egathentale

The Simulacrum - Chapter 91 - Part 1

"Great job, everyone," Ammy announced, standing in front of our classmates in the mostly empty gym. She had already changed back to her uniform, and she looked tired yet satisfied. "The concert was a resounding success thanks to all of your hard work."

Her words were followed by a round of cheers that echoed in the empty hall despite the stage still taking up nearly a third of it. She waited for things to quiet down before she continued.

"The show took a little longer than expecte...

The Simulacrum - Chapter 90 - Part 3

Ah. The long-awaited school festival of Blue Cherry High. It was a day full of bustle, and fun, and romance, and...

"Leo! Come quick, there's trouble!"

"Oh come on! I just finished fixing the lights! What is it this time?"

Angie visibly shuddered in response to my shouting, thought to be fair, I pretty much had to be yelling to let my voice be heard in the noisy backstage.

"The back entrance is getting clogged again! There are too many people trying to get in! We need ...

The Simulacrum - Chapter 90 - Part 2

"Ah, 'at hits th' spot!" the large knight sighed and put his half-empty keg back onto the table in the middle of the Knights' barracks.

"Drink responsibly," I noted between two gulps of my lemonade, and Duncan looked at me like he was the one tasting something sour.

"Just let him drown his sorrows. It's every man's right," Roland commented on my other side, earning him a sideways glance for his trouble.

"That's a dangerous sentiment. I don't want to see any drunken fights in...

The Simulacrum - Chapter 90 - Part 1

Naoren's handshake was firm, yet not overbearing. I tried to make mine the same, though I wasn't sure I succeeded in the attempt. I've got a mark out of it either way, so I couldn't exactly complain.

"Goodbye senior, and thank you for your teachings!" the small girl at our side grinned ear-to-ear and gave me yet another fist-against-palm salute. I had no idea why she was thankful, as I only shared a few common-sense platitudes with her, but if she was happy with that much, I wasn't goin...

The Simulacrum - Chapter 89 - Part 3

Naoren's temporary office was situated on the top floor of the building, and it was about as unnecessarily spacious as expected. By the looks of it, it must've used to be the penthouse suite of the hotel, but it was thoroughly remodeled to serve its new purpose. That said, the room itself was fairly bare, with a large hardwood desk dominating the place, sitting on a raised platform in front of the huge windows overlooking the city, with a simple glass-top coffee table and several carved chair...

The Simulacrum - Chapter 89 - Part 2

“I’m still not sure this is a good idea.”

“You worry too much, Dormouse. It’s going to be fine,” I told my dear assistant while lacing my shoes.

“I wouldn’t be worrying so much if you didn’t keep getting into hairy situations,” she shot back, and I couldn’t really say anything to that.

I shared the events of my little jaunt as Bel last night with her, with certain parts naturally omitted, and while she applauded me for managing to mark the grand elder, ...

The Simulacrum - Chapter 89 - Part 1

Once I asked the question of why the island had so many underground lairs and facilities. In a similar vein, now I had to ask how such a seemingly booming, the first world island nation had so many abandoned office buildings. 

But then again, the vast, vast majority of the population consisted of placeholders who were still sticking to their daily routines like automatons, so maybe the buildings getting deserted after work hours wasn’t that surprising. Who knows? Maybe they were ...

The Simulacrum - Chapter 88 - Part 4

"Good night!" Elly rose to her tiptoes and gave me a chaste kiss. "Don't forget the stage."

It took me a moment to realize she was talking about the stage for the school festival concert. I had no idea what I was supposed to remember about it, but I still obediently answered, "I won't. Also, for the record, it's barely evening yet."

"Hush, Chief. Nobody likes a nitpicker," Judy scolded me, but then she glanced down at the ring on her finger and added, "Other than me."

"Us," ...

The Simulacrum - Chapter 88 - Part 3

"... Excuse me? Could you repeat that?"

I made an effort to sound calm, but Snowy still shuddered like I was scolding her.

"I... I didn't do it on purpose!" she burst out, and her panicked words flooded over me like water from a broken dam. "It just happened! I don't know why! I-I mean, think I know, but I’m not sure! I wanted to get along with her because she's your sister, and I was afraid that if we kept arguing, you would take her side, and then I would have nowhere to go, s...

The Simulacrum - Chapter 88 - Part 2

"Haaaa!"

Josh lunged at me from a crouching position. The fingers on his left hand were bent like claws, while the ones in his right were balled into a fist he raised high. It wasn't quite a haymaker, but close enough where it was still clearly telegraphed. I took half a step back and used the butt of my training spear to strike at the leg he put forward, but before I could hit it, he abruptly pivoted onto his other feet and lashed out with his left hand.

My danger sense… well, ...

