The sun was about to set. Upper Elysium’s only shopping district was stirring to life, with people getting off work to patronise the various shops. Gaius, who had been staring into a mirror for the past hour, fixed yet another set of clothes into his mind.

A new set of robes grew out from around him, purple robes that were adorned with yellow crescents. Gaius stared at the mirror for a moment, did a twirl, and then shook his head.

“I think that outfit where you had a cape looked better,” Nexus commented idly.

“I don’t think people wear capes for dates,” Gaius replied. “It just doesn’t work.”

“And on what basis are you saying that?”

“Isabelle won’t like it if I look like some grandiose conqueror,” Gaius replied. “I haven’t forgotten how she was traumatised by her sister and Countess Reinford. She might end up turning me into putty if I look like a tarted-up clown.”

“Something simpler, then.” Nexus tilted its head. “I was thinking about that simple grey outfit you created on your first try. You looked particularly used to it.”

Gaius twirled on the spot, and his robes shifted into a set of pants and a white, short-sleeved button-up top. A few seconds later, a grey jacket appeared, covering up the fact that he was wearing a short-sleeved shirt. A small rose was sitting on his right chest, which vanished as Gaius glanced at it, irritated.

“The Formless Pauldrons might actually have a will of its own,” Gaius muttered. “Where did that rose come from?”

“Good question,” Nexus replied. “This getup seems rather natural to you, though.”

“Well, it’s the first thing I had on me when my mind arrived at Cybral. Or my soul. I’m not too sure which is which.” Gaius shrugged. “Might be something to do with my personality, I guess.”

“Sure, whatever you say.” Nexus got up. “We’ve been doing this for an entire freaking hour, and you have no idea how bored I am. In fact, no words can even tell you just how freaking uneventful Orb was in the past hour. No one’s making any moves, the Map of Stars was a still image, and you were just changing clothes. The whole time.”

“Is it really that bad?” Gaius asked.

“A confluence of unfortunate events, actually.” Nexus shook his head. “Happy? Can we go now?”

Gaius stared at the sculpture. “You seem rather antsy.”

“All thanks to you. We didn’t even get some fireworks. Aren’t you a friend of Kolya? Why didn’t you just call him up and get him to approve a permit for firework use in Upper Elysium? It’s not like he dares to say no, right?”

“He’s a guy who strictly follows the laws he himself creates,” said Gaius. “Even if he has questionable areas, I can respect that. Making this request of him would put him on the spot.”

“Whatever you say.”

“And besides, it’s not like I didn’t buy some sparklers,” said Gaius, a small smile on his face. A pleasant memory — which was really rare to say the least — had returned to him when he was looking around. It was a memory in which he played with sparklers alongside a bunch of orphans he’d taken in, during a cold, snowy night.

The fact that there were actually sparklers in Orb made Gaius happier than he’d care to admit. And grateful too, to the people behind them. He didn’t know who brought them to the North, but…

“Looks like you’re recalling some nice things,” said Nexus.

“I am.” Gaius picked up the bag of sparklers. Poking his head out of the changing room he’d occupied for an entire hour, he scampered away after making sure that the coast was clear. Since he wasn’t trying that boutique’s clothes, Gaius knew that he shouldn’t be using their changing rooms, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

Gaius glanced down at the item on his wrist. It was an artefact called the Twilight Overseer, which he’d picked up back when he was exploring Solaris’ tomb. The artefact wasn’t all that useful, but unlike the Map of Stars, it was capable of working indoors.

There were no circumstances that needed its use after he obtained it, which accounted for why he hadn’t used until today. Of course, the fact that he had been unconscious for three years was probably played a huge role too; Gaius had no doubt that had he been awake for the past three years, a scenario in which he would have to use it would arise.

It had, however, a fairly important job for today. The Twilight Overseer was a fashion item he’d chosen out of the repertoire he’d had in mind, which included a top hat, an eye-patch and a mask.

This was the best one out of the four, a sentiment that Nexus heartily agreed with.

He took a few deep breaths as the sun began to dip underneath the horizon. Gaius had told Isabelle to meet up at 6 p.m., but since he was here an hour early, he didn’t mind popping up earlier.

“Just going to say something,” Nexus muttered.

“You have a suggestion?” Gaius asked.

“Not really a suggestion, but rather, an analysis born from a study of dramatics and clichés in my library. My analysis has revealed that it is highly likely for you to not be alone in coming early,” said Nexus. “However, the degree of shared awkwardness between you and Isabelle should both of you come way before the stipulated time would be rather unbearable.”

Gaius blinked his eyes and tried to parse the big words, only to give up a moment later. “Take that sentence and turn it into one that’s only fifteen words, with each of them having at most three syllables.”

“The two of you might show up early and create a weird atmosphere.”

“Ah.” Gaius nodded. “What do you recommend?”

“You wait until 1730 hours and then make your way to the fountain. Moving your schedule thirty minutes forward won’t be an issue,” said Nexus.

“True, but what does that accomplish?”

“Both of you won’t think you made the other wait,” Nexus replied. “Easier on the heart. In the meantime, I recommend that you spend the next forty-five minutes drinking some calming stuff. Like tea. There is a good shop here, not too far away.”

