“Correct me if I’m wrong, but these two jokers in the middle are the commanders of this company, aren’t they?” asked Gaius. “I don’t see why the reserve platoon would take up defensive positions around them otherwise.”

“I’d say that they were VIPs, but the two in the middle were definitely flying,” said Nexus. “How do you know them?”

“The guy whose skin is brown and looks like he’s from the Malay Archipelago — Sergeant Aziz — he was my instructor for a few days, before he hauled me over to Heritage Basestation,” replied Gaius. “Maybe I traumatised him or something to the point he left, or Ark City sent him out and forgot about his existence.”

“I don’t think it’s the former, but we are talking about you, an otherworlder, after all.” The sculpture gestured at the screen, zooming in to reveal a black-haired girl. “How about her?”

“Lieutenant Marie, I think. You can’t see it under that cap, but there’s a nice bun of hair that I wouldn’t mind poking,” said Gaius. “She’s a real beauty too, in my objective opinion.”

“That last bit doesn’t make any sense whatsoever, but I’ll let it slide.” Nexus sat on the edge of the Map of Stars. “Well, time to teach you how to make some basic deductions. Why are two people from Ark City suddenly taking command of the South’s newest military development?”

“Why you ask…” The boy’s voice trailed off.

“Unless these two are of high birth, the next reason would naturally fall down to their qualifications. On what grounds were they allowed to lead such an important unit?” Nexus prompted.

“Because they had experience with it. Or maybe they were the ones who came up with…” Gaius stopped speaking for a moment. “Or maybe, they saw the Battle of Centoria. After all, Ark City left the Five Lands barely a week after the Central Continent fell.”

“Go on,” said Nexus. “Just needed to work out your thinking muscles a bit, eh?”

“So if they were observing that battle, it would therefore make sense that Lieutenant Marie and Sergeant Aziz would probably not be able to return home within a week, which explains why they’re stranded in the Five Lands.”

“The most natural reaction for people would be to find others like them,” Nexus added. “And so, the two went to seek out beastfolk refugees. I’m not sure what happened next, but the two probably told the refugee leaders about what they saw in the Battle of Centoria.”

“That’s fine and all,” said Gaius, “but where in the world did this bunch get that much Engines, or hell, Dynamos? This is an oversized company, after all, with around a hundred and fifty people.”

“One hundred and sixty, Master Gaius,” corrected Nexus. “I could probably offer an explanation. The blueprint for crafting Dynamos, or that many Dynamos, were brought back from the North. At its core, the Dynamo is probably an artefact that allows Flight and a weak barrier.”

“And the Straight Shots aren’t that hard to craft either,” muttered Gaius. “So there’s probably a dedicated artificer, or a group of them, within the refugee band Aziz and Marie are in. At this point they look like an army, though.”

“One with at least two divisions too. Around thirty thousand?” The artificial intelligence glanced at the Map of Stars.

“That’s quite a lot of bodies to throw around. How did they get that many?” Gaius asked. “I don’t think the Five Lands has more than ten thousand beastfolk left now.”

“Well…humans are also helping them out,” said Nexus. “This isn’t an uprising centred around race, it is probably closer to the ones you just started.”

“Based on rights, equality and liberty?” The boy rubbed his nose. “We’re in for the long haul, then."

“Exactly.” The sculpture mulled over its words for a second, and then said, “The Battle of Centoria proved that, within a certain boundary, elite forces can be neutralised with the North’s new concept of war. One just needs to hand the correct equipment and training to the troops.”

“Which would be nothing short of political suicide, if what we saw in Elinaris is the standard for the other cities.” Gaius shook his head. “Well, let’s not bother ourselves with this yet.”

“Oh?” Nexus turned to the boy. “What are you intending to do?”

“We’re going to rob more Harvesters,” said Gaius. “I’ll try not to kill them, but surely some highhanded interrogation methods are acceptable. I mean, we did only rob them once, before weird things happened. Leaves a bitter aftertaste in my mouth if we don’t complete it.”

Nexus hopped onto Gaius’ shoulder. “Let’s go. Maybe our harvest this time will be faster and better, eh?”

“Yeah, someone might be carrying some great equipment or manuals that we could use,” said the boy. “I mean, I did learn how to draw a defensive sigil from that Knight a few months ago. His manual is still with me!”

“To a good haul, then. Just make sure not to kill if you can help it.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Gaius stretched his arms and legs, and after making sure that the pain from earlier had vanished, he floated out of the Library. It didn’t take long before the snowy lands of Heritage entered his eyes, and the boy began to fly in earnest.

“Fifteen kilometres away, to your right, Master Gaius,” said Nexus, who was nestled in his clothes comfortably. “Three people, all Squires. You can probably force them to surrender by descending from the skies.”

Gaius wanted to question the feasibility of such a method, but doing it wasn’t going to take anything from him anyway. “Let’s use the Background Music Ability too. Make it more ominous, scarier.”

“On hindsight, perhaps purchasing that useless Engine had its uses,” Nexus murmured.

“I wonder who was chewing me out, eh? Perp even told me that as an assassin, I’d never use this ability, hm? HMM?” Gaius sniffed.

“Geh.”

“You chewed me out for nearly an hour for that. I haven’t forgotten.”

“Who knew that people could apparently go berserk from killing people?” Nexus retorted. “If not for that fact, you wouldn’t have such a lucky break.”

“Yeah, yeah. Gotta admit if you’re wrong, you know,” said Gaius. “You’ll lose a lot of friends otherwise.”

“I only have a master.”

“Masters can be friends too, right?” asked Gaius.

“Maybe.” The sculpture shook his head. “Hurry up and rob these buggers. You don’t have that much time left.”

“Working on it.” Gaius took a deep breath, before Blinking into the distance.