Chapter 3 is done! I know I"m averaging about a week on these chapters, but I gotta admit, it really only takes two days. I just get distracted that d.a.m.n easily. Especially when I discover new stuff. Like this week, I started watching Attack on t.i.tan.... HOLY h.e.l.l!! I love that d.a.m.n show! I re-watched episodes 1-14 three times in as many days o.O;;;; Speaking of which, a new episode is coming out tomorrow-ish....

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Chapter 3 is done! I know I"m averaging about a week on these chapters, but I gotta admit, it really only takes two days. I just get distracted that d.a.m.n easily. Especially when I discover new stuff. Like this week, I started watching Attack on t.i.tan.... HOLY h.e.l.l!! I love that d.a.m.n show! I re-watched episodes 1-14 three times in as many days o.O;;;; Speaking of which, a new episode is coming out tomorrow-ish....

Back on topic, I forgot to mention before that I do I add in ‘said Conrad/Wolfram/etc.’ where it’s not apparent who"s speaking. Each character has a distinct way of speaking in j.a.panese so it’s obvious who’s talking even when it’s not indicated, but it doesn’t translate to English very well. So, when a piece of dialogue is just wildly ambiguous after I translate it, I sneak that in. Of course, I"ve read the j.a.panese so I already know who was talking therefore I might miss bits here and there where it"s hard to tell who the speaker is. Feel free to tell me and/or correct any of my other mistakes (especially since I don"t have a proofreader or anything for these XD).

Chapter 3

      Gwendal von Voltaire hates letting his work pile up. It’s hard to imagine from his stubborn and unapproachable appearance, but he gets irritated when he’s given work all at once or if there are a number of unresolved problems. Get today’s work done today and then do a little bit of what needs to be done tomorrow. That’s his motto.
      Today, like always, he enters the office in Voltaire castle at the designated time and grabs his writing materials while being warmed by the fireplace at his back.
      His third cup of black tea is growing cold.
      “Are you listening, Gwendal?”
      ‘Who would listen!?’ he yells bitterly in his heart, but all he did was just push the point of his pen into the paper. A blue-black stain spreads there.
      Camped out at the most comfortable spot by the fire, one of The Great Demon Kingdom’s Three Great Nightmares keeps on talking. Her topic is training techniques for the advancement of magic power.
      “At this rate, the men’s magical power is only going to keep falling. Only around one quarter of this year’s new male adults are at the standard level. This is a serious situation. In order to combat this present condition, we need to obligate that the boys undergo special training before they become adults. Here’s where my thought comes in.”
      Her hair is made even redder by the light of the fire, and the orange light flashes sometimes in her light blue eyes. Anissina von Karbelnikoff’s pa.s.sion and knowledge has always been devoted to the demons.
      Her course of action isn’t necessarily correct, though.
      “How about for a year before they become adults, all boys who can use magic, regardless of their level of ability, be put at a training facility where they’ll eat and sleep together and follow a schedule of training designed to strengthen their magic? They’ll learn theory and practice from early morning to late night, and they’ll be faced with guaranteed inescapable traps like during wartime and any deserters will be met with a shameful mark of defeat. I’ll call it, ‘W**! Men’s only training camp! There will be tears!’”
      What’s up with the familiar name for this plan? (1)
      “… Isn’t it fine to just a.s.sign people where they’d be most efficient?”
      While signing a permit for building a welfare facility within his territory, his face became even more bitter.
      “If women are more proficient at magic, then just put women in those professional positions. The men will be distributed to the cavalry and infantry. With that, the problem will resolve itself.”
      “This is why I’m always saying that you think too nearsightedly!”
      Anissina dramatically gazed up at the ceiling, shrugged her shoulders, and made a gesture like she was a fake TV host.
      “Haven’t I been telling you this since we were children? Men should be strong and women should be kind.”
      “Well said for the worst example of that statement.”
      “Did you just say ‘worst example?’”
      Hearing the threat in that low mutter, the formidable looking lord of the land averted his eyes. He is a cynic with unparalleled ability to keep a cool head, the owner of an unrivalled heavy ba.s.s voice and a stature more fitting than anyone to be the Demon King, and he was also the previous Crown Prince, but this all means nothing when he stands before his childhood friend.
      “Anyway, your dream was for women to be strong in the world. If so, wouldn’t just leaving the weakness of the boys alone bring you closer to your ideal kingdom?”
      “A prejudiced att.i.tude as always! Do you think that I’ll enjoy supporting weak men? By following strong men, we can create a world with truly strong women! As it stands, we demons are too lacking in order for that to happen. We need the men to raise the bar higher and higher. That’s why I’ve invented this training machine.”
      As he thought, it’s another invention. There’s no way he can escape her experiment now, no matter how hard he struggles. Behind him, Anissina pulls out a long object that looks like a sword and grasps the handle in the center.   A moment later, the wing-shaped boards on either side started bending wildly with the vibration.
      He’s seen this before somewhere. And it was quite popular a very long time ago.
      “If you keep doing this for a whole day, you’ll have six times normal results! I call it The Magical Blade.”
      The wings are making a buzzing noise. Unable to refrain from comment, Gwendal takes a deep breath.
      “Isn’t that the machine that trains your abdominal muscles…”
      “No, it’s The Magical Blade! Now Gwendal, swing this around for a day. To become much, much stronger!”
      I’m begging you, please go home!
      The voice in his heart didn’t reach her.

