Chương 29: You Piece of Sh-t World

"Oh my, it looks lovely, Miss Guevera!" Headmaster Laurent looked at the small metal tin with a wooden tray inside. The carefully designed charcuterie board was made up of cured pork leg, bread, dried fruit, and cheese from Presidio. She'd made several boards that morning, before she left for Lycée. She wasn't trying to bribe the headmaster, but he had been very understanding towards her and was a big supporter of Lions Gate. Besides, the tray was small, only three times the size of her hand.

"Thank you, Headmaster. I hope you enjoy it. Those are the flavors of the south." She gave him a small nod and turned around. She stepped out the door just in time to hear Headmaster Laurent slap a hand away.

"She gave it to me, not you, Legaspi." Tori held back a small chuckle and left the administration building. She had a basket in one arm and as she walked down the steps, she mentally crossed off the headmaster from her list of recipients. She'd run into Instructor Ignatius already and handed him a small box. He seemed very excited and thanked her. He became even more excited when she mentioned the old crystals she wanted him to look at.

Instructor Rosemund had been in the faculty room and Tori came to give her a box. The other instructors looked over, enviously, as Instructor Rosemund opened the tin and saw the prepared board, delighted. Tori had also given a larger one to the dorm commons kitchen staff. She and Ilyana were familiar with them, as Ilyana's reviews ran late and so they'd come by and drop off something for her to eat.

The last person on her list was Master McDouglass, who was likely at the practice grounds, checking the equipment in preparation for practice the next day. She headed down one of the walkways that cut through half of the school. There weren't any classes yet, but the school was already quite active. Students had been returning since morning and after bringing their things to their rooms, they went around to find their friends and catch up after the break.

Her friends were getting together for dinner off campus later that evening, after they were settled in. It shouldn't have surprised her to see that the heroine had also returned and was already with two of her main love interests. Normally, seeing Alessa would make Tori turn around and head in the opposite direction, but a small part of her couldn't help but parade in front of them just to show them that she was doing quite well. She kept her head up as she walked forward, intending to pretend she didn't see them.

She could see Alessa from the corner of her eye. The blonde protagonist seemed to shrink back and lower her head.

"Lady Guevera, good day," she said in a submissive voice. Tori gave her a curt nod in response and kept walking.

"It seems you're on good terms with my brother, Lady Guevera," Gideon said as she passed. Tori came to a slow stop and wanted to smirk. So, seeing them at the Prime Minister's party did bother the second prince. She restrained herself and turned around, giving him a small nod.

"He is the protege of my eldest brother and underclassman of my second brother," Tori said.

"Piers and I were introduced before school began." She watched Gideon's eye twitch at the sound of his brother's name coming from her lips. Tori cackled internally. That's right, I'm on the first name basis with your brother. We're cool.

"I see. Then you are familiar with him."

"Familiar enough." He's eaten my food and lets me eat for free at his cafe. Come to think of it, how come I've never seen Gideon at the cafe? Does he not know? Oh shit, maybe he doesn't know. Hah. Gideon's eyes narrowed.

"Then you should know that he doesn't like being around large groups of people. It was strange that my brother decided to suddenly attend Prime Minister Guthry's evening party. Was it because of you?"

"He made the decision for himself, Your Highness."

"They said that he was escorting you." Tori glanced at Alessa and noticed she looked surprised at this. Tori didn't show anything other than boredom as she answered.

"Even if he was, that is between me and Piers." Gideon scowled and took a step forward.

"My brother gets anxious in such settings! He hardly ever attends gatherings because of this. How dare you force him-""I didn't force him. I didn't even know he was invited until after I confirmed I was going," Tori said with narrowed eyes.

"I saw him standing by himself and went to accompany him because he looked uncomfortable. Since you knew he was there and was anxious, why didn't you stay with him?" This question seemed to catch Gideon by surprise. He furrowed his brows, confused; as if the thought to keep his brother company never occurred to him. Tori almost wanted to sneer.

"Lady Guevera, as a member of the imperial family, it is necessary for His Highness to make his social rounds," Fabian said, walking forward and almost moving in between them. Tori gave him a contemptuous look.

