“Hic.”

Claud looked at the tavern, which had been bought out by a very generous Nero, and then swept his gaze at everyone else. Lily, who was the person who had let out that utterly adorable hiccup, was coiled around him. Schwarz was babbling gibberish quietly on a table. Farah and Dia were face-down next to him, while the Blessed of the Blue God, Sara, was swimming on the floor or something. Kemata leaned against the wall, unmoving…but the scythe that usually floated behind her was swaying around.

Carnage.

“Well done.” Claud patted Lily’s head. “Nero, you badass. You knocked out a noble, a Blessed of the Blue God, a bartender, a bodyguard of the Lustre princess and the Thirteenth Bearer of Destiny. What a madman.”

Nero laughed, the stench of alcohol wafting off him. “They tried their best, though! Sequential drinking battles against yours truly!”

Claud nodded. “A clever attempt, yes. Lily even tried too…it seems that everyone wants to see if you really have such a talent. Are you sure your ability to not get drunk is not a passive skill?”

“No, it’s not.” Nero made a face. “It’s awesome…but now we’re stuck with these guys. How are we even going to wake them up? They’re all dead asleep now.”

“Let’s just chat and play a round of Moon Phase,” Claud replied. “Oh, I know! What information do you have about the Third Tutorial?”

“The Third Tutorial…right, you guys are hexa-folders. It’s natural that you’d want to find out about the Third Tutorial.” Nero’s expression turned serious. “I…do not have much to tell you, though. Every Third Tutorial is apparently unique to the user. It touches about the future, or so I’m told, and it can only be taken once. If you fail, your lifeforce itself will be hollowed out. Living becomes painful, and even if you have a lot of time…”

“You’ll long for death, or the feeling makes you desire death,” Claud completed.

“Correct.” Nero let out a heavy sigh. “But I suppose you and Lily aren’t going to back down, right? I mean, I won’t. And the others won’t either. That’s just how it is.”

Claud nodded, before thinking about Risti. She was the only survivor of the original Moon Lords back in the Second Tutorial, and watching her move around with a hollowed lifeforce had been heartrending. Was she destined to fail the Third Tutorial? Or was it because of their current circumstances that she couldn’t clear it?

Nero’s other words lined up with his understanding of the Third Tutorial. It was something private, the clear conditions were very unique, and whatever it wanted of you was apparently something you couldn’t speak out loud.

In other words, Claud was still as clueless as ever.

“Thanks.” Claud bobbed his head. “Well, that’s it, I suppose. We’ll just have to go in blind or something…I’m beginning to see why there are so few high-ranked folders.”

“The stories are indeed terrifying,” Nero acknowledged. “Thankfully, as the Holy Son of the Black God, I get to bypass the Third Tutorial…eventually. I don’t know when I’ll grow again, though. It can’t be helped.”

“That’s handy. Still, the Black God was the Third Godsfall’s Omen, and the White God the previous Salvation Star…” Claud shook his head. “How are they still alive?”

“You seem very hung up on that. That’s like the fifth time you asked me that question,” Nero observed.

“Well, I’m worried that a friend would be killed,” Claud replied, choosing to omit out the other part where the person who did said killing was him. “After all, the legendary Thief of Time is apparently the Omen, right? And he’s involved in so many incidents. Dia probably doesn’t stand a chance.”

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If he went up against Dia now, she would definitely lose. His skills were one thing, but his mana circuits and Mana Control Proficiency was definitely far higher than her own. Dia stood no chance against him right now…but at least there wasn’t any dumb quest telling him to kill her.

Not that he would obey that quest anyway. After all, if he was just a quest-crazed fellow, he would have gone after Kemata too, but what kind of person was he to kill a friend’s lover? Besides, he had enough lifespan to become a deca-folder. He didn’t need those stupid quests anymore.

“…Hmm.”

“What’s wrong?” Nero asked.

