Kin or Otherwise

Horn, we've got the new hands settled in.

Thanks, Blake. Don't give them any missions just yet. Let them rest a couple of days.

Horn, I don't need time to settle in! I can go out there and fight whenever!

Fine... Blake, assign Robben to 4th. He'll join the next shift as a scout.

Roger that, Horn. Perfect timing. Dublinn activity has been on the rise. We needed more men.

The 3rd still isn't back. Robben, you should stay here and get some rest.

I can do something else...

I suggest you come over here and sit down. We have half an hour at most. Don't waste it.

Alright.

And I understand how you feel.

You want to go out there and fight, right? The battle this morning wasn't enough to sate your hunger.

Right, my hand is still trembling! It wants me to hold my crossbow a while longer!

Robben, remember one thing.

We are here not because we have to kill a few more Dublinn soldiers or Sarkaz.

Our top priority is to survive.

After that... it's to make sure as many of us survive as possible.

Horn... I...

I understand.

Good. Now get some rest.

What is that you're holding?

A notepad.

It's just some random scribblings. Pay it no mind.

You mentioned that you worked alone for a very long time.

No wonder you have that kind of habit...

Haha... maybe it's because I've been a captain for too long.

It felt like something was missing when I had no one to give orders to.

Thankfully, Blake and the lads stole this pen from the Dublinn forces. Otherwise I'd have to carve everything out letter by letter in the sewers.

Have you really done that before?

Go take a look at the sewers all the way at the edge of the city. You might just find my magnum opus, 'Victoria, a Brief History,' personally carved by my own hand.

Uh... How long did that take you?

I'm just pulling your leg.

Let's save the chit-chat for another time. Dublinn could be here any moment. I'll get some sleep. You should too.

General, Dublinn's Feline Caster is here. She wants to see you.

Is she alone?

Yes, she didn't bring anyone else.

Let her through.

General, her Arts are hard to defend against...

So it's your opinion that I can't handle her Originium Arts?

No, that is absolutely not what I meant! General, just like General Theresis, you have my utmost respect as a warrior!

Then go back to where you belong.

Yes, General!

......

Hoederer, stay here.

I'm sure you are already prepared, having met with the Confessarius's Messenger. I have a job for you.

You want me to find the people from the ship?

You worked with them before.

I'm a mercenary. Mercenaries never remember who we work with. Not unless their heads are worth a lot.

Surely it must be easily to deal with old friends, no?

Maybe...

The Babel assassin has already made it to the city center. It's the Confessarii's job to fend her off.

As for the others... Hoederer, why don't you take a guess who they have?

The mercenaries in the city still haven't found any traces of any one of them.

They will make their move sooner or later.

For the past six months, our eyes in Victoria have been keeping a close eye on that ship. Yet they were always one step ahead of us, to the point that they came all the way to Londinium without any of us noticing.

Why do you think that's the case?

......

There's only one possibility. There's someone working for them in Londinium.

Someone working for them... an agent.

They must have planted this sleeper agent years ago, and this agent must be of some standing too. Otherwise, there is no way they could've escaped our watchful eyes.

Makes sense. My impression is that the Dame Doctor's methods can be... unorthodox.

Hoederer, look into the backgrounds of all the rebels we captured recently.

You think we've already caught them?

There must be a reason why the Rhodes Islanders are still loitering nearby.

Here we are.

Who's there?!

Old Bill, it's me. I'm back.

It's you, huh, lad? I just saw Rockrock. I thought you two left on a mission together.

Uh, she came back first since she had something to take care of.

Who are these folks you have with you... Wait, Sarkaz?!

D-Do-Don't!

......

It's very likely they're the ones the commander's been waiting for!

I thought she's waiting for allies? There's no way they could be a bunch of devils!

Bill, give me a break. Where's the commander? I'll see her right now.

......

Think about it. Do you really think there's a chance I could be a traitor?

Not one bit. Everyone here treats you like you're their own baby brother.

Rockrock had you guard this place, right? Bring a few more men. You can escort us there.

Alright, if you say so.

As for you lot. Don't even think about pulling any funny moves. We are watching you, Sarkaz.

Uhh... Amiya, I feel a little unwelcome. Like, I've never felt this unwelcomed.

Sorry. They aren't usually like this. It's just, they're a little sensitive... about how some of you look.

Things will be much better once our commander talks some sense into them. Come with me. They're having a meeting up ahead.

Did you not hear that? They blew the port up with the defensive cannons! We can't stay here any longer! It's too risky!

But if we leave Sudean, it won't be easy for us to come back to help the people here.

I want to help them too. You think I don't want to? But do you know where our people are locked up? Are our men supposed to search house by house in front of the Sarkaz?

Feist and Rockrock have been searching for information.

They're too slow! The situation has changed. The Sarkaz could blow this hideout to smithereens any moment! All our hard work, gone!

