Thief of Time

“Running the underworld of Licencia sounds fun,” Lily murmured. “Anything to get away from my stupid family. I’m in.”

“That was…fast.” Dia didn’t expect to convince anyone that quickly, but the old saying about how expectations were made to be broken looked like they held true. “Did you not hear about how I’m being chased by the Shadows of Grandis earlier or anything?”

“That’s a risk, true,” said Countess Farah, who was stabbing at a sausage with a fork. The others were having dinner when Dia had returned, but she was the first to clear the plate. “But why would the Shadows of Grandis be after you?”

“Didn’t I tell you the reason from the very start?” Dia replied. “I’m Dia, the ex-heiress of the Lustre Dukedom. For very complicated reasons, I was made a scapegoat for Ruler Umbra’s murder and was forced to escape from Lustre.”

It was a bit chilling at how easy her quiet confession was, but now that she got it out, she felt a lot better.

“Wait. You…weren’t kidding?” Farah asked, glancing at Lily and Risti, who were now paying apt attention to Dia. “How can you prove your identity?”

“How do you want me to prove my identity? You’ve covered virtually every single possibility with the explanation that I’m my number one fan,” Dia replied. “Should I demonstrate all my skills or something? I didn’t bring any identification along with me when I fled, so that’s a problem.”

“But you’re the one with the most experience as a bounty hunter,” said Farah. “And that can’t be faked. Look, maybe you’re trying to help Princess Dia by being a really good fake, but you can’t just lie to your companions that you’re her. You’ll make everyone doubt their senses.”

“This is precisely the attitude—”

“The fact that the Shadows of Grandis are coming after you is making me so much more certain that you’re trying to help the princess,” Farah continued. “If you were really her, you’ll be in disguise by now. You’re probably drawing pursuers away from her, and I appreciate that. But you just can’t go claiming that you’re her, alright?”

Dia opened her mouth, and then shut it bitterly. The Experiential Potion she drank was now doing her a disservice of a magnitude she had rarely experienced before.

“Alright, we’ll just play along, since you are so dedicated to your duty,” said Risti, who had been silent the whole time. “We’ll call you Dia. The more assassins that come your way, the better, right?”

For some reason, Dia didn’t quite like the assumption that she was making, but her performance as a bounty hunter was clearly too exemplary for them to even entertain the possibility that she was the real deal. Having them address her with her real name, however, was at least a small improvement…even if they still didn’t believe that she was Dia.

How did she end up in such a situation? Dia didn’t quite know the answer.

“So, you intend to control Licencia’s underworld, eh?” Farah brooded over Dia’s original suggestion. “You’re trying to pit Licencia against the Shadows of Grandis, and buy more time for the princess…interesting. Bold. Brave. You’re truly quite the exceptional person, to be chosen as the princess’ doppelganger.”

Dia really wanted to say that she was an expert at over-reading into a situation, but this was going the way she wanted…in a sense. Choosing to remain silent, she turned to Risti, who immediately beamed.

“Of course I’ll be happy to help! So, what’s the plan? Who do we beat up? How are we going to take over Licencia’s underworld?”

“We’ll do it with the help of a local,” Dia replied. “Remember that mana-user we met a few days ago? I’ve come to a preliminary agreement with him. He’ll work together with us to take over Licencia’s underworld, before any of the other folders get the same idea.”

“Is that feasible?” Farah asked, a small smile on her face.

“Apparently, a force of five one-folders can actually dominate the underworld of a count’s city,” Dia replied. “As a side note, you should probably check if there’s also a one-folder ruling over the dark side of your territory.”

Farah nodded. “Among the few of us here, I’ll probably be the strongest…wait. That might not be the case. Iso— ahem. Dia, what’s your skillset like?”

It was a bit eerie, how Farah adapted to her new form of address without believing that she was the real deal, but Dia shrugged it off. “Come to think of it, I haven’t had a chance to check my status. Help me keep a look out while I open it.”

A text box popped up as she murmured the word in her mind.

