Residential district, the nomadic city of Kazdel, Kazdel
Remember the promise we made at the beginning of the lesson? Good. Keep your voice low when answering, and don't tell anyone about the classes.
Ray Tanka has been teaching you about our history for the past few months. As for myself, I've been struggling to decide what to teach you in our last lesson.
The city has changed a lot. People come and go. He is familiar with the words 'Babel' and 'Military Commission'; there are always people fighting over things that he does not understand.
He does not understand why the Sarkaz feel the need to fight one another.
He takes out the photo of the target, a mild-mannered young man. The triangular marking on his sleeve seems familiar.
A teacher spreading praise about Babel's outsiders, inciting opposition against the Military Commission.
'Sorry, your luck just ran out today.'
Goodluck
Should be around here.
Goodluck
Wait... this place...
He's been away for a long time, but not long enough to forget his home.
We've gotten used to despair from one defeat after another at the hands of powers beyond our ability to resist.
But we needed to convince ourselves that our despair was not self-inflicted, that it stemmed from an obvious source in our lives.
That is what Babel has become for people in this day and age.
It was Babel who brought the enemies. It was Babel's medicine that worsened our Oripathy. It was Babel's education that sapped our will to resist...
It was Babel who deluded the King of Sarkaz and tricked us into giving up on collecting the blood debt from the outsiders. Babel is the source of all our despair.
I see some of you nodding. No doubt you've heard the same from your parents. In desperate times, people often mistake hearsay for the truth.
But is it the truth, though? Were our lives better without outsiders in Kazdel?
Don't take anything at face value. See, think, and find your own answer.
Yes, it's hard to leave Kazdel. The land outside is full of danger. Even making it to the border of the next country is no small feat.
But I'll still leave this place. I'll go to Leithanien, Columbia, Kazimierz, to anywhere that I may find a way to change things.
Then, I'll come back and teach you, and all the children of the Sarkaz.
What will happen to Babel, you ask? The future of Babel—
Odda
—!
Odda
Hide yourselves. Don't make a sound.
Odda
Hello? Are you looking for someone?
Ascalon
Sorry, I got the wrong door.
Odda
Do you need help? I'm familiar with the area.
He smiles. There is no panic in his eyes.
Ascalon scans the sparsely furnished room, and understands.
Pensive Child
...
Ascalon
Do you live here on your own?
Odda
Yes...
Ascalon
My name is Ascalon. I'm from Babel.
Odda
...!
Ascalon
Thank you for sheltering him, but you must leave.
Ascalon
Be careful. These are troubled times.
Odda
...
Odda
You heard her. Someone knows you're here. You need to go.
Odda
Not just the Military Commission, but also those mercenaries who've been bringing trouble to our doorstep...
'Teacher'
I know. I'm very grateful to you for lending us your house to serve as classroom.
'Teacher'
The children—
Odda
I'll take them home. Don't worry, you can continue your classes in a few days, once the storm has passed.
'Teacher'
There will be no need. As I've said before, I'm ready to leave.
'Teacher'
I've already spent too much time here because I wanted to see the lessons through to the end. There are many places that I still need to see.
Odda
...Alright. Oh! Don't forget the potatoes.
Odda
They're from the children and me. It's not much, but they will serve as a few meals on the road.
'Teacher'
Thank you so much... all of you.
Odda
I should be the one thanking you. I learned a lot from you.
'Teacher'
For the past few years, Kazdel has grown faster than its education and public thinking can keep up.
'Teacher'
I fear that our powers will be our own destruction, if we do not change the present situation.
'Teacher'
The conflicts we see in Kazdel now are a good example. This is not how the Sarkaz should be.
'Teacher'
I have yet to find a way to change all these, but I know that the answer does not lie within Kazdel.
'Teacher'
Goodbye, Odda.
Odda
Goodbye... may your journey be safe and smooth.
Odda
...
Odda watches as the 'Teacher' disappears around the corner, but does not go in.
He does not remember when it started, but he has the habit of sitting by the door, waiting for a familiar someone to return.
Wind stirs the dust from the streets, and the dust stirs up his tears. There is not even a shadow.
Manfred's long limbs flail helplessly in the air, while his torso is tied to a wooden stake.
Manfred
H-How did you do it so fast?!
Ascalon
Got my inspiration from the way Her Highness sews.
Manfred wriggles to break free, but the more he squirms, the tighter the ropes hug him.
He cannot understand how Ascalon can be so strong and fast, when she looks as thin and frail as him.
Manfred
Let—me—down!
Ascalon
Look, I won again!
Ascalon raises her weapon high and grins victoriously at the twin sovereigns.
Theresa
Ascalon has gotten a lot more cheerful.
Theresis
...
Theresa
What are you thinking?
Theresis
They're different from the other Sarkaz children.
Theresis
We can change them, but how can we reach all the children of Kazdel?
Theresa
Give me time. Babel can do it.
Theresis
Time is a luxury.
Theresa
I know. But education is not something that can be rushed. What we're doing is leaving hope for the next generation.
Theresa
The flame of hope will never go out, as long as a single teacher in Kazdel remains willing to share with these children the vision of a beautiful future.
You've improved. But Theresis hasn't taught you everything he knows.
Manfred
You were always the faster learner, but ever since you left the general, you've been nothing but unadjusted and lost. He is disappointed in your departure, by the way.
Ascalon
I may not be as good with words as you are, but at least I don't just ignore the insults against Her Highness Theresa.
Manfred
Do you really know why Her Highness is so dedicated to Babel's ideals? Do you really know why the General hasn't openly denounced the attacks on Babel?
Manfred
You should have talked to him, rather than turning your back on him.
Ascalon
I turned my back? You're the ones who turned your backs on Her Highness and the voices of so many.
Ascalon
It's Theresis who has turned a blind eye to the mercenaries' acts of violence and the damage they've caused Babel! This much I know.
Manfred
The General has allowed it precisely because he can't ignore the voices of the majority.
Manfred
If the fate of the Sarkaz is doomed to fall into the abyss, what's wrong with using more effective means to prevent it?
Ascalon
So that's what you truly think.
Manfred
It's what most of us in Kazdel think.
Manfred
It's not that I don't trust Her Highness... anyone can promise a better future. But we can't ignore the reality before it.
Manfred
Isn't it crueler to use violence to force a child to shake hands and make peace with the murderer who just killed his father?
Ascalon
Say whatever you want.
Ascalon
I'll keep my hands off the Military Commission. But if you try to act through the mercenaries...
Ascalon
Then my job is simple.
Ascalon
No more mercenaries, no more problems.
Manfred
Ascalon!
Ascalon
...If you have the time.
Ascalon
Go visit Her Highness. I've never seen her so tired.
A puff of mist is the only sign that she was ever there.
Manfred looks down and wipes away the blood slowly seeping out of his chest.
He sighs and turns into the empty street, only to spot the deceased mercenary's effects.
Manfred
Someday... we will all understand.
Manfred
It was never Her Highness or the General who made the choice.
