Timekilling Time

Year: 984 - 11

Episode 1 - Episode 2 - Episode 3 - Episode 4 - Episode 5 - Episode 6 - Episode 7 - Episode 8 - Episode 9 - Episode 10 - Episode 11 - Episode 12 - Episode 13 - Episode 14 - Episode 15 - Episode 16

Episode: 1
Location: Alleyways of T Corp.
Don Quixote	Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh.
Don Quixote loudly and obnoxiously flaps through the newspaper in her hands while peppering in a few insightful chuckles.
Unfortunately, I now know exactly what this means.
And...
Don Quixote	Ohoh, ohohoho...!
... that she will continue to try to draw my attention until I acknowledge her at the most appropriate moment.
Dante	<Okay, Don Quixote. Fine... What is it?>
Don Quixote	Hooah... Manager Esquire, dost thou know that the City's upstart companies, such as one Limbus Company, must always pay close heed to the ever-changing world around us?
Don Quixote	Hie thee hither! Read thy newspapers, Manager Esquire, and do keep thyself up-to-date on the events of the City! As Meursault and I, Don Quixote, do ere every morrow!
Gregor	Bud, just go along with it, why don't ya? I'm pretty sure she's talking about Meursault and one of his morning routines. Y'know, the... the one with the newspapers?
Dante	<Aha, the newspaper routine. Where he wakes up before the crack of dawn, parks himself on a chair, folds one leg over the other at an exact 90-degree 'figure-four-leg-lock' position, and peruses the morning newspaper?>
Gregor	Uh-huh, that. I guess it left an impression on her. Betcha she'll be back to her usual self in a week or so.
Don Quixote	Hearken unto me! Art thou paying attention?!?!
Dante	<Uh... yep, totally. So what's new? What, did an article mention us or something?>
Don Quixote	Oho! How didst thou know?
Dante	<Wait, really?>
Don Quixote	Forsooth, forsooth! Feast thy eyes on page-three! Though 'tis quite regrettable that we were robbed of the chance to be on the front page...
Rodion	Huhh?! Page three?! We're really starting to put our names out there, huh?
Don Quixote and Rodya, the two Sinners who are guaranteed to draw the full attention of whichever space they inhabit, were speaking. It was only a matter of time before the other Sinners began crowding around us, curious about the commotion.
Don Quixote	Ahem, ahem… A Dramatic Conclusion to the Mysterious Disappearances at T Corp.!
Don Quixote	SHOCKING! The perpetrators to this mysterious case has been revealed to be none other than the prestigious Edgar Family, appalling the general public—
Heathcliff	…….
Dante	<W-well, I don't think we need to hear that part. What else does it say?>
Don Quixote	Khm... With small assistance from some wandering bystanders who happened to be lost in the area, and with the most admirable heroics of the T Corp. Class 3 Collection Staff on the scene—
Yi Sang	Mm, 'wandering bystanders', is it...? Perchance that particular denomination refers to us?
Outis	... 'Bystanders'? They're treating us like we were barely there.
Sinclair	They didn't even mention our company name...
Rodion	Aw, come on! Those Time Collectors weren't even there!
Meursault	This is within the expected range of behavior for the news media.
Don Quixote	W-well, there may be those who seek to interview us after reading this very article, mayhaps...?
Ishmael	Yeah, I'm sure they'll have a grand old time looking for 'wandering bystanders' for an interview. Very descriptive.
Dante	<I doubt anyone will pay us much attention, Don Quixote. Better not set yourself up for disappointment, and—>
We were standing there for a good moment in a big group, chattering about the article... when someone slowly but smoothly walked between us.
Class 2 Collection Staff	Excuse me. Would you be employees of Limbus Company?
Gregor	... You fellas are...?
Class 2 Collection Staff	I'm sure you are already aware of the reason for our visit.
Don Quixote	Ooho! I welcome thee here! Long and hard have I awaited thy arrival!
Don Quixote	Now, now! From whence shall we begin?
Rodion	Woah, is she actually here to interview us?
Dante	<No way... Don Quixote wasn't just losing her mind at nothing...?>
Faust	I was not told that any... interview... would be taking place...
Rodion	My, where'd Verg go at a time like this~? Now, where'd I put that leftover hair gel from Heath's makeover...?
Don Quixote	Ahem, ahem... Thou may commence.
Class 2 Collection Staff	Alright, then...
Don Quixote & T Corp. Staff	Verily, I shan’t rightly take aaalllll the credit for what we have accomplished there! Will you be making your tax payment in installments?
Class 2 Collection Staff	Hm?
Don Quixote	Huh?
Okay, we're clearly not on the same page here...
Class 2 Collection Staff	We are the Tax Collectors from T Corp.'s Time Collections Agency, currently on a mission to collect your overdue Time Tax.
Yi Sang	Those ilks are never bringers of good tidings, indeed...
Ishmael	Wait, Time Tax...? No, that doesn't make any sense...
Ishmael	We already paid our Time Tax in full when we went through the T Corp. Nest immigration process. Vergilius said—
Few days ago, aboard Mephistopheles...
Location: Aboard Mephistopheles, Past
Ishmael	Are you sure we don't need to pick up a timepiece for each of us to carry?
Ishmael	You probably know this already, but in T Corp….
Vergilius	... everyone must carry a timepiece, yes. I know the rules.
Vergilius	But for every rule, there's always room for an alternative that offers a bit more flexibility. Of course, I don't suppose it's listed anywhere on that pamphlet.
Vergilius	Outsiders seeking a short-term stay at T Corp. can pay the appropriate Time Tax for the length of their stay to be exempt from the relevant obligations, instead of going out of their way to abide by T Corp.'s rules.
Vergilius	As you may have expected, anyone born outside District 20 must go through numerous hoops before they can be issued a timepiece.
Vergilius	So we elected to pay thirty days' worth of Time Tax on the spot before entering T Corp.'s borders.
Outis	Impressive... It can't have been cheap.
Don Quixote	Ah, yet I wished to wear a watch as well... like Lady Outis does...
Outis	Haven't I already made it clear that it is not a fashion item?!
Vergilius	As I have said so in the past, the company has no budgetary concerns. It is a given that they would be taking care of such expenses.
Ishmael	Hm... We're finally starting to operate like a real, professional company now, huh?
Location: Alleyways of T Corp.
Dante	<Yeah. There must’ve been a minor miscalculation or something. Maybe we fell slightly short of the amount we had to pay?>
Ishmael	It hasn't even been thirty days since we arrived here, though.
Heathcliff	Well… I’m sure we can pawn away their stuff to fix what probably amounts to a roundin’ error. Easy-peasy.
Heathcliff muttered, gesturing toward Sinclair and Hong Lu with his chin.
Sinclair	Mmm... if it'll help pay for the Time Tax, then sure...
Hong Lu	Oh, maybe? I didn't pack much when I left, though...
Gregor	Well, let's hear the damage. How much 'Time Tax' do we owe ya?
Class 2 Collection Staff	... Khm.
Class 2 Collection Staff	Currently, you are...
Class 2 Collection Staff	... 10,040,000,000 Ahn behind in Time Tax payments.
Dante	<WHAT?!>
Rodion	Ah, ha ha ha... Did my hearing get worse or something? I heard uh, a ten... a forty... and the rest just kinda flew right over my head?
Hong Lu	For that much money... Oh, we might have to make a brief stop at my place first!
Sinclair	What other options do we have, if we don't... I mean, if we can't pay the tax?
Class 2 Collection Staff	'Can't pay the tax' is not an option. Your only options are the following: make your payment with time or money. With interest, of course.
Gregor	What the hell does 'making payment with time' even mean...?
Now that I think about it... I remember someone talking about 'paying with time' before. I never really cared to find out what exactly they meant, though...
Dante	<Yi Sang? Heathcliff? Know anything about this...?>
Yi Sang	Hm...
Yi Sang	I have not once failed to make my payments during my residency at this Nest...
Yi Sang	Thus, I know not what transpires on an occasion in which one fails to pay the Time Tax.
Heathcliff	I've never been involved in messy businesses like taxes at the manor, either. And in my Backstreets days, Boss dealt with complicated shite like that for the rest of us. I did see a few poor sods gettin' dragged away 'cuz they failed to cough it up, though.
Dante	<Well, then...>
With their not-so-helpful answers, my mind immediately began to wander toward Faust, who I hoped would know something more about this than the two of them. And that's when Outis suddenly and defiantly stood between us and the Collectors.
Outis	This is completely unreasonable. What kind of shoddy calculation led to this nonsensical figure?
Class 2 Collection Staff	Tax calculations in T Corp. are always exceptionally reasonable.
Class 2 Collection Staff	The clock's ticking. Would I be correct to assume that you lack both the capability and the will to make your fair payments?
Sinclair	Wait, wait... we don't have to escalate this. Can we get a time-out?
Yi Sang	Your choice of words may be quite... unwise...
Outis	Cry and whine all you want about not wanting to escalate things when you've got ten billion Ahn in your pockets. I won't recognize your opinion as anything of worth otherwise.
Outis	No? Then shut up and stay out of our way while we deal with this obstacle that dares to stand in our path.
Ryoshu	How exciting. A ten-billion-Ahn death...
Class 2 Collection Staff	... Ten-billion-and-forty-million Ahn, to be exact.

Episode: 2
Location: Alleyways of T Corp.
A T Corp. Staff in a different uniform approached the Sinners as both sides went on the defensive.
Class 4 Collection Staff	…….
Outis	Is this one their ringleader?
Yi Sang	He may be of a higher rank, but he is but an employee of T Corp. all the same.
Yi Sang	Which is to say that our insistence on meeting their demands with hostility may lead to a direct confrontation against the full force of T Corp...
Class 4 Collection Staff	Lay down your weapons, now.
Class 4 Collection Staff	Should you refuse to cooperate, all of you present may be considered hostile individuals by T Corp., and we will use force to...
Ryoshu	Heh heh... I like that. How thrilling.
Rodion	Ah... this is bad...
Dante	<This seems like a great time for Vergilius with his intimidating, glowing eyes to—>
Meursault	—appear.
Gregor	Man, weren't things much better between us and the guide bud only a few days ago? Feels like it's been forever since then.
Rodion	C'mon, don't glare at us like that. We had our reasons, 'kay? They showed up outta nowhere and tried to extort a whole ten billion Ahn—
Class 2 Collection Staff	Ten-billion-and-forty-million Ahn, to be exact.
Gregor	You really like saying that, don't ya? Geez...
Rodion	Yeah, yeah. The point is, there's no way we owe ‘em that much money! We’re kind, law-abiding citizens...
Don Quixote	Who art brimming with a sense of Justice!
Rodion	Hear, hear~!
Vergilius listened quietly for a moment as the Sinners chattered on like they were a part of a comedy skit.
Vergilius	Yes, I agree that ten billion Ahn in taxes does seem unreasonable. However...
Vergilius	... It is a mystery to me how no one stopped to think for a second about the troubles you might spark by starting a meaningless scuffle like this. In the middle of the street, no less.
Gregor	Mmm...
Vergilius	Haaah...
Vergilius let out a deep sigh before turning toward the T Corp. employee.
Vergilius	... We find it regrettable that this incident has led to bloodshed.
Vergilius	However, ten billion Ahn in Time Tax... is unacceptable.
Vergilius	I'm sure you know full well that ten billion Ahn's worth of tax isn't the kind of money that we can simply fork over in the middle of the street.
Vergilius	I believe that it would have been more appropriate if you had provided us with some context as to how this number came to be, instead of immediately marching up to us and demanding that we pay the Time Tax.
Class 4 Collection Staff	... I admit that such absurd amount of Time Tax levied upon your group is... almost unprecedented. We have been summoned to an emergency meeting in a relevant office to address the severity of this incident.
Class 4 Collection Staff	I see your point. Why don't we move this conversation to the Collections Office in the relevant jurisdiction area for now to discuss possible solutions?

