I thought I was going to the Notarial Hall or the Basilica, to be questioned about Arturia's escape.
Nurturer
The gun-knight who brought you here has other business to attend to. He asked me to tell you not to worry about the Arturia case.
Nurturer
Long has Landen Monastery served the Holy City dutifully. There will be no excessive penalty just because a single prisoner escaped.
Nervous Nun
Phew... that's good to hear.
Nurturer
It was for another reason that you were brought here.
Hildegard
There are so many—
Nurturer
Would you prefer a quieter location?
Hildegard
No, what I mean is... why is everyone in this nursery Liberi?
Hildegard scans around the room and sees Liberi in all sorts of outfits, sitting or standing. There is little conversation, only the steady ring of the comfort bells.
Hundreds? Thousands? Too many to count. An entire city's worth of Liberi seems to be assembled here.
Since when did this nursery become so large? No, more importantly, why are all these Liberi here?
Hildegard
Don't tell me... you have a room full of Perros, a room full of Felines, a room full of Lupos...?
Nurturer
An astute observation.
Nurturer
We also have rooms for fallen angels and Sarkaz.
Hildegard
You're... awfully forthcoming.
Nurturer
The Shrine of Nurtury has nothing to hide.
Nurturer
At the conclusion of the Nativity, the Curia announced that the Sankta will share the halo with all races. The simplest method is to do it race-by-race.
Hildegard
...
Nervous Nun
...
Liberi Citizen
Do you mean we can have halos too? We can feel each other the way Sanktas do?
Nurturer
As you felt the arborbeast's heartbeat at the Nativity.
So you brought me here, not because of Vannini, but because... I am Liberi?
Patrizion
Yes.
Paganini
I'll get a big ol' light over my head, like yours?
Patrizion
Go on in, Pag.
Paganini
Huh. Sounds like I don't have a choice. And it also sounds like a wonderful thing, doesn't it?
Patrizion
At least it'll be good for your eyes.
Paganini
More than that, I think!
Paganini
If I had a halo, I'd be able to tell what that metal heart of yours was feeling when you kicked Gia out of Laterano!
Patrizion
I know you blame me for that.
Paganini
Glad to know that you know.
Patrizion
Maybe things would've gone better for you, if that hadn't happened.
Patrizion
Over centuries of Lateran history, many have tried to recreate the terrifying high-caliber revolving antique gun that the ancient tomes described... only you succeeded.
Patrizion
That design, which assumed the user could withstand a recoil five times that of an ordinary gun, was the work of a genius... or a madman.
Paganini
Oh, are you bragging about being born to be a gun-knight? After all, you successfully tested my design before ever putting on a suit of armor.
Patrizion
I just thought we were born to be partners. You and I and Gia were always the best of friends, from primary school through university.
Patrizion
But my first official mission as a gun-knight was to exile Gia from Laterano...
Patrizion
After that, you gave up gunsmithing for the Apostolic Knights, opened a workshop somewhere I didn't know about, and now...
Paganini
I decided to retire, alright? You and your vappa 'Shrine of Gunsmithing'. What use did you Sankta have for me, if you treat gunsmithing like making potato chips?
Paganini
It's a crime to be non-Sankta, is it? Gia got exiled, I get to have a halo put on me... the Liberi aren't allowed to live in Laterano the way we are now, are we?
Patrizion
The thing with Gia had nothing to do with being Liberi. Even if she was Sankta, the Lateran wouldn't allow someone with Oripathy—
Paganini
You don't know shit!
Paganini
'Lateran order' and 'Lateran purity' again? How many times d'you think I've heard that garbage from you?
Paganini
Do you really believe in it yourself? Somnias! Dormis! How could you, if you've thought even once about how Gia died out there, alone?
Patrizion
...
Paganini
I admit, I did believe in it, Patrizion. Until that day...
Paganini
We got hangovers together, played with guns together, cried and laughed together. No one in Laterano could clink glasses like we could.
Paganini
But when I saw Gia disappear into the wilderness, and you just turned around and went back to Laterano the way you did, that was when I realized...
The halo is not a bad thing, Sister Hildegard. It's Laterano's blessing on us.
Hildegard
I know.
Nurturer
From the earliest nomads who followed the burdenbeasts, the Liberi had always learned from the Sankta, from their ways of living, to their ways of thinking.
Nurturer
The Liberi long for a better life, and they long to be part of the Holy City. We understand that.
Hildegard
I know.
Hildegard
I told that history to Arturia not so long ago.
Nurturer
But there is only one thing the Liberi can never learn from the Sankta—the halo.
Nurturer
That is why certain conflicts between the Sankta and other races living in Laterano have lingered to this day.
Nurturer
Unable to take part in Sankta empathy, you are troubled by doubts about your faith. You suspect Laterano of being indifferent, of alienation...
