1278 Love Counseling ln Limbo
“… This is your idea on how I can gain Hell Credits?” William asked the doll-like beauty that was looking up at him with a satisfied look on her adorable face.
“Yes!” Erinys said with confidence. “It will take you a while to get to the second layer, but with this, gaining Hell Credits is assured.”
William pinched the bridge of his nose in order to reign in the feelings of dissatisfaction in his heart. Erinys had taken him back to the main island of Limbo, and the little girl brute-forced her way to get a seat at one of the limited tables in it.
That in itself was fine, but right now, he was forced to hold a placard in his hands that said “Love Advice. Consultations are now open!”
According to Erinys, each soul that they counseled would automatically give them 100 Hell Credits, which would allow them to purchase many things within the Underworld Exchange Commission, and one of them was the ticket to allow the Half-Elf to enter the second Circle of the Underworld which was called, “Living A Hella Loca”.
He had no idea why the second layer of the Underworld was named that way, but according to Erinys it is the most fun place in all of the Underworld.
She added that famous celebrities could be found there, and these people perform on the stage to entertain everyone, allowing them to earn Hell Credits to buy the ticket to proceed to the Third Circle of the Underworld, or exchange it for amazing items in the Exchange Commission.
The little girl seemed quite excited because she had never tried this before. William didn’t know how a little girl, with no experience in relationships, would be able to give advice to the souls who were desperate for answers.
However, since he was just the one holding the placard, and Erinys would be the one giving the advice, both of them would split the Hell Credits eighty-twenty.
Eriny’s would get eighty, William would take twenty.
Since William needed to get the ticket for the Second Circle, he needed to earn enough Hell Credits to buy it, this was how Erinys decided he’d be able to earn a lot of Hell Credits in a short amount of time.
Just as the Half-Elf was about to ask the adorable Halfling to think of better ways to earn Hell Credits, the soul of a man who seemed to be in his mid-twenties approached his table.
“Can you give me some advice?” the man asked.
Erinys, who was seated and acting as the counselor, glanced at the Half-Elf beside him with a smug look on her face. She was giving William the “See? I told you so” gaze, making the Half-Elf roll his eyes before shifting his attention to the soul in front of them.
“Please have a seat,” Erinys said with a sweet smile on her face.
After the soul was seated, Erinys asked him a few questions in order to better understand what happened in his past life, so she could give him better advice.
“You see, I had a girlfriend, but it didn’t work out,” the soul said. “She said that I was too nice and broke up with me. Can you tell me the reason why that happened?”
“Oh! That’s simple,” Erinys replied. “It is because, sometimes, being too nice turns off the other party. A relationship is give and take.
“If only one side is doing their best, and giving everything to the other party without expecting anything in return, the girls would think of him as boring. This is why some ladies like bad boys. They get the thrill of staying with them.”
William, who was just holding the placard, gave the Halfling a side-long glance because he didn’t know the little girl to be able to actually give sound advice in something she never experienced herself.
“… Does that mean that I have to be one of those bad guys in order to have a lovelife?” the soul asked.
“Of course not,” Erinys answered. “It just means that you weren’t able to meet someone that was meant for you in your past life. However, do not be discouraged. Just as there are millions of fishes in the sea, there are millions of ladies who will appreciate someone who truly wants them to be happy.”
“Thank you very much. Now I feel better.”
“No problem. Next person please~”
William hadn’t noticed this until halfway through the counseling, but several souls had lined up in front of Erinys’ booth to seek some love advice.
The little girl became so excited because her plan to gather Hell Credits was working better than she expected.
However, instead of simple Love Counseling, it turned into general counseling with the souls asking Erinys’ for advice even for the most mundane things.
“It hurts when I do this,” the soul said as he twisted his shoulders in a certain angle.
“Then don’t do that,” Erinys’ replied. “Next please!”
“How often do people die if they do a free-fall from a thirty-story building?”
