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01x09 - Be Thou for the People

Posted: 07/22/22 16:36
by bunniefuu
Ed! Al! Hurry, hurry!

This chrome molybdenum steel spanner set, the hydraulic
torque wrench, and that micrometer, please!

Okay!

Oh, and pick me out whichever ultra-hard
tip drill and bite you think is suitable!

Okay, you got it!

Just what you'd expect to find
in a tool store in Central!

Their selection is far different from
what's out in the country!

Ah, I can't get over how good the walnut handle on this screwdriver feels under my fingers!

Say, are you still buying things, Winry?

Don't you think this is a bit much in the
way of souvenirs for your Grandma?

But you said you'd buy me anything,
didn't you!? Isn't that right, Ed?

Yeah...

Ah! Those are high-carbon chromium-steel cutting pliers,
aren't they? They'll cut through anything, and never rust!

Can I buy these, too?

Yeah.

Mister! Would you throw in this
sewing machine oil, too?

Sure!

Here!
This is for you.

Without me around, make sure you
take care of your automail!

Edward.
Lt. Col. Mustang wants to see you.

A mission for me?

Yeah. Now that you're a State Alchemist, you'll be
called upon to go on missions, so be ready for this.

Lt. Hawkeye?

Yes, sir.

Here are your orders and materials.

Fullmetal Alchemist Edward Elric.

The above-mentioned is hereby ordered
to inspect the coal mine at Youswell.

Stuff like this is the job of a State Alchemist?

It includes investigating the mined resources.
As an alchemist, you have knowledge of ores, right?

This is your first mission, so I arranged
for your task to be simple.

But don't let yourself get careless just because of that.

Man cannot obtain anything without
first sacrificing something.

In order to obtain anything,
something of equal value is required.

That is alchemy's
Law of Equivalent Exchange.

At the time, we believed that
to be the true way of the world.

It's almost like the whole train was reserved, huh?

Traveling by train is nice, huh?
All you have to do is sit, and-

Al...

This is my job, now that I'm a dog of the military.
You didn't have to come along, too.

Are you still saying that?
I'll always be together with you, Brother, because...

You're coming back to the
village sometime, right?

No, we're not going back.

Ed...

Winry, there's no longer any
home for us to return to.

Sure enough.

Brother, it's coming into view!

So that's the last town to the east, Youswell Coal Mine...

For a coal mine, I thought there'd be more activity.

Everyone looks all tired out.

It doesn't look like there's much to see here, either.

Al, let's do this inspection quickly and go home-

- Sorry! Oh, are you tourists!?

- Ee-yow!?

Where are you from!? Have you
eaten? Where are you staying?

- Pop! We've got visitors!

- W-who are you!?

Huh?
What did you say?

Visitors! Visitors!
Some big spenders are here!

- Big spenders?

- Big spenders?

Nice of you to come!
I am the inn's manager, Halling!

Yeah, sorry the place is so dusty.

The coal mine's wages are pretty low.
But with this place, I've got two irons in the fire.

Now then, overnight accommodations for two?

How much are your rates?

They're expensive!

Not to worry, despite how we look,
we have plenty of money.

200,000.

200,000!? Don't be ridiculous!
That much for just a night's stay!?

Ours is the highest class inn in all
of Youswell, such that it is.

Besides, it's the same price
no matter where you go!

We haven't had any guests in a long time!
We have to soak you good!

It's not enough.

Winry had us buy all of those
presents for her Grandma, after all.

There's nothing else we
can do. At this point...

Incredible! It's the way it used to be!

It looks brand-new!

Is there anything else I can fix?

Here, if I could ask you to.
It's something I hold dear, but accidentally broke.

What, you still haven't thrown that away?

You so rarely buy me anything, after all.

All right, let me handle it!

Thank goodness!

That's pretty nice, Hostess!

How delightful! To think that our first guest
in so long would be an alchemist!

I took a crack at it once too, but I didn't
have the talent for it, so I gave it up.

Say, what did you come to Youswell for?
There's nothing here for anyone to see.

I'm here on business.
I came to inspect the coal mine.

An inspection? You're with the military?

I am... a State Alchemist, after all.

That hurt! What was that for!?

We don't have any food or beds to
give to any dogs of the military!

Are you a soldier, too?

Uh, no...

He's got nothing to do with them!
We just got together on the train here!

Okay, then. You can go get
yourself eaten by dogs!

That was some incredible hatred, huh?

Well, sure it was! Everyone hates
military people, after all!

That guy Yoki, who supervises this place,
is a fiend for money. He's the worst!

Yoki?

And now, he's joined by that State Alchemist.

"Alchemist, be thou for the People."

That's both common sense to them, and their
pride. That's what I've come to learn.

Mister...

I can't stand those who sell their souls to the
military in exchange for special privileges.

I'm so hungry...

Winry, you could worry about the human part instead
of the machine once in a while too, you know.

She does worry about you, Brother.

I snuck this out to you.

Al.

I can't eat it, after all.

Soldiers really are hated, huh?