Nurturer
To help with Landen Monastery's finances, you were away from Laterano for a long time, Sister Hildegard. That is why your may not have sufficient understanding of this situation.
Nurturer
You can ask your fellow Liberi...
Hildegard
I know.
Hildegard
I know how many outsiders who live here envy your empathy.
Nurturer
That is why we will now share it with everyone. There be no more misunderstandings or differences. We will truly understand one another, and eliminate the conflicts and barriers between us.
Nurturer
The Liberi will become a truly inseparable part of Laterano.
Hildegard
...
Hildegard
I just feel sad.
Nurturer
What?
Hildegard
I grew up in this city. I know where one can find the best desserts, which alleys have cloudbeasts that have a special taste for pumpkins, which buildings have rooftops perfect for stargazing.
Hildegard
At Landen Monastery, I made beer and bread with the Sankta sisters, traveled to other countries to solicit sponsors, and got completely plastered whenever we came back...
Hildegard
I took pictures of how their wings went through the backs of their chairs when sleeping, and they played lullabies in the chapel when I sneaked out, so that the abbot would sleep a little longer.
Nervous Nun
I remember that!
Nervous Nun
Actually, the abbot knew. He just didn't want to scold you.
Hildegard
I'm a Lateran. I like this place. I love it very much.
Hildegard
You're right that I often find myself on the outside looking in. I don't know why the Sanktas who had been crying a moment ago start laughing and singing at their cohorts' funerals.
Hildegard
But...
Hildegard
My father was a hunter. Every winter, he would go into the mountains with his friends to hunt.
Hildegard
He told me that even hunters who have hunted together for decades can have different ideas when they see the same quarry. They sometimes even fight over it.
Hildegard
Everyone is different. That has nothing to do with whether or not we have a halo.
Hildegard
But you tell me I won't truly become a Lateran until I have a halo.
Hildegard
Do you mean to say that I wasn't a true Lateran for the past twenty years?
Hildegard
Has my entire life been a poor imitation?
Nurturer
It has, Sister Hildegard, but you should not see that as a rejection of you or any other Liberi.
Nurturer
It is simply a necessity for the acceptance of Laterano.
Hildegard
I don't care about rejection or acceptance.
Hildegard
I just don't think there's anything wrong with my life.
Hildegard
And I don't see a reason why I have to accept this so-called 'blessing'.
Nurturer
...
Nurturer
Laterano has already made a decision, Sister Hildegard.
It was the first time I experienced a parting, Pag.
Patrizion
It... wasn't a good feeling.
Paganini
...
Patrizion
I guess that was when my life started to go off the rails.
Patrizion
It's like those popcorn movies, you know. The Chainsaw Guy series, or The Bridges of Michaelion.
Patrizion
First Gia, then you, then my finest student. I exiled her from Laterano personally.
Patrizion
I worry, too, about Fia...
Paganini
What, you're worried that your dear granddaughter might run away and you'll die alone?
Patrizion
You all had your issues. I tried to do something, but never actually helped anyone.
Paganini
Hmph.
Paganini
Did you really try, or are you just lying to yourself to feel better?
Patrizion
Maybe both.
Patrizion
But there's something you got wrong. I support the idea of halos for everyone, not only because I want to protect the 'order' and 'purity' of the Holy City...
Patrizion
You're making Laterano sound awfully racist by putting it this way.
Patrizion
A Laterano where everyone shares the halo will truly become one and whole. We'll be able to solve the unimaginable calamity that threatens all of Terra.
Patrizion
It'll also solve all the other problems we've been having, including...
Patrizion
Anyway, I think that's enough sharing for now.
Paganini
Deo gratias! Thank God that's over.
Paganini
Hearing all that garbage from you again is making me sick to my stomach.
Patrizion
Go on in, Pag.
Paganini
And if I say no?
Paganini
I don't want that light show you've got on your head. And I've got no interest in studying your honorable motives.
Paganini levels his gun at the gun-knight.
Patrizion
Just give it a minute.
Paganini
What do you mean?
Patrizion
You're a genius gunsmith, Pag, but you're a Liberi.
Patrizion
You can't use the guns you make. They're just your calling cards.
Patrizion
If you're really that furious with me, give it until the ceremony, then you can put a bullet in me.
Patrizion
Once you have a halo, you'll be able to use it—
Paganini smashes the gun against the knight's armor. Pieces fly in all directions, and the broken gun stock makes a dull thud as it hits the ground in the distance, echoing throughout the corridor.
Your contribution to Laterano is much appreciated. Now, kindly come this way...
Mostima
To the nurseries already filled to the brim?
Nurturer
The ceremony is about to begin. The Matriarch will first enlighten the Liberi who have lived in Laterano for many years. Then, the broken halos and wings of the fallen angels will be repaired.
