Liberi Reader

......

You look horrible. Did you pull an all-nighter?

He's back. I saw it, and it couldn't have been anyone else... That light... It was Andoain's Arts!

Ah... so that's why you vanished in a puff of smoke yesterday afternoon.

He came to you directly, though?

He wasn't there for me.

When I was bringing the mixed-blood girl back to the Basilica... I bumped into a Sarkaz.

A Sarkaz? Now, of all times? And in broad daylight on the streets of Laterano, too?

That's right... I went after the Sarkaz and told Ezell to take the girl back to the Basilica.

I chased the Sarkaz all the way to the edge of Pagus Faber... but Andoain covered her with his Arts and she got away.

As for Ezell, I thought he'd have made it to the Basilica by the evening.

But he never made it. This is his terminal. It was stuck to the bottom of a vehicle transporting envoys.

Heh, our trainee kid's a good enough actor to fool you?

I doubt he was acting. Though it's true that I don't understand why he did it... Maybe... Andoain kidnapped him, too...?

Fiammetta, I think you really ought to calm down a little.

I'm calm. I'm calmer than I've been in the last eight years.

But none of you ever told me what happened the day after I left.

It was a simple mop-up mission... and it went so much better than we expected...

All I did was answer a call for backup... I left the rest of you for four hours...

And by the time I got back to the ruins, it was all too late.

I've already told you everything I could.

What exactly did he get from the Lock and Key that gave him the nerve to do that to Lemuen?

I would tell you if I could... but I don't know myself.

......

Fiammetta, this is Laterano, the Lateran Basilica. We aren't running around ruins in the wilds of Kazdel anymore.

You need to get some rest, Fiammetta. How about I help you apply for some leave? If you don't use your annual leave, it just expires.

Are you serious?!

The conference is in two days, and Andoain brought a Sarkaz here to Laterano to kidnap a mixed-blood Sankta girl. He might have even attacked an executor...

I really let my guard down this time... The Sarkaz clearly knew her way around Pagus Faber. They must've infiltrated Laterano a long time ago... What is that maniac planning this time?!

I'm serious. Calm down.

The old man's already heard about the Astray, and so has Velliv. I was working in the Basilica yesterday too—Not that I like to think of meetings as work.

In any case, Laterano is really not in as much danger as you think. Andoain's just a Sankta. He's not a monster with six eyes and four arms. If you really want to take him on, go lie down for two hours.

We'll talk to Lemuen after that.

......

Looks like you're not completely out of it just yet.

Did you get enough rest last night?

I'm very well-rested. Thank you for taking us in, senior.

The Ecclesia Requietum's doors are always open, as long as you don't find it too depressing.

After all, both the living and the dead visit this place.

Given the circumstances, we're fortunate enough to have a roof over our heads. Speaking of which, where is Cecelia?

The girl you brought with you? The sisters told me that she slept very well last night. She must have been exhausted.

She's had a long day.

Mister Ezell, Mister Friar. Good morning.

Good morning, Cecelia. You're full of energy today.

Yeah... We have stuff to do.

Hm...?

I asked Mister Friar to help me with something.

He told me that... there is a ceremony for the family of the dead... to say their goodbyes.

I want to... say goodbye to Mamma...

We will hold a funeral for Miss Feoria.

I see... A funeral...

It's both a way to pay the dead our respects and for us to find closure.

I'll help you, Cecelia.

Allow me to thank you again, senior.

No, not at all. It is my honor, actually.

There is nothing more beautiful than finding the courage to take that step forward.

She is still young, and already she is saying farewell to a loved one. Not many grown men can handle this journey she is about to take.

May I come in?

Oh, it's you. At last.

Please, come in. She's here.

?!

It's the singing cotton candy lady!

(You...)

(Put your gun down. This is a heartfelt reunion.)

(It is no different from the countless emotional meetings that have taken place across the land.)

I knew it... It's you...

Cotton Candy Lady, I didn't get to talk to you yesterday.

I actually really, really wanted to! But I don't know why... everyone started to fight...

Your horns look just like Papà's. So pretty!

I wish I had horns like Papà too... I'm jealous.

Hehe... Really? But your halo is very pretty.

It's so bright that I sometimes can't sleep at night! It helps me read storybooks, though...

Cotton Candy Lady, are you from the same place as Papà? Why can't Papà live in the city? Why aren't there other Sarkaz in Laterano?

Oh... My name is Cecelia!

Hello, Cecelia. Call me... Rosella.

(Friar... Why is there a Sarkaz here?)

(Sarkaz... No Sarkaz have ever been allowed to set foot in our holy Lateran City.)

(But then, what is Cecelia?)

(Let's go. Give them some space.)

