MT-3 Worship

What are you doing here, Exusiai?

Uh, what are YOU doing here?

The lounge's closed.

I just ended up here. Not sure how. An indentured employee's instincts, I suppose.

Thought I might as well clean up, so long as I'm here.

Oh, I'll clean that up!

I saw that they were gifts for me, so I opened them.

A crystal ball? This must be Bison—wait, MountainDash Logistics has already expanded into Skarphaket?

What is this whole stack of coupon vouchers? 'The more ya buy, the more ya save; the more ya save, the more ya buy'... does Croissant want me to clean out the mall?

Sora's Siracusan Tour Live Album 'A Chance Encounter'... did she forget to send a couple of tickets?

Carnevale mask. This one's got to be from Texas…

It's a little tight. Not great.

This brush…

Is it a gift from the boss, or does he want me to use it to clean his vinyls for him?

Hey, Yith, what kind of hair do you think the brush is made from?

Looks Lupo to me.

Say, why are boss and Texas still in Nuova Volsinii when the Carnevale's already over? I got back from Sargon only to find the shop totally empty! Not a soul in sight!

Texas said she was setting up Penguin Logistics operations over there. As for Emperor...

He and his friends have some other matters to attend to... matters besides recording sessions, parties, and employee training.

Gotcha. Well, I guess it's all the same if I report to you.

Oh?

Give me a sec. I'm almost done filling it out.

Filling what out?

My leave request!

I want to take a really long break, so I figured I should go through the formal procedures!

Exusiai?

You know why I took the Sargonian job, right?

Sargon... Mostima was assigned to the area as Legatus, wasn't she?

Bingo!

Mostima told me that the one who did those things to sis and her is back in Laterano, the one sis hoped would never show his face again...

She hasn't fully recovered, but she's joined the Curia. Truth or secret, the events of the past have once again brought them together...

The things that I came to Lungmen to find out.

You're going back to Laterano?

Of course! Can't very well wait for my sis to come and see me.

Texas, Sora, Bison, Croissant... even the boss, of all people, are busy right now. All good things must come to an end, as they say.

Never forget your roots—that's Penguin Logistics corporate culture, isn't it?

On display every day... but correct, in principle.

Keep these gifts safe for me. Tell my friends that I'll be back, once everything is taken care of.

Is that your ride?

What? No way! I only just decided!

Exusiai.

Uh, hi, guys... what's up?

This just arrived at the office.

...

Classified files from landship?

I'm exhausted.

I came all this way, only to get caught up in one strange thing after another! My head's spinning.

Who would have thought that a harmless confessional would be a top-notch spy?

Good work. I'll give you a pat on your speakers.

I know.

With Vani's help, though, our bombs can now snap three pillars with one blast!

There's a long way to go, but pick the right pillar, and a bomb like this can topple an entire building!

I don't suppose they'll let me in if I say I'm a fervent believer who wants to pay daily respects to it.

No big deal!

If there's a problem, find a solution! If there's no problem, make a problem!

'Never take a boring order'—that's Penguin Logistics corporate culture!

Even if it's my sister, right?

That only motivates me more. I'll solve this problem, if for no other reason than to see my sis sooner!

It's time to go, El.

I know, Vani.

I've only met her a couple of times, but when it comes to this, I know I can trust her.

I can already guess what you're worried about, but... well, it's hard to explain the connection between Sanktas. Anyway, no need to worry.

Why do comfort bells keep ringing?

It's the two nurseries up ahead... strange. There should be other Nurturers in charge of them...

—Ugh!

Situation?

He's unconscious, but alive.

What kind of baby would need a milk bottle this big? It's heavy enough to give a full-grown burdenbeast a concussion.

Anyway, it's for the best. Less commotion this way.

What do we do next? Do we peek inside, or...?

This is a strange place...

You carry him. The rest of you, stay on your guard. We're getting out of this bloody place the way we came in.

Leader's waiting outside. We'll get this guy to answer our questions once he wakes up.

Gotcha—

Damn—

Alert cancelled.

Clean up the scene. Don't let the children see it. Take Nurturer Andoain to his room.

...

Andoain! You're awake.

What happened?

Intruders. But the guards caught them.

Looks like your hunch was right. You were being followed.

They were after me?

You're the chosen Nurturer. They must have the Nativity in their sights.

Who are the intruders?

Just some wayward souls.

Wayward... souls?

What I mean is, I don't know who they are. Our siblings will pick up the investigation.

You know better than anyone else how important the Nativity is.

Stay safe and enjoy some rest.

Were you frightened?

(Pants anxiously)

Lean against my arm.

No need to fear. It's the comfort bells. You will not hear those terrible sounds here...

