A tired Schwarz popped his head out of Moon Mansion as Farah led Claud and Lily inside. His mouth, which was on the verge of spouting out some words, began to flap in the wind, opening and closing silently for a few seconds.
"Yes, we're back. I know, we're early. Things happened, but we're all right." Claud paused. "Did I miss out any other question?"
The bartender's face cramped up, and it took another ten seconds before he could speak. His chest visibly expanding, Schwarz took out a small flask — the bartender had five such flasks tucked around his belt — and handed it to Lily.
"Hey, where's mine?" Claud asked.
"It's here, you penny-pinching miserly coward." Schwarz punched his shoulder lightly, before pulling Claud into a hug. "Welcome back, fool. How did your trade go? Lily, did you settle your issues?"
"It went well," Claud replied.
"I've settled them thoroughly," Lily replied. "I think it was on the news or something."
"You really blew up your family home?" The bartender turned to Claud. "When did you dabble in explosive artefacts? I thought you had a very healthy fear of them. Whatever. No explosives in the mansion. If a room blows up, you're going to pay for it."
"Hold your horses, old man." Claud shook his head. "Why did you automatically assume that I have anything to do with explosives? Like you said, I'm a coward. Why would I deal with such awesomely dangerous items?"
"Are you telling me that it's Lily? C'mon. Don't lie to me. Why would she play with such dangerous things?"
Claud rolled his eyes and turned to Lily, feeling a touch of outrage as he moved. Shrugging, he gestured at the equally-amused explosive expert. "I'm not carrying that label. You explain."
"Yes, it's really me," said Lily.
"You?"
Farah and Schwarz shook their heads as one entity.
"Look," said Farah, "I don't know what this Claud did for you to be so cooperative, but there's a limit such coddling can go to. Is it anything shady? You can speak up, you know! I have a greatsword with his name written on it."
Claud's mouth fell open, but before he could protest, Schwarz had jumped in to speak too.
"Lily, don't worry. This guy won't put up a fight. If he really took advantage of you, you don't need to give in to his blackmail. We'll bear the stuffing out of him until you're satisfied, okay? What, did he not allow you to speak? Well, you can still keep your promise by nodding or shaking your head; we'll still beat the stuffing out of him." The bartender took a deep breath. "Claud, you've disappointed me."
The master thief opened his mouth, before clamping it shut, his mind racing the whole time.
"Look," said Claud, "how about this? I go into my room for a moment, and then you two ask her about the whole thing once more. Sheesh. What's with your hyperactive imaginations?"
Schwarz eyed him for a moment, and as Claud stared back, he could see the former's lips twitch.
"Wait a moment," Claud muttered, his eyes narrowed. "You boorish bartender. You were just making fun of me, weren't you? And you, countess, did you literally just play along in trying to tease me?"
"Oops."
"Run!"
The two bolted off into two separate directions, and after sparing a moment to think about which quarry would net him the most satisfaction, Claud chased after Schwarz.
"Get back here, you boorish bartender!"
"Go chase the countess!"
"Do I look like a fool? Why would I chase a mana-user? You're the easier target!"
The chase continued for a few seconds, before Claud reached out and grabbed the bartender's shirt. Yanking him back, Claud walloped the prankster with some light blows, before pulling him back into Moon Mansion, where Lily and Farah were having some tea.
Tossing the prankster onto the floor, Claud found a seat and poured out some tea for himself. "So, what's with the very odd news recently? A tri-folder fought with Count Nightfall, you guys suddenly becoming heroes…what gives?"
Raising his head weakly, Schwarz pushed himself up from his prone position. "It's partially your fault."
"My fault?" Claud asked, his eyes wide open. Glancing at Lily, he said, "I didn't provoke anyone while we were out there, did I? What does a tri-folder running over to attack Licencia have to do with me?"
"No, the tri-folder was already in Licencia to begin with," Farah replied.
"And I'm involved how?"
