On the Path of Shadows

Huh? I've got a message comin' in.

Gimme a second while I take this, Aldo.

What did ya say? Are ya for real?

I see... Thanks for lettin' me know.

What was that about?

That was an informant friend of mine. He tells me about job opportunities. Which's why he contacted me.

And now it's time that we go do some shoppin'!

Huh?! Why do you want to go shopping all of a sudden?

I'll tell ya the details later! We're runnin' out of time! Ya don't have to come if ya don't wanna.

Nah, I'm coming. You just surprised me there. I'm also a little worried about what you wanna buy.

It's decided then! Let's get movin' before it's too late! We're headin' to the Auction House in Iota District!

Alright!

So you were talking about an auction when you said shopping?

And so we're back at the Auction House...

Memories, right... At that time there was the flower, but this time it's just ya and me.

That doesn't matter this time...

This time we're here for your work. Thinking about bidding on something?

Somethin' like that... If we let this chance get away, we don't know if another will come around again.

Okay, care to explain more?

Haha! You're well known around the auction floor, right?

Well, I joined a few times but...

This time around though, all ya need to do is watch. Just come along with me.

Is that all I have to do?

That's right. I'll enter the biddin' this time. Ya won't need to drop a single ROC.

If you say so... But can you at least tell me what you're after?

Oh come on, it's better to find out when the auction starts.

Don't try anything sly with me.

It's nothin' ya expect like a famous painting or a precious stone. It's nothin' that the big name collectors are after.

Which'll mean the competition won't be so challenging.

That's what I'm hopin'.

Why wouldn't it?

There's at least one guy also after the same item.

It sounds like you know who this person is... An acquaintance of yours maybe?

He's less of an acquaintance and more of an...

Old friend.

An old friend...?

Wait a second...

Oops... Can't say any more than that. Who knows who could be listenin'...

I don't get it, but you can't lose to them, right?

Actually, the reason I'm here is because they're comin'.

Whatever... I'll just leave it at that. Just don't get into any trouble, you hear?

Wouldn't dream of it. Alright, I'm gonna go register for the auction.

I finished registration. It looks like the auction's about to begin.

So you also had an auction license this whole time.

Huh? Oh, sort of. The boss gave me a high ranking license.

I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear that...

It's best we end that conversation here. It's time to go to the auction venue.

Ladies and gentleman. We are pleased to present the first item for the auction. Let us begin the presentation.

What's the deal? There's nothing there.

Well of course. The reason being...

Our first item is a data log recorded around 900 AD. As this is a data item, there is no physical object. We ask for your understanding.

That's all there is to it. Since there's no object, there's nothin' to display. The value is in the data itself, not the device.

Is that right...? But what kind of data could it be? I can't imagine what data exists from 900 AD...

The data's a collection of information about world affairs and civilian lives during that time period. It's been nearly 200 years since we moved up into the sky. Information from that era has a lot of value to us now.

Hmm... Information from 900 AD... Sounds interesting...

Sounds pretty boring. I'll pass on this one.

The audience doesn't seem very excited about this one. To be honest, I'm not very excited about it either.

......

We shall start the bidding at 100 ROC.

200.

Hardy?! Are you here to bid on that data?

Just watch and be amazed.

The current bid is 200 ROC. Are there any other bids?

Raise. 500 ROC.

Look what we have here. An instructor from blah-blah university. But he's only one guy. However...

Raise! 1,000 ROC.

He doubled my bid?!

Hardy... Isn't that a bit much?

Darn it...! Then I'll go to 2,000 ROC!

2,000 ROC... Is there anyone else who would like to raise the bid?

Those two are really going at it. Could that be the guy Hardy was talking about?

Raise. 2,500 ROC.

...! Could there really be someone else who needs that data?

Well, I won't go down without a fight!

5,000 ROC!

He doubled the bid again!

......

5,000 ROC... Anyone else going to raise?

10,000 ROC.

...!

10,000 ROC... Anyone else going to raise?

Hohoho... I didn't expect this much excitement over the first item.

What on earth could be in the data to make it worth 10,000 ROC?!

Darn it! I don't think I can go more than this...

That should do it. The data is m...

30,000 ROC.

...!

