For a city whose moniker was ‘City of Knowledge’, the primary means of entertainment didn’t differ much from the other cities and towns Claud had seen so far. People still sought information about anything or anyone interesting, and the latest one to smack Vacuos County — or, as the locals called it, Litera — was a certain baron’s anger.

“Hmm. Guess he didn’t take well to the emptying of his coffers.” Claud picked up a glass of apple juice and took a sip from it. “Bleh.”

“Bleh?” Lily took his cup and sipped from it. “Yeah, bleh. Doesn’t taste as good as his.”

“I’m beginning to miss home,” Claud replied. “And all because of apple juice. Those guys probably raided my home too. Now that I’m out and roaming with you, they’ll use that as an excuse to empty my home of fizz.”

“Better that than having your drinks spoil, though. And your contract was a lifetime supply, right? By the time we’re back, your house will be full again,” said Lily. “And on the bright side, Schwarz should have come up with some perfect drink that blends both apple juice and your fizzy drinks.”

“Let’s hope that’s the case,” Claud replied, before picking up the cup once more. Bracing himself, he took another gulp from it, forcing himself to ignore the sour taste of badly-made apple juice. “Next time, let’s go to a more expensive place.”

“Seconded.” Lily finished off the rest of his cup with a grimace, before shuddering at her own glass. “So, Baron Inanis…I wonder how he found out it was a theft and not an in-family theft.”

Claud lowered his voice. “I cut out a piece of wall and used it to enter the vault. I moved it back shortly afterwards, but clearly, someone must have noticed that small crack by accident.”

“Cut out a small piece of the wall?” Lily asked. “Like what you did in Julan?”

“Yeap,” Claud replied.

“Would they link that to you?” Lily asked. “I mean, you did the same thing there, right?”

“For one, I don’t think anyone discovered what I did in Julan so far. I don’t think records about the treasury’s items there remained, after that explosive departure. And besides, it’s a common technique. Doors are for suckers; walls are where it’s at.”

“Walls?”

“Yeah. Think of it this way — doors are explicitly made prominent in a security sense, to draw the attention of thieves and robbers. They, in turn, are usually reinforced and well protected, to the point that they’re often thicker and stronger than the walls themselves,” Claud replied. “Have you seen elite soldiers before?”

“Elite soldiers?” Lily shook her head. “Are you referring to the best private troops of the various nobles, or the military under the direct command of Emperor Grandis?”

“Both, really,” Claud replied. “If you’ve seen either of them, you should know that there’s a prominent pattern painted on their chestplate, right? It’s meant to draw the eyes of enemies, especially archers and mana-users, enticing them to fire on the symbol. The chestplate, however, is specially modified to shrug off even small ballistae, although the person struck will probably be out of it for the next few minutes.”

“The treasury doors serve a familiar function?” Lily bobbed her head. “I see what you mean now!”

“Yes. A lot of seeming weak points are used to draw our attention too. The hinges and the locking mechanism are kept obvious to draw the eyes of people,” Claud explained. “However, most people don’t know that the area around the hinges is often strongly protected with the hardest of metals, while the locking mechanism…well, let’s just say that the nobles pay top money for a reason.”

Lily took a sip from her own cup and grimaced. “That’s why cutting the walls are the most favoured method.”

“Yeap. Most nobles don’t know that, though. And unfortunately, having a sturdy door often predisposes these nobles to think that the walls are even harder to breach for some reason. I don’t really get it, but until they get the point, it’s easy to pop in and out of a noble family’s treasury.”

Pushing her glass of yucky apple juice to Claud, Lily folded her arms. “So, now that Baron Inanis has discovered the method of entry…”

“The walls should be harder to cut through now,” Claud completed. “We’ll have to look for a brand-new target…or not, since you’re quite close to a bi-folder now. How much more?”

“I actually have more than enough lifespan to cross the gap,” Lily replied. “It’s just that I’m having difficulty drawing my mana circuits.”

“Difficulty drawing your mana circuits?” Claud tilted his head. “Isn’t it just pump and dump?”

