act42side

Hmph.

Come along, Vani.

(Grab onto me. I left in a hurry and forgot the new glasses you got me.)

Reverend, the man's story doesn't stand up to scrutiny.

I know.

The appropriate course of action would be to take them in for questioning and eliminate any potential risk...

That won't be necessary... besides, I don't need another fight with that old bloke.

This bomb is simple, improvised. The girl obviously made it on the spot... which means that her accomplice is still inside.

Reassign an extra team of gun-knights and work with the patrols to ensure the shrine's security.

Yes, Reverend.

Strange. Is she still in the Shrine of Nurtury?

Cardinal Aide Amos.

R-Reverend Patrizion. L-Long time no see.

Long time indeed.

What are you all worked up about?

Have you seen Cardinal Lemuen? There's something I wanted to check with her.

She hasn't returned to the Seventh Tribunal since visiting the Shrine of Nurtury.

If this has something to do with the explosion, I must be kept in the loop.

Yes, Reverend.

I bumped into a Sankta on Via Borgos in Pagus Faber to complete the takeover of a firearms workshop. There was a visible reaction from the Cardinal when I mentioned this to her.

I checked the appearance of the individual I encountered against the database of registered citizens, and found a match in the external personnel files.

She must have been on the scene of the explosion in Pagus Stevonus. She has... certain ties to the Cardinal.

Oh?

...I don't have much time, Sister. I must return to the Shrine of Nurtury.

Let me confirm: You're not sure if the individual currently under care will die, but you want to make funeral preparations for her?

Yes... she is not in good shape. I will do all that I can as her Nurturer.

But that will not preclude me from preparing for the worst.

This seems so... un-Lateran.

What should a Lateran be like?

Now that's a complicated question...

Farewell—I hope we will not have cause to meet again.

I didn't believe it when they said it—But you really did come back here, Andoain.

This Ecclesia Requietum, this field of irises... are they familiar to you? Do you reminisce over them?

There are many Ecclesiae Requietorum in Laterano.

As for reminiscing... it would be inappropriate for me to do that about an Ecclesia Requietum, in my present position.

I forgot. You're a high-and-mighty Nurturer now.

Who are you?

Was it you who followed me and attacked me in the shrine?

Followed? Attacked? Who's the one who's mad here, Andoain, you or me?

If you didn't want us to walk the same path as you, why did you call us 'Pathfinders'?

The sinister shrine that devours. Is it the righteous path that you've found, or one that has led you astray?

I do not recall promising to walk the same path as anyone, before I met the Matriarch...

As for the Shrine of Nurtury, it's true that it has guided my path. But sinister? There must be some misunderstanding...

Enough, Andoain! <i>Nugas garris!</i> Don't play the fool with me!

A dozen of us never came back from the shrine! If the path you found demands our sacrifice, we at least deserve to be told.

Or, if you're really shameless enough to deny the connection, at least have the decency to say it to my face!

No, I don't understand...

You'll have plenty of time to figure it out.

Please, don't... there are many children I must care for... and that mother...

*cough* *cough* Argh—dammit!

It's them. Pull back!

If I didn't know better, I would say you were trying to hit Andoain with that one.

He's proven hard enough to kill so far. I figured it was an acceptable risk.

Fiammetta... Mostima...

You've really made yourself a lot of enemies, haven't you, Andoain?

I'll go after them while you two talk.

There's no need.

I don't know why they're targeting me, but I can't help but feel...

They're determined. People like that inevitably have complex pasts and simple motivations.

How compassionate.

How could you do what you did to your own cohort, then?

Why don't you repent before Mostima and Lemuen?

Why wouldn't you tell us what the one in the Lock and Key made you see, deep in that dungeon?

Why didn't you ever give us an answer?

Or, more accurately, share the question with us.

We must each follow our own paths, Fiammetta.

Is that why you attacked Lemuen and fled, before coming back with that Matriarch, hiding in the Shrine of Nurtury under her protection like nothing ever happened? Is this your 'path'?

What 'salvation' did you find in the years that you went off the grid?

I never found salvation, nor do I feel like nothing ever happened.

However, life is short, and if I do not find the answer I seek soon, my sins and your pain will become meaningless.

The day after I was released from Landen Monastery, I left Laterano, believing that I would find something.

The next five years were like a blur. All I remember is going from one place to another, alone, in many directions without end...

I often wonder if something has gone wrong with my memory.

And then, I found the Matriarch.

She was headed for the Holy City, though she had been delayed greatly by helping the wounded and needy along the way.

She made me believe that the answer still lies in Laterano.

She promised me a miracle, and that thousands upon thousands more miracles will be born from us. I returned to Laterano to fulfill this promise with her.

<i>Taceas!</i> Just shut up! You're babbling to yourself and making zero sense.

Listen here, Andoain.

After I kicked you out of that gathering the other day, Patrizion spent a long time telling me how important you, that shrine of yours, and the ceremony you're holding are.

I've never seen the old man so serious. So I promised him I wouldn't pick a fight with you. Yet.

I didn't save your life because I've forgiven you.

You just don't deserve to die before you've truly repented for what you did and paid a proper price.

The Nativity is about to start, isn't it?

I'm sorry, I must go.

Good morning.

Honored kindred, returned Messengers, emissaries from all across Terra, and guests who have set foot in the Holy City for the first time through the abbeys, I greet you.

This shrine in which we now find ourselves was not built to demonstrate Laterano's power and authority for the Summit of Nations.

However, I am glad from the bottom of my heart that it was completed in time for all of us to gather here today.

Every birth brings new possibilities... for the continuation of faith, for the fight against calamity. Only in this way can we shape the future.

This is even more true for the Laterano of the future.

I bid you now, prepare, and listen to the heartbeat of new life.

Slow down! You got a death wish or something? We're carrying a damned Originium plate! We're all dead if you drop it!

Seriously, what the hell is wrong with this family, using this as a pickling stone? Do they like their pickles with a touch of Originium?

Shut your *Sarkaz expletive* mouth and keep moving.

We gotta clear this whole district before the end of the day, unless you want the overseer to chew our heads off after the Lich chews his.

So many houses, and we got to clean every single speck of Originium off 'em... doesn't Babel have a dedicated construction team? Why don't we just tear it all down and rebuild from scratch?

Say, it's gonna take some getting used to, not having any Originium around.

I said, shut your *Sarkaz expletive* mouth.

We didn't have a choice but to rely on the mines. Now that Kazdel doesn't need to worry about energy anymore, of course we gotta clean house...