Part 18: I find it hard to tell you, I find it hard to take (Story)

Update VII: I find it hard to tell you, I find it hard to take (Story Portion)



Back on the surface, the shaking and roaring that happened last time is repeating.

Damn… it’s happening again.

Doesn’t it sound louder than last time?

We’d better check in with Narcisstes and see if he’s made some progress on figuring out what’s going on.

Sounds good. Let’s return to the castle, Itsuki.



Holy shit! Students! Also, that girl on the far right looks like she has some serious junk inside that trunk. Could just be artist laziness I suppose.

Hm? All the Star Maidens are here. Mahiru’s in the center. Seems like she’s doing well as the class rep. Rukie, Furry, and Tar-Tar are with her.

Right, I forgot about your stupid nicknames for them. My stupid nicknames are better (Ruk, Femi, and Tar… okay, so not really nicknames, more like image codes).

Let’s see what’s going on.

We kind of have more important things to do right now, Mana. Narcisstes? Remember?

C’mooon, it’s only for a little. Aren’t you curious if Mahiru is getting along with the Star Maidens?



C’mon, c’mon, let’s go closer. But make sure they don’t see you.

Hey! Would you wait for a second? Mana! Damn it…

*Shifting over to Star Maiden vision*

Augh… Narcisstes got mad at me again today.

It is your fault for brazenly sleeping in class.

Tarua, it happens because of work, right? I know how much you love your job.

Augh… I do! The boss is strict when it comes to work, but he’s a good guy!



Tarua sums up literally her whole character arc at the moment. That’s kind of pathetic.

Mahiru, on the other hand, is always so serious about class.

Right. That class is so boring, I am surprised at how you can stay focused.

It’s not boring at all. Everything about this world is new to me.

Are you sure it is not because you find Mr. Narcisstes so handsome?

Huh?

Really? You’re in love with the teacher, Mahiru?

You did accept that troublesome role of class rep after all. Now I understand why.



You are blushing.

You’re lying. You can’t trick me!

*Back to Itsuki vision*

They seem to be having fun. She’s so different when she’s with you.

That’s just how she is. Mahiru’s always been like that.



Hey, it’s Itsuki and Mana!

Oh, shit. They really can smell protagonist. That’s unsettling. It’s Ellie all over again.

Ack, they found us… Tarua’s nose is as good as a bloodhound’s.

What are you two doing hiding in the bushes?



The answer is obvious.

Mana made me do it.

Hey, don’t blame me.

I will blame you, because it’s true. You’re the one that suggested it and then flew off.

The fact still remains that you were spying on us, Itsuki.

Well, I can’t really argue with that.

I understand why you wouldn’t want to get too close…

But if you are a real man, you should just admit it.

I apologize for peeping on you… but I still blame Mana.

Now you’re just blowing it out of proportion…

How rude. There is a fairy here who is not sorry at all.



What is she, an attack dog or something? …Aw, who cares? Do it! Do it! Do it!

I’m sorry! Really, I am now.

*After some hilarious… something. There was a fade to black, hell if I know. Probably Tarua chasing Mana around. Either that or the developers had to exorcise the spirit of 2012 Mahiru again*

So have you learned anything after spying on us?

Well, I’m glad to see that you’re all getting along with each other.

That’s what you were worried about? You’re so stupid…

Worrying isn’t stupid!

Never mind that, Mana. We still need to go and check in with Narcisstes.

You’re going to see the teacher? Can you tell him that the secret plan is in motion?

Wh-What are you talking about?

Wait, what about a secret plan?



I think I will excuse myself now! Tarua! You are coming with me!

Augh…

I need to go as well.

*Femiruna and Ruka book it, while Tarua is dragged along*

Maybe I should go too..

Wait, Mahiru. What’s this secret plan all about?

Ugh… Why are you asking me?

Because you totally know something.

Never mind that. Don’t you need to go see Mr. Narcisstes? Does it have to do with the ground shaking earlier?

You felt it too, huh? It’s the second time this has happened. It was also worse this time.

