E9 - The Legend of the Labyrinth City - Stepping Man?!

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(Please feel free to edit the speaker names if incomplete or inaccurate. Names are handled on a best-effort basis depending on the info on the source file. Dialogue is left as is.)
SIGN    Special Article: The Truth about Stepping Man
[00:00] Zem
    The mysterious phantom Stepping Man?
SIGN    STEPPING
[00:05] Kizuna
    A terrifying phantom that kidnaps
    children under the cover of night!
[00:09] Kizuna
    It can hop around in mid-air,
    and no one in Labyrinth City can stop it!
[00:13] Kizuna
    Don't you think that's romantic?
[00:17] Tiana
    "Romance" is one of those words
    with a lot of definitions.
[00:20] Curran
    If it's a bad person, we need to beat it.
[00:23] Nick
    Don't waste your time on it.
[00:24] Nick
    You know there's no such thing.
[00:26] Kizuna
    Hey! Stepping Man is real!
[00:29] Kizuna
    There are witnesses!
[00:32] Nick
    Don't believe everything you read
    in a cheap gossip rag like that.
[00:35] Kizuna
    I'd love to meet Stepping Man.
[00:39] Olivia
    Did you just say, "Stepping Man"?
[00:41] Olivia
    I'm Olivia Taylor, an adventurer and
    writer for Lemuria Monthly magazine!
[00:46] Kizuna
    Lemuria Monthly? I love your magazine!
[00:49] Olivia
    Your words honor me.
[00:51] Nick
    You just found out about it a while ago.
[00:54] Kizuna
    That's a terrible thing
    for an idol otaku to say.
[00:57] Kizuna
    What does time have to do with love?
[01:01] Kizuna
    You're no fun.
[01:04] Zem
    Kizuna's curiosity is an
    inspiration to us all.
[01:08] Olivia
    Kizuna?
[01:15] Olivia
    That's a wonderful name!
[01:18] Tiana
    Writer and adventurer?
[01:20] Olivia
    Yes, I may not look it,
    but I'm an adventurer!
[01:23] Olivia
    So... I'm... actually...
[01:27] Nick
    Yuck!
[01:28] Olivia
    Hop! Hop! Achoo!
[01:33] Olivia
    Thank you.
[01:36] Nick
    Why are you moving around like that?
[01:42] Olivia
    Whenever there's something weird
    going on in Labyrinth City,
[01:46] Olivia
    I'm always there to check it out.
SIGN    Ningen Fushin: Adventurers Who Don't
    Believe in Humanity Will Save the World
SIGN    Ningen Fushin: Adventurers Who Don't
    Believe in Humanity Will Save the World
SIGN    "The Legend of the Labyrinth City - Stepping Man?!"
SIGN    "The Legend of the Labyrinth City - Stepping Man?!"
SIGN    "The Legend of the Labyrinth City - Stepping Man?!"
SIGN    "The Legend of the Labyrinth City - Stepping Man?!"
SIGN    "The Legend of the Labyrinth City - Stepping Man?!"
SIGN    "The Legend of the Labyrinth City - Stepping Man?!"
SIGN    "The Legend of the Labyrinth City - Stepping Man?!"
SIGN    "The Legend of the Labyrinth City - Stepping Man?!"
[03:45] Nick
    Well? How'd you enjoy your first concert?
[03:48] Kizuna
    It was more fun than I thought it would be.
[03:50] Kizuna
    Especially your favorite, Agate...
[03:53] Nick
    Oh, you get it, huh?
[03:56] Kizuna
    Indeed! I feel a strong light in her soul.
[04:00] Kizuna
    In another era, she would
    have been a shaman...
[04:03] Nick
    What?
[04:05] Kizuna
    Zem's in danger!
[04:07] Kizuna
    Here!
[04:09] Nick
    Zem!
[04:14] Nick
    Stepping Man...
[04:16] Kizuna
    A cheap conjurer's trick.
