“So, are we going to enjoy a normal school life, or are we going to get free education and slough our hearts out whenever the school term ends?” Gaius asked. “Personally, I’d rather pay for my education, rather than kill monsters, but I gotta respect your opinions too.”

“Do you really think the two of us really like fighting and killing anything?” Isabelle asked. To her side, Nakama nodded vigorously. The three of them, once finished with the entrance exams, had been evicted from Twilight Elysium immediately, along with everyone else. And as usual, the first thing Gaius and company wanted was to get some grub.

“Just in case you wanted opportunities to, uhh, stab things,” Gaius replied. “So we’re just going the normal route, then?”

“Normal…” Isabelle glanced at Gaius, and Nakama giggled. “See? Nakama’s thinking the same thing too.”

“Thinking what?”

“That the chances of us having a normal school life is nearly zero?”

“And why, pray tell, would that be the case?” Gaius glanced at Isabelle, his eyes drawn away from the restaurant he was looking from earlier.

“You produced a giant blade of qi and waved it around like nothing,” said the Knight. “Anyone with some awareness obviously knows that you’re…special, and anyone who likes to fight will come and disturb you every day for a spar. Maybe the teachers might want you to kill monsters too by forcibly making you a scholarship student.”

“Nice try, but nope.” Gaius waved his hands airily.

“How does that work anyway? The blade you created. I’ve been trying, but it barely becomes a metre before I run dry,” said Isabelle.

Nexus popped up to answer. “It’s something to do with his special circumstances. Gaius cannot extend qi to beyond twenty metres of his body, without running it through an artefact first. Anything that goes beyond twenty metres loses form and returns to his body.”

The sculpture turned to look at Gaius. “Am I right?”

“Right on the money, little fella,” Gaius replied. “There are some specifics to it — any qi that disperses due to being in contact with another’s energy won’t return, for instance — but that’s a very accurate summary of why I can do that. But yes, I can maintain something like that with minimal to no energy loss.”

“Nice to know, but how do I get something like that too?” Isabelle asked. “Nakama, you’re interested too, right?”

“Yep! Tell us!”

“Uhh.” Gaius sifted through his memory, but it wasn’t something he could remember all that well. “Nexus?”

“Hmm. It’s related to your secret, though. The one about the Engines?”

“The one where Engines that land into Gaius’ possession seem to disappear forever?” Isabelle asked. “Yes, we know about that. Go on.”

“Did I tell you that?” Gaius asked. “Nexus?”

“Wasn’t me, bub,” the sculpture replied. “Isabelle probably figured that out on her own. Give her credit where credit’s due — you never explained where the Saviour or the Apex vanished to, after all.”

“True. Well then, I suppose you can explain that to her, because I cannot remember the circumstances behind them all that well now,” said Gaius, his eyes taking in the vast array of restaurants, cafes and open-air bars. Clearly, Pinnacle Kolya had done a good job in bringing over things from Earth, although Gaius was still surprised that a railway system still didn’t exist in the North.

“Alright then.” Nexus looked around warily, before hopping over to Isabelle’s shoulder. It started talking, in a volume low enough that only Nakama and Isabelle could hear it, and Gaius soon lost interest, his attention drawn by a particular shop.

Dai-Yukimono.

The famous ice-cream parlour in the East…and it had a branch here. Immediately, Gaius directed his steps towards the enticing building, and then noted with amusement that the place was decorated in the exact same manner as its compatriot in the East. A glazed window decorated sparsely with snowflakes, a white exterior that reminded one of snow-covered houses in winter, and a warm-looking brown door.

Halfway there, his shoulder was once again joined by Nexus, who had clearly finished telling his story.

“Is that the ice-cream shop?” Nakama asked. “Why is there one here?”

“Why can’t there be one here, silly?” Gaius slowed down and rubbed her head. “I think Sephira has one too, if you ask me. It’s good enough to be a mainstay of any capital.”

He licked his lips. He hadn’t had such a luxury for some time, ever since he went to help the East under Paragon Ying Xin’s urging. He could recall the sweet, rich taste of the velvety ice-cream, and the unique atmosphere of the ice-cream parlour.

Come to think of it, that was the first time he—

“It’s you!”

Gaius jumped in shock, as a familiar voice spoke out. His head swivelled jerkily, and his vision shifted to a very notorious figure in the East.

“Xanadu?”

“Yes, it’s me.” A figure, clad in black and purple and boasting a long, silky stretch of white hair, looked back at him. One of the Lifespring’s murderers…and someone brave enough to stand before the Human God in the Eastern Territories’ time of need.

“Why are you here?” Isabelle asked. “What should I do?”

“Nothing, for now,” said Gaius. “She’s probably here for ice-cream and nothing else. Right?”

“It’s the only pleasure I have in life, after all,” the Phantom Blade replied. “Surely you won’t begrudge me that, right?”

Isabelle narrowed her eyes. “So long as you don’t try anything funny.”

“Why would I destroy my favourite place? I don’t think I’ve done anything to make you think I’m a fool, have I?” She licked her lips. “Come on, standing out here is just making it worse. Let’s go in already, I’m craving.”

When Gaius looked at her from this angle, she didn’t seem all that different from a normal teenage girl. Sure, she had white hair, and the purple and black armour she always had on made her seem somewhat dangerous, but to be fair, Gaius had the feeling that her true appearance was something only a subset of people could see — cultivators strong enough to see past that façade.

Oh, and Nakama.

“Let’s go, then.”