Location: The Church of Gears Oratory
Church of Gears Leader Eileen
Salutations, everyone. Let us begin with today’s worship session.
Church of Gears Leader Eileen
It appears that we have a new worshipper.
Church of Gears Leader Eileen
What concerns have brought you here to our oratory?
Worshipper 1
…I don’t think I can continue living in this city anymore. It’s too much for me.
Church of Gears Leader Eileen
What could have overwhelmed you so much?
Worshipper 1
Everything is so dreary. And so is my life.
Worshipper 1
I wake up at 6 in the morning, go to work by 8, and do the same work with the same face every single day.
Worshipper 1
By the time I leave work, it’s already 10 in the evening…
Worshipper 1
I’m not sure what I’m doing anymore.
Worshipper 1
I have so many expenses to cover every single month, I can’t seem to get any richer.
Worshipper 1
Everyone I see during my commute has the same face.
Worshipper 1
I don’t see why we work, why we earn money, or why we live… I feel like I’ve lost my goal… my purpose.
Worshipper 1
I’m just like a cogwheel…
Worshipper 1
Yeah… I really am… I’m living like a cog in the machine.
Worshipper 1
Even if I were gone, this City would soon find another cog to replace me…
Worshipper 1
What am I… Where does my worth lie?
Church of Gears Leader Eileen
I understand that feeling.
Church of Gears Leader Eileen
Everyone in the City is like a gear spinning along without a purpose…
Church of Gears Leader Eileen
Staying in the middle of it wears you out, slowly…
Worshipper 1
You’re right…! I really feel like that…
Church of Gears Leader Eileen
However…
Church of Gears Leader Eileen
Is it necessarily a bad thing to be a gear?
Church of Gears Leader Eileen
All problems stem from the refusal to admit to the fact that we are indeed gears ourselves.
Church of Gears Leader Eileen
I did too once.
Church of Gears Leader Eileen
After my father passed away, I lost my way for a while.
Church of Gears Leader Eileen
You see, my father lived his life akin to a gearwheel.
Church of Gears Leader Eileen
He’d always wake up at the same hour, go to the same place, and come home at the same time with the same face…
Church of Gears Leader Eileen
My father did research on gears.
Church of Gears Leader Eileen
His goal was to solve the same type of problems you’re going through.
Church of Gears Leader Eileen
Perhaps he unknowingly grew to resemble the single object he studied for so long.
Church of Gears Leader Eileen
The wrinkles on his forehead deepened as he worked. They resembled the teeth of a gear…
Church of Gears Leader Eileen
My father lived out his whole life as a rusted gear of the City, until he was murdered by someone else.
Church of Gears Leader Eileen
Then one day, I came across a thought.
Church of Gears Leader Eileen
Maybe we really are gears that constitute the City…
Church of Gears Leader Eileen
Maybe our suffering comes from trying to deny our own identity…
Worshipper 1
But that kind of life is pointless! I’m tired of being a purposeless cog that keeps running day by day…
Church of Gears Leader Eileen
Exactly.
Church of Gears Leader Eileen
The problem is that you see yourself as an aimless gear.
Worshipper 1
You mean gears can have a purpose?
Church of Gears Leader Eileen
Yes. Of course they can.
Church of Gears Leader Eileen
All we need to do is find the purpose we were born to mesh with.
Church of Gears Leader Eileen
You shall become a unique gear that cannot be replaced by any other.
Church of Gears Leader Eileen
We are all gears.
Church of Gears Leader Eileen
There are simply so many gears in this world wallowing in sadness, for they have yet to know where and how to be.
Worshipper 1
It’s still hard to believe that…
Church of Gears Leader Eileen
Take a look at all the people gathered here.
Church of Gears Leader Eileen
Do they have the same faces as the ones you’ve seen in your everyday life?
Worshipper 1
No… They all look happy…
Church of Gears Leader Eileen
Please, trust in me.
Worshipper 1
Yes… This is the only way I have…
Church of Gears Leader Eileen
Now, come up here. I will give you the purpose in life you’re looking for.
Worshipper 1
Do I sit on this chair?
Church of Gears Leader Eileen
Yes, take a seat and relax. This chair will tell you what kind of gear you are.
Worshipper 1
Is this really safe…?
Church of Gears Leader Eileen
Of course it is.
Church of Gears Leader Eileen
Oh my, you turned out to be a ‘Thought Gear’.