No hunter's whistles, no roaring of tuskbeasts, no rumbling of Originium tides.

(Moans weakly)

I'm here. I'm always here.

I can feel how much you want to keep living with this life within you... as do I.

Soon, soon... everyone will hope for the same. There will be no more fighting, no more conflict. Everyone will join together in Paradise.

Everyone will walk together with you.

What do you mean, she just vanished without a trace?

We had just cut the wheat. I had everyone take a little break after lunch. She said she wanted to play her cello, and I-I let her...

She came to this leeward ridge, not too far away. We could hear her music all this time, so I-I didn't think too much of it.

Then, when you came to find her, she was nowhere to be seen...

What is this? Some kind of paranormal activity?

Paranormal activity... right at the door of a monastery...

It would make a nice movie... what I mean is, no need to panic.

You can still hear the music, can't you? Perhaps Arturia just went deeper into the wheat fields. Musicians can be an unpredictable lot.

Take some and go up front. I'll handle things here.

...

Examine the other scarecrows, Sister. You should find a device like this on their necks.

Who are you?

Executor Federico of the Notarial Hall. I came for my regular visit of the prisoner Arturia.

P-Paper dragonfly?

A form of musical Arts. The prisoner must have learned it in Leithanien.

Sh-She used a page from The Saints' Travels!

This detail is not important. What is important is I am now certain that Arturia is no longer under observation. She has escaped.

I... I surmised as much.

Arturia is an important individual, is she not?

Based on the amount of resources that the Notarial Hall has committed, from issuing a warrant to achieving her apprehension—yes.

I...

L-Landen Monastery has only recently regained its standing with the Curia and gotten out of the red...

(And this executor caught us on the spot! There's no way we can quietly bring Arturia back now...)

...

I can hear you, Sister.

A-Anyway, I must report this to the Curia immediately!

There will be no need for that, Sister.

The Notarial Hall will take over from here. I was the one who apprehended Arturia; I will catch her before she can do any true harm.

There will be no need for Landen Monastery to file a report.

Th-That's not what the procedures say, is it?

I see... you never intended to report this, did you?

This is an awfully convenient coincidence. You came for this. You knew Arturia would escape.

No comment.

Arturia was just like you. It was like she had realized something, and spoke in cryptic terms...

If you won't let me report this, senior, then I must join you in your pursuit of Arturia.

Landen Monastery is very important to me. I won't let it come to harm.

—

What are you doing?

Retaining evidence. The sound it was making would have obstructed our investigation.

Your request complies with the regulations of the Executor's Handbook. I hereby approve the request to join the hunt for the fugitive. Come.

You're just as strange as Arturia, only in a much different way.

I've seen it standing there like that every day, but when you get up close...

HOW IS IT SO CRAZY TALL?!

What are these gill-like scales... where do these bone-like passages lead...?

And what's with this flowing color on the wall? It's like what you throw up after you eat blueberry pudding made with soup water... I'm getting sick just looking at it.

How do you know what you throw up after eating blueberry pudding made with soup water?

Just a little practical joke that didn't go the way I intended. Not the most pleasant of memories, but it almost brings a smile, thinking back to it now.

Back then, we could tell the difference between a practical joke and serious stuff, and we didn't build strange structures like this with true blue religious fervor. What even is it, anyway? Some kind of massive biological organ?

Hm...

This place feels familiar. I must have been here before, but I can't tell whether it used to be a bakery, a chapel, or a munitions market.

It's like this huge shrine has always been here.

It feels... weird...

Does your head hurt?

It's not that hard to understand.

Imagine your favorite patisserie, which you visit once every few days, whether it's for a party, or just because your sweet tooth is aching.

When you happen to pass by it today, you can't resist.

But when you bite into the mille-feuille you just bought, everything feels different. You wonder if they got a new patissier, then you look up and find the whole storefront is different.

It's pretty much just like that, right?

Y-Yeah... wow, I couldn't put my feelings into words like that at all.

But when did that mille-feuille become different?

No idea! It seems to have changed when I got back from Lungmen.

I saw the shrine standing there as soon as I came out of the port.

Say, how did I miss something this big from outside the city?

Shh—El—

Over there...

All patrols, form up.

Guard these halls in three-team squads. Shifts change every three hours.

We must not allow any further intrusions into the shrine, no attacks on the Nurturers.

Understood.

Since when did the Pontifica Cohors Lateran wear such... distinctive uniforms?

Wait, this scaley cape... are these guards just for the Shrine of Nurtury?

There are too many of them... not sure how to get past. They've blocked off all the paths.

What do we do?

We're here.

Is this the place where Extra's resting?

Yes. We can arrange for visits, if you so desire.

Dedicated Nurturers have been assigned to her. She will receive the best possible care until she gives birth.

