Noir: ----This is?

Knight: Yes... that's probably over 500 years old. However, no one has been able to decipher what is written there. As you have decoded the code of Les Andelys and come this far, would you perhaps be able to understand something?

Noir: But I can't open this brass tube...

Knight: Jethro.

Jethro: Yes, sir.

{sound f/x su: slow movement}

{sound f/x kachi: click!}

Noir: Wow.

Florian: There's a locking mechanism! Amazing!

{sound f/x pa: popping open}

::page::

Knight: This ring has been passed down through the generations. Jethro is succeeding as a direct blood descendent of the priest.

Noir: Not another ancient scroll. (How boring) Guess it... can't be helped.

Knight #2: Co...comman...der.

{sound f/x dosa: heaving thudding}

All: !

::page::

{sound f/x zaku: sudden movement}

Noir: !? ------!

Azura: Hello, Rei. I've been searching for you for quite a while. ------ You're been quite a good guide. [chuckling] You impossible boy. Did you really think that you could run away from me?

::page::

Noir: Azu...ra! You're still alive?

Azura: It is not as if I would die from the boy's useless bullets.

Florian: .........!!

::page::

Knight: Leave this to us. You follow Jethro. Now hurry!

Jethro: Commander!

Knight: Wear your ring. No matter what happens, find the treasure. Huury, go~!

{sound f/x da: dashing forward}

Knights: HA...AH~

Jethro: This way---- please hurry.

::page::

Noir: Is there a secret passage inside of the devotional?

Florian: ------!

{sound f/x pan: gunfire}

{sound f/x bafu: light smack}

Florian: Wah~

Noir: Let's go!

::page::

{sound f/x pan: gunshot}

{sound f/x za: quick motion}

Noir: Damn, he's aiming from above us.

{sound f/x pan}

Jethro: Gya~

Noir: Jethro, don't move!

Jethro: Ku...ku~

{sound f/x kan: clang of bullet hitting metal}

::page::

Azura: What to do next?

{sound f/x kara: spinning}

Azura: Your head? Or perhaps----? If you come out quietly, shall I spare your lives?

::page::

Jethro: Ku...tsu...~

Florian: Jethro. At least, will you allow treatment for his wounds? At this rate...

Azura: If you can decipher the meaning of this scroll.

Florian: ----Noir!

Noir: Don't be absurd. How many hours do you think it took before?

::page::

Noir: They said it's basically like the other scroll, but what are these letters. It's some sort of pattern... ----so there's gotta be some sorta rule for it... ! The plate underneath the inscription... It doesn't match up. Umm. That's not it, although the sizes are just about right...

Florian: Noir, Jethro said... to take this.

Noir: His ring?

Florian: He said that this will definitely be the seal for something to do with the treasure. His ancestors were apparently part of the Anjou family.

Noir: Anjou family...?

::page::

Noir: ----That means that he was a descendent of the French royalty before the Sun King, Louis the 14th? Must be painful to be watching over a treasure in a place like this. Is it the key to this hole...?

Florian: Noir.

Noir: No good, it won't fit in. ----!? It can slide?

{sound f/x kuri: turning}

Noir: !? Charles d'Anjou.

{sound f/x kachi: click}

::page::

Florian: !

{sound f/x zu: quick motion}

Florian: The plate broke in two? This paper was a reflection of this side of it!?

Noir: It's like it became a relief. Dammit, maybe my tie will work. I'll match it up to the map that's already here like this. If I do this

{sound f/x goshi: rubbing}

Noir: Then the image from below will appear. It's like a paper rubbing.

::page::

Noir: It's a church somewhere? ------No. It looks like a sketch of a medieval sanctuary or something. Cy...clo...ps...!? Weird name. Sounds like the name of a place.

Jethro: ...Cy...clops. It is----one of the islands in the Tyrrhenian Sea...

[The map is labeled as follows, starting at the top and going clockwise: Rome, Napoli, Kingdom of Italy, Sicily, Mediterranean Sea, Tunisia, Tunis, Sardinia, Tyrrhenian Sea (aka the Etruscan Sea). According to Greek myth, the cyclops lived on Sicily. Some of the surrounding lava islands are said to be rocks that the cyclops threw into the sea, and are thus known as the Isles of Cyclops.]

Noir: The name on the ring, "Charles d'Anjou", was he the French king who ruled over all over Napoli and Sicily around the Crusades!? Jethro, you mean he was your ancestor!

Jethro: Yes...

::page::

Noir: Oh...I see.

Florian: What? You understand?

Noir: Charles d'Anjou, in other words, Charles of the Anjou family---- was Louis the 9th's youngest brother. If you're a noble, you should know that much.

Florian: Oh! After his brother's death, Charles invaded as far as Acre, a town close to Jerusalem. At that time, he secretly took the treasure that Louis the 9th's Knights of Templar were guarding, and concealed it back in his lands. I'm certain that on Kyu...kuropusu... there's a castle belonging to the Anjou family there...

Azura: Well then, let us depart immediately.