“Nothing.” Claud picked up his mug, checked that the contents were just normal water, and then downed the whole thing. What was he supposed to do with the rest of his lifeforce, though? Live for twenty thousand years? It was a bit fantastical, but…

It would also be lonely. Unless the others had ways to live for that long, Claud knew that he would probably be alone or something. Of course, now that he didn’t need lifestones, his whole stock would go to Lily, but that would just make the two of them.

The others still needed lifestones, right?

Sighing, he looked at the scene of carnage, and then rubbed his forehead. Those fellows were all happily drunk, and he was talking to the only person that wouldn’t get drunk at all.

For a moment, Claud debated on whether he should use Cleanse on everyone present, but Lily, who was drunk, was hugging him too tightly for him to actually take out a skillstick. Squishing her cheeks, Claud said, “What are your plans for now?”

“Me? What do you mean?”

“You know, as the Fourth Godsfall carries on,” Claud replied. “Missions and things will pop up, right? And we get freebies if we solve them. Are you going to solve them?”

“Maybe. Anyway, there should be a mission soon.” Nero crossed his arms. “We should soon see the official start of the final phase of the Fourth Godsfall — the hunt for the Omen.”

“I thought the Moons and the Dark were going to fight, though,” Claud muttered.

“Not anymore, if you look at this city. It seems that they have recognised a common, deadly threat. The Omen, now that he has obtained Divinity Aspirant, will soon become a god,” Nero replied.

“I-I see.” Claud bobbed his head. In truth, however, his Aeon Fold skill was special; he would need forty Aeon Folds to actually gain Divinity Aspirant. Unfortunately, he had used eight to create the Will of Solitude and the Will of Freedom skill. As a result…

It was a pain in the ass, but there was no two ways about it.

“Anyway, what happens when the Omen becomes a god?” Claud asked, curious.

“Everyone else will probably try to kill him during the apotheosis process,” Nero replied. “It’s when Tot is the weakest, after all. However, if he is allowed to survive, it is certain that the rest of the divinities will soon fall to his overwhelming might.”

“I see.” Claud bobbed his head. In other words, it would be fine as long as he did not become a god. “However, does he need to be a god for that new world thing…that Cosmic Egg?”

“That’s a good question. I suspect that the Thief of Time doesn’t need to become a god for the Cosmic Egg to hatch,” Nero replied. “However, if he wants to truly grasp his own fate, that is probably the only way to ensure such a thing. Otherwise…well, I’m not too sure personally, but…”

He made a face.

“Yeah, I suppose we won’t know much about this.” Claud rubbed Lily’s cheeks happily, prompting her to nibble on his hands, which were thankfully clean.

The two of them fell silent. Claud hadn’t had that much time to interact with Nero, although he was really useful as a source of information and entertainment. There were a lot of things he still didn’t know about the Holy Son of the Black God, and he didn’t know how to broach that topic either.

“Claud, what do you do in your free time?” Nero asked.

“Me?” Claud raised an eyebrow, and then grinned. It would seem that the Holy Son was also feeling a bit awkward about the silence, but since he went first, Claud wasn’t going to let up. “I snack on Lily’s sweets, watch her experiment with explosives, burn mana circuits with her together, read books…we also go out once in a while.”

“…Right.” Nero had an intrigued face, despite his reply. “So, uh…what kind of date should I bring Kemata on? I’m no romantic, and I’m…well, a greenhorn at this.”

Claud frowned. “A date, eh? Well, you’ve probably come to the only person who can give you an answer.”

“Right?” Nero nodded rapidly. “What ideas do you have?”

“For starters, I think you got something a bit wrong. There’s no special day,” Claud began. “Instead, every day you spend with the person you love is special. Be it lying around, or just reading books together…your heart and soul must approach these activities with the thought that every day is special. Every day becomes a date, and at best, some are more date-like than the other.”

“Ohhh!” Nero nodded. “That’s how you do it!”

“Indeed.” Claud looked at Lily, who was now snuggling up to his stomach. “Every day is special with her around.”