Liberi Reader

Sorry, Frau Giallo. I made another mistake.

Why did you stop?

I don't think I played the last bar on the last line very well...

Your heart is in the right place. Don't let yourself be bound by the melody. Instead, guide it with your will.

I can't help but think about what I did wrong though.

Then don't hold yourself back.

Music is the voice of your heart. It's a language to express yourself with. If you let yourself be caught up in the grammar before learning how to speak, then language itself loses all meaning.

Your embarrassment, your self-doubt, and your thirst for the future... They're all real. So let them live in the sound of your instrument.

But that's not what my Arts professor said.

He said that Originium Arts is a rigorous field of study. That it's about uncovering the order within chaos, like putting together a mess of unrelated notes to form a beautiful chord.

But I'm having too many distracting thoughts, and my sound is all over the place. That's why I can't control the energy of my Arts well.

I taught another student just like you before. He was reserved, shy, and not very good at expressing himself.

Wh-What happened to him?

He became a very brave man.

A shame that he couldn't live the longer, more beautiful life I'd hoped he would.

But I was fortunate enough to hear his last performance. The cry of his instrument... was hardly inferior to the famed musician with whom he shared a surname.

Oh, was he the descendant of someone famous?

Herkunftshorn. Have you heard his work?

Who... did you just say?

People often call him the Witch King.

Th-That Witch King? *cough*... People hardly ever call him by name.

Really? But to me, he was first and foremost a musician.

Uh... Everyone says he stopped performing with regular instruments toward the end of his life.

His music... No, you could hardly call that noise music... They say it instilled fear in anyone who heard it.

True. His rhythm was in no way harmonious. Every last measure far exceeded what his audience imagined based on the previous one.

But I'd never felt such a strong... will.

You really shouldn't talk about this on campus.

I heard the Empresses' Voice and the Gendarmerie keep a close eye on Ludwigs-Universität. You'd be in deep trouble if they were to catch wind of it.

You should return to your dorm.

Keep practicing this piece. No matter what commotion you may hear outside, focus only on your own rhythm.

...

Arturia.

So it's you. If you're here to speak to me personally, then I take it the show is about to begin?

Almost. Our guests are arriving as they should, one by one.

Will you be performing everything that will happen today for me, just like you used to? I'd like to be present when the melody begins.

You wish to listen from beginning to end? I'm afraid that would be a very long piece.

A lot of people will be hurt today. Some will even die. They will be sacrificed because of me, and I cannot allow myself to look away.

Even though it hurts so much. You're far more determined than anyone.

You... When my performance reaches the end of your life, what will I see?

Ludwigs-Universität.

I've seen the name in more than a few books I've read. Most recently... in a leading publication on Originium Arts theory. But the name comes up as early as ancient scrolls engraved with secret Arts.

The crest of that university shines brilliantly in the history of Leithanien's Arts.

It's merely a variant of the Urtica family crest.

But it remains Leithanien's oldest university.

Once, I used to fantasize about life on a campus like this.

Walking through a campus covered with red leaves, surrounded by friends of similar ages, with an endless buffet of books and literature in the library... Every day must be fulfilling here.

With Their Majesties' permission, you are free to enroll in any school in Leithanien.

Oh... have you noticed the eyes of the students walking around us?

Their thirst for knowledge is enough for them to forget the divide between their upbringings.

Yet before Kurfürst Ludwig chose to make his spire a 'university,' all knowledge was locked away by decree.

So... how can I bring myself to use that very same authority to pollute such unique purity once more?

...The Gendarmerie?

Your so-called purity has never really existed.

Did you summon them here?

I wouldn't need to. The eyes up on the Spires have never looked away from Leithanien's lands.

And especially not from here. Before you lies the oldest spire in the Urtica territory. The Witch King stayed in it for a decade, and often returned even after his coronation.

The campus may seem peaceful from the outside, but every centimeter of this place can be traced back to the Witch King.

And that includes the man we're looking for.

Herr Gerhard Hoffmann?

Nein. We will find his teacher first. He's the one most familiar with Ludwigs-Universität.

Since the era of the Witch King... No, since an even more distant past, he's never left this school's most ancient spire.

...Why are there so many gendarmes on campus?

You said earlier that I was a wanted criminal.

You think they're here for you? No way... Besides, we've been very careful on the way. There's no way we got their attention.

Quick. Find a place to hide!

Team 5, Team 6, move up.

Team 4, search the whole spire. Do not let any suspicious characters through.

Stop! You can't just run around and use Arts like you own the place.

This is a university. A lot of the research we do here requires a stable environment.

Even the slightest disturbance could cause irreversible damage to the sophisticated equipment and the complicated Arts that have been cast.

Seize him.

Why? I didn't break any laws!

Your name.

Louis. Louis Schnitzler—You haven't answered my question!

The Schnitzlers of Fortsgard? Take him to the classrooms.

I don't understand...

Keep searching.

Take any commoners to the courtyard, and lock the nobles in the classrooms.

Take control of anyone and anything related to House Urtica.

I'm only a Schnitzler by name! My father didn't even inherit the title. What gives you the right to do all this over something that happened decades ago—

Because we're investigating what happened decades ago.

