[Ren POV]
The next morning, Kriti had somehow become even busier.
I had not thought that was possible.
People moved through the operations section carrying tablets, folders, food, and the kind of tired expressions usually seen after several days without proper sleep.
The human intelligence teams had spent most of the night pulling old monster reports. The Demon Realm teams were doing the same on their side, and information had already started moving between the two groups.
Old sightings were being checked against new names. Captured testimony was being reread. Reports involving intelligent or humanoid monsters were being dragged out of archives and looked at again.
It had been less than a day since we learned Khan's name.
Everyone was acting like they had personally offended intelligence work by not knowing it sooner.
I stood beside one of the main tables and looked over a supply report someone had left open.
I understood what I was reading.
That did not make it interesting.
Zelda noticed me standing there.
"What are you doing?"
"Reading."
"That is a supply report."
"I noticed."
"Why?"
I looked down at the screen again.
There were a lot of numbers.
"Curiosity."
"You have been staring at the same page for five minutes."
"I'm thinking."
"You are blocking the table."
I looked around.
Two officers were standing a few steps away with tablets in their hands.
They were both pretending not to wait for me to move.
"Right."
I stepped aside.
Zelda pointed toward the door.
"Go somewhere else."
I looked at her.
"Are you kicking me out?"
"Yes."
"That seems rude."
"You have nothing useful to do here until we finish the first report comparison."
"I can supervise."
"No."
"I'm very good at standing around."
"I noticed."
I gave her a look.
She returned her attention to the display.
Apparently, that conversation was over.
I left before she found a worse job for me.
The main corridors were quieter away from operations. Kriti still had guards everywhere, but most of the intelligence staff and command officers had collected around the war rooms.
I eventually found Jean in one of the recreation areas.
She sat alone at a table near the far wall with a cup of coffee in front of her and a tablet in one hand.
She looked up when I entered.
"You look lost."
"I was removed from operations."
Jean lowered the tablet.
"What did you do?"
"Nothing."
"That is usually when people remove you."
I sat down across from her.
"Zelda said I was blocking a table."
"Were you?"
"Technically."
Jean nodded.
"Then the system works."
I leaned back in the chair.
"Everyone is against me today."
"That sounds difficult."
"You don't care."
"Not really."
At least she was honest.
I looked at the coffee in front of her.
"Is that good?"
"No."
"Why are you drinking it?"
"Because I'm tired."
"That doesn't make it taste better."
"It doesn't have to. It just has to work."
I stared at the cup.
I remembered enough bad coffee from my old life to know exactly what she meant.
I also remembered having standards.
Jean noticed me looking.
"Get your own."
"I don't want it."
"Then stop staring."
"I'm judging your decisions."
"I have survived your decisions. I can handle it."
I couldn't really argue with that.
Jean put the tablet down.
For a while, neither of us said anything.
The silence was comfortable.
Jean had always been one of the few people who did not need to fill every quiet moment with something.
Eventually, she leaned back slightly.
"So."
"So?"
"Where do you actually live now?"
I frowned.
"What?"
"You heard me."
"Why?"
"Well, you got labelled KIA, then appeared again a few months later as a princess of another realm. Every time I ask a normal question, you somehow answer around it."
"I answer questions."
"You answer the part you like."
"That still counts."
"No."
I thought about it.
"What do you want to know?"
"Where you live."
"That's the whole question?"
"Yes."
I leaned forward and rested my arms on the table.
"In a warehouse."
Jean stared at me.
"A warehouse again?"
"Yes."
"You are a princess."
"Apparently."
"And you live in a warehouse."
"It's a very large warehouse."
"How large?"
I thought about it.
"About five hundred metres by five hundred metres."
Jean stopped.
"What?"
"It has four levels."
She stared at me.
"And the top is open to the sky."
"Ren."
"What?"
"That is not a warehouse."
"It stores things."
"That is a floating industrial district."
"It has rooms too."
Jean rubbed her forehead.
"Of course it does. I presume more than your previous one had."
"It's nice."
"Where is it?"
"Above the palace."
Jean slowly lowered her hand.
"You have a five-hundred-metre floating warehouse above the royal palace, and I didn't even notice it when I was there?"
"Yes."
"And you live there."
"Yes."
"Alone?"
"No."
She waited.
I waited.
Jean narrowed her eyes.
"Who lives there?"
"People."
"Ren."
"Nyx and Artemis live there too."
The words came out a little quieter than I intended.
Jean noticed.
Her expression changed slightly.
I looked away before she could enjoy it too much.
