Part 35: Chapter Thirty-Four: Return to Riesevelt

Felt and Fee prepared to sneak into Riesevelt, but it turned out they wouldn’t be alone.



You weren’t planning on leaving us here, were you?
Do you really think you can win many battles without Flashbang Poe?
Besides, we’ve already decided to help you out ‘til the end.
Alright, let’s go to East Regenbogen.

When they got there, they realized they should have checked Hagel’s visa more carefully.

Video- “Riesevelt City”

Experience Some Bonus Content

Soldier: Only authorized personnel may pass. Go back now!
We have this visa. Will this do?
Soldier: Let’s see…
……
Soldier: Let me see you do something.
What?
Soldier: Says here you’re a traveling circus group.
If you can’t do a trick, you can’t pass the bridge…
Ok, I’ll do something!

Fortunately, Felt and his friends are a veritable parade of weird stuff.





Needless to say they passed muster.



Soldier: I’m sure your circus will be a huge success.
Thanks, I guess.
Hagel! Why’d he make such a weird visa for us?!
Well, I sure enjoyed it!
Well, we got through. That’s all that matters.
How do we get to Riese Palace from here…?
If you need information, asking a bartender always works.

After passing through a busy market they’d not visited on their first trip, the reached the back alley where Noin’s friend works. There were already signs of the changing times there.



Lady: Please, don’t send me to the lighthouse…!
Soldier: Silence! Did you think you could insult Consul Theodore and get away with it?!
Lady: But, I had mentioned that Galahad’s unit was guarding Fort Zeyung…
Soldier: Precisely. Galahad takes orders from Consul Theodore!
Hence, Galahad’s protection is Theodore’s protection.
That’s just… wrong!
Wait!
We can’t afford to draw attention to ourselves.
Errr!

They went to the bartender to learn what was going on.



Bartender: And that boy… Felt, right?
Yes, it’s been a long time.
Bartender: This whole city has changed so fast…
What’s happening?
Bartender: Consul Theodore does whatever he wants, now.
He’s acting like he’s the king around here.
If he was good to the people, we wouldn’t mind. But, he is an awful person.
We just saw a woman being taken to the lighthouse.
Bartender: Now, he’s locking people up just for talking about him…
We live in total fear.
The way things are, I won’t be much help to you.
We appreciate whatever help you can give.

They’d need a different way into the palace, it seemed.



Why don’t we walk through the city anyway?
I’ve never been to a big city before. I wanna see it all!
He is what he is…
I actually agree with Poe, for once.
As long as we don’t do anything stupid, we should be fine.
Alright. Let’s take a look around the city.

In retrospect it should have been obvious how they could get into the palace.

Video- “Palace Tour”

Watch the Story Unfold

Ah! Hi Noin!
Whatterya doing here?
You know, this is THE main headquarters for the Imperial Army…
Hey Tolena.
Yes yes. What is it?
We really want to get inside Riese Palace. Can you give us a tour?
My my, that is quite a favor.
Pleeeeeease. We only need a small tour.
Hmm…
Okay!
You will?
That was easy…
But only because we’re friends.
Besides, if I had said no, you’d just climb the fence, right?
Well Noin would, at least.
I can’t fool you, Tolena.

Tolena led them to the main living area.



Please take your time and look around.

The first and most obvious thing they found was a portrait, which turned out to be of the late Queen Slaith.



Hey, why does Fee get to have a picture on the wall?
It… can’t be… But it looks just like her…
There’s writing underneath.
Portrait: Let this portrait forever portray my wife’s eternal beauty.
With all my love, King Slaith XV.
The 15th… He was the king when the Empire invaded this country.
So, if Fee was a baby then, does that make her Fee’s mother?
My mother?
This woman…
I don’t know. She looks like Fee to me. Maybe she’s married…
I’m sure she just looks the same…
Hey, there’s something over here, too.

The Empire had kept some of its own records here in the library.



It’s dated… 12 years ago. This went up until the Empire took over.
Record: …We are still searching for the children’s whereabouts.
Prince Maximillian is only 14 years old, but already shows great leadership capabilities.
He must be captured as soon as possible.
The princess, on the other hand, is still a mere baby…
Maximillian…?
This report is about Max.
After he escaped the palace, he organized his own army to fight the empire. He called it Simsilt.
…You know a lot about history, Gray.
That’s only because I helped Max escape when he was 14 years old.
Is that true?!
And only Hagel and I knew that Max was from the royal family.
He didn’t like to talk about himself.
But… I didn’t know he was still looking for his sister.
……

Poe continued to just barely justify his continued existence by finding another useful book.



