Liberi Reader

What's happening? Where are the campaign knights headed? The Adeptus?

No...

They went to the Wall of Champions exhibition hall, where the champions of years past are granted their awards and have their portraits displayed.

Why...? Shouldn't they be going after the government?

The Board of Directors is discussing that right now. The way I see it, the Adeptus Sprawiedliwi's trying to save face, and this is their first step.

As for their next step... well... they might try to impose martial law with the garrison.

......

But in this day and age, things aren't going to be as simple as holding a knife to somebody's neck... The foolish knights haven't realized that.

The era of violence is long behind us.

Hm...

Sorry, but you'll have to pay Area 0 another visit. The blackout will take a toll on the Infected shelter and treatment center.

See if it's run into any problems.

Okay.

Report, Mr. Spokesman. The power grid... is starting to recover! We're working to restart it now!

Grandmaster Ioleta.

It's been a while, Liam.

You've ventured far. Alas, it doesn't seem we have much time for rest.

We don't need rest. There is nothing more urgent than cleaning up the filth for Kazimierz's sake.

Heh, look at you... Impatient as always.

Would you like to see tonight's main course?

Margaret Nearl...?

She should not have refused your invitation. She could have been the finest among our ranks and avoided her fate.

Yet she's back in Kazimierz now, even stepping into that false arena... Did exile really change Margaret Nearl?

You fought her before. Do you think that's the kind of person she is?

Hmm... Time can change everything. It might have changed her too.

Look at the wall behind you, Liam. Look at the champions of Majors past.

Why do you think these knights of this slowly collapsing era shine so brilliantly, even now?

An exceptional knight or two means nothing, Grandmaster.

The knight competitions are still blasphemous and the root cause of Kazimierz's downfall.

Each of my journeys back to the Grand Knight Territory fill me with sorrow. Our people are losing respect, and our noble ideals have become a tired joke.

Perhaps... but that has always been the case since the campaign knights left the Grand Knight Territory.

Alas, the times belong to the young ones. Our conclusions no longer matter.

So you too have realized as much, Doctor.

I should have expected no less.

I understand... Nearl didn't want us to return to your side during the Major to begin with.

But I couldn't ignore the information I got from the local Infected. It was getting more and more dire by the minute... I thought I had to let you and Amiya know.

No, you made the right decision, Shining.

If the Infected are really facing... inhumane treatment in Area 0, then we can't stand idly by for the sake of our own 'safety.'

......

Still... the Doctor's concerns are reasonable too... Kazimierz, Ursus, and Lungmen are all different...

Doctor...

What will you do?

Over there! After her!

Gah!

(The power's back already... Knowing Sona, she'll find a way to rendezvous.)

Call for backup right now—

Turn the corner here—Nng!

Just as I'm enjoying my time lounging around Area 0... the lights go off on me.

I almost got the impression the Armorless Union was finally so stingy they stopped paying their checkpoints' power bills. Up until I got the backup request, that is.

Platinum...!

You again...?

This really makes me wish you and Flametail Knight got a harder beating last time.

Too bad... harder I'm beat, the harder I fight back.

Now out of the way—!

You never learn, do you...? Guess I'll have to teach you another lesson.

(She's keeping her distance—As long as I block her shot, I'll have a chance to return her attack!)

She's here! Help Platinum!

(Crap! Behind me—?!)

Urgh!

What...?

Ngh...! Did she shatter the streetlight?

What if the shards cut my face? Sheesh...

Justyna!

Ashlock, get out of there.

We'll hold her back somehow.

Alright!

Don't even think about it!

Grr... what a pain. Let me take cover first. I'll find you...

......!

A standard-issue light crossbow doesn't have that range...

No, are there two of them—?

Fartooth, looks like she's on to me.

Time to move, then.

Never get into a sniper war with the Armorless. Then again... It's two-on-one right now.

(They stopped... Did they change positions? Smart.)

(If I'd known this would be such a pain, I would've ignored the call for backup...)

(Still...)

I got you now, Szewczyk.

Urgh—?!

—She's fighting from such a distance?!

Talk to me, Szewczyk!

Dammit! Don't stop! Keep moving!

Hnn—

This arrow's a present for you... Merry Christmas.

—!

Special arrowheads... And they go hard.

She can pin down our positions even in complex urban terrain like this?

They're gone...

Did they get away?

I'm not one to run like that, Platinum.

......

You... What did you do to my family?!

What did you do to them?!

You realized you can't fight me at range, so you're making this a melee?

Good thinking.

Ngh—

Pathetic... A father ending up like this because he crossed the Armorless Union.

You little—!

I didn't kill your wife and child.

—Where are you hiding them?!

If you just did what the Armorless Union wanted, I could get you on the phone with them..

You...

You want me to betray Pinus Sylvestris?

Are you a father... or are you a knight?

Do you have to go so far for the Infected, Szewczyk?

......

Don't move.

That's as far as you go, Platinum... At this range, your reflexes are no match for my bolts.

Make your choice.

Grr...

