The green glow around Claud subsided, and he let out a long sigh. “Just in time. Unfortunately, there’s now a notification sitting right in front of me, waiting for me to start up the Third Tutorial. Should I ignore it?”

“We only have a few hours before the Trial of Aeons open, though,” Lily replied. “There isn’t time for you to do that.”

Claud nodded. “Yes, but…maybe I might get lucky?”

He paused and shook his head. Claud was just saying these things randomly. There was nothing much to it, and he also knew that messing around with the Trial of Aeons by entering the Third Tutorial was likely to result in some major problem here or there. While interesting to fantasise about, that was just it — a fantasy.

He laid down on the bed. “I’ll have to trouble you to keep me safe, Lily. Of course, my entire body may just vanish, rendering all my preparations moot, but just in case.”

“That’s why we’re in Lacuna, right?” Lily patted his head, before sitting on the bed. Patting her lap once, she said, “Take a rest here.”

Claud hesitated for a moment, and then scuttled over. Her gentle hands rubbed his temples for a while, and Claud returned the favour by burying his face into her tummy.

“Hey, that tickles.”

“I know, but you like it, right?” Claud replied, his voice muffled. He was suppressing the urge to tremble successfully, but his face may as well be an open book when it came to Lily. He did not want to seem scared in front of her, and this was the best way to hide his fear.

Probably. There was a high chance that Lily had already figured out that this was his way of hiding his distress from her, and she was just playing along to make him feel a tiny bit better.

“Of course I do.” Lily continued to pat his head. “Don’t worry, okay? You’ve done everything you can. There’s…nothing you need to be scared of.”

Claud, who was trying to hide his face by using Lily’s tummy, froze. He thought for a moment, and then rolled back to look up at her face. “I’m scared of losing you. Of that future taking place. And of the new future I’ve ushered in with my actions. What I’ve done, and what I’m going to do. I’m scared too. I can feel my heart beating strongly, trying to complete all the beats it will do in my lifetime. I…”

Lily held his hand. “I can feel it too. Your pulse…”

“Yeah. It’s pathetic.” Claud grimaced. “Even though I’ve done everything I wanted here, in Lacuna. We’ve gone through every top restaurant, drank the finest drinks and viewed the best sights. I’ve seen everything, with you by my sight, and you’ve given me so much more too. I should be facing the Trial of Aeons with courage. But…”

He let out a sigh. “Now that only hours are left, I’m just scared.”

“It’s good that you’re scared, right? Foolhardy people die first. The scared die last,” Lily replied.

“Don’t go quoting me,” Claud replied. “Bah. I don’t know what to think either. My head’s a mess now. I need to calm down first, I think. Do we still have some jasmine tea? I think I brought some when we went to the teashop earlier.”

“The cold one or the hot one?” Lily asked.

“The cold one.” Claud looked at his hands, which weren’t trembling just yet. The Trial of Aeons presented innumerable opportunities, but two particular things could be accomplished during the trials. One of them was to kill all other Bearers of Destiny, and the other key point was the fact that the ‘him’ of the Second Tutorial had become a nearly divine being in the wake of the Trial of Aeons. That monstrous status, coupled with an abnormal strength, would be critical to protecting the world after the Trial of Aeons.

Lily slid away from him for a moment, and then returned with a small bottle. “Here. Or would you prefer me to transfer it mouth-to-mouth?”

“How are you this good at teasing me?” Claud muttered, rubbing his flushed cheeks. The idea of a long, intimate kiss was quite exciting though, but it would lead to other activities. Considering that the Trial of Aeons was but an hour away, this seemed like a bad idea, so Claud had to repress his libido.

That annoyingly lovely smirk on her face was making it worse, though. Flicking her forehead gently, Claud thanked her for bringing the tea over and sipped at the opening slowly. The cooling sensation calmed him down slightly, and Claud let out a long breath.

Lily hugged him from behind, and some tea spilled onto the bed. Before he could clean it up, however, Lily simply said, “Ignore that. I’ll just be here for the next hour. Relax and let me hug you, okay? Just focus on me and how I feel. We’re here, together. And that won’t change.”

Her hands reached for his heart, pressing down on it gently and providing a comforting weight. Claud placed his hands over her own, and bowed his head slightly. “Thank you.”

“There’s no need to thank me,” Lily whispered. “I’m yours, and you’re mine. That’s all there is to it.”

“…Yeah.” Claud took a deep breath. “Still, it feels a bit uncool when you’re doing all the comforting though.”