"Sometimes family visits," I added.
"How many family members do you have now?"
"Seven siblings."
Jean stared again.
"What?"
"Eight if you count me."
"I know how siblings work."
"You asked."
"I didn't know there were that many."
"There are."
"Do you like them?"
I looked at her.
"What kind of question is that?"
"A simple one."
I thought about my siblings.
Lucas rushing into fights and celebrating before the fight was actually over.
Hendrian worrying himself half to death before doing exactly what he needed to do.
Sara chasing every opening she saw.
Serena watching the entire battlefield while pretending she wasn't keeping an eye on everyone.
Julia quietly fixing problems around the rest of us.
Tim thinking too much and then getting annoyed when anyone pointed it out.
Karl being Karl.
"Yes."
Jean watched me for a moment.
"All of them?"
"Yes."
"That sounded painful."
"They are difficult."
"You're difficult."
"That is different."
Jean smiled slightly.
"No, it isn't."
I ignored that.
She picked up her coffee, took one sip, and immediately looked disappointed again.
"You really are happy there."
I looked at her.
The question had disappeared from her voice.
"Yes."
Jean watched me.
I understood what she was looking for.
"I'm happy."
The words sounded strange coming out of my mouth.
Not wrong.
Just strange.
Jean looked down at the cup for a moment.
"I wasn't sure."
"Why?"
"You came back different."
"A lot happened."
"I know."
Her voice became quieter.
Then she looked back at me.
"I'm glad."
I said nothing.
"And proud of you, I think."
I frowned.
"You think?"
"I'm still deciding."
"That ruins it."
"It was becoming too emotional."
"Good choice."
Jean smiled slightly.
"You were already changing before everything happened."
"How?"
"You stopped asking for permission."
"I didn't ask much before."
"You did more than you think."
I frowned.
Jean continued.
"You used to look at everyone before making a decision."
"I still do."
"No. Now you look at everyone after."
I thought about that.
"That seems efficient."
"It is terrifying."
"Good."
Jean shook her head.
"Do you like the King?"
I looked back at her.
"What?"
"The Demon King."
"That's an odd question."
"You talk about the rest of your family more easily."
"I don't talk about any of them easily."
"You just called your brother an idiot."
"Lucas is an idiot."
"That was easy."
I sighed.
"The King is difficult."
Jean waited.
"He tries."
"To be your father?"
"Yes."
"And?"
"He is not very good at it."
Jean smiled.
"Neither are you."
"I'm not anyone's father."
"That is not what I meant."
"Then your sentence was badly constructed."
She ignored me.
"So you like him."
"Yes."
The answer came easier than I expected.
Jean noticed.
I looked away from her.
"He is still annoying."
"Still yes."
"Unfortunately."
Jean smiled.
"And the Queen?"
I looked back.
"That is more complicated."
Jean did not interrupt.
"She changed me without asking."
Her expression became more serious.
"The transformation?"
"Yes."
"You're still angry."
"Very."
"But you still call her your mother."
I looked at the wall behind her.
Leah could be terrifying.
She could also be impossible.
Then there were moments when she was far too easy to understand.
"She is still my mother."
Jean stayed quiet.
"I can be angry about what she did and still care about her."
"That seems reasonable."
"I didn't ask for approval."
"I know."
I frowned.
Jean ignored it.
"And Lina?"
"Easier."
"How?"
"She cooks."
Jean stared.
"That's the answer?"
"She also makes weapons."
"Of course she does."
"And she doesn't ask annoying questions."
Jean looked at me.
I looked back.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"You were thinking something."
"Probably."
"You are becoming irritating."
"That sounds familiar."
I sighed.
Jean smiled into her terrible coffee.
For a while, the conversation moved to easier things.
She asked about the Demon Realm.
I told her the capital was not made of fire.
She said she had never believed it was.
I reminded her that some human reports still described parts of the Demon Realm like everyone spent their free time screaming beside rivers of lava.
Jean said humans had written worse reports about places on Earth.
I couldn't argue with that.
Eventually, Jean put the coffee down.
"So."
I looked at her.
"No."
"I haven't asked yet."
"I know."
"You said Nyx and Artemis live with you."
"Yes."
"Both of them."
"Yes."
Jean waited.
I waited.
Her eyes narrowed.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"That is a lie."
"It is not."
"You have the same face you had before saying something stupid when we were younger."
"I do not."
"You do."
She leaned forward slightly.
"What is happening with them?"
"We are, uhm…"
Jean stared at me.
I looked away.
