Part 19: The pearl of Liberl

Let's find out!



Welcome back. Last time, we met out dear friend Olivier in jail, having made his way there by downing a ludicrously expensive bottle of wine for free. We were soon released because of Maybelle, along with Olivier, and were set on a new task: Investigate a series of burglaries by the Sky Bandits in the south block of Bose.

Anyway, we can go to the south block and talk to people, but...



The army jerks won't let us. To progress, we need to go to the second floor of the Orbal Factory.



Also the guy working there is obviously up to something shady. Anyway, second floor...



Nial, is this how you wanted this one?
Yeah, sure. Something like that. However, we really got screwed, you know that?
Hmm...?



Looks like you two are on the trail of a scoop again.
Hey! It's you kids!
Boy am I glad to see that they let you out of the clinker!
Yeah. I heard all about you kids getting arrested by the army up at the old mine. You certainly had me worried.
Why are you acting like you had nothing to do with it? It was your info that led us to the village.
Hey now! What kinda face is that? Don't tell me you blame us.
Did you go and check out the abandoned mine yourselves?
Yeah, we did yesterday. But it was after you all had already been hauled off.
We could have had a really great shot of your arrest had we been there...
It really guts me that we missed such a perfect opportunity for a great shot.
I-I swear...you people in the news business...
But anyway, I was wondering if you thought this looked like the handiwork of the Sky Bandits.
It sure looks that way to me. It seems that the army is sniffing around for clues, too... But to be honest, it looks like there's nothing to be found here anymore.
I see. That does make things a bit more difficult...
Well, Mr. Reporter, why don't you let me ask you this, then. Do you know from whence the Sky Bandits entered town?
According to witness statements, they were seen leaving through the west gate...
Hmm, well that's awfully strange. The mayor's residence and Bose Market are right through the west gate... And it seems like attacking those two places would be far more lucrative.
When you put it that way, that makes a lot of sense.
But if you don't mind me asking... who the heck are you, anyway?
Ha, I'm glad you asked. I'm Olivier Lenheim...a wandering bard and gifted musician. I'm sure you've heard rumors about me, right?
Oh right, you're the guy who drank wine without paying at that classy restaurant. It takes guts to stiff such a big bill! It's an honor to meet you, sir.
Ha ha, you're making me blush. I'm ready for my interview anytime, so don't hesitate to ask.

They make a nice pair.





These two...are very much alike.
I'm not even going to ask how this guy wound up with the rest of you...
That...would be for the best.

With that done, we can try to continue our investigation again...



It goes poorly, yet again.





National Guard Officer: I thought I'd better give you a word of advice. Even if you are representing the mayor, at the end of the day, you are all still civilians. We cannot have you wandering around here in the middle of our investigation.



Who do you think you're talking to?!
Your 'advice' seems rather more like a threat.

National Guard Officer: I'm just saying you need to know your place. But if you're so adamant about investigating the matter, then do it after we've cleared out of here. If we get any more trouble out of you, then I'm going to have to give you a personal invitation...to jail.

Remember what happened last time you threw us in jail? How we got bailed out, and it was almost a national incident? Stop being dumb.

...
Forget about it, Estelle. There's no use arguing with these...gentlemen.
Ha, for an ass in a lion's skin, you sure know how to throw your weight around, Mr. Soldier.

National Guard Officer: What did you just say?!









That is an outright embarrassment to us all!

National Guard Officer: B-but these aren't just civilians, sir! They're members of the Bracer Guild!

Oh, is that so...?
Then I ask you once again. What is going on here? The army is supposed to be working closely with the guild. What do you intend to accomplish by being rude to our allies?

National Guard Officer: B-but as far as the general is concerned...

Ah, yes...that side of the general really concerns me.
I'll take over the investigation from here, so please take your men and clear out.

National Guard Officer: B-but, sir...

Your men have been here since early this morning, so I presume that a sufficient investigation has been conducted by now, yes? I'll smooth things over with the general later. Is there anything else you wish me to address?

National Guard Officer: N-no, sir... All right, men! Pack it up! We're returning to the Haken Gate!



It seems that some of our personnel were rather impolite. Please allow me to apologize.
I appreciate the gesture. But we made some slightly inflammatory remarks as well, so how about we let bygones be bygones?
That suits me just fine. As I stated before, the army is supposed to be working closely with the guild... I think our two organizations working together grants us each the ability to make up for the other's shortcomings. I'm looking forward to any progress you make with this recent series of events.

Oh hey, it looks like there's somebody actually remotely intelligent in the army. That's good to know.

Hmm-hmm-hmm. We'll do our best not to disappoint you.
(He seems like a decent guy...)
(Yeah...I wonder who he is.)



Oh, already?
Excuse me...but it appears I must take my leave.
Oh, but before I do, it looks like I haven't properly introduced myself.
I am Alan Richard, a colonel in the Royal Army. If there is anything I can do to assist you, please don't hesitate to contact me.





Nial was the one who mentioned his name earlier. He said something about him being a sharp, young officer who leads the Royal Army's Intelligence Division.

Apparently Intelligence Division is a very literal name. As in, it's the only division with intelligence.

Oh, right.
Wow. For someone in the military, he sure knows how to listen to others.
Hmm...probably in his mid-thirties, and he's not hard on the eyes either... He seems like he's more fit to be a politician than a service member in the army.



