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In short, without major spoilers, she's a being from Kenneth's world; as all of the Void-touched Summons are. Beyond that, I shan't elaborate out of respect for your desire to enjoy the mystery.Interesting. If it wouldn't ruin the suspense for the reveal, I'd ask what the hell she's supposed to be. As is, I'm waiting eagerly to find out.
It's rather telling of Guiche's immaturity as a hero that he's so focused on self-gain. On the other hand, there's certainly nothing wrong with doing good for selfish reasons.
"I think we're done for now. We don't want to be late for dinner." Louise stood abruptly and turned to leave, bright red. Across the table, Kenneth was visibly restraining his mirth. He supplied her with a wink, and an upraised thumb that was apparently a sign of support. Teasing the other girl was really quite fun, but… well, maybe she could get a little serious about it.
Thank you.
This suggests that Kenneth doesn't wear gauntlets normally, right? Or at least, that he wasn't when he caved in that Valkyrie's chest the first day. I guess I just automatically assume dwarf = armor at all times."Ser Kenneth, I'm not sure I quite understand the point of continuing this exercise." Guiche shifted nervously as he looked over at where his familiar was standing. They were not in the school itself but, rather, had come out into the woods nearby once more. Yesterday there had been an abject demonstration of his familiar's fighting prowess when compared with his own Bronze Valkyries.
It had been humiliating. Kenneth had caved in the chest of the first one with a left straight, and then only drawn his axe because he'd simply decided that destroying them with his bare hands would be inefficient. Today, however, it was different. The dwarf's axe was sitting at his back, yes, but he was only holding on to it in case of bandits.
Instead he had put on a pair of steel gauntlets and was grinning maliciously.
You know, if there's ever a 'train Guiche to learn metalsmithing' arc, he might not be up to the dwarven standard, but I bet he'd train up REALLY quick. Construct pieces in minutes using his magic (and then Kenneth could point out all the mistakes he made), then deconstructs without losing any metal at all. And then rinse and repeat until out of Willpower."Yes, but I fail to see the point of this." He rapped his knuckles on the breastplate. It was smelly, and heavy, and even with the padded vest he'd been forced to put on as well it was rubbing in uncomfortable places. Kenneth had taken pity on him and not made him wear the helmet, or any of the other bits.
Gotta love dwarf mages."Boy, where ah come from th' best warmages wear full plate armour.
Well, hypothetically, he could just learn a spell to see remotely or something. That seems like it would go against Kenneth's sensibilities, though.We gotta build up yer strength a bit. Th' attack squad idea 's a good one, ah'll grant, but th' best way to run it well'd be from in th' thick o' things. Which means armour!" It had never really occurred to Guiche that, if he were to go into battle, he'd have to get within a certain distance of the actual fighting to control his golems reliably before Kenneth had pointed it out to him. Now he was seriously reconsidering his specialty.
I really wish we'd seen that scene. Kenneth going, 'What, seriously, is that all wee humans kin take? Ye're pullin' me leg.' and the healer keeps going, 'No, no, if he follows that training program he will LITERALLY die.'"Whene'er we train, ye'll wear tha'. Ah'll work out a proper diet plan an' such wi' th' help o' one of yer healers. Dun wanna o'er work ye."
Pft, Germanian women love a strong man. Although at least Tristainian knights use sword-wands, so I bet fencer or gymnast physiques are in vogue.Guiche whimpered. The brute would ruin his perfect, handsome figure! Kenneth just rolled his eyes and kicked at the dirt a bit. "Dinnae be daft, ye idjit. Th' lasses love a strong man."
How high off the ground is Kenneth? I'm picturing, like, a dropkick into Guiche's jewels."Ah was gonna have y'run away from me with yer damsel, boy. An' if ah caught up with ye, ah was gonna bury me foot in yer tacklebox."