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(1)    This is a reference to a show called ‘Wow! Women’s only swimming compet.i.tion!’ (Doki! Onnadarake no suiei taikai) I made it ‘wow’ because there isn’t really a translation for ‘doki’ as it is used here. It’s more of a sound effect. Anyway, the show ended in 1992. It was about a bunch of idols and other famous girls in swimming compet.i.tions. There were definitely tears from the losers XD Nowadays, it’s become a kind of funny thing to say ‘Wow! Men/Women only [insert something here]!’ Oh, and Takabayas.h.i.+-sensei censored the name in the book so that’s why there are *’s.

      ‘Neon-lit Las Vegas, the city without night, ah, Las Vegas of youth, the brief life of Las Vegas.’ I sang a little song of praise to Vegas as the scenery unfolded before my eyes.
      “… but, is this Atami?”(1)
      “It’s not ‘Atahmee,’ it’s Hildyard’s resort town, the world famous pleasure town.”
      “Isn’t it supposed to be a place where all the pleasures known to man are gathered and where luxury is stretched to the limits?”
      “I believe they are all gathered.”
      “But, this isn’t anything like Las Vegas! There aren’t any roller coasters or pyramid shaped hotels or fountains or stages or musicals.”
      “Vegas isn’t a city like this?”
      Even if he went to America, it seems he didn’t travel the entire country. This is definitely not the West Coast. Well, I haven’t been there either.
      Rather than strong old men with slumped shoulders going home from being exploited at the casinos, it seems more suited for guys wearing large kimonos and wooden sandals happily shooting p.o.r.no writers at a gun range. Of course, the people who are really walking around here are all blondes and brunettes and their clothes and shoes are all of an other-worldly design and there is nothing j.a.panese here. But it’s still like Atami. I wonder why?
      There are a lot of lively tourists and the touts are shouting enthusiastically from the never-ending shops on both sides of the road. The buildings are at most three stories high and there isn’t anything taller around. Here and there are trees that look a bit like small palms that have thin green leaves despite it being winter. Cats are stretched out randomly on the stone-paved roads. This may be because of the hot springs, but it’s warm for the season.
      “Anyway, it’s great that we got here safely. I don’t know how much more of being in that boat I could have took.”
      The latter part of the sea voyage was awful. If I got hungry and went out to the mess hall, I’d hear gossip along these lines: ‘That’s the guy with the fiancé with morning sickness and the hidden child,’ ‘He’s a lot younger than I thought,’ ‘Having an illegitimate child at that age?’ ‘Oh, but I wonder who that sort of good-looking man with them is,’ ‘Isn’t he the father of that illegitimate child?’ ‘Eh!? Then is that guy a girl even though they look like a guy?!’ And then if I had room service bring me meals in my room, Wolfram sent it all back (half digested). It was such a horrible two days if it got turned into a one hour special on TV, it’d be called ‘A c.r.a.ppy Journey, Feeling like You’re in h.e.l.l.’
      Greta’s fever subsided, but now I feel like staying in bed from anxiety.
      “Anyway, I want to check in at the hotel and get in the hot springs as soon as possible.”
      At the entrance to town, Conrad pays a bellboy and hands over my trunk. When I look up, there is a red, Torii-shaped gate in front of me with a round mirror at the top. (2) Immediately, the second son explains.
      “That is the symbol of the resort town, the Demon Mirror.”
      “The Demon Mirror? Does that mean we’ve discovered another treasure of the demons!? Should we rip that down and take it home?”
      “No, that doesn’t belong to us… look here.”
