Interlude - The Princess reports in (1)

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"To think such young people could defeat Red Rank adventurers! How fascinating!" the King spoke up happily, clapping his huge palms in delayed congratulations. "Could it really have been only a couple of months since they began taking missions seriously? Alfred, Ellen has been training one of those young women, right? And the other one was training with your guards? You should be commended too!"

"Well for Miss Kokonoe, being Jubei's daughter, that is not unexpected. Being Jubei's daughter she would have been training for most of her life under the tutelage of someone who trained our greatest swordsman. As for young miss Linze Silhoueska, Ellen has only managed to give her three weekends of instruction."

"What about the other one?"

"Young miss Elze Silhoueska only spent two weekends beating up my guards. I mean…" the Duke made a helpless gesture. "I guess even my own Captain of the Guards felt that it was too cruel to have her come around and terrify his men too often."

"Hmm. I suppose with Lady Monika's way with Sir Zah Playa, they would have plenty of practice training someone in a hurry up from nothing into someone well capable of protecting themselves."

The Duke nodded in agreement. The two were still fully convinced of their theory that Monika was periodically rewinding time for Playa and removing his memories as a way of pseudo-immortality so she doesn't end up alone.

"Are… are they really that strong?" Yumina asked. The performance of the Xenovivi hirelings didn't really impress her much, nor the demeanor of their sworn lady. "The border… is it really safe?" With those sorts of people?

"Ahahaha… yes. Well. They certainly are eccentric."

"The strength of the Zeno March may be worrisome, their conduct even more so. But their loyalty is unquestionable," the Duke offered.

"You must remember, Yumina, that these are people who are expected to go above and beyond with their lives defending us from an all-out assault by Regulus. All other forces fight for glory, the one thing that they require is to have no fear whatsoever of death."

Yumina put her teacup down and gave a pinched look to her father. "I'm sorry but… I'm reminded of something that Sir Zah said…"

"Hmm?"

"No person, no matter how terrifyingly powerful, can change the world alone. Personal power inspires respect, and is a stepping stone to other forms of power, but ultimately it is a force multiplier. The role of the hero is to open the way to victory. Without those inspired by his example to follow behind, any war can only rush headlong to defeat."

"Well certainly that is something that is… perfectly obvious," replied the Duke. "Though I suppose the death of a hero also impacts morale for the whole army as much as it inspires others to do better."

"And speaking of that," the King noted "you stopped before telling us how that odd young man dealt with his fight."

Yumina blinked. "Umm. He could have lost, you know?"

The Duke and the King leaned back. "That would be stupid," they both said at the same time.

"But that would be stupid enough that someone might think it was funny, so I can believe that could happen," said the Duke.

"Or he could be much weaker than he appears, but that doesn't matter because a good mind is a terrible thing to waste," said the King.

And then they spoke again at the same time like a pair of gossipy house-husbands "So tell us what happened!"

Yumina sighed. "And then Sir Zah said-"

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"A hero is not just some random murderhobo. Likewise, a villain is not just anyone who seeks their own benefit at the expense of someone else. What separates them from powerful but ultimately mundane operators is how much others may be led to live by their example."

Sir Zah tugged at his white gloves, opening his fingers out near his face. First the left, then the right. "It is so easy for those with power to get entitled and completely lack boundaries. That is why I must apologize for holding your mistress in rude contempt when we first met… and why her absurd over-reaction to disrespect is just bizarre."

And Miss Lydia responded "Please tell me you're not one of those idiots who try to cast with magic stones sewn to his fingertips. It's wildly inaccurate and eventually they get their hands blown off. There's a good reason why we put magic stones on the end of long sticks, you should know!"

Sir Zah paused. "Note to self: invest in metal finger caps."

"Oh gods!" Miss Lydia swore as she rolled her eyes up in disbelief. She looked towards Miss Elze and said to her "I envy you. I envy you so much. At least you are allowed to do something /to/ your burden."

Miss Elze cupped her palms over her mouth and shouted back "Beat his face in!"

"Do… do your best!" Miss Linze added. "You… you can do it! Maybe."

"Lydia-san, do not hold back. Punish him most severely if he tries to reserve his strength!" said Miss Yae.

