The Glorious Evolution

”Temporary help...?”

Valemont had barely repeated those words when the first mercenary stepped through a portal.

A powerful spiritual aura spread across the lot, making the nearest officers stiffen... their hands instinctively reached for their gun-shaped solar totems before the Chancellor raised his palm.

”Lower them. They’re with us.”

The mercenary acknowledged him with a slight nod and moved aside, allowing five companions to follow.

A Solarbound captain... accompanied by five Wardens!

Valemont’s expression changed at once. Before he could approach them, another squad emerged from the adjoining portal... then another, their spiritual auras overlapping until even the workers farther down the street stopped clearing the rubble!

The mercenaries belonged to a mixture of races, but the squads shared one thing... their strength!

Each had a Solarbound captain leading five Wardens, and they kept coming until twelve squads stood among the mountains of supplies!

”...Twelve?”

Hicham heard the Chancellor’s murmur through the Council’s channel and immediately enlarged the projection of the lot.

Naima and the governors followed his gaze... only to find that the supposed temporary help had already filled most of the cleared space.

Seventy-two mercenaries!

Even the weakest among them was a Warden... a force like this could relieve several districts and reinforce the settlements without forcing their exhausted defenders to abandon another position!

Yet, before anyone could recover from the surprise, the final portal stirred.

A woman stepped through it, her blue lips and the faint, glasslike sheen of her skin catching Valemont’s attention for a moment... then he sensed her spiritual aura.

His elderly smile froze.

’A Blazewarden!’

Five mercenaries followed her, and this time... none of them was a Warden.

They were all Solarbounds!

For a few seconds, Valemont simply stared at the six newcomers, wondering whether Levi had misunderstood what he meant by keeping his money.

He had told him to save for his evolutions... not prepare to conquer the neighboring regions!

The woman glanced at the damaged buildings before approaching him... her companions remained beside the portal while she opened a dimensional document.

”High Chancellor Valemont? We were instructed to place ourselves under your command.”

Valemont accepted the nocturnal contract and checked the employer’s name.

Levi Larson.

Naturally... who else?

His attention moved down the agreement, passing over regional defense, settlement protection, emergency response, and supply escorts.

The known threats had been disclosed before the contracts were accepted. Recordings of Fang and Rain were included, with the Hound identified as the greatest threat.

Clients had to describe a mission’s difficulty accurately... more than two justified bad ratings would get them blacklisted by the Mercenary Platforms, along with anyone attempting to hire on their behalf through connections to their True Name.

Ratings caused by unforeseeable circumstances could be appealed.

Then, the High Chancellor reached the payment.

Nine hundred and sixty thousand Nocrix Credits... payable in monthly installments!

”...”

Valemont rubbed his forehead, suddenly understanding why Arthur needed Levi so urgently.

The little brat didn’t want to remain on the call long enough to be questioned!

”How long?” Hicham asked, noticing that the Chancellor had stopped reading.

”One Boundless year.”

Six months on Earth... six months of protection secured, with Levi responsible for the payments!

The Council could finally reinforce its defenses without emptying its remaining reserves.

Naima’s gaze lingered on the mercenaries... but what came to mind was the hologram Shia had once shown her.

[Arthur Larson. Sixteen years old, with SS potential.]

She had been willing to offer more than a recommendation letter to secure him for the agency... meanwhile, Shia had used his name to obtain that letter for Levi.

When Naima learned the truth, her first concern had been the humiliation of sponsoring a blind boy on national television. Idriss had convinced her to let him compete and give him the same chance as the other children.

Even after Levi displayed his talents, she had still found something to regret.

If only he weren’t blind...

Naima pressed her lips together, remembering her own words.

Now, a Blazewarden and seventeen Solarbounds stood ready to defend their region because that same boy had hired them... without anyone even asking him for help.

A faint, self-mocking smile appeared on her face.

Shia had risked punishment to give him a chance... while Naima had worried about what other families would say.

How many other promising children had she dismissed because they hadn’t had someone like Shia willing to fight for their chance?

Naima opened her daughter’s private channel... for once, being her mother mattered more than being right.

-You did good.-

She hesitated, then added another message.

-Thank Levi for me... and thank you for not listening to me.-

...

In Jasmine’s Deserted Kingdom...

Shia stared at the messages on her dimensional screen with a popsicle falling from her mouth... then checked the sender.

Her mother.

She read them again, waiting for a complaint about the money they donated or an instruction she was supposed to follow.

...and thank you for not listening to me.

Shia was left dazed... she didn’t know what to do with the sudden change of tone.

When she had returned alive from the Harrowing Forest, her mother had found time to criticize her posture... yet hardly a word to spare for how close she had come to dying.

You aren’t dead... Don’t be melodramatic.

Shia still remembered how eagerly she had waited for something else that day... some concern, a question about her injuries, anything.

Now, a few words of praise had left her sitting quietly while the others continued checking on the situation in Heliodor.

”Took you long enough...” she muttered.

She tried to sound annoyed, but the small smile forming on her lips ruined it.

”Is Madam Naima alright?” Nurah asked, noticing the change in her expression.

”She’s fine.” Shia hesitated before showing her the messages. ”She said I did a good job.”

”That’s nice.” Nurah smiled and returned to her own screen, giving Shia room to reply.

-I will. Take care of yourself.-

Shia’s finger paused over the second sentence... then she sent it before she could change her mind.

She hadn’t regretted obtaining that recommendation letter for Levi. Not once... but knowing her mother could finally acknowledge something good coming from her decisions still meant more than she wanted to admit.

Afterward, she forwarded Naima’s thanks to Levi and added a message of her own.

-Thank you... from me too.-

Beside her, Nurah understood why those messages meant so much.

She had known Shia since childhood, even if they hadn’t been close back then. Shia’s strained relationship with her mother was no secret among Heliodor’s nobility... the two could barely agree on anything.

After a moment, Nurah opened her own mother’s channel.

-Confirm your location and condition.-

Her reply appeared just below it.

-Jasmine’s territory. Everyone is unharmed. Were you injured?-

-No. Remain there and continue your training.-

-Understood.-

Nurah’s gaze lingered on the exchange... it could have passed for an officer checking on a subordinate.

Even asking whether her mother had survived an attack had become another report.

In her family, affection had always been scarce, while expectations never seemed to end. She had grown up as their prized prodigy, a weapon to be honed until she could lead them toward a better future.

They had planned every step around the woman they needed her to become, leaving little room for the child who simply wanted to be loved.

Nurah understood their reasons... their situation demanded strength, discipline, and someone capable of protecting everything they had built. Especially now, with their home recovering from an invasion, asking for a few affectionate words would have felt childish.

Still, understanding hadn’t made her stop wanting them.

Her fingers hovered over the channel before she added another sentence.

-I was worried about you.-

She read it once... then deleted it.

Her mother was busy. That was what she told herself as she closed the screen.

Nurah never let the hurt show... she hid it behind playful remarks and easy smiles, giving even her closest friends little reason to suspect anything.

She killed without hesitation and discussed the aftermath without losing her appetite... yet a few words on Shia’s screen left her feeling like a little girl again. She wanted her mother to ask whether she was alright... and care about the answer even when she had no injuries to report.

Nurah glanced at her friend again.

This time, her smile needed no effort.

At least one of them was finally hearing the words they had both needed growing up... as close friends, if one heard them, it was the same as the other hearing them.

Right?