Part 57: When she joins us...it will be entirely of her own volition.

-In My Heart-



What kind of relationship did you have with that girl? And what do you know about the Society of Ouroboros?
...
Captain Amalthea...Kanone. Stop being stubborn.
At this point, you're making things worse not only for yourself, but for your men as well. I can't believe that's what you want. Is it?
Hmph. We all went into this prepared to lay down our lives. You'll need to come up with a better threat than that, CAPTAIN Schwarz.
Stop trying to play the martyr! You saw it, same as any of us! That gigantic orbal weapon! Do you not understand that an organization which can field such a thing has infiltrated the kingdom?! How can you not understand the gravity of this situation?!
...
Captain Amalthea...
Colonel Richard is, in many ways, a lover of Liberl. He wished for us to be able to stand, independently, against any threat we would ever face. I KNOW he wanted that, if nothing else.
And now, dark clouds gather in the skies above us...Can you not consider what he would do in this situ--
...ilence.
Hm?
SILENCE, YOU PESTS!
How DARE you speak so casually of the colonel's feelings! You dogs gained your new, oh-so-exalted positions by engineering his fall!
...
Kanone, would you--
Oh, I have plenty to say to you, too, Julia! You must be relishing every second of this! Watching your longtime rival falling so far...
Well, LAUGH, then! Laugh and gloat to your heart's content!
That's enough, Kanone...
I've crawled through filth and given all of myself to the realization of the colonel's dream! Now that I've failed...I no longer have a reason to live! So come on, then. Drag me to the firing line! Let's get this over with!
Man's Voice: That's a foolish thing to say, Kanone.



General!
General, why are you...?
I needed to speak to Her Majesty about something related to our most recent case.
I had some other business as well, so I thought I'd stop by. I only arrived in Grancel a few hours ago.
I see.
Thank you for your help when you're so busy, sir.
Cassius Bright...the author of all our suffering. So you've come to gloat over my fall too, have you? Here to see me riddled with gunfire?
Well, I certainly seem to be popular today. And here I was thinking I was actually as much of a lady killer as Richard! *sigh*
HOW DARE YOU! You...
If it wasn't for you, the colonel...He would've...
Man's Voice: Ah, Cassius. I know you mean it in good fun, but don't tease her too much, yes?
Wh...What...?
That was...
How on earth...?



Colonel Richard?!
It's been some time, sir.



And...it's good to see you safe as well, Kanone.
S-S-Sir...
I begged General Bright to allow me to leave my cell for a little while so that I could visit. You see, I have something I absolutely must say to you, Kanone.
To...To me?
Yes.
I'm...sorry, Kanone. I am so very sorry. I wrapped you up in my pride and narrow vision. I've forced many bright young officers to shoulder the burden of terrible, criminal deeds.
I've wanted to apologize to all of you for a while now.
No, sir! No! You forced us into nothing! We followed you freely...
No...No, you didn't. Even if you think you followed of your own will...In the end, I pressured you into following my desires. The responsibility is mine alone. This makes what happened this past night my responsibility as well.
S-Sir, no...
So, let me make a declaration.
As of this moment, the Royal Army Intelligence Division is formally disbanded. All previous functions and duties are to be taken up by army headquarters, and all former staff should give headquarters all due assistance.
Kanone...Captain Amalthea. Thank you for leading my division in my absence until now.
Sir...
With all that said, you don't need to do crazy things like this any longer. You don't need to spend your life attempting to 'rescue' me.
So, please...don't say such terrible things as, 'Bring me before the firing line.' Please...
Colonel...Sir...Alan...
Aaah...*sniffle*...

-Crushed and Scarred-



Yes...Understood. Thank you very much. *click*



It seems as though Ms. Amalthea is willing to answer questions. The army said they would contact the guild when they had something useful.
Well, that's good...
It's hard to believe they actually got her to talk. I hope they didn't do anything TOO unpleasant to her. She still deserves a little unpleasantness, mind.
We can leave that to the army, I think.
We have some things of our own to talk over.
True enough...
Well, then! First, allow me to provide you with your pay for this mission. This includes everything for all the small, related tasks you had to undertake as well.

