It didn’t take long for them to reach the Phrontistery of Scientific Reasoning, at which point Gaius, Isabelle and the other students dispelled the various means that were used to hold off the ice storm. Unfortunately, the way the freezing rain had coated their barriers meant that even after dispelling these defences, most people were still encased in a sphere of ice.

The scene of people fighting out of what looked like transparent eggs probably wasn’t the most elegant, but Gaius was thankfully spared from the shame. After splitting apart the eggshell of ice with a single slash of his Terminus, Gaius did the same to Isabelle, freeing her and Nakama, who was still asleep.

“Everyone looks like a bunch of chicks in the middle of hatching now,” Gaius noted idly. “Maybe they should have brought sharper weapons with them.”

“You’re the only one toting Zeroth Armaments here,” Isabelle replied. “Now that’s overkill.”

“Right, that palanquin,” said Gaius. “I wonder what it’s up to? We still need to conclude that bet.”

“Is it me, or have you gotten fond of betting recently?” Isabelle asked. “Is it something you got back from the East?”

“Huh?” Gaius glanced at the Knight, who had a puzzled look on her face. “What are you talking about?”

“No, nothing. Give me a hand here, will you? Help me wake Nakama up,” said Isabelle. She gestured at the little girl, who was clinging on tightly. “I think she’s having a nightmare or something again.”

Gaius floated to Nakama’s eye level, and then poked her cheeks three times. She murmured something and trembled for a few moments, before waking up blearily.

“Rise and shine, Nakama. We’re already at school,” said Gaius. “Isabelle’s going to put you down now, so keep your eyes open.”

For some reason, Gaius had a feeling that he had forgotten something vitally important. The sensation, however, fled as quickly as it came, and soon, Nakama was back to her lively self. The short power nap had done wonders for here, and the boy wondered if she should take a few more from now on.

Another yawn echoed, but this time, it was in his mind.

“Nexus?” Gaius asked telepathically.

“Just tired from training those two,” Nexus replied. “Did I miss something?”

“An obnoxious procession, that is all,” Gaius answered. “You don’t sound that good either. Did you have a bad dream too?”

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“I had a dream,” Nexus corrected. “That’s not supposed to happen at all. Colour me surprised or something, but it was surreal to have a dream of my own to explore.”

It was probably a coincidence that Nakama and Nexus happened to have dreams, but Gaius decided to ask if there were any records of great gods that happened to rule over dreams. After the Chanter of Innocents’ appearance, the boy couldn’t really discount that possibility.

“If there was such a god, I think he or she would be more well-known, though,” Nexus replied. “But why did you think of that in the first place?”

“Just my gut,” Gaius replied.

After directing the same question to Isabelle, who naturally didn’t have the answer, the three headed for their homeroom. Assembly was done only at the start and at the end of the term, which was a great thing, as far as his ears and sanity was concerned.

“I didn’t know you could telepathically communicate with Nexus without direct contact,” said Isabelle. “Is it something new? Does that work on me too?”

“You still need to hold on to a sculpture,” Gaius replied. “You can try your luck, though.”

“Am I an exhibit now?” Nexus complained in his head, but Gaius could discern a hint of laughter behind it. Clearly, the little fella wasn’t as opposed to it as he should have been, and soon, Isabelle had the most fascinating expression on her face as she mentally conversed with Nexus while holding to it.

“Right, so where was that palanquin?” Isabelle asked, passing Nexus over to Nakama, who promptly fell into deep thought.

“It went ahead of us,” said Gaius. “We should be there soon. It’s probably surrounded in a huge block of ice, though. If we’re lucky, they should be getting out around now.”

“…Right.” She shook her head twice, and held Nakama’s hand. The little girl was busy talking with Nexus telepathically, which meant that she hadn’t been paying attention to her surroundings for quite some time. Frankly speaking, it was somewhat dangerous, since the floor was wet from melting ice, but so far, the little girl was avoiding them smoothly.

After turning one corner, Gaius’ lip twitched. The palanquin that had passed by them was now empty, set down at an empty space. Its bearers were now busy rolling out a red carpet for a golden-haired woman in her early twenties, in a manner annoyingly similar to that of Countess Reinford.

The more Gaius stared at the woman, the more he found her familiar. By now, Nakama too had stopped talking to Nexus, her eyes also darting from the woman to Isabelle.

“I’ll take that massage,” Isabelle whispered in Gaius’ ears.

“Was that the one you were talking about?” the boy whispered back. “Your elder sister?”

“The hair’s a giveaway, eh?” She shook her head. “Yes, it is. That’s my sister, Lia Lorenze. I suppose I should greet her, shouldn’t I?”

“It’s up to you. Although…this school does take in students from all ages, doesn’t it?” Gaius said. “Don’t be nervous. I’m here. And unless the opponent’s a Demigod, you’re always going to be safe around me.”

“All that confidence is just a bit too adorable,” Isabelle replied. “Right, Nakama?”

“He’s always like that, but that’s why he’s my brother!” She reached out to Gaius, forced his head down, and ruffled his hair for a minute or two. He wasn’t too sure of what to make of that, but he couldn’t exactly stop her from doing that either, since he was scared of injuring her.

Isabelle regarded the duo, and then nodded. “Thanks, Nakama. Do you two want to come with me?”

“Sure,” said Gaius. “Why not?”

“Let’s go!”