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Hector felt himself blushing. ‘Alright, thanks, you can stop now. I don’t--’

‘I told you to stop interrupting.’

Hector frowned.

Garovel waited a moment. ‘Okay, I’m done now.’

‘Agh.’

‘So what’d you think? I worked hard on it.’

‘I... uh...’

‘Speechless, eh? That’s only to be expected, I suppose. You’re welcome, by the way.’

Hector was still a little flustered. So after another uncertain pause, he decided to just address the problem directly. ‘Somehow, I always get a lot more uncomfortable whenever you start acting all... sincere out of nowhere like that.’

‘Ah, well, sincerity is important, Hector. Sometimes, at least. I can’t very well be a facetious prick all the time, now can I? I mean, I COULD, technically--don’t think I couldn’t. But ultimately, it would stand in the way of progress in our relationship. You can’t build trust out of jokes and insults. And believe me, I’ve tried.’

‘Hmm...’

‘And y’know, miscommunication between reaper and servant is the primary cause of every major conflict in the world.’

Hector squinted. ‘...There’s no way that’s true.’

‘See? You understand when I’m spouting total bullshit. That means we’re communicating very well with one another. And thus, my point is proven.’

Hector kept squinting. ‘...No, it isn’t.’

‘Exactly. Good for you, understanding that, too.’

‘Shut up, Garovel.’

‘You shut up.’


Chapter One Hundred Thirty-Eight: ‘The land of leviathans...’
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To say the very least of things, the city of Babbadelo was not what Hector expected. There were no buildings. At least, not by conventional standards. Instead, there were only pillars, tall and broad and wreathed in streaks of amber light. It was like some gargantuan forest where the trees were hewn from rock and glowed in the dark.

But there were trees, too. Many, in fact. None were in the ground, but they were here. They stood in vats of various sizes, depending on the tree, though some of those vats were so large that they became walls unto themselves while supporting an entire row of trees. They all looked to be the same species, as well, though Hector couldn’t exactly identify them. Frankly, he was surprised any kind of plant life could survive the temperatures down here.

And then, of course, there were the people.