Thief of Time

Ninth Street and the rest of Vacuos were fairly deserted when Claud and Lily stepped out of the shop, proving that business would still be low even if they stayed inside. It wasn’t as if news about their shop would magically spread wings and fly, after all, and more importantly, forces both mortal and divine were moving around the background.

While the soldiers that were staring guard made the city look like it was under a general curfew, Vacuos actually wasn’t under anything of the sort, although everyone else had opted to either leave the city or to hide in their homes.

Claud naturally didn’t know what the cause was, but the purple dome that occupied a fifth of the skyline whenever he looked westwards, towards the centre of the city, was probably the cause.

“Business is bad, but it’s not because our products are crap,” Lily sang, her sing-a-song voice lifting his spirits slightly.

“Well, we needed to be well-known, after all. And news really doesn’t travel well,” Claud replied, adjusting his backpack. “Unless it’s bad news. That travels faster than me when I’m fleeing.”

“I don’t think anyone can catch up to you if you flee, though,” Lily replied. “I just don’t believe it.”

“Uh, metaphorically?”

Lily thought for a while. “Fair enough. But if you really wanted business, why not sell the location of our shop on the Trading Board? We have access to Nihila’s general boards, right? Just sell our location as a secret, super-rare skillstrip shop or something. We can make some money off selling our own wares.”

“Eh?” Claud blinked. “We can do that?”

“I don’t see why not,” Lily replied. “Besides, it’s a method of profiting. We’ll list our wares and send them to the regional, uh, chat group. Maybe we’ll get lucky?”

“Maybe, but there’s a high chance that our shop would be closed when they come over,” Claud replied. “We are going to venture into that dome, after all. The only reason why I’m so confident is because I’m sure we can break out easily. But if we can’t, we’ll need to stay in there and try to crack the dome’s source. It has to come from somewhere, after all.”

The two of them continued to chat and check their equipment as they headed down Ninth Street. The absence of people and street stalls selling food created an atmosphere that Claud disliked, but there wasn’t much he could do about it. Soldiers gazed at them as they walked down the streets, but none of them left their positions to interrogate them or something.

“Right, have we decided on a date to visit President Cadenza?” Claud asked, thinking about the letter that they had received shortly after they sent the calling card. “Or are we going to visit after we deal with the purple dome?”

“I think we should at least check the purple dome and see what’s inside first,” Lily replied. “That way, we’ll have more information for Count Vacuos and the others freeloading at his palace. Poor guy.”

“Right?” Claud shook his head.

He continued to look around Ninth Street as the two of them approached the purple dome. The little toddler that had been hanging around them never showed up at all. The other shadowy toddlers that had still dotted the streets yesterday had completely vanished too, presumably told to go back to their home while everyone else tried to figure out what was with these purple domes.

“I don’t think they’ll be showing up while these things are here,” Lily muttered. “Maybe the kid just happened to go back yesterday, and he wasn’t swept up in this purple dome thing.”

“Better be safe, though,” Claud replied. “And to be honest, I’ve been wanting to investigate this thing. It’s hard to sleep when there’s the possibility of a purple dome abducting you in the middle of the night.”

Lily made a sad noise.

After walking for a little while longer, the two of them came across a cordon. Guards stood around the cordon, the occasional jitter and jerk revealing their fear of standing so close to this purple dome that no one had exited from so far.

“I’m beginning to wonder if this is actually a good idea,” Claud muttered. “No one’s left the dome so far.”

“But you won’t be able to sleep well until you scour the interior for the child, right?” Lily asked. “I mean, it’s pretty much the same with me. That kid’s…well, I would call him a friend. You said once before that there are times when we need to take risks, no matter what. This is one such time, isn’t it?”

“It is,” Claud replied. “My ambition used to be that of living forever. But after going through so much, I think it’s changed slightly. I have to live forever happily…that extra word changes a lot of things, doesn’t it?”

“It’s like putting some flash powder into a bomb. Turns it into a blinding weapon too. The product will still kill or injure normal people, but it’ll also be able to blind mana-users.”

“Uh…I suppose that’s a good enough metaphor.”

The guards that were manning the cordon looked at Claud and Lily as they drew up to the barricade, before drawing their swords. Claud raised his two hands up, and then said, “I don’t mean any harm. I’m just going to enter the place.”

The soldiers stared at each other for a moment, and then lowered their weapons. Their leader, a helmeted fellow, walked up to them and said, “You intend to enter? Do you know what you look like?”

Claud tilted his head.

“Your wife is supporting your right arm, and you look lethargic. I bet that you’ll die three minutes after walking inside. If you want to actually contribute to this exploration, at least don’t go burrowing in the bedsheets with your wife for the whole of last night first.”

A flame of irritation tickled his heart, and Claud looked at the officer in silence. His mana whirled faintly, and the burly helmeted fellow soon took a step back in silence. Muttering something about grapes and alcohol, the officer ran off into the distance.

“Sir?” One of the normal soldiers tilted his head. “What’s up with him…”

“Don’t let them in yet!” the officer shouted. “I’m bringing someone over!”

“Uh, you heard him!” The young man looked at Claud and Lily. “No entry! Not yet, anyway!”

“You’re quite the spirited one,” Claud observed. “Anyway, I suppose the way you’re holding me up is really making people think weird stuff.”

“Let them,” Lily replied, a grin on her face. “It’ll be great if I can scare away other women. And men won’t approach me carelessly if I’m holding you like this anyway. I’m taken, and so are you!”

“Sir, ma’am, please stop flirting in front of us,” the young soldier complained. “It’s hard to watch.”

“Then don’t. It’s not like we’re telling you to watch,” Claud replied.

Despite his words, however, the two of them decided to retreat by a few metres, before squatting down to look at the purple dome. The purple surface was smooth and unblemished; it looked like one of Lily’s more exotic sweets that had just been freshly baked.

“Uh, do you have a sweet?” Claud asked.

“I do, but that’s a random thing to ask for out of the blue…” Lily pulled out a small bag. “Here!”

Claud felt his lips turn up as he rolled the little ball-like treat in his mouth, before he checked on the three little meeplings.

“Meep?”

“We’re close to the purple dome,” Lily explained, before plucking the three of them out of her and Claud’s clothes. “There.”

“Meep.” Crown started to spin on its edge, but other than that, the little guy didn’t show much of a reaction.

“You were a lot more alarmed when that thing showed up, though,” Claud noted. “We’re going in to look for people and to figure out what’s going on inside.”

“Meep?” The little guy fell onto his side. “Meep! Meep!”

“…Can’t. We have people to save,” Claud replied, patting the little box. “If you guys don’t want to go, we can return back home first. We’ll pop you guys back into the house.”

The three meeplings protested, and then hopped into their hair.

“Okay, so they want to come along with us.” Lily made a face. “But…I’m now feeling some misgivings about exploring this place now. Is it fine for us to bring you three along?”

“Meep!”

It didn’t take long for their impassioned meeps to convince Lily that they were very fine with going along for this exploration. Claud didn’t quite understand them, as usual, but their explanation was something along the lines of how there was a difference between a half-formed and fully-formed…something.

Claud and Lily couldn’t quite decipher what the name for this purple dome was just yet.

“I hear that you two want to enter?”

An unfamiliar voice shook the air, one that was used to authority and giving orders, and the two of them looked at the newcomer.

Claud narrowed his eyes. “…You must be Count Vacuos.”