A dream...
That was reckless.
I slumbered for far too long.
Oh, Sensei! You're awake!
Jade.
How long was I asle-
...meditating for?
For an entire day.
Is that so...
Too long, perhaps.
Pardon me for the trouble.
I'll have your report now.
Right!
First off, the Lunarians.
At roughly noontime, two vessels appeared both out in the Ardent Wetlands and above the school.
Why was I not woken?!
Before we even had a chance both were-
I took care of them.
Well done, Bort.
But we rarely see such numbers.
Do not overexert yourself.
I haven't yet done as such.
I assume everyone else is safe and sound?
Yes.
Good.
Anything else to report?
Well actually, you see Phos is...
I am the king who rules over all of the Admirabilis, Ventricosus.
Halt I s-
You lowly jellyfish! Halt I say!
Darn. Can't you shrink anymore?
Well you see, I hail from these coasts.
This charming size before you now is my normal one.
What are we going to do about this?
It's quite bothersome here. My people were completely hunted down by the Lunarians for our magnificent shells.
Stolen away, we were fattened up on the sweet waters and sands of the moon, and lost our ability to think.
My people are still being kept up there today.
A sad tale, is it not?
Well...
I mean, if that's true I might feel sympathetic, but...
Forget about that! Why am I the only-
How are you feeling?
Don't overdo it!
Mental issues should be checked out ASAP.
Let's play cards tonight!
See, since I'm the only one who seems to understand you,
everyone else thinks I'm going crazy!
Can't you do something about this?
Oh my, what a predicament.
I never would have imagined.
Why did you have to gulp down me, of all people?
You just looked so tasty.
Phos, are you okay?
Nope.
Hey! My Diamond!
My, what a wonderful place.
Chock full of cuties!
I'm into the slightly stuck-up type.
Like that one with the long black hair, or the redhead who's out at night!
You met Cinnabar?!
Quite clever, that one...
One brief consideration of the traits of my kind, and Cinnabar instantly knew you were in that shell.
The reason you are back here now is entirely thanks to that.
So Cinnabar saved me again, then...
That's not good. Nope, definitely bad.
You don't want to let that one see you slip up, right?
Yeah? What are you trying to get at?
Cinnabar shared a secret with me I bet no one else knows.
I'm just waiting here for the day they come take me away.
I don't know why, but I want to imagine Cinnabar wouldn't have just told anyone.
You know...
no one's ever counted on me for help before.
That's why I have to be the hero this time around.
Okay! Time to get serious!
Me too! Me too!
No, you just go take a walk or something!
Do allow me to break you down and put you back together one more time.
This is just some mental thing! It's just stress! Stress, I say!
But this reflects on me and my practice!
Take this!
You will not get away!
Just listen.
Doctor's orders!
A stone eating snail, was it?
Yes, and-
I'm definitely getting blamed for this...
Sorry, Cinnabar.
Guess this is the end.
Oh my! What a hunk!
Huh? Why can't I eat you?
I take it this is it.
Now, O Shelled King.
While our circumstances may differ, shells are but another form of gem.
I welcome you here.
What do you wish to do now?
Please go out with me!
It wishes to be your servant, it says.
Now that will not do.
I believe we should maintain equal and amicable relations.
While I can see it means us no harm...
You are still the only one who can understand it.
So I ask that you take it with you as part of your work on the encyclopedia.
Alright...
Sensei, I wanted to ask you about Cinnabar...
Why do such a pointless job?
I know Cinnabar might be hazardous, but they're also extraordinary
and has already saved my good-for-nothing self twice now.
Isn't there anything else-
Forgive me.
I have yet to find a solution to this problem.
And you see, working the night watch was Cinnabar's own idea.
Despite repeated attempts at persuasion that merely living was enough in itself...
But the child is far too kind and far too wise to simply sit by idly.
I could not bring myself to take away the very night watch Cinnabar personally thought up.
Still, the fact that I have locked Cinnabar away in the night does not change.
My own worry and ignorance are to blame.
Allow me more time to find an answer.
We are too complex to be satisfied with simply living.
But thankfully, we live long lives.
The need for patience and perserverance may be met with chagrin,
but if you wish to be of use to Cinnabar when the time comes,
then I ask that you focus on completing what you have been tasked with.
I...
I might never find anything to offer Cinnabar.
Perhaps not in these lands.
