The sun was setting by the time Claud was done with his daily activities. Unfortunately, given that Lily was in the same room, he couldn’t interact with his utterly-adorable Crown all that much, so he could only rely on little pokes and pats while he was imbuing skills and reading books.

Fortunately, Lily was engrossed in reading her own stuff too, which mitigated the risk of her asking some really awkward questions.

Sitting up, Claud peered out of the window, where the local authorities were still investigating the murder. However, instead of gathering around the cottage doorstep, they were now spread out.

Wide enough to cover the area, but just enough to stay within eyeshot and any shouts of alarm. From the looks of it, Nachtville’s guards were already experienced ones…but that was to be expected, after all. The city had been beset by odd murders for quite some time; a murder had happened when he visited the city with Lily a few days ago. If they had caught the culprit, Claud would have heard of it by now.

“Disturbing, isn’t it?” Claud turned back to his room. “Everyone’s on edge now. You can see it as they walk through the streets, looking back and forth, all around them. If I were to shout, they’ll probably all break into a run.”

Lily crawled over from her side of the bed and looked out of the inn.

“It’s been festering for some time, if you ask me.” Lily’s words were sad. “I remember a scene like this, back when I was still in Julan. People went missing every few days, vanishing without a trace. The personal guards would march up and down, telling everyone that they would find a murderer.”

“Let me guess,” said Claud, “they didn’t.”

“It would have been better if they didn’t,” said Lily. “They were using that as an excuse to extort the people of Julan. Men and women alike were designated as suspicious, and then marched off into the depths of the Julan main house under the guise of interrogation.”

Claud felt shivers run down his spine, and his next words were a whisper. “None returned?”

“For every five, only three returned,” Lily replied, her voice haunted. “A few days later, a whole list of crimes — made-up ones — would be announced. The Julans put it out there: a huge conspiracy that aimed to destabilise their town by killing people and spreading fear. Some believed them. Others didn’t. But for a time, everyone who went on the streets looked around fearfully.”

“What happened afterwards?” Claud asked. “That wasn’t the case for Julan when we came over a few days ago, right?”

“I’m not sure what my family was doing either,” said Lily, “but after a few months of constant disappearances, these abductions abruptly halted. At the same time, people began to notice that tourists had a nasty tendency to vanish, but no one dared to say anything.”

“One thing for another,” Claud muttered.

“If you ask me, it wasn’t because my family was being nice,” said Lily. “Rather, people were trying to flee the city. I remember a few days in which the streets outside only had ten or so people. Very few farmers, miners, loggers…this was probably why the family shifted their targets.”

Claud could get behind that. “But what was their motive?”

“I wish I knew too, but I think it’s best if no one ever found out.” Lily closed her eyes for a moment. “Besides, I destroyed the Julan main house, only revealing the evidence of their deeds. That should be enough.”

Claud thought about it for a moment, and then shook his head. The person before him had lived a life marred by her conscience; in no uncertain means could she even claim to have a happy childhood.

“What do you think the motives behind Nachtville’s recent murders and disappearances are?” Claud asked.

“My opinion?” Lily asked. “To be honest, it’s as opaque as Julan’s case. I don’t know why people are going missing or murdered; there’s no pattern observable to me. If we really want to pursue this case seriously, we’ll need to look through the records.”

“Unless the victims are chosen randomly, at which point it’ll be a fruitless endeavour.”

“Well, you do have a desire to at least do something, right?” Lily asked.

“I do, but you must remember that we’re foreigners to this little city,” said Claud. “As much as I want to get rid of any murderers that might strike the next time I’m in these parts, I really doubt that the guards here would respond favourably to a stranger’s offer to help.”

“True. We’re back to square one.” Lily let out a sigh. “Right, are you hungry? Want to grab a bite?”

Claud’s stomach rumbled at those words, and he grinned. “Seems like my stomach likes that idea very much. And it’s far safer to be eating in a group than by yourself.”

The two got up from the double bed. After straightening his clothes, he followed Lily down into the inn’s first floor, where a small crowd was already beginning to form.

“So many people,” Claud murmured.

“From how some of them are dressed, they seem like locals,” said Lily. “Have they all flocked to eating areas to find safety in numbers?”

“Like what we’re doing?” Claud asked. “Naturally. The weakest are the most aware of death. Like rabbits, we group together and huddle around when wolves are around.”

“Poetic, aren’t you?”

“Only when it comes to things like this,” Claud replied. “Otherwise, I’m your average smooth-talker.”

“They’re not mutually exclusive…”

Ordering a simple meal, Claud and Lily found a seat by the window. He had been somewhat conflicted over his choice of seating, since walls offered a better defence, but anything that could overcome his artefacts would probably chew a wall for lunch too.

“Still, do you really have to use a defensive artefact while eating?” Lily asked.

“It’s basic caution,” Claud replied. “Statistically speaking, most assassinations happen while someone is either in the middle of eating, sleeping or travelling. Therefore, it makes sense to have defences up when doing any of the three.”

“Really?” Lily asked.

“Why would I lie to you about this?” Claud asked. “Besides, what do you have to lose?”

Lily thought about it for a while. “Well, the others are looking at us oddly.”

“They can continue to look when they’re dead,” said Claud. “Point is, they might care if you’re using an artefact to protect yourself while eating, but they definitely won’t do anything when you’re bleeding out. Besides, we’re in a village where multiple murders have already happened. Heck, the previous one was a spear hurled in broad daylight.”

Claud rubbed his neck. “Only idiots would think that they’re safe while eating.”

Lily winced at those words, a reaction that left the master thief nodding in satisfaction. It was times like this that everyone should be more vigilant, cautious. Even the food that they were eating could be poisoned, so it made sense to wear poison-detecting and resisting items…or even the very air they were bringing in.

She would eventually work it out, by Claud’s estimation, but until then, he didn’t mind teaching her the basic stuff.

“Order’s here,” said the waiter. “Two simple house specials.”

Claud glanced at his plate, which was some noodles with sauce-splattered meat on top. It looked miserable compared to the lustrous sample provided on the menu, but that was just how eateries operated.

Slurping his noodles, Claud glanced around every so often, checking for anyone who was showing undue interest in the two of them. Other than the obvious implication that anyone doing such a thing could be the murderer…or murderers, Claud was also looking out for any signs of trouble.

People were on edge, and when people were on edge, anything could happen. Random emotional outbursts, phases in which people gave in to their darker urges, heightened aggression…Claud had seen all this throughout his life. They also had a nasty tendency of affecting innocent bystanders like a certain master thief.

If the murders kept up, it wouldn’t be long before the village entered a state of open paranoia.

“At some point in time,” Claud murmured, “we’ll have to stop mingling with the crowd.”

Lily, who was slurping merrily at her noodles, looked up. “What’s that about?”

“It just seems like the crowd here might turn violent and panicky at the slightest sign,” Claud replied. “Remember what I told you about stampedes? This is, once again, a good place for something like that to happen.”

She looked around and gulped. “I see what you mean.”

The two doubled down on their slurping speed, clearing their plates in record time. Before Claud and Lily could return to their room, an abrupt, hushed silence fell as a small party entered the inn.

Blue light characteristic of a mana-user danced around them.

Most importantly, however, was the fact that Claud knew who these four people were. They were the Dusk Daggers, a party sent by the Folders’ Association to investigate Julan…and perhaps, Nachtville as well.

At any rate, outside help had finally arrived.

As Claud returned to his room with Lily, he could only wonder if that was a good thing or not.