🍁Nine Ancient Obelisks

The young man sighs in relief and heads to the ticket counter.
—I'd like a midday ticket to Onkaiha, please. And also... yesterday evening, there was a suspicious character hanging around the station, offering free rides anywhere. It might not be illegal, but it's probably a good idea for the local staff to know about it...

- Here you go, - he hands over the ticket, - that was probably Oogle. There aren't that many cars in Asuguh; you can probably count them on your fingers. We're not Margel, after all, but he does have one of those vehicles and he likes to drive around the country, so he offers his help to travelers - to share the pleasure of the ride with someone else.

– Don't you think, Mr. Faineant, that even with all your failures, your life has more meaning than mine? – the Lunarian girl began the conversation in a depressed tone. – You are a creator, albeit a vulnerable one. And I... I'm just an addition to the Lane family, and I'm even forbidden from drinking at work, where I have to drink constantly. What am I getting at... so what if one person, on his own terms, rejected your painting? He's not an artist; he can't paint. But you are a maestro. Why torture yourself with someone else's complex desires? Especially when you weren't punished for the failure...

- Lady Camistella, am I imagining things, or are you trying to flirt with me? If so, know that it's a futile endeavor. See this part of me, below my stomach, between my hips? - He takes her hand and places it there. - No matter how hard you try, no matter what you do, a hanged man's nose cannot become a tall tower that pierces the sky. It only rises at the sight of true beauty - two-dimensional beauty. Therefore, you cannot understand the desires of my soul; we are like heaven and earth, like water and oil, like Bruno and aliens. To me, you are just a man.