After a few seconds of silence, Dia simply started the ball rolling by asking, “So, what skills are you guys going to evolve?”

She paused at the others’ gazes. “What?”

“Weren’t we going to discuss the Moons’ terms?” Schwarz asked. “You’re just directly cutting to the heart of the matter without giving us too much time for thought.”

“Well, the answer’s that everyone going to accept, right?” Dia replied. “Might as well just stick with ‘Yes, we accept’, and then move on from there.”

“We could attach more conditions, alright?” Risti sighed. “But yes, you make a fair point. Let’s just move on with the assumption that we can accept, but we don’t think that the reward is enough.”

Dia made a pouty face, before saying, “You do know that the more we ask for, the greater our performance is to be, right? If we take but do not give, we will be in for it.”

“Yes, but…” Risti gestured at everyone. “Everyone wants to take as much as possible. Plota’s offer is enticing enough; why not take more and more? After all, it’s not as if we can say no to them at all. Why settle for one, when we can take all three and more?”

The vehemence behind those words were startling, and Dia took a step back. “Are you sure about this?”

“Did you not feel anything when the familiar spirit showed up abruptly?” Risti asked. “When his overpowering might swept us all, when we were unable to resist? Did you not feel that?”

“I—” Dia paused, unsure of what to say. “But you must know that the familiar was also unable to harm us, right?”

Risti chuckled, a touch of bitterness stored within. “Were it so easy. Of the four of us, you are the most gifted in combat, the chosen and the favoured. It’s not the same for us, though. We are not fighters. We don’t have the trump cards that allow you to protect the princess.”

Schwarz nodded. “In this world hurtling towards a new era, what matters is one’s combat ability and the ability to stay alive. You have that in spades. We do not. Even Nero can’t defeat you if you went all out. You said that yourself; the only thing separating the two of you is the number of mana circuits.”

“Therefore,” Nero added, “you alone can have the freedom of choice when it comes to this matter. We do not.”

“Please understand,” Farah replied. “We are simply trying to do as much as possible for our own sakes.”

“You guys…” Dia looked at them, before looking down. She hadn’t noticed these things — it was a failure on her part. It was very possible that the daily practice sessions had just made them more aware of their combat weaknesses relative to her. “Okay. I understand. You guys should decide on what you need the most from Percuti and Gelb. I’ll offer my own opinions too.”

“Thank you,” Schwarz replied. “Alright. I’m more for taking more boons from Percuti and Gelb, but what do you guys say?”

“I agree,” Farah added. “We don’t want to tie ourselves to any one Moon, after all. And who knows if there are factional disputes or something? It’ll be a problem if that’s the case, and it’s the best excuse to use.”

“There were zealots of the Moons too,” Schwarz muttered darkly. “Back when someone tried to summon a Lunar Lord in Licencia. That someone was a zealot. But what if there are zealots of the Moons? They might harass us for being a supporter of Plota only. We must be balanced in this regard.”

“True. If the Moons are recruiting us by dispatching Moon Emissaries, they must be placing a lot of weight on us for some reason,” Risti added. “I have a hunch that it has something to do with the Trial of Aeons.”

Everyone turned to Nero, who shook his head. “I’m sorry, but I can’t speak about the subject matter. In addition, it’s pointless for me to take any blessing from the Moons, since I already have my master. I’ll just tag along and request for lots of resources. That said, you guys should work out what terms you want from Percuti and Gelb, and remember their authorities.”

“Got it,” Farah replied. “What should we be looking for?”

“Hmm. Our Mana Control Proficiency, for one. If we can improve that, it’s going to be of great help.” Schwarz folded his arms. “Percuti is the Moon of Strife. And the higher one’s Mana Control Proficiency, the greater their ability at fighting.”

“Sounds good to me,” Risti added. “What about you guys?”

“I like the sound of that too,” Farah replied, looking at Schwarz. “What about you, Dia? Or are you just going to take Plota’s gift?”

Dia pondered on that for a moment. While taking only one boon would lessen the obligations placed upon her, she hadn’t thought about the possibility that there would be factions according to the Moons. It seemed a bit blasphemous to imply that the Moons could squabble amongst each other, but there were definitely zealots too.

“…Yeah, at the end of it all, it seems like going after a boon from every Moon is probably the best idea, isn’t it?” Dia folded her arms. It felt like they didn’t really have much choice in the matter, to say the least.

