act16mini

...The coupon flyer and the shopping list to go with it have gotten all mixed up. Now, what did Alanna tell me to get again...?

So that's the whole deal. The stretch from Windy Beach to the Grinning Valley is the most Catastrophe-prone place, say the Messengers. I've seen it myself too.

Oh? What's so special about the place?

Well, you could say that its ecology is–

Is what?

––Devoid of fowlshit.

Though Billy's natural geography is generally pretty barren to begin with, this area is SO barren that you won't even find fowlbeast droppings.

You want an 'easy' route? Not even in your dreams. If you want a road paved for you, you can look towards the rocks raining from the sky.

And don't expect to find anything fun to do either. All you find is the usual Billy stuff – ready to kill at the drop of a hat.

Alright, so other than the fowlbeasts that don't poop, any other special creatures to look out for?

Other creatures? Well, there's a scary number of sandbeasts. And listen to me here, you don't want anything to do with them. They'll mess you up!

Sure, sure. Got it. Sandbeasts. Nothing unusual about those.

Isn't there anything a bit more... 'talkative,' 'shining,' 'incredibly huge,' anything along those lines?

How would I know? I'm not even a professional explorer, let alone a cryptid biologist.

C'mon, don't be in such a rush to shoo us away...

Lemme just ask you one last time.

'Rays of light.' 'A shadow as tall as a mountain.' 'Talking.' These words don't mean anything to you, right?

––Say that again, one more time?

Rays of light. A shadow as tall as a mountain. Talks.

Nah, yeah. That's a thing.

What?

*sigh*... What a pain. In the end, I really did remember something for your sake.

(Sargonian) 'Feranmut.'

What language is that?

Sargonian. Course, not many know the word to begin with.

Huh. Where's Sargonia?

I mean, that doesn't matter here. You should be using your precious time to tell me what that word means.

Huh? Didn't you hear what I just said? Almost nobody knows the word at all!

So, I've got no way of explaining it. Anything would just come out silly. Nobody's ever really studied exactly what a Feranmut is; it's just a vague concept that I happened to hear about.

Forget it, just act like you never heard anything from me. Don't even think about it, and certainly don't go throwing that word around. Nothing irks my tail more than fake news getting spread all over the place. I just end up running around for nothing.

Alright, alright. I'll forget you ever said anything.

Don't need your thanks or your words of praise. Your ten minutes are up, and the door is thataway. Are we clear?

Yeah, clear as day.

Although... I'm still going to thank you anyway. The first bit you said, that this is a thing, that's good enough for me.

...Hmph.

Rays of light? Shadows as tall as mountains? Feranmuts?

Who the hell would believe anything so crazy?

These made-up legends are growing out of control. People really oughta stop trying to mess with me.

Ugh...

How about... I finish these goddamn investigation reports and head on over to the Grinning Valley to take a look?

Whaddya think?

If you're planning on going, then of course you have my full support! Even though I don't know anything about exploring or archaeology, there has to be some way I can help!

Huh? Nah, I was asking how you felt about getting kicked out after ten minutes.

Didn't you tag along so I wouldn't lose track of time chatting with my old friend? Looks like I didn't need your supervision.

That's true, heehee.

You know, when you really can't muster a smile... you don't have to force yourself. Even just a bit.

If you're tired and want to vent, I'll make sure nobody sees you.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh! I finally found a nice tunnel I can hide in! I'm saved!

Huh?

Hurry. Get your rear in there.

As a friendly reminder, the left side's the sewage pipeline of the scalecis processing factory. I'd hop over to the other side, if I were you.

Thanks a million, Alanna!

Oh, wait. Fancy running into you here.

(Raises an eyebrow)

Um... I can explain...

I think someone's seen through our disguise and is setting up near the checkpoint. Ray seems to have gotten herself tangled up, but... I'm sure she has a way out.

Just a sec. The people chasing you are after us because of what we've done?

Uhh, I'm not too sure about that...

I, I mean, my thing definitely doesn't matter!

I just happened to be hiding in the wrong place, so I got caught up in this Keira's mess again...

Grab the rope, Jerry!

Y-Yeah! Got it – I'll help you throw the knot over, and then you can lower me down!

...In any case, that's the situation, Alanna. Don't worry about me! Gotta run for now!

Did he actually get himself involved, or is he just running because he happened to see someone else running?

But y'know, Potlid, don't you the one next to him looks kinda familiar?

Life really is terrifying. And you can't run away from it, no matter how much you might want to... Well, actually, I've never wanted to run away.

I always went with the flow, safely and securely, along with my thirty-six other siblings and the other three hundred thousand people in the city. After all, you naturally gravitate towards whatever's the most stable.

But I got attacked out of nowhere. I ended up skipping out on my engagement, and now I'm actually on the run with my very own two feet.

I don't know why, but, even as I'm being chased by all sorts of things and running for my life....

––In the end, a door always opens for me.

*pant*, *pant*... Are things getting better or worse for us?

Logically speaking, if there's a nest of metal crabs beneath the sewer, we ought to contact a security officer. That's what it says under the 'beware of wildlife' signs...

Bad news is, we just barged straight into their home in our attempt to escape.

Ha... Ahaha...

I can't feel my lungs anymore...

Don't slow down now! Unless you want to end cut to ribbons by those pincers!

I, I really can't deal with this whole running away thing...

Do I come across as some career criminal who's constantly on the run? I'm just...

...I just wanted people to think I went missing, so I crawled into the bed of my hardware store's delivery truck and went to sleep for a day.

Then, the cargo box ended up getting transported away as usual and I found myself waking up in someone else's vehicle...

And here we are.

You're not a career criminal? Thank goodness, I thought I saw your face somewhere before on a wanted poster.

Oh, b-but I don't mean to say that you look generic or ordinary...

You know, I've had a question my mind. You really went and helped someone you thought was a wanted criminal?

I, I just felt like I had no choice... From the very beginning, I didn't know why those men were even chasing me...

...Plus, I think you're actually a good egg. Same as the ladies who abducted me and brought me here. They're actually pretty decent...

Ugh! So loud...

Hold on, where are we...?

...I've got an idea!

Let's hear it.

Huh? You're letting me call the shots? Th-This is rather new for me...

...Long story short, that sound's the smelting plant's automatic waste filtration and disposal system. I've seen someone falling off it in one of our company ads, he suffered a terrible fracture...

...My point is, if people can fall from it, that also means there has to be a way up. We might be able to climb on top of that thing.

There's no way the metal crabs could chase us up that high! And our pursuers would never expect us to leave the factory. Let's go this way!

You want us to walk across these... rickety platforms that look like they could flip over at a moment's notice? Along these iron slabs that could easily send us flying?

It's not completely impossible! The robotic arms are on a timer! I'll climb up first and look for the control room. It'll be safe, as long as I manually operate the arms!

I saw Alanna driving the transport. The operating lever for this mechanical platform should be just like that vehicle's shifter...

I might be able to pull this off... I just need to give it a shot...

I mean... I can't say for sure if it's going to work or not, but...

I trust you. You can do it. Just go for it.