“So, to what dubious pleasure do I owe this visit, Lord Primus?” Count Lostfon eyed Claud up and down. “Last I checked, you two were busy in the inn and freeloading off the tavern.”

“We paid for food and lodging, so I’m not sure why you’re calling that freeloading,” Claud replied. “Anyway, we came here for information. Only someone with a status as exalted as yours would be able to answer our questions…and also, we came to cash in on favours owed.”

“Oh. I prepared some lifestones for you two, and…wait, are you a tetra-folder?” The count’s eyes flickered. “Pardon me for my discourtesy. I’ll bring you some prana jades, then.”

Claud wanted to tilt his head, but his intuition told him that it would be better if he just clammed up and nodded. While he had no idea what prana jades were, the fact that Count Lostfon had immediately substituted lifestones for these things was rather telling.

As he ambled away, Lily whispered, “I like it when people volunteer information for us. Don’t you feel the same way?”

“Agreed,” Claud replied. “It’s nice that people are smart. The no-so-smart ones like us can just coast along…”

Before long, the two of them were seated down in the reception room. This wasn’t the first time Claud had visited the Lostfon Palace, but within the short few weeks the two of them had spent cooped up in their rooms, the entire thing had changed. For some baffling reason, the entire interior was now incredibly bright and cheery, as if its interior decoration was supposed to contend with the gloom outside the world.

“So, what’s with this bright décor?” Lily asked, posing her question to the butler busy laying out some refreshments.

“For morale, apparently. The master likes it bright, and for some reason, so does his esteemed guest.” The butler chuckled. “Please, enjoy.”

“His esteemed guest…ah, Dust, the Dark Herald.” Lily bobbed her head. “But why would a Dark Herald like sunny decorations? Is there something wrong with her? Or is this dark motif just a motif?”

“That’s a question that we should find the answer to,” Count Lostfon’s voice sounded from the doorway. “It’ll be instrumental to our understanding of the great Dark. Hopefully, a peaceful coexistence is possible with them and the Moons, but we need to understand the divinities more first.”

He set a small bag down. “As a congratulatory gift. I collected them for my own use, initially, but after I realised that I was having trouble with my mana control, I decided to take it really slowly. My wife says it’s alright if I just settle down and use my lifestones for my lifespan instead, so…well, I’ve been enjoying life as of late.”

Sliding it over to Claud, Count Lostfon added, “At some point, it’s all about your talent over mana control. Training can only get you so far.”

Claud opened the bag and saw a bunch of shiny oval rocks. They were green in colour too, but exuded a purity that seemed to be comparable with lifestones.

“It’s not a lot, to be honest, but at least it’s a renewable resource…anyway, once again, congratulations for ascending in the hierarchy of life. I’ll make some time to ask you about your experience in the Second Tutorial, just in case I ever need a reference point.” Count Lostfon smiled.

“Sure.” Claud wasn’t going to deny such a request, since there were many things he didn’t dare to say anyway. The count was a tri-folder with a near-complete fourth mana circuit; if he really put his mind to it and had a lucky day, he would complete his fourth circuit and move on.

“Many thanks. Anyway, you said you wanted to cash in some favours and ask for information, right?”

“Not necessarily in that order, but yes.” Claud picked up his cup. “First, do you know anything about the Trial of Aeons?”

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“The Trial of Aeons? Yes, I did ask Dust about it. It seems to be the qualification process to attaining the tenth mana fold,” Count Lostfon replied. “Beyond that, however, Dust wasn’t quite sure either.”

“Did someone say my name?” Darkness rippled, and a shadow with long hair stepped out. “I was busy talking to Countess Los— oh, it’s you, count. What’s wrong?”

“Oh, crap, the summoning mechanism. Sorry, sorry.” Lostfon cleared his throat. “I’m explaining what you told me about the Trial of Aeons to them…uh, do you still remember them?”

Dust looked at Claud, and then at Lily, before frowning. “Jog my memory a bit, count.”

“They helped you deal with the bandits that were pillaging your logistics train,” Lostfon replied. “Remember? They brought back the civilians and I settled them into the town, which is why all of them are busy pestering the babies of your race.”

