After leaving the group earlier, I bathed then spent the day going around the manor. It's weird. There're maids in the hallways, cleaning the windows. Well, Guy had told me that his maids were not live-ins, but still. I wonder why he decided to hire maids of all people despite his gynophobia.

It's not like being around women would help. I know. He'd lived surrounded by maids in Fabre Manor and to my knowledge they only worsened his symptoms.

Well... but he had made progress, I must admit.

Good for him then.

Anyway, the reason I walked around the manor was because when I returned to my room earlier, the dreck was not there. The room was exactly like when I left it, so I don't think he came back either. That means, since he went in the dead of the night to do Yulia-knows-what in Yulia-knows-where, he hadn't returned.

Somehow, that fact bothered me.

Maybe it related to the fact that I couldn't possibly do anything, or find ways to do something about him, if he's not here to be studied by Jade.

And so, I went around the manor until noon, but I couldn't find him anywhere. I was wondering if he was in the city and was considering on searching the city for him when the oracles came, apparently for lunch, along with Guy whom had met up with them on his way back from the castle.

It was quite late already. The sun was right above my head.

Long story short, we all had fish which Guy had cooked personally, and split off after that to do things we planned for ourselves. The women, minus Noelle who went to check on the Albiore, went to the palace with Guy again to talk to Peony, while I went to shop with Florian.

"I'm surprised. I didn't think you'd want to talk to me."

To tell the truth, I was too.

"I thought you wouldn't want to be this close to Sync."

I wouldn't. To be within attacking distance from Sync... to agree to such thing even in his (doubtful) circumstances, I must be losing my mind.

Sync was (or perhaps is?) a master in feint after all.

For him, too fool people was easier than breathing. And more to that, he usually knew people's buttons, and knew how to get to situation he wants.

All in all, he's a dangerous person.

I tried to think about it, and he's right though. The reason I was told to kidnap Ion's seventh replica was because Sync couldn't open up Daathic Seals in the Sephiroths. He couldn't dispel them, so to speak.

But, I've heard that Florian has been helping Anise in learning Daathic Artes. If there are artes he couldn't do, Anise would have noticed.

So... at least about the two of them becoming one, and became like me and the dreck after I 'died', it might be true. Just like how each of our hyperresonance powers combined and enabling him to cause second order hyperresonance, maybe their separate abilities, one for cursing and the other for dispelling, became accessible to Florian.

Of course, the possibility of Florian lying about his ability, that maybe he was complete from the start couldn't be ignored, even if it's unlikely since if that's the case the seventh replica wouldn't be made at all.

"Are you really Florian?"

He giggled as he took what seemed to be a poorly made wood sculpture from the rack.

"I'm not sure my answer would satisfy you, Luke. You wouldn't easily believe me even if I say that I'm Florian, right? After all, you've always known Sync as master spy. He could find out about everything, so there's little point to a test too."

"... do you know? About Sync-"

"I've heard things, of course. But well, he ranted quite often in the past too. About it being my fault, about how lucky I was to be valued, about..."

For some reason, despite the depressing words he was spouting, he laughed again.

"About how he wanted to kill me. Gruesomely. He made very detailed descriptions which scared me terribly back in the days."

Somehow, I could imagine the replica, if he returned to Auldrant without a hitch and didn't end up invisible and stuffs, he'd chat to everyone about me like Florian did about Sync.

'Right! He wanted to kill me, you see! Gave me lots of headaches too!'

Somehow, I got the feeling that inside him, if Sync really was there, he must be feeling awful all the time. As bad as I felt when I was inside the dreck perhaps. I almost felt sorry for him.

"Mostly, he told me those points, but well, sometimes he'd blame me for blunders that happened in his missions. So, perhaps I would know if you ask me things you think only Sync would know. Like I said, I'm not sure if my answer would satisfy you."

That's true.

I wouldn't be able to trust him. Moreover, after he told me that Sync was inside him... Yeah, normally I wouldn't even think about it. I'd make it so that we'll never alone together, at least.

Like with Guy.

Although, now that I think about it, maybe our relationship while strained is certainly better than before. I can mostly deal with the awkward atmosphere between us now, and being together with him is surprisingly okay.

Surprisingly, I couldn't feel any killing intent after all.

I glanced at Florian.

The reason why I agreed to meet up, maybe because of that. Because when he asked me, I couldn't feel any of it. No bloodlust. Even though when we sparred, he gave me chill.

Well, he did say it was Sync.

I don't think Sync could stop emitting his bloodlust. He lived by hating the entire world after all, as result by Van's manipulation. He was conditioned for it, and his only purpose in life (which I know of) was to be Van's tool to destroy the original world. Like me, really. It's just so happen that he's not something that Van stole. That's me. Sync's more like... Well, something Van picked from original Ion's garbage bin?

Now I see the source of his constant babbling that he's trash...

"... when you said you'll help, what do you mean?"

He hummed and tilted his head slightly.

"Do you know, Luke? Anise told me that although figuring out your feeling is quite easy, to know what you're thinking is hard? Like an open coded book, she said."

He said it as he played with the wood sculpture.

"... your point is?"

"Well, I think everyone is getting the wrong impression. I have this feeling that they know what you're feeling, well, it's clear as day to be honest. You're bothered and you think him being here brought out bad things from everything, so you'd like to be separated from him. I think, everyone understands that. But well, almost everyone thinks you're here to ask Jade to get him to disappear."

"..."

"But I understand. They're mistaken. You're aiming for the opposite, aren't you, Luke?"

His smile was as carefree looking as always. There's no malice in it.

