“It’s a mess outside.” Schwarz looked at the two of them. “Did you find Dia and Risti? And do you know what’s going on? Why are all the Moonlit soldiers running around like headless flies?”

“I think it’s a military defeat,” Claud replied. “The expedition…probably met a disaster or something. I’m not too sure of it myself. However, whatever the case, you guys should prepare for the defence of the camp.”

“You guys?” Schwarz repeated. “Ah, you two are leaving.”

“Yes. While the Blue Moon doesn’t have an issue with us staying here…it’s not advisable for someone who hasn’t entered a covenant with the landlord to stay on,” Lily replied, adopting Claud’s tone of voice. “We’ll end up causing you trouble.”

Schwarz clicked his tongue. “You two haven’t stayed for more than a day, and you have to leave already. I don’t know if you’re unlucky or something.”

“Haha.” Claud shook his head. That statement probably couldn’t be truer, if nothing else. “We’ll be in Monsville. There’s a small house that belongs to us. Ask for Lord and Lady Primus.”

“Your lovey-dovey two-person world, eh?” Schwarz looked at them. “Don’t spend all that time flirting, though.”

Farah appeared behind the bartender. “Yeah. You two need to get stronger.”

Nero’s head popped up behind Farah’s shoulder. “I heard the conversation just now. I’ll give you guys a bunch of lifestones I don’t need. My mana circuits have been forming on their own anyway, thanks to the Lord, so you guys should use it.”

“Wait, there’s no need to give us anything,” Claud cut in.

“Stop being prideful, idiot.” Nero rolled his eyes. “Go and pack your stuff. If there’s really a major defeat at the front, you two don’t want to be here when the time comes.”

Claud and Lily nodded. As they left the room, they could hear Schwarz asking Nero why he agreed with them, but Nero’s reply, unfortunately, was just a bit too incomprehensible. It was especially unfortunate that neither of them would get a chance to try their hand at the fountain that spat out items at people who completed missions, but this was probably the better move.

It would be far safer to contact Lesser Half in Monsville, and the Blue Moon wouldn’t be that wary of the Seekers of Life, since the unstable, uncontracted elements had left of their own accord. Their actions would also show that they had no intention of obstructing the defence or other nasty acts. Finally, Claud didn’t want to be paid too much attention by any divinity; he was hiding secrets that even he himself didn’t quite understand.

“Well, at least we don’t have that many things to pack,” Lily muttered. “Storage ring time?”

“Storage ring time, yes.” Claud stroked the gem on the ring he wore, and a translucent cube with a two-metre-long side appeared in front of them. Moving everything they owned into the cube, Claud tapped the gem again, and their possessions vanished.

“Right, those little fellows,” Lily murmured, before moving to the small room. “Guys? We have to leave. Would you like to say goodbye to the others first?”

“Meep?”

Three shapes rolled out of the front door, meeping to convey the same question. Lily rubbed the three of them and replied, “The Moons just suffered a huge defeat, and enemies are marching on us. We don’t want to drag the others down and we definitely don’t want to be sent to fight other people either.”

“Meep…” The three little fellows clamoured on for a few more minutes, before Claud patted them and brought them with him.

Schwarz glanced at the small house as they went down. “Right. It’s a shame we won’t be able to play with you three for the time being.”

“Meep!”

Farah laughed. “Yeah, they’re so adorable. We’ll go find you at Monsville, alright? Don’t worry about us.”

“I am going to ask you a lot of questions too,” Nero added. “What are you guys? Where did you guys come from? Prepare to be thinking like a philosopher when that time comes.”

The three of them babied the little shapes for a while, before Claud cleared his throat. “Sorry, guys. But…yeah. It feels like we’re shortchanging you. We came by, but didn’t sign up, and before we could do anything, we’re pretty much running once more.”

