Fanning Flames

(......)

(Silent as the grave... Did the rioters just leave me here?)

You're awake.

Aaah?!

Calm down.

Oh, sorry! You startled me.

Huh? You... I know you. You're from Rhodes Island.

GreyThroat, Operator.

Keep your voice down. We took care of the rebels in this area.

Took care of them...?

Even at this point, you still don't see them as the enemy.

Relax, most of them are still alive. Handed over to Officer Severin Hawthorn.

...Thanks.

Oh, um... What about Miss Folinic?

She's fine. I sent another operator to help her. But...

Did Atro really... sacrifice herself?

...Yes. I'm sorry.

That explains the way Folinic has been acting...

Just a few operators won't be able to retake this neighborhood on their own. We should fall back to the town center and regroup.

Right. Can you walk? You injured your ankle.

I... I can try. Ow...

Here, let me help.

Thanks...

One more question, Miss Tatjana. When I came here with Atro, Wolumonde was still thriving.

So what happened to all the Gendarmerie? There isn't a single one left in town.

Hng!

Put down your weapon. Look at yourself. You don't even have a decent set of clothes. You're going to fight like that?

What do you outsiders know? What do you even get out of helping those noble puppets?!

Nothing. I'm not interested in your politics at all. But... are you a Winterwisp?

Winterwisp...? Hah. I'm not aboriginal, but I do acknowledge their struggle!

How about you? Dr. Atro was a good person, but you? You're just here to help them crush us!

Wolumonde, no, all of Leithanien is rotten to the core! Today they burn the Infected alive, tomorrow it will be the entire working class!

......

Where's your proof?

There's not a single Gendarmerie in Wolumonde! Not one!

Why do you think that is?

Wolumonde and several surrounding towns formed a collective settlement network. When the Catastrophe struck, there were not enough Gendarmerie to care for all of the—

Oh really? If it was that simple, nobody would mind!

Enough stalling. Out with it.

Hmph.

For a wedding.

A wedding?

Some great nobleman in his high tower married the only daughter of another nobleman, so they sent all the Gendarmerie over to the nearest nomadic city!

And how long do you think the aristocrats' drunken revelries are gonna last? You wanna guess?

......

Oh and I almost forgot about the part where the nobles argued back and forth for a month about whose city should move to whose territory.

So our Gendarmerie had to go stand around some fancy mansions to boost a fortunate son's ego, and maybe keep out the riffraff. Isn't that funny? Are you laughing?

Because I'm not.

No, it's not funny. But that still doesn't give me any leads as to the fire.

Hmph...

Think about it: who's going to set fire to a medical camp that treats Infected? Would the Infected do that?

It could only be someone who wants to see the Infected suffer. You should be on our side—

—The side of Reunion!

Schultz! The rebels refuse to surrender!

There aren't many of them...

The truly horrific thing about this disaster is that both sides are ordinary civilians. There are no warriors here.

We should do everything we can to avoid the worst case scenario.

GreyThroat! Miss Tatjana! You're back!

And we're going to make the murderer pay for their crimes.

Tatjana!

Uncle... I'm sorry. I was careless...

No... All that matters is that you're safe.

Operator Folinic. Glad to see you safe and sound.

GreyThroat, I recall it was you who came with Atro to Wolumonde?

Do you know what happened?

...I've got the gist of it.

Do you think... If you were with her, that things would've turned out differently?

Folinic, you shouldn't—

No. The myriad contradictions this crisis has revealed in Wolumonde can't be solved by external forces. There is nothing we could've done.

......

But at least... I should have been there with her, to do what I could.

I'm sorry. I'm sorry I wasn't with her.

No... *Sigh*. It was wrong of me to push that on you just to make myself feel better. What the hell am I doing...?

I'm the one who should be sorry.

People.

Let me start by offering my sincere thanks to Rhodes Island for saving Tatjana.

Rhodes Island is an organization dedicated to helping the Infected.

Severin Hawthorn, Leithanien is known for its lenient treatment of the Infected. But I still have to ask, before we get down to business—

On behalf of Wolumonde, can you guarantee that Wolumonde has not, in light of these exceptional circumstances, taken 'additional measures' against the Infected population?

The investigations you carried out with Miss Suzuran should have corroborated this.

Wolumonde has in no way, at no point, targeted the Infected. Nor have we ever held ill will toward Dr. Atro, who aided the Infected.

Are you satisfied?

......

Miss Folinic, I believe Mr. Severin.

Why?

Um... well... I'm not sure! But I do believe him! He wouldn't hurt Infected people!

Okay, Lisa. I'll trust your instincts, for now.

Thank you for understanding.

Now, I'd like to hear your opinions on what to do next.

I'm not as familiar with the field as Folinic. I followed her instructions during the operation.

There aren't a lot of them out there.

Counting those we have successfully subdued, there can't be more than a hundred or so.

A hundred or so rioters wouldn't be able to terrorize Wolumonde under normal circumstances.

As for the Gendarmerie, I've heard some interesting rumors.

That was one of the very few unfortunate decisions I've made in my military career. We can't do anything about it, so let's shelve it for now.

Allow me to interject. I'd like to discuss that captive, who called himself 'Reunion.'

Huh?

We have made contact with a certain lone member of the Reunion Movement, and he has very little in common with the outraged citizenry.

He's a battle-hardened warrior. And if he came with a squad, he could be a problem.

The partisans. This is not good news.

Reunion...

Chernobog... Ursus... Gah... Not Ursus again...

Why should I believe a single word they say?!

......

The fire was the trigger for all of this. But there was always a high risk of conflict.

Did these underlying problems cause the fire? Or was this fire the catalyst that revealed these problems?

Do we have a choice...? Do we have to fight?

This is the choice that decides the fate of Wolumonde. Thousands of lives hang in the balance. We can't be hasty.

We should return to the Rathaus for a formal resolution.

Hm. But it looks like the other side won't give us the chance.

If Reunion really is here, there's no need for a light touch.

......

Roger that. However, Folinic, you should stay here and tend to the wounded.

I'd rather get in there my—

Lisa, Operator Suzuran, is not a fully accredited medic operator. Only you are.

You should prioritize protecting the innocent over defeating the enemy.

I...

Miss Folinic... You should stay here.

If you keep fighting that hard, that aggressively, you won't be you anymore.

......

Right... okay. I'll... stay.