The seamless transition away from the topic of getting Gaius to hand over the explosion sigil made Gaius raise his eyebrow, but from the nonchalance the other members of the Plenum were giving off, the boy had a feeling that this was very in line with Shizo’s character.

           I think they called it Janus-faced or something. Is that the right term to use? Gaius played with a stray strand of hair, before walking over to an open seat. He had been standing the entire time, but now that the topic had shifted over to Operation Spring Fury, Gaius didn’t feel awkward in taking a seat.

           No one batted an eye as he sat down, and his suspicions grew. For some reason, he had the feeling that the Plenum wanted him to listen into their preparations for Spring Fury. 

           “Spring Fury will take place at twelve midnight, on the first of December,” Paragon Shizo rattled off. “To support our efforts, we have already put in place a nightly harassment effort to dull the enemy’s sense of danger. The advance force will be our Knights and our Lords, while our main body of fliers provides cover for an amphibious landing…”

           The Paragon continued to drone on and on, but he didn’t seem so unpleasant, now that he was wholly focused on business. The others were listening to him intently, although from the looks of it, it was pretty much a finalisation of how Spring Fury was going to be executed.

           He hadn’t heard how it was going to be carried out, however. This was the first time he’d heard the specifics. Gaius, however, wasn’t an expert in this topic.

           Let the experts do their thing.

           From the silence from the others, they were either thinking the same thing, or they didn’t have any problem with how the operation was going to happen. Gaius continued to listen as the Paragon touched on the logistical issues and communications.

           Gaius frowned slightly. Now that Shizo was talking about the communications aspect, the boy was suddenly reminded of the odd broadcasts he’d received earlier, while playing around with the Radio. The last group he heard mentioned something about following and being detected. He hadn’t thought much about it at that time, but now that he’d given it more thought, it didn’t make much sense for anyone to follow the Lifespring’s troops.

           In that case, who were the speakers following? A specific person? Gaius rubbed his forehead slowly. Some things weren’t making sense to him, but to seek out more information right now didn’t look like a good idea.

            Maybe I’d misheard them, or the context is required for me to understand what they said, thought Gaius. He glanced at the Paragon, who was ending his briefing, and stood up a few seconds after he stopped talking. Like him, the others were about to leave, but as he stepped out of the door, a hand fell on his back. 

           “Paragon Ying Xin,” said Gaius, “you needed something?”

           “Not just me,” she replied.

           Another hand fell onto his shoulder. Before he could turn his head to look at the newcomer, another set of hands was tugging onto his ears, preventing him from moving his head at all. From afar, it was probably funny, but considering that the three had to be Paragons, none of the people outside the room would dare to laugh.

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           “Guess who?”

           Gaius sighed. “Paragon Saito and…Ming Zhu.”

           “Bingo!”

           Paragon Saito turned him around, before placing his feet solidly on the ground. “We apologise for that earlier fiasco by Shizo, but please don’t hold it against him. He’s the most pragmatic of us all, and you know how such people can be.”

           “He was being cryptic at the end,” said Gaius.

           “He always has a few contingency plans in store,” Paragon Ming Zhu replied. “It’s very him.”

           She paused. “I don’t think my kids’ ears were this stretchy, though.”

           Gaius tilted his head to dodge her incoming hands, but after a few seconds of moving his head around, his ears were caught by the Paragon, who began to tug at them gently.

           “It’s like a baby’s, isn’t it?” Paragon Ming Zhu asked. “Look at his body. Ablution?”

           “Seems like it,” said Paragon Saito. “Of course, if we do a more detailed examination—”

           Paragon Ying Xin cleared her throat. “No examinations. Especially here, when we’re blocking half the hallway. Gaius here seems to be uniquely suited towards complex and delicate motions, which is something most people who’d gone through a thorough ablution tend to have. Happy?”

           “O-of course,” said Paragon Ming Zhu. “That explains why he can draw so many sigils this quickly, doesn’t it?”  

           “If only my own grandchildren were this talented,” said Paragon Saito.

           “Only because you didn’t invest in them, Saito.” Paragon Ying Xin sighed. “Now, if you guys are done scouting this potential new addition to your own families, let’s get down to the main point. Gaius, why do you think you were called here?”

           “To listen to Spring Fury’s briefing, right?”

           “Correct. Paragon Shizo, however, is of the belief that you shouldn’t be trusted. You’re from the South, and we just had a…small war with it.”

           Gaius noted the slight tightening of her lips as she said ‘small’, but the boy didn’t pursue it. “It’s nothing to do with me, since you lot were busy attacking the Assembly.”

           “I know,” said Paragon Ying Xin. “Anyone with shared history with Colonel Aziz and Marshal Marie probably wouldn’t feel angry at our invasion, but Shizo is very…cautious. Therefore, during this operation, you’ll be in the vanguard, where the chances of you doing anything to jeopardise this campaign is the lowest.”

           “I’m at the front.” Gaius blinked. “You would put a child at the front. Doesn’t that seem wrong?”

           “You’re playing that card now?” Paragon Ying Xin suppressed a smile. “You didn’t seem all that child-like when you were firing giant explosions and staring down Shizo. It’s a tad unfair for you to have access to that card as and when you please.”

           “Erk.”

           “Well, it isn’t as bad as it sounds,” said the Paragon. “We only agreed to it for his peace of mind.”

           “I see…” Gaius wasn’t all that comforted, but since they had put it that way, he wasn’t really in a position to refuse.

           “Alright,” said the Paragon, “run along now. He’s been waiting there for some time to escort you out before you start doing something to our walls.”

           She nodded at Lord Jusis, who promptly walked over and placed his hands onto Gaius’ shoulder. It seemed that this was a trait shared by most Lords and Paragons in the East when they saw a kid walking around — but the boy wasn’t given the luxury to think about that.

           That reminds me, I forgot to tell the Paragons about the people I overheard on the Radio…