Prologue — Episode 1Location: Shi Association - Southern Branch???(???)Thelma, dear. It’s all thanks to me that you could keep your position as head of the southern branch, so maybe you should return some of that favor, no?Audio: "ch4_prol_ep1_argalia1-01"???(???)I know, that was the deal.Audio: "ch4_prol_ep1_thelma1-01"???(???)What do you want this time?Audio: "ch4_prol_ep1_thelma2-02"???(???)I want your crew to take care of the things on this list. I think I might be able to locate it soon enough.Audio: "ch4_prol_ep1_argalia2"???(???)…These are all ridiculous requests.Audio: "ch4_prol_ep1_thelma3-01"???(???)Well, though we have the right team for this…Audio: "ch4_prol_ep1_thelma4-01"???(???)Let me guess, Section 2?Audio: "ch4_prol_ep1_argalia3"???(???)Yes.Audio: "ch4_prol_ep1_thelma5"???(???)See? I’m a very considerate person, Thelma.Audio: "ch4_prol_ep1_argalia4-01"???(???)‘The Library’ is on the list as well, now appointed as an Urban Plague by the Hana Association…Audio: "ch4_prol_ep1_thelma6"???(???)That’s the one I’m particularly interested in, actually.Audio: "ch4_prol_ep1_argalia5-01"Location: Inside the LibraryAngela(Library Director)Roland.Audio: "ch4_prol_ep1_angela1"Roland(Servant)Yeah? …Huh?!!Audio: "ch4_prol_ep1_roland1"Angela(Library Director)If your estimation is correct, we’ll have to thoroughly prepare ourselves for guests from major Syndicates and even Wings from now on, right?Audio: "ch4_prol_ep1_angela2"Roland(Servant)That was the third most surprising thing to happen to me here.Audio: "ch4_prol_ep1_roland2"Angela(Library Director)What nonsense are you going on about this time?Audio: "ch4_prol_ep1_angela3"Roland(Servant)You just called me “Roland”.Audio: "ch4_prol_ep1_roland3"Angela(Library Director)Because that’s your name.Audio: "ch4_prol_ep1_angela4"Roland(Servant)I mean, yeah, but… You’ve never referred to me with my name before.Audio: "ch4_prol_ep1_roland4"Angela(Library Director)My level of trust for you has increased, and I wanted to reinforce our amity, so I tried referring to you in relatively more intimate terms. Is there a problem?Audio: "ch4_prol_ep1_angela5-01"Roland(Servant)Come on~ That’s a boring answer.Audio: "ch4_prol_ep1_roland5"Roland(Servant)It’s been a long while since anyone called me by my name, still. The last time I heard that was from my family, I guess…Audio: "ch4_prol_ep1_roland6"Angela(Library Director)Didn’t you say that your grandma disappeared long ago?Audio: "ch4_prol_ep1_angela6"Roland(Servant)Oh, I had a wife, you see.Audio: "ch4_prol_ep1_roland7"Angela(Library Director)That’s intriguing.Audio: "ch4_prol_ep1_angela7"Roland(Servant)Hunh… You’re not intrigued by the fact that someone like me managed to get married, right? You’re intrigued by the whole concept of this inefficient practice among humans known as marriage, right? Audio: "ch4_prol_ep1_roland8"Angela(Library Director)Please tell me more about your marriage.Audio: "ch4_prol_ep1_angela8"Roland(Servant)…Just a heads up, it’s an overall banal story with some sad moments. Don’t think you’ll really like it.Audio: "ch4_prol_ep1_roland9"Angela(Library Director)I’m always open for new stories of others.Audio: "ch4_prol_ep1_angela9"Roland(Servant)Says the one who won’t even tell me the story of her own life.Audio: "ch4_prol_ep1_roland10"Angela(Library Director)I can’t bring myself to recount that story ever again. I’m simply too sick of it.Audio: "ch4_prol_ep1_angela10"Angela(Library Director)It’s a boring and trifling story that looped over and over for ten millennia.Audio: "ch4_prol_ep1_angela11-01"Angela(Library Director)Imagine reading the same book for one million years. You’ll surely grow to resent it.Audio: "ch4_prol_ep1_angela12"Roland(Servant)I’d have choked myself by the tie ‘round the fifth time I’d be forced to read a boring book…Audio: "ch4_prol_ep1_roland11"Roland(Servant)Well, anyway, I used to work my ass off. Had nothing better to do.Audio: "ch4_prol_ep1_roland12"Roland(Servant)I wasn’t a bad fit for Fixer work, coming from a rough background and all. As I kept working like a busy bee, I got a house in a decent spot, and met a so-called “soul mate”.Audio: "ch4_prol_ep1_roland13"Roland(Servant)She was such a tough woman… When I looked at her back, I felt the comfort of finding a place to belong to, something I couldn’t feel even when I bought my house.Audio: "ch4_prol_ep1_roland14"Roland(Servant)I made so many attempts to try and catch her attention.Audio: "ch4_prol_ep1_roland15"Roland(Servant)Oh, am I dragging on too long…?Audio: "ch4_prol_ep1_roland16"Angela(Library Director)It’s fine. Please continue.Audio: "ch4_prol_ep1_angela13"Roland(Servant)I did get a bunch of opportunities to see her, since we were in the same industry.Audio: "ch4_prol_ep1_roland17"Roland(Servant)My wife was a pretty highly graded Fixer, by the way. She was dependable for a reason.Audio: "ch4_prol_ep1_roland18"Roland(Servant)Anyway, countless ups and downs later, we tied the knot.Audio: "ch4_prol_ep1_roland19"Roland(Servant)I put it simply here, but the heartache I felt in those twists and turns was real, y’know?Audio: "ch4_prol_ep1_roland20"Roland(Servant)Both of us had piled up a hefty amount of money from working like dogs, so we decided to quit being Fixers for a while and spend a peaceful time together.Audio: "ch4_prol_ep1_roland21"Roland(Servant)This part is kinda corny, but “happy” is the only word to describe how I felt, really. I was alone my whole life, and finally had someone to rely on.Audio: "ch4_prol_ep1_roland22"Roland(Servant)All we had to worry about was what to have for lunch, where to take a stroll in the evening… what to name our child and stuff.Audio: "ch4_prol_ep1_roland23"Roland(Servant)Then one day, I got an urgent call from a friend asking me to do a request far away from home.Audio: "ch4_prol_ep1_roland24"Roland(Servant)You can probably guess where this is going by now.Audio: "ch4_prol_ep1_roland25"Roland(Servant)The job wasn’t a huge deal, and the pay was alright, so I decided to take it. The lady who lived with me said okay, too.Audio: "ch4_prol_ep1_roland26"Roland(Servant)I was dispatched to a district famous for pajeon, which was my wife’s favorite food. I could almost see her mouth water with the thought of eating it when she sent me off.Audio: "ch4_prol_ep1_roland27"Roland(Servant)To live up to my better half’s expectations, I purchased a stasis preservation box from U Corp. to present her with a warm pajeon that’s straight from the kitchen.Audio: "ch4_prol_ep1_roland28"Roland(Servant)But a huge incident occurred in my home district while I was away. The house collapsed… And my wife died along with our child she was still pregnant with. Audio: "ch4_prol_ep1_roland29"Roland(Servant)I cried for a long while, cursing this world and the City.Audio: "ch4_prol_ep1_roland30"Roland(Servant)I writhed and struggled trying to earn this happiness, so why does it have to slip out of my hands so easily…Audio: "ch4_prol_ep1_roland31"Roland(Servant)Alright, that’s the end of my story.Audio: "ch4_prol_ep1_roland32"Angela(Library Director)…Audio: "ch4_prol_ep1_angela14"Roland(Servant)This kinda stuff can happen to anyone in the City.Audio: "ch4_prol_ep1_roland33"Roland(Servant)It’s only a matter of endurance.Audio: "ch4_prol_ep1_roland34"Angela(Library Director)And you could endure that trial?Audio: "ch4_prol_ep1_angela15"Roland(Servant)I’m trying to settle it on my own terms.Audio: "ch4_prol_ep1_roland35"Angela(Library Director)What was the second most surprising thing for you, by the way?Audio: "ch4_prol_ep1_angela16"Roland(Servant)Hmm? Oh, that working here suits me better than I thought, I guess? I’m saving the biggest surprise for the last. It’s no fun to spoil everything at once, is it?Audio: "ch4_prol_ep1_roland36"Angela(Library Director)Fine, then. I’ll leave you with sorting the rest of the books.Audio: "ch4_prol_ep1_angela17"