Is it canon that Guiche has 3 brothers, or is that fanon I picked up somewhere? Do they make fun of his romantic heart? This might be a nice spot for some Guiche backstory.So he'd foolishly asked his familiar to teach him about how to be an adventurer. Or, as Kenneth kept teasing him, a hero. He didn't mind the terminology, nor did he make any comments about what Guiche felt might be a somewhat naive choice in the long run. Not being criticized for his romanticism was… it was nice, really.
Comma not semicolon here, I think.Kenneth had done more damage to the trees than Guiche had done to his familiar; which was mostly due to him striking through them to hit Valkyries.
I feel like you're wanking Kenneth's world a wee bit here. I don't know how Halkeginia's tech level fares RE: ranged weapons, but at least in real life the French did okay. They weren't the finely honed war machine that was the English longbow, but they weren't incompetent or anything. Having Kenneth arbitrarily decide he can make a better bow than whatever the locals have, sight unseen, is a bit much."Bah. Y'willnae get a good enough one fer him in this place. C'mon, Guiche, up y'go."
While this works fine, I think it would have been funnier if Guiche looked at Karin and only saw a charming, if cool, older woman. Poise, grace! Perhaps there is some hope for Louise after all... eventually. Someday.However; that concern paled in comparison to the woman. It was like someone had taken Louise's general appearance and reassembled it on the frame of one of his Valkyries. The end result was steel personified standing there and looking coldly at the two of them.
He was not wearing armour at that time, no. For various reasons he didn't have to.This suggests that Kenneth doesn't wear gauntlets normally, right? Or at least, that he wasn't when he caved in that Valkyrie's chest the first day. I guess I just automatically assume dwarf = armor at all times.
He'd assume the same thing back home as well. Kenneth is a dwarf... he assumes that Dwarvencraft is superior to all other forms of crafting except for his wife's. It's a cultural pride thing.I feel like you're wanking Kenneth's world a wee bit here. I don't know how Halkeginia's tech level fares RE: ranged weapons, but at least in real life the French did okay. They weren't the finely honed war machine that was the English longbow, but they weren't incompetent or anything. Having Kenneth arbitrarily decide he can make a better bow than whatever the locals have, sight unseen, is a bit much.
As you may see later, Kenneth cheats when it comes to forging. Guiche would be a dab hand at it, though. His main idea is to teach him engineering as opposed to metalworking, though. Making Valkyries with properly articulated joints could help improve his magical efficiency a fair bit.You know, if there's ever a 'train Guiche to learn metalsmithing' arc, he might not be up to the dwarven standard, but I bet he'd train up REALLY quick. Construct pieces in minutes using his magic (and then Kenneth could point out all the mistakes he made), then deconstructs without losing any metal at all. And then rinse and repeat until out of Willpower.
He might be really good at discovering new metal alloys, for the same reason. That's probably more trial and error if he can't crib off Kenneth's metalworking knowledge, though.
Not very high at all. A lot of the time he's looking up at Guiche instead of down; although, his mannerisms make that hard to notice at times.How high off the ground is Kenneth? I'm picturing, like, a dropkick into Guiche's jewels.
They're actually Not-French, which is why he wants to push Guiche that way.
That is more or less what happened.I really wish we'd seen that scene. Kenneth going, 'What, seriously, is that all wee humans kin take? Ye're pullin' me leg.' and the healer keeps going, 'No, no, if he follows that training program he will LITERALLY die.'
I guess the idea here is that Saito is the perfect servant (sort of), and Louise doesn't like that either, right?'Attend'. Hah. What a word. She'd woken up to find him waiting for her with a maid, and clothing laid out. Then he'd left the room while the maid helped dress her. When he came back in she'd informed him that she could dress herself from then on. That had been… embarrassing. The maid was nice about it, but she'd felt like a child again.
No dedicated ladies' maid for Louise? I guess that makes sense, we don't meet one when she goes home to the Valliere estate nor brings one with her to school.It was just all so strange. Louise had never had a dedicated attendant before.
I somehow managed to read this as the familiar sewing her FACE onto her underthings, which was even more amazing.A vision of her familiar diligently renewing the lace on all of her underthings drove her to imperiously demand he stay with her during class time.