[04:19] Nick
    How can we fight him when we can't see him?
[04:24] Kizuna
    There!
[04:28] Stepping Man
    You can see me?
[04:31] Kizuna
    I'm not done yet!
[04:32] Kizuna
    Take this! Parallel!
[04:34] Stepping Man
    What?
[04:43] Kizuna
    How boring.
[04:49] Red
    Can you wipe your face off?
[04:56] Zem
    Thanks so much, Red.
[04:59] Red
    You owe me for this, Zem.
[05:01] Red
    We're not a hospital, you know.
[05:03] Nick
    What were you doing out there that late?
[05:06] Nick
    Any idea who that guy was?
[05:09] Red
    She just went through
    something really scary.
[05:11] Red
    You don't have to interrogate her.
[05:13] Nick
    S-Sorry.
[05:17] Reina
    That's... Stepping Man!
[05:22] Reina
    My mom's no liar!
[05:24] Reina
    She's not...
[05:32] Zem
    Tell me more.
[05:36] Reina
    Mom would always go out late at night
    to try and defeat Stepping Man.
[05:42] Reina
    But she lost, and now she's in the hospital.
[05:47] Red
    Oh, my...
[05:48] Reina
    My mom realized
[05:51] Reina
    that all the disappearing children
    lately were because of Stepping Man.
[05:57] Reina
    But nobody would believe her...
[06:01] Zem
    Well, most people wouldn't believe.
[06:06] Zem
    But we saw it with our own eyes.
[06:11] Zem
    We saw someone hiding themselves
    in the darkness, attacking a child,
[06:15] Zem
    and jumping from roof to roof with ease.
[06:20] Zem
    Um, what's your name?
[06:23] Reina
    Reina.
[06:24] Zem
    Reina, we believe your mom.
[06:29] Zem
    And I respect her bravery in challenging
    such a difficult opponent all by herself.
[06:35] Reina
    Zem...
[06:37] Reina
    Zem!
[06:40] Reina
    Please make me your student!
[06:46] Zem
    My student?
[06:49] Reina
    Yes.
[06:49] Reina
    I was so impressed by how
    brave you were back there!
[06:54] Nick
    Listen, he was once...
[06:56] Zem
    You're ten years...
[06:59] Zem
    no, fifteen years too
    young to be my student.
[07:06] Reina
    Fifteen years?
[07:10] Reina
    S-So how should I train until then?
[07:14] Zem
    Well, for today, get some
    rest at Miss Red's place.
[07:20] Red
    We can go see your mom in the morning.
[07:23] Zem
    And never do anything so dangerous again.
[07:28] Reina
    Okay, Master!
[07:30] Zem
    Until fifteen years have passed,
    you must not get any closer to me.
[07:36] Zem
    Can you do that?
[07:37] Reina
    I can!
[07:38] Zem
    Good girl.
[07:41] Kizuna
    This sucks.
[07:43] Red
    Oh, my... You're such a young boy to
    be letting out such a big sigh...
[07:47] Kizuna
    My beloved Stepping Man turned
    out to be that cheap fraud.
[07:52] Nick
    We got closer to finding out his
    true identity. That's a big step.
[07:55] Kizuna
    He doesn't have a "true identity".
    He's just some kidnapper.
[08:00] Kizuna
    I'm just going to have to destroy
    this fake Stepping Man!
[08:03] Kizuna
    I'll catch him myself!
[08:05] Zem
    We can't leave him on the loose
    after he hurt Reina, either.
[08:11] Nick
    Then...
[08:13] Nick
    Let's make a job out of it.
[08:20] Nick
    This guild is filled with bounty hunters,
    so it's a little rougher than most.
[08:29] Nick
    Give us what you know about Stepping Man.
[08:32] Jun
    I don't think I've seen
    the four of them before.
[08:35] Nick
    Oh, right.
[08:37] Jun
    We can't share info on expensive bounties
[08:39] Jun
    with adventurers who've never
    accomplished anything.