Something may be going on. You should let Mr. Narcisstes know. Well, I’ll see you later.

*Mahiru then finds her own opportunity to escape*

She dodged the question about the secret plan.



Yeah, yeah. Let’s just get back to what’s important. We need to get to the castle.


~Palace Laboratory~

After researching the ancient texts some more… It appears the “Star Chaos” also occurred 1,200 years ago.

What?! Way back then too?! I’m surprised a record that old still exists.

I turned the library upside down just to find it. It’s over 1,000 years old.

Does it say anything about the Star Offerings? Did all 12 fail at the same time back then, too?

Wait, so if this happened once before, how did the Star Offerings manage to get back on their normal cycle? I guess they must have started failing again after 10 years and just knew which order to go in.



Ugh… I’m not sure I wanna hear it.

Same…

There is one other labyrinth besides the 12 we currently know of. The text calls it the Ophiuchus Labyrinth.

I don’t want to interrupt Narc talking about important plot stuff, so I’ll review what the hell Ophiuchus is at the end of the update for anyone that’s curious.

But there are only 12 constellations, one for each Star Maiden. What does it mean?

The text is written in ancient writing, so I haven’t deciphered all of it yet. I’m sorry, but I will need more time.

Then what about me and Mahiru going home? I thought that would happen once I replaced the 12 Star Offerings?

Well… Hm…



Mirei…

There is something we must apologize to you for, Itsuki.

No… Tell me you’re not doing this… You are not about to tell me that we can’t go home!

Do you remember the conversation we held with the king, Itsuki? It was when I reluctantly said "Yes". After defeating your first Impurity God.

Before Flashback Time happens, I'm making an executive decision to rewrite Mirei's line. User Polsy pointed out that Mirei's dialogue (just the stuff in italics) is roughly what Mirei actually says in the original game. In CP (at least the English translation) she says this: "It was when you responded so nonchalantly." That doesn't make any fucking sense and is a horribly mangled translation, so I'm putting my fist down and making this change, accuracy to the original be damned.




*Flashback time! This is actually kind of helpful, because I legitimately drew a blank on what Mirei was talking about at first*

The new Star Offering is absorbing the Impurities just fine. Isn’t that right, Mirei?

…Yes.

At this rate, all the Star Offerings will be enshrined in no time.

*End of flashback*

Yeah. What about it?

It’s true that Impurities are being absorbed. But the number of them has not decreased.



God’s Gift is the one shouldering our fate. I don’t want to cover up the facts. Hiding the truth is the same in principle as lying.

I don’t give a rat’s ass about “His Majesty’s” permission! I’m God’s Gift! I have a right to know! Now tell me what she’s talking about!

Very well… Even though we have forbidden intimacy, Impurities still appear.

I’m pretty sure this is a fucked up translation. Based on their relation and the following line from Narc, this should read: “Even though we forbade intimacy, Impurities still appear.”

They’re also growing at an unprecedented speed. Even if we calculate the amount of those breaking the law, this is unheard of.

Wh-What?! What does that mean?

It likely has something to do with this Ophiuchus Labyrinth.

So then where is it?!

We don’t know.



So then everything I’ve done has just been a giant waste of time? It’s all pointless?

Itsuki, that’s not true. Impurities are absorbed when you enshrine the Star Offering.

Our predicament is that more Impurities are appearing than can be absorbed. Sooner or later, the Impurities will overflow from the labyrinths.

Not to take any sides… But gates appear every time a Star Offering is enshrined. Maybe this time… Maybe once all the Star Offerings are enshrined, Sora’s gate will appear.

This is a little confusing and I don’t know if it’s because of translation or wording. Official Itsuki really does get upset because he thinks Mirei and Narc are telling him that he and Mahiru can’t go home, but what follows is a discussion on Impurities, not the Gate of Light. Mana then mentions that gates appear each time a Star Offering is enshrined, but what I think she means is that that is how it worked in the past and that it hasn’t been happening this time. If a Gate of Light really has been opening each time Itsuki replaced a Star Offering, then you’d think he would have had some comment about it (also, he and Mahiru wouldn’t be chasing after those school rumors in the hopes of finding an alternative. That subplot hasn’t stopped by the way).