"What even are you people, really…?" Lady Zorah huffed. "Is he your Cynthia? Is it fun to see him lose?"

And then Miss Lydia turned back to Sir Zah and raised her round shield. At her waist instead of a sword and dagger, she had a sword and wand. "Come, show me by what rights you dare call yourself the ABSOLUTE MASTER of WIND MAGIC."

Sir Zah nodded and stood very straight up. He held his palms level up to his chest, and then seemed to push down towards the ground. He very visibly took a deep breath. Then he exhaled.

Deep breath. Then exhale.

The wind rushed in, making the treetops shake. Inhale.

The wind rushed out, rustling the leaves back. Exhale.

And it was at that point that Miss Lydia realized she might have made a little bit of a tactical error.

She began to chant "Come, Wind! Gust, break through-"

Sir Zah spoke out "Come Wind! Force of storms, gather in my palms-"

"[Air Impact!]"

"[Heavy Wind!]"

A sphere of compressed air that would hit with force equal to being run over by horse shot forth towards Sir Zah. He swung his arm down and WHAP.

He just slapped that attack out of the air.

Miss Lydia frowned. She readied herself and tried again. "Wind, penetrate! Spiraling spear blade, [Spiral Lance!]"

Yumina was told from her studies that the [Spiral Lance] was equal to the Fire spell [Burning Lance], the Light spell [Shining Javeling] or the Water spell [Aqua Cutter]. The elements of attack magic all had their equivalent for a "bullet" or a fast-moving blunt projectile and a "lance", a highly-penetrating blade. The [Burning Lance] was more feared because it explodes on the hit, but the [Spiral Lance] was faster and almost invisible.

WHAP.

Again, Sir Zah just slapped the attack out of the air.

"How are you even doing that?!" Miss Lydia said. It looked easy, but backhanding a magic attack out of the way was more difficult than it first appeared.

Magic attacks were fast. By the time the hand dropped, the attack should already have hit. That was why everyone used wands – a little flick at the wrist, a big change at the tip.

Miss Lydia's eyes widened. "Wait, if you can do that, then you can also reach…!" She quickly raised her shield up and braced herself.

WHAP.

She was suddenly flung to the side, as if a great invisible hand slapped her whole body. She flipped around in mid-air and rammed her shield into the ground, scraping and bleeding away her speed. She dropped back down to the ground and looked up warily.

"What is that spell? An invisible mobile barrier?" she hissed. "Like [Cyclone Wall]? Wind magic might be mostly invisible… but it's not silent!"

Sir Zah smiled. "Something like that, yes."

He was always so silly and moving around showing his emotions with his body because his face was hard to read, but when he would just stand still and get serious it was eerie.

He waved with one hand and explained. "Your magic is a beautifully structured thing. You get as much out of it as you put in. No such thing as spell levels or ritual components or a limit to how many spells you can cast per day. No such thing as a mana bar, it all casts directly through stamina – which makes a mage running and jumping around tiring themselves out uselessly ahead of time and reducing the spells they can cast."

He turned towards Miss Linze and saluted her before turning back towards Miss Lydia. "Which is of course why it is /so unexpected/ and a spellsword can be a very dangerous adversary."

Then he flicked out with his palm and there was a loud whipping noise. "The secret to this type of Wind Magic is not the generation of gusts and pressure, but the control of motion. Unlike Earth or Water magic, there is less need to summon the elemental forms because air is always all around us. Everything is always in motion, not just the wind but the trees and the rocks and even even the earth beneath our [Heavy Wind] is a counterspell – it is the negation of motion. A [Heavy Wind] fixes itself in space."

Miss Lydia scowled. It was clear she didn't get much out of that explanation. That did not explain how the air slap could push her away. Unlike [Air Impact], she didn't feel any force. Could he make things weightless? Was it a hard vacuum? As a Wind Magic user herself, she wondered what strange lost magics Sir Zah knew from his distant country.

"It is said that that the beginner practices the basics to defend themselves, the novice seeks the one winning move, the expert has an arsenal of techniques for the right moment, but in the hands of the master the basics become the unbeatable killing stroke," Miss Lydia said reluctantly.

Then she shook her head and scowled. "But this is not enough. I'm not convinced."