[08:42] Jun
    Mr. Former-Member-of-Masters-of-War.
[08:48] Tiana
    You just said the word
    "expensive," didn't you?
[08:51] Kizuna
    Bingo.
[08:52] Zem
    So there is a bounty out on him.
[08:55] Jun
    I didn't say that...
[08:59] Jun
    Okay, how's this for starters?
[09:02] Nick
    Hale Hardy...
[09:03] Kizuna
    The reward is 300,000 dinah.
[09:05] Kizuna
    That's not bad.
[09:07] Jun
    You got the Iron Tigers sent to jail.
[09:10] Jun
    This should be easy for you Survivors.
[09:14] Bounty Hunter 1
    Those are the Survivors?
[09:15] Bounty Hunter 2
    Wow!
[09:16] Ash
    They ain't bounty hunters.
    They're muscling in on our turf.
[09:20] Tiana
    Jealousy is unbecoming of a bounty hunter.
[09:23] Ash
    You amateurs should stick
    to fighting goblins!
[09:27] Comrade
    Stop it!
[09:28] Ash
    Don't try to stop me!
[09:29] Comrade
    He doesn't mean anything by it!
[09:30] Comrade
    Please don't provoke him...
[09:33] Tiana
    We'll find this Hale guy and bring him here.
[09:38] Zem
    She doesn't mean anything by it.
[09:39] Curran
    She's not provoking him, either!
[09:42] Ash
    All right.
[09:43] Ash
    Let's take bets, guys!
[09:46] Ash
    I bet they fail—
[09:55] Tiana
    50,000 dinah on the
    Survivors pulling it off.
[10:01] Tiana
    And you?
[10:03] Ash
    I... I bet my whole fortune
    on the Survivors failing...
[10:07] Comrade
    Sorry!
[10:09] Comrade
    He's getting a little too heated.
[10:11] Tiana
    Go make some money while
    you're waiting for us to get back.
[10:16] Bounty Hunters
    Okay, Ash, I bet on you!
[10:19] Bounty Hunters
    I bet tonight's bar tab on the lady!
[10:22] Bounty Hunters
    I bet my rent money that
    the Survivors get killed!
[10:28] Nick
    Garbage Collection. By far the
    most dangerous slum in the city.
[10:32] Nick
    They say there's no crime in the world
    that hasn't happened here at least once.
[10:35] Nick
    The Solar Knights don't come here, either.
[10:38] Nick
    It was safe to assume that the guild
    was right, and Hale was here.
[10:46] Nick
    First, we say hello to the gatekeep.
[10:49] Gatekeep
    Ain't seen you around here before.
[10:52] Gatekeep
    Bounty hunters?
[10:53] Nick
    Yeah, something like that.
[10:55] Nick
    We don't need escorts or a guide.
[10:58] Nick
    But I do want information.
[11:01] Gatekeep
    If it's about a bounty, go find it yourself.
[11:04] Nick
    Has anything unusual happened around
    here? Even something small.
[11:08] Gatekeep
    One of the whores got sick
    and died last weekend.
[11:13] Gatekeep
    Greg, our odd-jobs guy,
    had a dog that gave birth.
[11:16] Gatekeep
    Ten puppies. All males.
[11:19] Gatekeep
    Nobody's been dumb enough
[11:21] Gatekeep
    to let themselves get caught by a
    bounty hunter for three months.
[11:23] Gatekeep
    Oh, and Greg says new
    customers get 20 percent off.
[11:28] Kizuna
    That doesn't tell us much.
[11:31] Gatekeep
    Guess I can throw in the fact that
    a girl with a death wish came by.
[11:36] Kizuna
    What?
[11:38] Nick
    Thanks.
[11:40] Gatekeep
    If you die, make sure you die in a
    way that keeps it out of the news.
[11:46] Gatekeep
    Oh, one more thing.
[11:49] Gatekeep
    Don't get in Nalgava's
    way while he's working.
