Treated Like Gold
...It's been rough lately.
Mere gravekeeping wasn't enough. I needed something more... something to truly calm my soul.
And now... it's finally here!
Bell was in the middle of Candle Square, happily petting a giant rock like it was some kind of treasure.
Beautiful...
Friedelant ore... It really does live up to the legend!
That deep, rich ocean-blue... those white, star-like patterns streaked across the surface...
Ahh... just gazing at it is healing my broken soul...
I still can't believe this formed naturally...!
Indeed.
It's hard to believe a boulder this massive is currently sitting in the middle of Candle Square.
...
C-Claire!
Remove it. Now.
Maybe I should have sent it straight to the gravekeeper's outpost...
But I couldn't wait another second to see it. My precious Friedelant!
Bell tried borrowing a wagon, but for some reason, every single one was already in use.
So she loaded it onto a pushcart and started hauling it, groaning her way up the hill toward the cemetery—
What's that rock?
C-Captain?
We carried the rock together to the back lot of the gravekeeper's outpost.
It was already packed with rocks of all sizes and shapes.
You collect rocks?
Don't call it rock collecting like it's some childish hobby!
What I'm doing is actually called stone appreciation!
These are natural works of art.
It takes thousands, sometimes millions or even billions of years.
So what do you do with them?
Most of the time, I shape them into tombstones or grave ornaments...
But some, I just leave right here and admire...
The look in Bell's eyes as she stared at the stone was eerily ecstatic.
Stones are perfect...
They don't talk to me. They don't expect anything from me...
...It's scary.
Hmph, The best thing about them? They don't judge.
They don't make assumptions. They don't throw insults around just because they're in a bad mood.
They're the perfect friends!
Her blissful gaze was gone. She turned to me with a cold, unreadable stare.
Living beings are the most chaotic, contradictory creatures there are.
If only people could learn the virtue of silence like these stones.
I just wish you'd show that kindness...
...to people, too.
The living can take care of their own happiness. They have each other.
But the dead and the silent? They deserve someone too.
...And the duty of fulfilling that falls to House Rhys.
...
Anyway, I should at least thank you for helping me carry it.
You're welcome.
Wait... You didn't help just because of that thing I said before...
...No, right?
I was just passing by.
...Of course you were.
But yeah, I was thinking about it.
...
Wh-what? Just pick one!!
Anyway... I just want you to know that...
You don't have to worry about me.
I'm not quitting the Journey or anything.
...Hold up!
What's that face?! Why are you grinning like that?!
I-I'm not saying I b-believe... believe in you...
Or anything!
But when it comes to that promise you made, I guess I'll try believing in that.
Of course, the promise she meant was that I'd release her from the Duty of Obedience once the Journey was complete.
I know that the final trial's not far off...
And... I won't deny your training's helped me get this far.
I would've kept going till the end anyway, oath or not.
...So now you know, alright?
You don't need to worry more than necessary.
You are! You ARE the bad guy!!
Calm down.
I'll keep my word. I promise.
Hmph...
...
...I'll try believing in you.
It was something the old Bell would've never said. But she didn't even realize how much she'd changed.
Thanks.
Bell stood behind me, wearing that same old scowl. I went back to my quarters without adding anything.