City Series Volume 5 -a Chapter 4

03/19/1944 - 03/20/1944

The records say Grazie is a pretty powerful Barrel, don't they?

Received documents concerning the Attesor Project to develop the strongest Panzer. Currently investigating using the French military's internal data network. Over.

The German army is retreating from the western front!! The time to liberate Paris draws near.

Do not trust the German army's information restrictions and do not give up hope even if this poster is torn down!!

Hi, Mallette. I'm currently taking the Lourd de Marionnette lecture for my second morning class, but I'm so damn bored. The art class before this was interesting, though.

And what's this? Ever since Professor Becarre was arrested, there's always an Allemande soldier sitting in a corner of the classroom. Is that to keep an eye on things? I don't like that at all.

Especially today's strict-looking old man whose insignia suggests is an Écrivain. The practice today will apparently be a quick mock battle against that old man.

I guess this means the Germans are gradually tightening their grip. And we only just learned in political science class that control of the media and education is a step toward dictatorship.

Anyway, I'm writing this letter during class, so I'll drop it in your room's boîte aux lettres. I'm sure you'll be asleep until the afternoon anyway.

You might miss out on a lot if you sleep in today. It was pretty noisy outside this morning. While you were sleeping, the Paris Resistance covered the streets with posters to inform everyone that the German military is retreating.

That means the people of Paris will have Ajouter-ed that information. I wonder what everyone else will do.

But, well, the patrols from tonight on are probably going to be a real pain.

You'll get arrested too if you're out wandering at night. I know I don't have to remind you, but you're half Jewish. And you don't want them using that as an excuse to harass you, right? That was why the soldiers were hassling you when we first met.

Not that complaining in a letter is going to change anything.

So I'm stuck here in this Lourd de Marionnette lecture and then I have to go through with the practice afterwards, but why are we even doing this? If only the Germans would accuse this class of training the resistance and cancel the rest of the classes just for me. Oh, well.

Besides, the Germans have put power restrictions on every Appareil in France, so there aren't any in Paris that can fight properly. Without proper power and weapons, an Appareil is the same as a car.

I wonder what they'll do about the Lourd de Marionnette battle during the school festival. Only a beginner would enjoy Recréa-ing into an underpowered Lourd de Marionnette. A veteran wouldn't be able to stand it. Even if you can only use it for a short time, I just want to use a Full Drive Start and-…well, you wouldn't know what any of this means.

Ever since the Germans were stationed here, the Lourd de Marionnette battle at the year-end festival and school festival has had a German Lourd de Écrivain take part as a special guest. A student doesn't stand a chance against a soldier, but they make it even more unfair because their Appareil isn't power restricted. The librarian lady at the library I often visit says it's meant as a show of force.

But at last year's year-end festival, I kicked the German Lourd de Marionnette's ass and won, so some people are apparently hoping I'll do it again this year. A representative of the economics department said I'm their #1 recommendation. I Ajouter-ed a bulletin board earlier and that's what it said. I'll probably never hear the end of it from Phillip if I accept.

Anyway, summer break is coming up soon, so classes and life are both getting pretty busy. While everyone at the appartement is heading back home like you are, I think I'll enjoy a carefree vacance in Paris.

Oh, the practice is about to begin. Like usual, of the three Lourd de Marionnettes in the storage rooms, the instructor gets one and we do some quick mock battles with the male and female one left over. The guys always get so excited. They're so childish.

Wait, what? The professor is saying I'm supposed to Recréa, too.

His line was pretty amazing:

"Beretta already has a no-limits Lourd de Marionnette license and was given the honor of being selected as the economics representative for the school festival's Lourd de Marionnette battle, but she is still diligently attending the lesson today. The rest of you could learn a thing or two from… (Bleh, the old man's talking too fast to write down the rest.)"

But I'm sorry, professor, I wasn't being remotely diligent. I've been sitting here writing this letter.

By the way, the guys' excitement cooled in a hurry when they heard I would be Recréa-ing. And not because they were moved by my "diligent example" or because of the qualifications the professor listed off. No, I'm sure it's because I'm the one that won at last year's year-end festival.

Oh, and most of the girls in the class are fad-followers who only came over to see me after they heard the rumors.

I can't believe this. If only transfer students weren't required to take this class.

"We have a special class just for transfer students. Simply attending university will earn you a Lourd de Marionnette license."

I get that it's one of their selling points for transfer students, but it's pretty pointless for me since I already have a no-limits license.

Also, I haven't been too crazy about piloting Lourd de Marionnettes lately. It probably seems weird to see a Lourd de Marionnette lover like me writing that, but, well, it's like your period. Women just have those moods sometimes.

Why is it, Mallette? It's like my personality changes a little when I'm piloting one.

And my opponent this time is the German Lourd de Écrivain sitting so arrogantly in the corner there.

I'm a little worried. Okay, I'll seal this up before Recréa-ing. Bye.

And with that, I've finished the Write Bring and stepped out into the school's mock battlefield. I'll start off with a Point.

<the>

</the>

Has this place been around for a long time, I wonder? I know I've heard that Sorbonne University has existed since the middle ages.

Hm. But, well, the girls are there in the stands, but there's no one else there, not even the professor. Are all the guys still holed up in the eastern storage room? Well, they're doing a forced Write Bring on someone who isn't used to it, so I guess it'll take some time.

I suppose I'll move around a bit now.

HLP018 77-LL Grazie is the Barrel I used during last year's year-end festival. It's a female Heavy Barrel from World War One, so it's kind of impressive it's held together so well. In a Heavy Barrel museum, it would rank at a preservation level of B.

