What's going on, Sylvia? Didn't I tell you to keep the door closed at night? Recently those people from Blacksteel have been—
Bank Manager
Ah. So it was you, Miss.
Bank Manager
I'm not sure why you've paid us a visit at this hour, but how may I serve you?
Jessica
Don't... don't chase them out!
Bank Manager
Chase them out? Who exactly?
Jessica
The residents with debt! Don't let Blacksteel drive them out!
Bank Manager
...Who's this coming from? Mr. Cliff?
Jessica
I... it's from me!
Bank Manager
Did I hear that right? If this is a joke, I'm not sure I get it.
Jessica
I'm serious! If you need someone to pay off their debts, then I-I'll pay it off for them! At least enough to let them stay through winter? Sending them to the frontier now is no different from a death sentence!
Bank Manager
What holds sway in a bank are not the delusions of a mercenary, but honest-to-goodness gold certificates.
Jessica
I have the certs! This isn't a crazy fantasy, I can walk the walk and pay off their debts!
Bank Manager
I'm sorry, but the bank doesn't have time to indulge your nonsense—
Jessica
I'm the daughter of Bernie Brynley... The CEO and largest shareholder of Raythean Industries!
Jessica freezes on the spot as soon as she finishes speaking. Ever since she joined Blacksteel, she has never once relied on her father or her family to handle any setbacks she's faced.
This was her one unwavering insistence—she did not want any special treatment because of her family name.
But she had just unleashed the name of her father, as well as the one that sits on their family crest.
Bank Manager
Bernie Brynley?
Bank Manager
You must be quite the bigshot then, Miss Jessica Brynley.
Jessica
Spare me the sarcasm, ma'am. Just give me the number.
Bank Manager
Hm... I can't give you an exact figure on the spot, but no matter. Sylvia is here, and she's always been good with numbers.
Bank Manager
What are you standing there for, Sylvia? Tell her.
Sylvia
...Miss, I—
Bank Manager
She's a child of the Brynley family. It should be a paltry sum to her.
Sylvia
This, this isn't a good idea...
Bank Manager
Tell her, Sylvia!
Sylvia
Currently... everyone's debt in Davistown roughly totals to... 276 million certs. If we calculate the interest until spring, the amount you'll need is roughly...
Jessica
How much?
Sylvia
28,450,000 gold certificates.
Jessica
Twenty-eight... million?
Bank Manager
A small price for three months of peace and stability on the plate, no?
Bank Manager
At a loss for words, Miss Brynley?
Jessica
I-I don't have that much on hand right now, b-but I can make the arrangements...
Bank Manager
28,450,000... So even a trust fund heiress can't withdraw that much money in one go?
Bank Manager
I've learned something new today.
Jessica
I... I... no...
Sylvia
Jessica...
Jessica
Sylvia, I-I...
Sylvia
You're... you're not from Davistown. There's really... no need to do this for our sake.
Sylvia
Listen to me. You should just leave... E-Even if you have enough for this time, could you afford the next one? Or the one after that?
Jessica's lips tremble as she fails to let even a single word out.
She knows Sylvia is not being wry, but just stating the facts.
The long string of numbers in her account can ensure a carefree lifetime for her, but isn't enough to guarantee even a month's stability for the people of this plate.
She thinks back to her father's earnest reminders—To always act within her means, and to weigh the pros and cons before doing so.
But she never learned to, and thus has no achievements to her name.
I figured you'd be the one full of questions for me.
Haggard Looking Man
No, just the one.
Haggard Looking Man
Why didn't you back me up, three years ago?
Somber Mercenary
The situation changed after you left. Once the enemy encirclement suddenly tightened around our right flank, I had no choice but to abandon the original rescue plan and conserve our forces.
Haggard Looking Man
...You're gonna write it off with just that understatement?
Haggard Looking Man
You devised a rescue plan, sent me as a decoy, and in the end, you didn't even rescue him.
Somber Mercenary
The circumstances compelled me to take responsibility for my men.
Haggard Looking Man
Don't give me that, with that face like you don't care!
Somber Mercenary
Why are you so obsessed with my expressions, Woody? You've been scrutinizing my face since the moment I stepped in.
Somber Mercenary
Since when did... Sankta ever need to pay attention to body language? What's going on, Woody?
Haggard Looking Man
...It became a habit after he passed. After all, ain't no other Sankta in here.
Somber Mercenary
When did he die? The document only has one 'dead' stamped in here, and the rest aren't even recorded.
Haggard Looking Man
I can't remember the details... Didn't have a calendar or a watch... Probably last year? Early spring... no, summer. I saw a pansy outside the barbed-wired fence that day.
Somber Mercenary
What happened...?
