Akatsuki Translations

“Don’t assume a linear calculation for a 100-year decay.” -Ricardo

“It can’t be helped. The concept of half-life depends on probability.” -Mia

Mia and I were walking through the academy hallways for the first time in a week. We were returning from the Sage’s room, which had tripled in size. It looked like they planned to sleep there, with a simple cooking space. Of course, there was also alcohol and snacks. It’s only a matter of time before the brand-new walls and desks get dirty.

“But there are more students remaining than I expected.” -Ricardo

In the hallway, groups of a few students were bustling about. All of them were commoner students. The bias was probabilistically impossible.

“Probably, the Consort’s…” -Mia

“Wait a minute. You’re saying this is Carst’s space too?!”

Interrupting Mia’s words, a familiar voice echoed through the hallway.

“Can’t you see this title deed? Through an official bidding process, this classroom belongs to our tenant.” -Ricardo

“That’s right. This year, there’s no room for small houses like yours.”

Even though most lectures were elective, there was still a classroom of our own. We had left our luggage on its shelves before going to the librarian’s hobby room. And the three arguing students were standing right at its entrance.

They seemed to be upperclassmen, a male and female. The male thrust out a piece of paper. The other stood at ease with her hands on her hips. Facing off against them was a short girl from our year. Her shoulders trembled in frustration.

Still, a title deed? Bidding? The words I heard made no sense.

“Isn’t it supposed to be a peaceful summer vacation at an elegant academy? What’s that about?” -Ricardo

“Riruka…” -Mia

Mia was looking at the shorter girl.

I thought I’d heard that voice before – she must be Mia’s friend. Come to think of it, she was at the tea party right before summer vacation.

“So, what are they doing?” -Ricardo

“They’re probably staking out a spot for the school festival stalls.” -Mia

“No way, their wording is too ominous for that.” -Ricardo

They sounded just like real estate sharks. They talked about their house’s honor being at stake, but isn’t it just a school festival?

Well, it doesn’t concern us since we’re not participating. We can just enter through the back door of the classroom.

“Let’s hurry and get our stuff so we can go home.” -Ricardo

“Yes…” -Mia

However, Mia’s response lacked conviction. Her eyes were on her friend. Riruka was desperately arguing back, but the two upperclassmen weren’t paying her any attention at all.

“Do you know who the upperclassmen are?” -Ricardo

“I believe they’re siblings from the Carst main family. The brother is a senior, and the sister is a third-year.” -Mia

“Carst, huh.” -Ricardo

“They’re in conflict with Kenwell over the next head of the food guild.” -Mia

I see, Riruka’s group under Kenwell handles dairy products. A confrontation between the big merchant houses, Kenwell and Carst. Our house will be quite happy to stay out of it.

“You’re using money to pressure and occupy all the classrooms you don’t even need. Not even letting us participate is too tyrannical!”  -Riruka

“Carst is simply following the rules. You had a fair chance to participate in the bidding. In the first place, Kenwell’s main store properly secured a spot, didn’t they? Right next to ours in a prime location.” -Male Carst

Not even allowed to participate? I remembered Riruka’s face, fired up for the school festival.

And bidding, financial power, rights – I’m starting to see the picture.

“Um, senpai… Could I talk with Riruka for a bit…?” -Mia

“This is great, we have a case study of Carst v. Kenwell right in front of us.” -Ricardo

“Senpai…” -Mia

I strode down the hallway. The male upperclassman noticed my approach. Black hair, average height and build. I see, his attire is top-class among commoners. The decorations are subdued, but the fabric looks more expensive than some of the noble students’.

“What do you want?” -Male Carst

“Sorry, I left my belongings in that classroom. Could you let me through, senpai?” -Ricardo

It was the perfect attitude towards an upperclassman.

“There’s an entrance in the back, right? You could have just gone in on your own.” -Female Carst

The female student said irritably. Black hair as well. A sharp-featured beauty.

“I overheard earlier that this classroom can’t be used without your permission. So I thought I should ask, just in case.” -Ricardo

I said, maintaining a polite demeanor. An attitude like a mirror of self-preservation that respects senpais, I want to praise myself. Yet for some reason, the two of them knitted their brows in unison.

“That’s after the preparations start. What’s your name?” -Male Carst

“My name is Ricardo Vinder.” -Ricardo

“Vinder? Never heard of it.” -Female Carst

“Wait, what are you trying to do, Vinder? Mia too…” -Riruka

“Oh my, are you acquainted with Riruka-san?” -Female Carst

“Not well enough to call an acquaintance. We merely attended a tea party together once.” -Ricardo

Mia seems quite close, but that’s the extent for me.

“Oh, could it be the tea party Riruka mentioned before summer vacation? Hehe, unnamed merchant houses getting along so well. Let me tell you, even among deputy guild leaders, there’s a clear difference between Kenwell and Carst. Especially for small houses, you should be more careful about who you associate with.” -Female Carst

Clear mockery. I know. That’s what led to Drefano’s downfall.

“Hey, inviting him was… No, nevermind. Vinder, you’re not participating in the Consort’s Festival, right? Take your belongings and get going. This is my business.” -Riruka

Riruka started to say something but fell silent. Huh, I thought for sure she’d bring up Alfina or Luitza’s names.

