Reflections From A Mother
I was happy to finally get my request to have American troops guarding the outside of the Embassy accepted. With this, I was finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Now all that was left was the final details such as the schedule and where to get the food, which I could arrange with a couple of phone calls, so the pressure was much less. I had even managed to coincide the day of the visit with the same day that Admiral Mark will be assigned as commander of the United States Pacific Fleet, so it may help to give more weight to the President's visit to Japan.
The news of his visit was quite a surprise, I never expected something like this to happen. President John must have very high esteem for Cesar to even go all the way just to give him a medal. But I also understand why he does it, what he accomplished that day was extraordinary, and even though it was a group effort, he was the one who was in charge of creating it for the group in the first place. If I were to look at it objectively, he is someone capable of turning a battle around with his presence alone.
Many things had changed drastically since he returned. At the beginning of this year, I was alone and devastated, searching for my daughter. I was afraid to live in this house alone, that even if I met Maria there was no guarantee that she would be cured, having to take care of her alone. Then Cesar arrived, much different, changed, but inside he was still exactly the same young man who went out every morning to look for work and help around the house. The huge lonely house is now too small for the many people living inside. Full of completely different people, but at the same time in some way similar, all looking to be happy together. Now the place is always full of activities or things happening, people talking, people arguing, people happy, people sad. But all together as a family.
I never in my life thought that Cesar would ever have a girl, what a mistake I made. I really don't believe how he got it, much less how he is keeping it under control. When he came with Tamamo I thought he was lying about her being a Goddess, but the day she helped rescue me when I was kidnapped I had no doubt about her. The day Momo showed up I was angry with him, leaving aside that she was an angel, he was cheating on two different girls, an unacceptable act for anyone, but when he told her himself without hesitation, and at the same time she revealed that she was aware of Tamamo and still wanted to continue, I let it go, because I was intrigued about what would happen next. I thought it was only a matter of time before problems would arise, it was impossible for a relationship between several people to turn out well. But everything turned out to be much simpler than I expected, both girls, Tamamo and Momo were aware of each other's feelings towards my son and did their best to get along with each other, I believe that to this day there has not been any fight between them.
It wasn't long after that when the next members of our family arrived. In the midst of the horrible nightmare that was Aria's world and the beautiful fairy tale that was reuniting me with my beloved, two sisters emerged from the world of dreams. Two robots appeared out of nowhere, what a surprise Tamamo gave me when he cheerfully said that these two were his daughters. At first, I thought it was a joke, but now I think it is a beautiful reality. They are my granddaughters, I can't see it any other way. They don't express themselves much, but after living with them it is easy to notice when they are happy, and how often are those moments. With the two of them, I have relived my memories of raising children and how much fun it was, oh what beautiful day-to-day memories. From teaching them how to bathe the first few times they arrived or when they asked questions all around, giving Tamamo advice on how to deal with them reminded me of how my mother did the same with me when Cesar came into my life the first time. They now help me a lot with my work, but I love them as much as my own children, they are irreplaceable to me.
Lisa's appearance was abrupt like herself. A Yandere Demon thirsty for blood and death or at least that's what I thought, at the end, she turned out to be just a girl that had been through a lot, just like my poor son. With her I thought that the biggest problems in this family appeared, well in reality, yes, but when living with her you can notice how much she tries hard not to bother the others. It is also thanks to her that I am still alive because it has been several times that she has jumped between me and my enemies to protect me. She and I have absolutely nothing in common, and I couldn't be more thankful for that, because I believe that many things would have been very different if she was different from the Lisa she is now, I am really grateful for her help all this time. She and Momo are the ones who fight the most after Cesar and Maria. In the beginning, they really seemed like two complete enemies, but as time went by it became more of a rivalry to improve internally. Lisa constantly mentions that she picks on Momo because she reminds her of how innocent the world she used to be, while Momo tries hard and uselessly to instill some reason in Lisa. But when the serious moments happen both trusts each other without hesitation, Lisa is aware that she can easily take the wrong decision due to the heat of the moment, so she trusts that any family member including Momo can tell her the right answer, while the angel knows that she can't fight and trusts the demon to do what is necessary.