So what this scene boils down to is: Mirei/Narcisstes originally told Itsuki and Mahiru that they could go home after the Star Offerings were in place, but now they are admitting that they honestly have no idea if that’s true, and Mana is just now revealing that Gates always used to appear after a Star Offering was enshrined but they haven’t been this time. Now that I lay it out like that, I think the problem is that Itsuki’s “You mean I can’t go home?!” outburst was a little bit too early in the conversation.

…But even if that’s the case… won’t this world wind up getting overrun anyway?

Only after you return home. Right, Mirei?

It will happen when it happens.

So , basically.



Even Reone doesn’t know. I don’t want to give them cause for concern.

…Right… Yeah. I know.

Mirei, you too.

Of course. But only until we locate the Ophiuchus Labyrinth.


~Palace Hallway~

You all right, Itsuki?

No… No I’m not…



…You really do have a caring side… you know that?

What? Is it that obvious?

Anyway, thanks for worrying. I know how to get up after taking a bruising though. It’s just a little overwhelming right now. That’s all.

Wanna go back to the inn? I can comfort you there.

Going back to the inn sounds good. I’m… I’m feeling really tired right now.


~Inn: Itsuki’s Room~

Augh augh! Congrats, Itsuki!

Huh…? What are you doing here?

Goodness, Tarua! You were too early!

Okay, ready and…



Excuse me…?

Oh, come on, you’re supposed to look happier.

User Polsy noticed that Old Mahiru has a line here in the 2012 version where she gets mad at Itsuki for not being sufficiently excited or something. The reason I point this out is because it was cut from this scene, yet the developers didn't use the fade-to-black cut that they've been using for Old Mahiru in other instances. Mahiru's whole personality change thing just keeps getting weirder and more nonsensical.

What? Today’s your birthday?!

No, it’s not.

This wouldn’t have changed if I triggered this in November, by the way. The time system works on weeks, not days. So there’s no way to time it exactly. I would be incredibly shocked if they programmed in a dialogue change for this scene happening during the week of Itsuki’s birthday.

Oh… Thought so… If it’s not his birthday, does that mean we can’t celebrate it?



That is what a real celebration is!

A birthday party… In Sora, they have a custom to celebrate birthdays. I heard that from Mahiru. I thought, with Itsuki…

It sounded like so much fun!

That’s right. It’s not like we’re doing this for you.

…Right.

…Itsuki, her, you okay? You look kind of pale.

D-Do I?



He’s just tired today. Can you let him rest?

Then we’ll have the birthday party some other time…

Hold on. I want to celebrate with Itsuki right here, right now. If Itsuki is tried, we can perk him up with presents. Do you not agree?

Augh! We prepared presents for God’s Gift today.



The world… It’s in terrible peril.

Hey, everyone. Let’s just continue this another day.

No… No. It’s fine. I’m fine. Let’s keep celebrating.

But…

Are you really sure? If you’re not feeling well, then…

It’s fine, really! I’m just a little out of it, that’s all. So, what did everyone get me? I’m curious.

All right… Let’s start this over then.

U-Um… Some of us couldn’t come because of work… But we all pitched in to pick three gifts.

Though they were all pretty much decided by Femiruna, Ruka, and Sue.

Come, Itsuki. Take our presents. Sue picked the first one. My gorgeous gift is fit to be given last.

Here you go…



Aww…



Uhh…

He’s usually mild-mannered, but gets pretty fierce when he’s hungry. But it’s okay. Feed him, and he probably won’t eat you. Cute like a teddy bear, right? And he stays still… like a teddy bear. But he’s not a teddy bear, so he will succumb to hunger…

And then he goes chomp.



Wait, this thing is real?! I thought you were being silly!

And like a real bear, he will be spending his time outside in the trees. Safely away from Itsuki’s bedroom.

Itsuki, happy birthday. I hope you like my present too.

