other children, Yuri felt it too. Ah, he’s different from us. His appearance was well-groomed, but more than that, the elegance that emanated from his entire being clearly showed that he belonged more to the ‘other side of the wall’ than here in the lower quarter. Even though they looked the same height and age, it felt like he was an unfamiliar being, that belonged to a completely different world.

But that was it. There were new residents in the lower quarter. For Yuri, that was all there was to it. Several months had passed since then — he has never seen the mother and son up close, let alone exchanged words with them. Even though they were fellow residents living in the small and cramped district of Fountain Alley, they were far apart that they didn’t encounter each other, and naturally they had no reason to venture into the vicinity of each other’s area. He didn’t know why the mother and son decided to move into the lower quarter, nor did he ever think to ask anyone about it. He just vaguely sensed that the reason wasn’t a pleasant one, and didn’t care to press further.

The streets gradually became less populated, and the already dilapidated houses began to deteriorate even further. He could also start to see abandoned houses that had already collapsed and left to decay.

Using Fountain Alley as a reference point, the house of the mother and son was quite far out. Beyond that lay a district where hardly anyone lived. There were vacant houses closer to the centre of Fountain Alley, but Yuri heard that they had chosen to live here.

Maybe they disliked socialising with people? Or maybe there was something they wanted to hide?

“Hey, I know you can hear me!”

He was still quite a distance away, yet he could hear it clearly. It was a familiar voice. It was without a doubt Jareth, one of the boys who had invited Yuri. Other voices overlapped, shouting something in unison. Yuri knitted his eyebrows at the sound of jeering. Clicking his tongue, he started to run.

The house was just around the corner, a few houses down. Its faded walls had cracks running through them, and the roof was slightly askew, as if it could collapse at any moment — in that regard it was not much different from most of the houses in the lower quarter.

Jareth and the other boys stood at the entrance to the house, shouting loudly. Their voices hadn’t begun to break yet, so while the jeers they did their utmost to deliver lacked power, the high-pitched shrills unique to that of children were still quite grating on the ears.

Perhaps the reason the mother and son chose to live in an isolated place was to avoid something like this, Yuri thought with a twinge of sympathy. But in the end it was all for naught. Simply keeping a distance wasn’t enough to ward off the childrens’ malicious and ill-intended curiosity.

“Come out, Flynn! I know you can hear us! F-ly-nn!”

Flynn. So that was the blond-haired kid’s name. Yuri had probably heard it more than once before, but even upon hearing it from Jareth and the others, the name still didn’t ring a bell. Ever since he was a kid, he’d had trouble remembering people’s names.

Either way, it wasn’t a pleasant sight. Just as he was about to step in and tell them to cut it out, the front door opened.

That boy with the unforgettable golden hair — Flynn stood there. He stood tall, his back straight, and met the gazes of Jareth and the others unflinchingly.

“......Do you need something from me?”

He made no attempt to conceal his disdain in both his expression and voice.

This was turning out to be a big hassle. Now then, what to do. Yuri tried to gather his thoughts, but before he could he was spotted by one of the boys.

“Yuri, I knew you’d come!”

Flynn also turned to look at Yuri in response. Seeing the disdainful look turn on him, Yuri felt inwardly bitter. Oh come on, now I’m being lumped together with these guys too, he thought.

“Geez, what the heck are you guys doing?”

Jareth and the others didn’t notice the reproach in his tone, and pointed at Flynn and continued to run their mouths.

“This guy totally tried to ignore us!”

“Yeah, he wouldn’t come out even when we called for him!”

“Just because he’s from the ‘other side of the wall’, he thinks can act all cocky!”

Yuri didn’t know what started it, but it seemed this wasn’t the first time Jareth and the others were bothering Flynn. And judging from their attitudes, it seemed like things didn’t go the way they planned it to.

Maybe this was the first time they had gone to his house. They’d reached the limits of their patience, so to speak.

But no matter how much Jareth and the others complained, there was no mention of what Flynn had done. If Yuri had to guess, the problem was that he hadn’t done anything.

“It’s not like he did anything, right? If you do anything stupid, you’ll get it from Grandma Jiri.”

“But he was taking us for fools!”

“Yeah, just because he’s a little more well-off than we are!”

If he really is taking you for fools, it’s because you guys are acting like one, Yuri thought exasperatedly, even if he didn’t say it out aloud. He turned his attention towards Flynn again.