Haggard Looking Man
At first... he was burning hot... He was mumbling non-stop, eyes wide open, and he was grabbing my sleeve like a lifeline. Like he wanted to tell me something.
Haggard Looking Man
So I moved closer, to make out what he was trying to say.
Somber Mercenary
And what was it...?
Haggard Looking Man
Dunno, didn't hear. He let go of my sleeve, his eyes still open, pupils all dilated... Pitch-black... like they could suck in everything around him.
Somber Mercenary
Woody...
Haggard Looking Man
So why... why... why didn't you come?
The man turns his head, and with a blank stare returns the mercenary's gaze.
The black of his pupils incessantly spreads, circulates, and rotates, as if trying to swallow up everything in the surroundings.
As the mercenary faces the other man's glare, he feels as if a hook has extended from out of nowhere, piercing through his ankle and relentlessly dragging him into that black vortex.
So what do I call you now? Heard you go by a different name.
'Clip' Cliff
Anything's fine... I was expecting you sooner, Woody.
Woodrow
After what happened last night, I had so many things on my plate and so many friends to help out.
'Clip' Cliff
If you need any help, you can always let me know. Be it cash or manpower.
Woodrow
Thanks, Cliff, but no thanks. Help is only help when it's on time. But coming from you... it's always overdue.
'Clip' Cliff
Right. It's always best to get things done in a timely manner.
Woodrow
So what are you doing here?
'Clip' Cliff
Can't an old friend start with a 'how do you do'?
Woodrow
...It's not as simple as 'old friends' between us. What made you think we'd be acting like friends when we saw each other again?
'Clip' Cliff
Then what would you rather be treated as?
Woodrow
Anything else, really.
'Clip' Cliff
No need for sarcasm, Woody. I don't even see the point anymore. We're old now, our hair's gone full white.
'Clip' Cliff
This past decade, I've seen my friends getting one health problem after another, and been attending funeral after funeral. Just meeting one that's still alive is hard enough.
'Clip' Cliff
You live so far away, and I doubt I'll ever see your obituary in the papers, so I came see you personally.
Woodrow
You shouldn't have bothered. Ain't no place for you at my funeral anyhow.
'Clip' Cliff
That's a real shame, Woody. Didn't we make that pact to speak at each other's funerals, all those years ago?
Woodrow
I'm sure plenty of others would be happy for you to speak at theirs, but mine... just forget about it.
'Clip' Cliff
I hope you're not thinking I'm a fan of funerals. I only attend them because it's my old buddies in the coffins.
Woodrow
And where do you sit? Among the friends and family?
'Clip' Cliff
Rarely. Unless their relatives ask me to, I usually stand back and watch the whole thing from a distance.
Woodrow
Why? Afraid you can't bear their pain?
'Clip' Cliff
Pain is a relatively private experience for the other races. My best guess is that we can only deal with it on our own.
Woodrow
Enough playing like we're friends, alright? I'll put it bluntly for you—I buried him on the hillside behind the POW camp. Have you ever visited him?
I thought... on account of their past friendship, maybe my boss could be more... lenient on everyone here.
Helena
How could you be so naive? Jessica... Woody, he...
Jessica
I...
Jessica
...
Helena
Forget it. Now that it's come to this, I don't need to hide it from you.
Helena
I'm planning to leave this plate and head to the frontier.
Jessica
You too...?
Helena
Yeah, my regulars are all getting sent off one after the other, and only us old folks are left. What's the point in keeping the diner open?
Helena
Besides, just look at the holes in my walls, after last night's fighting. I don't have it in me to patch 'em up anymore.
Helena
I've invested so many years into this place... and enough is enough.
Jessica
Sorry... I'm so sorry...
Helena
What're you apologizing for, Jessica?
Jessica
Because I didn't do anything. Nothing at all. I'm sorry, I really am...
Helena
Don't blame yourself. You're the last person who should be doing that. You're an outsider, and the plate was on its last legs. Just get back to your friends.
Helena
You have your own life to live. No need to work yourself to the bone on our account.
Helena
And the check you gave me back then... Take it back.
Jessica
But... that's the only thing I can do for you...
Helena
Take it.
Jessica
...When do you plan to leave, Helena?
Helena
Not too soon, I reckon. Still have to say my proper goodbyes, after all.
Jessica shuts the restaurant door behind her and stands in a daze on the doorstep, the check balled up in her fist.
She suddenly lets loose a kick on a pile of snow by the road, sprinkling flakes of white down onto her head and wetting her hair. Some land on her forehead, cooling her burning heat.
She retrieves a tape recorder from her bag and begins rewinding it, playing back the recording she has heard so many times.
'...But you're just a naive little heiress. What can you even do?'
This thought fills her mind as she walks slowly back towards the giant black landship.
