Thief of Time

Claud could swear that ice was on the verge of forming in his little shophouse when the three sovereigns of their respective continents finally decided to stop their petty squabbling. Of course, their actions were anything other than petty — Claud had a feeling that the three of them would love nothing more than to throw down the gauntlet if given the slightest opportunity.

“Ahem.” Lily cleared her throat. “To what honour do we owe this visit to?”

“I assume you know who we are,” Emperor Grandis replied. “I am told that you two happen to be nobles, yes?”

“We are?” Claud tilted his head.

Lily nudged him, before whispering, “You forgot? You know, back then…”

“Oh! Yes, we are. But we don’t have land or anything, right? Does that obligate us to do as he commands?” Claud whispered back. “Like, it would be really troublesome if he starts ordering us about. Like, I’d rather just vanish…”

Supreme Saran snorted, while the First Lady turned away to hide a smile. Emperor Grandis, who had definitely heard his words, which had been uttered on purpose, cleared his throat.

“No matter,” Emperor Grandis continued smoothly. “Now, as you probably know, we are here to talk about the issue of Distortions. You two are the first and only person so far to have dismantled a Distortion without any bloodshed. There is a very good chance that you two are gifted in this area.”

“We got lucky,” Lily replied. “Your Majesty, it would not do to pin hopes on commonfolk like us; we entered because we were going to look for a dear friend. Otherwise, we would never have entered to begin with.”

“However, the confidence in which you entered suggests that there is a way for you two to leave the Distortion if you so wish. That is more important to us,” Emperor Grandis replied.

“Eh?”

The two of them paused, and then Claud thought through those words slowly. Indeed, he hadn’t thought about what it meant for them to enter so confidently — someone who did such a thing was either mad or confident in their ability to leave freely. Indeed, Claud had been relying on the fact that he could probably use Absolute One to blast a way out of the Distortion as his trump card, so…

He had to play this well.

“We’re hexa-folders. Isn’t it natural for us to leave if we want to?” Lily asked, the expression on her face radiating an honest curiosity. “There’s no need for a trump card or anything, right? Just blast your way open.”

It was the trio’s turn to exchange glances. Their eyes flickered as they moved from person to person, and more than once, they scrutinised both Claud and Lily. This weird silence lasted for around six seconds, before Emperor Grandis folded his arms.

“So, you two marched in there, thinking that you could make it out with your powers alone?”

“Indeed.” Lily paused. “With all due respect, Your Majesty, the Distortion seems to originate from a non-folder. Even if this phenomenon is outlandish, how can it hope to contend against the likes of me and my husband?”

“That was your reasoning…” Emperor Grandis held his head. “I am not sure what to say, but that was very reckless.”

“We went inside as a pair for that reason,” Lily added. “Together, our mana output is far greater than if I went in alone. Our Mana Control Proficiency is very high too, which gave us even more confidence to pierce a way out if the need ever arose.”

“I see…” Emperor Grandis shook his head. “How unfortunate. If you had been in possession of a treasure or skill that allowed one to leave and exit at will, we would have bought them from you. As it stood, you two simply were confident in your powers…and indeed, such confidence is natural. After all, you two are hexa-folders.”

“Indeed. We are in the ranks of the strongest of this era. If we can’t break through a Distortion, then no one can,” Lily replied. “That said, we are ashamed that the three of you came down here to our humble shop for nothing. We humbly apologise.”

“It’s fine. I suppose we could all have been a bit braver, but who can order someone like you and your husband around, especially into a place of danger?” Emperor Grandis shook his head. “I suppose you two didn’t try to break out of the place forcibly, then.”

“We did not,” Lily replied.

“That was such a good chance to test things out, though.” Emperor Grandis shook his head. “Well, I am done here, Saran and Cecily. If you two have questions to ask, do go ahead.”

Armour clanked, and Supreme Saran gazed at the two of them. “Are you two interested in joining my retinue? You will want for nothing there.”

“Thank you for your offer,” Lily replied. “We are appreciative of how you hold us with such high regard, but our current life is fuelled by the desire to just relax and recuperate from the past decade. We desire a peaceful life, one where we are accountable to only ourselves.”

“A peaceful life, one where you are accountable only to yourself…” Supreme Saran guffawed. “Well said! Very well. This supreme shall honour your thoughts! If you have, at any point in time, a desire to leave Grandis, I beseech you two to visit my Lacheln on some bright and shimmering day. It is a land of never-ending thrill and struggle, a reversion to primal might at the highest level. There, you can surpass civility and social norms, and be yourself at your most fundamental form. Death and battle will baptise your rise…”

He folded his arms. “If you ever tire of a civilised life, head to Lacheln. I will welcome free spirits like you two anytime.”

“Thank you.”

Supreme Saran nodded at them, snorted at his peers, and then turned around. “Farewell!”

Claud narrowed his eyes slightly. Supreme Saran didn’t sound that much like a prick now, compared to the time Claud saw him during the Aeon Trials. Of course, it was possible that there was a public private distinction; if his eyes got it right, it actually seemed that these three actually knew each other quite well.

Maybe they were even friends.

“Oi, Saran,” Emperor Grandis called out. “Same time next week?”

“You keep losing. It’s boring. Maybe if you can bring these two along. They’re quite fascinating. Intriguing, even.”

The Supreme didn’t even bother to turn around while replying, further affirming Claud’s own guess. Of course, he wasn’t going to say that out loud, but the dynamics that the trio shared were quite interesting. It felt like they were actually siblings…

“I’ll think about it.”

The door closed at that reply, and Emperor Grandis turned back to them. “Well, it seems that you two should clear your next weekend. Do you have any objections to this?”

Claud glanced at Lily, who smiled helplessly back at him.

“I suppose we’ll need more details.”

“I’ll send my people over then. Cecily, you…should conclude your questions soon.”

“Right.” The First Lady’s words were laced with a wintry chill; it was as if she was someone who was carved out of ice and snow. Cold, brutal and calculating, the First Lady of the Nihal Senate had light blue hair that framed her snow-like face.

All three bigshots were frightening in their own way. There was little to be said about Supreme Saran, who was a hulking fellow who wore armour and wielded blunt weapons easily. On the other hand, the First Lady looked like someone who could kill with her words, and Emperor Grandis was definitely the scheming type.

In other words, everyone here, other than the two of them, were people that shouldn’t be crossed.

“First Lady Cecily.” Lily nodded at her. “What questions do you have?”

“I’m curious about the dynamics of your relationship,” she replied. “Tell me about it.”

“It’s private information,” Lily replied smoothly. “What relevant questions do you have about the Distortion?”

The temperature seemed to drop, but Lily only looked at the First Lady of the Nihal Senate in silence. The First Lady nodded, much like Dia did whenever the others landed a touch on her during the sparring sessions, and then said, “The Distortion. As I understood it, you two solved the Distortion and didn’t destroy it. Please describe the entire process in detail.”

“Which we already did, but I suppose you want to hear it from us, yes?”

Her head jerked once. “I’m glad you understand.”

“More work for us, I suppose,” Lily replied.

The First Lady opened her hand, and an embroidered bag of lifestones fell out. “As compensation for your time. This is more than good enough.”

“And so it is.” Lily shook her head.

“Grandis, if you want to listen, fork over some lifestones too,” the First Lady added. “It is manifestly unfair to them if you listen in like this.”

The Emperor of the Grandis Empire sighed. “Very well. You can be very weird at times like this.”

He placed a box of lifestones on the counter. “Do begin, then.”

Lily shrugged. “Sure. Okay, so we were…”