act29side

I've completed my assessment.

Abandoning this mission is not an option.

We've arrived, Droste. You'd best wait outside.

Hm? I sense no danger...

Don't move.

...What?

You're blocking my pipe. Yes, the one puffing out smoke to your left. If you move, I can't guarantee that your left hand will remain after the smoke ring passes.

You use a smoking pipe as a wand?

This? A wand? Don't be ridiculous. I smoke to relax. Who'd want to think about serious matters while smoking? I simply wanted run an experiment, and see if this smoke ring could float all the way to the top of the twin sheep's spire.

...We're here because we have important matters to discuss, Herr Fremont.

What a killjoy, Reiner. If only you were as well-behaved as the lovely little doe next to you.

I'd also be interested in seeing if a smoke ring could float for dozens of kilometers.

No, distance isn't the important factor. What matters is... not being blinded by that uselessly shiny armor of yours.

Alright, so you've ruined my mood. Now tell me, was it the gloomy sheep or the boastful sheep that asked you to come find me?

So you're telling me a copy of the Güldenesgesatz was lost. The one stored in Sturmwind.

Do we pay you to sit around all day?! You're the Gesatzswächter, and you can't even keep an eye on the Güldenesgesatz. What good is that fancy getup of yours, other than being hung from the top of the Spires as an ornament?

Seriously, that Grimmacht. 'It's safer to keep it far away from the center of whirlpool'? Apparently, some of your idiocy rubbed off on her! Maybe the bigger your horns, the stupider you get!

And don't get me started with that punk in Sturmwind! Honor his vow with his life? Like hell he did!

Kurfürst Werner has passed.

Before you stands his daughter.

It's a pleasure.

My condolences, if you want them. But that doesn't change the fact that this whole farce is the height of absurdity! Especially the fact that Grimmacht waited until <i>now</i> to tell me!

Is this stolen Güldenesgesatz really so special?

Twenty-three years ago, when Kurfürst Werner returned from Zwillingstürme to Sturmland, he had it on his person.

Aside from the Kaiserinnen and the Kurfürsten, no one wanted to be near it. My guess is that, like many of the Arts devices from the era of the Witch King, his Arts still remain in it.

The Witch King's Arts... The Witch King's Arts!

The entrance of Ludwigs-Universität has that fool's Arts, too. They could have all the armors lining the streets start breakdancing right this moment—but is there a point?

Did Grimmacht never mention it? Those are no normal, frivolous Arts. They're Arts devices that Herkunftshorn himself spent his life developing, all to defeat his greatest foe!

The Witch King's greatest foe... Do you mean Corsica I of Gaul?

A mere emperor, leading a mere army. Do you really think transient might like that would have meant a thing to Herkunftshorn in his heyday?

The enemy he defeated all those years ago was the will of Leithanien.

...The Güldenesgesatz.

Apparently you aren't a <i>complete</i> moron. Ever since the birth of the Leithanian Empire, the Güldenesgesatz has changed only once.

All on his own, Herkunftshorn issued a challenge to Leithanien's forebears, as well as to all the Arts masters who put their energy into composing the Güldenesgesatz.

How do you feel?

My head... hah... It doesn't hurt as much anymore.

I'm afraid normal healing Arts won't help you very much. Your pain isn't caused by physical injuries.

I know. There's an evil old fart shouting my ear off. That's all.

You... You can actually hear him speak?

Occasionally.

That must be unbearable. Like his melodies, the Witch King's voice holds a power that is difficult to endure.

If he wanted, he could kill a man simply by humming.

You've met him?

My teacher, Herr Fremont, was once the Witch King's closest friend.

When he sat atop the Witch King's Spire, there were once thousands of casters prostrating themselves before the steps to the throne. And I... I was one of them.

So you're also...

Ugh!

Is your head hurting again? Don't worry. I betrayed him in the end. I joined the resistance, and charged into the Spire under Grimmacht and Ewigegnade's leadership.

That day, the steps I once kneeled before were... redder than even the leaves in the Ludwigs-Universität campus.

It must have been a difficult battle.

For every ten companions I fought beside, only one survived... Every last one of us was among the most capable in the country.

If they had been as fortunate as me, they would have gone on to become even more outstanding scholars, even greater casters.

No wonder you visited Forest Park that day. I should salute you and those who sacrificed their lives.

Don't waste your strength... I'm not worth it.

If it hurts, though, feel free to lean on me.

Let him go.

Lessing...?

I knew you'd come after us.

Where's Professor Fremont?

He's very disappointed in you.

I'm sorry, Lessing. I don't want to hurt you, nor do I want to make an enemy of my dear teacher.

Then why stop us?

The Genesis Horn should not arrive like this.

We're not pursuing any evil causes. We're simply retrieving what belongs to us and destroying what hinders us. You know that.

The Witch King's relics... Who do they belong to? And who decides that?

You're a smart fellow, Lessing, and an honest one. You should think about these things, lest you regret all this in twenty or thirty years. I see you as my favorite student, which is why I don't want to see you make the same mistakes.

I once... saw you as a dear mentor too.

I still remember. You weren't even half as tall as you are now when Professor Fremont handed that sword to you.

Yet in the blink of an eye, you're as old as I was when I stormed the Witch King's Spire.

In school, time really does fly right by, doesn't it?

My fear is that not <i>enough</i> time has passed. That I'm not strong or worthy enough to raise my sword for those I want to protect.

I'm your target, remnant of the Witch King.

And I have only one thing to say to you: Get out of my way.

Classes are almost over.

Come, this way!

Maeyer, what are you doing standing here? Not auditing any lectures today?

Ahem... Why are you holding a sword in the school building? You really love training, don't you?

...He chose this path on purpose.

Have you heard? A large group of gendarmes barged into the school today. They're searching everyone they're coming across, especially commoners from the Urtica territory—

Hold on, why are you running so fast? Even up the stairs? The school administration doesn't allow that!

Are you okay? Why waste your strength on me? I'm much older than you. I should be the one protecting <i>you</i>.

Haa... Haa... Well, I'm the one he's after. Besides, I don't want to see any more blood spilled on my account.

Considering Lessing's abilities and temperament, he'll catch up to us soon.

We need to take a safer route.

Are we inside a school?

Ludwigs-Universität.

You are of the Urtica bloodline. If the Witch King hadn't fallen when you were born, you would have studied Arts here.

...I'd really wish I weren't.

The Urticas have produced more than one Leithanian ruler. Aside from Herkunftshorn and the other Kaisers...

Ludwig. Known as the Scholar, he was the Kurfürst of Einwald, and he too almost became the Kaiser of Leithanien. And he was also your ancestor.

He wanted everyone to 'gain the most supreme knowledge,' so that the land would 'never again impede Leithanien.'

When he insisted on opening up his family's spire to all of Einwald's citizens, many thought he'd gone mad.

Mad... Heh. I suppose a lot of our family get called that.

Madness goes hand-in-hand with greatness. This has always been the way of House Urtica. Even the Witch King was a benevolent ruler of unsurpassed talent, before he succumbed to his madness.

'Succumbing to madness' has far more frightening connotations when it happens to a tyrant rather than a commoner.

If that's another Urtica tradition, then I'll have to find somewhere to bleed out before it happens to me.

From the moment I laid eyes on you, I saw the bravery in you. But your life is precious, and self-destruction has never been the only path open to you.

Franz... May I call you Franz?

You know the name I threw away?

You won't ever be alone again. Let me help you.