Глава 10

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!

Yes, I'm quite sure of that. That Sarkaz commander is much smarter than your commanding officer.

Whatever he is scheming, Mandragora will never figure it out, and you lads will have to keep letting the Sarkaz toy with you.

Fine, you just need to tell me where you are headed, then. I'll figure out the rest myself.

If you're back, why didn't you pay me a visit sooner?

You have too many guests.

Ah, I forgot. You didn't want to see the Confessarius Messenger.

If he found out that I came back to Londinium, wouldn't that spell the end of my leisurely days?

Even then, you didn't have to wait for Hoederer to leave before you show yourself. He's my man. He won't ever report your presence to the court.

Oh, he's your man? Don't fool yourself; you don't trust anyone.

If you really trusted him, you could've just hollered my name. You're the one who decided to wait till the Dublinn Feline and your mercenary friends were gone before saying hello.

Let's set this topic aside. You helped me lure the Dublinn forces into position this morning. I owe you this one.

Oh... It's no big deal. Besides, I got a little surprise out of it.

A surprise...? For you, of all people, to use that word, I'm guessing you found more than a few rebels.

Hm... Did you meet the Rhodes Islanders down there?

There's more. Not only did I run into them, they were the ones who 'rescued' me from Dublinn and escorted me to the city walls.

If it wasn't for how antsy you were to test your prized new toy, such that I had to be 'blown up' in front of them, perhaps I could've followed them a little longer.

I actually wanted to have a good chat with her.

What if I tell you there's still a chance?

Another job for me? Didn't you send the Dublinns and the mercenaries to guard the temporary brig? I thought you had everything in place already, and you just had to extend an invitation?

I prefer writing myself a few insurance policies.

Alright, alright. You owe us one, then.

Uh... Did I just say 'us?'

No matter. There's no one else here.

Truth be told, we don't really want to stay here for much longer... That narcissistic old man with the chalice is almost here, isn't he?

Don't tell him about us.

Of course... I have yet to repay your kindness, after all.

Another note... You should stop masquerading as a dead man. Not only might you find your cover blown, it also... makes me feel uneasy.

Gah, we almost forgot. What an upstanding Sarkaz you are, right, pupil of Theresis?

Relax. The next time we meet, I won't be 'Mr. Thomas' anymore.