phenxi

不死鸟浅层

Bang!

Whoa! That's amazing! You broke another record!

Hmph. Not bad, for a grown-up.

Congratulations! This plush is your prize!

Hell yeah!

Hey, Dawn Destroyer, you give this a try, too.

Liberi lady, is your name really Dawn Destroyer? That's so cool!

I think it's weird. It does sound a little cool, though. You good at shooting, too?

First off, my name's not Dawn Destroyer.

Our beloved leader awarded you that codename herself! You should wear it with pride.

Secondly, we're adults. Breaking records at a balloon shooting booth isn't anything impressive.

Come on, give it a try. It's a toy gun that works on springs. Even a Liberi can handle it.

Thirdly, the attendant looks pissed.

No, not at all. This is business. You win some, you lose some. Now, my Liberi friend, surely you're up for a try?

Ugh... alright.

Bang!

Whoa, the grand prize.

You win some, you lose some. Right?

Whoa! An all-you-can-eat coupon, good for a whole year! Works at all the dessert shops in Laterano, too!

A-Amazing! You gotta be a sniper or something at the Guards, right?!

Are you a big shot from a monastery?

Y-You wouldn't happen to be... working for His Holiness...?

Thanks for the coupon, senior. I won't complain about how you tampered with the toy gun.

Um, ma'am... I-If you don't mind... would you... would you tell me your name...?

Me? I thought you guys already knew.

My name is...

Dawn—

Destroyer!!!

Dawn—

Destroyer!!!

Mostima, are you done?!

But you were having fun too.

I was just...!

*Sigh*... Whatever, suit yourself.

Giving in already? I thought you'd put up more of a fight.

There's no point in putting up a fight you can't win, and I was never going to win, trying to argue with you.

So? How does it feel to be back home? Good?

It's not so bad, if it's a once in a while thing.

You're actually pretty fond of Laterano, aren't you?

Who isn't? Even an idiot can tell Laterano's a paradise.

Even though you aren't allowed to stay in the city if you have Oripathy, your Lateran citizenship gets you out of most trouble.

Of course, it's a whole different story if you're unlucky enough to have sugar sensitivity, or if you're fallen.

Hey, I like it here too.

You like it everywhere. Honestly, you don't seem to ever care where you are.

There's a saying for that. 'Going with the flow.'

Right, right. You're a real charming one, Miss Nuncio, never one to stop in one place.

But you aren't like me, Fiammetta.

You have a choice.

So?

So you should at least go meet that guest of ours. He's waited a long time already.

I've got nothing to say to a Gun-Knight.

How about to your teacher, then?

It's been years since I graduated.

What about your loving nonno, then?

That's just what he calls himself.

Tell you the truth, I really don't want to fight over a gal with a Gun-Knight. If I end up on their bad side, I might get myself a weird codename too.

Anyway, now that we've been everywhere worth going in the city, I'm gonna wait for you outside.

Hey, Mostima! Mostima!

Grr, that bitch. She used Arts on me, didn't she? Why am I moving so slowly?!

My opinion of Mostima has just gone up a little bit. At the very least, she's a good kid who knows to respect her elders.

Gun-Knight Patrizion, it's been a while.

Yes it has—

The light in the darkness, the shadow in the morning light, my most beloved student, Dawn Destroyer!

I am... honored.

Fia! Fia!

Looking just the same as always.

Me? I so rarely hear such sweet talk out of you.

No, I'm talking about the monastery. You're wearing a helmet, Reverend Gun-Knight.

As if I have a choice? Apostolic Knights are required to wear full armor on the job.

You're on the job?

What? I can't come see my beloved granddaughter just because I'm on the job? That would be outrageous!

Reverend Gun-Knight, you're a Sankta, and I'm a Liberi. We are not related by blood.

Enough! My Fia would never speak to me like this! When your parents left you in my care, you wouldn't have dared to be so impolite!

You were only so tall back then, like a little pea...

I was already seven when I first met you.

Do you remember how I taught you how to aim, how to shoot, how to calculate a bullet's trajectory? I feel like it was just last year...

You were always pestering me to teach you how to use a gun, then, hah, you always came crying after you blew yourself up!

It's only been a few short years, and now everyone everywhere knows my little Fia as the Hardship Overseer... No, the Sticky Shimmering... Weevil? What's your new codename again?

...Dawn Destroyer.

Ah, right. I'm getting on in years. Even though I remembered it just a minute ago... Can't you settle on a single codename?

Wasn't it you miserable old men who decided I had to change my codename every month?!

Did that happen? I don't recall.

Can I request to have that requirement lifted, then?

Lemuen is in charge of you, now. I've got no say.

Tch.

Anyway! You were so adorable then, but you couldn't be more dull these days. Even the movies you bring back are getting more and more boring.

Hm... Maybe except the 'One-Armed Chainsaw Guy.' That gets three out of five stars from me.

—Phew.

So, my most respected, beloved Reverend Gun-Knight Patrizion. What did you summon me for?

I'm very busy, and I still have a lot of missions that I need to carry out.

What missions? Strolling around the streets with Mostima?

My mission is to keep an eye on the fallen angel Mostima, to make sure she does not leak any confidential information to anyone.

Enough, Fia. We don't have any secrets so important to keep under wraps.

Besides, even if we did, how would you determine what must be kept and what's okay to reveal? You say you're keeping an eye on her, but how do you decide what crosses the line, and what's okay?

I'm just following...

Fiammetta, I'll be honest with you.

The life you lead right now is pointless.

You have no right to judge my life.

I do. After all, I am the head of the monastery, your teacher, and your guardian. Above all, I know what you could've been.