Chapter 670 - Planning Ahead (Part 2) (1/2)

'Am I worried because I'm older than him or is it just my insecurity talking?' Kamila thought, a second before turning beet red for apparently no reason. 'What's wrong with me? We have never even talked about marriage and I'm already worrying about how many children we should have?'

”Kami, are you feeling alright? You seem a bit off.” Lith said, snapping her out of the chaos her mind had become.

”I'm perfectly fine, thanks. I'm just worried about Zinya.” Happy to change the topic, Kamila told him all about the divorce and Fallmug's disappearance.

'I haven't paid the bastard a visit since this mission started. I hope he hasn't got the wrong idea and thinks he's off the hook.' Lith thought. 'I really hope he tries something funny near my home. Between the arrays and the Queen's corps, they'll pick up his remains with a teaspoon.'

”I'm more worried about you. Being a civil servant, most of your information is public. Fallmug must know that the easiest way to get to Zinya is through you. Be on your guard, always.” He said.

”Don't worry, I'll be fine.” Kamila was both flattered and happy by how concerned he was about her safety. She was more than capable of taking care of herself, especially now that she was a Field Assistant, but being pampered a little after such a long separation felt nice.

”Belius has so many safety measures that even if Fallmug comes there, there's not much he could do. Besides, I've been staying at the Ernas Household for a while. I doubt even he would be so foolish as to attack me there.”

”What? Why?” Lith asked.

”Officially, for my training, so that Archon Ernas can teach me how to arrange the work on my own when necessary and teach me everything I need to know about Constable's codes away from prying eyes. Off the record, the Ernas feel lonely with all their daughters away.

”I suppose they want some company or maybe they were hoping for something like this to happen. You know, you calling me so that they had the opportunity to speak with Phloria and Quylla. How are they?”

”Given the circ.u.mstances, I'd say they're doing fine. Quylla is the one struggling the most. She can't stand remaining on the sidelines, but she knows that she can't help us in a fight. As for Phloria, she has to make tough calls almost every day.

”Luckily for me, I'm just a Ranger. The Professors know their stuff but are too arrogant, they- Never mind. I can't talk about that. We would both end up in trouble and I don't want to endanger your career.” He said with a warm smile.

”Speaking of Rangers, how is he?” Kamila asked.

”Who are you talking about?”

”Ranger Eari, the beast-man.”

”The what?”

”Beast-man. They call him that because there was a year when he never took a single day of leave and when he finally returned to civilization, he behaved more like a magical beast than a human.”

”He is indeed odd.” Lith replied, wondering if Morok was just a man rude enough to act like a beast or simply a beast shapeshifted into a man.

When they finished talking, Kamila gave the amulet to Jirni. By that time, the prisoner had already been dead for more than half an hour. Jirni had taken care to pierce the corpse's heart and brain before beheading it.

There were rumors about necromancy techniques capable of extracting the memories from the recently deceased and Archon Ernas liked to err on the side of safety whenever state secrets were involved.

There were people who would pay a small fortune to get access even to a daily password.

”How are my girls? Spare me the niceties, I want the truth.” Jirni asked as soon as Kamila left them alone and after she activated a personal device that further ensured their privacy.

”They both almost died more than once. Quylla is putting up a tough act, but I think she feels guilty for failing to save our fallen comrades. Phloria, on the other hand, has a few problems with deciding who lives and who dies.” Lith could openly talk with Jirni.

With her status and rank, he doubted that anything that passed through Berion's office didn't reach her ears in less than a minute.

”Good. This experience is bound to help them understand the implications of their life choices. Sometimes I'm afraid that Orion has sheltered them too much. I'm glad that you're with them in their time of need.

”You protect mine and I'll keep protecting yours.” She said.