Mission 98 (
Summary[]
At Eden Academy, Martha approaches Henry, now a teacher, to ask about his appearance at the school. Henry explains that because of a personnel shortage due to the war, the degree program has been shortened by half a year. Martha proudly shows Henry her Imperial Scholar cape, and the two resume their tea parties while they catch each other up on what they have been doing since they last parted.
Martha learns that many members of the troupe were killed
During an air raid drill, Henry escorts Martha's class to the school's shelter. Inside, Martha asks if Henry will be exempt from the draft as he is a teacher, but he corrects that they are only being deferred. Henry begins to wonder if even education is powerless in their situation, as his own relatives asked if he became a teacher to dodge the draft and preferred that he taught physics to support the war effort. One day, Martha is devastated to learn that many members of the ballet troupe she was going to join were killed in an air raid to support a war-torn Anber. Martha grieves at her and Henry's spot in the garden, and she later looks to him for support.
Henry and Martha disagree over her choice to join the army
Later, Henry is furious to learn that Martha volunteered for the Women's Defense Auxiliary and confronts her. Martha explains that her dream of ballet has died as the ballet company announced its disbandment. Henry believes she is giving up and tries to make her reconsider, but Martha proclaims that she is fighting back to protect what she has left, including him. Still stubbornly believing in his ideals to change the world and his principles, Henry could not refute any of Martha's arguments, and the two bitterly part ways.
Martha tries to confess her feelings to Henry
As the senior students prepare for their graduation party, Martha walks by the teachers' office and overhears that Henry's cousin has died in the war. The topic changes to Henry finding a wife before he gets drafted, with Henry saying that his parents have been pushing marriage prospects on him. Martha is shocked to hear this and cries to herself as she wonders what to do. Overhearing a couple agreeing to dance together at the graduation party, Martha knows what she must do before Henry leaves again.
At the graduation party, Martha, dressed in her uniform, invites Henry to a dance. Henry shows off his lack of dancing skills, to Martha's amusement. Henry then apologizes to Martha for how he had disrespected her feelings and ideals while forcing his on her. Martha decides to confess her feelings to Henry before their dance ends, but her confession is interrupted by the alarm for an air raid.
Characters[]
Trivia[]
- The chapter illustration is a reference to the album cover of Abbey Road by the Beatles.
- On page 3, a place named "Turindia" is mentioned as a bombing target. Its name might be a reference to the state of Thuringia, which used to be in the south of East Germany.
References[]