Say...Estelle. Do you really think Renne could be...
Yeah.
She named herself one of the Enforcers, the...'Angel of Slaughter.' If she's calling herself that, there's not really any doubt.
There isn't, is there...
...
S-Seriously? A little girl like that is one of the society's crazy murder goons? And aren't Enforcers supposed to be able to, like, break you with their pinkie? You really don't think they're pulling some kind of trick, here?
No, I'm pretty sure she's telling the truth. Joshua...Joshua was about Renne's age when Dad rescued him from the society, and he told me he was made to kill way before then, even.
You're kidding me...
Either way, Renne really pulled the wool over our eyes. It seems she's the one who gave Amalthea that Gospel and suggested they try another coup with that tank.
Seems like she sent all those letters, too. I just don't get it, though. Why?
I'm just guessing here, but...Maybe she thought it'd be fun?
Fun?
Renne put this experiment of hers together as a 'tea party,' right? And she set things up so that lots of people, especially us, would participate...sorta like an invitation. That's kinda the feeling I get.
Man, that's crazy. I mean, yeah, we're here because of those letters, sure, but...
I could easily believe our little kitten is capable of such guile.
She was, after all, very clever in balancing the amount of sleeping drug she gave to us, as well.
Meaning we'd arrive at the docks at just the right time...She really did put us on some damn puppet strings.
So she's definitely the one who put you guys to sleep?
Almost certainly. It was just after I ate one of those cookies Renne got for us at the department store that my mind went fuzzy...
That was one hell of a failure on our part. If she'd used poison, most of us would be having this conversation at the side of She Who Dwells Above.
Yeah...
The failure there is entirely my own. As the person in charge of the mission and the guildhouse, I should have been far more cautious. Please, forgive me.
Oh, c'mon, Elnan.
Everyone's got a bit of blame for this. I don't think any one of us realized just how far the society was willing to go...
Yeah...That giant archaism...Even Grandpa would have a really hard time making something like that.
And even then, to...to make it move like that! And...And Renne...
...
Oh, Tita...
C'mon! Cheer up! Next time we see her, I'm dragging her out of the society, feet first!
Whaaaat...?
Whoa, hang on!
Five years ago, Dad rescued Joshua from the Society of Ouroboros, and we taught him what it was to be happy. I'm Cassius Bright's daughter, so you know what? I can totally do the same thing! I'm going to drag Renne out of the Society of Ouroboros by the scruff of her neck if I have to!
I say it just might work. Tita's been made to kill all sorts of shit, and she's still well-adjusted. Mostly. Relatively.
Estelle...
Yeah! Yeah, we will!
Haha...That's our Estelle.
Yeah! That's the spirit!
Ah! Such indomitable optimism!
Heh...You're makin' it sound easy, Estelle.
Hmmhmm! That's just how our Estelle is.
Think even your father would be bowled over by that much optimism.
Man's Voice: Maaaan, I'll say! I'm practically head over heels for you at this point!



Father Kevin! We've been waiting for you.



