Liberi Reader

Yes, I see you two benefactors are wonders to your cores, paragons of right, and blessed with a seldom-seen heart of chivalry; surely you must be the hermits of a realm's highest honor?

Ohh, ohh, surely the firmaments took pity on me, spoke that my life shouldn't end here... When those fiendish brutes enter my mind, my rage at once just swells in crescendo! Yet while out of my senses, I charged headlong into their lair. I lament it came to that!

It's a blessing that you two luminaries rescued me, and only then I could escape intact. As the proverb goes, mere thanks pale before a mighty grace; the least I can offer to you benefactors is a divination... what do you think of that, as a mark of tribute?

...Uh.

I guess if you could lemme read that divining magazine you have. Trying to pass the time right now...

*cough*! Ahahah, Ms. Lava, that would be your misconception. As they say, bare a person not by their faults, and strike them not to their looks—

Get to the point.

Ah, truly your insight is like a torch to the dark, Ms. Lava! It's just like the proverb goes; aid must be seen to the end, like boats are to shore. Though the two of you helped me fend off those things, I cannot hide it from you...

Truthfully, I've lost all my luggage. Mm, not just my rations and travel money, but my maps, tent, papers, changes of clothes and my beloved little teapot... yes, all lost.

After all, my whole carriage sank into the lake. Ahahahah.

...You still have your fincatching rod and fan, though? Are you really a Messenger?

Hahah. Hah. Er, truthfully, there's some things I'd like to keep to myself... I could never get a lie past you, so I'll just have to ask you treat me like I am.

So you're looking to go with us?

Indubitably!

Uh-huh...

Ohh, ohh, how could I be so blithe about your personal business? Really, I'm loath to continue inconveniencing my benefactors...

Only, three hundred li ahead is a village by the name of Ni-weng, rich in fine jade. There's a stage station there, and as long I have a simple chair to rest on, a bowl of loose tea and the chance to get my things sorted, I'll be back in the saddle, no more troubling anyone else!

I mean, going with us is fine, but... all the gloompincers are pretty aggroed right now. Really strong attacks, too. If you wanna go with us, we're gonna need to wait until they settle down first.

Oh my, oh my, I'm being such a bother to you all. I really am so sorry.

That said, why isn't our benefactor Kroos back yet? There's no shortage of those beasts. Are you sure she won't need our help?

If you could help, why'd you get chased this far out by the gloompincers? Just hold tight and wait.

Yet your great grace saving me demands recompense, stuff a pole apart. To stand by as my other benefactor braves further danger alone—I really find it hard to bear.

What about this! I have here a copy of a workout b... nay, a secret tome, its worth formidable, that improves your figure with striking efficacy! This shall be my repayment to the two of you!

Can you stop? Chill?

Most certainly.

......

......

......

Fine. Stop sizing me up like that. Just ask what you wanna ask, I guess.

Ah. By your dress, you two benefactors wouldn't happen to be people of any nearby village, would you?

We're not.

To be forward, you're not people of Yan?

Nope.

Then from where do you hail? Higashi? Ursus? Possibly somewhere even farther, like knights journeying the compass? I've heard people of foreign lands always tend to have strange traditions like that. Is it true? False?

I'm not... I... ugh.

If I gotta say it, I'm a Victorian.

Uh... Victoria's, yeah, I hm, uh, know it well.

You have literally no idea where Victoria is, do you.

Ahahah. Foreign lands have foreign plans; only our masters in the cities would be so mindful of them. What use would we plain country folk have for ruminating?

It's just rare to see guests from afar. The way you speak the Yan tongue was decently suggestive of it, hence my curiosity.

(I kinda only looked into Yanese right before we left for... whatever.)

Oh, Kroos is back.

My, now, Ms. Kroos, Ms. Honorable Kroos, thank you, thank you dearly, are you hurt? Ought I give you a shoulder rub? A leg massage?

I have here a bottle of elixir, a panacea passed down for generations. Its price is, well, considerable, but in the face of you two benefactors, I'll bite my tongue. You can have it free of charge.

...I thought you lost all your luggage?

I still have some fine goods on me; backup is what the wanderer's living demands. Ah, such is our way of life.

Fine, fine, just do you. Hey, how were things up ahead?

Just a few poor li'l guys I helped find a new home. They settled right down after that.

This way we can head on, right? We pass through that reed marsh, follow downstream, and then we've found the mountain?

Er, you helped rehome the gloompincers?