Name: Dia Lyceria de Lustre

Lifespan: 72 years

Active Skills: Sword Dance (5), Sword Sense (6), Sword Roar (4), Fated Sword (2), Sword Fall (2), Domain of Swords (1)

Passive Skills: Heightened Senses, Fighter’s Instinct

Mana Circuit Superimposition: 1.88

Mana Control Proficiency: Intermediate

Comments: Hey! Welcome back! I haven’t seen you around for quite some time. I was beginning to wonder if you forgot about me. You seem to be slacking off in training recently. Did something happen?

Dia glanced at the comments and then rolled her eyes. Something big really did happen, but it was unlikely that she could communicate to whoever was on the opposite site of the status screen.

“What’s your superimposition level, uh, Dia?”

“1.88,” she replied.

“That’s just a bit lower than mine,” Farah replied. “Good enough.”

“Come to think of it, Count Nightfall’s a bi-folder,” said Lily. “How are you able to control your own county as a one-folder? Or does the Emperor really protect you and everything?”

“Oh, Farah County’s quite a rural place. It’s called a county due to the wide swath of land it has, but it has little resources of value,” the countess explained. “Otherwise, I’d probably be dead by now.”

“Or imprisoned,” Risti added.

“And that too, yes.” Farah frowned for a moment. “Since you’re playing the role of Princess Dia’s double, you probably have the same batch of skills as her, right? Does that also include Sword Fall and Fated Sword?”

“Why don’t you make a guess?” Dia asked.

“Wait, seriously?”

“Is it that hard to believe that I’m the real Dia? I have Sword Fall and Fated Sword too. Do you want me to demonstrate?”

“Sure…we believe you.” Farah laughed. “Right, guys?”

Dia felt the urge to use Sword Fall on Licencia, just for the sake of it, and then ask them the same question again afterwards. Fortunately, her urge to do so vanished a few moments later, leaving behind a vast gulf of fatigue and self-doubt. For some reason, talking to them had tired her out a great deal, especially since they still didn’t believe that she was the real Dia.

“So, are we in accord?” Farah asked. “Shall we take over Licencia’s underworld to help Princess Dia’s double?”

“Agreed.”

“Seconded.”

Dia looked at them, touched, and then reminded herself that they were helping an imaginary Princess Dia that they had set as an idol to follow and emulate. It was a very odd reason to help her with, and to be honest, she wasn’t sure why they were so keen on helping either.

“I’m curious,” said Dia, “but why are you three so willing to help—”

The three of them glanced at Dia.

“—her in fighting off the Shadows of Grandis?” Dia completed lamely, having been scared by the three fervent lights in their eyes. “I don’t think she helped you in person or anything, right? In fact, when we first met at Pletsville, that was the first meeting between us.”

“So…you’re asking why we’re her diehard fans?” Farah cupped her chin. “For me, it’s because she’s the symbol of gender rights in Grandis. I was able to become a countess because there was precedence of women who were nobles. She wasn’t just any noble; she is a noble who exemplifies both ability and nobility in the truest sense of the word.”

“Uh.” Dia thought back to her past. “Any…concrete examples?”

“All those charity drives she ran? Her stellar performance in handling diplomacy between the Istrel Dukedom and the Lustre Dukedom? The fact that when she took over the helms of Lustre’s economy, it grew at fifteen percent every year?”

“She’s really impressive, isn’t she?” Risti chimed in, before Dia could explain away the flukes. “My father told me about how she vanquished bandit gangs alone too!”

Dia didn’t quite know how to respond to that, but it was nothing praiseworthy. The bandits were normal people. Vanillas who mostly had lifestyle skills. Any mana-user worth their salt would have defeated them with their eyes closed, so she did understand why it was an issue of praise. The economy thing was her being a rubber stamp; that as it. That diplomacy bit…the less said, the better.

Everyone turned to Lily, who blinked. “Oh, are we sharing why we’re all fans of Princess Dia?”

Nods followed.

Lily closed her eyes, a nostalgic look on her face. “Ten years ago, when my brother was still alive, the two of us went off into a nearby forest. And then…”