Original subtitles

■■■■'S MEMORIES II

Ow...

What...

Ma'am?

What happ...

Huh? Wha?

Hey, bring a stretcher over here!

Mama!

My daughter's still under there!

It's no use. We can't move it.

Now's not the time for that.

Hurry! Hurry! Just leave that!

Hey, kid! What're you doing?!

Hurry up and get to shelter!

The Ostanian army is coming!

Ostania?

But they said a war wouldn't happen.

■■■■! You're safe!

What in the world were you doing?!

Mom...

You're hurt.

Oh, yeah...

But I think I'm okay because of the helmet.

Oh, thank goodness.

We need to hurry home and gather our things.

We're going to my uncle's place in Kielberg.

Wait!

What... No! What about school?

And the festival's tomorrow.

Now's not the time for that!

You know that!

Though the Westalis troops are continuing their resistance,

Luwen in the east has fallen...

On the 18th, Prime Minister Adner held a press conference

Adults are liars.

They said a war wasn't gonna happen.

in response to the many civilian lives that were lost.

The important people even said we'd be able

to get along because of that something-or-other pact...

This is a most unforgivable act.

Even Dad said we should go around the festival together once he came back,

but he never came back.

No, I'm also a liar.

I told a lie, and he gave me the ten dalc.

Once Dad comes home, I need to tell him the truth.

I really have to tell him the truth.

Mom!

It's all right. Don't worry.

It'll be okay.

Mom... I want to go back to Luwen.

Dad might be home by now.

I wanna play with General and the others.

Yes!

I bet Mom would like to have this for dinner tonight.

We haven't been able to eat that much lately.

Air raid!

To the shelter! Hurry!

Hurry! Over here!

Come on, kid! Get in there!

Wait! I need to get home—

Come on! Hurry!

Ow! Don't push!

Go in further!

It's okay, it's okay, it's okay, it's okay.

Shut up, you stupid brat!

Damn those Ostanian dogs!

Mama! Mama!

It stopped? Did it stop?

Hey, kid! Don't just open the door!

You idiot! Come back! It's still dangerous!

Mom! Mom!

Mom! Mom! Mom!

Our house... No...

No, please... Mom...

Mo—

How many years

did I spend living like a rat after that?

Everything I loved was stolen from me,

and all that remained in this world was everything I hated.

I had plenty of reasons to pick up a gun.

Lorand Spoofy.

From Luwen.

Are you really old enough to enlist?

Yes, sir. I'm eighteen, sir.

Unfortunately, my birth certificate was lost in a fire.

I'm lying, of course.

Hey, what should we do?

How many thousands—

tens of thousands— of corpses must pile up

before we'll see the dawn beyond the horizon?

Damn it! What's with this trap?!

Whoa, whoa, wait!

Please! Don't shoot me!

You're an Ostanian soldier, aren't you?

Eek! You're a Westalian soldier?!

Are you armed?

No! I don't have any weapons! I surrender!

I-I ran away!

I just couldn't deal with it.

But I got lost, and I've been wandering the mountains for two days.

Please! If you have some food, can you share it with me?

There's nothing more wasteful than giving food to a dead man.

Die.

Hey! No!

I don't wanna die without even dating a woman once!

What's with this guy?

I can at least spare a cigarette.

To my surprise, this enemy looked human to me.

So yeah, that university was doing some really interesting research.

They showed the test subjects footage of Person A getting slapped.

Huh? What are you talking about?

Does he understand the situation he's in?

Then their brains could empathize with the pain and express discomfort.

This means humans are born with a natural aversion to violence.

But then...

The next footage included the explanation that

"Person A was cheating, so his girlfriend slapped him," before they watched it.

And wouldn't you know it?

The brains of the test subjects showed pleasure!

Isn't that scary?

The human brain instantly changes just because

of the use of labels they don't even know are true or not.

Isn't that scary?

Though I don't know how true these statistics are.

What are you getting at?

Don't you think this is all stupid?

Simply put, this war between the East and the West is due to diplomacy failing.

Why the hell do we, the simple, common folk,

have to clean up after their damn mess of a failure?

They're conveniently making us hate each other, fight, and lose our lives.

This is the bleakest time in the world.

You Ostanians are the ones who started this war.

Well, we were told that it was you guys that started messing with us.

They even said the first bombing in Luwen was actually done by your side.

There are even rumors that they

asked another country to instigate the Ostanian army.

That's just convenient propaganda created by your side!

Yeah, I know that!

But there's no way for us foot soldiers to know the truth!

Back then, in that blast...

All of my friends... everyone died!

That's the truth!

You and me both, buddy.

No!

You're the evil ones!

You stole everything in my world!

Have you seen Ostanians carrying out misdeeds with your own eyes?

I have.

More times than I can count!

That's why I'm gonna make them suffer just the same.

I'm going to avenge everyone.

Eek! Are those the Eastern soldiers who were chasing me?!

They found out where we were because you shot your damn gun!

Damn it! They won't take me alive!

See ya!

I will thank you for the cigarette, though!

Damn it!

What...

What am I even doing?

So you're being sent to the rear lines due to an injury?

Must be nice. Man, I envy you, Lorand.

You're lucky you survived.

Wait...

Are you... Are you Advisor?

