
Eliot
A guard crew member under a long-term contract with COLUMBA, currently stationed on The Eternal, and has a good relationship with Fran. Although she usually seems lazy, her observation and sensitivity are exceptionally keen, always sensing danger early. She's an excellent hunter, so you'd better be careful if targeted by her crossbow. At critical moments, Eliot becomes serious and is an indispensable help.
Not long after Eliot joined Edunn City's armed forces as a soldier, everybody noticed what stood out about her. She always preferred doing things on her own and appeared unmotivated, not to mention being quite disregarding of rules. Her nonchalant attitude upset some of the members of her troop and naturally caught the attention of her team captain, Fran.
It was only after putting in lots of effort to understand Eliot that Fran learned the former had always been in the hunting business prior to this, with superb hunting skills that everyone in her hometown knew, particularly her mind-boggling competency at archery. Putting together these things and Eliot's performance during training, people eventually acknowledged that she wasn't just a lucky, good-for-nothing person who enlisted by chance.
As a hunter who's acclimatized to living in the wilds, Eliot choosing to join the armed forces was truly out of character for her. In actuality, this decision of hers was majorly influenced by her father. She didn't have any memories of her mother, but her taciturn father had always silently shown her concern through actions and was also the one who introduced her to hunting.
Eliot's innate talent and rapidly establishing interest soon left her obsessed with this sport, and her father supported her hobby despite hoping she could live a much stabler life. However, the wilds weren't her sole focus. A thought formed within her as she observed her father's progressively hunched back view.
In the end, Eliot accepted the suggestion he once gave her—join the Bonfire City's armed forces. As she had only made this uncharacteristic decision to appease her father, the moment she received news that he had passed on, she completely lost all motivation to continue staying in the troop.
Following her resignation from Edunn City's armed forces, Eliot lived visibly happier than she did before, returning to her childhood home and getting by by hunting. She no longer had to be woken up by Fran to patrol every morning, endure the dry and hard rations provided by the cafeteria, and be forced to stay in the camp. To her, this was the kind of carefree lifestyle she had always yearned for! Even now, she still misses how free and easy things were back then.
Though she has joined The Eternal, Eliot has never thought about giving up on her laidbackness and her pursuit of a comfortable lifestyle. There's only a limited number of things worth enjoying in life, so if that's the case, she sees no problem in napping in a cozy spot in the warehouse while no one's paying attention, albeit her shut-eyes are consistently interrupted by Fran's search operations, and she'll have to flee from her hiding spot with her head in her hands to return to work.
Scenes like that virtually occur on the train once every couple of days, so everyone has gotten used to it. In fact, the duo looks as though they kind of have fun with it, but it's most likely not the case... or is it?
The end of Eliot's "carefree life" and the start of her life on the train seem to both be thanks to Fran. Nobody knows what agreement they came to in the hut in the wilderness, but regardless, as per COLUMBA's registration records, the two of them had joined the crew of The Eternal on the same day.
Eliot has loads of bad habits, such as spending her salary on lottery tickets to try her luck and frequently going missing in action from work, but in critical junctures, her capability and performance make her look like a mature, steadfast hunter. To quote Fran's words, Eliot is like a battery that needs to be charged, but you'll never know when you ever need it.
Meanwhile, the "battery" herself appears to think it will be best if she's never needed so that she can continue lazing comfortably in places only she knows, sneaking out of the train to buy lottery tickets from time to time, and feasting on meat that she barbecued and hunted by herself at any time... There's nothing she wants more than to keep going on this journey this merrily and relaxedly.
From an outsider's point of view, Eliot seems to constantly cause trouble for Fran, and things like "What will happen to Eliot if she doesn't have Fran anymore?" tend to travel to Eliot's ears. But in reality? Eliot herself will not refute such comments. She will simply smile and bob her head, saying, "Yeah, if only Fran thinks so too."
As for what that sentence implies, perhaps it's something only the two of them will ever know.
I'm Eliot. I'll do what needs to be done.
It's time for changing shifts.
Food? Just preparing some simple bird meat would do, wouldn't it?
I stopped being a sentry because, well — I couldn't adapt to the environment and had insomnia... But, let me put it this way, there were other reasons too.
Joint training? Count me out. It doesn't matter if I attend, as long as I show up when there's an official mission, right?
Idling about? It's called conserving energy. People have different physical conditions.
Take a portion of this freshly prepared bird meat. After all, you've taken good care of me. Remember to grill it over charcoal and then add salt to taste. It's yummy.
Why does Fran bother with me... There are plenty of others cuter than me.
The folks here, including me, are mostly oddballs. You're the weirdest one, Conductor.
Crossbows are more suitable for hunting than bows. Look, are you able to use a bow while lying prone like this?
Generally speaking, what gifts make girls happy... Surely you know better than me, Conductor.
Ah, Conductor, let's go eat together next time. Fran recommended a good place.
If it weren't for the Conductor, Fran and I wouldn't have reunited.
I didn't want to pay respects at my father's grave, but Fran convinced me to. Well... I feel much better now.
What a hassle... Let's just finish this ASAP.
Target spotted. Closing in.
This one is much bigger than the typical prey... This is annoying.
I'll hold them back. Everyone, regroup!
If you fixate on what's ahead, you'll neglect what's above.
Argh, they got me... Can't hold on anymore. Gotta go.
Fran... You okay...?
Whatever it is, can I just rest until tomorrow...?