Florian: Wait, Jethro is wounded. He needs medical attention----

::page::

{sound f/x pan: gunshot}

Florian: !

Noir: Damn you...

Azura: I don't need these burdons.

::page::

Florian: You... you monster~

{sound f/x don: bang}

Florian: AH~

Noir: Stop it, Azura!

Azura: Don't make me angry, or the same thing will happen to you, Florian.

{sound f/x ka: click of footsteps}

::page::

Florian: ------ Ah...

Azura: You've completely returned back to your normal self. I'm rather glad I didn't use the opium until you were driven to madness.

Florian: !

Noir: Azura! You bastard

Florian: ! Stop~... Ah...

::page::

Noir: Let Florian go~!

{sound f/x biku: Florian's heart pounding}

Florian: Heh... Ah

Azura: Just like always, you're sensitive. Or is it that this sort of thing makes you burn?

::page::

Florian: ! Hah...uh...

Azura: You like having this done to you, don't you.

Florian: No... Why...are you doing...

Azura: Why? I was quite nearly killed.

{sound f/x gui: hard grip}

Azura: If I told you I'd torture you to death, wouldn't you feel some sense of duty?

Florian: Hee~!

Noir: Stop it, Azura... Don't make me hate you even more...

::page::

{sound f/x ga: quick movement}

{sound f/x baki: punch}

Man: GUWAH~

{sound f/x chuin: whiz of a bullet}

{sound f/x pan: gunshot}

::page::

Noir: I'll give you the ring and the map. So let him go!

{sound f/x za: soothing ocean noises}

Laila: Hey, the place where that strange gang was headed, was it really here?

{sound f/x kapo: clop of horses}

Laila: There's not a single person around. Strange.

::page::

Solomon: In such a small area with such distinctive features, I thought we'd see him right away... !? Look over there! People are------

Laila: Th...they're dead.

Solomon: They were shot.

{sound f/x zazan: ocean noises, waves crashing}

Solomon: Th...that's!

::page::

Noir: Run, Florian! This is no time to be so slow!

{sound f/x ga: grab}

{sound f/x ba: strong leap}

Solomon & Laila: Azura!

::page::

Florian: I'm not about to escape by myself! If I escape, it'll be with you!

Noir: Idiot! You're just in the way!

Azura: I know a little too much about you two. If you plan on running from me----- you'll die here. I'll leave the choice up to you, Rei.

Solomon: REI! FLORIAN!

::page::

{sound f/x pan: gunshot}

Florian: !

Noir: Don't worry. I'll definitely come back

::page::

{sound f/x don: thud}

Florian: !

Solomon: Rei~!

Florian: !

Noir: Let's go---- you and me together, into the depths of hell. Azura

::page::

{sound f/x za: quick movement}

Florian: Noir!

{sound f/x zaza: sound of the ocean}

Solomon: What've you done! Rei! Dammit, that rock's in the way, so I can't really see below.

Florian: I'll----climb down and take a look!

Laila: No...way. Ahh...

::page::

Michel: Don't worry. He's not the type to die when you've killed him.

Florian: Noir? Where are you, Noir! NOIR!

::page::

{sound f/x za: quick movement}

Solomon: Well, did you find him!?

Florian: I've searched all over here, but... ...but he said he'd definitely come back. So he's definitely------alive...! Cyclops. Yes... The name of the island where the "Knights of Templar" treasure is hidden, where Azura is headed---- If he's alive, I bet we'll find him there!

Solomon: And there's a good chance that Rei's with them. And rather than keeping quiet, he's probably planning something.

::page::

Solomon: But------ I've never heard of it, Cyclops Island.

Michel: If it's on a chart around here, it's been driven into my head. I'm sure there's an island by that name in the Tyrrhenian Sea.

Laila: Michel!

Michel: Yes, I know. If we take my ship, it won't be but half a day from Tunisia.

Florian: !

Solomon: ? What is it, Florian?

Florian: ------ Ah...

::page::

Florian: Noir, is this... your doing?

{sound f/x ka: gleaming hot sun}

{sound f/x zaza: ocean sounds}

Michel: The hazy mass in the distance is Sicily---- Across from there, the mainland of Italy opens up.

Solomon: In other words, we've already entered the Tyrrhenian Sea? That was faster than I thought.

::page::

Michel: We have gathered the cream of the crop for our company's art, creating the latest high-speed craft. You shouldn't even consider us in the same league as other ships.

(Boasting)

Solomon: Right, right.

Michel: That's strange. We should be able to see it by now. (Seagulls as well.)

Florian: Hey! Is that it?

Laila: Where!? Let me see----...

Florian: !

::page::

Florian: That's Cyclops Island...!

{sound f/x zaza: ocean sound}

Laila: It feels like... a fortress, doesn't it. There isn't anything here besides this castle.

Michel: Around the time of the Crusades, it was used as a base, but was eventually forgotten. In the 18th Century, it was used as headquarters for pirates---- but I'm sure that no one lives here any more.

Part 3k | Part 3l | Part 3m