[11:52] Gatekeep
    That's a warning.
[11:55] Zem
    Nalgava?
[11:56] Nick
    Who's that?
[11:58] Gatekeep
    Someone important.
[12:05] Curran
    It stinks.
[12:07] Zem
    The air circulation and water quality
    aren't very good, after all.
[12:12] Nick
    There's all kinds of nasty
    little maggots here...
[12:19] Thug
    Hold it! This is a toll road.
[12:21] Thug
    Hand over your money—
[12:23] Nick
    We're looking for a man named Hale.
[12:26] Thug
    Hale, the former host and seducer?
[12:30] Thug
    He's in the Bedrooms.
[12:31] Nick
    The Bedrooms?
[12:34] Thug
    A building on the east side that
    was supposed to be an inn.
[12:35] Kizuna
    Schwing!
[12:38] Nick
    Thanks.
[12:41] Thug
    Then pay me for the info!
[12:44] Tiana
    You remember how you were just
    trying to steal from us?
[12:48] Zem
    You're going to die soon.
[12:52] Zem
    You're doing something you shouldn't be.
[12:54] Thug
    Nobody asked you.
[12:58] Zem
    Does it make you feel happy? Depressed?
[13:00] Thug
    What's your problem?
[13:02] Zem
    Just answer the question.
[13:05] Thug
    I can't sleep!
[13:07] Thug
    I'm not allowed to have
    some fun when I sleep?
[13:10] Thug
    I can't live a normal life here!
[13:13] Thug
    This wasn't supposed to be my life!
[13:16] Thug
    You wouldn't understand!
[13:18] Curran
    That's not true.
[13:22] Curran
    That's not true.
[13:25] Curran
    I understand. I think.
[13:31] Zem
    This herb has calming properties.
[13:34] Zem
    This can be your fee for that information.
[13:37] Zem
    It's not a strong medicine,
    but it will have to do.
[13:40] Zem
    Don't rely on what you've
    been taking until now.
[13:44] Thug
    W-Wait!
[13:47] Thug
    Hale's a fast runner.
[13:49] Thug
    If he sees you coming, he'll be
    gone in the blink of an eye.
[13:52] Zem
    Thanks. We'll be careful.
[13:57] Kizuna
    So this is the Bedrooms.
[13:59] Nick
    If Hale gets even the slightest
    bit suspicious, he'll bolt.
[14:02] Curran
    We'll have to be careful.
[14:16] Nick
    You okay?
[14:19] Zem
    I'm sorry.
[14:20] Zem
    The conditions here are so bad,
    it's no wonder people are getting sick.
[14:25] Zem
    There's no hope.
[14:28] Zem
    If anything, this is where
    you'd need a temple...
[14:35] Nick
    Find him?
[14:36] Kizuna
    Yeah, he's here...
[14:40] Nick
    What? That doesn't tell me much.
[14:43] Kizuna
    He's busy, from the look of it.
[14:48] Hale
    Wh-Who the hell are you?
[14:50] Nick
    Most people with a bounty on their
    head are a little more careful.
[14:52] Hale
    Stay out!
[14:54] Curran
    An easy 300,000!
[14:57] Hale
    What do you mean, 300,000?
[14:59] Nick
    The bounty on you.
[15:01] Hale
    That's way too much money!
[15:04] Hale
    I just hit, kicked, sold into
    slavery, and conned people!
[15:07] Nick
    And murder?
[15:09] Hale
    I didn't do it!
[15:15] Nick
    Well, you can tell the guild all about it.
[15:19] Nalgava
    You.
[15:21] Nalgava
    What are you doing to my patient?
[15:23] Hale
    Dr. Nalgava!
[15:24] Hale
    Help me!
[15:26] Nick
    Nalgava?
[15:29] Nick
    That's him?
[15:32] Nalgava
    Who are you?
[15:34] Nalgava
    You don't look like amateurs.
[15:36] Nick
    And you?
