Under the half-transparent dome that surrounded Moon Mansion, Dia felt herself relax fully. The days of being on edge now seemed like a distant memory to her, and the urge to sink into a deep, senseless sleep tightened its grip around her.

As she wriggled her toes, Claud dashed off into the mansion a moment later, saying something about a celebration in honour for their triumphant and unwounded return. Dia, unfortunately, couldn’t match his pace, given that the soles of her feet were aching. It was the side-effect of having walked for three days on end, and unfortunately, there was nothing anyone could do about it.

Even the memory fragments from the Experiential Potions she drank was telling her that the only way to be unaffected by such pains was to…walk more.

“Oi! Farah! Lily! Schwarz! They’re back!” Claud yelled, his voice echoing merrily throughout the place. “Whip up your best food, you alcoholic prick! It’s time for a celebration!”

“Alcoholic prick?” Dia murmured, amused.

“I don’t even want to ask,” Risti replied. “But yes, we’re back. Odd. I feel like I’ve said that for the sixth time today already, for some reason.”

“Maybe it’s because the whole place seems to be telling us ‘Welcome back’,” Dia replied, pointing at a small streamer that hung off the roof of Moon Mansion. “I don’t know, really. The only thing I know is that I’m looking forward to a nice hot meal, a proper shower, and my bed.”

“Same, same.” Risti stretched her back and let out a huge yawn. “But we should at least talk to them and tell everyone about that problematic skill. That’s critical information. They should know it as soon as possible.”

“Aww, shucks.” Despite her words, however, Dia heartily agreed that the others should learn about the Third Bearer of Destiny, as well as the Absolute Domination skill. The Seekers of Truth had been very generous with their knowledge, even though such things should have been heavily guarded. Was it a way of showing appreciation to the Moon Lords, an organisation that was in part led by Risti? Or was it something else?

She didn’t want to think too much — Dia preferred swinging a sword and teaching people — but for the first time ever since she learned the truth, she found herself pondering about the motive behind those tetra-folders. Were they hinting at something? Did they want insignificant one-folders to investigate this thorny issue?

Shaking her head, she sniffed the air. It was devoid of the sickly-sweet odour of blood that had stuck to her for some time, ever since she killed the spear-throwing fellow called Number Twelve. The nightmares still haunted her, waking dreams of her failure time and again.

“Sniffing the air?” Risti asked. “Why, are you so happy to be back?”

“Yes,” Dia replied. “It’s…nice. To be safe. To feel so secure. I can partially understand why Claud is this…paranoid now. It is in this paranoia that he protects himself, and in this protection, he finds ease.”

Risti nodded. “Having a dome over my head…I never thought I’d say this, but it’s nice to have such a thing.”

The two shook their heads. This trip, which would have been a routine one in the eyes of any party from the Folders’ Association or a mercenary, had been a life-changing one for Dia. Whether Risti felt the same or not, Dia didn’t know, but she had the feeling that Risti indeed did feel the same.

Trudging towards the entrance of the mansion, Dia pulled open the door. There, the other members of the Moon Lords had gathered, huge smiles on their face.

“Welcome back, you two,” said Farah. “I heard it was quite dangerous out there.”

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“Yeah, Schwarz was really worried about you two, especially Risti,” said Lily. “He was dying from overwork, you know? The original premise was that you two would split up internal and external intelligence, but look at his hair…”

Dia glanced at the bartender. “I don’t see anything wrong with it.”

“Now wait just one moment, miss Dia.” Schwarz pointed to an area above his left ear. “There’s a bald patch here! See? There’s a tiny spot where there’s no more hair!”

“No more hair?” Dia squinted her eyes. “I don’t really see the difference.”

Schwarz took a step back, crestfallen. As for why he was crestfallen, Dia didn’t want to find out, a sentiment that was clearly shared by Risti. Maybe he had some preoccupation with his looks, which was probably par for the course for a bartender. Or maybe he had an abnormal attachment to his hair.

