Глава 16

No, sir. We can't delay any longer.

I'm sorry.

You see Amiya shift her body, surreptitiously protecting you. Mon3tr observes your surroundings, looking for a way out.

You don't know how things work around here.

Get them.

(Warning roar)

Err... Ah!

What are you standing around for?! Get in there already!

What, can't even handle a little Feline girl?

S...Sir, look behind them.

That looks like th-th-the—

Spit it out already!

—The Imperial Guard!

<i>Yerunda!</i> Those pretentious bastards should be in Grypherburg, what would they be doing in Bresk?

B-But those clothes—

I am terribly sorry, sir, but I'm afraid she is right this time.

You...

Eloysius Gorchekova, Sergeant of the Imperial Guard, Vanguard Battalion, here from Deity Grypherburg.

What are you playing at?

I have a simple request for you. Overlook this little breach of protocol and release our pitiful guests.

You're with them?

Unfortunately, they are indeed my friends. Since you are now aware of my history with them, surely you'll do me this favor, yes?

We're a long way from Grypherburg, why should I care about that?

Because I stopped by Public Security and filled out all the paperwork?

The young Ursus waves some papers in her hand. In the dusky gloom of polar night, none can clearly see what is written on them.

But—

If I were you, sir, I wouldn't play around with my future like that.

There are many lost travelers, but rarely a chance to curry favor with the Imperial Guard—Ah, yes, may I ask you your name, or your service number?

Alright, Sergeant Gorchekova. I'll report all this to Public Security. You may go.

May your authority be as eternally glorious as the Tsar himself.

Thank you for the kind words, sir.

But none has as eternal a glory as His Imperial Majesty. The rest of us will have to leave the stage when the time comes.

Well, I'll be off with our guests for now.

Thank you for helping us get out of that sticky situation, ma'am... but, why exactly did you—

Shh, they're still close by.

Also, my cute little Cautus, you may call me Eloysius.

'Ma'am' is too formal, while 'Guardswoman' or 'girl' is too crude. I believe names are what's best for our current relationship.

Thank you for the help, Eloysius.;You really know how to handle those guards.

They most likely thought you were ordinary traders, easy to shake down for a quick <i>chervonets</i> or two, same way they treat Columbian sightseers.

But you're hardly tourists or traders, now, are you?

Let's cut to the chase.;Why are you helping us?

Good, good, I appreciate candor. I will answer your questions, but not here.

Once you have gathered your friends, we can go somewhere far from prying eyes and ears.

We don't have much time.

Relax, I won't be wasting your time. This is all in service of your goal.

Well, here we are.

Where is here?

An abandoned apartment. As far as I know, the guards don't care for these nigh-empty old districts.

An empty plate may sound wasteful, but it is true. No matter how the <i>Deity Grypherburg Times</i> tries to cover it up, it is a widely-known fact that the population of the Far Northern cities has been dwindling these last few years.

As time goes by, this place becomes deserted, and the plate will be discarded, left to rust in the wilderness like all the other abandoned plates.

Eloysius, we need to know exactly why you came looking for us. Now, ideally.

(Vigilant stare)

Could I ask everyone to lighten up a little, please?

There are a lot of you and only one of me. What kind of threat could I possibly pose to people of your caliber?

Could I ask the Phidia lady standing outside the door to tell your friends that I'm not lying?

Captain says there's nobody else here. The district is safe.

Choosing this place to talk means you also need to be covert.;I had hoped the Imperial Guard would at least treat us to dinner.

A friend of mine used to live here. She had hoped to achieve her dream of completing a saga for the Ursine people, but was defeated by the frigid cold—She is doing very well in Grypherburg, I should add.

But thanks to her, we have this place to shelter both from the cold wind, and from people snooping around.

I'm sure I'm not the only one here who wants to stay out of trouble.

You're a funny one, my hooded friend. It takes a clever mind to grasp humor.

Once we have discussed our important business, I would be happy to entertain you with a meal if you are all still interested.

Firstly, since I've already introduced myself, may I have the pleasure of knowing your names?

We've come from Victoria and—

Still insisting that you went into the industrial zone to meet with an inter-city merchant, a widow who goes by the name of Olga?

A very reliable cover story, one that will fool a vast majority of the city's port officials.

But no matter how you put it, it is rare for a commercial party in a nomadic city to be using military-grade encrypted communications.

Was it you intercepting our communications?

No, no, I would never do something so crude.

It may have been the aurora, or the recently upgraded defense equipment. You truly are unlucky, coming to Bresk during the most interesting times it has ever seen.

I have been honest on my part. If you still have things you wish to keep hidden, then I am afraid we have to break things off here.

We're a pharmaceutical company.;Rhodes Island.

See? Honesty isn't so painful, is it?

Rhodes Island... I have heard this name mentioned many times while investigating Infected rumors from all across the land.

Based on what I have pieced together from these tales, you lot are the stuff of legends.

But no matter how true they are, the most recent instance I have encountered your name was in that paper you published about aberrant changes in the Infected.

You don't strike me as a colleague in the field.;I never thought you'd be interested in Oripathy studies.

Pardon me for letting you down, but not every newly-minted Grypherburg noble is an uneducated lout.

There is not a nation on this land that can overlook the Infected question, though their policies in answering it may differ. Anyone with a modicum of common sense would know just how important this scientific achievement of yours is.

But there is one thing I am curious about. Despite this groundbreaking discovery, Rhodes Island has kept a low profile, instead of using it to do more business.

Is that why you came to find us?;This doesn't explain how you knew our whereabouts.

Oh, that can easily be explained. I think anyone who goes into the Far North's Central Mining District right now is doing it for the same reason.

You mean you also want in?

What, do you not?

We... <i>need</i> to get in.

Sure enough.

You don't have a way into the mining district, and as it turns out, I have need of some Oripathy specialists. The perfect recipe for cooperation.

So you want us to go into the district with you?

Of course.

The authorities here will not look kindly on some Grypherburger sticking her nose into Far Northern affairs, after all.

As things are, your cover as merchants will do you no good, nor will it help me, so let's forget all the masks and red tape and shake hands right here. That is one solution to all our problems.

But what is it you want to do in the district? And what do you need from us?

Was I not clear?

I'm hoping Rhodes Island will accompany me into the mining district to collaborate on an investigation into the Infected affair.

The 'Infected affair'? What exactly are you referring to...?

Oh, my dear, sweet, naive little Cautus, my patience has its limits, you know. There is no time to be playing dumb.

No, that's a serious question.

We lost contact with one of our mobile medical teams in the Far North's Central Mining District, and we need to find them.

We really have no idea what this 'Infected affair' is, and I hope you will elaborate.

You want into the district just for—