The discussion about their target came to an abrupt end as Schwarz rolled out from his tent, which seemed to signal the others to get the heck out of their tents too.

  “Morning.” Nero yawned.

  “Yeah. Morning.” Risti’s words were a shade sharper as she replied to Nero. If Dia didn’t get it wrong, she was probably angry at Nero, who had spent the night flirting and more lewd stuff with Kemata, while she worried over the damned Logia and Limbo. “Anyway, it’s going to be busy tonight, I think.”

  “Did something happen?” Farah asked.

  “Two flocks of birds smacked into each other mid-flight,” Risti replied testily.

  “…What?”

  “Don’t mind her,” Dia replied. “She didn’t sleep much last night, that’s all. There, there. You should go back to your tent first, I suppose. Besides, I haven’t seen a battle where all of us was mobilised. And what’s Emperor Grandis going to do if you’re tired and insist on sleeping in during a battle? Fire you?”

  “Point, but—” Risti yawned again.

  “See? Go to sleep. As you said, tonight is going to be busy, so you should go and sleep,” Dia replied.

  “What kind of logic is that?” Farah muttered, but she didn’t say anything else as Risti got up from her seat blearily and returned to her own tent.

  “Huh. I’ll go after her,” Schwarz replied. “I think some alcohol’s going to help. Dreamless sleep is the best way of sleeping, after all. And she’s going to feel refreshed after she wakes up.”

  “I don’t think people feel refreshed after being knocked out by alcohol intoxication, and she’s definitely going to feel a horrible hangover tonight,” Dia replied. “But sure, do whatever you want to. It’s not as if she’s going to stabbity-stab me, right? It’s your kidneys at stake, not mine…”

  “…I’ll offer her a lighter drink.”

  “That’s better.”

  Schwarz scowled at her, and then stomped after Risti in a hurry. Farah raised an eyebrow, and then glanced at the cookhouse servers. “I’ll go get some food.”

  Nero and Kemata turned to Dia as she left, and the Holy Son of the Black God said, “So, I presume Risti must have detected something from Limbo, right? She’s all grumpy now. And we’re striking tonight.”

  “Yeap.” Dia glanced at Kemata. “Right, about Kemata…I thought you ran out of quotas or something.”

  “Already knew,” Kemata replied, fiddling with the scythe that was floating behind her. “Was a part originally.”

  “I see.” Dia looked at Kemata closely, and then frowned. “You two need to sleep at some point, you know. Don’t lose yourself in pleasures of the flesh.”

  “We were just absorbing lifestones,” Nero replied. “Not doing that here. Come on. Have some common sense. Stripping naked and doing that in an army camp when the enemy has no issues attacking at night is simply asking for it, you know. We were actually doing serious stuff.”

  “Oh.” Dia paused. “Well. I suppose Risti owes you two an apology, then. I was actually wondering why you didn’t seem to notice that, but if you two were busy burning mana circuits and nibbling on lifestones, that’s quite understandable.”

  “So she assumed we were…” Nero mumbled the rest of his sentence under his breath. “Never mind. So, another fool here, who’d prefer not going into the night quietly, eh. This is troublesome. There are tons of mana-users here. It’s going to spread very quickly, to be honest.”

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  “That’s why we intend on dealing with it tonight. Somehow, anyway.” Dia made a face. “I don’t know how Risti intends to get rid of the target, though. Wasn’t there an entire trial and the like? Carrying that out in an army camp seems like a very tall order, not to mention the need to incapacitate the target without alerting the guards.”

  She scratched her head, and then glanced at the emptied plate. “Well, you two might just decide to settle it this afternoon instead, when the guards are less alert.”

  Nero paused. “That’s a good idea. Anyway, I’m intending on carrying out the investigation after breakfast, so don’t worry about us. I’ll need you to make up some excuse for our presence, though. And under the terms of our agreement with Emperor Grandis, that’ll leave you, Farah and Schwarz to handle today’s share.”

  “No problem.” Dia paused. “In that case, you two should leave before Schwarz and Farah return.”