Let's head for the sea.
Okay back, back...
Now wait just a minute!
You just want me to go play and forget about everything?
Nothing of the sort!
Now that I've slimmed down and my mind is clear again, I've remembered.
Remembered what?
Back in my homeland in the sea, there is one who looks very much like all of you.
What?
Surely that one might offer a hint at what you seek.
Think of it as a great way to get your work done AND take your mind off things.
And lucky you, you have an adorable guide with you!
Oh my! Aren't you just the kindest snail ever!
Thank you, Ven-turd-osus!
That's Ventricosus!
The sea is supposed to be off limits, but...
Well, I guess I'm no use around here anyway.
Maybe it's worth a shot.
Good morning.
Oh my. You're an early one.
I'm really sorry to interrupt you.
I really want to head into the pond.
Is that okay?
Sure, let's just give you a treatment of salt-resistant resin so you don't lose your powdered finish.
Last summer was quite hot, so we didn't get many powder flowers.
But it seems winter was cold enough, so there is plenty of resin to be had.
Is that so...
Are you still searching for the documents you lost thanks to that snail?
I expect the jellyfish have already eaten them, but yes.
Wouldn't want to waste paper.
How diligent of you.
You think?
These past two days have been so peaceful.
The sun's rays are delectable, too.
Certainly compared to how restless the other day was.
To think we'd see the Lunarians twice in one day.
As far as I can remember, over the last 2,173 years,
they typically only appear once every three sunny days.
I wonder if something has changed.
We are all quite ignorant to the world, aren't we?
The heat of summers and cold of winters don't affect us like they do plants.
And we'll never be as attuned to danger as insects are.
Do you think it's because we are immortal?
That is precisely why we hardly fear a thing even when our enemy begins changing their ways.
I'm a bit more fragile than the others though, so I'm a little scared.
Is this still going to take a while?
Right, about that. I can't find it anywhere.
I swear it was right here yesterday.
What?
Euc!
Red Beryl!
You haven't seen my latest project, have you?
I woke up extra early to finish it, but it's gone!
I just got an extra day extension to work on it, too!
This is bad!
Your new project was a stronger version of our uniforms, was it?
Yup!
I slimmed down the collar by about 1/100th of the usual, giving it a much more elegant form!
Would I even be able to spot that...?
Ah, well you see...
The tag is different too!
How many layers are you going for?
Get on with it already.
Hold your horses!
If I go in without this, all my powdered finish would wash away and I'd just be hideous.
Salt water is not good for the skin either.
If we're going to spend time under the sea, then I need to pre-
And who gave you permission to go?
Maybe I should slim down this part here...
Now is not the time, you fashion monster!
I forbid it.
But it's for the encyclopedi-
Perhaps if you had already finished documenting the hill,
but I have yet to receive a single report from you.
Focus on the task before you.
Does Sensei realize how long it's going to take to finish with that hill?
This is me we're talking about here!
What if Cinnabar vanishes before I'm done?
What's your deal? Why the weird sounds?
Nothing, it's just...
There are few nutrients to be had here.
My strength is fading.
Oh yeah, you animals can't survive on light alone, huh?
You need food or whatever, right?
Yes.
Every animal has a certain...
King...?
Whoa, almost fell asleep there! Hard to stay awake with no energy.
Don't go leading me on! I thought you were going to die or whatever you call it!
But you know what? I don't really understand "death" much.
What is it, exactly?
Is it like being super tired? Or too lazy to move?
Well you see...
It's more like going far away.
But whoever dies is still out there even if you can't see them, right?
They're gone for good, and you'll never find them again.
They can't even hear it if you call for them?
Even if you call out for them, they won't know who they are anymore.
But you see, in exchange for taking away everything with it,
death gives meaning to life itself.
It's really not such a bad thing at all.
Still, it's kind of sad, though.
Indeed, but it is not something we can run from.
Now I was not lying when I said there was one like you down under the sea, but...
The truth is, I mostly just want to see my homeland once again.
I was sure I would never get such a chance, but as I draw closer, I can't take my mind off it.
No matter what was lost, how much ruin befell it, and no matter if no one is left, I still feel the urge.
Are you sure about this?
What choice do I have?
Sensei told me to focus on what's in front of me, right?
Helping Cinnabar is important to me, but...
you're important to me, too.