And coming back to talking about Momo, I think of all the girls here she has the biggest workload and is the least noticed. While Tamamo and Lisa or even Cesar are known to be good warriors, Momo on the other hand outside of her glass body is the most normal girl I know. She is smart but I can see that it was not a gift she received, she worked for it, studying diligently throughout her life. She is an incredible mechanic and engineer, but you can see how her experience in the field is her greatest source of knowledge. I imagine that in heaven there is technology far more incredible than what we have is primitive to her, but at the same time, she is quite ingenious and plays with our same limitations. The terminal that my granddaughters use was created entirely by her using only easily available things, the Empire instead took 10 years of research and millions in development for what she could do in a couple of days just by looking at a couple of pictures. I know many people who are geniuses at creating things, but if you put them away from their expensive laboratories and cutting-edge technology they wouldn't be able to do anything, Momo for her part I have no doubt she could repair an airplane with just stones and wood.
The other two girls are the ones who have been with us the least, but I can still see important things in them. Tifa was just a little tiny doll full of nerves when she arrived, she was afraid of the whole world around her, but how can I blame her, she came from a world that was completely hostile to her at all times. Now she is much calmer, at least among us, but her shy nature is still present. She is now also married to Cesar so she tries to be attractive to him, but she is full of doubts about how to handle their relationship, she has no problems with the other girls, but she doesn't know how to deal with her size difference with Cesar, everyone tells her not to make a big deal of it, but she still sees it as a big obstacle. Even so, her kind way of being is always present, she loves to help others in any way she can, and she is very curious about our world, whether it's helping in the kitchen, helping with Maria's homework, she is always paying attention and helping whoever she can. She has now been helping me a lot in my work, she is my second secretary now, and more than once I have asked her to call Xi'an to coordinate certain things, completely forgetting that the two of them don't know each other yet.
Levia is still a newcomer but she has also adapted quite well to living with the others, or rather we have are the ones adapted to living with her. I don't want to be misunderstood, I don't think anything bad about her, on the contrary, I find it very noble that she wants to leave her past behind and start again to be a better person. It's just that she has a lot more needs than others and there are many things she can't do by herself. She is always needing help even for things as basic as using the bathroom or getting around, but it's not a problem for us, at most a little inconvenient, but it's something we have to get used to because the truth is we and Levia even have it easy, she just can't walk and only needs a wheelchair, out there, in the world there are people who have it much worse in worse conditions and still bravely face their lives, smiling or even mocking the fate that life has given them, people like them are amazing and an example of perseverance. Levia for her part is quite saddened by her situation but I hope she can get used to it and start living happily too
Finally, Cesar has also changed quite a bit and I am glad about that. When he just came back he was quite sad or melancholic on a permanent basis, unfortunately, something quite common with the troops returning home after the war, someone who was not very interested in seeing the light of another day, I can't blame him, nobody really knows what my poor son has been through, not even me listening to his stories, the ones he wanted to tell, as I am sure he is keeping the worst ones to not bother anyone.
He is much happier now, is much more open, and has returned to showing interest in his old hobbies. He is back to building model ships or talking about cars more often. His face now shows joy in front of others and he is no longer as reserved as he was at the beginning. Little by little he is getting back to being the Cesar I used to know. I think I owe almost everything to the girls who accompany him because it is thanks to them that he has improved little by little and they are very tolerant of him because very few people could behave normally after seeing their boyfriends screaming in terror in the middle of the night and locking themselves in the bathroom to cry. Tamamo has done a job truly worthy of a Goddess by doing everything possible to comfort him and help him feel more relaxed and safe. Momo goes about fixing some of the damage he caused without complaining. Lisa also worries about him in her own way, because even she keeps silent and tries to help without causing her usual troubles.
However, there is something that still does not reassure me, because although it is true that he is now much happier during the day, it is also true that his attacks have become much more frequent, especially at night or when he is resting. As if his mind feels guilty for enjoying the happiness he has now and he has to pay for it somehow. As if he has to pay a debt that he will never complete no matter what he does. I hope his situation improves and doesn't get worse.
" Little by little he is getting back to being the Caesar I used to know" -> "Little by little he is getting back to being the Cesar I used to know" or is it intentional?
also, I think you should leave the title as it is. we already know the correlation from the first chapters, and if you are perceptive enough you can see that the story basically revolves around how Cesar basically is making Valkyria Squadron grow to face a... yet unknown treat...
or on how Cesar is basically and accidentally finding a way to calm his broken mind by growing his harem
at least that's how I see it and surprisingly it makes sense
César is the correct way to write the name, as it is how it is written in Spanish, the protagonist's native language. Caesar is how it is written in English and also a little mistake I usually make when I write.
Thank you for your comment, you don't know how much it helps me to know that at least it is easy to see the reason for the name, really. Strange as it may seem the biggest difficulty an author has is trying to know if the readers are aware of what is going on because we know the story, but we have no idea how a reader who has no knowledge will be able to realize certain things happening in the background.