Who knew?

“Putting that unimportant matter aside,” said Risti, prompting Schwarz to gag on the spot, “we bring back quite bad news from Nachtville. We caught the person who was killing off civilians, but that person was actually under the control of someone else.”

“Yeah,” said Lily, “we know.”

“You know? Did the count tell you?” Risti asked, curious.

“Not just that. A similar incident happened in Licencia too,” Lily replied, her face the very definition of dourness. “Dia, do you remember Rodrio? One of your Moon Guards.”

Dia froze. “Yes. Did…something happen to him?”

“He’s…well, dead,” Lily replied. “Not physically dead. But someone used the same skill on Rodrio, the same skill that was used on the murderer at Nachtville. Under the influence of that skill, Rodrio was made to sabotage one of Farah’s food drives, killing thirty-three people.”

The world seemed to spin for a moment, and Dia found herself holding onto the door for support. She hadn’t interacted much with the Moon Guards, choosing to act as their stern and silent trainer, but that didn’t stop her from knowing the faces of the people under her tutelage.

At this news, she couldn’t help but regret the fact that she had been so impersonal in her training.

“How is he now?” Dia asked, her voice quiet.

“I’m not sure how to put it,” said Schwarz, his voice flowing and gentle, “but his mind…his previous self no longer exists. He is but a shell now.”

Dia trembled, but before she could do anything else, a small hand had landed on her shoulder.

“Not now, Dia.” Risti patted her shoulder. “There’ll be time for you to avenge him. And you won’t be alone either.”

“No,” said Farah, “you won’t.”

With a jolt, Dia remembered what Lily had said earlier. Rodrio had been turned into an instrument of murder, whose aim was to sabotage Farah’s food drive. The fact that people had died…that couldn’t have had any good effect on the countess whatsoever.

“We’ll find the culprit together,” said Dia. “And then…we’ll bring him to justice. Truss the culprit up and drag whoever it is to the Folders’ Association, and then have the people there pass judgement on him.”

“No need for such formalities,” Farah replied. “I’ll execute him myself, with the authority vested in me as Countess Farah. You can hold the blade.”

“Hmph. Many thanks.”

“A-alright, the two of you. We’ll help out,” said Claud. “Make sure to tell us before you do anything, or if we find a lead. Such an enemy, who’s targeting us, cannot be allowed to roam free. Or else we’ll be in danger anytime.”

“Yes,” said the bartender. “We’re all in this together, a contract bound by the Moons’ light.”

“Exactly,” said Lily. “So no running off by yourself, got it? The same goes for you too, Farah.”

Dia felt somewhat disgruntled, but that was the extent of it. They had a point, and more importantly, she could tell that they weren’t actually paying lip service. Nodding in silence, she held her head and made a point to talk to the Moon Guards more.

“Anyway—”

“Hold up,” said Claud. “If you’re going to tell us your findings, Risti, at least do it over food. It’s hard to hear you speak when your stomach’s rumbling the whole time.”

Thunder rumbled at those words, and Risti flushed. Claud gestured at her with his left hand, as if he wanted to make a point.

It probably didn’t help that the smell of roasted meat and rich soups were wafting into Dia’s nose now, and as her tummy growled, she followed the others into the mansion. A vast spread of meat, soup and other delicate delicacies had been laid out, precisely the kind of food that the two of them couldn’t have eaten while on the road or in an inn.

“You two have it lucky,” said Claud. “When Lily and I returned home, our spread was far smaller.”

“Don’t make it sound like you ordered this spread for them,” Farah replied, rolling her eyes. “You were intending on having this feast tonight; it just so happened that they happened to come back too.”

“Tch.”

“Don’t click your tongue at me just because I ratted you out.”

As the two broke into a minor squabble, Dia found herself smiling, despite all the sad news. She would mourn, yes, but she would never forget the bright things in life.

Stuffing the desire for justice into somewhere deep within her heart, she followed the others inside.