...Either way, it's sorted now. We'd better get moving, chop-chop.

Kroos, this sad Messenger guy said he wants to go with us up to Ni-weng. No problems with that?

No problemo. You're the captain this time, Lava, mate. What you say goes.

So you're the captain! My apologies, my apologies!

My apologies, my apologies~

Don't make his racket worse...

Now that I mention it, I still haven't asked. What should I call you?

Me? I'm just a lilliputian Messenger; what necessity is my introduction to the stage? I'm sure you agree, ahahah—

Huh?

—But keeping the two of you forever in the dark would be quite unbecoming. Whatever next, ho! Mm... just call me... Mr. Nothing, then.

You just came up with that, didn't you!?

Not at all, not at all! How could I!

Hmm... that Ni-weng place. Isn't it at the foot of Mount Hui-ch'i?

That it is, that it is! Dear benefactor, you're quite well-versed indeed to have heard word of a town so small!

Then it's right on the way, isn't it!

How about this, Mister Mr. Nothing? We'll escort you there, but once we've reached where we're aiming for, you'll need to help us out a little too.

Not a problem! Not a problem! With my carriage in the lakebed and me waiting for a rescue team to fish it out, my plate is completely empty in the meanwhile.

Ohh, ohh... Just as the proverb goes, a drop of kindness warrants a fountain of redress! That I should have the chance so soon to repay your graces in saving my life! Surely, the heavens have smiled upon me! They have smiled upon me!

Ya know, that genuine manner with the teary voice reminds me of a certain someone who gets a chunk knocked out of her wages every couple of days.

Alrighty. Cap'n, you decided?

You pick this moment to dump him on me?

Benefactor! Oh, benefactor! I plead that you must give me this chance!

Uh... I've gotta admit having a local would be pretty handy. And Nian's info was ambiguous anyway, that son of a... I'm not familiar with Yan's geography or environment, and finding someone's actually been a bit of a challenge...

Ugh, why did Closure give her permission to do something this annoying?

Because she's had a surprisingly productive mood recently.

Apart from playing mahjong and eating hotpot, what else has she done?

Don't do her like that. If Nian knew that was how you saw her, she'd take it hard.

She's used to it. I'm used to her being used to it. I'm just complaining a bit about how she's giving us so much pain.

......

Uh... sorry. I should let you in the loop first, Mr. Nothing.

Very well. Everything you say, rest assured I'll engrave into my flesh and soul. Three recitations before bed, three when I wake—

It's—it's not that big a deal...

Our mission's really simple. We're finding a single person.

Yeah, um, long story short, I want you to bring my little sister back here for me.

Long story short my ass! You said basically nothing!

C'mon, I've explained it, haven't I?

'I miss my family all the more on every festive day' counts as an explanation?!

Big sisters miss their li'l sisters as a matter of course. Isn't that ample reason? Your big sister yanks you around all the time, yeah? Don't you get it?

Drop that subject before you make me even less willing to help—

—Alright, even if your family's got special circumstances going on, we'd need a stupid huge amount of personnel and resources to get Rhodes Island deep into the heart of Yan.

There's no way Closure would just roll over and let this request through—

Yeah, she let it through.

......

She didn't just let it through, she got Kroos to go with you too.

Look, c'mere, I'm betting Kroos wants to tour around Yan a bit. It's not half bad, and she's been scampering through one smoky hellscape after another. It's about time she took a vacation.

H—How did you get Closure to agree—?

Ah-hah. Don't look at me like I'm caught in the act. I really am doing it all for Rhodes Island this time.

*Sigh*... Did you mess with the Engineering Department again?

If giving them experimental materials worth millions counts as messing with them, then... guilty as charged.

Humanity seldom gets their hands on stuff like this. If everything goes smoothly, Rhodes Island from here on out will have first-rate, elite regular equipment to stand shoulder to shoulder with nations... if everything goes smoothly.

What the hell did you pull this time...?

Don't ask. Time will soon tell.

I've gone years without seeing my precious sister, Dusk. All you need to know is that name. Trust me, you'll know her when you see her, and I'll be counting on you.

Why don't you go yourself?

She's been hiding from me for years. Why would I need to do that to myself?

Fine. Even though it looks like you haven't been trying that hard...

Hey.

Since Closure gave it the go-ahead and all... uh... you remember to properly thank me afterwards.

Hey, now that's my li'l Lava... I didn't give your costume an upgrade for nothing.

Enough... just stop talking.

It's a little present for you.