Young Herr Schnitzler. As long as you behave yourself, I assure you nothing will happen to you.

My family will be participating in the celebration soon! I'm going to have an audience with Their Majesties!

Ludwigs-Universität is the most historic university in Leithanian! Not even the Kaiserinnen's armies dared damage a single brick of this spire twenty-three years ago!

What gives you the right to trample on knowledge and the arts, on Leithanien's traditions?!

The Kaiserinnen's orders, young Herr.

The culprit who murdered our commander is hiding in this school.

If you want to protect it, then tell all your classmates that they'd better report anything they know about a strange Sankta and the Witch King's remains.

The Kaiserinnen's orders...?

No way...

......

You seem surprised.

Surprised? No, I'm just an idiot. Given her personality and disposition, how could I have thought she'd keep herself at arm's length?

I can't waste time chasing after Arturia anymore.

I thought she was the target of your mission too.

Only part of it. My... client wants to understand the reasoning behind her actions, in order to prevent her from getting in the way of our plans.

But now there's a bigger problem. I can't let this ruin the plan itself.

......

You...

I have no further questions. As you are Leithanian, I will not be required to execute your will.

Forget it. Not like I was expecting anything resembling a goodbye from you.

Herr Executor, the case Arturia is involved in is far more serious than you could ever imagine. Even your pope has no right to interfere.

Here's some advice: abandon your mission before the Gendarmerie make it here. Leave Zwillingstürme.

...

I've completed my assessment.

Abandoning this mission is not an option.

We've arrived, Droste. You'd best wait outside.

Hm? I sense no danger...

Don't move.

...What?

You're blocking my pipe. Yes, the one puffing out smoke to your left. If you move, I can't guarantee that your left hand will remain after the smoke ring passes.

You use a smoking pipe as a wand?

This? A wand? Don't be ridiculous. I smoke to relax. Who'd want to think about serious matters while smoking? I simply wanted run an experiment, and see if this smoke ring could float all the way to the top of the twin sheep's spire.

...We're here because we have important matters to discuss, Herr Fremont.

What a killjoy, Reiner. If only you were as well-behaved as the lovely little doe next to you.

I'd also be interested in seeing if a smoke ring could float for dozens of kilometers.

No, distance isn't the important factor. What matters is... not being blinded by that uselessly shiny armor of yours.

......

Alright, so you've ruined my mood. Now tell me, was it the gloomy sheep or the boastful sheep that asked you to come find me?

So you're telling me a copy of the Güldenesgesatz was lost. The one stored in Sturmwind.

Do we pay you to sit around all day?! You're the Gesatzswächter, and you can't even keep an eye on the Güldenesgesatz. What good is that fancy getup of yours, other than being hung from the top of the Spires as an ornament?

Seriously, that Grimmacht. 'It's safer to keep it far away from the center of whirlpool'? Apparently, some of your idiocy rubbed off on her! Maybe the bigger your horns, the stupider you get!

And don't get me started with that punk in Sturmwind! Honor his vow with his life? Like hell he did!

Kurfürst Werner has passed.

Before you stands his daughter.

It's a pleasure.

My condolences, if you want them. But that doesn't change the fact that this whole farce is the height of absurdity! Especially the fact that Grimmacht waited until now to tell me!

Is this stolen Güldenesgesatz really so special?

Twenty-three years ago, when Kurfürst Werner returned from Zwillingstürme to Sturmland, he had it on his person.

Aside from the Kaiserinnen and the Kurfürsten, no one wanted to be near it. My guess is that, like many of the Arts devices from the era of the Witch King, his Arts still remain in it.

The Witch King's Arts... The Witch King's Arts!

The entrance of Ludwigs-Universität has that fool's Arts, too. They could have all the armors lining the streets start breakdancing right this moment—but is there a point?

Did Grimmacht never mention it? Those are no normal, frivolous Arts. They're Arts devices that Herkunftshorn himself spent his life developing, all to defeat his greatest foe!

The Witch King's greatest foe... Do you mean Corsica I of Gaul?

A mere emperor, leading a mere army. Do you really think transient might like that would have meant a thing to Herkunftshorn in his heyday?

The enemy he defeated all those years ago was the will of Leithanien.

...The Güldenesgesatz.

Apparently you aren't a complete moron. Ever since the birth of the Leithanian Empire, the Güldenesgesatz has changed only once.

All on his own, Herkunftshorn issued a challenge to Leithanien's forebears, as well as to all the Arts masters who put their energy into composing the Güldenesgesatz.

How do you feel?

My head... hah... It doesn't hurt as much anymore.

I'm afraid normal healing Arts won't help you very much. Your pain isn't caused by physical injuries.

I know. There's an evil old fart shouting my ear off. That's all.

You... You can actually hear him speak?

Occasionally.

That must be unbearable. Like his melodies, the Witch King's voice holds a power that is difficult to endure.

If he wanted, he could kill a man simply by humming.

You've met him?

My teacher, Herr Fremont, was once the Witch King's closest friend.