Yumina felt her fists clench in sympathy as the Zenovi bodyguard readied herself again.

"Wind prevent! Silence visits, [Mute]!"

Yumina blinked. While strictly speaking, it was not necessary to speak the words of a magic spell, it was necessary to at least /say it/. A magic caster must be able to hear themselves. Trying to cast a spell without at least the motions of speaking drained much more magic power. Wandless, voiceless spellcasting was not a sign of true mastery, but something much more inefficient done in an emergency.

The [Mute] spell created an area of no sound, usually centered around the caster. It was not a stealth spell because the area was immobile.

Miss Lydia cast the spell not around Sir Zah, but herself. She held her shield up to cover the lower half of her face, and so now no one could have any idea of what spell she was going to cast next in this magic duel.

She cast a series of fast air bullets, [Air Hammers], the equivalent to the fire spell [Dancing Flames]. If Sir Zah was going to slap magic attacks out of the air, obviously the tactic is to overwhelm his defense.

Yumina squinted in disapproval. But then wouldn't the obvious response to shift to a simple wall defense?

Then Miss Lydia reached out and struck at her shield with her reinforced wand head. A loud reverberating sound rang out, and everyone felt their brains shake in their head. Yumina felt dizzy and about to vomit all of a sudden. This was the [Quivering Tone], her unique personal Null magic.

Sir Zah fliched, for it seemed the [Tone] hit him the hardest. He put his hand up over his mouth, and then the spread of [Air Hammers] hit his body.

He staggered, but didn't fall. He was bent over backwards almost in a U shape, but a pillar of air slowly pushed him back up to his feet. He touched the side of his neck with his thumb and cast [Soothing Vibrations].

Then he grinned. "So we're fighting with sound now? Good. Good."

Miss Elze palmed her face. "Don't sing, Playa. Just don't. You just think you're any good at it. You're a spoony bard."

Miss Linze giggled. "I'm always interested in hearing more things from Mister Zah's homeland."

Sir Zah stood up straight and shook his head sadly. He took a deep breath in. The air rushed in through the clearing. A deep breath out. The wind rushed back away, sliding around and tugging at everyone's garments. And he said "A hero inspires others to follow his example. I can never be a hero. Today I am once again… Alone in the Wind (1)"

Sir Zah clapped his hands together.

And slowly he drew his palms apart. And lightning crackled between his hands.

And the lightning began to SCREAM.

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Sir Zah pushed out with his right hand, index and middle finger out, and the lightning traveled out following the path to slam against Miss Lydia's shield. Her shield was mainly wood with a metal rim with a metal core. Fortunately it had a wooden handle and leather straps. The lightning crawled and buzzed like a writhing white snake.

"That's not fighting with sound, that's fighting with LIGHTNING, you misleading clod!" Miss Elze protested loudly.

And Sir Zah responded "Come, Wind. Lightning, shout. The voice of the thunder god, [Zeusaphone]!"

And then the lightning began to weep.

The lightning on Sir Zah's left hand arced to the ground and gave out a sustained bass line. The one from on his right kept pinging on Miss Lydia's shield.

Yumina could see his being shining from within. And then as the impossible music switched to something more upbeat, his true self contracted.

"And this – is MY [FINAL COUNTDOWN]!" Sir Zah screamed into the wind. (2)

The lightning pulsed with an impossible chirping music. From out of nowhere, brass horns seemed to sound. Strings wove in and out of the harmony. Lightning flashed in and out of existence in grasping tendrils. How could it be possible!

Such a variety of sound, an invisible orchestra… if there was the music of the gods, then surely this was it!

With only lightning…

It was vaguely possible, thunder comes after lightning. As a user of Wind magic herself, Yumina was taught by Miss Charlotte that thunder was the sound of lightning passing through the air so wickedly fast that it just breaks apart. The same reason that whip cracks happen, or if you wave your had very very fast you could hear the woosh of wind. Sound was just Wind in motion after all.

[Chain Lightning] produced sound like *crack!* *crack!* *crack!*, Yumina heard that before.

But to know that lightning could produce sound was one thing, this was another thing entirely!

If this was the music of the gods themselves, this was either a miracle… or a terrible blasphemy. It was sheer madness given form.

