SIDE: Gert.
'...... where are we?　That's right. I got caught by that guy ......
　I woke up and immediately remembered that Leons' men had put me to sleep.
　I checked my hands, and they were still securely cuffed.
　Then I saw ...... Is this a prison?　No, this is ...... my room.
　No. How could I be in here?
　I hurriedly got up to check outside the room.
　Then the door opened as if it were waiting for me.

Hey. Gert, how you doing?

"My uncle: ......
　On the other side of the door was my uncle, who had lost a lot of weight.
　I knew that Fermat had been taken over by his father, but ...... uncle, do you live such a poor life?

Looks like you've changed a lot.

......
　When I say changed, I'm not talking about looking like ...... your uncle. .......
　I didn't know what to say to your uncle.
　He was always good to me. And now there was nothing I could say to him.

Well, I can't speak for the people I am now either. Do you know where I am now?

"Serving at my dad's shop.

You know what happened. Then you know how it happened?

It's ...... Leons is .......

No. This has nothing to do with Leo. This is all about me.
　When I tried to tell him that Fermor was destroyed by Leons, he denied it before I could say it.

What do you mean by ......?

Just like you. I've sinned.

Your uncle?
　Oh, no. An uncle who, unlike his father, was kind to you?

It wasn't until Gert started working at the Academy that I realized. I couldn't stop drinking.

Yeah, .......
　My uncle used to be a bad drunk, you know.

If he'd only ruin his own store, I'd have indirectly killed the couple from that liquor store who were so good to me back in the day ......

'What?　Your uncle had those two?
　I used to buy booze there too, thanks to my uncle's influence.
　I hadn't been there since I started working at the magic school, but ...... I didn't think he'd died.

'Yeah ...... that was really stupid.

Did you kill a man and feel nothing?　You killed a lot of kids, didn't you?

...... children?
　Did I kill him?　A child?

Yes. You blew up a school and killed a bunch of innocent kids.

......
　At my uncle's words, I felt something inside my head burst open.
　It was like a filter that had been altering my memories to suit me, and it was broken.

'I don't mean to put myself on the shelf, but didn't you feel ...... guilty?　It's very insane to kill people like that ...... and then continue to make weapons that kill even more people.

......
　At my uncle's heavy words, I began to sweat ...... and couldn't utter a single word.
　I felt a tremendous weight of guilt on my shoulders and it was hard just to stand.

Hey. I have to ask you: ....... Why didn't you turn to me?　You didn't have enough money for your research, so you turned to the Philibert family for help.　If it were financial power, Fermat would be better than us.

I didn't want to rely on ...... my uncle, I wanted to surpass my dad on my own.
　I finally managed to come up with an answer.

Haha ...... I see. You've always had a crush on your brother, so I guess that's why you're not getting anywhere.

I don't adore ......
　You think I admire my father?　No way. Absolutely not.
　On the contrary. I wanted to be like that guy. I didn't want to be that guy. .......

"Did you?　Ever since you were little, you've been stealing your brother's skills at home and bragging to the craftsmen in the shop. After all, your father was the one who taught you the most.



It can't be: ......
　I couldn't deny it as I pictured my past self bragging to the craftsmen .

Totally ...... If parents are clumsy, then their children are clumsy too.
　Don't. Don't get me mixed up with my dad.

What's Dad doing at ...... right now?

I'm working away at making a spell. I'm working on a spell to atone for your sins.
　My father was atoning for his sins?　No way.

Why would my dad go to ......?
　The guy never cared about anyone else.
　So that's impossible. It's not possible for him to be making magic tools for that reason.

My brother hasn't made a spell in a week since he found out you blew up the school. I'm really surprised that that tool idiot never even came into the workroom. He must have been really shocked that you killed someone.

It can't be: ....... Because my dad said my mom died ......
　My father was working on a spell until I got mad at him.
　He was that kind of a man.

That's what he regrets the most. I think he was shocked to realize that he had neglected his family for all of it.

It's too late now: ......
　What can you say now? I was about to say that, but then my uncle put it on me.

"Yeah. It's too late now. ....... No matter how hard you try, the transgressions you commit will never go away. A couple of liquor store couples and their little kids aren't coming back no matter how much they regret it.

......
　This time. I didn't say anything back.
　I sat up in bed and slumped down.

"That's enough for today. We've got a week. There's plenty of time to talk about it. For now, you're going to think about your sins by yourself today. You can find the bathroom at ...... and don't worry about it.
　That's true. This used to be my home.

Well, if you have to go to the bathroom, you better do it at noon. Otherwise you're gonna run into your brother.

All right. ......
　I don't have the mental capacity to see my father right now.
　You have to be careful that you don't let him see me.

Okay. I'll see you later.

　I muttered to myself, making sure my uncle was gone .
'You've been killing children: ......
　I'd forgotten...... no, I've just been trying not to think about it for a long time .
　I want to kill Leo...... That idea alone is crazy, but I was killing a lot of kids who had nothing to do with it .
　The bombs had instant death. I don't know how many kids died, but I'm pretty sure it was a lot.

It's better late than never: ....... This isn't always going to be the case, is it?
　I've been trying to justify myself my whole life.
　It's not my fault. It's my dad's fault. That's what I thought.
　But the lie about ...... is getting harder and harder to explain.

　Mom died because of a bad dad?
　No, I'm as guilty as I am for leaving the house and leaving her alone.

