Silence was busy enforcing its rule and dominance in the dining room when Dia followed Schwarz in. The two of them immediately located the source of the oppressive silence — Farah, who had shut her eyes so tightly that her facial muscles were straining.

“Something wr—”

Everyone made a shushing gesture, and Dia fell silent. Minutes crawled by in silence, a silence that grew heavier and heavier. She didn’t know what was going on, but from the look on Farah’s face, Dia had a feeling that she was currently accessing the information space that the nobles had.

Farah’s eyes flew open as that thought flickered through her mind, and her lips twisted into a wan smile. “Well, everyone. I have good news and bad news. Let’s start with the good news first, shall we?”

She looked around. “The good news is, that from the nice smell wafting into the room, it seems that lunch is ready. Unfortunately, it seems that we might not be able to enjoy it slowly. A Moon Emissary — the only one to appear in the dukedom, with its origin as Daybreak County — is currently headed in our direction. While one might say it’s just a coincidence…”

Farah took a deep breath. “Count Daybreak just sent a report. His county is currently home to a bunch of white light, in the shape of humanoids. Those light forms have already seized control over the city.”

“Milady,” said Lloyd, “what about your home?”

“They’re…fine. It seems that these beings are only interested in securing territories that have lots of people. To disarm them, I guess. Prevent them from rising up and everything.” Farah took a deep breath. “On the bright side, Count Nightfall is about to return.”

“Not sure how good of a bright side that is,” said Claud. “How strong is a Moon Emissary?”

“I’d wager it’ll be a match for me, and then some.” said Nero.

“A tetra-folder? If you team up with Holy Daughter Clarissa and the two rulers of Licencia, we should be able to take it down...probably,” said Schwarz. “But what then? There still six other Moon Emissaries, and if all of them come here…”

He shook his head. “But that’s something Caroline and Nightfall would need to work out on their own.”

“Not just that, but they’re entirely different beings. We have six trump cards; six skills, but Moon Emissaries are beings of the Moons. What can they do? What can’t they do? How strong are they?” Nero leaned forward. “It would be best for us if we were to assume that they are beings with superior physical capabilities and a high mana capacity — assuming they even use mana to begin with.”

“And let’s not get started about the issue of skills,” Claud added. “Do Moon Emissaries use skills? What kind of skills? How many do they have? Are they all level one?”

“So we’re blinded, imprisoned and completely clueless about how the enemies are,” Risti muttered. “Great. Just great.”

“That’s putting it rather mildly. We also don’t know what their common foot soldiers are like,” said Farah. “We need to be concerned about them too. Daybreak has no idea how the Moons’ foot soldiers are being summoned, but he’s already probing them. For now, it’s clear that they don’t need food or water. They’re also…like automatons. Dedicated to whatever they’re doing.”

“…So, not alive?”

“Maybe not,” Farah noted. “Daybreak’s busy trying to abduct one now for…err, testing. I’ll tell you the results when he releases them.”

“Testing?” Dia asked.

“Yeah. I think he intends to cut them up and learn about their traits,” Farah replied. “Icky and very unethical, but we aren’t playing on the same field to begin with.”

“Let’s put that aside for now,” said Nero. “The more important thing is to deal with the incoming Moon Emissary. If they’re targeting areas with significant populations, that Moon Emissary is definitely going to swing by here in the next few hours and raise an army while it’s at it.”

“Are we going to deal with it?”

“…Good question.”

Everyone mulled over the tricky question. If they fought the Moon Emissary, even if they killed it, the other Moon Emissaries would probably congregate on the spot. If they didn’t…”

“Wait. Do we even have the ability to deal with the Moon Emissary? At most, it’s Nero.” Claud folded his arms. “And it’s not really something someone from Nihal is obligated to participate in either. You have an obligation to stay alive for your own people too.”

