Thief of Time

“Why am I not surprised by that reaction of yours?” Lily asked.

Claud, who was busily bolting up the door, glanced up at her. “Perhaps it’s because you’ve seen how I operate over an extended period of time. Safety first, curiosity killed the cat, and there’s always a tomorrow.”

He glanced at the wall. It didn’t seem too sturdy, which meant that if Mister Mellow actually attacked, it would probably shatter after one or two hits. The first impact alone would probably send lots of fragments flying over; an unlucky fellow could die from it.

Using one of his many defensive artefacts, he placed a barrier over the wall that divided his room from the next.

“Is that truly necessary?” Lily asked. “The chances of the wall going down doesn’t seem all that much.”

“You would be right. The chances of them fighting, of the wall breaking, and of a flying fragment inflicting a fatal wound, are all very low. But sometimes, the Moons just feel like frowning. And when they do, even fatal coincidences might just appear.” Claud took out another artefact and reinforced the rest of the walls. “This is extreme, and it detracts from the available usage tomorrow, but I find it an acceptable trade-off.”

“So…the only reason why you didn’t barricade the door with a barrier earlier was because it wasn’t an acceptable trade?” Lily asked.

“Yes.”

“And how do you compute that?”

“Do I need to?” Claud replied.

“Yes! Of course! Using artefacts to block off the door just needs you to press a single button! You spend fifteen minutes setting up the whole thing, and then tear them down in a hurry if people drop by. You then spend another ten minutes untangling, before setting it all up again.” Lily clicked her teeth. “That’s an epic waste of time.”

“I don’t think I’m rushed for time, though,” Claud replied. “We’ve been staying in this room doing whatever we want.”

That reply took the wind out of her sails.

“Still, if I get enough artefacts, I wouldn’t mind dedicating one to the explicit purpose of securing the windows and doors,” Claud added. “But until I become rich enough, we’ll have to make do with strings and knives.”

“Didn’t a certain someone spend lots of gold in buying all kinds of artefacts?” Lily asked. “Come on, you’re not as poor as you claim to be. Even a fool can see that. Besides, no one buys this many defensive artefacts as you do! And they don’t even help you to earn money better!”

“They don’t?” Claud, who had just fortified the ceiling and the floor, looked up. “That’s dumb.”

“Wha—”

“Look, anyone who is richer than me has got to have a longer lifespan, right? Why aren’t they acting appropriately to protect it?” Claud asked. This was a question that had bugged him time after time. There was absolutely no loss for mana-users and nobles in enhancing their defences; if Lily’s extended family had invested appropriately in emergency defences, they wouldn’t have been obliterated with a well-placed bomb.

“Why would we do that? It doesn’t help them in getting stronger offensively, nor does it enhance their ability to make more money,” Lily replied. “Nobles are most concerned with improving their strength — mana circuits, offensive weapons, money. Defensive artefacts that preserve one’s life do not enhance one’s ability to improve their strength.”

“And how did that work out for your family?” Claud asked.

Lily cleared her throat. “That’s cheating, and you know it. Besides, how would you have defended against a blast of such magnitude? They can’t have their defences on at all times, right? They’ll still die if they were caught off-guard.”

“If they had done everything I said, they would never be off-guard,” Claud replied. “Subsequently, they would have been prepared to use all their life-preserving methods at a moment’s notice, thereby saving them.”

“For some reason, I really doubt that. But enough about us for a moment. What’s going on over there?” Lily asked.

The two looked at each other, before Lily went over to place her ears on the barrier Claud had called up. After a few seconds, she glared at Claud.

“Your barrier’s making it hard to listen through,” Lily replied. “Can you take it down?”

“Some weapons are known to penetrate wood and stone with absurd ease,” Claud replied. “And there’s at least one mana-user in there. I would really prefer knowing less over running the risk of getting killed by a weapon or wooden splinter.”

“But—”

“No buts,” Claud replied. “That’s how it is. Do you really want to run the risk of getting offed due to a set of unlucky coincidences?”