30,000 ROC?! I can't believe what I'm hearing!

30,000 ROC... Will anyone raise the bid?

H-How can that guy just triple the bid like that? Can Hardy really win this?

This is pretty annoyin'.

Does he have a secret stash he can tap?

Raise! 35,000 ROC!

In that case, 50,000 ROC.

Another raise?!

50,000 ROC... Anyone else going to raise?

It all comes down to you, Hardy.

......

If there are no other bids...

The item is sold! For 50,000 ROC. The winner will be presented the data on a device after the auction.

Hardy! What happened?!

Haha... Looks like I lost!

Hmm... The air in this room really bothers me.

But what does this all mean? Did you think you'd be beaten so easily?

My performance was pretty convincin', right? I just imagined how a real customer would act.

From the look on your face, it looked like ya believed me!

Huh? A performance?

Yeah. I didn't need to win that auction.

The real event starts now.

Huh?

Gray!

Did ya track that guy?

...!

Nice! Then let's go follow him.

Are you saying what I think you are? You aren't gonna steal the data from the winner, are you?! I won't let you...

Calm down. We've got a different reason to follow him.

So you're not gonna rob him?

Not plannin' on it.

Good. There are other things I want to ask you... But I'm guessing that we need to catch up to the winner before he gets away.

Sorry 'bout this. This happens every time with us.

It seems like he's on his way to Gamma District. Come on, Aldo!

There he is!

What're they talking about?

The contents of the conversation are irrelevant. We've got to follow that woman.

Huh? We're not gonna follow the winner?

The conversation was a diversion. The real purpose was to pass on the device with the data on it.

What's the purpose of all that?

He was just a courier. The real guy that wants the data is somewhere else. They don't want their identities to be known. We need to find out where they are.

This is getting deep.

Let's go before we lose her!

This it the fourth pass over... They keep passing the data along, but for how many more times?

Come on. It's just a matter of time before we get to the end.

After all that we're back in Elzion...

It's common practice. Ya go around in a circle to the first location. Which mean that we're close to the end of the line. But this is takin' longer than I thought...

Wait!

...!

Who're you?

Ya knew we were followin' ya?

You finally figured that out?

But I respect your persistence. You are indeed, the quintessential watchdog.

Your compliment means as much to me as a puddle in the slums. Get outta my way or get blown away!

You can't just shoot this guy here and now!

Hah! I don't mind. They're the ones who'll have to deal with the mess.

Say... Are ya two from the Cardinal Vestige?

......

The Cardinal Vestige?!

I thought that Hardy might've been referring to them earlier...

So the old friend was the Cardinal Vestige...

The Cardinal Vestige...?

The real rules of Elzion that control the city behind the scenes.

Do you mean that they control the Administrator and the other leaders?

The Administrator? The EGPD? This goes way beyond them.

To think there is an organization like that in Elzion...

Well, it's about time that I got some answers. Which is it, the truth or some lead?

Looks like there's been some mistake.

What's this?

What? Who are these people?

Hahaha... What a surprise. Did we get duped?

Wait, are you saying they're all part of the Cardinal Vestige?! Even the children?!

If that's right, then we're not gettin' out of here... Ya set this all up?

Correct. The entire district has been sealed off for a short time. Feel free to go wild.

We're trapped in here?

The Cardinal Vestige must be really bothered by somethin'. But now I understand.

We couldn't just let Hardy the watchdog get involved... So we thought we'd put you down.

Right here in the middle of the city?!

We don't got time to worry 'bout that now! We've gotta smash these robots and get ourselves outta here!

Darn it! We've got to fight!

If we can clear out these robots, then I'll clear a path outta here! Come on, Aldo!

We're beat the robots. What's next, Hardy?

I've got this! Here's a special treat for ya!

...!

They're getting away... Should we pursue?

No, there's no need to rush anything. He may still be of use to us.

Understood. If necessary, we can always call on "him" to assist us. Run all you like Hardy... But you were never even free to begin with.

*pant* *pant* Looks like we lost them...

They couldn't eliminate us there, so they decided to let us go.

But we lost the trail on the device...

Isn't a little too early to give up?

Gray!

Can he track down the person with the device?!

...!

As long as they're still in Elzion...