It’s not going to kill me, is it?

All right. I’m next. Here’s something from me. You don’t have to force yourself to like it. Oh… But please water it.

I’m not leaving anything out by the way. Mahiru doesn’t actually hand over a gift. I think this is another translation error where she’s trying to say that she pitched in for this next gift.





It’s called a manena plant. When you talk to it, it will repeat what you say.

Oh, it’s like a parrot. I knew Ruka would pick something like this. She loves plants.

That sounds fun! Hey, let’s make it talk!

Okay. “I’m home.”


[Present B]: I’m home. I’m home.


”Morning.”


[Present B]: Morning. Morning.


Hm… What else do I say?


[Present B]: Ruka is cute. Ruka is cute. Ruka is smart. Ruka is smart.


Huh?

W-Wait, hold on! G-Give that back!

When you brought it home, you must have made it learn those on accident.

You’re so careless…

Well then. Here is mine to wrap things up. Itsuki, take my present!



This gift is actually a usable item. It restores 70% HP/MP. Not bad. Also, it appears to have been made by Mirei. That part is a little suspect.

Wait, Femiruna. Didn’t you get him some jewel-encrusted armor?

What?! That would have been way cooler! I want jewel-encrusted armor…

That was my intention at first… But seeing Itsuki so tired, I thought he might like this better.

Well, I am really tired right now. That armor sounds cool, but I can’t argue with practicality.

It seems like he likes my gift best. Isn’t that right, Itsuki?

It’s not a competition Femiruna.

Um… Well… I mean… Right at this exact moment, I’d say I like the energy drink the best.

Ohoho! How could you not?

Come on, Femiruna. You were doing so well with not laughing like a dumbass. Don’t ruin the goodwill I currently have towards you from your bonding events.

Hmph…

…

Never. NEVER, ask someone which gift they like best. That’s a major dick move with no possible out for the person being asked.

But why do you even have that?

I got it from Mirei. She said if you drink it before Classmating, stronger Star Children are born.

But it will all be for naught if Itsuki is tired in the first place. It is better for Itsuki to drink it right now.



What of it?

Itsuki, do not drink that. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Anything Mirei makes never ends well.

Mana, what are you whispering about?

*gulp* *gulp*Oh man. I needed that. …What are we talking about?



Ohohoho! Naturally!

Dammit, Femiruna. I want to vote for you now. Stop making me reconsider.

Who cares about who’s gift was liked best. It’s the thought that counts. And since it’s a birthday party like on Sora…

*There are sounds of a commotion outside*

What’s that? I hear some noise outside.



What?!

Augh?! Impurities?

What’s going on? How are there Impurities in town?

Dammit! Which of you townspeople was organizing the illegal orgies?


[Townsperson A]: This is bad! Many have been injured already! Everyone, run away!


I’m scared… Wh-What’s going to happen to us?

I have to go!


~Granvania Shopping Center~

I was going to ask where the Star Children are, but given that it’s apparently night, I would assume that it’s past their bed time.




[Townsperson A]: Gah!


[Impurity B]: Brrrrriiiiii!


[Townsperson B]: Ahhh!


You get the idea. I don’t need to keep going with this.

Three impurities! Why are they here?

Does it matter?!

Right!



Excuse me?

Agreed… I’ll fight.

I’ll help too!

No, everyone! You have to leave it to Itsuki!

Why burden Itsuki so? It is three on three! Let’s go! Tarua! Sue!

Roger that.

Augh!

*Despite knowing full well that they literally cannot dent the monsters, the three Star Maidens rush off anyway. Wake would be proud*

Hey, wait! Leave this to Itsuki!



What the hell are you all doing?! You can’t fight them! Dammit!


[Impurity A, B, & C]: Grooooowlll!


We’re given a choice as to who to protect, although it doesn’t actually have any consequences. I choose Femiruna, although I realized afterward that Sue ranked higher and should have been picked. Whatever. It only changes a single line of dialogue and a name.

Also, out of the three of them, my money would be on Femiruna biting it first.

