Chapter 36: The Mystery of Caled Morningwood

Nemris's next destination turned out to be a bookshop.

Honestly, I had been waiting for this.

The moment Zeria told me Nemris secretly loved books more than fighting, this date had acquired an invisible countdown.

Cake?

Expected.

Walking through the park?

Reasonable.

A prestigious bookstore large enough to financially ruin a librarian?

Inevitable.

The building occupied almost an entire corner of the avenue. Three floors of polished dark wood and tall windows rose above the street, with carved shelves visible through the glass. Gold lettering stretched across the front, elegant enough that the shop probably charged extra if you pronounced an author's name incorrectly.

Nemris stopped outside.

Her eyes immediately brightened.

Very slightly.

Most people would have missed it.

I didn't.

I looked at her.

Then at the shop.

Then back at her.

"This was definitely part of the plan."

Nemris gave me a calm look.

"Of course."

"How long did you spend choosing this place?"

"I already knew it."

"That wasn't my question."

She ignored me and walked inside.

I smiled.

The Lord Commander had discovered tactical retreat.

A bell chimed softly above the door.

The smell hit me first.

Paper.

Ink.

Old leather.

Fresh wood.

That strange comforting scent every good bookstore had, as though knowledge itself had decided to wear perfume.

The place was enormous.

Shelves stretched from floor to ceiling. Wooden ladders rested against rails so customers could reach the upper rows. Signs marked different sections in neat lettering.

History.

Magic Theory.

Military Strategy.

Religion.

Biographies.

Geography.

Monster Studies.

Fiction.

Poetry.

Romance.

Cooking.

Travel.

And several categories I had absolutely no context for.

Readers occupied cushioned chairs near the windows. Clerks moved quietly between aisles carrying stacks of books.

Nemris walked in and immediately changed.

Not dramatically.

She was still composed.

Still elegant.

But the tension she normally carried in public loosened.

Her eyes started moving.

Shelf to shelf.

Title to title.

She was trying very hard not to look excited.

It was adorable.

I stepped beside her.

"You look happy."

"I like books."

"I had gathered."

She looked at me.

"From what?"

"Your face."

"My expression hasn't changed."

"Exactly what someone with a changed expression would say."

Nemris sighed.

Then walked toward the history section.

I followed for a while before something else caught my attention.

A shelf contained several practical books about regional customs, trade routes, monster territories, and local laws.

Useful.

Actually useful.

My future involved traveling.

Knowing which forest contained poisonous plants, which kingdom considered pointing rude, and which monster preferred eating diplomats seemed like sensible preparation.

I picked up one book.

Then another.

A guide to common magical creatures.

A collection of regional maps.

A book discussing different races and their customs.

Into the purchase pile they went.

I had Dimensional Storage.

Book weight was now somebody else's problem.

Beautiful invention.

Nemris disappeared into another aisle.

I eventually found her in fiction.

Of course.

She was standing in front of one shelf with a book already in both hands.

She looked intensely focused.

Not Great Sage studying an ancient prophecy focused.

More like someone had unexpectedly found the last piece of cake at a party and was deciding whether anyone else had noticed.

I approached.

"What did you find?"

Nemris turned quickly.

Too quickly.

Suspicious.

Then she held the book toward me.

"This."

The cover depicted a woman with fox ears standing beside a man beneath a glowing moon.

Fancy.

Nemris's thumb brushed over the title.

"It's the fourth volume of a series written by Itsuki Tokoyami."

My brain hit a wall.

I stared at her.

"What?"

Nemris frowned.

"The fourth volume."

"No, the author."

"Itsuki Tokoyami."

There it was again.

That name.

Very Japanese.

My neck almost turned fast enough to earn medical attention.

I looked at the cover again.

"That's an unusual name."

Nemris nodded.

"She comes from Kitsun."

"Kitsun."

"A nation far east of here."

Interesting.

Nemris continued, completely unaware that my Earth-origin brain had just started opening emergency tabs.

