Collapse, the Ordinary Daily Life of the Valkyries

"Blinded by those liberal ideas, he dropped out of college and eloped to Canada. Even more outrageous, he married a wild woman from that place, bringing shame to our family."

The girl's cheeks flushed with anger, and her eyes flashed with a lightning-like light. She protested loudly:

"My mother is a native, not a savage!"

The old man pretended not to hear.

"Then you are the child born of my unworthy son and the barbarian's daughter. What is your name?"

"My name is Kelian, and I'm sixteen years old." The girl answered while suppressing her emotions.

Lord Brickell looked at the girl coldly.

"This is the first time I've met you. You have the letter signed by Morris, but other than that, you have nothing to prove your identity."

"So, Uncle, no, Your Excellency, are you going to acknowledge this granddaughter?"

These words came from a middle-aged man standing next to the Earl. The room was too dark to tell whether he was thirty or forty. Since he addressed the Earl as "Uncle," he must be his nephew. To Corian, he was her father's cousin.

"It is not the time for such things. Don't hurry me, Marseille."

Count Brickell glared at him, and the man named Marseille fell silent. Count Brickell coughed loudly, seemingly on purpose, and turned to the girl named Corian.

"So, what year is it, Corian?"

"1830."

Corian answered in confusion. The old earl nodded pretentiously.

"Yes, 1830. How old would he have been, if he had still lived?"

"My father?"

"Your father is an unfilial son. I don't care how old he is."

The old Earl spat out these words with malice. Corian's cheeks burned with anger. The Earl seemed unconcerned by his granddaughter's reaction.

"Marseille, if he were still alive, how old would he be?"

"Who are you talking about?" Marseille asked patiently.

Lord Brickell replied:

"Napoleon."

Marseille's eyes widened at the unexpected name. Corian, on the other hand, wasn't surprised. Born in Canada, Corian didn't have a particular impression of the name Napoleon.

"You mean the Emperor Napoleon?"

"Emperor?! That powerful villain, more vicious than a jackal, don't call him emperor! How can you be considered a subject of the Kingdom of France?"

"I...I spoke out of turn. Please forgive me."

Marseille quickly wiped the sweat off his face with a handkerchief.

"After Waterloo, Napoleon was exiled to St. Helena and died there in 1821. He would have been fifty-two years old at the time of his death. That was nine years ago, and if he were still alive, he would be sixty-one now. But why do you suddenly ask about this?"

The old count did not immediately answer Marseille's question, but simply stared at the flames in the fireplace. Marseille shrugged slightly, leaned his head in the direction of Corian, and asked softly:

"Corian, you know Napoleon, right?"

"I've heard of his name."

Miscellaneous: Other

It was an early morning. I tucked my lower body into the kotatsu, ate a three-colored chicken bento (¥390) from a convenience store, and watched TV. I dozed off before I knew it. Half asleep, I noticed a faint bluish-white light filtering through the gaps in the curtains, and sparrows began to chirp.

The television was on, making a rustling sound, and the screen was a patchwork of gray and white, a jumble of noises. There was no signal on any of the channels, and while there was an image on the screen, it was extremely weak and blurry. Perhaps it was because I had just woken from a nap, and my consciousness was still half-clear, that I could see a faint human figure on the noisy TV screen.

Looking at the screen with his mouth slightly open, he said, "Sha, sha, can you hear it? Sha, sha ...

The originally unclear figure gradually took shape. Although it was still a little distorted, it was clear that the figure on the screen was a woman.

The image that appeared was a close-up of a face, so close that even the deepest part of the nostrils seemed clearly visible. The screen was still grayish-white.

Suddenly, the noise in the picture disappeared, and the woman on the screen began to speak in a very clear voice.

"Hey! Can you hear me?"

The woman was smiling. She wore fashionable glasses with only the lower rims, and a doll-like hairstyle that made people wonder, "Who still wears that hairstyle in this day and age?" She was probably in her early twenties.

"Is it okay? Can you see? Can you hear?"

"Oh. I can see it. I can hear it, too," he replied perfunctorily. Actually, he had a habit of talking back to the TV (in a strange accent, of course), a quirk he couldn't bring himself to share with others.

The woman nodded as if she heard his reply, and a smile appeared on her face again.

"Well, let me ask you—you who are watching TV, how are you?"

"Oh, I'm fine."

"Hehe. It really sounds like someone who just woke up. I'm the host of 'The Outside View', Yari no Take. Please give me your guidance!"

"My name is Igarashi—"

"Oh—your name is Igarashi?"

"That's right—"

"Alright, since this is due to radio interference, I'll get straight to the point. Please prepare a pen and paper."

"I understand—"

He took out his loose-leaf notebook and ballpoint pen.

"Okay. Next, Igarashi, please write down your full name, age, phone number, and address on a piece of paper. Once you're done, please hold it up to the screen so I can see it."

Because he was very sleepy, his handwriting was crooked, but not illegible. He turned the notebook towards the TV screen.

"Hmm, your name is Igarashi Teppei, right? Seventeen years old, second year in high school—yeah. Okay, no problem. Well, I'll come visit you some other day."

“Oh—”

"Then please rest early."

"Good night—"

With a snap, he fell asleep on the table.

