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The boisterous crowd and their hands all gush toward her.

They keep pushing and pulling, like waves splashing upon a beach, all in an attempt to so much as touch the corner of their idol's shirt, even if her attire is hardly any different from the tattered clothing they are wearing.

Fully surrounded, she is no longer able to prop herself up or think. The moment her knees twitch and fall to the snow, she seems as though she is going to collapse and pass out right here and now.

But she can't. Not here. The Royal Guard is still here, and those executioners who want to use her to kill even more people are still here. She can't close her eyes. She can't... give up just yet.

*cough*... *cough*...

Ugh—

That moment, she even seems to think that her tongue is once again working with her mouth to clearly enunciate her words. However, her body simply curls up quietly and gets smaller... and smaller.

She endures it until the pain subsides.

Yurodstvo—

She is not the Yurodstvo, yet there is a price to pay.

And despite being the one mistaken for the Yurodstvo, she doesn't know what's the price she has to pay for this absurd charade. Sometimes, not knowing the price is itself a price.

Mantra? What's wrong?

The leader's quiet voice suddenly echoes in all the Rhodes Islanders' minds.

Everyone, stop.

This...

Repeat. Everyone, stop immediately.

The area ahead is demonically corrupted.

Demonic corruption? Here?

But aren't we one-third of an Ursus away from Sami? How could this possibly—

Doctor?

This may not be a normal demonic corruption...;'Dominion.'

<p=1>Central Far North Mining District, Ursus</> <p=2>Autumn, 1101</>

Raidian's squad's last known coordinates should be around here.

According to the timestamp of the signal sent back to the city, they last sent out a message ten days ago.

The laboratory she mentioned is roughly three kilometers up ahead.

Mon3tr, have you faced the Royal Guard before?;Mon3tr, are you able to analyze anything here?

I'm looking.

Based on the scale and shape of the corruption, this is very likely to be caused by 'Dominion.'

Right, a fight against the Royal Guard probably took place here.

It's strange, though. For such an intense battle, there aren't any traces of Arts nearby.

I understand you are worried, Doctor.

But knowing Raidian, she would definitely have tried to leave tracks we could decipher.

At the very least, this explains something happened here that called for the Royal Guard's involvement.;Clearly that the Grand Duchess is hiding something from us.

Raidian's squad might be in an extremely dangerous predicament.;Raidian's squad might have been involved in whatever happened here.

Correct.

Whether they were going after Raidian or the laboratory, it seems we need to pick up the pace.

<p=1>Veteran's Home, Deity Grypherburg</>

...This is my report on the Far North Incident. I will submit my written report within one week.

Thank you, Lieutenant. But I still have questions.

What you've mentioned—getting into the mining district, investigating the miners, evacuating them under the Armies' gunfire... those are merely the process.

An event must have cause, process, and result, just like how crops grow from seeds, and yield fruits.

I apologize for my poor presentation, Your High Excellency, but I have mentioned both the cause of the event and how we handled the aftermath.

All scattered information. You have described the details, but you have not seen the big picture. How can the reader understand what the writer fails to perceive?

Have you forgotten how to write a report in the five years since you graduated from the military academy? Or do you want me to submit a fragmented, incomplete report to His Imperial Majesty?

I can forgive your youthful errors, but Ursus cannot afford to wait.

I apologize. I will fill in the gaps in the written report—

We do not have the time to address the consequences of your omissions. The price of trial and error is too high.

I need you to tell me, right here, right now. What role do you think Grand Duchess Elisabeth played? Were there signs of her association with the Armies? As for the Infected that we rescued...

Can they truly be of help to us?

I'm not sure I have sufficient information to talk about it in an informed manner...

You experienced the events first-hand. No one is more informed than you.

Speak, child. I will listen.

...I believe that the Grand Duchess was simply going with the flow.

She had learned about the Royal Guard's death and the miners' escape before we even planned to enter the mining district.

All she needed to do was to let a little information out, and the Fourth Army would have an excuse to 'clean up', and proceed towards the Central Governorate under the pretext of quelling the rebellion.

This way, the Grand Duchess could cover up the death of a Royal Guard on her watch, and the Army can deploy on the borders of the Central Governorate... as it does now.

As for why the Army is doing this... I believe you know better than anyone.

They mistake the Tsar's benevolence for weakness. They will pay the price.

I concur with most of your speculation, Elotta. But there is one thing you are missing—the Yurodstvo.

It disappeared. I could not confirm whether it was real or not, and I do not even feel the need to dig any deeper. After all... we witnessed the burning of the last Yurodstvo with our own eyes.

You do not believe it was the Yurodstvo who appeared in the Far North?

I simply believe you know more than I do.

The troubling madman... a poisonous relic of an older era. I will get to the bottom of it. Ursus does not need a Yurodstvo anymore.

Now, let us get back to the topic at hand. Were their goals accomplished, Lieutenant?

They failed to hush up news of the ore vein exhaustion. Which leads us to your other question—

Can the Infected that we rescued truly be of help to us? In fact, they've already helped.

The belt of torches on the ice awakened all the outposts around Lake Neva on the Grypherburg side. Every household in Ursus has heard their message.

'Ursus abandoned them! Who will be next?' Everyone asks the same question: the newspapers, intercity comms, late-night radio...

The miners in the mines ask, the workers in the city ask; wealthy citizens ask, poor vagabonds ask; soldiers ask, students ask.

The Grand Duchess expected the miners to die in the Far North. But they survived, testifying to the exhaustion of the ore veins, and exposing the inadequacy of the reforms—

Slow, gradual improvement is not enough for the pressing needs of Ursus's development.

We must act, before even more people are fed into the hungry machine of the Empire.

You said yourself that Ursus can no longer afford to wait...

You're digressing, Lieutenant.

You said Rhodes Island helped the Infected miners send the message.

Yes. Right now, however, we should focus on—

What do you think of Rhodes Island?

...We should be vigilant.

They demonstrated military-level coordination during the tracking and evacuation process, and they possess a natural advantage in their understanding of the Infected. There are plenty of reasons to be vigilant.

Or perhaps, their strength is something that we can leverage.

As far as I am aware, Rhodes Island has no permanent presence in Ursus. Perhaps we can invite them to set up a branch office in Grypherburg or a nearby city...

Perhaps.

The Grand Duchess might strike first.

She's not one to be rash. Did you mention the name 'Kal'tsit' to the Rhodes Islanders?

Yes. They said that Kal'tsit previously served as a physician at Rhodes Island, but had died in an accident.

Are you certain?

I've dispatched a unit to the scene of the incident to ascertain. From what we know so far, there is no reason to think otherwise.

<p=1>Wilderness, Central Governorate, Ursus</>

So... Kal'tsit is dead.

The name that Chairman Witte extracted from the Chernobog lab files is no longer of use.

You're looking for Kal'tsit.;Why?

Because of the Sarcophagus, of course. Ursus needs its energy.

You know where it is?

I don't know the specifics, unfortunately.

But Witte gave you a name: Kal'tsit.;He wanted you to find Kal'tsit through us.

Witte trusts you.

Of course. Otherwise, he wouldn't have sent me alone—

...Sent me to the Far North alone.

Yes, he trusts me. It's the duty of a soldier to follow orders, and it's not my place to complain, even if I should die in the Far North.

But it shouldn't be this way. Miners and civilians were massacred, but the Grand Duchess gets out unscathed, and the Army is able to deploy a stone's throw from Grypherburg with no consequences.