Liberi Reader

...Who am I?

What I—desire...

All Operators in this group should be accounted for here. 1, 2, 3... good, we're alright.

Hm? This one's... a previous number? Someone must've got it mixed up with this batch. Who did these papers? Gotta be pretty careless to mix up whole groups...

Phantom?

Who's that? I don't remember any operator by that name... Huh? And why's a part of the file missing?

......

Weird. What's going on here?

Yes!

There are parts I'm still not fully clear, but Skyfire's been helping me a lot all throughout! Don't worry!

Oh, that's right, Doctor! I've read the operator's manual Skyfire gave to me front to back!

It's got all sorts of interesting notes in it, and the writing is clear as crystal! It's honestly a joy to read! Who's the author? I have to know! They're amazing!

Oh, and the canteen's food is delicious! Skyfire said I've gained plenty enough weight and she forced this pamphlet on me for Miss Hibiscus's healthy meals, but she's not hiding the fact she eats just as well too!

And also, also, um...

Oh, sorry, Doctor. Have I been talking too much?

Oh! Someone's here.

Sorry to interrupt, Doctor.

There's a file that needs checking over. Do you have the time right now?

Dr. Kal'tsit and Amiya both said I should come here to ask you about this.

(She hands the file materials over to the Doctor).

This file, here.

The records pertaining to Operator Phantom's background are incomplete. Plenty of information's just missing.

I don't know who was previously responsible... They didn't even fill in their name for it on HR's table. Likely they were swept up in work and plain forgot.

We've had a lot of newcomers in recently, so it's the perfect time to get all our data on all our operators sorted. Plenty of omissions like this coming to light, honestly.

It's nothing glaringly huge, but we've got to get it up to scratch, same as everything else.

Sounds like you're having a tough time...

If you need anything, I can help too.

What's your name?

Nice to meet you. I'm a new Caster Operator, codename Mint.

Ah, I remember you. You're the new girl that got separated during the last mission, right?

Haha. I swear, Miss Skyfire was THIS close to exploding.

*whimper* I'm so sorry about that, and for all the trouble I caused...

She must be angry with me. She was lecturing me non-stop afterwards.

Hm? No, no, no, not with you.

She was upset with herself because she wasn't watching her own back properly... at least, that's what she said.

Huh? So she wasn't...

I know. There's times Miss Skyfire can be pretty strict with other people, right?

But she's much stricter with herself, really. Take last time as proof. She'll reflect on herself first before she starts grumbling at anyone else.

And you can't blame her, really.

Once you've seen her pitting herself against her own standards, upset at herself for falling so visibly and palpably short, getting chewed out by her from time to time doesn't feel so rough...

You're right! That's how she really is. I admire her a lot for that.

Haha, I can tell. Anyway, thanks for offering to help.

We've definitely taken on a lot of fresh blood in a short time. Whether it's us, Medical or Logistics, we're all a little swamped.

Oh, er, right, Operator Phantom's file.

Circling back to that, we've got a decent amount of operators' files in incomplete states. In general, standard protocol for small questions is we'd find the person themselves and ask directly.

But Operator Phantom's kind of tricky in this regard... I'm gonna put it straight. We can barely figure out where he is.

Is he not on the ship right now?

No. Our mission records say he's not out in the field for anything.

Operator Phantom seems to be deliberately avoiding people. Add in his Arts, and we've had our work cut out finding him.

We could lie in wait in places, or ask Miss Closure for help... but we just can't spare a single person and waiting's not an option, and as for the latter, well, mm...

I heard he caused some trouble when he joined us and now Miss Closure's... pissed off with him.

So we'd probably be telling her 'this is your chance to give him a public execution,' right? It's hard to even guess what would happen afterwards.

This definitely sounds tricky...

Are Mr. Phantom's Originium Arts similar to Mr. Ethan's? Or... um, waitletmelookatthemanual. Right! Like Miss Manticore's?

She has the ability to hide where she is too, doesn't she?

Yep. I remember when she signed on. It was just as much of an effort back then to get her records filled out.

All you had to do was blink and she'd slip away unnoticed. That was a whole thing to deal with.

