Claud was sitting around and fiddling with a set of knives when someone knocked on the room’s door. Lily, who was lying on the bed and reading a book, glanced at him.
“Alright, alright.” The master thief got up and dismantled the small web of traps around the door. This was the third time he had done that since dinner ended; for some reason, the guards of Nachtville had stepped up the frequency of their interrogations and interviews. Claud and Lily were already considered lucky; the room next to theirs had been visited ten times in the past three hours.
Opening the door slightly, Claud glanced at the armoured guard. “How may I help you, sir?”
“Not us this time,” the guard replied, a hint of apology on his face. “The Association’s investigators are administering this interview instead. Can we go in this time?”
“Can you not?” Claud asked. “No offence, but this recent spree of murders has made us somewhat nervous. Letting a bunch of armed people into a small room just doesn’t gel well with me now.”
The guard breathed out slowly, his nostrils flaring. “Very well. I’ll convey your words to the investigator.”
Shortly after the guard retreated into the darkness, a hurried discussion carried out in murmurs entered Claud’s ears. He wasn’t sure about the contents, and before he could focus on those words, the guard had returned with a rather familiar face.
It was someone Claud had dubbed Mister Mellow. Unlike his party leader, who was orders of magnitude ruder, Mister Mellow was a pleasant fellow to be around…or so his first impressions went, anyway. The self-proclaimed one-folder looked at Claud, and surprise flickered through his face.
They all looked the same, but why was the copycat more pleasant to interact with?
“It’s you!” Mister Mellow exclaimed. “What a coincidence!”
“Hello there,” said Claud. “You’re the investigators for the murders here, right?”
“That’s us, yes.” He turned to the guard. “He and his friend are safe. We met on the road while travelling to Julan a few days back. It is very unlikely that they were behind these murders…or rather, impossible.”
“Is that so? My apologies for disturbing you, sir.”
“You’re just doing your job, sir guard.” Claud turned to Mister Mellow. “How’s the investigation going so far?”
“Just between you, me and your friend…well, it hasn’t revealed anything of importance,” Mister Mellow replied. “Previous murder cases in Nachtville weren’t done by a spear or anything, which can mean that this man’s death was unconnected to the earlier murders. We cannot be certain, however, and it’s possible that the culprit is just trying to mislead us.”
“The latter’s quite possible,” Claud replied.
“What makes you say that?” Mister Mellow asked.
“We were travelling back to Licencia when we came across a tri-folder snake guarding a mana herb,” Claud replied. “The Spear of Fate stole the herb and injured the monster, and it chased him furiously.”
“The Spear of Fate did that? I didn’t hear about that bit,” said Mister Mellow. “But I did hear that someone had left a spear in that monster’s mouth…is there any connection between him and the person behind today’s murder?”
“I’m not sure about that bit, unfortunately. But it’s possible that the person behind today’s murder knew that there was a spear-wielding mana-user around those parts and used a spear to make us think the culprit was that mana-user,” said Claud. “Either way, you should be careful when pursuing any clues.”
“Tell me about it,” Mister Mellow replied. “In fact, we only just found out that Tot’s probably a being who predated the Third Godsfall. We were intending to travel to Licencia, since everyone wants to be a duke, but now…”
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
“Good choice,” Claud encouraged. “Still, didn’t you hear that our primary suspect, the Spear of Fate, was defeated in a confrontation against Tot? Why were you still headed to Licencia?”
Mister Mellow blinked. “He was defeated?”
“You didn’t know?” Claud frowned. “It’s old news, relatively speaking. Anyway, the poor fellow didn’t even get to see Tot; Zulan Patra was shouting a challenge when he was abruptly injured for no obvious reason. He then fell from the sky and everything.”
“…How have I not heard of this?”
That, actually, was a rather good question. Claud frowned as he pondered that fact; now that he thought about it, how was it that news about two tri-folders fighting above Licencia had made it to Nachtville, but nothing about Tot’s inexplicable victory over Zulan Patra had? He hadn’t quite forgotten his interaction with a bunch of mercenaries a few days ago; they clearly didn’t know about Tot’s recent…achievements.