“How do you draw your mana circuits?” Lily asked, perplexed. “You make it sound too easy, you know. Go on, enlighten me, my Claud.”

“Well, Crown just does the job for me, really.”

“…Alright.” Lily rubbed his head. “Forget I said anything, okay? Look. Normally, the closer you are to completing your mana circuit, the harder it becomes. Once you hit point-nine-five, you can fail to draw your mana circuits for that tiny fraction left behind, and your progress would be set back. Some people just can’t cross that final barrier for decades, or even their entire life.”

“Their entire life?”

“Yeah. From a bi-folder and onwards, luck and one’s ability to wield mana become very important. Not just resources. Someone who’s both lucky and skilled enough might make it to 2.00 in one go, while other people might spend decades trying to improve.” Lily gazed at Claud. “You’re lucky, do you know that? You went all the way to a tri-folder in a single shot.”

“I’m probably going to leave it at 3.99,” Claud added. “It’ll be a waste if I didn’t. And that extra bit will make me all so much stronger too, right?”

“You are the only person who can proclaim that with ease,” Lily replied with a chuckle. “Can you do it tonight? I want to watch you grow stronger.”

“Sure, sure.” Claud picked up the glass and forced the shady facsimile of Schwarz’s masterpiece down his throat.

With that promise given, Lily snuggled up to him, the light in her eyes dancing. Claud rubbed her head for a moment, and then picked up their newspaper, which had been abandoned on the inn’s table. Other than the headlines, which was Baron Inanis’ declaration of war against the handsome and intelligent thief that had raided his treasury, there wasn’t much to look at on the first page.

“Something wrong?” Lily asked. “What are you looking for?”

“Anything about the great Dark, as usual,” Claud replied. “I’m hoping that the information agencies here might know more than those agencies at Monsville, but…”

He set aside the paper. “Maybe we need to ask them directly. Grease their hands a little with a silvery shimmer, if you get my drift.”

“Oh.” Lily picked up the paper and leafed through it. “Yeah, we should do that. Might as well get some supplies too, for our trip, and it’ll be nice to experience the culture of the City of Knowledge. Do you think we can find a statue of the Water Goddess here?”

“Lyceris?”

“Yeah.” Lily placed the newspaper down and got up from her seat. “This is the City of Knowledge; there might be a statue dedicated to the Goddess of Knowledge.”

“She’s long dead, though. What, are we going to present some offerings to her statue?” Claud asked, curious.

“Huh? Of course not,” Lily replied. “We’re going to look for some of her faithful. I mean, there has to be a few people who like her a lot, right? Scholars and old, eminent people who like the concept of learning and knowledge. If we can talk to a few of them, we might learn more about Celestia.”

Claud got up immediately. “You’ve convinced me.”

“…I thought I would need to work harder, really.” Lily rubbed her nose. “Let’s go walk around the city, then. Keep an eye out for some distinguished-looking scholars!”

“Don’t get scammed, though,” said Claud, as he returned the glasses to the innkeeper’s counter. “In the City of Trades, conmen pass themselves off as experienced thieves, assassins and mercenaries by simply looking and behaving the part. Given that we’re in a similarly named City of Knowledge, I’m sure there are some scammers who intend to peddle knowledge for unfair prices or even sell misinformation to the unwary.”

“…Does that usually happen here?”

“You ask me, but who do I ask?” Claud shrugged. “I’m new here too. I’m just raising the possibility. And besides…”

He lowered his voice. “Did we not do it to a certain Nicolas too? We just acted the part and got ourselves a knight’s identity. When you think about it, most of it just boils down to your portrayed personality and how you carry yourself.”

Claud had a feeling that he was guiding Lily onto a different path, and he could faintly hear Schwarz and the others scold him…but since they weren’t here, it was up to him to equip Lily with all the skills and knowledge she needed.

“As paranoid as ever.” Lily clutched on to his hand. “But I like it. You take charge here, okay? Don’t get scammed!”

“…Wait, I’m doing the hard work now?”