Miss Lydia could only cower under the repeated lightning strikes. Until, finally, with one resonant blow of the impossible celestial horn… the musical assault stopped.

She dropped down, flat on her buttocks. She breathed heavily. She looked up with a shadowed gaze and winced. "I… concede. I was wrong." She winced as she massaged the shoulder of her shield arm. "To make lightning itself sing… much much more than just a powerful magic attack, if there was anything that could prove ABSOLUTE MASTERY of Wind magic, that would be it."

"Thanks!" Sir Zah grinned and approached with a hand out to help her back to her feet. Miss Lydia flinched. Sir Zah stopped, and his grin dropped. He stood there, and Yumina could see his secret regret.

And then Miss Elze shouted from behind him "DANG IT PLAYA! If you could do this, why are you bothering with fried chickens! That- that was awesome! Go put on a show or something! You would so famous! Rake in the gold, you lightning kook!"

Sir Zah sharply turned back and retorted "No way! A franchise is technically in the rentals business, not the business of selling food! A performance can only be in one place at the same time! Passive income is still better than pointless fame. It's a hassle to be too well-known, you'll never get time to yourself again!"

And beside her, Yumina heard Mister Zanac snort. And then that turned into full-blown snicker. "Well, that's certainly Sir Playa for you. He has his own priorities."

If Sir Zah could have such unsurpassed control over Lightning to make it sing, [Chain Lightning] was surely an amateur's trick to him. And [Chain Lightning] was already known as the equal to [Fire Ball], capable of wiping out whole formations of armored soldiers.

But the fear was gone.

Once again, Yumina was struck with the brilliance of presenting oneself as being just some fried chicken-obsessed lunatic.

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"Pardon me, father, but is that why the Zenovivi family is so… eccentric? If they act so foolish, does it disarm people from remembering how dangerous they could be?"

"In the past, that was almost certainly the reason. Remember, the Zenovivi family are Regulus /defectors/. They became Belfast high nobility by taking sides against their birth country, though they had legimate grievances against Regulus Emperor before that. So that is why they are known today for their total loyalty to the crown, the unwillingness to meddle in anything unrelated to the border, and the sheer folly of involving such unpredictable people in any schemes."

And then the King mused "But actually, we really should try some of his chicken at some point. Is it really any good, Alfred?"

"I wouldn't say it's the best chicken in the world… but it certainly has its own unique flavor. Sir Zah has been terribly convincing that fried chicken and chess belong together, and I am quite afraid that I will get fat."

"That makes no sense, wouldn't the grease from the hands get all over the chess pieces? It would be disastrous if your fingers slipped and forced a wrong move."

"Chess is a game you can play with one hand, you know. More significant is if the feeling of satiety has any blunting effect on your concentration."

Yumina sighed. It was still working. Maybe she should consider having her own weird hobby?

Frankly she didn't know what they were so scared about. It's not like there was any dignity of the crown to impact. Sir Zah had… strangely familiar mode of conduct.

After some time, the royal brothers stopped their derail and asked her to continue.

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"I concede…" Lady Zorah said without any lingering heat. "It was a clean sweep. I recognize your strength and why these girls follow you. However, that will not save you if you harm one hair on Zanac's head!"

"Zorah, that is enough." Mister Zanac's voice was uncharacteristically firm. "Sir Zah is my friend. I trust him."

"F-fine. Ugh. Have it your way, it doesn't matter if you come crying to me later." She turned around and muttered to herself. "I don't understand… we have all worked so hard. We have to be strong to defend the whole country. They must fear crossing the Zenovi. How could we be inferior? Am I… inferior? If we fail again when the moment comes… this is unacceptable! Unacceptable!"

She glared hotly at her own guards. Miss Mynah gave an eloquent 'meh' of a shrug. Miss Sarah cowered tearfully at her disappointment. Miss Cynthia leered back in return. And Miss Lydia just sighed, and looked past her mistress' head to stare at Sir Zah, silently asking him to say something.

Sir Zah tilted his head aside in confusion.

Miss Lydia frowned and began to waggle her eyebrows.

