Liberi Reader

Give me a moment.

What is it?

Drei, zwei, eins...

Frau Seemann, guten abend!

Frau Seemann takes a break and opens her window every day right at this time. She paints all morning, then looks into the distance, listens to music, relaxes, and looks for inspiration.

That's odd, looks like she's in a bad mood today. She closed the window without waving back. Maybe she's having trouble with her art. I should go see her with Mutti tonight.

You know the neighborhood well, Vivian.

You mean Karl Schmidt Street? Of course I do. I've been here all ten years of my life!

Did your parents always live here?

They were away for brief stints a few times, I'm not sure why... But they always came back.

When you compare it to the rest of Zwillingstürme, Karl Schmidt isn't anything special. We've got a few flower shops, a bar, paint stores, and some stout buildings. We don't even have a spire.

The people here are ordinary, plus a few struggling artists and nobles... but my parents really like it here.

Have they ever had any trouble?

Vati mentioned some trouble before. But he's been prepared for anything since he decided to stay.

Did Werner von Hochberg find a way to become common?

Vati's not so common! He may only teach literature at the commoners' school in Wein, but the big kids there respect him a lot.

I see...

He probably used all his connections in Sturmland and Zwillingstürme, spent all his savings, maybe even changed his appearance...

It's no small thing to give up everything one has.

By the way, Vivian, is that a cake you're holding?

Ja, the lady next door taught me. The marigold's stamen has a bitterness to it, but when ground into powder and pinched into a cake, its fragrance helps balance the sweetness.

Mutti found a job in Bachshof, earning a bit more than before. She's working as an editor for her favorite poetry journal! She gets home very late though...

So I said I'd bring her lunch for a whole month.

Isn't that exhausting?

Mmmm... you smell that?

What?

When the breeze picks up, the fragrance of the coffee shop up ahead wafts on over.

I help with as much as I can so Mutti and Vati won't be so tired. At least enough that they can take me to Frau Seemann's gatherings on the weekends.

They hold my hands as we walk down the long alley to her house. There are so many interesting people there. They play the piano so well, and speak so eloquently.

I like it here. I don't think it's exhausting.

...I'm glad of that.

What's this? Wasn't that... Lucinda?

How could such a well-behaved commoner have offended anyone? Did she write something she shouldn't have? Why did the authorities come so quickly? Is there any explanation?

They were gone as quick as they came, what else can we say? (Whispering) Be careful what you ask. It probably has something to do with her husband.

Werner?

I've heard he's actually the heir to the Kurfürst of Sturmland, living incognito with his wife and daughter on Karl Schmidt Street for the past decade.

I've gotten along with them so well all these years, I'd never have guessed. He's hidden himself so well...

Oh, how could that be!

Rumor has it Werner didn't show up to class this morning. Who knows if he was taken away by a Hochberg vassal or the Empresses' Voice?

Odds are it was Frieda Seemann who gave him up. That woman's out of her mind.

Shhh, keep your voice down.

—!

Vivian... Don't look.

Seniora Yulia Schüler, I perceive only vague silhouettes of the remnants. Could you clearly point out the locations where they may be hidden?

My patron firearm may be of use. I will guarantee your safety.

Um...

Herr Executor, you may have misunderstood.

Those men aren't here to do anything to me.

When I first saw the masked people, I would keep my distance and hide, but I later found they weren't concerned with me at all.

Their appearance in any particular part of 'Zwillingstürme' usually means there's a new threat... they're more like a 'signal.'

'Threat'?

Not a true threat, I... I don't know how to explain it.

It's like... a natural disaster beyond human comprehension, abnormally bad weather, or a waking nightmare...

The atmosphere in 'Zwillingstürme' has taken a turn for the worse, especially recently. The clouds are heavy, and even the sunset looks faded. I'm always hearing loud, thundering noises.

Several times, I awoke to find a whole chunk of 'Zwillingstürme' completely empty.

So many prominent buildings seemingly dug away by something, leaving only an empty space where they once were. Like a whole section of history had been erased.

The threats erase the spires of different eras without a trace, gradually consuming all of 'Zwillingstürme.'

......

And sooner or later, the small alley I live in will be next.

So you jumped out to prevent me from using my patron firearm.

You've been protecting this place.

Ja. I've never seen you before.

I've had a powerful premonition this time.

A premonition.

Such feelings are usually nothing more than psychological indicators. Without backing in logic, it is difficult to take action upon them.

But the Witch King's remains have indeed appeared...

