Part 42: Oh, sorry, Estelle. I didn't mean to chew your head off.

-Amber Amour-









Faults: *siiigh* Wish I could've spent more time in the hot springs...
Noticia: Magazine reporters don't get any breaks! Speedy reporting is our lifeblood! And you can bet I'll have my latest report written up the instant we hit the dock!

-Silence-



Welcome to Olivier Lenheim's lovely solo recital.
Oh, Aidios, he escaped his chair.
Kloe, remember, you have a sword and you know how to use it.
Haha. Well, I saw him playing when I stepped out onto the deck, so I came by to listen for a little while.
He really is exceptionally talented.
Mmm...Your compliments do me the greatest honor, Your Highness.
If you wish, when we arrive at the capital I could treat you to a...private concert.
Screee-eeee?
Hmm...?
Er, Sieg, yes. That did not necessarily mean anything beyond the obvious...
Ohhhhh? You meant something else by 'private concert,' Olivier?
Heh, well...if you wish for it to mean something more, my princess, it certainly could...
SCREEEEE!



I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I won't do it agaaaaain!
Haha. Good job, Sieg! You're a girl's best friend!



Haha...I'm sorry, Olivier.
That was just Sieg expressing his...love. I actually think he likes you, on the whole, Olivier.
Screee! ♥
I shall bear his peck on my cheek with pride, then!
I must admit, I did not expect your escort to be so diligent. He is as vigilant as any of the human Royal Guards.
Haha. It depends on who I'm dealing with, I think.
You really are totally indiscriminate, aren't you, Olivier...?
Look, don't try to put the moves on Kloe in the capital, okay? Julia would, like, fire you out of a cannon--into the sun--if you even think about it.
Ah, yes, that cold, dignified lady officer.
She, too, caught my eye during the coup. The sort of woman who can take on ten men...She is quite something.
Hmmmm. Should the chance present itself, I should...endear myself to her.
Um...
Hm?
What's wrong, Kloe?
It, um, might not be a good idea to joke about such things around Julia, Olivier. I remember, once, there was a party at the castle, and a man was drunk and bothering us...Julia, um, took her sword, and...his clothes...well...
Wha--
You mean...?
She, um...'defrocked' him?
*nod*
I'll t-t-take that under...consideration...

-Amber Amour-

You know, the Liberl News wrote an article about that party. Julia gained a lot of, um, admirers, from high society to the poorest commoner.
I've always felt a little sorry for the man involved, though...
Seriously? Don't you think he got what he deserved?
I would presume nothing less t-terrifying from the lady knight who defines the Royal Guard.
But know this! The flames from which my passion was kindled shall ne'er fade!
Even if I must be stripped naked before her, I shall serenade her with naught but my lute in hand!
...I so did not need that mental image. Thanks, Olivier.

-Dancing With The Wind-



Passenger: It makes my heart rejoice to see it again...but it also brings to mind that recent coup. Something like that must never happen again. I've heard not all of the ringleaders of the coup have been captured. The few left may well have fled the country by now. Good riddance, I say!



Aldan: Your lovely white frame will be MINE...in this camera!



Rutherford: I hope it goes well...



Passenger: I don't wanna sit heeeere. Let's go outside! I'll be good, I promise!
Other Passenger: I said, 'NO!' The last time you said that, you climbed the railing on the deck, didn't you? You're staying put right here, no matter what!



Crew Mem. Alex: They've got...uh, 'different' personalities for siblings, I guess...I dunno, they seem really close. Looking at them makes you smile, you know? I was an only child, so looking at that makes me a little sad. I wish I had a little brother or sister that age.



Passenger: Sure, it isn't as big as Bose Market, but their merchandise is the best in the kingdom! Aaaaah, if I had the time and mira, I'd love to stop in and shop till I drop...Edel Department Store's merchandise is really of fantastic quality. Apparently that store's been the source of several recent fashions.



