Mercenary Chief of Staff Louis

"The Accounts Minister is a smart guy. He knows to come talk with me." Louis grunts.

"However, you actually sneaked into the ruins. That was completely unexpected."

"This is what I think about this matter." Louis clears his throat as he prepares to tell you his view.

"Let's cut to the chase. I think all of this is connected with the Bugs' Mecha Factory."

"The minerals that they transport out of Stan's Quarry are too large in quantity to just serve as food or energy for the Mecha Bugs. The energy contained in the yellow crystals from Jale is powerful, but if it's not consumed continuously, there's a danger it will explode."

"Based on these facts, I deduce that the factory must be constructing a giant machine. That is the only way they can consume so much energy; But what kind of giant machine are they making? Maybe..." Louis reveals a look of uneasiness.

"Regardless of what the Bugs are trying to use the yellow crystals to make, it can't be anything good. Furthermore, if the researchers who disappeared were threatened, then the Bugs can make even more lethal weapons."

"I want to lead a group of Mecha Soldiers to destroy the Bugs Mecha Factory, but the Mecha Spiders that are on the way are the mortal enemies of Mecha Soldiers."

"A weakness of Mecha Soldiers is that thread spit by the spiders can get tangled around their joints."

"I hope you can help eradicate the Mecha Spiders to help ensure the Mecha Soldiers' safety on their path ahead."

"Did everything go well in clearing out the way? Due to the shortage of resources we have right now, we would like to minimize damage to the Mecha Soldiers as much as possible."

"Otherwise, I don't know how many Bug raids we'd be able to withstand with the resources we have now..."

"%n%, well done." It's very rare to receive praise from Louis.

"Well then, I'll go start getting the Mecha Soldiers ready." Louis looks very motivated.

"This time we need to figure out more details about them!"

"Let me explain the plan this time. I will have the Mecha Soldiers do their best to cause chaos in the factory and then we'll sneak in and search for the Yellow Crystals and try to learn more about the enemy."

"However, the Bugs are already accustomed to the smell of our soldiers. We would be immediately suppressed the second we entered the factory." Louis looks at you with hesitation: "We need a new face."

You actively say that you'd be happy to take on the investigation work.

"Thank you!" Louis lets out a sigh of relief. "Well then I'll leave it up to you."

"How are things with the investigation? Did the Mecha Soldiers successfully create enough chaos?" Louis asks anxiously.

"We don't know enough about the enemy and this could end up being a mortal disadvantage for us. I don't know how much longer we can withstand back-and-forth warfare. Therefore we'd like to get enough information as possible before engaging in war."

"I never would have thought that this would involve Beastmen." Louis ponders this for a while after hearing your report.

"Yellow Crystals and the research center are not easy things to move. There must be some reason they're putting in all this effort."

"With regards to this, I will ask Chairman Nicholas, but besides the Yellow Crystals and research center what else is happening that we don't know about?..."

"Also, the number of Mecha Soldiers that we lost in this operation is three times more than what I anticipated." Louis puts a familiar chip into the player. "In order to figure out the reason, I've pulled the footage chip from one of the surviving Mecha Soldiers. I want to show it to you."

He presses the play button.

After a burst of noise, a chaotic battle erupts on the screen. It looks like the Mecha Bugs are evenly matched with the Mecha Soldiers.

Suddenly the Mecha Bugs start retreating and a gigantic Mecha Bug appears in their place.

The Giant Mecha Bug groans and sweeps away four or five Mecha Soldiers with one swipe. The Giant Mecha Bug then sucks the energy from the damaged Mecha Soldiers and throws away the wreckages.

"My guess is that this Giant Mecha Bug is the leader of the Bugs." Louis hands you a Giant Mecha Energy Sphere. "If you can defeat it, it will be massive blow the Bugs' morale. This energy sphere will make great bait. Use it to draw in the Mecha Bug King and defeat it!"

"That Mecha Bug King is disgusting on a whole other level." Louis looks sick to his stomach.

"It's changed itself into this monstrosity and now it wants this overwhelming force... The greed of the Bugs has far surpassed anything I had ever imagined."

"Did you defeat the Bug King? You are really skilled." As Louis looks at you, you notice something is different. His expression carries and examination quality like it holds some deeper meaning.

"Now that the Bugs have lost their leader, there isn't much to do. We can finally take a breath."

You're not sure, but you think you hear Louis mutter to himself: "...Perhaps for my own use... to recapture..."

You can be sure that you catch a glimpse of Louis with a strange smile.

"%n%, there is something that I want you to help with." Louis looks exceptionally cordial.

"Our respected Division Head Klaus has retrofitted a new Mecha Soldier and is looking for help to try out its new battle functions."