Who was that you were just talking to in the black uniform? I could swear I've seen him somewhere before...
Are you trying to tell me you didn't recognize him at all? That was Colonel Richard of the Intelligence Division. You know, the guy you mentioned earlier.
Wh-what? You're not pulling my leg, are you?!
As fun as that would be...nope.
He said so himself, so I'm fairly confident he is who he says he is.
To think that the legend himself would show up here...
We can't wait around here like this any longer, Dorothy! Let's see if we can catch up to him!
Aye, aye, sir! ...Although I'm really not sure why we're chasing after anyone...



Ha ha. Anyone else in the army would brush him off, but I'm sure the colonel will oblige him.
Hmm...
What's the matter with you, Olivier? You look serious...and I gotta say, I find it creepy coming from you.
I was just thinking about the colonel. I'll be the first to admit that he's quite the specimen of a man... But...
But...what?
I can say with confidence that he doesn't stand a chance against me when it comes to the ladies. But I'd like to see him try just a little harder... It's no fun without a romantic rival...



...I'll regret it for the rest of my life.
Ha ha ha... All right, let's see here... Now that the soldiers are gone, how about we resume our own investigation? Let's start by talking to all the people we couldn't talk to earlier.
Good idea.

There's only one NPC we need to talk to proceed.



Cecile: Weren't you the bracers who came to ask questions not that long ago?

Oh, right. We did come before.

Cecile: I'm really sorry I couldn't talk to you then. So what you came to ask about is what happened last night, right?

Yes, that's right. Is this a good time for you?

Cecile: Yeah, this is as good a time as any.



Cecile: And I, of course, thought it was my husband coming home at such a late hour, so I opened the door and started yelling But it turned out to be a group of masked men coming out of the orbal factory across the road. I thought my heart was plum gonna stop right then and there. Although it turned out the burglars were rather surprised and ran away to the north.

I see...so it was the Sky Bandits, huh?
So, what you're saying then, is that this house didn't incur a loss of any kind?

Cecile: Yeah, thanks to the mercy of the Goddess.

Can I ask you another thing? Did your husband coming home late mean that he went to the bar?

Cecile: If it was only that, that would be forgivable... In addition to being a no-good drinker, he's obsessed with this.

Cecile raised her hand in a casting motion.:

???
Oh, I get it! You mean fishing, right?
I see now...

Cecile: That's right! He loves fishing more than life itself. Just yesterday he said something about catching some smelt and took off to the lake in the south. And on top of that, he still hasn't come back.

Eh? So what you're saying is...he doesn't know anything about the incident?

Cecile: That's exactly what I'm saying. And when that good-for-nothing husband of mine gets home, he's going to get what-for, let me tell you!





Kuwano: Whew, what a day I had... I was fishing patiently all morning, but I have nothing to show for it. Oh, what's this? Do we have guests?



We should probably go.

Kuwano: My goodness, woman! What kind of fiery tempest has gotten into you?

We won't, but we probably should.

Kuwano: Don't you know it's rude to act like that in front of guests?
Cecile: If anyone's being rude, that would be you. I'm dumbfounded that my own husband can just take off to do what he likes at a time like this.
Kuwano: Huh? What do you meant by [a time like this]?

Maybe I should explain...

Joshua gave Mr. Kuwano a brief explanation regarding the burglaries which transpired the previous night.

Kuwano: Burglaries by Sky Bandits? You don't say? Now that IS terrible. But to think that they hightailed it out of here after my wife hollered at them is hilarious. Ha ha ha! Guess they got to experience the 'Cecile effect' first-hand!
Cecile: What did you just say?!

L-let's all calm down now, shall we?

Kuwano: But to think that these Sky Bandits came in the night like they did and then just disappeared like that... I wonder if it has anything to do with that thing he was talking about the other day.

He...? What do you mean?

Kuwano: Oh right. You don't know him. [He] is my fishing buddy. He's staying at the inn down the lakeshore to the south of here. If I remember right, he said something about seeing a strange bunch near the place the other night.

A strange bunch...?
Now, this sounds really interesting. Can you tell us a little more about what you've heard?

Kuwano: Sure, I don't mind, but I'm just going to tell you up front that this is all hearsay. From what I heard, he just happened to see them by chance as he was out fishing during the night. He saw them leave by way of the inn's front door and then out onto the road. However, when he asked around at the inn in the morning, it turned out that no one like that had stayed there the night before.

Yeah, that is rather odd. So, was there any type of burglary at the inn?

Kuwano: No. Nothing of the sort at all, in fact. It's quiet there, the meals are great, and it's...well, a place I'd recommend to anyone! But best of all, it's a prime fishing spot.

---



We did manage to hear a few interesting bits.
I concur. I especially liked the one that described all the delicious food at the inn.
That's not what we're talking about here!
...Although I did find the fishing part to be rather interesting... Unfortunately, if there's nothing going on there then I guess it wouldn't be worth investigating.
Actually, I think it's quite the opposite. I someone had been careless and caused a problem, the army would've thoroughly investigated it. Conversely, the possibility of the Sky Bandits appearing where there's nothing happening is rather high.
Oh...well, I guess that's one way to think about it.
And in light of this series of incidents... There's either a spy in the army, or the Sky Bandits are a really clever bunch of thieves. It'll be extremely difficult to corner them only by investigating the incidents which have occurred. We'll need to get one step ahead of them by tracking their movements.
I see...so what you're saying is that we should take an offensive stance rather than a defensive one?
Hmm. Then how about we get going? Off to the beautiful Valleria Lake, extolled in many a rhyme as the 'pearl of Liberl'...

Next time: Drinking and fishing: A Good Update