Return.

Cain: “Whoa…!”

Owen: “Hey. What do you think you’re doing?”

Owen: “Don’t tell me you seriously thought you could get your eye back like that.”

Cain: “Damn… I mean, I was hoping I might.”

Cain: “Next time, though!”

Owen: “You’re so irritating… But fine, if you’re so desperate to play — let’s play.”

Cain: “Ah… Crap, I forgot! It’s almost time for our morning meeting.”

Cain: “Sorry, Owen. We’ll have to stop training for now and—”

Cain: “Hey!”

Owen: “This isn’t training, and there’s no ‘for now’ about it. This is a fight to the death.”

Cain: “Hold on! I’m happy to see you’re in a teaching mood, but the meeting—”

Owen: “I just told you this is a fight to the death. You don’t really think I’m going to just let you walk away, do you? Sir Knight.”

Cain: “Wai—”

Owen: «Cure Memini».

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

Shylock: “Knowledge is, in some regards, a form of currency. People have a strong desire to learn even without consciously realising it.”

Shylock: “It’s also one of our instincts. Just as being magically strong gives one an edge in the fight for survival, so too does superior intellect.”

Shylock: “Such is why we tend to feel frustrated when we meet others who aren’t able to efficiently teach us that which we yearn to know.”

Riquet: “I see… So Murr really wasn’t doing anything wrong, after all.”

Mitile: “I guess we just didn’t understand. Sorry, Mister Murr.”

Shylock: “Well, he was once a talented instructor in his own right.”

Riquet: “…So…”

Mitile: “He is being malicious, after all…?”

Murr: “Me–ow! No I’m nyot!”

Faust: “Make up your mind.”

Shylock: “Considering the shattered state of his soul, I imagine it’s partly him being malicious and partly him simply being a poor teacher.”

Riquet: “I’d like to learn from someone with strong devotion and skill in servitude, personally.”

Shylock: “I’m honoured that you would so blatantly request my services.”

Mitile: “I get worked up easily, so someone a little less intense might be best for me…”

Mitile: “That reminds me — Mister Faust?”

Faust: “What, are you asking me to teach you?”

Mitile: “Oh, no— Um, I wanted to ask you about a rare herb… It’s apparently quite good for use in curses. I heard it might be extinct now, though.”

Faust: “Well, you could be describing any number of herbs… Do you have anything more specific to go off of?”

Mitile: “It’s called Lachry Algae. Doctor Figaro told me some stuff about it a while ago.”

Mitile: “Apparently, it’s a type of plant that grows by absorbing tears, and when it does, it starts to glow blue. He said it was prettier than any gemstone he’s ever seen.”

Faust: “Ah, I see. Yes, it was often used in curses back in the day. It amplifies resentment in others when used.”

Shylock: “A plant that amplifies resentment, and only grows by absorbing tears… Indeed, a magical herb such as that would be perfectly suited for cursework.”

Mitile: “I’d love to see it someday. I mean, what kind of light is even more beautiful than gems?”

Murr: “Yup, it sure is a sight to behold! Like looking at a blue star! It’s probably not easy to get ahold of nowadays, huh.”

Riquet: “Why would that be? Because it was overused?”

Faust: “It gained notoriety after being featured in various academic texts. It was widely sought after, and overharvested as a result.”

Mitile: “Oh, I see…”

Faust: “It’s also difficult to cultivate in the first place. It withers without a steady supply of tears and resentment. Not to mention the danger involved even if you do manage to successfully grow some.”

Mitile: “It’s dangerous?”

Faust: “Negative emotions are what provide nourishment to Lachry Algae. So, in order to prevent its food source from running dry, it influences whoever’s growing it to act in ways that will fuel their own resentment.”

Mitile: “Wait, but then… That means you’d end up being manipulated by the plant you thought you were growing, right?”

Faust: “Exactly that.”

Mitile: “That's so scary... The idea of losing myself to my own malice, until it’s all I know…”

Faust: “…You’re right. It is frightening.”

Lennox: “I’m back, Lord Faust.”

Faust: “Welcome back.”

Mitile: “What were you doing, Mister Leno?”

Lennox: “I was asking the crew if I could do some personal checks on how safe the Ship of Knowledge is before we boarded.”

Lennox: “Master Sage will be riding with us, after all.”

Faust: “And? How did it go?”

Lennox: “They seemed mostly weary of me as a wizard, and wouldn’t allow me onboard before the ceremony.”

Faust: “Ah… I’m sorry to have troubled you.”

Lennox: “There’s no need to apologise. The captain still showed me the ship’s blueprints, and explained its details to me in depth.”

Lennox: “This is a monumental undertaking for the East. They’re staking their prestige on it, after all. I could sense how determined they all were to ensure that it would never capsize again.”

Faust: “I see.”

Riquet: “Capsize... What does ‘capsize’ mean, Mitile?”

Mitile: “Oh, er… It’s another word for ‘sink’, I guess?”

Murr: “Correct! You’re well-informed!”

Mitile: “Has the Ship of Knowledge already sunk before?”

Lennox: “Not exactly. It might be more accurate to say the ship we’re boarding is the Ship of Knowledge II.”

Mitile: “What happened to the first…?”

Lennox: “…”

Lennox: “It’s sleeping at the bottom of the Eastern sea.”

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

Figaro: “The Ship of Knowledge, eh…”

Figaro: “Endevouring to preserve humanity’s cultural heritage even after the world is destroyed by the Great Calamity…”

Oz: “…I see.”

