After their short dinner, Nero started up the mana wagon again. This time, however, Nero showed a lot of self-restraint — the lights attached to the mana wagon weren’t all that bright. To drive too quickly would probably result in a scenario where Caroline flayed the living daylights out of the Holy Son of the Black Church.

“So, how does it feel?” Nero asked. “To be a bi-folder. I never got to experience it much, since… well, you know. Accelerated circuit building and all.”

“Uh…it doesn’t feel particularly special,” Dia replied. “Sure, I feel a lot lighter and a lot faster, but it’s not what I’d call an achievement. Fundamentally, I still need to do something good, right? All that power has to do something. I haven’t done that something yet.”

“To do something, huh?” Nero pondered on her words. “Well, I haven’t done anything great or of importance either. I mean, I got knocked out, enthralled and probably murdered a few dozen people without any knowledge of it. The only reason why I’m not locked up yet is probably due to my status as Holy Son.”

“Doesn’t it hurt to say things this bluntly?” Dia eyed the seat Nero was sitting on. She really wanted to try her hand at the mana wagon, but if she damaged it, Caroline probably wouldn’t let it go. As much as she talked about holding Nero completely responsible for any damage, Dia knew that Caroline would definitely do something to her if she broke the mana wagon.

Since there was a willing and able scapegoat here…

“I’m just twenty…three this year,” said Nero. “I spent the past three years unconscious. And the people who died at my hands probably won’t mind if I felt sad or had my heart hurt.”

The vehemence in that last sentence made Dia flinch. Now that she thought about it, the self-loathing in Nero’s words didn’t seem particularly illogical. He had, after all, been used as a tool for murder and death, a knife in the hands of the Third Bearer of Destiny.

“It’s not your fault,” Dia replied. “Who could resist Absolute Domination? Heck, it’s even stated in the skill name itself. If you could do something about it, it wouldn’t be Absolute Domination, it would be Half-assed Domination instead.”

“Well, at least I feel better. Still, I should at least do something…”

“Do you remember who you’ve killed?” Dia asked. “Names, faces, things like that. Maybe some particularly twisted face that cursed your lineage to the Moons and back as you reaped their life?”

“Err…no?”

“Okay, do you know who died at your hands?” Dia pressed on. “Were there any records of these people? Maybe some sick to-kill list that you vaguely remember?”

“Nope.”

“Do you know about the families of those who died at your hands?”

“…I’m beginning to see the pattern here,” Nero replied. “It’s a rather compelling argument, but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t at least try to make amends or do something.”

“Well, you can’t make amends for something you had no control over,” Dia replied.

“I know,” Nero replied. “Schwarz kept counselling me on that fact. Stressed that I wasn’t at fault over and over.”

“How did he find out?”

“Same way as you. He guessed.” Nero made a sad noise. “Now I miss his alcohol. Do you have some on you right now?”

“If you’re driving that mana wagon, you better not drink,” Dia replied. “It wouldn’t be funny if you ran it right into a tree or a rock; Caroline will bind you up and do something really nasty to you.”

“True.” Nero sighed. “And besides, you probably don’t have drinks on you, right? Just water?”

“And Claud’s fizzy drinks,” Dia replied. “I took a few bottles to enjoy on the road. Hopefully we’ll be back tomorrow night, because I don’t think my supply’s going to last long.”

“Claud, huh?” Nero extended a hand backwards. “Can I have a bottle?”

“Did you not hear what I just said?” Dia asked.

“Well, I want some,” Nero replied. “And I did hear you. Just that I want some too. Surely you won’t deny a sad person some sweet drinks, right? I can already hear the fizzling from here!”

Dia grumbled under her breath and took out a bottle. Passing it to Nero, she said, “You better be thankful for this dispensation I bestow upon you, you hear me? I wanted to drink that before I fell asleep tonight, but I’ll have to ration the remaining five bottles now.”