"Most of the population belongs to the Kitsune race."

I looked at her.

"Fox people?"

"Yes."

Of course.

Kitsun.

Kitsune.

Itsuki Tokoyami.

Somewhere, the universe was laughing.

Nemris lightly tapped the book.

"Their culture differs considerably from Inizio's. Clothing, architecture, art, literature, even forms of address."

She looked back toward the shelf.

"But many people admire it precisely because it's so distinctive."

I nodded.

"Popular internationally?"

"Very."

"Interesting."

Very interesting.

Possibly suspiciously interesting.

But this was a date.

Not an investigation into whether somebody from ancient Earth had accidentally founded fantasy Japan.

Future Caled could deal with that.

Future Caled already hated present Caled for assigning him so many jobs.

I pointed at the book.

"So what's the story?"

Nemris suddenly became less comfortable.

Ah.

Now we were reaching classified material.

"It's fiction."

"I assumed. Unless fox women regularly pose under moons with mysterious men."

Her cheeks warmed.

"The series is called Love and Legend."

I smiled.

That title sounded promising.

Nemris continued.

"It's about a Kitsune woman who encounters..."

She hesitated.

I waited.

Nemris looked toward another shelf.

Then back.

"The last living human."

Oh.

There it was.

Of course.

Human.

Everything circled back to humans with this woman.

"A romance?"

Nemris's face turned slightly pink.

"Yes."

I grinned.

"You read romance novels."

"I read many genres."

"You read romance novels."

"Occasionally."

"You like romance."

"A little."

"Nemris."

She narrowed her eyes.

"What?"

"I'm learning so much about you today."

"Don't make this strange."

"Too late."

She hugged the book slightly closer to herself.

"I don't particularly enjoy every romance series."

"Just this one."

"Yes."

I tilted my head.

"Because the male lead is human?"

Nemris stopped.

Her eyes moved toward mine.

There it was again.

That careful observation.

She was not merely looking at me anymore.

She was checking me.

Reaction.

Expression.

Anything.

Then she slowly nodded.

"Partly."

I smiled faintly.

"Thought so."

Her gaze stayed on me for another second.

Then she looked away.

Interesting.

Very interesting.

We continued shopping.

Nemris found several books.

I found several more.

Eventually we reached the counter carrying enough literature to build a small defensive wall.

The clerk calculated the price.

I paid for mine.

Nemris paid for hers.

Then both of us opened Dimensional Storage.

The books disappeared one stack at a time.

The clerk barely reacted.

Useful traveler skill.

Normal among Spriggans.

Nobody gasped.

Nobody called a priest.

Excellent.

When we left the shop, the afternoon had already begun drifting toward evening.

Sunlight had turned warmer.

Long shadows stretched between buildings.

I expected Nemris to lead us toward another restaurant.

Maybe back to the castle.

Instead, she took my hand again.

Still slightly hesitant.

Still adorable.

And guided me toward one of the tallest structures in the district.

A clocktower.

The tower rose far above neighboring rooftops, built from pale stone with dark wooden beams crossing its upper sections. An enormous clock face occupied each side near the top, gold hands moving slowly beneath glass.

Guards stood at the entrance.

Restricted.

Apparently.

One guard stepped forward when we approached.

Then recognized Nemris.

His entire posture changed.

"Princess Nemris."

Nemris nodded.

"I'd like access to the upper observation level."

The guard hesitated for approximately half a second.

Then stepped aside.

"Of course."

Royal privilege.

Extremely useful for dates.

I looked at her.

"You planned this too?"

"Maybe."

"You're suspiciously good at this for someone who's never been on a date."

Nemris looked away.

"I prepared."

"Obviously."

We entered.

The stairs seemed endless.

Round and round.

Higher and higher.

At one point I considered asking whether the clocktower had invented elevators and simply hidden them from outsiders.

Eventually we reached the top.