Your costume for Ancient Forge. Didn't you actually love it?

Y—You're joking—

But you know I pretty clearly saw you spending half the day posing in front of the mirror?

Tch... go in my room without consent again, and I WILL send you out with a bang for real.

Alright, alright. You've been wearing that combat outfit for a while anyway. Even if you still can't cut open space with your daggers...

Th—That was a stupid edit you decided to make to the script afterwards!

Was it? But from when I came to Rhodes Island up till now, haven't you matured a heck of a lot? And you've been learning Arts from some real serious characters.

So in short, I leave it up to Kroos and you.

I'd better warn you just in case. She's... Dusk's no pushover. She can be a ridiculous pest. Just be prepared to deal with her, and I guarantee you'll go undefeated at mahjong afterwards.

*Sigh*...

...Nian.

You've been hiding something from me, right?

Oh... if you think so, then what's the point in asking me?

Save it. I'm not gonna dig any deeper, anyway. You aren't like us, I can still tell that much.

Well, duh, where else could you find someone as terrifying as me? So?

Let me just tell you this. I'm willing to help you even though I know how much of a pain this is going to be.

So when it comes down to it, you're not going to cut corners on 'repaying' me.

Ho-ho, li'l Lava knows the art of haggling too. Tricky, tricky... alright! I've decided!

...?

You drag Dusk back, and I'll grant any one request of yours. Anything goes. Such as... forging a divine weapon?

I've got six weapon concepts right now. I'm one short of seven. Any old one of them would be enough for you to leave your name in history.

Wh—What are they...?

They're badass.

Or maybe you'd wanna know some ancient stuff from ancient times... I could consider telling you guys. Not too many people should reasonably know about it, I guess, but if you—

Pass.

Hey—don't be so heartless. Haven't you been kinda impatient with me lately? Doesn't suit you, does it?

Oh, right, right, take this with you.

And this is?

Just treat it like... a sort of protective charm. After all, my sister's, well...

Ohh, ohh... helping find your colleague's precious little sister, estranged for years, you traveled myriads far to this place of ours. Benefactors, surely enough, you are made of heroic stuff!

I admire you! I cannot help but admire you!

Uh... did we go that far?

No. We can already see Mount Hui-ch'i ahead... but it seems like it's getting late. What do we do?

I'm in no rush, no rush at all. Benefactors, do as you do.

The address Nian gave me just says 'Outside Kou-wu City, near Mount Hui-ch'i.' Are there any other settlements around here?

None! None for a thousand li around. Just Ni-weng Village all alone.

Maybe she's living in the mountains... after all, she's the sister of Nian. I get the feeling she might.

...What is it you think of her? Why do I get the feeling you're not being one bit polite to her?

Seeing as we don't have any further clues, it's your time to shine now.

Verily! I know this area well... Don't gaze at me like that, I really do know it! When I was young, I'd frolic about this place come rain or shine!

Do you have any ideas?

Ah, this I must proclaim clear to you two benefactors. If you wish to find someone in the villages surrounding Kou-wu City, you need only visit a teahouse, call out loud, and your friends and strangers alike will come rushing over.

Give me one scant hour, and I'll be sure to find your—That's right, does the person you're looking for have any particular features? What's their name? What status do they hold?

...She's called Dusk.

She's a painter.

Benefactors, benefactors, I see it!

S—So it really was in the mountains... I'm beat... why do I feel like this mountain's a lot taller than it first looked?

I'm not surprised.

Well! So deep within the forests and hills, without water or electricity, she built herself a thatched cottage? Benefactors, your friend's sister truly has a mind for aesthetics.

...I won't hide it, I'm starting to get a bad feeling about this already.

But the scenery here's quality, I've gotta say. If she's a painter, I can imagine her here.

Eh...? Lava? What'cha looking for?

The 'protective charm' from Nian. I only just realized she might've had another reason for giving it to me, and more than likely, it's not anything good.

Could just... toss it, you know?

Kroos, you really are the one with the biggest complaints about her, aren't you?

Benefactors, what if I go first and ask at the door? See if anyone's in? Perhaps we've been looking in error?

You don't need to do that. I just feel like we can't be reckless if we're meeting her sister. We need to prepare ourselves.

Let's go.

Hello, is anyone there?

......

Hello?

I presume she's out on a walk?

In the mountains?

Yet you can see the water mottling this door, and the leaves have piled up dead. It doesn't give the air that anyone lives here... Should we try and knock?

Mm... Hello? Is anyone there?