Archbishop Currant was, uh, not exactly thrilled with me. He got on a really good lecturin' tear, so he held me back a bit.
Uh, what's up? Do I have egg on my face or something?
Okay, so you aren't an Ouroboros skull eater or whatever. But you never did answer my question. Who the hell are you REALLY, Kevin?
That IS a good question.
You never quite managed to give us a straight answer either, 'Father.'
You aren't really just some wandering priest, right?
I did promise I'd explain everything to you, Estelle...right. Allow me to re-introduce myself.
My name IS Kevin Graham, and I AM a priest...but I'm a priest of the Gralsritter of the Septian Church. A pleasure to properly meet you all!
A 'Gralsritter'?
Oh...? Beg your pardon, but...
I would never have imagined someone as young as you to be one of the holy Gralsritter.
Olivier, you know who they are?
You're aware that the church has a duty to take custody of all ancient Zemurian artifacts, yes? Investigation and retrieval of such items is the work of an arm of the church called the 'Gralsritter'...the 'Grail Knights.'
Their member list is not public knowledge...but they are said to be artifact experts and combat masters, to a man.
Dang, you, uh, know a lot about us!
I dunno if you'd call me a 'master,' though. I'm kinda the fresh-faced new guy on the team.
Artifact retrieval...?
Oh! Now I get it! That's why you had Mayor Dalmore's staff!
Yeah, the Royal Army gave me that for safekeeping when I first came to Liberl. Liberl and the church have an agreement to hand over all artifacts found, y'see.
The whole reason Archbishop Currant was, uh, kind of ticked off is because I broke that one, mind you...
Now I see...Oh, I hope he wasn't too angry. You really saved us, and there wasn't any other way!
Yes, we hardly had time to be picky.
Heh! Thanks for that.
Anyway, hopefully we can work together a bit more in the future, eh? If you learn anything new about Ouroboros, let's swap info again!
Say, how DO you know about Ouroboros, anyway?
Well, the main reason I came to Liberl was to investigate the society. Let's just say we've known about them for a while now.
And to be more precise...I came to investigate the Shining Ring, the Aureole, that they seem to be after.
*gasp*!
The Aureole...!
One of the holy Sept-Terrions granted to the ancient Zemurians by Aidios Herself...
The legendary artifact that we thought slept beneath Grancel Castle.
Yeah, exactly.
There've been some people asking a whooooole lotta specific questions about the Sept-Terrions across the entire continent. That kinda caught the church's eye, lemme tell you.
And then we learned about the whole hullabaloo with the ruins beneath Grancel Castle and the Aureole during the coup. So they sent me, the fresh-faced, and, uh, expendable, new guy to see what's what.
So that's the story.
So, hang on, do you think the Aureole really is in Liberl? When we didn't find it beneath the castle, I thought it was just a legend after all.
Do we even know what the hell the thing is, beyond the whole 'Shining Ring' deal?
Figurin' out the truth of the thing is part of my job.
So, yeah. I wanted to come by today and explain what's up. If anything more happens, what say we work together?
Now I get it...
Yeah, all right. I'd be happy to.
It'd be a big help for us, too.
This may just be the hand of fate at work. If something happens, do contact us, Father.
Fantastico!
All right, think I gotta go get my ear chewed off some more...See ya, folks!



He's quite good at putting people off-balance...in a different way than Olivier.
Heh. If you ask me, he still needs training. He could stand to be a bit more elegant.
You realize there is exactly zero elegance in your stream of constant nonsense, right?
Still, all this interest in the Aureole...
Do you think this has something to do with the Gospel experiments the society's been performing?
From what we've heard, it is a definite possibility.
On that note, that's three of Liberl's regions that have suffered Gospel-related experiments now. I fear that neither Rolent nor Bose will avoid their touch at this point.
Good point. It seems like things are pretty calm here, now. You think it's time for us to move on?
Meaning we should get to either Rolent or Bose.

*RINGRINGRINGRING*



What...? Oh, I see.
...Understood. We'll be on our guard. Yes, take care. *click*
Something going on, Elnan?
They finally get something out of our little coup lover?



The Sky Bandits have appeared in Bose.
WHAT?!
The Intelligence Division AND the bandits? Heck of a busy night. Where did they show up?
The fort they used as a base in the Bose canyons, apparently. The army had repurposed it as a training ground...but it seems they stole back the ship they used to use and escaped.
You're kidding!
Oho...That would be the one Mueller went to retrieve.
W-Wait just a second. Isn't this like really convenient timing? Does the society have a hand in this too?
I can hardly deny the possibility at this point.
In any case, it may be wise for you to travel to Bose.
I'll say!
That seems as good a plan as any. We have no real way of knowing when or where the next crisis will strike.
Yeah...
Er, wait. Schera, you're coming along?
Now that the Intelligence Division has basically been dealt with, my job is done, more or less. It's pretty clear the agents of Ouroboros are beyond any one of us, so I thought I'd tag along to help out a bit. Unless you object?
Yay! No, no, not at all!
Heh, I'm looking forward to seeing the Silver Streak in action.
Ha-ha-ha! At last, Schera has come willingly into my arms!
Thank you, Scherazard.
No, it's no trouble.
Oh, Anelace, are you coming too?
Heehee...Sorry, I'm afraid not.
Kurt's group should be getting back from their training soon. I'm gonna team up with them again.
Oh, okay...
Team up? Does that mean you'll be working against the society too?
Yeah! I think we're going to look into finding their base.
Er, base?
Given Ouroboros' movements and actions to date, they must have SOME sort of base of operations somewhere in Liberl.
Until we find it and take it down, this game of cat and mouse will simply never end. I have a feeling we'll be working even more closely with the army in the weeks to come.
A base...Yeah, for starters, they need somewhere to store and fix up that huge archaism. They'd have to have somewhere pretty decent just for maintenance.
Heh, makes sense to have two anti-society teams going, then.
Well, I guess Kurt's team is going to need plenty of firepower too...
Can't complain about them getting Anelace, in that case.
Haha! Sorry.
Once we find these snaky jerks, I'm sure we'll need a lot of help to beat them! We'll fight them together then, okay?
Yeah...We will!