What's up, Estelle? You creepin' around the ship AGAIN? Man, you just cannot stay still, can you?
Oh, c'mon, I'm not a cat in a carrier or something.
I just...yeah, I do get kind of antsy, having to sit down and wait.
I thought you flew to Le Locle, though. That's a good half-day on an airship, at least. You must've worn a rut in the deck.
Uh, well, I was asleep for both trips, actually...I was so nervous to be going that I couldn't sleep the night before, and coming back I was wiped out from that last test...
I shoulda seen that one coming...
*giggle* That's definitely an 'Estelle' thing to do.
Hmmm...Leaving the country...I'd really like to do that someday, too! Maybe I could even go visit Mom and Dad...
Oh, yeah. Tita, your mom and dad are out of the country working, right?
Yeah...They're helping to establish orbal technology in places that don't have it yet. They've been gone for two years.
Wow, that IS a long time...I hope they write you letters or something at least.
Yeah, once every month. ♪
I, um, wrote about you last time, Estelle, and in the reply...They said to give you their regards!
Aww, that's sweet of them.
So what kind of people are your parents, Tita? Is your mom like you? I bet she is.
Like me? I don't think so...
Mom's got a really...um, powerful personality, I guess.
She and Grandpa kinda end up fighting and wrestling a lot over stuff.
...Wrestling?
Oh, but they usually get along really well! Dad says their fighting is just a way they express their love.
Well, uh, okay...
So what's your dad like, then?
He's not like Mom at all. He's sorta quiet and...reliable, I guess? He was a bracer until about ten years ago.
Wait, seriously?
Real serious. I actually talked to Gramps about that, and Dan was the real deal back in his day. The professor said he had to retire and become an engineer due to an injury of some sort.
Huh, okay.
They sound great! I'd love to meet them when they get back.
Yeah! When they do, come over to play and I'll introduce you. ♪
Agate, you'll have to meet them, too!
Huh? Why would I have to meet your folks?!
Well, you get along really well with Grandpa...and I wrote a lot about you, and, and, Mom and Dad said in their reply that they really want to meet you!
Of all the...
Haha! Time to pay the piper, huh?
Um...If you don't want to, Agate, you don't have to...
Nah, it's...fine.
Look, I'll stop by and say hi to them if I'm ever in Zeiss for work, okay?
Heehee, okay! ♪
Just so long as Tita never tells her folks about being in a peeping-tom sting.
Oh, yeah, Estelle! Do you know why the wind's nice and gentle out on the deck?
Uh...Isn't it just like that?
Oh, no! At the speed we're going, the wind should be really strong! We wouldn't be able to hear each other...We'd get swept off the deck, in fact!
Wait, seriously...?
Ain't there some bit of the airship that prevents that? Think I heard about that once...
Uh-huh! It's a side effect of the 'flight field' that keeps the ship in the air.
An orbal flight engine envelops the ship in a field that counteracts gravity, you see! It also has an anti-inertial effect on anything striking the field, and that includes the particles that make up the wind!
(...Agate, are you following any of this?)
(You're kiddin', right?)
But, um, generating a flight field takes a lot of power...You need a really high-output orbal engine to create the field at all!
Okay...So that's why people always say that it's the engine that determines what an airship can do.
Ahhh, okay, so that's why everyone's made such a fuss about that new engine for the royal airship. Ain't that thing supposed to be absolutely crazy in terms of how strong it is?
Uh-huh! Grandpa showed me the spec sheet for it, and its capabilities are waaaaaaaay beyond existing engines! Grandpa and the rest of the team at the Central Factory worked really hard on it!
Haha! I hope I get to see it someday.
The last time I came to the capital, I saw the Arseille! It's really, really pretty! Heehee! I wonder if we'll see it again.
Somethin' with the army, huh? If they're callin' us out to the capital, then it's gotta be something they don't want gettin' out. We gotta keep an eye out for the society, too. We'd better keep our guard up.



Zosimov: Yiiiiikes, I need to start getting stuff ready to unload when we dock. We've got sooooo much cargo to offload in Grancel.



Captain Petrov: We're above the Tratt Plains at the moment. The weather's fantastic. Why not step out on deck and catch the view?



Crew Mem. Roger: Let's reduce altitude now before we get caught in an air current, please. Looks like there's a bit of wind coming down from above...The winds around here change at the drop of a hat, so I have to stay on the ball about it.
Roger, Roger.
Crew Mem. Quint: La-da-laaaaaa... ♪ Yes, affiiiirmative. Immeeeediately restorrring cooooooorrect altitude, ba-da-da-bummmmm. ♪ La-de-da-daaaaaaa... ♪ Da-da-da-duuuuuuuum... ♪



Crew Mem. Nora: It has a long and storied history, which dates back to before the birth of the Liberl Kingdom. According to some theories, it's linked to the ancient Zemurian civilization, but the truth of the matter is unclear. Our vessel is currently in flight above the Tratt Plains. Please enjoy a relaxing journey until our arrival in Grancel.
Jimmy: Whoooooa! So that's the fort?! If it really is a ruin, then maybe there's some hidden treasure inside that nobody knows about!



Passenger: I heard that on the day of the signing, no civilians are being allowed into the villa where the ceremony's being held. Not surprising given that it hasn't been that long since that detestable coup, but...It would've been nice to see the moment it was signed, you know?



