The free time granted by Captain Erbair allowed Khan to train a lot and stay with Liiza without affecting his sleeping schedule. Still, he ended up being the only one who decided to attend the three afternoon lessons necessary to become an ambassador.
The event naturally surprised Paul since Khan had previously requested more free time, but he never got the chance to question him during the week after the hunt.
Khan was a ghost inside the camp. He appeared only to attend the three lessons concerning xenolinguistics, politics, and alien customs, but he left right after them. The other recruits didn't even bother to attend those classes after the hunt, so no one had the chance to talk with him.
Khan completely disappeared during the free days. He stashed provisions in his backpack before spending his entire time among the mountains. The cold accompanied his training and his moments with Liiza, but he barely felt it anymore.
The couple never stopped indulging in their intimate moments, but Liiza forced herself to set clear boundaries whenever they risked going too far. Their attraction continued to intensify, but she didn't want to rush things due to the feelings generated by their mana.
The purpose of their boundaries didn't involve only Khan. Liiza also felt her self-control waning as she spent entire days with her boyfriend. She managed to reset her mind whenever she disappeared to contact her old nanny, but her feelings came back stronger than ever once she gazed at Khan again.
Khan understood how scary the mana that affected his feelings could be during his second week on Nitis. He sensed his mind growing dull whenever he spent more than a minute with Liiza. Even glancing at her from a distance could make him end up in a daze.
Those irrational desires were so dangerous that the couple had to come up with strategies to avoid doing something that they would regret. Liiza wanted to wait before going all the way with Khan, and he didn't want to force her. Also, the issue about the condoms remained, so it felt easier to enjoy his girlfriend without worrying about that problem.
The strategies mostly involved mandatory breaks that the couple had to take to calm down. They would decide to fly among the mountains, train, attend specific matters, or directly converse about various topics to let their minds calm down.
Luckily for them, they both had relatively high control over their mana. The Niqols didn't normally restrain themselves, but they could do it if the situation required it, and Liiza rarely hesitated to use that ability. Meanwhile, Khan's mental training gave him the chance to seal away his feelings and desires in no time, so he only needed to decide to do it to calm himself down.
The couple developed new types of breaks as the week passed. Liiza and Khan were in a peculiar position due to their roles on Nitis. They both needed to learn more about their partner's species, and they didn't mind spending long hours conversing about customs and habits.
Khan even took that chance to learn the Niqols' language. He already attended lessons in the camp, but Liiza felt happy to help him with the matter.
A notification eventually arrived on Khan's phone near the end of the sixth day, and the context of the message didn't surprise him. Liiza had already warned him about the event previously that week. The seventh day would feature the formal celebration inside the city near the camp, and the army had even planned Glenn's funeral to happen in the morning.
"She should answer in these days," Liiza explained after kissing Khan and taking a step toward her Aduns. "You might have the chance to meet her next week."
"There's no hurry," Khan warmly replied while also stepping toward his Aduns. "I can wait more weeks if it helps you doing everything safely. I'll spend five months here at the very least. I have time."
"This is still my planet, Khan," Liiza announced while wearing a smile and jumping on her Aduns. "Don't worry. I became an expert at covering my tracks after sneaking out of my house for almost seven years."
Liiza set off after that announcement, and Khan quickly jumped on Snow's back to return to the camp. His injuries had healed by then, so he let his Aduns have fun during the flight.
His return to the camp didn't go unnoticed, but everyone had grown used to the occasional noise released by Snow's wings by then. Khan's behavior had even gained a different aura after the hunt. His feat against the monster had made the other recruits look up to him and create rumors concerning his trips.
Khan was too resolute to be a mere asocial recruit in their minds. Everyone even knew that he didn't take a single break from the lessons connected to the ambassador's role.
Many had started to believe that he traveled across Nitis to learn more about the planet and improve his position in the network's lists. Others thought that he had found a special training area in regions that they couldn't reach. Some simply used his Aduns to explain the need for many trips.
Still, none of them could ever get clear answers from him since he barely spent time in the camp. Moreover, the other recruits didn't have real reasons to bother him, so they limited themselves to spread rumors.
