The first rays of the sun peeked over the horizon, lasting for a few moments before a giant storm cloud blocked it. For the past few hours, heavy rain — an uncommon sight in Orb — had been pouring down on Upper Elysium, and for once, Gaius had deactivated Climate Control during his nightly mediation sessions to enjoy the temperature.

If he’d seen rain in Orb before, Gaius couldn’t remember it all that well. He got up from the bed and headed to the window, his eyes on the streaks of water that ran down it. Pushing open the window, he extended a hand out, and watched quietly as raindrops fell.

“An ice storm,” Gaius muttered. The falling raindrops froze up moments after they landed — this was probably the first time in the past three months that something associated with the winter season had happened. Still, getting caught in an ice storm was dangerous, be it in Earth or on Orb, and the boy idly wondered if he could skip school today.

His mind spun somewhat, and the next thing he knew, he was in a memory again. In a world of black and white, he stood at a window, watching as raindrops flickered through the skies, landing on the ground below.

“How’s the children?” Memory-Gaius asked, his voice now a weak rasp.

“They’re sleeping soundly. You should sleep too, boss.”

Memory-Gaius coughed harshly, covering his mouth to block off the sound. A sticky sensation enveloped his right palm, and Memory-Gaius looked down to see a mix of blood and phlegm on it.

“Boss…”

Gaius’ mouth moved to answer. “It’s a product of age. I’m sixty…three this year. No assassin has a right to live that long, but here I am.”

“You could have spent your last years in luxury, treatment. But instead, you wasted so much money on taking in orphans. Why?”

Memory-Gaius turned to look at the speaker. It was a young man, barely in his twenties. “I suppose you should hear this story. It’s about time you did, anyway.”

Lightning flickered, casting the scene into white. When the light vanished, Gaius found himself back in his actual room, sitting on his bed.

What kind of game is this? Am I to wait for a commercial break now? Should I switch the channel? Gaius snorted, and then tidied up the blankets. His bed here was a queen-sized one, more than enough for him to lie down and roll around a few times with no issue.

After doing exactly that for a few minutes, he slid off the bed and washed up. Pulling on his uniform, Gaius hesitated for a moment before sliding a knife into a pocket he was probably never going to use, before stuffing the Moonshot into the uniform’s vest.

Floating downstairs, Gaius moved over to the kitchen. Isabelle and Nakama were still asleep, but that didn’t mean that no one else was moving here other than him. Lightning and Stone were bobbing up and down rapidly, while Nexus flipped through a book while sitting on the dinner table.

“Master Gaius, you’re up.”

“Good morning, the three of you.” Gaius looked at the book Nexus was reading, and turned away a moment later when he realised that the artificial intelligence was studying complex numbers. There was a stove-like artefact that created flames out of ambient energy, and the boy started to fry some eggs.

“Gaius!” Nakama was the next to show up, followed closely by Isabelle. Both of them had somewhat messy hair, and after sending them back up to get ready for school, the boy finished cooking some omelettes.

The sounds of eating filled the air as the storm continued to rage on outside.

“I don’t think that’s an excuse, though,” said Isabelle. “After all, almost everyone has artefacts like the Palisade. Some rain isn’t really going to justify us skipping school.”

“Figured, but it was at least worth a try. Still, emergency defences used as an umbrella…this place really is Upper Elysium.” Gaius shook his head, scooping up some egg to place on Nakama’s plate. The little girl didn’t seem to have a good sleep, judging from her tired state.

“What happened, Nakama?” Gaius asked. “You slept early, right?’

“Bad dreams,” she replied. Her high, cute voice was somehow mellowed out, and Gaius frowned.

“Isabelle, can you sleep with her for the next few days?” Gaius asked. “Having someone at your side when you’re having nightmares is going to help.”

“Very well.”

Gaius poured some soy sauce — one of the few things the three had managed to bring along while fleeing from the East — onto Nakama’s plate, hoping that the added seasonings would liven her up. To some extent, it did work, but there was no stopping her little yawns.

After clearing the place up, Gaius took Isabelle and Nakama’s bags into his hands. Fitting her shoes on, he indicated at Isabelle’s back.

“Gaius?”

“Give her a piggyback ride, won’t you? Let her sleep for a few more moments while we bring her to school,” said the boy. “Sneaking in sleep is important at times.”

“Oh, you.” She shook her head and got the sleepy Nakama to climb onto her back. “It can’t be helped, I guess.”

She took out a small, lantern-like artefact. It was an advanced version of the Palisade, the Fort, and the main appeal of it was that it could be reused indefinitely. Of course, that single artefact was around six thousand gold, slightly less than one-tenth of the cost of a mansion, but it was reusable.

As for Gaius, he had called on his barrier.

Ice began to form around their defences, weighing them down, but it was definitely a better alternative than simply walking through the rain. As they trod down the slippery road, a few more ice sculptures joined them. Under the bitter storm, no one could tell who was who, unless something like—

“No prizes for guessing who that is, eh?” Gaius commented idly.

A palanquin made its way through the streets, the blue glow radiating off it lighting the path ahead. There were four people — students, by the looks of their uniform — bearing the palanquin, but nothing on their face suggested that they were being forced.

“What is this horrible sight?” Isabelle asked.

“A display of wealth and pride, if you ask me.” Gaius shook his head. “Fifty gold says that the perp sitting on it is Countess Reinford…hmm? Something wrong?”

Isabelle’s eyes were somewhat haunted. Her voice odd, she said, “Fifty gold and a massage that the person on it isn’t the countess.”

“H-huh. Sure, I’ll take you on, but look alive, okay?” Gaius patted her hand twice, and then distracted her from that sad sight by talking about more things from Earth.

For some reason, he had a feeling that the bet wasn’t in his favour.