A Scandal in Time (before battle)

Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh.

Don Quixote loudly and obnoxiously flips through the newspaper in her hands while peppering in a few insightful chuckles.

Unfortunately, I now know exactly what this means.

And...

Ohoh, ohohoho...!

... that she will continue to try to draw my attention until I acknowledge her at the most appropriate moment.

<Okay, Don Quixote. Fine... What is it?>

Hooah... Manager Esquire, dost thou know that the City's upstart companies, such as one Limbus Company, must always pay close heed to the ever-changing world around us?

Hie thee hither! Read thy newspapers, Manager Esquire, and do keep thyself up-to-date on the events of the City! As Meursault and I, Don Quixote, do ere every morrow!

Bud, just go along with it, why don't ya? I'm pretty sure she's talking about Meursault and one of his morning routines. Y'know, the... the one with the newspapers?

<Aha, the newspaper routine. Where he wakes up before the crack of dawn, parks himself on a chair, folds one leg over the other at an exact 90-degree 'figure-four-leg-lock' position, and peruses the morning newspaper?>

Uh-huh, that. I guess it left an impression on her. Betcha she'll be back to her usual self in a week or so.

Hearken unto me! Art thou paying attention?!?!

<Uh... yep, totally. So what's new? What, did an article mention us or something?>

Oho! How didst thou know?

<Wait, really?>

Forsooth, forsooth! Feast thy eyes on page-three! Though 'tis quite regrettable that we were robbed of the chance to be on the front page...

Huhh?! Page three?! We're really starting to put our names out there, huh?

Don Quixote and Rodya, the two Sinners guaranteed to draw the full attention of whichever space they inhabit, were speaking. It was only a matter of time before the other Sinners began crowding around us, curious about the commotion.

Ahem, ahem… A Dramatic Conclusion to the Mysterious Disappearances at T Corp.!

SHOCKING! The perpetrators to this mysterious case has been revealed to be none other than the prestigious Edgar Family, appalling the general public -

…….

<W-well, I don't think we need to hear that part. What else does it say?>

Khm... With small assistance from some wandering bystanders who happened to be lost in the area, and with the most admirable heroics of the T Corp. Class 3 Collection Staff on the scene -

Mm, 'wandering bystanders', is it...? Perchance that particular denomination refers to us?

... 'Bystanders'? They're treating us like we were barely there.

They didn't even mention our company name...

Aw, come on! Those Time Collectors weren't even there!

This is within the expected range of behavior for the news media.

W-well, there may be those who seek to interview us after reading this very article, mayhaps...?

Yeah, I'm sure they'll have a grand old time looking for 'wandering bystanders' for an interview. Very descriptive.

<I doubt anyone will pay us much attention, Don Quixote. Better not set yourself up for disappointment, and - >

We were standing there for a good moment in a big group, chattering about the article... when someone slowly but smoothly walked between us.

Excuse me. Are you Limbus Company employees, by any chance?

... You fellas are...?

I'm sure you are already aware of the reason for our visit.

Ooho! I welcome thee here! Long and hard have I awaited thy arrival!

Now, now! From whence shall we begin?

Woah, is she actually here to interview us?

<No way... Don Quixote wasn't just losing her mind at nothing...?>

I was not told that any... interview... would be taking place...

My, where'd Verg go at a time like this~? Now, where'd I put that leftover hair gel from Heath's makeover...?

Ahem, ahem... Thou may commence.

Alright, then...

Verily, I shan't rightly take aaalllll the credit for what we have accomplished there! Will you be making your tax payment in installments?

Hm?

Huh?

Okay, we're clearly not on the same page here...

We are Tax Collectors from T Corp.'s Time Collections Agency, currently on a mission to collect your overdue Time Tax.

Those ilks are never bringers of good tidings, indeed...

Wait, Time Tax...? No, that doesn't make any sense...

We already paid our Time Tax in full when we went through the T Corp. Nest immigration process. Vergilius said -

Few days ago, aboard Mephistopheles...

Are you sure we don't need to pick up a timepiece for each of us to carry?

You probably know this already, but in T Corp….

... everyone must carry a timepiece, yes. I know the rules.

But for every rule, there's always room for an alternative that offers a bit more flexibility. Of course, I don't suppose it's listed anywhere on that pamphlet.

Outsiders seeking a short-term stay at T Corp. can pay the appropriate Time Tax for the length of their stay to be exempt from the relevant obligations, instead of going out of their way to abide by T Corp.'s rules.

As you may have expected, anyone born outside District 20 must go through numerous hoops before they can be issued a timepiece.

So we elected to pay thirty days' worth of Time Tax on the spot before entering T Corp.'s borders.

Impressive... It can't have been cheap.

Ah, yet I wished to wear a watch as well... like Lady Outis does...

Haven't I already made it clear that it is not a fashion item?!

As I have said so in the past, the company has no budgetary concerns. It is a given that they would be taking care of such expenses.

Hm... We're finally starting to operate like a real, professional company now, huh?

<Yeah. There must've been a minor miscalculation or something. Maybe we fell slightly short of the amount we had to pay?>

It hasn't even been thirty days since we arrived here, though.

Well… I'm sure we can pawn away their stuff to fix what probably amounts to a roundin' error. Easy-peasy.

Heathcliff muttered, gesturing toward Sinclair and Hong Lu with his chin.

Mmm... if it'll help pay for the Time Tax, then sure...

Oh, maybe? I didn't pack much when I left, though...

Well, let's hear the damage. How much 'Time Tax' do we owe ya?

... Khm.

Currently, you are...

... 10,040,000,000 Ahn behind in Time Tax payments.

<WHAT?!>

Ah, ha ha ha... Did my hearing get worse or something? I heard uh, a ten... a forty... and the rest just kinda flew right over my head?

For that much money... Oh, we might have to make a brief stop at my place first!

What other options do we have, if we don't... I mean, if we can't pay the tax?

'Can't pay the tax' is not an option. Your only options are the following: make your payment with time or money. With interest, of course.

What the hell does 'making payment with time' even mean...?

Now that I think about it... I remember someone talking about 'paying with time' before. I never really cared to find out what exactly they meant, though...

<Yi Sang? Heathcliff? Know anything about this...?>

Hm...

I have not once failed to make my payments during my residency at this Nest...

Thus, I know not what transpires on an occasion in which one fails to pay the Time Tax.

I've never been involved in messy businesses like taxes at the manor, either. And in my Backstreets days, Boss dealt with complicated shite like that for the rest of us. I did see a few poor sods gettin' dragged away 'cuz they failed to cough it up, though.

<Well, then...>

With their not-so-helpful answers, my mind immediately began to wander toward Faust, who I hoped would know something more about this than the two of them. And that's when Outis suddenly and defiantly stood between us and the Collectors.

This is completely unreasonable. What kind of shoddy calculation led to this nonsensical figure?

Tax calculations in T Corp. are always exceptionally reasonable.

The clock's ticking. Would I be correct to assume that you lack both the capability and the will to make your fair payments?

Wait, wait... we don't have to escalate this. Can we get a time-out?

Your choice of words may be quite... unwise...

Cry and whine all you want about not wanting to escalate things when you've got ten billion Ahn in your pockets. I won't recognize your opinion as anything of worth otherwise.

No? Then shut up and stay out of our way while we deal with this obstacle that dares to stand in our path.

How exciting. A ten-billion-Ahn death...

... Ten-billion-and-forty-million Ahn, to be exact.