When Bells Toll Over White Snow - Clockwork Campanella/Episode 4 - Storyline

Not a One-Man Audience

Magnus	You're joking, right?
Kaya	Do I look like I am joking?
Magnus	You want me to be captain?
Kaya	Do you not think you're suited for the job?
Magnus	So this is your way of trying to persuade me to stay, is it? Is that all you've got, captain of the 2nd Regiment?
Kaya	Nobody else can surpass your skill with Alchemy.
Magnus	Besides you.
Kaya	What was it you said? Ah, yes. "Alchemy can only make imitations, and never anything genuine."
Magnus	Even my excuses sound genius, don't they?
Kaya	Have you tired of the Holy Guard? Is that it?
Magnus	I just realized that my mind is better put to other endeavors.
Kaya	What would become of Albea?
Magnus	... She can do as she wishes.
Wilhelm	...
Magnus	Will.
Wilhelm	Well, this is depressing.
Magnus	Come closer.
Kaya	What? Is this secret only for the boy's club?
Magnus	It's a very radical secret.
Kaya	All I can do is look the other way.
Magnus	That's unbecoming of you, Observer.
Kaya	Even I can go along with schemes when it suits me. I choose to do so with this one.
Wilhelm	Magnus?
Magnus	I've never been able to keep secrets from you.
Wilhelm	Huh?
Magnus	I don't even want to keep secrets from you.
Wilhelm	You about to expose some shocking truth to me?
Magnus	I hid my uniform under my bed in the barracks. It's yours now.
Wilhelm	Why the heck would I want that?!
Magnus	Keep it as a memento.
Wilhelm	A what?
Magnus	... They'll be coming for me.
Wilhelm	What are you talking about?
Magnus	I'm gonna make myself scarce before they can get to me. If you choose to stay here 'til your dying days, then do what you will with my uniform.
Wilhelm	I said I don't want it!
Magnus	However, if you ever have any doubts about the Holy Guard... If you're willing to risk your life for the chance to see something totally insane, then...
Wilhelm	Then...? What?!
Magnus	Well, just know that you can hide a lot in a coat.
Magnus left the Holy Guard, leaving no indication as to where it was he was heading. All contact with him was lost, and then...it came. It came as quite a surprise to all when Kaya resigned from her position as captain of the Holy Guard's 2nd Regiment. Far more surprising, though, was the fact that shortly afterward, she disappeared. The Crimson Dragon, possessor of the Alchemia Pura, vanished overnight. Not a single trace of her could be found. Not even by the Lord Commander himself. It was enough to spark suspicions and pique my interest in the dealings of the Holy Guard.

Wilhelm	Farthest corner of the library... Bottom row, eleventh book from the right, page eight. Hold Magnus' uniform in one hand and recite the password. Showdown! Whoa...! The page is...rewriting itself!
The Alchemia that Magnus wove into his uniform served to activate some sort of mechanism, so that his research notes emerged before my very eyes. I read about how Magnus had begun researching the Alchemy Source in order to perfect his Alchemy. I learned that the Alchemy Source could somehow be connected to the Cursed Beasts, which once existed long ago on the continent of Babel. I learned of Magnus' suspicions that the Holy Guard had concealed certain aspects of history related to Alchemy for unjust and monopolistic reasons. I read his detailed notes on the existence of Corpse, the dark side of the Holy Guard. It didn't take long for me to decide to leave the Holy Guard after that.

I had mottos aplenty to live by. A whole list. One of my favorites was, "A wise man never courts danger." Though I have to admit, I do love the thrill of danger. Now maybe I shouldn't be saying this, but... I always wanted to try my hand at living off the grid.
Corpses	...
Wilhelm	I tip my hat to you, Magnus. You were willing to do what it took to eradicate any mark of corruption from the supposedly upright and pure Holy Guard, no matter how small. What'll it be? Will I let the flow of this river take Will where it will? Oh, that's a good one. I'll add it to my list.
Later...

Magnus	What are you willing to wager?
Wilhelm	Sorry, but I'm broke.
It wasn't until several years after I left the Holy Guard that I was finally reunited with Magnus. After years of aimless wandering, I found him in an underground gambling den.
Magnus	Their eyes are ever watchful, and nothing will change the fact that I know what I know. It won't be long before they terminate me. As long as I keep hanging around in crowded places like this, though, Corpse won't be able to do as they please. So I figured I might as well enjoy life while I can. I threw away Alchemy, the Holy Guard, and my family. For now, I guess I'm...
Wilhelm	...
Magnus	Well...carefree, if anything. It's not a bad life. Better than being dead.
He claims to have never lost a bet. He was best buddies with Captain Othima back in his Holy Guard days, and they made a lot of money together. As for me, I was always the one who had to clean up after their messes.
Magnus	A good win in a real life-or-death situation... You can't get this feeling in a bogus game. It's riveting.
As he smirked at me, his right eye winked briefly. I noticed this little tell, something that he did not have back when he dedicated his time to researching Alchemy.

