Thief of Time

Moonlit babies were waddling around the sea of tents, which were spaced quite far apart, witih Moonlit guards as their chaperone. The latter, who were fully armed, proved to be quite intimidating, so there were far less people who actually went forward to interact with these little babies.

That little fact, however, didn’t stop Schwarz and Farah from picking one child up together, much to its guard’s displeasure.

“What?” Schwarz tickled the little kid. “Do you know the Moon babies were supposed to be staying in their own home and not roaming around here? If there’s a chance for me to pick up a Moon baby and play with him or her, I’m taking it.”

“Yeah!” Farah pulled out some snacks. “Ignore them. Want some cookies?”

Dia felt a bit jealous as the little kid nibbled on the cookie and snuggled against Schwarz, so she pulled out some cookies too and dangled them in front of the kid.

“Oh, come on.” Risti sighed. “You too?”

“Princess Dia finds them cute too,” Farah replied. “I don’t see why you have a problem with that.”

“…You know, that is a very good point.”

The Moonlit guard seemed to let out a sigh, although the only thing that Dia saw was the fellow relaxing or something. After that, the tri-coloured fellow pulled out a bottle with a teat on it, and then handed it to the toddler, who promptly — and politely — returned the half-eaten treats to Dia, before slurping from the bottle.

“Moons. What’s in that bottle?” Schwarz asked.

“His mother’s milk?” Farah guessed. “That’s assuming the Moonlit operate off the same reproductive and biological principles as humans…”

The guard patted the little kid’s head, before spreading his arms. Schwarz grumbled for a while, before depositing the little toddler into the guard’s hands. Dia handed over the half-eaten cookie to the little baby a moment later, who bobbed his tiny little head in glee.

“Guys?” Risti clapped her hands. “What about that adoption plan that I suggested?”

“Still on hold, since we’re all mid-ranked folders,” Schwarz replied. “Anyhow, that really livened me up. Moon babies are just so adorable…”

Dia poked the little guy’s cheek. “You’re a cute little fellow, you know.”

The little kid nodded in agreement.

After fooling around for a few more minutes, everyone apologised to the Moonlit guard and headed off into the sea of tents. People were truly adaptable — despite this development, they had all settled into a new sort of daily lifestyle. Stalls had been set up, selling all types of little dishes, and multiple impromptu schools had been established, gathering children and teachers alike as they recited passages and did sums.

“It’s…weird.” Dia looked at the sea of tents. “I thought people would be more dispirited or something, but it seems like they are all just treating this as a vacation or something. I mean, the free banquets every night definitely help, along with the Moonlit doing random performances on the streets, but…”

“It does feel like a vacation, but who’s to say that it isn’t actually a vacation?” Schwarz chuckled. “After all, all expenses are covered by the count, and he’s also promising to reimburse all losses made during this special contingency. It is a paid vacation, no matter how you look at it. Coupled with the festivities that are going on here…”

“Indeed. This can be the beginning of a new tradition or festival for Licencia, if Nightfall wills it. Decades down the road, it may very well become a new tradition and a tourist attraction. Nightfall’s New Moon Festival.”

“That probably has a lot of potential, yes.” Schwarz rubbed his hands. “You know what? I’m going to open my bar here and see how smashed can the cityfolk get. If everyone’s dead drunk, that’s going to solve a lot of problems regarding the Distortion, right?”

“Ooh, good plan.” Farah paused. “Hang on a moment…”

Her eyes blurred out, and Dia bobbed her head.

“Is she accessing that mental space of hers?” Schwarz asked.

“Seems like it,” Risti replied. “Anyway, it’s definitely a good idea to get everyone smashed and dead drunk. Turn it into a drinking party that’s centred all around Licencia, and we won’t need to worry about any Distortions popping up from the tents here.”

“Unless some of them get deadly emotional from reminiscing about sadder times,” Schwarz replied. “But if they drink my certified brews, they won’t even get the chance to reminisce about sadder times.”

