#telling clients to employ the latter for such services.

[filespost]

LedgerX Raplaces Troubled Silvergate With Signature Bank (Report)

LedgerX – cryptocurrency derivatives exchange and a subsidiary of the collapsed giant FTX – will reportedly cease its partnership with Silvergate Bank.

It urged users to receive wire transfers via the New York-based Signature Bank.

Switching to Another Partner

According to a Bloomberg coverage, LedgerX differentiated itself from the embattled financial institution focused on cryptocurrencies – Silvergate Bank. It advised customers to refrain from using it to receive domestic wire transfers from March 1.

LedgerX will double down on its existing partnership with Signature Bank, telling clients to employ the latter for such services.

Signature Bank said it will reduce its exposure to the cryptocurrency industry at the end of 2022 but not scrap it entirely. It ceased conducting fiat-to-crypto transactions worth less than $100,000 for Binance earlier this year.

Link Article https://bit.ly/3KPFTTg

[dennou-translations]

Violet Evergarden Gaiden: Chapter 6

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← Previous || Index || Afterword →

The Postal Company and the Auto-Memories Doll

   The current times were labeled as the era of postal business flood.

Within a continent that congregated small countries, the people who operated in the mail industry competed ruthlessly against one another. Putting it very simply, the situation of postal companies throughout the continent was of stealing each other’s customers.

Clients chose their mail agency of use and requested deliveries on their own. The reasons for the choices would be fees, deliverable areas, and of course, even the postmen’s degree of courtesy was a subject of deliberation. Taking all of those into account, they would pick one postal company from somewhere.

At present, as the management structure of postal corporations was becoming devoted to carrying the side-business of amanuensis “Auto-Memories Dolls” rather than only delivering mailed items, others were unable to establish a position in the market if their work leaned towards the latter. The more the competition increased, the more obvious the differences in services would become, and, as the superior and inferior ones would grow evident, the losing side would inevitably close down their company.

Within such harsh rivalry, in a certain country named Leidenschaftlich, located in the continent’s southern coast, there was a postal agency so-called CH Postal Service had boomed its name throughout the industry. Although it was a newly introduced company that had but a few years since being founded, its reputation was exceptional. The degree of customer satisfaction was high, and there was abundance of re-users.

On a general view, there were two motives behind its good results.

The first one was that the CH Postal Service had no restrictions to its areas of delivery. Should a client desire, it would deliver to any part of the globe. Of course, fees were imposed for remote places, yet that was the first attempt in the industry of pulling such a feat. Even existing postal agencies disputing for a leading position in the industry had determined delivery areas. The CH Postal Service delivered even to regions of conflict, therefore being a great help for customers whose family members or lovers found themselves in battlegrounds. Its patrons increasing in numbers was something logical. However, succeeding in doing such a thing as though it were extremely natural was terribly difficult for ordinary companies. The CH Postal Service was in condition to go anywhere for a client’s sake, as it had assembled the personnel and system capable of making it possible – therefore, it had managed to do so.

The second reason was that there existed a top star in CH Postal Service, who had come into sight in the Auto-Memories Doll business like a comet. Seeing her walk around the city would cause people to do double takes at her looks, and hearing her voice would paint their cheeks red out of fascination. She was a perfect beauty that seemed to have come out of a mythological legend. As of late, a play that the famous dramatist Oscar had written using her image had been announced and gained popularity, making her renowned even outside of the industry as per synergy.

People probably envisioned just what type of woman she was. Mostly, their expectations were betrayed in good ways. She was a woman that surpassed the categorical components of imagination.

Her name was Violet Evergarden.

The largest trading place of the continent was a port that served as a gate from and to the sea. It was a national interest of Leidenschaftlich’s, as well as a trigger for wars. Countless other countries had attempted to invade it, seeking its abundant resources and a privileged location.

Although the city was at financial ease with the prosperity of its economy, scars of old battles remained in some places. The symbols of long military service from the past had not been etched solely in protection walls or stone-paved roads. It could be said that the fountain built in the capital Leiden during the celebration of Leidenschaftlich’s hundredth anniversary was its most well-known marking.

Consisting of a total of nine goddess statues holding water vases on their shoulders, it worked in a way that groundwater poured out them. Despite it being a gem made by a nationally employed artist, the goddesses had their necks chopped off. It remained unfixed, for the sake of not letting anyone forget Leidenschaftlich’s disgrace in authorizing the invasion of another country’s castle town.

In spite of being a major commercial nation, it was a military state. There were armed soldiers amidst the lively cityscapes even during times of peace.

The members of the CH Postal Company had such country as their home.

“Oh, what’cha doing?”

“My.”

“It has been a while.”

Under a beautiful autumn sky, a group that rarely gathered met in front of the headless goddesses’ fountain. They were two women and one man.

“If it isn’t Cattleya and V. Have you come out to welcome the great me, unable to wait for my return?”

Leaving his motorcycle parked by the roadside and heartily eating grilled chicken was a postman clad in a glass-green shirt. His slender boots of cross-shaped heels gave out a devious sex appeal. Hidden behind sandy-blond hair, his light blue eyes were provocative. His unmanly, soft facial features were not gentle. It was Benedict Blue, who worked at the CH Postal Company.

“What’re you saying? I’m gonna ask again: what’re you saying? T-There’s no way I’d come pick you up! I just went out shopping as an errand for my beloved President. Violet, say something too. To this platform shoes man. Nobody called for you.”

The one who spoke as if to smooth things over with a moody voice was a beautiful woman of gracefully wavy dark hair. She had amethyst eyes and an hourglass shape. Brimming with enough sensuality to enslave the opposite sex, her body was enveloped in a carmine dress-coat with a waist ribbon, yet was about to burst out of it. She was Cattleya Baudelaire, who also worked at the CH Postal Company.

“You two, you are being too loud out in the street.”

Reproaching the duo with a voice of silver bells was an elegantly beautiful girl dressed up like a porcelain doll. Said person had a hairband made of embroidery lace sitting on her hair as it spread out in waves and was wearing a one-piece with plenty of such lace sewn to it, along with a chiffon trench coat.

“V.”

“Violet.”

She was Violet Evergarden, the top Auto-Memories Doll of the CH Postal Company, whose blue eyes enthralled those who looked at them, as did the emerald-green brooch sitting on her chest.

Benedict and Cattleya turned toward Violet, changing the addressee of their impressions in unison.

“What’s up with you?”

“Really, Violet, you’re pretty fired-up. You’re letting your hair down? Are you on a date?”

Pressed on by the two, the Auto-Memories Doll that the CH Postal Company had pride in, Violet Evergarden, cast her gaze to the ground. “Lady Tiffany... someone from my home arranged everything, but is it that strange?” Her voice sounded slightly embarrassed.

Cattleya observed Violet with a gentle look. “It’s not strange. You’re cute enough not to lose to me. Are you going to see the major?”

“Yes. It is still early for the meeting time, so I was going to buy a book for me to bring along.”

“That’s great; you’re looking forward to it, huh! Hey, she doesn’t look weird, right, Benedict?” Cattleya rejoiced without restraint.

“Tch,” Benedict clicked his tongue.

It had truly been a long while since the three of them had last gathered. That was only natural. At the CH Postal Company, everyone worked industriously every day. There were sporadic occasions in which they would be grouped on duty, but that was only when they managed to miraculously coordinate their schedules. They were mates who had been hired by their president at about the same time, so to say.

Benedict threw away the bones of the meat he had just eaten onto the road, peeking at Violet’s face while licking off the oil remaining on his hand. “Hu~n, well, isn’t it fine? Nice work.”

Although their faces were close, Violet stared back at him with her huge orbs without bending backwards.

Benedict flatly thrust a fingertip at her forehead in-between one big eye and another. “But the one who gets to walk you around gotta be me. As your older brother part, I can’t accept my little sister part getting eaten down by an old man. I’m better. ‘Cause I’m young and cool.”

It could be said that someone who had the nerve to say such a thing so imposingly was quite a rare type even amongst humanity.

With an aspect of irritation, Cattleya interjected, “A third party is gonna be telling you this, but Mr. Gilbert is super wonderful, is an adult man and I know Violet’s head-over-heels for him, so you’re the one who’s uncalled-for here!”

“What does ‘head-over-heels’ mean?” Violet immediately reacted to the term she was unused to hearing.

“It’s like being obsessed. Didn’t you say that the major was the only one for you?”

“I did say that, indeed.” Her brows furrowed as if she were troubled, her blue eyes slightly moist. She was most likely “embarrassed”. Perhaps becoming unable to say anything else, Violet wound up turning her face away.

The feeling of affection for that awkward girl, the envy towards her happiness and the complicated emotions from having a friend taken away by a man traveled across Benedict and Cattleya’s minds. Therefore, in order to dismiss it all, the two silently decided to ball their fists, pushing and kicking Violet left and right.

“Shit. Don’t go acting cute. You’re just a battlefield maniac.”

“Really, it pisses me off. You’re as strong as a bear! But you’re adorable.”

Perhaps not feeling any pain, or perhaps trying to figure out how to deal with such a situation, she resigned quietly and accepted the unwarranted violence. As seen from the sidelines, it looked like something close to bullying, but Violet was actually the one with highest combat capacity amongst them. When the physical strength of the three was put together, that sort of thing was no more than playing around.

“Listen, don’t let him touch you carelessly, all right? This is amazing, though. You’re like a fluffy dog. Cattleya, you try touching too.”

“Hey, don’t you go carelessly touching her with those hands either! Even the insolence of getting meat juices on a maiden’s hair has a limit! Stop it!”

“It’s fine, ain’t it? It’s not like I just got outta the toilet.”

“Eh, does that mean... you never wash your hands!? Right? That’s what it is, right? No waaay! Violet, hey, come here. Benedict, don’t you get near us! It’s my turf from beyond this point! I’ll beat the hell out of you for territory violation if you come over!”

As Cattleya swung her legs, enveloped in Suède boots, to draw a line on the ground, Benedict opposed to it in a level as low as the next person, not losing to her. He picked a dead branch from the root of a roadside tree and did the same as she had. “Haah~? Then I’ll make everything beyond this point into my turf! Speaking of which, the way to your beloved president’s head office is behind me, so don’t you go back to it either!”

“Ah~, that’s unfair! It’s. Not. Fair!”

“It’s not unfair~! You’re the one who came up with it first~!”

It was a child-like action for members of society to take. Violet, the youngest one, regarded them with interest as if she were watching a dispute between animals of a new species.

That was a short-lived period of peace before an uproar occurred.

   At the same moment, in the same country, within the same city, time flowed peacefully inside the head office of the CH Postal Company, nobody aware of the nightmare that would approach them a few minutes later.

The business firm was erected in an alley away from the main street, projecting itself in the very sense of the word over rows of small shops. It consisted of a spire with a light green, dome-shaped roof and a weathercock on display, a deep green roof that spread out as if to surround said spire, and outer walls made of red bricks that had been sunburned into a tasteful color. The iron plate on the arch-shaped front gate made known the name of the company with letters printed in gold.

Should one open the door, a cheerful-sounding bell would announce the arrival of a customer. Upon coming in, one would soon find the counter, which was the sector where the reception of postal items took place. The building had three floors, with the first being the reception desk, the second being the office and the spire in the third one being the president’s residence.

No matter how far it was from the main street, the building was quite expensive. Its owner – an individual referred by the members of the CH Postal Company as “President” and “Old Man” – was drinking black tea with brandy at a balcony that had an unbroken view of the city.

“I’m so brilliant that it’s scary.”

He was a lady-killer good-looking enough to display self-indulgent behavior. His age was around the thirties. He had droopy grayish blue eyes, red hair grown slightly long, a manly build, and although he was not young, he had soft facial traits that exuded sophisticated simplicity. His appearance seemed to earn the envy and jealousy from other men of the same generation as him. His leather boots shone lustrously without a single stain, polished perhaps out of obsession.

“President Hodgins!”

The one who had yelled into the room was a girl of innocent features. She was the possessor of velvety, evenly cut lavender-gray hair that stopped above her shoulders. She had large eyes, a small head and a petite body. It was still the physique of a young child, but the heterochromatic orbs from behind the glasses she wore bore a stunning suspiciousness that was mysterious even. She was a person who the word “lovely” fit perfectly.

“Please say so after you’ve finished work!”

However, her conduct had presence as the secretary of a self-centered chairman.

Hodgins retorted mildly, “Little Lux, what I need right now isn’t brutal working hours but relaxation time feeling the gentle autumn air and drinking tea.”

“Even if you say that with a nice voice, it sounds like nothing but running away from reality! Please; if you at least put the stamps, I’ll bring you as many cups of tea as you want! Tomorrow is the deadline! We have to clear up most papers today and submit to the concerned parties in lots of places tomorrow! It’s the Flying Letters all over again!”

“You’re already my Miss Secretary through and through. I’m so happy. You used to look like a scared little rabbit when you arrived here, but aren’t you a fine working lady now? This feeling that I was the one who raised you is exceptional, huh?”

“President Hodgins! Please! Take the stamp! If you hold it, I can move you to stamping it... I’ll also read out the documents to you...”

“Then, Little Lux, doesn’t it make no difference if you’re the one doing the stamping?”

“I’d do it if I could! All that’s left is the stuff that demands the president’s confirmation, so just get on with it!”

“That ordering tone with formal language coming from a teenage girl is giving me unbearable creeps... Hm, Little Lux, hey. You don’t look bad with a shirt-blouse and a long flared skirt, but why don’t you try changing your outfit? I think I’d recommend a black apron dress over a puffed sleeve shirt, black tights and red enamel shoes.”

“Please listen to what I say!” The figure that had once been worshiped as a demigoddess at the headquarters of a cultist organization was absent in Lux Sibyl – what was there instead was the figure of a half-crying subordinate attempting to convince her vain superior.

Lux had been working serious and untiringly ever since being brought over by Violet and hired into the CH Postal Company. Perhaps having incorporated a methodical personality, she was now entrusted with even the duty of president’s secretary, yet she always had a hard time with said easygoing president.

The competence that the man named Hodgins had for business was unquestionable, yet his self-amusement principles were extreme and he would not stop fooling around even when having piles of work to do. Keeping his day-by-day in check was Lux’s role. In worse times, she would have to search for him and pick him up at brothels in red-light districts.

“If you don’t put the stamps, the one who will die isn’t you, President, but myself.”

Lux was tired of it.

“No way. I’ll put the stamps. I’ll put them, I’ll put them. Don’t make such a depressed face. Little Lux, you’re too pessimistic. Also, you take everything too literally. I told you that eighty percent of the things I say are random, right? Poise yourself more at ease. Let’s enjoy everything. Even the troublesome stuff.”

“President... you seem like you’d say this even if you had a hole opened in your stomach... I’m jealous.”

“Thanks. I’m the type that grows through getting compliments.”

She had wanted to convey something that was no compliment, yet it did not turn into words as Lux wound up having her attention stolen by something else. Lux’s golden and reddish heterochromatic eyes caught a strange thing in the skies against the beautiful cityscape that was visible from the balcony.

“President Hodgins... Over there, something is...”

At the same time as she spoke, Hodgins forcefully dragged Lux’s body, held her up and jumped to the end of the room. Lux was squeezed tightly against Hodgins’s chest, not allowed to even scream or raise her voice in confusion.

A few seconds thereafter, the sound of an explosion ensued.

   “Do you not hear some sort of noise?” Violet’s leveled voice eventually came between Benedict and Cattleya, who were having a scuffle fight. Her blue orbs were looking up at the sky, sighting a black object that passed by in a flash.

And it struck one of the classy buildings among the cityscape of Leiden.

“The head office is under attack!” No sooner than she said so, Violet bolted from the place. She slipped through people standing still with their mouths open, their attention taken away by the explosion sound that had reverberated through the idyllic early afternoon.

“No way, no way! Eeh?! What about the President!?”

“Get on, you idiot.”

Benedict had mounted on his bike before long. After whispering lowly, he swung a hand around Cattleya’s back, all too easily lifted her up, sat her on his knees and simultaneously turned on the engine, taking off.

“Wai—! Doing that all of a sudden is scary! It’s scaryyy!” Cattleya shouted, clinging to Benedict’s neck.

“Move! Move! Y’all are in the way!”

A young woman who was selling flower bouquets with a mobile catering fell on the spot, the horse of her carriage letting out a neigh. Ignoring the situation of the traffic in the street, Benedict rampantly chased after Violet. He gradually got closer to her figure, which had already become the size of a bean grain.

Benedict stretched out his hand. “V!”

Violet had been running at an astonishing speed, but upon hearing Benedict’s voice, she nimbly hopped onto his motorcycle. The two of them, who had a mutual understanding without the invitation of “get on”, exchanged words while paying no mind to the scandalized Cattleya.

“That sound was of Leidenschaftlich style artillery.”

“Did you see the cannonball’s firing position?”

“There is no mistake that it came flying from the west side of the city. Look, smoke is coming out of the head office’s third floor. If we suppose that it was shot from somewhere just as high, we can restrict the location, right?”

“It struck Old Man’s apartment, so there’s too many suspects.”

“How can you be so calm!? The President might’ve died!” Cattleya glared daggers at Benedict and Violet, yet the expressions that two had on were different from normal times. She quieted down without thinking.

“No way we wouldn’t be worried, right...!?” Benedict spoke even for Violet’s part.

The motorcycle that the three of them rode let out a roar while going up the slope.

   Caught under a bookshelf, Hodgins was straddled over Lux with his hands so as not to squash her. Lux looked up at him, dumbfounded.

“Little Lux, you can... you can take it slow, but sneak off from under me.”

The glass of the windows had shattered and scattered all over the place. The president’s desk, which was an order-made one designed by a master craftsman, had been smashed to fragments. The carpet had turned into ember and the room was starting to envelope in flames.

“President Hodgins... I-I’m sorry!” Lux crawled out, attempting to somehow lift the shelf with her powerless arms. However, it did not even budge.

“I’m fine, I’m fine. Man~, I’d been skipping push-ups lately so this is taking a toll on me... Heave-ho.”

The instant he put on strength and lifted the bookshelf all at once, he rolled away and escaped from being crushed. He was the bearer of a considerable muscle strength.

Hodgins stood up and looked around the room. The look in his eyes was no longer the earlier one of a slacker chairman.

“Sorry; you okay?” Only the gentleness in his voice was the same as always.

“Why are you apologizing, President?”

“‘Cause this was an attack aimed at me, no matter how you think of it. If anything happened to you, I wouldn’t have any excuse to give your parents.”

“I don’t have parents.”

“That’s right. Then, I wouldn’t have any excuse to give you. Now, we gotta check if the other employees are all right...”

“Anyhow, let’s go downstairs; we’ll both burn to death if we stay like this!” Making a snap decision, Lux ran to the stairs that led to the lower floor.

Planning to go down through the balcony’s emergency stairs, Hodgins desperately called out to her, “Little Lux! Wait up!”

However, before Lux flew out the door, it opened automatically. Hodgins saw a brusque arm stretching before his eyes and taking ahold of Lux. She was dragged into the darkness and her frame disappeared.

“Little Lux...?”

By the moment that Lux reappeared before Hodgins, whose lips twitched, there was as a muzzle aimed at her temple. The one who pushed her forward while holding onto her shoulder was a man clad in a completely black suit. Six other men dressed the same way revealed themselves in succession. Hodgins’s gaze gradually became grimmer.

“How do you do, Claudia Hodgins?” The man referred to Hodgins by the name that he made sure not to call himself by. It was the name his parents had come up with while convinced that he was going to be born a girl.

Breaking into a distorted smile, Hodgins replied, “You’re truly one refreshing shitface, Salvatore Ridaudo.”

Salvatore smiled sarcastically as well. His hair was fixed with balm to the point there was not a single disheveled thread. He was the possessor of wood-brown droopy eyes, thick lips and skin as pale as wax.

“So, what is it you wanna do by shooting a cannonball into my office and thrusting a gun at my secretary?”

“My, good job figuring out that it was our doing.”

“I have a rough idea of it, but can’t you tell me… Mr. President of the Salvatore Postal Company? All that comes to me is that my academic background in the Military School was below yours.”

“How modest... What are you, an up-and-coming entrepreneur whose name everyone knows in the mail business nowadays, talking about? It’s very obvious what I’m after, right? The Salvatore Postal Company and the CH Postal Company. Two agencies competing for deployment in Leidenschaftlich. The fact that the other party is a nuisance certainly applies to you too, but I’m the one who’s been in this industry for the longest time. I can’t contain my frustration. Your way of doing things is... Anyway, I want you to obediently come with us. I wish to have a talk at a quiet place. If you do that, we’ll go home without inflicting a single injury on this cute lady and the rest of the employees.”

For someone running a postal firm, he was a disturbing individual. Calling him an underground chief would be more frankly agreeable. The men in all-black under his control did not seem to be respectful individuals either.

“Think you’ll get to live in peace after doing something like this? The military police’s coming over soon.”

“Seems like you have contacts in the military, but I myself have strong connections too. The military police monitoring this area won’t move an inch. I had them promise that they’d pretend not to hear anything the whole day, no matter how much noise we make. Claudia... Excuse me; is it okay to call you by your first name?”

Hodgins gritted his teeth to the point they let out a creak. “Go ahead. It’s the name that my beloved parents gave me.”

“Then, Claudia. If we keep talking so leisurely, we’ll both scorch. I want you to come along with us on your own feet.”

“Got it, I’ll go over there. But leave my secretary here.”

At those words, Salvatore went blank. He cast his gaze at Lux, who – perhaps from too much fear – had tears naturally welling up in her eyes, and broke into a smile that was rather merciful for an enemy.

And then suddenly punched her on the cheek.

His eyes open wide, Hodgins’s expression visibly dyed itself in rage. “You...! You laid your hand on a woman!!”

A man from the back gave her support as she seemed about to fall to her knees.

Side-glancing Hodgins as he shouted angrily, Salvatore wiped off the blood on his fist onto the sleeve of one of his subordinates’ suit. “I loathe women who think things will somehow work out if they cry. Sorry.”

His voice sounded as though he had not an ounce of pangs of conscience.

