Liberi Reader

*pant*...*pant*....

They're trying to run!

Not on my watch!

......!!

Urgh... I'll cover you, run!

Interesting, a Perro blocking an attack for a Sarkaz... Neither of you is getting away.

Ezell, you stay put. Don't you even think about––

No funny business, I know. The terminal is on, Miss Fiammetta.

Trust me, all I care about is ensuring Cecelia's safety.

Change of plans. You can't stay here. Take Cecelia to the Basilica right now.

It's more dangerous for us to stay in the open like this.

......

Let's go, Cecelia.

Huh? Weren't we going to the big statue? This is the wrong way.

We're taking a little detour.

What's a detour?

It means we're going somewhere else right now...

The Ecclesia Requietum.

You can't run.

She's gaining on us...

What do we do? What do we do? We can't shake her.

This is all my fault... That Liberi's not going to let us get away. Run! I'll hold her off!

But...

Hurry!

Stand back.

......

An...do...ain...

You're not getting away again.

SHOW YOURSELF RIGHT NOW!

I truly cannot understand why His Holiness would adopt such a... hands-off attitude towards the Astray.

Can you tell me, Mostima, since the two of you are well-acquainted?

Not gonna talk about that with you.

That's awfully petty of you.

I managed to keep him from killing me, only for you to very nearly do me in.

Hard to forget something like that.

And that's the reason you always wear a hat in front of me? Doesn't it get uncomfortable?

I've been a Legata for this long already. It's just a hat.

And as for you, you should probably let sleeping beasts lie.

Do you resent me, Mostima?

Laterano has always needed the Lateran Curia to keep things going, and that's always rubbed some people the wrong way. So I don't really care.

I think we have a little misunderstanding. That few fallen angels remain in the Church has nothing to do with the Church itself, but rather the Sankta nature of those fallen angels.

My attitude may be a bit peculiar, but... do you not deem yourself an aberration?

Considering the way you're talking to me, aren't you afraid I'll become one of those 'regular fallen angels'?

If that was a possibility, I wouldn't be 'talking to you that way' in the first place.

Fine. Let's talk business first. When's Fiammetta getting transferred?

Nothing good's gonna come out of her sticking to me.

Shouldn't you be asking her instead?

Brought it up before. No good.

And you think I'd have a better shot?

Looks to me like the convenient part of power is you get to ignore what other people want.

There's a price to be paid for that... So let's hear it. Why do you want Fiammetta transferred?

She said she was my escort. Are you guys not curious as to what needs escorting?

Of course, there are some who think she's a warden or jailer to a fallen angel like me.

And they don't know the first thing about Fiammetta.

I'm just the bait she's using to get at Andoian.

I'm sure she'd be terribly hurt if she heard you say that.

Alright, I'll try saying it another way... the bait is the Lock and Key I'm carrying on my back.

And? What's wrong with letting Fiammetta do as she pleases? If she can get rid of Andoain or even capture him and bring him back to the Basilica, I'd be very pleased.

Or are you saying that even the two of you together can't catch Andoain?

Not necessarily. As long as Andoain is still fixated on the Lock and Key, he can't escape.

But... let me think.

What if Andoain has already found another path?

What really sucks is I've moved on. Lemuen has moved on. Maybe even Andoain has moved on... But Fiammetta is still trapped in that rainy night eight years ago.

There's no way I could bring that up with Fiammetta.

And it's times like these where I start to miss that good old empathy...

Oh wait, Fiammetta is a Liberi anyway. Wouldn't do me any good.

This conversation sure brings me back.

What, are you here to share the wisdom of one who has walked that path?

If you'll allow me to exercise my authority as an elder.

By all means.

Do you remember what you said to me eight years ago?

I don't want to ruin the moment we're having, but...

Sorry, Your Holiness. I can't say that I do.

It was, 'No... I still have things to do, and people to protect.'

Velliv's impression of me is making my skin crawl.

......

You weren't willing to let me choose for you. So why, now, do you need to choose for Fiammetta?

Each must find her own path. She must find it, and then traverse it.

Vel, this is my same answer to you.

We're almost there, Cecelia.

I'm sorry I'm so slow, Mister Ezell... The sun is about to go behind the mountain.

You're doing a great job! Even though we can't use public transit, we're almost off the plate. If I were as strong as Miss Fiammetta, you wouldn't have to work so hard.

It's okay! Actually, Mamma took me out once and we went somewhere far, far away from home... just like here.

But, won't Miss Fiammetta find out that we sneaked out here?

If she's only looking for my terminal's signal... then hopefully that will buy me a little bit of time.

The important thing is that we're here.

Is this where Mamma went?

Cecelia... I've been thinking about how to explain this to you for a long time.

Feoria, your mama... is here. But she's also not.

I have no way of letting you see your mama again, but at least you'll be able to say goodbye to her here.

Mister Ezell... I don't think I get... what you're saying...

If she's here, but she's also not, does that mean... she went somewhere else?

Where did she go?

Let's head in first.

Before my father passed away, he always hoped there would be nothing but smiles at his funeral. That we'd see no tears. But, I...

If I may, I believe what your esteemed father truly wished was for you not to fall into grief over his passing.

Whether through tears or laughter, if that is your way of sending him off... then I'm sure he will gladly accept your sentiments.

Thank you... Seniora Prioress...

Allow me to accompany you around the flower fields outside.

Mister Ezell, that lady also said that her father 'passed away'...

Yes... People who pass away all come here.

People who are alive come to send them off... And after that, they carry on the wishes of the person who passed away, and continue on with life.

Then what about the people who passed away? What do they do?

Maybe... they're watching us from up high in the sky.

So we won't be able to see them again because they went into the sky?

......

Cecelia, this is for you.

This is... Mamma's guardian gun?

Yes.

My mama and papa were both executors for the Notarial Hall. I didn't see them much when I was little... and it was my nonno who raised me.

Nonno really loved his gun, and he'd tell me stories about his younger days every time he polished it.

He told me about the battles he fought, his friends, how he met my nonna, and the embarrassing things my papa did as a kid...

When I saw my nonno's gun, I would think back to the stories he told me.

Later, my nonno passed away. I was only a little older than you are now.

An executor from the Notarial Hall came and took away his guardian gun.

Just like how I was supposed to take away your mama's gun.

Mister Ezell... Why am I crying...?

I watered the plants in the backyard every week, just like my nonno had taught me. When they blossomed, I was very happy and called for him to come and see.

But it was only when I called for him that I realized he wasn't there anymore.

I would never see my nonno again, or his gun.

Death is the last goodbye you'll ever say to someone.

......

But, to say goodbye is to overcome death.

For there to be a 'goodbye,' the living must move forward while the dead stay behind.

A 'goodbye' is the longing that the living have for the dead. It is proof that the dead lived.

And that is why we must say goodbye.