Dia thought about his plan seriously as Farah nodded unconsciously. It was a bit absurd, but Schwarz’s plan of inflicting mass alcohol intoxication on the residents of Licencia actually seemed like a damn good idea. It was like tossing one’s sword — one wouldn’t think it was a good idea until they stood five metres away from a lightly-armoured fellow and had a bunch of swords to spare.

This sword toss might prove to be particularly useful.

“Huh. For once, you guys are not raising any objections to this plan at all,” Schwarz observed. “Even you, Dia.”

“Well, your booze will knock someone out for a whole day, at the very least.” Dia bobbed her head. “It’s probably for the best if we knock everyone out for the next seven days. That way, we can be certain that the only Distortion that’s going to arise is from the one currently in Licencia.”

“I know I suggested this, knowing full well the effects of my booze, but having it treated as a knockout drug really does sting when I hear it from anyone else,” Schwarz muttered. “Besides, they are not wholly effective. They’ll only knock out around nine-tenths of the population.”

“Ooh, that’s very strong…or rather, the people who survived are your regular patrons, right?” Dia asked.

“Yeap, and—”

“Alright, we got permission.” Farah rubbed her hands. “We’re given the all-clear to deploy the weapon of mass intoxication, Schwarz.”

“Oi.”

“The count will lend us his full power to ensure that everyone will be dead drunk from this point onwards,” Farah continued. “Schwarz, prepare to be worked to the bone.”

“…Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“Yeah, but wouldn’t it be nice to be the person who serves drinks to the entire city?” Dia asked, before frowning. “Hold up. What about children? Children can’t drink.”

“In large quantities, I think,” Schwarz replied. “A small tumbler will knock them flat…not like I tried before, though.”

“Oh, Nightfall said something about not worrying about the children,” Farah replied. “They’ll be fine or something, apparently. Nightfall has plans to make sure that they stay happy, although I’m told that it’s the mana-users who will be playing with the kids and watching over them.”

“The ones that Nightfall were raising?” Schwarz asked.

“Probably?” The countess shrugged. “Anyway, the count is quite capable...”

Their little group continued their trek into the sea of tents. It was a shame that Nero and Kemata were still holed up in their little house, since this was truly a festival like no other. Dia herself hadn’t enjoyed an event of such a scale, and she couldn’t help but observe the place a few more times.

“Hmm. This event only seems spontaneous, but it actually isn’t, right?” Dia asked. “I have this feeling that some of these stall vendors are actually people hired by the count to aid the ambience.”

“They’re just official staff,” Farah replied. “It’s probably true that the count hired them to set up stalls, but is that a problem?”

“No, that’s not really what I was angling at. It’s just that his preparations seem quite thorough,” Dia replied. “Really doesn’t fit the image I have of him.”

“Really?” Farah made a sound in her throat. “I mean, he’s a good schemer and planner in my opinion. The only reason why he might seem otherwise to you is perhaps because he’s a super-flirty fellow with Caroline. It’s as if he loses a portion of his intelligence when he talks to her or something.”

“Men, I suppose?”

“Claud and Nero don’t strike me that way, though,” Schwarz pointed out.

“Claud is weird, so that doesn’t count,” Farah replied. “And Nero does seem a little more amenable when he’s with Kemata. Nightfall’s personality becomes a bit gentler and more childlike when Caroline’s in the picture. Less ruthless and calculating.”

“Mhm. Probably the husband-y side of him,” Risti guessed. “Well, whatever. It’s great that he’s thorough.”

Dia looked around the stalls, and then shook her head. “Let’s go set up some barrier homes first, and then explore the place afterwards. To be frank, I’m quite excited. This is a celebration-slash-festival on a scale beyond what I’ve truly experienced as a participant.”

“Well then, let’s not hold you up.” Farah grinned. “We’ll find an open space first, and then buy some festival stuff. Nightfall seems to have a theme in mind, so it’ll be interesting to roleplay and everything. Let’s go!”

Dia cheered with the others, and then headed off to an empty space in high spirits.

Even though there were clouds on the horizon, the Moons’ light could still pierce through them.