"We're courting."
"Both?"
"Yes."
"The sisters."
"Yes."
She sat back.
Her expression changed several times before settling.
"I don't even know where to start."
"Then don't."
"I know Artemis."
"Yes. You met her when you came to the Demon Realm."
Jean nodded.
"And she was the chief of police in the capital."
"Former chief."
Jean pointed at me.
"That is not the important part."
"What is?"
"You are courting the former chief of police."
"Yes."
"And her sister."
"Yes."
"The former general."
"Yes."
Jean stared at me.
"You like dangerous women."
I thought about it.
"That seems possible."
"It seems obvious. Look at Liny."
I frowned at her.
Jean raised both hands.
"I'm just saying."
"You should stop saying."
"Am I wrong?"
I ignored her.
Jean smiled slightly.
"Which one asked first?"
"Why do you assume they asked?"
"Did you?"
"No."
"That's why."
I frowned.
Jean laughed.
"That was rude."
"It was accurate."
"You're lucky I like you."
"I know."
"Nyx started it."
"Nyx was the general, right?"
"Yes."
"And Artemis was the chief of police."
"Yes."
Jean looked at me for a second.
"You found two daughters of a duke, one a former general and the other the former chief of police."
"Yes."
"And somehow both agreed to court you."
"Yes."
"How?"
"I'm charming."
Jean stared at me.
I stared back.
"No," she said.
"Rude."
She laughed again.
I leaned back.
Talking about Nyx and Arty felt strange with someone from my old life.
Those parts of my life had stayed separated since everything changed. Hearing Jean talk about them made that distance feel smaller.
Jean watched me.
"You really like them."
"I do."
"Both."
"That is usually what both means."
"At the same time."
I gave her a flat look.
"You know I have to keep checking."
"Why?"
"Because your life has become ridiculous."
"That sounds like jealousy."
"It is not."
"I have two dragonesses."
"Stop saying it like that or I'll tell you I started dating your sister."
I stared at her.
Jean smiled.
"That shut you up."
"You wouldn't."
"Wouldn't I?"
I narrowed my eyes.
She looked far too amused with herself.
"I'm not giving you the reaction you want."
"You already did."
"Annoying."
"Thank you."
I leaned back.
Jean shook her head.
Then her expression changed.
The humour disappeared.
"What about Liny?"
I stopped.
The room suddenly felt quieter.
Jean watched me carefully.
I looked toward the door.
"What about her?"
"You know what I mean."
"No. I want you to say it."
Jean's jaw tightened.
"Fine."
She leaned forward.
"She thought you were dead."
I said nothing.
"She rebelled."
"I heard."
"She fought the government."
"I know that part."
"She was arrested."
My jaw tightened.
"Jean, I know what happened to her."
"Then why are you acting like it doesn't matter?"
"I'm not."
"It looks like it."
"To you."
"Yes. To me."
I sat back.
That irritated me more than it should have.
Jean noticed.
She continued anyway.
"You haven't asked about her."
"Yes, I have."
Jean stopped.
I looked at her.
"I asked before this mission."
"Who?"
"People who could check."
"Human intelligence?"
"No."
"Then who?"
"Not important."
Jean frowned.
That answer was not going to satisfy her, but I was not telling her who I had contacted or how.
She leaned back.
"What did you find out?"
"Enough to know she is alive."
Jean stayed quiet.
"That's it?"
"No."
"Then what?"
"I'm not discussing everything here."
"Why?"
"Because I don't want half this base hearing about my old relationship."
"Nobody is listening."
"You don't know that."
Jean glanced around.
There was nobody nearby.
That did not mean nobody was listening.
She lowered her voice anyway.
"Fine."
I looked down at the table.
"I didn't forget her."
Jean said nothing.
"I didn't decide she stopped mattering. I just want a fresh start in life."
Jean continued waiting.
"I also can't pretend everything is the same as it was before."
"She didn't know you were alive."
"I never blamed her for that."
"She thought they killed you."
"I know what she believed."
"She was alone."
I looked at Jean.
"So was I."
Jean stopped.
The words came out harder than I intended.
I looked away.
"I'm not saying she didn't suffer. I'm saying none of this is simple."
Jean stayed quiet.
"I came back to a life that had already moved without me. She made choices because she thought I was dead. I made choices because I thought that part of my life was gone."
"She still loves you."
My fingers tightened slightly against the edge of the table.
"You don't know what she feels now."
"I know Liny."
"And you haven't seen her in months either."
Jean frowned.
I continued before she could interrupt.