Miss Manticore's case was more helplessness. I get the feeling that Operator Phantom's just using his Originium Arts to dodge us. On purpose.

Is that so...

Dr. Kal'tsit and Amiya said we could ask you to help us out with this. Do you have any good ideas, Doctor?

You mean it? Great! What should we do to find him, then?

The Madam?

Doctor, do you mean...

!

......

It's that dream...

The stage that night, and those people.

(...No, no.)

(That night, nothing of the sort happened. Everything was perfect.)

(They couldn't ever appear again. They shouldn't ever appear again.)

(...Spirits, I've long since laid you to rest.)

The endless river runs, and to my ear its babble is as song. It washes forth, so leaves me, flows away to endless far...

Or perhaps they never really left.

(Hm? The sound of footfall. The sound of...)

Meow.

So it was you, Miss.Christine.

Meow~

What is it?

You seem in a good mood.

Meow. Meooow.

No, I'm fine.

You oughtn't worry. I'm used to it.

Those apparitions are forever in the corners of my sight...

Mew.

Hm?

Of course. I'm well aware we have other guests.

—Doctor.

There are others besides you as well.

Two stranger footfalls. One a little airier, the other heavy.

Oh, I've been made.

That's incredible! I was making so sure to tip-toe all carefully!

Scarily acute sense of hearing... wait, heavy means me? I guess I have put on a little weight recently.

Er, I feel he didn't specifically mean your actual weight.

......

Go on, then. What might you need me for?

Miss.Christine rarely brings guests. It seems you've gained her favor.

Anyhows, the important thing is we're finally face to face. Nice to meet you, Operator Phantom.

And you are...?

I'm from the HR department. There's a file of yours with an incomplete section. We only have a few questions, just so we can check our knowledge from the top.

File?

...I understand. What would Rhodes Island like to know?

Thank you for your cooperation. Don't worry, all you'll need to answer is a few simple questions.

Ah, before that... allow me to just quickly confirm your Originium Arts control capacity.

Have you noticed any issues with your specialized monitoring equipment, Mr. Phantom?

Particularly in day-to-day moments... for example, like our current conversation. Any tendencies for your Arts to take effect in a manner that exceeds your control?

Based on your feedback, Mr. Phantom, the techs can make the necessary followup adjustments to your equipment's respective functionality for you.

No need. It does plenty enough for now.

Its suppression of the crystal growth is very much appreciated, as are its counter-adjustments of frequency and amplitude.

So long as syllables don't form melodies, there are no problems.

...I thank you greatly.

No worries. Supporting operators in controlling their Arts is one part of what we do.

If there's no problems, that's good!

Alright, moving on... your place of birth, Mr. Phantom.

Last time we entered your data, according to you, your place of birth was in Calais-blason in west Victoria.

Calais-blason...?

......

Correct.

Hm... well, that's strange.

Based on the info you gave us, we sent someone from our Victoria branch to the local area to verify, and reality seems to be at odds with what you've told us, Mr. Phantom.

......

Wait. Wait, could it be...

Calais-blason. Could it be that it doesn't even exist?

......

Correct.

Investigation couldn't find any nomadic city with a similar name, nor any area...

Mr. Phantom, I should remind you that if you don't want your place of birth to be known, you have other options. Applying for temporary confidentiality or a requisite level of access authority are both possible.

But if you're going to lie about the most basic things, then that's a completely different matter!

We give operators the room to conceal, keep confidential, or refuse explicitly to provide some information, but lying... that doesn't help either of us to build trust in the other. In any way, at all.

Do you understand that?

...I wasn't lying.

What?

When you were registering me, I spoke the truth. I didn't even think to lie.

The person who gave me a home, in times past, once told me that that was where I was born.

So they said. That our village was razed by a Catastrophe. That the fields were engulfed by war's flames. That the ever-traveling troupe was passing by. That in the stead of each home the children had lost, the troupe took them in.

That after, as we followed with the troupe, we left... and we never once returned.

Apart from this singular name, I know nothing about the land it was.

......

This is really, really weird. What's even going on here... Could it be your guardians had made a mistake?