Man, she is going to fall hard for this kid.Luckily, nobody was hurt… except her stupid, courageous, heroic idiot of a familiar.
This character growth on Louise's part feels a bit fast to me. Like, I feel like she should still be huffing about how she can take care of herself darn it.She merely pronounced her confidence in his ability to protect her and actually got a very tiny huff from him in response.
Here, too. Louise, quietly back down and let Saito and Siesta talk? It feels like an abnegation of the natural order.He had been deep in discussion with one of the maids, in fact. She almost hadn't wanted to interrupt them but he'd seemed to sense her and turned around as soon as she thought about stepping back.
I thought Louise and Guiche were just entering their second year. Are you saying she's already bored with material 1+ years ahead?
That sounds kind of weird, gramatically speaking.Then his family situation, and almost perfect relationship with his father…
I hope the subject of Guiche's father comes up in conversation with Kenneth at some point. Get the dwarf PoV on respecting your elders.It seemed unfair that even after being exposed to Kenneth for almost a week now his father could so easily cow him. Surely they weren't even on the same scale of fear? But, no, one stern look as they drew closer brought him to silence… although the words that followed would have done so anyway.
I'm a bit confused as to how we got here. I mean, if Guiche and Louise had summoned giant moles their very busy parents presumably wouldn't have come out of their way to put their new familiars through their paces. Is it that they're being paid like servants? Is Saito being paid like Kenneth? He doesn't seem the type to accept it."You may now demonstrate." Saito nodded and stepped up as Guiche watched with bated breath. This was it. Not only was the fate of Louise's familiar resting on this but also the reputation of his own. If Kenneth's bow proved to be unsuitable then his father would have cause to rescind his earlier assessment.
This is an interesting tidbit that whets my appetite for Tristain military strategy.A truly skilled musketeer could only reliably hit a target at under a hundred and fifty metres; although some of the elite could supposedly make better shots. Accurate archery range was a little better than that, but you tended to mass bows for effect in any case. It was the only way to reliably damage an enemy army with any wind mages seconded to it.
The chain of events was that Guiche wrote to his father about his servant, and the contract, and then Armand wrote to Karin.I'm a bit confused as to how we got here. I mean, if Guiche and Louise had summoned giant moles their very busy parents presumably wouldn't have come out of their way to put their new familiars through their paces. Is it that they're being paid like servants? Is Saito being paid like Kenneth? He doesn't seem the type to accept it.
This came about due to conversing with Chandra, I think, but Louise's only recourse in regards to her utter lack of practical skills is to be word-perfect on the theory. She's quite intelligent and works hard at it. With there being no real point to her doing practical exercises, however, she's moved ahead.I thought Louise and Guiche were just entering their second year. Are you saying she's already bored with material 1+ years ahead?
Although the Louise chapter is one of my least favourite bits, and may be due for a rewrite, I think this much stands.This character growth on Louise's part feels a bit fast to me. Like, I feel like she should still be huffing about how she can take care of herself darn it.
Here, too. Louise, quietly back down and let Saito and Siesta talk? It feels like an abnegation of the natural order.
Kagati Woodsman, yes. His near omnipresent skill in all aspects of servitude is more or less a plot point, and as for the Hiragas... well, you'll see.I guess the idea here is that Saito is the perfect servant (sort of), and Louise doesn't like that either, right?
But Kenneth refers to him last chapter as a Kagathi (or however you spell that) woodsman. I was imagining him as a quiet but competent ranger, subservient but reserved and apart. But he reads more like a Satsuma plantation serf, except he's way too talented at noble home maintenance to be a peasant.
Saito presenting the crop for his own lashing seems a bit overdone even for a feudal lord, but it gets the point across I guess. The Hiraga lords must be literally monsters.
Louise thinks fast, and more or less begged Wardes to help her. She's a clever cookie, and Saito's been nothing but kind to her in his own bizarre way.Wow. That's one of the most likable Wardes I've seen in a while. Props to that, and on the Vallieres' last-minute plans. They certainly close ranks to protect their own, don't they?