“So you’re not a participant. But that’s the right choice. For shops below Riruka’s level, even if you wanted to participate, you probably couldn’t.” -Female Carst

“That’s right. The weak need to value their ability to run away if they want to survive.” -Male Carst

The Carsts laughed in unison. It’s true, and I agree with that opinion. But the strong shouldn’t make unnecessary enemies either. Don’t come crying when the rug gets pulled out from under you. You know of shops that went under like that, don’t you?

“Couldn’t even participate? That’s interesting. For future reference, could you enlighten me, Carst-senpai?” -Ricardo

I asked for a sample of Carst’s methods.

“It’s Theodore Carst. Very well, I’ll instruct a foolish underclassman.” -Theodore

…………..

“I see.” -Ricardo

In short, the rules for the Consort’s Festival changed, and the restrictions on participating merchant houses’ funds were removed. Limited space, excessive funds. The very mechanism of real estate inflation. Moreover, they bought up the classrooms that serve as the stage for the festival stalls, like buying up apartments for investment without living in them.

Unlike actual real estate, they can’t profit from reselling. Then the purpose is to shut out mid-level merchant houses with less financial power. Why go that far?

“Got it? It means we’re following fair rules.”  -Male Carst

“Those rules suddenly changed just this year. You pulled some strings, didn’t you?” -Riruka

“Oh my, are you questioning what Hilda-sama and Leonardo-sama approved?” -Female Carst

“Ugh, that’s not it, but…” -Riruka

Riruka hung her head in frustration.

“Who are they?” -Ricardo

“Hilda-sama is the eldest daughter of Archduke Kurtheit and the fiancée of the Second Prince. Leonardo is the second son of the Prime Minister. They are both fourth-year students and the president and vice president of the student council.” -Mia

Looks like more troublesome people are involved. Names that are useless for self-preservation keep popping up. In pairs, no less. I’m bad at remembering names. Hilda, that’s the same name as the upperclassman Alfina mentioned yesterday.

“So, it’s 20 days until the Consort’s Festival. In other words, it will be rented out for preparations starting next week.” -Ricardo

“That’s right. You can do as you like today. No complaints now, right?” -Mia

No, wait, I still don’t understand the key reason for the rule change for the worse. What’s the point of injecting such naked capitalism into the school festival? Are they believers of the Chicago school’s market fundamentalism[1]?

“Um…” -Ricardo

“Ricardo-kun and Mia-san. I knew I’d find you!” -Alfina

A bright voice, oblivious to the tense atmosphere here. From the other end of the hallway, a beautiful girl who seems likely to complicate the situation approaches. With Claudia by her side, no less. Come to think of it, she returned to being a royal guard, didn’t she? I heard she got an earful of sarcasm from the Archduke.

Well, female guards who can enter the Academy are valuable. Then why isn’t she stopping Alfina from approaching me? Wasn’t that her raison d’etre?

“If it isn’t Her Highness the Princess. She’s acquainted with people like, um, these two.” -Female Carst

The younger sister, Zeldia or something like that, hurriedly spoke up.

“Yes. Rikardo-kun and Mia-san have been very helpful to me.” -Alfina

Alfina said it as if she was proud of her friends. The faces of the two upperclassmen were painted with shock. If they knew that this “help” referred to mopping instruction, they’d probably flip out. For my own safety.

“And you’re Riruka-san, right? We met at a tea party the other day.” -Alfina

“What did you say?” -Theodore

The older brother twitched. Even as the heir to a large trading company, I guess he still finds royalty intimidating.

“I was only invited as a tag-along to these two.” -Riruka

“So, what’s the matter?” -Alfina

Alfina looked at Riruka with concern. I recalled the first time I had a conversation with Alfina. At that time, she tried to defend me, who had never even spoken to her before, when Drefano was picking a fight with me. Riruka now was clearly more… than I was at that time.

This is bad, it looks like it’s going to turn into a big deal before we have all the information.

“It’s not a big…” “That’s right. It’s not something Her Highness the Princess needs to concern herself with.” -Riruka&Ricardo

The Carsts seem to be trying to smooth things over too, but that’s going to have the opposite effect. This flower-brained girl is an airhead, but she’s quite, well, not so much moe but fired up easily. Plus, she’s pretty stubborn and the type to charge forward once she’s made up her mind.

My head starts to hurt as the situation rapidly gets more and more tangled. Why did this happen just from walking down the hall during summer vacation?

“Why are you all huddled in the hallway?”

At that moment, a different voice called out from the direction we had come from.

“Hilda-sama.” -Zeldia

Zeldia let out a voice that sounded like she was clinging to a lifeline.

Looking back, a man and woman who clearly aren’t ordinary are approaching us.

The buttons on the tie, the embroidery peeking out from the hem. They have some of the best attire even at this academy. The woman has blonde hair and large breasts. The man is a slender, good-looking guy wearing glasses. They’re both fourth-years. Which means the other one must be Leonardo.

“Leonardo-sama, too. You’ve come at just the right time.” -Theodore

Theodore confirms it for me. That’s good, the number of people increased but the number of names didn’t.

“Even Alfina is here. Just what is going on?” -Hilda

The upperclassman called Hilda sent a chilly gaze toward Alfina. The Archduchess’s daughter, even if adopted, is addressing royalty without honorifics? She was engaged to the Second Prince. She’s not just acting like a villainess noble daughter, but already putting on airs like royalty.

But if that’s the case, this situation is the worst. Two small countries sandwiched between two large ones. It’s like a proxy war is inevitable.

TL Note(s)

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_school_of_economics