After a nice, fluffy breakfast, which was a well-cooked omelette with some onions, Dia leaned back on her chair and sighed. The warm breakfast, when coupled with the destress session earlier, had gotten her into a comfortable mood, and the urge to curl up on her bed and nap away nibbled away at her insides.
"Alright," said the bartender. "Let's get down to business, okay?"
Some choice thoughts popped up in Dia's mind, but she didn't voice them out loud. It wasn't Schwarz's fault that she was peeved, and besides, he had stated earlier that they were going to have a meeting to deal with Zulan Patra's murderer, who may or may not be the Third Bearer of Destiny.
"Pour us some apple juice first," said Claud.
"You and your apple juice." Schwarz rolled his eyes. "What happened to the barrel of fizz? You said you'd bring some over, right?"
"Oh, right." Claud tilted his head. "Alright, give me a moment while I lug it into the room."
As he left the room, Risti made a small yawn. "Right, Schwarz, how did you and Claud know each other? You two seem like rather close friends, rather than just bartender and patron."
"Is this really the right time to ask about things like this?" Schwarz replied, rolling his eyes.
"Okay, then, what's the right time to ask?" Farah chipped in.
"You too?" Schwarz glanced at the countess. "Why so curious?"
"Hard not to be, considering how that punk managed to nearly solve our conundrum without actually being present at that moment," Farah replied. "Ordinary people don't have that breadth of planning and analysis. Don't you think that Claud's a bit…shady?"
"Shady?" Schwarz laughed. "Who here isn't shady? You're a countess of another county, hoping to leech off resources to build up your impoverished territory, Lily just came back from enacting vigilante justice, I'm not sure what Dia's goal in all this is anymore, and Risti's being Risti."
"Hey!"
"What?" The bartender grinned at Risti. "You have so many skills dedicated to observation and intelligence that I want to kneel down and beg you to teach me…if not for the fact that my own skills are important too."
Dia tapped her nose. Indeed, the threat of the Shadows chasing her had abated, with the Moon Lords now an Associate Power of the Nightfall administration. It was understandable why Schwarz was confused, since she wasn't actually drawing attention away from her alleged mistress anymore.
Probably, anyway. Dia herself was somewhat confused, but her overall purpose — to stay safe until Emperor Grandis issued an amnesty for the guards — remained the same. It was possible that Ruler Umbra's death would be soon forgotten too, as a footnote in the annals of history, and she would be able to sneak back into the Lustre dukedom.
Assuming the dukedom wasn't destroyed by Istrel.
And well, immortal beings like Emperor Grandis had a very different definition of 'soon' too. It was very possible that the Emperor would close the case on Umbra's murder after a century or two.
Furthermore, her father was three and a half centuries old, a relatively young duke in the greater scheme of things. It was only recently that he decided to have a bunch of kids, and there was a non-zero chance that Dia would have a bunch of younger siblings by the time the Emperor decided to end the pursuit.
She glanced at Schwarz and Risti, who were now talking about some twins or whatnot, and then idly noted that the original conversation topic — how Schwarz and Claud knew each other — had been forgotten. Fortunately, Farah and Lily were now talking about the treatment of commoners in Julan and Farah County, which meant that the only person mourning over the change in topic was Dia herself.
After a minute or two, Claud returned to the living room, a heavy barrel on his right shoulder. Dia examined his body closely, but she couldn't see any blue light on him. Either he didn't need mana to carry something that was probably as heavy as her training sword, or his mana control wasn't all that bad.
"Alright," Claud replied, setting down the barrel with a resonant thump. "I'm back. So…how do we pour out drinks for everyone?"
"Leave it to me, bub." Schwarz produced a small ladle, before walking over to a nearby cupboard. He rummaged in it for a few seconds, and then brought back six dazzling cups.
"Are these cups made of pure gold?" Lily asked.
"Yeah. Cost me quite a bit, but having a set of ten gold cups is something good for the ego," he replied, before turning to the barrel. Little, odd crackles that made Dia lick her lips played in her ear as he undid the barrel, revealing a bubbly, purple beverage. A sweet scent wafted in the air, and Dia found herself gulping.
Smiling at the others, he produced a small ladle and filled up the cups, before sliding them over to everyone present. Dia picked it up immediately, before sniffing at the foreign beverage.
A bell rang before she could take a gulp.
"Hmm?" Everyone looked around.
"There's a visitor," Dia noted. "Who's going to—"
Everyone pointed at her before she could complete her sentence, even Lily.
"Really?" Dia ran her hand through her hair. "Fine, I'll go."
She glanced at the barrel, which was full to the brim. There really wasn't much point in stealing her cup, since there was an open barrel right beside the table, so she got up without much complaints. Making her way to the booth that governed entry in and out of Moon Mansion, Dia ground to a halt as she saw who the visitor was.
The count's fiancée, Caroline, was waiting outside with a sunny grin.
Fortunately, the dome was opaque from the outside, which meant that Dia could see Caroline, but not the other way around.
"Guys?" Dia called out into the house. "The count's fiancée just visited, and I think she's selling boiled eggs."
"Did you just say 'count's fiancée'?" Schwarz called out from inside.
"Yes, I did," Dia replied. "Now what?"
There was a moment of silence, and then Claud's voice came out from inside. "Process her entry via the booth —set the entry procedure for visitors. Make sure that she's the real thing and not some lookalike, and then disarm her if she's bringing anything nasty."
Dia blinked. "Is that—"
"Do it," Schwarz added. "You can explain to her with the excuse of recent affairs."
After thinking it through for a moment, Dia nodded and returned to the booth. There was a small control panel that governed the modes of entry, and after flicking the lever to what Claud specified, Dia headed over to the booth and relayed her instructions.
Somehow, Caroline was more than happy to comply, and after a minute, she crossed into the dome.
"This is so cool," Caroline replied. "So, erm. You must be the double, right?"
"D-double?" Dia blinked, and then ran through her whole cover story in her mind. "I'm the real thing!"
"Yeah, of course you are. And the same goes for the er, countess of Farah County." Caroline grinned. "Still, you guys are really hardcore. Aran was actually wondering why the Lustre princess was so popular — did you know he actually got depressed when he found out that she had fans in here? I mean, her home's an entire dukedom away, and yet…"
She cleared her throat. "Right. Sorry. I'm just so excited to see real fans like you four. Why do you guys idolise her so much?"
Because the others felt that my so-called deeds were worth their fanaticism? Dia rubbed her nose, but decided not to think too hard about it. She had asked them before, but…
Caroline glanced at her face. "Sorry. I mean, being her double is your job and all, so it really doesn't apply to you. But the other three ladies…and they're mana-users to boot too. I wonder what's going through their heads."
Dia's expression had probably been misinterpreted by Caroline, judging from that answer, but she wasn't too keen on correcting anything. Smiling gently by way of reply, she led the way into Moon Mansion.
For some reason, her first impression of Caroline seemed quite inaccurate. Back then, when she was talking to Holy Daughter Clarissa, her words and actions carried a sort of gravitas, which went well with Claud and Lily's assessment of Caroline as a no-nonsense person.
"Is something wrong?" Caroline blinked her eyes. That sensation of incongruity doubled down with that gesture, and Dia wondered, if only for a moment, if she was actually the real thing.
"N-no, nothing." Dia forced out a smile. "We were just surprised to have you visit us, considering the important personage in town now."
"Oh, Sudden Inspiration told me that it would be good if I were to visit you guys today, so I did," Caroline replied. "I hope you don't mind."
"Why would we?" Dia forced out another smile, and then ushered her into the house, where the others were waiting to receive her. "This way, then."
"Thank you!"