None of you... give a damn about us knights...

Anyone can become a knight by joining the competitions. It's easier if you're born into knight nobility, though, yeah.

The knighthood... is kind of just a disappointing dream.

Tch...!

—Is pride more important than your family?

I was never going to trust you anyway, you dirty assassin!

Do it, Fartooth!

—

Looks like order has returned to the streets.

That was a huge ruckus...

Did Sona and her friends do all that?

Perhaps... there are others fanning the flames.

Their hearts are filled with anger. They want to rise up against their unfair treatment, and the Infected's fight... will end up exploited by another party for another purpose.

I've seen tragedies like this time and again.

Are you thinking about helping them?

......

Your choice is between fighting for the Infected and fighting as a knight. Those choices couldn't be more mutually exclusive these days—

—The injustice that the Infected face is just the tip of the iceberg. Suffering takes more forms than our eyes can see.

I believe there will be those who will uphold justice for the Infected, and I trust that they will achieve just that.

Margaret...

But it's not up to us to rescue them. It'll all be meaningless if they find themselves rescued by those who already have a firm conviction.

A rare visitor.

It's been some time, Sir Młynar.

Don't 'Sir' me. You're the only knight here.

If you're here for Margaret, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed.

It has been years since I last came back to the Grand Knight Territory. I am shocked to find our hero's estate... in this shape.

Have the sisters moved out?

......

My apologies... That is your family issue.

Was there something else...?

Sir Młynar—

Stop calling me that.

Others may look down on you, but we will not.

Even if Margaret strayed onto the wrong path and her younger sister is still young, the Nearl family didn't earn our respect riding on a legacy of fame.

The boastful merchants have not realized this fundamental idea, and that is why they do not understand the actions that knights take.

And, truly, just seeing you in good health eases my mind.

You mean my appearance? Spare me the pleasantries, sir.

If you truly have any respect for me, please leave.

Sir Młynar.

We have the utmost respect for you... no, for the Nearl family.

The age of heroes is long behind us...

Does a mere citizen of Kazimierz like me really deserve such respect from a Silverlance Pegasus?

What a bizarre evening, Doctor...

It'll be daybreak soon. I'm sorry I couldn't come sooner. The K.G.C.C. has a lot on its hands, after all...

......

I'd like to think... there's no hidden meaning in that question.

You are a clever one.

Right...

Do you think that... the way the Grand Knight Territory treats its Infected is a reasonable measure?

You don't need to answer me. Both you and I know the answer—It's only a compromise.

We could neither make the perfect, humane solution nor bring ourselves to go with the bloody, primitive answer, and this is the result.

I'm not sure if you've noticed, but our society today is built on top of all kinds of unreasonable things. You might want to poke through our history books a little.

You may not know this... but after the nation of pegasi was overthrown in the upheaval wrought by the Nightzmora and this country of knights came to be, it was the affinities who actually banded together first.

The affinities toiled away for the knights' profits and tended their lands. Then, they came together, and chased the tyrannical knights off the stage.

And now? The K.G.C.C. controls both a hitman agency and the competition knights, and those who are being controlled will always try to rise up and break free of tyranny—

History repeats itself, Doctor.

The spokesman before me had some dirty dealings too. He paid the price for them, and now it's my turn to step into this position, pressing forward no matter how hard the job.

Does all this fit your concept of morality? Is it 'reasonable?'

I don't know how you've come to know this, but you've no doubt already noticed...

The way the General Chamber has decided to deal with those who get injured in the arena, those whose Oripathy has progressed beyond control... is to put them out of their misery.

Is it unreasonable? Of course. I want to tell them 'no' myself.

But do we have to keep treating those Oripathy patients, when this disease is incurable?

Each day that Oripathy remains incurable is yet another day where coexistence is out of reach.

Everyone who found it unreasonable has been eliminated, creating this thoroughly reasonable history. Fortunately, I've accepted this truth. You understand me, don't you?

You're trying to take on Kazimierz... and I suggest you stop.

We may have other options, and if you can think of anything, I'll be more than willing to help.

But not right now.

The prime suspect in last night's blackout is none other than the Infected knights.

Let's suppose the blackout caused a traffic accident... or an elderly person who relies on a ventilator stopped breathing because of it—

Will we have to turn a blind eye to tragedies like these in the name of helping the Infected?

Allowing the Infected to participate in the competitions in large numbers has been a source of stress to everyone—

And this stress comes not from some organization or people out there. It comes from society itself, Doctor.

...Doctor.

Someone here to see you.

I'll get out of your way...

And don't get the wrong idea... If possible, I would like to be on your side.

That said, it's difficult to find the one best answer out of all the unreasonable things we can do nothing about.

You're right... The blackout, the Radiant Knight, and the Blood Knight... It all fueled the Infected knights' will to resist.

Before everything gets out of hand, I hope both you and I can keep casualties... to a minimum.

'Goodness pays off,' or so it's often said, but I'm afraid this no longer holds true in our society. Unless, that is, you reach out and grab hold of the payoff yourself.