Episode: 3
Location: Local Time Collections Office
The truth behind the absurd amount of Time Tax levied upon us was much simpler than I expected.
Class 2 Clerical Staff	About a week ago, a large-scale, unauthorized temporal leakage phenomenon was observed at the 'Wuthering Heights' manor... which shot you up several stages in the progressive Time use Tax bracket due to the immense amount of time leak.
Gregor	A temporal leakage phenomenon?
Class 2 Clerical Staff	It refers to a deceleration in the flow of time within a certain physical field. In your case, it wasn't even a static deceleration field... it moved all over the manor for a good while, too. We measured about four hours' worth of time in the process.
Heathcliff	... What the bloody hell is she blatherin' about?
Yi Sang	A deceleration in the flow of time within a certain... Ah.
Yi Sang	She must be referring to the moment during which Dante granted us celerity as we were in pursuit of that man at the manor.
Meursault	Impossible. The manager's ability was activated for less than thirty minutes. It is most likely that your four-hour measurement is a calculation error.
Yi Sang	…….
Yi Sang	Ah, no. Considering the odd sensation we had experienced as we departed the manor... it is most probable that no error had occurred in their calculations.
Yi Sang	Do you recall, Dante? As we left behind the manor...
Few days ago...
Location: Aboard Mephistopheles, Past
Meursault	... Mm.
Don Quixote	Aha! Meursault, is there aught wrong with thy daily rou-tine?
We had just returned to Mephistopheles after the incident at the Wuthering Heights manor.
Heathcliff	…….
Most Sinners were keeping to themselves, given the clear look of sorrow on Heathcliff. However... Don Quixote's ever-cheerful voice, like always, constantly shattered through the silence.
Meursault	I have identified an anomaly.
Yi Sang	…?
Meursault	We should have been issued the morning newspaper, not the evening newspaper. This is inconsistent with the amount of time we spent at the manor.
Don Quixote	Hm? Perchance 'twas an innocent mistake?
Meursault	As long as I have been a passenger of this bus, morning papers have always been delivered during designated morning hours, and evening papers have always been delivered during designated evening hours.
Meursault	The possibility that they have made a mistake cannot be completely ruled out. However, the likelihood of that is minuscule.
Ishmael	Oh, now that I'm looking at it... that's a sunset, not a sunrise. I couldn't tell because of the lack of color.
Don Quixote	This cannot be! This must be the early hours of the morrow, is it not...?!
Yi Sang	Ah, I may have an idea as to how this inconsistency came to be.
Heathcliff	... Right. The TT4 Protocol.
Dante	<... What's that?>
Heathcliff	Temporal Velocity Synchronization Device... or something like that.
Heathcliff	I've seen an advert for it once. "A luxury solution to all your time synchronization needs. Enjoy equally leisurely hours together."... or some shite like that.
Don Quixote	Ooho...? 'Tis quite unlike thee, Sir Heathcliff, to use so many complicated words in a sentence! Pray, shall someone explain it in plainer language?
Heathcliff	... Haaaaaah...
Yi Sang	It is an apparatus for equalizing the velocity of time for all those affected individuals under the Tee... TT4 Protocol's influence.
Don Quixote	Aha...! Forsooth, I thought it quite odd how someone so affluent in time was moving and speaking at the same speed as the rest of us!
Meursault	Hm. Then, with this information, it can be concluded that the time we have experienced within the manor was flowing at a faster rate than the world outside.
Meursault	That is a coherent explanation as to why the evening newspaper, instead of the morning newspaper, was issued.
Vergilius	Good. Now that your curiosity is sated, I don't suppose anyone has any issues with tackling a new job?
Faust	The LCA has sent us a new request to track down a Distortion. As for more detailed information—
Location: Local Time Collections Office
Dante	<... So activating my ability within the TT4 Protocol caused...>
Yi Sang	Mm... Yes, indeed. It was akin to tampering with an already-accelerated flow of time; from an outsider's point of view, it would have appeared as though more time than what was actually spent was 'leaked'.
Class 2 Clerical Staff	This bloke knows what he's talking about. Also, you didn't just manipulate time on a personal scale. Like I said earlier, you affected the flow of time within a physical space.
Class 2 Clerical Staff	Let me remind you that it wasn't even a static field. It moved all over that manor. Honestly, this situation is completely unprecedented.
Heathcliff	Right... They used to activate it only on special occasions like when we had plenty of guests over for a visit... because it was so bloody pricey.
Class 2 Excision Staff	So... the Time Tax for your inflated tax bracket, multiplied by the surtax-per-volume from the physical space covered by that temporal manipulation... yeah, no wonder it all adds up to this insane number.
Gregor	It's ain't like we knew something like this would happen...
Class 2 Clerical Staff	Well, anyway. You have two payment options to settle this Time Tax debt.
Heathcliff	Oi, options? What options...? It ain't like bags of ten billion Ahn grow from a tree, innit?
Class 2 Clerical Staff	Option one: cash payment. Option two: time payment.
Rodion	Yeah, about that. What's that supposed to mean, anyway? "Paying with time"?
Class 2 Clerical Staff	It means... oh.
The employee, who was about to answer our questions with painfully observable annoyance, suddenly jolted at the sound of an alarm.
Class 2 Clerical Staff	... Understood.
Class 2 Clerical Staff	I just got a call that they're ready to hold the emergency meeting regarding this incident. Limbus Company may send two individuals to the meeting to represent your company.
Dante	<Ah...>
Vergilius	No need to tick-tock and fuss, Dante. Dealing with complicated matters like this meeting is one of my responsibilities.
Vergilius	I will be joining them to discuss the possible solutions to this incident, so please keep the Sinners under control. Except you, Miss Faust. You're with me.
Faust	Understood.
Vergilius	Make another mess while I'm gone, and...
Vergilius	... only Ryōshū will enjoy what comes next. Keep that in mind as you wait.
Ryoshu	Oho...
Dante	<…….>
Ishmael	Well, off they go, I guess...? Didn't even give us the chance to ask them more questions.
Rodion	They're just leaving us here like this...? But isn't this whole mess basically about what'll happen to us?
Hong Lu	So... this isn't anything serious, but...
Hong Lu	What's Meursault doing on the gallows?
Dante	<What?>
Dante	<Meursault, what are you doing up there?!>
Meursault	I was told to stand here, so I have done so.
Rodion	Who told you to do... that?
Employee?	I did, I did! Just trying to be helpful with you and your friends' little Time Tax problem.
Dante	<I thought all employees were supposed to be at the emergency meeting?>
Employee?	Woah, a clock with legs! How fascinating. If someone were to submit you for consideration at the upcoming expo, you might even be worth a participation trophy!
Employee?	You remind me of the time when some hapless soul submitted a timepiece that doubled as a compass that had a rather tragic and critical design flaw: you could tell the time or find your path, but never both at once! Tell directions, or tell time? It was only one thing or the other, leaving you lost in time and stranded in the streets! That was no good, not at all. That's no better than a clock taped to a compass at the end of the day, is it?
Rodion	Uhm...
Employee?	Oh, right! TT5-2 Protocol is operating at an experimental capacity within this office space, so don't you forget! Anyone not synced with the Daily Standard Time might find this a little disorienting, so keep that in mind as well.
Ishmael	Whu-what...?
Employee?	Now that's a look of someone who has never once heard of the TT5-2 Protocol, eh? TT5-2 Protocol, as its name suggests, is an invention to address the temporal efficiency problem present in the TT4 Protocol. It's doing test-runs in only a few select T Corp. offices, so if you do ever feel the urge to leave your impressions of this new shiny thing, feel free to jot down a few words on that bulletin— wait a minute, who wrote that 3-star review?
The man, whom we presumed to be a T Corp. Staff, seemed very adept at holding a one-sided conversation with zero external input.
Not that any of us could keep up with how fast he was speaking, anyway.
Employee?	Anyways, if you're ready... let's get crackin'!
Meursault	I am ready.
Dante	<Wait, I don't know if it's really a good idea to be ready for something that looks like—>
The rope extending from the intimidating machine tightened around Meursault's throat.
Sinclair	I… is this what it means to pay our Time Tax with time? Getting hanged from the gallows…?
Employee?	Please call it by its precise and given name: Temporal Scale Gallows. It measures the exact amount of time you owe, and sucks that time right out of you. That wasn’t the original name, mind you; there was simply too much hubbub and hullabaloo about its 'excessively long name', which was at approximately fifty-eight words. Or letters.
Dante	<… Can someone ask him what’ll happen to Meursault?>
Meursault	…….
Sinclair	… Is that thing going to kill Meursault?!
Employee?	Kill him? Nonsense! She's a very gentle machine! That is simply preposterous. However...
Yi Sang	A 'however', spoken in such manner... oft portends that events of even greater ill-fortune shall befall us...
Employee?	... I'm not so sure as to what might happen, actually. I suppose it'll suck ten billion Ahn's worth of time out of your friend?
Outis	Stop being obtuse. What is that even supposed to mean?
Sinclair	... Is he going to be stuck like that for ten billion hours or something...?
Don Quixote	Whuh?!
Employee?	Well, not exactly. Let me tell you about T Corp.'s particularly generous system called the four-hour daily minimum time guarantee policy! How generous, hm? Even when worst comes to worst comes to worst, every citizen is entitled to the right to enjoy a minimum of four-hour days. According to the T Corp. Public Welfare Council, four hours is the absolute minimum number of hours in a day to guarantee human survival. 'Survive' being the key word here.
Dante	<…….>
Employee?	My, my, my! Sucking ten billion and forty million Ahn’s worth of time from your friend was too much, I suppose. Look, it says “measurement error”. That rarely ever happens.
Ishmael	... Wait, you pulled the lever when you didn't even know what was going to happen? Just out of curiosity?
Employee?	Hm? Of course! Ten billion Ahn of Time Tax debt is a historically unprecedented amount of debt, so I had to see what would happen. You could land first place in a lottery and you still wouldn't even come close to making ten billion Ahn, and that's before taxes. I'd say you all belong in a museum of history, if I'm being honest!
Employee?	Besides, I haven't seen anyone with more than 150 hours in Time Tax debt willingly step up the gallows before. Anyone beyond that usually chooses to run and digs themselves into an even deeper debt hole. The point is, I scarcely expected someone in a ten billion Ahn Time Tax hole to just walk up there like that!
Dante	<What is wrong with this guy?>
Don Quixote	Awaken, Meursault! Prithee, surrender not to such machinery!
Meursault	…….
Don Quixote	Hoaugh?! T-thou art unharmed?
Meursault	Mm. I am all right.
Gregor	Why uh, why don't ya get down from the gallows for now, Meursault?
Vergilius	…….
Faust	…….
Vergilius and Faust, who returned just as this incident occurred, were both glaring at us with expressions that were anything but friendly...

