Little shining children waddled around Licencia as Dia, Nero and Risti left the Moon Mansion, and it was with some relief that she remembered that the three of them didn’t have some odd fixation with the extreme cuteness of these little fellows. Therefore, there wasn’t any delay with their departure, although Dia had a feeling that Schwarz was already distracted by those little toddlers walking around the city unsupervised.

After all, it had been six hours since he left for the guardhouse. Anyone with half a working brain could have drawn up a plan in half that time, and Schwarz, who was the second voice of paranoia after Claud, definitely could draw up a well-functioning plan in an hour or so.

Therefore, it stood to reason that Schwarz, whose brain had probably addled due to long periods of burning mana circuits, was probably sitting on a bench and feeding one of those Moon toddlers with biscuits.

“Ugh.” Risti shook her head as a group of children, who were glimmering with yellow light, dashed past them. “Those fellows are indeed adorable, but I already know why Schwarz isn’t back yet.”

“Yeah, he’s probably playing with them or something,” Dia replied. “I think we’ll find him near the guardhouse.”

“Oh well.” Nero patted his backpack. “Let’s hope he has another stash of drinks outside Moon Mansion, or else it’ll just be torture.”

“I think you’re addicted to alcohol,” Risti replied. “How about you cease drinking it for the journey? That’ll make the drinks in Daybreak County a lot tastier.”

“Huh?” Nero blinked. “How does that work?”

“Look at it from this angle. Schwarz is a miser, right? He won’t give you much alcohol, yeah? Maybe, if he’s feeling generous enough, he’ll give you enough for the trip there. But what next? Your tastebuds have long been spoilt by his brews. The drinks in Daybreak County will seem like plain water, and you’ll be crying.”

Nero breathed in sharply.

“Exactly. We’ll be staying there until Half Moon. You’ll be stuck drinking plain water. How can you take it?” Risti pressed on. “However, if you abstain from alcohol for the entire trip there, your tastebuds will reset. Not only will you find some joy from drinking inferior brews, but Schwarz’s drinks will also taste even better when you return!”

“So…I should not drink at all for the trip there.”

“Precisely,” Risti replied. “This is the concept of scarcity, applied to your memory and desires. The more you abstain, the sweeter the final fruit. You’ll be able to relive the first time you tasted his drinks once more!”

Nero twitched violently, and after breathing in and out creepily for a few seconds, he straightened his body. “Now that I think about it, I’ve been troubling Schwarz for drinks too many times. I suppose I shouldn’t leave behind a bad impression right before going out for a job, right?’

Dia eyed the Holy Son of the Black Church, who was probably abandoned because he was too shameless, and found herself unable to muster any strength to retort. Instead, she healed her mental state by reaching out to a nearby Moon toddler, and to the little kid’s surprise, patted it and squished its cheeks.

“Ah, this is really relaxing.”

Risti looked at her. “Drop the kid before the two of us start squishing his cheek too.”

“F-fine…” Patting the surprised little toddler, Dia dusted the kid’s clothes off and set the little fellow back down. “But those kids are really cute!”

“I wonder if they have a gender,” Nero muttered. “Was the little fellow you picked up a boy or a girl?”

“Does that really matter? I mean, you can only tell through their hairstyles, but they don’t seem to have any hair at all.” Dia rubbed her hands. With thousands and thousands of little lunar babies running around the city, it had become a crime to kidnap them…although one probably needed to mention that these little toddlers were one or bi-folders. Furthermore, the Lunar Lord stationed here had a telepathic connection to the waddling children, and more than once, the Lunar Lord had crushed entire gangs who had managed to tie up a little baby.

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Given the sheer cuteness of these little kids, everyone felt equally outraged at the crime, and it probably helped that the Lunar Lord compensated Count Nightfall with a bunch of lifestones, which prompted him to hand out a bunch of gold to the people in the city.

“Well, they’re utterly adorable either way. I can see why Schwarz wants to bring one back, I guess. But they’ve completely gone gaga over them. Somewhat extreme,” Risti noted.

“Maybe there’s some factor that’s making the cuteness factor irresistible to them,” Nero posited. “Caroline and the three of us aren’t that affected, but Count Nightfall, Farah and Schwarz are particularly taken by them. I can see a common pattern between them, but…”

“A pattern?” Dia asked.