What about us?

Thirteen nomadic abbeys, with patients in the four figures. The Pagus Ambrosius you put us in doesn't have that many hospitals or sanatoriums...

The Summit of Nations, with all its attendees, has stretched Laterano's medical resources to its limits.

So...

Taking in a pregnant woman already represents exceptional circumstances.

However, you have come here out of trust in Laterano, and Laterano must repay that trust.

The Shrine of Nurtury is not scheduled to open to the public until after the Nativity. Most of the rooms are unoccupied at this time, and our Nurturers have received basic medical training.

The Matriarch has already discussed this with the Curia. The Shrine of Nurtury will take in our friends from outside on a temporary basis, until more permanent arrangements can be made.

The guards will escort you to your rooms. I must remain here, as more patients are expected to arrive.

The Lord's blessing be upon Laterano, and upon all.

...

See, there's a way.

Don't tell me—

Salve, Cardinal Velliv, it's been a while.

Not 'cardinal' anymore. I'm just an ordinary clerk in the Shrine of Nurtury now.

Just 'Velliv', then? Anyway, it seems like your fingerprints are all over it.

What do you mean?

The security measures I saw on my way in from the streets. They could go toe-to-toe with the Pontifica Cohors.

I have to earn my keep, after all.

Anyway, it looks like I guessed right.

What?

It was indeed you who came to review our security... even though this is a job usually reserved for Notarial Hall executors, or the gun-knights and Pontifica Cohors.

I'm still investigating the bombing that happened a couple of days ago. I'm not exactly an outsider.

I wasn't instructed to take the bomb investigation into account when planning security. Besides, your investigation hasn't exactly turned up anything concrete, has it?

Unless you mean to tell me you came because it was Andoain who was attacked?

...

Are you going to chide me that I should be thinking of the whole Holy City as a cardinal of the Seventh Tribunal, and not about my personal relationships?

We know just what kind of person you are.

Sharp, astute, decisive, all traits that served you well at the consistory...

But we also know when these virtues of yours are most prominently displayed.

I remember the reasons why you joined the Pontifica Cohors commandos, Cardinal Lemuen. I read that report.

Hah. Do you really? I've forgotten.

You didn't really have any interest in the commandos. You just went to see Fiammetta, didn't you?

And Andoain.

Really? That I didn't know. I thought you met after you joined the commandos.

We met before that.

It seemed like he had come from a far away place, walking on foot. His clothes were tattered, and he himself was just as ragged.

He sat on a bench in front of the chapel, still and unmoving, looking more like a statue than the actual statues of the saints on the roadside.

That was the first time Mostima and I saw him.

We met Fiammetta at the midnight movies. We hit it off quickly.

Andoain had trouble fitting in, having grown up outside the Holy City. Fiammetta, stubborn girl that she is, was in another one of those fights with her grandpa... Mostima and I wanted to see them.

They didn't know each other beforehand, and the other Sanktas probably didn't intend to isolate them, but either way, the end result was—

The two of them were the only ones left behind in the rubber-bullet roulette that was the commandos' initiation.

And so you beat up everyone else on the scene...

You and Mostima filled out your applications right there, becoming the last four-man squad at that initiation.

You ended up being the most active and most coordinated squad on the force, until the incident...

There is a lot I admire about you, Lemuen, but I must remind you... as a cardinal, the Holy City must be your first, foremost, and only concern.

To me, the Holy City begins with a long list of familiar names.

So much for reminiscing.

The Seventh Tribunal knows our duty. If you really think of yourself as an ordinary clerk, then maybe I should pay a visit to the Matriarch personally.

...

She's right up ahead, isn't she?

Matriarch?

—

I overheard your conversation with Velliv, Cardinal Lemuen... pardon my inability to converse calmly at this time.

What's in there?

A Sarkaz mother.

She spent much time in the wilderness, and declined food for two days after she arrived... she is not in good shape. Our Nurturers are doing their best.

She suffers from fear and anxiety. She does not want to give in to the pain, and continues her struggle to stay awake...

She is praying, awake, praying that her child will be born safely.

All I can do is empathize and pray with her.

You can empathize with a Sarkaz?

Yes, Cardinal.

As you worry for my outpouring of emotion. It is as clear as the innate empathy between you and I.

'Empathy'...

A blessing that the Lord has bestowed upon me, perhaps, in place of my sight... or perhaps simply because this place was built by Laterano to welcome new life.

Here our faith is strengthened and expanded. Here, there are no barriers, no limits.

Putting it in that light, it is our own people who need this place the most.

...

It's certainly a special place.

I've seen plenty of statues in all sorts of poses, holding a gun and ready to shoot. But it's the first time I've seen one like this, and it takes some getting used to.

