Part 20: I am a GODDESS of fishing!

Welcome back. Last time, we met Alan Richards, the one competent dude in the army, and got a lead in our investigation. Now it’s off to the Valleria Shore, to drink and fish investigate.





First, we’ve got some loose ends in town, though.

Libro: Anyway, I’m done with this one so you can have it.

Received Carnelia - Chapter 4.

Libro: The lady who owns the shop recruited me to work here not that long ago. I wonder if she hired me because I was always putting in my thoughts about her merchandise.



We can also buy a new issue of the Liberl News.



This guy will talk all about dragons anytime we talk to him. Since dragon’s are cool, here’s all the he has to say (if we keep talking to him throughout the chapter):

Lyndon: I study creatures that lived in the old world, before the Great Collapse. Beings that surpassed mankind's potential, and indeed, were almost god-like... Indeed...I speak of the ancient dragons.

Oh, hey, I remember hearing about them in Sunday school! They were around in Liberl, too, up until just a few decades ago, right? But they stopped showing up around the time orbment technology was first discovered.
...
Joshua? You've got a real dumb look on your face. Something the matter?
No, nothing. I'm just surprised that you actually remember something you learned in school. Shocked, really.
How rude!
Of course I paid attention. Huge, cool things with wings like that? I totally want to see one myself! Just thinking about them gets me all worked up!

---

Lyndon: Just as I'd hoped...there really ARE reports in this land from people who claim to have seen an ancient dragon! Hmm-hmm-hmm... My excitement is paramount! I must know why they no longer show themselves... I must know where they have gone... And I believe the time for answers is nigh!

---

Lyndon: The last man to have ever seen an ancient dragon is from Bose. That is why I've come. I suppose the first order of business-- as always-- is to speak with the locals, and see what answers can be found.

---

Lyndon: The ancient dragons that lived before the Great Collapse... It almost seems as if they removed themselves from this land of their own volition!

---



Moving on: If we head south of Bose, past the Amberl Tower, we find ourselves in Valleria.





The inn doesn't look too shabby either.
I stayed here once before when I was in the area on another job. The wine's great, the rooms are nice...pretty much what you'd expect from a place like this.
Too bad this isn't a pleasure trip.
You mean it's not? I, at least, intended to toss my cares to the wind for a while.

This implies you ever have cares not thrown to the winds.

Taking catnaps in a rocking boat by day and filling my belly with food and wine by night...heaven... This is what a vacation is all about.
...
...
...

Ha ha ha. Come on everyone, I was just joking. We can enjoy a vacation anytime, but now is the only time we can enjoy taking care of some would-be thieves. Even I, Olivier Lenheim, know enough to get my priorities straight.
I don't think this has anything to do with enjoyment or not...
Hmm-hmm. Well, whatever. As long as he does his share of the work he's here to do. Anyway, let's see if we can find the old man staying here that loves fishing.
The guest who said he saw some suspicious individuals here two nights ago, right?



First things first: Food!

The Deep-Fried Smelt restores 200 HP, and everything above that restores 100 more HP than the one before it.



Let's see, yes and no. How should I put it?
We're here looking for a certain someone. Is there a guest staying here who loves to fish?

You might need to be more specific. You might as well ask who loves to drink at a bar.

Lenard: Well, pretty much everybody who stays here loves to fish.

We heard he was a friend of the old man who stayed here yesterday. Do you have a clue who that might be?

Lenard: Oh, are you talking about old man Kuwano? If you're talking about his fishing buddy, then I think you must mean Lloyd.

Lloyd?

Lenard: I've heard he's a professional angler who came all the way here from the Royal City. It seems as though he's a member of the Fisherman's Guild there.

He sounds like a pretty amazing guy.
Do you know where we might be able to find him?

Lenard: Ha ha. He's out dropping a line somewhere, of course. If I remember right, he should be out on the back pier.



Um, excuse me... Are you the man named Lloyd who's from the Royal City?

Man with Pole: ...

