Kin or Otherwise

That's no reason for them to join us.

They aren't joining us... They're cooperating with us.

Didn't you hear the commander? They're friends of a friend. We accepted our friend's request and helped them enter Londinium, and they're here now.

And if they can help us look for people...

They can rest up in our hideout. That's the commander's order.

And once they're done resting up, they'll leave this place. I'll escort them to somewhere safe aboveground, and that'll be the end of it.

Why can't we ask them if they're willing to stay for a short while? It'll just be a small favor. They might not turn us down.

You know why. I told you.

Er...

The commander thinks they can be trusted. There has to be a reason for that, so I'll stop questioning their motives.

But I also don't want our men dragged into needless danger.

Why do you think what they're doing is dangerous?

What do you think they're doing here?

They sneaked into Londinium with a bunch of highly skilled Sarkaz, and they're making an enemy of those other Sarkaz... Feist, we're Victorians. We're used to this.

You're talking about the lords fighting day in and day out outside Londinium.

Ever since we were born, they've been fighting amongst themselves to no end. If it wasn't because of all their infighting, our homes wouldn't have become a Sarkaz backyard.

It's tiring enough trying to take back our homes... The Sarkaz want to fight on our lands, and not only is there nothing we can do about it, it has nothing to do with us.

But what if they can really stop the Sarkaz occupying the city?

Maybe you think they're here to snatch the crown, but the way I see it, we have a common enemy.

I'm not so confident to think that we can take control of the situation. Not like you.

The Sarkaz... they're nothing like you think. They're that good at pretending.

The day my dad was executed, I spotted a girl in the distance... The executioner called her 'Your Majesty.'

That was when I found out what the king of the devils actually looked like.

You never told me that before.

Because I never saw the need to.

I'm telling you this now because... I want you to know we can't let ourselves be deceived by looks.

Even though the Sarkaz woman had a flawless, unblemished appearance, even if she put up a look of pity for an old Londinier worker, totally unknown to her, I will never forget...

She is the one who led the Sarkaz and killed my father... and countless more Victorians...! She's the Lord of Fiends!

Uhh... Miss Amiya?

......

Mr. Feist, Miss Rockrock...

That's all I have to say, Captain. I will head aboveground and continue our search mission. You... You should really give what I said some thought.

Sorry, Miss Amiya, Doctor... Um, I need to help Harmo tune his equipment... so please excuse me too.

Doctor, the Sarkaz that Miss Rockrock mentioned...

It's a white-haired woman with a compassionate look... and the Sarkaz called her 'Your Majesty.'

Doctor, you might have forgotten, but I...

I will never forget even the tiniest detail about her expression or anything she said to me.

I know it's impossible.

But I...

Doctor, from today onwards, you have the permission to access the following files.

Some of the information in these files will be of interest to you—

Whether it's information about her, or information on the powers that Amiya has inherited.

......

At this point in time, trust is meaningless.

I can't deny the importance you hold to Amiya, and the thing she needs most in this Londinium operation is your assistance.

Doctor...

No matter what you two find in Londinium, you have to face it with her, together.

I know you can do it.

......

Right... I need to stay calm.

I was almost going to chase after Miss Rockrock, to ask her who she saw.

But... that could further fuel her misunderstanding about us.

Yeah... Doctor, I'm feeling better now.

You might've heard a little about the past from Dr. Kal'tsit before we came to Londinium.

But there are some things that I haven't had the chance to talk to you about.

Actually, for a very long time after that incident, I dreamt about you two a lot.

In my dreams, you never talked. You just watched over me in silence.

It was like that night out on the barrens. You held my hand silently, and I could sleep soundly.

I was able to feel you... I knew you were just asleep. Doctor, you might have been away for a little while, but you were there with me still.

But she's... not the same.

She told me a lot of things in my dreams. From the fate of every single Sarkaz at Rhodes Island to if I wasn't sleeping well, if it was cold...

She warned me about lots of things. It was like she was right there by my side.

The more that happened... The more that happened, the more it struck home that... she has left us.

There is so, so much that she didn't want to leave behind and so many people and things that she kept thinking about. Us, Dr. Kal'tsit, Rhodes Island, and the Sarkaz...

If... If she was actually alive, would she not come back to us?

Right, she wouldn't just abandon us.

And she wasn't the kind of person who would let Theresis invade Victoria... She wouldn't be able to bear seeing the Sarkaz start this unjust war.

You mean that Rockrock might have seen another Sarkaz who looked like her?

It's true. That's possible.

It's... a very cruel method.

Death is a very serious matter to the Sarkaz, much more so than any other race. The souls of a Sarkaz who passed eventually returns to her whole tribe. It's the greatest comfort to the Sarkaz, after a lifetime of hardship.

Doctor, you witnessed the passing of Patriot. It was a matter of dignity and pride. It was the last time a man saw his own fate.

The silence of death gave him an answer, and this answer can forgive everything about him.

No Sarkaz should ever have that final peace stolen from them... Especially her, who gave everything to the Sarkaz.

Doctor, do you remember what I said at the port?

I know what emotion has taken hold of Londinium. It's anger. Sarkaz anger.

And it's not just me who can hear it, this anger is so strong that all Sarkaz can hear it.

Even a Wendigo altar can't give rise to such a strong resonance. It's like someone turned the Sarkaz's centuries-old burning anger into an actual, raging fire.

If no one puts a stop to it, sooner or later, it will burn through Londinium's skies and spread, burning everything in its path.