By the time that the trio had arrived, the people of the neighboring shops were helping put the flames down together with the firefighters.

Seeing that, Violet whispered quietly, “It is almost as if they knew there would be fire, isn’t it?”

Indeed, just as she said, the fire department’s performance was too well-executed. Thanks to it, only the third floor of the CH Postal Company received damage.

“You three! Over here!”

As they turned around upon being called, they found uniform-clad office workers of the CH Postal Company standing outside with burns showing and in a horrible state. A middle-aged man, presumably the oldest of that group, was waving his hand.

“Anthony, everyone, you okay? What’s all this?”

Anthony, the section manager of the reception desk at the CH Postal Company, had genteel facial features. He spoke with a demeanor and manner of talking that matched said features, “Every employee who attended work as of today is fine. However... the President and his secretary Lux have been taken away.”

“No way!” Cattleya let out a cry similar to a scream.

Benedict looked at Violet. She blinked several times. Her long eyelashes swaying widely displayed “shock” amongst her scarce emotions.

Her hand reached out to her brooch and gripped it tightly. “Who... and where... is the culprit...?” she asked in a low voice, still gripping it and not letting go, “Who... and... where?”

Her tone was an absolute zero.

It was so low and cold it went to the point of making whoever listened to it hallucinate that their temperature had dropped for a second. The air about her was bizarre, further enhanced by her usual robotic aspect.

Only one person moved within that freezing atmosphere. “V,” echoed the affectionate nickname by which Benedict alone called her.

Violet turned her head to the side.

“It’s okay.” That was a tone so gentle it was unimaginable coming from Benedict. “I’ll do something about this no matter what.”

Those words were almost like the ones that a true older brother would tell his younger sister.

Violet’s eyelashes once again flapped flutteringly. “I will do it.”

“You can’t. If we’re doing something, we’ll do it all together. Your plans for later gonna be okay?”

“The plans... No problem; Major will understand. Besides, Major would probably order me to rescue President Hodgins and Lux.”

Perhaps unamused by Violet’s attitude in demonstrating unwavering trust, Benedict ruffled her hair roughly. “Ah, that so?”

Her feathery, wavy streaks expanded even more. Unlike earlier, Violet protested with a “please stop” using her normal voice. The instability that had given a glimpse of her former self as a girl soldier was concealed and everyone in the surroundings exhaled relieved sighs.

“Hey, enough; I’m gonna ask about the rest. Anthony’s troubled, ain’t he?”

Having her shin kicked, Violet finally nodded.

Anthony resumed speaking, “The perpetrator is the Salvatore Postal Company. Its president who has the looks of a vampire and his followers dressed in black did this to the office… I tried to notify the military police with a detailed report of the circumstances, but they would not listen. It seems Salvatore has enormous support. I can’t think of anything other than information manipulation.”

Meaning that Hodgins and Lux had been taken by Salvatore and their whereabouts were unknown. It would seem that the employees left behind were first and foremost concentrating themselves on digesting the situation.

“When departing, President Hodgins told us, ‘I leave the rest to you’.”

“I’m so glad! They’re okay for now, huh!” Cattleya patted her own chest and welled up with tears.

“Salvatore’s the place that dispatches those postmen with black uniforms? If I’m not wrong, their head office was in Leiden, yeah? Those guys once went claiming a boundary to delivering territories, so I beat them into a pulp. Could it be… this was my fault?”

“Eh, what? The name sounds like a tongue-twist so I can’t remember just by hearing it one time. Salva… Sal… Salfa…”

“'Salvatore’, Cattleya.”

Imitating Violet, who pronounced it slowly, Cattleya uttered it as well, “'Salvatore’, 'Salvatore’… okay. Gotta be able to say it right. They’re the ones we’re knocking off into hell, after all. Well, when does the blood festival start? Of course, we’ll settle the accounts, right? We’ll go save the president and Lux, right?”

It was a crude statement, yet the people present nodded at Cattleya’s suggestion with an aspect that bore no sense of displacement whatsoever.

“Please pummel them.”

Benedict broke into a villainous smile at Anthony’s request. “Oh. We’ll do that. Old Man will be fine even on his own but we gotta save the midget.” Benedict vigorously hit his own chest with his fist.

Anthony let out a breath of relief at that attitude. “You three, what should we do, then? Should we call over the other employees? The Salvatore Postal Company owns countless branch offices, even abroad. Is this all right?”

Violet said after raising her hand, “We shall seize them simultaneously. In the national offices, there should be a spot by the windows with nothing but the reception desk. The three of us will take it over… However, the priority is to strike the head office first. Let us suppose that the location the two were kidnapped to is where the leader is. Depending on whether the people at work recruited as combatants are available, please notify them that we are seizing our neighbor agency, the Salvatore Postal Company. Hold a transmission for the combatant employees to grasp the entirety of the situation. We will entrust the information convergence… to you, Anthony.”

“Understood, Violet.”

She was the expected of a former warrior. With that, the chain of command was made clear.

Looking at Violet, Benedict asked, “V, ain’t you kinda coming back to being a soldier?”

Violet had on the same composed expression as always, yet the things she said were uncouth.

“I am not. However, counterattack for justifiable motives is permitted even during travels. We are merely going to resolve a quarrel between fellow post offices. The third floor is the one burning, right?”

Violet had a reason for confirming that.

   The trio stood in front of a thick iron door inserted unnaturally in the red brick wall at the back of the building. As Benedict squatted on the spot and dug up the ground, a small box covered in dirt appeared within not even a few minutes’ time. Inside it was a bronze key. Once he reverently brought it into the keyhole, the door greeted the visitors while ringing out a rusty sound. They took a built-in lantern and went down the stairs in the thin darkness. Soon, they arrived to their destination.

The basement illuminated by the faint light stored equipment that should not possibly be gathered in an ordinary company. They were firearms, swords, spears, axes, bows, shields and other fighting tools of all kinds. Even if that were the president’s hobby, such assortment of goods was not something an amateur could attain.

“He saw something like this coming and was getting himself ready, huh. He’s got actual self-awareness that people have a grudge against him,” Benedict said as if in admiration.

“Ah~! President got the tonfa that I said I wanted! The whip too!”

“One fist’s more than enough for you, ain’t it? Don’t go taking any more dangerous weapons other than that. V, what’cha picking? We got this opportunity so I’m gonna take the ones I’ve never used.”

“I...” Looking around the hidden weapons of the CH Postal Company, Violet reached a hand out to something wrapped in a tattered rag set against the farthest wall. “I have decided that this will be my weapon. Benedict, Cattleya.” Violet raised the object that was as tall as her with hand movements that did not allow one to perceive its weight. “Let’s go as discreetly as possible.”

The three stared at each other in silence for a moment.

“Impossible, ain’t it? I’m pissed.”

“Impossible, isn’t it? With this group, that is.”

“So that is really the case.”

As the result of a discussion, they arrived at the conclusion that leaving the enemies half-dead without killing anyone was passable.

   Salvatore Rinaudo stared down at Claudia Hodgins. The person he detested was currently on an imported bear leather carpet of his personal choice, feeble and with wrists tied.

They were in a room encircled with black furnishings. The fact that said room was decorated with the personality of its owner was apparent one way or another. There were portraits of himself and bookshelves with double glass doors that did not seem to be opened often. There were also butterfly specimens and vases filled to the brim with fresh white flowers. Quiet violin music was playing from a gramophone, but it did not relieve the restless atmosphere in the slightest. Having her cheek punched and swelled, Lux Sibyl was seated on a chair, but one of Salvatore’s underlings had a gun thrust at her head.

Lux was constantly concerned about the outdoors. From the balcony, she could see Hodgins’s office at just the same height in the far distance. Black smoke rising from it, the structure of the CH Postal Company’s headquarters and of that building were awfully similar.

There was one more thing to note about the balcony. It was the artillery that seemed unlikely to have been placed there as an antique.

“Shall I tell you the reason why I despise you?” He stretched his arm as though to embrace Lux, caressing her, who had her right cheek swollen, almost as though soothing a pet cat.

As the cheek that had been hit still throbbed, Lux shuddered as if in pain upon the touch.

“Above all, it’s you yourself. You were born to a well-off merchant family, and used to belong to Leidenschaftlich’s army. Even though you were promoted up to the rank of major, you quit the military immediately after the Great War ended and founded a post office next, succeeding splendidly at it. People like that do exist, huh? The kind that can carry out anything just fine no matter what they do. In most cases, they stomp over others’ efforts with the sole of their shoes. And with a nonchalant face, to boot. I may have all this, but I’m one of the people who face hardships, so I detest those like you.”

“If me being superior is a sin, then go complain to God.”

“My second reason for hating you is that you rebel against the principles and rules that our predecessors established. ‘The CH Postal Company delivers to anywhere’? You make me sick.”

Hodgins shot Salvatore’s hand a blazing glare. “High quality at a low price for the costumers... That’s the basics of business, isn’t it?”

“Won’t you just crush those who can’t do the same if you turn this into a standard?”

“You get tripped up because you sit on your hands like that. Y’know, I just happened to think back when I was a soldier that a post office like this would be great and am simply making it into a reality. Letters that can be sent to any sort of battlefield. Postmen who can deliver them. Auto-Memories Dolls who can come to you if you so wish, even if you live at the heart of a sea of trees. What’s so bad about doing something I like with my own money?”

“There are still other bad things... What’s that building? Isn’t it almost like claiming that you’re going to replace the Salvatore Postal Company? The fact that only the weather face stands high up is also irritating.”

Salvatore’s hand moved from her cheek to her silver hair, which emitted a glossy luster.

“Don’t touch my secretary... Yeah, that’s right, I declared war on you. I’ve known you before getting into the industry. You’re all over the country I protected, doing stuff that doesn’t favor it.”

“What, for example?”

A bundle of hair picked by Salvatore’s fingers flowed in-between them, producing a smooth sound.

“The fact that you’ve been selling weapons behind the face of post office... You were selling national weaponry abroad, weren’t you?”

“We’re a postal company that has gentleness and courtesy as our selling points, so we do deliver anything that people request. However, I don’t recall delivering anything to the North.”

“That’s not the issue. Even if you didn’t sell anything to them when battles were going on, it takes just a bit of thinking to figure that this kind of stuff makes rounds, right? It was so unbearably weird... How come the enemy had weapons made in Leidenschaftlich? How come my comrades were getting shot by the enemy with them and dying...? I finally got to investigate that mystery after the war.”

Lux’s had her hair forcefully pulled and her neck bent backwards. Her scarf was taken off, her collarbone peeking from underneath her blouse.

Salvatore took the gun from his underling and pointed it at her chest. “If you know this much, you also know that part of my proceedings went to the military, don’t you? It’s not something that I alone wished for. Some people from your country, which you’d devoted your life to, merely wanted to increase their retirement pay a little. Isn’t that a commonplace story? Can’t you drop the moralist act? It disgusts me.”

“I’m no moralist—hey... how many times do I have to tell you not to touch...”

“Claudia, it’s not like you have a respectable life style either, is it? You wagered your whole fortune on war gambles and earned a large sum, wasn’t that it? Funds gathered from gambling are a hotbed for underground organizations and black market groups. With those funds, they sell off weapons, drugs and abused women and children. Even if you’re on the side that just milked it out, from the moment you placed a bet, you also made rounds and became someone’s assailant.”

“That’s why I said... I’m no moralist! I did all of it because I wanted to. You and I are both pitch-black at heart. But y’know, my secretary over there is a respectable girl. Didn’t you hear when I told you not to touch my secretary?! If you get anxious unless you’re touching something, just hit me or whatever!”

Perhaps because such statements rubbed him the wrong way, Salvatore did as Hodgins proposed, leaving Lux and kicking Hodgins’s face with his shin. Crimson hair swaying, Hodgins collapsed onto the floor.

Regardless, he grinned. “Thanks; should I take my clothes off while we’re at it? It’d get you excited, right?”

Salvatore grabbed Hodgins’s collar with rage. “How filthy. Your company is your human nature itself. I’m a victim. I want you to give me back the clients, routes and everything that you’ve stolen from me. I think being a soldier suited you better than being a businessman. Lying on the ground like this is fitting of you. Why... I’m just going to have you write your name on a document. Promise not to trespass my routes... It’s hard to do stuff with you loitering around. Lots of stuff, you see.” He let go abruptly, Hodgins’s face banging onto the floor.

“President!” Lux’s tear-mixed voice leaked.

Hodgins immediately raised his head and smiled at Lux. He went as far as winking at her.

Salvatore harshly told his underling to call over the official scrivener who would bear witness to their contract. He most likely intended to crush Hodgins’s post office through leaving behind a legal document with unequal contents.

“Tepid; you’re tepid.” Hodgins’s tongue licked off the blood dripping from the corner of his mouth. “Compared to back in the battlefields, you really are dull...” As he coughed curt and subtly, his voice reached Salvatore. “My company isn’t just mine.” Hodgins looked out the window. He checked if something was coming and waited for it.

   “Salvatore Postal Company identified ahead,” Violet whispered.

Benedict was driving his motorcycle, Cattleya behind him. Holding onto Cattleya’s shoulders, Violet was standing on the edge of the passenger seat. Running through the cityscape in the early afternoon, the motorcycle carried not only three people but also uncovered armament.

“Hey~, there’s a huge tacky cannon in the balcony~.”

“All~ right, I was thinking about forcing our way through the front gate but change of plans. V, go off on that balcony,” Benedict said with a lightheartedness that one would invite another to go shopping with.

“Understood. Cattleya, please give me support.” Violet took into her hands a thick, long cylindrical object that had been placed on the motorcycle’s luggage carrier. It was something that could be called both a rifle and a rocket launcher. She rested it on her shoulder atop the running vehicle and determined her target.

Once Cattleya clung to her legs as to secure her body, Violet shot without mercy. Explosion sounds echoed throughout the city of Leiden for the second time that day.

“Impact confirmed.”

Pigeons fled into the sky, the townspeople darting their eyes about in search for the source of the noise. Meanwhile, the motorcycle that the trio was riding on gradually drew closer to the Salvatore head office.

“Sca~ry! But ama~zing! I also wanna shoot tha~t!” Cattleya shouted in joy upon seeing the balcony destructed.

“Won’t let ya no matter what.”

“You cannot no matter what.”

Benedict and Violet shook their heads in sync. Both comprehended that it would be dangerous to let such a naïve woman hold onto firearm.

“What’s with that~?! I also wanna go wild big time~! Isn’t it okay?!”

“Then, let Cattleya be the first to charge in. Please be contented with that.”

“What’re you deciding on your own? The first at anything’s gotta be me.”

“You follow me from behind. ‘Cause the one who’ll save our captive princess of a president is going to be me. A~hn, wait for me, President! Where are you!?”

“You... As if such a huge dude could be a princess. What kinda princess is that?”

“If you were as tall as the President, you wouldn’t have to wear those heeled shoes, huh.”

“You’re wrong! That’s not why I wear them! It’s because they’re cool! You... Imma make you cry later! I’m dropping by your place today, so get ready for it!”

“Yo... Yo-Yo... You idiot! What’re you saying in front of Violet?!”

Silently listening to the exchange between the two, Violet slowly took from the luggage carrier the handle of the weapon jutting out of the tattered cloth. “Then, I shall take this opportunity and go.”

They had no idea what opportunity she was taking, yet Violet nimbly jumped midair after saying nothing but that. As she landed on the ground, the motorcycle also stopped right in front of the head office with good timing upon scoring an ostentatious drift.

“Here I go, Major.”

The one taken into Violet’s blue eyes was the Salvatore Postal Company – a building that looked exactly like the CH Postal Company. Although it was a weekday, a “closed” sign hung on the door and five postmen clad in black frock coats stood by the entrance smoking cigarettes.

The stunning woman, the man mounted on a motorcycle and the beauty behind him appeared before their eyes. Ashes fell down in lieu of their surprise at the mystery trio.

“Wh-Who’re you?!”

While the men froze on the spot at her exposed unpainted face and moonlight-colored hair, Violet swiftly tore off the tattered cloth wrapped around the weapon in her hands. A battle-axe of a size unfit for swinging around in a city road revealed itself.

“Pleased to make your acquaintance. I am an Auto-Memories Doll from the CH Postal Company; my name is Violet Evergarden.”

The name of the battle-axe wielded by that woman as ominously beautiful as a witch was Witchcraft. It had a silver blade, and the red rain that it dyed itself in from the number of people it had killed was a manifestation of its ill-omened existence.

“Apologies for you are in the middle of work, but could you allow us upstairs? Ever since our company’s president and secretary disappeared into your agency, we have not known of their whereabouts.”

As she held onto it, illuminated by the afternoon sunlight, her frame gave off quite a sense of misplacement.

“If you will not listen to our request, we shall exercise brute force based on the guiding precepts of our company.”

But as she wielded it, her figure looked appropriate. Rather, it was the contrary.

Raising the gigantic battle-axe blithely, Violet pointed the blade at the men. Instead of opening their mouths, the men took pistols out of their coats and pants and aimed them at Violet.

“The guys from the CH Postal Company are here! Don’t let them pass no matter what!”

“Violet!” Cattleya’s scream reverberated through the city roads.

However, the beautiful Auto-Memories Doll moved at the same time as the opponents readied themselves, dealing a preemptive strike in the blink of an eye. “Negotiations broken.”

A single blow from the battle-axe brushed away the postmen. It was an attack that did not cut them and merely struck their vitals using blunt weapon essentials, yet it caused three of the men to hit their heads against the outer wall of their company and collapse.

The remaining two men, who had dodged the appearance and disappearance of the axe, frantically aimed at Violet and pulled the triggers. Without any change in her facial expression, Violet twisted the battle-axe around and repelled the bullets with its blade. Switching hands, she pointed the tip of the handle at the opponents. It produced a ringing noise.

“Please forgive my rudeness.”

The flower bud ornament decorating the tip of the handle flew out together with a long chain. It knocked the two men’s pistols off their hands. She did not give the men, who held their hands down due to the collision, any opening to straighten their postures. This time, Violet rammed the battle-axe’s arm against the surface of the building’s wall and anchored it. While extending the chain and spinning midair, she dealt a flying kick to the face of one of them, made his face into her stepping stone and roundhouse-kicked the man next to him. There was no hesitation or mercy in her series of actions.

“Bu-But I was supposed to be the first one!”

“That was me!”

Indignant, Cattleya took a sack fastened to the luggage carrier, which contained her weapons. After thorough indecision between the tonfa, whip and other armory, the one she had chosen were iron knuckles.

Before anyone noticed, Benedict’s hands were gripping two pistols. He disabled the safety catch with practiced hand movements. “V! Don’t get too serious! If you’re angry, I can get angry for you!”

As if the people inside the Salvatore Postal Company had foreseen that someone would come raid it, postmen peeked out from the windows of the floors above with rifles in position. Bullets from Benedict’s pistols pierced their arms as he spoke, creating a rain of blood splashes.

“If this is the emotion called wrath, I want to rid myself of it quickly. Cattleya.” Violet pointed with her finger at the rocket launcher that had no more remaining ammo to Cattleya, who had put on her iron knuckles.

Agilely grabbing its handle with one hand, Cattleya threw it with heightened rotation speed after drawing it back once with much vigor. “One, two, the~re!”

Together with her adorable shout, the rocket launcher struck the postmen who had turned up in the upstairs floor, breaking through the window glass. Its destructive power was the same as a bullet shell.

The one who had flung it jumped up and down on the spot as if delighted. “Kyah~! I hit them~!”

It was not a deed that an average person, let alone a young woman, could normally manage. She was the possessor of tremendously strong arms.

“As expected of the Stupid Woman – or more like the Stupidly Strong Woman.”

“Shut up, Platform Shoes Man.”

“Ah, you on?”

“What, are you?”

The ringing of the chain on Violet’s battle-axe Witchcraft drowned out the duo’s little quarrel. One of the men screamed and threw himself out the window, falling onto a flowerbed in front of the company.

“Benedict, Cattleya. By the looks of it, the President and Lux are unmistakably inside this building. President Hodgins told me that he imitated Salvatore’s agency when our company’s office was under construction. If that is the case, then the highest position is probably the uppermost floor – the third floor. I am counting on you to follow the procedures.”

The two nodded in reply to Violet’s words.

“Let’s kick their asses at once and go celebrate.”

“We’re bothering the neighbors, after all.”

Before anyone realized, the city had gone quiet.

The Salvatore Postal Company was located in a completely ordinary shopping street in the city of Leiden. However, the passersby had fled within a few minutes, and the shopkeepers of the nearby buildings, as well as the buildings next to those, had closed their shops’ windows – the so-called display windows – and pulled down the iron shutters.

The fast action stemmed from their understanding that the city had become involved in the maelstrom of a fight. It was a particularity of citizens from a country that had long been shutting off invaders ever since its foundation. The people were silently waiting for the conflict to end.

“Well, then, let’s go in.” Violet’s figure as she gave the command with a clear voice was different from usual.

   Inside the chairman’s room at the top floor of the Salvatore Postal Company, the scenery visible from the balcony – an autumn sky where cirrocumulus clouds drifted high up and Leiden’s cityscape – had looked like it was inserted in a picture frame. Yet such beauty was something of a few seconds before, and now the artillery enshrined in it had received great damage from a sudden explosion attack, smoke rising from it.

Once ornamented with delicate sculptures, the rails were crumbling, and the balcony was in a state where one could fall straight to the ground if they put a foot on it. If the artillery were loaded with ammo, it was most likely not the only thing that would have been destroyed.

In that situation of settled chaos, Salvatore Rinaudo’s pale face went even paler and his mouth fell open as he spaced out, while Claudia Hodgins bit the inside of his cheeks to kill off his own laughter and trembled in opposition.

“What have they done?”

“Ahah—AHAHAHAHAH! Aah, I can’t anymore! Can’t hold back! This is the best!” Hodgins convulsed with laughter upon looking at Salvatore’s face. “What you so surprised about, Salvatore? Isn’t that what you did to us? Well, but... you wouldn’t think we’d do the exact same thing as you, huh! There’s no helping it! Ahahahah!”

Even Lux, who had all along been shaking with a darkened face, lit up with a sparkle of hope and laughed a little.

