“Ugh. How did we even end up taking so long to get to this stupid place?” Dia glared at the towering walls of the Lacuna dukedom capital behind her, and then at the stupid amounts of paperwork she and the others needed to fill up. They had arrived at the Lacuna Dukedom a few days ago, but there were so many tests that she half-suspected that the two lovebirds simply called it a day and went to a nearby town instead.

“Well, we filled up twenty forms, needed to wait for one whole day to get them processed, and then had to conduct an interview about our purposes here,” Schwarz replied, his voice reminiscent of one reciting off a list. “After that, we had to show our wealth and plans of what we needed to buy before we could even enter.”

“Meh.” Nero looked around the dukedom capital, and Dia watched as his eyes scanned the streets for a bar. Unfortunately, dukedom capitals rarely had such establishments; rather, they had wine cellars and wine shops to cater to the richer residents of such a locale.

Sara hung around Nero, the tremendous power she was giving off barely suppressed by Nero’s own working.

The Blessed of the Blue God had requested for Dia and the others to escort her group to Lacuna. Thankfully, the two injured fellows didn’t suffer from the excesses of Lacuna’s bureaucracy, and were currently undergoing treatment. Thanks to that, however, she now had the free time to just look around the dukedom…

“You seem very interested in the Lacuna Dukedom,” Farah noted. “What’s drawing your attention here? For me, it’s the city layout and the way things are run. It’s quite interesting. The dukedom capital is all but exclusively catered towards the ultra-rich. You can’t even see a single roadside stall here.”

Sara nodded. “It’s quite surprising. I thought I would feel out of place here, but the Supremacy’s cities are very similar to that of Lacuna Dukedom. Of course, everyone there is dressed in a far neater and uniform manner, like coats, long pants and top hats.”

“Huh. Everyone?” Dia asked, curious. “I think I’ve seen someone wear that before…ah!”

“Ah, it’s him,” Schwarz muttered. “Let’s not talk about that person. Anyway, top hat, huh…the whole outfit sounds very tiresome to wear, not to mention highly impractical. Anyway, if you’re good with this place, I suppose our presence really isn’t needed, right? We should return…or not.”

“We’re not returning?” Dia asked.

“Well, I’m sure two lovebirds just happened to nestle down here for a while,” Schwarz replied. “We just need to find them, right? It won’t be any different from going back to the house and waiting for them to return.”

“Ooh, good idea.” Farah rubbed her hands. “Maybe we can sneak up on them while they’re making out in one corner of the city. Would be funny.”

“Hear, hear. Lord knows just how envious I get when I look at those two fellows,” Nero muttered. “I should find someone close to my heart.”

“You guys have quite the nasty personality,” Sara observed. “And besides, if you want a lover, you guys are good catches, right?”

“Feels weird, so no,” Dia replied.

Schwarz nodded. “Love? More like familial care or strong friendship. I can’t really imagine myself living the couple of life with you guys. No offence, but it just feels off. I can’t place a finger on it myself.”

“More like a sibling thing, true,” Farah murmured. “Still, I’m not that vehemently opposed…ahem. Anyway, let’s not talk about pointless things like this. I have very, very high expectations of courtship. I must have you know that I am well-versed in noble etiquette. It’ll be a pain to court me.”

“Okay, you don’t need to mention that twice.” Nero rolled his eyes. “And I am the Holy Son of the Black God. If you want me to hitch up with someone, you better pull out someone of an equal status, but the current Holy Daughters are three hundred or so years older than me. While the age of consent is like sixteen, I feel like I’m still going to be the victim of some weird crime…”

“Right, poor guy.” Sara patted his back. “Still, there’s actually a Holy Daughter-esque figure around your age. She made the headlines sometime back. The Reaper Princess, Kemata, the Moons’ chosen.”

Dia felt amusement bubble up as Nero’s interest was visibly piqued. It would seem that rather than love, Nero was more interested in finding someone that could actually match his stature. It wouldn’t make much sense at first glance, but if she thought about it a bit deeper, Nero was clearly interested in finding someone that he could stay forever with, without pesky elders trying to break them up due to issues like rank or station.