Good on Guiche, for trying to do the right thing against all odds here. The terms are not in his favor, but I feel he did the best he could manage given what he had to work with.
Mott though....yeah, I totally believe that Kenneth will kill Mott if Guiche loses/dies. Mott is utterly screwed at this point. He has a lot of power and advantages, but he has become the subject of such immense dislike that everyone is preparing to go all in to take him down. Methinks he's a little too used to his authority and retinue protecting him from violent threats, and assuming he will always live to see tomorrow.
Louise thinks fast, and more or less begged Wardes to help her. She's a clever cookie, and Saito's been nothing but kind to her in his own bizarre way.
As I implied, Guiche is trying to do the right thing because he sees in Mott the horrific spectre of what he might have one day been without Kenenth's intervention. It's by no means accurate, but fear rarely cares about such things.
Mott's not as in over the head as he seems, though. He knows how desperately Kenneth wants him dead, but that's why he's not going to kill Guiche in this duel; indeed, that would defeat the entire point of his scheme. Rather, he knows that it's Guiche's nobility that's keeping it safe and is gleefully milking it for all it's worth. As long as he's not broken the law Guiche won't unleash the Dorf, because of the repercussions that'd result.
True, true; but Mott's a Water mage, so he can deal with a certain amount of injury. He's not a skilled healer, but he has the capacity if need be. Either way, some interesting thoughts there~He can't kill Guiche; not even by accident. This is a fight to surrender after all, so Guiche can afford to boldly risk grievous injury because Mott will have to avoid dealing said injury. It's just too dangerous to his outcome.
True, true; but Mott's a Water mage, so he can deal with a certain amount of injury. He's not a skilled healer, but he has the capacity if need be. Either way, some interesting thoughts there~
I think most duelling codes have some form of 'incapacitation = surrender' rule to avoid just such catch-22s.Which....may actually lead to Mott surrendering on account of it being better to lose Siesta than A. let this indiscretion be punctuated by Guiche's death and spread far and wide, and B. killed by Kenneth.
The rules will be somewhat clarified in the next part but if one of the participants if rendered fully helpless then that can be considered their loss; assuming they legitimately can't break free. Wardes is the adjudicator, and he has to act as impartially as possible. The true meaning of the 'surrender' clause is more that Guiche could've asked for First Blood. That may have been in his favour, as all he needs is a scratch, but against an opponent as superior as Mott is he can't rely on luck....Heh, I hope he does try that. Because that would paint him in a very bad light, and then when Guiche doesn't give up Mott has to deal with the fact that he may have mortally wounded his opponent, and said opponent is perfectly willing to risk death for victory.
Which....may actually lead to Mott surrendering on account of it being better to lose Siesta than A. let this indiscretion be punctuated by Guiche's death and spread far and wide, and B. killed by Kenneth.
The rules will be somewhat clarified in the next part but if one of the participants if rendered fully helpless then that can be considered their loss; assuming they legitimately can't break free. Wardes is the adjudicator, and he has to act as impartially as possible. The true meaning of the 'surrender' clause is more that Guiche could've asked for First Blood. That may have been in his favour, as all he needs is a scratch, but against an opponent as superior as Mott is he can't rely on luck.
Mark Twain said:There are some things that can beat smartness and foresight? Awkwardness and stupidity can. The best swordsman in the world doesn't need to fear the second best swordsman in the world; no, the person for him to be afraid of is some ignorant antagonist who has never had a sword in his hand before; he doesn't do the thing he ought to do, and so the expert isn't prepared for him; he does the thing he ought not to do; and often it catches the expert out and ends him on the spot.
In my opinion, Wardes is at his best when he's not unashamedly evil. It shows how good of an actor he actually is. Plus, who's to say he's not sincere? Even the worst of villains can be moved by a boy with his heart in the right place. Especially if that boy just so happens to be a good unsuspecting bodyguard for his fiance.