The emblems on the shoulders are angel wings.

Grazie's Over Emblem is a mobility-increasing ability called Ange, but I've never activated it. In San Francisco of '98, Grazie was completely outdated and its modern version, Joie, has an attack Over Emblem called Tout Ange.

But the records say Grazie is a pretty powerful Barrel, don't they? It inherited the poor wire cylinder output adjustment of the previous model, Sourire, but its instantaneous power can give a modern Barrel a run for its money.

As always, this girl is very well maintained. Despite being such an old model, the arms move just fine and they don't catch at all. She writes to the memory bank with decent speed, too.

What I didn't like was when I Pointed in the storage room and saw the armored dress to hide my nudity was the same 20-year-old design from last year and that the Barrel barely had any armor on it. This is a female model, but it's more like shiny skin than jewel-like skin.

And the legs are a little worrying. They're a bit skinny, but the lubrication oil used in them is old. I pointed it out before, but it's still using the same oil as the arms. The legs bear more weight than the arms, so I'd prefer more viscous oil than in the arms. It's about endurance over mobility.

But I guess there's nothing I can do about the power restriction. It can probably run, but I doubt it can hold its ground. A few of the wire cylinders would probably be taken out. But they've left it with enough power to move around, so is that what they call "German generosity" or are they just stupid? If I gathered spare parts from across France, I could probably build a full Barrel on this level.

But, well, I guess it is true that Barrels are outdated.

The armor is thinner than a tank's, they make a big target, and they aren't as maneuverable as an airplane.

They're intimidating as hell, though. That's why they're used in cities and infantry divisions.

I bet the Germans are doing a lot of research to find some tech that will let them rival modern weaponry. After all, that country is gathering Death Techno. Not that I'm much different there…well, I should stop thinking about that. The others might Sign these memories later on.

But I can't believe this. The joints feel all hollow, which is kind of sad.

Oh, and I can't stand that my weapon is a wooden sword. The Germans have done a real thorough job of confiscating everything. It was a wooden spear back at the year-end festival, wasn't it?

I'm a Phalanx. A spear-user. That's the real difference between me and my grandma, who taught all about Heavy Barrels. She never once performed a Write Bring in front of me, but she's known as the Sword Lady, so she must have used a sword.

I wonder how she's doing. I've been feeling a bit down lately.

And I know why.

I want to ask someone for advice and I have so much to think about, but there's no one I can talk with. I'm an outsider in this world and everything I'm thinking is either out of character for me or is something I'm not allowed to say. I can't be like that old man I saw at the bakery.

I might be worrying Rosetta with all this. She said this in an earlier letter:

If there is something you want to say I hope you will tell me>

If she wants to become human and trusts me, maybe I could tell her. Tell her about this world and the incident I'm involved in. And that I'm a Knight Striker, but I couldn't protect some people.

Wow, this is getting dark. I need to distract myself.

"Activate Wide-Range Vision: Success"

I had only been using the anti-ground vision, but now my vision spread out to include the sky and the horizon.

My vision was never this wide as a human. This mode uses the two anti-ground sight devices, the one superior eye sight device on the forehead, and the compound eye sight devices on the left and right of the head. There just aren't words to describe how amazing it is to see from all of those eyes at once.

My view covers approximately 120 degrees in front, up, down, left, and right, for a total of 240 degrees in all. That lets me hold both the heavens and the earth in my hand at once.

I gain that humanly-impossible vision by combining my Lives with the machine.

Right now, I can see the blue sky, the city of Paris beyond the mock battlefield's walls, and the earthen ground.

This is one of the reasons I like piloting Heavy Barrels.

A Knight Striker has power and is duty-bound to protect, but this vision is the greatest freedom.

That which is filled with the blue sky.

That which is covered by the red dirt.

I name thee heaven and earth.

Where the wind howls bravely.

Where the sand dances gently.

I view thee as heaven and earth.

So that no one would grieve again.

That which is endless and cannot be grasped.

That which is vast and cannot be held.

I am with thee.

I really understand what that Knight Striker song is trying to say.

I mean, the winter sky is so very tall. Well, I'm not sure what I'm Signing here now, but while the skies in America were always unbelievably vast and unimaginably blue, the sky of Paris is something else entirely.

I might just not be used to the rules of Signing since I'm not a resident of Paris, but I feel like you can't see Paris's sky unless you're searching for it. I can probably see it by Pointing an azure sky, but it takes Signing to see the blue sky I really want to see.

So seeing Paris's sky brings me joy when I look up and see it.

And looking to the sky with a Heavy Barrel's vision only strengthens that feeling.

If I confirm my own presence here below the sky, I feel like I'll suddenly find the sky is gone.

I raised my head and looked into the sky. It felt like I could see the wind. Yeah.

But the other side really was slow. What were they doing?

I'll Point real quick.

<there>

</there>

Whelp. Meanwhile, I came out almost immediately and everyone's waiting. The girls are probably shouting from the colosseum stands by now. I don't feel like Pointing that, though.

Ugh.

I should've claimed I was on my period and skipped out on this.

But I really do like Write Bringing into Heavy Barrels.

I'd better get an S instead of just an A for this class.

Oh, I should Point.

<the>It is an HMP035 22-LL Guerre.>

That's the average male Heavy Barrel from World War One. It looks a little shakier than when I saw it last year, but I guess you can't expect much when there's a boy piloting it. Both of these are probably used military models. After all, there were signs of some insignia being scraped off next to the ladder up to the Study on mine.

The other one is probably the same.

And…huh? The instructor's came out too, but…