fuze

Name yourself, stranger.

...Fuze.

That accent... are you Ursine?

You could say that.

What is it?

The water tower is broken. I want to fix it.

Can't you fix it yourself? What does it have to do with me?

The problem is with the pump's Originium circuit. I understand engineering, and you know Originium Arts.

...A well-armed, masked Ursine? Here to fix a water tower in a Leithanien town?

Mr. Berman...

Oh, it's you. What's with this man?

Vissel and I were attacked by needleflies when fetching water from the river. Vissel got hurt, but we made it back alive thanks to Fuze here.

Vissel got hurt? Is it serious?

He's still alive... that's all I can say. His granddaughter is by his side.

I see. Go on.

We invited him into town, and that's when he saw the broken water tower. He tried to fix it and found that the problem was with the Originium circuit, not the mechanical components...

I see.

I-I'll be going.

So you asked him if he knew anyone who knew Originium Arts, and he brought you to me.

(Nods) I'm hoping you can help your subjects.

I'm not their lord.

He said the Baron built this water tower many years ago. I asked him where the Baron lived, and he brought me to you.

You heard him call me Mr. Berman, not Baron.

Very well... Mr. Berman. This is a facility that makes people's lives better.

People used to go to the river to fetch water all the time. They managed just fine.

Maybe it was the water tower's pumps that created a space for the needleflies to make their nest.

All I know is that Vissel wouldn't be at death's door if the water tower was fixed earlier.

What difference does one death make?

You think his death doesn't matter?

It's not just him.

Him, me, this whole town, all of Leithanien... all of it is irreversibly moving towards decay and death.

The difference between needlefly and old age is no more than the difference between arriving at your destination by burdenbeast or by foot.

...Ridiculous.

Where are you going?

To find others.

There's no one else in town who knows Originium circuits. Whoever brought you to me must have told you.

Then I'll research it.

Why are you so stubborn about this? Over a bunch of people whom you've just met?

It's not about who, but what. Goodbye.

Wait.

I have a few books on this topic that I bought when I was young.

You spent a lot of time looking for them.

It's not an easy thing, looking for books.

'Originium Circuit Theory and Applications', from Victoria. Wasn't easy to find a book that wasn't in Leithanian at home.

You must have question marks written all over your face behind that mask, Ursine. You don't know why I refuse to fix the water tower, but allow you to borrow my books.

I have a theory.

Which is?

You want to prove that fixing the water tower won't change anything.

It's not that complicated. I'm just curious.

I thought you had completely lost interest.

Even a rock would be curious about why a heavily-armed foreigner wants to fix a water tower for your neighbor.

Either I fix it or I don't. That's all there is to it.

No... what I'm curious is what this person has experienced, which has made him so stubborn about something that shouldn't have anything to do with him.

Would you like to stay over for the night, Mr. Fuze? Perhaps we can have a chat over dinner.

Thank you for the invitation, but I doubt we have much to talk about.

I suppose you're right.

...But I would still have liked to have a chat.

Shuhrat— What is it?

Sorry. Got lost in thought.

Fuze looks around him.

It is the corridor of Rhodes Island. He would not call it familiar, but it is not unknown to him either.

He has his hands around the back of his head, leaning against the wall outside Elias Kötz's quarters at Rhodes Island, waiting for 'Blitz' to come out.

It'll be a little longer. I haven't gotten used to Rhodes Island razors yet.

That's fine, Kötz.

Where were we? Oh, the festival we saw at Leithanien.

There were a thousand casters at the festival. They stood silently like statues on the plaza before the opening ceremony.

They were waiting for a single note from the concertmaster. The cue for them to raise their Arts Units in unison was so quiet it was almost inaudible ...

Come on. A reaction would be nice, you know.

It's hard for me to imagine it. Leithanian is too different from anything that I know. Imagine, one thousand robed, masked figures holding wands, standing on Registan Square...

Registan Square?

The landmark of Samarkand. You should know.

I see. I'll continue.

One thousand beams of Arts light shoot into the night sky. Colors clashed in the clouds and burst open, turning the entire sky into a colorful sea of flowers...

Application of evocation-conversion Originium Arts?

You know Originium Arts?

The result of extra lessons in Dossoles.

Coal, oil, gas, even nuclear fusion... it's all been replaced by Originium. I had to learn from scratch—

What is it?

Something wrong with the razor. One moment—

Fuze wakes with a start. He had fallen asleep on the desk, his faced buried in the book he was reading.

Tsk... my back hurts. And my head's groggy...

'Festive scene witnessed by the author while visiting Leithanien...'

No wonder I was dreaming about it.

Something fell out... a bookmark?

I should return this with the book.

Press the switch there for me, please.

Not working.

Looks like we need a few more books from Berman. Could you fetch them for me?

I'm sorry, Mr. Fuze. Mr. Berman...

What about him? Don't tell me he does illegal stuff in secret. You were really nervous the first time I visited him.

No, not at all! He's not a bad person. It's just... well... we don't go there unless we really need to.

...Fine, I'll go myself.

Let me see... 'Practical Manual of Home Appliances'? Isn't that a little too simple?

Just because it's simple doesn't mean it can't help. I'll take this one.

Of course.

I'm curious, though... why would there be an Ursine who knows machines, but not Originium circuits?

That's not important right now.

Why don't we set the water tower aside for a moment and talk about our own lives?

There's no need for that.

Well, I'll start if you don't want to... starting with that water tower.