Episode: 4
Location: Local Time Collections Office
Dante	<Okay... I can clearly see that you are both accusing me of letting the Sinners run wild again, but we had our reasons—>
Vergilius	... We have reached an agreement.
Ishmael	And? You explained things to them, right? Please tell me that the agreement doesn't involve us collectively dangling from that stupid gallows.
Vergilius	A ten billion Ahn... is certainly an absurd amount of money. But that doesn't change the fact that we are still responsible for it. We did benefit from the extra time it granted us, and its use was something that wasn't mutually agreed upon before our unilateral activation.
Faust	Because it was an unexpected event, no countermeasures could be put in place either.
Dante	<Yeah, but we didn't exactly have a whole lot of time to debate whether I was allowed to slow down time or not.>
We really had to think on our feet back then. I felt a bit miffed about being treated as though I was somehow at fault for this.
Outis	If you plan to sacrifice one of us to settle the debt, I request that you evaluate our worth based on individual merit.
Outis	I have prepared performance evaluation sheets for each Sinner precisely for one such occasion. On the last pages of those evaluation sheets are extra opinions, that—
Vergilius	... I don't plan on leaving any of you behind to take the fall for the group. Besides, ten billion Ahn isn't the kind of money that you can settle with a sacrifice of an individual.
Dante	<…….>
Vergilius	But we did eventually find a reasonable compromise while you were wasting your time horsing around in front of the gallows.
Dante	<And that compromise is...?>
Faust	We have been contracted to deal with a Distortion.
Gregor	Huh... I guess we're really starting to put our names out there if they specifically sought us out to deal with this Distortion.
Faust	They have sought out other Fixers and companies to deal with this issue first. We were their sixth choice after the first five failed to produce a meaningful result.
Gregor	Ahm, hm... gotcha...
Vergilius	Well, the stories are starting to circulate via word of mouth. I will not deny that.
Dante	<So what kind of Distortion are we dealing with this time?>
Faust	This is a request regarding a series of similar, unsolved cases within T Corp.'s borders. Some call it...
Faust	... 'The Case of Timekilling Time'. Several people have already fallen victim to the perpetrator.
Dante	<The Case of Timekilling Time...>
Class 4 Collection Staff	It is exactly what it says on the tin.
Class 4 Collection Staff	A Distortion is running wild, killing our time.
Class 4 Collection Staff	'Time' is an asset here at T Corp. It is not so difficult for us to track down the occasional time robberies by tracing it, but in the Case of Timekilling Time, the killer does not leave any traces. It is simply gone, completely removed, and untraceable. No such thing has ever happened here before; thus the significance of this case cannot be emphasized enough.
Class 4 Collection Staff	That is why we formally request that you solve this case for us. In return, we will exempt you from your Time Tax debt.
Don Quixote	Hooah... thus arriveth once again, my time to shine.
Don Quixote	According to a book I have perused in recent days, any and all detectives working to solve cases of Urban Nightmare or beyond are issued this 'Special Investigator Badge' during the course of their employment! 'Tis a badge that may as well be a universal pass to command all kinds of aid regarding the investi—
Rodion	Detectives?
Don Quixote	FIXERS!!
Class 4 Collection Staff	... We plan to issue you those badges, yes.
Don Quixote	WAHOO! Much have I longed to add one such badge to my collection! Perchance thou shalt allow us to keep the badges once this case is dealt with? Nay, I demand that I be awarded at least three badges; one for my private collection, one for display, and one for business, so that—
Heathcliff	Shut it, lass! Right, what are we waiting for? Let's crack on, whack this Distortion, and get the hell out of 'ere. I hate dealin' with money problems.
Class 4 Collection Staff	…….
Vergilius	I value your enthusiasm. But I would also appreciate it if you could allow others to finish their sentences before cutting them off and going on a long tangent of your own.
Vergilius	The problem is... that they don't want all thirteen of you running amok in an effort to solve the case.
Class 4 Collection Staff	Indeed. I can't have your entire group run wild in the streets and potentially waste the precious time of our residents.
Class 4 Collection Staff	Also, the 'Special Investigator Badge' isn't something that T Corp. hands out like candy. We can't give away a whole box of badges for all thirteen of them.
Outis	Mm, I concur. To a degree.
Outis, who has continuously and consistently suggested that we cut down the number of Sinners, was the first one to welcome this offer.
Outis	We should have done something like this a long time ago. What use is there in hauling around these dead weights?
Outis	We will leave the useless pawns behind to wait in the bus while the elite team of high-performing individuals takes care of business.
Vergilius	You seem rather confident that you'd be a part of that 'elite team of high-performing individuals', Outis.
Outis	It's ridiculous to even suggest otherwise—
Ishmael	All right, all right, enough with your nonsense. So... how many of us are allowed to work on this case anyway?
Vergilius	Hm...
Vergilius trailed off, clearly unhappy about this outcome.
Vergilius	They have decided that three... no, four individuals, including the Manager, is an appropriate amount of people allowed to partake in this investigation.
Ishmael	That's not a lot...
Vergilius	Accept it. We barely managed to get the authorization for four after much debate.
Outis	Hmph. Then you have wasted your breath. A tag-team of the Executive Manager and I will be more than enough to handily complete this mission.
Dante	<Right... so it all comes down to my choice, huh. Three Sinners...>
So, so many eyes are upon me. Not that I've never had them all look at me at the same time before, but... the pressure is on a completely different level when it comes to making judgment calls like these.
Vergilius	Looks like the manager is deep in thought. ... But pointlessly agonizing over something like this is a waste of time.
Vergilius	I’m taking volunteers first, so let’s see some hands. Quickly, now.
Don Quixote	FORSOOTH, I SHAN'T HESITATE BEFORE SUCH EXCELLENT OPPORTUNITY!
Rodion	Hm, maybe it's finally my time to shine?
Heathcliff	Oi, don't even need to ask me, alright? Let's get on with it!
Meursault	Mm...
Gregor	Oh, nah. That wasn't... I'm not raising my hand. I'm just cleaning my glasses.
This is no simple matter. I've not been with so few Sinners before—except for that one time when we accidentally walked out to the Outskirts through the Backdoor—so I have to take this slow and really consider all possible angles.
Vergilius	What a mess... haah.
Vergilius	It would be too much trouble for me to list and debate all the arbitrary limitations they set, so allow me to make the choices for you this time, Dante.
Well, I don't think there's too big of a gap between them when it comes to their capabilities. But they all excel in different situations.
Vergilius	Dante? Are you listening? I just said that I will be the one to choose your companions.
No, I need to consider more than just their individual capabilities. Some of them work better when paired together, but it's also true that haphazardly pairing them together might end up making a team less than the sum of its parts. This is all about building team synergy. Wait, didn't Rodya say something about how people born in December and August don’t mesh well together? And, and...
Vergilius	The Sinners who will accompany Dante to solve this case are...
I have to choose someone who can support me, calmly assess the situation, and remain free from biased judgment while making smart, rational decisions on the fly. The Sinners who fit that description are...
Are...
... Do we even have anyone like that?
I still have to choose *someone*, though...
Agh, aaaagggh...
Dante	<Dammit, I've got it! I choose Faust, Meursault, and Yi Sang!>
Vergilius	... Rodion, Ryōshū, and Hong Lu.
Dante	<…?>
Huh? Wait. Huh?
Faust	Dante has selected me, Meursault, and Yi Sang.
Vergilius	Haven't you been listening, Dante?
Vergilius	I have certain things to discuss with Miss Faust regarding our upcoming journey, so she was not an option. Yi Sang was immediately ruled out even before the meeting adjourned due to his history of developing an unauthorized invention at T Corp.
Vergilius	Meursault did not volunteer.
Meursault	There was no reason to volunteer.
Yi Sang	Though I may have been disallowed from joining this investigation, I am truly grateful for your appreciation, Dante. I shan't soon forget this.
Dante	<W-wait. That's, uh...>
Outis	…….
Dante	<H-hey, Outis... you know that's not at all what I meant. I just thought that maybe we needed someone skilled and experienced like you to effectively manage the remaining Sinners while we're—>
Outis	Uh, um. Okay.
I really soured the mood, didn't I.
The three of them, whom I didn't even imagine in my wildest dreams would be hanging out together, all turn to look in my direction.
Rodion	Woah, just the three of us, huh? A trio's such an eye-catching number, isn't it~?
Dante	<Rodya I get, but... why'd the two of you volunteer...?>
Ryoshu	Thought it sounded F.A.H.
Hong Lu	The greater the quantity and diversity of experience, the better it is.
Don Quixote	Gyah!
Don Quixote tragically drops her head to the ground, crestfallen.
Don Quixote	I have naught else to blame but my slightly lower vertical placement in this world... Indeed, that must be why Sir Vergilius has failed to catch mine impassioned hand...
Don Quixote sobbed, dramatically lamenting how Vergilius did not even bat an eye in her direction despite her being the first one to raise their hand.
I'm pretty sure that wasn't the only reason he didn't pick her, though...
Don Quixote	Hup... 'Tis my final legacy I bestow upon thee...
Rodion	What's all this? A book, a magnifying glass, and... are these clothes?
Don Quixote	'Tis my treasure, my colección... Prithee, be gentle with them...
Hong Lu	Ooh~ But why are you carrying three sets of clothing?
Don Quixote	One for my private collection, one for display, and one for business, verily. Is that not obvious to thee...?
Rodion	'Records of Investigation: Solutions to the Thirteen Problems' by Agatha... Huh, somebody's autographed it.
Rodion	So who's this Agatha?
Don Quixote	Fie! How art ye all so ignorant in the lore of Fixers? Once, she was a Grade 1 Fixer who was so prolific that she may as well have been the face of the Seven Association... Truly, no one?
Gregor	Most people don't know those... lore, Don Quixote...
Ryoshu	Cumbersome clothes.
Don Quixote	How wilt thou call thyself an ace detective when not dressed appropriately for the occasion?!!! Hear, hear! 'Tis only right that the leading ace detective adorn her countenance with this special mustache!
Hong Lu	Look, Lady Agatha says in the forward to this book that any self-respecting ace detective must always dress themselves in impeccable fashion.
Gregor	Don Quixote, just... just let go...
Gregor	So... I mean, I'm sure everyone has their reasons, but how come you didn't get picked for this, Ishmael?
Ishmael	Didn't get picked? I never volunteered.
Ishmael	Hey, it's not every day you get a legitimate chance to get some free paid time off without breaking company rules. And I wasn't about to let that chance slip.
Ishmael	I... guess I did have some last-minute regrets when I saw who Vergilius picked, but... I'll just relax for a bit and jump in to help 'em out when needed.
Ishmael	Well, good luck. While the...
Rodion	Heh, call us 'The Elite Four'! ... How's that?
Ishmael	... while 'The Self-proclaimed Elite Four' runs around T Corp, why don't we find a place to take the edge off and unwind?
Vergilius	How unfortunate.
Vergilius	T Corp. did not authorize the rest of the Sinners to run abound unmonitored.
Class 4 Collection Staff	You must understand that we simply cannot let individuals responsible for ten billion Ahn's worth of Time Tax roam free without proper collateral.
Vergilius	... Looks like they have temporary lodgings for those who have failed to pay their Time Tax.
... Vergilius was pointing at what was clearly a jail cell.
Outis	…….
Outis	... Are you certain that's the 'lodging', Guide?
Ishmael	I... they're going to... I'm going to jail...?
Sinclair	Yep... as living collaterals, apparently...
Rodion	It'll be fun! Hey, betcha you'll look fondly back at this memory when it's all said and done, 'kay? We'll be right back, so be nice and stay put~
Heathcliff	Nice, this jail cell at least has some heating. ... Wait.
Heathcliff	What happens if they just... leave and don't come back?
Gregor	We'll be seeing 'em again after ten billion Ahn's worth of time passes, I guess...
Outis	... WHAT?!?!?!
Outis	Hey! Wait, get back here! That's more than enough time to finish weaving on the loom!
Dante	<Calm down, alright? We'll be back before you even—>
Don Quixote	THOU SHALT RETURN TRIUMPHANTLY AS A GLORIOUS BAND OF ACE DETECTIVES! MARK MY WORDS!!!!!
We set off on our journey after receiving the aforementioned 'Special Investigator Badges', leaving the chaotic screaming and hollering of the remaining Sinners behind.
After a while, all we could hear was the sad, intermittent clattering of metal as someone violently shook the steel bars.
Employee?	All right! Looks like everyone's ready, then. Let's get a move on and have a little chat with the third victim! Let's see... the case records say that... aha, there it is. It's just a stone's throw away.
Rodion	... Huh?
Employee?	Huh? What do you mean 'huh'? Look at the record; it clearly states that neither of the first two victims is in a communicative state. Mm, how unfortunate.
Rodion	No, I mean... why are you coming along with us? I'm sorry, but we're not taking sidekick applications right now. Go away, shoo.
Class 4 Collection Staff	Incorrect. One of us will be joining your team.
Class 4 Collection Staff	We were going to send an employee with you so that we can receive immediate updates regarding your investigation progress.
Ryoshu	Pull that stick out of your ass.
Class 4 Collection Staff	... We planned to send a Class 2 Staff with you. But you're...
Employee?	Me? Class 5. See the badge?
The chatterbox of an employee replied cheerfully as he produced a twinkling badge from his clothes.
Class 4 Collection Staff	... I-Apologies for failing to recognize you, sir. I scarcely expected to see a Class 5 Auditor all the way down here.
Rodion	That guy's a Class 5 Staff...? Really?
Hong Lu	Class 5... is the highest rank one could reach as a Wing employee, right?
Rodion	Um... Yeah, I thought so too.
Class 5 Audit Staff?	Well~ don't be so sure. It depends on which Wing you're talking about. Who knows, maybe there are Class 12, or even Class 20 employees out there!
Class 5 Audit Staff?	Get it? Got it? Good. Then let's get a move on!
We stared in silent bafflement at the employee who had already stormed out of the building, then hurriedly followed him out the door.
Location: Alleyways of T Corp.
Class 5 Audit Staff?	Isn't it absolutely brilliant? The very concept of 'killing time'. They're not slowing down or speeding up time; they're eliminating it completely, just yanking it out of circulation.
Rodion	So uh, your name is...
Rodion	Mai?
Mai	Relax and call me however you want~ Names are such unimportant things, aren't they?
Ryoshu	No. Names matter.
Dante	<Really? You never call anyone by their names, though.>
Rodion	Relax and call you however we want? But you're obviously here to be our handler.
Mai	Hm, that's true. That does make things a tad awkward, doesn't it? Let me think.
Mai	Aha, I've got it! You're all dressed like detectives; why don't you consider me your ever-helpful assistant who tags along to your adventures?
Rodion	Okay, but... still...
Ryōshū, who was staring off into the distance while puffing her cigarette, suddenly spoke up just as Rodya was about to retort.
Ryoshu	Assistant. Lead us.
Assistant	Right away, ma'am!
Hong Lu	Hmm, what's the difference between an 'assistant' and a 'servant'? You know, my family used to employ...
Dante	<They sure warmed up to him fast...>

