tknogi

I'm not sure how she convinced you, but it's wonderful that everyone gets to see them now.

No... take them down...

This is trash! Not art!

Why? I like your drawings...

You don't know the first thing about art! If they see them, they'll know just how inept they are—

Now, I may not know much about art, but I love your drawings from the bottom of my heart.

Besides, art isn't just for certain people.

Wha—

Seeing your drawings reminds me of home, the one we lost to the Catastrophe.

I still feel sad, of course, but your drawings are so beautiful, they make me think...

If we work hard to get our lives back in order, and find the time to travel around once we've settled down, maybe we could see the kind of sights we see in those drawings.

That's impossible!

Look around if you don't believe me.

Did you see that one of the poplar grove? I wish we could walk through a grove like that, sit down and have a picnic...

We'll find a place like that when things settle down, I promise.

That fried egg looks so red, dad. I'm hungry.

That's not an egg. It's the sun rising in the morning forest mist. It's beautiful.

The sun! I love the sun.

Everyone loves your drawings.

It's been awful lately, what with having to abandon our homes and all. Everyone's having a hard time.

Tsukinogi helped a lot, of course, she even fixed my pot. It's all thanks to her that everyone's feeling so much better.

She planned this festival for us too. I don't know how to thank her.

She...

She also said I should apologize to you.

I'm so sorry about spilling your paints when I packed your things. I've been thinking about how to make it up to you.

Say, would you like to try some of my soup?

Tsukinogi... have you seen her, Frau Perry?

She said that if you asked, I should point you to that little hill to the south of the accommodation site.

Oh, hold on, that wasn't all.

What?

She also said she's not there right now. She said you'd know when to find her there, and not to forget your art supplies.

...I see.

You know, I think I would like a bowl of soup, please.

Make it a large one.

I see was right about the time.

It's good to see you, Mr. Devlin.

As I said, there's a wonderful view here.

The great golden orb sinks towards the horizon in the distance.

It is like the heart of the day, beating futilely to keep the last light alive.

With every pulse, it sends out brilliance beyond reckoning, even as the horizon eats away at it.

But night is inexorable, inevitable.

It's beautiful, isn't it?

There was a sunset like that, the day I left Higashi.

Why... Why did you do it?

Well, why didn't you destroy those sketches yourself?

...I'm not in the habit of doing so.

Sit down, Mr. Devlin. Let me tell you a story.

Once upon a time, there was a little girl who lived in a shrine high in the mountains.

Born to an old and respected family, she was destined at birth to shoulder the clan's future. From a young age, she learned various rituals and dances, and met many important people.

She hated all that, hated all those frivolous, superficial, impractical things.

And so, when she grew up, she left home to become a Catastrophe Messenger.

She used her abilities to help many people escape Catastrophe, but grew estranged from her family.

One day, a Catastrophe struck near where she had grown up. She managed to evacuate most of the nearby residents, but her family would not leave, and refused to listen to her.

That was when she realized that she didn't know how to talk to them.

Strange, isn't it? She could convince powerful people in high places, but when it came to her own family, there was nothing she could do except watch the tragedy occur.

A sad story.

Some people dash towards their dreams, never stopping to look around them.

The sunset is not a Catastrophe, but neither is one superior to the other. The beauty of the sight lies in whether or not the traveler notices it.

Stop to look around you, once in a while. Don't miss the here and now.

I... I remember now.

I was just a child who loved to draw back then. I would go to the best location in the tavern to sketch the sunset every day at dusk... the feathers dropping from fowlbeasts returning late, the long shadows cast by people in the twilight.

The workers loved to watch me draw over a drink, laughing that the sunset looked like a fried egg. I said I would draw it even better.

I never threw away those sketches. They were put up on the tavern's walls, and customers would drop a few coins to take home the ones they liked...

I was happy back then.

Then one day, Herr Leon stood behind me as I drew, and he said...

'My boy, your drawing has moved my heart.'

...So that's what it was.

But can I still draw like that?

With eyes that have gazed too long upon Catastrophes, hands that cannot pick up a paintbrush...

Don't forget that you still owe me a painting.

Let's make it now.

Oh...

You can paint me dancing.

Her slender form dances in the fading light, whirling with eventide.

Brush touches canvas, capturing the instant in eternity.

Spectacular job, Tsukinogi. This group just set a new record for post-evacuation satisfaction levels, and the results of the psychological assessments are extremely positive.

This will make subsequent relocation much easier. Hopefully, they'll adjust well to life in the nomadic cities.

Good to hear.

Is this why you always stay behind afterward? To help people escape the shadow of Catastrophe and set their sights on their new lives?

Of course. Life goes on, even after the danger has passed. It's important to move on with the right mindset.

I heard you even helped a painter finish a new work that's earned the praise of Leon, that famous Leithanian artist.

It's stunned the Leithanian art scene, because Master Leon hasn't reviewed a work of art in over a decade.

Word has it that the painter already has several solo exhibitions lined up.

He was always a talented artist.

Don't play dumb. What new 'little girl' story did you come up with <i>this</i> time?

Have a guess.

You're asking the impossible... All I know for sure is that you made it sound real.

I have to wonder, though... what made you choose to stay behind after a Catastrophe for the first time?

I just hate sadness, that's all.

Anyway, time's a-wasting. There's a mission waiting for us.

Hah, don't worry, you'll have plenty to do.