“Five bottles? Really? You’re just sitting here and I’m the one powering the mana wagon. Under such circumstances, you won’t even drink that many bottles of water!”

“You do know I just came back from another expedition, right? The fact that I’m coming out barely three days after this…sheesh.” Dia folded her arms. “I wanted to enjoy my soft bed, but now I’m out in the wild again.”

“Fine, fine.” Nero fell silent for a moment. “Right, so where did Claud go? Did he really go out on a romantic getaway with Lily?”

“How bored are you?” Dia asked. “You weren’t that chatty earlier. And yes, the two of them came down this morning, holding hands and everything, and then announced their intention to go out for a romantic getaway somewhere.”

“And you guys just let them go like that?” Nero asked. “Really? I swore Claud was the really paranoid, hunker-in-the-bunker kind guy.”

“Well, in his defence, he apparently had trouble sleeping, after hearing about those Moon Emissaries. Also, I’m told that whenever mana-users used to visit the city, he would hole up in his house and quiver like a leaf,” Dia replied. “The two of them probably went to some place that had no Moon Emissaries sitting around and plotting nasty plans.”

“Huh. So…with the Moon Emissary deader than a doornail, will the two of them come back?”

“You know, that’s a very good point,” Dia replied. “But that depends on whether they know about it or not. I mean, for all we know, the Fourteenth Bearer of Destiny might have died elsewhere, in a different part of the world. The only reason why we’re sure that the Fourteenth died with the Emissary was because both events occurred really close to each other. Claud and Lily couldn’t have known that, unless they had the same connections as Caroline and the others.”

“Oh.” Nero rubbed his nose. “True. Depending on how far this news spread, and how swift it does, they might never know about it.”

“Exactly.” Dia leaned back. “And I was looking forward to grilling those two too. Reading about romance is one thing, but to see two people we know well holding hands and other lovey-dovey stuff is another. I wonder who started it?”

“That’s a good question.” Nero hummed lightly. “Maybe Claud?”

“Nah. Claud’s too…passive, if you ask me. Why, when we first met him, he was more than eager to ditch us and return to his little status quo.” Dia smiled and thought back to the circumstances surrounding the Moon Lords’ formation. Somehow, they had rocketed through the ranks really quickly, to the point that they were now a really trusted partner of the city administration.

How many organisations had the Count’s fiancée dropping by for visits this often? Not many, that was for certain.

“Passive?” Nero latched on to that word. “Sure didn’t seem that way to me, though. I feel that he’s the very proactive kind.”

“Really?” Dia frowned. “I can’t see that. Sure, his paranoia does make him proactive, but he’s proactive in maintaining the status quo, his current life. From what I know, he generally protects his current way of life. He doesn’t actively shape it.”

It was Nero’s turn to mull over things. “Maybe we need to understand him a bit more. What about Lily?”

“Lily…well, she sticks with Claud a lot. Ever since they returned from a trip together, they’ve been together like glue.” Dia rubbed her nose. “It’s hard to sound her out.”

Dia didn’t want to talk about Lily’s role in the end of the Julan family — it wasn’t exactly a story that she had the right to share. Furthermore, it would feel like a betrayal of trust if she were to spread that around; everyone else felt the same too. Therefore, Lily’s actions had never spread beyond Moon Mansion.

“I see.”

“Anyway, if you wanted to know more about the others, you should talk to them more,” said Dia. “Schwarz can help in that regard. He’s a really qualified bartender.”

“Right? Bartenders are really the hidden heroes of society.” Nero nodded. “Did you know—”

His words cut off, interrupted by a faint, tri-coloured glow that the encroaching darkness didn’t seem to like. The dark mist had weakened ever since the Moon Emissaries descended, but it was the first time Dia had seen a mist-less night.

“We’re close, then.”

“We’ll leave the storytelling for later, then,” Nero replied. “Okay, listen up. Here’s what we’re going to do, okay?”

Dia leaned in and listened to Nero’s plans.