“Did you really need to bring up that last part? I keep getting complaints, you know. Their parents keep saying that you humans stuff them with so much good food that you lot spoiled their tastebuds.”

Claud froze. That sentence wouldn’t have been that off if it was referring to humans. Exchanging glances with Lily, the two of them engaged in a non-verbal conversation about how different types of lifeforms seemed to be very similar, even if their appearances were very diverse. It was an eye-opener to Claud, but at the same time, he also felt bad.

After all, this was further proof that the Shadowed Ones were not that different from humans after all. They were not monstrous enemies that he needed to kill, but…

That said, the him in that future hadn’t thought that way, or had given up on thinking that way. Claud wasn’t sure what to make of this, but…

Lily sent a sad smile in his direction, and Claud forced himself to recover. Fortunately, the two old friends were now gossiping about who fed which baby what, so none of them had noticed the anomaly in his emotions. Their conversation, however, was a stark reminder to Claud that he had probably killed off the parents of an entire generation for both the Moons and the Dark when he struck.

Did he have any regrets? Claud wasn’t sure, but if he knew all this, he would have at least used more caution in his approach to dealing with the enemy.

He sighed.

“Something wrong, Lord Primus?”

“I’m just thinking about the general state of affairs,” Claud flubbed, using the favourite tactic that low level government clerks liked to use. “About what to do, and what not to do. Do you two not have regrets at times? When you did certain actions, only to realise that you should have been more meticulous, more cautious?”

The two of them looked at Claud, and then pondered on his words.

“We all have regrets,” Dust replied, gesturing once. “But you can’t turn back time. I stopped thinking about them after a while.”

“True, true. Thinking about them damages your mental state. Why, whenever I remember how I tried to pursue my wife when I was a teenager back then, I feel like rolling on the floor and crying,” Count Lostfon chipped in. “The adult me was a lot better in that regard, but it’s these things that make me roll around…”

Claud decided to stop asking them. Clearly, his troubles and their troubles were on completely different dimensions, not to mention the possibility of Dust chasing after him and screaming bloody murderer if she found out he was the fellow who wiped out an entire army.

Lily, who had noticed his distress, cleared her throat. “Right, do you guys have any defensive artefacts? The more, the better. And maybe some one-off artefacts that have incredible offensive and defensive capabilities too. We’ll need that for the coming months.”

“Artefacts? Perfect. If you didn’t know, Lostfon is actually a place with lots of artefacts. I was deliberating on what to give you, but if you guys need artefacts with extraordinary effects, this is easy.” Count Lostfon rubbed his hands. “Right, are you guys going to travel soon? I have this very convenient artefact that can allow you two to move at extreme speeds without mana walking!”

“Oh?”

“And it’s comfortable to boot! You won’t need to walk or anything; you guys need to sit down!” Lostfon added.

“Okay, I’m in,” Lily immediately replied. “So, what artefact is it?”

“You have such a thing?” Dust asked.

“Yeah, but it’s not useful now, since travelling is impossible…you do know that there’s a war going on, right?” Lostfon asked. “Right smack dab in the middle of Nihila. We’re lucky this place isn’t the battlefield.”

“The Moons are on the backfoot, so the warfront is shifting away from your county. Relax.” Dust yawned. “We’re slacking off here…anyway, why do you two need more defensive artefacts? It’s safe here.”

“Things are probably about to take a turn for worse,” Claud replied, his mind spinning rapidly. “Yes, the Red God might be going insane. Preparing ourselves for the worst is the minimum we should do.”

“The Red God?” Count Lostfon asked.

“Along with the other Coloured Gods who lost their Bearers of Destiny, presumably. Now that more than half their number have perished, I don’t think the Coloured Gods can sit back and relax. Things are about to get very iffy,” Claud continued, coming up with a plan to rope the great Dark into resisting whatever the Red God would soon do to him and Lily.

“…That’s a good point,” Dust acknowledged.

“I think your bosses might know already, but better to be safe…”