“How, in the name of the Moons, did you manage to secure so many skillsticks that deal with the removal of ailments?” Schwarz stared at the pile of wooden sticks. “Even by eyeballing it, there has to be more than a hundred here.”

“Well, they are very useful,” Claud replied. “And that’s not all.”

He placed a small bag onto the table. “Here. A bunch of artefacts that deal with the removal of abnormal effects too. They’re not that expensive, since they can only be used once a day, but that’s still better than nothing.”

“…Well, someone’s prepared.”

“Someone had the guards to hypnotise me,” Claud replied. “And I don’t like it. As expected, I should use one of them after I talk to someone…”

Lily, who was standing to his right, tilted her head. “Now that I think about it, it’s odd that you weren’t doing that all along. Any particular reason why?”

“Reason…I found it a hassle, I guess.” Claud thought about it for a moment. He did do that long ago, but unlike his physical precautions, these preparations hadn’t proven to be useful. After all, mental skills were rare, and back then, he had been training his Cleanse skill too by using them every day.

“But you didn’t find setting up a hassle?” Lily blinked. “That just doesn’t make sense.”

“I used to do it,” said Claud. “But since no one ever thought to use skills that inflicted abnormal effects on me, the lack of any discernible outcomes eventually made me stop doing it.”

Also, Crown probably had the ability to ward off some mental ailments, but this looked like a not-so-alike twin that managed to slip by.

“…I have a lot of questions,” said Lily, who was stealing peeks at him as he spoke, “including the worrying implication that your paranoia actually saved you multiple times, but we should leave that for later.”

Claud thought about the multiple incidents in which muggers and ne’er-do-wells had tried to do something bad to him, only to be fended by his ample preparations. These incidents had showed him the utility of being physically prepared, and as for today…

“Right. Our plan.” Claud cleared his throat. “So, someone hypnotised me into thinking that I didn’t need to patrol the base of the city walls earlier this morning, while I was doing my usual rounds. Lily, however, pointed out the anomaly, and I realised that my thought process was abnormal.”

“Hmm.” Schwarz tapped his fingers on the table, before picking up three skillsticks. “Well, that’s really fishy, isn’t it? Glad Lily picked up on it. Solo operators can have it tough at times…”

“Yeah, we should investigate it,” said Dia, who had been staring silently at the pile of skillsticks on the table right until now. “Definitely.”

“Something on your mind?” Claud asked, curious.

“Just wondering. Skills that affect the mind…I’m wondering if we should take preparations from now on,” said Dia. “I haven’t forgotten that poor fellow back then, and how suicidal he was. If one of you guys turned into that…”

“Yeah,” Lily muttered. “I won’t be able to take it, if nothing else.”

Slapping her face lightly, she perked herself up. “That’s why we should check out what they’re hiding, and make sure to be a lot more cautious from now on. Right?”

Claud found her words very agreeable.

After divvying up the equipment — Risti and Farah were too busy to come along, unfortunately — Claud and Lily led the way out of Moon Mansion, masks on and all. Usually, they would remove their masks after finding some cover to prevent random pedestrians from identifying them with ease, but this was different.

This was them moving out in an official capacity.

Of course, none of them were going to put on airs; if they did, it would be no different from yelling out their true identities. It was better to stick together and move unobtrusively, like a normal patrol from the Moon Lords.

Caution was needed in this regard. Although only a small part of Licencia knew about the Moon Lords’ appearance and identity, Schwarz was too famous to enjoy this benefit. Triple-D was a well-known place, with an equally well-known bartender, which meant that everyone would be paying attention whenever he stepped out of Moon Mansion.

“Right, I still need to deal with the issue of people watching over the entrance directly,” Claud muttered.

“What about that?” Schwarz asked, his voice equally quiet.

“Well, there’s only so many people who stay in Moon Mansion,” Lily replied.

Claud, who was about to say something along his lines, nodded.