Episode: 5
Location: T Corp. Watch Factory
Assistant	Let's see... the third victim of this case is this watch factory's...
Rodion	Hold up...!
Rodion	The obviously gaudy and expensive suit... the meticulously trimmed and shaped mustache... the third victim must be the owner of this factory. Assistant, confirm my deductions!
Assistant	You're right on the money, detective.
Hong Lu	We're off to a great start!
Rodion	Fuhu.
Rodion	Ahem, ahem! We are detectives working on the 'Case of Timekilling Time'. My name is—
Watch Factory Owner	#@$@$#(*&$^&*#&*^@!!@@$#@$?
Rodion	Whuh— what's going on?
Ryoshu	Ryōshū. Detective.
Hong Lu	He sure is a fast talker. He's talking way faster than Meursault did when he reviewed those chickens.
Watch Factory Owner	#@$@$#!%!#%#@!@#$#%^!#$@#@#!@$#@$!!!
He's talking so fast...! It's like someone pressed a fast-forward button in him or something. I can't understand a thing coming out of his mouth.
Assistant	He's someone who has a lot of time.
Rodion	What's that supposed to mean?
Assistant	An average T Corp. citizen has about 20 to 28 hours in a day, but you might also run into someone like him: people with plenty of time to spare. Because they have so much surplus time, they can afford to condense 40, 50 hours into a single day. And to people with fewer hours in a day... it'll look as though he's moving two, three times faster than them. Someone with that much time could pick their nose in the blink of an eye before anyone even has the chance to catch them in the act.
Rodion	Ew...
Watch Factory Owner	#@$@(*%(*#^@))$&*^@%<@$!!!
Ryoshu	…….
I gave Rodya a quick look of concern. She had to do something before Ryōshū S.H.N.C.
A quick look... as in a brief flicker of the flames burning on my clock.
Rodion	Um, would ya mind slowing down a bit? I'm just worried that... you're at a serious risk of becoming a victim of a completely different, slightly more fatal crime.
He shook his head in frustration(very rapidly, that is) before activating what appeared to be a voice recorder. It began to play his voice back at us.
Watch Factory Owner	Pleased to make your acquaintance-uh. My name's Bumble, a proud proprietor of this watch factory-ah.
Bumble	Apologies for this awkward method of communication-uh.
Bumble	You see, my days are fifty-two hours long-uh. I used to live 100 hour-days in my heyday, but the things have taken a turn for the worse at the factory in the recent years-ah.
Rodion	Fif-fifty two hours?!
Bumble	To me, it looks as though you are all talking very, very, very slowly-uh. I must say-ah, it's quite frustrating... but I am willing to suffer this annoyance as long as you can solve this case-uh.
Rodion	You have fifty-two whole hours to spend in a single day? Gee, I can't even imagine what that'd be like.
Bumble	Oh, I can tell you if you're that curious-uh. It's a very, very full life, I must say-ah. Having more time to spend in a day means that I can get more things done in a day-uh. Like sleeping ten or more hours a night and having more than forty hours left to spend-uh. Good sleep really is the key to keeping your skin moist and fresh, indeed-ah. I'll let you touch it, if you want-uh.
As though in an effort to demonstrate, Bumble was constantly zooming around the room, checking his documents, calling someone on the phone, and even brushing his teeth while we stood there listening to his recordings.
Ryoshu	I.D.C. Get to the point.
Bumble	It was one late evening-ah.
Bumble	Let's see-uh. Like always, I was busily walking down the street-ah. I had a very, very important meeting to attend to, you know-uh.
Bumble	And all of a sudden...!
Rodion	An attack?!
Bumble	No-ah. I just happened to recall that I left the bacon on the kitchen counter at home-uh! I should've left it covered with District 23's purple salt-ah~!
Hong Lu	Aha, my second-oldest-aunt used to sprinkle that salt all the time.
Ryoshu	The. Point.
Bumble	Well, so I stopped briefly, looking up at the Clock Tower and wondering if I should head back home to salt that bacon-uh...
Bumble	... and that's when the Time Ripper struck-ah!
Ryoshu	The Clock Tower?
Assistant	Each one of the twelve zones at T Corp. has a Clock Tower that displays A Corp.'s standard time scale. Because everyone has different hours to spend in a day, their watches sync with their respective time scales as well. So, to tell the 'real', objective time, one would have to check the Clock Tower.
Ryoshu	Oho...
Hong Lu	That's pretty neat~
Rodion	All right, you two. Let's focus on the important stuff. Let's see... um... ah, how about we start with a physical description?
Bumble	Hmm... a fine, tailored suit...
Rodion	Huh... a tailored suit? A bit fancy for someone called the 'Time Ripper', don'tcha think?
Bumble	It must've cost me about fifty-eight-million Ahn-uh. Of course, since it was tailor-made, its comfort was beyond human imagination-ah.
Rodion	Wait, what...?
Bumble	Oh, and how could I forget-uh? This impressive yet keenly shaped moustache-ah.
Rodion	Hey, I wasn't talking about your own physical description...
Ryoshu	One more chance until I S.Y.N.C.
Bumble	Ohh~ you mean the murderer's appearance-uh! Well, let me think-ah...
Bumble	... I don't recall anything-uh. It just happened so, so fast that...
Ryoshu	How did it feel to have your own time killed? Was it painful?
Dante	<Can you not ask something like that with such a big grin on your face?>
Bumble	Nope-uh. It was just...
Bumble	Mm, a hundred hours was gone in the blink of an eye-ah! I missed my very important appointment thanks to that, I'll have you know-uh! I suffered so much damages-ah!
Rodion	Gah! A hundred hours? So you lost a whole week in the blink of an eye?
Bumble	Huh? Nope-uh. A hundred hours for me is just two days or so-ah. Still, you have no idea how much I lost because of those two days-uh!
Assistant	Ripping away time, huh? An invention that enables something like that would certainly win the 'Inventor of the Year' award and the loads of prize money that comes with it. T Corp. really values and supports its inventors, you know?
Assistant	Some people say that, once upon a time, T Corp.'s Executive Director himself showed up to bestow the awards. I guess once an inventor is always an inventor; I say that he probably wanted others to carry on his inquisitive spirit. I've seen the ceremony once, and he was giving away autographs!
Rodion	Hm... Then maybe we're looking for an inventor who received an award for that tech? Assistant?
Assistant	But every invention at T Corp. needs to be registered at the Technology Administration Agency, though it is not without a few exceptions. There once was a time when a rogue group of inventors called ‘The League of Nine Littérateurs’ made some inventions that they neglected to register. And wow, what a mess that was! Every single corner of T Corp. was up in arms! Everyone dashing about in a panic, making arrests, holding important meetings, while I—
Hong Lu	It was that big of a deal...? I can't even imagine how hard it must've been for Yi Sang...
Rodion	Alright, alright. So? Is there anything like that registered in T Corp.'s Tech Agency?
Assistant	Nope. First time hearing about anything like it.
Rodion	Haah... Ya coulda started there, y'know.
Dante	<What if this is a power granted by the Distortion...?>
Meanwhile, Ryōshū, who was completely uninterested in the conversation, stared off into the distance. She looked out the factory window and let out another puff of smoke before muttering quietly to herself.
Ryoshu	No killer, no corpses.
Dante	<Well, yeah... No one's actually dead, and we don't know where the killer is.>
Hong Lu	Who could it be, I wonder?
Bumble	Someone who took a liking to my very expensive suit, I say-uh!
Ryoshu	Disagree. Your suit's shit.
Bumble	Aw...
Ryoshu	Besides, if I really wanted to kill you...
Bumble	... M-me-ah? Why would you—
Ryoshu	... I'd have to be able to move as fast as you do.
Ryoshu	I won't be able to get a good aim at your vitals otherwise.
Ryōshū strode toward him... before suddenly breaking into a charging sprint.
Bumble rapidly stumbled back in terror, but Ryōshū was fast enough to close the distance and press her scabbard into his neck despite the disparity in time.
Bumble	Gah!
Ryoshu	... Just like this.
Dante	<…!>
Rodion	Woah... I thought she was actually about to beat the crap out of him with that scabbard...
Hong Lu	That'd be case closed then, hm? All we'd have to do is to arrest Ryōshū~
Bumble	Y-you scared the heck out of me-uh!
Bumble	Well... I suppose that villain didn't really stab me in my vitals, or whatever-ah...
Bumble	But he did appear all of a sudden, just like you did-uh.
Assistant	I see. So the killer isn't just running around ripping time away from random people left and right.
Ryoshu	Yes. The killer was going specifically for that A.S.S.
Dante	<…….>
The void left behind by Sinclair's absence was much bigger than I'd thought.
Ryoshu	... I meant that 'Annoying, Stupid Stache'. Tsk, not having that kid here is frustrating.
Bumble	No way-uh... Can you think of a single person who'd hate someone like me-ah...?
Dante	<I can think of more than a few...>
Bumble	I say that it must have been the work of some bandit who wanted to try on my tailored suit-uh!
Hong Lu	Oh, what about your employees?
Hong Lu	Lady Agatha's book says that... to find the culprit, we must first look at the victim's immediate circle!
I have no idea if that book Don Quixote gave us earlier is actually helping, but... I suppose it's at least a very good page-turner. Hong Lu can't seem to be able to tear his eyes away from it.
... Maybe I should check it out too, once we get back to the bus.
Rodion	Yeah, that works...!
Rodion	Then, the culprit!
Rodion	... has to be someone who hates the owner so, so much, enough to try to take his time!
Bumble	Nuh-uh. That seems quite implausible-ah. As you can see...
Rodion	Wh-what...? The laborers at this factory...
Rodion	... They're all working so slowly like... they're moving through molasses...
Assistant	Oh, most factory laborers like them usually live rather short ten-hour-days. Most of which they spend at their factory jobs anyway.
Rodion	... What did you say?
Bumble	Listen up, everyone-ah! Our output gain saw only 13% growth compared to last month's growth-uh! Have I not impressed upon you how important this is-ah? We'll be falling behind profit margin projections at this rate-uh!
Bumble hollers at them in frustration. The laborers very, very slowly turn their heads to look up at the factory owner, even that simplest action taking an excruciatingly long time to complete.
Factory Laborer	B...o...s...s… It...’s… I...m...p...o...s...s...i...b...l...e… T...o… W...o...r...k… A...n...y… F...a...s...t...e...r... T...h...a...n...
Bumble	Whew, how bothersome-ah! Less complaining, more assembling-uh! Use your times effectively-ah! Chop chop-uh!
Bumble	$#%%><*()(&*&^(&%*(&$#^$^%!
Bumble	You have no idea how frustrating it has been for me as of late-ah! Did you even know that the next batch of cogs have stopped all of a sudden-uh?
Bumble	$#%#$^$#^$$#(&*^%$&^*(&&><%#^!
We could understand him thanks to the recorder next to us. But... everyone out of its earshot would have no chance of understanding whatever he's talking about.
Rodion	Hey. Mister Bumble.
Rodion	You're talking way too fast for them to understand, you know that? How do you expect them to understand a thing you're saying?
Bumble	So-ah? It's not me who's too fast; it's them who are too slow-uh. Only hustlers and busy-bees like myself who make the best of their time can rise above the rest in this chaotic, bustling City-ah!
Rodion	I… what? You know that's a load of bull.
Rodion	How are they supposed to 'hustle' or 'make the best of their times' when they're practically nailed to the floor? And with what time?
Dante	<Rodya, hey...>
Dante	<I don't think someone like him will ever understand what you're talking about. He was born and raised in T Corp., after all.>
Rodion	…….
Rodion	Hey, Assistant. You're a Class 5 employee, right? Aren't you supposed to be a big shot? Do you seriously think there's anything normal about all of this?
Assistant	'Normal'?
Assistant	Dear detectives. Do you happen to be returning from a round-trip across every single Nest in the City, all the way from A to Z? Can you confidently say that you have seen all there is to see?
Rodion	Not... really, but...
Assistant	Then give this idea a thought, why don't you? That the notion of what is 'normal' is just a mirage conjured by the downtrodden and the suffering?
Assistant	That is to say... that suffering is just a part of life in the City, regardless of which Nest you're in.
Rodion	Hah. I don't see any suffering in that mug of Mister fifty-hour-days right here.
Bumble	Such harsh words-uh! I have my share of pain, I'll have you know-ah!
Bumble	I've been waiting for something to get finished for a while-uh. Do you know how much of a pain it is to wait for something but also have too much time in your day-ah? It's so so so tedious!
Bumble gently fixed his mustache and hair before caressing his expensive coat with care.

Episode: 6
Location: T Corp. Watch Factory
Hong Lu	Maybe we can flip the script on our line of thought.
Hong Lu	What kind of people, Rodya, do you think hate rich people? Who do you think would hate people like me?
Hong Lu	Well... except for my family. If I do ever get murdered under mysterious circumstances, I'm willing to bet that it's one of my family members who did me in. Or Heathcliff, fuhu.
Dante	<... That's a pretty dark joke.>
Rodion	The culprit went straight for Bumble... but his employees literally can't move fast enough to have done that. None of them look like Distortions, either.
Ryoshu	Yes. If the culprit's hiding among those slowpokes, Clock would've noticed it.
Rodion	Then that narrows the culprit down to... someone unrelated to this factory, someone without much time. Someone who's got a bone to pick against the time-rich.
Hong Lu	Or it could be someone who's unhappy about the state of affairs in the T Corp. Nest.
Hong Lu	Also... while Dante could be right, that this power was granted by a Distortion, nothing rules out the possibility that they may be using an unregistered invention.
Ryoshu	There may be more than a single 'culprit', then.
Rodion	More than a single culprit, huh... Wait. I think I know an organization that might fit that exact description.
Rodion	... Nah, no way. I doubt it. They don't ever take drastic actions like these anymore. Even back at J Corp....
Assistant	Wow, that's some coincidence, isn't it? I happen to know of a group of people just like them.
Some time later, in a certain alleyway...
Location: Alleyways of T Corp.
Class 2 Collection Staff	A group of people unhappy with the state of affairs in the Nest...?
Class 2 Collection Staff	Perhaps you are looking for the Yurodiviye?
Rodion	…!
Hong Lu	Ah, that rings a bell! Isn't your friend the founder of that organization, Rodya?
Rodya stopped dead in her tracks.
Rodion	The Yurodiviye...
Rodion	Here...?
Class 2 Collection Staff	Do you know something about that organization?
Class 2 Collection Staff	I did hear that they've been spreading through the Nests as of late. Though it hasn't been long since they started poppin' up within T Corp.'s borders.
Class 2 Collection Staff	So direct T Corp. employees like myself have been stationed all over the Nest to question any suspicious individuals.
Class 2 Collection Staff	Methinks it's a real bother. Standing guard here, all this stop-and-search... So tedious.
Rodion	So... what are the Yurodiviye up to 'round here?
Class 2 Collection Staff	All kinds of stuff that petty thieves get up to. Stealing things like time or money.
Class 2 Collection Staff	Well, I did hear that they also do some pro bono detective work for people who can't afford the time or money to hire people, and—
Class 2 Collection Staff	Wait, stop right there, you! What are you looking around all shifty for, eh? It's a stop-and-search!
Passerby	Wha— Hey, I'm just trying to walk away from that lady with the cig and that creepy glare...!
Ryoshu	…….
Rodion	... Where can we find them? The Yurodiviye.
Class 2 Collection Staff	Well, it probably ain't too difficult. Let's see, they're—
Dante	<Hong Lu!!!>
A sudden explosion tore Hong Lu to shreds as he was peeking around an alleyway...
Assistant	Speak of the devil... Maybe I should've activated their badges earlier.
Dante	<Activate our badges...?>
Rodion	Whew... Starting off with a bang, huh? Good luck, Dante...
Rodion	Let's bring him back.
Dante	<Gotcha. Turning the clock now.>
Class 2 Collection Staff	Wait, you can bring him back?
Meticulous Activist	There! The explosion came from that way!
Aggressive Activist	Damn watch chains of T Corp...! Here to collect your filthy dues, eh?!
Rodion	Mmkay, no time to explain, right? Then let's talk about that later.