Or you might have remembered something wrong, Mr. Phantom?

......

Yeah. We'll just have to leave it like this for now.

Provided there's no intentional falsification going on, we can flag up basic information as special procedure, and then freely supplement or modify later as needed.

Oh, you can do that?

I'd always been under the impression that no matter where you go, they'd be strict all the same about files like this.

Universities in Victoria are like that! If there's any sort of problem with your files, in the most serious cases, they'll probably suspend you!

Broadly speaking, yeah, it's a pretty strict matter.

But a lot of Rhodes Island's people are out of the ordinary. There's no practical, clear-cut blanket to us...

Take Cuora's case. She really doesn't remember anything at all, and we've turned up short on any way to help her with that.

And there's a couple of operators with very unique circumstances. Once we've determined that they won't jeopardize Rhodes Island, we can bend the rules a little as needed.

......

I apologize.

Huh? Oh, no, no worries.

If what you've just said is true, then it's not even exactly your fault, Mr. Phantom... In any case, we can try and look for it again later.

If we still don't get anything after that, I'll report the whole truth of it upstairs and leave the judgment to them.

But don't let it weigh on you! Amiya never really lets all this clerical stuff cloud her head!

Hmm, let me see what else there is... ah, right. Can I ask what your motivation for joining Rhodes Island is? It's just a question I have to ask.

Given you're Infected, I assume it's for treatment of Oripathy?

No.

Huh? It's not?

I'm looking for someone.

For whom? Is this an operator of ours?

...I can't be sure.

I'm looking for someone. There is something I need to find out, for which I need to find the person who knows.

Those ghosts from the past—stood on the streetcorner, behind the window, by my side...

Those things. I have to free myself from them.

Only when I know what the truth of their passing was. Only then can I lay them to rest, once and for all.

What could you be talking about...?

For that matter, how can you be sure the person you're looking for is here in Rhodes Island?

......

I heard music.

I heard a voice. The voice told me to come here, for here I could find the trail I needed.

The answer was in this place.

......

(Doctor. Doctor!)

(Is Operator Phantom really doing alright? He makes me feel like he's anything but alright! Are you sure he doesn't need another checkup with Medical?)

(Oripathy can affect your auditory senses, and it can even encroach on nervous and cognitive function. Mr. Phantom might have something like that...)

What are you talking about?

......?

What is it?

...What did you say? Wardrobe?

I have no—

?!

These clothes—are...

Why... since when...

They should not be here—!

(Calais-blason, Calais-blason. It's so strange. I feel like I've heard that name for a place somewhere before...)

(Hmm... where does it come from?)

Oh...

I can't remember at all!

Oh, forget it. I'll go borrow some books and see if I can find anything there.

Hey there.

Whbuh!

Uh, my bad. Did I just scare you?

You're... a new operator, I think. Got any troubles, or?

S-Sorry about that! It's not your fault. Just my overreaction.

There's just this question I can't quite figure out, and it's got me a little lost...

Hm? Is it anything I can help you with?

No need to be reserved about it. Call it my apology for frightening you. I'll listen to what's on your mind, if you want. If I can help with any of it, that's all the better.

Thank you... you're such a nice person!

Everyone at Rhodes Island really is so kind...

Heheh. Much appreciated.

What were you saying before about something you couldn't remember?

So you heard that. I was thinking about the name of a place... Calais-blason. It gives me the nagging feeling I've heard it before, but I just can't think of where.

Have you heard of any place like that before?

......

Ah... that is familiar.

I never thought I'd hear that name again.

Oh! You know of it?!

Of course. Of course I know of it.

Long, long ago, I used to live there.

I heard someone mouthing off about its name. Saying it's not one people ever mention anymore, how you only remember if you should've been buried long ago in the rotting ruins of the past.

That person and that mouth are both rotting in the past, if you ask me...

......?

No, my bad. That was neither here nor there.

Do you have time for a story? I've got one to tell.

It's about Calais-blason, and about its people. About a group of children who lost their shelter, and about the traveling troupe passing by that little village...

I can tell you every last bit.

Let's go somewhere a little quieter first, though.

...It might be a very long story.