Compared to the so-called 'Lateran statues' that line the hills of Bolívar or the shores of Iberia, the statues seen in Laterano are the more incomprehensible, Cardinal.

Paradise has shaped our faith, so peculiar that it has become somewhat distorted.

The souls of the living praying for survival, as they traverse Catastrophe and suffering... such is the most basic face of faith.

M-Matriarch. Blessings to you.

The mother's condition has stabilized. We have given her medicine and nutrition. She is sleeping now.

That is comforting to hear.

She is expecting soon. Please keep a close eye on her, and do not let yourselves grow complacent.

Yes, Matriarch.

Praise be to the Lord.

I can feel the relief and joy coming from the bottom of your heart.

Thank you for your companionship, Cardinal. I hope empathy did not cause my anxiety to affect you.

I'm not so weak. Besides, your words were inspiring, to an extent.

You mentioned that you only came here later?

Yes.

Long had I wandered the wilderness, my companions withered in the mud...

In order to find Laterano?

No, at the time I never imagined that there would be such a city upon this land.

But our shared vision finally helped me locate it.

Our encounter here and now was written in fate.

It is a blessing to be able to serve Laterano and my kindred, after all this time, frail as I may be.

I have a friend who works here. He also came from afar...

In Laterano today and Laterano tomorrow, everyone must and will find their own place and play their own roles... only then can we hope to fend off calamity.

It seems we've gotten sidetracked.

If there has been an attack on the Nurturers, the Seventh Tribunal is happy to work with the Shrine of Nurtury in implementing security measures, to ensure that the Nativity goes off without a hitch.

...

I understand your worry for your friend, and your curiosity about this shrine.

As I said, though, we must all find our own place and play our own roles.

And there I was, thinking our chat was going nicely.

Looks like I've been summarily rejected, haven't I?

...I'm sorry for your loss.

I should have brought a few wheat stalks, if I only knew this had happened.

Wheat stalks?

For funerals at the Landen Monastery, we weave a laurel out of wheat stalks and place it upon the departed's coffin.

That way, the soul of the departed will be comforted by the scent of bread and beer on the other side.

Thank you, kind sister.

My brother and I were exiled by the General Chamber of Commerce because we were afflicted with Oripathy, and did not have the skill to participate in knightsports.

We came all this way to Laterano, only for his condition to worsen and take his life...

But the Curia helped bury him, allowing him to die with dignity... there was even a passing Sankta who played a requiem for him.

I see...

Was that Sankta a female with long, straight black hair, playing a cello with an unusual shape?

Er, yes.

She played for you?

Were you subject to any hallucinations, or any psychological discomfort?

What do mean by discomfort? I know it made me cry. It was my brother, after all...

...

Senior Executor, I thought we agreed that I would do the questioning...

Other executors from Notarial Hall will soon be here to take these refugees to Pagus Ambrosius. We do not have much time.

They are not suspected of any crime. I did not find complex interrogation techniques to be necessary.

I visited Lungmen and Victoria when I was promoting Landen Monastery, and I saw many people like them.

They were forced to leave home due to unfortunate circumstances. Their previous dealings with the police have made them...

Executors are more or less police, right?

Uh, there's no need. You guys just took in outsiders with Oripathy like us, even though I heard you used to kick your own Infected out.

So, right now, I don't have anything against the Lateran government. Besides, this gentleman here looks like a decent fellow...

...

...

Is there something wrong with the black-haired Sankta you were asking about?

Without permission, she left the monastery where she was under observation. We have tracked her here.

Sh-She's a prisoner? I thought she was an official from your, what's that, Sixth Tribunal?

Why did you think that?

She asked us about the abbey after the funeral, whether there was any equipment in disrepair, any safety hazards, any supplies we were short on.

She made it a point to ask if anyone who recently entered Laterano had disappeared, especially any pregnant women...

(Doesn't sound like Arturia just happened to pass by...)

...

How did it go?

You know the answer.

The Matriarch's response was just like yours—'don't poke your head into other people's business.'

Hehe.

I know you have good intentions, Lemuen, but you're also showing that you don't trust me.

I beg your understanding.

The Shrine of Nurtury, this great structure that casts a shadow over Laterano, which no one's quite sure when it came to be...

You, Reverend Patrizion and the Matriarch promise that this will be the birthplace of the future. Even the suspect behind the bombings seems interested in it.

How can the Seventh Tribunal, responsible for intelligence and national security, ignore something so prominent?

Of course, I understand.

Excuse me.

...

What is it, Cardinal Lemuen?

Nothing.

What I mean is, curiosity killed the Feline. I guess I should expect a complaint from my predecessor if I continue to insist.