He still had the same bright golden hair as the last time Yuri saw him. But his appearance—

“Take a good look at him. How is he more well-off than you are? His clothes are in even worse condition than ours.”

It was as Yuri said. The fine clothes the boy had worn the first time he appeared in the lower quarter were nowhere to be seen, and he was now wearing a set of worn-out, shabby clothes. Only his shining golden hair remained, the remnants of a bygone era. Still, it must be because of his natural elegance that he didn’t give off the impression of a crude person. Jareth and the others probably sensed this as well, and cried out as one to Yuri.

“Are you taking his side? You’re kidding, right?”

“Yeah, he took us for fools, you know! Don’t screw around!”

Each and everyone of them, they kept repeating the same words. Blinding by their own prejudice, they refused to listen to reason. What’s more, even Flynn was scowling back at them. He probably thought he was being insulted.

I should just have Grandma Jiri knock the senses out of all of their heads and replace them, Yuri thought. He wanted to turn and leave this place immediately.

— Unfortunately, that wasn’t an option.

So in the end, these guys did go and do something stupid. Yuri let out a small sigh. Give me a break.

“Okay, I get it. So what are you all going to do?”

“Isn’t it obvious? We’re going to teach him who’s the boss around here.”

Jareth said as he picked up a long stick that had fallen by the side of the street. He swung it like an imaginary sword, then thrusted it out in Flynn’s direction.

“......I see. Then it can’t be helped.”

“Huh?”

Yuri picked up another fallen stick and threw it towards Flynn. It fell at his feet with a clatter, and Flynn picked it up without a change in his icy expression.

Sorry, just play along for a bit. Yuri gave Flynn a slight nod, before turning to Jareth and the others. Thinking that the tide had turned in their favour, Jareth and the others started to praise Yuri, making a racket and saying things like ‘As expected of Yuri’ and ‘It’s gotta be like this’.

“In exchange, make it a one-on-one.”

“......What?”

The boys visibly flinched. Flynn also looked at him with a confused expression on his face.

“There’s nothing strange about it. Don’t tell me, were you guys really planning on ganging up on him? Come on, that’s so shameful.”

“W-Well, that’s…”

“You’re going to teach him who’s boss, right? If you made it so you can’t lose, there’d be no point.”

“...…Um, yeah. That’s… right.”

Under Yuri’s fixed gaze, Jareth and the others nodded awkwardly.

Alright, now all I have to do is wait for a suitable moment to intervene, tell them to stop, and we’re done. He didn’t approve of their method of overwhelming a person with sheer numbers, and it was time for Jareth and the others — who always drag him into solving their problems for them — and are now getting dragged into it themselves — to have a taste of their own medicine.

Still, Yuri had no intention of taking either side. He didn’t want his friends to get hurt, but that didn’t mean he wanted the newcomer to get hurt. The moment the fight, done for appearance’s sake, was out of the way, he intended to immediately step in and mediate.

“So then, who’s first?”

When he said that, all the boys looked at each other, and after a moment all of them except Jareth, who was holding the stick, took a step backwards. It was as if Jareth had come forward of his own volition. To Yuri’s surprise, Jareth swallowed any protests he had and stepped forward, pointing his stick at Flynn.

Well, at the very least you had enough integrity to do that, Yuri thought without showing any emotion on his face. Though he would have preferred it if the boy had shed some tears, since the match would end faster that way.

Flynn had stayed silent the entire time, but when he saw Jareth approaching he raised his stick.

…Hmm?

Yuri raised his eyebrows. He’d never seriously studied swordsmanship, but he could tell that Flynn’s stance was different from that of a child imitating one. Was Flynn made to learn swordsmanship as part of his good upbringing? While Jareth’s stance was shaky and restless, Flynn’s was firm and unmoving. The difference was clear.

This guy could be in trouble — Yuri narrowed an eye slightly. Jareth hadn’t noticed it yet. Did he not consider the possibility that he’d lose to someone he thought was raised as a sheltered kid, or was he too flustered by the sudden challenge to think straight, with the way he was continually waving his stick and making threatening cries? The crowd surrounding him took it as a sign of superiority, and as they bore no responsibility, cheered him on freely.

Flynn didn’t move.

Maybe because that angered him, Jareth suddenly attacked. It was an exaggerated movement with a lot of openings, even to the casual observer. Flynn still didn’t move — the moment he thought that, a dry sound rang out, and Yuri’s eyes widened. The boys who were spectating in the background let out a large cry.

