Sundown Residence, a middle-sized landed property in an avenue filled with large estates, stood out like a sore thumb. It looked like the handiwork of someone who had misallocated the amount of space each estate occupied, leaving behind one particular spot too small for one more manor and too big to be overlooked. The garden Sundown had, though large by Gaius’ Earth-based standards, looked pitiful when placed beside the grounds of its neighbours.

“Looks like someone probably got fired after this street was built,” said Gaius. “Our little house destroys the established pattern the designers of this street had in mind.”

“Fired, mm.” Isabelle placed her hands on the garden gate. “I’d think that fined and taken to account would be a more possible outcome though.”

“Is that so?” Gaius poked Nakama, who was asleep atop Isabelle’s shoulders, awake, and the little girl made a sleepy noise. “We’re here.”

Nakama rubbed her eyes. “New home?”

“Yes. New home,” replied Gaius. “What do you think?”

She looked around the garden, and then at the mini-manor two stories high slowly. Gaius smiled at the serious expression on her face — a child was playing at being an adult — and watched slowly as she got down from Isabelle’s shoulders. Nakama walked over to the garden gate and said, “This is a mysterious place.”

Isabelle burst out laughing at her solemn words, and then rubbed Nakama’s head. “Yes, yes.”

She flashed a wink at Gaius, and proceeded to usher Nakama in. The little girl had been sleeping on Isabelle’s or Gaius’ head when they were travelling to Seireiden, but nothing could beat the comfort of a bed. Once inside the garden, it was evident that someone had been taking care of Sundown Residence. The grass was neat and tidy, and only a couple of leaves littered the garden path. Perhaps someone had came today to clean the place up.

The door opened without any suspense as Gaius turned the key, revealing a house lit with dim orange light. It was still daytime, and the boy couldn’t help but click his tongue at the apparent waste of money.

“How extravagant, keeping the lights on.”

“Are you trying to say something about me, Master Gaius?” A voice popped up from inside his shirt. “Well, the Library’s lit up by all-natural, zero-cost light sources, unlike this piss poor stuff.”

“Oh, you finally spoke,” said Gaius. “I thought you were updating your systems or something.”

“Underneath the streets of Seireiden, just below the surface, are dozens of recording artefacts,” replied Nexus. “If I were to speak at that point, whoever’s listening would have noted an anomaly almost immediately.”

“That’s true…what?” Gaius blinked. “Recording artefacts? As in, those that record audio? And there are lots of them buried underground listening to us?”

“Yes, dolt, that’s what I said.” The sculpture stretched its body. “Damn, I haven’t moved for quite some time. I feel a bit stiff.”

“You have muscles?”

“You can feel stiff?”

“I oiled the joints just last week though…”

The three retorted together, sending Nexus into a coughing fit. Gaius looked at Nakama and said, “What’s this about oiling?”

Nakama’s eyes blinked a few times in rapid succession. “His body was creaking last week, and then I remembered what one of the uncles at the camp said.”

“Heritage Basestation?”

She nodded. “He said we should oil moving parts if we hear them creak.”

There was something odd about this statement. Maybe it was the fact that this only applied to machinery, but he wasn’t going to point that out. Rubbing his eyes, Gaius patted her head. “Mm. It’s good that you have the heart to take care of our friends and teammate.”

He looked at the setting sun, and said, “Let’s settle our things tomorrow. I’m more tired than I thought I’d be.”

“Same here,” said Isabelle.

“Isabelle,” said Gaius, “go take Nakama and wash up with her. I’ll go explore this huge mansion.”

“It should be the standard layout,” said Isabelle, “so there really isn’t much to explore. I suppose the basement might have a treasury — there could be useful things there.”

“I seriously doubt that the owners left a whole bunch of valuables behind, though,” said Gaius. “They’ll have to be addled in the head or something to do such a thing.”

“Well, if Tsurugi’s family is as rich as he implied them to be, it’s quite possible that they left things that they didn’t see that valuable behind,” said Isabelle. “From the way he put it, his family left in quite the rush.”

“This Paragon Sasori seems rather problematic, if Tsurugi’s family left in a rush,” Gaius muttered. “Looks like I’ll have to visit the treasury and see if that’s really the case.”

“Well,” said Isabelle, “my family did leave a lot of wealth behind. Our properties were on the verge of being seized even before you broke them out of prison.”

Nakama, who was standing by her side, patted Isabelle, having sensed her lowered mood. The Knight smiled, a hint of sadness in her face, and then brought her away into the depths of the miniature mansion. Two sets of footsteps drifted further and further from Gaius and Nexus, and the former looked at the artificial intelligence.

“We got sidetracked a bit,” said Gaius. “Those recording artefacts, what else do you know about them?”

“They’re linked to a building in the centre of the city,” replied Nexus.

Gaius instantly thought of the pagodas and frowned. “But why would they do such a thing? Placing and powering that many artefacts…it’s like they’re trying to weed out dissent and stuff, but this city doesn’t seem problematic.”

“Did these artefacts weed out the problems, or did these problems mandate the use of these trinklets?” replied Nexus. “It’s possible that a few years ago, these artefacts were installed precisely to sniff out troublemakers in a troubled Seireiden, and have never been removed since.”

Gaius was silent. He was once again reminded about the fact that Orb was not as simple as it seemed. There were undercurrents anywhere he went, and the boy suddenly felt very anxious about the unintended outcomes of his actions. Laimar’s descent, for one, probably had something to do with him destroying the Altar of Gods. And the monsters changing…

He slapped his cheeks lightly.

“Are you alright, Master Gaius?”

“Yes,” he replied. “I was just lost in thought earlier. Come, let’s go check out the treasury before they return from their bath.”

“Let’s go, then.”