Episode: 7
Location: Alleyways of T Corp.
Meticulous Activist	Tsk, retreat!
Assistant	Hey, participation trophy.
Dante	<Participation... trophy...? Is he talking to me?>
Assistant	How on earth did you do that earlier? Tick-tock tick-tock and voilà, it seemed to me that you rewound the time and un-wounded your friends. I've never seen a tech that could rewind time like that.
Dante	<Well, that's...>
Ryoshu	Trade secret. Ask and you shall receive... pain.
Assistant	Fascinating... Aren't you terrified of 'time'?
Assistant	As far as I am aware, there is practically no way to 'rewind' time for a singular entity that exists in an open, unenclosed area. Either that, or my study didn't reach as far as I thought it did. Wait, no. That's actually a very serious problem, then. I was very desperate, you know. It's very unlikely that I missed anything.
Rodion	Ya know what else is a serious problem? The fact that we're wasting our time chatting about inane stuff while they're all getting away! C'mon, Dante!
Assistant	Hold on, 'inane stuff'? This is extremely serious! Its importance is absolutely incomparable to what amounts to arresting a few small-fry revolutionaries. Mm... if it was a true resurrection, then the Head would've been after your heads already, so I doubt that's what this is. Then it must have something to do with time manipulation, I'm certain of it...
Assistant	Maybe it works with the same mechanisms as the TT2 Protocol under the hood—nope, that works only within an isolated enclosure; it can't rewind the time of a singular individual.
Assistant	Perhaps they are drawing time from elsewhere to inject it into their timestreams? Mm... ah, that seems a tad more plausible. If you're actually 'rewinding' their time, then the visual elements of that process would manifest in a vastly different manner. I suppose this means that you can't really 'rewind' or 'skip' time either, am I right?
Dante	<You can't just say all that gibberish and expect me to be able to—>
Assistant	The process also seemed to involve a great degree of pain... Oh well. It seems to be in bad taste to say that it's good news, but I suppose I can say that what I'm about to tell you is somewhat auspicious. I was going to get into the nitty-gritty only if we had to venture into one of the more dangerous places like the Backstreets, but here we go. Check the other side of your badges; there should be a small clockwork knob attached to your badges in there. Mind rotating it for me?
The Class 5 Staff jabbered on endlessly, zapping between numerous subjects within matter of seconds, before reaching out and pointing at the badges we were wearing.
Assistant	Not all Fixers specializing in investigations are strong enough to defend themselves in emergencies. That is why these Special Investigator Badges are all equipped with the same special function that goes into suits that higher-ranking staff members of T Corp wear.
Assistant	It's called 'Golden Time'. If you keep the clockwork wound, it will automatically speed up the body's natural regeneration process as soon as it detects that its wearer is at risk of death. It's nothing compared to what you're capable of... but it's quite something, isn't it?
Dante	<So... I don't actually have to turn the clock myself?>
Assistant	Well, it takes some time for it to refill once its charge is spent. If you ever run out of its uses, then... I suppose it all comes down to you, participation trophy! You'll have to take one for the team and bring them all back yourself.
Rodion	You're willing to do that, but not willing to help us before we get torn to shreds, huh?
Ryoshu	I... prefer that. Good. Hoo.
Assistant	Ready? Let's go after them, then!
Some time later...
Location: Dark Alleyways of T Corp.
Dante	<Haah, haah... Where... did they run off to...?>
Rodion	I'm pretty sure they came this way...
Ryoshu	Tsk, no more tracks. We wasted too much time on his boring lectures.
Rodion	Heya, Assistant. Are you sure it's okay for you to just... saunter behind us like you're out on a picnic?
Assistant	Why would I run? I hate running.
Rodion	It's literally your job to arrest the Yurodiviye, isn't it?
Assistant	Is it, though? But my job at this precise moment is to keep my eyes on you and your investigation regarding the Case of Timekilling Time, not making Yurodiviye arrests.
Rodion	But you're a T Corp. employee!
Assistant	Okay, fine. Let's say that I decided to run instead of walk and helped you capture those Yurodiviye rascals. What then? Will T Corp. suddenly stop having problems just because they're gone? Will this place suddenly transform into some kind of humanitarian paradise? Not to mention that, as long as their leader runs free, they'll be back before you know it.
Ryoshu	Excuses. Then K.T.A.
Assistant	If we do kill them all, that only opens up room for a worse Syndicate to take their place. If that happens... that Collector friend from earlier might end up suffering from something much, much worse than having to stop-and-search random passers-by. Not to mention that I'll be getting muscle cramps from all the running.
Rodion	That's...
Assistant	Besides, isn't your friend one of them? Weird, I thought you wouldn't want me to arrest them.
Hong Lu	Right? I thought Rodya would be a bit happier to be reunited with the Yurodiviye.
Dante	<W-well, since it looks like the trail's gone cold, let's go back to the stop-and-search lady and ask if she noticed anything suspicious since we left.>
Rodion	... Fine.
The T Corp. employee we met earlier was still standing completely inert, not moving a muscle.
Hong Lu	Poor woman! I can’t believe she's still on duty at such a late hour.
Assistant	Such is the life of a laborer.
Ryoshu	... No.
Ryoshu	They got her. I can't even hear her breathing.
Hong Lu	That's the Time Ripper's M.O.!
Dante	<The Time Ripper got to her that fast...?>
Ryoshu	She's in a state of absolute stillness.
Ryoshu	A deathlike state achieved without a thimble of blood on their hands.
Ryoshu	What a mysophobic art.
Hong Lu	Though she may be in a state of stasis to those of us watching from the outside...
Hong Lu	... for her, this must be as brief as a blink of an eye.
Hong Lu	What do you think the culprit's trying to do with all that time?
Dante	<Guys, this is a crime scene. Let's try to not touch the body... I mean, the victim...>
Assistant	Woah, look! There must be some sort of spatio-temporal displacement superposition phenomenon going on here. She is entirely incorporeal.
Rodion	Is this seriously the time to—
Dante	<Rodya, there! Up ahead!>
I whipped around, noticing the now-familiar sensation of a Distortion, and caught a brief glimpse of a suspicious figure slowly slipping into the fog.
Rodion	You, stop!
Dante	<Ryōshū, think you can catch up?>
Ryoshu	I'm not your hunting dog... but sure. I'll entertain you, just this once.
Assistant	Ooh, she's pretty fast.
Hong Lu	Ryōshū sure moves fast when she finds something interesting.
Assistant	It's been a while since I've seen people like you—the kind who sprint forward with their eyes fixed on the horizon.
Assistant	Here, everyone only ever looks down, their necks bent and gaze locked to the ground. Watching their own feet take their halting steps.
Assistant	I suppose they only ever look up to check the time on the Clock Towers.
Assistant	But there must have been a time when everyone walked tall...
Rodion	I think I know why that is.
Rodion	It's because they all learned helplessness.
Rodion	Because they realized that, even if they ran 'till their lungs burst... nothing will change. That it doesn't matter.
Hong Lu	Yeah, not everyone can run like Meursault. Learning to maintain a stable breathing rhythm is not easy!
Rodion	Aha ha ha... That's not what I'm talking about.
Dante	<Wait, take a closer look at her face.>
Dante	<Remember? It's the same face she was making earlier when she shouted "It's a stop-and-search!"
Rodion	Yeah... maybe she saw someone suspicious, approached them for a stop-and-search, and got ambushed... We should ask her when she recovers.
Hong Lu	But we don't know when she'll... recover.
Some time later...
Ryoshu	Catch.
Fainted Activist	…….
Dante	<... Are you sure you captured him alive?>
Rodion	Hey, Ryōshū, doesn't he kinda look...
Rodion	... a bit different from the mysterious person that got away? He's clearly wearing something different.
Rodion	Besides, he's one of the Yurodiviye we already ran into.
Ryoshu	Clothes are just husks that can be cast off at any moment.
Ryoshu	He started running as soon as our eyes met.
Ryoshu	Hey. Rise and shine.
Fleeing Activist	U...ugh… How am I the suspicious one…? Anyone would run if someone like you started sprinting after them… with that big sword in your hands…
Ryoshu	Haah... I have many, many ways to crush the truth out of you.
Ryoshu	First.
Dante	<No dismembering.>
Ryoshu	... Hm.
Fleeing Activist	This is the Yurodiviye's turf. You'll soon regret dragging me down here.
Fleeing Activist	Heh... I prepared this secret weapon just for this occasion...
Dante	<W-watch out!>
... But nothing happened.
Dante	<... What was that?>
Fleeing Activist	One of the five greatest inventions of the Yurodiviye T Corp. Branch, the PortableAdjustableFrequencyPeriodicalLightingApparatusAttachmentSoundwave Generator! This will call every single Yurodivy in its range to this exact location!
Assistant	There, see what I mean? You see the problem prevalent among inventors: they never know when to stop when it comes to naming their inventions.
Fleeing Activist	You'll pay dearly for smacking me in the back of my noggin!

Episode: 8
Location: An Alleyway of T Corp.
After matching various pieces of information we found from the defeated Yurodiviye members together...
... we managed to track them down to a run-down building that appeared to be their hideout.
Yurodiviye Captain	You've finally managed to track us down, haven't you... Filthy watch chains of T Corp.! And you... you clock!
Dante	<"'You clock", he says...>
Rodion	It's only elementary. Because I am... an ace detective.
Rodya exclaimed triumphantly as she flicked her hair back, but I sensed the smallest hint of uncertainty in her voice.
Hong Lu	Yep, we're all ace detectives.
Yurodiviye Captain	Tsk... I'll admit, we shouldn't have let you track us down. ... But you don't look too strong.
Yurodiviye Captain	It is a foolish move to fight a lion in his den... I hope you've prepared yourselves.
Rodion	Don'tcha worry about our butts. We've got a Class 5 Staff with us, y'know!
Yurodiviye Captain	Hm, I can deduce a few things about you. One. That man's outfit... that aloof look on his face... I see. It's likely that you're not lying that he really is a Class 5 Staff.
Yurodiviye Captain	Two. You are absolutely shameless for bringing a Class 5 watch chain to a run-down hideout like this.
Rodion	Why does this have anything to do with shame...?
Hong Lu	I don't know about shame, but this place sure is run-down.
Assistant	Right, how about this? I'll sit this one out just for the sake of fairness.
Assistant	It'll be like cheating if I were to take part in this fight, yeah?
Yurodiviye Captain	That is... a fair proposal. Fine, I accept your offer.
Dante	<Do we not get a say in any of this...?>

Episode: 9
Location: Yurodiviye Hideout
We quickly moved our conversation into the hideout after defeating the Yurodivy members.
Yurodiviye Captain	Gah...!
Ryoshu	Surrender and confess.
Ryoshu	Starting to run low on patience. Might kill you soon.
Dante	<Ah, no... Looks like Ryōshū's getting tired of playing detective...>
Yurodiviye Captain	We've surrendered already. Not sure what you want us to confess, either. What, would you like for us to confess that we're the Yurodiviye or something?
We hesitated, unsure if he really was clueless or not. That's when Rodya confidently strode forward and pointed an accusatory finger at the Yurodiviye Captain.
Rodion	Right, questioning time! You've always hated this Nest's state of affairs, am I right?
Yurodiviye Captain	… Must you really ask?
Rodion	You like inventing stuff and not registering them to the Tech Agency, don'tcha?
Yurodiviye Captain	Again... must you really inquire about something you could discern simply by looking around?
Assistant	Ooh, mind if I take a gander at these inventions?
Yurodiviye Captain	Wait, don't just go around touching—
Assistant	Hm, I see. This hedgehog toy is a time bomb disguised as a plushie. It scans the palm as soon as it enters within a certain proximity range, and if it doesn't recognize the palm as an authorized individual's, it'll shoot out its spines to penetrate the intruder.
Assistant	But you've screwed the parts too tightly down here. You'll do well to remember that mechanical engineering isn't all about tightening the screws as hard as you can; sometimes you need a slightly loose screw or two to make things fit better. And another thing: if I were you, I would've made the spine holes hexagon-shaped, not circular.
Yurodiviye Captain	... You could tell all that from a quick look? You are certainly no common employee.
Yurodiviye Captain	Either way, most of those are experiments, incomplete products. In truth...
Rodion	... In truth, ya like making more dangerous, inventions too, right?
Yurodiviye Captain	You really are a persistent one, aren't you? What are you getting at?
Rodion	And I'm sure these violent inventions eventually led to something that can completely rip someone's time away.
Yurodiviye Captain	Wait, I'm... what?
Rodion	The culprit behind 'The Case of Timekilling Time'...
Rodion	... it's you guys, right?
Rodion	It's what you do, isn't it? Ya see something that rubs ya the wrong way, so you go ahead and smash it to bits.
Yurodiviye Captain	That's a bit of a logical leap, isn't it? Who do you think we Yurodiviye are?
Assistant	Sounds like this friend of yours in the Yurodiviye really messed up big time in the past, hmm? Did he do something drastically violent?
Rodion	No, Sonya... he...
Rodion	He always knew how to say the right things. Things to get people to agree with him, to convince them to join his cause.
Rodion	His words filled me with this... confidence. That we could really change the world, that it really was as effortless as letting candy slowly melt away in my mouth.
Rodion	But... what could he possibly do to change the world? He doesn't even do anything, not like these guys. I bet the T Corp. Yurodiviye are nothing more than knockoffs who just found themselves inspired by stories coming out of J Corp. Or—
Yurodiviye Captain	It's absolutely baffling how you failed to correctly deduce a single thing. No, we're not 'knockoffs'. Besides, the Saint has already brought many changes to this world. Changes that you mere detectives can't even dream of.
Rodion	The Saint...?
Yurodiviye Captain	Indeed. Saint Sonya was the one who really sparked the fire of the Yurodiviye in every Nest. Well, that isn't the only reason they call him the Saint, but that's besides the point.
Rodion	Yurodiviye... in every Nest...? Sonya did that?
Yurodiviye Captain	…….
Yurodiviye Captain	Since you claim to be Saint Sonya's friend, allow me to say it in no uncertain terms. The Yurodiviye has nothing to do with your case.
Rodion	Sonya... he...
Ryoshu	Hah, are we supposed to take you at your word?
Yurodiviye Captain	First, we don't have this 'time killing' technology. We can steal time or timepieces, but it's practically impossible to kill time. Making something so absurd would surely catch the Tech Agency's attention.
Yurodiviye Captain	And that is trouble that I am not willing to invite.
Assistant	Why? You've certainly been causing a ruckus here. Isn't that what the Yurodiviye wants? Chaos?
Yurodiviye Captain	Please, don't compare us to the likes of Backstreets gangs. Though there are those among us who want that chaos, of course.
Yurodiviye Captain	One of our former members insisted that we must take the abundance of time in T Corp. for ourselves and have our comrades divide it equally among us.
Yurodiviye Captain	But such drastic action would also hurt the have-nots, those who do not deserve such pain. So we must adhere to the Saint's teachings. To truly tear out the throats of the rich, we must wait for the right moment.
Rodion	The right moment... haah, so it really was Sonya...
Yurodiviye Captain	… So, I've been wondering. Are you really the Saint's friend?
Hong Lu	Of course she is~ He even invited her to join his journey!
Dante	<Why don't we leave for now? We can always come back here once we uncover more evidence.>
Hong Lu	Dante says "let's leave for now".
Assistant	Hm? Are we not arresting them? Didn't one of you give me a whole lecture about how it's my job to arrest them?
Rodion	…….
Rodya ignored the Assistant's question and turned around to leave the hideout, wearing a dark expression—something I had never seen from her before. The Assistant shrugged, and we were about to leave the hideout as well... but the Yurodiviye Captain stopped us.
Yurodiviye Captain	Wait. If you really are a friend of the Saint, then I can't let you leave without giving you some advice as the more experienced detective. I was able to establish a few things from this conversation, so allow me to share them with you.
Assistant	Ohh~ Right! You dabble in detective work from time to time as well, yes? Is this a common thing that you Yurodiviye get up to?
Yurodiviye Captain	No, only the Yurodiviye branch in District 20 do. Anyway, if I were you... I would start by looking for a common thread that ties all victims together. Find out what they have in common.
Rodion	... Why?
Yurodiviye Captain	The T Corp. Collections Agency knows everything about time. Where it comes from, where it goes. But not with this case.
Hong Lu	But... if they know everything about comings and goings of time, how are you avoiding their eyes?
Yurodiviye Captain	... Not all of us do. I can't tell you more, however. Just know that we have an ace up our sleeve that lets us continue our guerilla activities in this Nest.
Yurodiviye Captain	Anyways... does it not strike you as odd that, for someone with such impressive technology that can quite literally rip away time without a trace, the killer seems unusually passive?
Yurodiviye Captain	This tells me that there is a condition they must first meet to use their powers. Another possibility is that they have a certain creed, or a belief system that they follow... but ideologically motivated culprits usually leave behind more obvious evidence that points to their beliefs.
Hong Lu	Ooh... I think that adds up nicely! Wanna join our squad of ace detectives?
Yurodiviye Captain	... Who the hell hired this bumbling team of amateur detective wannabes?
Yurodiviye Captain	Haah... nevermind. Now, would you kindly leave this place?
Dante	<Well, we now know where the Yurodiviye are. We can always come back here if we ever need anything else.>

