Gaius woke up without any joint pains, but the same couldn’t be said for Isabelle and Nakama, who didn’t have a body as absurdly tempered as his. Isabelle had an agonised look on her face, but when put beside Nakama’s teary eyes, Gaius couldn’t help but apologise for some odd reason.

“What are you apologising for?” Isabelle asked. “It’s our fault that we slept in such odd positions, not yours!”

“I mean, I could have adjusted your sleeping positions or something, but I was too tired to do that,” Gaius replied.

Isabelle shook her head. “Don’t do that to a lady. You might cause misunderstandings that way — although I guess straightening your little sister’s posture out is fine.”

Gaius nodded. If it was anymore else speaking to Gaius like this, he would have gotten odd thoughts, but Isabelle probably had his true origins — someone from Earth — at the forefront of his mind. But the fact that they were very comfortable with falling asleep near each other spoke volumes about how much Isabelle trusted Gaius and vice-versa.

“Got it,” said the boy. “Well, while we sit out the deadline set by the Human God, let’s go lay down some groundwork for our…stay in the North. This is probably the place where Nakama can enjoy a few years of uninterrupted schooling, so we should settle that first and foremost.”

“Schools…I wonder what the schools in the North are like,” said Isabelle. “If only we had inside information on the Mortal Light Dynasty.”

“We can ask Kenouji for some help, but I’ll pay a visit to the Information Brokers stationed here,” said Gaius, playing with some gold coins in his right hand. His fingers fluttered, and the coins began to roll and flip around animatedly. He had been practicing his dexterity with these coins while he was on the ferry, since drawing sigils onboard didn’t sound like a good idea at all.

“Okay,” said Isabelle. “Should we go with you?”

Gaius sighed. “Considering that the entire continent is looking for the purported ex-Constellation, the ‘Lost Star’, I think you tagging along is for the best. Bring Nakama along too, for the heck of it. At least that should throw them off.”

“But the Mortal Light Dynasty has ideals that align with your desires, right?” Isabelle asked. “Why are you so resistant to their overtures?”

“I wouldn’t call it my desires, actually,” Gaius answered. He waved at Nakama, who glanced at him curiously, before saying, “I attacked the then-Demigod Nox because he was the only thing preventing Nakama from awakening. I joined the Eastern warfront because I needed a Crystal of True Restoration, and then subsequently because of obligations. I never intended to go against the great gods at all.”

“But you’re already on the path of doing that,” said Isabelle. “It may not be of your own volition, but…”

“To be honest,” said Gaius, “I’m not sure if killing the great gods is actually a good thing. The oceans have become more tumultuous, less predictable, with the God of Water’s passing. In the long run, Conrah’s death will result in far more deaths than the war dead in the East. As much as I don’t like to admit it, it’s true. Floods, droughts, capsizing ships…all this and more.”

“Then, the other great gods…”

“Yes. Exactly.” Gaius stood up, his bones creaking. “It’s possible that the North does not possess the ability to kill the great gods, since the best they could do was to restrain the Goddess of Wind, but I’m almost certain that the Zeroth Armaments I have are capable of killing them.”

He glanced at Nexus, and before the latter could say anything, Gaius pointed at his own head. “Stopped clock, twice a day.”

“…fine.”

Isabelle and Nakama had quizzical looks on their face, but Gaius was too lazy to explain what he just did. Ignoring their expressions, the boy pressed on. “It’s likely that the Mortal Light Dynasty has suspicions regarding the Terminus already. Joining them…is an effective death sentence for the great gods.”

“And you’re not willing?” Isabelle asked.

“I don’t think my purpose in coming to Orb was to upend a hundred thousand years of environmental stability,” Gaius replied.

“I just want to live with my brother!” Nakama nodded her head furiously. “You too, right?”

“Yes, yes,” Isabelle answered, smoothing out her hair. “I’ll raise you to be a proper lady. As for your brother…he’ll do whatever he thinks is right. That’s him. Now and always.”

“Well, I’m not going to join the Adventurers’ Guild here, though,” said Gaius. “I promised not to do any fighting, remember? I’ll just live a quiet life.”

“Until the inevitable happens, and then you’re forced to fight anyway.” Isabelle rolled her eyes.

“…damnit.”

“You should try to become the thing that happens to other people, instead of letting things happen to you. I remember that you were trying to stir up waves in the South, right?” Isabelle asked.

“True, I can do that,” Gaius replied. “But what do I want to stir up? And for what reason? More importantly, in the end, things just worked out because I came to save your family, not because I managed to start a rebellion.”

The two girls looked at each other. After a few minutes of silence, Gaius nodded to himself. “See? I’m right. Sure, I might have caused some problems here and there, but the Southern Assembly was on the verge of failing in the first place. And it’s not like I have an enemy in the Northern Continent either. At most, I’ll stir something if I find one such person.”

“…There’s probably going to be one such person,” Isabelle said. “I haven’t forgotten about Paragon Sasori, after all.”

Gaius was speechless for a moment.

“Don’t jinx it.” He looked at Isabelle and shook his head. “But I’m worried now. Let’s go to the Information Brokers, and see if there are any suspicious Paragons that might be the Constellation Heroes in disguise.”

“You’re the one jinxing it!”

“You started it first!”

Shaking his head, Gaius offered a hand to Isabelle, who took it. Once the two girls were on their feet, the three spent a few minutes to wash up, before leaving the house.

Their destination: the Information Brokers.