Herr Executor, when you live in a place for five or ten years, when you become a part of it, you develop senses like a fowlbeast, and can smell the storm before it comes.

You would aid the 'Echoes of Herkunftshorn'?

No, this is my own thing. Even if they didn't appear today, I'd find a way myself.

But how will you fight against those disasters, the weather, or the waking nightmares?

With those Arts devices you're carrying...?

The truth is, I've been going to different places at around this time each day. Especially to those blanks and the edges where buildings have vanished.

That's dangerous...

But I collected enough devices from those places.

They seem to be some sort of echo device that collects Arts information.

Frau Giallo, if the masked men truly are the Echoes of Herkunftshorn, then these echo devices must be what the Witch King used to deal with his enemies.

They'll surely come in handy!

Are you... going to renovate the street yourself?

Marigold Alley is on the outskirts of Bodenshof, very inconspicuous. No one comes here deliberately, except some tourists, painters, and wandering poets.

Even all of Bodenshof, taken against the twenty-two districts of Zwillingstürme, isn't all that special.

And in this Zwillingstürme, with its many storied historical spires... maybe no one would even notice such an ordinary alley.

But it's where I was born and raised... No one knows it better than me.

I know when it's lively, and when it's quiet.

I know all its sounds: the singing of wandering troubadours, the humming tunes of pedestrians, the busy footsteps on the cobblestones, the sound of rain against the marigolds and awnings...

I know where the resonance pipelines buried beneath the street are still functional, I know which Arts sculptures on the corners can replace the broken parts...

And how to connect them all in the most convenient way, and then activate them with these echo devices!

But you don't know what the modified resonance pipelines will even do.

These devices left in those empty areas suggest that—

Oh, but Frau Giallo, there's something I have to do.

And I can always do something.

I told myself as much, when I was very young.

I said I'd take good care of Jan and myself. And not be like our parents...

Your parents?

They passed away a long time ago, I think it was 1077.

Your parents were persecuted during the Twin Empresses' coup?

Nein, they were as common as common could be.

They were sick at the time, and the tremendous sound of the Witch King's Genesis Spire collapsing in the distance, the tromping of the soldiers outside the house... it all aggravated their illness.

They always feared that, at any moment, the Gendarmerie would burst in and take us away, or even level the entire block. In turbulent times like that, there is nothing so shocking.

They died in terror even before Herr Bach could launch his Glorreiches Kapitalprojekt.

When a terrible clamor drowns out everything else, we hear only the voices within ourselves. We find our fears and worries magnified.

Yulia, forgive me for not being able to better comfort you.

That's alright. I just wanted to say that I can't let myself lose the courage to live as I have been.

Maybe you still don't see our surroundings clearly... We've walked all the way from the gallery at the end of the street down to the cafe where I've spent almost a decade.

I started working there just to make ends meet. The owner was kind, letting me and Jan live in the shed behind the courtyard.

I turned it into a proper home, and even set up a little space for Jan to practice his Arts.

The boy is gifted, you know. We saw casters using Arts to repair sculptures on the street, and he watched for only a few moments before going home and spending the whole night turning his room into a 'sound-control' space.

I've talked about it with Loris, and we'll send him to study Arts at Ludwigs-Universität.

Loris intends to make a career in Zwillingstürme, and once he does, he'll give Jan a recommendation.

Later, when this cafe was about to close down, I used all my savings to buy it for myself.

I became the owner, the waitress, and even worked on making my own special blend of coffee for its grand reopening...

Danger is unpredictable, but life is tangible.

You only want to protect it.

From the piano studio on the corner to here, there are a total of eight resonance pipelines, and these echo devices happen to fit the interfaces on them.

I told you they'd be useful!

That is logical.

Bach tuned all of Zwillingstürme's resonance pipelines during his Glorreiches Kapitalprojekt, in order to adjust the Arts arrays laid throughout the city during the reign of the Witch King.

We're just a few steps from my cafe now. The reconstruction project for this half is almost done.

Are they showing up again?

Ja. Right around the corner from the cafe.

I guess I'll need to work faster.

...

What is it?

This feels... familiar.

Similar to a certain day, exactly the same even...

It was the day I first opened the cafe. I stood by the door waiting for Loris and Jan... They were a little late.

I knew the two of them wanted to do something special for the grand opening. They were a little too obvious about it.

Loris went to order flowers in another part of the city, and specifically asked me to wait for him in the most conspicuous part of the block...

