"Oh, hey, Eremita - welcome back!" Bijou waves and Carmine hisses "It's Carmine to you now, insolent brat."
"Woah, you've gotten much more cranky now." Bijou rolls her eyes in a very overexaggerated fashion as Carmine grimaces in displeasure.
"Well, glad to have you back on the team after 3 years. Admittedly it was quite lonely without you." Virgilia warmly greets her and Carmine pouts, saying she shouldn't have kicked her out in the first place. She then looks over the rest of the crew and bites her lip.
"Émile, Bijou and Aden are only here... Damn."
Carmine seems to regret immediately what she just blundered as Virgilia averts her eyes in shame. Of course, they had countless losses before - but it seems to be a sore topic for both of them.
"Anyhoo, who's this guy?" She points towards Leonid taking a nap on carriage's rider seat. Virgilia explains to her his deal and she nods.
"Yup, these lands are certainly unkind when it comes to illnesses. Ah well."
We all get inside the carriage (barring Bijou since she has her own) and Carmine scoots closer to Virgilia.
"...
Nice jugs."
Uh...
"Oi, we still have children in here!" Virgilia slaps her on the shoulder, and I swear the strike sounded like she was slapping wood.
"Pshht.
So what's the plan, boss?"
"... Earning money."
"Really?"
"This kid over here - cost me quite a penny for me to bail out. So we're recuperating on lost cost."
"Oh, right, you did mention it in a letter. Forgot it."
Those two are quite casual with each other, huh?
Why do you keep surrounding yourself with people that I hate?
Not you again.
That woman... Has a living parasite inside of it. That wench should've been dead already!
What's that?
Are you dumb? Parasite is a living being that is leeching from its host, making its life miserable, you imbecile.
So it's you then.
You...!
But just as Gianetti was about to lash out, I feel my body constrict. Of course it's those spores...
In any case. I hate her for the simple fact that she is dead. She isn't alive. And the soul inside of her is bleak.
How is she dead exactly? To me she seems like an odd woman to me.
Do those flowers and thorns not clue you in? You're hopeless. I hope your consciousness dies and I can finally overtake this stupid body.
"Oi, Fortune, what are you thinking about?" Aden breaks my conversation with my obnoxious little parasite and I blink.
"Uhh, nothing?"
"Dude, you spacing out like that gives me creeps. You look dead when you do."
"Screw you, Aden."
The ride is rather uneventful afterwards. Virgilia and Carmine seem to catch up with each other, though I understand practically none of it - and I don't think it's that important. Émile takes a nap and that's when I find a topic that could be interested
"Uhm, why is Émile like that? One moment they were goofing around - the next I felt like they could kill me if I said the wrong thing."
"Well... Uh... How do I say this... Émile has states of being, and perhaps because I was... Kind of annoying they snapped. They're usually a rather whimsy character, but once in a while they get rather harsh. And if they get too hyper, Virgilia reins them in."
"Hmm..."
"It's just, they've been through a lot, so I can't blame them too much. Sometimes they're a great anchor for me too!"
"..."
I miss Sol.
---
"That's the nursery of Daemons. The souls who died with deep regrets, blessed by a black moon."
"These fruits... I assume this is their cocoons from which they're born from, yes?"
"Indeed. Within that cocoon, the erasure of humanity is being performed. The loss of identity, the loss of ego, the loss of glory. They all happen here, inside."
"Fascinating..."
"They also absorb the collective consciousness and conception of humans; so that they are born with a "meaning". A truly horrid brand indeed."
"Why's that? Humans are quite obsessed with the meaning of life, and seeking answers to said life is considered quite prestigious."
"Because "meaning" robs you of freedom. What do you think when you see a ladle?"
"Well, it is a cutlery used for stirring and drawing from liquid dishes."
"Now tell me, does the ladle dream of being a lamp?"
"Huh???"
"That is an essence of the meaning, being created only to fulfil a certain purpose. Not being able to be something more than that, and not being able to quit. It is a suffocating feeling."
"Is that so?"
"... Yes. Wanna know a secret?"
"If you insist."
"Let me tell you a tale that was forgotten to time.
Back then, there were three kings ruling over the world. It was them who created humans, and it was humans who created daemons - binding them to meaning. Nigel and Teki might tell you more about the history of daemons.
However the creation of humans led them to question THEIR meaning in life. Something that is quite familiar to you. And they even asked their beloved kings what was the meaning behind their creation. Their answer was kind - to have a life surrounding them in the empty canvas they were drafted on. They simply wanted to feel the joy of creation.
Influenced by humans' curiosity, they too started to question their meaning. However the answer was cruel. Something that forever broke them, as that meaning not only applicable to them specifically, but to their children and grandchildren respectively. Beside daemons' revolt against their brand, that was the reason why daemons grew violent and unstable."
"And what is it?"
...
...
...
...
...
"To suffer."