"Sir von Dorn, you're here, too. How are your ribs?" The reminder of her beating him weeks ago made him flush with frustration and irritation. The corner of Tori's lips curled up.

"Are they healed now?" He grit his teeth as hateful eyes bore into her.

"I'm perfectly fine. The injury was minor."

"You should thank Master McDouglass. Imagine if he didn't force you to wear the helmet and padded jacket." Part of her knew she shouldn't keep poking at him, but she wanted to remind him that the only thing that stopped her from utterly destroying him were the safety precautions they were forced to take and adult supervision.

"Lady Guevera is quite skilled with the sword," Alessa said with a weak smile.

"It was impressive." Tori glanced at her and gave her a small, appreciative smile.

"Thank you. You should see me with a dagger." She looked back at Gideon and gave him a small bow of her head.

"If you'll excuse me, Your Highness, I have an errand to finish before dinner." She looked at the trio as she stepped back.

"Have a good day."

"My brother is very kind, but dislikes large events. I ask you not to force him to attend gatherings where he is uncomfortable," Gideon said. Tori had turned her back and took a deep breath as she heard him. In general, she wouldn't force her friends into a situation where they were uncomfortable, but if they wanted to go outside their comfort zone, she would do her best to support them. Piers was an exception to this. For both his position and her survival, he needed to be forced into uncomfortable situations.

However, she wasn't going to just leave him to flounder around by himself.

"As a member of the imperial family, it is necessary for His Highness Prince Piers to make his social rounds," Tori said as she looked over her shoulder.

"And since Axton is in training for another month, I'll accompany Piers when asked. If that is a problem, then you should bring it up with Piers." The second prince looked awkward, as if he didn't want to bring up the subject with his brother. He didn't say anything further and Tori took her leave. As she held the basket against her, she wondered how Piers' relationship with his brother was. In retrospect, no one really mentioned it.

Piers never brought up Gideon and the only time her brothers had was in comparison to Piers. The wiki article also only mentioned Piers in passing. There was no detail on their relationship, but it didn't seem close. Not in a bad way, but simply distant. Gideon seemed to hold legitimate concern for his brother. Or at least didn't want his brother around her. Would it be too much to ask Piers if he and Gideon got along? Tori wrinkled her nose. Maybe that was a bit too personal.

She continued walking, passing by numerous students as she headed to the practice grounds. She was stopped a few more times and greeted by acquaintances. Captain Patrick even stopped her to ask if she was really going to cook 'that rice dish' for Ewan's birthday the following month. She just finished dropping off the charcuterie board to Master McDouglass and was heading back when her pleasant afternoon hit yet another roadblock.

Since she left the practice grounds, she couldn't help but feel that she was being watched. She slowed down a few times and glanced around, but couldn't find anyone who was looking at her. Am I being paranoid? She brought the basket closer to her and quickened her step. Tori thought she'd be used to people looking at her by now, but whoever was looking at her wasn't doing so casually or because they were silently judging her. It's a weird vibe....

"Lady Guevera." She whirled around and switched the basket from her right arm to her left before throwing her right arm behind her and letting the dagger slide from her sleeve and into her palm. She kept the weapon hidden behind her skirt as she adjusted her footing into a fighting stance. Tori gripped the hilt of the dagger and narrowed her eyes. She recognized the person who called her name, but didn't relax.

"Mr. Alvere," she said. Don't stab him. Calm your ass, Tori. He didn't do anything. Yet.

"Can I help you with anything?" Montan stood a few paces behind her, expressionless. No, not expressionless. She could see that hint of disgust, as if he were looking at a pest. Tori hadn't heard him approach nor did she see him standing near-by. Was this magic brought on by a charm? Or some sort of horror movie trope where the killer wasn't seen until he was about to kill someone, in which case, Tori wanted out immediately. Her eyes went over his body and noticed a slip of paper in his left hand.

She let out a low, breath of relief. Charms she could deal with. She looked back at Montan's face and was almost annoyed at how he was looking at her as if she were beneath him. She wasn't sure if it was because she was a noble and he hated nobles, or if it was because of Alessa.

