“Interregnum…” Isabelle tapped her chin, her expression complex. “I didn’t realise my family managed to climb up that fast.”

           “It used to be called Camp Napoleon, apparently,” said Gaius. “But it became a city over mere months after its victory over the Southern Assembly.”

           “To be fair,” said Isabelle, “the ceded areas and cities were all tier-three or tier-two cities. There wasn’t a really good place to have a capital in the first place. And don’t get me started on the captured beastfolk cities; most of them were razed to the ground.”

           “So why not just build a new one, eh?” Gaius chewed on a skewer thoughtfully. It wasn’t hard to preserve its temperature — Gaius could regulate the temperature around him, although now that he had a better idea on how Engines worked, he was curious about which Paragon the Stellar Core was emulating.

           “Exactly.” Isabelle reached over to take another skewer. “Somehow, this tastes better than the ones I’ve eaten in the East.”

           Gaius wanted to ask Nexus about the prevalent skewer culture in Orb, but that wasn’t the right time to broach that topic. After finishing his current skewer, the boy said, “We’ll go to Interregnum in an hour or so. Nexus is busy searching for a usable route to the Republic’s capital right now, and he should be done by then.”

           “I didn’t say one hour!” Nexus’ voice echoed through the Library of Ancients.

           Gaius waved his hands, leaning back on his chair. “Yeah, yeah.”

           Isabelle giggled. “Rather than master and servant, the two of you feel like brothers or buddies to me. The older one, hm…”

           “Naturally, it’s me,” said Nexus. The sculpture the artificial intelligence usually occupied was unused right now, so the voice came from somewhere above the ceiling. “Gaius, the older brother? Heh, heh.”

             “No way,” said Gaius. “If you let him loose on the streets, he’s going to be abducted in a few minutes.”

           “I’m far older than you, little boy,” Nexus replied. “I’ve seen all kinds of scams, even from the previous masters of the Library. Just because I acquired a mobile form recently doesn’t mean I’m young.”

           “This is my second life!” Gaius retorted.

           “Yay. Breaking news — I’m over fifty thousand years old.”

           Gaius felt a bit stifled, and then zipped his mouth after that. There was no way he could defeat that particular line of argument, and the boy decided to bite into a skewer somewhat harder to express his displeasure.

           Isabelle laughed again. “Nakama, see? You now have an even bigger brother.”

           “Nexus?”

           “Yes. What do you think?” Isabelle asked. “Who should be the bigger brother?”

           “I have two big brothers, and that’s enough!” Nakama placed a proud expression on her face. “Why should I care who’s the bigger one?”

Stolen novel; please report.

           Gaius reached over to pat her head, the boy almost on the verge of tears. “I didn’t spoil you for nothing.”

           “Hmph,” said Nexus, its voice coming from above. “You’re lucky Nakama doesn’t care about little things like this.”

           “Now, now,” said Isabelle, “don’t get angry with each other over this. Besides, all things considered, Nexus is indeed the oldest one amongst all four of us.”

           She glanced at Nakama’s sentient Lightning. “Probably. Maybe Lightning’s actually the oldest one amongst everyone here.”

           “Lightning?” Nexus asked. “You know…you might be right. That little bauble has been sitting around in Solaris’ tomb for who knows how long. It’s possible that it gained some rudimentary sentience a millennium or two into its entombment.”

           “Might have to wait some time before we can ask it, though,” said Gaius. “Lightning and Stone can’t exactly communicate yet.”

           “Give me a year or so, I’ll whip them into shape.” Said Nexus. “There’s probably some fascinating history going on in that tomb, and it could something useful to — oh.”

           “You found a route?” Gaius asked, getting up from his chair.

           “Yeap. It’s a rather good one too — it’s one of those painless kinds, like the one in Heritage Basestation. Managed to find another one from the Intersection to Orb too, so it should be a stress-free journey.”

           “Thanks, Nexus.” Gaius picked up a motionless sculpture and placed it on his shoulder.

           “Don’t mention it.” Nexus paused for a moment, and then said, “Bring another sculpture along. Having one of me around was quite the issue, when we were at the Eastern Territories. I’ll be able to relay your words if you split up from the others.”

           “Yeah, not doing so back then was a mistake.” Gaius shook his head. When he was out at the East, fighting the God of Water’s troops, he’d often wondered if Nakama missed him, or if something had happened over there. Isabelle and his sister probably had such thoughts too. In his defence, he didn’t expect to have to run over to another Territory, but contingencies were never planned for in the first place.

           “Well,” said Nexus, “let’s get cracking. If we arrive early enough, maybe we won’t need an inn.”

           “C’mon, Nakama, let’s bring you to your new grandparents!” Isabelle smiled, and piggybacked Nakama. The little girl’s excitement was showing on her face, and without further delay, the three left the Library. Snow drifted past their face, but as usual, Gaius wasn’t bothered by the temperature.

           It felt odd that they weren’t staying for more than a day in the Library of Ancients after returning it for the first time in many months, but work was work.

           “Where to, Nexus?” Gaius asked.

           “Fifty-three kilometres to the south,” said Nexus.

           “If we focus on flying, that shouldn’t take that long,” said Isabelle.

           “Not so fast,” said Nexus. “From the Intersection to the passageway closest to Interregnum, it’s going to be a three-hour flight, assuming you guys go in a straight line.”

           “Four hours or so, then,” said Gaius. “We might be able to make it for dinner. That alright with you, Isabelle?”

           “Naturally,” she replied. “Thank you.”

           “Think nothing of it,” Gaius replied. “C’mon, let’s get cracking. We’ll be flying in low temperatures, so if either of you two don’t feel well, we’ll take a break and warm up with some fire for a moment.”

           The two girls nodded.

           Gaius took to the air, and after verifying his bearings one last time, he zipped off into the distance, followed closely by Isabelle, with Nakama on her back.