Differing Opinions

This is Antiquity... It's a world tens of thousands of years behind my time.

Beasts don't yet exist in this time. I wonder if you won't get bored while we're here, Zeviro.

Nah, that won't happen. Sometimes I need a bit of a break like this to keep my efficiency on point.

Hahaha... You never change, do you?

AAAAHHHH?!

Huh? Was that a scream just now?

It came from the direction of Palsifal Palace! Let's check it out, Zeviro!

Looks like break time is over already.

What's this?! What the heck happened?!

I have no idea... She had already collapsed when I got here!

She's not breathing... Could it be?

Hmm... A fine performance indeed.

This is no time to be impressed! Someone just died...

Calm down, Aldo. She's not dead yet.

Huh?

No doubt about it. This woman's soul was harvested with a Purgatory scythe.

What did you say?! Does that mean the culprit is another Purgatorian?! But why?

Who knows? I don't know why one would harvest a living soul, either. That's why I'm interested in who did it. Help me figure out this mystery, Aldo.

Yeah, of course! We have to find the culprit fast if we're to save her!

Take care of her for us, okay?!

W-Will do!

I sense the presence of multiple souls to the southwest. I don't know if it will lead us to the culprit, but it's worth looking into.

Southwest, huh... The Keruri Highroad! Let's go!

Okay, so this is about where I sensed the souls...

Hahaha! Wait! Wait!

Huh?! What was that?!

We'll be caught if we don't get out of here!

Anyway, can we put this game of cat and mouse to rest for now?

Whoa! Watch it, you...

This kid was chasing after souls... Are you the culprit?

Huh? You got the wrong person! My name's not Culprit! It's Ilulu!

Umm, no... I wasn't implying that to be your actual name.

(Could this be... The Ilulu from this time layer?)

(Ilulu? But she seems a little different from the Ilulu I'm familiar with.)

If it isn't Ilulu?! What are you doing here of all places?!

Huh? You took the words right out of my mouth, Al!

Ilulu, huh? I see..

Whoa! Those souls from before...

Ah! They've returned.

Returned?

Her consciousness was lost from her soul, so it returned to the owner's body. The soul of the person just before that was also around here, so I'm sure they should be awake, too.

Really? That's a relief...

Whee! Whee! And I was only just starting to have fun...

So you were the one harvesting souls from the living?

Well, I liked her, because she smelled good, so I thought, "What the heck?"

You did it on a whim?

Hahaha! You were harvesting souls from the living, because you like them?!

Nice. I like it. I want her even more now.

You want her?

My name is Zeviro. I'm a Purgatorian like yourself.

Huh! Is that right? Now that you mention it, we do smell the same...

I know this is sudden, Ilulu. But I...

I want you!

You what?

Huh?! Could Zeviro have a thing for Ilulu?

Don't want to team up and hunt souls together?!

......

Umm, is that your way of asking me if I want to hang out with you?

Umm, no? I've been scouting you.

Skow-ting?

I was convinced as soon as I saw the girl whose soul you had harvested.

You're exactly what I'm looking for in a collaborator!

Not sure what you're talking about. But... Thanks for the compliment♪

So that's what I was feeling back then...

Of course, I don't just scout without compensation. You'll be rewarded for your time.

Huh?! So, like, you'll give me something?

Yeah. I'll teach you the most efficient soul harvesting locations I know of. And naturally, these are places that nobody knows besides me. Tons of souls there, even now...

Is that really worth it? I mean, I find soulzies on my own, and I'm in no real hurry.

Hmm...

I guess I can introduce you to my best collaborators. Just give the order, and they can collect souls for you while you play.

Keep 'em! I love finding soulzies and harvesting them on my own.

Umm... Then I'll teach you all of the knowledge about harvesting souls that I've accumulated up till now!

Yuck, no! That sounds like school!

......

Way to get rejected.

This stings... Most in her position would have jumped at the chance...

But I'm not done yet!

Ilulu... Tell me what you want.

