The cell itself was dark and basic. It only had a mattress, but Niji just sat there calmly, crossing his legs with closed eyes, listening to the coming and going of footsteps outside his cell. The air was dry, and nobody came to torture him, trying to get some information out of him when he refused to talk, which was a surprise. He expected to be roughed up a little before everything even started... but nothing.

  “You came pretty soon.” The demon said, his eyes still closed as he heard new steps approaching, recognizing them instantly and speaking to Ren.

  “I heard you wanted to speak to me, so I came. If it's inconvenient, I can come back ter; I can see you are busy with work.” Ren chuckled, bringing a stool over and sitting down in front of his cell.

  “Funny.” He said as he opened his eyes, looking into hers. “I guess you all want to send me back as a puppet leader.”

  “Something like that. But don’t want to paint it that way... That's too... radical. We are willing to let you go back and take over your tribe. We just want some benefits for doing so.”

  “In exchange, we pay resources as some kind of fee. I know how humans work.” Niji nodded.

  “That’s what makes it easier for both of us." Ren grinned, "Look, we see the writing on the wall. We know those who stand in the way of evolution get trampled to death... I am especially aware of that fact.”

  “Mm?” He looked at her questioningly alongside Feynor.

  “We don’t want to ensve or control you like a vassal state. It won’t work for a long time.” Ren continued, not expining what she meant by it, “If we control you on a leash, either the other demon tribes sniff it out and intervene by killing you, or you will just fuck off to who knows where the moment you get a chance and leave us a crumbling pit.”

  “What keeps me from doing that after you release me back?” Niji ughed with a provoking smile. "I can do that either way, no?"

  “The profit you can have.”

  “Oh?” His smile disappeared at once, leaning a bit closer to the bars.

  “See?" Ren grinned at him, "We want an ally, not a puppet. You can govern your people the way you want! We don’t care. It’s a transaction. You get us resources only found in this forest, and we give you what you can only get from us. Human weapons, tools that you may ck, and knowledge. Even if you are now evolved, smart as we are, we still have a longer period of history figuring out how the world works.”

  “I can’t deny that." The chimpanzee nodded, "Most of my brethren still look and live like mindless barbarians or animals compared to you. That’s the sad truth... I’m not blind. So? What’s the catch? This sounds too good to be true.”

  “Nothing big. You just need to support us!" Ren cpped happily, "Suppose you can conquer some nd and establish a new power that pys a bigger role in the fight for power of the forest, then you must make sure that by establishing a cooperative stance with our Empire, you convince or pressure other tribes to the same view, and let us trade with them. The method you go about it would be yours to decide. We only care about the results.”

  “Heh, Lil’ Sis really should be a Queen… or the first Empress~!” Feynor thought, sitting next to her, listening quietly, and smiling, liking her idea.

  “Still, this seems too good to be true….” Niji murmured, mulling over her words over and over again.

  “Don’t worry; you will have your hands full!" Ren answered, ughing, "Also, I bet there will be a lot of resistance, not just from your kind but from other demon folk as well. As an example, why it could work... Many Forest Fairies are already near our border, and I feel more will come... They are weak. We are protecting them. We pn to contact more and more simir tribes and gather them to our side, where we can py the role of a protector.”

  “And…?” Niji whispered, but he had already guessed her answer.

  “Your kind is strong. You can py the same role as us! It would grant support from other tribes, collecting them under your banner, growing in the process.”

  “Isn’t it… our banner?”

  “Ahaha, you catch on quick!” Ren giggled while Feynor blinked as the discussion rolled forward way too fast for him to realize there was no stopping now. “What do you say… partner?” She stood up, stretching her small hand inside the cell, as Feynor stood ready to jump in if anything went wrong.

  “Your honeyed words are the same as the sver’s trainers I met as a child,” Niji answered simply.

  “Eyy, don’t call me that. I ain’t looking for ensved people but allies. You will see.” Ren sighed, still holding out her hand, waiting for his reply.

  “Okay. We will see!” He nodded, finally grabbing her hand that disappeared into his giant ape palm.

  “Ahahaha, good! Wait a few days, and we can go to your tribe!”

  “What?” Feynor and Niji asked at the same time, shocked.