Femiruna!

Ah!




[Impurity A, B, & C]: Graaagh…


[Townsperson A]: Amazing… He defeated three Impurities with a single strike.


[Townsperson B]: He’s a God’s Gift after all…


He can only be brought to this world by Star God Himself, of course he’s a God’s Gift you fucking idiot. It’s not like there’s a bus service to Sora just outside the city that lets any old person wander over.

Are you okay?

I-I am fine… You did not have to save me…

Well, he is the savior of the world after all.

Right… I hope that really is the case…




I’ve made a fool of myself.

We are Star Maidens now. We must be more cautious. You may still be able to live your old lives, but we have responsibility now.

Once again, I feel like that’s a grammar error. “You may” should be “We may”. I don’t have a way to prove it though, since it is technically sort of correct (depending on how Reone addressed it).

Augh… Sorry…

…

The people are being attacked. How can we just stand by and watch?

Star Maidens have no power to directly fight Impurities.



If we die, who will protect the Star Offerings?

That’s pretty hypocritical coming from you, Reone. Don’t forget that you prevented Itsuki from following you as you left a crowded bar to fight three punks at the same time out in the street because they were being douchey.

The next Star Maiden, obviously.

I mean… she has a point. Just saying.

Femiruna, how dare you!

*Mirei comes outta nowhere and lays into Femiruna with a slap*

Wh-What are you doing…?

You shouldn’t say things like that. It’s disheartening.



I have no intention of dying in vain.

I’m sorry… This is on me…

It’s not your fault the Impurities have come to the surface. Besides… Tarua, Sue, Femiruna. You are the mainstays of Granvania. Never forget that. Understand?

Augh…

Yes…

I know…

”You are the mainstays of Granvania… but we can’t afford to guard you or anything, so… yeah.” Speaking of, where the fuck is the Granvanian Army? No mention of any sort of law enforcement in this country so far.

The tremors from before are caused by some abnormality beneath the surface.

The tectonic movements are causing rifts between the labyrinths and the surface. That’s how the Impurities are appearing here.

The ancients apparently didn’t have any knowledge of plate tectonics when they planned out their sex labyrinth.



You needn’t worry about that.

But we must prepare for these disasters. They are likely to reoccur. We’ll have to raise the threat alert.

Narcisstes, I’m going back to treat the wounded.

I’m going with you.

Yes, please.


~Star God Academy Clinic~

Hey, over here.

Oh, Itsuki.

You guys are here, too?


[Townsperson C]: Reone, will this happen again?


Don’t worry. God’s Gift and the Star Maidens will protect you.


[Townsperson C]: How did this happen? I almost died!



Oh, Christ. Here we go again.


[Townsperson C]: This never happened with the previous God’s Gifts!


I’m sorry. It’s because I’m inexperienced as a Star Maiden…


[Townsperson C]: No, I will never blame the Star Maidens. The problem is this God’s Gift. He’s come, he’s seen, but he’s not conquered those Impurities!

I’m doing everything I can…


[Townsperson C]: You think that excuse will work? The fate of the world is hanging by a thread!


Motherfucker, the fate of your world is hanging by a thread. If you have a problem with how the job’s being done, then maybe the people of this world should get off their fat asses and do something about it themselves.

Seriously. Fuck all the NPCs in these games. The NPCs in CII were just as bad. These games could really benefit from an “Evil Route”. At this point I’m sort of hoping there’s an ending where a gate opens early and Itsuki is able to take the opportunity to bail on this place.

God’s Gift is working diligently to fulfill his duty.




[Townsperson C]: Gah… Don’t you ever let this happen again.


I hope you’re the first to die.

All right, I’ll treat your wound now. Can you go home by yourself?


[Townsperson C]: Don’t treat me like a child. I’m leaving.


What’s with that attitude?

Itsuki, I’m sorry that happened. I apologize on behalf of all Granvania.



It’s fine… I’m just not fit to be a hero… that’s all.

Why so gloomy? I thought you could handle your beatdowns?