“It’s not so much as running as trying to help us,” Schwarz replied. “You guys came from Nihila, so it’s understandable that the Blue Moon would be suspicious of both of you guys. If you two stayed around, we might be dispatched to the really dangerous areas. We understand, so there’s no need to feel bad. Besides, you have a house that can take a few of us in at any time, right? If something happens…”

“Yeah. We’ll welcome you guys in with open arms,” Claud replied.

“Thanks, buddy.” Schwarz produced two bottles. “Here. For the road.”

“And here’s a small box of lifestones. Should be enough to get you guys to the fourth mana-fold if you two are really skilled and lucky,” Nero continued.

“There’s really no need—”

“Just take it. We came back from a huge haul recently anyway,” Nero replied, stuffing the box into Claud’s backpack.

“We’ll help you tell Dia and Risti that you said bye,” Farah added. “So don’t worry about them. Knowing those two, they should be back soon. They definitely noticed the oddity, after all.”

Claud was half-torn between the idea of staying to see them and leaving, but they too also had their things to do. After dallying for a minute or two, the two of them had no choice but to begin their departure.

“That’s it, I suppose.” Claud hefted his backpack. “I’ll prepare the guestrooms for you guys, so do swing around if you can.”

“If.”

“Yeah.” Claud grimaced. “Not going to be easy, for one. Especially with the Trial of Aeons rolling around soon.”

“This is probably the opening act. Or the middle one.” Schwarz shook his head. “Hard to tell at times.”

“The middle of the opening act,” Nero replied. “We still have a long drama unfolding in front of us. The Trial of Aeons…it’s something that has never existed before, see?”

“What exactly is the Trial of Aeons anyway?” Claud asked.

“…The qualification for divinity,” Nero replied. “You two…well, might as well tell you guys lest you get misled. All Bearers of Destiny will be forced inside. The Trial of Aeons will have a few open slots for Chromatic Lords and other high-ranking folders too. Once inside, all trial-takers will do something, and a few will emerge as the victors of this struggle.”

“What do those victors win?” Claud asked, fighting to keep his tone uniform.

“Like I said, the qualification for divinity. The part needed to become a deca-folder.”

In that instant, Claud thought about the Frozen Emperor’s status screen. He could still vividly remember it, and there, in the Mana Circuit Superimposition tab, was a number that was infinitely close to ten, but never ten.

…It would seem that the Frozen Emperor had lost that struggle. Or was it something else? Claud didn’t want to make any assumptions at this point, especially since, the Second Tutorial’s missions had hinted that the Frozen Emperor had actually won or something.

Whatever the case, a crucial point of destiny was fast approaching. Would the Red God still attempt to harm him and Lily at the end of the trial? Or would something else happen? What about the Dark and the Moons, in which Lesser Half already knew about his possible death?

Claud was well aware that his actions had definitely moved things around. While he used his Absolute skill only twice after the Second Tutorial, those two instances had definitely resulted in changes. As far as Claud knew, the Moons had never descended early in the timeline of the Second Tutorial, nor had something as huge as this offensive happened. In fact, the Seekers of Life hadn’t been conscripted either, so the whole thing was now messed up.

Lily nudged his sides, and Claud blinked. “Sorry.”

“No need to be,” Nero replied. “Everyone else had similar reactions too. Deep in thought and wondering if they could also gain something from this. Don’t. You’ll be messing with ancient folders and contemporary powerhouses…and I’m sure the rulers of the continent will be a full few mana circuits higher when they next make their appearances.”

He paused. “In other words, septa, octa and ennea-folders. They will have the advantage, no matter what. So don’t think of going, even if you want to.”

“We’re not,” Lily replied, covering for Claud. “That’s insane.”

“Yes.” Nero looked at them. “It is.”

“You two should leave now, before it’s too late,” Schwarz added. “We’ll find you once the situation stabilises.”

Nodding, the two of them stashed away the farewell gifts from the others into backpacks. It was a shame that Dia and Risti weren’t here, but now was not the time to think about that. Schwarz was right.

They had to leave now.

Holding hands, the two of them left the house and made their way out of the camp.