For some reason, despite her victory, Isabelle had chosen to sit out the next round, and Gaius grew worried. Her golden hair had somehow lost part of its lustre, and it would seem that even Nakama’s attempts to cheer her up weren’t exactly going well.

What’s going on? Worried, Gaius turned to his next opponent — the Knight he recognised earlier.

“G-Gaius?”

“You’re… that translator, aren’t you?” Gaius asked, setting aside his worry and frustration for the moment. “You’re…Miku?”

“Yes. I thought you’d left the North, though,” she replied, her clear eyes staring at Gaius. “Why are you here?”

“We came back after a family visit,” Gaius replied. “So, do you want to fight? I’m not going to hold back. I’m in a hurry to end this little game.”

The boy glanced at the stands, where the anomalous expression on Isabelle’s face was beginning to worry him. For all their interactions, Gaius still didn’t know too much about her past — it had never popped up as a conversational topic before. Cursing inwardly again, the boy exuded a giant mass of qi, forming the same solid blade he’d used earlier.

“I apologise in advance, but I am pressed for time,” said Gaius.

Miku nodded and lowered herself into a sword-drawing stance, her left hand on her scabbard. Gaius instantly recognised it — it was related to Iaido, a Japanese sword-drawing form — and it seemed that she was banking on it to crush Gaius’ own attack. As to how that worked, Gaius wasn’t sure, since the original was all about being prepared for sudden attacks, but this was Orb.

Her eyes closed for a second, and she reopened it a heartbeat later. Qi had welled up around the scabbard, and her eyes flashed with a chill calmness, in total contrast to the Miku he’d seen back at Solaris’ tomb. “I’m ready.”

Gaius nodded, and brought down the blade. At the same time, Miku’s arms turned into a blur, slashing outwards. In that moment, her weapon seemed to extend for a second or so, and the resulting clash created a spiderweb of cracks that extended from below Miku herself. The ground began to shudder and crack, and a moment later, the constellation of cracks crumbled away.

Her sword-drawing stance broke.

Gaius’ right arm, which had been impeded for a moment, continued on its trajectory for a fraction of a second before stopping of its own volition. Wind whipped outwards, clearing the small arena of dust, revealing that the deadly blade had stopped a few centimetres above her vulnerable head.

“You’ve lost,” said Gaius. He looked at the medic, who was pulling double duty as a judge, and added, “I’ll be withdrawing from the next round onwards. Personal family matters.”

The man nodded, and with that, the boy sank into the interface of his Blink ability. His surroundings turned dark for a moment or so, and when light next returned, he was beside Nakama and Isabelle. The former was staring anxiously at Isabelle, who was giving off a desolate feeling.

“What’s going on?” Gaius asked, his heart beating somewhat quickly.

“You’re back,” Isabelle replied dully. “Nothing’s wrong.”

“Don’t lie to me,” said Gaius. “Your emotions changed when you talked to that boy earlier. What did he tell you? How can I help?”

“Help?” Isabelle echoed. “It’s not something you can help with.”

“I’m the Lost Star. I’ve faced down Paragons, tried my hand at assassinating a Demigod too.” Gaius narrowed his eyes. “I am reasonably confident of handling any Paragon now. Why can’t I not help?”

Isabelle laughed at his words, and the boy relaxed somewhat. “It’s nothing to do with my strength. It’s actually about my family. No matter how strong you are, killing someone related to me isn’t going to do anything.”

“Your family?” Gaius thought back to the happy family back at Interregnum and tilted his head. “Last I checked — which was a day ago — they’re living quite the comfortable life.”

“No, not them.” Isabelle heaved a sigh. “Look, it’s a family thing, alright?”

“Aren’t we your family too? Your troubles are mine.” He glanced at the little girl, who pouted at his earlier words. “And Nakama’s too.”

He glanced out at the field, where Countess Reinford was looking around for someone. “I suppose you have to tell me from the very start. That boy. Who was he? What did he tell you? And why are you so agitated?”

“You missed out ‘where’, ‘when’ and ‘how’,” Nakama chimed in.

“We’re not doing a book report!” Gaius retorted instantly.

Isabelle giggled, and the boy felt his mood lighten considerably. “You little treasure.”

Gaius felt his eyebrow twitch. “Don’t encourage her! What am I to do if she decides to rebut everything I say from now on?”

“It’s okay, I’m here.”

The boy rolled his eyes. “Alright, spill the beans. I don’t believe there’s nothing a good beating can’t solve.”

“Now I’m worried.” Isabelle shook her head, her expression complex, yet touched by mirth. “That boy that, he was the younger brother of the man that ran away with my elder sister.”

It took Gaius a moment or two to make sense of what she just said, but Nakama had filled in for him by saying, “Elder sister?”

“Yeah.”

“So, what’s the issue?” Gaius asked. “I can’t bear to see you like this, you know.”

“His brother and my sister — they’re now married — are actually in the North,” said Isabelle. “I’ve never been on good terms with either of them since I was a child, but if that guy was able to enrol in the Phrontistery of Scientific Reasoning…”

“They must have some kind of backing,” Gaius concluded. “What’s the beef between you and your sister? How serious is it?”

Isabelle’s expression wavered.

“It’s alright if you don’t want to tell me,” said Gaius. “You can talk to us when you’re ready for it. Putting that aside for now, what do you think your sister would do when she learns you’re here? Can she conceivably do any harm to you?”

“No, she’s too weak for that.” Isabelle played with her long hair. “And it’s just that I don’t want to be reminded of her, where possible. That boy…well, he knew how to push the right buttons.”

“Or the wrong buttons, as one might say,” Gaius observed. He had a feeling that Isabelle was still keeping some things from them, but he was confident that she would tell them in due time. But more importantly, the Knight was back to her usual self, one or two jitters aside.

He turned back to the rings just to see the competition for the top spot end. Gaius wasn’t perturbed by the fact that he’d just thrown away some glory, but the fact that the winner was that annoying countess made him frown slightly. But either way, the admission test was over, and what came next was a proper, schooling life that children should have.