It didn’t take long for them to arrive at General Degurechaff’s dwellings. Like almost everyone of importance, Degurechaff had one house in Ark City and one in Ark Interior. This wine cellar of his was in the former, purely because Ark Interior had an atmosphere that made virtually any enjoyment seem wrong for some reason.

This was incidentally the reason why Gemini and Lila’s lunch dates always took place outside Ark Interior.

“Antiquity Street, Unit Five…found it!” With Lila in a princess carry — Ark City hadn’t issued her an Engine yet — Gemini descended from the skies and landed in front of a lovely garden. Inside, a man was reading books, surrounded by a whole bunch of flowers. A wine glass sat on the small table beside his chair, half-filled with some sparkling wine.

“You two!” The general noticed their presence a moment later, and then set aside his book. “Did you come here for my wine again?”

Gemini and Lila waved. “How did you guess?”

“Not hard to, when you drop by every three days to swindle more wine,” Degurechaff replied.

“Swindle is a strong word,” Gemini replied. “It’s just a transaction! It’s not my fault if you get cold feet right before you meet strangers.”

In a voice loud enough that it was practically speaking, Gemini whispered to Lila, “I’ve arranged five-plus mixers and set up blind dates for this old coot, but he keeps backing out at the last moment. Am I in the wrong?”

In an equally loud whisper, Lila replied, “No, you aren’t.”

“What should I do?”

“Maybe trick him into coming by telling him it’s a party by the senators,” Lila replied. “He’s a workaholic. He’s definitely going to come.”

“Are you even whispering at this point?! And that’s just plain lying!” Degurechaff snorted. “Fine, fine. Come in! With friends like these…”

“Don’t look at me like that,” Gemini replied. “Every time I try to set up one, I use you as the main attraction, but you never come. My reputation’s going to be in the red at this rate. Do you not know how many highly eligible ladies are already angry at me? It’s lucky I already have Lila, or else I’ll be like you forever.”

“Smooth,” Lila said. “I guess I should say something too.”

“He’s on the verge of collapse, so better not.” Gemini laughed and took out two wine glasses from his inventory, which was part of the Champion Support System. Passing one over to Lila, the couple helped themselves to a glass of wine.

“This is rather bracing,” Gemini muttered. “Where did you even buy this from?”

“Buy?” A smug look floated onto Degurechaff’s face. “I made it myself. Fermentation, distillation, everything. Magnus, that punk, can only buy but not make. And the difference shows. There’s nothing in this world that goes down as smoothly as my own alcohol, hoho.”

“Well, that explains why no one’s ever seen you go out to buy wine,” Gemini replied. “The spies stationed all around your house are useless, then.”

“Damn right you are…wait. Did you just say spies?” Degurechaff asked.

“No, I didn’t.”

“Yes, you did.”

“You must have heard me wrongly,” Gemini replied smoothly. “Anyway, other than raiding your wine cellar the way you did to Magnus, I was also intending to ask about some things.”

Degurechaff held his hand up, and Gemini stopped talking. Lila’s left hand, which was gripping his right, tightened somewhat, but the only thing the general did was to fill his glass to the brim, downing it a moment later.

“Alright, I’m sufficiently imbibed. Go on, shoot,” the general replied, his face somewhat red.

“On the day the Great Divide falls,” began Gemini, “what would you want to do? Not as a general of Ark City, but as yourself. Your thoughts, your desires. Not what’s best for us.”

“On the day it falls…” The general downed another glass. “Why would you ask that? Even if we are to return to the Five Lands, is there still a place for us? By now, the beastfolk of the Five Lands are probably just a footnote. With even Ark City gone, the Southern Assembly has definitely expunged our old lands of our kind. There’s nothing for us there.”

Gemini grimaced, and filled up his own glass. Downing it in an instant, the Constellation looked up at the skies. “I’m sorry.”

“You were misled by the Human God. There’s nothing about it,” Degurechaff replied. “Our hatred is not directed at the Constellations, who are nothing more than knives. It’s not about whether I’m human or beastfolk, but rather, about the fact that the Five Lands watched as a genocide happened in our lands.”

“Not all of them,” Gemini replied.

“True. The Mortal Light Dynasty tried to help, but we were too far away. At least they destroyed that damn Holy Temple,” General Degurechaff replied. “But as it stands, virtually no one will even consider going back to the Five Lands to help the fend off the primal demons. There’s nothing left for us there, after all.”

Gemini looked down on the ground.

“You want to help them?” Degurechaff looked at Gemini.

“I don’t know. And maybe just me helping won’t even have any effect, right?”

“But if you really feel that way,” said Degurechaff, “you can consider heading over once everyone here is safe. The Acheron, and the other ships we’re building, are going to bring everyone away from here. I’m not sure where’s our final destination, but once we’re away from this war…”

“I’ll think about it. I only fear that I’ll stop caring at all,” Gemini said.

“Stop caring…” Degurechaff shrugged. “Like the rest of us, maybe. Well, it’s up to you, really.”

He topped up Lila and Gemini’s glasses, before raising his own. “A toast, to tomorrow!”

“To tomorrow!”

“To tomorrow!”

Their glasses clinked, and the trio downed their glasses as one.

“Right,” said Degurechaff, “can you drop by the Memory Sifter’s place?”

Gemini shivered. “But I just went two days ago!”

“She’s made a breakthrough about your CSS, so you should really pay a visit,” Degurechaff replied. “Don’t look so down. She’s a lonely person too. Oh, and she wants Lila to drop by too. Apparently, she baked a cake last night.”

“Cake?”

Gemini glanced at his girlfriend, and then nodded. “Alright, I’ll head over now.”