      Diagonal rays of orange light from the setting sun stretched towards the mirror. I thought they’d get reflected, but the light s.h.i.+ned right through it. In the center of a circular area of the stone paving, several designs appeared with that orange light. All of the tourists pa.s.sing by gave a shout of joy.
      It was magical and beautiful.
      “That is the true form of the Demon Mirror here. At first glance it seems to be a completely normal mirror, but if light hits it from a certain angle it pa.s.ses through without being reflected and projects several patterns. I think it’s supposed to have something to do with this country’s G.o.d. In the morning, there’s another pattern on the other side-”
      “It all depends on the skill of the artisan. The quality differs from the demon mirrors belonging to demons who have supernatural abilities.”
      Stealing his older brother’s words, the third son lifted his nose in the air. I suppose that means there are other demon mirrors.
      “Our Great Demon Kingdom’s most valuable treasure, the Demon Mirror of the Water’s Surface, has the beautiful and terrible power to show the true face of anyone who looks into it. Although, it seems to not be in the kingdom at the moment.”
      “We haven’t come here to go looking for that treasure, but to get some treatment from the hot springs, right? Just to be clear, I’m not searching for any treasure. I’m here to take it easy soaking in the water and healing my foot.”
      And anyway, that whole ‘true face’ thing sounds like a bunch of c.r.a.p. What’s reflected in a mirror is your own face just the way it is. There’s no ‘truth’ or ‘lies’ to that.
      “That’s right. We came here for the rehab of His Majesty’s foot so we shouldn’t worry him needlessly.”
      Dodging the people going in the opposite direction, we head south down the Atami street. The smells of all the food from the various stores are mixing together to create a complicated stench. Is it like a new variety of stateless cuisine?
      “… Actually it’s more like over-boiled eggs…”
      “Ah, that’s sulfur. From the hot springs.”
      Oh so that’s what it is. I’d been thinking it was a really unappetizing smell.
      Coming out of the shopping zone and into the amus.e.m.e.nt zone, there’s target practice (but with bows and arrows) and ring tossing, and inside the buildings there is drinking and gambling. In the plaza, there are some wooden buildings and whitish tents. It makes me remember the circus I was taken to when I was in preschool and couldn’t even tell left from right. Maybe I was just scared of the make-up, but I dreamt of clowns chasing me.
      A bizarre old man with a protruding belly is yelling while collecting tickets.
      “Hey boys and girls! Want to go see the freak show? You won’t be turned into vampires or anything. You’ll just have a fun thrill before you go home.”
      There’s a picture of a monster on a showy billboard with red writing. It’s a short phrase that even I might be able to read.
      “… The World’s Dongs!?”
      “Not ‘dongs,’ dangerous. It says ‘The World’s Dangerous Animals,’” said Conrad. (3)
      My reading ability is still lacking.
      In order to check in, we move through this area and head for the hot spring zone. It’s at least a thirty minute journey after we get out of the carriage. That’s a world famous pleasure town for you.
      Perhaps she was because she was afraid of the monsters at the freak show, but suddenly Greta is holding on to my sleeve. It seems like she doesn’t realize she’s doing it so I don’t make a fuss about it.
      “Hey there, are you free?”
      Taken by surprise, my eyebrows raise comically. Turning around to face who had called out, I see a girl with a huge smile craning her neck towards me. The length of her skirt is very short and her suntanned legs are completely exposed. Even though she’s not old enough to have cleavage, she’s wearing a slip dress that’s purposefully accentuating her chest. I guess wearing clothes so suggestive that they’re giving you goose b.u.mps from the cold must be part of a fas.h.i.+onable girl’s spirit.