The stick had disappeared from Jareth’s hand. It spun in an arc behind him and fell to the ground with a clatter.

As Jareth stared dumbfoundedly at his empty hands, wondering where his stick went, Flynn’s stick came down sharply from the side and slammed into his shoulder.

He let out a sudden scream and collapsed to the side. Without wasting any necessary movements, Flynn lifted his stick to deliver another blow. Fear flickered in Jareth’s eyes.

Flynn swung down his stick — and stopped midway.

“Isn’t that enough? You’ve already won.”

Yuri had stretched out his hand from the side and grabbed Flynn’s arm. Flynn, caught in a mid-attack stance, glared at Yuri. Yuri couldn’t tell what Flynn was thinking from his expression.

But after a few moments of silence, Flynn relaxed his stance and stepped back. Yuri didn’t persist further, and let go of Flynn’s arm.

“So you can bend the rules in your favour? Even though you guys were the one that started this.”

Ever since he first appeared at his doorway, his words had been filled with bitterness.

“Well, you have a point.”

Yuri scratched his head indifferently. Jareth was still acting depressed, clutching his shoulder and whimpering. Turning his gaze from Jareth back to Flynn, Yuri couldn’t help but feel impressed.

It looked like Flynn was able to deflect Jareth’s incoming stick with his own while adding a twist so the stick would fly out of his opponent’s hand — probably. Yuri added the ‘probably’, because it all happened too fast for his eyes to catch, meaning he had no actual proof.

Well, this is troubling. This guy actually knows how to wield a sword.

“For what it’s worth, these guys are my pals. I can’t just stand by and watch as they get beaten up.”

“That has nothing to do with me.”

With such a curt response, Flynn raised his stick towards Jareth again. Was he planning to continue until his opponent admitted defeat? But Jareth, who couldn’t even stand up, scrambled back frantically. The other boys, who were also completely intimidated, weren’t in any state to offer help, and only watched from a distance,

“......Well, I guess it’s true I can’t complain.”

Yuri slowly stepped forward, until he was in between Flynn and Jareth. After making sure Flynn had completely shifted his attention from Jareth to him, he moved behind Jareth without taking his eyes off Flynn.

“It can’t be helped. I’ll sub in.”

Yuri picked up Jareth’s fallen stick and, holding it in one hand, pointed it at Flynn.

“Yuri……!”

Jareth’s face, which looked like it was about to burst into tears at any moment, lit up with hope.

Flynn wordlessly readjusted his stance to face Yuri, as if to say, even if you changed my opponent, the result will still be the same. He was just that confident.

In contrast, Yuri, who knew that he lacked knowledge and skill, relied on intuition to adjust his stance.

Even as his face remained unchanged, Yuri grumbled inwardly.

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#Vesperia #Novel #GotC #Yuri #Flynn #Fluri #ohhh my god pre-development baby Jareth my child #I can just hear his whiny voice from the e-book and I wanna throw a pillow at him #also love this part of the novel with its Fluri soulmates vibes...

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goldentigerfestival · 6 days

Text

Book 1 Part 1 Chapter 1.1 (1/2)

Chapter 1: Newcomer

Three empty glass bottles were lined up haphazardly on the cracked stone pavement of the alley.

About twenty steps away, a boy sat there alone. He stared at the row of bottles unmovingly, as if picking them up and down and weighing them in his mind.

There were several other boys standing behind him. They kept talking to the black-haired boy, but he neither replied nor turned to face them.

“You don’t like that guy, right?”

“That guy?”

“That newcomer! The blond one!”

“Oh, now that you mention it, there was that guy.”

Saying that, the black-haired boy threw a pebble with a flick of his arm. The pebble arced through the air, hitting the empty bottle on the right as intended.

“He’s going to live here from now on. Then we have to properly teach him.”

“What do you mean, teach him?”

“The rules, duh. He can’t keep feeling like he’s from the ‘other side of the wall’. Right?”

“Just leave him be. I’m not interested.”

He picked up another pebble and threw it. With a brief, high-pitched sound, the bottle on the left fell over.

“Don’t be like that, Yuri. Come with us.”

“Why should I? In the first place, you’re all going as a group just to confront one person. How ridiculous.”

“You don’t have to say it like that…”

“Don’t do anything stupid. Got that?”

The forceful tone of his last words also lent strength to his arm. The pebble flew with tremendous force, hitting the remaining empty bottle in the middle and shattering the target into pieces.

