The sunlight streamed into the small room that Claud and Lily were sleeping in, and the master thief got up without much fuss. Gathering his wits , he dimly noted that it had been quite a few days since they left Licencia. It was Orangegott, the second day of the week, and if they had been on schedule, the two of them should have been at home by now.

Peering out of the window, Claud squinted his eyes and tried to look for any tints of orange in the sunlight-hewn air. Legend had it that the Coloured Gods would bless anyone who saw the day’s colour during sunrise with lots of luck. It wasn’t something Claud did everyday — most of the time, he was either not in a good place to look at the area outside the window, or he was fast asleep.

He gave up after a while. For one, orange mist was hard to locate under the sunlight, and second, he had never seen the thing for himself.

Washing up with some water, he began to dismantle the usual array of traps and bells that had been fixed around the door. The events of the previous night had been very uneventful; other than their conversation with the mercenaries, nothing else had happened. Most conversation at that time also revolved around the three-headed snake, which was now running around with a spear stuck in one of them, as well as the spreading rumour that Tot was a really dangerous fellow.

Other than that, it was a nice night. Claud had spent it on making some skillstrips, while Lily pulled a book out of somewhere and began to read it. It was the first time he’d seen her do that, but in his defence, this was the first time they actually had free time.

The fact that Claud had spent his free time to imbue skillstrips was indeed lamentable, when he thought about it.

Popping the last spring-triggered bola into his backpack, Claud returned to his bed and sat down on it. The two-person bed had been divided by a rolled-up blanket, but for some reason, Lily had actually suggested just sharing the blanket, since the nights were cold.

It was a display of how much she trusted him, but the problem was that Claud didn’t trust his sleeping self to not fidget and accidentally touch some sensitive bits. Therefore, the two of them had to brave a blanketless night. Unfortunate, but it was the safer option for Claud.

Once again, Lily had discarded her Princess Dia get-up, revealing a head of silky violet hair. Legend had it that when the Coloured Gods overthrew the Six Gods of Virtue, something fundamental changed within all life; one such change was the inexplicit additions to the ranks of natural hair colour. Apparently, long ago, the range of natural hair colour was actually really limited.

It was one of those many stories that Colidra had shared, but other than his verbal explanations, there really wasn’t much proof that those who predated the Third Godsfall had fewer natural hair colours.

“Still,” Claud murmured, “I don’t usually see violet hair around these parts.”

At those words, Lily rolled over to face him. Rubbing her eyes, she yawned and stretched in a manner that reminded him of a kitten. Her eyes, which were clouded over with the customary fog that followed a nice nap, cleared out within seconds, and she yawned again.

It was astounding just how much people stopped caring about their image after prolong co-existence, but Claud liked how genuine it felt.

“Did you say something about violet hair?” Lily asked, her languid voice making Claud himself sleepy.

“Tis one of those days, when I feel contemplative and thoughtful,” said Claud. “Pay no heed to it.”

“You’re awfully formal for some reason.”

“Like I said, one of those days.” Claud snuck a few glances at her dressing gown, but he didn’t quite understand why he felt guilty when he was appreciating beauty. It wasn’t the same one that she had worn a few days back, but it was still well-made all the same.

“I got this from an apparel shop in Pletsville,” said Lily.

Claud jumped. “Sorry. Was I that obvious? Did I make you uncomfortable?”

“If my dressing gown was capable of thinking, it would probably be uncomfortable,” said Lily. “But it’s not like you had any designs on me, right?”

“I’d say that your hair has a nice colour, though.” Shaking his head, Claud eyed the gown, but he had a feeling that reaching out to touch it might be crossing a line he didn’t quite understand.

“Aww, shucks.”

“Still, you brought this at Pletsville?” Claud asked, painfully aware that the small town was the first place he’d hidden at after the bungled heist at Duke Istrel’s treasury.

“Yeah, I was journeying around when I heard about Tot. A small group of folders had formed up within hours of his bounty being announced, and one of them claimed that she had located Tot,” Lily replied.

“Are you referring to Farah and the others?” Claud asked.

“Different group. For some reason, most of them changed direction halfway, but since I was running out of food, I decided to head to Pletsville. On the way, I came across Farah and Risti, who were fighting a bear, and then chipped in to help.”

“A bear…” Claud could vividly see Farah slapping the poor animal with her greatsword, and then chuckled at just how realistic it was.

“What are you chuckling about?”

“Sorry, it’s just my imagination. The image of that Farah slapping a bear with a greatsword under a forest canopy is so realistic I can’t help but chuckle,” Claud replied. “Give it a try, and maybe you’ll see what I mean.”

“Hmm…” She closed her eyes for a moment. “Sorry, but I keep thinking about how she smashed down a door.”

“Oh.” Rubbing the bridge of his nose, Claud said, “What about Iso—Dia?”

“Dia…uh, when the three of us were eating together in an inn, the innkeep led her to us. I guess it was quite obvious, since the four of us were wearing the same disguise.”

“Birds of a feather stick together…” Claud glanced at Lily, who was busy thinking about the first meeting. “Now that I think about it, she was actually quite odd. She had the makings of a professional and everything, but she was clearly someone of a high status too.”

“I guess being a double necessitates learning things like this,” Claud replied. “Among the four of you, she was indeed the best person to lead the search, but I did get that odd feeling of incongruity at times too.”

He thought about it for a while. It was probably because Isolde herself was affected by the sudden change in events. Her mistress had turned into a criminal, escaping the Lustre Dukedom overnight, leaving her without any instruction.

It was by no means an enviable position.

“You too?” Lily chuckled.

“Even though she’s a double, Iso—Dia probably lived a good life too. Being put in a position where she had to use skills and knowledge that were taught on the theoretical level resulted in why her behaviour felt odd to us,” said Claud. “Although she’s still in a better position than you, Risti and Farah.”

Lily bobbed her head, and then stretched once more. “What’s our plans for today?”

“Well, I don’t think travel’s a good idea at this point,” said Claud. “We’ll just sit back and have a few days of free time to ourselves.”

“Sounds good. There’s some books I haven’t read yet, and I do need to practice my swordplay…”

“Practice your swordplay?” Claud asked. “I thought you liked to use bombs and everything.”

“Well, I didn’t tell her that bit,” Lily replied. “So Dia thought I didn’t use any weapons…and she was particularly excited to train me in using one.”

“You didn’t turn her down?”

Lily widened her eyes and grabbed Claud’s hand, pulling it to her chest. “Do you want to learn how to use a sword?”

The master thief jumped and tried to retreat, only to feel the wall behind him. Lily broke down into laughter a moment later and released his hand. “That’s what she did. Could you say no to that?”

Claud muttered some choice words, and then said, “No.”

“Exactly.”

Trying his hardest to not relive that sensation he felt earlier, the master thief took a few deep breaths. “What did she ask you to do, then?”

“Well, she wanted me to find a sparring partner and practice. She then said that since you carried a sword, one that was used at that, you were a good partner for me, and that I should get you to train with me.”

“I’m not sure where she got that idea from, but…”

“Pretty please?”

“Well, I suppose it can’t hurt to get my arms moving,” said Claud. “And it’s not like I have anything else to do anyway. But you must lend me your book. I saw you reading First Light yesterday; I haven’t bought my own copy.”

“But I haven’t finished reading either!”

“No sparring with you, then.”

Lily pouted, and then eventually gave in, to Claud’s glee. After basking in his newfound joy for a moment, the master thief took out a piece of paper and started to write in it.

“Are you mailing the others a letter?” Lily asked.

“No, it’s just me working on some things…”