      But no matter how exposing her clothes are, if I look closely she’s still a middle-school student.
      Oh my G.o.d! I’ve been hit on by a middle-school girl!
      Since I get bad endings even on Tokimemo, this is the first time in my life I’ve been approached by a girl. Is this what they call a reverse-pickup!? (4)
      “You’re with friends. Hey, if you’d like, you can all come together.”
      Another lanky girl comes forward with a sluggish gait. Instantly, my happy feelings plummet to earth.
      “… Oh, you’re after Conrad.”
      “I’m sorry, but we’re on our way to our hotel. We don’t have time to have fun.”
      Conrart Weller, popular with men and women of all ages, pushes me along with a smile that’s hard to say is heartfelt.
      “That girl seems to not be feeling well. It’s bad for your health to be wearing clothes like that in this cold weather.”
      “Then take us to your room! If you do, then we can stay with you for the night!”
      The middle-school girl is relentless. She must really have taken a liking to Conrad if she’s asking to not have to go home for the night. With his handsomeness and personality, I can understand why she wouldn’t want him to get away. But if you hear one of his jokes… you’ll freeze to death.
      Seeing the young girl pressing my companion’s elbow into her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, my old-fas.h.i.+oned sense of morality reared its head. It wasn’t jealousy, nope, definitely not jealousy.
      “Hey you guys. I was happy for a moment that I got hit on, but in my opinion, you have to be at least 15 to spend the night out somewhere, alright!? Go home and ask your parents. You’re probably worrying them sick…”
      At the mention of ‘parents,’ the weight on my jacket sleeve suddenly disappears.
      Greta had let go.
      “… We weren’t talking to you.”
      “Hey you, stop messing around! Calling out to people with children is a horrible thing for us streetwalkers to do!” yelled a coquettish girl from the opposite side of the street. She had a cigarette in her mouth and disheveled hair and even though she was a bit messy, she was very s.e.xy. I could see some real cleavage through her crossed arms.
      “Those people have come to have fun as a family. This is Hildyard’s pleasure town, you know? There’s lots more to do here than women.”
      The underage girls run into the store to hide. With a laugh, the girl puts a hand on Conrad’s shoulder. This may seem repet.i.tive, but his jokes are… oh I give up.
      “When I came here five years ago, it didn’t seem so indecent.”
      “Three months ago, a bunch of young ones came flooding in. It seems like the leading authority changed and that sort of plan was put in place. There are boring customers coming in who are interested in those inexperienced kids. The younger the better, or something like that. Seriously, it’s making it hard to do business nowadays. By the way…”
      Her gaze does a mode change.
      “You’re quite the looker. How about it? We can have some fun after your companions go to bed.”
      “I’m sorry, but I have someone I can’t betray.”
      And once again, Lord Weller whips out another technique with a smile that an around-hundred-year-old would never be able to pull off.
      As I get goose b.u.mps, I make a memo on my palm with my finger. I see, you can easily take care of any offer that’s hard to turn down with those words. ‘Please buy me an English conversation book.’ ‘I’m sorry, but I have someone I can’t betray.’ Wow, I’m so tired of his bragging I could spit.
      Greta, who had been completely silent so far, suddenly makes a short noise. She starts to move as if to run away, but she stops when she sees who’s coming.
      “What are you doing!? You let me go ahead by myself! I called out in a loud voice because I wasn’t getting any response from you and when I turned around no one was behind me! You made me embarra.s.s myself!”
      At that moment, I finally realized that Wolfram hadn’t been around.