The boys flinched at the sound echoing through the alley, and finally gave up, slowly retreating one by one.

As he listened to the footsteps behind him that clearly betrayed their owners’ reluctance, the black-haired boy known as Yuri let out a sigh as if he was fed up with it all.

A while back, there was a kid who moved into the lower quarter of the Imperial Capital, Zaphias, where they lived. Everyone was planning to bother him.

If that was all, it would be okay. It irritated him that they were going to pick on someone who hadn’t done anything to them in the first place, but such behaviour was far from uncommon in the lower quarter, a place you could hardly describe as well-behaved. The problem was that several people were trying to do it as a group.

There was only one person on the other side. Even if he hated them, forming a group to gang up on one person was even more despicable, let alone being considered part of them. The thought alone made his skin crawl.

The other boys were also aware of that part of Yuri’s personality. Still, they called out to him, because in the unlikely event they received an unexpected counterattack that they weren’t able to handle, they would feel safer with Yuri around.

With his strength and bravery, even among the boys of his age in the lower quarter Yuri was highly respected.

Yuri looked in the direction the boys had gone. Their figures were already out of sight. Yuri scratched his head and scowled.

He had stopped them, but had they accepted it? He wasn’t sure. Their attitudes were that of someone who had already decided to act. Going to see Yuri was a mere stop on the way for them.

Letting out a short huff, Yuri leapt up from his seat. His black hair spread out and fluttered softly.

He wasn’t much taller than the other boys. He didn’t particularly focus on physical training, but there was something about his demeanour that evoked that of a wild cat. To naturally possess everything necessary, while not having anything unnecessary, that kind of aura.

“If you guys get scared even before throwing down, don’t expect me to help you.”

Drawing trouble to themselves, then relying on Yuri when things got tough. That attitude of theirs was something Yuri always couldn’t stomach.

Even so, Yuri never truly disliked them. After all, they were friends that lived in the same lower quarter. In a sense, he even thought of them as his brothers. After all, the times they spent laughing together was so much longer — and the times they’ve endured together even longer.

In that case, why am I even going? Yuri asked himself. For the sake of those idiots who are only going to make fools of themselves again? Or for the sake of that newcomer everyone’s been talking about? No way. I don’t even remember his name.

He couldn’t feel at ease. He couldn’t sit still, but he didn’t have a clear reason why. He couldn’t help but go. That was just how he was. It frustrated him, but there was nothing he could do about it. To stop them from ‘doing anything stupid’, that was probably it. Stop who? Who cares.

After stretching his body, Yuri started to walk down the street.

****

A nasty guy.

That was the first impression most of the kids from the lower quarter had when they saw him. Even though he was a commoner, he stood out like an alien presence because he wore better clothes than them.

And that golden hair. Even though the lower quarter had people with hair like that, there was something clearly different about him. Although it was just hair, in the eyes of the children of the lower quarter it was representative of the Imperial Capital’s nobles, in other words, a symbol of the ‘upper class’.

On a cold, overcast day, with clouds looming low as if it could start snowing at any moment, the boy arrived, clutching his mother’s hand while having only a small amount of their things with them. Regardless of the details, even the naive, inexperienced children — who acted like they knew and could do more than they actually did — could understand that there were special circumstances surrounding him.

But for the children of the lower quarter, instead of evoking sympathy or compassion, rather, it served as a perfect ammunition for them to attack him. This was because the mother and son came from inside the castle walls — what the lower quarter referred to as the ‘other side of the wall’. Inside the castle walls was the citizen’s quarter, where even the commoners lived better and wealthier lives than the people in the lower quarter. That alone was enough to evoke feelings of resentment.

Despite the childrens’ feelings of resentment, however, the adults warmly welcomed the mother and son. They accepted what they had to say and didn’t ask for further explanations, offered them a house to live in, and even pooled together a portion of their meagre savings to give to them to provide them with the basic necessities for a short while. The mother and son barely had anything on them when they arrived, after all.

As for housing, there were plenty of vacant houses, and it was incredibly ambiguous as to who owned their rights, so it wasn’t a big issue. Despite its size due to it surrounding the outer circumference of the Imperial Capital, there weren’t a lot of residents that lived in the lower quarter.

