City Series:Volume7a Chapter7

Chapter 7: Rest

2002 spring (HK)

Page 1

• At port

[Sarah walks by the ocean with a suitcase, Beretta, and Thunderbird. Singlehorn yells at her over the phone]

I’ve mysteriously found myself visiting Hong Kong this year.

Okay, maybe “mysteriously” is overselling it. It’s just for a personal matter and a work matter.

The personal matter is that my mom told me to visit because she’s moved from the New Territories to New Hong Kong Cave.

The work matter is to request assistance for the upcoming Earth Dragon Godquake coming up. And to gather information on the similar incident that happened in Hong Kong five years ago.

I wasn’t sure how to get started and called SF from the port, but Singlehorn chewed me out.

They’re apparently in a real hurry back there. Grand Mam returned to the surface and they’re going to hold a meeting after she gets something to eat and takes a bath.

I sure wish I could get some food and a bath instead of just looking after her pet.

And while I’m at it, I might as well ask for a drink, more food, and a down blanket.

Page 2

• New Cave of Hong Kong

A large part of Hong Kong collapsed when an Earth Dragon was activated there in ’97.

It was activated in order to revive heaven after its destruction during World War Two. It was supposed to carry the surface resources into heaven.

I don’t know all the details since I moved away in ’95, but I know the general story thanks to the letters from home and the cable transmissions.

The incident was caused by a Nein Engel man born to a human and an angel. It was his sister who stopped his plan prematurely. She used the power of music, weapons, willpower, and people.

Also, Hong Kong Cave, the big hole people once dug in Hong Kong Island, was remade into New Hong Kong Cave and became a main base used by the people.

The 5th anniversary of that is coming up in about two months. New Hong Kong Cave is busy preparing for the celebration.

The excited people are focused on a song that was created at the bottom level of Old Hong Kong Cave.

It’s called the Flight Song and it was sung by the people who dug Old Hong Kong Cave to escape underground when Hong Kong became British territory.

“彼街通天地 That city connects heaven and earth

“墜朝地仰雲 I fall in the morning and look up to the clouds from the earth

“昇夜空謳月 I rise at night and sing with the moon in the sky

“惟望再笑君 All I desire is to smile with you again”

This city connects heaven and earth. It reaches the ground in the morning and looks up at the clouds and it rises into the sky at night and sings with the moon.

But it isn’t smiling yet. The rebuilding is still ongoing and people continue to mourn all that was lost.

[Sarah views the surface entrance of New Hong Kong Cave]

Page 3

• Finding

[Sarah and Thunderbird walk along the street while Beretta runs toward a shop]

But I’m going to focus on my job more than sentimentality or my personal business. I need to visit New Hong Kong Yard, the armed representatives of Hong Kong, and tell them what SF is facing.

• Jumping

[Sarah calls for Beretta while Beretta grabs at a broom hanging outside the shop]

I walk on my feet instead of using my wings. New Hong Kong Cave is full of life. The port was honestly a lot less crowded.

• Holding

[Sarah tries to pull Beretta off of the broom while a flustered shopkeeper emerges]

That’s a souvenir, Beretta.

Let go, darn it!

Page 4

• New HK Yard

I arrive at New Hong Kong Yard.

It was located near the center of the Kowloon Peninsula back when I lived here.

I think I maybe saw it once? I don’t really remember.

But I’m here regardless.

[Sarah and the General greet each other in front of New Hong Kong Yard]

I greet an old man who I’m guessing is the janitor and walk inside.

The nature of my business is, um, how should I describe it?

Page 5

[Rin and Fei inside New Hong Kong Yard]

I’m greeted by the second-in-command and her aide who has a fully prosthetic body and is also her husband.

They hand me a chip ROM of information and even a document indicating their acceptance of our request for information. They seemed awfully well prepared, so I asked about it.

“You must not be aware, but volunteers from around the world are working to help you in SF. Last week, a representative arrived from England and one from Japan arrived just a bit ago.”

Then Grand Mam calls me.

She asks me if they can modify Bendaughter and I ask her why she’s asking me that.

“You’re her guardian, aren’t you?”