Wow, he's really focused... He's tuned everything out of his mind but fishing.
It looks like this is where my skills come into play.
What are you...?



Olivier leaned over, and with a smile that left all kinds of things up to interpretation, blew into the man's ear.



I feel a tap on the shoulder would have sufficed.



Middle-Aged Man: A-and where did you come from?!
Th-that was a dirty trick to play on him, Olivier...
Yeah, that was pretty low.
How do you do this evening, good sir? We tried calling out to you a moment ago, but we could see that, like a true professional, your attention was fixed upon your task.
You're Lloyd, aren't you?

Lloyd: Yes, that's right. But how did you know my name?

We heard from a certain old man about you. Do you have some time you could spare to speak with us?






Lloyd: Yeah, I saw that strange pair about two nights ago.

I knew it... Could we get you to fill us in a little more on the details?

Lloyd: Before that, are you all bracers or something? Is this somehow related to some sorta crime?

We can't say for sure, but there does appear to be a possibility.

Lloyd: Gotcha... In that case, I'll do what I can to help you out. It was the other night when I was out fishing on my boat... I was returning to the inn, dead tired after a day of battling it out with the master of this lake... It had gotten late into the night, and it was about the time when everyone at the inn was asleep in their beds...

Now hold on a minute. What do you mean by [the master of this lake]?

We need to catch it to max out the Fox Social Link. It’s a pain.

Wait, wrong game.

Lloyd: I'm glad you asked! The [master] is a giant salmon that swims the murky depths of Valleria Lake! It has been the feared king of the waters among fishing-lovers for over a decade!

(Crap...I shouldn't have asked...)
(It looks like you've thrown a log onto the maniac's fire...)
Is-is it really that huge of a fish like you say?!

Lloyd: You bet your last mira it is! And I've been chasing the darn thing for the last five years of my life... It comes and goes in different parts of Valleria Lake and changes its feeding spots on a whim. I heard from a buddy of mine that it had appeared in these parts, so I came a runnin' from the Royal City.

Ha, now that's what I call passion. I can completely understand where you're coming from. Whenever I find something I like, I stop at nothing until I get ahold of it. For example, a bottle of Grand Chardonnay and such.
In your case [steal it] is more accurate.
*cough* How about we get back to our story? So Lloyd, what happened when you came back from fishing that night?

The Master of the Lake diversion is weird, because you can’t catch it. There’s a fishing minigame, but the master isn’t actually something you can catch as a part of it. I feel like they may have axed something here.

Lloyd: Oh, right... I had returned the boat and was on my way into the inn... When I saw an odd couple head out onto the road from the grounds behind the building.

Onto the road...in the middle of the night?

Lloyd: Yep, no doubt about it. They headed out on the New Ansel Path. At first I thought they were a group of people visiting from the city, heading back home... But it was way too late for something like that and when I asked at the inn the next day, nobody knew a thing about it. Thought maybe I'd seen a coupla ghosts or something then!



Gh-ghosts?! Th-there are ghosts that come out here?!

I really hope we get a Scooby Doo diversion here.

In the end, Lloyd was behind it all, and he would have gotten away with it too if it weren’t for us meddling kids and our Olivier.

Lloyd: Ha ha, just so you know, the two I saw were a young couple. They mighta been two lost souls who committed a double suicide after not being accepted by those around them...

That’s messed up Lloyd. What’s your deal?



Oh brother...a bracer that's afraid of ghosts? The guild is doomed.
Not to mention, her habit of always wanting to hear more ghost stories and other bizarre stuff.
Hmm-hmm-hmm. Well isn't your being scared attractive in its own right, Estelle? Not sexy, but cute nonetheless. Like a little kitten shivering in the cold.

I think that’s kind of a creepy metaphor, Olivier!

...You'd better watch out because this little kitten bites!

Estelle is surprisingly quick witted though

Lloyd: Ha ha ha. Well, I was just kidding about the ghost part. But the couple did, in fact, seem to be one with a purpose and reason. I say this, because the girl was wearing some rather odd clothing.