"I suggest you stop bothering Alessa Hart." Okay, it's because of Alessa. Tori took a deep breath. It looked like it was going to be another one of those conversations.

"Mr. Alvere, I haven't done anything to Miss Hart." His eyes narrowed.

"You have caused her village to suffer. You had her friend arrested. You injured Sir von Dorn when he tried to reinstate her honor."

"No," Tori said.

"Not that you'll listen, but the state of her village is none of my business. Her friend broke into my store and vandalized my property on his own. And Sir von Dorn is overrated. I have instigated none of those things. But I know you don't care, so let's get to the point. What is your threat? If I 'bother' Miss Hart again, you're going to retaliate on her behalf? Maybe place one of those charms of yours on me?" His glare hardened.

"If you know, then stay away from her."

"You know we're in the same class, right?" Tori narrowed her eyes. Montan walked forward and stopped in front of her. He was a half a head taller and his good-looking, but not-as-good-looking-as-his-half-brother, face loomed in front of her with a darkened expression.

"I won't warn you again." Tori frowned and leaned close.

"The same to you." She moved her hand and there was a ripping sound. Montan looked down and saw that the piece of paper in his hand had been pierced by the tip of her dagger and ripped down the middle. Charms were only good if they were charged and were in one piece, undamaged. Thus, the biggest flaw of charms, for all their quick charging and bursts of power, was that they were made of paper and simply ripping it disabled it. Tori stepped back and as she relished his wide-eyed confusion.

She presumed no one had ever preemptively ripped one of his charms, but he was holding it in his hand the entire time. She wasn't sure if he was trying to show it off to scare her or an idiot who didn't know how to hide his cards. She lifted her dagger and adjusted her hand to go from a forward grip to a reverse grip.

"That's a nice charm. I bet you have a lot of them," Tori said as she slowly stepped away, smiling pleasantly.

"It would be a shame if something were to happen to them." His eyes turned to her and the earlier determination seemed to have been shaken. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

"Tori! Are you heading back to the dorm?" She heard a voice call out to her and she gave Montan a small nod as she slid her dagger back into her sleeve.

"Have a good day, Mr. Alvere." She turned around and walked off, waving towards Albert who was lugging a large bag behind him.

"Yes, I just finished dropping off the souvenirs... did you just get back?"

"I was just dropped off." He looked past her, towards Montan and tilted his head.

"Is everything all right?" Tori sighed and gave him a dismissive wave.

"Just a small chat about charms." She patted his shoulder.

"Here, give me that smaller bag. I'll help you carry it back." Anyone who was an academic student was both excited and nervous to receive their Lycée projects. Success would not only give them experience, but solidify their abilities in the eyes of the empire. The projects were usually general and not much detailed instruction was given. It was more like an order. Kasen's project assignment was simply 'increase medicinal plant supplies for the military'.

He ended up developing a greenhouse experiment to grow medicinal plants in Nordur, where the weather made growing most plants difficult. Crystals were involved, as were honeybees, and he had Uncle Maurizo's enthusiastic help. Now, many rare and generally difficult to find medicinal plants were grown in the Nordur greenhouses, under the Nordursin March for the military. Thus, Tori, Henrik, and Ilyana all expected their general orders to be 'develop a business'.

If it was, they planned to figure out an interconnected project between the three of them in order to leverage their strengths. They couldn't do a single project together, but there was a loophole to doing individual projects that were connected to others.

"I heard that this year, a lot of the projects are for local assistance," Ilyana said as she walked to class with Tori.

"Since there has been much more tension than usual at the eastern border, there has been an influx of people from the border region moving deeper into the empire. They need jobs and schools." Tori nodded.

"I understand that, but that sounds like something the empire should be dealing with, not a bunch of inexperienced students."

"I'm sure it won't be too bad. The projects are meant to help the empire, as well as give the student experience," Ilyana replied.

"But, the higher the student's rank, the more difficult the project tends to be." Tori cracked a small smile.