(What are you people trying to accomplish?)

(We're only... seeking our path forward.)

Good morning, Guide.

Salutations, Guide.

May God bless you and keep you, Guide.

They call you their guide?

I don't presume to be any sort of guide or leader. You may call me by my name, Andoain.

If being a leader helps my brothers and sisters feel at ease and points them in a direction, then I am willing to serve as their Guide. That's all.

I hope that's all it is.

I know what you're thinking.

The mastermind of a heretical cult, lurking in the shadows of Laterano to lead its citizens astray. A man plotting a shocking conspiracy during this important conference that the city spent so much time to prepare?

......

No, we wish only to throw open the doors.

To those who are rejected, harmed, insulted, and desecrated.

The Ecclesia Requietum will open its doors to them all.

But...

But both you and I are 'angels.' They are not. The sacred cathedrals and churches of the Sankta have no place for them.

......

Look at this old man. The Ursus hammering away at the coffin. He lost his family, his friends, his land, and his home during the war. What does he have to rely on, to believe in? Where can he find comfort and salvation?

After a long journey, he made his way here to Laterano, the land of peace and radiance he heard about from passing travelers.

But what did this place offer him? How did the glorious Lateran City treat this foreigner who had long been a toy of fate's cruelty?

See the Caprinae woman watering the herbs? She was branded a whore and a blasphemer for offending a noble, only barely escaping her home when it was set alight.

All she wanted was peace and quiet, or, if fate would allow her a bit of luxury, a brief moment of leisure and joy every now and then. Do you think the saints in the Basilica will think her their sister?

To these men and women, our glorious Lateran citizens might perhaps offer them a sympathetic smile, perhaps even passionately hear their woes, maybe even open up their wallets to show their kindness and virtue.

Yet, to the Sankta, all of this will always be somebody else's problem.

As for the Sarkaz, the 'cursed devils,' the 'crafty devils...' The 'devils' have never had a choice.

Our hatred of them has lasted thousands of years. For as long as history books go back, the Sankta and the Sarkaz have been slaughtering one another. The origin of this conflict is long gone. Our mutual hatred has become common sense.

Father and son slay father and son. Sisters murder sisters. The Sarkaz attack Sankta caravans for sport, while the Sankta shoot their Sarkaz enemies through the chest with greatest pride.

We are only ever concerned with how we see them, yet we are never interested in how they see us. Vengeance for vengeance grew into custom, and those customs eventually became tradition.

But, if you are willing to spend the night with them under the same roof, you will find that their joys and sorrows are no different from ours.

They rejoice when reunited, they weep when one passes, they tease their friends, and they grow bashful when they fall in love. Some of them love drink, others love song. Some of them even choose to dedicate their lives to their faith.

How are they any different from us?

In Laterano, even the most devout Liberi friars who carefully follow the Church's teachings, who dutifully carry out their tasks in each ceremony, even those who are made saints and created cardinals...

The Church has never truly accepted them. The Liberi are only there to lend a helping hand. They are tools to be used in the Church's day-to-day affairs.

They don't have halos, which means they... heh, they aren't 'chosen,' they aren't Sankta.

Laterano is a place of peace and beauty, a place full of joy and laughter, but only we are deserving of this 'grace.'

What you're saying... is apostasy.

Young executor, let me ask you. Why—

Why are the Sankta the only ones allowed happiness?

You know who Cecelia is...

We've known for years. She's the child of a Sankta and a Sarkaz. If grace actually existed, she would be it.

So you're trying to kidnap Cecelia now because of the conference?

We are not concerned with the conference at all.

We came to take Cecelia now because, as a child, she should be by her mother's side.

As soon as we are done with what we came here for, we will leave Laterano.

What are you trying to accomplish?

You seem very tense. First things first, we must hold a funeral for Cecelia's mother.

Do you see the place up ahead with all the flowers? That's where the gravesite is. Tomorrow, that's where Feoria will be buried.

If all are equal when they pass—

Then so should they be when they live.

......

Come out.

Executor Federico.

Your Excellency, if I may ask, did you provide the Sarkaz with a path to infiltrate Laterano? If indeed you did, I would be required to take you in to the relevant Tribunal of the Lateran Curia for questioning.

Must we make things so difficult between us?

I suggest you cooperate with the Notarial Hall. Should you resist arrest, regulations stipulate that I can and will temporarily suspend your rights as a Lateran citizen.

How exactly do you explain this encounter of ours with canon laws and teachings?

Should we interpret it as a test, or does it mean we have lost our way?

Or perhaps... losing our way is part of the test?

......

It is clear that you are resisting arrest.

Unfortunately, this encounter will not be resolved peacefully.