Sir Zah sighed and coughed into his fist to draw attention. "You're not inferior. As long as you have an honest heart and wish to do good, as long as work hard, you're going to be the best around." He spoke evenly and with utter conviction. "Nothing's going to keep you down. You have the eye of the tiger, the thrill of the fight."

Lady Zorah put her arms behind her back and fidgeted shyly in place. "R-really..?"

"I don't think this is the end of it. What would Zorah Zornea Zenovivi be, if she doesn't rise up to the challenge of her rival?"

Lady Zorah looked up, and her demeanor just quivered with an eager sort of tautness. "A rival? Really? You mean it? Someone like you dares to think he's my equal?"

Sir Zah licked his lips and considered his next words. He tilted his head to the side, a sign that to those who knew his habits that he was silently conversing with Lady Monika.

Then he huffed and gave a sad smile. "There is a theory that great leaders display a certain 'weight', drawing people into them. They become an axis around which others rotate. And when two such personalities meet, they are strongly attracted to each other's weight so much that they crash and rebound.

"You and I, we will probably never be close friends. We are similar enough that our differences are all too compelling. Think of a wheel. One wheel makes a wheelbarrow. There's only so much a single person can move with it. But two wheels, becomes an ox-drawn cart and can carry a much heavier load.

"It is pointless for two wheels to be placed so close together. You have your duties at the border. I have my missions for the King. But it is enough to know that the other exists, and a whole kingdom may now move with a powerful purpose."

He smiled gently and spoke in such a throaty whisper that it made Elze and Yumina blush. "In the end, I think, we are no so different. I've been thinking… you lot are some interesting people. You're all strong. And… you have been raising flags all over the place, so at least for Zanac's sake, I am worried."

Sir Zah reached into his pouch. "And with that in mind, I have something for you." As one, Lady Zorah's four ladyguards tilted around their mistress, curious to see what he was talking about. And then they all squealed with glee.

He took out… a studded leather collar? Like for war dogs? Yumina frowned minutely in confusion.

Why were the others so excited?

"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh!"

"Mistress! How lucky!"

"This is a strong commitment. I approve."

"Bwuh."

Even Mister Zanac spoke up in an amazed pitch "Sir Playa! How did you know?!"

Sir Zah's facial expressions were hard to see, but the mischievous quirk in his lips told it all. "Take care of yourselves well. You have your duties in defense of Belfast. You should beware showing yourself to me again for petty reasons if you are not ready for the consequences."

Lady Zorah leaped backwards and pointed a shaky finger out at him. She screeched "You… you… YOU SCOUNDREL! I was right! You are a total degenerate after all!"

"I was wondering why you were going around picking fights with random people. Unfortunately, I am sorry, I have no time for a goddamn tsundere."

"You will not tempt me into your bevy of wives, you ruffian!" Zorah screeched.

"Yes, how dare you try to attempt to go where no man has gone before," spoke up one of the guards behind her.

"Even though plenty of women have already been there."

"LIES!" Zorah screamed. "ALL LIES!"

If Zorah was as concerned with saving face as she appeared, these people would already have their tongues pulled out. Sir Zah's body language showed that he was wondering if they had some epic levels of blackmail, if for some reason these hirelings actually despised their superior this much, or if really this was just their way of showing affection.

Mister Zanac began laughing. He was laughing so hard he ended up falling and clutching his belly in pain. But he couldn't stop laughing.

"You… you! I DESPISE YOU ALL!" Lady Zorah raised a shaking fist. "We are done here!" She turned around and tried to walk away as fast as she could without making it look like she was fleeing.

Her guards chased after her. "Mistress, wait! The carriage is the other way!"

And so Zorah Zornea Zenovivi left their lives just as quickly as she had appeared.

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The King and the Duke stared at Yumina.

"I am… reconsidering placing you in the care of such a man," the King huffed after a whole.

"What? Why?" Yumina asked, confused. "He's not a bad person."

"I… can't explain. Alfred?"

"Don't worry about it, Tristwin. It's probably just a joke. And you know it's all different in the world of consenting adults." He turned towards Yumina and asked "What did he say he would be teaching you?"

Something that Miss Charlotte should not know about? At least not yet, because no one's heart was prepared for that? Impossible new magics could lead a man to a truly terrible fate.