“Didn’t you do the same for me not too long ago?” Lily replied. He could see that impish grin on her face in his mind’s eye, even without looking back, and Claud felt his heart warm up once more. The anxiety he had been feeling up until now disappeared without warning a few seconds later, and Claud got up slowly.

“I feel a lot better now.” Claud turned to Lily. “So, as thanks…”

With a smooth movement, he lifted Lily and carried her with both arms.

“Whoa.” Lily looked up at him. “What are you doing? It’s a bit embarrassing to be swept up in this princess carry…I’m not saying I dislike it, though! Do continue by all means!”

Claud, who was about to ask if he could continue, smiled deviously, and then walked over to the window. Mana swirled around him, and the curtains parted to reveal the night sky. “It would have been more dramatic if we’re in a better place, but safety first, after all.”

“I’m looking out of an ordinary inn window while being carried by you.” Lily made a noise in her throat. “Feels weird.”

“Does it?” Claud paused. “Can I kiss you?”

“Do you really need to ask permission at this point?” Lily replied, before closing her eyes. Claud lowered his face, and their lips met for a few moments, before he broke it off.

“Hmm. Was that cool?”

Lily snuck a glance at him, and then wriggled slightly. Claud let her down immediately, before hugging her without any prompting. “You know, a lot of people probably think that this Trial of Aeons is the end of everything. I sometimes think that way too, but…it’s just the beginning. The Last Godsfall may stretch into eternity. Therefore…”

He turned to Lily. “No matter what, walk to the end with me. Don’t…up and vanish halfway, okay? Even if it hurts, don’t ever give up.”

“I know. And you too.” Lily looked at him. “I don’t know how many times I’ve said this, and I want to keep saying this forever and ever, but be careful out there.”

Claud smiled. “Yes, I will.”

The two turned back to the window. The night sky was graced by the nameless white moon, but he could see a black disk in the middle of the moon itself. It hadn’t been there the night before, and his instincts informed him that this black disk was related to the imminent opening of the Trial of Aeons itself.

Minutes flowed by in silence as the two shared a companionable silence, simply looking up at the moon or the streets of Lacuna. The two of them had arrived at the dukedom quite some time ago, but since the letter of summons itself was fake, there was really nothing to do but to find a nice inn to settle down.

“By now, the others should have also familiarised themselves with the house’s defences, right?” Claud said, looking up at the moon.

“I think so, but what made you bring that up?” Lily asked.

“Just thinking about things I’ve done and things I’ve not done,” Claud replied. “That said, I am probably about to do something that’s quite insane. Look at the moon.”

“The moon?” Lily looked up, and Claud found himself distracted by Lily’s visage when fully illuminated by the gentle white light. He wrapped his hands around her waist, before settling his face next to hers.

“Do you see it?” Claud asked. “The black disk in the middle of the moon.”

“What’s that supposed to be?” Lily asked. “Also, do I really look this nice under the white light?”

“Yeah, you do, trust me.” Claud nibbled her left earlobe. “And that thing…I think it’s the location for the Trial of Aeons.”

“Oh, the location…” She froze. “Wait, does that mean the Trial of Aeons is located on that moon? Are you for real? Are you really going to the moon?”

Claud grimaced. “Yeah.”

Before he could add more words, a small box floated into his vision.

[Time remaining before the Trial of Aeons begins: Five minutes. The first wave of participants will be teleported there once the countdown ends. Prepare yourself, Bearers of Destiny.]

“What’s wrong?”

“There’s an announcement. The Trial of Aeons starts in five minutes,” Claud said, before lifting up his backpack. Checking his equipment and rations, Claud ran through their locations, before hugging Lily once more. “And my body will be teleported there too. I may not be teleported back to you directly, so make use of the arrangements with already met.”

Lily touched the ring on her left hand. “Got it.”

“And then remember to protect yourself at all times,” Claud continued. “It’s fine if you need to flee or run. Protect yourself and always run, no matter what.”

“I got it.” Lily’s hold on him tightened. “Stay safe. Don’t be reckless. I’ll be here, so don’t be worried. Don’t do anything stupid, and—”

Prismatic spots of light rose from Claud, and his heart trembled. He could feel something pulling him away, and his hands were the first to shatter into dots of multi-coloured light.

“I’ll be back. So don’t cry, okay?”

Lily, who was looking at him with red eyes, nodded once. At the same time, the intensity of light rising from his body increased tremendously, and his senses began to fade away entirely.

The only thing Claud felt was a warm, moist sensation on his lips, before the world turned white.