"Please take it around to see if everything is functioning normally."

"Since our respected Division Head Klaus adjusted them himself, I don't think there should be any problems. But it's always good to check, don't you think?" Louis chuckles in a kindly fashion, but for some reason you feel a bit uncomfortable.

"All Mecha Soldiers have these so-called 'Black Boxes' installed on them. They can record the Mecha Soldier's activities and their performance issues."

"If something unexpected happens to a Mecha Soldier, you can always look at the records in its black box and see what went wrong. It's really convenient..."

The runaway Mecha Soldier nearly causes you to jump out of your skin.

"What? You say the Mecha Soldier suddenly lost control and attacked you?" Louis says, sounding shocked. The nearby mercenaries all turn to pay attention.

You explain that you don't know the cause of the accident, but you've brought back the black box.

Louis puts the black box in an analytical instrument and calls over three or four analysts to help analyze the records.

Two hours pass.

"According to the analysis results from the black box, I'm sorry to say that it seems Klaus is responsible for this event." Louis says with a smile: "Let me explain."

"This Mecha Soldier wasn't an experimental model or defective, but as soon as Division Head Klaus put it in attack mode, this accident happened."

"This is a clear example of negligent behavior and it almost hurt one of our innocent friends. I think Klaus must resign as Division Head and take responsibility for his actions."

You are very surprised at this harsh sounding suggestion, and say that you don't think the situation is that serious. After all, you weren't even injured.

"This is a very serious matter. It puts the reputation of our entire army's discipline into question. Here is a joint impeachment file involving the Division Head. Please help me pass it around to get everyone's signatures." Louis's actions make you suspicious. Might he have an ulterior motive here?

You decide to pretend as if you're going along with his plan to see what you can find out.

"The Division Head is a post of great responsibility. How could you just assign it to such an imbecile?" Louis says with a contemptuous laugh.

"Even if he is Master Klaus' brother, that can't change the fact that he caused this accident. This incident is more than enough proof that he is not qualified to lead the division."

"Thank you for your trouble." Louis takes the file.

"Good, good. As I thought, Ixus, Rushdie and Yalashi have signed the document. Good thing I helped them out so much."

"It seems like this impeachment will be successful. If you can do this favor for me, I will make it worth your while as well." Louis pats your shoulder in a high-spirited fashion.

"That's a good start. Now I plan to ask other members to attend the hearing."

"Please help me notify Mechanical Tester Como, Mechanical Custodian Resha, and Mechanical Recycler Terry."

"After all, this accident seems to have been mechanical in nature. If relevant technicians are there on the scene, that will lend an appropriate sense of legitimacy to the affair. Hmmm!"

You know this is the last chance you have to help Klaus. You must find a way to clear Klaus's name.

"You turn things over in your mind for quite some time. Eh? All of the technicians should be attending the hearing." Louis seems to be relaxed.

You take the virus chip out once again, but Louis doesn't appear to show any signs of nervousness.

"Oh, a chip right?" He glances at the chip, and looks like he hasn't a care in the world.

You tell him about Terry's report, Nicholas' evaluation and Ixus' confession.

"It sounds open and shut to me. Obviously it's Ixus that's responsible. Louis says coldly.

"But Ixus wasn't the one who installed the chip. It was someone else who wanted to frame the Division Head." You stare at Louis and say pointedly.

Really? You can't prove a thing." Louis' eyes bore into you.

"I'll retract the charges against Klaus, but then it's got nothing to do with an outsider like you."

"Of course, I trust from now on there won't be any more "mishaps". Otherwise, people will no doubt assume that someone is being deliberately framed!" You answer back coldly.

"Right, thanks for your trouble." Says Louis, clenching his fists and furious with rage.

"%n%, Chairman Nicholas has come to the conclusion that based on the information we have, the Beastmen plan to use our research and development center to enrich energy-storing giant yellow crystals and develop new, unknown weapons..." Louis frowns.

"We cannot let that happen!" The words carry a trace of anger.

"We must hurry and put a stop to things before they get any worse!"

"%n% , please hurry to the Vengeance Cult Camp in Dazzledell Hollow and ask a battle commander named Dak if he has seen any sign of the Beastmen." We must stop this plot at once.

"We tried to kill Mecha Bugs before, but their armors are too hard to smash by our weapons."

"I doubt that the Bugs' Mecha Factory is the place where they make armor."

"If we can destroy the Bugs' Mecha Factory, they can't make armor anymore."

"You must destroy the Mecha Armor Manufacturing Panel. I'll leave it to you."

"Have you completely destroyed the Bugs' Mecha Factory?"

"Good job! If I find they still make that kind of hard armor, I would like to ask for your help again!"