Strictly speaking, the lower quarter wasn’t considered part of the Imperial Capital. Originally, the name Imperial Capital Zaphias referred to the inner layer of the lower quarter enclosed by the towering castle walls. The outer layer was originally nothing more than a leftover area the monster-repelling barrier’s power extended to, that various people took advantage of to live in, and over time turned into a settlement that hugged to the castle walls. And then after hundreds of years of repeated and accumulated unorderly expansion and demolition, the lower quarter was transformed into its current state.

Naturally, the sprawling lower quarter that was spread out in a huge circular area, wasn’t just one big cohesive district. Not only was it impossible in scope, it was also impossible for such a large district to be full of people. There were uninhabited ruins scattered between the districts such that each district more or less depended on the ‘other side of the wall’, but lived their lives separate from the others.

Its residents were all people who didn’t have the financial means to live on the ‘other side of the wall’, or the ability to move to another city, or were burdened with some other circumstance. They rarely paid attention to matters of governance, doing their best to live to see the day next, so they never thought of reorganising things. The lower quarter used the ‘other side of the wall’ to differentiate themselves from the people on the other side, and compared to the general term ‘outside the wall’, it could even be considered somewhat derogatory.

For the record, each district had their own name to differentiate themselves from the other districts. For example, the district where Yuri and his friends lived was called Fountain Alley, named after its remains at its centre. But in most cases, people simply referred to their own district as the ‘lower quarter’. The districts rarely interacted with each other anyway, so there was little need for differentiation.

As such, for the Yuri who was currently walking down the street he’d grown up seeing, he simply saw himself as a person who was ‘born in the lower quarter’.

The road, which had been paved long before Yuri was born and then left neglected, was now worn down, leaving cracks and hollows here and there. Weeds poked out from those cracks, and in other places dirty water collected and emitted a foul stench. Even though winter had ended, and the warmth of spring had begun to grace the streets, giving way to a pleasant scenery, Yuri was barely conscious of it, walking forward without getting distracted.

The place where he was born and raised. The place he has never left since he was born. For Yuri, this was a common and familiar sight, and nothing more, nothing less.

In the place where he lived, everyone knew each other. The distinction between family and other people was remarkably small.

On one hand, Yuri had no one he could call a blood relative. He’d only been told that his mother died shortly after giving birth to him, and he didn’t even know her face. As for his father, he was starting to doubt whether one truly existed.

The fact that a child with no relatives or assets to his name was able to survive was due to the spirit of mutual aid deeply rooted in the lower quarter. In reality, children like Yuri were far from uncommon, and even among adults it was not rare for one to be in dire straits. What saved them was the wisdom that the people had built up over generations, to prevent all of them from dying by the roadside.

By supporting and helping each other, despite their poverty they manage to overcome their hard times and somehow make ends meet. That was how despite being neglected, the people of the lower quarter had tenaciously survived this way.

In this case, the mother and son were only able to be saved because this spirit was alive and well.

****

Yuri suddenly stopped in his tracks, turning to look at the building beside him.

Although he didn’t think any of the boys were inside, he wondered if he should check just to be sure, or simply continue on his way. As he hesitated, a voice called out from behind him.

“What’s wrong, Yuri?”

It was a calm, elderly man’s voice. When he turned around he saw the man who fit that description holding a piece of luggage in his hand. He had a petite frame with a slightly hunched back and a thick beard, and from behind his glasses a gentle gaze could be seen.

“Grandpa Hanks.”

Although he had accumulated quite a few white hairs on his head, it was still too early to be addressing him as ‘grandpa’, but due to his mature demeanour, everyone in the lower quarter affectionately addressed him as such.

If you’re just going to stand around right in front of your home, you might as well come in.”

Hanks tilted his head, pointing at the building Yuri had been looking at.

‘My home’. The people of the lower quarter had taken one of the vacant houses and designated it as a residence for Yuri and other children with no relatives to live in, and he referred to it as such.

Hanks was one of the adults responsible for taking care of them. Not only that, but with his gentle demeanour, he was considered by the lower quarter’s — Fountain Alley’s — people to be their mediator and organiser, and by Yuri, someone akin to a foster parent.

“Leave me alone. I’ll decide where I want to go.”

Hanks merely raised his eyebrows slightly and offered a smile at the boy’s biting remarks, regarding it as nothing more than a sign that he was energetic. While it irritated Yuri, he also was a little relieved that they were close enough to allow for such exchanges.

Just as he was about to walk off, Yuri felt a sense of danger at the back of his neck and quickly ducked down.