He didn't even realize he'd left the order on the table when he came by to help the day before.

Meanwhile, Jan had snuck into Frau Seemann's house a few times the week before... Nearly all the kids of Marigold Alley have asked her to paint them a souvenir still life at one point or another.

I let them go anyway. The beginning of a new life... I promised Loris as much too.

The wind was strong that morning. Enough to make you feel dazed. There weren't many people out on the street.

But I think I noticed two standing in the corner opposite the cafe...

They had black masks... with twisted patterns on them...

They noticed me too. They walked over.

The Witch King's remains... That explains why you perceive the patterns in the Genesis Horn as manifesting a concrete form.

This was your only connection to the Witch King during your lifetime.

...

Loris's speculation differed wildly from the truth. You just happened to be at the scene while the Witch King's remains were taking action...

The city council had no intent to protect a nobleman. As one involved in taking action against the remains, one can imagine Freiherr Fynn's ultimate fate.

But early in the reign of the Twin Empresses, Zwillingstürme needed to disassociate the entire case from the Witch King and his remains.

They halted the investigation, concealed the truth of the matter, and hastily closed the case. That was the most efficient approach.

Um, what do you mean?

Yulia Schüler, your death was entirely coincidental.

...

I have uncovered the truth of the case. If recalling these details is a burden to you, please refrain from doing so.

Nein, Herr Executor, I only worry that this street may disappear from 'Zwillingstürme' at some point. Just like the long-gone spires...

And that I'll never have the chance to keep my promise to Loris.

Logically speaking, you have already—

Herr Executor, have you ever made any unfulfilled promises?

Since accepting my commission with the Notarial Hall, there have been two instances where the decedent's will was too ambiguous to be enforceable, and two instances where the target was inadvertently destroyed in an explosion. No other circumstances.

Oh, I don't mean at work.

A... 'promise.'

Fede... What are you doing?

Drawing.

In the dark?

It is not difficult.

I am busying myself... You said you needed quiet.

Gratias.

What are you drawing?

Laterano. By night.

Why would you want to draw Laterano by night?

Because the room is dark.

......

Soror, the nasal tone of your voice has grown lighter. You've stopped crying.

You said you would gradually master your playing. I believe in you. Everyone says you have a talent for music. In general, talent should not bring pain.

I will master it, Fede... I have to.

Are you going to finish your drawing? You seem to be having trouble.

Well...

I've completed the overall outline. Now I need to refine the details. But... When night falls on Laterano, where is the first place to light up?

...I don't know.

How about you wait for me to master my method and play my first piece. It won't take long. Then I can take you to the highest point in Laterano to see for yourself.

That would answer your question, wouldn't it?

Alright.

To me, a 'promise' is a form of contract.

When I made that contract, my cognitive abilities were not yet fully developed, and I was unclear of the obstacles she faced. As well as the painful meaning behind overcoming those obstacles.

An undefined chaos. She herself was the first 'victim' of her music.

Therefore, understanding the full extent of her changes and preventing her from continuing to spread chaos is the responsibility I must fulfill.

Herr Executor, is that why you've come to 'Zwillingstürme' too?

Is the person you're talking about also a Sankta?

Arturia, female, 168 centimeters tall, straight black hair, a mole below her left eye, carries a custom-made cello.

She arrived here before I did. Have you seen her?

Frau Giallo, you may not want to follow me any further.

Why not?

You just said that from the gallery at the end of the street to here, with your cafe just ahead, all the resonance pipelines here will soon be restored.

What is it... you're keeping me from?

......

I believe he's the one who hurt you. He's a Sankta as well, yes, but he seems difficult to talk to.

Federico? So he's here too.

I appreciate your concern. But if it was my little brother who hurt me, you'd have found a few more bullet holes.

So you're siblings? That's hard to imagine...

Federico will definitely catch up to me.

The discovery of gaps along the path one's been following inevitably causes confusion. But for him, that confusion isn't a ripple, it's a crack in the ice.

Neither of us can stop until we find answers.

Alright then.

Phew... This is the last bit... The piano studio on the corner, the gallery at the end of the street... The beginning and the end, all the resonance pipelines converge here.

Yulia...

I know what you want to say. This might not have any effect at all... And if so, I'll think of another way.

I can't let myself just hide away in my home, waiting for the storm to pass.

The echo devices are all in place. Now it's time to activate the resonance pipelines.

Yulia, my cello is silent, but I've heard your innermost thoughts... they're touching.

Allow me to express my gratitude.