Well, I'm prepared for that.

Maybe I should get certified too,
as a State Alchemist.

No you don't!

It's bad enough that I have to
go through this by myself.

Besides, I really have become a
dog of the military, huh?

Brother...

Stand aside!

Your shop is as filthy as ever, Halling.

Well, well, if it isn't Lt. Yoki.
Welcome to my squalid establishment.

Enough pleasantries.
The taxes on your place are overdue.

And it's not just you, I could say
the same for the whole town.

I apologize. My earnings are so little.

That is because your work is so poor.

What!?

You're the ones who lowered our wages, you
know! On top of that, you raised our taxes!

Lt. Yoki has been placed in charge
of this coal mine by Central!

Shut up! You just took the money
that we sweat b*ll*ts to earn...

...and used it to bribe them to
promote you, didn't you!?

Hmph! So why don't you try
offering tribute to me?

The world is not a place where you can
make yourselves comfortable for free.

You bastard...! I can't put up with
any more of this today!

Nicely done, Lyra.

It seems that the stories of this shop becoming a hangout
for troublemakers have turned out to be true.

In that case, I will have to think about
suspending your business license.

What!?

Don't even joke about that!

You brat!

Kyle!

Make an example of him.
Hurt him just a little.

Stop!

W-who are you!?

I heard the Lieutenant would be coming
by, so I thought I'd say hello.

I-is that...!?

Who is this kid, Lieutenant?

You idiot! You don't even know
about State Alchemists!?

They're an organization under the direct control of the Fuhrer!

Well, well, how terribly rude of my subordinate!

I am Yoki, the one who runs this town.

Er, what business might you have
in coming to our rural town?

Oh, I'm just here to conduct an inspection.

An inspection?

If only you had contacted me,
I would have sent someone to meet you.

You must be exhausted, right?
Come, come, please stay at my mansion!

Miserable dogs of the military!

Congratulations, Mustang.

I hear you're going to become a full colonel soon.

Hawkeye, I hear you're going to be
promoted to first Lieutenant, too.

Thank you so much, General Hakuro.

I wonder, once your authority increases,

if you would go to the Eastern Command
Center and take charge of it for a while?

Oh, you're demoting me?

I suppose that having someone
like me around Central does-

What are you talking about? This isn't a demotion,
it's a transfer to a higher post, Colonel Mustang.

However, I've heard there are some untrustworthy folks
in the Eastern Division. Be sure to watch yourself.

I am greatly honored that a State
Alchemist should come visit my house.

Oh, yes indeed. Since we have such
an exceptional alchemist among us...

Lyra, have him take a look at your alchemy.

Yes, sir.

Nah, I saw it earlier.

She liquefied the air around
her, reduced its volume,

and then all at once vaporized it again, producing a shockwave.

The light came from the extreme heat that was created
by the forced compression, to maintain entropy.

You figured all that out with just a glance?

I, too, would like to be certified as a State Alchemist,

and become like you, Edward.

Like me?

Yes. It is my dream to become an outstanding
alchemist, and do all that I can for the state.

Now, now, please feel free to eat up.

I hope that our rural cooking will agree with you.

You eat well, huh?
Despite the town being in this shape...

Oh, you embarrass me!

The tax collecting has not been going well,
and I don't know what I'm going to do.

On top of that, there are so many barbaric
residents here, as you saw earlier.

You mean, all they do is assert their rights, and neglect their duty to pay their taxes?

Oh, indeed, Edward, you are a man of understanding.

You can express all the reasoning of the
world in terms of equivalent exchange,

the basis of alchemy, you see.

Rights come with responsibilities, don't they?

Certainly! Mm, most wonderful!

As such, I wonder if would you accept this,
by way of the reasoning of the world?

Lyra...

It is only a small token. Please accept it.

Is this what you would call a bribe?

That's far too direct a way of putting it.

If you like, call it an equivalent exchange.

And, if you would please consider
the matter of the inspection...

I'll think about it.

I should have known that you would
be so understanding Edward!

The folks in town should start
behaving themselves soon enough,

so if you would care to wait briefly.

I wonder if Brother is all right on his own.

Hey, what's going on?

Kyle! Kyle!

Let me go! Kyle is still in there!

You can't, boss! It's too dangerous!
There's no telling when it will collapse!

Leave me alone! Let me go!

Boss!

Kyle!

Kyle! Kyle!

Kyle! Kyle, where are you!?

Kyle! Kyle!

Daddy!

Daddy...

Is this their doing?

Mm-hmm.

Say, you're a cr*cker-jack alchemist, right?

So then, transmute some gold for us!
Then you can help my pop...

You could save the whole town for us!

I can't.

Why not!? You don't lose anything!

The basis of alchemy is
equivalent exchange.

I have neither the duty nor the obligation to do anything for this town.

Are you telling us to bribe you, too!?

And you call yourself an alchemist!?

"Alchemist, be thou for the People," huh?

Transmuting gold is a serious offense.

If I get caught, I will be stripped of my State Alchemist certification, and sent to prison.