That's why we need to get close to it as soon as we can to find out what the source of the fire that's engulfing everything actually is.

You can see it, Doctor. Right, emotionally... I'm not like I was before.

The one ready to dive into the fire isn't the leader of Rhodes Island. Probably not the successor they keep talking about, either... It's Amiya.

This is what I want. It's the answer I'm looking for, as an individual.

And it's true... I'm also a little scared.

I'm afraid of that answer. I don't want to see Dr. Kal'tsit and everyone else have their hearts shattered.

Yeah, right. There's me, too. If it's really her... I don't even want to imagine what that might mean...

But this is something I must face. There is no other way forward.

Thank you, Doctor...

Just knowing you're here by my side gives me the courage to keep going.

I'll go talk to Commander Clovisia now, to propose a partnership.

Their friends were taken prisoner by the Sarkaz, and they need more manpower to rescue them.

We also need their help.

Going by our original plan, we should already have rendezvoused with our contact, the Messenger lady. We need to figure out whether she's safe or not.

She's a friend of the Self-Salvation Corps. Maybe their commander could help us find her.

That's not to mention their guidance will make our journey into Central Londinium much more likely to succeed.

Rhodes Island will prove to the Londinium Citizens' Self-Salvation Corps that we are not here for the Sarkaz crown.

Horn, the Dublinn forces are acting really strange!

They're going... that way.

I thought Sarkaz troops were guarding that area, though? Dublinn would never have dared to go anywhere close with them around!

They must have their reasons. I'll tail them.

Isn't that a tad risky...? They have ten times our manpower.

And that's why I'm going alone.

The rest of you will continue as planned. Look for resources at their stronghold. They've just started relocating. Most likely, they haven't had the time to haul their supplies away too.

Be careful out there.

You too!

Hey, get a move on. The commander doesn't want us to waste another second!

I know you don't want to be doing this. Who does? Those stinking devils, treating us like a bunch of mercenaries!

But don't let me see you slacking off. You better not embarrass the commander in front of the Sarkaz.

Why aren't you keeping up? M-611, respond!

W-What's going on?

Don't move.

I-It's you...! M-601, call for... argh!

Don't speak either.

Urgh...

Hand over the comms.

Alright, now you can speak.

*Cough*, *cough* *cough*...

Tell me, what are you helping the Sarkaz with?

L-Like I'd tell you, you wicked Victorian wolf...

Let me think... How did Dublinn treat the Victorians who weren't willing to talk?

They were hanged on a pulley a dozen meters off the ground, right?

Too bad, I don't know how to make stone columns with Arts. I don't have an easy way to send someone so high up.

Y-You wouldn't...

Wouldn't I?

True, if I were as shameless as your commander, watching my people sacrifice themselves in County Hillock one by one wouldn't have bothered me one bit.

How about this, then? I'll tie you up, and then dump you in some abandoned factory.

There are lots of factories like that around here. It wouldn't take that long to look through each of them one by one.

Now that's how I do things, right? It's thanks to my patience that I could rescue some of those poor soldiers from you people.

I only hope that your commanding officer will find you too before you die alone, despairing in the darkness...

No... No! My commander wouldn't...

Please, spare me. What do you want to know? I just follow orders. I don't understand the complicated stuff!

Yes, I'm quite sure of that. That Sarkaz commander is much smarter than your commanding officer.

Whatever he is scheming, Mandragora will never figure it out, and you lads will have to keep letting the Sarkaz toy with you.

Fine, you just need to tell me where you are headed, then. I'll figure out the rest myself.

If you're back, why didn't you pay me a visit sooner?

You have too many guests.

Ah, I forgot. You didn't want to see the Confessarius Messenger.

If he found out that I came back to Londinium, wouldn't that spell the end of my leisurely days?

Even then, you didn't have to wait for Hoederer to leave before you show yourself. He's my man. He won't ever report your presence to the court.

Oh, he's your man? Don't fool yourself; you don't trust anyone.

If you really trusted him, you could've just hollered my name. You're the one who decided to wait till the Dublinn Feline and your mercenary friends were gone before saying hello.

......

Let's set this topic aside. You helped me lure the Dublinn forces into position this morning. I owe you this one.

Oh... It's no big deal. Besides, I got a little surprise out of it.

A surprise...? For you, of all people, to use that word, I'm guessing you found more than a few rebels.

Hm... Did you meet the Rhodes Islanders down there?

There's more. Not only did I run into them, they were the ones who 'rescued' me from Dublinn and escorted me to the city walls.

If it wasn't for how antsy you were to test your prized new toy, such that I had to be 'blown up' in front of them, perhaps I could've followed them a little longer.

I actually wanted to have a good chat with her.

......

What if I tell you there's still a chance?

Another job for me? Didn't you send the Dublinns and the mercenaries to guard the temporary brig? I thought you had everything in place already, and you just had to extend an invitation?

I prefer writing myself a few insurance policies.

Alright, alright. You owe us one, then.

Uh... Did I just say 'us?'

No matter. There's no one else here.

Truth be told, we don't really want to stay here for much longer... That narcissistic old man with the chalice is almost here, isn't he?

Don't tell him about us.

Of course... I have yet to repay your kindness, after all.

Another note... You should stop masquerading as a dead man. Not only might you find your cover blown, it also... makes me feel uneasy.

Gah, we almost forgot. What an upstanding Sarkaz you are, right, pupil of Theresis?

Relax. The next time we meet, I won't be 'Mr. Thomas' anymore.