The next day, those with parents started trying to convince them that fleeing was the right decision.
Sallia had the easiest ti of it. Her parents were aware of my existence, since both of us lived in the slums and there was no reason to keep our friendship hidden. When Sallia ntioned that Verne had lost fort Branzo, her parents got very twitchy. A big loss on the front lines probably ant that the army recruiters would be more desperate than before to get fresh blood into the army and help stabilize the front lines, and Sallia’s father was only a little out of the age range for being dragged into the army again after his initial mandatory years of service. He was a factory worker for a gun factory, which would normally save him from being called back to the army - but if the army got desperate enough, it was hard to say whether they would still call him back in.
When Sallia ntioned that I was fleeing the city with my ‘parents’ and my little brother, they seed more than happy to tag along with us. Of course, Sallia’s parents seed to expect that they would return to the city after the war was settled. They seed to believe that given Verne’s industrial prowess, it was unlikely to lose the war - things would just get dangerous for a while. I didn’t know how strong each country’s army was, so I didn’t have a strong opinion about who would win the war - I just didn’t want to get dragged into the conflict sohow. But when Sallia ntioned her parent’s assumptions, I did start thinking about where I wanted to go after leaving the city. And that brought to a surprising conclusion.
I was actually kind of interested in leaving the country. I intended to ask Old Mo where he was heading after we left the city, and then possibly follow along if he had so sort of organized plan. I currently suspected he was a spy for another country, or possibly a retired spy for our own country. If he had a contact that could help us settle down in a new city, I would be happy to try living sowhere else.
If we returned to this city, life would probably continue in much the sa way it always had. I would return to being a slums kid, barely scraping by from one week to the next and thinking about money. When I got a little older, I would have the ability to start working as a shady healer, which would earn so more money, and probably a good amount of influence achievent from healing people. But ultimately, my Achievent gains - and more importantly, the entirety of my life - would probably never amount to much in this world. Becoming a shady healer wasn’t my idea of an ‘ideal future,’ even if it was ‘good enough’ to get by. But I wanted more out of life, and at least in this city, pulling myself up in the world was incredibly hard. With Old Mo’s help, or with a fresh start away from the prying eyes of Verne’s military, I would have an easier ti becoming sothing more.
When I ntioned this to Felix, Sallia, and Anise, they were mostly in favor of the idea. Felix was in much the sa position I was, and Sallia and her family were also scraping by in this city.
Anise herself didn’t seem to mind the idea of moving. However, her parents proved to be a bigger stumbling block.
Shortly after she went to have a talk with her parents, she returned to the communication bracelets. Her ntal voice sounded glum when she spoke with us.
she said.
I frowned. I had sowhat anticipated soone’s family not being willing to leave. After all, our families had lives outside of us. Even if the four of us were in favor of fleeing the city before the army arrived, others might not be willing to leave behind everything they had built up here.
Anise’s family was also the wealthiest one among the four of us. They had the most to lose, so it made sense they were the most reluctant to leave.
I asked.
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