“Is this the work of you people from the CH Postal Company?”

“Who else is there? Our corporate philosophy is ‘an eye for an eye’.” Hodgins was in such a good mood that he seemed like he could break into song right then.

A few of Salvatore’s underlings went down to the floors below. Gunshots and screams soon echoed again. The fact that the screams had come from Salvatore’s subordinates increased his anxiety and impatience.

“They’re doing this even though you might be injured... What kind of training do you use on them?”

“Basically a principle of liberalism. Most of the personnel I gathered back when I was building my company happen to be guys with nowhere to go that I coaxed and took in... Don’t know if my preferences are biased, but it turned out that lots of them were absurdly strong fellows. The ones who’re here right now are definitely two of the Auto-Memories Dolls that were off-duty and... probably a postman that was scheduled to return to town today. They’re elite of the finest kind even among us. Salvatore, since it’s you, weren’t you supposed to investigate me through and through?”

“Your company’s employees are former soldiers and mercenaries, right? If that’s the case, so are our postmen...”

“They aren’t just former soldiers and mercenaries. Benedict is an ex-mercenary who had the nickname of ‘Battle-Hungry Freak’ in another continent. Cattleya was a boxer. She has arms so strong that no one can beat her by using force. And that beautiful girl whose name you can even say everyone knows in the Auto-Memories Doll business... my adorable Little Violet, used to be Leidenschaftlich’s most powerful female soldier. It’s in the past, though.” Hodgins smiled at Lux. “By the way, my secretary is a former demigoddess.”

“‘Leidenschaftlich’s most powerful female soldier’?”

“Didn’t your patrons tell you anything? Well, she was treated as a secret in a way, so it isn’t impossible for civilians not to know about her. The military went as far as creating a troop just for her and made her work for them, but they never gave her recognition or ranks. She didn’t have a surname back then and it seems people just called her ‘Violet’. My friend found and raised her... She was the leading figure of the Great War in the shadows.”

Salvatore reminisced to the photos of Hodgins’s employees whom he had made his underlings investigate. One that had been engraved in his mind remarkably vividly was a beautiful woman. She was a girl of exquisite, suave facial features. Even if one declared her to have been the strongest female soldier, nobody could believe it right away.

“How did you make a woman like that yours?!”

“She’s not mine.” Hodgins smirked defiantly. “And she doesn’t belong to the military anymore either. From the very start, she... Let’s stop here; telling this story to you is a waste.”

The battle’s tune gradually grew closer to the top floor. By the looks of it, the fuss was escalating to a direction where even angry yelling was ensuing. It seemed the owner of the voice was a young woman. Even amidst gunshots, the conversation between those two people did not cut short.

Hodgins’s smirk deepened, Salvatore’s face becoming grim.

“You guys, give polite greetings when coming in.”

Salvatore’s underlings readied their guns all at once. The tension reached its peak, everyone inside the room paying attention to the door. However, it was time.

“Lux, please cover your eyes,” a beautiful voice that did not match such a place, which had converted into a battlefield, could be heard from behind the staff members.

A black lump jumped from the balcony. It looked like a beast at first. A stunning and terrifying beast that moved its limbs gracefully and trampled over its enemies.

No matter how much the “hunters” who had taken notice of the beast’s existence made bullets rain on it, its feet did not halt by a single inch as it bared its fangs. It steadfastly ascertained the battlefield even as it danced in the air, wielding its weapon with astonishing precision, bringing everyone to the ground.

“A-Aaaah!!”

The arm released from the battle-axe pierced and gouged the shoulder of the man who had been thrusting a gun at Lux. The beast swung the battle-axe and stationed Hodgins and Lux to behind itself.

Salvatore took a few steps back, and exactly two factions stood in position separated at his right and left sides.

“Major Hodgins, we apologize for the wait.”

“I’m always telling you that it’s ‘President’, aren’t I, Little Violet?”

The beast – rather, the woman – shot a cold glance at the one that she perceived as the enemy.

“You—What are you?” Salvatore vented his confusion at the sudden intruder who held onto the completely red battle-axe.

She had white and smooth skin like that of porcelain dolls. Her blue eyes were as glass balls. Her hair of gold seemed to waft with a sweet fragrance. The girl was beautiful to a rare extent, but that was not the only thing that made one’s eyes widen at her.

A living legend that Salvatore did not know was standing there.

“Violet.”

The loveliness he had seen in the picture was concealed by a shadow, a turbulent atmosphere similar to madness surrounding her instead. An air of lethargic strategizing as to which of them would move first flowed by, but the stagnancy soon shattered.

“PRESIDENT———! LUX——!”

“OLD MAN!”

Callings could be heard in unison from outside the room. The massive door was then broken through as if it were as thin a paper sheet. The one who stepped onto the door as it collapsed with a tremor and entered the room while holding by the collar an enemy that she had defeated with her silver iron knuckles was Cattleya.

“Aa~hn! You two~! Found yoou!” She tossed the prey that she had nearly killed toward Salvatore and his group. Being able to fling a human being as if they were an object meant her arms were simply that great as blunt weapons.

Following her, a gun barrel appeared first, and after bullet sounds ensued, Benedict revealed himself. It was a shot meant for delivering the finishing blow to Cattleya’s offensive.

Shooting the legs of all the men in black except Salvatore, Benedict clicked his tongue at the gruesome scene inside the room. “What’s this? Hasn’t V eaten out most of them?” Together with a sigh, he threw away the gun he had been holding, taking out another one. “Old Man~, we’ve left only this important-looking old dude~.”

“Lux! Violet is protecting you, right? President! You’re tied up!” Cattleya ran towards Hodgins, who lay on the floor. Without cutting them with a knife, she ripped off the ropes that had been restricting him using the iron knuckles and embraced him boldly.

Hodgins patted her back with taps and hugged her lightly. “Sorry, Cattleya. Didn’t my adorable young lady get hurt?”

“I didn’t!”

“Atta girl.” Hodgins left a kiss on Cattleya’s forehead with a pop.

Cattleya’s cheeks flushed red and she turned her back to him looking embarrassed, stamping her feet onto her happiness on the spot.

Benedict tore Cattleya away from Hodgins and stood between them. Contrary to being angry, he aggressively hit Hodgins from face to torso, confirming that the latter was alive.

“Ouch, ouch, what’s this? A new way of expressing love?”

“You’re fine, huh, Captive Princess?”

“You were worried about me, Darling?” Hodgins merely replied with frivolous talk to Benedict’s cynicism, looking delighted.

Briefly biting his lip, Benedict faced the ground. Hodgins had a feeling that the eyes Benedict had directed at him before casting them downward were moist, and was inwardly surprised.

——Huh, could it be he really was worried?

“Hey, Darling. Benedict.”

His sandy-blond hair rubbed into a mess, Benedict finally resisted energetically as if to say, “Quit it”. Nothing that resembled tears could be seen in his eyes anymore.

“Who’s that ‘Darling’, Old Man...?!”

“Could it be you were pretty worried about me?”

He was fully convinced that Benedict would deny it.

“I was. Don’t make me.” Yet the latter directed his sky-blue eyes straight at him and said, “I was hella worried. Don’t ever make me worry again no matter what!”

As it was much too blunt, after Hodgins was taken aback, his face slowly turned red. He had anticipated they would come save him, but right now was his first time learning he was cherished to that extent.

“Ah... that so? S-Sorry, okay?”

“Damn... Don’t go getting kidnapped when you’ve got that huge body! Is Captive Princess #2 all good?”

“Fairly. Little Lux needs first-aid...!”

Violet undid Lux’s binding. The latter’s body, which had been trembling in fear, and the sound of her heartbeats, which had grown noisy, were regaining their calm.

“Thank you, Violet.” Enduring the pain in her cheek, Lux smiled at the friend who had come for her rescue. “I thought you were some noble prince.”

Violet furrowed her eyebrows as if troubled. She then resentfully held Lux’s hands and helped her up. “My apologies for not being able to protect you. But I will not let you go through terrifying times anymore.” Just like a knight, she made Lux retreat to behind her.

Albeit gripping his gun, Salvatore remained unable to fire a single shot at the mere three people who had taken control of his company. As he shifted his gaze to the side, he could see his underlings collapsed and moaning in the open corridor. “There was supposed to be... fifty of them,” once he opened his mouth, his voice shook.

“Ah? Your minions? Even if the numbers are big, it’s no use if the quality sucks. Actually, were there that many of them? I was counting, but... Stupid Woman, how many did you take down?”

“Stupid Benedict! Erm... ten. I probably beat up about ten people.”

“I got twenty. The rest was V, huh?”

“I simply came here by climbing the outer walls, so other than the beginning and now...”

“Didn’t anyone run away? The math ain’t adding up.”

They were chatting carefreely, yet the contents of the conversation were the number of people they had defeated. In addition, there was an overwhelming difference in combat power, for they were unharmed and not even their clothes had scratches. That was also a difference in corporation power.

Biting his lip as if in frustration, Salvatore barked at Hodgins, “They came late, and that’s why you’ve lost! I already had you write the contract! The official scrivener went to submit the contract we exchanged to the government office so that it’d serve as a demonstration of formal legitimacy. It’s probably already been accepted... Take your leave as you please. But I’m billing you for the internal damage caused by your subordinates and the injuries they inflicted on mine!”

Salvatore had intended to wreak both psychological and bodily pain on Hodgins for a while, instilling terror on him and making him lose the will to fight back, but now he had given up on it. What he desired most – the unequal contract – was in a state of legal effectiveness. As long as he had it, regardless of what anyone could say, the fact that Salvatore had the advantage would not change.

“Salvatore Rinaudo. What’re you on about?” However, Hodgins had a facial expression that denounced he was helplessly puzzled.

“As I said, your company can no longer enter our routes...”

“So?”

“No matter how much brute force we used, that’s nothing in the face of a validated official document!”

“Again... so what? The papers were indeed filed. Seems like they also were submitted before help came. What of it?” Claudia Hodgins, president of the CH Postal Company and former major from Leidenschaftlich’s army, generally had an easygoing personality, as well as a cheerful and frivolous attitude. However, he was now glaring at Salvatore without breaking into a smile, letting a glint shine sharply in his eyes. “Isn’t it a matter that’ll be solved if we crush down your company?” He rolled up his shirt’s sleeves and took off a wristwatch that one could tell was a high-grade product. Next, he squeezed the strap with his fingers so that the watch’s case would be on his knuckles.

Anybody who was used to fighting knew. If one was battling without a weapon, the object called wristwatch was an overly useful thing.

“Salvatore, if only you hadn’t hit Lux, I wouldn’t be this angry.”

Salvatore fired at Hodgins when the latter swung up his hand, yet it did not even graze him. Oddly enough, the bullet that had failed to kill a person shot through the middle of the forehead of Salvatore’s portrait sitting inside the room.

“S-Sto...” The word that Salvatore uttered were the end of it.

The fist swung by a 194cm-tall man who weighted 85kg struck into Salvatore’s face with a wind-cutting sound. As his nose was broken without mercy, Salvatore shed a large amount of blood. A few of his teeth tumbled onto the high-quality carpet as well. He had convulsions for a moment, but eventually became completely motionless.

“Did you kill him?”

At Benedict’s question, Hodgins put his ear against Salvatore’s chest, shaking his head after simply checking the other’s heartbeat. “He’s alive. Let’s leave him be.” By the instant he turned around, Hodgins had gone back to his usual self. “Everyone, you did well. I’m so happy; my employees sure are the best. And I’m also the best for having chosen you!” Hodgins sang praises gesturing exaggeratedly, embracing the employees who had come for his aid all at once. He then came closer to Lux’s side, planting a kiss on the cheek that had not been punched. “I’ve made you go through a lot, huh. I’m really sorry, Little Lux.”

“No, I’m the president’s secretary, after all.”

Seeing as she did not appear too bashful, that sort of kiss was likely not a rare action. As the thread of tension broke, Lux crumbled and shed large tears. Hodgins frantically apologized again.

“That’s not it... I’m frustrated... It’d be great if I were like everyone else, and also had strength to protect the president. If I hadn’t been taken hostage, things wouldn’t have turned out like...”

Cattleya gently caressed Lux’s arching back as she was unable to stop crying. “What’re you saying? Lux, you have it good exactly because you’re a normal fragile girl. Ah, but it’s not like I’m not normal either. I’m strong and pretty, but I’m a super normal girl...”

“Cattleya, what you say is inconsistent.” Violet handed Lux a silk handkerchief.

Perhaps due to their heights being about the same, despite their faces not resembling one another and their body types being different, the figure of the tree as they nestled close to each other strangely made them look like sisters.

“Seeing girls huddling together is kinda nice, right, Benedict?”

“Old Man, just hurry and do something about this place.”

“Should we huddle too? Shall we?”

“Don’t play around and give the instructions!”

As Benedict dealt him a strong lateral kick to the rear, Hodgins ceased joking. “Eeh~, then, all dismissed...! That’s what I’d like to do but I have a request. Anyone who doesn’t have any plans for later, please help me destroy Salvatore’s company!”

“He~y, Old Man.”

“What is it, Mr. Benedict?”

“You haven’t checked things out so you don’t know what’s been made of it, but we left the international offices to the rest of the fighter staff. The guys who stayed at the main office contacted them. Since it’s those fellows... they’ll take them out without worries.”

“Amazing! But we don’t have fighter staff! It’s not like I hired you with that intention! Well, since there have to be people who can go into battlefields, I didn’t not have that intention, but...”

“From the very start, that was our purpose, President Hodgins. So that there will not be such happenings after this, we believed that laying waste to everything and thoroughly annihilating them was a good plan.”

“Scary, scary. Your expression is getting scary too, Little Violet. Smile! It’s ruining your cute face!”

“President~! I want you to buy me a new choker after we’re done. Look~! The pearls on it got torn off... It was my favorite too.”

“Okay, Cattleya. Be it chokers, clothes or anything, this uncle will buy it for you!”

“Hum... President. What should I do?” the non-fighting staff member Lux tightly clutched her skirt, looking nervous.

“Little Lux, let’s go back to the head office. I’ll have you be treated there too. It’s all right; everyone in the head office contacted the other employees, so there should be people gathering there. It’s safer than you coming with us. Benedict, take Little Lux to the head office, and then regroup.”

“Roger; leave some for me to mess with too.”

“We aren’t sharing cake slices... Now, Little Violet and Cattleya are going with me to crush the branch offices just like this. Let’s decide on the rules for one. No hitting girls. Hitting bastards is fine.”

“Understood.”

“‘Ka~y.”

The members of the CH Postal Company continued their strategy meeting without paying mind to the people that they had defeated lying on the floor. When they were done at last, they exited the building while making so that those of Salvatore’s postmen who had stood up once again would be beyond recovery.

Lighting a cigarette, Hodgins started walking with it in his mouth, and everyone followed him as well.

On that day, within Leidenschaftlich, gunshots echoed throughout several areas of the capital Leiden, yet no one attempted to keep them under control. Additionally, the military police did not make a move regardless of how many reports it received.

   The nocturnal darkness deepened late into the night.

The lights were brightly lit in a bar at the corner of a business district. “Fully booked for the day,” said the clumsy letters on a paper pinned to the menu board in front of the shop. The figure of a seductive female dancer was drawn on said board. By the looks of it, that was a place where people enjoyed shows along with their meals.

The voices of people laughing pleasantly and lively music could be heard leaking from inside the bar. It seemed to be the feast of some company. The men and women were at a one-one ratio. Their ages varied and all of them differed in skin, hair and eye colors.

Even amongst them, there was an attention-catching few.

A young man was displaying splendid steps on a table with heeled boots that looked like womenswear. The dancers swayed their bodies together with him and danced purely as they pleased.

On another table, a beautiful woman was smiling while arm-wrestling with a man of fiendish facial features and plentiful muscles. Seeing as she twisted his arm in a matter of seconds, it could be that he let her win on purpose. However, the man who had lost rubbed his seemingly hurt arm with a strangely believable face.

A silver-haired young girl with a big gauze on her cheek was playing a card game with a blonde person of terribly tattered appearance. It was most likely poker. She looked troubled for not being able to read the other’s expression. While everyone else was emptying bottles of alcohol, only the two of them were making cups of tea into their nighttime company. Each was fixated with their own victory, playing in earnest.

“Ah~! I won~! I won enough to buy a kinda nice pair of shoes! Ah, Lux, aren’t those winning cards?”

“Women who can dance sure are great. V, you suck at playing this, don’t you?”

Benedict, who had had enough of dancing, and Cattleya, who had grown tired of arm wresting, came to sit at the peaceful table as if to intrude on it.

Lux put the cards that she had been hiding up to her lips on the table. “Want to quit poker, Violet?”

“That is right. The cards in our hands have been busted by a third party, after all.”

They did not have the will to get angry. If anything, Lux was so happy for being able to return to that trifling daily life with her companions that she wound up laughing. Perhaps due to the spot where she had been hit aching when she laughed, she arched her back with an “ow, ow, ow”.

“Are you okay? Is it not better for you to rest already...?”

“Yu~p, but I think it’s safer to be with everyone for the day... President Hodgins is here too so I can’t go home.”

Cattleya quickly reacted and looked at Lux’s direction with momentum. “What do you mean?”

“We’ve decided that I’ll be with the President today. See, it’s because the President’s home was in the company’s top floor. We have nowhere to sleep tonight, right? I also had that experience with being kidnapped... He was worried and got me a room at a hotel in the city. It seems President Hodgins will also be staying in it for a while. Until this mess is over, I’ll also be working from there. We’re going together today, so I have to wait for him.”

While Violet replied agreeably with a, “That is reassuring”, Cattleya became beet-red. One could tell from her face what she was imagining. She grabbed Lux’s arm and shook her violently. “You! Do you get what you’re saying?”

“E-Eeh? Our rooms are separated, y’know?”

“Cattleya, Lux is injured.”

“Not a chance. Dunno how many years it’ll last, but not even he is that shameless.”

“Hey! Don’t meddle into a girls’ talk!”

“Ah, you’ve said it. Then don’t barge into when I’m talking with the Old Man no matter what.”

Since another fight had decidedly began, as an accustomed form of coping, Violet and Lux left the two and started their conversation afresh.

“Speaking of which... Violet, are you okay? You’re dressed pretty cutely today... Could it be you were going to meet up with that person... with Mr. Major?”

The moment she received such question was exactly when Violet’s gaze had fixed on the bar’s entrance. “I am fine.”

Someone was heading her way.

Perhaps due to having come in a hurry, said person was out of breath. His sweat-dampened forehead was a proof of the efforts he had been spending until arriving there. He was caught by Hodgins and came to a halt, but even so, he aimed at and went toward her as fast as possible.

That person had soon spotted Violet from the bar’s entrance, and Violet had frozen in place the instant he had arrived as well. It was almost as if there were gravity between them that drew one to the other.

Violet stood up naturally and rushed to him.

——Ah, Violet.

Lux could tell.

——I see, so that’s how it is.

Anyone who was close by would be able to tell.

——The two of you are already like that.

After all, it was as though the air about her had changed completely the moment he had appeared.

“Colonel.”

The one standing there was Colonel Gilbert Bougainvillea from Leidenschaftlich’s army. Perhaps because he was on an off day, he wore only a jacket of fine tailoring and a shirt. Inquisitive stares from the people making a ruckus in the bar fell upon him all at once.

“Violet.”

After all, he was a man rumored within the company for moving the army in order to protect Violet. His existence was made known during the hijacking incident of the Intercontinental train, after which a year had passed not too long before. Of course, that was a story only told internally and Hodgins was publicly regarded as the main leader of such strategy.

The members of the postal company who had gathered up to save her had seen in person the man who came running while carrying her princess style. Back then, they had also witnessed Benedict being entrusted with Violet, his mouth open as if he had grown senile.

“Colonel, my apologies... I ended up breaking our arrangement.”

Her cottony hair was ruined. The outfit chosen for her and that her body was clad in had become like ragged cloths. Everything she had prepared for him had been reduced to misery today.

Nevertheless, seeing her dressed-up caused Gilbert’s heart to beat louder.

“You...”

“You look beautiful” was what he had started to say, but upon noticing a stare of pressuring quality to a fierce extent from the side, he trailed off.

Benedict seemed extremely unamused. He clicked his tongue as their eyes met.

“Anything the matter...?”

“Not really. There any law that says I can’t look at the bastard who snoops into V’s general area every once in a blue moon ever since that incident like he’s a rare sight?”

“You helped me out holding onto Violet back then. I’m grateful... And, I don’t know about any such law, but if it’s about putting up a watchdog act, I’m the one on top.”

Something like an electric shockwave ran between the two of them. Benedict remained not toning down his distrust regarding Gilbert until now, peeved by that man who seemed like he could become a love rival for Benedict’s significant other had he been in the same workplace as them.

“This was the curtain rise of their muddled battle!” just as the two had opened their mouths again, Hodgins cut in with a foolish commentary.

Silence. The two simultaneously glared at Hodgins as if looking at something deplorable.

Hodgins himself broke Gilbert and Benedict apart, coming in between them, putting his arms around each and laughing stridently, “Don’t fight for me! Man~, I wanted to try saying this once.”

“Shut up, Old Man!”

“Stay away, Hodgins. You’re reeking of booze.”

It was a conversation with a magnificent explosive power. By the looks of it, Gilbert and Benedict did not seem like they would get along, but their attitude towards Hodgins was similar.

“Old Man, tomorrow will be terrible for you if you drink too much. You’re at that age, aren’t you?”

“Darling... you’re saying that because you’re worried about me, right?”

“Hey, stop. Stop. I’m not a woman.”

As Benedict stepped away from Hodgins, who was attempting to give him a kiss, Gilbert and Violet were at last able to lock eyes with each other again. Violet had a face that denounced she had gone through a hellish time.

“Any injuries?”

“Minor ones. The same level as scratching a knee.”

“That’s good...” He was truly saying so from the bottom of his heart. Seeing Cattleya and Lux anxiously observing the two of them, Gilbert spoke further, “You too, any injuries? Aah... you need a medic.”

“No, no, I’m okay.”