Episode: 10
Location: An Alleyway of T Corp.
Assistant	Well, then! The Yurodiviye’s swearing up and down that they’ve got nothing to do with the case, and the Time Ripper is still at large. What now, ace detectives?
Rodion	But... we don't have any other leads. The one we talked to just left the hideout, so why don't we follow him?
Dante	<... You want to tail that Yurodivy?>
Assistant	Well, looks like not arresting them may pay off after all! I think it's a fair suggestion.
Ryoshu	Waste of time. We should torture them one by one until someone breaks.
Hong Lu	According to page 155 of Lady Agatha's book, an ace detective must always remain vigilant and not shy away from stakeouts.
Dante	<You've already on page 155?>
Hong Lu	Don Quixote gave us this book so that we can all become ace detectives, fuhu. I've been reading it whenever I can.
Rodion	…….
Rodion	The Yurodiviye's petty time thievery won't change the world.
Rodion	Is that why you're letting them go? Because it doesn't matter?
Assistant	Huh? No, not at all. It's the opposite, in fact.
Assistant	I want to see things... change.
Rodion	Change...?
Assistant	It is said that the Yurodiviye started from a small group of nobodies.
Assistant	But they kept at it, slowly but surely... spreading through the City. I hear that they've been causing some real trouble in some Nests. That they find it difficult to get rid of them.
Assistant	Do you know what people have been saying here at T Corp.? "Running low on time, but burning full of frustration? Then come join the Yurodiviye".
Assistant	Unlike most people, who accept injustices and move on, they don't. They refuse to turn a blind eye, confident and determined that they will one day bring real changes to the City.
Assistant	It's only natural that I find them extremely fascinating. To witness... to what end do their desperate desires and aspirations lead?
Rodion	…….
Ryoshu	Nothing but impotent squirmings.
Rodion	Haah...
Rodion	I'm sorry, do any of you even give a damn about solving the case?
Ryoshu	This case...
Ryoshu	... has a certain destructive aesthetic to it. I like it.
Hong Lu	I'm following my family elders' words: to see and experience as much of the world as I can before I return. Because their words better be followed.
Ryoshu	... Sounds excruciatingly bothersome.
Ryoshu	So many things in this world presuming that they deserve to call themselves 'family'.
Hong Lu	Hehe, I've never heard you talk like that, Ryōshū.
Rodion	What will you ever accomplish...
Rodion	... with such halfheartedness?
Assistant	Don't worry about it.
Assistant	Most people live on with that very halfheartedness. It's been eons since I really desired something with all my heart, you know.
Rodion	No, I'm...
Rodion	... I'm not 'most people'.
Rodion	I'm...
From the distance, a loud, rapid footsetps broke through Rodya's quiet whispers.
Dante	<I knew it, the culprit was a Yurodivy...!>
Yurodiviye Captain	Gah!!
Ryoshu	... They're here. Won't give them the slip this time.
Hong Lu	Okay, let's go! Maybe you'll catch them this time if you learn to breathe like Meursault, Ryōshū~
Dante	<Rodya, let's—>
Rodya came to a sudden stop and looked at me.
Staring at me from underneath the shadows cast over her eyes.
Rodion	Dante. Do you think it would've been any different if I...
Rodion	... followed Sonya, back at the casino?
Dante	<... Why do you ask?>
Rodion	I mean, it's just...
Rodion	Watching Sonya's goals actually start to take shape while I stagnated, unchanging, I'm... it's making me feel...
Rodya hesitated.
Rodion	Odd.
An odd impression.

Episode: 11
Location: An Alleyway of T Corp.
Ryoshu	You're late, Clock.
The two Sinners had a head start, but it didn't take very long before we caught up to them and saw them quietly kneeling behind cover.
Hong Lu	We'll go ahead and draw their attention! We should be able to corner them in this direction.
Dante	<Since Ryōshū and Hong Lu are out there to draw the culprit here... we just have to do our part and capture them.>
Rodion	Yeah...
Dante	<What's wrong, Rodya?>
Rodion	Just... every time I think about Sonya...
Rodion	... I remember all the things that I couldn't do. That's all.
Dante	<Rodya...>
Rodion	Argh, nope! Not gonna let this drag me down. I just gotta do what I can, right? Wouldn't it be so nice if the culprit showed up right now so I can get my hands on 'em and get this over with?
Rodion	Ugh, all this waiting around is getting so tedious. Hopefully I'll look real badass when I arrest 'em.
Assistant	You certainly recover quick. Now that’s a good attitude to have.
Rodion	Well, you know~ Ain’t that how emotions are supposed to be? Constantly changing with time, y’know?
Assistant	Is it now? I don't quite agree. Emotions don't change with time.
Assistant	I'd say that the changing emotions are what drive the flow of time.
Rodion	Hmm~ That's some complicated stuff.
Rodion	I just can't wait to hear all the praises they'll sing of me once I snag this Yurodivy rascal, that's all~
Rodion	Y'know, I wanna be... an ace detective.
???	Then you shall have your chance.
Rodion	…!
???	A chance for you to be the center of attention. A subject of praise.
Dante	<…!>
Rodion	That long coat... that hat...
Rodion	You're...
Hong Lu	Rodya~ Dante~ The culprit ran that way!
Rodion	You're... The Time Ripper.
The Time Ripper	Correct.
Rodion	…!
Dante	<This isn't good... It'll take a while for Hong Lu and Ryōshū to get here...!>
The Time Ripper	But before we get down to business, allow me to make a few corrections.
The Time Ripper	One. I am no longer bound to an organization like the Yurodiviye.
The Time Ripper	In fact, I found their hypocrisy detestable. Did you know that even the Yurodiviye did not use their hours equally amongst one another? That is why I have chosen action.
The Time Ripper	Two. I am not 'killing time'. You will not compare my crusade to something so hollow.
The Time Ripper	I merely reap the dying hours... to share it among those who need it most.
The Time Ripper	You may call me the Time Saint instead.
Rodion	What... the hell are you talking about? Shut up and—
The Time Ripper	All this is flying over your head, isn't it? You poor little thing, starved for even a morsel of praise...
The Time Ripper	This is both a correction of your ignorance, and our final warning.
The Time Ripper	If you wish to capture me... no, us... then you must be prepared to pay the price in time.
Rodion	Was that an attempt at a threat? Ha, do you seriously think you can scare me like that?
Rodion	Sure, you're the big, scary 'Time Ripper', but I've got ya all figured out. I know your patterns. There's something staying your hand, isn't there? Whether it's your creed, some kind of a design flaw in your tech... you can't touch my time.
Rodion	How'd ya like this ace detective's deductions, huh? Fuhu.
The Time Ripper	Half right. But you have given me two more corrections to make.
The Time Ripper	One. I am not the one killing time. It's you, and everyone like you who's killing time.
The Time Ripper	Two. Indeed, we cannot rip time away from just anyone, no. But... I can take yours.
The Time Ripper	Because you, at this very moment...
The Time Ripper	... are mired in tedium.
Rodion	… What?
The Time Ripper	Just biding the time, aren't you? Waiting for something to happen. Killing time.
The Time Ripper	We are merely taking back the time that you would have killed anyway.
Rodion	Hah, ha... haha...
The Time Ripper	Swing that axe and you might carve a small chunk of our flesh. But...
The Time Ripper	... We... will rip a chunk out of your existence.
The Time Ripper	You will stir awake when the clock strikes four, in fifty-years' time; having done nothing, having lived through nothing, all in the blink of an eye.
The Time Ripper	That's when it shall dawn on you, that despair. It'll all come rushing in like a flood; that disparity, the unfamiliarity... of all the time you killed.
The Time Ripper	... Every pain a reminder of every single second you've killed, thinking about how tedious it all is.
Rodion	…….
The Time Ripper	You look scared. I—we—like that look in your eyes.
Rodya stood there, completely frozen. No one could stop the Time Ripper as he walked away from us. Not me, not Rodya.
Ryoshu	The culprit. Where are they?
Rodion	I... I thought I could take them on. But... when I came face-to-face with the Ripper, I...
Ryoshu	Tsk, how could you give them the slip?
Dante	<They threatened her. That they were going to rip away her time...>
Hong Lu	Oh no...
Rodion	And the Ripper knew. They knew how... how I felt so...
Rodion	... Nevermind.
It seemed to me that Rodya decided to not say it out loud, but I knew that the word she wanted to say was 'tedious'.
Ryoshu	Pathetic.
Rodion	Unlike you, Ryōshū, my time… is important.
Rodion	I’m not here just to make those stupid, pointless observations about the case. I didn’t volunteer out of some weird obligation either, okay? I volunteered because I genuinely wanted to solve the case. I’m not like you. Either of you.
I briefly grew concerned that Ryōshū might swing her scabbard at Rodya, but... I don't think she was listening anyway.
Ryoshu	… How banal.
Instead, she stared up at the Clock Tower in silence as her cigarette slowly burned its way to her lips.
I guess that's a... relief...
Hong Lu	Rodya, I...
Rodion	Sorry. I think I'm just getting tired of wearing a silly smile.

Episode: 12
Location: Alleyways of T Corp.
Rodya was always the one to lift the team's mood when it's down, but...
Rodion	…….
The mood among us had grown so incredibly awkward and cold that I was almost starting to feel a chill in my fingers. ... I guess this is what happens when Rodya's in a depressive mood...
If we were back at the bus, or if Yi Sang or Gregor were here, they would've at least tried to do something to break the ice. But neither Ryōshū nor Hong Lu were the kind of people to be heavily affected by such a frosty mood, so we just trudged on with our investigation.
Dante	<Huh, looks like the culprit got him in the middle of something.>
Ryoshu	He knew the Ripper.
Dante	<How could you tell?>
Ryoshu	By looking at his eyes. Isn't it obvious?
Ryoshu	That look in his eyes... it's the kind of look that people have in their eyes when getting killed by a rat they know.
Dante	<He's not exactly dead, you know...>
Hong Lu	Hm, this dead body looks kinda different from the last one we saw, though.
Dante	<Not a dead body either, but what is it?>
Hong Lu	The culprit tore his scarf in half.
Hong Lu	Maybe they really disagreed with his fashion choices?
Rodion	The Yurodiviye must live like fools in the eyes of others. So that we may see a path invisible to them.
Dante	<... Rodya?>
Rodion	It's something Sonya once said. Told me that the scarf was a yoke to hide the great ambition, that those with such dreams must remain bound.
Assistant	But I don't see you wearing that scarf.
Rodion	Ha ha... I just think it cramps my style.
Hong Lu	Then chopping the scarf in half would mean that...
Rodion	... that the killer might be a former member of the Yurodiviye. We should go back to their hideout and ask around.
Some time later...
Location: Yurodiviye Hideout Entrance
Irate Activist	Dammit... The Ripper got our boss...?!
Irate Activist	Huh? Are you asking if anyone quit recently?
Irate Activist	Well, it's not like they formally 'quit' or anything, but there were some who went completely off the grid.
Irate Activist	Someone who wanted to steal the surplus time at T Corp. to share it equally among everyone...?
Irate Activist	Yeah, I remember a lad who said something like that. When his younger brother died, he became a... bit weird.
Rodion	Did anyone want to go along with that plan?
Irate Activist	I'm sure there are some, but we shouldn't. We're the Yurodiviye; we must bide our time until the Saint gives us the word.
Rodion	... Is that so?
Ryoshu	Where is he?
Irate Activist	No idea. Last I heard, he said something like "I'll always be watching you". Creepy, innit? But I suppose that means that he's still hangin' about somewhere within T Corp. borders.
Irate Activist	... Uh, our bossman's gonna be back to normal, right?
Location: Dark Alleyways of T Corp.
Dante	<He'll always be watching, huh...>
Ryoshu	Haah...
Ryoshu	Clock.
Dante	<Hm?>
Ryoshu	I always burn a cig after a kill.
Dante	<But you're always smoking.>
Ryoshu	Because it takes about four minutes for the cig to burn all the way through...
Ryoshu	I get to watch as the light of life slowly burn out in their dying eyes. It really enhances the flavor.
Ryoshu	Four minutes. I know that it takes exactly four minutes for this cigarette to burn away.
Ryoshu	But only two minutes have passed on that Clock Tower.
Rodion	Huh? That doesn't make sense.
Rodion	How could... how come no one noticed that the Clock Tower was broken?
Ryoshu	This isn't a new development, by the way.
Ryoshu	From the moment our little game of detectives started to this precise moment, the Clock Tower always measured only two minutes by the time I finished smoking.
Assistant	Hm, didn't someone say that it's because people have learned to be helpless?
Location: T Corp. Watch Factory Past
Bumble	I've been waiting for something to get finished for a while-uh. Do you know how much of a pain it is to wait for something but also have too much time in your day-ah? It's so so so tedious-uh!
Location: Alleyways of T Corp. Past
Class 2 Collection Staff	Methinks it's a real bother. Standing guard here, all this stop-and-search... So tedious.
Location: Dark Alleyways of T Corp.
Rodion	Hey, Assistant... What were the first two victims doing when the Ripper struck?
Assistant	Let's see... one of them was attacked while purchasing a thirteen-flavored lollipop candy, and the other was reading a comic book starring a T Corp. inventor as its protagonist. I'd say it's a pretty fun read.
Rodion	Are there are lot of... Clock Towers in T Corp.?
Assistant	A total of twelve in the entirety of T Corp. But just one in this general area.
Rodion	The Time Ripper struck only near this Clock Tower, didn't they...?
Assistant	Right on, detective.
Rodion	What if they slowed down the Clock Tower...
Rodion	... and made everyone in the area feel that sense of extreme tedium...?
Assistant	Tedium... I see. So that's what it was. He can rip time only from people who are bored.
Ryoshu	The Clock Tower.
Ryoshu	It should give me a nice view to blow smoke at.
Assistant	Oh, here's something I forgot to mention. You know that you need actual evidence to make an arrest, right? Detectives?
Rodion	Huh?
Assistant	You have to catch them in the act. Can't go around arresting people just because you feel like it, hmm?
Rodion	What, do we have to let them attack us or something? Just so we can catch them in the act?
Rodion	Don't you know? He can literally rip the time out of you.
Rodion	One small mistake and you might wake up weeks, months, or even... years later.
Rodion	We don't even know if that's the kind of thing that Dante can... rewind.
Assistant	Yes, it's all very tragic. But it's still a part of your responsibilities.
Rodion	You... do you even care about catching the culprit?
Rodion	Or is learning how he rips time all you care about?
Assistant	Right on again, ace detective.
Assistant	Haah... I once thought that there were no inventions in T Corp. that I didn't know their ins-and-outs about.
Assistant	You see, I have the intricate knowledge of the mechanisms of every single machinery in existence within T Corp.
Assistant	I even know about the bizarre contraption your friend back at the jail cell invented while he was here.
Assistant	I didn't want that invention to be beholden to the T Corp. Patents Agency, no. I wanted to watch as it spread throughout the City. Which is why I didn't try very hard to stop him as he escaped through the Backstreets. It wasn't because I was lazy, mind!
Assistant	So, to answer your question—no. Like in the case of the League of Nine Littérateurs, I don't care whether we catch the culprit or not. I'm just curious about the exact mechanism behind how he rips time. It's the nature of being an inventor.
Ryoshu	Agreed.
Rodion	How am I supposed to even get anything done with people like...
Hong Lu	Excuse me, Mister Assistant?
Hong Lu	I have something I'd like to ask you.
Hong Lu	Back when Meursault stood on the Temporal Scale Gallows... didn't the machine beep very loudly?
Assistant	Oh, that reticent friend? Yes, it did.
Hong Lu	If you have the intricate knowledge of the mechanisms of every single machinery in existence within T Corp... then do you also know why it malfunctioned?
Assistant	Mhm, of course.
Hong Lu	Why wasn't the gallows able to take ten billion Ahn's worth of time from Meursault? Was it really because it was broken?
Assistant	What are you talking about? It is statistically impossible for the machines of my design to have any faults. Usually.
Hong Lu	Then the source of that error must be Meursault... or all of us, right? Not the machine...?
Dante	<…?>
Assistant	Brilliant, absolutely brilliant! You're not only looking the part, but also acting the part of an ace detective. Could've fooled me!
Hong Lu	All credits go to Lady Agatha. She did say that one of the qualities of an ace detective is a mind of bottomless inquisitiveness, after all. Fuhu.
I thought the condition of getting exempt from our Time Tax was that we had to catch the Culprit...? That was what I was thinking when the Class 5 Auditor began speaking again as if to address my concerns.
Assistant	I'm not saying that I won't cooperate, of course. I may have even devised a plan for you, though it may be somewhat simple.
Assistant	Now, listen close...