The Simulacrum - Chapter 88 - Part 1

The temperature in the room instantly dropped by a couple of degrees. Or was it just me? In any case, the question came right out of the left field and hit me with a surprise hook that left me reeling for a moment.

"The Conduit of the Grimoire?" I echoed my host in an effort to buy myself some time to rearrange my thoughts.

"Yes."

That short answer didn't exactly give me the time I wanted, but it was better than nothing. I took a deep breath, and said, "If I recall right, it...

The Simulacrum - Chapter 87 - Part 4

"Don't make a scene," Judy warned me sternly, then a brief pause later she rose to her tiptoes and gave me a peck on my cheek.

"... I'm not going to lie, Dormouse, I think I'm getting mixed messages here."

"It's for good luck," my other girlfriend declared, and pecked me on the other side.

"Well, I admit I feel lucky, but I don't know how that applies to the current situation."

The girls ignored my gripes, and this time Ammy came to the front to tell me, "Grandfather i...

The Simulacrum - Chapter 87 - Part 3

School, as always, remained a constant stake anchoring us into our everyday lives, whether there were any annoying tournament-arc shenanigans or not. Speaking of which, since I just reminded myself of the source of my current headaches, I let out an obligatory sigh and slouched even further down in my seat.

The class just ended, and I honestly couldn’t tell what subject we had. Not because I was so out of it, but due to the whole class being worked up into a pre-school-festival fervor...

Minor update

Hello, Dear Readers.

Today's a mixed day. You might've noticed, but my Patreon took a pretty big hit this time. Part of it is due to the sanctions over the Russo-Ukrainian conflict. As it turns out, roughly 13% of my income was coming from there. Patreon notified me about this in early March, so it wasn't completely unexpected, but still an unwelcome change.

A bigger hit was the departure of AjiTae, the absolute madlad (or madladette, I don't know for sure) who took the $100 tier ...

The Simulacrum - Chapter 87 - Part 2

The atmosphere in the hall was tense. Not quite as tense as a piano wire, but closer to a suspension bridge cable. The kind that wasn't likely to snap, but when it did, all hell would break loose. We locked eyes with Josh for several seconds, until I inhaled deeply, straightened my back... and dropped my shoulders with a groan

"Oh, come on, man! Don't do this to me!" My earnest plea fell on deaf ears, so I did my best to regain my momentum by asking, "Can you even tell me why you want t...

The Simulacrum - Chapter 87 - Part 1

Critias had its own Chinatown. This wasn’t news to me, considering that’s where I first managed to track down Mountain Girl. However, I was still a little stumped by the literal pagoda in the city outskirts, where the Eastern Draconians set up their lodgings. Though again, the Dracis had a huge-ass mansion in the middle of a perfectly ordinary picket-fence neighborhood, so maybe I was overreacting.

But let’s ignore the ostentatiously Chinese outside, and focus on the ostentatiousl...

April Fool's 2022

My eyes popped wide open as an ominous chill ran down my spine, and I reflexively sat up in my bed. Then I paused and glanced down at the blankets covering me, and my apprehension turned into confusion. What was I doing in my bed? Was I sleeping? Why was I sleeping?

Still groggy, I kicked off the covers and rose to my feet, only to freeze in place when I realized that I was in my birthday suit. That was mildly alarming. Thankfully, it didn't take long to find my boxers, as they were dis...

The Simulacrum - Chapter 86 - Part 3

"Okay, so now that we've all settled down, can someone please explain to me what exactly happened in the ballroom?"

"Not yet!" Angie objected. "We need to set Josh's nose first."

"Wait, is it that bad?" the guy sitting on the armchair I occupied just a few short minutes ago asked in alarm, but instead of an answer, his childhood friend only waved her hands over his head while humming a jazzy tune.

"You'll live," I reassured him, though it didn't have much of an effect. "If y...

The Simulacrum - Chapter 86 - Part 2

"I must admit, I've always been rather partial to tea, as opposed to other traditional beverages," the bespectacled Draconian sitting in front of me mused as he held his earless cup in both hands, and I couldn't help but nod and raise my own cup in response.

"I can completely agree with the sentiment."

"Is that so?" Naoren whispered with an amicable smile and took a careful sip from his cup. "Do you prefer green or black tea?"

"Either or," I responded and took a whiff of my ...

Update

Hello, Dear Readers.

You've probably noticed, but I've been kind of inactive as of late. It's been a combination of working with my publisher on the second book, being sick (or rather, exhausted), and the whole Ukraine situation kind of screwing everyone over in this corner of the world. Then, naturally, the head of our institute decided that, with prices going haywire, refugees coming, and us being incredibly understaffed in general, the most important thing was to hold a Farsang (a ki...