[15:37] Nick
    You don't look like the usual priest.
[15:41] Nalgava
    The Bedrooms are a neutral zone.
[15:43] Nalgava
    The deal says you don't interfere
    when I'm treating patients.
[15:46] Nick
    Wait. We're not from here.
[15:50] Nick
    We just came to capture a bounty.
[15:54] Nalgava
    What did Hale do?
[15:55] Nick
    Most everything except murder.
[15:58] Nalgava
    What?
[16:00] Nalgava
    Fool.
[16:02] Nalgava
    I can cure wounds and disease,
    but I can't remove your guilt.
[16:07] Nalgava
    If he's done evil, then I
    have no reason to stop you.
[16:11] Nalgava
    Take him.
[16:12] Hale
    No, Doctor! Do something!
[16:16] Nalgava
    He has the Yellow Demon Sickness.
[16:19] Nalgava
    If he's not coming back for a long time,
[16:22] Nalgava
    I'd like to at least treat
    him before he goes.
[16:24] Nick
    You're sure?
[16:26] Nick
    If we take him, your treatment
    might go to waste.
[16:31] Nalgava
    Kid, that's...
[16:32] Zem
    Nick, that's incorrect.
[16:36] Zem
    Depending on what he's done,
    he may get the death penalty.
[16:39] Hale
    Hey! Don't even say that!
[16:40] Zem
    But our job is to do the best
    we can at any given moment.
[16:46] Zem
    It may even turn out that he didn't
    do anything he's accused of.
[16:51] Zem
    And it's also possible he
    may lead a peaceful life,
[16:54] Zem
    and die a peaceful death, in prison.
[16:56] Hale
    Quiet! Shut up and take
    me away already, asshole!
[16:59] Nalgava
    You're a priest, then?
[17:01] Zem
    Yes. Former priest, just like you, though...
[17:07] Zem
    If I may ask, why are you here?
[17:10] Zem
    If you're talented enough to
    identify Yellow Demon Sickness,
[17:13] Zem
    you could work anywhere you like.
[17:16] Nalgava
    Then what about you?
[17:19] Nalgava
    Do you want to go back to being a priest?
[17:21] Zem
    Yes.
[17:23] Zem
    I'm sick of it all.
[17:27] Kizuna
    By the way, Nalgava.
[17:30] Kizuna
    Stepping Man.
[17:33] Kizuna
    Have you heard of him?
[17:35] Tiana
    Of course he hasn't!
[17:38] Kizuna
    A black shadow that stalks in the
    night and kidnaps children...
[17:43] Nalgava
    I'm afraid I haven't.
[17:47] Hale
    A kidnapper? This place is filled with 'em!
[17:51] Hale
    Who cares about one kidnapper?
[17:53] Nalgava
    Hey. He seems genuinely concerned.
[17:56] Nalgava
    If you know something...
[17:58] Hale
    Oh!
[17:59] Hale
    Well, I don't know if they're a kidnapper,
[18:02] Hale
    but I did see this weird reporter going
    around and giving kids candy to talk to them.
[18:06] Nick
    Weird reporter?
[18:09] Jun
    You pulled it off.
[18:11] Jun
    You found him in a single day. Nice.
[18:14] Bounty Hunter 1
    I-I can't believe it!
[18:16] Bounty Hunter 2
    They really found him!
[18:19] Tiana
    Now, how much did you all bet?
[18:24] Ash
    Right now, I've got about 800,000 dinah...
[18:26] Tiana
    That'll do.
[18:28] Ash
    W-Wait!
[18:29] Ash
    Some of that goes to the ones who
    bet on you! You can't take it all!
[18:33] Tiana
    Use this money to buy every
    bottle of alcohol you can find!
[18:36] Tiana
    Drinks on the house for everyone!
[18:40] Bounty Hunters
    Nice thinking, missy!
[18:43] Bounty Hunter 3
    Hey, I bet on you!
[18:46] Tiana
    You were gonna blow it on booze anyway!
