Tearmoon Empire: Volume 7 (eBook)

Nozomu Mochitsuki (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2022
250 Seiten
J-Novel Heart (Verlag)
978-1-7183-7160-6 (ISBN)

Infos

Just as Mia's getting ready to take it easy for a while, her old friend the great famine comes knocking again, this time in the form of a complete collapse of Forkroad & Co.'s business. Without their logistics, Mia's famine prevention plan is now critically hobbled. You'd think surviving an assassination attempt would entitle her to some rest and recreation-so much for taking it easy!

As she investigates the source of all this, an old name from her past life resurfaces, along with a host of bitter memories associated with it-Shalloak Cornrogue, the Merchant King. Remembering the indignity she once suffered at his hands, a wolfish smile creeps across her face. No one picks a fight with Mia Luna Tearmoon and gets away with it. Not indefinitely, at least. Time for some payback.

Unbeknownst to her, said payback will take Mia all the way to Perujin, dragging in a multitude of people and culminating in a showdown that will change the fate of the entire country forever...

Textauszug

Chapter 2: Princess Mia’s Festival of Debauchery (Part B) —The Light of Hope and the Miraculous Memory—

“Oh? My, this is...”

The Whitemoon Palace was in the midst of a visual transformation in preparation for Mia’s birthday festival. Large pieces of resplendent cloth were draped over the palace walls, across which the name Mia Luna Tearmoon was embroidered in big, bold letters. That was fine. It happened every year, and she was used to it. The problem lay elsewhere. Rather, it stood elsewhere.

White, imposing, and standing almost as tall as the palace itself...was an enormous statue of Mia!

“What...?”

She stared at it with a twitching grimace.

Wh-What in the moons is that supposed to be?!

Worse yet...

“Come on, you need to carve off a little more around that part or it won’t bring out Mia’s charm. And make sure to be especially careful over there. Notice how it’s nice and round, with a bit of pudginess to it? Yes, that’s essential! It’s so very Mia-like. Make sure you don’t mess it up.”

The on-site supervisor was none other than His Imperial Majesty and current emperor of the Tearmoon Empire, Matthias Luna Tearmoon himself. Mia watched in abject horror as her father fought vigorously at the front lines, braving sand and flake as he pointed fingers and shouted orders.

She gulped. Feeling a sudden warmth in her cheeks, she quickly hopped out of the carriage. A quick glance backward revealed Abel and Sion to be in the midst of debarking as well, but they’d have to come later. First, she needed to take care of the problem in front of her.

She hastily stomped her way toward the emperor who, hearing her approach, looked in her direction.

“Oooh, Mia, you’re back!”

With a smile like a summer morning, he ran over.

“Greetings, Your Majesty. I have returned,” said Mia.

She performed an exemplary curtsy. Despite its flawless execution, Matthias was not pleased.

“Moons! Your Majesty?” He grunted with visible displeasure. “You hurt me, my dear darling daughter. Call me ‘dad’ like you always do! Go on now. Let me hear you say dad.”

“Ugh, da—I mean—augh! I do not call you dad all the time. Would you stop making things up already, father?” she shrieked, red-faced.

This was, after all, a public space. They were in the presence of many other people. Specifically, two princes who—

Uh oh.

In the slow, dread-filled manner of horror theater, she craned her neck just enough to peer backwards...where she discovered the pair standing only a few paces away. Abel was staring at her in open-mouthed astonishment. Sion had a hand to his mouth, but it hardly concealed his amusement.

Hnnnnnngh! Th-This is utterly humiliating! Why must I be subjected to public humiliation like this...

As much as she wished to flee the premises, however, she couldn’t do so quite yet. She had to know what in the moons was going on with...that thing.

“More importantly, father, what is this supposed to be?” she asked in a trembling voice as she gazed up at the enormous white statue of herself.

“Ah, this? I had it made as a gift for your return. I was hoping it’d cheer you up when you saw it. They call it a snow sculpture,” he answered as he regarded it with pride. “I heard about what you’re doing out there, you know? Viscount Berman came by the other day, and we talked a little. He told me all about the big wooden statue of yourself that you’re putting up in the Mia Academy.”

“What wooden statue?!” she scoffed. “How come I haven’t heard of this?!”

She recalled how Berman had previously wanted to build a massive golden statue. She thought she’d talked him out of it, but clearly, she’d been mistaken.

“After hearing that, I decided I wanted one for the capital as well. Then—and the timing was perfect, by the way—I just so happened to catch wind of statues made of snow, so I looked into it.”

When it came time for serious business, the emperor could be incredibly quick to action. Mia just wished he’d apply that kind of initiative to things that didn’t involve, say, making big snow sculptures of herself.