The observation platform opened around the clock mechanism, with stone arches overlooking the capital in every direction.

The view was ridiculous.

Inizio stretched beneath us.

Roofs clustered together like colored tiles.

The royal castle dominated the center, white towers and golden details glowing beneath the lowering sun.

Farther beyond, the outer walls curved around the capital.

Roads stretched toward the horizon.

Mountains rose in the distance.

The sun hovered just above them.

Orange.

Gold.

Red.

The entire sky looked like someone had spilled fire across it and decided cleanup could wait.

Nemris walked toward the railing.

Her blue dress shifted in the evening wind.

A loose strand of golden hair escaped its careful styling and brushed against her cheek.

She smiled.

Not at me.

At the sunset.

I watched her instead.

She noticed.

Eventually.

Her head turned.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"You weren't watching the sunset."

"I found something better."

Her cheeks colored.

"That line probably works often."

"It worked just now."

Nemris looked away.

I stood beside her.

For a while, neither of us spoke.

The city below slowly changed colors.

Gold became orange.

Orange deepened into red.

Lights began appearing one by one in the streets.

Then Nemris breathed in.

Slowly.

She looked uncomfortable.

Not bad uncomfortable.

Preparing-to-say-something uncomfortable.

I waited.

Finally, she spoke.

"You know..."

Dangerous opening.

"These past few days, I've been suspicious of you."

I leaned against the railing.

"Only the past few?"

Nemris gave me a look.

I smiled.

"Sorry."

Her expression turned serious again.

"I've wondered whether you're actually a Spriggan."

There it was.

Straight.

No games.

No little tests.

No pretending she was asking casual questions.

I kept my expression light.

"What made you think I wasn't?"

Nemris looked toward the city.

"At first, I ignored the unusual things around you."

"That's a long list."

"Very."

Fair.

She continued.

"Zeria saw your arrival before you appeared."

Her fingers lightly touched the railing.

"You possess an unusual number of powerful abilities despite traveling alone."

Also fair.

"You learn absurdly quickly."

Extremely fair.

"And whenever something about you doesn't make sense, Zeria behaves as though she already knows the explanation."

Nemris turned toward me.

"But you have Spriggan markings."

I nodded.

"Very convincing markings."

"I'm being serious."

"I know."

She watched my face.

"So I dismissed my suspicions."

"Because of the marks."

"Not only because of them."

Nemris hesitated.

"There are powerful Spriggans who operate alone."

Interesting.

"I've personally witnessed abilities from solitary Spriggans that exceed things you've demonstrated."

I raised an eyebrow.

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Now I'm interested."

She folded her arms.

"The Shadow Fairy."

That sounded aggressively dramatic.

"I don't know who that is."

Nemris looked slightly surprised.

Then thoughtful.

"Perhaps not every Azalean follows the same stories."

Sure.

Let's go with that.

"The point," she continued, "is that being powerful while alone does not make you impossible as a Spriggan."

That made sense.

So even my battlefield performance had not automatically screamed HUMAN to her.

Good.

Very good.

I looked toward the sunset.

"What changed?"

Nemris answered immediately.

"Rel."

Ah.

Of course.

The petite cake-eating psychological warfare machine.

Nemris's eyes narrowed slightly.

"She asked about Agrus."

I remained quiet.

"Then she deliberately introduced the possibility of a living human."

Her expression hardened with concentration.

"And she was watching you."

Nemris noticed.

Not everything.

But enough.

"Afterward, I began reconsidering everything."

I smiled faintly.

"That's why you've been testing me."

Her eyes moved toward mine.

"The markings."

"Touching my back."

"Yes."

"The Azalean performers."

"Yes."

"Watching whether my wings appeared."

Nemris slowly nodded.

"Yes."

I laughed.

Nemris frowned.

"This is not funny."

"It is a little funny."

"Why?"

"Because your investigation involved taking me on a date."

Her cheeks warmed.

"The date was separate."

"Sure."

"It was."

