“I know there are rites to be observed, but I did not think that a hotspring bath was one of them.” Claud looked around the bubbling hot water. “And Lostfon was hiding this place the whole time? Damn.”

Lily, unfortunately, was in the women’s section, which was all kinds of disappointing. Neither of them could muster the ability to speak up when Lostfon got them to wash up separately, and—

“Now hold on,” Claud muttered. “Where’s the count and his wife? Is there a mixed bath too? I definitely have a feeling that there’s such a thing…what do you think, Zin?”

The little shadow popped up from the water, tilted his little head, and then did a backflip. Claud was suitably amused by that display, but there was another curious thing. Little Zin was currently wrapped in a towel…which could only mean that he was wearing clothes before he entered the hotspring.

Sure, it made sense that people wore clothes, but he hadn’t really thought all that much about it when it came to the Shadowed Ones. Of course, now that his attention was brought to this issue, Claud was very glad that they too did wear clothes, just that these clothes were made of shadow too. It would have been very awkward if he spoke to Dust or the other Shadowed Ones with the full knowledge that they were actually nude.

Phew.

“So, what’s your family like?” Claud asked.

Zin gestured, but once again, Claud couldn’t hear anything. It would seem that communication was effectively one way, unless the kid decided to learn how to write. Either that, or he was too lazy to write.

“Alright, never mind. Anyway, I’m going to find Lily now. You should get out soon too,” Claud replied. “Come on, up you go…”

After drying himself and pulling on his clothes, Claud poked his head out of the changing room. Lily was already examining the carvings on a nearby statue with interest, her violet hair tied up in a nice long ponytail. It was a rare look for Lily, who usually just let her hair down, but he also liked this style too.

“How do I look?” Lily asked.

“It’s lovely,” Claud replied. “Hmm. Makes you feel a bit more…”

He really wanted to say ‘mature’, but Claud’s instincts didn’t let him finish the sentence.

“Go on,” Lily prompted. “More what?”

“Hmm. I don’t quite have the word for it,” Claud muttered. “But I like this look of yours…that said, it’s a rather dangerous hair style, though. An assailant could pull your hair a lot easier or something.”

“I can cut my hair a lot quicker too, if that happens,” Lily replied.

“Which is an absolute waste.” Claud nodded seriously. “I’ll try to keep us out of conflict and everything…anyway, where’s everyone else?”

“Dust was on my side, but I didn’t see Countess Lostfon anyway.” Lily folded her arms. “I thought she and the count were also going to pay a visit to the Lesser Half.”

“Or maybe they went to wash up elsewhere,” Dust replied, walking out of the women’s section. “They have their own personal bath or something, and knowing them, they’ll be at it for ages.”

She paused. “There’s no need to blush. At my age, you’ve seen all sorts of things.”

“…People also get hanky-panky in your own world?”

“We’re not that different from you guys,” Dust replied. “Anyway, I’ll bring you to my master, Lesser Half.”

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Zin poked his head out of the changing room at those words, and then scuttled over to Lily. Dust looked at Lily, a suspicious look in her eyes, and then gestured for them to follow.

Lily passed a small sweet to Zin in that small window of time, before tugging the little chap along. As Claud took her other hand, he couldn’t help but think that they looked like one big happy family…of course, Zin had his own family too, but Claud wasn’t going to think too hard about that right now.

“That said, how do you know the honorific name of my master?” Dust asked. “As far as I’m certain, only the people in the palace know about my master’s honorific name, Lesser Half. It was surprising when my master informed me about two people who used his honorific name at the palace gates itself.”

“That’s…how I’m actually going to talk to your master,” Claud replied, improvising rapidly. He had already figured out a plan of action, and this affirmation of his method was incredibly encouraging.

“Huh?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Claud replied, running through his thoughts again. It would be a risk, but he was banking on the Lesser Half’s ability to sense that he was telling the truth.

Nothing more, nothing less.

Was Dust dissatisfied with his vague reply? If so, she certainly was hiding it well…but again, her facial features were shrouded by darkness. It was hard trying to figure out her thoughts via her expressions, especially since she was taking the lead.

Before long, the three of them arrived at the main hall. Count Lostfon apparently held his morning meetings here, before the mass exodus from the city, but Claud had never seen it before.

The entrance to the main hall was guarded by an opulent set of double doors.

“I wonder how much he brought these doors for,” Lily muttered.

Claud nodded. This door was probably worth its weight in gold, given its exquisite craftsmanship. If he ever needed a good, majestic door, Claud now knew where to go; it was a good item to steal if he ever needed it.

“Alright. We’re here.” Dust beckoned Zin over, and patted his head. The two of them communicated in silence, sprinkling in a few gestures here and there, before exchanging nods. “I’ve briefed this little guy.”

“I really want to ask how,” Lily replied.

“Listen harder,” Dust replied. “You humans are so painfully deaf. I don’t know how you even get things done at times.”

Leaving behind that cryptic statement, she turned to the door. With a slow, ceremonial cadence, she knocked on the door once, twice and then for a third time, before dropping to her knees and lowering her head to the door.

Claud glanced at Lily, and then wondered if he should do the same. Before he could lower himself or anything, however, the door opened on its own. A shadowy room entered Claud’s vision as Dust stood up slowly, reverence in her eyes. Pillars of darkness, each of them both elaborate and the epitome of simplicity, seemed to hold up an endless night.

This definitely wasn’t the main hall.

“Follow me,” said Dust. “Lower your heads and do not look at the master until he speaks to you.”

Claud inclined his head, Lily following suit, and the two of them followed behind Dust slowly. Zin too trailed behind them, his usual little liveliness now muted by the omnipresent darkness.

An eternity seemed to drift by as Claud followed after Dust, the only indicator of their progress her moving legs. After an indeterminate amount of time, the four of them finally drew to a stop, and Claud finally realised why he couldn’t quite feel the divine pressure the Lesser Half had emanated during his descent.

They had been wrapped in it ever since they entered the palace. It was why Lostfon Palace was so intimidating from the outside, and why they were completely at ease once they stepped into the grounds.

The Lesser Half’s power had been enveloping them the moment they stepped into the palace, with enough gentleness to make sure that they weren’t harmed or even aware of such a thing.

“My Lord, I have brought the two petitioners, one Lord and one Lady Primus, before you.” Dust stepped to the side and vanished into the shadow.

“Thank you, Dust,” a mellow voice replied. “Lord and Lady Primus, you may now raise your heads. Do not be afraid.”

Claud stifled his burgeoning fear and looked up at the Lesser Half of the Great Dark. His heart skipped a beat immediately afterwards, as his eyes took in an illogical existence. The being occupying the throne looked like some place from Celestia’s vast starry sky; in the never-ending vast darkness contained by the throne, he could spot millions and millions of black cubes, outlined in a faint golden glow.

What was that? He had expected the Lesser Half to resemble a human or something, but—

“Relax.”

The word echoed out from the dark space like a command, and Claud’s breathing steadied. Lily’s trembling stilled, and after a few seconds, she lowered her head.

“We apologise, Lord Lesser Half.” Lily tugged at Claud’s hand, and he inclined his head too. “We beg for your forgiveness.”

“No harm done. No offence taken. Raise your heads. Both of you.”

Claud raised his head again, looking at the vast divinity contained within a small space. “T-thank you.”

“You are welcome.” The innumerable black cubes that seemed to vary in size and distance quivered. “Allow me to introduce myself. I am Lesser Half, the lesser spark. Now, visitors of meritorious service, to what pleasure do I owe this visit to?”