Глава 10

But I...

Dr.{@nickname}, from today onwards, you have the permission to access the following files.

Some of the information in these files will be of interest to you—

Whether it's information about her, or information on the powers that Amiya has inherited.

You talked about this, and you didn't believe me.

At this point in time, trust is meaningless.

I can't deny the importance you hold to Amiya, and the thing she needs most in this Londinium operation is your assistance.

Doctor...

No matter what you two find in Londinium, you have to face it with her, together.

I know you can do it.

Not so fast, Amiya.

Right... I need to stay calm.

I was almost going to chase after Miss Rockrock, to ask her who she saw.

But... that could further fuel her misunderstanding about us.

It's okay to have feelings.;You're being very hard on yourself already.

Yeah... Doctor, I'm feeling better now.

You might've heard a little about the past from Dr. Kal'tsit before we came to Londinium.

But there are some things that I haven't had the chance to talk to you about.

Actually, for a very long time after that incident, I dreamt about you two a lot.

In my dreams, you never talked. You just watched over me in silence.

It was like that night out on the barrens. You held my hand silently, and I could sleep soundly.

I was able to feel you... I knew you were just asleep. Dr.{@nickname}, you might have been away for a little while, but you were there with me still.

Amiya...

But she's... not the same.

She told me a lot of things in my dreams. From the fate of every single Sarkaz at Rhodes Island to if I wasn't sleeping well, if it was cold...

She warned me about lots of things. It was like she was right there by my side.

The more that happened... The more that happened, the more it struck home that... she has left us.

Trust your feelings.;......;You know her better than anyone.

There is so, so much that she didn't want to leave behind and so many people and things that she kept thinking about. Us, Dr. Kal'tsit, Rhodes Island, and the Sarkaz...

If... If she was actually alive, would she not come back to us?

The one you're talking about wouldn't do that.;This must be a misunderstanding.;Did Theresis do something, maybe?

Right, she wouldn't just abandon us.

And she wasn't the kind of person who would let Theresis invade Victoria... She wouldn't be able to bear seeing the Sarkaz start this unjust war.

You mean that Rockrock might have seen another Sarkaz who looked like her?

It's true. That's possible.

It's... a very cruel method.

Death is a very serious matter to the Sarkaz, much more so than any other race. The souls of a Sarkaz who passed eventually returns to her whole tribe. It's the greatest comfort to the Sarkaz, after a lifetime of hardship.

Doctor, you witnessed the passing of Patriot. It was a matter of dignity and pride. It was the last time a man saw his own fate.

The silence of death gave him an answer, and this answer can forgive everything about him.

No Sarkaz should ever have that final peace stolen from them... Especially her, who gave everything to the Sarkaz.

Doctor, do you remember what I said at the port?

I know what emotion has taken hold of Londinium. It's anger. Sarkaz anger.

And it's not just me who can hear it, this anger is so strong that all Sarkaz can hear it.

Even a Wendigo altar can't give rise to such a strong resonance. It's like someone turned the Sarkaz's centuries-old burning anger into an actual, raging fire.

If no one puts a stop to it, sooner or later, it will burn through Londinium's skies and spread, burning everything in its path.

That's why we need to get close to it as soon as we can to find out what the source of the fire that's engulfing everything actually is.

I'm worried about you, Amiya.;Wouldn't you get hurt if you got close?

You can see it, Doctor. Right, emotionally... I'm not like I was before.

The one ready to dive into the fire isn't the leader of Rhodes Island. Probably not the successor they keep talking about, either... It's Amiya.

This is what I want. It's the answer I'm looking for, as an individual.

And it's true... I'm also a little scared.

I'm afraid of that answer. I don't want to see Dr. Kal'tsit and everyone else have their hearts shattered.

There's you too, Amiya.

Yeah, right. There's me, too. If it's really her... I don't even want to imagine what that might mean...

But this is something I must face. There is no other way forward.

I will face it with you.;We will walk this path together.

Thank you, Doctor...

Just knowing you're here by my side gives me the courage to keep going.

I'll go talk to Commander Clovisia now, to propose a partnership.

Their friends were taken prisoner by the Sarkaz, and they need more manpower to rescue them.

We also need their help.

Going by our original plan, we should already have rendezvoused with our contact, the Messenger lady. We need to figure out whether she's safe or not.

She's a friend of the Self-Salvation Corps. Maybe their commander could help us find her.

That's not to mention their guidance will make our journey into Central Londinium much more likely to succeed.

Rhodes Island will prove to the Londinium Citizens' Self-Salvation Corps that we are not here for the Sarkaz crown.

Horn, the Dublinn forces are acting really strange!

They're going... that way.

I thought Sarkaz troops were guarding that area, though? Dublinn would never have dared to go anywhere close with them around!

They must have their reasons. I'll tail them.

Isn't that a tad risky...? They have ten times our manpower.

And that's why I'm going alone.

The rest of you will continue as planned. Look for resources at their stronghold. They've just started relocating. Most likely, they haven't had the time to haul their supplies away too.

Be careful out there.

You too!

Hey, get a move on. The commander doesn't want us to waste another second!

I know you don't want to be doing this. Who does? Those stinking devils, treating us like a bunch of mercenaries!

But don't let me see you slacking off. You better not embarrass the commander in front of the Sarkaz.

Why aren't you keeping up? M-611, respond!

W-What's going on?

Don't move.

I-It's you...! M-601, call for... argh!

Don't speak either.

Urgh...

Hand over the comms.

Alright, now you can speak.

*Cough*, *cough* *cough*...

Tell me, what are you helping the Sarkaz with?

L-Like I'd tell you, you wicked Victorian wolf...

Let me think... How did Dublinn treat the Victorians who weren't willing to talk?

They were hanged on a pulley a dozen meters off the ground, right?

Too bad, I don't know how to make stone columns with Arts. I don't have an easy way to send someone so high up.

Y-You wouldn't...

Wouldn't I?

True, if I were as shameless as your commander, watching my people sacrifice themselves in County Hillock one by one wouldn't have bothered me one bit.

How about this, then? I'll tie you up, and then dump you in some abandoned factory.

There are lots of factories like that around here. It wouldn't take that long to look through each of them one by one.

Now that's how I do things, right? It's thanks to my patience that I could rescue some of those poor soldiers from you people.

I only hope that your commanding officer will find you too before you die alone, despairing in the darkness...

No... No! My commander wouldn't...

Please, spare me. What do you want to know? I just follow orders. I don't understand the complicated stuff!