Claud had seen all kinds of food in his twenty-six years of living, having experienced the varied and innovative cuisines Licencia had to offer. With money came lifestones and food; sometimes, he would find himself longing for savoury dishes to counteract the gloriously-sweet lifestones he ingested. It was almost second nature for him to grab some rich food like sausages and spiced meat after a heist.

Nothing, however, could have prepared him for the orange-brown hue of roasted meat that filled the plates laid out on the table.

Count Nightfall, who had generously provided all these food in recognition of a job well done, and as part of his hospitality, sure knew how to win over the hearts of people.

“This is an incredible spread,” Schwarz forced out, his eyes fixated on the huge tracts of meaty expanse. “The sauces…are they imported from another areas?”

“Of course,” Count Nightfall replied. “The tartar sauce here came from a small barony in a fa-flung area of the Schwa Sovereignty. I came across it when I went on a journey decades ago, and ever since then, I’ve made sure that there’s always a steady supply of them.”

He chuckled. “There’s so much culinary variety in our sovereignty alone too, or for that matter, even in just Istrel alone. Tens of territories, each of them with their own unique culture. It’s a shame we have to fight a war now.”

At the mention of war, Claud felt his mood darken. Once the three dukedoms went to war with each other, whatever surviving trade between these areas would dry up completely. It was fortunate that Emperor Grandis would watch over conflicts between dukedoms, preventing the loss of life to the civilian populace, but indirect deaths from things like famine and illness would definitely rear their ugly heads.

Count Nightfall, along with most of his troops and personal retainers, would also depart from his demesne. Under the agreement the Moon Lords signed with the count, they would take over the issue of law and order, as well as ensuring that nothing untoward happened to the city at large.

Of course, there would be rich rewards, but the recent revelation of thralls acting for some nefarious purpose had roused Claud from his rosy outlook. No one but him — and the person in-charge of dealing with statuses — knew that Claud shared a similar skill to whoever owned ThBoD:A???.

He didn’t know what the actual name of the skill was, but after cross-referencing and making extensive use of his mind, Claud had come up with a fitting name for the new, dangerous skill that had made waves in Licencia.

Absolute Domination.

It was a product of so many thoughts and considerations, and Claud couldn’t help but feel chuffed at his naming sense after all. As it turned out, something as trivial as giving good names just relied on lots of proper referencing, research and solid logic.

There was no such thing as talent for naming sense.

Probably, anyway.

Whether or not the skill’s actual name was Absolute Domination would probably be something only the skill owner would know, though. People without a status — vanillas — would know what their skill named was called by simply thinking about it, but for skills like his Absolute One, it would seem that they could not be adequately represented on the status.

He didn’t know why it had to be that way, though.

“When will you depart from the city?” Schwarz asked. “We should conduct a proper handover between my subordinates and your men, so that things continue on smoothly when you leave.”

“Three weeks for now. A secret missive from Duke Istrel told us to mobilise before his inauguration; at the closing ceremony, he would declare a redistribution of the lands under him,” Nightfall replied. “Whatever happens next, know that your main job is to protect my city and its people. They take precedence above all.”

Picking up a teacup, he eyed its contents and sniffed it, which was the cue for Schwarz to ask a few more questions. Most of them were about the little important bits, like provisions and stockpiles. Clearly, the bartender already knew what parts of the city was he meant to manage, prompting the count to nod in appreciation.

“It’s great that you’re very enthusiastic about this,” Nightfall replied. “However, there is a time and place for everything. Besides, the stares from your comrades are digging huge holes into the meat. Best we start eating.”

Schwarz turned to Lily and Claud. “Really? You two only have food on the brain now?”

“What? You’re the brains of this group. We’ll just follow your arrangements,” Lily replied. “It’ll work out.”

Claud nodded. “Have faith in the master, and your love will pass muster!”

“Is that an actual slogan in Triple-D?” Count Nightfall asked, curious.

