Violet

(Port Outpost, Fri 6PM)

Violet: A new student...?

(With Miss Spacey - True Blues, 6AM - 12PM)

Violet: Mind if I get a little curious?

Miss Spacey: Even friends are allowed a few secrets, right?

(Talk to Violet - Port Outpost, Fri 6PM)

Violet: Don't think I've seen you around before? Are you a new student at Aurelia Academy?

Yes, that's right. Hello.

Violet: I'm Violet, president of the Roscaelifer Merchant Delegation. No need for formalities, call me Violet.

About the Merchant Association...

Violet: Where there are people, there's a market. And where there's money, there's business. Even a remote and isolated place like Roscaelifer is no exception.

Violet: Cuppa Moment, Boom Scones... Most of the shops you know are affiliated with the Merchant Association. They pay membership fees, and in return, we provide services like business consulting and supply procurement.

Violet: Officially, the Merchant Association operates under the supervision of the Administrative Affairs Department, but within Roscaelifer's relatively small economic sphere, we still carry quite a bit of influence.

About Violet...

Violet: Where should I begin when it comes to myself? Well, to put it simply, you can think of me as a cunning fox.

Violet: If I were to say a little more, I'm just an ordinary person who inherited the role from my predecessor and became sly and difficult for the sake of the Merchant Association's interests.

Violet: Most people in this world are ordinary people, aren't they?

Leave

Violet: We'll do everything we can to provide the best possible service to every citizen of Roscaelifer. I hope your life here will be a little happier because of it.

(Exits dialogue)

(Interaction with the with Miss Spacey - True Blues, 6AM - 12PM)

Violet: Spacey, per merchant association protocol, every shop owner who joins needs to provide their real identity info and undergo a credit check.

Miss Spacey: I know. It's a solid move.

Violet: You were one of the first to join up, but because of your personal wishes... your profile's been kept completely blank so far.

Miss Spacey: Vio, this ain't exactly news. What, is the merchant association getting serious and rolling out some new rules that require real info from every shop owner now?

Violet: Nah. As long as True Blues and the merchant association are running smoothly, there's no need to make things harder on ourselves, right?

Miss Spacey: Exactly. No changes needed — that's the best news we could get.

Violet: But personally... I'm really curious about your story. When it comes to your closest friends, how could you not wanna know more about them?

Miss Spacey: The closest friends are exactly the ones who need to give each other space to keep secrets~

(Interaction with Nervous Bangboo, - Port Outpost, 6AM)

Violet: Did we log everything for this Merchant Association shipment order?

Nervous Bangboo: Ehn-ne ehn-ne ehn-ne! (Everything's properly logged!)

Violet: Good... Make sure every shipment reaches the right store.

Violet: If any store finds their order didn't arrive, I'm going to have a serious talk with that Bangboo about what happened... Understood?

Nervous Bangboo: Ehn-ne! Ehn-ne-ne! (D-Don't worry! We won't let the Merchant Association down!)

City Council Debate

(Talk to Council Receptionist, Wednesday 12PM)

Council Receptionist: The participants in this Council session are the Roscaelifer Merchant Delegation and the Airspace Patrol.

Council Receptionist: Would you like to enter and observe?

Yes.

(Starts dialogue, see below)

Not interested.

(Exits dialogue)

All council members are in place. Today's session officially begins.

Melisande: Good day, councilors. I'm Melisande, your Speaker for today's session.

Melisande: This council session is a bit unusual. It's an inquiry hearing initiated by the Roscaelifer Merchant Delegation against the Airspace Patrol Department. Therefore, we'll begin with Ms. Violet, the representative from the Roscaelifer Merchant Delegation.

Violet: Thanks for the intro, Madam Speaker. I'll cut to the chase...

Violet: Roscaelifer's opening is a done deal. Our secrecy and security protocols must evolve accordingly.

Violet: For ages, Roscaelifer's commercial economy has been stuck in the slow lane, thanks to secrecy policies, safety regulations, and a whole mess of transport restrictions...

Violet: The merchant association believes we're in a window of opportunity right before major changes hit. This is our shot to shake up some rules that were set in stone. We're not just hitting up the Airspace Patrol... we'll be negotiating with the AAD, ESD, and a bunch of other departments down the line.

Violet: As the Airspace Patrol representative, what's your take on this? Is the department ready for what's coming?

Melisande: Allow me to introduce... this here is the representative from the Airspace Patrol, Officer Cadyn.

Inside the venue, a bunch of council members start whispering in surprise.

Cadyn: What's the problem? Someone at my rank has every right to represent us.

Melisande: I don't think the other council members are surprised about that...

Violet: So? What's your answer?

Cadyn: That's way above my pay grade. I don't have the authority to answer that.

Violet: Fair point. If the question's too big-picture to tackle, let's zero in on the two issues the merchant association cares about most.

Violet: One, the previous security regulations banned too many goods from entering Roscaelifer, which has prevented a lot of business from happening. We're concerned: will the Airspace Patrol get with the times and lift some of these restrictions?

Cadyn: Safety regulations must be followed. They're there to protect Roscaelifer. Security comes before business.

Violet: Of course I know the Airspace Patrol puts Roscaelifer's safety first, but objectively speaking, the current regulations are way too complicated — it's unhealthy...

Violet: A balance... Right. We need to find the sweet spot between "safety" and "business."

Cadyn: So why don't you just go find that sweet spot?

Violet: ...Officer Cadyn, when I say "we," that includes the Airspace Patrol too. And right now, I'm talking to you about finding that balance.

Cadyn: Oh yeah? Well, I think safety's more important than business.

Violet: ...Fine. We'll table that issue for now. Second: the merchant association is currently paying enormous security inspection fee just to bring goods in, which is driving up the cost of doing business.

Cadyn: Rules are rules, and keeping things safe ain't free.

Violet: Of course I know security comes at a cost! But the merchant association is completely in the dark about the details of these security reviews. And we're not comfortable paying fees we know nothing about.

Violet: Can the Airspace Patrol make the security audit details public? As the organization that pays the most in security audit fees, the merchant association has a right to know this information.

Cadyn: Nah, that's classified. We can't share that.

Violet: If you can't disclose this to the merchant association, then how are we supposed to tell if the current security review fees are even legit?

Cadyn: Security screening fees are totally legit — keeping things safe ain't free, you know.

Just listening to such a conversation is exhausting...

Violet: My bad, I shouldn't have expected anything useful outta you...

Melisande: Ah, I see. So that's the best way to deal with smooth talkers... Learned something new today...

Cadyn: My apologies, Miss Violet. Both Lady Lindverne and Lady Sigrid have warned me not to say anything unnecessary.
I don't believe I said anything unnecessary just now.

Cadyn: Oh, that last bit was outta line. My bad, ladies.

Violet: Forget pointless stuff — you didn't say a single useful thing either...

Melisande: Hey, looks like neither side's too keen on keeping this convo going... So unless anyone's got objections, how about we call it a day and pick this up later?

Cadyn: I don't... The Airspace Patrol has no objections.

Violet: Ugh, let's adjourn... I motion that we table this discussion for later, but the Airspace Patrol rep cannot be this airheaded goose!

Violet: ...At least get me someone I can actually talk to.

Melisande: Your request has been accepted — now then, today's council meeting is adjourned!

Cadyn: Wait, where's the goose you just mentioned?

No one is going to answer Cadyn's question. The council members are already leaving, one by one.