"Having regrets from coming in at number one?" Ilyana puffed out her cheeks.

"Never!" Tori chuckled as she opened the door to their classroom and stepped inside. Their homeroom was made up mainly of academic students. The air inside the room was filled with a sense of anticipation. Tori and Ilyana took their usual seats in the far corner of the back row. Instructor Rosemund arrived with a large box in her arms and the class, which had been bustling with excitement, went silent. Instructor Rosemund placed the box on her desk and looked up at the class.

She seemed to hold back an amused smile.

"It seems you are all aware of what's in this box," she said.

"These are, indeed, the projects for our academic students. When I call your name, come to pick up your portfolio. Do not open it until I give the word. Remember that the level of difficulty for each project has been selected based on your academic performance, as well as your personal abilities and resources. If you feel that your assigned project is beyond your ability, you may make an appointment to discuss with myself and the headmaster."

She said that, but apparently, it was seen as embarrassing to reject a project and it was rarely done. Most of the academic students were from noble or wealthy backgrounds; backing down from a project would be a sign that they're inept and would be humiliating.

"Miss Agafonova." Ilyana was the first to get her portfolio and she stood up and walked down the aisle to get it. Tori remained in her seat, waiting for her name to be called. When she was handed the leather folio that was tied closed, she couldn't help but feel a sense of dread.

While part of her felt that she should get a normal project based on her academic performance and resources because her brother had an even better record and got a relatively normal project, another part of Tori suspected that the game program would not let her off so easily. What would it be? Lead an army into battle? Logistical work for the military? Make an international trade deal with a hostile nation? Who the hell knew? She stared at the brown leather portfolio in front of her.

Her name was written on the upper corner with gold leaf. Why do I feel like that's kind of ominous...?

"Students. You may open your projects," Instructor Rosemund said. Tori's hands rose as she heard the order. She untied the fancy gold cords that kept the flaps of the folio closed and opened it. The class was silent for a moment as the students read their projects, then suddenly filled with noise as people either let out sighs of relief or expressed how difficult they felt the project was. Beside her, Ilyana's tense face eased. She nodded, satisfied.

"I have to help a group of people start a business and oversee it until the end of the project," she said. It was just what they expected. She smiled and looked at Tori.

"That's not too bad." Tori didn't reply. Her brows knit together as her eyes rose and re-read the document from the top once more. With each word, her face grew increasingly disapproving. Ilyana tilted her head and frowned.

"Tori?" A scraping of a chair against the wooden floor of the classroom was heard as Tori pushed back and stood up. Ilyana's eyes were wide.

"What's wrong?" Tori didn't answer. She grabbed the portfolio on her desk and marched to the front of the class. She stood in front of Instructor Rosemund's desk as she put the closed leather portfolio on the desk and pushed it forward.

"There must be some mistake. This can't possibly be handed to a student." Instructor Rosemund seemed to take a deep breath and lowered her eyes to look at the portfolio.

"I'm aware that your project in particular is difficult, Miss Guevera, but every academic student has been assigned a project that is best suited for them." Tori looked at the woman with disbelief.

"How is this best suited for me? I'm a fourteen-year-old student. I don't have any experience in this sort of thing!" She didn't know if her instructor expected her to reject the assignment, but Instructor Rosemund did not touch the portfolio.

"There were many projects handed to us for this year. After much discussion amongst the staff, it has been decided that you would be best for this project."

"How?" Tori looked at her, unable to believe that such a ridiculous thing could be pushed on her.

"I'm not vying for any sort of leadership or government position. Why hasn't this been given to His Highness or Mr. Guthry?" At the sound of their names, the two boys looked up behind her.

"Miss Guevera, the Lycée project is a time-honored tradition that has shaped the leadership of the empire for years."

"This isn't a project!" Tori cried out. The entire class seemed to turn their attention to her.

"This is a humanitarian crisis and a fourteen-year-old who has only been out of her hometown for a few months should not be put in charge of hundreds of lives!"

"Miss Guevera, that's enough!" Dimitri rose from his seat and frowned.

"You have no right to yell at Instructor Rosemund." She turned around and faced him with a cold look.