What do you mean by that?

Lloyd: I only saw her from behind, so I couldn't say for sure... But it looked to me like she was wearing some kinda school uniform.



A school uniform... It couldn't be...
It wasn't one from the Jenis Royal Academy was it?

Lloyd: Wow, you really know your stuff, kid! You betcha. My niece goes there as well, and it looked exactly the same as the one she wears.

I see... This whole event just got a lot more interesting.
It's her! I know it's that lying tomboy for sure! We're finally onto her trail!

Still basically the same person.

Lloyd: What...so she's an acquaintance of yours? Then while you're at it, tell the two of them not to fret and rush into anything they'll regret later on. If my mind isn't failing me, I coulda sworn they said something about coming again tonight.

Is that true?

Lloyd: Yep. [We'll meet back here in two days,] is what the young man said. His tone seemed rather serious, so I couldn't help but think on it.

Well, that's understandable... We appreciate the valuable information. Just leave the rest up to us. We won't let them get into any more trouble than they already are.

Lloyd: Oh, I see...that's a relief to hear. I feel like a weight's been lifted off my shoulders now. Now that that is off my chest I feel like taking a boat out and fishing again.



He mentioned something about a [Fisherman's Guild] too. I wonder what kind of group that is.

I imagine it’s a guild of Fisherman. Just a hunch, though.

So how is this couple involved with the missing airliner incident exactly? If you don't mind telling me, that is.
Well, in a nutshell...

Schera explained that they encountered Josette in Rolent.

I see...well that seems to be the person in question, all right. Which means that tonight is the night, huh?
Yeah... It looks like we should probably get a room just in case. We're going to be in for a late night tonight.
All right, let's go ask the receptionist about a room.

---



Yeah, that's the plan...
Hold on, Estelle. If there's anything that we haven't taken care of we'd better do it now. I don't want to head back to Bose after we've gotten a room.
Um, I guess you're right.



Sophina: All right then. Please come with me. I'll show you to your room.




Sophina: I will leave you here, so please relax until dinner is served.

This is quite a nice room. It has a certain atmosphere that you just don't find back in the city.
Yeah, it's great, huh? It wasn't that expensive either.
Hmm-hmm-hmm. What to do now...? How about we relax until it gets dark?
What a nice idea.
I'd be more than happy to do just that, but is it really okay to take it easy?
Rest when you can. That's part of a bracer's job too.

The best part!

This is our free time, so let's enjoy a meal, take a stroll, or something else.

---



The entire lake looks like it's glowing.
Too bad we can't see the Royal City on the opposite shore because of the haze... But from here it's easy to tell that this is the biggest lake in the kingdom.
This lake is like a fisher's dream come true... I bet it'd be a blast to throw a line in those waters.
Then how 'bout it? It might be a nice change of pace for you.
Yeah, maybe I will. What are you going to do, Joshua?
Me? Um, let's see... There's a book I've been meaning to read, so maybe I'll just sit in that chair and relax.

Oh man, Joshua is one of those guys who goes to the beach and spends the entire team reading.

If you do that, know that you are the worst.

How old are you again? Only geezers talk about [sitting back and relaxing]! Young boys are supposed to get out and move their bodies.
Ah ha ha...I'll leave that part to you.



Tsk... Sometimes you can be such a drag.
Oh well, I should hurry up and decide on a fishing spot.





Hmm-hmm-hmm. Now let’s see about casting a few lines...



Crap... I don’t have a fishing pole.

Oh, right. Can’t we just fish with our hands? We wouldn’t catch anything, but we’d have fun.



Do you have a fishing pole I could borrow?

Sophina: Yes, of course we do. They’re right over here, and they’re free to use for anyone lodging here.

Wow, really? Score!

Borrowed Progressive Rod.

The only fishing rod in the building that doesn’t judge when two guys or two girls check in together.

Hmm, this is a pretty nice rod to be loaning out to everyone. All right then, I’ll put it to good use.

