Pendleton Revolution - Chapter 3.1

It had been 32 hours since she began attending the Academy. Andie Julinas sat across from her barely contained roommates in a very sincere manner. She still exuded a stench of sweat, and her sword still hung by her hip. After her ceaseless efforts, they were able to sit down as if at a negotiations table, but their gazes were still filled with distrust.

“Y-you’re truly our roommate?”

“Yes. If you wish, you may touch my chest.”

“May I truly be so rude as to…….”

“It’s fine.”

This was not the first time she had been misunderstood. Andie Julinas thrust forth her chest familiarly. The room that should have had a total of eight occupants currently still had four people, including Andie Julinas, who had arrived the day before as a student at the Military Department, and the three people, who had arrived today as part of the Humanities Department. As they had yet to be introduced to Andie Julinas, the three girls exchanged glances, after which they chose the most gentle of them, a girl with long, straight brown hair.

“I, I am Alice.”

“I am Andrea.”

For some reason, before Alice touched Andrea’s chest, they politely greeted each other.

“T-then…….”

“I am in your hands.”

Andie Julinas was not quite sure what exactly she was leaving in Alice’s hands, but, in any case, Alice gently placed her fingertips on top of Andrea’s chest. Then, Alice slowly placed the palm of her hand against Andrea.

Alice’s face quickly crumpled, as though she would break out into tears.

“M… Mom…….”

There was no way to find out why she had suddenly searched for her mother back home. The moment Andie Julinas, who’d believed strongly that the misunderstanding would be immediately cleared, cocked her head to one side in confusion, Alice suddenly burst into tears.

“As expected, you have no breasts……. Mom, I just touched a man’s chest! I- I can’t get married anymore…….”

“Nonononono! What do you mean, you can’t get married! I’m sorry that I’m so flat! I’ll just strip!”

Unfortunately, these words sounded even more perverted than the previous statement.

***

“I’ve heard that there’s been a few women who’ve become officers recently……. But usually, it’s only possible if you’re an aristocrat……. I didn’t think I’d meet someone like that at Erita. I’m sorry for my rude misunderstanding.”

“It’s not a problem. It’s a common mistake.”

“No, no. It was incredibly rude of me to be prejudiced by a first impression. Rather, what do we do with your clothes? They’re a mess. I’ll sew the button back on for you.”

Having resolved the misunderstanding immediately after wrenching her clothes apart together with her buttons to show them her chest, Andrea Julinas had wrapped her arms around Alice’s shoulders in an embrace and was sweetly soothing her. Alice was so apologetic that she was not quite sure what to do.

“I- I knew that new women1 cut their hair short and wore pants, but…….”

Alice started to sniff again. Andrea told her that it was alright once more and softly patted Alice’s shoulder.

The beautiful woman, who’d dropped her skirt whilst in fancy underclothes, quickly covered herself with a towel, cocking her head as she watched the sweet figures that looked exactly like a pair of lovers. She, adorned with golden hair that fell like waves, jewel-like emerald eyes, and that cheeky beauty mark, was a first-year in the Humanities Department as well.

“You said you were Andrea, right? I can speak informally, right?2 Shall we introduce ourselves first? I’m Elena, Elena Heingels. I’m 18.”

Elena spoke in a rather refreshing manner.

“I’m also sorry for the mistake. It’s something straight out of a novel; the best of friends who is ‘more dependable than a man, sweet-natured, and so easily approachable that she makes your heart flutter’. I thought an incredibly handsome man was peeping at my underclothes, but since you’re our roommate, my heart’s palpitations decreased by half. It’s somewhat a relief.”

“If it’s okay with you, I’ll speak informally as well. I’m Andrea Julinas, 18 as well. I’m from the Calabastas Orphanage.”

Elena’s eyes widened. Andrea Julinas also grew awkward. To be honest, Andrea, too, also put a lot of thought into it from the time her patron sent a letter asking what she wished to study till the moment she responded saying she wanted to attend the Military School.

The classes in the Military Department cost a lot of money. As it was a chance to rise in social status — at the very least as an instructor, and on average, a knight — it made the acceptance rate at the Military School very low. For the average, middle-class commoner, acceptance was that much harder. In reality, the students within the commoner’s class were mostly guilds or former nobility, sometimes even the children of civil servants. This was because, in the first place, the Military Department was intended for children of lower-ranking nobility or distinguished nobility who have particular difficulties receiving militaristic education.

As Alice had said, in recent times, a few female officers had come forth, but all of them were highborn women. Not only were households who’d provide militaristic education to even their daughters far and few in between, it was even rarer to find households whose daughters would become officers without needing to establish a marriage contract or alliance. As such, female officers were produced only from either the Royal Family or households with a peerage of at least a Count or above.

Footnotes:

1. The new woman is another term for the modern woman. Since the time period is around the time the novel Daddy Long Legs was first published, it’s likely to be around the brink of the Industrial Revolution, when the “modern woman” made one of its first appearances, i.e. around the 1800s. (Though the world itself isn’t the same, just the inspiration behind the time period.) As such, culture must be about the same.

2. Almost all of the dialogue up till now, save for that between Andrea and Maria have been formal speech.