"Completely separate."

"Caled."

I smiled.

Nemris sighed.

Then she looked irritated with herself.

"I questioned Zeria."

I blinked.

"That sounds dangerous."

"She refused to tell me anything."

Naturally.

"I tried everything."

I became curious.

"Everything?"

Nemris nodded seriously.

"Questions."

"Expected."

"Logical arguments."

"Reasonable."

"Appealing to our friendship."

"Still reasonable."

Nemris hesitated.

Then said more quietly, "I hugged her."

I stared.

"What?"

"And made a sad face."

I started laughing.

Nemris glared.

"I thought she might feel guilty."

"You emotionally interrogated the Great Sage with cuddling."

"It almost worked."

"Did it?"

"No."

I laughed harder.

Nemris crossed her arms.

"That is not the kind of interrogation I pictured."

"It was private."

"That somehow makes it better."

"It doesn't matter."

Her shoulders dropped.

The humor left her expression.

"Now I'm simply confused."

I stopped laughing.

Nemris looked toward the darkening horizon.

"I watched your wings manifest today."

"Yes."

"You resonated with the Eirwood twins."

"Yes."

"You performed an Azalean cultural dance perfectly."

"Also yes."

Her brows pulled together.

"Everything tells me you're Spriggan."

She looked at me.

"But everything else keeps telling me something is wrong."

There was frustration there.

Not anger.

She hated not knowing.

Especially when the answer mattered to her.

I studied her face.

Then asked, "If I am a Spriggan, would that make you stop liking me?"

Nemris froze.

My question hit harder than intended.

Her expression changed immediately.

Pain.

Not dramatic.

Real.

"Why would you ask that?"

I shrugged lightly.

"You seem disappointed every time the evidence says I'm Spriggan."

Nemris stared at me.

Then looked genuinely upset.

"No."

Her answer came firmly.

"That isn't why."

She stepped closer.

"I already liked you before I began questioning any of this."

My smile faded into something softer.

Nemris continued.

"Whatever answer I'm looking for has nothing to do with whether I want you near me."

She hesitated.

Then admitted, quieter, "I really like you."

The words seemed difficult for her.

Which made them better.

"I want the truth because I don't understand what I'm seeing."

Her eyes stayed on mine.

"Not because I'm hoping you're something else."

Good.

I smiled.

"Good."

Nemris blinked.

"That's all?"

"For now."

I stepped closer.

She did not move away.

The last sunlight caught her eyes.

Our faces moved nearer.

Nemris's breathing shifted.

Her gaze dropped briefly toward my lips.

Then returned to my eyes.

I leaned down.

Slowly.

Enough time to stop.

She didn't.

Our lips touched.

Soft.

The kiss was supposed to be brief.

A simple answer to everything she had just said.

Then I started pulling away.

Nemris didn't let me.

Her hand caught the front of my coat.

She rose onto the tips of her shoes and followed me.

Oh.

I smiled against her mouth.

Apparently Princess Nemris had filed an appeal.

I kissed her again.

Deeper.

Her lips moved uncertainly at first.

Then followed mine.

I guided without rushing.

One slow movement.

Then another.

Her fingers tightened around my coat.

I lifted her arms and gently placed them around my neck.

Nemris understood immediately.

She pulled herself closer.

Her body pressed against mine.

The kiss deepened.

Her inexperience showed.

So did her determination.

She copied what felt natural.

Adjusted when I moved.

Followed when I changed rhythm.

Very Nemris.

Even kissing had somehow become something she intended to master through discipline.

When we finally separated, neither of us moved far.

Her arms remained around my neck.

My hands stayed at her waist.

Nemris looked up at me intensely.

Not embarrassed now.

Serious.

"I don't care what you are."

I raised an eyebrow.

"That's encouraging."

Her eyes narrowed slightly.

"I mean it."

"I know."

"I like you because you're Caled."

Then suspicion returned at the worst possible moment.

Her brow furrowed.