Figaro: “It’s a very human-like thing to want to do, in my opinion.”

Snow: “Indeed. Nothing shall remain once the world has been destroyed, after all.”

White: “‘Tis impossible for humans to fly. Do they truly believe they might survive by drifting across the ocean, instead?”

Arthur: “Apparently, human scholars have predicted that if the moon were to fall into the sea, it would make the water level rise.”

Arthur: “So they’re building these massive ships capable of surviving out on the ocean, rather than structures that will be rendered inaccessible on land. It’s rather clever, wouldn’t you say?”

Figaro: “…Well, I can’t say I don’t see the logic, but…”

Snow & White: “We certainly see the logic, however…”

Arthur: “It’s true that humanity may struggle to survive and preserve their legacies if the Calamity someday destroys our world.”

Arthur: “Even so, I can’t bring myself to think of it all as some futile endeavour."

Arthur: “They refuse to give up, regardless of the circumstances. They’ve anticipated possible future crises, prepared for what may come, and brought together some of their brightest minds in order to make those preparations a reality.”

Arthur: “We are incapable of knowing the future. If, someday, the Calamity destroys our world and we wizards perish as one…”

Arthur: “Perhaps it will be this very Ship of Knowledge that outlasts us, floating quietly and with ease out there on the sea.”

Oz: “…The world will never be destroyed by the Great Calamity.”

Oz: “I will not allow it.”

Arthur: “You always know just what to say to reassure others, Master Oz.”

Figaro: “What Arthur says is true. It’s crucial that people think for themselves sometimes, and prepare countermeasures in advance.”

Figaro: “So it’s not that I think their efforts are futile, either. It’s just…”

Figaro: “When I see humans trying their hardest like this, I start getting overwhelmed by this indescribable feeling…”

Figaro: “Maybe I’m just too old… They’re so earnest, so courageous, so— desperate…”

Snow: “Indeed… Oh, how it makes one’s heart ache…”

White: “We have seen humans make such efforts many a time. Kingdoms desperate to survive ruin, the traditions they yearned to protect — the regions, rivers, and forests they were ever so reluctant to part with…”

Figaro, Snow & White: “Lost, nevertheless.”

Arthur: “Not to fear. We won’t lose them this time.”

Arthur: “Everything the three of you hold dear—”

Arthur: “I, Arthur, will protect it all. I’ll dedicate myself to my training so that I may do just that.”

Figaro: “Oh, look at us, making you say things like this…”

Figaro: “It's okay, Arthur. What you’re talking about should be the responsibility of us adults, not you.”

Arthur: “Lord Figaro…”

Snow: “Dearest Figaro…”

White: “Darling Figaro…”

Figaro: “Excuse you. Don’t you two act like you’re included with the rest of the kids when you’re the ones who should be saying this to them, not me.”

Figaro: “Why don’t you chime in, Oz? Surely if there’s anyone who can give a speech earnest enough to move your heart of stone, it’d be Arthur.”

Oz: “…”

Oz: “I would gift you the world itself, if you so desired.”

Snow: “No, no, no! What an utterly terrifying response!”

White: “You cannot say such things as if you are not fully capable of achieving them!”

Arthur: “Thank you very much, Master Oz!”

Snow & White: “You would accept, just like that?!”

Figaro: “That’s what I like about you, Arthur.”

Arthur: “Ahaha.”

Arthur: “It’s not as if I yearn to subjugate anyone, or rule over them with an iron fist. I simply want to treasure the things Master Oz gives to me.”

Figaro: “I get it. It’s not about having control over others…”

Figaro: “What matters is getting to cherish all the lovely, wonderful, feel-good things about the world.”

Figaro: “So you’re just trying to show Oz how grateful you feel, right?”

Snow: “Figaro, dear, you’re getting terribly sentimental…”

White: “Perhaps these humans built this ship with those sorts of feelings in mind.”

Snow: “Nevertheless, it has already sunk once, has it not?”

Figaro: “You’re making my heart hurt again…”

Arthur: “Incidentally, I had heard that Murr was involved in the construction of the first Ship of Knowledge.”

Figaro: “Murr?”

Snow: “Building ships for Eastern Country?”

White: “As part of a project upon which the nation’s very dignity was staked?”

Figaro, Snow & White: “How terrible…”

Figaro: “Did nobody think to try and stop him…?”

Snow: “What an unscrupulous man, making both the East and West fill his coffer… Does he have no integrity? No conscience whatsoever?”

White: “That being said, for a ship designed by Murr to sink ‘neath the waves… Why, not even he can claim to be almighty now! Ohohoho!”

Figaro: “Has he ever had any interest in preserving humanity’s knowledge to begin with?”

Figaro: “If I had to guess, he probably just wanted an opportunity to build a ship…”

Oz: “…”

Arthur: “Is something troubling you, Master Oz?”

Oz: “…Suppose…”

Oz: “Suppose you wished to bestow something precious upon another.”

Arthur: “Yes?”

Oz: “But then— suppose that something was to be lost somehow…”

Oz: “Would you, then, not contemplate the purpose of your very existence?”

Arthur: “…Master Oz…”

Snow: “What’s this, Oz…”

White: “Could it be you’ve learned what it means to grieve?”

Figaro: “There’s no way… He’s just regurgitating what we were saying moments ago, surely.”

Arthur: “Worry not, Master Oz. I want for nothing. All that I cherish I carry in my heart and mind, as memories.”

Arthur: “That alone is more than enough.”