Thank you very much for helping me.
@RedHunter2296 took you long enough...
though... there is but one question I have regarding the correlation... I made my assumption based on the events so far... but there is one thing that's been bugging me and that is that "The boss" at the start of the novel mentioned "I think being part of the Valkyries will suit you too don't you shouldn't agree. " btw I think here it should be "suit you, shouldn't you agree?"
continuing to what Cesar answers:
"What do you mean by Valkyries and permanent?"
"What do you mean by that !?"
"Aren't the Valkyries all women?"
this just screams that the valkyries are an already existing squadron or team or entity that is already working... so following that line of thought it can be speculated that they might be the grim reaper representation of the 13 valkyries making the mc the 14... another could be that they are a spec ops force that follows direct orders from the boss and can act independently...
another could be that they are a definition within the forces of the angels much like what Lisa was, a keeper of time... and with such a title, you would expect based on previous instances shown in the story mainly Lisa you would expect that Cesar would get some sort of authority.
also, the angels really are stingy not providing a... how to call it... an equipment fund for Cesar given the importance of its mission on protecting the codex what I mean with this is that they should have given him a monetary budget to buy equipment regardless of the fact that "she" can just call Stella and demand the equipment when pissed off or that they have a QRF battle strike group on stand by in case anything happens.
that's something that at least myself would like to know the answer to at some point
@Nemesis_nc
Well with respect to that line of dialogue, the truth is I have no idea, as I mentioned before English is not my native language so there are times when I think something is right when in fact it could be wrong, this is an example, I thought it was well written, but if you think it is wrong I will check it.
As for the Valkyries, I think the answer is in the glossary but not in the novel as such because I have not yet had the time to show it properly.
The warrior angels are divided into several branches, Paladins, Knights, Valkyries, Reapers, Space Marines, or regular soldiers. The lower ranks have a regular course like the army. While the more professional branches have different schools where several years are required to be recognized as a member of a specific branch.
Among some of the most important are the Reapers, because their work is easy to imagine the importance they have, in theory, they should be completely neutral because their work is sacred, the watchmakers also have a crucial task. While others like Valkyries in a little simpler, elite warriors spearheaded, quite similar to the Arksuit squads.
He was assigned to this one both for irony, as it could only be women, and the fact that this mode was easier to hide him among a large group but giving him specifically certain permissions, the main one not to be bothered or asked about his work by other factions, for example, the Vatican hunters, but I'm getting too far ahead of myself, I'm not there yet. Finally, of course, Cesar has authority, I think that has been demonstrated enough, what is still missing is to know what is the extent of it, but Stella or Lisa has never lied about it.
The angels on the other hand do not give him any equipment for two reasons, the first is that he is living in the human world permanently, and they do not want his technology to be discovered its origin, because something like an Arksuit which is a state of the art technology for the angles would be like regular equipment. The second is much easier and simpler, he doesn't really need it (Story and stuff) something like trying to decide for Escanor whether he is stronger or not.
@RedHunter2296
what I meant is money, not equipment meaning that Cesar can use that money to get the equipment and materials that "he/she" needs not that the angels provide the equipment for obvious reasons after all money is easier to get through on an offshore account that doesn't answer to anyone
that's what I meant money to get equipment, not the equipment itself
as for the authority part... yea that has been left pretty clear on the story so what I meant is in relation to what has been shown in the story and not on the glossary... and the assignment now is clearer...
@Nemesis_nc
Well, actually I think that would be worse, money is pretty closely watched all over the world. There is no money that magically appears and is legal tender without the banks asking where it came from or investigations, it can also be said that it could be gold or cryptocurrencies, which brings me to point number two.
As an author, I think is more fun than the way things are now because it presents modern and mundane, things that people can understand because they have lived it in some way, leaving out the fantasy creatures, things like having someone with a disability in the family, someone who went through a horrible time that marked them for life, someone sick, struggling to make ends meet for the house. I want them to feel that everything that the protagonists achieve has been because they have worked hard and fought for it and not because it fell from the sky.
The same with the battles, I wanted them to feel that they have been won with real effort and real tactics, that anyone could have done in that situation with the same resources, and not so much by superpowers that came out of nowhere. that is why everything is explained at the beginning, what is at stake, which equipment is available to the protagonist, and how to win or lose the battle, so that readers can imagine themselves trying to solve the situation with what is available. That's why there are no secret plans that the main character only reveals at the end.