Lunch was a rather subdued affair, but Gaius had discovered that he really couldn’t look down on the intelligence of the other Harvesters. As he was leaving the Concoction Hall, people had begun to draw connections between the Stellar Core’s purchase and the discovery of the ether cores.

If only Lecturer Ziegler hadn’t told the class that the ether cores were actually turned in yesterday, the class might not have made the connection that early. But as it was, Gaius’ dreams of selling the ether cores privately had evaporated into thin air.

It’s fine! I wasn’t planning on selling these cores when I came to class, and I won’t be selling them after class either! Gaius could only comfort himself with those words, even as he scoffed down his lunch bitterly. His sister glanced at him, clearly worried about his abnormal mental state.

“Gaius, you look like you’re under the weather.”

“Hullo, Nalus,” Gaius replied dully.

“How was your Harvest?” Nalus waved at Nakama, who waved enthusiastically back. The two had apparently become friends in the few days that Gaius was absent.

“Got a bunch of medicines to strengthen my body,” said Gaius. And an item that borders on legendary, but the later you know that, the better.

“Not bad on your first try, eh?” The Campmaster’s son placed his plate down, and then passed a slab of meat over to Nakama, his face alight with glee as the little girl squealed with happiness.

Gaius cocked an eyebrow. “Can’t beat her cuteness, eh?”

“Hear, hear. By the way, did you hear about the ether core?”

“May as well ask who hasn’t.” Gaius ran his hands through his hair. “Damn thing’s really expensive now. They should just bid for the ether cores instead.”

“Well, if enough important people want that to happen, it’s not impossible.” Nalus licked his lips. “We…should actually do that! Gaius, do you want to be an Auctioneer?”

“You just came up with that on the spot, didn’t you?” Gaius blinked. Nothing seemed to faze the Campmaster’s son. “You could try bringing that up to your dad. It’s actually a better idea than what Combat Research Assistant.”

“Really?”

“Really, really.” Gaius’ voice sank into a whisper. “There are some advantages to this. Interpersonal interaction’s possible with auctions, and the auction house can earn some points by taking a small cut. It’s even better if you don’t set limits on what can be sold — people who can’t create good artefacts can buy them in an auction! The possibilities are limitless, and given that the Campmaster is an upright person, you must be strapped for points, right?”

“You…are a frigging genius!” Nalus rubbed his hands together. “Yes, as the Campmaster’s son, I have a certain degree of credibility, which means that I have the qualifications to set up auctions!”

He stared at his plate for a moment, and then pushed it to Nakama. “Nakama, take the rest! I wanna tell my father about this great idea!”

With those words, the excited teenager jumped out of his seat, stirring up a cloud of dust as he ran off to a destination unknown. Gaius looked at the second plate sitting quietly beside Nakama’s own, and briefly wondered if he should raise other ideas of such a nature whenever Nalus had lunch with them. The Campmaster’s son was happy, Nakama was happy…it was a good idea.

A sound one, even.

The little girl made a happy noise as she ate, and the boy smiled at the sight. It was an idyllic scene, one that drove away the premonitions of impending doom that occasionally haunted Gaius. These omens had grown fainter, which Gaius had attributed to his increase in strength.

But they still remained.

It could be said that Gaius trusted his instincts to an almost irrational degree, but his instincts had saved him many times over on Earth. After all, everything that was happening, or would happen, always left hints on their arrival. It was just that these hints were often ignored.

His subconscious, in the course of picking up these hints and piecing them together, provided clues and warning to Gaius, and this process had been honed through experience.

Living a long life was experience enough.

Gaius shook his head, and soon finished his meal. With Nakama hanging off his arm, they took a stroll around the canteen, watching as sentries walked around the place, while others stood and guarded sensitive areas. The air around these men were different from the guards on the surface, and one in particular caught his eye.

A man with rabbit ears. The rabbit ears were growing from his head in such an angle that the boy wanted to believe that it was fake, but no one was dumb enough to have such a problematic disguise. Instead, it was most likely to be a birth defect or something. A slight pity welled up within him at that realisation, and he turned his eyes away from these ears.

More importantly, Gaius could sense a faint undercurrent of strength, someone akin to Senator Alexandre when he drove his cultivation. His hackles rose slightly at that realisation, before he realised that the slight fear he had was somewhat irrational.

It was a good thing if the sentry was that strong. In fact, with the mantra as a standard, the sentry was probably someone of Lord-class strength. Gaius couldn’t understand what the Basestation authorities were thinking: why was someone this strong a mere sentry?

There was probably a story behind him being sent here. It was unfortunate if something like Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder got to the sentry, which was likely the case. Apparently, rabbit beastfolk were fairly prone to disorders that rose from violence.

At least, Heritage Basestation was a secure place. Gaius glanced one last time at the sentry, and then carried Nakama for Advanced Combat.