But still...

"Instead of killing him, so to speak, you want him to be revived. You want him to be able to be seen again. And then, you'll leave in all the excitement. Well, at least, that's the best scenario in your mind. I think in some other scenarios, there's death involved?"

Maybe that's why I'm a bit disturbed.

He glanced at me, and showed me Sync's smile.

Somehow I got the impression that Florian was a natural in reading people, but Sync was his coach. Somehow, I thought that Sync, being inside him but able to use his senses, must had commented about everyone Florian saw.

About me too.

That last bit about death being involved, it must be from him.

"That's Sync's opinion, isn't it?"

The smile disappeared, only to be replaced by a frown. It lasted for couple seconds before finally he let out a sigh as he put the wood sculpture back to the rack and his smile returned again.

"So you believe me now? That's great..."

He went to pick a white robe from the rack then, and showed it to me, head tilted slightly as if he was asking my opinion. I wasn't sure if he was asking if the robe fits him, or if it was to my liking. To be safe, I shook my head.

"No? But white would look good on you."

"I'm not buying white."

"Even if it's your colour? Well, I suppose we can find some other colours... Maybe reddish-purple. Yeah, the colour of miasma will be alright too, I think... Let's see..."

I hoped he wasn't serious in picking a colour most would relate to poison for me, but judging from the way he started going around the shop, murmuring his opinions towards the clothes there, apparently he intended to do just that.

"Anyway, to answer your question, to tell the truth I can't really do much. I know less about fomicry than you because there's no texts about it in Daath and Sync wouldn't say a word about it too, and that's to say, I can't exactly help you in finding a way fix your replica's situation. I'm looking for a way myself so that Sync can have a body. But, I figured I can at least keep Tear away from you."

I tried to ignore his admission that he's wishing for the revival of someone who's pretty much natural disaster personified, and consider what he meant by keeping Tear away.

Tear...

Well, true, being close to her was uncomfortable. But it's not like I found her problematic. Like I said, I found her to be the most agreeable out of the replica's group.

Rather than her, I'd appreciate it more if Florian could keep Anise away.

Apparently realizing what's in my mind, the green haired replica laughed before elaborating.

"I could keep Anise away from you too, if you'd like, but there's little point in that. Anise is after all, wishing the same thing as you. She's an ally, you know? Unlike Tear."

Anise... an ally?

Well, considering her outburst, I suppose it made sense.

Yeah. I wouldn't put it pass her to go to Jade after meeting Peony, and ask him the details about me. She'd ask him to stop me, I think. She obviously didn't want the replica to be exorcised, so to speak.

And then, my thought went to Tear.

As everything about her came to mind, the one thing that stood out was her voice, screaming curses and questions at me (or maybe Lorelei was better put) because it was me who came to her singing in Tataroo Valley instead of the replica she loved and missed terribly.

"I thought she's waiting for him."

"Yes. She's still waiting. Will always wait, I think."

"What makes you think she disagrees with me?"

Logically speaking, although I'm not sure there's anything logical here considering we're talking about people's feelings, she would support me. Everyone who're not replica hater would support me. The replica's friends would be the most pro-active.

After all, instead of me, they'd prefer the replica.

"Because, her priority has always been the good of many. Or at least, righting the wrong. Things like feelings and her own well-being has little to do with how she decides on things. It's the same with when she was facing the problems caused by Van. She could have joined his side and support him. She didn't though, and instead chose to kill him. That's because her sense of right and wrong is her most important."

"People will be-"

"Happier with your replica being revived and replacing you? Luke, that's your opinion. People have different opinions. Your replica, I think, wouldn't want that. If it's Tear, I think she too would think he wouldn't want it. Add to the fact that it's obvious that despite them wishing for your replica's return, Natalia and Guy wouldn't want him to replace you, the right in her mind would be to stop you."

"..."

I was struck speechless. In the end, after few minutes of silence, which Florian used by going around the shop to find that reddish-purple coloured stuffs for me, I could only tell him that he's wrong.

He couldn't be more wrong.

Sure, the dreck, being an insufferable idiot he was, probably would object to my decision. Sure, Tear would probably figure that the dreck wouldn't want to be revived, at least not if it'd only lead to my disappearance again, and so would object too. I could somewhat get that. Although I found it strange that she could chose to object to it, since she could really bring herself to kill her brother, I could somewhat believe the possibility.

But... about Natalia and Guy? It couldn't be.

Natalia, she did say she was happy that I could return to her, but to say that she wouldn't want him to replace me...

That's impossible.

No matter how kind she was, how could she not want him more?

Guy too. He only acted nice towards me because his friend was no more and he couldn't accept it and so started seeing me as his replacement. It's either that, or kill me. I was surprised he didn't chose the latter. Even so, if his real friend could really return, he'd without a doubt do whatever required.

Sacrifice everything required.

If the sacrifice needed is me, even better.

After all, he hated me.

"You're forgetting something and conclude wrongly because of it."

He only said with a knowing smile before pushing a stack of clothes for me to pick from.

"Right. These are all what I think would fit you. While you look through them all, can I go look at the toys on display? And can we go to a sweetshop after this?"

"What am I forgetting?"

I asked him without answering his questions. He blinked once and seemed as if studying me for few seconds before his smile once again turned to that of Sync's. He sneered at me.

"I've told you, haven't I? It's not good, Luke. You need to pay attention when people talk to you!"

He chided with his usual cheerful sounding tone (which contrasted his expression) before walking away without asking for my answers, presumably to the part of the shop he mentioned earlier, leaving me dumbfounded.