Am I? I tell her we can discuss that during my next scheduled check-in call and hang up.

Page 6

• Running Under the Moon

After all that, I leave to see the moon in the circle of the sky.

Then Thunderbird pecks me in the butt.

It really hurts, but it gets me to look down and notice Beretta is missing.

What is he up to this time?

We run around for a while and then I decided to check that souvenir shop from before.

[Sarah and Thunderbird run through New Hong Kong Cave]

• Foreigner?

[Sarah speaks with the shopkeeper from before]

“Oh, if you mean that three-tailed fox, he was playing with the broom earlier, but then he chased after a foreigner who was passing by. I think they went down? You should catch up pretty quick.”

Page 7

• Discover!

I run.

How am I supposed to “catch up pretty quick” when I don’t even know who I’m looking for?

But after running for about 15 minutes and descending half a mile, Thunderbird spots something.

There’s a large golden broom up ahead. No, wait. That’s hair.

And I recognize the person it belongs to.

[Thunderbird notices something]

• Who?

[Beretta hangs onto the end of Rosetta’s hair]

Oh, right. That’s the young woman and the old woman who visited the house where I got Beretta.

Beretta chases after the end of the young woman’s hair and keeps jumping at it but can’t seem to grab it.

After a few attempts, his jump is finally high enough and she turns back. Our eyes meet.

She picks up Beretta and nods at me.

Page 8

• Walking

[Sarah watches Rosetta holding Beretta behind Mallette]

We continue down through New Hong Kong Cave as the people prepare for the coming celebration through the night.

There is a park with a bottomless spring at the bottom level and a stone monument of the Flight Song is erected on the edge of the spring.

“What are you doing here?” I ask.

The young woman smiles a little before responding.

“I lost someone important to me long ago. Time for me stopped when that happened. But…people are reborn in this world, aren’t they? So I am searching.”

“Searching for that person?”

“Yes. She is a proud woman with wings on her back who wields a spear, defeats a dragon, and destroys a world. And she is in love with a man who wields a powerful sword and is willing to throw out his social standing and turn a part of his body into metal in order to fight.”

That sounds vaguely familiar to me, so I ask another question.

“Did that woman love to sing?”

The young woman nods.

Pages 9-10

• Sing a Song

We’re 2 miles underground, the celebration isn’t for a while yet, and only the faint moonlight can reach us.

This city still hasn’t found its answer. That reminds me a lot of SF as we face the Godquake.

But even though I left this city, I feel like it is my duty to provide an answer eventually.

An answer to a single question: was there any meaning to all this destruction born of prejudice and misunderstanding?

I’m sure that answer is needed.

In SF, for example.

The young woman sees me lost in thought and gives me a considerate smile.

Then she begins to sing while awash with moonlight.

It’s in a foreign language, but I can still tell what it is.

She twirls as if dancing and sings a song passed down by European knights.

A song of heaven and earth.

[Sarah watches Rosetta sing at the bottom of New Hong Kong Cave]

That which is filled with the blue sky.

That which is covered by the red dirt.

I name thee heaven and earth.

Where the wind howls bravely.

Where the sand dances gently.

I view thee as heaven and earth.

So that no one would grieve again.

That which is endless and cannot be grasped.

That which is vast and cannot be held.

I am with thee.

Page 11

• Drinking Booth

People are drawn in by the singing, set up shops, and a party breaks out.

The people from the Yard, the broom lady, and the Japanese representative (who got here before me) are among the people gathered around me and the young woman.

The Japanese representative is apparently leaving for SF tomorrow, but I have to stop by my mom’s house first. The young woman and her elderly companion are apparently going to Shanghai and then visiting Hong Kong again in two months.

I wonder what’s going to happen. If SF gets through the Godquake alright, I think we should all gather here again. I can also bring the people I know from SF.

Then we can all have a crazy party.

Hm, I feel like I’m forgetting something. Eh, I’m sure it’s not important.

[Sarah drinks with a crazy party going on in the background]

Page 12

• This is Bendaughter

Hello, I know this is sudden, but this is Bendaughter.

We can’t seem to contact Sarah.