Dia found herself surprised by Claud’s words. She had expected him to persuade Nero into fighting, especially since Nero was one heck of a protective charm. However…

“Are you alright?” Schwarz asked, shooting a glance at Claud. “That sure doesn’t seem like something you would say.”

“Nero has family and friends at home. It will not do for him to die here, especially after what he went through the past few years as a thrall,” Claud replied. “He has a responsibility to make it back alive and console his family. Dying here is not his job.”

“…Family, huh?” Nero nodded. “Thanks.”

“Nothing’s more important than family. And to be honest, I don’t think the Moon Emissary’s arrival is going to affect us directly, unless it attracts a horde or something,” said Claud. “It sounds like a dereliction of duty, I know. Maybe I lost my nerve. Either way, however, we weren’t formed to fight monsters like this.”

“We’re backing down?” Farah asked.

“No. We’re leaving the decision to Nightfall and Caroline,” Claud corrected. “It’s not in our place to make decisions for the people of Licencia. This is Nightfall’s home. He must choose his own course of action. And Nero isn’t part of the Moon Lords, strictly speaking.”

“Even though he’s been living with us,” Risti quipped.

Schwarz chuckled. “And joining in our conversations.”

“While providing some input,” Dia added. “Seems like he’s actually part of the Moon Lords, just that he doesn’t have a role.”

“How about mascot?” Lily suggested.

“Me, a mascot?” Nero blinked. “Do I need to look cute or something? Or should I dress up like the Pontiff of the Black Church?”

Claud slapped his forehead, a sound so audible that everyone else found themselves laughing at it.

“What?” Claud said, irritated. “You guys are just bent on opposing me, right? Sheesh. I’m giving Nero an out here, and you guys just turn everything on its head. Fine, whatever. Do what you want. I’ve spoken my piece here.”

He made a few little huffs, before closing his eyes. Everyone else laughed once more at the little tantrum Claud was throwing, which lasted for half a minute or so, before Farah cleared her throat.

“Okay, we’ll just leave the strategic thinking up to Caroline and the others, then.”

“Fine with me,” said Schwarz. “We’ll also prepare the other members of the Moon Lords, in case the Moon Emissary decides to do anything funny. I checked the armoury a few days ago; we have enough weapons to arm everyone. Our fixed defences, like the ballistae are also functioning perfectly, and we have some onagers ready to go at any time.”

“What are we, a private army?” Risti muttered. “Why do we have siege weapons? Onagers are mobile catapults, right? Next thing you’ll tell me is that we have a few battering rams too.”

“How did you know that?” Schwarz asked. “Claud got it, in case an enemy decided to blockade Moon Street by building a few fortifications there. I’m not sure why he saw the need for a battering ram, though…”

Claud opened an eye. “Well, in case the target proved to be too sturdy for projectiles to break through. Battering rams are better in that regard, and besides, it’s always better to have one of everything.”

“Always prepared for anything, I guess. But only one?” Risti asked. “I thought you would get three. One for use, one as a backup, and one as a backup for the backup.”

“I would, but there wasn’t enough stock. Nightfall was buying everything the city had, and he wasn’t keen on sharing either,” Claud replied. “Bah. I’m wondering if we can nail that Moon Emissary with a well-placed ballista, though.”

“That would be a long shot,” Schwarz replied. “Pun intended.”

“Get out of here,” Claud replied. “Right, is lunch done? I’m starving, and I swear your chef just finished cooking a few minutes ago.”

“He’s being sensitive, you twat,” Schwarz replied. “Can’t bust into a room with people talking about important things, right? That’s what professionalism is.”

“Fine.”

Dia watched the two of them as they bickered over random issues, and then found a smile crawling up her face. Despite the bad news headed their way — literally, she might add — there was always joy to be found in some places. The days never seemed to go by peacefully, and there were always things she would be afraid of, but at the very least…there were still little specks of light here and there.

Taking a deep breath, she gathered her resolve…and the aromatic smell of roasted chicken.

Lunch was served.