Lux had already received treatment, yet it seemed like her wound might open the next day.

Perhaps always carrying it in his person, Gilbert took a fountain pen and small notebook from his jacket’s inner pocket, handing her a paper sheet that contained a certain address within Leiden. “This is the clinic where my home doctor is. You don’t need to pay if you give my name, so go there another day. You’ll probably need painkillers for a while. Even in the hotel you’re staying at, please give my name to the hotelman if you need anything. We’re on friendly terms, so he’ll treat you well.”

Lux acted uncertain when accepting the paper. “Ah. Thank you very much. You’re very generous... Could it be... that the hotel reservation... Mr. Bougainvillea, erm... Colonel Bougainvillea, was made by you?”

After glancing at Hodgins, who was entangling himself with Benedict, Gilbert nodded. “That thing asked me for it. I can’t say this aloud but I’ve also disposed of... the documents submitted to the government office in the name of your company. When I use my influence in places outside of my jurisdiction... I end up losing one card that I could otherwise use in the event of an emergency, but...” Perhaps as if remembering something, he furrowed his brows a little and chuckled. “Hodgins took care of Violet. I also won’t spare any efforts for you all in case something happens. If there’s any worrisome matter, it can even be through Violet, but do tell me.”

“Y-Yes.”

Cattleya and Lux mutely let their cheeks dye pink. Was there any girl whose heart would not throb at Gilbert as he displayed adult-man-like reliance in a different way from Hodgins?

“Colonel, you’re so cool.”

“Colonel, you are wonderful.”

No, there was not.

For whatever reason, the two had their fingers interlaced in front of their chests and were striking the same pose.

Gilbert replied levelly, “You aren’t my subordinates so you don’t need to refer to me by my rank.”

Violet pulled the hem of Gilbert’s jacket ever so lightly. “Colonel, hum... would you like to sit down? You must be tired.”

“Aah, no. I’m sorry but I’m taking my leave. You too, Violet. The two are at the Bougainvillea house and we’re making them worry. I already contacted them to say I’d bring you back, so come along. It stopped by a place a little far away, but I have a carriage ready, so let’s walk there. Miss Lux. You... were together with Hodgins for today, right? Miss Cattleya, what about you? We can send you home if necessary.”

“Y-You know my name?! Mine?!”

“Of course; I heard it from Violet. So, what will you do?”

Perhaps due to extreme happiness at that, Cattleya slapped Violet’s back with quite strong vigor countless times, making merry. “I’m fine! I’ll be here with everyone until morning today!”

“It’s probably better if you’re in big numbers. Well, my apologies since we’re in the middle of a pleasant talk, but I’m taking her along. Thank you... for always being so close to Violet. Let’s meet again somewhere else. Please let me at least treat you to a meal.” Gilbert all too naturally took off his jacket and placed it over Violet’s shoulders. He began escorting her away just like that.

“Ah! Bastard! Hold on! V is my little sister part!”

“Everyone, good night. Benedict too.”

“Wait! V~! Hey—Old Man!”

Binding Benedict’s arms behind his back, Hodgins sent Violet a wink. It was true that he was drunk, but his tactic was probably to keep Benedict away from Gilbert. He might have been paying for the sin of making the two of them miss out on the time they had to spend with each other because of his kidnapping.

Hodgins and Gilbert merely exchanged short goodbyes such as, “I’ll call” and, “See you”.

“Benedict’s had an overwhelming defeat, huh.”

“Old Man!”

“Man, he’s rivaling you... but he’s also not.”

The two young women left behind spoke while still staring at the bar’s entrance.

“To be honest, the President told me a lot about Violet’s past after that incident, and I didn’t not wonder if someone like him was okay for her... but, when you meet him, y’know...”

“Yup, its different when you get to meet him, right?”

“It’s because he really did cherish her that he made many mistakes, did his best to take back a lot of things, and now they’re like this, huh,” Lux whispered, deep in thought.

   Treading through an autumn night in which the nocturnal winds were gelid robbed the two a little of the body heat provided by the warm interior of the bar. Violet, who Gilbert had put his jacket over, looked at him with only his shirt on as if to question him.

He soon noticed her gaze and their eyes met. He then smiled at her. “Aren’t you cold?”

Just from him simply throwing those words at her, as Violet was still unused to it, her heart raced. “No; Major, what about you?”

The times that the two of them met up were still at a point where they could be counted with one hand, and during such instances, the restraint brought about by his long absence would manifest itself in the form of agitation. From the perspective of others, that could almost not be perceived. After all, her facial expressions were generally emotionless.

“I’m fine. I’ve run around and sweated a lot today, so I’m still warm.”

“My apologies, Colonel.”

“It’s nothing to apologize for. I did that because I wanted to. Violet. It was also for Hodgins’s sake.”

“All right, Colonel.”

“Let’s walk a little slower. Once we get on the carriage, the way home will last a blink of eye.”

“Is that bad...?”

The one who had made the request was Gilbert, and the words Violet was about to say wound up dying out before they could take form. That was because he sweetly added, “I don’t have enough time with you”.

“All right, Major.”

Her eyes spoke more eloquently than her expressionless self. Violet’s blue orbs were glued to Gilbert’s emerald ones.

“I want to chat a little too. Is everything okay with that young man called Benedict?”

“By that, you mean...?”

“He seems to favor you.”

“He has another woman that he fancies. It seems they are in a relationship, and they themselves are hiding it but everyone around them knows.”

“That so?”

“Yes, he is... in an older brother-like... position regarding... my person, he told me.”

“Told you? That man?”

Their eye and hair colors were certainly similar, and the man could be said to be an androgynous beauty, but his speech and conduct were much too different from Violet’s.

“He himself was saying so.”

“Aah, he indeed called you his ‘little sister part’... Should I interpret that as him showing affection for you...? But it doesn’t look like we will get along very well.”

“Is that so?”

“It will probably be difficult.”

As Violet had heard the story of Hodgins and Gilbert’s past, she estimated that such assumption would be disproved. Gilbert and Hodgins were also a duo that one would not think got along well.

“It seems he’ll get in the way when I’m with you.”

Since Gilbert made a face as if he had swallowed a bitter-tasting bug, Violet did not voice her opinion in the end. “Major.”

“What is it?” As Violet called him, the middle of his brows immediately softened.

“If you had managed to meet with me as planned today, where did you intend to go?”

“Aah, I had actually made an arrangement for us to go horse-riding.”

“Horses.”

“You can ride army horses, and I think long rides aren’t bad if it’s on fine autumn weather days... Did you not like it?”

“Colonel, there is nothing that I dislike if I am in your company.”

“That answer makes me happy, but I do believe I want to learn about your tastes little by little. Kukuh.”

As Gilbert suddenly laughed aloud, Violet tilted her neck. “Is something the matter?”

“You... probably haven’t noticed it, but you’ve been mixing up ‘Major’ and ‘Colonel’ when referring to me.”

As he had been promoted from major to lieutenant-colonel and from lieutenant-colonel to colonel, it could be said that referring to Gilbert with a lower rank was terribly inappropriate.

Violet corrected her posture and apologized again, “I... am sorry. My apologies, Colonel.”

“No, that’s not it. I’m not angry... Ever since you were little, you used to call me that. The first word I heard from you was this one, too. I’m saying that if you can’t get used to it, I don’t mind the ‘Major’.”

“‘Colonel’... Colonel, I will not mistake it anymore.”

Her figure as she attempted to memorize it, in order not to forget it, was lovably stubborn. Gilbert caught a glimpse of her past self from that immature aspect of hers.

At the beginning, the two of them had had an inept exchange. Almost like how children would do it, they had told each other their names.

“Ma... jor.”

“Can you understand what I’m saying, Violet?”

“Major.”

After learning words and coming to know discipline, she had become his weapon.

“If that is Major’s order...”

“It’s not an order...”

“If... it is your desire...”

He had wound up loving the girl-weapon.

“Major’s eyes are here.”

“I wonder... what this is called.”

It had been a one-sided love.

“I will become your ‘shield’ and ‘weapon’.”

“I shall protect you.”

“Please do not ever doubt this. I am your ‘asset’.”

Even so, he had loved her.

“I love you!”

“I don’t want to let you die! Violet!”

“I love you, Violet.”

The girl-weapon had wept that she did not understand what she had been bestowed with.

“What is... ‘love’?”

No one had taught her about it.

“What is... ‘love’? What is... ‘love’? What is ‘love’?”

“I do not understand, Major...”

She had also not understood why he had said such a thing to her.

“What is... ‘love’?”

She had searched for the meaning of those words and for him, who had disappeared, encountering them by chance at last.

And so, they had reached the present time.

“Violet.” Gilbert took her artificial fingertips as she stood still.

Her index finger made screeching sounds.

“Since we’re at it, won’t you call me by my name?” He pointed her finger at himself.

The fingertips that used to be soft and have body temperature in the past did not anymore. The same applied to one of Gilbert’s arms.

“I am Gilbert. Gilbert Bougainvillea.” He pointed at Violet next. “You are Violet. Violet Evergarden.” He moved the finger both ways, saying, “Gilbert, Violet... Gilbert, Violet.”

The two who had ended up with mechanical part had grown and changed. They were not parent and child originally. Not siblings, either. They had also ceased being superior and subordinate.

“Lord Gilbert.”

At Violet’s predictable response, Gilbert smiled bitterly. “The ‘lord’ part... isn’t necessary.”

He had supposedly spoken gently, yet Violet showed him an aspect of disconcertment. “My apologies... Have you... come to hate me...?”

“No. I don’t know how to feel anything but affection towards you... It appears that...” while thinking that it was also valid for himself, Gilbert stated, “hum... you become insecure about it every now and then, but I’ll never hate you.”

“How come?” Violet asked.

How great would it be if he were able to show the insides of his heart to her? Presenting with a form that “this is love” would be so simple. However, it was due to not being able to do such a thing that people uttered words to proffer their love.

“Because I love you most.”

Violet started searching for that term within the sea of words embedded inside her. “‘Love... most’...” As they rolled out of her tongue, what appalling yet passionate words those were.

There was no other sentence more fitting of Gilbert Bougainvillea.

“Love me... most?”

“I have eyes for nobody but you. You’re the only one I’m fond of.”

“That is... to love most?”

“I will hold you dear for eternity, and continue to love you.”

She did not ask “That is... to love most?” a second time. Violet’s cheeks were rose-dusted, her heart started palpitating to the point of aching, and her field of vision blurred. She was unable to look at Gilbert’s face. Unwittingly, she cast her head down, yet he wound up peering at it. The distance between their faces was just about enough for them to kiss.

It was currently nighttime and the two of them were alone in that place, so whatever they did, no one would be looking. Maybe they could manage to keep it a secret even from God.

“I had a phase of... liking you... then I fell in love with you, and now, it turns out I love you the most. Do you understand?”

“Does it never diminish?”

“The affection?”

“The love.”

“I wonder. But I don’t want that to happen and will probably reconfirm whether I do love you numerous times, so it’ll likely intensify, not decrease. You fill me up with it.”

“With love?”

“Yes. The reason why I believe I love you is because you granted me that feeling.”

Violet Evergarden, who had been learning and copying from him – from people –, was able to take in the meaning of those words.

“I do that to you, Major?”

Again, her manner of referring to him had changed. Gilbert thought it was fine either way.

“You do that to me.” Gilbert silently planted a kiss not on Violet’s cheek or lips but on the fingertips that he was holding onto.

Silence.

Those were artificial fingers. She was unable to feel anything from them. Her arms were gone, and would nevermore return.

Placing a kiss on such a spot could transmit nothing.

Even so, he had deliberately kissed it in an affectionate manner. For some reason, that action – Gilbert’s feelings – caused Violet’s eyes to grow hot as if burning and produce tears.

Violet attempted to stop them. Those were incomprehensible tears. Why were they flowing at that moment? They would definitely trouble the man in front of her.

Nevertheless, tears were already pooling in her moist eyes until, finally, a single drop spilled down. Sure enough, the round tear that had fallen from one of her eyes left Gilbert distraught.

“Violet.” Seeing her reaction, he promptly let go of her fingers. “I’m sorry.” He stepped back, raising both hands as if to have her understand that he would not do anything else. “I’m really sorry.”

Violet did not answer. She stared at Gilbert without even wiping off the tear as if spacing out. Her attitude was not of anger. Her aspect was not of sorrow, either. He had no idea what she was thinking. She had the gaze of someone who seemed to be having a dream.

The two of them had lived separately, and he had thought that her facial expressions had become richer ever since they had reunited, but once she clammed up, he could not read her. Her lack of expression and well-featured doll-like traits did not allow Gilbert to study her emotions. However, the one thing he could fathom was that his action just now had been foolish.

——What am I doing?

He had told her that he would wait however long it took. The kiss on her fingers might have been a violation to that promise. He should have been the best gentleman for her, but he may have lost that right.

When she was by his side, she was unbearably endearing. The love towards her that lit up within his chest wound up overflowing.

“I swear I won’t do it anymore...”

The army colonel of Leidenschaftlich was losing face in front of the girl he was enamored with.

“Violet...”

What face was he making now? What did she think of it?

“Major, I...” Violet called him with her wind chime voice. She grabbed onto Gilbert’s fingers and took one step forward. The distance between them had shrunk once again. And then she took another step.

She was close enough to be embraced by Gilbert.

“Violet...”

“Major... please.” Violet peeked into Gilbert’s eye.

The emerald-green orb that had unchangeably borne beauty, kindness and a little bit of loneliness ever since they had first met was right there. Violet was now reflected in it.

Violet was inside his world.

“Do not swear so.”

Gilbert’s eyelid blinked at her straightforward words.

“Please, do not swear... that you will not do it.”

Seeing tears well up in Violet’s eyes once again, Gilbert impulsively reached an arm out to her. He caressed her golden hair as if to soothe her, earnestly listening to what she was attempting to tell him.

“Major, you explained it to me, right? That to love is to think of wanting to... protect someone the most.”

He wiped her tears with his fingertips.

Violet entrusted her cheek to his hand and shed more tears. “This has... applied to me since forever.”

She was attempting to replenish her lacking life. Rather, the truth was that the two of them could have done that from the moment they had met, for it was almost as if they made up for each other’s unskillfulness, but they had missed one another countless times and had not intersected well.

Violet’s chest was now being filled up with a warm feeling that she was experiencing for the first time.

“It always, always has, since long ago. I merely... did not know it...”

——This loud throbbing in my chest, this ecstasy, the fact that I end up swayed by your every action...

“I...”

——...the reason why I cried that I wanted to be by your side and asked you not to leave me anymore...

“Major... I...”

——...the reason why I am crying now...

“I, as of now...”

——...is that, once the “like” and the “love” fell and piled up like snow, and I became unable to melt them down, I had wanted to let you know that I wished the same to be valid for you.

“...have a feeling that I...”

People would declare it as if offering a prayer.

“...understand it better than before.”

“I love you”, that is.

[chancesavage]

5 Things to Consider When Choosing a Credit Repair in Grand Prairie

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2. A Well-Written Contract

A well-written contract is essential to the success of any credit repair company. If a prospective firm attempts to convince you that it does not need an agreement, this should be viewed with suspicion and avoided as much as possible!

The importance of having clear terms in place cannot be stressed enough when working with companies like these who may have different policies than what one would expect from their perspective customers (i.e., requiring signatures before service begins).

3. Overall Experience

Sometimes, the best intentions don't always lead to success. Working with an inexperienced credit repair company can have you feeling lost and frustrated in your search for credit repair assistance that works just right for you! It's important not only do thorough research before choosing who will be assisting with this process but also make sure they're experienced enough so as prevent contingencies arising.

4. Appropriate Costs

Regardless of whether or not the credit repair company is able to back up claims they make; you should never pay an unreasonable price for their services.

It's important that when looking into what it would take as payment in advance and then checking other companies around town who offer comparable repairs at similar prices (which can sometimes be lower), by doing some research beforehand will help rule out any firms charging exorbitant fees while providing just enough information so consumers know exactly how much these costs are appropriate considering all factors involved--notably including time required from each client’s perspective during different stages throughout this process.

5. Realistic Claims

If you're looking to repair your credit, avoid firms that charge less than other competitors. Businesses who employ this strategy are more likely scams and intend on taking advantage of the individual's lack of knowledge or willingness in order for them make money off these individuals with unrealistic prices.

a company employing such tactics is attempting to take unfair advantages over others when working together--this will not end well!

Finding the Right Credit Repair Company Can Seem Intimidating

The above information will help ensure that you find the credit repair company that is best for you. From here, you’ll have no issue getting your life back on track as quickly as possible.

Want to learn more about what we have to offer? Feel free to reach out to us today and see how we can help.

Call on (855) 656-2963 and hire reputable Credit repair company in Grand Prairie.

[yandelmathis]

5 Things to Consider When Choosing a Credit Repair in Huntsville

When you are trying to getting Credit Repair Services in Huntsville, it’s important to find a service that is right for you. Credit Repair Services can be expensive, so it’s essential that you do your homework and pick the one that is best for your needs.

A credit repair service can help give better visibility into your financial situation which will make it easier to make more informed decisions about your financial future.

Here are some things to consider when choosing a credit repair service in Huntsville:

1. Past Reviews

One of the most important factors you need to keep in mind when choosing a credit repair company in Huntsville is its past reputation. More often than not, we can gain insight based on what others have said about them and how many people they've served over time with their service offerings

But it’s also true that every review isn't going tell us everything there is- because even though one person may rave about his experience while another complains bitterly ,the latter still might be telling some truth too! It all depends upon how fair or unfair these reviews really are."

2. A Well-Written Contract

A well-written contract is essential to the success of any credit repair company. If a prospective firm attempts to convince you that it does not need an agreement, this should be viewed with suspicion and avoided as much as possible!

The importance of having clear terms in place cannot be stressed enough when working with companies like these who may have different policies than what one would expect from their perspective customers (i.e., requiring signatures before service begins).

3. Overall Experience

Sometimes, the best intentions don't always lead to success. Working with an inexperienced credit repair company can have you feeling lost and frustrated in your search for credit repair assistance that works just right for you! It's important not only do thorough research before choosing who will be assisting with this process but also make sure they're experienced enough so as prevent contingencies arising.

4. Appropriate Costs

Regardless of whether or not the credit repair company is able to back up claims they make; you should never pay an unreasonable price for their services.

It's important that when looking into what it would take as payment in advance and then checking other companies around town who offer comparable repairs at similar prices (which can sometimes be lower), by doing some research beforehand will help rule out any firms charging exorbitant fees while providing just enough information so consumers know exactly how much these costs are appropriate considering all factors involved--notably including time required from each client’s perspective during different stages throughout this process.

5. Realistic Claims

If you're looking to repair your credit, avoid firms that charge less than other competitors. Businesses who employ this strategy are more likely scams and intend on taking advantage of the individual's lack of knowledge or willingness in order for them make money off these individuals with unrealistic prices.

a company employing such tactics is attempting to take unfair advantages over others when working together--this will not end well!

Finding the Right Credit Repair Company Can Seem Intimidating

The above information will help ensure that you find the credit repair company that is best for you. From here, you’ll have no issue getting your life back on track as quickly as possible.

Want to learn more about what we have to offer? Feel free to reach out to us today and see how we can help.

Call on (855) 656-2963 and hire reputable credit repair company in Huntsville.

[hanalwayssolo]

In The Line of Duty

A/N: Timely for Iggy’s name day! So. Slightly departing from the usual structure in which I write my stories, so this may seem a bit... weird? Fragmented? So I kind of not recommend reading this via Tumblr mobile bc that app murders the formatting lmao

Tagging them pals! @blindedstarlight @valkyrieofardyn @bleucommelhiver @gowithme @noboomoon @emmydots @lazarustrashpit @raspberryandechinacea @hanatsuki89 @mp938368 @boo-dangy @animakupo

(Links in AO3) Alternate Universes in Which You and I Belong Together: Noctis | Gladio | Prompto | Ignis | Nyx | Cor | Ravus | Ardyn

Ignis breezes through the freeway, his Aston Martin almost flying through the rainy night. He is never one to drive like a madman, but this is a desperate time that certainly calls for this very desperate measure. He spares a glance at the rearview mirror. A shabby white Mitsubishi and a gaudy yellow Volvo still remain in close pursuit. Looks like the flock of paparazzi back from Maagho’s really is a persistent lot. In the passenger seat, you sit in an unsettling silence.

Fuck these bastards, he mutters under his breath.

Speed limits be damned. His fingers tighten around the steering wheel. Ignis revs the engine and zips past the steady traffic.

“Let’s get you back to your flat, alright?” he offers kindly.

You say nothing.

Suddenly, Ignis finds himself missing your chatty, teasing antics. That silly smile of yours. By this time, you should have been pleading him to let you go someplace else—anywhere but your place—while annoying him to death with your usual smartass quips. You never do.

Months before, Ignis had been perfectly convinced you were the most insufferable human he has ever come across. Funny how he now thinks otherwise. Even funnier that he now cares. Because it’s not his business to care. His job was never to look nor to listen.

But at this point, you have made him break every single rule in his book.

The first thing Ignis notices when he meets you is your eyes.

Something about your strong and striking gaze makes him wonder why someone like him is even employed at your service. One look from you, he is pretty certain you are completely capable on your own in terms of sending anyone who dares cross your path—may it be troublesome paparazzi, or overzealous fans and haters alike—to run with their tails between their legs. Your composure and confidence says just as much. Seems to him that you’re the type of person who does not need anyone’s protection, let alone a bodyguard.

Which is a sentiment you made very clear that morning in the luxurious luster of Hotel St. Regis’s lobby.

“I’m afraid Aranea here has wasted your time—” you tell Ignis as you set your cup of coffee back on the table, sharply turning your attention to the silver-haired woman who is sitting across from you— “but like I said, I can take care of myself just fine—”

“Really?” Aranea scoffs, casting you a challenging glare. “And by taking care of yourself, do you mean going around punching paparazzi square in the face and breaking their camera as you please?”