Some recruits tried to convince George to act as a bridge between the seemingly unapproachable Khan and the rest of the recruits, but he categorically refused every time. George had basically been to war with Khan, so those requests didn't even faze him. He even tried to justify his behavior with the power that he wielded.
Khan knew that he should socialize, but time wasn't on his side. His schedule had never been so packed with a girlfriend and his relentless training with the Lightning-demon style. Captain Erbair had promised to him that the knife would arrive in a few weeks, so he felt the need to increase his proficiency level as soon as possible.
Everyone in the camp gathered right outside the fence the next day and organized a small funeral to remember Glenn. Even the classes from the other training camp traveled all night to attend that event.
The funeral consisted of a symbolic burial of an empty coffin accompanied by speeches from the two Lieutenants, Paul, Captain Erbair, and the few recruits that knew the boy well. Glenn's corpse was in line to reach the teleport and return to his family, but organizing that event anyway felt needed, especially when it came to those who had joined the hunt.
Four relatively large groups formed as the various recruits started to follow their respective leaders and orders. Nitis' four human classes had all gathered there, but they had different tasks to complete. Only Khan's group had ended up gaining access to the formal event.
Captain Erbair and Lieutenant Kintea could join the event because they were the direct superiors of the hunting group, but they couldn't reach the city on their own. Humans still didn't have free access to it.
An envoy riding a black Aduns landed at the edges of the training camp right before lunch. The Niqols had notified Captain Erbair about that arrival, so Khan had already summoned Snow by then.
Chief Alu sat on the black Aduns and didn't leave its back while the recruits, Lieutenant, and Captain gathered around his figure while riding their Ugu. Only Khan was waiting slightly in the distance with Snow ready to set off.
The group didn't exchange many words. The travel started as soon as Chief Alu set off, and everyone followed him closely. The city was nearby, but the trip would still last an entire hour.
Chief Alu made his Aduns fly above the buildings once he reached the city. Khan did the same, and he soon found himself hovering above the bustling city. The azure glow of the many structures didn't make Snow grow confused. The eagle could follow the black creature closely and land on a large landing platform above the buildings.
"The event will happen right below," Chief Alu explained with its usual gentle tone. "Someone will get you something to wear. Can I trust you to welcome your group on the first floor?"
"Of course," Khan promptly replied, and a trapdoor that led to the insides of the tall building opened on the floor.
Khan found a series of Niqols wearing luxurious white armors that covered them from head to toe when he followed Chief Alu inside the building and crossed a few corridors to find elevators. The defensive items had azure symbols on their imposing metal figures that seemed to enhance them.
The soldiers let Khan pass since he was with Chief Alu, so the duo quickly reached sliding metal doors that revealed elevators featuring the rotating azure cubes that the Niqols used as menus.
The elevators there were clean and rather small. They didn't have chords or gears attached to their metal structures, but the mana in the area created an environment similar to what Khan experienced on the teleports.
Khan took one of the small elevators by himself and made it go down. He reached the first floor in an instant, and more Niqols donning white armors waited for him there. The aliens remained at his side until Captain Erbair and the others arrived. The relatively large group quickly filled the luxurious hall that featured drapes and large couches all over it.
The Niqols took care of leading the group toward a series of large elevators that could contain all of them. The soldiers entered the structures with them and made them travel to the twentieth floor, where a series of aliens who carried white fabrics left and right welcomed them.
The Niqols quickly provided new clothes to all of them. The group wore tight white robes as they returned to the elevators and let the soldiers lead them even higher in the building.
A large hall unfolded in their vision once they reached their destination. Multiple figures wearing white robes filled the area, but only a few of them were powerful enough to be potential threats.
Alien soldiers filled the walls of the hall, but two figures soon attracted Khan's complete attention when they appeared in his vision.
Two female Niqols were waiting for everyone to enjoy the delicacies placed on the two long tables that divided the room. One of them was the captivating Liiza who was wearing a tight white dress that exposed her curves. The other had a similar dress, but an intense mature aura surrounded her and made her appear far more beautiful than his girlfriend.