Episode: 13
Location: Clock Tower
Dante	<So...>
Dante	<Will this really work?>
Dante	<I guess it's barely a plan, and more like something we came up with in the last 10 minutes, but still...>
Ryoshu	Tsk. Annoying.
Rodion	... Shh, let's hide.
The Time Ripper	…….
Hong Lu	Hiya. I've been waiting for you.
Dante	<…….>
Rodion	... Did he just say 'Hiya' to the Ripper...?
The Time Ripper	How interesting... Not only did you know that I'd be coming here, but you also had the manners to extend your greetings?
The Time Ripper	I see. You've been tailing us this whole time.
Hong Lu	Hehe, of course. You were right under our noses all this time, weren't you?
The Time Ripper	You're one of those fools playing pretend as a detective, aren't you? Killing time...
Hong Lu	You're right. Say, can you teach me how to make the most of my time?
The Time Ripper	Give us your time and we might tell you.
The Time Ripper	What, thirty hours? What is this, a bloody joke? That ain't enough.
The Time Ripper	Just think about all those hours we've lost fleeing from these sods! We could've spent that time ripping more hours from others. I say that it's only fair that we take 300 hours from him.
The Time Ripper	Agreed. He's one of the Nest's lackeys... working with those filthy watch chains of T Corp... He deserves it. If we let him go, he'll only bring further trouble. Let's show them what happens to those that oppose us.
The Time Ripper	Seconded. Let's try to extract the exact amount of hours that evenly splits into twelve pieces.
The Time Ripper	Sod it, let's stab as deep as we can go! We don't want the repeat of the fat cat at the factory, do we? We're aiming straight for the center. We're not letting this bastard slip away with just a gash of a hundred hours!
The Time Ripper	Silence. I will decide the time. We will stab as deep as we can and rip a thousand hours from him. That should be more than enough time for us to happily share.
The Time Ripper	Well, I suppose we'll be losing our sense of taste for the next thousand hours. If we divide the burden of thousand hours equally amongst one 'nother... yeah, I can roll with that.
Dante	<Huh... it's almost like there are multiple personalities in there, all taking turns to speak...>
The culprit wasn't the only one who suddenly began to behave strangely. Hong Lu did, too.
His face relaxed into a tranquil look, as though he was ready to let something go. ... Or perhaps... that was an expression of liberation.
Hong Lu	A thousand hours...
Hong Lu	Will a thousand hours have passed in the blink of an eye?
The Time Ripper	Yes. And there will be no pain. Only the despair that awaits you upon your awakening.
Hong Lu	Then... I like that.
Hong Lu	Rip my time away.
Dante	<…!>
Rodion	He... he didn't mean that, did he?
Ryoshu	A time-tearing razor, is it?
Assistant	So that is the core of the power that extracts time. Though it was no invention at all, but a Distortion...
Assistant	My, this is still highly fascinating! So this is the kind of power that a Distortion can grant? Powers that only one could have dreamt of...
The Time Ripper	…!
Hong Lu	…….
After a lengthy silence, as though the world itself had come to a grinding halt...
The Time Ripper	Why... can't we rip away your time?
Hong Lu	I see. Everything went according to plan. It's all... so same.
Hong Lu	I blinked, but the world is just as familiar and changeless as ever.
The Time Ripper	Wh-what...?!
The Time Ripper	We've walked right into a trap, you daft idiots! Don't you understand?!
Ryoshu	Detectives. A.O.T.S.
Dante	<Phew... that's a relief. Had me worried for a moment there...>
About 30 minutes ago...
Location: T Corp. Alleyway, 30 Minutes Ago
Assistant	Like I said earlier... the Temporal Scale Gallows isn't broken. This error was caused by you.
Assistant	Your time—and this applies to all twelve of you—was already bound to someone else’s time.
Dante	<Someone else's time...? Me?>
Assistant	... This caused a multi-reference error in the Temporal Scale Gallows, which was supposed to 'hang' your time.
Rodion	So what you're saying is... because we are living within Dante's time... the gallows couldn't 'hang' our time?
Dante	<I had no idea...>
Hong Lu	Well, if all that is news to us...
Hong Lu	... then there's really no way for the Time Ripper to know that, either.
Hong Lu	So, once the Time Ripper arrives and tries to rip my time away from me...
Hong Lu	... that's when Rodya and Ryōshū can swoop in like the awesome people you are and arrest the culprit.
... And that's how this trap came to be.
Dante	<But what if... and really, what if...>
Dante	<... what if the Time Ripper manages to rip Hong Lu's time away?>
Hong Lu	Don't worry, Dante.
Hong Lu	It's all going to be okay.
Assistant	Haah... I wonder how long the racket would last once the news of a malfunctioning Clock Tower breaks?
Assistant	Wouldn't it be so entertaining to watch as people's trust in the institution, of the supposedly unerring Clock Tower, crumble? It's going to be such a fun show.
Dante	<... I'll try my best not to malfunction.>
Assistant	Tick tock... tick tock...
Assistant	Hey, participation trophy. I used to really hate the sound of clocks.
Assistant	I don't know when it started, but I started associating its noise with the perpetual cycle of pain. Like it's some... premonition that a clock hand-shaped blade will one day cleave clean through me. A blade of time, if you will.
Assistant	But your noise...? It's a bit different. It's the kind of noise that makes me dream up something new, something different. And it's not... pain.
Assistant	Well, that's why I wanted to extend my gratitude.
Dante	<Not sure what he's extending his gratitude for... but can someone ask him to do something for me?>
Hong Lu	Dante has a request.
Assistant	Right, request away.
Dante	<I think I've had enough experience to intuit when a big fight's about to break out... and I'm getting that exact feeling that something's about to happen.>
Dante	<So it's time for you to return the other Sinners.>
Location: Clock Tower Again
Ishmael	I can't believe they actually kept us imprisoned the whole time, only to let us out right before they caught the culprit...
Ishmael	So how was it, manager? Adventuring with just three Sinners. Was it nice?
Outis	I trust that you have learned your lesson, and that my absence was... deeply felt.
Sinclair	Agh, I'm aching all over just from sitting inside that jail cell. I don't ever want to go back to a place like that...
Heathcliff	Right, so is that sod the Time Ripper or somethin'?
Faust	A Distortion we must defeat.

Episode: 14
Location: Clock Tower
The Time Ripper	Have you ever wept in such deep longing for that extra minute, that extra second you let slip through your fingers?
The Time Ripper	Where you wished that your heart would forever sleep, for its every beat was but a painful reminder of the merciless march of time?
The Time Ripper	I don't suppose you have... Because you all have plenty of time to spare...
With that, the Time Ripper slips into the shimmering portal.
Meursault	A Mirror Dungeon of the Fathoms. It appears to be the same kind as the one we have seen before.
Rodion	…….
Rodion	Hey, Dante... I've got a question. It just occurred to me for the first time.
Rodion	Where do all the time that we use... that you use...
Rodion	... where do they come from?
Dante	<Well, that's...>
I never gave thought to where the time I rewind comes from. All I knew was that when I turned the clock, I rewound the time.
Ryoshu	W.C.
Rodion	... Yeah. Who cares, I guess.
I wish I could answer her, but... it's not like I know how any of this works.
Ryōshū quickly shut us down with her brief summary of the circumstances. We did not question it further.
Outis	A Mirror Dungeon of the Fathoms...
Outis	... Let's go.

Episode: 15
Location: Mirror Dungeon of the Fathoms
Dante	<So this is the culprit's Fathoms...>
Twenty-one minutes.
The time it took from the impact for you to hit the cobblestones.
Younger Brother	Isn't it about time you quit that Yurodiviye thing, brother?
Younger Brother	We barely have enough time to scrape by. Wasting our time building unregistered inventions just to annoy some Time Collectors doesn't do anything! C'mon, brother! Dream like you used to, please? You always wanted to work for the T Corp. Patents Agency, didn't you?
We're just biding our time, waiting for the right moment, okay? And when that moment comes...
Younger Brother	But you don't even know when that 'moment' is. What if that moment comes after we're dead? Why would any of that matter if we're not here to see it?
Younger Brother	Take the Grade 1 Inventor certificate exam or something. Make a submission to the Inventions Expo. There's a pretty hefty prize money for receiving the Inventor of the Year award, y'know.
…….
Younger Brother	Did you know that... in other Nests, everyone enjoys equal twenty-four hours?
Younger Brother	Just imagine for a second. What if we saved up a ton of money and moved to a different Nest? Then maybe... maybe we'll get to live twenty-four hours a day, too.
Younger Brother	I could get a full night's rest and I'd still have half the day to spend. Wouldn't that be so wonderful?
I was always full of excuses.
For all my hatred of the system, I remained inert with my ignorance as a convenient shield and excuse for inaction.
I knew that our lives would get better if I did get certified, but I always gave the same excuse: "I don't have the time to take a test".
One early morning, my brother came to speak to me.
Younger Brother	I'll lend you all but two hours of my time. That'll give you more than enough time to complete the exam.
Younger Brother	It ends around 2PM, right? I'll meet you in front of the Clock Tower then. You can give me back the time you borrowed there.
Thus I was given a single day of abundance.
The sun still hadn't set when I finished the exam.
I had a good feeling about all this, too.
Maybe I could start dreaming again, just like in that old comic book I used to read—to dream of becoming a professional inventor of all kinds of things.
The car rolls in slowly. It's so, so slow that anyone could simply step out of its way.
The driver is like us. Someone who lives ten-hour-days.
But my brother can't get out of its way.
Because he doesn't have enough time.
Hours already precariously stretched over a day... stretched even further.
So, you are
slowly, so slowly
thrown into the air.
I run as fast as I can within the time that is given to me, but I fail to reach him.
I never could.
Nothing changed. No matter how much time I was shared.
Because my life was spent in a rush. Because its entirety slipped through my fingers in the blink of an eye.
... I wandered aimlessly near the street my brother drew his last breath.
Candy-suckling T Corp. Citizen	Mm... if only I could taste every flavor of this lollipop sooner.
Listless T Corp. Citizen	Man, I can't wait to read what happens next. Won't somebody knock me out and wake me up when the next volume's out?
The City...
T Corp. Watch Factory Owner T Corp.	I can't wait for them to finally complete my portrait-uh~ I hope they captured the little upward flick at the tip of my moustache-ah... It's supposed to look like a bird's wings, yes-uh...? Ugh, it's so tedious, waiting for it to be finished-ah!
Class 2 Collection Staff	Yaaaawn... Still 3 in the afternoon? This is one long shift... When'll this tedious busywork end...?
... has too many people who so indifferently kill time.
Yurodiviye Captain	Our time will come, just like the Saint said. I know it's tedious, but everyone feels the same way. Stop pestering me about it, yeah? You think I'm happy with this small-time stuff? I'm just as tired as you are of punching those bloody Collectors and running away!
I was ignorant. I lacked the time.
If only I had the time they killed. If only... my brother had the time they killed.
He would still be alive.
Yes, my brother was right.
Can't wait for the moment that won't come.
Now is the time for action.
I'll find everyone so content with killing their time.
And I'll...
The Time Ripper	Though a clock may look as though it turns evenly on the outside... the cogs that make up the clockwork within each turn at disparate rates.
The Time Ripper	Some living forty-four hour days. Some living four hour days.
The Time Ripper	I—we—are not like the Yurodiviye. We know that we must take action.
Rodion	…….
Heathcliff	So that's... what you've turned yourself into?
The Time Ripper	Within me is a place where all may live in equal hours. Our nest.
The Time Ripper	A place for all who have felt the very same pain.
Meursault	Your explanations fail to justify your 'timekilling'.
The Time Ripper	Yet I am not the Timekiller.
The Time Ripper	It is the people of the City who have been slaughtering time!
The Time Ripper	No one even took a moment to doubt that the Clock Tower may have been broken. Instead, they stopped at merely complaining that it was a 'slow day' and that they should just 'pass the time'!
The Time Ripper	... Killing... time...
The Time Ripper	I saved the dying times from their wasteful clutches. Will you still claim that I am... in the wrong?

