Thief of Time

After a while, Risti came in with a little package in her hand. Without much ado, she passed it over to Dia, who glanced at it. “What’s this?”

“That’s the Band of Duplicity we got for you,” said Farah. “Be thankful, okay?”

Dia smiled at everyone. “Thank you.”

“Well, we can’t have you failing at your task when we’re about to be revealed to the public, right?” Schwarz, who was mixing two liquids together, looked up and replied. “Farah, have you come up with a backstory and name yet? Knowing Nightfall, your true identity’s might just come to light tomorrow if you still go by ‘Farah’ or lack a backstory.”

“He’s that formidable?” Farah asked, her brows furrowed. “No one but you people know who I am, though.”

“Are you sure about that? Are you certain that no one called you Countess Farah while we were outside, or when people that weren’t us were around?” Schwarz asked. “Never think something’s impossible. No one expected us to shoot down a tri-folder, but here we are.”

“…Point taken.” Farah closed her eyes for a moment. “What do you suggest, then?”

“Assuming that you want us to continue using your name…well, you’ll have to maintain your Princess Dia disguise, at least. During the ceremony, there’ll be some people that’s probably going to approach you and ask about your motivations for joining the Moon Lords. Count Nightfall might even do it himself.” The bartender thought for a moment. “You —and the same goes for everyone else here— must answer with a fact that doesn’t reveal the truth. No matter how you answer those questions, you must be honest in doing so.”

“Lie detection, then.” Risti puckered her lips. “How crass.”

“Crass, yes. But effective. That’s all that matters, really.” Schwarz’ smile was cold. “Lies tell as much as facts. If someone lies enough, and those lies are picked up by a discerning one, what remains can only be the truth.”

The bartender wasn’t wrong. Dia had heard and seen one or two interrogations; the best way to not leak out anything was to not speak. Those who were inexperienced, yet steadfastly loyal, would yield to pain and spout out falsehoods. Egged on by the receptiveness of his or her interrogators, the poor sod would help cross out possibility after possibility, until the truth remained.

Many a rebellion or crime had been put to an end that way.

The experienced ones would tell truths that were overall lies, while suffering little to no repercussions for it. Those who were resigned to death, would just bite their tongue and never speak again.

Such was the power of truth-seeking skills.

Putting on the Band of Duplicity, Dia cast around for a model to emulate…only to realise that the others were Dia-lookalikes. Using them as a model would do little for the physical appearance.

Risti giggled. “Dia, why don’t you modify the other identification factors first? We can deal with appearance while we’re on the streets.”

Rubbing her nose, Dia focused on the other Moon Lords and activated the Band of Duplicity. It didn’t take long before her scent, voice, mana and life signature had been altered, which would be enough to convince most pursuers that she really wasn’t Princess Dia.

Still, how did it come to this? She had to not seem like the real Dia, and yet, to play her claimed role well, she had to be a satisfactory double. However, with an upcoming public ceremony, she had to now distance herself from any hints that she might be the real deal to prevent capture, which was her original goal to begin with.

“What a mess,” Dia muttered.

“Did you say something?” Schwarz asked.

“No, nothing.” Dia did a twirl and looked at her reflection in a nearby window. She seemed the same, but there was something now profoundly different about her. “Would the Shadows of Grandis still track me when I’m like this?”

“That’s a very good question,” said Schwarz. “But since we don’t know how they operate, it’s not something we can answer so far. Still, if they’re using the conventional identification factors, they’ll never lock on to you again. But they should be aware of artefacts that enable changes to these things, so you must still be on your guard.”

“Claud would probably be more excessive, though,” Farah added. “He’ll probably say that one’s not enough, or there’s probably ways to wear the Band of Duplicity without it being obvious.”

“I don’t know about those, but he’s definitely going to warn Dia about things that detect artefacts,” Schwarz replied. “Remember the entrance into Moon Mansion? Yeah, he got me to install artefact-detecting artefacts in them. Disguise artefacts will be highlighted if you’re wearing them inside.”

