"True, there's nothing about prosthetics Sir Aitz wouldn't know."
Dorothy picked up the broken prosthetic the machine man had left behind.
"But where would he get something like this? Sir Molton is someone who'd never use his technology for violence."
Sir Aitz Molton was a figure famous for his kind nature, too.
With his own fortune and engineering skills, he made prosthetics at low prices for those who'd lost parts of their bodies to accidents or disabilities.
For those contributions, people had begun calling him Sir Molton.
In a word, he was a symbol of noblesse oblige.
'So this time it's going the way it originally did.'
In Revendale's main episode, too, the episode kicked off in earnest when enemies fitted with prosthetics began stirring up trouble in the city.
And the person you inevitably met in the course of that episode was Sir Molton.
More than anything, it was a relief that the story was flowing along the main quest I remembered to some extent.
Last time, I'd gone through every hardship there was forcing my way through a broken quest to clear it.
I didn't want to go through the same hardship again.
"Then I'll stow this in my bag for now. And...."
Once she'd packed away the prosthetic, Dorothy's gaze went downward.
"What do we do about this man? If we see a murder scene and just leave it, it could count as negligence, maybe even attempted murder.... We'd better report it to the police."
"...The Police Bureau, you mean?"
"Yes. Deputy Commissioner Kalian is in charge of the underground zone, so she'll take care of it."
In the middle of talking, Dorothy looked at me and asked with a puzzled expression.
"...Mr. Enon. Why the sudden face? Are you not feeling well?"
"No, I'm fine. The air here is just a bit unpleasant."
I'd just remembered getting warned not to do anything funny when I came into Revendale.
'I'm worried what Deputy Commissioner Kalian will say when she sees me, though.'
But leaving this mess behind wasn't right either.
"Let's call the deputy commissioner first."
***
A little later, after taking the report, the police arrived at the scene.
Deputy Commissioner Kalian too, without fail.
"I didn't expect to see you again in a place like this. Enon."
"I didn't intend to see you again in a place like this either, but as you can see, things have gotten a bit big."
Seeing Deputy Commissioner Kalian and me talking so naturally, Dorothy pursed her lips and asked.
"Um, excuse me for a second? Did you two know each other already, by any chance?"
Ah, come to think of it, Dorothy hadn't been there when Brundehil talked about Deputy Commissioner Kalian.
"We didn't know each other from before. He happened to say he was going to Revendale, so I simply gave him a ride here in my car."
"Ah... I see. And here I thought Mr. Enon had done something wrong. Oh, right. Haha...."
Dorothy seemed to realize this wasn't the time for that talk either and gave an awkward laugh.
"Enough chitchat; tell me what happened first."
I told her what had happened so far, including the mana stone theft cases.
"You followed the one who stole the mana stones, then someone who seemed to be his accomplice killed him, fought you, Enon, and ran away. Is that it?"
Deputy Commissioner Kalian glanced around the area, then soon gave a nod as if she understood.
"Then was it Lord Brundehil who asked you to get the mana stones back?"
"Yes. In exchange for opening a mana stone route to my Iron Factory."
I'd deliberately not said anything about Brundehil.
It was just like her, as a Police Bureau deputy commissioner, to have a grasp on information about each organization.
"There certainly isn't anyone better than Lord Brundehil for getting a mana stone route. But he's not exactly a clean man, so be careful. Though you probably approached him already knowing that."
"Thank you for your concern."
The body was recovered, and as things were entering the final stage, Deputy Commissioner Kalian spoke to me again.
"Then do you intend to keep tracking that bastard?"
"I should. If I want to accomplish my goal."
"This is quite a problem. You haven't committed a crime, but the law says vigilante activity must be stopped when it's seen...."
I knew Deputy Commissioner Kalian wasn't someone who joked, so I held my breath as I watched her deliberate.
If she stopped me here, there wouldn't be much more I could do.
Deputy Commissioner Kalian, who'd kept deliberating over her decision, finally opened her mouth.
"I'll let this one slide. But know that if you cause a big commotion or commit a crime, I'll come for you immediately."
"I'll keep that in mind."
"So, where are you headed next?"
"Didn't you just say you'd let it slide?"
"Shouldn't I at least know whether Mr. Enon is making the wrong choices?"
...I have nothing to say to that.
"I'm planning to go see Sir Aitz Molton."
"Sir Molton. If you meet him, give him my regards."
After that, Deputy Commissioner Kalian quietly left, just as she'd said.
"To think the deputy commissioner, famous for being so cold, would just leave so quietly. How much does she like you, Mr. Enon, for her to do that? What on earth did you do?"
"I didn't do anything in particular."
"Huh. What's that supposed to mean? You really didn't do anything?"
What on earth did she want to hear, asking a question like that?
"I really didn't say much. Anyway, let's go meet Sir Molton."
I cut the topic short and started heading to where Sir Molton was.
Part of going to meet Sir Molton was to find out the source of the prosthetic the machine man had left behind, but there was another reason too.
He wasn't just a character I had to meet in the main quest; it was also to get a new prosthetic.
'Fitting every part onto one arm is more inconvenient than I thought.'
The swapping was fast, so I had more leeway than before, though.
Being able to use only one part at a time was bound to be inconvenient when it came to fighting flexibly.
I was only going to set aside auxiliary parts separately anyway, so it'd be nice if I could just get a decent prosthetic part, even if it wasn't on the level of the Genocide Alloy Prosthetic.
'The thing is, it's anyone's guess whether Sir Molton will grant my request.'
The reason Sir Molton made prosthetics for people was to give them a new chance.
That made him, at the same time, someone who hated taking away other people's chances.
