Desin’s stronghold at the Intersection was located at the foot of a mountain. To return to Heritage, Gaius would need to ascend the mountain, where a passageway was sitting comfortably in full view of anyone able to fly.

Using this passageway, however, was nothing short of a death sentence. The other side was in a cave, where the light of from Heritage’s firmament was unable to reach. Stepping into darkness was an almost-guaranteed way to vanish forever there, unless one was somehow able to resist a rule from the gods.

But for Gaius, he wasn’t concerned with the darkness. No, what he was concerned about was…pain.

His chest heaved madly as Gaius stepped into Heritage, and he couldn’t help but grab at his chest. “It’s a lot more painful when you know what’s coming. I wonder if I’m mentally odd that way…”

He was now in a cave, and as he made his way outwards, Gaius felt the shadows lapping at him physically. The pulling sensation he’d experienced whenever he used the Astral Wind was assailing his senses now, but it was far stronger, far more insistent.

The boy blinked. “It’s like I’m operating the Astral Wind right now. The darkness is attempting to teleport me away, and I can actually choose to resist…”

“You can feel it?” Nexus asked. “Forget that. Hurry up and leave this cave before you get any funny ideas.”

Gaius looked at the darkness, which was now physically rippling around him, and left the cave. The boy took to the skies again, heading towards the Library, and murmured, “The shadows seem more active. I wonder if that had anything to do with it…”

“Possible, Master Gaius,” replied Nexus. “If our hypothesis that the phenomenon of people vanishing in total darkness was the Demon God’s doing is correct, then every time his counterpart is weakened…”

“I feel like I’m walking on a tightrope.” The boy replied. Putting on another burst of speed, Gaius soared through the skies, and soon, the Library was within sight again. His spirits lifted as he walked through the plain door that served as the entrance to the Library. Heading directly for the room where Nakama was, Gaius opened the door noisily, and was immediately greeted with a rather nice sight.

There was no difference between day and night in Heritage, unlike the Intersection, which meant that people had a tendency to lose track of time in this place. Unfortunately, this meant that when he entered the room that Nakama was sleeping inside, she wasn’t alone.

Two fluffy pillows slammed into Gaius’ face as he rushed into the ward. His Barrier lit up, blocking out the worst of it, but the Knight immediately followed up by closing the gap. Isabelle raised her heel high and brought it down on the little boy as she moved towards Gaius, who raised his hands to block the attack.

The room shook as Gaius blocked the heel. Drawing support from the ground beneath him, the boy pushed her heel back up, and then moved into grappling range by leaping towards her throat.

In that single moment, where she was off-balance, Gaius caught her throat and slammed her onto the ground. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“Punishing a pervert!” Her warm breath felt particularly refreshing for Gaius, who had been out in the cold, but the boy’s irritation at those words had thrown this sensation out of his mind.

“What do you mean by pervert, huh? Who the hell sleeps in someone else’s house in—” Gaius paused and looked at her attire. “— what essentially amounts to underwear? Do your friends do that too? Or are you just weird?”

“It was warm! And you should have knocked before you came in!”

“It’s my house, damn it! Aren’t there a hundred other rooms with beds too? Why sleep in a room that I was going to visit often?” Gaius asked. After making sure that she wasn’t going to commit anymore acts of violence, he rolled off her body, his stance still of one on guard.

Isabelle sniffed. “It’s all your fault!”

“What?!” Gaius floated into the air. “How is you sleeping in essentially a hospital ward my fault?”

“You showed me those spectres!” Isabelle replied, a tear in her eye. “They’re scary!”

Gaius slapped his forehead. “You’re going to break a few dozen hearts this way, missy. Look, they’re harmless and friendly and a listening ear. What more do you want? They have feelings too!”

Probably. I don’t know that either…Gaius looked at the half-clothed Knight, a rueful expression on his face, and said, “Aren’t you going to put something on?”

“What for? You’re just a kid.” She got up, folded the robes that were strewn around the room, and then sat back onto her bed. Her instant response had stumped Gaius for a moment. He wasn’t too sure as to what to make of that reply, but these words were somewhat contradictory with her accusation of him being a pervert.

After deciding that it was fruitless to contemplate on this topic any longer, Gaius took out a stack of papers. “Well, before you go back to sleep, you should take some time to read through this.”

Isabelle, who was now in a gloomy mood for some reason, took the papers listlessly. Her eyes widened as she read through the first few paragraphs.

“You…”

Ignoring her, Gaius walked over to Nakama, who was sleeping as peacefully as ever. However, tubes were running out of her left arm, and her previously pale face had regained some colour. “This your doing, Nexus?”

“With assistance from Isabelle.”

Gaius looked at the quivering Knight. “It seems that I didn’t gather this intelligence for you in vain.”

The Knight looked at the boy, and the boy suddenly felt very conscious of her gaze, despite his words. It didn’t help that she was still in her underwear, either. Keeping his eyes trained on her face, he said, “You can leave tomorrow. You should have your own passageway you can use, no?”

“Y-yes.” She blinked. “Aren’t you afraid that I might leak your secret? Or not come back?”

“I don’t think anyone’s going to believe your words, for one. A talking wooden sculpture? Master of the Library of Ancients?” Gaius shook his head. “And more importantly, I prefer having subordinates who are willing. Now that Nakama’s needs are largely settled, you’re free to go. There’s always a place for you beside me, however.”

“B-beside you?” Her face flushed, and before Gaius could do anything else, she picked up her clothes and dashed out of the room.

“I think she misinterpreted that.” Nexus climbed out of his clothes.

“Explain yourself,” replied Gaius.

The sculpture hemmed and hawed for a few seconds. “Well, according to the books I’ve read, I think this is called a proposal. A weird, finagled marriage proposal, but yeah.”

Gaius’ eyelid twitched. “What the hell kind of romantic comedy is this?!”