Liberi Reader

There's no sign of fighting inside the house. The children are still sleeping.

Hyman wouldn't harm the kids. You can be sure of that.

Not yet.

I don't know how long she can maintain her reason.

Thank you.

How do you intend to tell the kids about Hyman when they wake up?

They have a right to know.

Sometimes, ignorance is bliss.

Is that a suggestion?

No, Federico...

I hope you don't mind me calling you that.

It was you who spared Hyman. It was you who earned the children's trust. The choice is yours.

......

Feeling the weight?

I'm not wearing any extra weights.

I'll take that as your personal brand of humor.

What are you looking at?

Do you know what this is?

A piece of cloth... we stuff like that to make blankets for winter, but I've never seen this pattern before.

It's a common Lateran pattern.

A flower? It's pretty dried-up. Must have been there for at least two days.

Is this Hyman's hobby?

I... I don't know.

I thought I knew the people who follow me. But I'm not even sure...

......

I must return to the sacrarium.

I have enough information to pass judgment on the Sarkaz.

And what is your judgment?

First, there is something I must know—have you had any interaction with Oren Argiolas?

Oren the nuncio?

Yes.

Not much. He went missing soon after he arrived.

I see.

You call yourself Gerald, but that is not your real name.

Who can say if a name is real or not? I've used it for ten years.

I've been Gerald the Hunter ever since we started living here and built our first house with those broken planks.

How you identify is none of my concern. You can be Gerald.

Then—

A mercenary who made his name in the Kazdel Civil War, wanted by the Notarial Hall, thirty-two confirmed crimes on his record, responsible for annihilating three of the Holy Lateran's Executor Maniples.

Holst Tyfindale.

—!

You knew...

Yes, I knew. What I can find out, others can too.

This is your final warning—

Your identity is no longer a secret, Gerald.

Target structure confirmed.

Hard to believe the Sarkaz would really want to live in an abbey of ours.

Ready to move in?

No rush. We'll wait for the order.

Let's wait and see. We have the area surrounded.

Same as that Sarkaz team we nabbed earlier...

Not a single one of them is getting away.

Yes, sir!

I got some food. It's not much, but it's better than nothing.

Sorry, Serpilia... I'm not hungry...

Well, I'll leave it here. You might start to feel hungry in a bit.

......

Gratias, Serpilia...

What for?

Nothing in particular... I just wanted to thank you.

Eat up and go to bed if you really want to thank me. I get off earlier that way.

R-Really? Then I'll go to sleep...

......

......

......

Sorry, I can't sleep...

I figured.

Are you sure you should be here? I'm feeling much better now... what I mean is... you don't have to stay with me if you don't want to.

Watching you is my job, girl. I'm not exactly a saint.

I won't run away.

Who knows? The better a girl behaves, the more you have to keep an eye on her.

Do you know what those black horns on your head mean? Do you know what's waiting for you when you're brought back to Laterano?

I... No, I don't.

Of course you don't. You can't empath with me, can you?

......

Oh, don't look like that. I was just trying to scare you a little. His Holiness is pretty kind, all things considered. No need to worry too much.

I'm not worried.

Whatever punishment I receive, I deserve...

What's that sound? Is there someone outside?

Whatever it is, it's none of your business.

Stay put. I'll check it out.

Huh?

Strange. There's nobody here.

You're really letting your guard down. It hasn't been that long.

The way you talk still makes me want to punch you.

I'm wondering how you operated in Victoria. Did you spend all your time making enemies for Laterano, Oren?

I resent that characterization. No one takes his job more seriously than me.

Speaking of job, you're ready on your side, aren't you, Serpilia?

Maybe?

I need a less ambiguous answer.

We move at dawn, if there are no complications.

(Strange... Serpilia hasn't come back yet?)

(Things seemed to have calmed down outside...)

(Wh-What's that sound?)

S-Serpilia? Is that you?

Oh! Mmph...

Shh.

It's me.

Raimund?!

Come with me, Fortuna.

Finally outside.

Why are you here, Lemuen?

There was a bit of trouble. I ran into someone unpleasant and let him get away... it sounds even worse when I put it that way.

I came because I heard a commotion over here.

I'm surprised you would make a threat like that.

Threat?

Wasn't it?

Then what did you mean?

I was only telling the truth. Correct judgment is based on the truth of the present situation. I don't need to threaten anyone.

I think I get it...

But there is nothing more unpredictable than people. Even we fail to understand our own thoughts sometimes, and it's not unusual for our actions and thoughts to contradict one another.

Experience tells me that things rarely develop in the most logical way.

......

Setting that aside... the situation is more complicated than I expected.

We need to exchange information, Federico.

You mean the monster we saw was the missing Sarkaz by the name of Hyman?

The state that you saw her in was different from what I saw. And if that's the case...

She has gone from being impossible to communicate with, demonstrating no capacity for thought beyond feeding instinct, to being able to communicate in a limited manner.

Evolution.

That is a reasonable hypothesis.

