Part 125: It is not an overstatement to say that the future of Liberl may rest on your shoulders.

-Obstructive Existence-



This fight can be pretty nasty.



These monsters can all buff their allies' STR and DEF, or debuff the party. I was lucky to avoid both moves here.



They also can't be AT-Delayed.



On the other hand, just look at that starting formation.







What a bunch of pricks.











Now if one of them had actually used this while there were still allies to boost, I would have been in trouble. It's probably best to just go in with 800 CP and nova the little ones down immediately. Bring Tita too, because Vital Cannon is your best counter for their stat-dropping Shivering Spiritual.







-Royal Castle-



Guardsman: It's rare to see people visiting the royal villa in the midst of chaos like this. If you wish to enter, you're welcome inside. Right now it's just a small selection of staff along with us guards.



Chamberlain Raymond: Just doing nothing is nerve-wracking, so I've decided to start cleaning the villa from top to bottom. Idle hands make for idle thoughts, as the saying goes. And since all of my idle thoughts are filled with worry...I'd much rather work. Now we just have to wait for the queen's orders.
Simone: No way am I gonna lose! We're having a contest to see who can clean the most rooms, and you can bet that I have every intention of cleaning house!
Nena: Oh, Simone, you're totally getting played by Raymond. But, if you're going to call it a contest, then I won't hold back!

With the villa unoccupied, the servants are throwing a wild party. We'd better get clear before the cops show up.



-Town Where The Lights Went Out-



Dick: ...Talk about inconvenient...It's so dark at night that I can't even go to the toilet.
Troy: The night is soooo dark that you can see lots of stars. It's so pretty!
Raleigh: Dick's a scaredy cat who can't even go to the toilet on his own...So, it's not really any different from normal.



Nonna: Seems he's going to run a shop, but that old guy is just plain suspicious if you ask me.



Estelle, everyone...and Joshua. Welcome back. I'm glad you've returned safely.
Hello, Elnan. I'm sorry if I worried you.
No, hardly. I'm just glad to see you well.
I hope you'll continue to be a valuable member of the guild.
Sorry to cut in, Elnan, but how're things here in Grancel?
Yes, well...the city's in chaos thanks to the sudden shutdown of all orbal devices.
The local factory is snowed under in repair requests, as I understand it.
However, Queen Alicia has made a proclamation. She has declared that the government is devoting every resource to investigating and reversing the shutdown phenomenon...and that citizens should try to continue their daily lives as best they can. It seems to have quelled the worst of the panic, for now.
Looks like Queen Alicia's on top of it as always!
Yes...But that giant flying...thing above Valleria Lake...The citizens are putting two and two together, and saying it's the cause of the orbal problems.
I see. That's not very surprising.
The number of people staring at it in the harbor grows hourly. Beyond that, the only other major change is that the gate to Grancel Castle won't open, courtesy of the orbal suspension.
Okay...Things are calmer here than I thought they'd be, honestly.
Yes. If this situation drags on, however, I don't think things will remain so...placid. We need to restore communications across the country so that we can organize a solution as soon as possible.
And so we need to restore the phones in each city.
Meaning our mission is pretty critical.
Let's get back to it, then.
We still have Ruan and Zeiss left.
Yeah, let's hurry!
It is not an overstatement to say that the future of Liberl may rest on your shoulders. Good luck, all of you.



'Ooh, you don't need to worry about Grancel, Kloe and Kevin will take care of it.' Pffff.



Zacharias: A few days ago all orbal driven equipment stopped working. No clue why...At this rate, though, I'm out of a job.
Oh, right, of course. Don't worry, though! I THINK we have a little something to help with that.
Zacharias: A 'little something'?
Let me explain.


Zacharias: Izzat true?! Well, the equipment's right there. Could ya give it a shot?
Yeah, if you don't mind.
Well, then, if you'll let me borrow the equipment for a moment...