“Very well. Lead on, Nexus. I’m counting on you.”

“Sure thing, Gaius.”

After forty nerve-wrecking minutes of sitting on a wooden chair and twiddling his thumbs, Gaius got up, leaving behind an emptied jug of tea. Sliding a gold coin to the counter, he made his way out of the little quaint shop, making a mental note to drop by more often.

“Feeling better?” Nexus asked, popping his head out of his grey jacket.

“I’m not sure.”

“Have you thought of what you’re going to say to Isabelle?” Nexus asked.

“Yes.”

“What restaurant did you book?” Nexus pressed on.

“The Twilight Knife,” Gaius replied. “Yes, I did my research. After dinner, we’ll go over to the park, chat until night, light up some sparklers, and see how things go from there.”

“…that last bit sounds very dangerous.”

“Screw off,” Gaius replied. “To be honest, I’ve no idea what’s going to happen tomorrow. Isn’t it funny? I know what’s coming next January, but I don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow.”

“Matters of the heart are the hardest to tread,” Nexus murmured, “and the most rewarding to touch. Sally forth, my young master. Good luck.”

“Get home safe, Nexus.”

“No matter what comes next, may you find peace in your choices.” Nexus inclined his head. “Good luck to you, Master of the Library, the Lost Star, the Abyss Sovereign. Good luck to you, Gaius.”

The sculpture floated up to around five metres, before bobbing off. The orange sky continued to darken as Gaius watched his partner’s retreating silhouette for a few seconds, before turning towards his destination of the day.

The fountain of the shopping district.

On the way, Gaius noticed other people hanging around and doing nothing. Some looked nervous, while others had a small smile on their face, but they all had one thing in common. That thing was the hopeful light in their eyes, one that made Gaius think about a happy future to come.

His heart twisted slightly.

Making his way onwards, Gaius arrived at the fountain, where lovers were holding hands and talking to each other. There were all kinds of pairings; heck, there was one with five people.

…That probably was just a normal dinner meet-up, though. Generally. However, Gaius could tell from the looks of things, the North didn’t care what happened in their citizens’ love lives.

“A progressive society, eh?” Gaius nodded. “Maybe that’s why the North’s the forerunner of any technological changes, unlike the Assembly…well, this is not the time to think about that. And besides, I don’t know much in the first place…”

Taking in a deep breath, he surveyed the area.

A faint gold shine was radiating from the centre of the fountain, and his heart skipped a beat as he saw the one person that ranked on par with Nakama in his life standing there. That person was wearing a dark-blue dress, a simple one adorned with small specks of white.

Like stars.

“Alright,” Gaius muttered. “Now or never. Don’t be scared, me. It’s just a normal…normal…yeah. That adjective and me just doesn’t go together.”

Puffing himself up, he walked over to Isabelle.

“Isabelle. Did you wait long?” Gaius asked.

“I just arrived,” she replied, before reaching out a hand. “Did you…grow taller in the past few hours?”

Gaius thought back to his shoes. “I’ve always been on a growth spurt. Physically, I am sixteen, after all. Time just decided to treat me well.”

“Is that so?” Isabelle patted his head, and then grabbed his hand. “So, where are we going?

“We haven’t had dinner yet, right?” Gaius asked. “I’ve booked a reservation at the Twilight Knife.”

Despite his calm exterior, his heart was pounding madly. He hadn’t expected Isabelle to grab his hand so nonchalantly; curveballs like these were not something he could deal with. Yet, Gaius didn’t want to move his hand away — pulling away might injure Isabelle, as well as hurt her feelings.

And well, he quite liked it either.

Damnit. I’m someone who remembers his previous life! A person who died at a rather old age! There has to be some experience I can draw from…or not. I think I was single back on Earth…Gaius took a deep breath and stopped thinking altogether.

“Let’s go, then.”

Reciprocating Isabelle’s little gesture with a squeeze of his own hand, Gaius led the way to the Twilight Knife. There were others like him and Isabelle on the way, and inwardly, Gaius gave thanks to whichever god that granted him the boon of a growth spurt; if he was still the height of Nakama, there might have been some odd looks headed his way.

He looked at Isabelle. Up close, her composed face didn’t seem all that composed after all, and since Gaius hadn’t bothered to hide the fact that he was looking at her directly…

Isabelle turned away, while her hand heated up slightly.

Is she…forcing it? Gaius squeezed her hand again, only for Isabelle to squeeze back this time. In this fashion, the two continued to exchange squeezes with each other, although Gaius wasn’t quite sure if her increasingly-tighter squeezes were displays of affection, or if they were meant to convey her displeasure at making her embarrassed.

It was quite hard to tell, but for some reason, Gaius felt something was off with this arrangement.

As if…he was swept up by her pace.

Gaius looked at their linked hands, and then decided not to think too hard about it after all.

A waiter bowed as they walked over to the entrance of Twilight Knife, the restaurant Gaius had a reservation had. “Welcome to Twilight Knife. Do you have a reservation?”

“Yes,” Gaius replied. After exchanging a few more words, the waiter led Gaius and Isabelle to a table for two. A menu was sitting in the middle, along with a silver bell.

Gaius slid on the menu over to Isabelle. “Shall we?”