“Come on, that’s too extreme.” Lily rolled her eyes. “Seriously, no one in Grandis is as cautious as you.”

“Which is regrettable,” Claud replied, “but it does make for good politics. After all, since people die so easily, upheavals happen more often. If Ruler Umbra had invested in as many defences as I did, he probably wouldn’t have died this quietly.”

“Never mind, forget I asked.” Lily sighed. “You’re really fixated on your safety.”

The master thief eyed her as she placed her ear back onto the barrier, before doing the same. The thin layer of mana did impede his hearing somewhat, but it was more than enough to at least pick up on any audible conversations…which was an adequate description of the conversation next door.

“How did this impede you from hearing?” Claud asked.

“They were talking in near-whispers earlier, okay?” Lily replied. “Shush. Go focus on the conversation.”

After making a mental note to bop her on the head later, Claud returned his attention to the conversation next door.

“…three days ago,” said a gruff voice.

“In the earlier interrogations, you said four,” Mister Mellow replied. “Why this discrepancy?”

A low murmur filled the room at those words, which was probably the peanut gallery making some sounds of distrust as they prepared to lynch the poor fellow.

“I forgot,” the gruff voice replied. “I’ve been stuck in this town for the past few days. It’s natural that I forgot about a day or two.”

“That’s an acceptable excuse, but why did you not say anything initially when the guards asked if you were a mana-user?” Mister Mellow went on. “What exactly are you afraid of, sir?”

“People are scared of us. If I said I was one, everyone would think I’m the murderer,” the gruff voice replied. “Look around you! All these insects are thinking the same thing! If you didn’t come here as an investigator, they would fear you!”

The murmurs vanished.

“See?” the gruff voice continued. “And then, to prove my innocence, they’ll make me go hunt down the murderer. Even though I have no obligation to. Isn’t it the same for you?”

The voice paused, its quality changing somewhat. “The Dusk Daggers are here for the explicit purpose of hunting down a murderer, or a group of them. But how many among you have approached his party, seeking out a chance to make use of them? Huh?”

“That’s—”

“Not irrelevant,” the gruff voice cut Mister Mellow off. “I’ve already said my piece over and over. One tiny discrepancy and my status is enough for those guards to knock on my door ten times! Ten Moon-damned times! What, am I too nice to bully? Should I act like a stereotypical mana-user? Should I have killed him for even trying to question me?”

“That’s not—”

“And it isn’t like I didn’t cooperate. But you’ve disturbed my sleep one too many times! If you want to fight, I’m more than willing to!”

“I—”

“Shut up, you.” A new voice spoke, one filled with arrogance. If Claud didn’t get it wrong, it belonged to the leader of the Dusk Daggers, Hulid. A Named, whose title was apparently ‘Edgeless Night’. They had met before in the wilderness; having demanded a bowl of soup from Lily and Claud within moments of their first meeting.

“Leader?”

“What a fine mess you’ve created. Being nice just means that other people can crawl over you, Haber.” A snort followed those words. “Useless fools watching the show. Scram, or I’ll kill you.”

The sounds of hurried footsteps filled the air, and the floor shook as people fled.

“You there. I don’t know, and I don’t care who you are. We’ll ask a few questions, and we won’t bother you anymore,” said the arrogant voice.

“You said it,” the gruff voice replied. “Ask.”

“Thank you for your cooperation.” Hulid paused. “Haber, handle the rest. Don’t keep us waiting.”

“Of course.”

Footfalls followed as the Edgeless Night left the room. Claud glanced at the closed door as he swept by, his mind pondering the dynamics within the Dusk Daggers.

It would seem that Hulid was a rather…overbearing party leader. Was there something he could exploit from this fact? Claud didn’t quite know, but it was interesting to find out.

“…here to capture Princess Dia.”

Claud, whose attention was currently divided, shook as he heard a familiar name. He glanced at Lily, whose eyes were also full of shock, and then turned his full attention to the room.

“The fugitive princess?”

“Yes. Word on the street is that she’s at Licencia, but…”

Licencia?