[The Slaith Coronation]?
Book: A legitimate Slaith family member must pass a trial in the graveyard in the Dark Woods to be coronated and learn the secret Slaith fighting skills…
Secret Slaith fighting skills…
This must be what Max was talking about.
The graveyard in the Dark Woods…

They had found what they needed to know, and decided it was time to go before someone noticed they were in the Palace.



Yes we did. Thank you.
You’re welcome.
Okay, let’s go before the big scary man returns.
You really helped us out, Tolena.
It was my pleasure to help you, Noin.

Unfortunately, they did not get out quite as quickly as they should have.



Ah, there he is!
I asked you a question!
I was just giving them a tour of Riese Palace.
Hey! Don’t tell him that!
So, we have trespassers in the palace.
I don’t suppose… you’d let us go.

It turned out not to come up whether or not he’d let them pass.



Maid: The consul is out of control at the bar!
What? Tell me what happened!
Maid: Ahhhh!
She’s not one of your soldiers! You can’t just bark orders at people with that scary face!
Let’s go to the bar! Quick!
Yeah!
You’ll be there, too, right?
Y-Yeah!

Theodore was indeed down at the bar.

Video- “Theodore”

Watch the Story Unfold

My dear, I am the consul of the Silvaresta Empire.
If you accompany me, I shall grant your every desire.
Bartender: I’d never go out with a selfish and pompous jerk like you!
That was hurtful and uncalled for!
If you will not obey me, I have no choice but to send you to the lighthouse.
That’s enough!
Consul Theodore! You are the worst kind of evil!
Your reign of terror ends here!
You must be the remnants of Simsilt!
And me without my guards… Whatever shall I do…?
Accept your defeat!
My my, aren’t you a scary one.
Buuut…
You forget that a genius such as I cannot be captured by fools.

Theodore, being the worst kind of evil, took a small child hostage!



Take your hands off her, Theodore!
Oh, I don’t think so. You see, I will not be manhandled in this cesspool. Hmhmhmhmhmhm.
You dirty sleazebag!
Now, kindly step away.

Galahad and Gray were outside when he stepped out.



The remnants of Simsilt are in this bar.
I order you to destroy them! Hmhmhmhmhm.
Who’s the child?
A hostage.
A hostage?!
This is my brilliant plan!
……
I’ve seen enough…
Go.
Galahad! What are you doing?!
Taking children hostage is ever the right answer!
It is merely the act of a coward!
Er…!
You disobeyed me!
You actually disobeyed me!
There will be a reckoning! I swear it!
Let’s just leave it at that…
……

Galahad had walked away, allowing them to escape back to Fort Zeyung.

Video- “Revival of Eden”

Watch the Story Unfold

I now know my true heritage and enemy.
Sounds great!
Like I told you before, everyone here supports you.
Whether you like it or not, you’re the new leader of Simsilt.
Great…
But there are two tasks I must complete.
Two tasks?
Yes.
The Slaith Family Coronation and…
Finding the workshops.



They had just two workshops left to find.



According to the map, there’s one in the Dark Forest.
As I recall, the Coronation for the Slaith Royal Family must take place in the Dark Forest.
The Dark Forest is famous for its ruins.
We could probably find the workshop and the Royal Crypt in there.
Other than that, there’s one left in Tatalia.
Azure Azoth: Tatalia. So, it is hidden within the desert.
It may be wiser to repair the Tatalia workshop first…
Noin?
…She is probably still worried about Galahad.
We should leave her alone.
……

Felt was, if you’ve not gotten this, bad at leaving things alone.



No… Not really…
Look, I don’t know what happened between you two…
But, from what I’ve seen, Galahad is a great man.
He may be too honest at times, but I respect that about him.
And, I… I think you feel the same way.
……
I can see you’re cold. We should go inside.
Yeah… Thank you.

Their decision of what to do next turned out to be pretty easy.



The Dark Forest or Tatalia.
I doubt it matters which one we go to first.
Have we gotten any new reports?
Simsiltian: Yeah. He’s already returned to the Alha Village.
Alright! Good work!
What was that about?
Ah, we had this volunteer who was codenamed the Bomb Artist.
I had our scouts track him down to help us out again.
I guess he already made it back home to Alha.
Our scouts told him about you guys, so you should pay ‘im a visit.
Then, let’s take the road to Alha Village.
Your wish is my command!

And so they headed out to Alha, a village that was not entirely as it seemed…