“Smooth,” said Marie. “You’re quite the good counsellor, aren’t you?”

“I was a sergeant, after all. NCOs need to be able to understand their troops well. A byproduct of that is impeccable counselling ability,” Aziz replied. His gaze shifted over to the door. “Still, the way she dealt with that problem was so direct, I think even Straight Shots deviate more.”

“Dragging in a bed that nonchalantly is something I want to try out too,” said Marie. “Picture this: we’re doing a hospital visit, and we see a soldier in a dirty bed. I walk out, drag a bed in, and watch as the whole ward stares at me in awe. Isn’t that fun?”

Aziz briefly imagined that, and then agreed fervently. The feeling of being the centre of attention was rather addictive, and watching everyone’s stunned face was that and more. Smiling to himself, he rolled around his new bed, only to grimace a little when he landed on a sore spot.

“You aren’t a child anymore,” said Marie, who was hugging a second pillow she’d requested. “Act like it.”

“You’re the one with a second pillow to hug,” Aziz retorted.

“What’s wrong with a second pillow? Are you set on making enemies with second-pillow-huggers worldwide?” Marie replied. “It’s a good habit to have. If I get a significant other, I should be prepared to hug them anytime at night to show my appreciation. This is just training.”

The colonel rubbed his nose. “Should I do that too?”

“I recommend it,” said Marie. “It was a tip that the women of Thunderbolt taught me. Their future partners are going to be lucky ones, aren’t they?”

“Hmm. True.” Aziz smiled, only for his expression to slide off his face a moment later. “Anyway, we got distracted for a moment. Let’s return to the main topic at hand.”

“The information we just learned.” Marie closed her eyes and fiddled with her pillow for a moment. “First, Familiar Spirit Rene must have told this to us with her lord’s blessing. This means that the Worldshaper wants us to relay this information in one state or another to the Republic. Why couldn’t he do it himself?”

“Because of the thing that happened to us earlier on,” Aziz continued slowly. Marie was trying to make him come with his own conclusions. She probably wanted to compare her own to his, and when she nodded to herself, the colonel couldn’t help but grit his teeth.

“In that case, this…truth thing, it works on the great gods too. Or some of them, at any rate.” Aziz pulled the blanket on his bed closer. “Maybe it informs a certain great god; there has to be someone governing this system, right?”

He shook his head. “I’m still as confused as ever.”

“Maybe simply mentioning these things outside might rouse a sleeping power,” Marie finally said. “In that case, we weren’t meant to inform the State Council directly. We are to come up with actions, tell the State Council to trust us, and have them execute it.”

“Which leaves the question: what actions are we supposed to come up with? What can the mortal nations of our world do?” Aziz asked. “Maybe it’s something to do with the upcoming war, something like ‘Don’t use your full might’ or ‘Beware of threats other than the demons’.”

“That’s the one with the highest possibility, isn’t it?”

Marie fell silent. Moments later, her breathing slowed down, each of them taking long and deep breaths of air. The tension that had gripped her muscles tightly drained out slowly, and at this sight, Aziz too felt tired. There wasn’t much he could say — even he was still incredibly tired.

And yet, he couldn’t fall asleep. His mind was too clouded with various thoughts, with each of them alone enough to keep him up at night.

The State Council would probably be worried at their absence, and he didn’t know if the God of Fire’s subordinates knew to inform the Republic about their current state. Rene’s warning about another power hiding in the shadows didn’t make him any happier idea, especially since people like him and Marie could enter its territory through dreams. Demon God’s familiar spirits were attacking the Great Divide — was four years actually an optimistic estimate? Were the Five Lands prepared to take on an immortal force?

All this, and more, whirled madly in his mind. There was nothing he could do to get them out of his head. His usual routines for clearing his mind wasn’t yielding much success, and—

“You’re worried.” A familiar voice spoke to him, from his right, and his head turned so fast that it called up a small wind in its wake.

Rene placed a finger on her lips. “You worry so much. You should learn from your boss.”

In an equally quiet voice, Aziz replied, “How much did you hear?”

“Everything the two of you said,” she replied. “I apologise for thrusting all these onto you two. But your State Council will never come to the Lord’s Divine Kingdom, and the Lord’s aides will never come to your Republic. This is the only way both sides can collaborate without backing down on intangible issues that shouldn’t have mattered.”

“What should I do?” Aziz found himself asking. “Worries like these are beyond my paygrade, right?”

“Dearest captain…or colonel, as you are now, go forth. Few mortals ever venture into a Divine Kingdom without fear. I see not why such a quality should desert you hence at this juncture,” Rene replied. “The implications of the various matters discussed in this room are all separate, yet I would call them linked. Tread closely, and fearfully.”

Aziz tried to get up, but she placed a single palm on his body. Something like a mountain fell on him, preventing him from getting up.

“You’re still badly injured,” Rene said. “You’re no Knight. Simply seeing a Demigod exhibit their might is enough to injure you in many ways. Take a rest.”

The world began to swim.

“Sleep, for now. You’ll be better when you wake.”

Aziz tried to move, but the soft mattress was sucking in him. A warm finger touched his nose, and a curtain of darkness fell.