The next moment, something flew past the area where his head had been a moment ago. It arced through the air and crashed onto the ground with a jarring sound. It was a roughly-carved wooden plate, big enough to hold in both arms. If it had actually hit him, he wouldn’t just get away with seeing stars.

Despite knowing what had happened without needing to look, Yuri still turned to look at ‘his home’ with fear in his eyes. Without him noticing, the front door had opened, and a woman was standing alone in the doorway. ‘Standing’ was a moderate description, if anything, it was more appropriate to call it ‘standing imposingly’.

Glaring at him, with her rough, tight clothes and large and sturdy physique unbefitting that of life in the lower quarter, was Hanks’s wife, Jiri. Right now, her copper red hair looked like they were on fire.

“Gran… Aunt Jiri.”

Seeing the fierce glint in her eyes and sensing trepidation, Yuri quickly corrected himself.

Since she was the wife of Grandpa Hanks, it sounded obvious to address her as ‘Grandma’, but she refused to be part of that package deal. Despite the husband who acted older than he looked, for some reason she was the opposite. It was generally agreed among the lower quarter people that she was much younger than Hanks and acted even younger, but no one actually knew the truth.

It was a stretch to call her young, and the person in question didn’t deny that, but no one dared to directly ask her how old she was.

Regardless of the truth, while her husband didn’t mind being called ‘grandpa’, she never hesitated to deliver a solid punch to anyone who dared call her ‘grandma’.

Yuri and the others were well aware of this, but when she wasn’t around, they didn’t hesitate to refer to her as ‘grandma’ as usual, and force of habit made it easy for a slip of the tongue to occur.

At first glance they looked like an odd couple. When they stood side by side like this, that bizarreness became even more apparent.

Hanks, who looked like he’d never held a knife except during mealtimes, with a personality as though he was dressed in kindness, and had a small frame. If you were to put it roughly, you could even say he looked shabby and poor.

On the other hand, Jiri was easily a head taller than her husband, and their physical statures were completely different to begin with. Her physique was sturdy enough that she could wrestle monsters with her bare hands if she wanted to, and her personality was just as strong. There was a fierceness in her eyes that you would think she could never acquire just from living in the lower quarter.

To the children of the lower quarter, Jiri was by far the most terrifying of the adults, and most likely the strongest — no matter how old she was.

And that ‘Aunt’ Jiri was currently glaring at him with a scary look on her face. As far as Yuri was concerned, he had to choose his next words carefully and discreetly.

“Just now, I think I heard someone sounding rude?”

Her voice was deep and gruff, as one might expect from her appearance.

“Is that so? Maybe your hearing is going bad. Uh, you know… from working too hard.”

Seeing Jiri’s eyes grow even scarier, Yuri hastily added. But Jiri didn’t say anything.

Yuri cleared his throat with a resigned air and picked up the fallen plate. He cautiously approached Jiri and held it out to her. Jiri accepted it silently and then simply stared at Yuri, as if waiting for something. Feeling extremely uncomfortable, Yuri quickly surrendered.

“......Sorry. I’ll be more careful.”

“Alright.”

Instantly Jiri, who’d gotten what she wanted to hear, lifted the corners of her mouth and nodded. This must be what it looks like when a tiger smiles. Or would a crocodile be closer? Imagining Jiri smiling as she devoured him head-first, Yuri's face grew stiff with fear.

“I don’t know where you’re going, but make sure you’re back by dinner time. Be sure to tell everyone else too!”

Yuri’s body spun around due to the forcefulness of Jiri clapping his shoulder. When he finally managed to stop and turn around, he found that Jiri had already disappeared back into the house. Her leaving the door open was probably for Hanks’s sake.

Yuri took a peek into the house. Sure enough, besides Jiri, no one else was at home. He let out a small sigh.

“Escaped by the skin of your teeth, did you. Here, take this.”

As if nothing unordinary had happened, Hanks took out an apple from his things and offered it to Yuri. It was a small luxury in the poverty-stricken lower quarter.

He accepted it and eagerly took a bite. The perfect balance of sweetness and sourness spread in his mouth, and moistened his stiff throat. Alright, let’s redo that.

“Thanks, Grandpa. I’m off.”

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#Vesperia #Novel #GotC #Yuri #Flynn #Fluri #funny thing abt the novel is that i went into it thinking i would hate jiri #bc i usually hate this personality type and trope #walked out loving her LMAO

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