You shrug. “Well, that fella fucking deserved it—”

“Whether they deserved it or not isn’t the fucking point, you idiot. Do you have any idea how Cor had to shell out his own money to keep that incident from going out to the press?” Aranea sighs in resignation. “Look, this is more than just taking care of yourself. This is about—”

“—my career, my image, and my reputation, blah blah blah. Yes, you don’t need to do all of Cor’s spiel—I get it.”

Aranea raises an eyebrow. “Do you really? ‘Cause if you really did, we wouldn’t be having this conversation and Ignis wouldn’t be the fourth replacement in the span of six fucking months.”

You fall silent. Though Ignis is compelled to say something, he knows very well not to provide his thoughts, unsolicited or otherwise. That’s never in his job description. He had been trained to keep his mouth shut, and he is going to do just that. Besides, what would he know? Such is the world of glitz and glamour that is show business, and Ignis has never been tasked with handling celebrity clientele before. If anything, among his peers, it was either Gladio or Nyx who gets paired with the high profile A-listers. Clarus’s directive for him came as a strange surprise, the initial briefing of his task even stranger. All throughout his fifteen years of service in the Lucian Security Bureau, people frequently assigned to Ignis were government big shots, business moguls, and upper echelons of society who have been targets of terror and violence.

However, in your case… Ignis could see that you fit in neither the former nor the latter. At least for now, that’s what he thinks.

You spread your elbows over the table, eyeing Aranea with a wicked smile all over your face. “You know what would be better, Ari?”

“Don’t call me that—”

“You could pass as both my handler and bodyguard, don’t you think?

Aranea looks at Ignis, then back at you. “Does that come with a raise?”

You lean back against your seat. “Nope.”

“Didn’t think so.” Aranea exhales a derisive laugh. “Then I suppose we leave Ignis to do that job for all our sakes. Anyway, we better get going—” from her satchel, she pulls out a sleek-looking tablet— “you have to be ready for your four p.m. table read and a seven p.m. interview Dino of Meteor Publishing.” To Ignis, she says, “I assume you’ve already been briefed by your superior about all your responsibilities?”

Ignis sits up straighter and nods. “Yes.”

“Good. It’s pretty simple actually, but the past bodyguards can’t seem to do it.” Aranea smiles, clapping Ignis by the shoulder as she narrows her eyes on you. “Just don’t let this moron out of your sight, and we’ll all be fine.”

The first thing you notice about Ignis is his eyes.

Never mind the scar that cruised the left side of his face, that tiny slash over his right eyebrow, or even the one on the bridge of his nose. He didn’t even need to look at you directly for you to marvel at how fiercely green his eyes are, like the colour of a bright summer’s day. However, back in the lobby with Aranea, there is no warmth in his silences nor in his clinical concentration; there is only a crippling coldness. One look at him and you could already surmise that he’s had his fair share of danger in his profession. Though he is lean and lithe unlike your past bodyguards who all seem to be built out of heavier materials, you cannot shake the feeling that Ignis might have killed a man with his bare hands.

Still, you don’t really need someone like Ignis. You never needed someone like him. A bodyguard should have been the least of your concerns. Besides, you have enough people monitoring your every move that getting a fucking bodyguard is as insane as it’s going to get. Cor often reminds you that this is all for your safety, and that as your manager, he only wants to keep you safe. Aranea chastises you that you’re overreacting, and that you’re still free as a bird. Except you’re as free as any bird locked in a cage that they might as well just lock you up in prison.

And in the first few hours that Ignis has started following you around, the fact that he hardly spares you a moment for a decent conversation—except for his courteously clipped responses like “Let me know if you need anything else,” or “I’ll be right outside your door”—prison seems like a more amiable place to be.

By his second week, Ignis finally understands how unpredictable you can be.

Okay, maybe he does not understand it quite fully. He has to admit, though: he admires the elaborate effort you put into your juvenile pranks. It comes in the strangest of ways and in the oddest of days: from your attempts to lock him up inside your trailer, down to that crafty disguise to sneak out of the film set, all of which he had seen you fail miserably time and again. Out of all your many crimes, petty they may be, hopping in the backseat of someone else’s car to escape him from an after party still takes the cake. He had to forcefully “borrow” a stranger’s motorcycle just to chase you down, which he managed to do in less than an hour. Not an impressive feat for someone his calibre, but at least he got you home in one piece—and without Cor or Aranea even knowing.

What fuels your sheer determination to drive him off his wits, Ignis does not know. The only thing he knows for sure is that you’re one bloody piece of work.

“Can’t say I didn’t warn ya, Specs,” Gladio reminds Ignis one sordid afternoon back in the Lucian Security Bureau HQ. In the saintly cleanliness that is his cubicle, he finds Gladio lounging on his seat together with Nyx, as if they had been expecting his unlikely visit. The air-conditioned hustle remains the same, the glass panels and all the white walls still as stark bright as Ignis remembers it to be. He really has been away for far too long that he finds himself missing that familiar scent of ink and paper, and even the faces of these two troublemakers.

“So how’s your new post treatin’ you?” Nyx breezily asks. His tone is not of concern, but a knowing amusement that Ignis can easily recognize. “The look on your face says you’re either in need of a stiff drink or to get laid.”

“Or could be both,” Gladio adds.

Actively ignoring the smug looks on his friends’ faces, Ignis does not answer them, but instead, he asks: “Aren’t the both of you supposed to be somewhere else?”

“Could ask you the same thing,” Gladio snaps back. He picks up Ignis’s tin of mints on his table and pops one on his mouth.

Nyx loops an arm around Ignis. “Y’know, celebrities can be a pain, so if you’re here to request Clarus for a reassignment, we promise not to judge.”

Ignis looks at Nyx for a brief moment. A reassignment. How come he never thought of that? Sure, you can be annoying and a menace to his daily routine, but Ignis suddenly finds it strange that he has never considered the prospect of requesting for a change in client. Maybe he has his brand of patience to thank for, or his unworldly forbearance in the years that he has spent in this profession.

But then—as if by seeing Nyx and Gladio after such a long time of being away—he realizes that maybe, you’re not that bad. Even in your reckless and determined attempts of making his life a living hell, you also make an effort to make conversation. Not that it’s anything special. He has been wired to being strictly on someone’s beck and call that most of his past clients do not even bother to look at him in the eye. Most of them see him as a weapon, a blade to be wielded against their enemies. Small wonder Ignis himself often forgets that he is a living and breathing person. He can barely remember having a life outside this job. He can barely remember the last time someone apart from Gladio and Nyx asking him anything about his hobbies or other interests or even about his family.

But you do. You try. Even on the first few days when Ignis didn’t know how to respond. It’s just that he doesn’t know how to. He fears that you might have interpreted that as indifference, and he regrets to have responded to you as such. He thought you would have given up by now, seeing how he had acted so callously, but you have the persistence of a honey badger that you use on him to get him to talk, or to even to smile a little.

Nyx looks at Ignis, this time with a genuine hint of concern. Ignis has not realized that he had been quiet for some time.

But he has realized that you have grown so much on him, which is such an disturbing thought to entertain.

“I think a reassignment is highly unnecessary,” Ignis says finally—almost to himself and not to Nyx and Gladio—as he takes his leave. 

By his second week, you finally understand how Ignis can be so predictable.

There’s the matter of his morning routine. He follows it too religiously that you start to notice the little things. He wakes up as early as six a.m.—on the dot, not even a minute late—to work out at the back of your trailer. Three sets of push ups, squats, crunches, all in that order. Seven-thirty a.m., he wraps up, takes a shower, grabs a nice cup of coffee with some of the film crew. He likes his coffee strong and black, no sugar. How you know all of this like the same way you know all of your lines is beyond you.

But maybe he’s not too predictable. Not entirely.

You still have not seen him smile, despite the significant progress in the conversation department. And by significant, you mean that his answers have finally upgraded from one-word responses to lengthy sentences. Considering all the stupid shit you pulled on him, it’s almost a wonder that he even indulges you from time to time by answering any of your random questions.

Though in the process, you have learned a handful of tidbits about his life. For one, you find out that he happens to be an excellent cook. Once, he has shared with you how he wanted to build a restaurant of his own, and that it is only a matter of time before he could pursue that dream. Hearing him confide something that personal throws you off guard, but somehow, you feel quite relieved. You also learn that he has never seen any of your films, nor is he even aware of your awards and accolades—which, frankly, is the most gratifying thing you have ever heard in your life. You have also learned that he has not forgiven you for making him chase you all throughout the city. Which is fair. If that had happened with any of your previous bodyguards, they would not even bother sparing you another word even if you are the last person on this planet, and they would most certainly quit their job the next day.

But Ignis is different. A good kind of different.

Nevertheless, what you now find unfair is that you have never seen him smile. Unfair because he has seen yours a countless times at this point—fake ones on set included. He even gets a bonus because he has also seen you laugh at the most ridiculous things. Ignis, however, seems to be programmed with a limited range of emotions. You have not seen his face look anything but blank or bored, too surly or too serious.

It is only when you suddenly fall sick in the middle of filming that you find a new expression on his face.

Right after the director screams “Cut!” you wobble outside the set, past the cameramen, past the make up artists, past Aranea who’s probably busy handling your next schedule. When Ignis hurries by your side, you could barely focus your eyes. Your mouth tastes like acid. The world is spinning out of control.

Ignis presses the back of his hand to your forehead. “You’re burning up. I’m calling a doctor—”

“No, don’t.” You weakly wave a hand. “I’ll be fine by morning. Don’t tell Aranea. I just need to sleep, that’s all.”

Ignis walks you back to your trailer, looping your arm around his neck, and his around your waist. Your cheek momentarily rests against his chest, and you can feel his warm breath fanning over your head. You try your best not to retch on his shirt. Perhaps it’s the fever talking, but all you could think about is how this shirt looks perfect on him and you do not want to ruin it with your vomit.

Which is why out of your delirious haze, you say out of the blue: “Have I ever told you that you look so good in black?”

Ignis tilts his head. He hesitates for a moment, and then says, “I’m afraid not.”

“Well, now you know. I like your black dress shirt. You look so dapper in it.” And there goes your filter straight out the window.

“Thank you. It’s… nothing special.” He sounds unsure. Or is that embarrassment? Either way, you’re too sick to even look at his face to see his reaction.

Ignis guides you straight to your bed. You toss yourself so gracelessly against the mattress, and you gather the sheets to bundle up for warmth. A wave of nausea threatens to lurch out of your mouth. As far as you’re concerned, the inside of your trailer should not be this freezing cold.

“I’ll get you something to eat,” Ignis says, and as he prepares to drift to the kitchen, you grab for his hand.

“Please stay for a minute. Tell me a story.” You sound like a five-year-old.

He sits on the edge of the bed. “What kind of story?” His voice is gentler than usual. It is jarring, to say the least.

You pull yourself up, your arm brushing against his. “Like, is it possible that you’re a gremlin? ‘Cause how come it’s so hard to—” you thumb the corners of his mouth to make him smile— “see you do this?”

You can feel his face tremble a little in your touch. He looks at you strangely. You know he’s about to say something, but you are ill-prepared to what happens next.

Ignis starts to laugh.

You can’t believe this is what you have been missing for the last couple of days. What you have been missing your entire life. You have only known him for two weeks, but now, it’s like looking at a completely different person. He’s all lit up, his laughter radiating like the sun, bright and warm and blinding. His eyes disappear behind his smile lines, and his mouth curves to exhibit his perfect teeth and that illegally gorgeous smile. Your heart is pounding and you are certain that this is not your fever doing the talking anymore.

“I can assure you, I’m not a gremlin,” he says, wiping his eye with his hand.

“Good to know,” you say, sinking back to your pillows. “But I swear—I will make you laugh like that again when I get better,” you say confidently. And as you drift to deep sleep, the sound of his laughter is the last thing you hear.

The third month arrives and Ignis sees you a little differently.

Different in a way that your smile is now a bullet to his heart. Your laughter, a drug. Your kiss, a secret he would forever keep. Not only have you grown on him, but you have made a home inside his body. His mind, your temple. You have seduced his empty heart, and now it is beating only for you.

But if there’s anything Ignis knows by now, it’s that good things always come to an end. They always do. And he knows better. He knows you aren’t for him, and he isn’t for you.

The third month sweeps you off your feet as Aranea enters your trailer with a new man in tow. At first, you think he is one of the new actors with the way he carries himself with an air of confidence, but you immediately recognize the logo on his jacket.

The first thing that leaves your mouth is: “Where’s Ignis?”

Aranea’s mouth twists. She hesitates, then says, “Ignis quit. Told me he found a new job. Nyx here would be his replacement.”

Your heart plummets. The expression on your face might have been so fucking obvious because Aranea casts you a worried glance, and so does this Nyx. He looks slightly uncomfortable with the way you skate your narrowed eyes at him, as if he has no right to be in your breathing space. As if he has no right at all to ever replace Ignis.

“I can see that you’re upset with this change,” Nyx begins to say, quickly regaining his charming composure, “but by 'quit,' it means he has left to pursue a different career path. Doesn’t mean he left you—I mean, for another client, that is.”

A simmering silence. Aranea and Nyx are watching you with growing alarm. You don’t know why, but something in you breaks.

You force yourself to smile, but it’s not very convincing. Some actor you are. And in the most modulated voice you could muster, you say, “Good for him then.” To Nyx, you say, “Do send him my regards when you see him around.”

As soon as Ignis pulls over your apartment building, you climb out of his car, weaving past another throng of paparazzi. Someone yells “Congrats on another blockbuster! Is this your new boyfriend?” and a couple of other things that only grates your ears. Ignis is quick to follow, and he shields you with his body as he leads you inside the lobby. Probably his force of habit, but it only unearths a memory of a good time that has already hollowed you out.

When the two of you reach the front door of your apartment, he finally breaks the silence. “I’m assuming you have Nyx trapped in some dark alley?”

“No, not really,” you say flatly. “He actually let me go on my own. Cooler than my previous bodyguard, if you ask me.”

“How convenient.”

“So, sous chef to the illustrious Weskham Armaugh, huh.”

“Indeed.”

“Now, care to explain to me why you really left without even saying a word? Especially to me?” There is a tremor that breaks your voice, and his smile slowly creases to a frown. “Is that it? Was that your grand plan? Make me fall in love with you and then just go up and leave—”

“I beg your pardon?” Ignis looks mystified, as if you have said something completely ludicrous. He stares at you for a long, scalding moment. “What did you just say?”

You scoff. “Are you kidding me right now? I said…”

The realization dawns on you in a slow unravel. Before you can even formulate an explanation, Ignis steals your breath away with a kiss. You have done this before in the confines of your trailer, but this time is different. This time, the feeling is no longer secret.

“You have absolutely no idea how I’ve wanted to do that this time around,” he says with a smile. And when he tells you I love you, he does not mean I love you regardless of or I love you despite, but rather I love you just because I do.

[getmassage2019-blog]

10 Do's and Don't's of Getting a Massage

Back in might, I denote a diary regarding things that individuals might get embarrassed that their massage healer won't decide. With any new expertise it is exhausting to grasp a way to act or what to expect, and whereas there are loads of things that you just shouldn't worry regarding, there are bound niceties that basically ought to be exercised. Below you may realize a listing of do's and don't of obtaining a massage. If you have got not followed them to the present purpose, don't have any concern. All behavior and data is unaccustomed USA at some purpose. the purpose is to not continue behaviors which will be seen as rude or unhelpful. Most of those don't seem to be things that individualsdo out of malice, that is why I attempt to not encourage shame, however rather educate for future exchanges. 1. DO communicate If you don't like one thing, you have got to let American state understand so as for it to alter. Don't be afraid to talk up regarding things like techniques, music, heat, etc. If I actually have the table hotter on and you're hot, let American stateunderstand to show it off. If you're still hot, let American state understand to get rid of the blanket. If you are feelingpain, completely let American state know! Pain isn't a traditional a part of a massage, however rather your body's manner of telling you that one thing is wrong and wishes to be modified. you may not feel higher after if you're livid on a massage table. folks assume this is often the case as a result of they begin to feel higher a number of days after, however are you actually feeling higher than you probably did before you had your massage, or are you feeling higherthan you probably did simply after as a result of you cured from the injuries that were caused? presumably the latter. *A note on pressure. i do know that individuals prefer to treat the pressure. Pressure is setting out to become a uncleanword on behalf of me. I actually have had shoppers UN agency need a painful massage as a result of they need been told that it's the sole manner permanently work to happen. Your tissue can let American state understand if I ought toapply additional pressure. there's a natural provide and a natural end. Forcing past those endpoints can get you that pain the you appear to need, however it'll conjointly harm your tissue, and injure American state. each massage healer is completely different, however I typically move to the end through most of the massage. The goal is to possess the endamendment. thus your tissue won't let American state in terribly deeply initially, thus I work with what it'll permit till it softens and American statelts and lets me in additional. inquiring for "more pressure" can honestly not get you terriblyso much with American state. Here could be a post regarding the distinction between a deep tissue massage and a deep pressure massage. Clock 2. DON'T show up late (or too early) Your massage time begins at the time that you just are regular. I encourage new shoppers to arrive quarter-hour early for work and intake, and returning shoppers to arrive regarding 5-10 minutes early for a quick verbal sign up with enough time to use the convenience if would like be and find on the table to start on time. I a great deal need for you to possessthe quantity of your time on the table that you just reserved, and so as to try to to that, it's vital that you just arrive on time. If you get into the door at 12:00 for your 12:00 appointment, the massage won't begin till 5-10 minutes into your regular appointment time. to urge the foremost out of some time, attempt to hit the time advised by the institution. I have found that after I encourage folks to arrive quarter-hour before their appointment, they're going to are available inanyplace from forty five minutes early to fifteen minutes late. Neither of those is suitable. i'd a lot of like somebodyshow up early than late, however if you arrive early, the area might not be found out, and also the last shopper should still get on the table. This could be alright if you're progressing to a spa wherever you'll sit in a very relaxation areasipping tea or to an workplace that you just are acquainted with, however if it's your initial appointment at an area you have got ne'er been to, certify disclosure 30-45 minutes early is ok. My workplace is extremely little. The living roomwherever you fill out intake forms doesn't have a lot of room, however works simply fine once it's just American stateand a shopper. Adding another person will make it incommodious and work an ungainly feeling. terribly recently I had a brand new shopper show up half-hour early whereas my previous client was still on the table. I had already left the clinicand was permitting her to urge dressed once the new shopper arrived. once my initial shopper came out of the clinic, there was no place for her to sit down down as we have a tendency to went over payment, creating her feel hurried and uncomfortable. I had conjointly secure to relinquish her the cardboard of somebody i used to be referring her to, however wasn't able to do thus, nor was I able to provide her some self care tips once her session. I respect the privacy of every of my shoppers, so wasn't able to speak together with her regarding her session ahead of a whole unknown. I conjointly respect confidentiality that couldn't be unbroken beneath the circumstances. My workplace could be a smartsize for one shopper and one healer. it's alittle personal follow workplace, and that i schedule my shoppers half-hourapart for that reason. By disclosure thus early, the new shopper not solely created American state feel hurried to urgethe area turned over, however additional significantly created my alternative shopper feel uncomfortable. When you arrive late, it's annoying to American state, however you're honestly doing additional of a injury to yourself. Your massage is completed at the top of the regular appointment time. meaning that if you book a sixty minute massage, show up ten minutes late, take five minutes to fill out your work and another 5 to try to to oral intake and findon the table, you're currently twenty minutes into your hour before I even bit you. meaning that your sixty minute massage has become a forty minute massage. i'll not inconvenience my next shopper UN agency might show up quarter-hour early as taught by going twenty minutes over on some time. You blocked out AN hour on my schedule, I promise to be there and to figure to the most effective of my talents throughout your hour, however once your hour is up, your massage is completed notwithstanding after you got on the table. I accustomed be additional lenient regardingthis, however found that i used to be being expected to inconvenience others because of somebody else's timing. Since then, I actually have created the policy on top of, and stick with it. 3. DO use correct nomenclature There are variety of terms that are out-of-date and should be found offensive by several therapists. I perceive that the majority of those terms are still those that you just hear on tv, which you'll not remember that they're offensive. i do know massage therapists UN agency can get upset over the nomenclature, however I favor to acknowledge that the person victimisation them wasn't doing thus out of malice, and can attempt to educate them on the correctnomenclature and justify why we have a tendency to use it. This nomenclature is what's employed in the u. s.. In severalalternative countries they still use nomenclature that has modified here. Some common terms are: Massage healer NOT masseuse- A massage therapist could be a licenced skilled UN agency has competent an honestdeal of education and coaching so as to produce you with a therapeutic massage. A massager is commonlyundisciplined and unaccredited and provides services additional fitting to a whorehouse than a spa. Table NOT bed- once more, we have a tendency to are attempting to line ourselves except the sex trade. By asking shoppers to undress and lie on the table beneath the sheet, we have a tendency to are setting a additional clinical tone. Asking a shopper to undress and find on the bed beneath the sheet sets a distinct quite tone. Massage clinic, practice, spa, or workplace NOT massage parlor- A clinic, office, spa or follow sounds skilled and suggests healing and relaxation. A massage parlor is wherever you move to lie on a bed and see a massager. No Smoking! 4. DON'T smoke before your appointment If you're a smoker, I perceive that it is exhausting to travel while not smoking because it is extremely habit-forming. That being same, I encourage you to do to refrain from smoking before your massage so as to guard the health and prosperity of your massage healer furthermore as the other shoppers. I will admit that this one could be a sore spot on behalf of me. i'm really extremely allergic to a number of the chemicals in fag smoke, and have had allergies to shoppers on my table before. after you smoke, you're taking in any variety of poisons and poisons. Your body acknowledges that they're harmful and tries to urge eliminate them by any means thatpotential, which means that the toxins from your cigarettes virtually flow out of your skin. Whenever you bit another person, you're passing on all of the toxins from your cigarettes to the opposite person. Please don't endanger my health by smoking before your session. Smoke are a few things that a good variety of individuals have a sensitivity or allergic reaction to, and also the smell will stick around for a short while before it dissipates. i favor for my clinic to smell clean, and none of my shoppers ought to have to be compelled to walk into a massage area smelling of fag smoke. 5. DO close up your mobile phone It is thus unpleasant to be giving (or receiving) a pleasant quiet massage solely to listen to text messages, calls, and alarms going off. swing it on vibrate is commonly not enough. after you are lying on the table and listen to that abuzz in your purse, you mechanically tense up. You get out of that house of relaxation and are suddenly curious UN agency is looking or texting. currently there's one thing happening on your phone and you don't understand what it's. simply flipyour mobile phone off. it'll not hurt you to travel 60-90 minutes while not communication with the planet. Take the time for yourself instead of worrying regarding what people need from you. If you wish to stay your mobile phone on because of being on decision or having a family emergency, let American state understand. Otherwise, flip it off. leg drape 6. DON'T be a "helper" When you are on the massage table, attempt to relax your body. i do know this is often exhausting for loads of individuals. If you have got bother belongings go, a minimum of attempt to not actively "help" your healer. Yes, i'll be putting the bolster beneath your ankles or knees, and yes, i'll got to elevate your arms and legs to try to to draping, however I promise that i'm quite capable of lifting your leg. often I actually have a shopper UN agency can jerk their arms and legs up in an endeavor to help with the draping or bolstering. simply the opposite day I nearly got kicked within the face by a shopper UN agency was anxious to assist American state drape her leg. This was a primary time shopperwith American state UN agency had received loads of massage before. I got the impression that she knew what was returning next and needed to assist by lifting the suitable limb. after you attempt to facilitate your healer during thismanner, you're really making additional work for them, and risk striking or kicking them within the method. it's a lot ofeasier to elevate a limp leg than one that's being upraised for you. If i'm having bother obtaining you into a particularposition, i'll provoke your help. If I don't raise, simply attempt to relax and revel in the massage. I ought to be the one doing the work, not you. foot massage 7. DO have smart hygiene Please certify that you just are comparatively clean after you show up to your massage. attempt to have clean feet, nails, hair, and skin generally. bear in mind that you just are asking somebody else to the touch you. Before returning in raise yourself if you'd need to the touch you. Over the years, I actually have seen folks of the many completely different hygiene levels are available in for a massage. Please do your healer a favor and close up or rinse if you wish to. The worst cases of poor hygiene tend to occur with the feet, nails, hair, and behind ears, however I actually have seen those that have are available in off the beach, from mowing the yard, or UN agency simply don't appear to possess bathed recently. Not solely is that this disrespectful to American state as i'll be massaging you, however it's disrespectful of my clean space. I actually have worked in places that didn't appear to worry a lot of regarding cleanliness, however my workplace isn't one amongst those. there'stypically not time between shoppers to brush and vacuum the floors which can have dirt, mud, sand, yard clippings, or additional half-tracked in by somebody UN agency didn't rinse before their session, thus please don't track them in within the initial place. 8. DON'T usher in artificial fragrances As a courtesy to future shoppers, please solely wear lotions, creams, or sprays that are unscented or gently scented with essential oils. every massage healer can have their own preferences for merchandise that they use on shoppers, and that i use loads of aromatherapy with natural base oils and essential oils. These are typically lightweight and natural and few folks have bother with them. like several natural aromas, the scent of the oils typically has time to dissipate before succeeding shopper enters the area. If you select to usher in your own lotion or oil to use, certify it's unscented or scented solely with essential oils. Please don't spray or apply merchandise with artificial fragrances within the massage area. many purchasers have allergies or sensitivities to artificial fragrances, and also the fragrances take for much longer to dissipate than natural aromas. this suggests that if you spray your fragrance within the workplace before you allow, or wear a fragranced lotion throughout your massage that seeps into the hotter or cushioning on the table, another shopper might have a negative reaction, and you'll build their massage terribly uncomfortable for them. sick 9. DO keep home if you're sick This is for your protection and my very own. obtaining a massage whereas sick will cause you to feel worse by pushing the malady through your body additional quickly. Fever is additionally a reason for a massage, which means that you just mustn't receive massage if you have got one. Also, please attempt to bear in mind that I bit folks for a living. I can't move to work if i'm sick, thus please don't share your malady with American state. Like several alternative businesses, I actually have a twenty four hour cancellation policy leading to a fee if unheeded. If you decision American state to let me understand that you just can't are available in because of malady, i'll not charge the fee. this is often simply my policy, and should not apply to alternative institutions. 10. DON'T even joke regarding sex! Just don't. It's not funny, it's offensive. I don't would like you telling me that you just have a giant tip on behalf of me if i need to earn it, and that i don't need to listen to regarding your "injury" that caused "scar tissue" on your pouch. Yes... I actually have detected each of those before, and more. If you advisedly bit or grope American state throughout your massage, that's regulatory offence. it's not funny, and positively not acceptable. I conjointly don't need to listen to your jokes regarding happy endings and massage parlors. Keep them to yourself. don't tell American state you're preparedfor your massage and have me walk into the area to search out you sitting or lying confront on the table in the raw onceI taught you to begin face down beneath the sheet. you ought to continually be beneath the sheet. the most effectivecase situation for you here is that I finish the massage, and you have got to pay money for your whole session notwithstanding once it terminated. The worst case situation is that I decision the police and press charges for regulatory offence, public nudity, solicitation, etc. simply don't. So there you have got it. 10 do's and don't's to recollect once entering into for a massage. I wrote this text in person as a result of it's supported my preferences. several of those tips are universal to any or all or most massage therapists, some are additional vital to American state, or solely relevant to those that operate out of areas just like mine. I willsolely tell you what I actually have ascertained in my very own expertise.