When he sat atop the Witch King's Spire, there were once thousands of casters prostrating themselves before the steps to the throne. And I... I was one of them.

So you're also...

Ugh!

Is your head hurting again? Don't worry. I betrayed him in the end. I joined the resistance, and charged into the Spire under Grimmacht and Ewigegnade's leadership.

That day, the steps I once kneeled before were... redder than even the leaves in the Ludwigs-Universität campus.

It must have been a difficult battle.

For every ten companions I fought beside, only one survived... Every last one of us was among the most capable in the country.

If they had been as fortunate as me, they would have gone on to become even more outstanding scholars, even greater casters.

No wonder you visited Forest Park that day. I should salute you and those who sacrificed their lives.

Don't waste your strength... I'm not worth it.

If it hurts, though, feel free to lean on me.

Let him go.

Lessing...?

I knew you'd come after us.

Where's Professor Fremont?

He's very disappointed in you.

I'm sorry, Lessing. I don't want to hurt you, nor do I want to make an enemy of my dear teacher.

Then why stop us?

The Genesis Horn should not arrive like this.

We're not pursuing any evil causes. We're simply retrieving what belongs to us and destroying what hinders us. You know that.

The Witch King's relics... Who do they belong to? And who decides that?

You're a smart fellow, Lessing, and an honest one. You should think about these things, lest you regret all this in twenty or thirty years. I see you as my favorite student, which is why I don't want to see you make the same mistakes.

I once... saw you as a dear mentor too.

I still remember. You weren't even half as tall as you are now when Professor Fremont handed that sword to you.

Yet in the blink of an eye, you're as old as I was when I stormed the Witch King's Spire.

In school, time really does fly right by, doesn't it?

My fear is that not enough time has passed. That I'm not strong or worthy enough to raise my sword for those I want to protect.

I'm your target, remnant of the Witch King.

And I have only one thing to say to you: Get out of my way.

Classes are almost over.

Come, this way!

Maeyer, what are you doing standing here? Not auditing any lectures today?

Ahem... Why are you holding a sword in the school building? You really love training, don't you?

...He chose this path on purpose.

Have you heard? A large group of gendarmes barged into the school today. They're searching everyone they're coming across, especially commoners from the Urtica territory—

Hold on, why are you running so fast? Even up the stairs? The school administration doesn't allow that!

Are you okay? Why waste your strength on me? I'm much older than you. I should be the one protecting you.

Haa... Haa... Well, I'm the one he's after. Besides, I don't want to see any more blood spilled on my account.

Considering Lessing's abilities and temperament, he'll catch up to us soon.

We need to take a safer route.

Are we inside a school?

Ludwigs-Universität.

You are of the Urtica bloodline. If the Witch King hadn't fallen when you were born, you would have studied Arts here.

...I'd really wish I weren't.

The Urticas have produced more than one Leithanian ruler. Aside from Herkunftshorn and the other Kaisers...

Ludwig. Known as the Scholar, he was the Kurfürst of Einwald, and he too almost became the Kaiser of Leithanien. And he was also your ancestor.

He wanted everyone to 'gain the most supreme knowledge,' so that the land would 'never again impede Leithanien.'

When he insisted on opening up his family's spire to all of Einwald's citizens, many thought he'd gone mad.

Mad... Heh. I suppose a lot of our family get called that.

Madness goes hand-in-hand with greatness. This has always been the way of House Urtica. Even the Witch King was a benevolent ruler of unsurpassed talent, before he succumbed to his madness.

'Succumbing to madness' has far more frightening connotations when it happens to a tyrant rather than a commoner.

If that's another Urtica tradition, then I'll have to find somewhere to bleed out before it happens to me.

From the moment I laid eyes on you, I saw the bravery in you. But your life is precious, and self-destruction has never been the only path open to you.

Franz... May I call you Franz?

You know the name I threw away?

You won't ever be alone again. Let me help you.

...Gerhard Hoffmann.

Of all my students, he's the one who knows best what the Güldenesgesatz really is.

If only he were here. Then I wouldn't need to waste my energy explaining all this.

How did you know our purpose here?

Purpose?

The Witch King's remains killed my father, as well as two more who participated in the coup twenty-three years ago.

We suspect that their next target is Herr Hoffmann.

Hoh, you came at just the right time, then. Just fifteen minutes ago... Wait, what did you just say?

Gerhard is involved with the Witch King's remains? The same 'remains' that experimented on Herkunftshorn's great-grandson simply to blow up a dime-a-dozen music hall?

...I suppose so. They may not be the exact same group, but they're working under a similar banner.

But how do you know so much about even the finest details of the Vyseheim Incident?

......

This energy fluctuation... It's a sign that Arts were cast to maintain structural integrity here.

The same kind of Arts used by Einwald's caster army.

Don't mistake my Arts for their child's play.

Forget the Einwald of today, even when Herkunftshorn was still around, I was the one who taught all his lackeys their spatial Arts!

Stand back, Droste.

......

Why are you reaching for your blade? Stay away from my instruments. It's been centuries since this spire was last repaired, and it can't withstand being knocked around.

...Herr Fremont.

Is the experiment you were just conducting related to the Voice of Mundane?