“Yeah. You two aren’t from the Istrel Dukedom, right? If my guess is correct, Lily and Claud will also find those little babies too cute to not play with,” Nero replied, his eyes alight.

“Are you saying that it’s because they’re all from the same dukedom?” Risti frowned. “How does that even work? I mean, the other dukedoms also surrendered their Terra Jewels, and even Ruler Istrel himself did so. I don’t see why those little babies’ charm would differ based on geography.”

“But it makes sense,” Dia muttered. “Schwarz couldn’t resist going out to play with them…yeah, he’s right by the city gates. Farah at least could control herself. And as for Nightfall…I think there’s a few Moon children touring his palace every day.”

The three of them mused on this issue as they approached Schwarz, who was looking like a doting parent right now. Seated on the ground, the second voice of paranoia for the Moon— er, Seekers of Life — was currently juggling a bunch of sweets for his adorable little audience.

“Schwarz, what exactly are you doing?” Risti asked.

Adding another three sweets to his juggling routine, Schwarz said, “I’m enjoying my free time.”

Risti opened her mouth, closed it, and then opened it again. “Well, at least you don’t look like some child predator. Rather, you look like some retired circus performer trying to make children smile.”

“Performer? Really? I don’t think I gave off such an impression…” Schwarz shook his head and continued juggling. “And besides, Count Nightfall has passed new legislation regarding the treatment of those adorable children. More importantly, I don’t think anyone can hold ill-intent against them. They’re too adorable.”

“…I can’t help but think you’re making this based off some very odd assumptions,” Dia replied.

“Tell me that again after you stop patting that kid in your hands,” Schwarz scoffed.

“Ahem. We’re going to leave, so I want to pat them a few more times. Is there a problem?” Dia asked. “Unlike you, who gets to play with them anytime, we’re going to a distant county.”

“There’s probably going to be a few Moon children there, so don’t feel that bad,” Schwarz replied. “And besides, they’re all over the sovereignty now. I bet you’ll see a few of them walking around the area and playing.”

Nero cleared his throat. “…I don’t know about you guys, but shouldn’t you guys be wondering why little kids of the Moons are wandering around Istrel Sovereignty? I know they grow up to be soldiers, but they seem a lot more intelligent than the soldiers we’ve observed so far.”

“Maybe it’s some new policy of the Moons,” Schwarz replied, his words dismissive.

“I was thinking of that too,” Dia replied, before returning her attention to the little kid that was clutching her finger. The toddler’s hands could grip her finger with some difficulty, and the tenderness behind that grip was making her smile.

Rubbing the little fellow on the head once more — this particular child seemed to like that for some reason — she wondered if Claud and Lily would return with a baby. If something like that happened, she wouldn’t mind taking care of their newborn child.

“Dia?” Risti called out. “Oh no, she’s fallen to the children’s charm too…”

“I’m not that far gone, okay? I’m just thinking that I’ll volunteer to take care of Claud and Lily’s child, if they bring one home.” Dia smiled.

“Just go bring a child from an orphanage back,” Schwarz replied, and then paused. “Hold on, those words seem to be rather familiar…anyway, you guys should go soon. I’m going back too. My hands are tired.”

The spectating children immediately made sad noises.

“Alright, alright, how about I stay for another hour?”

Nero sighed. “Will everything be alright while we’re at Daybreak County? I’m scared he’ll neglect his work or something. Why not just bring one of those kids into Moon Mansion? If he asks the count, Nightfall should probably give him the go-ahead…”

Schwarz looked at Nero. “You insane genius. I’m going off now.”

Dia patted the kid’s head one more time and then looked at Nero. “You…I wonder if that’s a good thing. Never mind. I only hope that the house won’t be overrun by Moon children when we return.”

“Y-yeah…”

She paused. “Right, I forgot to pass you guys this. It’s a book written by our absent paranoid security guy. I figured you guys would like to read it too, and there were a few copies lying around.”

“By Claud?” Risti asked. “What’s it about?”

“Dangers and everything when travelling,” Dia replied, with as much off-handedness as she could muster. “It’s a bit paranoid, but it’ll be quite useful regardless.”

“…Really?”

“Really, really.”

Dia continued to persuade the others to read as the three of them left the city, where a horse-drawn carriage had been prepared for them.

They would have to go back the hard way, though.