[18:48] Tiana
    Or are you too good to
    drink what I offer you?
[18:51] Bounty Hunters
    She's got you there!
[18:53] Bounty Hunters
    Oh, fine.
[18:58] Ash
    Sorry...
[19:02] Jun
    Ow...
[19:05] Jun
    Thanks for the booze last night.
[19:09] Jun
    Here's the money for Hale, and...
[19:11] Jun
    you wanted the stuff on Stepping Man, right?
[19:14] Nick
    Let's see...
[19:16] Nick
    "Burn green wood in your house and
    the smoke will keep him away."
[19:20] Tiana
    "He knocked a hole in my roof,
    but fixed my gutters. Nice guy."
[19:25] Curran
    "I stayed up late at night to summon him,
    and he told me to go to bed.
[19:30] Curran
    I'm sorry."
[19:32] Kizuna
    Nothing but weird rumors
    and mistaken identity.
[19:35] Jun
    Personally, I'd rather you
    went after normal bounties
[19:39] Jun
    instead of chasing non-existent folklore.
[19:42] Jun
    Ow...
[19:43] Nick
    We're not interested in
    Stepping Man the urban legend, either.
[19:47] Nick
    We want to find the kidnapper
    that people call Stepping Man.
[19:53] Jun
    I don't know about kidnappers...
[19:56] Jun
    But if you're looking for a suspicious
    person who talks to kids,
[19:58] Jun
    you can find her over there.
[20:02] Zem
    A weird reporter going around
    and giving kids candy...
[20:05] Zem
    ...to talk to them?
[20:09] Nick
    No way.
[20:11] Kizuna
    She's definitely the reporter
    giving kids candy, but...
[20:16] Nick
    If only you remembered more
    about what they looked like...
[20:20] Kizuna
    I just remember that they were fast
    on their feet, and used chains...
[20:25] Tiana
    Chains?
[20:28] Curran
    She was weirdly heavy.
[20:32] Curran
    If she had chains wrapped around her body...
[20:35] Curran
    That's silly.
[20:37] Nick
    No way!
[20:41] Nick
    Curran, Tiana. Block the exits.
[20:45] Nick
    I'm sure I'm being overly cautious, but...
[20:48] Red
    Oh, Nick!
[20:49] Red
    She found us on our way back
    to visit Reina's mom...
[20:52] Nick
    So you give the kids candy and
    interview them, and then what?
[20:57] Olivia
    Then what?
[20:59] Olivia
    Oh, my! You look angry!
[21:02] Nick
    I don't know if being a reporter
    is a busy job or not.
[21:06] Olivia
    One minute you're sitting around waiting,
[21:08] Olivia
    and the next you're leaping around the city!
[21:11] Nick
    And from roof to roof?
[21:14] Nick
    For example, where were you two nights ago?
[21:18] Olivia
    Huh?
[21:19] Olivia
    Is this turning into an interrogation?
[21:21] Nick
    You can't answer?
[21:23] Olivia
    I can!
[21:24] Olivia
    Editing department! Bar!
    Turned in assignment! Ate!
[21:27] Olivia
    Article! Food!
[21:28] Olivia
    Kinda sucked! Was pretty good!
[21:30] Olivia
    Well, I may have explained
    them out of order,
[21:34] Olivia
    thus making two simple to understand events
[21:38] Olivia
    difficult to understand by
    discussing them in parallel.
[21:40] Olivia
    This is a sign of my powerful
    literary skills...
[21:41] Nick
    So, are you Stepping Man?
[21:45] Nick
    Where'd you take the kids?
[21:48] Nick
    Why do you kidnap them?
[21:50] Nick
    No, who even are you?
[21:54] Olivia
    Um... I'm not sure I understand
    what you're asking.
[22:14] Nick
    Seriously?
SIGN    Next time:
    "Labyrinth Dragnet"
[23:36] Zem
    Next time: "Labyrinth Dragnet".