Thief of Time

“So, how’s life with Nero?” Claud asked, looking at Kemata, who had taken out a weapon to polish.

“You were a noble in the Saran Supremacy, right?” Lily asked. “What does it feel like to live with him?”

Kemata rubbed some wax on the blade, and then looked at them. The faint light in her eyes made Claud happy just by looking at them, and intuitively, he understood that the two of them probably hit it off quite well.

Although they definitely didn’t hit it off as well as him and Lily, so eh.

“Interesting. Fun.” She paused, and a smile appeared on her face. “Warm.”

“Warm…” Lily bobbed her head, and Claud nodded along. He, too, could understand what it felt like to have someone else care about them. For him and Lily, this warmth was one that only returned to their lives when they got together; it was a warmth that could only come from family and no one else.

“I’m glad you feel that way,” Claud replied. “It’s a nice fuzzy feeling, right?”

“Better than a down blanket warmed under the afternoon sun,” Lily added.

“What are you guys talking about?” Nero asked, walking into the small dining room with some dishes. “Also, I made this. Give it a try? I know it’s simple, but the two of us have been learning how to cook from the very beginning.”

“Potato slices?” Claud sniffed. “They smell great.”

“We don’t mind simple meals, so please pardon us if we end up eating most of them,” Lily added. “But if you want to cook more complex stuff, asking Schwarz for help is probably the best way to go.”

“We’ll think about that when we get there,” Nero replied.

“Simple is good,” Kemata replied. “I like simple.”

“Mhm. Must be due to a noble’s upbringing,” Claud guessed. “I’m told that dishes prepared for nobles and their equivalents are usually quite rich, right? Simple fare can be quite stimulating after eating lots of really strong stuff.”

Nero nodded. “Agreed. Although, in my defence, I’ve been eating simple stuff for the better half of the past six or so years. Being a thrall means that no one cares about what I eat…”

He made a face. “At least I forgot about most of my experiences. I do get a few nightmares from time to time about eating tree bark, though.”

Kemata patted his head. “There, there.”

Lily glanced at Claud, who grinned at her. The two made faces at each other for a few seconds, before Lily cleared her throat and said, “With Kemata around, you’ll probably get over this trauma soon, so don’t worry too much about it.”

Claud bobbed his head too. “At least, you won’t suffer from that too badly.”

He looked at the dishes that Nero had brought out. Indeed, most of them were quite basic; scrambled eggs, sausages and some cured meat. It was not that impressive, but again, these two were privileged fellows one way or another. The fact that they were pretty good cooks was quite impressive enough.

“Alright, time to dig in.” Claud raised his fork.

The next few minutes drifted by. Kemata and Nero was quite interesting to watch, since they made it a habit to place food on each other’s plates. Claud, of course, wasn’t this amateurish; there was no need to use some much effort when he could feed Lily directly.

“Say ah!”

“Ah…”

Nero and Kemata looked at them, and then made some faces at each other. Claud suppressed his smile, before continuing to feed Lily over and over again. Of course, Lily wasn’t one to lose out, so before long, most of the dishes had gone down their throats.

“You guys are quite fast eaters,” Nero muttered.

“Well, we don’t put food on each other’s plates,” Lily replied. “It’s inefficient. Why not just feed Kemata directly and vice-versa?”

The couple exchanged glances again.

“…Take under advisement,” Kemata muttered.

“Good,” Lily replied. “Anyway, now that lunch is over, why not tell us more about the Nihal Senate?”

“Lunch is over for you guys, but we haven’t eaten our fill yet,” Nero replied. “You two go cuddle and make out at the corner first. We’ll finish our lunch first. I also need to get some reference materials for you guys, so go ahead and make yourselves at home.”

“…You do know that this is our house, right?” Claud asked.

“Ah. Mhm. It’s hard to remember that sometimes,” Nero replied. “But it’s nice, this place. Not only is it heavily defended, but there are also a crap ton of barriers and other emergency measures. Did you know that some Moonlit soldiers tried to force their way through? Even a Moon Emissary came by.”

Claud frowned. “Were our defences supposed to hold off someone of that calibre? I don’t think I made those upgrades.”