  “What?” Ren blinked her eyes innocently. “I need to oversee this, at least for the first time! I make some preparations, then we leave.”

  “Absolute nonsense!” Feynor protested, with a vein popping on his neck.

  “Are you stupid or brave? What if we take you as a hostage?” Niji looked at her, bewildered just the same.

  “Oh, come on… both of you.” She rolled her eyes. “We want cooperation, no? Especially you, Feynor. Isn’t this one of your dreams?”

  “But-”

  “Then this is perfect!" Ren cpped, ending the discussion, "We want to show how sincere we are. Then we do it this way! And if you betray us, we will know your tribe can’t be trusted." She gnced at Niji, "Also, I’m confident in myself. I could escape if it came to that! But you look smart, Niji. I think you won’t pass up an opportunity like this and jump-start your revolution instead… and just as I said, we want allies. Not puppets or enemies. Trust me.” She smiled sincerely at him. “This world is full of wonders. Your ancestors evolved and changed into a new level of existence. I want to see what else is hidden in this forest, what wonders are there! Ahaha, this is so exciting!” She ughed happily, with her lips reaching from ear to ear.

  “What a strange little human you are.”

  “Yeah, I got that a lot." She shrugged, "Anyway, I need to push this down the throat of my overprotective parents... Somehow... Then we can move on! Sit patiently until then. Give me a few days, and I’ll be back~!” She winked at him as she left, followed by Feynor.

  “You py it too dangerously… but… I can see why. It’s just… It’s still a big risk!” Feynor sighed as they left the prison area, walking up the stairwell.

  “So what? You need to take risks if you pn to move forward. If you wait for others to scout out the unknown, you will miss out on most of the fun things in life.” Ren replied, being especially honest and serious.

  “There is no arguing against you, Lil’ Sis, is there? Now I see how you caught my Lil’ Bro in your honeytrap.”

  “I wish he would already be in my honeypot, yet still…" She grunted, "I heard about many of your Father’s and the Third Prince’s exploits, yet Leinor… not even close.”

  “Ahahahaha! You little devil!” He ughed out loud as he walked beside her. “Not every one of us picked up Father’s habits. I only have one wife at home, not a harem.”

  “You are married?” She asked, surprisedly.

  “Yup. For 23 years now! She is still only at the 7th stage and not very talented, but she is kind and caring. Ahh... I miss her!" He shook his head, patting Ren's back, "Take good care of Leinor. He is a sweet kid.”

  “Worry not. I will. I love him!” Ren smiled at him with honest, clear eyes. “Speaking of LeiLei, can you call him? I’ll need him to help examine the monkeys’ corpses.”

  “Sure. I’ll come too. I’m interested in it!”

  “Nice!" Ren grinned, "If there are more experienced hands, the better! I’ll talk with my parents first, then meet you at the morgue.”

  “Good for me. See you soon!” Feynor nodded as they split up, and while he went to fetch Leinor, Ren climbed the stairs to her parents’ room.

  …….….

  “Interesting…” Dermitos murmured, reclining in his chair, flipping through the report of Ren’s thoughts about the physiology of demon folk after going through almost all of the dead apes they brought back.

  “We discovered that they cultivate some kind of… crystal inside their bodies,” Feynor expined, sitting opposite him, sipping a cup of tea, and on the table between them y a small, pea-sized, hexagonal, colorless gem. “Ren has called it a Demon Core. We guess they are probably born with some kind of precursor to it... They cultivate it within their bodies, maybe even subconsciously, and those who can solidify it to an actual core evolve into their human form. We found the same inside every one of the monkeys, inside their brains. They are the same in size, color, and shape. To be sure, we would need to study different species from different age groups, though. Of course, that is not possible...”

  “Is it really? We could catch...” Dermitos whispered but just smirked in the end, noticing Feynor's gaze changing. “Sure, sure. We won’t. Rex, I’m not about to mess up our progress.”

  “Ren is pretty excited." Feynor nodded, watching his father, "She wants us to collect beasts if we can, study how the lower-ranking demon species work and grow, and already has some ideas on how to utilize Demon Cores, but it is still in the theory phase, nothing concrete yet.”