Worshipper 1
A thought gear…?
Church of Gears Leader Eileen
It is exceedingly rare for one to be bestowed with the purpose of a Thought Gear, you see?
Church of Gears Leader Eileen
They are helping me even now.
Church of Gears Leader Eileen
For your information, my father was also a Thought Gear.
Worshipper 1
That means those gears on the back of your head are…?
Church of Gears Leader Eileen
This one is my father… He always provides me with his wisdom about life.
Church of Gears Leader Eileen
Besides, Meat Gears need to keep company with at least one Thought Gear.
Worshipper 1
W-wait, am I really gonna turn into a gear…?
Church of Gears Leader Eileen
The pain is only temporary. It will soon be followed with pure fulfillment.
Church of Gears Leader Eileen
Everyone, let us welcome the honorable and invaluable arrival of a new Thought Gear.
Worshipper 1
I didn’t know this would happen!
Church of Gears Leader Eileen
As the gears turn.
Church of Gears Laity Worshippers
So too does life fulfill its cycle.
Full-Stop Fixer Tamaki
So that’s Eileen, cult leader of the ‘Church of Gears’…
Full-Stop Fixer Stephan
I’ve seen all kinds of gears in my life, but “thought gears” are new to me.
Full-Stop Fixer Liwei
This must be the rumored ritual of theirs.
Full-Stop Fixer Tamaki
They get smarter by plugging gears on the back of their heads, apparently?
Full-Stop Fixer Stephan
That’s a load of horseshit.
Full-Stop Fixer Stephan
Alright, let’s see. Director Yujin from the Shi Association asked us to…
Full-Stop Fixer Tamaki
Kill ten worshippers of the Church, neutralize its leader and secure her.
Full-Stop Fixer Liwei
I didn’t quite expect the director of Shi Association’s Section 2 to personally give our Office a request. Something strange might be up.
Full-Stop Fixer Stephan
How long are we gonna sit and watch that? Can’t we start shooting now?
Full-Stop Fixer Liwei
Wait for my sign…
Church of Gears Leader Eileen
Ah… What a beautiful Thought Gear you have become.
Church of Gears Leader Eileen
I will give you the honor of accompanying me.
Church of Gears Leader Eileen
You shall soon understand how happy it is to be a gear with a purpose.
Church of Gears Leader Eileen
Yes. It may take some time to adjust.
Church of Gears Leader Eileen
Let us start with turning bit by bit.
Church of Gears Leader Eileen
Good, along with the others, gently rotate… One cycle at a time…
Church of Gears Leader Eileen
My father will gladly help you out.
Church of Gears Leader Eileen
See? It does make you feel happy, doesn’t it?
Church of Gears Leader Eileen
I am very glad to know you are happy.
Church of Gears Leader Eileen
My dear followers! Today, another lost gear has found its way to happiness!
Church of Gears Leader Eileen
Praise be to father!
Church of Gears Laity Worshippers
Praise be!
Church of Gears Leader Eileen
…Huh? What do you mean, “be careful”…?
Full-Stop Fixer Liwei
Now.
Church of Gears Leader Eileen
Wha… What is going on…?
Church of Gears Leader Eileen
The Gears… The poor Gears…
Church of Gears Leader Eileen
Please don’t do this… Whoever you are, please leave us alone…
Church of Gears Leader Eileen
We simply wanted to live a happy life following our destined purposes…
Full-Stop Fixer Stephan
Gah, why is their slippery leader so hard to hit?
Full-Stop Fixer Liwei
She doesn’t seem to be dodging the bullets with her own reflexes.
Full-Stop Fixer Liwei
It’s as if something else is predicting the trajectories for her.
Full-Stop Fixer Tamaki
Those “thought gears” on her head are spinning like crazy.
Full-Stop Fixer Stephan
Dammit, this sucks. We paid an arm and a leg for these bullets…
Full-Stop Fixer Liwei
Tamaki. Think we can read the movement pattern of those gears?
Full-Stop Fixer Tamaki
Can do.
Church of Gears Leader Eileen
Kuh…
Full-Stop Fixer Tamaki
Grazed her shoulder.
Full-Stop Fixer Liwei
I’ll finish her off.
The Blue Reverberation Argalia
A bullet crafted by Atelier Logic…
The Blue Reverberation Argalia
Why, those are some expensive bullets you have there, don’t you friends?