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"Well at least that's done," Sir Zah sighed. He waved one final goodbye to Zanac as they too made their way home.

"You are all quite strong," said Yumina. She looked crestfallen. She compared herself again to her younger cousin. Her advantage compared to Sue was that she knew attack magic, but she was just so much weaker than everyone else. "You're all… amazing."

She felt Sir Zah's hand drop on top of her head and fluff her blond hair. "Heh, and what makes you think you're not going to be pulling your own weight? The reason why we've gone so far is from cross-skill training. You can only go so far with people of your own skill level.

"But Linze strongly benefited from unconventional magic, and physical combat with such a skilled swordswoman as Yae. Who contrariwise had little practical experience fighting against magicians. And Elze's brute strength needed precision and a more long-term strategy. And if I had been challenged on swordsmanship, I'd have lost.

"That woman was so obsessed with one's place in the world, but here… there is a place for everyone. As a franchise owner, the word I operate with is "niche". A specialization for a specific need is always valuable. Don't worry about it, Princess. I may be the absolute master of Wind magic, but I don't know a lick about Dark magic."

"Um, but don't you also have a [Dark] affinity, Mister Zah?" asked Miss Linze.

"I have a lot to learn."

Yumina frowned slightly. But wouldn't him learning all the Dark Magic that she knew just make her redundant? She would learn his Wind magic, but she had no illusions of ever becoming his equal there.

Then she thought about it… Dark Magic was all about summoning and curses. The Lizardmen that attacked Sue were called by a Dark Magic spell. Summoning spells were nicely multiplicative – two portals with two summons meant the difference between, say ten extra bodies on the field… or twenty. Two extra monster beasts could protect left and right, instead of just one more combatant for distraction purposes.

She nodded to herself, satisfied. She had a place here. That was fine.

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"Then we should be grateful. I would really like to thank him again. It's a pity he decided not to enter the Palace," the King sighed. They just dropped Yumina down at the doorstep of the Palace and then skedaddled swiftly. "We will see them again when the delegation is ready to leave, at least."

"It's actually somewhat… no, it /is/ rude to reject an invitation by royalty," said the Duke. "It's also a powerful enough statement that Sir Zah can refuse so blatantly and not cause offense. Are we offended, Tristwin?"

"No, of course not."

"Well I am offended, because he still owes me a rematch!" the Duke of Ortlinde growled. He had become quite obsessed with chess and one could only really grow stronger by challenging stronger players.

He would have even gone all the way to Reflet to challenge Sir Zah Playa's chess salon, if only the other strongest player there – Mister Dolan – had not gone away to Mismede too.

"Um. From what I have observed… Sir Zah has a problem with being thanked so effusively. I mean no offense, father – but he has saved your life, and we are forever in his debt. But it's not that he considers it an insignificant thing, it's just that he needs only to be thanked once. Also the others might be… uncomfortable… being in the presence of royalty."

"Are you still hiding your identity?"

"No, it would not be good for team cohesion to keep secrets. But as a team, to be a princess is irrelevant. We have our comraderie more important than any social differences. As long as I am part of the party, I am the youngest and the last in command."

The Duke leaned back in his chair and gave a relaxed sigh. "Well at least he's not visiting me at my house now. If he's just walking and shopping around the city, it's not my problem anymore if-"

And then there was heavy knocking on the door to the private tea room. "Come in," the King said.

One of the Royal Guards hurried inside and spoke up "Your Majesty! There is a problem! Those people you asked us to keep an eye on… we just received word, there's been an incident!"

"What?! What happened?!"

Everyone stood up in panic. Thoughts of Zah Playa doing everything from offending a noble to being under arrest to open fighting and rioting in the city.

"There's Living Armors running amuck in the West District!"

Yumina blinked. Living Armor? Weren't those the undead monster beasts born of the lingering feelings of people who died leaving heavy regrets? And wasn't the West District the wealthy residences?

The Duke of Ortlinde sat back down and closed his eyes and gave a slow shuddering sigh. "Nothing broken /in/ my house… not my problem."

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AN:

(1) youtube /watch?v=VWVZXjDA13Q

(2) youtube /watch?v=pyTC0Ggufak