“Isn’t that going to be a problem for me?” Dia asked.

“We’ll just need to adjust it later. Gotta wait for Claud, though. Only he has the rights to change the artefacts’ settings.” Schwarz rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, it’s almost time for the ceremony.”

“You mean the pre-ceremony negotiations,” Farah corrected.

“They’re the same thing, really. Come on, let’s get cracking. The count’s waiting for us with lots of benefits,” said Schwarz.

“Just don’t get tangled up by them.” Risti got up and followed Schwarz out. Exchanging looks with Farah, Dia followed the others as they left Moon Mansion. Although the ceremony would start at dusk, Count Nightfall had requested for their presence, to iron out some kinks and ensure a harmonious cooperation…even if it was just on the surface. Hosting the public ceremony after the negotiations was a display of his goodwill and lack of ill intent; if something did happen to Dia and the others during the negotiations, the citizens of Licencia would know about it.

That, according to Farah, was why she didn’t see this cooperation as that much of an issue, compared to Schwarz. As for how correct or wrong she was, Dia had no idea, but her words made a lot of sense.

The bartender did agree that nothing was probably going to happen to them during the negotiations, but as a friend of Claud’s, he was naturally prepared for as many contingencies as possible. Dia could foresee an amusing scene at the entrance of the Nightfall Palace, but despite her words, the bartender wasn’t having any of her warnings.

Walking out into the main streets of Licencia, Dia found herself struck by the extent of destruction. The tri-folder that had fought with Count Nightfall had used the skill Arms Master, or something similar. The effect augmented the user’s attacks, turning even basic swings into life-reaping strikes that had a huge area of effect.

And it showed.

Ruined buildings dotted the place, and construction efforts were still on-going. Unlike the ultra-rapid renovation of Moon Mansion, which had cost several times the usual amount, the count was taking the repairs slowly, probably due to the cost. All kinds of relief stations were open, with makeshift shelters and food dispensaries for those affected by the sudden disaster.

Life had to go on, no matter what.

Dia burned the scene into her eyes. It wasn’t the first time she’d visited disaster sites, but all of them were natural ones. This was the first time she’d seen a man-made calamity fall upon innocent lives, and she couldn’t help but think that it was their fault.

After all, they were the ones who had sent the letter that had started it all.

“Dia?” Farah asked. “Are you feeling guilty about all these?”

Dia turned to look at the countess, who had a placid expression on her face. “How can you remain so calm, in the face of so much destruction?”

“When you consider that a very possible alternative is a protracted battle between us and Nightfall, one that we have almost no chance of winning, it’s not that hard,” Farah replied. “And those deaths cannot be blamed on us. If the tri-folder didn’t have Arms Master, or chose not to use it, nothing would have happened. We are responsible for the direct consequences of our actions, not the intentions of others in doing so.”

Tearing her gaze away from Farah, Dia looked around. She knew what Farah meant. Grandis’ law held only consequential actions accountable. Things that occurred due to one’s choice. It did not account for actions taken be affected individuals, especially ones that were destructive and criminal in nature. Dia knew the theory very well.

And yet, she didn’t like it.

“We can’t do anything about it,” Farah went on. “But we can at least strive to ensure that the conditions that created this tragedy will never happen again.”

“All this happened because Count Nightfall had his eye on us,” Dia replied.

“In a way, yes.” Farah looked around impassively. “But whatever happened next was never within our control. Chaos cannot be controlled. You know that as well as I do. The moment we chose to send that letter, things were going to happen.”

She smiled. “Therefore, stop beating yourself up for it. Besides, we also authorised such a course of action. Not just you.”

Schwarz doubled back and shook his head. “I didn’t know you were the leader of the Moon Lords. Until you are, this guilt isn’t yours alone. If you want to blame yourself, you have to include us too. Oh, and Claud. Especially Claud.”

Chuckling, he went on ahead.