“This place looks like a city right out of a fantasy novel,” said Gaius. “There’s an entire road dedicated to taverns and watering holes, a giant square where an elevated platform used to execute criminals is placed, and towers that are placed in regular positions throughout the city.”

“Or did the fantasy stories of people transported here influence this city?” Nexus asked back. “Chicken and egg here; Orb is over a hundred thousand years old. It’s very possible that the reason why development in architecture and technology is lagging behind can be attributed to the cultural upheaval that the Cardinal Champions created when they were brought over.”

Gaius blinked as he tried to process the words that the artificial intelligence just said. “Are you trying to say that the expectations that the Cardinal Champions held about another world managed to skew Orb’s development?”

“It’s not out of the realm of possibility,” said Nexus. “You must remember that the Cardinal Champions were summoned not too long after the world’s creation, relatively speaking. These beings, which were already worshipped as saviours from a higher world, would have immense impact on the fledging societies of Orb.”

“Give me something to work this thought,” replied Gaius.

Nexus cleared his throat. “Picture this: Champion Polaris is strolling down a street, and then he mentions a place to drink alcohol from back in his world. What do you think would happen next?”

The boy stared at a brightly lit building, where people were entering and leaving the place by the handful every second, and nodded. “So, it’s at a level where simple speech could bring something in existence. That is…rather scary.”

“Very much so,” said Nexus. “Orb is a stagnant world, if I used the books in my memory as a comparison. In my opinion, the expectations of the Cardinal Champions have created a ceiling, beyond which development and innovation is impossible.”

Gaius regarded the wooden sculpture stuffed in his shirt solemnly, and then walked towards the brightly lit building he was staring at. “By extension, the person who orchestrated the changes in the Northern Continent…must have revealed his true identity as someone from another world, to overcome this ceiling.”

But it was probably riskier than the artificial intelligence had made it out to be. From what Nexus had said some time ago, the Human God was already aware of Gaius’ existence. If he was aware of not just Gaius, but anyone from another world in general, it was quite possible that the great god would move to nullify any threats to his divine authority.

“That’s a good guess,” replied Nexus. “Now, were you intending to gather information from this tavern? Hear about the latest news?”

Gaius stopped at the entrance of the large building to push the door open, and then entered it to answer Nexus.

The sounds of drunken chatter filled his ears immediately, which was followed up by the pungent smell of badly brewed alcohol assaulting his nose. The tavern was lit up by multiple dim orange globes from over, and from the entrance, everything looked like an indistinct shadow of sorts. Children and women, wearing a dark brown uniform, busied themselves by clearing up tables whose occupants had left, the latter the subject of many wolf-whistles from drunken men.

The layout of the place was rather quaint. A bar, where people drowned their sorrows, was in the middle, and a board with pieces of paper nailed to it occupied centre stage.

The boy took a few steps to the side, and then headed for a counter tucked away at the side. A masked man sat calmly at the counter, which was labelled “Information Exchange”, as he played cards with someone sitting at the drink bar next to his own counter.

There was something odd about seeing a classy bar situated next to a dank counter, but the boy brushed off the incongruent sight. With the help of his Flight ability, Gaius got onto what looked like a swivel chair and rang the bell on the counter.

“Give me a moment,” said the masked man, who then turned to look at Gaius. “Kid, this bell isn’t for you to press as you like.”

“I didn’t know customers aren’t welcome. Or are you closed for the day?”

The masked man froze for a moment. “You? A customer? Listen, boy, one week of your pocket money won’t even get much of a question. Unless, of course, you want to know when does school start, in which case I’ll do you a favour and point you to the calendar.”

His friend laughed along with him, creating a slight uproar that did turned some heads for a second or so.

Gaius raised an eyebrow and waited for the laughter to die out, before tossing a single moonstone on the table. The masked man looked at it for a moment, mirth evident in his eyes as he prepared to laugh at whatever paltry payment Gaius was going to offer, and then his expression flickered wildly.

“Y-you…you…”

The boy smiled faintly. “Am I a customer now? Or still a little boy?”

“C-customer.” The masked man prodded the gem with an outstretched finger, and the expression of disbelief on his face grew even more pronounced.

The masked man’s buddy, who was manning the bar, looked at the two quizzically, curious at the information broker’s sudden change. “What’s wrong, Lupus? That little stone your guild’s emblem? I mean, it looks pretty and all, but there’s nothing on it that’ll make it seem like an emblem.”

“No…it’s just a…token of a favour that I owe to someone years back!” The information broker, Lupus, replied hastily. “Well, I’m going to bring him to a more private room to settle this personal matter. Help me man the counter?”

“Sure, sure.”

“Um.” Lupus looked at Gaius, unsure of what to call him. “If you would follow me to the back?”

The information broker nodded nervously at his friend, and then hopped off his own chair. Beckoning to Gaius, he opened a door behind his counter, and led the way towards an opulent room, decorated with intricate glass hangings and works of art. A fragrance filled the air — a stark difference from the rancid stench that had filled the room outside. Gentle music filled the otherwise silent room, something that sounded like a violin piece.

“Your Excellency…” Lupus looked at the moonstone in his hand, while Gaius snarked at that term of address mentally. “You do know what this is, right?”

“Do you know what the Intersection is? Or Heritage?”

Lupus inhaled sharply, a hint of trepidation shaking his body as Gaius asked two questions back, and nodded decisively.

“Excellent…”