　It was my dad's fault that I left?
　No, I just ran away because I didn't think I could compete with my dad's skills.

　Is it my dad's fault that I keep running away my whole life?
　No, it's all my fault. This has nothing to do with my father.
　All I ever did was run because of my dad.

"That's not cool: ...... me. I got a special magic that gave me a skill, and I thought I was special, and in the end, all I ended up doing was killing a bunch of helpless kids ...... Really, I don't know what I was doing .......
　I laid down on my ...... bed with a newfound self-loathing and went straight to sleep.
　I didn't want to think about anything else.

　And the next day.
"What am I going to do now?　If this is home, it's the Imperial City, right?
　I had a vague idea of what I was going to do.
　Would I just get the death penalty?　No, my uncle said a week.
　So that's when Leons and the others were in King's Landing.

　Oh, okay.


　The Empire will have custody of me while Leons is in the Kingdom.
　A week later, I'll be returned to King's Landing.
　And the kingdom will have some sort of punishment.
　Aha! I'll be a slave.

Geralt, are you awake?

I'm up.

Oh, yeah. Here's your lunch.
　My uncle put two plates on the desk and sat down in a chair across from me .

......
　I saw my uncle start to eat without saying a word and I started to eat without saying a word.

"[......]
　We didn't say a word to each other, and I ate my food, using my clumsy hands, which were still in handcuffs.

"Hmm. I've been eating alone lately, so that was fun. So I'll see you tomorrow.
　That's it?　Just when I thought it was over, my uncle walks out of the room with Sarah in his arms.


　And the next day.
Come on, dinner's ready!
　My uncle is bringing food for lunch again.
　Are we going to eat again today without talking to each other?　As I was thinking about this, my uncle was talking to me.

...... Speaking of which, what's the kingdom like these days?
　He talked to me like nothing happened, and I couldn't react fast enough.
　Then my uncle started talking to himself again.

''When I used to go to King's Landing, it was as vibrant as the Imperial City.

"The King's Landing was alive and kicking?
　I couldn't help but let the words slip out of my mouth at my uncle's unexpected words.
　I was surprised that the imperial city that has nothing to do with the vibrancy of the city had such a past.

What. Is it different now?

Yeah. It doesn't feel very lively now. It's not much different from the end of Philibert's time.
　Everyone suffers from too much taxation and the elected nobles treat the common people like slaves.
　It's a hellhole for the commoners.

It's a hell for the commoners. ...... Things have changed a lot since then. There were a lot of ruffians, but it was an interesting city where you could drink and never get bored. ...... It's a shame.
　My uncle looked seriously disappointed .
　That's how good the old King's City was: .......

'If that's the king, it can't be helped.'

You've met the king?

Once . . he was fat as a pig and a picture-perfect foolish king.

Okay. What about the next king?　As I recall, the First Princess is the prime mover, right?

'They called me a jewel-crazed princess, and I was the kind of guy who would spend the country's money without a care in the world to collect ...... gems.

That's ...... a lot of people in the kingdom, poor thing.
　Well, yeah .

　But ......
'If it had been the same in the past . The princess's obsession with jewels is a thing of the past, and now it's ...... so . I'm obsessed with the brave.
　I think I've been watching her pretty closely over the past few years ...... but she's changed a lot.
　Love can change a person that much.

'To a brave man?　Is that good?

Well, he's a good guy, so I think he'll be okay.
　Kite has been a bundle of justice since the first time I met him .
　He has a firm belief in himself and will go against all odds for his beliefs. ...... You're the complete opposite of me.

I see. Then there's still hope for the kingdom.

'Well, ...... yeah, .......'
　I'm sure Kite would do the kingdom a world of good.

Mr. Colt!

Hey, it's Leo. Hold on.
　Leons: ...... So you're here to pick me up?
　What happened to your talks with the kingdom?

What's going on?　You said a week, right?

That's why I was able to talk to the princess earlier than I thought.
　So that's what it's all about: ...... Now the princess would certainly do well.

I see. Gert is over here.

Did you let him meet with his master after all?
　Master?　Oh, you mean my dad.
　What, did Leonce want me to meet my father?　Yeah, so get me to my dad's house: .......



No, I was going to have you meet me at the end of the day. Brother, you don't know what you'd do if you knew I was home, do you?

'Oh ....... That's the way it is. What do we do now?　Would you like to see him now?

'Yeah, ....... Hey Gert. Do you want to see your dad?
　My uncle came to the door.
　The other side of the door is Leons.

"......
　What do we do?　What would be the point of talking to my dad right now?

How do you know if you'll get a chance to see him today?

I just need to say a few words.
　I guess at the end of the day, I don't care what they say.

I don't.

I understand.

　Then they took me to the same old ...... workshop that my dad used to work in.
My brother. You're a client.

Customer?　Leo is here?
　My dad's voice: .......

'Yeah . . there's Leo, but he's a more unusual guest today.

What?　Who the hell is ...... you, Gert?
　When I walked into the workroom, my father looked at me and froze.
　I didn't change my expression, I just looked at it in silence.

"Why are you ...... here?

I got him at the kingdom. But we'll have to return it to the kingdom now.
　Father's question was answered by Leons in a light tone.
　I knew it... I'm going back to the Kingdom.

I see. ......

"Gert, I know I'm not qualified to punish you. But I'm going to kill you to stop you if you keep on sinning.

...... I get it.
　I said just a few words to my dad and left the work room with my back to him: .......