“Let’s see…I was born in this very city.” Claud looked up at the sky, which was beginning to cloud over. “Didn’t have a father, only had a mother. She worked hard at being a maidservant and tried to make sure that I had some decent education. Worked out for the first fifteen years, and I grew up like a normal child.”

He smiled. The memories of his childhood, which had been tucked away like some of his first toys, were pleasant to relive.

“Life was rather simple back then. I would go to school, learn something new, and then go home and have Mum take care of me. We liked to play games. Moon Phase, Domination…my previous home used to have many games like them.” Claud looked up. “But well, my mum was getting old. On the first day of Half Moon, ten years ago, her lifespan finally ran out. And then she told me that her greatest wish was for me to never die. To keep living on and on, so that she could live through me.”

“I didn’t have much of a lifespan back then,” Claud continued. “Around…thirty years, or even shorter. I didn’t realise it back then, but one reason why my mum worked so hard was to buy me low-ranked lifestones, which she told me to eat. Green candies, she said. She didn’t buy any for herself, in trying to make sure that my lifespan could be prolonged, but one day, the prices of low-ranked lifestones shot up, and we no longer had enough money.”

Claud sighed. “I only knew all this when I left school. She never said anything. Just a wish for me to keep living.”

Lily looked at him, unsure of what to say.

“Don’t worry,” said Claud. “But yes. That’s the reason why I am so paranoid. My mum did everything in her power to make sure that I lived. I won’t go throwing that away.”

“Now I feel bad for thinking you’re weird,” Lily replied.

She paused, and then clarified, “At the start, anyway. Being paranoid is a good way to live. Makes things so much more exciting. Your mind is always active and aware of any potential threats — even a simple walk can be reforged into the opening of a grand story!”

“…That isn’t exactly the reason why being cautious is good, but whatever floats your boat, I guess.” Claud rubbed his nose. “That’s about it, I guess.”

“First day of Half Moon, huh.” Lily turned to look at Claud. “If you are going to commemorate her passing at that time, can I come along?”

“You?” Claud blinked, taken aback by that request. “Why?”

“Why not?” Lily asked. “Besides, you’ll probably be mentally shaken whenever that time comes. It’s dangerous to be in such a state, especially given that this year is going to be one full of turmoil. If I’m with you, I can help watch over you.”

“What am I, a child?” Claud smiled. “Fine, if only to stop you from making those googly faces. Thank you for your consideration.”

He paused as a thought struck him. “Right, about your family…”

“No news about what happened to them so far,” Lily promptly replied. “It seems that the Emperor and his officials either don’t care or are flummoxed by the events that occurred.”

“To be fair, I’d be equally confused if reports about a house shooting into the five grand skies reached my table,” said Claud. “So…nothing? Who’s ruling over the territory now?”

“Oh, it’s Overseer Agni. A five-fold mana-user.”

“Overseer?” Claud repeated, confused by that term of address. “What’s that?”

“It’s one of the Emperor’s men,” Lily explained. “Looks after any territory that has been abandoned or left ungoverned. None of my business, though. He’s probably looking for some of my brothers or sisters who escaped the mess and get them to rule over the area. Failing that, he’ll just promote a baronet family into the position and be done with it.”

“You don’t want to fight for the position?”

Lily laughed. “You dummy. Why would I? I didn’t blow up the whole place just so I could rule over it, you know. I’m not interested in that. Following you is more exciting, and…and…and…”

Claud sighed. “It’s been hard on you.”

Ending one’s own family, even if they were heinous murderers who had killed hundreds, wasn’t something that could be forgotten easily. Lily, who was around his same age, was naturally going to think of her own deeds time and again, which was why Claud wanted to make sure that she didn’t do anything stupid.

She nodded mutely.

He had to bring this topic up, however. Letting someone bottle it up on their own wasn’t healthy, and Claud had learned enough from Schwarz to console and counsel someone. Besides, the two of them were friends and perhaps even more, so he wasn’t going to hold back on making sure that Lily was fine.

She just needed to talk it through every so often. Lily, like most other people, had a tendency to bottle up the things that really mattered, and that was fine. It just needed to be let out once in a while.

After a while, Claud patted her head. “Feeling better?”

“…You really like patting my head, don’t you?” Lily asked.

“Well, that’s what my mum used to do,” Claud replied. “And it’s been proven that headpats make people happier.”

“I don’t see you doing it to Schwarz, though…”

“Oh, Schwarz used to do it to me. Learned it from his dad.”

Lily tilted her head, prompting Claud to smile.

“When I started sitting in his bar, his dad would pat my head every so often.” Claud paused. “Well, my mum knew his dad, which meant that he knew of her passing. Got free drinks for the first month or so I was there, and then eventually convinced me to pick up some new trades.”

“Like?”

“Being a mercenary, a bounty hunter and other dark professions,” Claud replied. “A pity he passed away not too long afterwards too, but that’s a story for Schwarz to share. But yeah, the two of us have a nice habit of patting heads, although Schwarz is very restrained. Usually does that to the piss-drunk fellows crying about love or whatnot. Moons know that they really need some compassion and whatnot.”

“I really want to see that one day,” Lily replied.

“We just need to sit in his bar when it opens and narrate some sob story,” Claud replied.

“It’s a deal, then!”

Claud smiled. It was good to see that Lily was capable of getting her spirits back up this quickly; this was proof that she was eventually coming to terms with her actions.

He looked up at the sky, which was now cloudy, and then realised that the monster that had popped out of the nameless forest nearby had fallen silent. The soldiers, however, were still there on the city walls, which was probably why he hadn’t noticed anything much.

Poking his head out of the shallow hidey hole he had dug, Claud turned to look in the direction of Tugly, who was now staring at a single person walking towards it.

“Caroline…”

His low hiss caught Lily’s attention. “She’s here?”

“Yeah,” Claud replied, his eyes narrowed and focused on Caroline, who had a huge sabre in her right hand. “Looks like she’s pissed off too, from the sheer amount of mana in her hand.

Tugly, who had stopped roaring, was now regarding the newcomer with beady eyes. Claud could sense that it was fearful of her, to the point that it didn’t dare to strike first.

A cold snort rang through the air. “Foolish, pitiful monster. You could have stayed inside, but to think you’d eat my husband’s people. You are beyond redemption.”

Azure light flared, colouring the overcast sky above. Claud took a deep breath. Such a sight could only mean that she was getting serious, since such obvious signs of light was proof that the mana she was mobilising was far greater than her Mana Control Proficiency.

Tugly was in for a bad time.

With a ceremonial gesture, Caroline pulled out a skillstrip and flung it in front of her. The sabre in her hands flashed once, tearing apart the piece of paper, and an enormous crescent of blue light flashed through the air, leaving afterimages in its wake.

The scaly monster roared once, and then spat out a black torrent of energy at the incoming attack. However, the crescent of energy simply tore through the stream of energy, splitting it into wispy strands of energy like it wasn’t there, before cleaving through Tugly itself.

“We haven’t known you for long,” Claud whispered, “but have a good journey.”

“Die in peace, Tugly.”

The monster fell apart into two pieces in silence, which was proof that one should never alarm the bigshots of Grandis. The ease in which Caroline had killed a monster that posed a sizable threat to the two of them was a bit sobering, and as the soldiers on the wall let out a cheer, Claud let out a sigh.

“Claud?”

“I’m just too weak,” he mumbled.

“Yeah…”