"Then who do I go to speak about this?" Dimitri hesitated.

"The headmaster...."

"I can't believe you're complaining about this." Gideon leaned back against his seat and gave her an annoyed look.

"With all you're capable of doing with your store, shouldn't you be able to deal with a few hundred people?" He tossed his own portfolio on to his desk and sneered.

"You make it sound like you're the only one." Tori narrowed her eyes.

"Then, what's your project?" Gideon lifted his chin, his face filled with confidence.

"Setting up a hospital in the thirteenth district." A hospital in the slums. How fucking original. She turned to Dimitri.

"And you?" Dimitri looked suspicious of her.

"Develop a trade school in Fosse village." That was one of the satellite villages outside of Horizon's city walls.

"I'm helping an orphanage with education," Alessa said from the front row. Shut up. No one fucking cares about you. Tori almost snapped at her, but held back. Gideon sneered at Tori once more.

"What is your project?" Tori's eyes were almost lifeless as she drew her head back and let out a cold, bitter laugh.

"Resettle 1, 583 refugees from the warfront of the eastern border in the wastelands of the Cosora Delta." She sniffled and lifted her hand to wipe at her eyes.

"What are they thinking: giving this to a kid? I've only been in Lycée for a few months. I don't have any training or experience in anything like this!" She didn't have any training or experience with refugees as a 40-year-old adult.

"These are people's lives that have already been displaced. How could their entire resettlement be thrown into the hands of an inexperienced teenager?" She was angry, but not for herself. Even if this world was just one big game in motion, it was still very much real and those refugees who fled because of war were real people whose real lives had been devastated and desperately needed real help. They deserved an actual, competent team of people to resettle and help them during such a time.

Let alone not being a normal project, like helping orphans; this was angering and frustrating because the game took it so fucking lightly. Did the developers think such a situation was a joke? People were dying and they thought it was a good idea to let some rich, sheltered teenager take care of them? This game was testing her.

"Tori...." Kasen, for the first time, sounded unsure.

"Have you spoken to the headmaster about this?"

"I have," she said, her voice still bitter.

"He says that it's not as bad as it seems. It was just that with the encroachment and raids by the Durage federation, it's been difficult for these border villagers to live in peace, so for their own safety, they've been evacuated and offered citizenship and land in Soleil." She let out a small, hateful laugh.

"They didn't even give them viable land, Kasey. The Cosora Delta is a bunch of marshy islands. These people are inland farmers!" It wasn't fair to them and she hated that the empire or the game or whatever the hell forced this hand made this happen. If this was a game she was playing, something like building a civilization or something, she'd think it would be a fun challenge. However, right now, this was not just a game. It was her life and these people were real and she was in charge of them.

She could not bring herself to act as if she had no empathy for the people, especially when she was going to meet them. I hate this stupid world. And feelings. Feelings are a burden. She heard her brother sigh heavily through the comcry.

"I can look up some people who may be able to help you," he said. Tori closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"I need architects that know how to build on soft marshland, I need builders, I need supplies, I need well diggers and excavators, doctors, teachers...." There was so much needed.

"You are not lacking money," Kasen reminded her.

"That's not the point," Tori said in a low voice. She took a deep breath. What the fuck does this game want me to do, build Venice? This isn't that sort of game!

"Tori, are you all right?" Kasen asked. She took another breath and shook her head, although Kasen couldn't see her.

"I need to do some research this week and then go to the delta this weekend to meet with the village heads."

"Don't go alone. Ask Auntie Lucia to go with you."

"Yeah." Tori stretched out her legs on the soft, purple cushions of the settee and reached for the comcry on the windowsill.

"Thank you for listening to me, Kasey. I'm sorry I bothered you."

"Don't ever be sorry for such a thing," Kasen said, firmly.

"I am here whenever you need me." Tori slid her hand across the crystal and ended the call. She remained laying on her back, staring at the now familiar wooden beams above her, in the private room above Cafe Fortuna. She had been upset the entire day because of her assigned project, but she should've known the game wasn't going to let her have something manageable or even local. Of her class, her project would take her the furthest from the capital.