“It is. Schwarz here has eyes that can peer deep into your soul. His tongue are like sharp knives, capable of carving away both darkness and burdens. Finally, his drinks can put people out of their misery. Together,” said Claud, “they enable Schwarz to be the best counsellor in the entire city.”

“That’s very high praise,” Count Nightfall noted. “I should drop by your bar then, Schwarz. Maybe on the day before we depart.”

“You flatter me,” Schwarz replied, before glaring at Claud. For some reason, the latter abruptly found a certain plate of roast meat very enthralling, and decided to study it up close. The texture and colour showed the fine heat control of the dish, and the absence of the usual charred smell a testament to how perfect the chef’s balance was.

After running out of ways to mentally describe the dish, Claud glanced at Schwarz, who had thankfully turned his piercing gaze away.

Fortunately, Count Nightfall took the first bite a few seconds later, freeing Claud from the shackles of hunger. The next few minutes were just them eating…or rather, nibbling — no one wanted to look crass in front of the count.

His mind began to drift.

If the murderer had been apprehended, it could only mean that Dia and Risti, who had been dispatched them to help, was safe. The only thing he was concerned about were the Dusk Daggers, the bunch of fellows who looked like Hulid. Their party leader had fainted shortly after trying to assess the cause of the Tri-Head Snake’s death.

Clearly, his skill had backfired catastrophically. Lily had mentioned that it was probably because Hulid had tried to peer into the secrets of the gods. However, just because he had been injured didn’t mean that he had failed; the Edgeless Night could have actually discovered something.

“Is it possible to actually see someone’s status?” Lily asked, placing her fork down with a gentle clink.

“There are some skills that do allow that, yes,” said Count Nightfall. “However, and if I’m not wrong, they only work on vanillas. From what I can tell, such sensitive information can only be accessed while the target hasn’t unlocked their entire status.”

“Why’s that the case?” Schwarz asked. “I think I really should become a mana-user.”

“Something about, uh, viewing privilege? I’m not sure. Anyway, you better become a mana-user soon,” replied the count. “Mana is very useful. You can move things remotely, create a barrier…all kinds of creative applications are possible, provided you train your mana enough.”

“What kind of applications are we talking about?” Schwarz asked.

“It’ll be easier if I were to ask you about the things you could make, were I to give you some bread dough. What can you make with dough? You could probably make that with mana, and with far greater detail.”

“Hmm.”

“There’s also a general increase in strength too, which increases even more if you’re channelling mana within your body,” the count replied. “Basically, it’s very useful. More importantly, if you don’t become a mana-user soon, you may very well be targeted by people, since you’ll be seen as the weakest link.”

“Oh.” Schwarz looked down on his plate. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Anyway, you don’t need all that many lifestones to be a full-fledged mana-user,” the count added. “With that settled, I’ll send a trusted aide of mine to guide you in the process tomorrow.”

Schwarz opened his mouth in shock, only to clamp them shut a moment later. “Thank you.”

“Think little of it. I would be severely disappointed if I return to see you dead or worse,” Nightfall replied. “You have proven to be a very capable colleague; did you know that crime is at a historic low now? The establishment of the Moon Lords have brought order to this city of mine.”

He smiled.

“Licencia is a very unique city,” Schwarz replied. “Does my order bring you any problems?”

“I support freedom, but that does not mean chaos. Yet, I cannot publicly go against the side effects of my actions, lest I open myself up to criticism by my peers.” He smiled. “The Moon Lords are very useful in this regard.”

“Glad we’re useful, then.”

“I didn’t just offer you an associate contract because you helped put down that tri-folder, though.” The count frowned. “Still, I can’t believe that I was actually that short-tempered that day. Bah. He had it coming, anyway.”

Schwarz shot a burning glare at Claud, before turning back to Count Nightfall. “We’re flattered by your high evaluation of us.”

The count laughed. “Alright, alright, enough with the flattery. Eat up! No one’s to leave until this table is cleared!”