It doesn't matter what it is. I'll make sure you get it!

That's not an empty promise, is it?!

What I want?

Ah! I've got it! AN ETERNAL BOND!

Eternal...bond?

Yeah! It smelled REALLY good and was REALLY pretty!

Last time I found one, I lost its scent and eventually gave up on it.

No way. And in fact... I'm not really sure what you're even talking about... And besides, if you've waited this patiently for one, I'm guessing it's pretty rare...

Hmm. Well, all right. I may even know the place.

Go ahead and start looking forward to it, Ilulu. Because I'm definitely going to get you what you're after.

For real?! That's super cool♪

You really understood all of that just now?

Yeah. It's easy enough to guess by looking at her behavior. Aldo. Isn't there a town known as the water city near here? Let's pay it a visit.

Acteul, right? Okay. Let's go.

So what Ilulu wants can be found somewhere around here? What in the world could she want anyway?

THAT, Aldo.

Huh? By "that," you mean...

Ilulu wants the turtle-looking monster over there?

Its soul, to be exact. I couldn't imagine her wanting anything other than souls in the first place.

Well, I suppose she does like them enough to take them from the living.

So it's only a matter of which soul Ilulu likes best...

Souls that...smell good...right?

That's right. Not that I understand the appeal.

Huh? You don't even understand how she feels? Then how do you...

But she likes souls that "smell good." I have a pretty good idea of what she means.

Speaking of which... What was with all of that eternal bond talk?

I'll explain later. Let's prepare for now.

Prepare?

Well...

What did you do just now?

I marked the soul of this turtle. It'll make it easier to find later.

Also, preparations are in order. Let's go, Aldo.

Go? Go where?

To our era... Namely, the future. Based on this city's location, it'll be near Karek Swampland.

I'm not sure I understand... But Karek Swampland, you say? All right, then. Let's go.

I sense the mark nearby. It's somewhere around here.

Huh?! You don't mean the turtle-like monster we saw in Acteul earlier, do you?!

Yeah, that's right. But are you really so surprised?

Well, I mean... I thought it'd be dead by now.

If so, I wouldn't have bothered with the mark. You shouldn't underestimate a turtle's lifespan. Even more so if they're a monster.

Well, I suppose, but still...

Oh, speak of the devil...

It's huge! Is this really the same turtle-like monster we saw back in Acteul?!

It seems irritated. Maybe it remembers us?

Oh c'mon! There's no way it remembers us!

Heh... I'm joking. But... This is bad. It definitely sees us as a threat.

Aldo, apologies in advance, but we're going to have to weaken it to calm it down.

Ngh... If you insist. Let's do this!

Phew... We managed to calm it down for now... So hey, Zeviro... Do we harvest its soul now?

......

I knew what to do up 'til now... But considering our goal, I think it'd be a bad idea to harvest its living soul... We need to keep Ilulu in mind with this...

You don't seem to understand what I'm getting at... But I have absolutely no intention of harvesting its soul at this time.

What? Really?

We only fought because it considered us an enemy... And it wasn't the same turtle-like monster we marked in the past.

What did you say?!

Sorry for trespassing on your territory and all. But we have business with one of your parents. Could you lead us to them?

Thanks. They're deeper in, apparently.

You can speak turtle?

I can understand it...a little. Anyway, let's go, Aldo. Our destination lies ahead.

What's that?!

I thought the last monster was big, but to think they can get even bigger... Is this the turtle-like monster we encountered in Acteul?

None other. This is what it's grown into after tens of thousands of years.

I can't believe how huge it is...

But... It doesn't have long to live.

Huh?

The turtle that attacked us earlier was this turtle's child. It was agitated, because it was trying to protect its dying mother.

So that's the reason...

Look, Aldo.

Could it be...that all of these turtles are its children?

This has to be it... This is the "good-smelling" soul that Ilulu wants so badly. The soul of a being that has lived for ages and is being cared for by its loved ones until the end... I highly doubt the soul of a parent satisfied at the end of its life could smell bad.

