Ambush in the Dark (before battle)
There is a clew of thread, raveled of a single strand whose beginning is its end.
Moments become wefts and warps that criss-cross into a weave,
and the flow of time spools in a single spot.
Go on, read it.
Uh... Ryō... shū...?
From the echo of your first cry to the whisper of your last breath,
in the heart of every moment, my eyes catch a glimpse of you.
No... That's not how you read those letters...
"Yoshihide." That's how you say it.
"Ryō-shū!"
It's prettier and easier!
Dear lost child of mine, should the way back home elude you...
Follow the thread back to the very first knot that hurt the most.
Where the quivering stops,
that is where you will find me.
Today's the day.
Today's the day indeed. Boss, are you -
Hold. Please, don't ask me if I am "nervous." Only ordinary, unremarkable researchers with a particularly low level of confidence in their own material ever get "nervous."
Your unfinished query has reminded me of the last academic assembly - there was this fellow who simply could not stop their hands from shaking with the frequency of 5 oscillations every 3 seconds, even after taking an entire fistful of Tranquility Boluses. What a miserable sight that was.
Oh, of course, perhaps the fear that the attendees may not possess the intelligence to comprehend even half of my presentation may source a reasonable level of anxiety, potent enough to make my legs tremble somewhat. But I have been quite relieved of that concern after you reviewed my materials; if both of you were able to understand it, then the audience should have no problem following the... general narrative.
At least you won't be dosing the audience chock-full of your verbal sedative this time.
On another note... have you any clue as to why our cooperation request for additional research is still pending approval?
... LCA R&D Team has repeatedly denied our request. Apparently, we're to focus solely on our present research...
A rather narrow-minded bunch, aren't they? Do we know specifically who denied our requests?
... The assistant manager who simply could not stop their hands from shaking, even after taking an entire fistful of Tranquility Boluses. It seems pretty obvious that they're still carrying the grudge from when you scoffed at them.
... Is that so?
Well, they'll have no choice but to approve our request after this presentation. Our present research has already progressed beyond the point of satisfaction, after all.
Of course, Boss. Of course...
... This won't do. Though the motivation behind my additional research request was to sate a personal curiosity, I have no doubts in my mind that it will end up benefiting the company's bottom line.
Marton, do you have our additional research proposal with you? Even the LCA will have no recourse but to approve it once they see the projected gains from its success.
Ah, that... I left it back at the Research Hall. Didn't think we'd need it today.
A successful outcome of that research should also be able to boost the efficiency of our electrical systems. I'm sure the need for more power is a mutual concern - we already have precious little to spare with how much energy our present research consumes.
Yeah, we know. We even had to conduct our experiments in the freezing cold because we rerouted power from the heating system to save electricity. Well, I stayed toasty thanks to my E.G.O gear, but still...
Anyways, I'll go grab the proposal. You two should focus on the presentation prep.
Re... Requesting support. This is LCE Department, Co... Corridor YS-4. Requesting immediate support. The situation's... a Code... Code... Gah...
Apologies. I didn't wish to so unnecessarily cut him off, but... as it seems he passed out... let me be the messenger instead. Though I won't bother with the fancy code-speak...
"The situation here is... entirely hopeless."... was probably what he wished to say.
A few hours later...
... A good deal of time had passed since we'd said our heartfelt farewells to Jia Xichun, yet we still remained stuck in Hongyuan.
You sure we're settin' off today? Reckon you got the date wrong?
I'm pretty sure I didn't... But even Saude's late, and she was supposed to get Vergilius and Pilot...
Right ahead lies the road that leads straight out of Hongyuan. Given Saude's memo telling us to drive out here with a truck, there should be no room for error this time.
I sure hope that's the case.
When we left Daguanyuan earlier, the guards at the gate actually asked me what time we'd be coming back. They probably think we've taken up permanent residence here at H Corp.
... Not surprising. After saying goodbyes left and right, not to mention two farewell banquets - we're still sitting here on our butts without any sign of leaving...
Exactly. By now, Verg should've appeared out of nowhere with his usual, "Time to move on to our next destination, Dante..." like he always does!
Then Charon would say, "Off we go, Mephi. Vroom-vroom"... It's been forever since I heard her last!
I don't think there was ever a time Vergilius was gone this long.
The breach of contract may have led to extra workload for him, but even so, his prolonged absence remains unusual.
All this, just because he went out of his way to help us...?
Not necessarily.
While it is true that the penalty incurred from breaching the contract yet remains, the LCC's operation in H Corp., which he was assisting with, was immediately concluded following Jia Xichun's inauguration as the Family Hierarch.
Hmm... I fail to think of any other reason apart from that.
<Vergilius and Charon would always be away whenever we traveled to a new place... but yeah, never for this long.>
Maybe he's just off doing whatever he usually does when spending time with Charon...?
Everyone turned to look at Faust.
At this point, there is no information that can be shared regarding Vergilius's absence.
<... Maybe we can ask Vergilius when he gets here?>
You honestly reckon he'd say a word about where he was? That bloke only ever tells us where to go, never where he's off to.
Verily! And never hath he deigned to bring any of us on his ice cream trips... save young Charon!
Hooh! Perchance, his path is that of a culinary journey to sample the unique specialties of each District -
Be serious for one second, lass. This ain't a foodie tour.
... Aside from guiding our path...
... it may simply be that Vergilius has a path of his own to walk.
<…….>
I've got no idea what his path would even look like.
We're only here to follow the journey as guided by Vergilius... We know neither the path he has walked, nor the path he seeks to walk.
I wonder if he'll ever share his history with us one day.
I 'spose he's bein' his usual absentee self, but... that don't explain why Saude ain't here, does it?
We've been late plenty of times, yeah. But it ain't like the lass to keep us hangin'.
Maybe there's been a change of plans?
... When an operative goes dark without warning...
... it's usually due to an unforeseen variable, not a change of plans.
As if to prove Outis right, someone forcefully yanks the truck's door open.
<Saude...!>
Holy - What happened to you?!
Saude stumbled into the truck, short of breath. She was bleeding and covered in wounds both minor and serious - her eyes glistened with wild anxiety.
A broken pistol hung from her waist. It was impossible not to notice the still-fresh gashes and wounds on her.
The first thing that caught my attention, however, was the stump right where her left arm used to be.