Zacharias: Ohhh...It really worked! All right, if you wanna tune your orbments, now's the time. Still, those generators or whatever are incredible. Just to check...Would you be willin' to sell one?
Uh...
Zacharias: Even if the cost's a bit high, I'd be interested. After all, if my equipment was the only stuff that worked, I'd rake in the mira!
I wish we could, but...
I'm sorry. They're needed for an important mission. Besides, even if you were able to open your factory, the citizens can't use their orbments. So, there wouldn't be much point, you see.
Zacharias: Mmm, there is that problem, huh...Well, bring that when you come by. If you do, you'll be able to use the factory like normal.



Fisher: This is exactly the time to get the citizenry to enjoy fishing and calm themselves. They'd also secure food supplies, so it's two birds with one stone.



Editor-In-Chief: However, I don't think you lot are the sort of journalists to be deterred by small stuff like that.
Noticia: Of course not! We have a job to do!
Editor-In-Chief: Exactly. Many of the citizens now have no access to information and are trapped by anxiety and fear. This is EXACTLY the time for us to provide accurate information and contribute to society.
You ain't gotta tell me twice...That's exactly the reason us journalists exist.
But, but, Nial. It'll be hard to get an article without even orbal cameras working, ya know.
Editor-In-Chief: Dorothy is right, most of our equipment doesn't work. However, to use that as a reason to abandon the duty of mass media is the utmost of unacceptable. Everyone, I don't care what you do, do anything you can come up with to get our next edition out there!



Oh, hey, Estelle...And Joshua...Been quite a while, huh?
It has, indeed. You're as busy as always, Nial.
Yeah, I told the editor the same thing, but somethin' like this ain't gonna stop my pen. That's just how companies want it.
But what do you plan on doing without being able to use orbments?
Yeah, that's the problem. With things as they are, we can't even use Dorothy's camera.
Well, I got some ideas, though. After this I'm gonna meet with Queen Alicia and have her listen to 'em.
Sounds like you're working pretty hard. Kind of a relief.
So...Joshua. I gotta admit, I wanna interview you real bad. I'll put that off for now, though.
Still, you be ready for my pen.
Haha...Go easy on me.
I've got a lot of problems and things to do, but I can't afford to space out. For a journalist, the first thing to do is take action.



Hey, Dorothy. Been a while.
You really came back. Good for you, Estelle!
Y-Yeah, I guess.
I'd love to get a memorial shot...But, my camera isn't working. *siiiiiiigh* It really messes with my groove.
Ahaha, I guess your camera's pretty important to you, Dorothy.
Of course it is! It's my claim to fame, ya know.
I wanna take loooots of pictures of that cute little floaty island soon. ♥
Haha, ah...you're the same as always, Dorothy.
The Editor-In-Chief seems really cool today. I can hardly believe he's the same guy people always call that old sly fox. Heehee.
Editor-In-Chief: Hey, you guys. I don't think of this situation as a threat at all. If anything, this is exactly when the true worth of the Liberl News Service will be tested.
Noticia: Yeah, yeah, the Editor-In-Chief has it. All right, even if I have to write it by hand, we are putting out the Liberl News!
Faults: I thought so during the coup d'etat, but being pushed into a corner only makes things more exciting, huh. Maybe I'll write an article about simple recipes you can do even without orbments. All right, let's do this!

I took a look in the sewers on this side of town, but didn't see anything new.

The house that Nonna mentioned is on the north side of Baral's cafe.





Clerk: Welcome...







Um--
I didn't expect to see you here.
Oh, do you know him, Joshua?
Estelle, you know this person as well as I do.
I do?! Is he with the society?
No, not quite.

-Silence-

So, if you don't mind, I'd like to hear the details...Former mayor of Ruan...Mister Dalmore.
WHAT?!
Clerk: Tch...

-We are the Capua Family!-

Wh-Why are you here...?
I believe you are supposed to be in holding at Leiston Fortress.



