act28side

...Umm, my mother... she was the second to last mayor here. She worked here all her life.

But, she got sick... and I had to get a job, so I joined the bank... I never meant to betray anyone.

I don't know what Mr. Theremin told you, but you have to believe me when I say I want to help...

You seem to be misunderstanding something. Leone hasn't said a thing about you.

R-Really? Sorry for jumping to conclusions...

If you're worried about the energy tower, then you can sit here with us and wait for the news.

No... I still think...

Fine... I'll wait here with you.

If no one else has any objections, this is the plan we'll follow to carry out the evacuation, if it comes to it.

Thank you for the hard work, everyone. Franka and I will stand guard, so the rest of you can take a breather for the time being.

*sigh*... What time is it now, Captain Liskarm?

Seven, on the dot.

...Only one hour left.

I know.

Are we... really going to just sit here until eight?

Th-This is Jessica, reporting in! I've returned to the squad!

How's Laura doing? When are we heading out?

If you're asking when we're leaving, that'd be eight o'clock. If you're asking when we're sending backup...

I'm not in the mood to argue with a certain Vouivre right now. Ask her yourself.

An evacuation?!

There's less than an hour left. You sure you wanna play the waiting game?

Excuse me, but who might you be?

This is Woodrow, a local, umm... hunter.

You two know each other?

I'm the one who took her back to town when she got lost outside. We bumped into each other just now, so she gave me a lift.

...Well, thank you for helping her out, sir.

If something went wrong in the energy tower, why are y'all just sitting around out here?

We trust in our colleagues' ability to resolve the crisis. They're all professionals at handling Originium pollution.

Really now? Your deputy sure ain't as calm about the situation.

Sir, if an accident really breaks out, then we need to be on standby to evacuate the residents immediately. And we can only do that by staying here.

Awful generous of you to share all that with an outsider.

But I ain't one of your colleagues. If you're not going, I'll check it out myself.

That would be extremely dangerous—

Thanks for the tip.

Wait, Woodrow!

What's the matter?

...I'll go with you.

Jessica?!

Don't be rash. Have some faith in Laura. Even if you went—

I know. But even if there's not a whole lot I can do... She's still inside that tower.

If she makes it out safely, the least I can do is be there for her with a hug.

And if something were to happen... I'd have a chance to rush in there.

Alright then, let's get going, young lady.

Huh?!

L-Laura?

Move over, Jessica...

I'm starving to death here. Don't go blocking the door to the diner...

R-Reporting in, Captain Liskarm. I, and the rest of the squad, have safely returned...

Thank heaven you're alright...

Laura...

Phew... In any case, uhh, the explosion caused a large amount of Originium sediment to build up inside the plant's pipes, which is a critical situation that could've boiled over at a moments notice.

Out of safety concerns, I ordered everyone outside first and tried to come up with a plan. But no matter what course of action we chose, there was a not insignificant chance of activating the sediment.

Laura—

Captain, please stop asking. No matter how much you ask, there's not much else I could do to fix things up on such short notice. But I did manage to find a way to preserve the plant's basic heating functionality. So at least people won't be freezing to death...

As for whether the plate can start moving again, that'll have to wait until—

Laura! That's enough!

Captain...

This really was... the best I could do... I'm so sorry...

No, what I was <i>trying</i> to say is that what matters is that you brought everyone back safely.

Oh, really? That's good then... Actually... I'm really hungry right now... Like, really, really hungry...

Then let's go ahead and eat first.

Eat as much as you want, and get a good night's rest.