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New Post has been published on https://primorcoin.com/russian-blockchain-alternative-to-swift-to-prevent-disconnection-of-nations-banks-finance-bitcoin-news/

Russian Blockchain Alternative to SWIFT to Prevent Disconnection of Nations, Banks – Finance Bitcoin News

A Russian university is ready to test its blockchain-based analogue to the global payment messaging network SWIFT, from which Russian banks were cut off as part of Western sanctions. The developers say their system would not allow the disconnecting of countries and banks.

Russian Developers Create SWIFT Substitute Using Blockchain

Experts from the Competence Center of the National Technology Initiative at the St Petersburg State University in Russia announced they are preparing to trial a new interbank payment system, an alternative to SWIFT. The latter is now inaccessible for major Russian banks as a result of financial restrictions imposed over Moscow’s decision to invade Ukraine.

“The pilot version of the decentralized interbank financial messaging system is ready for testing and can be used in banks,” the university said in a statement. The people behind the project, specializing in the field of distributed ledgers, have employed blockchain technologies to create the platform.

The center’s technical director Alexander Kireev said that preliminary testing showed good results. The transfer speeds currently exceed 25,000 messages per second at one node and the network’s capacity can be increased in the future.

Quoted by the Russian crypto news outlet Bits.media, the university elaborated that the platform can scale up and integrate new financial organizations. Its representatives also emphasized that it would be impossible to disconnect any participating state or banking institution as each client would have the same rights and access as any other.

Using a distributed ledger to exchange cross-border financial messages allows for secure and reliable transactions, the developers team pointed out. Theirs is the second blockchain-based project to replace SWIFT in Russia after the state-owned tech giant Rostec announced in June a similar platform, designed to facilitate international settlements between Russia and its partners.

Russia also has its more traditional equivalent to SWIFT, the System for Transfer of Financial Messages (SPFS), which was launched amid similar tensions after the annexation of Crimea in 2014. According to the report, some 70 organizations from a dozen countries are already connected to the SPFS. Rostec’s CELLS platform is also intended to enable international payments and multicurrency transactions, as well as digital currency storage.

Amid its ongoing military intervention in Ukraine, the Russian Federation is increasingly cut off from the global financial system, including its foreign currency reserves. In response, Moscow has been trying to transition to payments in national currencies with its trade partners while also considering the possibility of using cryptocurrencies for international settlements.

Tags in this story

Bank, Banking, banks, Blockchain, blockchain technologies, Crypto, Cryptocurrencies, Cryptocurrency, DIstributed Ledger, international payments, international settlements, Messages, messaging system, network, Payments, platform, Russia, russian, SPFS, Swift, system, university

Do you expect Russia to implement a blockchain-based alternative to SWIFT? Tell us in the comments section below.

Lubomir Tassev

Lubomir Tassev is a journalist from tech-savvy Eastern Europe who likes Hitchens’s quote: “Being a writer is what I am, rather than what I do.” Besides crypto, blockchain and fintech, international politics and economics are two other sources of inspiration.

Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not a direct offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation or endorsement of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in this article.

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The Benefits of Hiring a Credit Repair Firm

The good news is that we now live in a time when software can help us do almost everything.

The bad news is that software can only go so far in replacing professional services.

You can buy software for everything from filing taxes to boosting your credit score, but it's best to give your valuable credit score to pros when it comes to the latter. The main reason is that credit restoration software will demand you to do 99 percent of the work, and unless you are a credit expert, you will not benefit much from it.

The following are some of the reasons why hiring a credit repair lawyer is preferable to employing credit repair software.

TIME IS SAVED BY HIRING A PROFESSIONAL

Repairing your debt can be a time-consuming experience until you realize that boosting your credit is as simple as making a request for investigation to one of the three credit agencies. When it comes to holding a creditor accountable for fraudulent reporting, lawyers may be required in some situations.

You will need to be involved when you hire a professional. Most organizations, for example, conduct a consultation and an intake session when they acquire as much relevant documentation from the customer as possible. You won't need to devote much more effort to this attempt than attending these seminars and locating and submitting these documents.

Here are some success stories from consumers who used The Phenix Group to improve their credit:

Vincenzo is a client who has a unique story to tell.

Jimmy is a client.

The majority of credit repair businesses operate in the background on a monthly basis. Typically, all the client has to do is forward letters from creditors or bureaus.

Individuals who use software will have to go through their own documents in order to enter vital information into the system, which is effectively a glorified spreadsheet. They'll also have to read all of the correspondence letters and respond to them directly — all of which will take a long time.

IT IS NOT POSSIBLE FOR SOFTWARE TO FIGHT FOR YOU

To begin with, no software, no matter how sophisticated, can interface with credit bureaus or credit issuing institutions, so forget about disputing false reports or having liens and charge-offs removed from your credit record.

The bureaus are required by law to process requests for investigation and disputes within defined time frames. A professional credit repair firm will keep track of these deadlines and the process as it progresses.

They will ensure that the bureaucracies are acting in your best interests and will battle the inconvenient bureaucracy on your behalf.

At best, credit repair tools can keep you up to date on the status of your disputes, but you'll be the one to file the disputes in the first place and decide what to do with the process reports.

AN EXCELLENT INVESTMENT

There's no assurance that you or anyone you hire will be able to raise your credit score, but at the very least, if you engage a professional, you'll get a money-back guarantee if they can't help you.

There is no money-back guarantee when you "spend" in credit restoration software. If the software does not help you enhance your credit score, you are responsible for the amount you paid and the length of time you subscribed to the service.

Credit software solutions that are more advanced might cost up to $400. Most people's credit can be improved by at least a little in two months, which seems reasonable given that most professional credit agencies charge $30 to $100 per month.

AN APPROACH THAT IS MORE COMPREHENSIVE

The personal approach cannot be quantified, at least not at the time of this writing. When you engage a credit repair firm, you'll have the option of working with a human specialist to create a financial plan that you can stick to in order to improve your credit score.

This may include a thorough examination of your present obligations, finances, and financial goals, as well as one-on-one financial coaching services in some situations.

No software can do this in-depth research and come up with a financial strategy that is tailored to your individual scenario. In truth, most credit restoration software merely provides you with dispute letter templates to fill out and send to creditors.

You may be granted access to a real live credit expert who can help you through the procedure if you choose the more expensive software packages, but you will be spending the same amount as you would if you hired an expert without the added services.

THEY ARE ON YOUR SIDE WITH THE LAW

It's not always as simple as removing negative marks from your credit report to improve your credit. Sometimes collection organizations have lawyers on staff, and they will not admit that their actions are illegal or that their grounds for collection are untrue to the common citizen.

Software does not understand the law, and they have no way of demonstrating to these collection agency lawyers that they have made a mistake or that their acts are illegal. A high-quality credit repair professional, on the other hand, will be familiar with the legislation and will use it to your advantage.

Specific laws, such as the Fair Credit Billing Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act, have been enacted to protect consumers and can be used to your credit's advantage.

Consider the following scenario:

Under the FDCPA, a collection agency can only try to collect a debt in particular ways, and when they do, a professional can use the violation to dissolve the debt for the client.

Simply said, no software can help you with this. Finally, employing credit repair pros can save you time and money while also ensuring that you have a long-term path to good credit.

Related Articles:

https://thephenixgroup.com/what-is-a-hard-inquiry

https://thephenixgroup.com/collections-and-your-credit-score-we-answer-the-top-questions

https://thephenixgroup.com/ad-astra-recovery-services-what-you-should-know

[seo-news-bangladesh]

Re-Learning the Fundamentals of Web Development in 2021

We use the web every day for shopping, social media, watching videos, playing games, and many other necessities. Everything that we do now is mostly on the web and our daily usage reports on our phone are trying to tell us that we spend almost 18 hours a day online (my daily usage hour).

Well, what can I do? Even the book I read is downloaded from the web.

So, what is the web? Is it the strings that spiders make on the corner of our ceilings that I am referring to? No, we all know that answer, it is the digital web that grabs all our attention nowadays.

The web consists of our favourite websites such as Netflix and Spotify. These are made up of many advanced and classic technologies that include HTML, CSS, PHP, URL, DNS etc.

Like the human body, the web also contains an external and internal section. What we see on displays is the Front-End part of it and what is happening inside and out of our vision is the back-end part of the web.

With the growth of the usefulness of websites, the interest in learning web development and careers in this field is also on the rise.

Overview of Web Development in Bangladesh

Since 2010, Bangladesh's ICT sector has expanded at a rate of 40% per year (Source: UNCTAD). The emergence of a large number of young entrepreneurs and their passion and the government's strong focus on ‘Digital Bangladesh' are the key driving forces in Bangladesh's ICT industry.

In order to participate in the evolution of Digital Bangladesh, many companies started creating their online presence to reach out to more audience as Bangladeshis are getting more and more dependent on technology.

Therefore, there has been a rise in the number of web development companies in the country to meet the requirements of the growing popularity of startups and businesses wanting to go online.

Enthusiasts are learning web development and working as a freelancer, getting employed in web development companies or even starting their very own company providing web development services.

In regards to that, this blog aims to educate whoever is interested in learning the fundamentals of web development and for those who already have an idea. This is to refresh their knowledge with some modern terminologies and technologies that are now popular in the web development sector.

What is the web and where does it stand in Web Development?

Source: Pexel

The web is the foundation of Web Development.

The World Wide Web, web, in short, is the method of transmitting data over the Internet that makes use of the HTTP protocol and HTML.

First things first: URL and HTTP/HTTPS

Source: MDN Web Docs

We can consider a URL to be similar to a regular postal mail address:

Scheme represents the postal service you want to use

Domain name is the city or town

Port is similar to the zip code

Path represents the building where the mail should be delivered;

Parameters represent additional information such as the apartment number in the building

Anchor represents the act

The scheme is the first part of the URL and identifies the protocol used. Protocols are set methods used to transfer data within a computer network.

In most cases, HTTP or HTTPS is used in which the latter is the secured version. HTTPS is typically used for e-commerce and other sites with secure transactions.

How the web functions:

The web can be described as a set of interactions between two kinds of systems: clients and servers

Clients are the instruments that make web content requests and extract them. Browsers, smartphone apps and screen readers are all common examples of clients.

In reality, one of the most difficult aspects of web design and development is keeping up with all of the new clients (the number of which is growing exponentially) and how they navigate and render the content. Hence came the necessity to design responsive websites to make them compatible with all device screens.;

Servers are programs that provide web content or services to clients.

It is important to understand the various types of servers and how they function to learn web development and web hosting.

Searching for a site through a browser- the process behind the scene

Every time you type “netflix.com” on your browser’s URL (Uniform Resource Locator) box, a request is made to a server (DNS).  

“netflix.com” is the domain name for Netflix (like your name) and it has a unique IP address (like your mobile phone number).

Through the URL, a request is made to that server by your browser to show you the content that you want (in this case Netflix’s landing page).

These are all happening Infront of you.

Behind the scene, (while you see that annoying loading indicator), this request is usually directed to a domain name server, or DNS, which is simply like a phonebook consisting of all the contact numbers (IP addresses). The URL is then converted into an IP address by the DNS which the browser uses to locate the host's server (Netflix) and submit a request for the content (Netflix’s home page).

At this point, the outcome depends on the type of content you request, if it is a simple website page like How to sign up for Netflix” consisting of texts and text-boxes, then the HTML (for the texts), CSS (for the design) and JavaScript (for the text-boxes) are all sent back to the browser where they are extracted and presented to you. This is an example of a static site.

The transmission process of Static vs Dynamic sites

Static sites are simple sites that need no further processing other than sending the content requested by the client.  

Dynamic sites require additional processing which is done by a web application such as PHP, Python or .NET before they send back the content to the browser.

For example, when you sign in to Netflix, you input your data and then click on the “Sign in” button. After that, you see the home page with your name and customized movie list according to your watch history and likes. Here the Netflix server processes your details and displays your customized content.

All of the above processes are executed within seconds.

That is why developers need to understand each stage of how the web works because if a stage is not carefully implemented, the site will either work slowly or not at all and may show the dreaded DNS error message which tells the audience that the site cannot be found at the location and they will need to try again.

Even for hosting the website you just developed, it is important that people can find your site through the DNS, especially when registering multiple domain names for one site. In this case, there are some web developing firms in Bangladesh who provides free hosting service for a limited time along with the development process to help growing businesses or start-ups as a heads up while they can focus on other aspects of their business.  

Front-End Web Development – The one that people see and interact with

Source: Pexels

Front-end Web development is also known as client-side scripting and involves developing the User Interface of websites and applications.

Some elements of front-end development include:

- Working closely with Web/ UI designers

- Establishing design mock-ups and visual standards

- Structuring contents semantically

- Making the website responsive and compatible with many devices

- Ensuring the website’s accessibility

- Controlling Typography, page layout, form design, interactivity, visual assets etc.  

The main focus of the front-end web developers is to collaborate with the back-end developers and to create a functional and visually attractive website that will bring in a lot of readers or customers and hence fulfil the purpose of the site.

Front-End Web Development is often confused with web designing. Web designers create an actual design out of a plan or an idea, they have to ensure the best user experience and accessibility of the site. Whereas, the front-end web developers implement those designs with codes and adds functionality.

Web designing was not so prevalent in Bangladesh until recently. During the last five years, as more and more online companies are opening up, so came the need to stay ahead in the competition with good design and user experience.

Therefore, Web Development companies in Bangladesh provide individual services like Web Designing and Experience Design etc. and  Web Developing service package as a whole which includes both the front-end and back-end development.

The most popular languages to develop front-end contents are HTML, CSS and JavaScript.

HTML - The Web’s main language

HTML stands for a Hypertext Markup Language, and it is the standard markup language for web pages.

Opening and closing tags are commonly used in HTML elements to surround and define content. Different elements, for example, may define a text as a heading, paragraph, or list object.

HTML5 maintains backwards compatibility with previous HTML versions while introducing new structural tags and API support, allowing elements to be modified, dragged and dropped, and facilitating communication from inside the HTML document without the need for external scripting. HTML5's adoption has been rapid, and it is now reasonable to consider it the latest HTML standard.

HTML Structure

HTML has a plethora of tags. They're also used to define document elements and provide structure.

Learning HTML entails learning the language's syntax, which elements are permitted, and the fundamental structure of HTML documents. All of this is extremely simple to understand, and the tag collection is small enough to learn in a day or two.

If we compare HTML structure with that of a sandwich:

- In order to have an HTML text, you must have opening and closing HTML tags <HTML></HTML>.

 A sandwich requires two slices of bread; without those, you have a salad rather than a sandwich.

- The head of the HTML document <head></head> appears immediately after the opening HTML tag and includes all of the non-visual elements that contribute to the page's functionality. Here you'll find elements like meta tags, which might include keywords or page descriptions to help define the document's content, as well as links to external tools, such as the CSS file.

 The head is similar to the condiments, lettuce, or tomato, that you would place on a sandwich near the top.

- The body tag <body></body> comes after the head tag and contains all of the visual structural components. The body tag may include a variety of elements such as headings, paragraphs, lists, images and links. Simply put, if it is a visual feature, it must appear in the body tag in the order you want it to appear.

 The body tag is like the sandwich's meat. It contains roast beef, cheese, and whatever else you want in your  sandwich.

CSS – The Style of the web page

CSS, or Cascading Style Sheets, is a style sheet language used to govern how HTML documents are displayed.

As the name suggests, they are a set of formatting rules that are typically stored in an external file. They can control a wide variety of pages, from a single page to entire websites.

CSS Structure

CSS styles are composed of two components: the selector and the declaration.

- The selector, for example, p for paragraph, tell the browser which element or elements to style. The style will adjust the formatting for all paragraphs around the web-based on this selector.

- The formatting instructions are provided in the declaration, which is enclosed in curly braces.

Benefits of CSS

- One of the most significant advantages that CSS brings to web design is the ability to create highly scalable designs. You can modify one without affecting the other.

- Another advantage is the increased portability of your content. CSS can be written to adjust the layout and styles based on factors such as screen width and orientation and thus makes the design responsive.

JavaScript – The magician of Client-Side Scripting

JavaScript is a scripting language that is commonly used in web design to add interactivity and application features to websites.

It can do a variety of things for the website, such as creating interactive features, dynamic menus, opening new browser windows, and updating data directly in the browser.

Having the advantage of being executed in the browser, or on the client-side means, the page content does not need to be refreshed for the changes to take effect.

The development of several JavaScript frameworks has been one of the more beneficial advances in adding scripting capabilities to websites. These frameworks are JavaScript libraries that include prewritten functions and artefacts which makes it far easier for programmers to create interactive apps, widgets, and incorporate advanced JavaScript features.

Front-End Libraries

After being familiar with HTML, CSS and JavaScript, it is important that web developers, dive a little bit deeper and look into some of the Front-End Libraries.