When I was about to fall asleep, the sound of the TV seemed to turn back into a rustling noise.

When he woke up again, he had completely forgotten about the incident. Although he had the impression that something had happened, he had overslept that morning and was almost late, so he still couldn't really remember it.

It was a month later that I saw the woman on TV again.

Christmas Eve.

Christmas Eve.

The first part of the series, "Hail Christmas!", Episode 1, "Hail Christmas Boy!"

Four hours and ten minutes left

Tieping was so bored that he felt anxious.

In a room that spanned six tatami mats, a man lay on his back, legs stretched out on the kotatsu, staring listlessly at the ceiling like a lost soul—unconsciously counting the stains on the ceiling. Orange peels were scattered across the kotatsu. The TV was on, but the room's occupant wasn't watching it, but rather staring at the ceiling. From any angle, he looked like a complete idler, alone in his room.

Today is my high school graduation ceremony.

The long-awaited winter break is finally here, and Teppei plans to have a blast. He'll shove his less-than-stellar final exams and the report card that nearly got him called in by his teacher into his backpack, and head out to sing with some friends for a good time. Having slept in until almost noon, Teppei plans to have a good night's singing tonight, then head to a friend's house for some drinks and a good time.

But──every student shook their head and refused.

"Today is Christmas Eve."

That's right.

The graduation ceremony of Tieping School is held on December 24th every year.

"Today our family is having a Christmas party," every friend answered in unison. One friend, A, said, "Today I'm going to have a Christmas party with my girlfriend." But before he could finish his sentence, he was dragged aside and beaten up.

"Party?" Teppei frowned. "I'm already in high school, what's the fun in having a party with my family?"

"Whether it's fun or not is one thing," Friend B replied. "That's how Christmas should be celebrated."

Who says life has to be this way? At least not for Teppei.

Christmas Eve at the Igarashi family isn't a "family gathering," but a "couple's event." This morning, I saw my parents smiling and walking out hand in hand.

Since we usually spend time together, let's at least be alone today.

Leave your pocket money here and go find something to eat.

Honey, let's go out.

OK! Baby, I won't let you go tonight──

Thinking about the horrifying conversation that morning, Teppei sighed. In the end, he didn't meet anyone, so he went home alone.

The laughter continued to emanate from the TV. The screen was showing a Christmas Eve special, a show that only made it more depressing. Teppei fumbled with the remote and turned off the TV.

Looking back, I've always spent Christmas alone, starting last year, the year before, and even before. Every Christmas Eve morning, my parents would go out and not come home until after Christmas the following day. During that time, Teppei would always find friends and ask if they were free, but everyone was either with family or friends. Although I've lived with relatives since I was a child, I've always spent Christmas alone. I suppose I attended a "family Christmas party" at my relatives' house, but I don't remember anything like that. So, I had no idea what the "normal Christmas Eve" was like in society.

Miscellaneous: Random Thoughts

"I'm really happy today... Thank you... You know, I'm also on the verge of breaking point. If you make me fall in love with you any more, I won't be able to go home. I won't want to let go."

"That's fine."

"Not yet... yet... I'm sorry."

Home, where my loved ones are. I don't want to deprive Misao of anything important, and even if I did… as much as I want to cherish everything that makes her who she is, I also want so badly to keep her inside of me, to claim her as my own.

He clearly didn't want to destroy anything, but he also wanted to make her his at all costs, and he felt miserable because of this.

"This should be enough, a little spell for sleeping."

"Huh?" While she was taking a step back, I touched her soft breasts.

Snap! Sparks burst before my eyes.

"Why did you hit me?!"

"That's terrible! Idiot, the atmosphere is ruined! I'm ignoring you!"

Misao said this coldly and closed the entrance door heavily.

The sky was pitch black...and it was quiet. Cars, trams, music playing on the streets...while the noises created by humans were clamorous, there was a stillness unnoticed by humans, a quiet winter night.

The temperature is getting colder.

Volume 1 MISSING 1 MISSING

*** Harada Misao

"Oh no! I overslept and I'm going to be late!"

I jumped up.

"strangeness……?"

The first thing that caught my eye was the uniform skirt I was wearing. Did I fall asleep without changing my clothes?

This will make the clothes wrinkled, and the uniform top won’t need to be changed.

I hurriedly tried to smooth my clothes... "It hurts!"

I found myself unable to move my hands. My wrists seemed to be tied behind my back, crossed and bound. It felt like the hemp rope biting into my wrists...

"Where is this place?"

The room was unfamiliar. A dimly lit Japanese-style room, about eight tatami mats wide. One wall had a paper window, tightly shut, preventing any air from entering. The rest was white, with a niche containing a landscape scroll. On the innermost wall was a single sliding door clad in pure white paper.

　When I got home, I was sitting on the brand new tatami.

There was also a small coffee table with a vase of camellias and a ceramic dish that resembled an incense burner. The back of the coffee table was covered with Japanese paper, and on top of it lay my schoolbag and shoes.

I don't feel cold.

It was the middle of winter and there was no air conditioning or heater to be seen, but it was as warm as if the air conditioning was on.

...What a sweet fragrance.

Suddenly, a sweet scent similar to perfume or essential oil wafted over.