Singlehorn is calling her every five minutes like some kind of stalker, but she isn’t answering. We need to discuss modifying my harp, so this is kind of a problem.

[Bendaughter is flustered, Singlehorn rages with his phone, and Army shrugs]

Everyone held a vote and the majority guessed she started drinking and forgot all about this, but who knows what really happened.

Oh, dear. Oh, dear. What ever am I going to do?

The end of image.

Finish

Kawa-Commentary

Chapter 7: Rest

• General

The 1st Hong Kong chapter. It wasn’t revealed in the chapter, but Follett Missel, who was working as the two women’s bodyguard, was ordered by NUSIF (New US AIF) to meet with Gleun who was also in Hong Kong. She lost bigtime in poker and had to travel to the New Territories’ entrance by Heavy Barrel.

• Page 1

Hong Kong Cave was dug from the top down. The structures you see right off the ocean surface are the coastal areas like Wan Chai. The direct tunnel flooded and led to a lot of deaths during the collapse in ’96, so a memorial was erected at this airport.

• Page 2

New Hong Kong City deals with the modern Geofront issues of air and water with a large ventilation facility and a continuous pump system. The heat rising from the ventilation facility and the sea breeze deflected off of the shield panels in each direction create a spiraling updraft that makes it dangerous for aircraft to approach. Only large and highly stable aerial ships and smaller transport aerial ships with skilled pilots land here.

Water falls like waterfalls inside, much to the delight of tourists, but that actually is a way of reducing the internal heat. The humidity is sent upwards by the updraft and reduced by the internal shielding…is my idea of how it works. Instead of directly sending air down, it’s distributed behind the shield panels in each direction and sent to the underground area from there. Directly sending it would create a lot of suction that would cause powerful winds.

The foundations of all these things existed at the time of the collapse, but they later strengthened it using a lot of the technology used in Germany to build Germania.

• Page 3

They are walking through the innermost part of the interior circle, so you can think of it as the main street.

A lot of the signs are seen from the back here and most of them are for food.

• Page 4

The Yard only uses the main street floor, so it’s really just one tenant among many in a giant building. Crime is naturally low in the immediate vicinity of the Yard, so a lot of nonhuman shops and shops selling valuables are found there. But the bigger shops that prefer to protect themselves do not establish themselves nearby, so it’s only the smaller shops owned by ordinary people found here.

There are a lot of signs here, but the one on the upper left is the Human Meat Bar that was seen in Hong Kong. It still serves nonhumans and does money changing, sells stamps, sells precious metals, and sells blood.

The altar right by the entrance is a memorial for the victims of the Hong Kong Collapse.

• Page 5

Anywhere with a view of the sky is prime real estate, so this means the Yard is in a good location. The streamers on the air conditioner overhead have emblems drawn on them to further cool the air. There is also a memorial tablet by the window which I think is for someone both of them knew. That’s why there are two incense sticks.

• Page 6

Thunderbird can supposedly understand human language, but I’m not so sure that’s true. It may be more like he gets the general gist of what you want to say than actually understanding the language.

• Page 7

No commentary necessary here. This is a habit of Beretta’s seen in Chapter 1 too.

• Page 8

It’s drawn abstractly, but the inner walls are reinforced in various ways and spells are used to set up air conditioning shields that keep the humidity out. Neighbors will jointly fund the creation of hanging banner spells, but I think a lot of them have the emblems written on the back and a local store advertisement on the front.

• Pages 9-10

With New Hong Kong Cave’s 5th year coming up, they will begin by decorating the bottommost level’s square. On the left page, the spring’s water is flowing out from the bottom left, making a full circle of the square, and then taken up to the top level for the people who can’t come all the way down here.

The large LCD panels set up at a few levels are saying “business is booming” in a variety of languages.

• Page 11

It doesn’t really matter, but Thunderbird seems to dislike drinkers. That probably means he’s a diligent person deep down.

And that girl behind Sarah is Japanese Representative Kujou Kugiri. She uses Kotodama, so she wears gloves just to be safe.

• Page 12

Since Army is here, she must be on the team in charge of modifying Benny.

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