Nightfall Palace…or not, actually. The city administration for Licencia was actually a small building to the left of the glamorous palace itself. Claud was surprised to hear about how everyone — including Nightfall himself — went over to the small dull building to work every day, but on hindsight, it did make sense. Being surrounded by luxury would probably distract even the most focused on individuals over time.
That didn't stop Claud from wanting to go in, though, but he wasn't thick-skinned enough to enter the palace when everyone else was walking over to the drab flat that was adjacent to the Nightfall Palace.
"Yeah, no chance of going in unless we get an invitation," said Captain Blake. "Pity. Well, on the bright side, we can at least handle most of the issues in a small space."
"You sound familiar with this place," said Lily. "Do you visit the administration often?"
"Every time some case that makes me want to retire shows up," Captain Blake replied. "There's always something big happening every few months or so, but I didn't expect us to be saddled with the search for Tot and Zulan Patra at the same time."
"Right." Claud bobbed his head. "Tot. We were told to look for him. Nightfall was of the opinion that the Thief of Time might have held Zulan Patra in custody, but I suppose the truth's scarier than fiction, eh?"
"Why would an old monster from the Third Godsfall do anything like that?"
"Beats me, but maybe the count knows something we don't," Lily replied.
Claud could only roll his eyes, because there was absolutely no way he was capable of doing something as stupendously idiotic as holding Zulan Patra captive. If push came to shove and he came to blows with the Spear of Fate with no way out, he would activate Absolute One, and then all his skills at once, before rushing out to give the bugger the biggest smack of his life.
If it worked, great. If it didn't, there wasn't anything else left to lose in the first place, so all was fine. Letting a hostile tetra-folder live was not something he could risk. It was one thing to spare vanillas, but another to spare such a terrifying opponent.
More importantly, though, all this was just him speaking out of his hat.
It was just him being brave.
"I really doubt that," said Claud. "I think he's just trying to shift the…huh. Maybe he knew about Zulan Patra's death and wanted to shift it to Tot?"
"Doesn't make sense. If Tot got mad, that would be the end of the count," said Lily. "I think the murderer's the one who wants to shift it to Tot, though. I mean, Zulan Patra crossed the Thief of Time before, and everyone knows that the latter's presence has been intensifying in Licencia recently. The murderer killed Zulan Patra and dumped his corpse here to make everyone think that it's Tot."
"Huh. That's very plausible, yes." Claud nodded. "I could totally see that."
After all, back when they arrived at Nachtville to take shelter from the Tri-Head Snake, quite a few people had assumed that Tot was the person behind the Tri-Head Snake's rampage. Fortunately, nothing substantive had come out from it back then, but Claud had the sinking feeling that his other persona, elevated to mythological levels, was about to be framed for yet another crime again.
"Right?"
"Alright, the two of you. Enough with the conspiracy theories," said Captain Blake. "I, for one, don't buy this theory. Think about it logically — the difference between Zulan Patra and Tot has to be at least three mana-folds. Why would such an exalted being kill a measly tetra-folder in such a grisly way? Anyone with half a mind would be suspicious to a point."
Claud couldn't help but wryly note that the captain was actually right about the difference in strength. Indeed, the difference between Tot and the Spear of Fate was three mana circuits — just that it was flipped.
A bunch of butlers and maids accosted Claud and the others as they walked into the wide-open door, a sight that truly epitomised the arrogance of the nobles. Their doors were open purely because they believed that no one would dare to barge into the place…and well, also because there were more than enough guards around the area.
It was quite the contradictory setup, now that Claud thought about it. Either way, however, this was a place completely accessible to him, who had Presence Nullification…but it was better to be careful anyway.
The foyer of the building was a lot more luxurious than its drab exterior suggested, although the luxury mainly came from the quaint, minimalist interior. Other than a lavish reception table in the middle, there was virtually nothing else of note.
"The doors you see everywhere on the first floor belong to that of the guards stationed here. It's a living space for them," Captain Blake explained. "I must say, though, the Nightfall guards get better treatment than us city guards."
"Why not just join them, then?"
"Please. The commander of any city's guards has to be a mana-folder. I'm just a step away from being furnished with lots and lots of lifestones, you know," Captain Blake replied. "These guys here have it easier, but that also means that they'll never be provided enough lifestones to become a one-folder."
Claud briefly debated about the utility of telling him about a sub-folder, but if he didn't know that…either way, it would draw attention to himself. If it ever got out that he told normal people about the existence of sub-folders, it was possible that some noble might be displeased by his actions. Sure, he didn't quite care for them, but pissing off people had a nasty way of biting one's ass in unexpected ways at the worst of times.
The captain waved at the receptionist. "Morning, Cindy."
"Good morning to you…or not. Bad morning, then." The receptionist glanced at Claud and Lily, before nodding. "From the Moon Lords, no? I recognise your faces. You're…Lily, and you're Claud."
"That's us!"
"Right on the lifestones." Claud nodded at her.
"I wish you three could have made your acquaintance under more pleasant circumstance," said Blake, "but I'm afraid the pleasantries must wait."
"So…horrible morning?" Cindy asked, the bun of her hair quivering with what seemed to be curiosity.
"Worse." The captain let out a sigh. "Once again, our little city will be beset by the people of the White Church, demanding to know about the death of their Blessed."
"Yeowch. Who died?" Cindy asked.
"Guess."
"A priest of theirs? Wait, I didn't know we had priests from the White Church actually around, though."
"If only it was a priest who died," Captain Blake replied. "No. The freaking Spear of Fate had to die in this bloody city. He couldn't have died outside, no. By the Moons, no. He was killed in a horrible way. Half the head's gone, along with the brain, and his inwards were taken out for some gruesome, perverse reason."
Cindy winced. "What kind of morning is this, then?"
"A Moondamned one, that's what. We can add to that the scale of mornings from now on," said Blake. "I want to retire…"
"That's the twenty-second time I heard you say that, ever since I became a receptionist." Cindy took out a sandwich and offered it to Captain Blake. "Want some?"
"Thank you for your kind intentions, but the smell of the murder case is still burning brightly in my brain," the captain replied. "I might throw up if I eat your delicious sandwich now, and that's going to be a real waste."
"Oh." She paused for a moment. "Well, good luck, then! I'll save this sandwich for you. Maybe you'll feel up to eating it after you return."
"…Thank you for your concern." The captain inclined his head. "Unfortunately, yet another onerous task awaits. Is Her Grace in?"
"Yes," Cindy replied. "Thankfully."
The two exchanged knowing looks, before sighing. From the looks of it, the stand-in for Count Nightfall's fiancée if she was ever absent, wasn't a nice person or anything. However, his abundant years of living on the street and keeping an ear out for any treasures or traps told him it was a good idea to shut up at this juncture, lest the walls grew ears.
"Huh," said Lily. "What do you—"
Claud felt his heart skip a beat, and he hurriedly interrupted Lily by saying, "Right, we've been wearing our masks for a few hours. We should take them off now; we might be able to reuse them if we're lucky."
"Reuse? What, are we going to go back there again?" Lily asked.
It was good that she had been distracted by that sudden injunction, but Claud couldn't help but feel sorry for the other guards that had followed them in, whose faces were now as pale as paper.
"M-maybe. Maybe not." Claud cleared his throat. "Well, we should really be reporting to the count's fiancée…what's her name, though?"
"Don't worry, buddy. Leave it all to me." Captain Blake thumped his chest. "Come on. Let's not keep her waiting."