"Your real name is Caled, isn't it?"

I stared.

Then laughed.

Actually laughed.

Nemris did not.

"That is one way to murder a romantic moment."

"Answer me."

"Nemris."

"Caled."

She was serious.

Completely.

I exhaled.

Fine.

I looked toward the sunset.

Only a thin strip remained above the horizon.

Zeria had protected my secret.

Even from Nemris.

Especially from Nemris.

She had kept her promise when interrogated by hugs, which might have been the greatest test of loyalty in recorded history.

I looked back.

"Zeria has my gratitude."

Nemris became very still.

"She kept my secret because I trusted her."

No joke now.

Nemris's arms slowly lowered from my neck.

I took one of her hands.

"And I trust you too."

Her expression changed.

Surprise.

Nervousness.

Expectation.

I stepped closer.

Close enough that no guard below, no passerby, no curious bird with political ambitions could possibly hear.

"Let me tell you the truth."

Nemris stopped breathing.

I leaned toward her ear.

My lips near enough that my voice never needed to rise above a whisper.

"Yes."

I paused.

"My real name is Caled."

Her fingers tightened around mine.

"Caled Morningwood."

Another breath.

"And I'm human."

Silence.

I straightened.

Nemris did absolutely nothing.

No reaction.

No blink.

No breath.

Nothing.

Her face looked like someone had opened every book she had ever read simultaneously inside her skull and demanded she finish them all before dinner.

I watched.

One second.

Two.

Three.

Her chest finally rose.

Fast.

Then again.

Her eyes widened.

Not fear.

Not exactly.

Overload.

Pure information overload.

I almost waved a hand in front of her.

Instead I smiled.

"Nemris?"

Nothing.

"Still with me?"

Her face suddenly turned bright red.

Ah.

There she was.

Then she moved.

Fast.

She threw both arms around me.

Her face disappeared against my chest.

I laughed.

Nemris hugged tighter.

Very tight.

Lord Commander strength.

Potential rib concerns.

"Careful."

She squeezed harder.

"Understood."

I could feel her heartbeat.

Fast.

Ridiculously fast.

The woman who had spent years fascinated by humanity was currently hugging an actual human and apparently attempting to process that fact through physical compression.

Her voice came muffled against me.

"I hate you."

I laughed again.

"That escalated quickly."

"You lied to me."

Fair.

"I did."

"For days."

"Also true."

"You let me talk about humans."

That one was particularly funny.

"I did."

"You let me explain human history to you."

"I'm a good listener."

Nemris squeezed harder.

"Caled."

I rubbed her back.

"I needed to protect myself."

Her grip loosened slightly.

The anger disappeared.

"I know."

Two quiet words.

She understood.

Of course she did.

She had personally described what kingdoms might do if a human appeared.

War.

Control.

Competition.

Alliance.

Capture.

Everything.

Nemris remained against me.

Then her voice softened.

"Now I understand why Zeria stayed silent."

I said nothing.

"And why you did."

Her head moved slightly against my chest.

"You were right."

That probably hurt her pride.

I wisely did not celebrate.

Then she whispered, "I'll help you."

My hand slowed against her back.

Nemris finally lifted her face.

Her eyes were still overwhelmed.

Still fascinated.

Still Nemris.

But something had settled inside them.

Decision.

"If this secret keeps you safe, then I'll protect it too."

I smiled.

She held my gaze.

"No one hears it from me."

A faint blush returned.

"This can stay between us."

I tilted my head.

"Our little secret?"

Nemris hesitated.

Then nodded.

"Our little secret."

I liked the sound of that.

"I like that."

Nemris rested against me again.

I wrapped both arms around her.

The remaining sunlight disappeared while we stood there.

Orange faded from the horizon.

Purple spread above the mountains.

Then deep blue.

One by one, stars began appearing overhead while thousands of lights came alive across the capital below.

Neither of us moved.

And we stayed that way until the sky turned completely dark.