“Huh. What happened to her?” Nero asked.

“Hmm. How do I put it?” Sara had a thoughtful look on her face. “Well, she was engaged to the Minor Supreme. By all accounts, she was the perfect wife, groomed for that position, but her fiancé fell in love with another girl. The reports become a bit sketchy from this point onwards. One batch of reports states that Kemata harassed and bullied her rival, and her attempts were eventually discovered, so she was given the boot. The other batch of reports, however, claim that she was framed and innocent.”

“That’s quite unfortunate,” Schwarz muttered. “I’ll be pissed if that happens to me.”

“Yeah, she was quite pissed too. On their graduation day, the Minor Supreme officially annulled their engagement after denouncing her, so she drew her scythe, poked it through her ex-fiance’s…body and then hung him on a statue.”

“That guy’s some bigshot, right? The Minor Supreme.” Schwarz rubbed his hands. “So, how did that end?”

“A Dark Herald appeared and intervened.” Sara beamed. “It was really exciting. I was there as the Head of Department for Theology, so I took the chance to interview the Dark Herald too!”

“H-huh…so, uh, about the Reaper Princess?”

This time, even Farah noticed the anomaly surrounding Nero. Dia, as a connoisseur of many a stage play held for nobles, was beginning to see the seeds of romance and interest bloom around her good friend. Or was it something else? Whatever the case, Nero’s interest was a bit undeniable, but if it came to status, she was quite sure that Risti was also quite suitab—

“Bah. What am I thinking?” Dia shook her head. She had no intention in interfering with others’ romances, although it would be excellent if she got a front row seat. “Anyway, the Reaper Princess sounds quite interesting. Is it possible that she’s in Grandis right now?”

“She’s up on the Moon now,” Sara replied. “You know, the Dark’s Bearer of Destiny…”

“Oh!” Nero’s back straightened. “That means I get to see her, right?”

“…Huh. Seems like you’re very interested.” Sara made a face. “Well, well. How old are you anyway?”

“Twenty…four this year?” Nero replied.

“Mhm. That’s…really freaking young for someone as strong as you, though. Anyway, you two are quite similar in age, so it’s fine…but good luck, though. She rarely speaks nowadays. The scythe floating behind her does the speaking.”

Dia really couldn’t help but think that there was something wrong. After all, they were in turbulent times now. Was it really a good choice to start courting someone, especially from a different country and from a different camp? There were lots of stories and stage plays about romances across enemy nations — this was an attempt that was probably a few levels above that.

“What?” Nero looked at Schwarz. “I gotta think about my future too, right? Everyone’s going to nag at me if they start spouting all that crazy crap about marrying the right position.”

“You know it’s crazy, but you sure aren’t contesting it,” Schwarz replied.

“Well, it’s a bit troublesome. And love can be fostered, right? Nurtured through constant interaction,” Nero replied. “It’ll be a lot easier if I find someone who the elders won’t condemn me for and then work on it from there. After all, I’m not sure if I can really bicker with those who raised me.”

“Is that even called raising?” Farah muttered darkly. “After all, you didn’t have a normal childhood, by any accounts.”

“All that’s in the past,” Nero replied, brushing her words off. “Anyway, I’ll take a peek at this Reaper Princess. Her title sounds cool.”

“Normally, one would think ‘dangerous’, though.” Dia shrugged. “Well, whatever makes you happy.”

“Exactly,” Nero replied. “Hmm. Anyway, we’re here, in this city. What should we do next? Find an inn first? I actually feel like going for a wine shop or brewery, though…”

“I think we should cure you of your alcoholism first,” said Farah. “That sounds really, really important right now. Besides—hm?”

A heavy presence came from the heavens, and Dia looked to the skies. There, close to the white moon, was a gigantic column of glimmering light. Simply looking at it made her eyes tear up, and Dia felt an incredible oppression from that thing alone.

What in the name of the Moons was that?