catap

Kazimierz Outskirts

Catapult's Hometown

This is the place, right?

Right, this is it.

I scattered gold coins all over this street, you know?

Come on, enough of that. This street looks no different than all the other ones.

I'm telling the truth.

The truth? You?

Hahahaha.

Oh, come on. I'm being serious.

For real?

For real.

Alright, alright, I'll believe you, just this once.

When are you heading back to Rhodes Island?

Tonight.

You sure that's enough time?

I'm just here to take a look around. Half a day's plenty of time.

Mm-hm.

It's 7 A.M. right now.

I'll be waiting for you around... 7 P.M. here tonight.

Sounds good.

I'll bring you lots of souvenirs.

You better make sure you don't get caught first.

Keep your terminal on you and keep the channel clear. If anything comes up, let me know right away.

Oh, stop treating me like a kid. Off you go.

And here I'm trying to be nice. Fine.

I'm not giving you a ride back if I don't see any souvenirs.

No problem, I'll make sure you get to try the dates!

Phew...

Alright, let's see how this hellhole's changed.

The edge of town looks pretty much the same, but the town center...

Oh, looks like they spent a lot of money here.

I bet that old fart wouldn't have spent even half a coin on this place.

Looks like the li'l knight who's running the joint might just be a decent fella.

The young master's alright. We've been living a much more comfortable life than before.

Hey, long time no see. Looks like you've been holding up pretty well the last couple years, Filon.

You got that letter, and you still came back, huh?

Look at you. You look like you're doing pretty well yourself, Arleta.

What's the deal? You never called me by my real name before.

Did you forget my nickname? Or are you looking down on me? Hm?

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Catapult.

Happy?

Now that's more like it.

You haven't changed a whole lot since the last time I saw you.

What have you been up to out there?

After I got out, I found myself a gruntwork gig. It pays pretty well, though, and I get to travel everywhere.

What about you? How's everything been after that whole thing?

*Sigh*...

You wouldn't know, but not long after you left, the old bastard had the whole town searched. He didn't manage to get even a fourth of his treasures back, though.

He was so pissed that he jacked up the tax rate.

Oh, uhh...

So, what about now? That's still going on?

Nope. It lasted maybe two or three months.

I'm not entirely sure what happened after that, but an investigation team from the big city paid us a visit.

I don't really know what they talked about, but we never saw the old fart again. Word is he retired and went back home to rest.

Then the young master came. First, he changed the tax rate back. Then he spent a huge amount of money on the town. That's why the place looks the way it does now.

Mm-hmm, sounds like he's got a bright future as a leader.

Right, you've been away for so long, I bet you hardly recognize the town. Let me show you around.

C'mon.

Hey, ehhh, wait!

What's wrong?

I'm still wanted. I probably shouldn't just walk on in there.

Come on, didn't I tell you in the letter? The young master canceled all the arrest warrants that had to do with the incident.

For real?

What, you don't trust your old buddy Filon?

Of course I do! How could I not?

Now hurry and lead the way! I can tell from here the whole town's a maze now. I can't imagine making my way around alone.

Right, how long are you staying?

My company's landship happens to be sailing through the area, so I took a little time off. I'll be gone by the end of the day.

Well, look at you. Keeping yourself busy even on vacation.

Come on, I actually came back to check the place out after I read your letter. Sheesh.

Now hurry. Show me around.

Alright, alright. Let's go.

Here, does this place look familiar? This is the factory I used to work at. It's been fully renovated.

They even have air conditioning now. It's much more comfortable inside now.

Hm...

Filon, I got a question.

Sup?

They used to grow food in that patch of land all the way out of town, didn't they?

That's right.

How come it's all grapes now?

It's not just that one spot. The young master's planning to turn all the farmland here into a huge vineyard.

We have good soil here, and we can grow some top quality grapes. They make pretty good money.

But what about food?

You don't eat grapes for all three meals, right?

Hah, of course not.

With the grapes, we have the money to buy food from other places.

It's all imported?

That's right.

You really got to hand it to those big shots from the cities. Thanks to them, our markets are lined with stuff that we never got to eat back in the day.

Oh yeah? Sounds nice.

(Sounds like the young master's much more reliable than the old fart.)

(But if they don't grow any food here, what will they do if the big shots in the cities raise their prices?)

There used to be factories all around town. The young master's planning to merge their operations, and once the big factory's open, we'll all be raking in big bucks with him.

(Oh well, sounds like I'd be raining on his parade. I'll just keep it to myself.)

Speaking of, how about I show you the factory?

Sure. The last time I was here, they didn't even have a single brick laid yet.

Wow, it's huge. I bet not even the old man's mansion back home is this big.

Damn right.