“The barriers did, though.” Nero looked at him, confused. “The Moon Emissary hammered the barriers for a full hour and nearly broke her arm.”

“Did we have defences this good?” Lily asked. “I mean, this place was definitely not fortified to that level. Even in Moon Mansion, the defences can only scare away tri-folders at best. Unless you’re actively empowering them, the barriers and the other artefacts shouldn’t have that kind of power.”

“But we definitely weren’t empowering the barriers, though.”

Kemata bobbed her head. “Were sleeping, both of us.”

“Mhm.” Claud scratched his head. “Maybe I installed an extra-strong artefact, then. It’s hard to say. We get outliers like this very rarely, and it’s not like we actually can test them for real, right?”

“Makes sense. Well, it’s good that it’s greatly defended.”

“…Huh. Okay. You guys can carry on with whatever you wanna do first. We’ll finish lunch quickly and then provide you guys with the information you need.”

“Thanks,” Claud replied.

He got up, careful to not show any signs of overwhelming fatigue and weakness, and then followed Lily into the living room. He had been doing a pretty good job of hiding his weakness, so much so that Nero hadn’t even remembered the fact that he was actually suffering from the effects of failing the Third Tutorial. If Nero knew, he could very well refuse to tell them how to find the Black God, out of concern and all.

Nero definitely had a point in this regard, but Claud couldn’t help but think that the period between now and when he became a high-ranked folder was a crucial one. As tempting as it was, he could not afford to live out this period of weakness comfortably.

He smiled at Lily apologetically, before holding her hand. There was no need for words or anything here;

The two of them were reading a book together when Nero and Kemata finally approached them, maps and a book in their hand.

As Lily kept the book, Nero sat down and eyed Claud. “Look. I don’t know what you are going to ask the Lord about, but it’s probably something important. Really important, perhaps. However…”

He took a deep breath. “It’s likely to be dangerous. That book…when I took it back then, when I first touched it, I could sense an enormous power emanating from it. This book was not penned by someone ordinary. It’s probably something that the Lord or his peers wrote.”

Claud looked at the Holy Son of the Black God quietly.

“I don’t know what that book is about, and I also don’t want to know. However, I’m here…not as His Holy Son, but as your friend. If you need help, and if you need a listening ear, you can talk to me. I can help you too.”

Instinctively, Claud wanted to reject Nero’s offer for aid, but…was that what the him of the previous iteration did? Would it be better if he asked the person who understood the divinities and the world far better than the two of them? There was, of course, some danger involved, but if he couldn’t even trust Nero, what was the point of asking the Black God, who may be able to guess what was going on from their questions?

“Yeah.” Claud shivered once. “Maybe you can.”

He looked at Lily, and then made a pained smile. It was a bit agonising to admit that there was the possibility that he couldn’t protect Lily, but that admission also made him relax somewhat.

“Claud?” Lily looked at him. “But…”

“Well, you know…”

Lily nodded. “It’s dangerous, though. It’s not like you.”

Claud thought for a few seconds, and then held her hand. “I know it’s not like me, but perhaps not being me might be the key to breaking this solution eventually. Each…version came to that realisation at some point in time. After all, that book did end up in the Black God’s hands eventually. He…I must have realised the need for help, for people that weren’t the two of us to chip in.”

He looked at Nero. “…Thank you for the offer. Normally, I would reject it, but these are extraordinary circumstances. Is it possible to tell you two without, you know, letting your masters know about it?”

Nero made a face, and then froze. Something seemed to dawn in his eyes a moment later, and his expression turned strange as he looked at the two of them.

“…My Lord just granted me an unconditional use of the ability to isolate us from him and the rest of the world,” Nero whispered. “He does not want to hear it either.”

“Should I withdraw from this?” Kemata asked.

“No,” Claud replied. “Secrets between couples are bad. Stay. And…sorry.”

She looked at him, and then at Lily. “Okay.”

“Before you start,” Nero added, “make sure that what you say can be shared with the others. I don’t want to go behind their backs for this.”

“Yeah.” Claud closed his eyes for a moment. “And there’s no need to say everything.”

“Exactly.”