“A resounding victory!” The referee’s yell resounded around the arena as Gaius stepped off it, and the crowd went wild. “Ladies and gentlemen, a round of applause for the two fighters! Now, keep your eyes peeled — we’ll be showing a slow-motion, high-resolution clip of the final moment!”

Ignoring the incongruity the referee’s words had created within him, the boy looked up at the screen, where Marie had just blocked a strike from him. The replay slowed as the Gaius onscreen kicked out with his leg, shattering the knife.

“And there you have it, folks! Enough sheer strength to break a tempered weapon with a single kick!” The screen flickered, focusing on Marie’s right hand, which was now gripping a bladeless hilt. “We’ve seen the explosions the Pint-Sized Railgun creates, but this is something new! Who knew that his body is that strong?!”

The announcer continued to yell out madly as the two left the venue. The burgeoning silence felt somewhat awkward to Gaius, but the boy didn’t know how to break it. The Knight following him had a complex mix of emotions on her face, her expression shifting minutely every so often. To Gaius, Marie was clearly replaying the fight in her mind over and over, and by the little shakes of her head, the boy had a feeling she wasn’t having much success.

“That was well done. The two of you.” A voice floated over from above as Paragon Ying Xin descended from the skies. She was followed swiftly by the second Paragon that had accompanied her in the bet, Paragon Tsurugi.

“A talent at combat, you,” said Paragon Tsurugi. The man in question, now that the boy was able to examine him up close, was…really too ordinary, to the point that he would have been overlooked in a crowd. Gaius had no idea what charm he had to make fangirls scream out wildly, but everyone had their own preferences.

The Stormbreaker…Gaius frowned. He had done some research on the Paragons of the Eastern Continent, but the papers he’d received, when he finally took a look at them, didn’t use the Paragons’ personal names. Instead, they used their aliases, which were mostly named after a signature feat of theirs. It was too late for Gaius to ask for their actual names later, and he’d forgotten about it once he returned from the warfront.

And now that he thought about it, there was probably a damn good reason why the Information Brokers chose not to use their real names, wasn’t there? The boy shook his head and reviewed the information in his head.

“Thank you,” Gaius replied. “I don’t have many gifts, but fighting is one of them. I’ll be jobless when peacetime comes.”

Paragon Ying Xin arched an eyebrow. Gaius glanced at her face, perplexed, but decided not ask her why she had such a face on. After a second or two, she turned to Marie and said, “Well, there you have it. I recommend that you and your vice-commander stay a bit further away when observing Gaius on the battlefield, since the Lifespring sends a bunch of Lords to his position seconds after he attacks, every time.”

“That…must be rough.” Marie answered.

“So long as you understand, that’s good enough. It’s not that we’re restricting you, but it truly is dangerous to observe right beside him,” said Paragon Ying Xin. “Saito, remember to send that artefact over to me.”

“Erk.”

Gaius sighed. “You sure love betting, don’t you? Weren’t you betting with him on the night you called me over a few months ago?”

“Good eye you have there,” said Ying Xin. “Or is it an ear? Well, whatever. We always have a betting pool going on, somewhere. The latest one we have going on is when the military guys decide Operation Spring Fury is good to go. You interested?”

“I’ll pass,” Gaius replied.

“Bummer. How about you, Marshal Marie? Feel like placing some pennies in our pot? We have a rather good pool going on.” The Paragon smiled brilliantly. “Are you feeling lucky?”

“After this defeat, not really,” said Marie.

“Aww, shucks.” The Paragon giggled. “Still, betting on Gaius is the way to go. I keep winning every time we have a bet on who will have the highest kill count for the day.”

“And you aren’t giving me any spoils?” Gaius asked. The boy pouted on purpose, his words a tone of sad innocence. The effect of doing so was instantaneous.

“Do you want anything in particular? I got a lot of rare stuff, and now that I think about it, I should have shared some with you,” said the Paragon.

“She’s gone all motherly again,” Paragon Tsurugi muttered. His voice faltered as Ying Xin glared at him, daggers flashing in her eyes, causing the man to raise his hands up in a non-verbal declaration of innocence.

“How about some Engines?” Gaius asked, making sure to keep his childlike image at full blast. Paragon Ying Xin wavered visibly, before nodding to herself.

“Well, I got lots of good stuff, so I suppose giving you an Engine would be nice and good.” She nodded to herself. “After all, someone stole your Apex and Saviour from you. I suppose you’ll be wanting a second Engine for the same reason you got the Saviour, no?”

“For…I think her name was Nakama, no?” Marie asked, curious. “Aziz, stop lurking and get out here.”

The colonel popped his head out sheepishly, and then walked over to Gaius. “Yes, Marie, his sister’s name is Nakama, I think. My memory’s not that good, but I do remember that his little sister has quite the appetite.”

“I remember seeing her and his…retainer in Seireiden,” said Paragon Ying Xin. “But if you three came from the South, how did you get a residence there? It’s really expensive. A small house in the Mi-Zu capital is around twenty thousand gold…oh.”

“Did you remember something?” Marie asked.

“Just that this guy is super rich,” she replied. “He took out the equivalent of seventy thousand gold to fund some research.”

“Seventy thousand?!” Three pairs of eyes turned to Gaius, and the boy found himself taking a step back in shock.

“Did you rob a bank?” Aziz asked. “Or was it Nakama’s inheritance?”

“No,” Gaius answered. “I dug out a bunch of rocks and gave it to them.”

“Rocks?”

“Gemstones,” said Paragon Ying Xin. “From Heritage.”

“Heritage?” Aziz asked. “Marie, what’s that?”

“It’s… a rather dangerous place,” said the marshal. “Which, now that I think about it, was probably the place he went to after he left with Major Degurechaff, right? The Resurgence program thing.”

Gaius nodded.

“I…see.”

Before the two could continue, Paragon Ying Xin said, “Well, since you want an extra Engine, I’ll have a good one delivered to you within the next few days.”

“Thank you!” Gaius smiled with all the joy he could muster, and a small grin appeared on the Paragon’s face.

“A child should be smiling when he gets new toys, not new weapons.” The tone of her words belied the smile on her face, and for a moment, Gaius could see some conflict well up in her expression.

He chose not to bring it up, instead turning to Paragon Tsurugi. “Paragon Tsurugi, I met someone from your family when I first came to the East…”