The headquarters of the East’s defence lines were hastily constructed, something that was evident at first glance. That fact, however, did not stop its inhabitants from turning it into a small palace, complete with its own recreational facilities. From afar, one could tell just how much money had been sank into it, something that, depending on who Gaius asked, either reassured or troubled the troops holding the line.

To the boy, however, the fact that so much money had been invested into the construction of such a luxurious headquarters spoke volumes about the Plenum’s determination to drive back the Lifespring. It was a pity that the rabble-rousers in Mi-Zu weren’t able to see that from the very start…although if they were going to waste their resources, Gaius wasn’t all that disturbed about it. No matter how much they moved, the Plenum had already shown their determination — something these people would have noticed if they had moved to the frontlines in the first place.

Gaius landed on a trimmed lawn. At this time of the day, most of the people working in the headquarters were already slogging their guts out in the building, which meant that his approach went unnoticed.

For the most part, anyway.

A man, who had been sitting around the area, walked over to Gaius when he landed. His blue eyes twinkled, a stark contrast to his head of flaming crimson as he addressed Gaius. “You’re Knight Gaius?”

“I suppose you could say that,” the boy replied. He wasn’t exactly a Knight, but he had a feeling that voicing that out loud was going to taunt a lot of real ones. “What does the Plenum need me for?”

“They intend to uphold their end of the bargain, it seems,” said the man. He smoothed his long, flowing robes, and then looked up at the skies. “Today has been a rather good experiment. It seems that things are about to proceed on far quicker than our original roadmap had expected.”

“Far quicker?”

“Maybe.” The man picked up a fallen leaf. “Come, let’s get you to the Plenum, before the pragmatists there get cranky about us wasting time here.”

He tossed it aside and started walking. The guards patrolling around the area saluted as he passed them by.

“Good morning, Lord Jusis.”

Jusis? Place that alongside his looks…and it seems that he’s not from these parts. Is he a retainer or sorts? Or someone the East poached? Both are very possible. It was the first time he’d seen someone else who wasn’t from the East working for it, although it was entirely possible that there were others that had slipped by unnoticed.

“You don’t seem to be a local,” said Gaius.

“And you seem to be a local,” Jusis replied. “Looks alone cannot dictate citizenship, right?”

“Does that mean you’re actually…”

“Locally born, yes.” The man smiled. “My parents settled into the East, and then had me there.”

“If you don’t mind,” said Gaius, “could you tell me where your parents came from?”

“The Western Holdings,” he replied. “There are various circumstances surrounding their marriage, and eventually, they chose to leave their homes entirely to get away from them. They gave birth to me a year or so after they settled down in Feng-Lang.”

“Various circumstances,” the boy repeated. “Thank you for indulging my curiosity.”

“You’re welcome. Most people here don’t really ask, so it’s a rather novel experience for me too. Everyone’s very polite around these parts.”

“I-is that so?” Gaius thought back to the bunch of Knights he’d talked to last night, and somehow, he couldn’t bring himself to agree with the Lord’s statement. “I suppose it’s a matter of perspective.”

“You might be right.” He pushed open yet another door, where an armed group of guards were standing around. They saluted hurriedly, eliciting a nod from Jusis, who then passed through their little group. Gaius could feel a few stares on his back as he followed Jusis deeper into the building.

Fragile, shiny decorations increased in number rapidly as the two continued to proceed down the hallways. It wasn’t Gaius’ first time into the Eastern headquarters, but he had never traversed this far into the building itself. And as for the Plenum summoning him directly for a talk, this had not happened either to the boy. At most, only a Paragon or so would talk to him, which was what had happened when Gaius had first arrived at the battlefront.

To have an entire bunch of Paragons talk to him seemed a bit overkill, but given that Operation Spring Fury was on the table, it seemed somewhat reasonable for them to have some instructions for the largest cannon the East had.

Furthermore, considering that a Paragon’s service could be said to be priceless, getting Gaius’ services for an Engine or two was nothing short of a steal. It was very likely that they wanted to entice him to stay on, but that wasn’t something that the boy would do if they asked.

After a few more corners, the two stopped in front of a grand set of double doors. Unlike the other decorations and rooms he’d come across while walking around the headquarters, this particular door seemed…childish. Random scribbles and doodles, made from what looked like Orb’s version of a marker, dotted the entire surface. Little stickers of cutesy art were pasted around the door frame, and for a moment, Gaius thought that he was in Kishi Gakuen, instead of the solemn headquarters of the East’s defence lines.

“Are you stunned? Surprised? Overwhelmed?” Lord Jusis winked at Gaius. “The Paragons don’t seem all that awe-inspiring after you get to know them well. Everyone’s gotten used to their odd personalities, and these little decorations are just the tip of the iceberg.

Gaius thought back to the floating house that belonged to Paragon Ying Xin, and suddenly understood why he wasn’t as disturbed as Jusis expected him to be. He’d seen little hints about how odd Paragon Ying Xin was — a mitigating factor, in other words. The boy peered at an elaborately drawn flower, which, if not for the fact that it had arms and legs, would definitely be right at home in a museum of high art.

“This is an interesting door,” the boy muttered.

“Yes. We know,” Jusis replied. “But I think that you shouldn’t spend too much time on this place and deal with the Plenum instead. The Paragons inside it are carefree, but that doesn’t apply to the Lords who hold positions there.”

Gaius considered his words for a moment, and then nodded. “Thank you.”

“Think nothing of it. I’ll be standing here, ready to escort you if needed.”

The boy smiled, and knocked on the door.