So, do it so no one finds out!

Even if I do make gold, it will just be taken
in taxes, and that will be the end of it.

If you're really that hard up,

why don't you leave this town
and go find some other work?

Kid,

you may not understand this,

but this place is our home, and our coffin.

This is your home and coffin, huh?

Brother!

Al, we burned down our home ourselves.

We have nowhere to return to,
and that's all right by us.

But for people that do have somewhere to
go home to, they have to look out for it.

Al, what you see here will be our secret.

Brother...

You want to buy the coal mine!?

Yeah! I want you to include everything from
the mine to the trade routes. Is that okay?

Well... even at the request of a State
Alchemist, that's

I see. That's a shame.

And here I got all this money ready...

I-is that...

...all gold!?

Upon investigation, it turns out that this mine had
unexploited elements that we use in alchemy research.

I don't want to turn it over to
anyone else. Is this enough?

Don't be absurd!

However, my selling the mine that I was entrusted by the
state to govern for my own profit will look a little...

It's all right! This gold doesn't
appear on any records,

so as long as you
keep your mouth closed, you
can get by without anyone else knowing.

Still...

I know! Please write up a memo handing over all
authority over the coal mine for no charge.

By doing that, this will be all
yours, Lieutenant Yoki.

Why!?

Why are you stopping me!?

I just am!
I will not allow you to fight!

But they were the ones that
demolished the store!

It's just one store.
Don't get so fired up.

Hi, everybody! I'm here to cheer up
those gloomy faces of yours!

What are you doing here!?

Now, now, is that any way to talk
to the manager of this place?

Manager!?
Why, you! What have you-

As you can see, this is the title deed for the mining, trade,
management, and all other rights to this coal mine.

What!?

In other words, right now, this
coal mine belongs to me.

Nevertheless...
I have to go back to Central.

It would be bothersome to have to carry the title
deed to a rural coal mine with me. What to do...?

Don't tell me you're trying to sell that to us!

It'll be expensive!

Whenever you wish to gain anything, you have to pay
for it with something of appropriate value, you see.

After all, not only is this title deed written on high-grade parchment,

it also has gold leaf trim.

What's more, the box features finely crushed jade, in a
nonchalant, yet at the same time luxurious design.

Yeah, this is real craftsmanship, all right.

Oh yeah, and the key is made of sterling silver.

Gee, I would roughly estimate that
it was worth 200,000.

200,000!?
For the deed to the coal mine!?

200,000!? That's all!?

Ah, come to mention it, the foreman's
inn cost 200,000

How about I spend the night
and we call it even?

Equivalent exchange, huh?

But our inn has been...

Huh? Well then, what's that over there?

Our shop!

How can this be!?

This will be enough to cover
me staying here, right?

Yeah, of course it will.

Okay, then it's an equivalent exchange!

Edward!
W-what's going on here!?

The gold bars that I got from you
have all turned to stone!

Gold bars?
Why, whatever are you talking about?

Please don't play dumb! I traded you
that title deed for that mountain of gold bars!

Huh? You handed over the deed
free of charge, didn't you?

Look, I even have the memo here.

Y-you swindled me!

"Swindled" makes it sound so scandalous.
It was a legitimate transaction.

The transaction is invalid! Lyra!

Alchemist, be thou for the People!

I don't much care for you using
alchemy for your own interests!

You're a State Alchemist, aren't you!?

Why would you go against
what the military is doing!?

I never sold my soul to them.

Why, you...
Get the title deed back from-!

Yoki...

You shouldn't take other people's personal
property from them by force, huh?

Never underestimate the strength of
a coal mining man, Lieutenant!

Sake! Sake! Bring us some sake!

Say, honey, isn't the shop a
little better than before?

Yeah. He really did a number here...

Edward Elric... the Fullmetal Alchemist.

This is the report from Edward Elric.

Thanks.

I hear this will provide the chance to
reevaluate Youswell Coal Mine,

and the personnel at the Eastern
Command Center that oversee it.

Really? That will probably make it a
little easier to live out east.

Rejoice! Even if we are relocated,
we'll be able to take it easy.

Don't tell me you meant for this
to happen from the start!

Perhaps. More importantly, it would be nice
if the women in the east were pretty.

Also, their reputations are quickly
spreading throughout the east.

They're saying that there is a champion of the
people among the dogs of the military.

Edward Elric? Yeah, I've heard of him.

So, what kind of guy is he?

According to the stories, despite being a State
Alchemist, he's a friend to the common man.

Wow, he must be a fairly
upstanding man, then, huh?

But they also say he's short,
like a little bean sprout.

- Who are you calling ''miniature size''!?

- S-stop that, Brother!

- Brother! If you keep running like that,

- Hold it! Hold it! Hold it! Hold it!

you'll never keep up the strength
to reach the town of Liore!

Fullmetal Alchemist!

Episode 10: "The Phantom Thief Psiren"

Say, Brother, isn't it strange how there are people
who you can't tell whether they're good or bad?