A chill ran down her spine. Was this reaction something the Moons had anticipated? It was impossible to tell, but all this was a bit too…coincidental. Everyone, ever since they left for the ancient battlefield, seemed to be falling in place a bit too nicely. The timing of Nero’s awakening, of the Moons’ descent…all this seemed to have someone pulling the strings behind the whole thing.

She didn’t like it.

“Yeah. I’m glad you understand that too,” Schwarz replied. “At the end of it all, we’ve been effectively cornered, one way or another.”

“I can’t help but think that we’ve been manipulated,” Farah muttered.

Nero made a sound in his throat. “It’s almost certainly the case. I’ll bet tonight’s drinks on that.”

“And how are we supposed to cash in on that bet a few years later?” Schwarz asked. “Don’t try to take this opportunity to bet with me about my drinks. I won’t be able to reclaim it.”

“I haven’t even said anything about a bet, okay?”

“The last time I made an actual bet, I lost a house to Claud. No can do, buddy.” Schwarz folded his arms. “Anyway, we’re going to try to aim for an increase in Mana Control Proficiency and…what can Gelb give us?”

“A passive skill,” Dia replied. “Gelb and luck are related, aren’t they? Then a skill that makes all projectiles miss or something. We can call it Absolute Evasion or something, I don’t know.”

“You’re just poking fun at someone at this point, aren’t you? But a passive skill that makes more projectiles miss…sounds useful. Very useful.” Nero bobbed his head. “As expected of Dia.”

“Ehe.”

“Alright, this has been a very long fifteen minutes,” Farah muttered. “Schwarz, go pour us a drink.”

“Do I look like a servant?” Schwarz muttered. He pulled out a flask anyway, before retrieving the glasses that they had been drinking from and filling it up. “Anyway, let me and Farah do the actual talking. Actually, let Farah do the talking. We’ll sit down and twiddle our thumbs.”

“Me, huh?” Farah smiled confidently. “Count on me, then!”

After that proclamation, Schwarz handed a glass. “Here, some liquid courage, for luck.”

“I won’t get drunk, would I?” Farah asked, and Dia couldn’t help but think about the first time she tried Schwarz’s ultra-pure water. The result was a bit painful, and she had spent the next day with an itchy face…of course, now that Schwarz’s bar counter had been cleaned up, it wouldn’t be that bad.

“Don’t be idiotic.” Schwarz leaned back. “We’re counting on you!”

Farah grinned, and downed the drink in one shot. “We should pack up in the meantime. We’ll probably be leaving after all this is settled.”

Dia got up. After a few minutes, the entire base had vanished, and the only thing that remained were the two full carts. Other than that, their bags had been packed, with the only remaining proof that someone had once camped here were a few holes.

As she filled up one of the few holes left, a streak of tri-coloured light fell from the sky, creating a blazing pillar of colour. A dark silhouette walked out of it a moment later, radiating a faint sense of oppressive might.

“Seekers of Life, has everyone present come to a conclusion?” the Lunar Lord asked.

“Yes,” Farah replied, taking a step forward. “We are willing, but we need to amend the terms. Amongst us humans exist zealots of the Moons. We do not want to be bothered by them by taking a boon from only one Moon.”

“…You are greedy,” the Lunar Lord stated flatly.

“It’s in our organisation’s name, after all,” Farah replied. “And we don’t want to die. Therefore, we desire two more boons, one each from Gelb and Percuti.”

“Speak, then.” The Lunar Lord swept her gaze around the area. “What boons do you want?”

“First — to raise everyone’s Mana Control Proficiency by one rank,” Farah replied.

“That is an acceptable condition. The second boon?”

“A passive skill,” Farah replied. “One that would passively make all projectiles miss us.”

The Lunar Lord hesitated. “It is not in anyone’s scope to make something absolute, but yes, the Yellow Moon can grant something similar, albeit with a weaker effect.”

She paused. “Impressive. Clever, but not blindly greedy. Very well, I shall represent the Moons to accept your terms. They are not too hard to grant, save for the first one, but that’s the real thing, is it not?”

“The rest is for our own safety,” Farah replied.

“Excellent.” The Lunar Lord glittered once. “In that case, this deal has been settled. As per your requirements, I will send everyone back to Licencia right now. We leave for the frontlines a day later.”

A circle, filled with complex symbols, erupted out from under her feet, and all went white.