  The two of them nodded as Schwarz left Risti’s tent, before departing. Dia watched their retreating backs in silence, and then turned to the bartender.

  “Where are they going?” Schwarz asked.

  “Holy Son stuff,” Dia replied, lying as naturally as she breathed. “Anyway, how’s Risti?”

  “She’s sleeping peacefully now,” Schwarz replied. “I don’t understand, though. Her appearance and her actions indicate a high level of stress, but we’re living in an adequate state of relaxation. I wonder what’s on her mind.”

  “You’re the professional here, so I’ll leave it to you,” Dia replied. “Every person has the right sword for them, after all. And the sword for Risti might just be some counselling by our local bartender.”

  “Me?”

  “Yeah,” Dia replied. “Right, how did Emperor Grandis react to your brews? I thought you handed him some during the meeting last week.”

  “I don’t think he drank anything yet, or else the Emperor would have sent an edict to me,” Schwarz replied, a hint of pride in his words.

  “Rather than an edict, wouldn’t the actual thing be more of something like an arrest warrant?” Dia wondered out loud. “I mean, even if he’s kind enough to not go after you for attempting to poison him with alcohol, the fact that you knocked him out for a day or so is damaging enough. After all, a lot can happen in a single day, and the fact that he was out of it for an entire day is probably a crime in someone’s book.”

  “…Stop trying to scare me!”

  “I’m not scaring you, though?” Dia replied. “I’m just pointing things out as they are.”

  “Damn it. Now I’m nervous.” Schwarz glared at the table. “Why did I offer my drinks to him?”

  “I’m quite curious too.” Dia bobbed her head. “I mean, the Blue Moon zonked out after drinking. One must inquire into the complex thought processes that went through your mind when you decided to offer a drink that could knock the Blue Moon of Wisdom out to the Emperor of the Grandis Empire.”

  “I was drunk off the atmosphere, probably…” Schwarz sighed.

  Farah came back at that moment, and then blinked. “Uh. What happened here? The lovebirds are gone, and there’s a very sad Schwarz here, with you looking like you’re consoling him. If I didn’t know any better, I could have come up with a romantic drama starring Schwarz’s failed attempts to snatch Nero’s soulmate away.”

  “Don’t be silly,” Dia replied. “He’s just suddenly aware of what it means to knock Emperor Grandis unconscious by making sure his liver is severely damaged through alcohol intoxication, that’s all.”

  “I, too, was wondering about that,” Farah muttered. “Anyway, though. Eggs and toast. I took an extra portion, so why not take this one, Schwarz?”

  “Thanks,” Schwarz replied dully, before dipping the toasted bread into the runny egg.

  As the two ate their breakfast, Dia turned her attention to the skies. She could see the two walls of light and shadow from the canteen, albeit one being a lot further than the other, and it was an offputting sight. While the Grandis army wasn’t one to pick a fight, the same couldn’t be said for both the Dark and the Moons. Right now, all their efforts were simply amounting to putting up an active resistance against stray arrows that were flying their way from two giant armies. It was not a nice thought, to be honest, and this sight never ceased to remind Dia that Grandis only stood because neither side could spare enough troops to crush it just yet.

  And yet, Dia and the Grandis soldiers were being ground down, just by being grazed in this massive clash.

  “Dia?” Farah looked at her. “What’s wr—”

  Bells clanged, and Dia got up. “You two hurry up and finish. I’ll take my position first. Hurry up.”

  Without waiting for a reply, Dia sprinted towards the north, where soldiers were already rushing towards the defensive lines there. The collection points for flying artefacts were already seeing fairly long queues, but the efficiency at which they were being handled out meant that Dia soon clipped a belt around her waist.

  Esoteric markings on the belt lit up as she took to the skies, her gait somewhat unsteady as she joined the other mid-ranked folders who were already eyeing their counterparts.

  Would it be a stare-off today? Or would these familiar spirits make a move?

  Those questions danced around her mind as the tide of shadows crashed against the shoreline of Grandis soldiers. It was a familiar sight, but not a sustainable one…especially if the enemy decided to make a move.

  Dia gripped her sword tightly, her eyes on the floating shadows faraway from her.