Farewell to the Past: Forever in Our Memories

Things just keep going from bad to worse. Isn't there anything I can do...

Hey, Sarana. How are your crops doing?

They're still not so great... I'm running out of ideas. Could you take a look at them, Aldo?

I don't know, I'm not exactly an expert...

I know, but I'd still like to get your opinion on the matter.

Hmm... Sure, I guess I owe you that much. One question, though. Would you mind if I got input from a friend?

(Dankes'll know something, for sure.)

I...guess so. Yes, please do.

And there you have it.

I see. So Sarana noticed the affliction on her crops, too...

I thought her fields had been looking less and less healthy.

Is there anything we can do?

The crops should last on their own a little longer, but after that, I don't know... I recently lost all my reference material regarding plant diseases. I'm going to have to rebuild that knowledge from the ground up. In the meantime, I've been able to provide a quick fix to give us more time.

I see you're still determined to help without letting her know?

I had no choice. She'd never listen to my advice, anyway.

I thought something was up... So you're the one who's been "helping" my crops.

Huh? Sarana! I, uh...that is...

I know you did it with the best of intentions. But those fields are mine and my husband's. Never do that again.

Sorry. I guess we shouldn't've talked about it in the open like this.

Don't blame yourself. It was only a matter of time before she found us out.

She was pretty mad... Here I thought she was finally ready to let someone in, too.

Really? Where'd you get that idea?

When I talked to her before she said she was getting desperate...

So, what do we do now, Dankes?

I can't bring myself to stop, even if Sarana will hate me for it. First we have to identify the disease. Have you noticed anything? Even the smallest detail may help. I wish I still had my old books. I could narrow it down a lot faster with them...

Old books... I may know a place where I can get us some more.

Awesome! We'll rendezvous later and pool our resources.

Why count on books when I can get farming info straight from the source? Baruoki, here I come! I can probably ask Grandpa about this, for starters.

Hey, Grandpa. Do you know anything about diseases that affect crops?

A peculiar question, coming from you. Taking up a new hobby, laddie?

Kinda. A friend of mine has a wheat field that's not looking so hot.

I see. Well, this old codger knows a thing or two. Ask me anything you like.

Well, it's like this...

...And that's the way things stand now.

Hrm... Doesn't sound too good.

Is the disease that serious?!

Even I've never heard of this particular ailment. From the sound of things, though, it's the kind of thing that spreads so fast it's hard to treat in time. How do I put this... It's almost as if the fields themselves have been cursed.

Do you think someone could be infecting the plants on purpose?

Sad to say, but that would make sense.

Thanks, Grandpa! I have to get back to Dankes. I'll tell you how it turns out later!

I can't believe this! There's no way it should spread this fast.

What do I do? What would he do if he was here now...

Hey! Did something happen?

Aldo, we've got trouble! The blight's spread through the whole field!

What?! Can you treat it?

Not while I still don't know what the disease is. At this rate, it could even spread beyond Sarana's crops to other fields, too.

How come?!

This isn't normal. Whatever the disease, it shouldn't spread this fast. Not unless someone intentionally dispersed the pathogen...

Dispersed... Wait!

Target Acquired. Initiating Dispersal...

That's a Synth Human search bit! What's it doing here?

I don't know what you're trying to do, but I won't let you mess with these fields!

The search bit... So it was the Synth Humans all along.

Did you figure something out?

I found a Synth Human drone here a while back. It was trying to disperse something into the fields.

Those fiends! What a cowardly strategy...

Isn't there anything we can do?

Perhaps there is, now we know who's behind it. I have a friend in Elzion who's researching the weapons Synth Humans use. Odds are, they're dispersing nanomachines to attack and weaken the plants directly.

They can do that?!

According to the research, yes. They imitate the symptoms of disease so well they're hard to detect, but given your observation, I think we're on the right track. If we can neutralize those nanomachines in time, the plants should recover on their own. I have an idea of how we could do that, but I don't have the right parts, and no one in town sells them, either...

Aldo, I'm gonna need your help.

Just tell me what you need and where I can get them.

Oh, but...

What's wrong? This is no time to get cold feet.

I know, but...

If we use the measure I'm thinking of, it will probably change the taste of Sarana's wheat. That's not the kind of thing that will just come back after a season or two. It'll destroy the unique flavor of the strain her husband spent so long cultivating. Sarana, this method is the most likely to succeed, but there are other ways. What do you want us to do?

I...

......

My own pigheadedness got me into this mess. I don't think this is what my husband would have wanted. I was clinging to the past so hard I forgot about what really matters...

Dankes, Aldo, please do whatever you think best. Please...save my fields.

Sarana...

Aldo, the parts we'll need are in Xeno-Domain. Get me an excitation device from the supreme arianrhods that wander around the industrial sector.

Xeno-Domain, Industrial Sector, supreme arianrhod, excitation device. Got it!

I'll get things ready here.

I'll help!

Thank you. Let's do this, team!

Aldo! Hurry, give the parts to Dankes!

Dankes! Here, I got the materials you asked for.

Great work! I just have to put the device here...Good! This will neutralize the nanomachines. Let's go!

Yeah!

It worked... Now we just need to give the crops time to heal.

That was a close one. I wasn't sure we'd make it in time, but it looks like things'll work out fine.

We should probably set up some defenses in case something like this happens again.

Sarana... I'll always be here to talk if you're feeling down about anything.

Wait!

...... Yes?

When my husband...died, I became desperate. I wanted to hold onto something, anything he left behind, at any cost.

But... That wasn't the best way to grieve. I let my attachment to the past distract me from real life. I realize all that now. It's like my husband used to say... "The things in life that we must treasure aren't our possessions. What's really important is treasuring the memories of our loved ones."

When these crops are fully grown, they'll be harvested and sent somewhere else. Will they help make someone happy? Will they help support and nourish a family? I hope so. That's the kind of thing my husband would have taken pride in. It's those feelings of achievement and happiness that I want to treasure. I let myself get distracted by trying to preserve the fields and our old cultivation methods... But I need to be strong and face the future. For myself, and for him.

Your husband was a great man. He always paid attention to the details. But even he never tried to do everything by himself. He knew the value of cooperation and teamwork.

I didn't know that... There was so much I never knew about him.

Dankes, Aldo... I'm sorry for all the trouble I've caused both of you. I don't know how I can make it up to you. How about you join me for dinner at my place tonight?

Huh?! Oh, I don't want to impose...

What's wrong?

It's just...you remembered so much about your husband today. I thought maybe you'd want to be alone and reminisce some more...

When you feel ready to go back to work, I'd be glad to join you in the fields again.

...That does sound nice. Thank you for being so understanding.

You sure about this?

Yes. It's just like with farming, you can't rush, or you'll ruin the results. It takes time to produce something good...