"I care about her. That is not the problem."
"Then what is?"
"I don't know what I want from her yet."
Jean watched me.
For once, she did not have an immediate answer.
I looked down at the table.
"I have Nyx and Arty now. I have a family. I have people depending on me. Everything changed in a few months, and I am still trying to understand where all of it fits."
Jean's expression softened slightly.
"I'm not asking you to throw that away."
"It sounds like you are."
"I'm asking you not to pretend Liny stopped existing."
"I'm not."
Jean held my gaze.
I sighed.
"I'll talk to her."
"When?"
"When I'm ready."
"That sounds like avoiding it."
"It probably is."
Jean blinked.
I looked away.
"At least you admitted it."
"Don't get used to it."
She smiled slightly.
Then my communicator activated.
I closed my eyes.
The timing was almost impressive.
Zelda's voice came through.
"Princess Daimonas. Operations."
I looked at Jean.
She looked back at me.
Zelda continued.
"We found something."
I stood.
Jean stayed seated.
"This conversation is not over."
"I know."
"You're not disappearing again."
I looked at her.
"I'm not running."
Jean held my gaze for a moment.
Then she nodded.
I left the recreation area and headed back toward operations.
The corridors had become busier again.
Officers moved past me carrying tablets and printed copies of old reports. Someone nearly walked into me while reading and only noticed at the last second.
I stepped around him.
He muttered an apology and kept going.
By the time I reached the operations room, the atmosphere had changed.
Zelda stood at the main table with Marasuki beside her and several intelligence officers gathered around the same display.
Old reports covered the screens, including monster sightings, missing supply transports, lost patrols, unconfirmed attacks, abandoned camps, and incidents that had been filed separately because nobody had a reason to connect them at the time.
I walked over.
"What did you find?"
Zelda enlarged the map.
"At first, nothing."
"That sounds promising."
She ignored me.
"We checked the routes and meeting points from the interrogation against old patrol activity."
Several lines appeared.
"They overlap in places, but not enough to give us a target."
"So the foxes were telling the truth badly."
"We don't know yet."
"There's that answer again."
Marasuki pointed at the map.
"The routes aren't the interesting part."
I looked at her.
"What is?"
One of the intelligence officers changed the display.
Several old incidents appeared across a much wider area south of the current front.
Missing patrols.
Supply disappearances.
Monster sightings.
Ruined camps.
Abandoned equipment.
None of them were close enough to create an obvious cluster on their own.
Then the officer arranged them by date.
I leaned closer.
"How far back?"
"The earliest useful reports are a little under three years old."
That caught my attention.
The male fox had said Khan appeared more than one year ago but less than three.
"Show me the order."
The display changed.
The earliest incidents were farthest south.
Later reports appeared gradually farther north.
The movement was not a straight line. Sometimes the activity shifted east or west for months before continuing, but the overall direction was clear.
North.
Toward the current front.
I studied the map.
"Khan?"
"We don't know," Zelda said.
"Of course."
Marasuki leaned on the table.
"But the timing is interesting."
"How?"
"The disappearances increased as the pattern moved closer to this region."
I looked at the dates again.
She was right.
The old reports did not prove Khan was responsible.
They did show that something had been moving north through the region during roughly the same period the foxes claimed Khan had been active.
Zelda opened another file.
"We also found references to local monster groups becoming quieter before larger attacks."
"Quieter?"
"Fewer territorial clashes. Less fighting between groups. Less movement around human patrols."
"Because someone was controlling them."
"Possibly."
I looked at her.
She looked back.
I decided not to argue with the word.
Another screen opened.
This one showed reports from areas farther south.
Most were vague. Long-distance sightings, missing livestock, ruined camps, and reports of humanoid monsters moving alongside species that normally avoided each other.
That caught my attention.
"How old is that one?"
"Twenty-six months."
"And this?"
"Twenty-one."
"This one?"
"Seventeen."
The reports became more frequent as they moved north.
I crossed my arms.
"So either something moved north or its influence spread north."
Marasuki nodded.
"Could be messengers. Could be leaders moving between groups. Could be camps relocating."
"Could be Khan."
"Yes."
Zelda enlarged the section south of the current front.
"We still don't have a confirmed base."
"But?"
"We have an area worth investigating."
I studied the map.
It was large.
Mountains, forest, broken road networks, old towns, and enough open land to hide large groups if they knew what they were doing.
It was not a target yet.
It was a search area, and that was better than guessing.
I looked at Zelda.
"What do you need?"
"A team ready to leave."