The next day, those with parents started trying to convince them that fleeing was the right decision.
Sallia had the easiest time of it. Her parents were aware of my existence, since both of us lived in the slums and there was no reason to keep our friendship hidden. When Sallia mentioned that Verne had lost fort Branzo, her parents got very twitchy. A big loss on the front lines probably meant that the army recruiters would be more desperate than before to get fresh blood into the army and help stabilize the front lines, and Sallia’s father was only a little out of the age range for being dragged into the army again after his initial mandatory years of service. He was a factory worker for a gun factory, which would normally save him from being called back to the army - but if the army got desperate enough, it was hard to say whether they would still call him back in.
When Sallia mentioned that I was fleeing the city with my ‘parents’ and my little brother, they seemed more than happy to tag along with us. Of course, Sallia’s parents seemed to expect that they would return to the city after the war was settled. They seemed to believe that given Verne’s industrial prowess, it was unlikely to lose the war - things would just get dangerous for a while. I didn’t know how strong each country’s army was, so I didn’t have a strong opinion about who would win the war - I just didn’t want to get dragged into the conflict somehow. But when Sallia mentioned her parent’s assumptions, I did start thinking about where I wanted to go after leaving the city. And that brought me to a surprising conclusion.
I was actually kind of interested in leaving the country. I intended to ask Old Mo where he was heading after we left the city, and then possibly follow along if he had some sort of organized plan. I currently suspected he was a spy for another country, or possibly a retired spy for our own country. If he had a contact that could help us settle down in a new city, I would be happy to try living somewhere else.
If we returned to this city, life would probably continue in much the same way it always had. I would return to being a slums kid, barely scraping by from one week to the next and thinking about money. When I got a little older, I would have the ability to start working as a shady healer, which would earn me some more money, and probably a good amount of influence achievement from healing people. But ultimately, my Achievement gains - and more importantly, the entirety of my life - would probably never amount to much in this world. Becoming a shady healer wasn’t my idea of an ‘ideal future,’ even if it was ‘good enough’ to get by. But I wanted more out of life, and at least in this city, pulling myself up in the world was incredibly hard. With Old Mo’s help, or with a fresh start away from the prying eyes of Verne’s military, I would have an easier time becoming something more.
When I mentioned this to Felix, Sallia, and Anise, they were mostly in favor of the idea. Felix was in much the same position I was, and Sallia and her family were also scraping by in this city.
Anise herself didn’t seem to mind the idea of moving. However, her parents proved to be a bigger stumbling block.
Shortly after she went to have a talk with her parents, she returned to the communication bracelets. Her mental voice sounded glum when she spoke with us.
she said.
I frowned. I had somewhat anticipated someone’s family not being willing to leave. After all, our families had lives outside of us. Even if the four of us were in favor of fleeing the city before the army arrived, others might not be willing to leave behind everything they had built up here.
Anise’s family was also the wealthiest one among the four of us. They had the most to lose, so it made sense they were the most reluctant to leave.
I asked.
The next day, those with parents started trying to convince them that fleeing was the right decision.
Sallia had the easiest time of it. Her parents were aware of my existence, since both of us lived in the slums and there was no reason to keep our friendship hidden. When Sallia mentioned that Verne had lost fort Branzo, her parents got very twitchy. A big loss on the front lines probably meant that the army recruiters would be more desperate than before to get fresh blood into the army and help stabilize the front lines, and Sallia’s father was only a little out of the age range for being dragged into the army again after his initial mandatory years of service. He was a factory worker for a gun factory, which would normally save him from being called back to the army - but if the army got desperate enough, it was hard to say whether they would still call him back in.
When Sallia mentioned that I was fleeing the city with my ‘parents’ and my little brother, they seemed more than happy to tag along with us. Of course, Sallia’s parents seemed to expect that they would return to the city after the war was settled. They seemed to believe that given Verne’s industrial prowess, it was unlikely to lose the war - things would just get dangerous for a while. I didn’t know how strong each country’s army was, so I didn’t have a strong opinion about who would win the war - I just didn’t want to get dragged into the conflict somehow. But when Sallia mentioned her parent’s assumptions, I did start thinking about where I wanted to go after leaving the city. And that brought me to a surprising conclusion.
I was actually kind of interested in leaving the country. I intended to ask Old Mo where he was heading after we left the city, and then possibly follow along if he had some sort of organized plan. I currently suspected he was a spy for another country, or possibly a retired spy for our own country. If he had a contact that could help us settle down in a new city, I would be happy to try living somewhere else.
If we returned to this city, life would probably continue in much the same way it always had. I would return to being a slums kid, barely scraping by from one week to the next and thinking about money. When I got a little older, I would have the ability to start working as a shady healer, which would earn me some more money, and probably a good amount of influence achievement from healing people. But ultimately, my Achievement gains - and more importantly, the entirety of my life - would probably never amount to much in this world. Becoming a shady healer wasn’t my idea of an ‘ideal future,’ even if it was ‘good enough’ to get by. But I wanted more out of life, and at least in this city, pulling myself up in the world was incredibly hard. With Old Mo’s help, or with a fresh start away from the prying eyes of Verne’s military, I would have an easier time becoming something more.
When I mentioned this to Felix, Sallia, and Anise, they were mostly in favor of the idea. Felix was in much the same position I was, and Sallia and her family were also scraping by in this city.
Anise herself didn’t seem to mind the idea of moving. However, her parents proved to be a bigger stumbling block.
Shortly after she went to have a talk with her parents, she returned to the communication bracelets. Her mental voice sounded glum when she spoke with us.
she said.
I frowned. I had somewhat anticipated someone’s family not being willing to leave. After all, our families had lives outside of us. Even if the four of us were in favor of fleeing the city before the army arrived, others might not be willing to leave behind everything they had built up here.
Anise’s family was also the wealthiest one among the four of us. They had the most to lose, so it made sense they were the most reluctant to leave.
I asked.
