"I thought the issue was with your superiors," Khan complained as worries appeared in his mind.
"I'm always in trouble," Liiza shrugged her shoulders, "And your situation is different."
"You are important then," Khan exclaimed.
"Just a bit," Liiza explained while rolling her eyes when she saw that worries appeared on Khan's face.
Khan noticed that reaction, but he didn't know what to think. He had yet to figure out Liiza's character, and the recent events didn't help with his evaluation.
Liiza had appeared cold during the first meeting, but she had started to laugh after the two spent a few hours together. Khan also had doubts about the Niqols' customs, so he never trusted the faint guesses that appeared in his mind.
"Did I make you angry now?" Khan asked while moving to her side and reappear in her gaze. "I don't know much about the Niqols, so forgive me if I don't understand stuff at times."
Khan's direct honesty slightly startled Liiza. None of the other humans on Nitis had ever acted so casually. Khan had been the first to behave without minding status and politics.
"It's fine," Liiza revealed. "It's just strange to talk with a human without seeing bows."
Khan frowned before a faint idea appeared in his mind. He still had his doubts due to the different customs between the species, but the only way to confirm his guesses was to question the alien.
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"Could it be that you don't like politics?" Khan asked.
Liiza avoided his gaze and shrugged her shoulders again. The crossed arms on her torso enhanced the curves revealed by her tank top, but Khan only looked at the alien's glowing white eyes.
"Is that a bad thing for the Niqols?" Khan asked. "I thought you'd be more carefree."
"Why would you think that?" Liiza asked as her gaze finally returned on Khan.
"Well," Khan said while scratching the side of his head, "You ride animals. Isn't that an expression of freedom?"
"How are those things connected?" Liiza asked while showing a perplexed face.
The two remained in silence. Khan believed that he had found one of the topics he couldn't explain due to the Niqols' different customs, while Liiza remained curious about that.
"Okay, see it like this," Khan tried to explain, and his hands followed his words to create a better image of the topic. "Animals don't have politics, right? Being so close to them can hint at freedom."
"Animals have tight hierarchies and many rules," Liiza replied while tilting her head. "Aren't they a form of politics?"
Khan opened his mouth to reply, but his hand went under his chin when he realized that Liiza's words made sense. Animals didn't have proper verbal rules, but their instincts created environments that could feature basic forms of politics.
"You might be right," Khan revealed. "Humans have it all wrong."
"Why did you move your arms so much?" Liiza asked while pointing at his hands. "Is that another human thing?"
"Is this your first time seeing someone gesticulating?" Khan asked while explaining the meaning of the word by moving his arms.
"Humans never move their arms when they talk to me," Liiza announced while stepping forward and inspecting Khan's arms from different perspectives. "Is that what Paul was doing before? Why was he gesticulating?"
Khan couldn't help but recall Paul's glare at that point. He quickly drew his phone from his pocket and noticed that he had already spent more than fourteen hours on the test. Nitis' days lasted twenty-four hours, so it was already night by human standards.
"Do you have to go?" Liiza asked, but she didn't show any sudden or strange reaction at that time.
"Returning now might increase my chances of remaining on the planet," Khan laughed. "Can you tell me how to take care of the Aduns before setting off? I don't want to be completely lost when you aren't around."
Khan's honest concern about Snow surprised Liiza again, and she didn't hesitate to explain what she knew. It turned out that the Aduns were quite independent, so Khan only had to take his eagle for a flight once a week to strengthen their relationship.
"I have another reason to fly with it, don't I?" Khan laughed once the explanation ended. "It gives me the chance to hang around with you."
"Fly often then," Liiza said while revealing a faint smile and jumping on her eagle. "Don't lose track of me."
'You heard her,' Khan sent through the mental connection, and Snow gave voice to a proud screech when it sensed his intentions.
Khan jumped on his eagle and took the riding position, but Liiza shot in the air before he put both his legs under the creature's wings.
Snow promptly flapped its wings to follow the grey Aduns, and Khan released a loud curse while using the entirety of his strength to cling on his eagle and stabilize his position.
Liiza shot upward and tried to disappear among the dark sky, but Snow managed to catch up with her. Khan saw that Liiza laughed when she turned and noticed that he had yet to grow used to the flight. She was having so much fun that she didn't hesitate to make things harder for him.
The grey eagle suddenly dived toward the ground, forcing Snow to imitate it. Khan didn't even try to give orders during that situation. He let his eagle handle everything while he focused on preserving his life.
Liiza revealed her vast experience during the flight. She commanded her Aduns to ascend, dive, spin, and pass through narrow paths inside the mountain chain. Khan often cursed loudly as Snow followed her, but he eventually began to laugh when he saw that Liiza seemed truly happy.