I am here with ALL proper permissions.
Proper permissions? Yeah, THAT'S not suspicious.
H-How rude!
Considering what happened in Ruan, asking me to believe you would be insane! After what you did to innocent children! ORPHANS, I MIGHT ADD.
Erm...
Estelle, let's hear him out first.
We can decide if he's worth trusting after that.
Ugh. Fine.
You must understand that I, too, am a victim of that case. After all, my memories of that period are quite vague, as if I were controlled by someone. On top of that, I had to pay an enormous bail from what little fortune I had left to my name.
I see, that's why...
Bail? What's that?
It means that by paying a certain amount of money, you can be set free until your guilt has been proven.
So what, any deed can be forgiven with money?
Nothing is forgiven. Liberl's justice system works on a principle of innocent until proven guilty. Until your guilt is established, you are granted personal freedom by paying a heavy amount of mira to act as assurance against your fleeing.
Of course, you're not permitted to leave the area or hide during that time.
Precisely.
Hmmm. I'm still not digging it.
Basically, it means that it's not that impossible for Dalmore to be here. It is true that there were also extenuating circumstances...
But what are you doing here?
As you see. To rebuild the Dalmore family, I intend to make a new start. First, I am starting a business here to save money towards rebuilding.
A business?
So what kind of store is this?
Sepith.
Sepith?!
SEPITH
Yes, there is no store anywhere in Liberl that trades in sepith. Quite the genius venture, if I do say so myself.
You're right...
Still, wouldn't it be difficult to get enough sepith to actually run a business on?
A-Ahem!
I have my own secret channels to procure stock through.
Aaaand there he goes with the suspicious stuff again...

-Town Where The Lights Went Out-

Even the punishments of hell can be bought off...Welcome to the Dalmore Firm. Heh...If you want sepith, we can provide as much as you might wish. Of course, we will require you to pay appropriately.



There are maybe a dozen people in Liberl who would have any use for sepith while the orbal suspension is in effect, and they all hate Dalmore's guts. A genius venture.

His rates are awfully steep anyway. It takes multiple hundreds of sepith to synthesize any grade 4 quartz; EP 4's total cost is 700, and EP Cut 4 will run you 1400. I'll stick to Shining Pom abuse. If I blow all my money on anything, it'll be Orvid's ingredients.

I just hope Dalmore finds time to give Gilbert a call. I think that guy's been pining.



Lakeisha: Whenever I try to get a good look at his face, though, he hides in the back of the store. Maybe he's shy? My husband went off to the harbor in order to defend the warehouses. I wonder if he's finally latched onto something? All my hard work's paid off!



Katrina: I wonder if he's safe...I wish I could at least contact him.



Dalia: At the very least, I'll keep the missus and Rianne safe in place of the good sir!



Rianne: If only the sun wouldn't set...



Royal Army Soldier: Well, one way or another, it doesn't change the fact that it's freakin' inconvenient, so I hope they fix things soon.





Sister Noah: After that, he left right away...And he still hasn't come back. There was some kind of understanding about this between the archbishop and Father Kevin...



Archbishop Currant: This occurrence is no trial from the Goddess, I'm afraid...
Bishop Reval: A little while ago, I got a package for Father Kevin from a suspicious-looking pair of men. It isn't that big, but it's wrapped very tightly. I was told by the archbishop to deliver it as soon as possible. But I can't help wondering what's in it...



Private Datten: A number of civilians have gone off to look at it.



Phelio: We have no way of knowing when ships will arrive...So if the orbments have stopped, does that mean the ships have stopped too?...Ruan's casino didn't use any orbments, did it? If I've gotta work, then I might as well go on a casino vacation...Wait, no, I'm an idiot! Bad thoughts! BAAAAD THOUGHTS! I promised my wife I wouldn't get involved with gambling again. More to the point, the airships aren't even working, right?





Sightseers: You can see it all the more clearly today...
Very curious...How is that thing floating if orbments aren't working?
Hmmm, the more I look, the stranger it is.
I wonder if someone's riding that object...
P-Please don't say something so scary. Wh-Who's riding it?!



Rob: I didn't think I'd be surprised at anythin' that showed up anymore, but...What is that weird thing that appeared in the sky...?



Sightseers: There's a biiig flying island!
I've seen a lot in my long life, but...I've never seen anything that odd! Is the rumor that orbments aren't working thanks to that true?
Ever since that object appeared, orbments have stopped working! Can't the Royal Guard shoot it down in the Arseille? I suppose the Arseille can't move either, though, can it...
I-I didn't see anything! No way a freaky thing like that's real! I disbelieve! I disbelieve!!

Two city blocks down, two to go.