Bingo! The device's over in the airport.

If we don't hurry, we'll be too late!

Agreed. Let's go!

There it is! She's gettin' on the cargo bus!

We've gotta hurry!

Darn it. We didn't make it!

Even Gray's gonna have a hard time trackin' that bus down...

It's over... We've failed!

Hardy...

Just kiddin'! Let's call this one a draw.

Huh? It was a draw?

Sure. My goal was never to catch the guy carryin' the data.

Then why did we follow them around this whole time?

I'm just testin' the Cardinal Vestige's capabilities.

What do you mean by capabilities?

You probably already know, but the Cardinal Vestige is a shadow government They're secretive. In other words, they're a whole group of shut-ins...but they still have connections to the outside.

......

That's where what we call the Cardinal Vestige faction comes in. They're a bunch of fanatics pullin' strings for the Vestige, the "god" whose ideals they believe in.

But Cardinal Vestige is...

Easy there, Aldo. Not here, not now. You never know who might be listening in.

Wait, you know too?

Shhh. There's a good lad.

......

In any case, I'm looking to track down that Cardinal Vestige faction.

So that's why you wanted that data earlier, then?

But we lost track of the data. I'd hardly call that a draw.

The Cardinal Vestige is a shadow government whose existence is known to only a few. They're a reclusive organization that only appears when necessary.

But those people back there were just regular citizens, weren't they?

They're Cardinal Vestige faction members. They infiltrate society and act on their behalf.

Which mean they could be anywhere...

But thanks to them. this operation wouldn't have been possible. Even if it's behind the scenes, there must be some kind of communication. So there must be some system to connect the leaders to the faction members.

So those are the capabilities you wanted to test.

Right. The objective of this mission was simply to see where the data ended up.

But we lost track of the data. I'd hardly call that a draw.

Not exactly. Remember the timin' of the Cardinal Vestige's attack. They went through a lot of trouble to take us out in the middle of Elzion. That means they were gettin' desperate.

True...

Everythin' went as I expected, ya see. It's not a coincidence that they went from place to place and then returned to Elzion. The end of the line's clearly in Elzion. That's why they came out there to kill us.

And the cargo bus?

They took a long route to avoid tails... But they had planned to drop the data in Elzion.

So that's why you're saying it was a draw.

Ideally, we could've tracked them to their specific destination. But we got enough information.

......

What's up, Aldo? What's with the face?

Hardy, are you really going to continue this fight with the Cardinal Vestige?

Hardy, are you really going to continue this fight with the Cardinal Vestige?

Of course. I guess I'll be searchin' all over Elzion for a while. Maybe ya don't know me well enough, but I never give up on somethin' like this.

There's someone I wanna set free. A real dumb bastard who'll never stop shoulderin' other folks' troubles as long as there's troubles out there.

You mean...

So long as the Cardinal Vestige faction's still running around, they'll never be free. Not really. So, you know...

Why are fighting this so hard? Just one man can't make a difference against the Cardinal Vestige, right?

Don't know until I try. At least until they release my little bro.

Your little bro... Where is he now?

Bein' used like a pawn by the Cardinal Vestige. I can't forgive them for that.

So you're doing this all for Cetie, is that right?

......

So ya figured that out, did ya?

I was with Cetie that time before.

Yeah, I guess you're right. My goal is to save my stupid little bro from the Cardinal Vestige. That's why I've got no choice but to follow this dark path...

I believe in only one thing now, that I must bring down the Cardinal Vestige.

Hardy...

Don't give me that look! I'm not gonna ask ya for help anymore.

Huh?

This is my war to fight, not yours. I'll do this alone.

But Hardy...

I made up my mind a long time ago. I won't change it now.

I really understand your feelings. But I can't promise you I won't help.

Aldo...

Nothing has changed. As your ally and friend, if I see you go down the wrong path, I will stop you. And I want to help you any way I can.

......

Hah! Is that right? Ya really are gonna be trouble for me...

How sweet of you to say that... I'll do things my way. The sweet way!

Haha... I like that. Ya sure you're not gonna regret this?

Course not. I'll be with you all the time!

Oh come on, you're takin' this too far. Why did I have to get such a stubborn companion?

Hahaha! The pot calling the kettle black!