The two circled the city and flew toward a small settlement nearby. Khan didn't recognize the architecture of the structures in that place, but Liiza's sudden dive confirmed that they had reached their destination.
The settlement featured a few windowless black buildings with strange glowing symbols and a tall structure near its edges. A tall fence that released a faint azure glow surrounded the entire site, and holes filled with white worms occupied the areas immediately past the barrier.
Khan could see Udu coming out of the ground and approaching the holes, but the Aduns' cries forced them to look toward the sky and retreat. Liiza made her eagle land in those feeding spots, and Snow imitated her.
Paul and other young recruits hurried outside of the buildings and started to run toward the two Aduns. Meanwhile, Liiza and Khan jumped off their rides and petted them while they fed on the worms in the holes.
"You definitely have fun making things hard for me," Khan commented before giving voice to a short laugh.
"It's your fault for being so expressive," Liiza smiled while trying to gesticulate, "But this thing that you do is still strange."
"I'll stop then," Khan sighed dramatically and performed a bow. "I can't have such an important Niqols displeased about my behavior."
"No, keep doing that," Liiza answered as her smile became strangely honest. "It's cute."
Khan's eyebrows arched in front of that sudden honest reaction. He couldn't help but fix his eyes on Liiza's face, and the Niqols did the same.
Paul had reached the two quickly enough to hear Liiza's last line. The scene that unfolded in his vision made him grab his hair and widen his eyes.
"What does that mean?" Liiza asked when she noticed Paul. "He did it again."
"I'll tell you once I understand that," Khan replied while turning toward Paul and pointing at Snow.
Paul didn't know what to think about the situation. Liiza seemed to have lost part of her detached demeanor, Khan was full of injuries, and the Global Army had gained its first Aduns rider. Moreover, Khan and Liiza seemed to be in flirting terms, which could cause many problems considering the frail relationship between the two species.
"Thank you for everything you have done, Miss Liiza," Paul eventually announced while performing the polite bows used by the Niqols.
Other recruits arrived behind him and imitated his gesture. Liiza found a small group showing their utmost respect toward her, and her expression gradually grew colder as she inspected that scene.
Liiza glanced at Khan at that point. He was staring at her and inspecting her reactions. She felt that he had noticed the gradual saddening of her face during the event.
"Khan!" Paul suddenly shouted, and Khan noticed his admonishing glare when he turned toward the soldier.
Khan showed a complicated smile before bowing toward Liiza. He knew that she had noticed his reaction, but her face still grew colder even if he peeked at her whenever Paul didn't look at him.
"It's only normal to help our guests," Liiza eventually exclaimed in an emotionless voice. "I hope this event will bring Niqols and Humans closer together."
Liiza then turned to jump on her Aduns. The eagle wanted to eat some more, but she patted its neck and forced it to set off.
Khan straightened his position and gazed at Liiza's disappearing figure, but the sound of multiple steps forced him to turn. An angry Paul unfolded in his vision, but the soldier calmed down when he saw that Snow stopped eating to glare at him.
"They are friends," Khan explained while turning toward Snow.
Khan had felt a bit of anger flowing out of the mental connection. Those emotions had created a warm feeling inside him since they confirmed Snow's concern, but he still had to stop the eagle.
The recruits showed surprised expressions when they noticed that Snow dived back to its worms after Khan's words. The creature was really listening to him.
"Leave us," Paul ordered after heaving a helpless sigh, and the recruits returned toward the camp.
Khan couldn't help but inspect those recruits. They were all young, but they had steady auras around them. Their bodies even contained a decent amount of mana. They were clearly above average as assets.
"Of all the recruits that the army could send here," Paul began to shout once the recruits returned inside the camp, "The damned womanizer had to end up in my team! What did you do with Miss Liiza for an entire day? Don't tell me that you have been inappropriate!"
"Does she like me then?" Khan asked as his eyes lit up. "It's hard to understand her reactions at times."
"I have no damned idea," Paul snorted, "But you are forbidden from touching, teasing, and fucking flirting with her. We don't want to cause a scandal."
"Is she so important?" Khan asked while wearing a stern expression and straightening his position to perform a military salute.
"You'll learn more about the Niqols' political system during the briefing," Paul sighed as his anger waned. "Consider her as a princess for now. Her parents are pretty important in the relationship between the two species."
"Yes, sir!" Khan exclaimed, and Paul studied his expression to understand if he was just pretending.
Khan's face didn't show any flaw. He appeared as the most devoted soldier in the entire Global Army, so Paul ended up letting him off the hook. He had no idea that Khan was already thinking about his next flight with Liiza.
"Come inside the camp now," Paul ordered in a calm voice. "It's too late to brief you, but Captain Erbair wants to see you. She said that she has to give you something."
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