act18side

He's not here?

Mein Herr stepped out a while ago.

He left?

He's off to the hospital just outside the Afterglow, to talk treatment for the Infected who got poisoned.

What's this, Mein Herr? The hospital––

I managed to twist the arms of the largest two and got them to sign contracts, but as for the rest... there's no hope.

But Rhodes Island signed an agreement with those hospitals!

Oh, I didn't notice you were here as well.

There's no point. Rhodes Island's contracts are limited to symptoms caused by Oripathy itself. They have ample grounds to not treat Infected patients who've fallen ill from poisoning.

But, Mein Herr, you got those two hospitals. That should be enough, right?

Hmph. Enough? Of course it's enough! I put every copyright I hold down as collateral, of course the consortium behind them thinks that's enough!

Don't tell me you– You transferred all your copyrights over to that consortium?!

I did. Not just the existing copyrights. I even sold the distribution rights for tomorrow's concert to them.

Now, I can start from scratch... *cough*, *cough*.

*cough*... *cough*!

Mein Herr?!

You're awake?

Urgh... Mhm...

Mr. Czerny, you didn't take any precautionary measures when you went out, did you?

You're talking about the fumes from those Originium slugs? I didn't waste a single second getting those contracts signed. That's all that mattered to me when I left.

Promise me you'll never be that reckless ever again.

'Ever again?' Are you saying, I still have time left to live?

That's why I'm here.

Heh. You never want to see a doctor until your body gives out on you.

Thank you, Hibiscus.

I'm just doing my job.

That reminds me, why haven't you said anything, Ebenholz? Are you thinking of throwing in the towel now that the Afterglow is too dangerous?

I'll tell you straight– now that we've come this far, the concert MUST go on. Don't even think about running.

Don't even think about running, huh...

I...

(Whispers) Do you think he'd accept it now?

(Whispers) Give it a moment...

Seems like you're not here to tell me you're quitting the concert?

No, I'm not here to tell you I'm quitting the concert.

Ebenholz, you repeat what others say when you get nervous. I've noticed it from the very beginning.

If you have something to say, just spit it out. You think there's anything I wouldn't be able to accept in the state I'm in now?

*cough* –– *cough* *cough* *cough*!!

Mr. Czerny, here, water!

*cough*, *cough* *cough*... Damn–– damn that Gertrude!

And you! How could you possibly go along with a plan like that? Curse me for thinking you had some creative talent, and this is what you use it for? Some evil plot?

It wasn't my intention––

How could it not be? Haven't you answered to that crazy woman from the very beginning?

Czerny, I still remember what you said. Even deeply-rooted hatred can still be pure music as long as it is expressed with the right technique.

I did say that, but what comes next? What are you trying to express?

To be honest, I'm already starting to find my old way of thinking quite laughable.

But what I wish to pursue... is nothing more than freedom.

––Freedom. A longing for freedom, is it?

That's right.

You've got a long way to go before you can express that using music!

This has long been a deeply-rooted experience for me. Otherwise, I would not have come to you.

Hmph.

Come now.

Where are we going?

Where else? The concert hall.

Gertrude managed to keep me out of the lounge with her little tricks last time, but we're going to get to the bottom of this.

But, your health...

Instead of sitting here popping blood vessels over him and that woman, I might as well go see what they're up to.

Ebenholz, did Gertrude ever tell you if she did anything to the lounge?

She didn't say anything.

She doesn't have to say anything.

You can already tell?

Her fingerprints are all over this place...

See that speaker right there? It shows obvious signs of having been dismantled. The same goes for the record player over there. She didn't even bother to tighten the screws–– Tsk, even the screwdriver's been left out in the open.

Just the kind of handiwork I'd expect from a noble. Hilarious.

Hibiscus, bring that record player over. Let's see what else has been tampered with besides the tonearm.

See for yourself.

Did she just install an amplifier? That's only going to cause interference between the circuits...

She already had the stylus removed. This thing's basically just an amplifier now.

Same with the speaker. The input circuit was completely removed and replaced with an amplifier... What is she trying to do putting so many amplifiers in the lounge?

She never mentioned it.

Then let's give it a try. Go up on stage and play something. That'll be the fastest way to get our answer.

Doesn't seem like anything unusual is happening?

I can't hear anything out of the ordinary either.

Go over and tell Ebenholz to apply a little bit of Arts... Only the simplest kind to disperse drowsiness, maintained strictly at the lowest level.

*cough*, *cough* *cough*, *cough*––

Czerny!

*cough*, *cough*...

Don't worry about me... I just, got some palpitations, that's all...

Ebenholz, stand over here, and try using the same Arts as before. Remember to mind the volume.

An echo?

It's a sound coming from outside.

But isn't it the sound of Ebenholz's flute?

Czerny opens his mouth, but no voice comes out.

The answer already seems clear to him.

However, the expression Hibiscus sees on his face is not one of excitement or anger, but of terror.

Pure terror.

Gertrude converted this lounge, no, the entire Afterglow Hall, into a massive amplifier – an Arts amplification device.

The amplifier stays off as long as it doesn't detect any musical Arts.

But as soon as someone casts musical Arts, the amplification device activates... and exponentially amplifies the Arts as the music spreads through Afterglow Hall.

The leakages and Resonanz of the Voice of Mundane... are no exception.

(Stares vacantly)

In other words, Originium activation will spike in all areas that are affected, meaning that everyone in Vyseheim, virtually without exception, will be infected...

And those who already have Oripathy are even less likely to be spared. After they die, their bodies will rapidly disintegrate, releasing a large amount of active Originium microparticles...

The surrounding area will be permanently poisoned, and Vyseheim will be completely cut off from the outside world––

Very sorry to interrupt your little chat, but I'm here to offer a suggestion.

Why cast Arts of wakefulness across all of Vyseheim on such a beautiful night? I often suffer from insomnia.

My apologies, but we're dealing with something very important right now...

Gertrude?!

Good evening, Czerny.

And this must be Operator Hibiscus from Rhodes Island, yes? 'tis a pleasure to meet you.