Magnus	Mind doing me a favor?
Wilhelm	...
It was a little while later that he asked me this, giving me a serious look that I'd never seen on him before.
Magnus	I want you to keep my sister far away from Alchemy.
Wilhelm	Come again? You want me to what, now?
Magnus	I was...comforted by that kid, you know?
Wilhelm	Didn't know you were into that sort of thing.
Magnus	No, you idiot! Not like that! I'm only interested in partners my age or older, but younger than 75.
Wilhelm	That so? Here I thought you were picking from the lower-hanging fruit as well.
Magnus	Ha! And steal your bounty?
Wilhelm	Well, maybe my limit is a little younger than 75, but I'm no cradle robber! Anyway, it's the soul that matters, not the age.
Magnus	Well, if you wanna put it so poetically...
Wilhelm	Don't worry your pretty pink head. I won't try anything with your little sister.
Magnus	Well, that's a relief.
Wilhelm	So you want me to keep your sister away from Alchemy. I might. For the right price. How much are you willing to wager?
Magnus	Oh, I don't know... How about my life?
Wilhelm	What the hell, man?! She's your sister, isn't she? Why not do it yourself?
Magnus	I first started learning Alchemy because I wanted to make my little sister smile.
Wilhelm	Well, this is rare... You, giving up details about yourself.
Magnus	I tapped into Alchemia to make a doll move around. You should have seen the smile on her face. Even after our parents split up, I believed that I'd see that smile again someday. That is...until I found out that the peace brought about by Alchemy is false.
Wilhelm	And about the Holy Guard's monopolization of Alchemy and their concealment of the truth, of course.
Magnus	I've heard that my sister is sniffing around about these things, and about Alchemy. She's a clever one. She's bound to attract Corpse's attention eventually. They won't take the fact that she and I are related lightly. They'll either try to use her to get to me, or kill her to punish me. Either way, I can't allow her to get involved. So I can't exactly go looking for her myself.
Wilhelm	Did you know there are only three reasons a man will take action?
Magnus	Let's hear 'em.
Wilhelm	A woman's tears, a child's smile, a love interest, and filial piety.
Magnus	That's four, but whatever. Where do I come into—?
Wilhelm	You're a man.
Magnus	Are you saying you're not gonna take action because I don't fall under any of those categories?
Wilhelm	I'm a man, too. And men...don't need reasons to help each other out.
Magnus	Dude...! You are the coolest right now.
Wilhelm	Heheh. I get that a lot.
I like honest people. I never have to doubt what they're saying. Well, I guess I just like people in general. As a person myself, I have to interact with other people in order to survive, right? Life would be too difficult if I didn't like people. Stifling, even. You know, meeting you really helped me realize something. People who like people are... Well... They're lovable, aren't they?

Wilhelm	Information for information, right? That was the condition of the trade.
Mira	Huh?
Wilhelm	Do you feel like talking now?
Mira	About what?
Wilhelm	About the Cursed Beasts.
Mira	...
Wilhelm	Why do you feel the need to keep this a secret? What exactly are they? Why do we have to suffer like this?!
Mira	... I don't know.
Wilhelm	Huh?
Mira	I may not know anything worth trading.
Wilhelm	...
Mira	I once thought I knew everything, but I'm realizing more and more how little I actually know. Alchemy is being used against people. The tools we carried are now used for killing. The Cursed Beasts, hidden. The truth behind our struggles has never been made public knowledge. Why? The corruption of those who uphold justice. For the future of this world? For a future like this? Must Alchemy stand in the way of seeing my family again?
Wilhelm	Mira, I won't pretend to know what it is that's weighing on your shoulders... But maybe it's time you let some of that weight go.
Mira	Thanks for your concern. Still, there are some things that I've gotta find out... Challenges I have to pursue. That's why I'm here, you know?
Wilhelm	Well... Why not just let the flow of this river take you where it will?
Mira	Easy for you to say. You don't know anything about this river!
Wilhelm	That's because you won't tell me anything about it.
Mira	I did so!
Wilhelm	Would it help you to know...? I believe!
Mira	Eeeeek! What are you doing, you creep?!
Wilhelm	Huh. So I really can't touch you.
Mira	It might seem like nothing special to you, but I still feel it when people go through me and it's really weird!
Wilhelm	Seriously?
Mira	Wha—?! No! Stop that! Eeeeeek!
Wilhelm	Hahahaha! Hahahahahaha!
Mira	It's not funny!
Wilhelm	So you came here—all the way from the past—in search of the future.
Mira	Yeah! What about it?!
Wilhelm	Yet you can't interact with anything.
Mira	Well... Yeah.
Wilhelm	Then I guess you'll just have to watch.
Mira	Watch...what?
Wilhelm	Nothing ever goes as planned, you know? In this crazy thing called life.
Mira	Huh?
Wilhelm	I can't interact with everything, either. There are things that I can't let myself get too close to.
Mira	Huh?
Wilhelm	We'll just have to let the river take us where it will. If we have to sit back and watch, we may as well do it with smiles and laughter.

Wilhelm	She got away.
Magnus	Who got away?
Wilhelm	Your little sister's just as hardheaded as you are. Still, I did warn her to stay away from Alchemy and that ancient ruin in Slothstein. Meanwhile, I've got Corpse preoccupied with this stone I snatched from under their noses. I've done what I can, so now all there is for me to do is find out how much danger I'm in myself.
Magnus	I'm sorry.
Wilhelm	Stop that. It doesn't suit you.
Magnus	Well, I guess it's my turn now.
Wilhelm	...
Magnus	I have my own way of doing things. Just you watch. I won't miss the mark.
Wilhelm	This is a first.
Magnus	For what?
Wilhelm	This is the first time I'm praying your wager goes down the drain.
Magnus	Hmph. Then you're staking your hopes against a winning hand.
Mira	... (He's laughing.) (How can he be laughing?) Huh?!
Wilhelm	Wh—?!
Albea	...