General?

Corporal?

Major?

I knew it!

It's Advisor!

No way! Are you kidding me?!

We couldn't find you no matter how hard we looked. We were sure you died!

Wow, I'm so glad you're alive.

Man, you got big.

Guys...

Whoa, why are you crying?

I mean...

Jeez, I guess you're still a crybaby.

That storage depot...

That's where the first bomb dropped.

I thought you all died because I found it in the first place.

I was just so mad...

Remember how you went home for some reason back then?

To help prepare for the festival.

Yeah, that! So we ended up chasing after you.

And right after that... "Boom!"

Though we did have some of our classmates die.

And my older brother.

But Advisor, I'm so glad you're alive.

Yeah...

Let's all defeat Ostania together!

I guess we're all playing Westalis soldiers this time!

Though none of us made it any higher than private, let alone corporal!

No way! You're a sergeant?!

I just got lucky.

Those above me kept dying in battle one after another.

Wow, I'm sorry I didn't show you more respect, Sergeant, sir!

Stop. Like that even matters.

I just want to hang out with you guys again.

Do you guys have any time this weekend?

There's a great restaurant in the next town over.

Our squad is actually leaving town tonight.

We're being sent out for the Roberts Campaign.

I see.

Hey, Lorand! Bring the onions over here.

Lorand? But your name is—

It's just a nickname.

I-In that case, contact me when you get back.

Don't forget!

Sure!

See ya!

From what I heard later,

the campaign they participated in was an incredibly rushed and reckless one,

and all that came back of those three was their dog tags.

If I had known about the plan, would I have been able to stop them?

If I had known the enemy's movements,

would I have been able to get them to stop the campaign?

Nay.

I didn't have that kind of power.

I don't even know how I could've reached a position of such power.

I didn't know anything.

I never did...

I don't even know the real reason why this war started.

I believed that the war wouldn't start,

and I believed that my friends died in that bombing.

I blindly hated the enemy.

I blindly took up arms

and blindly obeyed my country.

Ignorance...

is such a weakness.

It's also such a sin.

This world is an insanely huge onion.

It's round and made of countless lies layered over each other.

It's impossible to unravel those lies without tears.

I'm sorry, those are military rations. They're not for sale.

Is he military?

Yes. I am indeed in the military.

That's how I wanted you to see me.

But I am also actually in the military, though I don't have any rank insignia.

What is he on about?

Who is this guy?

Lorand Spoofy...

Or should I say, ■■■ ■■■■?

That's my real name.

In order to get around the age limit on enlisting,

you took on the identity of an older man who died in your homeland.

That's quite remarkable.

How ironic. Your reunion with your old friends made you slip up.

In this day and age,

falsifying your identity could get you suspected of espionage.

Are you military police?

No.

I'm with military intelligence.

I've come to scout you.

You are quite talented, Sergeant Spoofy.

But there is a weapon far more worthy of you than a rifle.

It's information.

It is the ultimate weapon, and the most important.

In this day and age, no nation can stand to fight without it.

We are constantly shorthanded.

Any interest in using your talents to work for us?

Actually, you will work for us.

Otherwise, I'll have you court-martialed.

Wha—

We need your help.

To help us win this war.

At noon on Tuesday, gather all your things and come to the southern station in civilian dress.

I've already spoken to your commanding officer.

Gaining another weapon now won't bring my friends back.

No matter what I do, those days will never come back.

Never again.

I guess you're the real deal.

The company commander approved my transfer without any objections.

So you didn't believe me.

Very good. It's good to be skeptical.

In our line of work, you need to be skeptical of everything, both good and evil.

Did you bring all of your belongings from the barracks?

Yeah.

Let me see that.

Hey!

Sergeant Spoofy... no, ■■■.

As of today, you will throw away that name and rank to become a shadow for our nation.

No one remembers my name anyway.

That doesn't matter.

Also, I don't care about the nation or winning the war anymore, either.

Oho. Then what are you doing this for?

Yay!

Wait, you guys!

No particular reason.

Hmph.

Follow me, you little liar.

I'm your new commanding officer.

I've been ordered to mold you into a first-rate intelligence operative

through the harshest means necessary.

You'd best be prepared.

Oh, thank goodness, Loid.

You were moaning in your sleep.

Where am I?

Oh, right. This is Loid's home.

I wonder why.

I feel like I saw visions from long ago.

Filled with blood, dust, and the smell of gunpowder.

Papa, did you have a bad dream?

No... I don't remember.

There, there. It's okay now. It's not scary.

S-Stop that. It's nothing.

More importantly, why was I sleeping on the sofa?

You passed out because Anya got a Tonitrus Bolt.

Eek! Papa's a demon!

I didn't even get mad yet.

That's right. We just sustained heavy damage upon Operation Strix.

Anya is sorry that she's such a failure.

You were able to become friends with Damian, right?

Plan B is going great.

That's good, then.

Take good care of your friends.

Why don't we start preparing for dinner?

You're right. We've got plenty of onions. What should we make?

Soup! Warm, yummy soup!

You absolutely cannot eat this, got it?

Don't worry. I'll make you something delicious instead!

BEHIND THE SCANDAL THE PATH TO AN IMPERIAL SCHOLAR