Episode: 15.1
Location: Mirror Dungeon of the Fathoms
The Time Ripper	Bloody hell, this is really gettin' on my nerves. Oi!
The Time Ripper	Quit hidin' us, yeah? Give us a proper view!
The Time Ripper	Dammit... I hoped that I wouldn't have to show them my true form...
Though we couldn't be sure if there were multiple personalities in the Ripper's head, or if it was truly the voice of the 'many', we did hear several voices of varying pitches echoing from all corners of the room.
The Time Ripper, cornered, grabs the lapels of his long coat, and...
Ryoshu	…!

Episode: 15.2
Location: Mirror Dungeon of the Fathoms
The Time Ripper	Tsk, irritating little tricks...
The Time Ripper	Oi, remember what you said earlier? Might be the time to put that to use.
The Time Ripper	But... I'm sorry, doesn't that use too much time?
The Time Ripper	It drains too much time from all of us!
The Time Ripper	Shush, my friends...
The Time Ripper	Letting this drag on for any longer will cost us more in the long term.
The Time Ripper	This attack will surely eliminate them.
The Time Ripper	Think of how much time we will save by taking care of them here and now. We shall share this burden of time together.

Episode: 15.3
Location: Mirror Dungeon of the Fathoms
The Time Ripper	N-no, this doesn't make sense! That had to work...! More tricks, is it...?!
The Time Ripper	Oi, wait up. You took five hours from me earlier. What's up with you taking another three hours from me? You only took two from that sod.
The Time Ripper	We will settle that as soon as we deal with this present threat. Focus on the battle for now.
The Time Ripper	Deal with this present threat when?! In three hours? Four? This fight's been goin' on for too bloody long!
The Time Ripper	I understand. That is why we must all sacrifice our collective time to—
The Time Ripper	Nope. I ain't givin' you more than an hour of my time. Take more from the rest. I got the short end of the stick last time when the numbers didn't evenly divide by twel—
The Time Ripper	Shut up about the 'last time'! You're just an uneducated fool who doesn't even understand basic additions and subtractions...
The Time Ripper	Oi, what the hell was that? Who said that?! It's the new one, innit?
Dante	<They're starting to fight each other.>
Hong Lu	Ah, I get it. You're saying that now is our chance, right?

Episode: 16
Location: Clock Tower
The Time Ripper	…….
Assistant	"If only I had 10 more minutes...! No, a minute, a few more seconds, even...!"
Assistant	"I could've changed so much more if only I had the time...!"
Assistant	... Or so I thought, once upon a time.
The Time Ripper	S...o...
The Time Ripper	What... did you do...? Did you... even try to change... anything...?
Assistant	Believe it or not...
Assistant	I am the creator of every change you see around you.
The Time Ripper	…….
Assistant	I know, I know. I know what the burning question is. "What changes?!", right? Because, at the end of the day, this place became no different from the other horrible, horrible Nests. There's so much pain here... just like any other place in the City.
Assistant	So... listen up, and listen close. Because there's only one way to truly be free from suffering.
Assistant	Stopping time.
Dante	<Stop time...?>
Our Assistant's expression turned bitter. He did not elaborate.
Well, it's not like he could understand me. And the Sinners were too busy keeping their eyes on the Time Ripper to relay my question.
Like always, the LCA's special operations unit arrived and discussed a few things with the employee...
Labeled the Time Ripper, a Distortion, with a complicated classification code...
... and that's how the Case of Timekilling Time closed.
But...
Location: T Corp. Watch Factory
Bumble	My, I am so happy that you finally caught the perpetrator-uh~
Bumble	Aha, behold-ah! My portrait is finally complete-uh~ Isn't it so wonderful-ah?
Bumble	So slow, everyone-uh! Let's stop being lazy and get to work, yes-ah? Chop chop-uh~
What our Assistant said much earlier... was right. T Corp. did not change, not even a little.
Location: Local Time Collections Office
Rodion	Why did you... volunteer to be the bait for the Ripper, Hong Lu?
Rodion	I-I'll be honest. I was scared as hell. The moment I began thinking about how my own time could just... get ripped away from me, I...
Hong Lu	I... just wanted to understand.
Hong Lu	Because, to me, the world was full of things I couldn't understand.
Hong Lu	In truth, I still understand so little of it. Why do people hang on so desperately to something like time? Something so... ephemeral?
Rodion	... Yeah?
Hong Lu	But... I know one thing.
Hong Lu	You understood the culprit, Rodya. It wasn't just fear that held you back.
Hong Lu	While there was fear, a different side of you felt like you could understand him. That's what stayed your hand.
Rodion	How... how do you know that?
Hong Lu	Watching you, Rodya, reminded me why I did not resist when my siblings tried to kill me for the first time.
Hong Lu	I wasn't just scared.
Hong Lu	I felt as though I could... understand them.
Ryoshu	When fear grows so extreme that it circles back to its origin...
Ryoshu	That moment is so precious and so... beautiful.
T Corp. Reporter	All right, lads and lasses. Gather 'roud!
Don Quixote	Hooh... Oooohhhh....!
T Corp. Reporter	We'll be runnin' a special feature on the people who played the biggest role in solvin' the 'Case of Timekilling Time'. And for that, we'd like to get a little group photo. Would that be alright with you ace detectives?
Don Quixote	Wh-what an auspicious day this is!
Rodion	…….
Dante	<What's up with the long face, Rodya? Everything okay?>
Rodion	Ha ha... I don't know if I even deserve to be in the picture.
Rodion	I didn't really get anything done out there, did I?
Hong Lu	But Rodya, we eventually captured the culprit, didn't we~? It was possible only because we all worked together!
Dante	<I'd say everyone did a great job out there. Rodya, Hong Lu, Ryōshū, all three of you... good work.>
Rodion	You mean Hong Lu and Ryōshū. I just cowered as soon as I came face-to-face with the culprit... I was ridiculous.
Hong Lu	Well, it is said that all great detectives are flanked by great assistants.
Rodion	Hah, that's funny. Is that what this 'Lady Agatha' said?
Hong Lu	No, I said it. Just now.
Rodion	…….
Ryoshu	I'm the only one who's allowed to make that L.F.
Ryoshu	Smile, detective.
Rodion	Ha... Ha ha...
T Corp. Reporter	Right, can we huddle a little close together?
Rodion	... What right did I have to stop those struggling to change things, no matter how small...
Rodion	... when I haven't done anything?
It seemed that I was the only one who heard her whispering.
T Corp. Reporter	Right, then! One... two...
Don Quixote	Hold, Hoooold!
Click!
Location: Alleyways of T Corp.
Mai	Executive Director, it's time.
Executive Director?	Ah, Mai. Thank you for letting me borrow your clothes. I made sure to not get even a speck of dust on it, so don't you worry about having to run it through a washer.
Dante	<Executive Director...? When did he...>
Executive Director?	It's been so long since I had a day this exciting. Thanks, participation trophy.
Executive Director?	I just like to experience how it's like outside the company building from time to time, you know?
Dante	<Shouldn't he be thanking us for solving the case, not... you know...?>
Executive Director?	Mm~ Let's see. Considering your rather competent command of the battlefield, and that special ability of yours, maybe you could even snag the 'exceptional' awar— Hm... actually, no. Perhaps you'd receive the 'distinctive' award instead since you can't explain the mechanism of your own powers. Your clock does seem quite special, but the time that flows through you don't seem very different from the concept of time I'm used to.
Executive Director?	Well, I don't have any prize money to hand out, but... allow me to impart a little tip instead. Remember. Using the power of time comes with a cost. Always. It's something that's been a thorn in my side as well.
Executive Director?	Oh, and another think I should thank you for.
Executive Director?	My dream began to flow once again.
Executive Director?	On the day I ventured out to the edge and wished upon a star, I thought my dream to have ceased there, never to flow again.
Executive Director?	I would have wished for something completely different had I had the chance to wish again, but... I believed my only chance spent.
A star... I don't understand why, but a mere mention of it suddenly brought back the memories of that star I saw when I made the pact with the Sinners.
Executive Director?	I used to think that the star could never be linked again, that I could never turn back time. Vile men like myself know when their dreams come to an end. When there is no path left for the dream to go.
Executive Director?	But I was wrong. There it was, something rewinding time right before my eyes in a way that I could not fathom. Well, it is my current hypothesis that you're not actually *rewinding* time, but a potential is a potential still.
Executive Director?	And that Distortion that rips time... is another proof that I do not know all there is to know about time, not yet.
Executive Director?	So my dream, once still as a lake, has become wild as a rushing river once again.
Executive Director?	Your indifferent, unafraid attitude toward time? It also left me an impression.
Executive Director?	I think day after day about how uncaring the nature of time is; that it will continue to drift on and on and on even after my death. And I think about how that's so, so...
Executive Director?	... terrifying.
Executive Director?	I'm afraid of death, yes. But I'm not interested in researching immortality. The flow of time is equivalent to constant change; those who dare tread upon the road of elusion from death and annihilation shall soon find themselves before another wall of what they had sought to flee from in the first place.
Executive Director?	What must one do to stem the change when the nature of perpetual change itself is tied to an immutable thing like the flow of time? One must stop time itself, of course.
Executive Director?	Yes, indeed. Therein lies the conundrum. Until time itself ceases to move, all change eventually becomes a great flow.
Dante	<I'm having trouble following your train of thought...>
Faust	Dante says that they are having trouble following your train of thought.
Executive Director?	Hm? Oh, ahh, apologies! I must've been thinking out loud. You must understand how someone might forget who they're talking to when the listener has nothing to say in response but intermittent ticks and tocks. I suppose all that was probably too much for a manager of an upstart business to understand, yes?
Faust	Does this conclude the business of the ten billion Ahn Time Tax?
Executive Director?	Mhm, you're all exempt. Can you imagine what would've happened if a case like this for you to solve didn't exist? Can you believe that you almost had to live the rest of your lives stretching a measly four hours over an entire day? Unbelievable. A little nap and you'd wake up two whole days later. Well, that is, if the four-hour daily minimum time policy even applied to you.
Faust	Yes, that is difficult to believe, but I understand. Then...
Executive Director?	Oh, almost slipped my mind. Remember that purchase catalogue Limbus Company handed me? That 'Monolith' in there... really caught my eye. I'd like to purchase them. As many as you have in stock.
Vergilius	…….
Executive Director?	Cheers, that's a sale made. It was really pricey, too. Who knows, maybe this will get you that commendation or whatever it is.
Faust	... Understood. Your intent to purchase will be relayed.
Vergilius	The Monolith...? What are you planning to do with—
Executive Director?	It's a secret. Things yet to be realised must remain shrouded in hearts under this starless sky.
Executive Director?	Let's go, Mai.
Mai	Yes, Director Hubert.
Vergilius	This company is growing increasingly bizarre, Miss Faust.
Vergilius	Not only are we providing Distortion management service, but also dipping our feet into the sales of artifacts like the Monolith?
Faust	…….
Vergilius	I don't believe that the Monoliths should be so easily bought or sold. I see them as something we must retrieve, not put up for sale.
Vergilius	You do understand the... ramifications of selling artifacts that could force a Distortion, I trust?
Faust	The world is aplenty with technology capable of maiming or slaughtering a fellow human.
Faust	Not all of those have started with intent to do harm. In fact, most of them have begun as an altruistic project for the betterment of mankind.
Faust	In other words... it depends.
Vergilius	Do you really believe this to be a matter that you can just brush aside with—
Faust	Vergilius.
Vergilius	…….
Faust	You know my place. Yours, as well.
Faust	You are aware that we are not provided the luxury of choice.
Vergilius	Haah.
Faust	We will both reach what each of us desire. That is a guarantee.
Vergilius	... Fine.
With that peculiar exchange between Faust and Vergilius, the bus sets off on another journey.
Location: Aboard Mephistopheles
Rodion	... Oooh~ You're framing it already?!
Ever since we returned to the bus, Rodya was busily moving between the Sinners, excitedly talking to them about whatever subject they were interested in.
Don Quixote	Quite... quite...! Aha! Thus this achievement has been memorialized for all eternity to come!
Yi Sang	Aha, do you intend to put it up for display?
In her hands was the article we were featured in. Don Quixote dedicated considerable time and effort to meticulously ironing out the creases, coating it with a thin film, and displaying it carefully in a frame.
We could barely tell it was her due to the blurring, but... she appeared so happy to be a part of the photograph.
Don Quixote	Hm hm~ Much do I desire to hang it here for all to see, but this doth carry great meaning, indeed, as my very first accomplishment! Thus shall I place it in my chamber for safekeeping!
Gregor	Boy, you're really stoked about a shaky picture of yourself, huh?
Rodion	Aw, don't be a buzzkill, darling~ Chiquita's happy about it and that's what matters, right~?
Don Quixote	It matters not, for this is a signifier of our achievements!
Rodion	Yeah~ O-our... achievement! Ha ha...
Rodya was laughing and cheering along with her, as though nothing had happened...
Dante	<…….>
... but it's never been so clear that this cheeriness was all an act. And... I think that pained my heart.
Yet, I was powerless to do anything about it. The most I could do was to clear the air and hopefully divert their attention to something else.
Dante	<... Faust, can you ask Vergilius where we're headed next?>
Faust	Vergilius, Dante asks—
At least when we're talking about our next destination, the past seems to become a blur, even for a moment.
That was the intent behind my question.
Vergilius	Yes, yes. I've come to realize that it is about time the manager asked me for some information regarding our next destination.
Lucky. I was right—the subject of our next destination was enough to divert the Sinners' attention. They all fell silent in anticipation.
Vergilius	Our next destination...
Too bad I got more than I bargained for.
Vergilius	... is to a WARP Train, Dante.
I didn't just clear the air... that statement alone caused a whole storm among the Sinners.
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