Full-Stop Fixer Liwei
The Blue Reverberation!
Church of Gears Leader Eileen
You are…
Church of Gears Leader Eileen
Ah, could you be the person my father always talked about…?
The Blue Reverberation Argalia
Mmm… I guess.
The Blue Reverberation Argalia
Say, I need you right now… Would you like to come with me?
Church of Gears Leader Eileen
Yes… Of course! I’ve been waiting for you for my whole life, a perfect fit with the gear that is me…
The Blue Reverberation Argalia
Why thank you.
Full-Stop Fixer Tamaki
No you don’t.
The Blue Reverberation Argalia
But first, these friends need some attention…
The Blue Reverberation Argalia
Pluto. Could you look after Eileen in the meantime?
Full-Stop Fixer Liwei
Run!
Location: An Underground Passage
Full-Stop Fixer Stephan
The hell is going on? Why would the Blue Reverberation be here?
Full-Stop Fixer Liwei
No idea. Dammit, it looks like he’s trying to kill us.
Full-Stop Fixer Stephan
If we screw this job up, we’re gonna be bankrupt from all the bullets we’ve wasted!
Full-Stop Fixer Tamaki
You literally just saw the Blue Reverberation deflect our bullets.
Full-Stop Fixer Liwei
We’re no match for him in any way. Forget about anything else, we should run away and survive for now.
Full-Stop Fixer Tamaki
We’re almost to the exit.
The Blue Reverberation Argalia
Hiya, friends.
The Blue Reverberation Argalia
Who could’ve made such an adorable little request, I wonder?
Full-Stop Fixer Liwei
Aw hell, to the left!
Full-Stop Fixer Stephan
Pant, pant…
The Blue Reverberation Argalia
Ah~ You’re not getting anywhere with your sluggish feet, don’t you see?
The Blue Reverberation Argalia
Unless a lifeline were to come down from the heavens that is, no…?
Full-Stop Fixer Liwei
Dammit! Maybe we should drop our guns…
Full-Stop Fixer Stephan
Are you nuts? These were hella expensive!
Full-Stop Fixer Tamaki
We’re never throwing them away.
Full-Stop Fixer Liwei
But we can’t hide forever, either.
Full-Stop Fixer Tamaki
Liwei, this is…
Full-Stop Fixer Liwei
What’s that, an invitation?
Full-Stop Fixer Stephan
From ‘The Library’ or whatever? Heard that the Hana designated it as an Urban Plague now.
The Blue Reverberation Argalia
Aw, look at you, all clustered together in the corner…
The Blue Reverberation Argalia
You’re like a flock of cute little chicks gathered round in the cold.
Full-Stop Fixer Liwei
Blue Reverberation, we apologize if we interrupted your business.
Full-Stop Fixer Liwei
We promise to forget about anything we’ve seen and heard here, so could you let us go?
The Blue Reverberation Argalia
What…? Hahaha…
The Blue Reverberation Argalia
Okay, under one condition: Can you tell me who gave you this request?
The Blue Reverberation Argalia
I’ll give you ten seconds.
The Blue Reverberation Argalia
Nine…
Full-Stop Fixer Stephan
Gah, whatevs! Liwei! Do something with that invitation thing!
The Blue Reverberation Argalia
Six…
Full-Stop Fixer Liwei
Anyone got a pen? We need something to sign the paper wi—
The Blue Reverberation Argalia
Ah, you can use mine.
The Blue Reverberation Argalia
Take your time now.
The Blue Reverberation Argalia
Four…
Full-Stop Fixer Tamaki
Crazy bastard…
Full-Stop Fixer Liwei
Quick, sign your names here!
The Blue Reverberation Argalia
Three…
The Blue Reverberation Argalia
Now~ The real show is only beginning, wouldn’t you agree?
(Note 1)
Location: Inside the Library
Servant Roland
The Blue Reverberation…
Library Director Angela
That name sounds similar to ‘The Red Mist’.
Servant Roland
You got that right. Both of them are top-grade Fixers that received a color from the Hana Association.
Servant Roland
They’re a cut above Grade 1.
Library Director Angela
It’s curious that such a capable Fixer showed up so early.
Servant Roland
There are lots of nutcases among Fixers, but the Blue Reverberation is on whole ‘nother level; he’s a certified lunatic.