“Hmm. Makes sense, Cla—wait. Huh. Well, Lily, it seems that your little trip with him has given you insight into how he thinks and acts. It’s definitely a valuable skill, if nothing else.”

“That also does explain why you’ve learned to use the environment when sparring,” Dia chimed in. “Why, I didn’t expect you to be the kind to toss up sand with your sword, or to use all kinds of little tricks. Seems like someone’s been a bad influence on you.”

“Hey.” Claud eyed Dia, but it was unfortunate that she couldn’t quite see him roll his eyes through a mask. “I take offence to that characterisation. Lily’s not going to fight in a tournament, right? Being upright and all is nice, if you’re facing opponents in a tournament, but this world isn’t run on such ideal rules.”

“Placing one’s attention on little tricks only detract from the pursuit of perfection,” Dia shot back. “Instead of focusing on cheap tricks to overcome the opponent, focusing on defence would be far better. Using tricks only create openings for your enemy.”

“That’s only if you’re sufficiently skilled to the point that your defence is perfect,” Claud shot back. He had heard enough of such stories to know that no one could actually maintain a perfect defence. Fights were about making the opponent slip up, and then exploiting the holes that appear.

“Yes, and Lily is skilled enough to maintain a perfect defence for fifteen minutes. She has the focus and the skill to do that, unlike a certain bartender.”

“Hey!”

Ignoring Schwarz’s indignant outburst, Claud said, “Given a choice, I am of the opinion that ending the fight as soon as possible is for the best. If you cannot defeat the opponent in a short period of time, running is infinitely better.”

“That’s not fighting, then.” Dia crossed her arms.

“It isn’t, but what’s the point of tiring yourself out? Even if you win, the resulting commotion would probably have drawn other people over, people without good motivations. You’re weakened, out of trump cards…easy pickings.” Claud turned his gaze to Dia, and then to Lily. “Live on. Anything else can wait. Revenge, whatever. Live on first, and then anything else.”

“Claud…”

Lily placed a hand on his shoulder. “I’ll do that, so…don’t be this sad, okay?”

“S-sad?” Claud jerked. “I’m not sad. I’m not. I’m not. Okay?”

He took a deep breath. There were some things he couldn’t quite control, and for that, he was thankful that a mask was currently on his face.

Schwarz glanced at him. “There’s some apple juice always waiting for you, buddy.”

“Thanks,” Claud replied. “I have my own stock of fizzy drinks, though. You wanted some, right? Y’all should hop over to my place and grab a barrel or two. There’s too many now.”

“Hmm. I’ll take you up on that offer then,” Schwarz replied. Claud couldn’t see it through the mask, but he was willing to bet that the bartender actually wasn’t wearing his usual grin, but rather, something more morose.

“Hmm.” Dia turned to look at him.

“What?” Claud shivered. He couldn’t see Dia’s piercing eyes, but he could easily imagine them in his mind’s eye. Did she notice something?

“No, nothing.” She turned back. “Alright, let’s make haste. We’ve wasted quite a bit of time arguing over little things like this…Lily, you make your own choice as to what to do. Maybe act according to context or something.”

“…That wasn’t what you just said, was it?” Claud muttered.

“I changed my mind, alright?” Dia sighed. “Yes, your points are very valid. This is not a kind world. I…should lay down some of my old ideals. I should have known that from the start, but I guess old habits die hard.”

With that, she hastened her pace. After a few more minutes of walking, they arrived at the base of the city walls. Claud’s planned route usually took them to the guardhouse first, but since there were probably some bad guys there, they were going to avoid getting spotted by them.

“So, we’re looking for any hints of tunnels or secret passages, right?” Schwarz asked.

“Correct. Of course, if you see anything else suspicious, we can also check it out,” Claud replied. “I’m not all-seeing. And there might be something that I didn’t expect. That’s why the more, the merrier.”

He looked around the city walls ruefully. “I imagine Count Nightfall would have a lot to say if someone tunnelled through the base of these walls.”

“Let’s hope that nothing of that sort happens, then.”