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(1)    Atami is a resort town in s.h.i.+zuoka famous for its hot springs. It’s a bit lit up along the beach, but it’s definitely nowhere near Las Vegas levels. Also, while you’re down here reading the footnote, to be honest I can’t figure out if the song Yuuri was singing is a real song or if he just made it up.
(2)    Torii gates are those j.a.panese archways most commonly found in front of s.h.i.+nto shrines and Buddhist temples. If you’ve watched anime, you’ve most likely seen one before. They are used to mark the entrance to somewhere sacred. You can google image search them here.
(3)    For those interested, the original j.a.panese was ‘ …. Sekai no chin!’ (‘…The world’s p.e.n.i.ses!’… Am I allowed to type p.e.n.i.ses? Oh well, I did it twice already XD) And Conrad corrects him saying ‘Chin janakute, chinjuu. Sekai no chinjuu tenkomori, da sou desu.” (Not ‘p.e.n.i.ses,’ ‘rare animals.’ It says ‘A Collection of the World’s Rare Animals’). Basically, Yuuri stopped reading halfway and ‘Sekai no Chinjuu Tenkomori’ became ‘Sekai no Chin.’
(4)    In case you didn’t know already, Tokimemo is short for Tokimeki Memorial which is a dating game.

      Baths, baths, baths, as far as the eye can see.
      This is a hot spring paradise. The Super Bath-House and Health Land in my neighborhood just can’t compare. Several dozen baths surrounded by rocks are lined up neatly and there are so many people coming in and out of all the entrances that you can’t even slip between them. It’s kind of like there was a hot spring trade fair at the Tokyo Dome. And they’re all mixed baths.
      “Wow, awesome!”
      With just a towel wrapped around my waist, I start walking towards a nearby bath. I can’t use Windpipe No. 1. It doesn’t have the miracle cure that the hot spring treatment can provide. The people already in the bath are around ten women. They’re blatantly pointing at me and whispering amongst themselves, but I can’t let myself be embarra.s.sed just by that. The sign said mixed bathing was a go so there’s no need to hold back.
      “Hold on, Your Majesty… I mean, Young Master.”
      “I know, I know, first I have to wash off first, right? I’ve got to be clean before I get in.”
      “No, that’s not why I stopped you.”
      “What are you doing, Yuuri? That’s a bath for beauty. What am I going to do if you get even more beautiful?”
      Blathering on with his weird aesthetic sense, Wolfram quickly walks away. I guess baths for bruises and sprains are farther in. For someone who looks like a prince, the fact that he isn’t even wrapping a towel around his waist isn’t very manly.
      As he walked past me, I caught sight of something like a tail flapping.
      “… No way.”
      When I turn around, I see an adorable Greta standing there dressed in a school swimsuit holding a little ducky. Conrad, in a risqué speedo, is holding out swimming trunks for me and laughing.
      “They’re for swimming.”
      “… Are you kidding!? This is a thong bikini! And it’s mustard yellow!?”
      On top of that, there’s tails on the b.u.t.t part like a tailcoat!?
      This is too embarra.s.sing. It’d be better to just have my b.u.t.t out on display! I tried to protest for a time, but for someone who loves baseball, I’m weak against things that are written in a rule book. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. If wearing this bikini thong (with tails) is going to heal my ankle, then I’ll just have to think of this all as a lost bet.
      So, I got in the baths in a swimsuit so embarra.s.sing if someone took a picture of me I’d cry. The bruise and sprains bath is right next to the sword wounds bath and there are five scary old guys bathing there who say nothing to us, but when they stand up, they’re all wearing the same thongs. It took all I had to not laugh.
      The effects of the hot springs were immense. Even though I knew it was healing, somewhere in my heart I was still a bit apprehensive about putting weight on my right ankle, but now I can walk firmly on it without the cane. If I keep this up for three days, then the bones will strengthen. Even if I have to embarra.s.s myself in front of everyone, I’ll come here just to get in the baths.