She has undergone a transformation. During a mission, I read about a religious cult that operates on the Iberian coastline.

The Church of the Deep.

You seem to know a lot about them, Federico. Have you seen similar creatures on previous missions?

Rarely.

But you have. That makes things easier to explain.

I had reason to read up on it a while ago... we may be working with the Iberian Inquisition concerning that cult.

They've caught His Holiness's attention. I didn't expect to run into them here...

It's a difficult problem.

Difficult and dangerous... I doubt I would've gotten the upper hand if that visitor was trying to do more than slow me down.

This is irritating... I really need to get back to form. Even Serpilia will start looking down on me at this rate.

Back to the situation at hand, are you sure you should have told Gerald all that?

He has a right to know.

Alright. What's the plan now?

Investigate.

What?

Fires don't start on their own. Something is not right with the fire at the sacrarium.

And the flower... No, I can't be sure yet.

First, I need to find what caused the fire.

Sorry to wake you at this hour.

It's okay. A lot of us couldn't sleep anyway.

I've let everyone know. We can leave at any time.

But didn't you say we were leaving in the morning? What changed?

Is it because of the fire?

I guarantee you it wasn't Raimund who did it. We don't need to—

No, I don't suspect him.

Then...

We have a situation. I'll explain later. But we can't wait until morning.

Still no word from the team we sent out?

No. It's strange. They might have run into trouble.

Should I take a few guys and check it out?

No, we'll go together. Make sure everyone sticks together. No one wanders off on their own.

I'll scout ahead. Have the old folks come with me. You take the rear guard with Raimund, alright?

Something's not alright. I can see it on your face.

What's going on? You're anxious. Why?

Because of the Laterans?

Nothing gets past you.

You're always cautious, Reed.

Stop. That's not my name anymore.

Sorry, I just...

Sorry. It felt too much like our Kazdel days.

Maybe I'm overthinking it, but I have a bad feeling about this. Call it a hunch, but we should leave as soon as possible.

Yes, as soon as possible. Take the ones who are ready. We go now.

Like I said, you're the boss. Your call.

But the last time you had a hunch, it was about finding a place and having a better life.

......

We'll find it. I swear.

I believe you.

You found this place for us.

I hope it goes smoothly.

I'm sorry, Eileen, but I can't take you this time.

Will you blame me for it?

What would you think if you could see this?

......!

Who's there?

It's me, Gerald.

Are you busy?

There's something you should know...

Wow, that old man is intimidating, isn't he?

This mission has gotten seriously complicated.

Sarkaz, a fallen angel, and a mad abbot... give me a break.

And I'm here with Federico, of all people... is that a good thing or not?

Just in case...

Oren, it's me.

Are you gonna do it? You've got the guys there, right?

I suggest you look into this Bishop Stefano. Something's not right with him. It could be dangerous.

A hunch?

Maybe... I have a bad feeling about this abbey. Well, I guess that's not the right way to put it... it's bad because things aren't that bad.

You've been here longer than I have. Don't you feel it?

How could there be a place where everyone works so hard, yet feels no hope at all?

That's such a sad thing.

So, I told Raimund about Delfina and Fortuna, not knowing that he didn't know.

He got very worked up. I'm concerned.

......

Gerald...? Are you okay?

I'm fine. Don't worry.

It's not your fault. I just didn't have the chance to tell him.

Where's Raimund?

He ran out after asking me about Fortuna. He said he was going to get her back.

They have Laterans guarding Fortuna. Are you sure about this?

The Sankta won't allow it.

Raimund was born here. Things are different out there. He doesn't understand our relationship with the Sankta.

I remember, you've said that relations between the Sankta and Sarkaz are...

Bad.

It might not have been so bad if we were all just civilians...

Won't Raimund be in danger?!

I'll find him. Thanks for telling me.

There isn't much I can do...

I'm beginning to think you were right, Gerald. You should leave this place.

Go now. It's the right choice. Don't... don't wait until tomorrow!

That's the plan.

You seem anxious, Clément... did something else happen?

I'm fine. I'm just... today has been quite a day. It's a little too much.

Go, Gerald. You were right. You shouldn't stay here.

Something's off about you, Clément. Calm down. You—

Boss! We have a problem!

What is it?

We went the opposite way from the scout team, as you had ordered, and we saw troops approaching the abbey!

Troops?

Laterans! Sankta and Pontifica Cohors!

I fought them many times. I'd know 'em from a mile away!

They're going to surround us!

They never intended to let us go!

......

Clément.

I'm here. What do we do...?

Don't worry.

I've been running for too long. This is just putting things back the way they should be... all will be settled.

Tell us what to do, boss.

We're prepared to fight.

Thank you for spending all these years with me, all of you.

Don't talk like that.

What are you doing, Gerald? What are you doing?!

P-Put down that knife! Calm down!

I'm perfectly calm, Clément..

My mind has not been so clear in a decade.

If only blood can end it all, then there's only one thing left to do.

Don't worry. The blood of Sarkaz is not shed lightly.