"Well, it's a rather long story. Remember those letters you prepared for us, in case something happened while you were away?" Schwarz asked. "Those envelopes with lots of options and things?"
"Yes, what of it?"
"Well, we did receive a threat from Count Nightfall some time ago. He wanted to meet us, and…"
For the next fifteen minutes, the bartender explained in detail about the events that had occurred. The count had apparently noticed their little organisation. Desiring to absorb it, he sent the Moon Lords — which was everyone except for him and Lily at that time — a letter, inviting them to a dinner or something. Schwarz and the others felt threatened by that invitation, and then they remembered the letters that Claud had spent a few hours writing out.
"Which letter did you send, then?" Claud asked.
"The one where he would grievously injure a Shadow of Grandis," Farah replied.
"Ah, the less drastic option for situations like that," Claud noted. "What happened next?"
"An hour or so later, Count Nightfall and the tri-folder who were leading the Shadows came to blows," Farah replied. "The latter used Arms Master, which was a skill that released energy waves for every slash the user released, which resulted in great damage to the city."
Claud blinked. "That's probably on me, I guess."
"And on everyone else here," Farah replied. "Therefore, we decided to help the count."
"And how, pray tell, did you do that?" Lily asked.
"Well, good Claud here thought that it would be nice to install ballistae in Moon Mansion. Remotely-controlled ballistae that could puncture a wall and break it down." Schwarz glanced at the master thief.
"You used the ballistae?" Claud asked. "You do know that it's illegal, right? Why would you go and use it in front of the count himself of all people? Fine, whatever. What's done is done. So? You shot down that bugger, and the Count came over to conscript everyone as punishment?"
"Well, we're actually working in a collaborative agreement. We control the underworld, defend the city while he's off fighting with his bi-folders, and we earn some sweet loot in return," Schwarz replied.
"It's not like you had much of a choice, I guess," Claud muttered. "Fine. It's not like I can berate anyone; we're all equals here, as per the contract."
"Glad you see it that way." Farah turned to Lily. "Any objections?"
"None in particular, but would you like to purchase some bombs from me?" Lily asked, an impish grin on her face.
"Right, what about your side?" Farah asked. "I heard that there was a huge commotion about murders and a Tri-Head Snake that blocked off the road to Licencia."
"Oh, you'll never believe it."
As Lily talked about the events that had transpired on their side, Claud found his mind wandering to the future of the Moon Lords. Now that they had joined up with Count Nightfall, they were actually safer, since the ruler of this city was backing them. However, the hearts of nobles, especially ruling ones, were fickle. If Count Nightfall ever found out about his identity as Tot, or even his Absolute One…
The master thief decided to make some plans. There was no helping it; even if he had to go behind the backs of everyone else, ensuring a route of survival was the least he could do. As the person responsible for everyone's security, Claud was prepared to burn the midnight oil and work hard.
'Still, how would I go about it? This is quite the thorny issue…'
"Claud?" Lily asked. "What's wrong?"
The master thief glanced up, to see three sets of concerned gazes fall on him, and he smiled. "I'm fine. Just lost in thought. Things like this happen all the time to me, so don't be worried."
"You sure? You didn't do anything stupid, did you?" Schwarz asked.
Lily, who was aware of the true nature of Claud's time-sensitive high efficiency trade runs, glanced at Schwarz, and Claud found himself stifling a smile. "I'm really fine, yes. Nothing big happened to me, so it's all fine."
"Right, what resources did you get?" Schwarz asked.
"Enough to fund our operations for a while," Claud replied. "Why? Do you want to help me deal with them?"
"It'll be more profitable for us if I did," Schwarz answered, before making some odd movements with his eyes. Claud immediately recognised those movements as a request to speak privately later, so he just nodded along. After apologising to Lily for interrupting her words, he returned to his thoughts and let her expound on the small bits of their journey.
For the first time in a few days, he felt safe.