Sophina: Please enjoy yourself.

Before we head back to the pier, we can talk to Olivier and Schera in the lounge (no screen, didn’t actually see this scene, you know the drill):

Scherazard and Olivier are having a drink of chilled fruit wine together.

Schera...should you start drinking again when it's only noon? No matter how light the liquor is, drinking too much is bad for your health, right?
Don't worry, this stuff is just like water.
Estelle, sometimes we all need to take a breather. I understand your concern for Schera, but you can leave her to me.
Actually, Schera's not the one I'm concerned about.
???
I invited Schera for a friendly drink, and she readily agreed. It seems as though she's finally been taken in by my charm.

She can still smell the fancy wine on you.
(That brash self-confidence may cost you your life...)
Heh heh heh... And after she gets wasted I'll be the one to take good care of her.
(It's scary how much he doesn't know...)

Now we can go back to the pier!



So here’s how fishing works: Instead of an interactive minigame, instead, we get a text-based minigame.







Now this is the critical part. How should I bring it up?



We have three different choices, each with three options, that determine what we catch. The mathematically inclined among you will note that there’s 27 different possible combinations - however, there aren’t nearly as many different possible catches.

And yes, how you reel in something that’s already bitten determines what you catch. It’s Schroedinger's Fish.

Let’s see what we’ve got:

Starting off small...



What a... little fishie... Joshua’s gonna make fun of me is he sees this. Should I eat it now to hide the evidence?[/i]



Now THIS is quite a catch.

What Olivier thinks people think about him.



This one is just my warm-up.

What people actually think about Olivier.



Wow, this one’s a biggie. I believe a little bragging may be in order.



Yes yes YES! I am a GODDESS of fishing! What a haul!
This may just beat the record for the size of my best catch to date!
I thought for sure it was just a regular fish by the way it tugged on the line.

I said you can’t catch the Master of the Lake, but I’m not actually 100% on that. The Master is apparently a Salmon, and this is the rarest catch, so maybe we just did, and we’re such a fishing master we didn’t even realize?

Anyway, now for the most important catch:[/i]



Curse you, Holey Boots... This victory is yours...

The Holey Boots actually have a niche: They give next to no defense, unlike other boots, but they boots move by 3. I personally have never really used them, but I’m sure you could find a use.

Anyway, after we fish a bunch of times (or if when we decide fishing is boring and for chumps), we’re booted out of the minigame.

---



I guess I ended up with a pretty good catch after all.
Check this out, Joshua! Look what I caught!



Joshua?



The book [Hundred Days War] seems to have been left on the table. Estelle picked it up.

Like every book we find, we can read the Hundred Days War. It's actually quite interesting, and provides some nice world building, so consider reading it once you get to the Extras section of the update.

I wonder if Joshua just forgot this. For being so sharp, he sure can miss things sometimes.
I guess I'll just have to take it to him myself.
Then again, I wonder where he could have taken off to...

---



He’s not getting plastered with Schera and Olivier...

Hmm, so you can hold your liquor, can't you? Hmm-hmm-hmm... I think I've changed my mind about you. Come on now, drink up!
H-hold on, Schera! Don't you think we're getting a little ahead of ourselves with this pace? It could interfere with tonight's...
What are you whining about now...? Come on and drink, you third-rate musician! Or are you saying that you can't keep up with me?!
Yikes...! Estelle...don't just sit there and watch! Do something!
Sorry, bud. Once she gets started there's no stopping her. But you don't have to worry, Schera never gets plastered.
Um...shouldn't you be worried about me?

Hey, she warned you.



Whenever she’s on the job, she manages to behave herself. But when it comes to having a drink, even my dad can’t keep up with her.
I-is that the case...? At any rate, I’m kind of interested in seeing her go wild, or am I going to pass out from the drinks first...?

I’m betting you’ll be dead in an hour.

Anyway, to find Josh, head down to the lower pier:







Ha ha...not much. How about yourself? Are you done fishing or are you heading back into battle?
No, I've already had my fill. It sure has been a while since I did though.
Oh...that reminds me.