Passenger: To be localized and happening in so many different places like that...I've been around the block a few times, but I've never seen anything like that! I know they said it was safe, but I did lose my composure for a bit. We're on an airship now, though, so we're safe.
Those penguins will never get us up here.



Passenger: It's between Norman, who's promoting tourism, and Portos, who's been promoting the harbor business...I wonder which candidate will get elected. Even if you're not a citizen of Ruan, it's still worth taking note of. Speaking of, I remember hearing about some weird ghost rumor in Ruan. I wonder what became of that. Nobody talks about it.



Um...Zane?
Ah, Estelle! What is it? Need me for something?
Oh, uh, not really. It's just...
You kinda looked like you were lost in thought.
Mmm...Yes.
Just...remembering the past a bit, is all.
With that sunglasses wolf guy, right?
Yeah. We last met six years ago. At first, it felt like longer, but...it hasn't been that long, you know?
I guess not...
So, that man was your senior at your, um, dojo, right? What kind of martial artist is he, anyway?
Well...

-In My Heart-



Simply put, he's a natural. His reflexes are perfect, and his sense for battle is keen. When I knew him, he kept himself in perfect shape, and it looks like that's still true today. And on top of that, he knows how to utilize his chi exactly. In every sense, he is a cut above the normal man.
Yeah, his moves...I've never seen anything like that. I think he might even be faster and stronger in some ways than that Lorence guy, and that's scary.
I think you might be right, yeah.
When we were students, I admired that strength of his. Envied it, even. At least I did until six years ago, when he killed our mentor and master of the dojo, Ryuga.
Wh-What?! He...He killed his own...?
Ah, sorry, I'm getting ahead of it. They both agreed to the fight, mind.
Master Ryuga had long been aware of the darkness in Walter's heart. He'd grown drunk on his own power, and hungered for still more...Master constantly rebuked him for his actions and reminded him what the proper heart of a martial artist is supposed to be...
...the 'Living Fist' of the Taito style, that seeks to perfect one's self through the medium of honorable combat.
The 'Living Fist,' huh? That has a neat ring to it.
Ultimately, though, Walter never listened. He relished the power which the most aggressive side of Taito style gave him.
The aggressive side?
Martial arts are used in combat, and so no one can deny that they can be used to hurt people as much as defend them. And while there are many who train for the latter purpose, there are also those who seek to do the former.
Those who do eventually become monsters, whose fists exist only to kill...We call this side of Taito the 'Murderer's Fist.'
The...what...?



In the end, Master Ryuga challenged Walter as he was preparing to leave the dojo to pursue that path. They fought a duel to the death over it...and Master lost.
I was the observer for that match. I could do nothing but watch.
Zane...



To think we'd meet here, now, in Liberl, though...This is the hand of She Who Dwells Above at work, mark my words.
...
Oh, sorry, Estelle. I didn't mean to chew your head off. Or, wait, was it ear...?
No, you didn't chew anything...Thanks for telling me.
But, Zane...You're...searching for Walter to get revenge, right?
Haha! No, no. Like I said, their match was fairly fought. Master knew what could happen when he challenged Walter. There's no revenge to take.
O-Oh...Yeah, that's right.
But then, why are you looking for him?
Mmm...
There's something...I want to confirm.
Something to...Huh? Now I REALLY don't get it.
Hah! It's, ah, kind of embarrassing.
Either way, I'm still too inexperienced to find out...I hope I can sharpen myself by helping you.
I see...Yeah.
Well, then, I hope you can keep up, Zane!
We'll see, Estelle. You're the one with the shorter legs!

-Dancing With The Wind-
Oh, yeah, speaking of...uh, the story, not my legs...
I think I get what's going on between you and Walter...But how does Kilika fit into all this?
Erm...
It's...not really my place to say. I'll only say this much: Kilika is--was--Master Ryuga's daughter.
Oh...
I think you can fill in the rest yourself for now, yeah? She'll probably tell you the full story someday.
Yeah...Fair enough.
Anyway! Once we get to the capital, I should show my face at the Calvardian embassy. Can't wait too long or Elsa is gonna give me hell.
Elsa...That wouldn't be a strict, harsh-looking woman with glasses, would it?
Huh, you know Elsa Cochrane?
I've only seen her briefly, really. We were at the landing port, and she was in the middle of an argument with the Imperial ambassador.
Ah. Yes, she is not what I would call a fan of Erebonia. She's quite confident and intelligent, usually, but Erebonia...and their nobility...tend to make her see red.
I can kinda understand that, I guess.

*BING BONG*