The Cosora Delta was a several hour carriage ride following the Cosora River southeast. It emptied into the Asona Sea, which was actually a large freshwater lagoon. The delta portion was just part of the extended marshlands. No one wanted to try to live there or farm it, which was likely why it remained unsettled and vacant for the refugees. At most, there were fishermen, but it was only seasonal. Not even the two nearby duchies wanted to have the region under them.

Tori ground her teeth together at the thought of it.

"Is this a fucking dating sim or world building game," she said as she sat up. She looked up and glared at the ceiling.

"You fucking game, you really want to put me in a helpless position don't you? If I fuck up in any way, my reputation is gone, everyone will think I'm incompetent, and I'll fail my project, resulting in getting expelled.

"Not only that, but if people suffer - if people die because of me, that's ammunition for Gideon and Dimitri. I won't have time for much outside of this project and there is so much that can go wrong. How easy would it be for that cow-bastard or magic-jerk to step in? You're really fucking testing me, you piece of shit world," she hissed in a low, hateful voice. No matter how angry or resentful she was at this latest middle finger she was presented with, she could not change it.

The only thing she could do was throw money at it, and even that had its limitations. In order for it to be considered a successful project, the student must oversee the entire thing. She couldn't pay for someone to do everything for her. Even if the resettlement was a complete success because she hired a team to do everything for her, the project would still be considered failing because she did nothing but write a blank check. In a way, it was tempting. She genuinely wanted to help resettle those people.

There was no doubt in her mind that she wanted to help them. The problem was she was severely lacking in experience. Not only did she not know what the hell she was doing, there was no guarantee that the villagers would want to work with her. If she was a village head and found out that the resettlement of her entire village was put in the hands of an inexperienced teenager, she'd think it was a joke. Who would take her seriously?

Marquis' daughter or not, there was nothing about her that would make her a legitimate, respected manager of the resettlement process. If they didn't want to work with her, her hands were tied. Forcing them would create resistance and tension. How good would it look if the village hated her? That wouldn't exactly be considered successful. If she was going to throw money at this, she needed to be careful in how she did it.

She needed to establish a respectful and trusting relationship with the villagers, which likely meant she had to prove her competence and ability. She needed to make sure they were safe and that their basic necessities were met. Then, she could work with them to figure out a means of livelihood on the marshes. Some sort of industry to sustain them, perhaps fishing if they couldn't farm, or craft work to sell in bigger cities. She narrowed her eyes.

"Or a store or a restaurant...." Her hand gripped the comcry as her heart quickened. She spent half her life traveling and one of her favorite things to do was hang out by the water, be it play on a beach, stroll on a river walk, or have a lakeside dinner. It was always a relaxing way to end a day and the delta wasn't so far from Horizon that people wouldn't travel overnight to spend a long weekend unwinding by the water. And it wasn't as if building by or on watery places was new.

Ancient peoples had done so in her world; there must've been some history of such a thing in the Romance of Soleil's world. Is this... challenge accepted? There were worse scenarios the game could've thrown at her. Not many, but a few. If this were a Chinese manhua, she could be dealing with some plague in a godforsaken region of the empire and forced to not only battle a spreading disease, but also local government corruption and incompetence.

A knock came from the door and she snapped herself out of her luxury lakeside resort delusions. She stood up and walked across the room. Mama J said she would bring her some of her comfort chicken soup when she arrived, but Tori asked for a few minutes so she could call her brother and let out her frustrations. Now that she thought about it, she was embarrassed to have cried. Perhaps she just needed to let it out.

She lifted her hand to make sure her eyes were no longer teary before she reached for the door handle and pulled it open. Instead of the warm, round woman, a tall man was holding a tray with her soup, coffee, and dessert. Tori looked up, confused. Before she could ask what he was doing there, he spoke up.

"Do you want me to come with you?" How much did Piers hear? Tori shook her head. It didn't matter.

"Do you have time?" He nodded.

"Good." She reached forward and took the tray from his hands.

"Because as a member of the imperial family, this is supposed to be your job."