The Simulacrum - Chapter 86 - Part 1

One-two-three, one-two-three, one-two-three. Left foot goes there, right foot goes there, rinse and repeat. Honestly, whoever invented the waltz had to be some kind of marketing genius, as I have no idea how something this simple could become the staple dance of ballrooms around the world. Elly was really into it though, so I kept my complaints to myself.

After starting the banquet with two wrong feet, who would've thought that the dinner following after Naoren's introduction would be e...

The Simulacrum - Volume 4 Extra 2: A completely average day in a completely average secret base

Here's a question for the ages: Has anyone ever seen swords making sparks during battle? I don't mean the occasional blink-and-you-miss-it sparks, I've seen my fair share of those while sparring with the Fauns, and I even got scolded by Brang for damaging the weapons. No, I mean the ones that make it look like the blades are made of especially volatile Christmas sparklers. I know it's a trope, and it's definitely effective when it comes to getting the message of 'oh, wow, that was one powerfu...

The Simulacrum - Chapter 85 - Part 3

The silence hanging over the grand hall was unexpectedly chilly. I meant that literally; unlike the back entrance where we (and presumably most of the other guests) entered, the main doors opened to the outside, and the gusts of cold air coming in made everyone just a little apprehensive.

I expected that Sebastian would announce each new arrival by their titles, but instead the whole group just walked in at once, three abreast. There was no mistaking who they were, as their fashion styl...

The Simulacrum - Chapter 85 - Part 2

"Have I ever told you that I really don't like parties that much?"

"Only five times in the last half an hour," Judy responded flatly and fixed my collar again. "Here. Looks good to me."

"Wow. I never thought you would look that intimidating in a suit," Josh commented from the other side of the room, which was rich coming from him, considering he was also wearing one with his hair slicked back, and it made him look like a young gangster.

"I know, right?" Elly agreed maybe jus...

The Simulacrum - Chapter 85 - Part 1

As I slumped down onto the barstool in front of me, I was met with a wide grin and a chipper, "[Do you require any refreshments?]" from the elderly Faun casually shining a shot glass on the other side.

"Please stop pretending to be a bartender and give me a bottle of soda."

"[Thine words carry quite the oxymoron,]" Brang told me with a chuckle, and it took inhuman willpower to stop myself from groaning.

"I won't even question why your language even has the word 'oxymoron', s...

The Simulacrum - Volume 4 Extra 1: Just a small change

The space between spaces. The final frontier. These are the voyages of the Starship Leonard. Its mission: to find out where the bloody hell he was, and to figure out how to go somewhere else. Preferably boldly.

This noble goal was unfortunately made much more complicated by the fact that in the unending inky blackness surrounding me, there were no directions, so I couldn't get anywhere by definition. In fact, my environs weren't even black; I figured it was closer to what someone who wa...

The Simulacrum - Chapter 84 - Part 3

"Judy's dad is a policeman?"

In response to my sister's question, Judy exhaled a long sigh and told her, "It's complicated."

For some reason Snowy glanced at me at this point and let out a giggle, but before I could ask why, she returned to fluffing the cushions on the couch. I didn't know why; our guests were only going to stay for a few minutes before we moved on. Maybe she just wanted to be a good host as an extension of her maid hobby? It would also explain her habit of offeri...

The Simulacrum - Chapter 84 - Part 2

"Wow, Dormouse. You weren't kidding."

It was already Friday, the non-negotiable date of my non-negotiable dinner with Judy's family, and the first thing that hit me in the face upon entering their house was a wave of military-grade holiday spirit.

"It's a little excessive, isn't it?" my dear assistant whispered and took off her cap.

"A little," I answered as my eyes glided over the sea of garlands, plethora of Christmas lights, and countless red and gold balls hanging from e...

The Simulacrum - Chapter 84 - Part 1

Part 1

The ceiling was quite boring. I know, I know; it's a revolutionary observation that requires some time to digest, so let me stress this again. The ceiling was really, really boring. Unfortunately, I had little choice but to stare at it all morning, as I was too out of it to do anything productive, yet not out of it enough to knock me out and let me have a nap. It was the worst of both worlds.

My experimental breakthrough last afternoon resulted in a predictable fever, so ...

The Simulacrum - Chapter 83 - Part 3

"An auction?"

Judy sounded rather intrigued as she swiveled around on my chair, so I pushed myself up from the bed and answered, "That's what dad-in-law told me yesterday. It's something they just do whenever there's a big congregation of Eastern Draconians."

"So it's a tradition?"

"Something like that," I said with a shrug.

In case it wasn't obvious, we were in my room at the moment. Judy came over after school, and we've been discussing things, experimenting, and foo...