oath; pledge; pact; covenant; alliance
the other day; a few days ago
northern part; the north (of a region)
absolute monarch; despot; autocrat; tyrant
obstruction; hindrance; blocking; disturbance; interference; interruption
cooperation; collaboration; association; partnership; (acting in) unison
before very long; soon; someday; of the previously mentioned; of that number; among them
to become possible; to become able to (do)
neighboring countries; surrounding countries
lowering; sinking; depreciation; price fall; punch line (of a rakugo story); (arch.) sword strap
resting one's chin in one's hands; brace (in construction); angle brace
to prick; to stab; to poke; to prod; to use (a cane); to prop oneself up with
it serves you (him) right; it's what you (he) deserves
serious; earnest; sober; honest; sincere
falling lightly (e.g. snow, petals, confetti); fluttering; flickering; twinkling; appearing and disappearing; catching glimpses
to peep (through); to peek; to await (one's chance); to guess; to infer
to pull one's hair back into a bun
squad leader; group leader; team leader
mixed with; mingled with; interspersed with; dashed with; sprinkled with
unfortunately; regrettably
soon; shortly; before long
inside this; in this; in here; among these; of this group; out of these
private citizen; civilian
to be lazy; to be slack; to feel dull; to feel languid; to feel listless
atmosphere; mood; a certain air; presence; (Earth's) atmosphere
complete change; about-face
example; simile; metaphor; allegory
(afternoon) nap; sleeping during the day; siesta
hound; hunting dog; gun dog
horn (instrument; made of animal horn); bugle; hunting horn
to hear; to catch (the sound of something); to hear about (rumour, etc.); to overhear; to get used to hearing
with a twitch (e.g. an eyebrow); with a dip; with a bob; with a flutter
to raise one's face; to lift one's head; to raise one's eyes
reorganization; reorganisation; reshuffle
show one's real ability; illustration of the distinctive character of (something)
question; inquiry; enquiry
expectation; anticipation; prediction; forecast; conjecture