Library Director Angela
Is he famous?
Servant Roland
Oh, he is. He’s certainly got skills, even if he’s bonkers.
Library Director Angela
He does appear to be skilled, seeing how he blocked those gunshots.
Servant Roland
That’s why guns aren’t used too often. They’re not very effective against actually competent opponents.
Library Director Angela
Now that you mention it, the majority of guests we’ve had so far didn’t carry firearms. Is there any other reason guns aren’t used?
Servant Roland
It’s the cost. They’re awfully expensive. It’s just not worth it most of the time.
Servant Roland
Guns are pricey on their own, but bullets are plain ridiculous, like those poor folks said.
Library Director Angela
Manufacturing bullets must be quite costly.
Servant Roland
That’s true of course. The biggest factor, though, is the tax the Head levied on firearms.
Servant Roland
It depends on the gun, but two full magazines worth of bullets cost almost the same as a decent gun.
Servant Roland
Heck, giving your entire Office crew augmentation procedures is probably cheaper than keeping enough bullets in stock for them to use.
Servant Roland
The cost is so high, it outweighs the benefit by a metric ton. And it’s hard to find a workshop that treats guns or bullets.
Servant Roland
What’s more, workshops aren’t even allowed to craft those without a firearms manufacturing license, which is apparently very tricky to get.
Library Director Angela
What do you think is the reason firearms are made so inaccessible?
Servant Roland
This is just my hunch, but I think they don’t want killings to happen too easily.
Library Director Angela
Killing what?
Servant Roland
People in general.
Library Director Angela
I didn’t quite expect the rulers of this City to be humanitarians.
Servant Roland
Oh, not because the Head and the City value human life or anything, obviously.
Servant Roland
It seems like they have this weird… philosophy that the process of a human killing another shouldn’t be trivial or insignificant.
Library Director Angela
How funny. Death can be plenty insignificant, even without guns.
Servant Roland
Well, you aren’t wrong there.
Location: Library Entrance
Full-Stop Fixer Stephan
Phew… He’s not following us all the way here.
Full-Stop Fixer Liwei
It’s as if some omniscient person is toying with us.
Full-Stop Fixer Tamaki
The Blue Reverberation seemed like he knew everything.
Full-Stop Fixer Liwei
We should be thankful that we survived him somehow.
Full-Stop Fixer Stephan
Sigh…
Full-Stop Fixer Tamaki
Don’t get too nervous, Stephan.
Full-Stop Fixer Stephan
How can I not be nervous~ We ended up in the Library we know almost nothing about.
Full-Stop Fixer Stephan
You know we’re almost outta bullets, right?
Full-Stop Fixer Stephan
Sigh… What was the point of running away from the Blue Reverb if we’re gonna die here anyway.
Full-Stop Fixer Tamaki
Then we should at least try to die a bit later, obviously.
Full-Stop Fixer Liwei
Humans all die eventually. There’s little use in delaying the inevitable.
Full-Stop Fixer Stephan
See, he’s got a point.
Full-Stop Fixer Tamaki
Don’t worry. I’ll work it out.
Library Director Angela
Greetings, dear guests.
Full-Stop Fixer Stephan
Hellooooooo~~ I’m Stephan, soon to be dead and shelved into your bookcases…
Library Director Angela
You don’t quite appear to be spirited, dear guest. It’s ultimately up to you whether you’ll become a book or return triumphantly with the ones you need.
Full-Stop Fixer Stephan
Yeah~ Thanks for the kind words…
Full-Stop Fixer Tamaki
You’re ruining our mood.
Full-Stop Fixer Liwei
…Don’t mind him. We’re in a bit of a hurry right now.
Full-Stop Fixer Liwei
We’ll just take care of the business here and go back.
(Note 2)
Library Director Angela
I understand. Various guests visit here with their own reasons and purpose.
Library Director Angela
There have been much more impolite guests, so please do not worry about your attitude.
Full-Stop Fixer Stephan
I’m getting a bad feeling about this lady, she seems just as eerie as the Blue Reverb…
Full-Stop Fixer Stephan
Maybe just dying to the Blue Reverb was a better idea than this…
Full-Stop Fixer Tamaki
Tweet, tweet, tweet… What are you, a parrot? Get inside already.
Full-Stop Fixer Stephan
Fine, hothead…
Library Director Angela
May you find your book in this place.
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