-Conspiracy-









Thanks, Pater-Mater! You go to sleep for a bit, okay?

*boop gleep*

Man's Voice: Welcome back, Renne.





I went and did that experiment, just like you asked.
I know. You did a very good job. You got a little creative with it, too. A 'tea party'?
It's 'cause you told me not to kill anyone this time.
I had to do SOMETHING to make it a little less boring, and I thought a tea party would be lots of fun. And it was! We had tea and crumpets and explosions.
How...ladylike, Renne.
So, how did the experiment itself go?
Hmm, I think it went okay.
That mean guy from the church kinda spoiled it with a nasty trick...But it was fine, otherwise! We can use them in real combat if we want.
Very good.
I thought we couldn't make lots of Gospels, though. How are we gonna use them as weapons if we can't?
Mass production of them isn't necessary. These tests are simply to determine the full capabilities of the Gospels. We aren't trying to make a weapon out of it.
Really?
Well, whatever. Doesn't matter to me either way.
Have you found Joshua yet?
I think we have.
A number of the dolls we sent out to act as a diversion were destroyed. It's very likely he's responsible.
So he's still hiding? Aww. I'm good at playing hide and seek, but even I'm not as good as Joshua...
Mmmmmm, I hate this! Why's he being so stubborn? Why can't he just come back home to the society? To us?
Well...
It's weird, too. The professor said it's all Estelle's fault Joshua won't come back. But she told me she's been looking for Joshua, too! Why would she say that if she's keeping Joshua from coming back to us?
...Renne. I wouldn't be so quick to accept everything the professor says.
Huh?
Truth can change depending on one's perspective. Just as how people can see different shapes on the same moon.
You mean like how some people see a face and others see a crab?
That's right. The professor's truth may be different from your truth. You need to reach for your own truth based on what you yourself see and feel.
Um...Sounds confusing, but I think I get it.
I really like Estelle! I liked everyone, actually. They're nice, and they gave me snacks. Tita was fun to play with, too. I don't even feel like murdering them!
Very good.
You're a good girl, Renne.
Heeheehee.
Man's Voice: Indeed, you're a very good girl, Renne. And a very good worker!



Hello there, Renne!
Looks like you had a good time in Grancel, hmm?
Yeah, kinda.
Awww, if I knew you were coming, I would've invited you! It was a lot of fun, you know!
Haha. Now I feel bad that I missed it. I had to put on a nice little puppet show for some lady bracers...It wasn't nearly as enjoyable as what you did, I think.
Haha...Perhaps you should have reserved the better seat ahead of time, Campanella.
By the way, Renne...I couldn't help but overhear. You said you're rather fond of Estelle?
Haha, sure am.
She wasn't nearly as nasty a person as you said, Professor! She's nice.
Ah-ah, Renne! It's not nice to put words in people's mouths. I never said she was a bad person. If anything, I agree with you. She is both a charming and fascinating young lady.
I simply said that she's part of the reason Joshua has yet to return to us. Wouldn't you agree, Loewe?
I won't deny that she's part of the reason, yes.
Well, then, that should clear things up. What do you think, Renne? Given the circumstances, shouldn't we make Estelle one of our friends?
Wha...?
Make Estelle one of our friends...?
Yeah...Yeah! That sounds like a lot of fun!
She's kind of on the weak side right now, but if we teach her how to kill right, I bet she'd be really powerful! And if Estelle joins us, Joshua will come back, right?
I think it's safe to assume as much.
Hahaha! Oh, Professor, I always knew you had great taste. Delicious.
That's going a little too far with your 'jokes,' Professor.
Remember, 'All who serve the society must do so of their own free will.' That is one of the core laws of Ouroboros.
You need not remind me of the Grandmaster's edicts, Loewe. Do you really think that I, an Anguis, would break such a law? Neither you nor Joshua were forced into anything, were you?
...
In any case, breaking her will would be so dissatisfying. When she joins us...it will be entirely of her own volition.