      Two hours later, after having my fill of all the baths, I aimlessly walk around the Atami-like town. In the restaurant zone said to hold tastes from all the corners of the world, I try a Kirdar dish that Lord Weller recommended. I thought it was baked eel, but when they told me it was actually an insect I worried about what to do (I ate it, though).
      Compared to our rough treatment on the s.h.i.+p, the hotel was first cla.s.s and comfortable.
      That was due to Conrad kindly changing our reservation to two twin rooms.
      Because it would be a problem if the a.s.sa.s.sin and the target were paired together, Wolfram and I are in the same room. It’s the same as usual.
      There were sounds coming from the adjacent room for a while, but by the time my digital a.n.a.log G-shock told me it was nine, it was completely quiet. The last thing I heard as I was on my 50th sit-up after throwing my sheets aside was a door shutting and footsteps leading away.
      “… Conrad went out!”
      The third son, who had turned off the lamp and was slowly drinking some local wine in the moonlight, showed no interest.
      “Hey, Conrad went out. I wonder if he went to go see that woman from before.”
      “I doubt that.”
      “Why? Even if you are brothers, aren’t you a little too confident?”
      “He’s not interested in that sort of woman.”
      When I first came here, he wouldn’t even acknowledge that he was a demon, let alone his brother. I wonder what changed that he would actually know what sort of woman Conrad preferred.
      “Then what kind of woman does he like?”
      “He likes them more pure, or should I say plain, maybe even rude. I guess... girls like Suzanna Julia.”
      “What’s up with that? He likes rude girls?”
      I feel a bit conflicted after hearing a familiar name. From what I overheard that night, she was a very important person to Lord Weller. (1)
      “But she wasn’t his lover, right?”
      “Yeah.”
      “Maybe it was adultery. Does it seem like adultery?”
      “It didn’t happen. I can a.s.sure you.”
      The Lion’s blue magic stone at my chest reacts to the name and heats up. I’ve never asked Conrad about it, but I’ve vaguely realized that the person who owned this before was probably her. I’d heard this before, but the woman named Suzanna Julia von Wincott was engaged to another man.
      “She was Adalbert’s fiancé. Even the date for their wedding was set. But for some reason, one day mother said that the engagement between Julia and Adalbert would probably be broken off. The head of the Wincott territory is a man who values equality and he respected Conrad’s skill with a sword, so rather than give his daughter away to the von Grantz family, he may have wanted her to succeed the Wincott house instead… if they could do something about the feelings of those involved.”
      “What do you mean, ‘feelings?’”
      “… Wincott has the oldest history among the ten n.o.ble families. It’s said that the founder even fought by the side of the True King against the Originators. On top of that, Julia was said to be the greatest pract.i.tioner of magic in the kingdom. Everyone acknowledged that. But Conrart was… well he definitely has my mother’s blood but…”
      “But his father was human?”
      “Yeah.”
      I kind of figured that might have been a problem. Even in j.a.pan, there are always people who raise complaints about the difference in family status. Discrimination and prejudice against people and race would have definitely been an issue, but it’s also a fact that there are many parents who are hesitant about sending their daughter off on an international marriage. It’s unreasonable, but overcoming that obstacle is probably love.   However, as a baseball boy for whom love is far beyond my abilities, it’s a bit embarra.s.sing to think about.
      “Yeah… no, it wasn’t an issue about whether someone would object to their relations.h.i.+p… it was during wartime so the problem was more serious.”
      “Hey, you’re not making yourself clear.”
      “Anyway, the prime minister at the time… you met him, right, the man named Stuffel?”
      “Yeah, yeah, Lady Celi’s older brother. I met him.”
      “That’s right. He was a foolish coward who only wanted to cling to his authority.”
      Spitting out low and bitter words about his uncle, Wolfram looked surprisingly like the eldest son. The more time I spend with them, the more I can see the strength of the blood between these siblings.
      “There was someone giving him bad counsel, so Conrart was forced to go to the frontlines. By the time he miraculously returned… Suzanna Julia had died.”
      In my generation that’s called ‘the peaceful idiots,’ this is a tragic love that can only be found in books. But in my grandparent’s time it probably wasn’t so rare and even now in other places on Earth there are tragedies occurring. Even in this world in places of war, this is definitely happening.
      Wolfram’s voice becoming low and stiff implied that he was talking about something he didn’t want to be. Even I don’t have the intention of persistently asking questions about painful truths, but there is just one thing that I do want to know. Not about the past, but of the present.
      “So, what do you think?”
      “About what?”
      “About Conrad because he’s half human, what do you think?”
      As his little brother, this question seems to trouble him. He lets out a low grunt and falls silent.
      “I don’t care about the past. I’m talking about since I’ve come here.”
      “… That’s…”
      Moving away from the table by the window, I playfully kick the third son as he sits on the bed. It was my way of telling him that I’d want a detailed answer sooner or later.
      “How long are you going to sit there drinking alcohol like an old man? Well, I guess there’s no helping that since you"re 82.”
      My overseer wasn’t around and my right ankle felt awesome and I felt 9 o’clock was too early to call it a day.
      “Hey, let’s go have some hot spring town nightlife fun. Like ring toss or target practice or smart ball.” (2)
      Wolfram immediately returned to his arrogant behavior and sniffed in derision.
      “Nightlife fun? I’ve gotten bored of that childish nonsense.”
      “H-hey! Don’t tell me you’re just going to go to sleep…”
      Without even waiting for me to finish talking, he lays down for bed.
      “… Well I guess it can’t be helped…. He is 82.”

-------

(1)    In case you forgot and/or it’s been a million years since you read it, he’s talking about Josak and Conrad’s conversation he eavesdropped on in book 2.
(2)    I’ve heard smart ball described as similar to pinball, but I gotta admit, every time I see a smart ball machine I think of a giant, ping-pong ball spewing version of those cheap toys that you shake around and try and get all the b.a.l.l.s in the little bucket/U-shaped things. Here’s a video of a dude playing smart ball because that’s the best explanation I can come up with XD

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