Vermillion Chapter 358

The Great Departure Strategy 1

Editor's Pre-chapter Spiel:

C-chotto matte kudasai! Before you (likely a member of the Loli-Protectorate) go on a crusade (“get the holy hand grenade!”) to lynch me in the comment section, hear me out all right? I'm not making any money off this site--all that ads you see are by WordPress itself. All I'm trying to do is to provide higher quality English translation for this novel which I very much enjoy. Obvious, this translation is not perfect--I'm translating in part to improve my very rudimentary Japanese--I think that after reading the chapter, you'll (hopefully) agree with me that this is a sufficient improvement on the existing edition as to justify me translating this. Also, it should be noted that I offered to be an editor for Loli o Mamoritai, but nothing ever came out of it. Thus, here's this. Now, without further ado, enjoy the chapter~

Editor: ShinonomeResearchLabs

"It's finally time. Are you both ready?"

Monika and Aureana nodded to Marcela's words.

Yes, tomorrow was their graduation ceremony.

… It was also the day of the entrance ceremony for the Female Royal Guard.

The graduation was in the morning, while their conscription into the guard division was later in the afternoon.

Indeed, for the girls, now was the night before the Rubricon. Tonight would be the last that they spend at the school dormitories.

There is already little left in the room, save for the original furnishings that the school provided. Most of Marcela's and Monika's belongings had already been taken by their families during the day.

Aureana had originally intended to dispose of the cheap personal items she had accumulated over the past three years, but ended up giving most of them to her juniors before discarding the rest. After all, it was cheaper to simply throw them away and buy them again at a local town than to transport it all the way back to her rural home.

Thus, all that remained in their room was a set of uniforms to return after tomorrow's graduation ceremony, another set of clothes for everyday use, and only enough luggage to fit in a bag.

… By the way, returning the uniforms was an academy rule: the outfits were originally provided as a loan.

Every year, there's a significant number of people who wish to buy one as a commemorative souvenir, but it's forbidden as to prevent people from abusing the uniforms and damaging the academy's reputation. 

So, it was really quite an issue that Mile left with a pair, but given the circumstances… Well, it's impossible to recover them anyway, so the school had no choice but to accept it.

The trio had previously considered emulating such a strategy. However, there was no need for such things now.

The three girls nodded to each other, before returning to their rooms in order to get enough sleep for tomorrow.

There will be plenty of opportunities to talk in the future.

Yes, starting tomorrow, they're going on a long journey after all… 

"We're departing for a brave new world!"

"""We're off!!"""

It was a standard graduation ceremony.

It was to be expected given that Eckland Academy was not a place for royalty, high nobility, or the prosperous merchant elite. Those attended Ardley Academy. The students of Eckland consisted mainly of the children of smaller aristocrats, medium-sized merchants, and scholarship students from the masses. Thus, both guests and parents alike were a rarity at graduations.   

… If it were a normal year, that is.

Yes, if this were an ordinary year.

This year, both the guest and parent seats are full.

Why is that?

Well, it's probably because, for the first time in the history of the institution, the king and queen, both princes, and other senior nobles were in attendance.

It was all to witness the wunderkind trio loved by the goddess.

The bishoujo party consists solely of attack magicians. On top of that, they're friends of the third princess, and founding members of her highness's Royal Female Guard Division. Moreover, one member has attracted both of the princes' attention and is said to be the first candidate for crown princess.

Thus, hearing that the king and other heavyweights of the country would be in attendance, it was only natural for people to flock to the graduation ceremony.

After all, just being there meant the possibility to meet some of those people in person, and as such, there was not a proper noble or merchant who would miss such an opportunity. 

Nonetheless, the ceremony proceeded quietly, and was over just as quickly. As expected, nothing happened… 

"Off we go!"

""Yeah!""

Marcela and Aureana replied animatedly. They had just graduated as the representatives for their class, but that was nothing compared to what was yet to come, as for the entrance ceremony to the Royal Guard Division demanded perfection.  　

The girls did not have their uniforms though. They had to go to the royal palace to receive them and change.

Since they just had their measurements taken, there was no such thing as getting an ill-fitting uniform. Their senpais are there to help them get ready as well.

There has never been a female-only guard division before, but that was not to say there were no female guards. Even though there were only a few of them compared to the men, those few vastly lowered the difficulty of gathering enough human resources to set up the female division. If there had only been male guards, the process would not have been quite so smooth.

Back in their dormitory, the trio changed into plain clothes before leaving their uniforms on the bed. Carrying their bags, Marcela and the others hurried towards the royal palace. There was no time for lunch.

While the parents and guests had the luxury of mingling at the luncheon, the girls had to rehearse and prepare for the entrance ceremony. Most of the people who attended the luncheon are to attend the afternoon ceremony.

… However, Marcela and Monika's parents won't be present.

It's only natural. The graduation from school is fine, but it'd be unbearable for parents to come to the entrance ceremony of their children's employer.

Aureana's parents were not there either, although for a different reason. Being farmers in the countryside, they simply did not have the financial leeway to come all the way to the royal capital.

"I wonder if this… "

Marcela and company had asked their senpais to help them put on their uniforms.

Since it was only for the entrance ceremony, the uniforms were not geared towards battle, but rather towards being fashionable and cool-looking attire for women.

There were also other girls enlisted in the Female Royal Guard Division besides Marcela's trio, all of noble or military pedigree. As the advent of an all-female Royal Guard Division had been long coming, these children had been trained in martial arts, attack magic, etc. since infancy to prepare for their roles. They had at the very minimum acquired the ability to protect themselves and the princess and earn a few seconds before the male guards could take over… at least that was the theoretical.

The trio were provided with two things besides the uniform and related accessories: a sword and a dagger.

Most hunter magicians like Rena and Pauline prioritize magic, so their weapon of choice is a staff as to be able to protect themselves without much thought while staying focused on chanting.

Even people say it was fine as the rearguard to not worry about attack because the vanguard will hold off attackers, there was no harm in carrying as sword just in case.

Should one of the attackers happen to get through when a magician is out of mana or has no time to fire off a spell, with a sword they can at least stab the enemy.

Also, for a hunter or regular soldier who fights a large number of enemies on a daily basis, survival is the number one priority. However, it is different for guards.

A guard's duty is not to survive. It is to protect and ensure the safety of the escortee, to whom a guard must devote both body and life to, like a disponible throwing knife. Such is the responsibility of a guard.

Anyhow, the dagger serves as a spare sidearm for the sword.

It's useful for battles in places too constricted to swing a sword in, or in other unforeseen scenarios like an underwater fight.

The dagger, which was much shorter than a spare sword, but was clearly too long to call a knife, was at a reasonable length for Marcela and the party. However, the sword was far too long to even wield for the girls. 

But that doesn't matter.

The other women in the division are around sixteen to twenty years old, whereas Marcella and company are underage girls who look physically to be no more than thirteen… 

"Alright, here we go!"

And so, led by the senior female guards, the rookie female guards entered the ceremony venue.

Editor's Note:

Etto, I don't think I have much left to say--please be kind to me in the comments! Thanks for reading~

Chapter end