Estelle held out the book she found on the table.

You said you were going to read, but you ended up leaving your book on the table. You should be more careful with your stuff.
Oh, that... I actually finished reading it.
My eyes were starting to feel a bit tired, so I thought I'd take a walk for a change.



Liar.



You're hiding your feelings again, aren't you? I can tell that's what you're doing.
...
And besides, that's not really fair. You always find a way to cheer me up when I'm feeling down...
And while I may not be as reliable as Dad...



...
Sorry...
It's times like these when you should say, [Thank you] and not apologize. You may be smart, Joshua, but sometimes you don't seem to know what's most important.

Breakfast?

Ha ha. You're probably right.
Thanks...Estelle.
Very good. Now that wasn't too bad, was it?
Oh...right!
And in return, how about you play me a song on your harmonica?
As you wish...
Is [The Whereabouts of Light] good for you?

I’m pretty sure that’s the only song he knows.

Yep, that's the one I wanted to hear.













...that when I hear the sound of your harmonica in the evening light like this it makes me want to cry.

Tough crowd.



... So you're still not going to ask? About my past, I mean...
...
We promised, remember? You were going to tell me when you felt like it, and I wasn't going to ask, right?
And considering that five years have passed, it doesn't seem like such a big deal anymore.
Yeah...it has been five years, hasn't it? How can you just live with me for that long and not have a million questions?
That day, your father came home with this beat-up kid... Some random stranger who never says a word about his past...
Why'd you take him in like that...?
Well...



Besides, you're family now, Joshua.
...
And like I said before, I know you pretty well.
You love books, you're a weapons geek, and you've got a serious knack for just about anything that comes your way... You're kind and fair, but you've also got a way of not letting others inside by using politeness like a shield...
N-now wait a minute...
And you're caring...and lonely.
...
Of course, I don't know everything about your past... If you want to make comparisons, I don't know a whole lot about Dad's past either.
But it doesn't mean that he and I aren't family, right? Being a family for us has more to do with me knowing his personality, his habits, the food he likes... You know, the kinds of things that only I would know firsthand.
And you're no different, Joshua.
...



It's been like that since the first time we met... and you gave me that flying kick to the gut as I was lying in bed...wounded, I might add.
Um... D-did I really do that?
Yeah, injured and all...more than once.
Ah ha ha...I'm sure it was just a bit of childish play...uh...blame Dad for my lack of social graces.
Yeah sure, nice excuse.
But anyway, Estelle...
What?
Let's make sure we solve this whole airliner mystery. I don't know if Dad's been captured or anything... But let's resolve this with our own hands.
Sure... That's EXACTLY what I intend to do!
Ha ha...how about we head back to the inn? I'm sure supper is ready by now.
Great idea, I'm starving.
We need to eat our fill so we're ready for tonight!





One thing I really like about this scene (beyond it being rather sweet, since I’ve already said several times that Trails has well-written character interactions), is that it addresses a fairly big question: namely, Joshua’s past. It’s one of the biggest questions in the game so far, and I like that Estelle and Joshua have already discussed things, and decided not to talk about it, rather than just ignoring the subject until it comes up as a part of the plot. It comes across as more realistic, and more importantly, it provides a good justification for why Joshua doesn’t talk about what he knows when it becomes relevant. (Spoiler: Joshua’s mysterious past is relevant to the plot as a whole.

Next time: The villains appear!

---



The Liberl News - Issue 3:









I still really like the Liberl News for how well it ties into the main story. The main thrust of this issue is the scoop we gave Nial earlier.





I also didn't realize until I was putting this update together, but the news actually reviews the book we're about to read.



The Hundred Days War:





















The last page is probably the most interesting, since it's the first piece of information we've received as to why Erebonia attacked Liberl (because Erebonia is not the typical evil Empire). It's an interestingly cryptic piece of information, but information none the less.

Carnelia:

Carnelia - Chapter 4