“Just once. Next!”
“What seems to be the problem?” Erinys asked.
“Nothing. I’m just fine,” the soul answered.
Erinys glared at the soul who just lined up for no particular reason. “Then why are you here and wasting my time? Next one please!”
“My back hurts when I wake up in the morning.”
“Just wake up in the afternoon or the evening then. Next please!”
“Little girl, can you guess how I died?” a soul asked the smug-faced Erinys with a teasing look.
“What’s your zodiac sign?” Erinys asked back.
“Cancer.”
“Exactly. Next!”
William didn’t know how many hours passed, but the line in front of them wasn’t shrinking. In fact, it was even getting longer.
The Half-Elf once again glanced at the Halfling beside him and wondered if Erniys’ adorable features were attracting these souls to her, even though they weren’t really seeking love advice.
In the end, he assumed that this was indeed the case because among all those who were present in Limbo, Erinys seemed to be the easiest to approach.
Half a day later, Erinys stretched her arms upwards as William placed his placard down. The consultation was over, and the other souls who weren’t able to ask her for advice were given tickets with numbers on them, allowing them to gain early access when her consultation session resumed the next day.
“See? I told you that we can earn many Hell Credits this way.” Erinys giggled after looking at the bracelet in her hand that recorded the number of credits she earned after her first day of consultation was over.
“I should have done this sooner!” Erinys grumbled. “The Ferryman wage can’t even compare to this!”
William had no choice but to reluctantly nod his head because this was indeed a good way to earn Hell Credits. Although he only gained 20 Hell Credits per consultation, his credit count now surpassed ten thousand.
Unfortunately, the ticket he needed to buy to proceed to the next Layer of the Underworld was worth a hundred thousand Hell Credits.
According to his calculation, he would need at least seven to nine more days before he reached his goal.
After resting for fifteen minutes, Erinys dragged the Half-Elf back to the port, and used her boat to return to her home.
The moment they arrived, the little girl dragged the Half-Elf to her room and used him as a hug pillow to sleep. She threatened him that if he left without her permission, she would no longer help him gather Hell Credits, which made the Half-Elf toss away his thought of sneaking away.
“So cold,” Erinys’ muttered in her sleep. “It’s like I’m hugging ice. It feels so good.”
The Half-Elf wanted to flick the little girl’s forehead because she was using him as some kind of ice cooler to make herself comfortable as she slept, but held himself back.
Right now, his only guide through the Underworld was Erinys, so he couldn’t afford to provoke the doll-like beauty, who seemed to be someone important in the Underworld.
He noticed this right away when Erinys forcefully took over the booth from one of the staff members of the Underworld. The man manning his booth left without even saying words of complaint, and even complimented Erinys for trying to help the souls who were currently stuck in Limbo, until they earned enough Hell Credits to pass to the other side.
The little girl, who had buried her head on his chest and was using him as a cooler, slept soundly, without any care in the world.
William, on the other hand, was talking with Optimus about the different functions that he was unable to use in the Underworld.
Just as he expected, he was unable to open the portal that led to the Thousand Beast Domain.
However, aside from that, everything else was working properly. This made the Half-Elf breathe a sigh of relief because he was still able to use his powers, even if he still hadn’t found a way to leave the Underworld.
‘I wonder what kind of place awaits me in the next layer,’ William mused before closing his eyes. So far, his expedition in the Underworld was moving smoothly.
However, he had a feeling that not everything would be smooth sailing, especially in the higher layers of the Underworld, where his wives were currently staying.
Unknown to the Half-Elf, a pair of viscous eyes were watching him right now. He had long known that William would come to find him, but he didn’t expect the Half-Elf to come so soon.
But, since he was already here, he would just wait patiently and allow the black-haired teenager to reach him using the rules of the Underworld.
He was very curious about how the one that his Mother held in high esteem, would fare in the Underworld, where the souls of the departed stayed until their final judgment fell upon their heads.