Sidenote:

By now, you might think that why is there so much information in this blog and do I need to know all of these. The answer is, yes.

Yes, because now that web development is so prevalent, many Web Development companies in Bangladesh require the developer to be updated in modern technologies such as frameworks and libraries. In all of the job requirements that you will read or have been reading, you must have noticed that there are more to learn than the basics.

Frameworks, libraries and APIS are topics you explore after you understand HTML, CSS and JavaScript and are mandatory when you want to establish a career in web development.

The reason, I am including these here, in short, is because now you know some keywords that you can research to learn more and you can always come back to this blog or even bookmark it for future reference.

Coming back to Front-End Libraries:

With Front-End Libraries like Bootstrap, you will easily learn how to style your site. With Sass, you will learn to expand and add logic to your CSS types and finally, with React and Redux, you will learn to build powerful single-page applications.

A bit about those libraries in short:

Bootstrap:

Bootstrap is used to create responsive web pages and applications. It emphasizes a mobile-first web development approach and includes pre-built CSS styles and classes, as well as some JavaScript features.

jQuery:

jQuery is used by 73 per cent of the 10 million most popular websites as of May 2019. Source: Wikipedia

When JavaScript was first released in 2006, all major browsers treated it somewhat differently. However, jQuery made it easier to write client-side JavaScript while still ensuring that the code operated consistently across browsers.

SASS:

Sass, which stands for "Syntactically Awesome Stylesheets," is a CSS language extension. It adds functionality that simple CSS does not have, making it easier to simplify and manage the style sheets for your projects.

React:

React is a popular JavaScript library that allows you to create reusable, component-driven user interfaces for web pages or applications.

React creates its markup language, JSX, by combining HTML and JavaScript features. React also makes it easy to handle data flow in the program.

Redux:

Managing shared data becomes even more difficult as applications increase in size and scope. Redux is described as a "predictable state container for JavaScript applications," which aids in making your applications more predictable and easier to test.

API:

APIs, or Application Programming Interfaces, are programs that are written to include a set of instructions and specifications for using a particular service. They are typically written to make it easier for developers to use an application or to make services accessible to anyone who wants to use them.

For example, suppose you are making a website for cooking. For cooking, you will need a database of recipes but you do not have the time or resources to build up a whole set of recipes. You can use an API that pulls data from a source providing a free/paid recipe dataset.

Back-End Web Development – The Powerhouse of the Website

Source: Unsplash

In this part, we'll shift our attention to knowing what happens on the server-side and the various techniques used to build dynamic websites.

The majority of websites employ some sort of server-side scripting to dynamically show data as necessary. If we consider the number of items available on Amazon and how many posts have been posted on Facebook, then displaying all of those on separate static pages would be incredibly inefficient, so those sites instead display static templates (created with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript) and then dynamically change the data displayed within those templates as required.

Learning about server-side web development is highly recommended in today's modern world.

A range of programming languages and frameworks, such as PHP, .NET and python have provided developers with a broader range of resources to choose from while building dynamic sites.

PHP

PHP's compatibility with Apache servers and MySQL databases is what makes it so relevant in web development. Anyone can now develop a powerful web server capable of building and hosting scalable dynamic sites using open-source software.

In reality, PHP is used to build many complex web applications, such as WordPress. PHP code, like most server-side languages, is embedded within the HTML of a website. The file with .php extension will contain regular HTML but PHP integrated inside. The extension tells the browser that the PHP code needs to be processed first.

Local Servers for PHP:

For a PHP file to run locally, it is important to have a server running on your computer.

Local servers such as XAMPP, WAMP, LAMP, and MAMP are commonly used when creating PHP websites. This software is primarily used to test the website on a local level. Developers will find errors and bugs before uploading by testing locally. The primary distinction between XAMPP, WAMP, LAMP, and MAMP is the operating system on the computer.

XAMPP is for X-OS, Apache, MySQL, PHP, and Perl.

WAMP is the Windows application.

LAMP is for Linux System.

MAMP is for Mac OS X application.

.NET

.NET is not a server-side program itself. Microsoft's whole application framework is referred to as .NET.

.NET, like Java, enables developers to create large-scale applications for both the web and the desktop. As a result, .NET is normally more complex than PHP. Therefore, it is not the first choice for web developers who focuses on developing dynamic sites only.

Sites created with the.NET framework must be hosted on a Windows server. As a result, hosting companies may be more constrained, and the price structure for such sites is usually a little higher.

Python

Python is a prevailing open-source programming language designed as a multipurpose development tool. Although Python is not exclusively based on the web, it does provide several web-related libraries that make it very easy to create powerful websites and applications.

Even though Python's syntax is fairly basic and easy to understand. It is typically used to build larger dynamic sites and web-based applications rather than small dynamic sites.

Django (Python framework)

Django is a prominent and feature-rich server-side web framework written in Python and it is standing second in the top most popular frameworks by March 2021. (Statisticsanddata.org)

It has the versatility to create nearly every form of a website, starting from content management systems to social networks. It is compatible with any client-side framework and can distribute content in a various format that includes HTML, JSON, XML, etc.

Django provides a safe way for managing user accounts and passwords by preventing common mistakes such as storing session information in cookies. Instead, it stores only a key in cookies and the actual data is stored in the database and stores a password hash as an alternative to direct passwords.

Other than that, Django also protects the site against other vulnerabilities such as SQL injection, cross-site scripting etc.

Node Js

Node js is an open-source JavaScript Runtime Environment that runs on multiple platforms. It allows developers to create all kinds of web applications tools.

Compared to traditional PHP language, Node Js eliminates the waiting time in processing and is also memory efficient.

According to the Node-by-numbers study 2020, the project is bigger than ever, with 98.9 million downloads.

Using Node Js gives all of the benefits of a full-stack JavaScript development such as:

- improved developer performance and overall productivity

- reuse and exchange of code

- a large range of free tools

- swiftness in performance

- simple information sharing among a team

Thoughts for the companies wanting to develop a dynamic website

For most companies, there are three key matters to consider when selecting an application platform:  

- Cost and hosting options

- working with qualified web developer/ firm

- easiness in use of the website

New companies or even established ones who want to develop a dynamic and responsive website for businesses can find a talented web developer locally or a web development firm in Bangladesh to do the job for them.

It is important to find a firm that can build a relationship with the clients, in that case, they can even help make the decisions regarding server technology that's right for the client, their budget and the project itself.

Most of all, it is important to learn as much as you can as a client about the various platforms so that when the time comes to make a choice, you're making an informed one.

Dcastalia is a web development company in Bangladesh that helps clients and provide consultation services to avoid pitfalls like dead-end technologies or poorly implemented systems.

They specialize in customizing a plan that suits the clients, and to unfold the right tech for the toughest business problems regardless of the market be it for web development, application design and development, business solution, or any maintenance related issues.

Managing Data

Source: Freepik

Databases are the most reliable way to store complex data or massive data sets, and they can make things much simpler for both web developers and clients.

There are two kinds of databases: SQL and NoSQL.

- A relational database is SQL, while a non-relational database is NoSQL.

- SQL is represented in tables while NoSQL is expressed in key-value pairs or JSON format.

- MySQL and PostgreSQL are the most common SQL databases, while MongoDB is the most popular NoSQL database.

Using SQL databases: MySQL

The most common language for handling and extracting information from databases is SQL or structured query language. SQL is normally used in web applications to update, build, delete, or retrieve data from a database.

Data is organized into rows and columns, with columns representing the data and rows storing the actual data. Web applications can parse and use this data inside the framework using simple SQL queries. SQL has a basic logical syntax that most people can pick up quickly.

SQL queries can be refined to further filter data sets or even join similar tables together to create a larger data set, and common statements like select, insert, update, and delete make it very simple to retrieve or manipulate data.

To control data inside the framework, most web server applications use database management program like MySQL.

Using NoSQL databases: MongoDB

MongoDB is a leading NoSQL database and an open-source document database that is written in the C++ programming language.

It uses lists and records instead of tables and rows, as in conventional relational databases. Documents are made up of key-value pairs, which are MongoDB's basic data unit. Collections are the equivalent of relational database tables in that they contain collections of documents and functions.

Most of the time, web developers or programmers writes the code that will perform most data manipulation within websites. Therefore, many developers only focus on database management and study it further to gain expertise in the field.

Many web development companies in Bangladesh provides Database Management services that help companies manage their data more efficiently through database applications made by developers.

Final Word

Web Development is a diverse topic which spreads out into many categories, the basics of which are covered in this blog. After getting familiarized or getting refreshed with the basics of how the web works, front-end and back-end web developing technology as well as how to manage data, the next steps can be to get deep into the other tools involved in web development or exploring the most efficient way to develop websites that attracts more traffic.

For business owners who familiarized themselves with the knowledge of web development, now is the time to build up that good communication with the developing team or web development firm you want to hire to build up the robust website you dreamt for your business.

The smartest way to start is by looking at the local web development companies like Dcastalia who provide a wide array of services for all the stages of web development such as from web designing to web maintenance or simply the entire package that allows the whole team of designers, developers and QA specialists to look after your needs.

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The Racetrack

By Wayne Lerner

“And they’re off!”

Those are words I have only heard on TV, not in person, as I have never been to a race track except when it is closed.

Let me explain.

In college, I worked for my grandfather who owned Acme Heating and Air Conditioning, the second oldest HVAC firm in Chicago. Why was it called Acme? Because then it would be first in the Yellow Pages when people looked up air conditioning firms.

It wasn’t a big union shop, but busy enough that, every summer, Gramps employed many men to service home and business air-conditioning systems. Most were local technicians but many came from Mexico to work and send money home each week.

Gramps had an interesting and diverse staff and a fascinating set of clients.

One was a tall, slender man with sloping shoulders whose eyes sparkled with kindness, most of the time. Underneath, he had a mean streak emanating from his pores from growing up on the streets. He was born in Little Italy of Jewish parents who had emigrated from Russia. My great grandparents had little control over him. In sixth grade, he was sent to Montefiore, a school for students with severe emotional disorders, aka juvenile delinquents. 

He never had any formal education beyond sixth grade but was as street smart as any person I had ever met. While Gramps had some latent racist tendencies and was known to make offending comments, he put his arms around all kinds of people, anyone in need. They loved him for his generosity and were loyal to him. That was the trait he valued over all others.

As a teen, he was the leader of the 16th Street Gang and tooled around the city on his motorcycle. He was known for his brutal toughness. His knuckles were scarred, his hands callused. There were marks on his arms where cuts were stitched up from fights long ago. More than once, I would urge him to tell me what it was like growing up at that time.

“Was it as dangerous as they say?” I would ask.

“It was not easy being the only Jew in the neighborhood gangs,” he said. “I got called all kinds of names. My friends reminded me that I didn’t belong there. Why? It was a religious thing. After all, they said, ‘the Jews killed Christ, didn’t they?’” 

“Did they beat you up for that?” I asked, seeking the details behind his injuries. 

“We made a peace treaty because we had bigger fish to fry than who killed Christ. We all needed money, we were dirt poor. My father, your great grandfather, worked as a tailor and your great grandmother cleaned houses. My friends’ parents were in the same boat.”

My mother would tell me stories about her father’s misadventures when he was young. She said that he was a part of the Capone gang.

She said that, in his twenties, he got a job delivering booze for Al Capone. Gramps drove a cab six days a week but, on Sundays, he took his mother for rides so she could get out of the house. The problem was that he would only take her through the alleys of Chicago and nearby suburbs.

The family legend goes that his mother called Capone and demanded that he be released from his service.

Every so often, he would ask her to get out of the car. 

“Ma, you need to stretch your legs.”

“Why, Leo?” 

“Because the doctor said that you shouldn’t sit too long.”

“If the doctor says so, I’ll do it.” 

When she left the cab, he lifted up the backseat where the booze was stored, unloaded the illegal products and delivered them to big Al’s clients’ back doors.

When his mother realized what he was doing, she was apoplectic. 

“Leo! You have become a criminal, a goniff, a thief, a no-good-nik! What am I going to do with you? You are going to get caught and be sent away again. This time you are not coming back!”

You don’t piss off an old woman who sacrificed all she had to get her family out of Tsarist Russia and away from the pogroms.

She wanted Gramps to get an education and become a professional-a doctor, a lawyer, even an accountant.  That would have been her idea of success. That wasn’t in the cards for young Leo. All he wanted to do was fool around, make money delivering booze, and gamble. Leo didn’t use the money he made to play cards, dice or the horses. He bought vacant property, sometimes alone and sometimes with his Uncle Herb, another alum of Montefiore. How they got the sellers to agree with the prices they offered is a story unto itself.

The family legend goes that his mother called Capone and demanded that he be released from his service. I can just imagine that conversation. 

“Mr. Caponey, I want my Leo out from your terrible business. It’s illegal. And if he gets into trouble one more time, the authorities will send him to the labor camps, not to a prison. Please, Mr. Caponey, find another putz to deliver your liquor. Just leave my Leo alone!”

Capone—who’d never been talked to that way, certainly not by an 80-year-old Russian woman with broken English—would have roared. 

“Mrs. P,”  he would reply, “Calm down. I have a proposal. How about if he works for me just one day a month. You see, he is quite good at his job and nobody gives Leo any trouble. Not never. What do you say?”  

I am sure the call was not long, but still one for the books. In the end, Capone relented. He respected her family values, the old woman’s guts and her commitment to her son. And he knew if he didn’t let Gramps go, my great grandmother would never stop nagging him.

These events can’t be validated but were told quite often as I was growing up. Whenever the story came up, all Gramps would do was give a sly smile and a twinkle would come into his eyes. He would never say a word about those days or the stories. Just smile.

His choice of staff and customers reflected his upbringing. The latter included bookstores that sold racy material in their back rooms, special town houses where suspect illegal activities were going on night and day, most of the City of Chicago police and fire departments and libraries. And the tracks, Sportsman’s and Hawthorne. Gramps never had any trouble with the police. Ever.           

My job at Acme was to take apart the window A/C units, fix their problems and then put them back together. More often than not, I ended up with more parts on the bench than in the unit. But the unit worked, kinda. What can I say? I was a college boy with no technical skill whatsoever. 

One Monday morning, I heard Gramps holler from the office in front.

“James, get up here. There’s someone I want you to meet.”

Coming in from the back, I saw a gentleman talking to Gramps in heavily accented English about a job just assigned to Acme. 

“I want you to meet Juan,” Gramps said. “He will be your boss from now on. Just follow his directions and you will do just fine.” 

Gramps assigned me to work with one of his most trusted employees. Juan worked for Acme for over twenty years. He would arrive from Saltillo, Mexico every April 1, like clockwork, in his beat up but reliable truck.  A touch over six feet, a solid two hundred pounds, Juan knew how to handle himself. With a perpetual 5 o’clock shadow and muscles bulging from his work shirt, Juan was my protector and tutor. 

Over four years, Juan unsuccessfully tried to teach me Spanish and eat foods that were quite spicy as he watched over me like a second father. He made sure I didn’t mess up the jobs we were on or the guys didn’t give me too much trouble. I had to learn to stand up for myself, but sometimes things went too far. That’s when Juan stepped in. A quiet, commanding presence who made his point of view known in both Spanish and English, with emphasis added.

Juan knew I was not cut out for the air-conditioning business and that my grandfather was doing me a favor by giving me a job. 

“James, why you cut yourself so many times on our jobs? A good repairman finishes the day with no cuts, no blood. It no good to go to bars after work looking like you lost the fight!” Juan’s laugh was long and hearty matching the smile on his face. “We have to stop at Walgreens before we go home to get you more band aids!

Daily, I would nag my grandfather to be assigned the more risqué places to service.

“Why can’t I go to that bookstore on Rush Street or that house on Cedar like the other did guys last week?” 

“First, you are not old enough. Second, You’re my grandson and I don't need shit from your mother who will certainly find out where I sent you. Third, why do you need to look for trouble? You’re a smart boy, you're in college. Get a fucking education and leave those calls to someone else.”

So Juan and I serviced home and apartment units, corporate clients like Solo Cup in Ford City and the tracks.

At the race tracks, my job was pretty simple, but potentially dangerous. A flat-bed truck delivered large heating and air-conditioning units to the site. A crane with a large boom was brought in, a big hook attached. The hook had to be put in the eye bolt which was fastened to the top of the unit. Once the connection was made, the person attaching the hook to the eye bolt had to scamper down a ladder and get off the flatbed truck before the crane began to lift the unit to the roof. That was my job. I guess I was considered expendable because I was the only non-union guy around.

Over the course of a week, we would install ten to twelve rooftop units. In between the installations, we would trudge through the race track with our footsteps echoing down the hallways as it was empty of any patrons, only service workers present. We would walk by the betting windows, watching the cashiers stock their drawers full of cash under the close scrutiny of the floor bosses, for the races later that day. 

One afternoon, after doing an install and before going to another job, Juan and I went to the cafeteria for a cup of coffee. We were sitting there when one of the guys who worked at the track, recognized us and came over and sat down. 

“You guys work for Acme, for Leo?” he asked. “Oh yeah, my name’s Rocco. I like Leo. He doesn’t bullshit around. If he likes you, great. If he doesn't, you better watch out. I don’ want to be on his bad side. I heard the stories, you know, and they weren’t pretty.”

 Juan just nodded his head. I sat there staring at the guy like he was an actor out of the gangster movies.

Rocco was a presence at the track. Dressed in high waisted black pleated slacks, a colorful shirt and pointed Italian shoes, always polished.  No one knew what he did. He was not one of the service guys, not dressed like that. 

Juan and I were well aware of the rumors of who worked at and financially benefited from the track. We did our jobs and that’s all. We were not there to make waves, new friends or enemies.

Anytime we were at the track to install or service the units, Rocco was there. He would always seek us out to sit and talk. 

Rocco had a hard edge to him, but seemed to be a pretty good guy underneath. He treated Juan and me with respect. In turn, we respected him. Whenever we got together, however, Rocco did all the talking. 

He told us stories of his family and how hard his dad was on him.  How he really couldn’t make it in school.

“I don’ like all that reading and writing. I like doin’. Ya, know what I mean?”

He would laugh and then tell us about his escapades with girls he was trying to get into bed that week.

“You ought to see Betty Ann. What a looker and built! Like a brick shithouse, she is!”

And a little bit about his siblings. But only a little bit, like he was trying to hide something.

We never saw Rocco pay for any of his food or drink. He always had a full tray of refreshments with him and would bring it to our table when he wanted to talk with us. 

“I’ll buy,” he would say as we walked in. “Whaddaya want? A date with Betty Ann? You Acme guys can’t handle that broad.” Rocco had a laugh which bounced off the walls of the cafeteria and brought everyone’s attention to him. 

As a gesture of friendship, we would offer to buy him lunch or something to drink if he ever came over empty-handed.

Most of the time, my job was to get Rocco black coffee which he had with his ever-present cigarette. He carried his pack of unfiltered Pall Mall’s in a folded up portion of his shirt sleeve, under which he wore his white Dago tee. Rocco was always in uniform and played his role perfectly.

One day, towards the end of the summer, Rocco was moaning about his brother who, he said, was going to be gone a long time. 

“Me and my older brother take care of each other. Nobody fucks with us. He’s the only guy I can trust, the only guy I can lean on.”

“What about us?” I asked. “You can trust us. We can keep our mouths shut.”

“Sure,” he said. “Like you, college boy, and your Mexican friend here are going to do the shit we do. No fuckin’ way. You don’ have the fegato to do our kind of work. Capisce? Do you understand?” 

Rocco laughed loud and long, then stopped as if the reality of the situation he was going to face entered his consciousness. 

Rocco’s face contorted as it moved from laughing to concern, fear and then terror. 

“I got to go,” he said as he got up from the table. “I gotta get out of here before I talk too much.”

“Wait,” I said. “What’s with your brother? You started to say something about him, then you stopped.”

Rocco paused as he stood over us, looked around and said in a quiet voice, “He killed a cop who was staking him out. The cop figured it out what our business was and was goin’ to take us in. My brother didn’t know that the cop had friends with him. They nabbed him after he shot the cop in the head. They took him to court. Now he’s in Joliet for murder one. And he ain’t coming back.”

I remember nothing more about the rest of the day. My mind went blank. Throughout the rest of the summer, we saw Rocco several more times before I had to leave for college but he never came over to talk or sit with us again. 

Once he told us the story about his brother, it was clear he needed to avoid us. He was never the same after the day of the big reveal. His appearance got sloppy and he no longer had a swagger in his walk. He shuffled from place to place, looking like a man with no future. Once, I heard one of the pit bosses hollering at him. If Rocco’s brother was still around, that would never have happened. Rocco’s protector was gone. Now he was on his own.

The next summer, I went back to work for Gramps. When we got to the track, Rocco wasn’t there. No one knew what had happened to him or they weren’t saying. Just then, the head of the pit bosses came over with his coffee, sat down and lit a cigarette.

“You guys from Acme?” he asked with smoke billowing from his nose as he spoke.

“I got a few window air conditioners in the apartments I manage which could use a tune up. They’re making funny noises. Think you can do me a favor one of these days?”

[stonybrooksupplementalessay-blog]

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Jerry Seinfeld Trades Barbs With Writer Who Wrote Essay On New York City Being ‘Dead Forever’

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Ministry of Economy and PwC Armenia conduct joint study on COVID-19

New Post has been published on https://armenia.in-the.news/economy/ministry-of-economy-and-pwc-armenia-conduct-joint-study-on-covid-19-38771-23-07-2020/

Ministry of Economy and PwC Armenia conduct joint study on COVID-19

YEREVAN, JULY 23, ARMENPRESS. As Armenian businesses reopen following the long coronavirus-induced shutdown, finance and business leaders (F&BLs) are coming to terms with a new business environment of lower anticipated revenues and reconfigured workplaces. Yet, companies still face a sceptical workforce who continue to be worried about returning to the workplace safely, the ministry of economy of Armenia told Armenpress.