“B-But...it hasn’t snowed here in the capital yet, has it?”

The most baffling thing about the sculpture was that the whole way here, she didn’t remember seeing a single snowflake. The weather was certainly cold enough for fallen snow to accumulate, but the snow hadn’t fallen. So where did her frosty supersized replica come from?

Matthias chuckled with self-satisfaction.

“That’s where Outcount Gilden comes in. It’s already snowing up north right now, and I heard you’re on good terms with the man, so I asked him to haul some over. He was very eager to help out.”

Mia did a quick mental review of the name. Gilden...was the outland noble she befriended on the way back from Ganudos Port Country.

First Berman, now Gilden... Ugh! Why can’t they just mind their own business? Unforgivable!

Trying very hard not to show her intense teeth-gnashing, she glared up at the snow sculpture. Her intense scrutiny inadvertently introduced her to its artistic merits. The snowy Mia was dressed like a fairy, and the level of expression through the normally-fluffy medium was, frankly, breathtaking. From the shape of her cheek to the angle of her jawline, even down to each and every individual strand of hair, there was an incredible detail to attention on par with the finest works of art.

To think you could make something like this out of snow... Art is amazing...

Her mind engaged in escapism, focusing its thoughts on the art rather than the context. It was an understandable reaction, especially when the sculpture had subtly embellished her appearance. Basically, it made her look prettier than she actually was. If flesh-and-scone Mia just barely passed for pretty, then her wintry counterpart cleared the line with ease. There was some level of artistic license being taken for sure. The sculpture was also bigger than her. Much much bigger. Snow Mia was the same height as the palace itself and asserted its looming presence onto every nearby eye as though it craved every bit of attention it could get. It was so damn tall, in fact, that she wondered if everyone in the capital could see it, so long as they knew which way to look.

Alas, she couldn’t stop the context from slipping into her thoughts.

Imagine, please, a beautiful artist’s rendition of a girl, so beautiful that any sane mind would wonder if maybe a tad too many liberties had been taken. Now imagine this likeness in the form of a towering sculpture as tall as a palace. Finally, imagine the poor girl whose conspicuously-embellished likeness was now on display for all to see, standing there, staring at said likeness...while her own father barked orders at his artisans to touch up her nose and dimple her cheek. How would this girl feel?

Embarrassed to death, that’s how! For a girl in her most sensitive years, this was the stuff of profound cringe. Back-bending, tummy-fluttering, hiss-inducing cringe.

I-I’ll die if Abel catches a glimpse of this!

Whoever saw this sculpture would surely believe the Great Sage of the Empire, Mia Luna Tearmoon, to be a bit of an exhibitionist. They’d wince with secondhand embarrassment. Then, after witnessing her snowy beauty, they’d see her in the flesh...and doubtlessly flash knowing smiles at each other afterward.

“Ah, so this is what Princess Mia looks like,” they’d say. “Mmm. Well, I mean, art is art, but maybe they brushed her up a little too much?”

I can’t let the two of them see this. No way! Absolutely not!

She promptly swiveled on her heels, hands ready to be employed as makeshift blindfolds for the two princes. Sadly, she was too late. Both of them, she realized, had their heads tilted back, their astonished gazes focused squarely on her sculpture.

It was then that Mia wished for the stars to fall from the sky and end the world. Her apocalyptic escapism demonstrates an important fact about the fundamental nature of the world: just as curiosity kills cats, embarrassment kills princesses. If you or anyone you know is a princess, please treat them with dignity and respect.

In any case, having realized that every moment she spent looking at the sculpture was chipping away at her sanity, she promptly changed the topic.

“Mmm, anyway, father—”

“I’ve waited so long for you to come back. Personally, I think I deserve at least one ‘dad.’ What do you think?”

“I think I’m trying to have a serious conversation, father. These,” she said, turning slightly to gesture at the two princes behind her, “are my classmates, Prince Abel and Prince Sion. They came all the way here to attend my birthday festival.”

Then, she smiled pointedly at Matthias, who grunted.

“Ah. To attend my daughter’s birthday festival. I see,” he repeated, expression sobering. In a decidedly taciturn manner, he walked up to the princes. “Many thanks for making the long journey here. I am Matthias Luna Tearmoon.”

The emperor’s gaze swept...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 28.3.2022
• Reihe/Serie: Tearmoon Empire
• Reihe/Serie: Tearmoon Empire
• Illustrationen: GILSE
• Übersetzer: David Teng
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Fantasy / Science Fiction ► Fantasy
• Schlagworte: Heartwarming • Light Novel • period fantasy • Princess • Reincarnation • rewriting history • school
• ISBN-10: 1-7183-7160-8 / 1718371608
• ISBN-13: 978-1-7183-7160-6 / 9781718371606