Story Reader / Festival Event Story / Farewell to the Past Year / Story
By the time the last Corrupted is defeated, the celebration inside the Forsaken camp is already coming to a close.
Reporting, Sir! We've finished inspecting, and there is only minimal damage to the camp with no casualties. No one has even noticed the Corrupted were here.
Hmm... How about the Babylonian? We're in trouble if our supplier gets injured...
The CUB nearby stands up and makes a low electronic sound toward one of the checkpoints. Watanabe raises an arm, and the Patrol Leader slowly approaches the checkpoint.
The... "supplier" is here indeed. So are the kids.
Watanabe breathes a sigh of relief. He looks at the children sleeping in each others' arms, with their slow, deep breaths.
Without a word, he removes his jacket and walks up.
Only children would do something like that.
It might have been a lament, or maybe acceptance. Watanabe covers the sleeping children with his blanket, his motion remarkably gentle.
The soldiers standing around also approach, carefully picking up the children and carrying them to a tent inside the camp along the paved trail.
Watanabe stays behind and walks toward you, crouching and shaking you awake.
You awake yet, [player name]? You helped with the decoration, didn't you?
Is that so? I'll leave it, then.
Seems like it took a lot of effort.
Even when they're forsaken on Earth, kids are still gonna be kids... With their kid logic and priorities and choices.
Some things don't get taken away by a catastrophe. That's why I stayed behind.
And you, and your garden of Eden... should know this better than I do.
A frown flashes over Watanabe's face for a second, and then he is his usual, calm self again, shaking his head.
Watanabe holds his hand up, indicating that this is the end of this discussion.
I don't think a fake paradise like Babylonia will provide them with a real future.
The silly, purposeless decorations, the childlike innocence, and the essence of a human being...
The only thing we can build upon is the thing they grasp in their hands.
Maybe. But whatever it is, they are the children of the Forsaken, and they are the future of humankind.
Watanabe pats the CUB next to him, and his expression softens.
It's not how powerful they are on the battlefield... It's the other thing, the feeling you have when you know you have it by your side...
Watanabe does not answer you. He goes ahead and disconnects with the CUB, letting it revert to its standby state.
The location of our delivery is the outpost of the abandoned city you marked?
About a station away from there is a supply port of ours. It's a neutral zone and close to Babylonia's outpost.
I'll take you there now.
I wanted to say that I needed a ride, but I don't see why I need to hide from you.
I've been asked to keep you safe, [player name], understood? I know it's supposed to be your solo mission, but we better be safe than sorry.
Mr. Watanabe, Sir, you're leaving already?
Hold on, Sir, you said you'd cook for us when we're back!
...We never get to taste your dishes! Do you really have to go now?
The soldiers all put down the supplies they are collecting, sounding disappointed.
Yes, we do, pronto.
That's... for another day.
Winter is coming, and our to-do list is unusually long—
[player name], we'll leave the other businesses for the next time we meet. As for you guys—
Watanabe snaps his finger at his people.
Plan's not changing. We'll see when I get back.