That certainly would be the happiest final days for a parent.

And the eternal bond she mentioned... It refers to family bonds. It's both a long and a strong bond, because of the long lifespan of turtles. Ilulu really outdid herself with this request.

Family bonds... I understand why Ilulu likes them so much.

Ah!

It's used up the last of its strength.

Life span aside, this is still a really sad sight to have to witness...

Right...

Leave this soul to me, the Purgatorian.

It returned... Is it because it allowed you to do it?

It must have instinctively known what I am.

Well, we got what we came for. Let's go see Ilulu on the Keruri Highroad.

Ah! Welcome back! Did you find what I wanted?

Yes. But I have to say that your request was far from easy. If we didn't happen to be time travelers, we wouldn't have gotten it so quickly.

Not sure what you mean, but it sounds like you had wee-bit of trouble.

Uh, yeah... But at least we were able to get what you wanted.

Here take it... Take this soul!

Whoa! This... This is a super huge soul! How did you get it?

Never mind that... But this is the kind of high quality soul you were after, right?

Huh? Not really. This appears to be a monster's soul... But my scythe can't harvest four-legged life forms, so there's no point in me taking it.

What?!

So you mean there's no point in you taking it, because you can't harvest it?!

Ha... Hahaha. How awkward this is...

What does this mean? I thought Purgatory scythes could harvest any soul.

The kinds of souls that can be harvested depend on the Purgatory scythe. Some scythes harvest humanoids like humans and elves... And some harvest four-legged creatures like cats and dogs... That's about the gist of it.

Huh. I had no idea Purgatory scythes worked like that.

That's right... You were harvesting human souls when we first met you. To make the mistake of assuming you were the same as me of all things... It's my fault for being too focused on scouting you out.

Well, nobody's perfect. Cheer up!

But, if not this soul, what exactly is it that you want, Ilulu?

Huh? Didn't I tell you that I wanted a rare flower that only blooms on the Corinda Plains?

Uh, what?

I didn't?

You didn't say a single word about that.

......

Ahahaha! Oopsies!

What the, ? A flower? No way...

That's right... You do like flowers, don't you, Ilulu?

So that means that "Eternal Bond" is the name of a flower.

Yes! Yes! Zevy is right on the money!

Zevy, huh...

It's great, right?! Eternal Bond! I just love the name!

Wow... You were REALLY off the mark this time, Zeviro.

Stop it... I feel stupid enough already...

Not that I get it, but you were skow-ting me or whatever. Is that over with?

Yeah, it's over. I was mistaken... The two of us aren't as good of a match as I thought we were.

We aren't?! I still don't get it, but I guess I won? Or something?!

By the way... What about the soul? From the sounds of it, neither of you can harvest it.

Huh?! Th-That voice... Is that... Is that you, boss?!

Huh? Ilulu's boss? But I don't see anyone...

Oh... So that means you're not on your way here.

Whaaa?!

Oooo... Okay. I'm on my way.

Catch you guys later...

Whoa... Ilulu did not look happy at all just now.

She doesn't seem too fond of her boss.

Huh?! Th-That voice... Is that... Is that boss' boss?!

Huh? Boss' boss? But I don't see anyone... This is the first time you've mentioned your boss' boss...

Actually, I've never actually met them...

Oh... So that means you're not on your way here.

Whaaa?!

Teehee... Sure, boss was reincarnated, but not much has changed...

Catch you guys later...

Whoa... Ilulu did not look happy at all just now.

She doesn't seem too fond of her boss' boss.

Oh... Are you planning to take me to task for scouting her by chance?

......

Huh? What are you getting at?

Let it go. Don't say another word. I thought we might be the same... What's wrong with checking?

I understand... That much, at least.

The presence disappeared... It's gone.

Hey, Zeviro. About the conversation earlier...

Sorry, Aldo... I don't want to talk about it.

Huh? Hey!

Answer me, Zeviro... What happened back there?