  “Like the st part in the report? What was it?” He closed his eyes, mulling over the words “God Core?”

  “It’s only a theory, but she said probably the highest form of a Demon Core would be one that would elevate any demon into the power level of a God.” Feynor chuckled. “But what can you do? She is still young. Kids have a great imagination.”

  “That girl is great to have as a daughter-in-w!” Dermitos ughed, opening his eyes again. “So? How did the discussion with our friend go?”

  After Feynor recounted everything, his father stood and walked to the small window, deep in thought.

  “Knowing Xendar, they won’t agree easily,” Dermitos said.

  “They already did.”

  “Oh? How did she do that?” The Emperor asked, shocked.

  “Lady Anya will accompany us,” Feynor expined.

  “Us?”

  “I’m going too.”

  “Be careful." Dermitos nodded, not wanting to try and hold his son back, "You are now the Crown Prince. You can’t put yourself in too much danger, as I pn to pass down the throne to you soon.”

  “I still think Leinor would be a better option,” Feynor replied, speaking his honest thoughts.

  “That is why you will make a great Emperor." His Father chuckled, "You are broad-minded and kind. We had some harsh, iron-fisted rulers before.... There needs to be a new way of thinking, or we will just become a tyranny-governed mess, and those won’t st long. When your great-grandfather was killed, it was a difficult time... The Empire almost fell apart! Dictatorships fall when the leader passes. There must be a bance between the stick and the carrot. And I believe you will do well... Anyway, how’s training?”

  “Tomorrow, I’ll practice with the help of Lil’ Sister and see how I can adapt to the new waves." Feynor answered, smiling, "If it goes well, I can consider reaching the next realm. We’ll see.”

  “Good. When you advance, I’ll step down and hand over everything to you.”

  “Any words from Lacuss or Reignar?” Feynor asked, taking a deep breath, realizing that soon, he would become Emperor.

  “Reignar doesn’t care. He is having fun touring the Empire, tasting every brothel he comes across. He found his way; he will catch up to you if you are careless!" Dermitos chuckled, shaking his head, "That boy has one thing on his mind, and that is to fuck every hole he can and build his cultivation around it. He is degenerate if I ever saw one... Yet he is my son!” He shrugged, dropping his shoulders. “So… fuck it. In his case, literally. Let him do what he wants, but I told him, any bastard that pops up ter, he has to deal with it!” Dermitos chuckled while Feynor just rubbed his face, hearing about his younger brother.

  “And…?”

  “Lacuss… Well... Why are you and Leinor the only sane sons I have?” He sighed, holding his temple. “He just sent back one letter.” He said as he pulled it out and threw it to Feynor, who ughed out loud when he opened it. Only one word was written on the big sheet of paper: Noted.

  “Where is he now?”

  “In the border kingdoms between us and the Kingdom of Ten. He is touring our vassal states, checking on them... We need to be careful, especially now. Who knows whether the Naulins try to strike during the succession ceremony? Your brother's cold presence is the best weapon to terrify any scheming bastards who could be swayed by the Kingdom's honeyed words.”

  “I agree.” Feynor smiled, putting down the letter and emptying his cup.

  “Anyway, be careful on the way, and when you come back, you need to return to the capital. You need to get ready.”

  “Yes, Father.” He stood up, bowing to him.

  “No more bows!” Dermitos smiled, turning towards him and patting his shoulders. “You are ready to be an Emperor. You bow to nobody, remember that!”

  “Still, bowing to one's parents and peers is not something I have a problem with.” He smiled while Dermitos hugged him.

  “Then do this instead, boy. I’m your father first, not your Emperor. Now go, have a good night's rest!”

  When Feynor left, Dermitos took another look at the report lying on the table, revealing a small smile.

  “Forefather, you will be surprised when you get back. If we are not careful, that little girl will overturn everything you have built! I need to nudge Leinor more to gain control over his little wife… mmm… maybe I should add an aphrodisiac to their food or drinks? Or just in Leinor’s? Maybe then he could show some dominance over her….'' Dermitos murmured under his breath, thinking up things that would easily flip out Xendar and Anya if they knew about it… As for Ren… Ren may even find it funny… She may have also considered it before… who knows.