Not like they were actually true or anything, but Claud had a feeling that dissociating himself from the public expectations and understanding of ‘Tot’ was a very good idea for his mental well-being and safety. For him to keep up a believable lie, he must stay as Claud; ‘Tot’ had to be a separate being that had no relations to the person called ‘Claud’.
“Is it possible that someone’s suppressing the news on purpose?” Claud wondered out loud.
“Maybe.” Mister Mellow looked distracted, and Claud saw no reason to keep him from running off with the unexpected news.
“Anyway,” said Claud, “you and your party should be quite busy, so don’t let the need to keep up with a passing acquaintance keep you here.”
“True. I suppose I just wanted to talk to a familiar face,” said Mister Mellow. “I’ll run off now. May we meet under a better moonlight.”
“The same to you,” Claud replied.
The guard, whose face was now white with what probably was fear, followed Mister Mellow as he went on to the next room. Claud could even hear the guard explain to Mister Mellow that they had interrogated the inhabitant inside ten times, and the master thief shook his head in sympathy as what seemed to be the eleventh prepared to unfold.
Claud closed the door behind him, just in time to avoid the unfortunate sight.
“You seem rather interested in spreading the truth about Tot,” Lily observed, her violet hair on full display. “Why?”
The master thief tilted his head, before replying with an answer he’d prepared some time ago. Granted, he didn’t expect Lily to be the one who asked him that question, but it would seem that he had either made her suspicious or curious.
Or both.
“Well, the last time someone came to challenge Tot, some buildings went down,” Claud replied. “Did you forget that the Spear of Fate decided to destroy some buildings while he was challenging the Thief of Time?”
Lily blinked twice, and then looked away. “I forgot.”
“Forget it. At least no one was harmed,” said Claud. “As a Blessed of the White God, Zulan Patra probably had enough awareness to actually not kill innocents. We can’t say the same for the next challenger, though. That’s why it’s best if we spread the news about Tot.”
“You have a point,” Lily conceded. “And, now that I think about it, the more the people know, the better the chances of Isolde’s mistress being forgiven are. If we can help Princess Dia by spreading the truth…”
“That’s another plus point, I guess,” Claud replied. “If that ever comes to pass, she’ll probably leave with her mistress, right?”
“Probably. We would all miss her, but nothing can compare to the safety of Princess Dia. Isolde would also be able to return to her normal life.” Lily chuckled. “It’ll be rather disappointing if she doesn’t let us visit the Lustre Palace, though. I want Princess Dia to sign on my handkerchief! Oh, and a book, I guess.”
“You lot really are ardent fans of the Lustre princess, eh?” Claud shook his head. “Why are you such a fan of hers?”
“Well, Princess Dia saved my life long ago,” said Lily.
“How?” Claud asked.
“Well, long ago, when I was a kid, I brought my brother into the forests of Julan…”
The story that followed was a depressing one. Lily had recounted the story of an exploration gone wrong, one in which Lily herself had almost failed to make it out alive. Her brother, however, had intervened in the last moments to let her escape, and that was when Lily came across a bunch of knights executing a request for the princess.
The monster was slain, but her brother had been mortally wounded. Nonetheless, without those knights, Lily would never have gotten to hear her brother’s parting words. Ever since then, Lily had held gratitude towards Princess Dia, as her knights had at least allowed her to hear her brother’s parting words.
It was a coincidence, true, but who was Claud to criticise the reason behind Lily’s support?
Offering some words of consolation, the master thief wondered about the reasons the others had, and then made up his mind to ask the others when time permitted.
Yawning twice, he picked up the small strings and nets that he’d used to lay down some traps for any intruder. However, before he could set them up, an uproar burst out from the room next door.
As the inn stirred into motion, Claud exchanged glances with Lily, and then began to barricade the door.