The hideout is dead. Those people are alive.

That's awfully easy for you to say! It's not like it was you business folks who built this place from scratch, bit by bit!

Haha, just a minor squabble.

Don't worry. The commander won't mind.

Most folks here come from very different backgrounds. They may not agree with each other sometimes, but all of us stand together.

Besides, no matter how out of hand their feud gets, as long as the commander is here, we'll find a solution in the end.

Hm... She rescued most of us. If it wasn't for our commander, we would long have died by the hands of the Sarkaz or Dublinn.

Just like Rockrock. Her pa was beaten to death by the mercenaries because he wasn't willing to sell the defense force out.

As for me, I didn't want to work for the Sarkaz, so me and a few coworkers ran all the way here from Highbury. We almost died of hunger in the tunnels...

In the end, it was the commander who found us.

She was the one who pulled each of us up from our hopelessness and united us.

All of us look up to her, and we trust that she will lead us through each and every hopeless situation we'll come across.

Commander, help me out. We should get out of here right now, right?

Commander, I suggest we start a rescue operation right away.

Commander...

Harmo, Tyrell. Calm down, both of you.

Time is of the essence. This is no time for infighting.

That voice...

Vina, what's the matter?

No, nothing. I might just have misheard.

Mr. Feist, is the one who last spoke your commander? She sounds... very young.

Surprising, isn't it? When I first met her, I thought the exact same thing.

Do you remember how I figured out you were the leader the moment I first saw you, Cautus lady? Soon, you'll know how I knew.

Come, let's meet our commander.

I know how you feel, everyone, but there is one point that I think requires no discussion.

We will save our brothers and sisters in arms.

If we let our enemies hurt our warriors, who would be willing to fight alongside us?

If we let our enemies take our friends away, who would be willing to offer us a helping hand?

We are the Londinium Citizens' Self-Salvation Corps. We must save Londinium, but before that, we need to save each and every one of our living friends.

I think I know what Feist means now.

Ehhh, they really are kinda alike, right?

......

Everyone... quiet down. Let's not interrupt their meeting.

Looks like we have a few new friends to greet before we discuss a concrete rescue plan.

Feist, bring them here.

Uh... Yes, Commander!

Well met, Rhodes Island. I've been looking forward to your arrival.

I'm Clovisia, the commander of the Londinium Citizens' Self-Salvation Corps.

General, the commander of Dublinn is here.

Madam Mandragora.

......

General... Manfred.

I trust you are here because you have something important to discuss.

You... Hmph, you saw everything, and you still put up this act?

Madam Mandragora, your words just now could be taken as an insult to the Sarkaz.

Whatever you say.

I'm here... to apologize anyway.

Oh? You have an apology?

My men had a little misunderstanding with your people down at the port.

Misunderstanding?

I... I'm here because I wanted to make sure... the cooperation between us still stands.

Madam, let me remind you again. There are no concrete terms that we must follow for our cooperation to continue.

Dublinn will not interfere with Sarkaz operations in Londinium. In exchange, we will allow you to remain in a demarcated area here.

You told me, yes... and I haven't forgotten.

Right, and it doesn't matter if you have. We will consider the ruckus earlier a reminder.

......

Thank... you.

Don't be so quick to thank me. The Sarkaz are not as forgetful as you.

What do you want me to do, then? Do you want my life? If that's what you really want...

If that's what I actually wanted, you would not have made it here.

Hmm... and you wouldn't have taken to the steps of Westhaleg those months ago, either.

Er...

What we want to see is a bit of sincerity from Dublinn.

And not the kind of 'sincerity' where you snatch a few Victorian soldiers from us or kidnap a couple Londinium citizens who escaped.

It's about time that... we actually cooperate.

Horn!

What's wrong?

I didn't want to bother you, but Salley... he's not going to last much longer! His leg is so swollen that you can't even squeeze any more pus out...

......

Is the 3rd back yet?

No, things were a mess outside this morning. It might have delayed things for them.

How many men do we have?

Including the new blood, we have a total of seventeen who can fight.

The 2nd will stay. High alert.

I'll bring five men with me and pay the Dublinn's borrowed home a little visit.

But... if you go back, what will you do if you run into Mandragora again?

Salley can't wait much longer.

He needs medicine. Without painkillers and anti-inflammatories, he won't even make it through the afternoon.

Do any of you have anything that's worth money? Hm? Old Ayton's been racking his brains just to figure out how to trade for enough food each day.

If we don't take it from Dublinn, who are we supposed to turn to? The Sarkaz?

Or do you mean to ask the civilians for help? Have you given it any thought what the enemy will do to them if they offer us anything?

*Sigh*...

Dejection won't buy us our friend's life.

Pack it up. Bring any weapons we can use. We'll leave immediately.

Robben, you said you haven't killed enough of them, right? Lucky you. Your chance is here.