You're too weak to get back on your own, right?
Yes...
How long does it take to get back home?
No time at all. But more importantly...
You're frail for your kind, yes?
If you crack among the waves, you may never make it back.
Whatever.
Seriously?
Cinnabar might have shared a secret with me, but I was the one who started making promises.
I loaded myself up with responsibility like an idiot.
But it's too late to take it back now.
And I'll never be able to forget it or just fade away, so I have no choice but to move forward.
Hey, does this being that looks like me experience... death...?
King...?
Indeed. Our shells are but garments.
We are but only flesh.
And as such, we rot and fade away.
Leaving not a trace behind.
Oh this brings back memories! We're close!
It still smells just as it did before the Lunarians arrived.
What now? Come along.
You can't move once the sun sets, yes?
King...
Indeed.
What the heck ARE you?!
I'm me of course.
But, um...
You always called yourself adorable and stuff, but you were really this ugly thing.
And you said that was your real form!
Well this is my truer true form.
Drawing close to home has transformed me.
I don't look much different than you, do I?
I guess not...
But you're all jiggly, you've got way more legs, and all those frills...
You just seem more...
unbecoming?
Hush, you.
I mean especially those water jugs there.
What are those, even?
These are my most precious of parts, you see.
Praise be to them.
Are you like those jellyfish?
How rude! My kind are far sexier, yes?
Yeah? I have no idea.
Well if that means you'll swim on your own, then fine.
You can toss that. No point in carrying it, right?
I couldn't!
I'm supposed to treat all items with care.
I've already taken it without asking.
I can only imagine what will happen if I didn't bring it back...
But hey...
why do we look so much alike?
That is not a question I am fully equipped to answer.
What do you think?
Hmm...
Maybe there were these jellyfish that were so taken with our beauty that they wished to be-
Let's toss that theory.
I got it!
Maybe there were these slugs that were so jealous of us that-
My, you were raised with little discipline, I see.
You not being "fully equipped" to answer just means you're somewhat equipped to.
You tell me.
You know, sometimes you're surprisingly keen.
I can just imagine the trouble that hunk must have had with you.
But very well.
According to the legends of my people...
this world was once inhabited by creatures called "humans".
Humans?
Until our planet waned for the fifth time these creatures endured, living on the land...
But when the sixth came, they took to the sea, and so were split into soul, flesh, and bone.
Soul, flesh, and bone?
How did they live after being broken into three pieces?
They sound pretty tough for an animal.
Okay, so, not exactly.
That was just a figure of speech.
In actuality, they gradually evolved, splitting into three species and surviving, to be more accurate.
My people, the Admirabilis, are said to have come from their "flesh".
From them, we inherited a cycle of reproduction and death,
during which we build upon our knowledge.
The "bones" on the other hand...
They are said to have struck a deal with other lifeforms,
gained longer lifespans, and returned above water.
Do you think that's...?
These are merely vague stories my people passed down.
I can say no more than that.
But that's so close to the way we came about!
Yes, I've sensed as much.
For you see, the "soul" has found new lands,
and is now said to seek out the flesh and bones to bring about a revival.
It sounds just like them.
The souls...
The Lunarians...
They're doing all this to become human again?
That I cannot say.
But we have our own ways.
The thought that we might now walk back down the path of history is hard to imagine.
Their ways are both eerie and incomprehensible.
But like you said yourself, we have no choice but to move forward.
We must fight for ourselves and those close to us.
But why?
Why does it have to be that way?
If what you say is true, then the soul was once a part of us, right?
Who knows?
Though they have no enemies of their own, the Lunarians lust for battle and are never satiated.
That senseless impatience of theirs...
May speak volumes to what humans once were.
If that's so, then both of us have definitely changed for the better.
Our people should work together at least.
Yes, indeed.
Phos...?
I heard you got yelled at by everyone.
Come on now, you're not one to sulk.
I'll ask Kongo-sensei to go easy on you, so cheer up, would you?
What do you say?
We're here.
I'm beat...
You made it sound like we were close, but it took all day...
Just look at this place...
there's nothing here.
Yup, I'm done.
I can't move another inch. Just gonna lay down for a bit.
Wake me up when you're done.
Much in the way you cherish that Cinnabar of yours, I too have someone of my own...
Forgive me.
I offer to you my companion here in exchange for my brother, Aculeatus.