According to COVID-19 joint study by the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Armenia and PwC Armenia, most F&BLs (80%) across all territories expect a decrease in revenues and profits. Even in countries with a more optimistic outlook, F&BLs take it as a given that the economic impact of the COVID-19 will reduce revenues and profits, with F&BLs in Armenia (60%), Switzerland (80%), Denmark (73%) and Germany (66%) all reporting that they expect to see a decrease.

“COVID-19 Joint Study was prepared only for the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Armenia and exclusively for tracking intentions and priorities of Armenia’s financial leaders on COVID-19 outbreak with the agreed terms of the Ministry of Economy”, said Avag Avanesyan, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Armenia.

The survey findings suggest that the urgency to reduce expenditures and cut costs is still relevant. Of those F&BLs across all territories who say they are planning cost containment measures, capex investments are the most likely to be deferred or cancelled, led by F&BLs in Mexico (97%) and Armenia (75%). Middle East F&BLs indicate they are more likely to consider layoffs, in line with the fact that they are more likely (70%) to cite workforce investments being cancelled or deferred. In Armenia, this percentage is 38%. Capex is also the top choice to be deferred or cancelled across industries, led by industrial manufacturing and automotive F&BLs at 93%.

Other bright spots include the confidence of businesses in their ability to protect their workers. In fact, nearly two-thirds (64%) of survey respondents are “very confident” their company can help create a safe workplace environment for employees and reconfigure work sites to promote physical distancing (55%). In Armenia, these measures were mentioned by 70% and 20% of respondents, respectively.

“Given the unprecedented nature of this global pandemic, it is clear that workers are very worried about being able to stay healthy and safe as they are asked to return to their offices and worksites,” said Inga Shakhnazarova, PwC’s Armenia Clients and Markets Leader. “The most important thing business leaders can do to address their employees’ worries is to communicate frequently and transparently about how they are working behind the scenes to keep them safe, healthy and employed.”

Significantly, relatively few global F&BLs (18%) say they plan to defer or cancel investments related to digital transformation. At the industry level, this ranged from 24% of energy, utilities and resources F&BLs to just 11% technology, media and telecommunications F&BLs. This overall reluctance is unsurprising, given that digital transformation stands to play a large and critical role in the latter stages of the mobilize-stabilize-strategize continuum of crisis response—especially as organizations accelerate automation or other new ways of working on-site, consider contact-tracing technologies to ensure workplace safety and look to create more integrated and tech-enabled supply chains.

PwC has created Check-In with Automatic Contact Tracing — a tool that allows companies to help quickly identify and alert employees who may have come into contact with a co-worker at the workplace who has tested positive for COVID-19.

“As more companies reopen, F&BLs are coming to terms with a new reality and managing their expectations accordingly,” said Alexey Rusanov, PwC’s Armenia Managing Director. “We are seeing many leaders begin to pull back from drastic cost containment measures as they figure out how to operationalize their businesses in a new environment that must take into consideration the calculated risks of operating during this crisis.”

Limitations in analyzing the Armenian FB&L responses: The methodology applied in the current survey prescribes that a certain number of respondents should provide their answers from each territory (generally, at least 30). Since the number of responses from Armenia was lower than 30, we present the information of Armenian FB&L as indications and sentiments and not as a statistically reliable data. The users of this report should acknowledge that if the number of respondents had been higher, other results could have been received. You can view all findings and insights by visiting: https://www.pwc.com/am/en/publications/pwc-covid-19-cfo-pulse-survey.html.

Global results from the COVID-19 joint study by the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Armenia and PwC Armenia capture the views of 870 CFOs in more than 24 countries and territories.

About PwC

At PwC the purpose is to build trust in society and solve important problems. PwC is a network of firms in 157 countries with over 276,000 people who are committed to delivering quality in assurance, advisory and tax services. Find out more and tell us what matters to you by visiting us at www.pwc.com. PwC refers to the PwC network and/or one of more of its member firms, each of which is a separate legal entity. Please see www.pwc.com/structure for further details.

Read original article here.

[theseoplatform]

5 Top Tips to Write PPC Text Ads

If positioned correctly, PPC ads on the Web can be an excellent option to drive high-quality traffic to your website. A powerful PPC ad requires the inclusion of best practices, which can catch the attention of your clients. Here is how you can write PPC text ads to improve your conversion.

1.     Focus On Three Components

Make sure that your ad comprises of three ingredients: features, benefits, and CTA, whether you promote a service or a product. Rather than capitalising on keyword stuffing, you can generate a greater impact by writing a captivating set of benefits and a compelling CTA to attract leads. Before writing these ads, you will have to review your business in detail, especially its USP (unique selling proposition). To do this, you can employ a strategy known as the feature-benefit matrix, helping you recognise your USPs.

2.     Avoid Repeating Details

Rookie PPC ad writers struggle to utilise the limited space available in a text ad. Here is the anatomy of a PPC text ad. Headline Character Limit: 25 characters at max. Example: A Discount Offer! Description Line 1 Character Limit: 35 characters at max. Example: Miss It at Your Own Risk! Description Line 2 Character Limit: 35 characters at max. Example: Register to Get a Free E-Book Display URL Character Limit: 35 characters at max. Example: www.abcexample.com/e-book Often, beginners use the same information twice. With so little space, it is important to be careful with your semantics. For instance, avoid adding the brand name in the headline of the ad. This information is already available in the display URL. Instead, you can place your keywords. Brand building is important, but when it comes to PPC ads as users are more interested in your offerings than your brand name.

3.     Add Active Verbs

The stronger your verbs are, the better you can get a story-telling, and design an improved copy. For instance, in an A/B test, two ads were run with similar information. The actual ad was made of a headline, “Air Conditioner Maintenance”. The second ad used the headline “Repair Air Conditioner” and was able to get a 100% boost in terms of clicks.

4.     Place Symbols

Experienced marketers are well aware of the fact that the addition of symbols in PPC ads can improve their conversion and CTR. However, refrain from overstuffing your ads with symbols or Google may react negatively. Generally, try adding exclamation points, numbers, asterisks, ampersands etc. For copyright and a registered trademark, use their single-character symbols. The latter two symbols can especially boost your reputation among your peers.

5.     Go for Unconventional CTAs

Try to experiment with your CTAs. For instance, show how much money your customer can save with your offering. Similarly, mention famous clients of yours to generate traction. Additionally, you can place a bonus offer to attract customers. Read the full article

[blockgeni]

Successfully deploying AI and ML in Startups

Success for an artificial intelligence (AI)/machine learning (ML) startup is offering AI-inspired products and services that lead us to a more comfortable future. Inspired by entrepreneurial success and lessons learnt the hard way, here are 10 mantras which may help you. 1. Solve a genuine problem AI, when employed effectively, is a brilliant tool for increasing efficiency and reducing our stress. But, with virtually limitless potential today, it’s easy as an AI entrepreneur to get sucked into the pitiful group of businesses that develop meaningless and insignificant "AI for X process." While you zero in on the type of AI model to build, ensure that it has the potential to revolutionise a process, and not just make it slightly more bearable. And, considering the impact of the coronavirus on world economies, building a unique product and solving a genuine problem will be the only legitimate way to survive. 2. Enter AI to innovate, not to trend I get it! In 2020, it's trendy to be a part of or run an AI startup. Hysteria similar to that of the dotcom era surrounds the AI space, and every business out there is attempting to roll out an AI solution. While that's fine, and it's great to be a part of emerging technology, ask yourself this question: why are you an AI entrepreneur? Is it because you're passionate about AI's potential and have a great AI-inspired solution that will add a remarkable value to customers? Or, is it because it looks fancy for a business to have "AI" next to its name, and because it might grab more interest from investors and prospects? If the latter is where you stand, I'm afraid to tell you that just like the dotcom bubble, the AI one will burst too. And in the end, only businesses with legitimate offerings will remain standing. Understand what it truly means to be an AI startup and venture forward. 3. Constantly improve your systems AI as a discipline is a growing one, and researchers and developers are regularly sharing updates on improved AI model development strategies and techniques. Stay on top of such industry news and determine whether the model you are working on can benefit from the latest research. AI models today by nature can easily find themselves outdated, so it's crucial to keep refining them. 4. Avoid false AI claims Branding has become so powerful that a savvy marketer can make fake services seem terrifyingly real. If you're guilty of branding yourself with terms such as "AI-inspired" and "powered by AI" while all your business offers is a simple automation tool, you've already begun on the wrong footing. Clients will be able to eventually see through the modern Mechanical Turk you've built, and investors will know too. Exercise caution! 5. Be picky with your training data Training data is the fuel that brings AI models to life. Similar to how a diesel engine cannot operate when filled with petroleum, AI models will malfunction when fed the wrong training data. Be it annotated images or categorised content, ensure that they clear all crucial training data requirements. Source from proven teams and allow no room for compromise. 6. Research before executing So, you have a great idea. But bummer! Amazon and Facebook are already 90 percent through the development process for what you have in mind. While that can be disappointing, what will truly break you as an entrepreneur is investing large resources and time into an already executed idea. As a startup, it's close to impossible to make a product that competes with the big boys of tech, for they have virtually unlimited access to the best engineers and data scientists. While I do not intend to discourage you from working on a product you hold a strong passion for, I've noticed a lot of budding entrepreneurs and product developers mentally suffer from feeling helpless while competing with big tech. Steer clear of this problem by doing relevant market research. 7. Hire only the required talent and hire smart Remember, as an aspiring entrepreneur, you're limited on resources. Only spend on what your AI model genuinely requires entering the market. Invest heavily in qualified data scientists and machine learning engineers. Also, you will require an effective sales and business development team that understands the AI space thoroughly, so ensure resources are allocated to set that in place. So yes, your primary requirement concerning manpower will be a team to develop your product/service and a team that identifies potential clients and markets your offerings. 8. Understand areas for possible expansion Businesses grow when they expand their offerings. Expansion is key for businesses to stay relevant, and with ever-increasing AI use cases, it makes complete sense for an AI business to explore their options. For example, if your business successfully sells customer service chatbots, you could consider creating something like a gymming coach chatbot. Explore your avenues and seize that bread! 9. Use tools to speed up your processes There's no need to waste time and money in building in-house tools for development processes. Your AI business can make the most of readily available tools in the market to aid your AI model development. Be it training data or libraries for differential programming across tasks, a tool exists in the market, for an affordable price. Employing such tools will allow you to focus more on the core model development. Simply put, if the tool’s in the market, make use of it! 10. Build responsible AI As guardians of our planet, we should always remember that the primary purpose of AI development is to improve our lives significantly. Consumers will love you for introducing an AI solution that can address a lifelong pain point (Eg: customer care chatbots, autonomous vehicles, etc). On the contrary, the world will despise you for creating AI-inspired tech that considerably reduces their quality of life (Eg: systems that threaten user privacy, fake news generators, systems with gender bias, etc.). Use your hard-earned skills to make the world a better place not just for you, but for generations to come. This article has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed. #AI#ML#startups#entrepreneurial#genuineproblem#businesses#legitimateofferings#AIclaims#MechanicalTurk#Branding#trainingdata#executing#engineers#datascientists#Amazon#Facebook#expansion#customercare#chatbots#autonomousvehicles#news#blockgeni Source link Read the full article

[warsoflaw]

General advice for those pursuing a career as a barrister specialising in areas traditionally funded by legal aid

 Why become a barrister?

Although lines between the professions have somewhat collapsed with the advent of public access (for barristers) and higher court rights (for solicitors), barristers do tend to focus more on advocacy and/or the point of conflict/serious (potential) problems. There tends to be less client-facing work (e.g. taking witness statements, providing general legal advice) and more legal research.

One of the major differences between barristers and other lawyers is that, from the outset, most barristers are self-employed. This is a very different experience to work in a firm as ultimately you are responsible for running your own business.

I’ve previously said that working as a barrister is kind of like being a student except you write an essay/take an oral exam nearly every day instead of once a week/year and somebody's life/home/family depends upon it! It can be very stressful but feeling useful and effective is also very rewarding.

Which chambers?

There are some sets who specialise heavily in publicly funded work but it’s not always easy to tell which those are - a chambers may look like a ‘human rights’ chambers but in fact works mostly for the government, against individuals. Look at the reported cases on chambers websites to see who their barristers are normally representing. Also check Chambers & Partners and the Legal 500 to see who is ranked and for what kind of work (although bear in mind these suffer from almost the same level as self-reporting as chambers’ own websites). Also if there is a particular line of cases you have been following/interested in, try to see who is acting in them.

Remember to look outside your city, especially if you live in London. Opportunities in other cities can be really good, especially as many chambers outside London aim to take on any pupils that are up to standard (as opposed to some London chambers who do not have as many tenancy places as pupils). With a lower cost of living and less competition, it can also be easier to establish your practice.

Many chambers will do legal aid work in criminal and family law but for other areas it might be harder to identify key sets. Some areas are so specialist (e.g. social security) there maybe only one or two barristers in an entire chambers with a significant amount of work in that area. Other major areas include:

Immigration and asylum:

London: 1 Mitre Court Buildings, 10 KBW, Doughty Street Chambers, Garden Court Chambers, Goldsmith Chambers, Lamb Building, Landmark Chambers, Matrix Chambers, One Pump Court

Birmingham: No 5 Chambers, No 8 Chambers

Leeds: KBW Barristers Chambers

Manchester: Garden Court North Chambers, Kenworthys Chambers

Newcastle: Trinity Chambers

Housing:

London: Arden Chambers, Doughty Street Chambers, Garden Court Chambers, Landmark Chambers, One Pump Court

Manchester: Garden Court North Chambers

Birmingham: St Ives Chambers

Scholarships (for the GDL/BPTC)

Each Inns of Court has a scholarship scheme, but they vary slightly in the way they are administered. For example, Inner Temple interviews everyone that applies and modifies the amount awarded by your financial needs. Lincoln’s Inn has set awards, and probably the largest financial pot.

Academics

There is no doubt that having higher grades will be (often literally) a point in your favour, as will having further academic qualifications e.g. a masters. Do not underestimate the usefulness of having worked hard at this stage - push yourself to get the best result possible and make good use of your tutors who can guide you to achieve your full potential. 

Remember there is space on the pupillage application to explain any out of character lower marks (e.g. a bereavement) and you can also compensate for a 2.1 at undergraduate level (while this is obviously not a bad result, a lot of your competitors will have firsts!) with good results in a masters, GDL or BPTC so do not see the latter two in particular as simply a hoop to jump through.

Mooting/debating

While not all chambers are interested in this, I would strongly advise any prospective barrister to do some mooting or debating. Firstly, mooting in particular can really help you with your academics e.g. by making you think out tricky private law problems or practise the advocacy skills you will need for your BPTC exams. Secondly, achievements in this area are a tangible sign that you have some talent in advocacy. If you are able to put that you won something or even advanced to the final stages, this could be a point in your favour. However, I do not advise listing a number of competitions you’ve participated in if you did not make it past the first round - this will not look good.

For mooting opportunities, check with your Inn, law school and local law society. International opportunities include the Phillip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition.

Mini-pupillages

Opinions on this vary but doing more than 3 mini-pupillages, especially if you are pretty confident about which area of law you would like to do, is likely to have diminishing returns as you should have a pretty good idea by then of whether you think this would be a good career for you, which at the end of the day is the mini-pupillage’s real function as few offer much in the way of tangible work experience and even if they do it is only a few days, making a marginal difference to your overall work experience history. In practical terms it can also take up a lot of space on your pupillage application (unfortunately there is not a separate section for this on the standard pupillage portal applications) and distract from more substantive work experience. Think also about what your mini-pupillages reveal about your interests - if you have done 3 mini-pupillages in personal injury/commercial sets and then apply to a human rights chambers, the person reading your application may think you are not really interested in their areas of law.

Work/volunteering experience

Unfortunately, work experience is more and more relevant to applications to human rights and legal aid sets, where applicants are often older and those recently out of university may find it hard to compete. The younger generation are impressively switched on to the need to start getting relevant experience at an early stage and are taking advantage of student opportunities such as law clinics, miscarriage of justice projects and Amnesty International student groups. If your university does not offer this, consider setting up one yourself - and check if there are funds available to support that.

Internships and volunteering are good CV builders but can be difficult to access for those who have caring responsibilities or need to work to fund their studies. Look out for:

Funded/expenses paid internships

Evening/part time opportunities - law centres/university law clinics often offer flexible hours that you could fit around other commitments. 

Bursaries e.g. the Human Rights Lawyers Association, Inns of Court internships, university study/internship scholarships for the academic holidays

Paid roles e.g. legal assistant to a barrister, paralegal in a law firm, county court advocate

Remote volunteering e.g. writing articles for legal oriented websites like the Justice Gap, the Student Lawyer or joining one of YLAL’s sub-groups

Also if you see somewhere asking for 4 days a week for 3 months, go to them and ask if there is any possibility they can be flexible and accommodate your constraints - can you offer them 1 day a week for a year, for example.

One good tip if you are not sure where to look for volunteering opportunities is to check the profiles of junior barristers at chambers that you want to apply for - they will often mention different schemes they have done.

In general, organizations that may offer opportunities include:

Multiple locations: Bar Human Rights Committee, Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB), law centres (see Law Centres Network list), university law clinics, Streetlaw, Amicus, Personal Support Unit, Shelter, Independent Custody Visitor, Appropriate Adult, Refugee Action, Magistrates, Independent Parental Special Education Advice, National Centre for Domestic Violence

Leeds/Bradford: Bradford Women’s Aid, Manual Bravo Project, Palm Cove Society, Solace

Liverpool: Vauxhall Community Law and Information Centre

London: Free Representation Unit, Reprieve, Justice, Liberty, Privacy International, Amnesty International, Minority Rights Group International, ATLEU, Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI), Article 19, Redress, Fair Trials international, Howard League for Penal Reform, Howard League for Penal Reform, The Prisoners’ Advice Service, African Prisons Project, Release

Manchester: Greater Manchester Law Centre, Manchester/Bolton/Rochdale CABs, Urban Lawyers North, ASHA

Newcastle: Families in Care

Sheffield: Ashiana Sheffield, ASSIST Sheffield, City Hearts

Applications

Make sure work experience descriptions are concrete - would anyone reading your application understand what your role entailed? If it’s relevant to the areas of law in which you would like to practise, make sure you explain exactly what work you were doing e.g. drafting applications or witness statements, preparing court bundles and what areas/issues it covered e.g. debt, domestic violence. 

Try to be precise and give specific examples to questions such as ‘What would make you a good barrister.’ Just saying I am good at public speaking is not as effective as pointing out you’ve won 2 mooting competitions.

Remember the application has to be read as a whole, it’s not just a box-filling exercise. Will somebody reading it understand why you want to be a barrister and why that area of law? This is especially important where you do not have much work experience, or all your work experience is in another area.

Get as many people to read your application as you can and do not be defensive about their feedback - just listen and try to take it on board. If you can’t do that at this stage (or, also crucially, during BPTC/pupillage), you will be holding yourself back from professional development and success.

Interviews

While interviews are daunting, there are lots of things you can do to prepare for them:

Read about current affairs related to law and your proposed areas of work. It is surprising how unprepared candidates are for really obvious questions related to the big issues of the previous year. Actually reading the Commission’s report on a UK Bill of Rights will mean you can deliver a much more detailed, impressive answer to a question on that topic, for example. YLAL’s facebook page and twitter account post many news articles and YLAL delivers a monthly summary by email which is also available on the website - it’s not hard to catch up.

Read up on recent cases from the areas of law you are interested in. Blogs like Free Movement, Nearly Legal, Pink Tape, Suesspicious Minds, The Secret Barrister, the UK Criminal Law Blog, the UK Human Rights Blog, Public Law for Everyone and the UK Supreme Court Blog are great resources

Think about ‘classic’ issues such as freedom of speech or religion and read around the major debates and cases in those areas

Be ready for commonly asked questions such as which law would you change (check the Law Commission’s website for examples of issues) 

Take stock of what you have learnt from your academic/work experience so far - jot down some examples of things that stood out and shaped your professional ambitions and understanding

Be prepared to answer questions about how you propose to run a business in the current legal aid landscape - read up on major developments in funding such as the Bach Commission report and the government’s legal aid review and think about what you want your practice to look like and how you could diversity/supplement income streams

Be prepared to answer ethics questions - the BSB Handbook is available free on their website and contains the full Code of Conduct with lots of commentary. If you are a student, even if not on the BPTC, you can probably find the OUP’s Professional Ethics book in your law library.

If you don’t have a question at the end of the interview, that’s fine.

If you have to do an advocacy exercise, some tips are:

Have a clear structure

Prepare a summary of the facts but ask if this is needed - the panel may not want to waste 5 minutes going over facts and prefer to get right to the issues

Really think about what your best argument is, and put that first. Think about what it is the judge needs to know to come to the decision your client wants

Don’t panic if you get interrupted, this an opportunity to show you can really engage rather than just read off a script. Depending on how much prep time you have, try to think about what these questions might be

If you get the exercise the night before, play it out in your mirror so you can check how your submissions flow, whether you are having trouble following your notes etc.

If something in the interview really stumps you, like you do not understand the entire premise of a question, then just ask. However, give yourself a couple of seconds to think first, don’t ask unnecessarily and don’t rush into an answer then realise you’ve misunderstood the question. 

If you are asked to give two sides of an argument, then don’t give some rubbish arguments for one side assuming the left-leaning chambers you are at wouldn’t want to hear that anyway - the point of the question is to test your overall advocacy skills, and anticipating the other side’s arguments is a key barrister skill.

Young Legal Aid Lawyers

This (free-to-join) organization offers support to students and other aspiring legal aid lawyers of all ages (young = junior!) in terms of advice, job posting and mentoring but also offers opportunities to volunteer from organizing events around the country to contributing to research and campaigns. It is particularly useful to join for those not based in London or big cities because it provides remote opportunities to gain work experience.

http://www.younglegalaidlawyers.org/

Other professional organizations

Other organizations you may want to join include:

Bar Human Rights Committee

Criminal Bar Association (BPTC students only)

Discrimination Law Association (£15 for students)

Family Law Bar Association (£15 for students)

Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers (£20 for students)

Housing Law Practitioners Association (free for students)

Human Rights Lawyers Association (free for students)

Immigration Law Practitioners Association (£90 for students)