The benefits of being forced...

The seven-day week that Grandis and the other nations used were named after the Coloured Gods…or at least those that made up the rainbow. Bluegott, therefore, was the fifth day of the week, in accordance with the order of the colours in any given rainbow. It was generally a day that many looked forward to, as it signified the last day of the working week and the beginning of any revelries that might take place.

For Dia and the others, however, this particular Bluegott wasn't a good one. Count Nightfall had formally extended an invitation to the Moon Lords to attend a ceremony; details had come in a day ago. An investiture of the Moon Lords as the underworld protector of Licencia, in charge of maintaining law and order of the city's dark side.

There were many benefits in doing so; the list Farah had created was around two pages long. For instance, with the official backing of Count Nightfall, their status as the ruler of the underworld was guaranteed. Organisations of all kinds, so long as they wanted a stake in the city, would have to pay attention to them and offer them benefits. This was an excellent means in which wealth and strength could be generated.

Other things included the ability to mobilise the city guards, in case some passing folder took a fancy to their wealth, as well as a tax-free promise by Count Nightfall. Beyond that, benefits like first dibs on trade routes and others were also on the table.

Yet, Dia and the others didn't quite like the idea of being tied to Count Nightfall. That man was now very aware of the fact that there was an organisation of mana-users sitting around, and from the discussions that had gone on for the past few days, it would seem that he wanted to absorb them into his personal troops.

It wasn't as if the count didn't have mana-users of his own, so his overly-generous recruitment package had made Farah wonder if there was a trap or something within them.

"What's wrong, Dia?" Farah, who was reading the newspaper with a cup of iced tea in her hands, asked.

"I'm just wondering if I should get you guys to use 'Isolde' instead," Dia replied. She didn't want to bring up the topic that had given the countess a major headache, and more importantly, Schwarz wanted to accept the count's offer.

That last bit was something Farah didn't know about, though. Schwarz had gathered Dia and Risti for a clandestine meeting while Farah was having a bath; he wanted to accept the count's offer to help Farah. Everyone knew that the countess' lifespan was drawing to an end, and he didn't quite like the idea of their contract coming to a premature conclusion.

Therefore, while Farah was enjoying herself in the bath, the three of them had come to an accord that they would join up with Count Nightfall to secure a steady channel of lifestones.

As for Claud and Lily, well, the bartender was quite certain that they would approve of his choice, and Dia agreed. The only problem was Farah's problematic personality; if she ever found out that they were agreeing to bind themselves to Licencia for her sake, she would throw a fit and probably point out that doing so was superfluous. In fact, the bartender had done a squeaky impersonation of Farah if she ever found out about the true reason; that was the deciding factor behind Dia and Risti's support.

Fortunately, it wasn't like they had much of a choice, a fact that had been communicated to Farah over and over.

"Your name, eh?" Farah mulled over Dia's thoughts, clearly unaware of what she was actually thinking about. "True. If you look like this and call yourself Dia, Count Nightfall might just decide to arrest you instead. In a sense, you would have failed your task really successfully."

Dia nodded. "What should I do?"

"…Do we really need to call you Isolde again?"

"I'd rather not, honestly." Dia frowned. "It'll just be a mess."

"Actually, we already have a plan. We actually have quite a lot of funds lying around now," said Farah. "Therefore, we can get some rather nice artefacts for you to change your appearance with; didn't Claud get a Band of Duplicity? There's one on the way to Moon Mansion now; you can use it once it arrives via courier."

"Do we even have forty thousand gold?"

Farah chuckled. "We have a bit more than that. In fact, the bartender also had the same concern, since you'll be appearing in public. He was also worried that you would be drawing attention you couldn't handle; it's one thing to be a double of Princess Dia in an underworld organisation, but another to be a double in public."

"What, did Schwarz gather you and Risti for a private talk?"

Farah blinked twice. "How did you know?"

For a moment, Dia wanted to ask if the bartender also made a high-pitched impersonation of her, but refrained from doing so in the end. Farah was a sharp-witted one; if Dia ever said that, she would immediately connect her words to the possibility of the bartender meeting the others behind her back.

"Just a lucky guess," Dia replied. "I should thank him later."

"Huh? Aren't you going to refuse or something, while making some odd sounds?" Farah asked.

That son of a…Dia kept her face pleasant. "Now, why would you think that? To refuse help from well-meaning friends does not reflect well upon the individual. It would be infinitely better to thank them for their help, and then make a note to repay them where possible. That's the true way of nobility."

"I-is that so?" Farah asked.

"Of course. Emperor Grandis didn't dither when Rulers Umbra, Distancia and Roza offered him command of their forces, did he? In fact, if I remember correctly, he simply accepted their help in silence," Dia replied. "And when the Third Godsfall ended, he thanked them by making them second only to him."

"You have a point," Farah mused.

Dia nodded, satisfied that her words were probably to have some impact on Farah's personality. "That's the true way of a noble. To be like an ocean; accepting all and returning more."

"Sometimes, I think you might be the true Dia yourself," said Farah, a smile on her face. "Didn't she say that at a social function three years ago?"

I did? That was probably why those words rolled off her tongue, then. Dia rubbed her nose. "She did? If she did, I'm probably just parroting them to you, hahaha."

"But she didn't use your illustration," Farah replied. "I didn't quite understand what she meant when she said true nobility was like an ocean, until you gave me the example of Emperor Grandis. You're lucky, I guess. To be able to hear her words of wisdom and interpret them correctly is a benediction from the Moons."

Getting up from her seat abruptly, Dia headed over to the nearest window.

"What's wrong?"

"No, nothing." Dia still couldn't get used to the sincere, heartfelt adulation that came from Risti and the others, which meant that the glass window was suddenly a very fascinating object to examine.

"Really? You've been acting oddly today," said the countess. "Ah. You must be worried. You should get some rest. Just sit down and wait for the item to be delivered."

Since Farah herself had provided a good reason, Dia listened to her words obediently and returned to the table.

"What are the others doing?" Dia asked.

"Risti and Schwarz are busy pouring through the intelligence we've gathered. Remember that three-headed snake in the news?" Farah asked. "Yeah, it's haunting the only routes that Claud and Lily can take to return home. Other than that, it seems that there's also a spate of unsolved murders ongoing in the area."

"Murders?"

"Nothing to do with us, but if the culprit isn't brought to justice, the route to Julan won't be a safe one," said Farah. "We won't be able to develop our income infrastructure this way."

"What suggestions do you have?" Dia asked.

"Well, since we're going to align ourselves with Count Nightfall, Schwarz intends to get the count to interfere in the area," said Farah. "Send some troops to police the area and all…while charging every village on the way for the expenses."

"Devious."

"That's what I said. Anyway, the two of them are busy thinking up ways to better gather money," said Farah. "After all, if most resources are concentrated in Licencia, there's going to be far less sitting around for Duke Istrel to use, right? In fact, we've already made encroachments into the capital of Istrel itself, just that we haven't reared our head yet."

"Isn't that too fast?" Dia asked.

"Not really, no. Licencia always had trade routes open to Istria. We're just making use of them now," said Farah. "We've been very low profile in doing so, however. It's technically treason."

"It is treason," a voice corrected. "But we're earning quite a bit from it."

"Ah, Schwarz." Farah glanced at the owner of the voice. "Looking quite dapper, aren't you? Isn't it too early to be in such a getup?"

"I haven't worn anything formal for a very long time," Schwarz replied. "Thought I might need to get used to it."

"True." Farah patted her own cheeks and puffed herself up. "Just a few hours to go, then. Why don't you pour us a drink?"

Schwarz rolled his eyes. "Fine, fine."