After nodding farewell to Lupus, who was still understandably disturbed about how Gaius knew about the misfortune that had struck the House of Lorenze, the boy walked over to the board in the middle of the tavern. The same few headlines about wars ending were still pinned prominently, but a new piece had taken centre stage.

Ice ran through Gaius’ veins as he looked at the new piece of paper. Gaius’ fist balled up involuntarily as the words, written in a bold font, burned themselves into his retina

‘The Human God’s Chosen, Nox: Plans to reform the South underway.’

Other details followed, which ranged from the policies that the Last Star planned to introduce, as well as details about the new government he planned to implement. Most of them were effectively useless to Gaius, but there was one sentence that caught his eye, something about a private ceremony in the rebuilt Empyria, the capital of the Southern Continent, half a year from now.

The boy narrowed his eyes ever-so-slightly, and then left the tavern.

“Master Gaius.” A voice piped up from inside his tunic.

“Welcome back, Nexus,” Gaius replied evenly. “I hope you had a nice long nap.”

“I’m afraid I didn’t have that kind of luxury,” the sculpture said. “I was analysing the integration of the Astral Wind in your body, and my cognitive structures weren’t able to bear the data overload.”

Gaius glanced as his tunic. “You blacked out? You can actually black out?”

“What?” Nexus replied, its tone curt. “I’m not allowed to black out now? Do I not have rights? Hell, blacking out isn’t a right in the first place!”

“Hold up, hold up!” Gaius said. “Who said anything about revoking your, erm, right to black out? No, I was just curious!”

“Really?” The sculpture made a little sniffly sound. Nexus seemed more human than ever, but it was possible that the boy just pushed a couple of wrong buttons or something. After all, Nexus had its own personality, and after going through so many masters, it probably had some of its own pet peeves. The idea that one or two of Nexus’ previous owners had been abusive slavedrivers was not impossible, after all.

“Really, really.” Gaius frowned as he said those words. It was as though as he’d said them in a similar tone not too long ago, but he really couldn’t be bothered to remember when and why. “Anyway, how are you now?”

“Quite fine, thank you.” The sculpture squirmed in his tunic, and then climbed out to sit on Gaius’ shoulder.

“Hey!”

“Don’t worry, no one’s going to care about me.” Nexus swung its legs. “Besides, even if they did, no one in this city can pose a threat to you anymore. Hmm, that reminds me, did you ask the broker to look into the House of Lorenze for Isabelle’s sake?”

“Yes. What of it?”

“Technically, she is someone from a hostile nation,” replied Nexus. “I didn’t expect you to actually pay the broker gold to help her out, especially since she’s in a position to…to…”

“Something wrong?” asked Gaius. A faint smile had made its way onto his face somehow.

“You’re one hell of a schemer, aren’t you?” The wooden sculpture shuddered slightly. “A bunch of gold for what might be the loyalty of the youngest Knight of the Southern Continent. That’s one hell of an exchange rate.”

“Other than these cynical parts, I do sympathise with Isabelle, you know.” Gaius breathed out slowly. “It’s not everyday that you wake up to see your family, your home...your entire world shot to hell and back. Frankly, I’m surprised that she wasn’t driven to suicide yet.”

The artificial intelligence was silent, and the boy continued to speak after a slight pause. “At least, by doing this, I’ll be able to give her a reason to live. And if her parents, or at least someone in her House is still alive, so much the better for her.”

“I apologise, Master Gaius.” Nexus spoke as Gaius concluded his little explanation.

“Don’t be.” The boy looked at the moon. “You’re not wrong. Gaining Isabelle’s true loyalty is a result that’s incredibly likely to happen. The moment I pass this file to her, I’m sure that no matter what happens afterwards, she’ll serve me loyally.”

“But that wasn’t your intention, right?”

“Does my intention really matter?” Gaius asked back. “What’s truly important are the actions that one takes. In a sense, I am preying on someone at their weakest, when they’re least able to think for themselves. I do not pretend to be a saint, but things like this…I do not like them.”

“And yet you find them necessary for your cause.” The artificial intelligence completed the boy’s sentence.

Gaius didn’t reply to that, and nor did Nexus press any further. The boy walked towards the slums in a rather companionable silence, and before long, he was once again standing before a rundown street. Now that he was aware of it, the boy could tell the difference between a normal street and the ‘slums’ of Lower Elinaris.

Of course, the corpses and general hopelessness were a dead giveaway, but the buildings that lined this street — if one wanted to dignify these crumbling structures with such a word anyway — would have tipped anyone off. There was a distinct lack of order that even the better parts of Lower Elinaris had, and unlike the streets there, makeshift shelters were a mainstay of this place.

Gaius had a nagging suspicion that some people from the non-slum areas of Lower Elinaris had even taken it upon themselves to prevent the slumdwellers from moving into the other streets. After all, the boy could feel eyes on his back as he looked at the entrance into the slum area. The absence of makeshift shelters simply bolstered his guess.

The boy shook his head and entered the slum area proper, making sure to place Nexus in his tunic.

This time, however, none of the slumdwellers dared to look at Gaius as he walked into the street. These people had the longest memories, the best survival instincts…which meant that the boy’s visit to one of the crime lords had not gone unnoticed. With the route to Flynn’s warehouse still fresh in his mind, the boy made his way over swiftly.

It didn’t take long before he was rapping at the door of Flynn’s warehouse. The door swung open slowly, but instead of the dull orange light he’d seen previously, the room was now illuminated with pink.

Gaius’ lips twitched twice, and then he entered the warehouse.