He was a man who valued peace, so the odds of him granting my request weren't high.
Dorothy had much the same reaction to what I said.
"Hmm, it'll probably be hard. He never takes a commission unless it's for everyday life or work."
Hearing that, what Edith had said came back to me vaguely.
Come to think of it, Edith had said she wouldn't sell weapons if they'd be used for evil, too.
Maybe that was why Edith had left Brundehil.
Disappointed in a master who wasn't clean and didn't hesitate to do bad things.
A righteous person like Edith would surely have done that.
As I thought about that, I'd arrived in District 2 before I knew it.
District 2 was the area where Revendale's various institutions were located.
Among them was the prosthetics workshop Sir Molton ran.
"Wow... it's really tall."
The building housing the workshop looked to be at least 7 stories high.
Compared to the clock tower in District 1, which was also the council building, it was much smaller, but not something to scoff at.
"Then let's go in."
When we stepped inside the building, all kinds of prosthetics decorated the walls.
It was late, so there were no customers in sight, and the employee manning the lobby spoke to us.
"I'm sorry, sir, we've finished business hours for today. I'm sorry, but could you come back tomorrow?"
"We're not here for an examination; we came to see Sir Molton for a moment. Is he still here?"
"Ah, I see.... But Sir Molton has had a lot of work, so I think today will be difficult. I'll let him know, so if you come back tomorrow...."
Just then, along with footsteps on the stairs behind the lobby, came someone's voice.
"What's the matter?"
In that instant, I felt as if I were floating.
My ears went numb and even my consciousness seemed to blur, so I put strength into my eyes and pulled myself together.
[The Mana Core has detected something.]
The Mana Core, which had been silent the whole time, sent a signal.
"Ah, boss, these people here say they'd like to see you, sir...."
"Me? What brings you here?"
[The Mana Core has detected kin nearby.]
I locked eyes with Sir Molton, who was looking straight at me.
[Trait, Kin Savior, activates.]
...Aitz Molton is a doll?
***
"Hmm, so you came to see if I could tell who this prosthetic's owner is."
"Yes. Someone hurt a person in the underground zone and left it behind while we were trying to catch him, and we came in case you might be able to find something out, Sir Molton."
Examining the broken prosthetic, Molton spoke with a deeply troubled expression.
"It's covered in armor plating on the outside, so it's hard to see, but it does seem to be a prosthetic I made. I half suspected it, but... to think someone really did such a thing with something I made. I don't want to believe it."
Sir Molton brushed back his light blue hair with his hand, as if his feelings were complicated.
"It's my fault. I foolishly made a prosthetic for someone without knowing he had such evil intentions...."
"What are you talking about? It's the fault of whoever modified the prosthetic without permission; you did nothing wrong, Sir Molton."
Watching Sir Molton's self-reproach, Dorothy nudged my arm with her shoulder.
"You've been zoning out this whole time; what are you doing? Say something."
But in my state of shock, Dorothy's words didn't reach me.
'Why is Molton a doll?'
It was lore I'd never once seen in 5 years of playing Akris.
'Did I get the lore wrong?'
No, in the game's entire story, it had definitely never come up that Sir Molton was a doll.
[Trait, Kin Savior, is active.]
But the message said he was a doll.
Unless there was an error in the system, there was no way the message was lying.
'Does Molton not know I'm a doll?'
Even while I was confused, Molton was focused on his conversation with Dorothy.
Was he acting despite having figured out who I was, or did he really not know?
I calmed my confused mind and opened my mouth.
"...Then can you tell who the prosthetic's owner is? If you check the identification number on the prosthetic against the manufacturing records, you should be able to find the matching person."
"Normally, I shouldn't view a patient's personal information carelessly, but for an investigation, I suppose I must. However, judging by the prosthetic's condition, it was made quite a long time ago, so it looks like cross-checking the records will take a good while."
Molton was more cooperative with our request than I'd expected.
But the more he acted that way, the more suspicious of him I became.
'Maybe the bastard wants to catch me and send me to paradise too.'
The doll race was always born in the dolls' paradise.
And dolls were bodies that could never leave the space designated by their creator, Seren.
But being free of that restriction meant being a being to whom Seren had personally granted freedom.
Someone like that would surely try to catch me, so why was he so calm?
"Then around when could we see the records of the matching person?"
"Hmm, I'll have the records found by the time you come tomorrow morning."
"What? That fast? You said there are a ton of records, so it'd take a long time to find."
"I'm rather quick at finding this sort of thing. If I stay up just an hour or two of the night, I'll be able to find it."
"You said you worked a lot today; will you be okay?"
"Of course. More than anything, I can't sleep after hearing someone died because of a prosthetic I made. I don't think I'll be able to sleep until I've done what I can for you."
At Sir Molton's words, Dorothy covered her mouth with her hand as if moved.
"Thank you so much. Then we'll come back tomorrow."
"Yes. Then please head home for today."
"We're counting on you!"
When the conversation was over and Dorothy got up from her seat, I reluctantly followed her.
But just then.
"Um, Mr. Enon, was it? Could I talk with you separately for a moment?"
...I knew it.
"...Sure."
"Then I'll wait outside."
"No, Miss Dorothy, please go home first. I'll go separately."
At my firm voice, Dorothy nodded that she understood.
"Then I'll see you both tomorrow."
Once Dorothy was gone, I quietly closed the door and locked it.
"...Now, shall we have an honest conversation?"
"Shall we? Now that it's just the two of us."
Turning around and meeting Molton's eyes again, I asked firmly.
"Molton, did you come all the way here from paradise to catch me?"