Ghost [Inside the Sis residence.] Nelpha Maxi: ...Ow...Ouch… [Knock, knock.] Nelpha Maxi: Fail? Come in. Eleu Coge: Hey there. Nelpha Maxi: ...You... Eleu Coge: No need to brace yourself. Ecolina Village falls under Federation jurisdiction now. We don't harm non-combatants. Eleu Coge: I hear you fought well protecting the villagers, but aren't you supposed to be a traveling handyman? Nelpha Maxi: ........... Eleu Coge: Retired from intelligence work, then? Nelpha Maxi: Is this an interrogation? Eleu Coge: A sequence of everyday utterances lacking structural significance or practical purpose. In other words, small talk. Nelpha Maxi: ........... Eleu Coge: What's wrong? Nelpha Maxi: Are we on small talk terms? The two of us? Eleu Coge: Fair point. I'll get straight to it, then. I've come to scout you. Nelpha Maxi: Scout me? Eleu Coge: That's right. Nelpha Maxi: Scout me, you said?! Eleu Coge: Should I take that as... excitement? Nelpha Maxi: Don't fuck with me...! You think I'd sell out His Majesty, and stoop to becoming some Federation lapdog?! Nelpha Maxi: No matter how much you offered, even if you held my own parents hostage, I'd never be your errand boy! Eleu Coge: ........... Nelpha Maxi: Why'd you go quiet? Eleu Coge: I'm considering how best to calm you down. Nelpha Maxi: I AM CALM! Eleu Coge: If we assume the present state is your calm baseline, one can infer your normal state involves considerably high-energy turbulence. Nelpha Maxi: HUH?! Eleu Coge: Let's give up on that and move forward. I'm not a soldier anymore either. I currently work as an Echo researcher, attached to the Federation Council. Nelpha Maxi: ...An Echo researcher? Eleu Coge: That's right. I’ve always aspired to be a scholar. Nelpha Maxi: Why'd you leave the military? Eleu Coge: A reason similar to yours, I'd imagine. Eleu Coge: Once, during a battle, darkness appeared out of nowhere and swallowed everything, you lost your commanding officer to it... Nelpha Maxi: Shut up...! Eleu Coge: I lost every one of my subordinates. I tried to follow them, but I couldn't. Nelpha Maxi: ........... Eleu Coge: Euro talked me out of it. Asked if I'd become an Echo researcher instead. He's an odd one. Nelpha Maxi: Odd how…? Eleu Coge: He still believes the world can be saved. Nelpha Maxi: ...........What about you? Eleu Coge: Fifty-fifty. Part of me thinks there's nothing to be done anymore, but I don't want to say that to the younglings. Nelpha Maxi: Ah........... Nelpha Maxi: That... I think I understand that feeling. Eleu Coge: Finally, some common ground. Nelpha Maxi: ...Thecto and Fail talk about ten years from now, twenty years from now. Nelpha Maxi: Trees they've planted, bridges they've patched up, tending to newborn animals, all while chatting about it. Eleu Coge: The fact that future-oriented thinking arises so naturally in them speaks to a certain health in us as species. That inspires a type of fondness in me. Nelpha Maxi: Huh? Eleu Coge: What? Nelpha Maxi: Just use normal words. Eleu Coge: Why are you irritated? I was only trying to compliment them. Nelpha Maxi: Meaning? Eleu Coge: How cute. Nelpha Maxi: Right... Exactly. Those kids talking about the future are so cute. Nelpha Maxi: But... Nelpha Maxi: ...While they're chattering away, laughing, imagining things together... suddenly, their faces go dark, clouded over. Nelpha Maxi: "Is there really a happy future waiting for us?" …They give me that kind of anxious look. Eleu Coge: ........... Nelpha Maxi: ...At times like that, I never know what words to give them. Eleu Coge: Hah........... Eleu Coge: That settles it, then. Nelpha Maxi: Settles what? Nothing's settled. Eleu Coge: The solution to your worry pairs remarkably well with my proposal. You should become an Echo researcher with the Federation Council. Nelpha Maxi: That is the worst possible suggestion you could’ve come up with. Rotten as I might be, I'm still a soldier of the Empire. I'd never point a weapon at His Majesty. Eleu Coge: Researchers aren't combatants. We won't cause any harm to the Empire...Probably. Nelpha Maxi: Probably? Eleu Coge: I owe Euro a debt. Eleu Coge: If some new method of utilizing Echoes were discovered, there's a chance I'd report it to him. Nelpha Maxi: You swindling bastard. Eleu Coge: I haven't told a single lie. I feel a little awkward saying this about myself, but I do take pride in being upfront about everything. Nelpha Maxi: Just go home. I'm not taking your offer. Eleu Coge: So you’re letting your abilities rot away in this village, then? Who benefits from that? Nelpha Maxi: This isn't about benefits. It's about loyalty. Nelpha Maxi: I fought for Lord Nuxma's sake. The moment he was swallowed by the darkness, my life ended too. Eleu Coge: Then is the man standing in front of me right now a ghost? Nelpha Maxi: ...That's right. Eleu Coge: I see. I'll come see you again, then. Ghost of Ecolina Village. [Outside] Fail Urus: Huh... How old are you? What's your age? Balaeno: I can't disclose operational hours without administrator authorization, sorry 'bout that. Fail Urus: Operational hours? That's a funny way to put it. Balaeno: Ya think operational hours are funny? Fail Urus: Yeah. The way you said it. Balaeno: You’re kinda pizza-cutter core. Fail Urus: What does that even mean...? Balaeno: You’re hotpot chill-vibesmaxxing. Fail Urus: Hotpot chill-vibes…maxxing? Thecto Sis: What are you two doing? To be continued...