This isn’t a beatdown, it’s more like a murder…

So… that was fun, right? Good times in Granvania. I… didn’t really think that shit would be going south this quickly. This feels like more of a mid-game event. This is only Offering 2 out of 12. If things like this are happening now, then what kind of destruction is Offering 10 going to cause?

Next time: The Secret of Mana. No, not the game. I wish we were playing that. I mean we'll learn about what the fuck Mana actually is.


~Ophiuchus: The 13th Zodiac Sign~

I’m going to steal user AnAnonymousIdiot’s shtick for a moment because Ophiuchus is going to be plot relevant, so I want to make sure it’s explained within an update.



Ophiuchus is generally referred to as the 13th Constellation of the Zodiac. It’s commonly depicted as a man fighting with a snake or otherwise having a snake in his hands/coiling around him. In Greek, its name means “serpent-bearer” (Ophioukhos).

I won’t get too far into history, but sticking with the Greeks and their interpretation of it, it represents Apollo handling a snake that guarded the Oracle of Delphi (also known as The Pythia, who stayed at the Temple of Apollo and delivered prophecies).

That’s as far as we really need to get into that. We’re not focusing on the mythology aspect of this. The main question some people will have is “Why is it brought up in Zodiac/astrology discussions?”



Here’s the deal: The Zodiac is a group of 12 constellations out of the 88 currently recognized constellations. The reason why those 12 constellations make up the Zodiac is because the ecliptic passes through them over the course of a year (the ecliptic is basically the path that the sun appears to take through Earth’s sky). The star sign dates were determined based on when the sun passed through a certain constellation, but keep in mind that a Zodiac Sign and a Zodiac Constellation are different things. Constellations are different sizes, so obviously the sun doesn’t pass through each one for the same length of time. There’s also the fact that thousands of years have passed since the days of the Greeks/Babylonians and a thing called precession has caused the dates that the sun moves through each constellation to shift around a bit because of orbital blah blah blah. You get the general idea of how the Zodiac was conceived.

In case you're curious, many people stick with the astrological dates as originally defined. So what your astrological sign is and what constellation the sun actually passes through on your birthday are different. For example, I was born in May and am a Taurus based on traditional dates. But as far as reality is concerned, the sun passes through Aries during my birthday at this point in time, not Taurus, which means I’m an Aries.

Anyway, if the sun does indeed pass through Ophiuchus, then why isn’t it typically included in the Zodiac? It’s a little tricky. The Babylonians had a lunar calendar and operated on 12 months in a year, so they left Ophiuchus out to maintain a nice even division of the ecliptic into 12 corresponding sections that sort of line up with the months.

Ophiuchus is also in a weird spot where the ecliptic does pass through a tiny part of it, but it overlaps with Scorpio and Sagittarius (Ophiuchus is usually associated with late November to mid-December, which is mostly Sagittarius’ date range), which is probably why the decision was made to cut it. So Ophiuchus is left as something of a forgotten sign when it comes to the Zodiac. It technically is part of it, but it's excluded by a lot of astrologists/horoscope writers because that's what was done in the ancient past. That's why you don't hear much about it when the Zodiac is talked about.

That being said, it doesn’t have any negative connotations or anything. Apollo is a Greek god and one of the Olympians, after all. Well, you know… no negatives other than some of the fucked up shit that Greek gods tended to do.

He was also not good at the “love” thing. One girl turned herself into a tree to escape him, one kept rejecting him, another was actually in love with someone else, a dude he loved fell into inconsolable grief, and he accidentally struck another dude he loved in the head with a discus and killed him. Mythology!



So there you have it. That’s the basic details on where this Ophiuchus thing is coming from. It’s not something that Conception just made up for the sake of a final dungeon/boss, it does have basis in history and the constellations.

As for the actual characteristics of Ophiuchus as a Zodiac Sign, I’ll leave that to AnAnonymousIdiot. I’m only here for the mythology/history aspect. I’ll leave the horoscopes to someone that knows about it. The most I know about astrology is which sign I fall under.