Khalifa: Queen in the Apocalypse

Chapter 139: Uncle

She nodded very seriously, making Khalifa chuckle.

Without further ado, she waved at the food. "Let’s eat while we talk."

"Oh, thank you," Claire said, and Ryo nodded at the same time.

They ate deliciously, and they swore that after so long of enduring bad food… this was the best meal they ever had.

"Wow… Thank you, Khalifa. This was really satisfying."

Ryo was much more taciturn but nodded his head with a grateful heart. "Much appreciated."

Then they began wondering if they could take what was left of their share outside for their friends.

If Khalifa could hear their thoughts, she’d shake her head. As expected of novel leads, they were really too kind.

Still, Khalifa looked at all this and smiled. She wasn’t humble and nodded, receiving their gratitude with open arms.

Claire looked around the RV, admiring what was inside. "This is amazing, how much you’ve got."

"Well, Jacob’s quite strong so he could go through the town with some ease." She said, "We really never lack such resources, luckily."

At this, Ryo couldn’t help but look at the tanned man, Jacob, who was eating the meat, medium raw.

Ryo always felt there was something… very different about this man. Jacob raised his eyes and met his stare, and the two of them stared each other down for a moment.

However, Ryo knew it was impolite to stare, so he only nodded before shifting his sights back to Khalifa, changing the topic. "Have you seen a man named Major Kylo Glenn?"

Because he lost his universal phone in an earlier scuffle, he hadn’t been able to contact his uncle since the beginning of the end.

Khalifa blinked, a bit surprised, before nodding. "Yes."

Ryo’s tense shoulders slumped in relief, "How is he?"

"He’s fine. He’s leading the base quite well."

Ryo let out a very rare smile, and Helena couldn’t help but take a peek. "That’s good…" he said, "My mother will finally be able to sleep."

Khalifa flinched, looking at him guardedly. "Your mother?"

"He’s my uncle."

"...oh." her shoulders slumped in relief.

Ryo saw her reaction and looked at her. "Do you know my uncle personally?"

Should she tell him she slept with this Uncle?

But before anything, it was then that she remembered one of the turning points in the book.

It was the internal trouble in the Peace Base, because somehow the power balance was changed because of an incident.

This incident was because the then-leader Ryo had lost his backing.

And this backing… was his unnamed uncle.

Only… it wasn’t ’unnamed’ for her anymore.

…

She paled at the thought. How could the amazing Kylo die so young? How could she let it happen?

Claire quickly noticed her change in expression and held her hand. "What is it?"

"It’s nothing, just a little tired," Khalifa said, forcing a smile.

Originally, she was planning on just passing through Peace Base to look at it for a few days and perhaps participate in the plot in some way or another. It wasn’t much of a detour anyway.

But, regardless of what she might end up doing, she hadn’t planned on letting it extend for more than a few days. But now…

But now it seemed like she’d have to stay a bit longer.

In retrospect, she should’ve known. Not only the bases themselves but the two men looked more than a bit similar.

With some rough calculations, the timeline for Kylo’s supposed death was… in a few months.

Ryo’s leadership would start not too long prior to that, and this meant something would also happen to the current leader of the Peace Base, also Ryo’s Godfather.

From the book, Ryo’s Godfather was a good leader, and Ryo, only twenty-five years old, simply wasn’t ready for the politics that came with the helm.

He was a good soldier, but he wasn’t a politician and he was ill-equipped with people’s greed.

Through his growth as a leader of a community, Claire had been supporting him and even giving advice as someone with actual EQ.

Claire had always been with him in his troubles, making his feelings for the girl even deeper.

In this case, her goal was not only to save Kylo, but also the old leader of the peace base.

She would need a pretty decent place in all of this.

She looked at Ryo, the heir apparent, knowing he should have enough conditions to let her and Jacob have a comfortable stay.

"Actually. I may have to stay in the Peace Base for a while. Can you help me get a good residence? Only for a few months, at most.

"I can serve as a consultant." She said, "I know a lot about these things, as you may have guessed."

Ryo nodded, considering her proposal seriously. "How did you learn all this news?"

He paused, adding a disclaimer for good measure. "And my power is limited. Any preferential treatment would still require some sort of leverage."

On the other hand, Claire looked at her with awe, "Do you also have prophetic dreams like Mira?"

Mira?

Khalifa’s eyes sharpened, some pieces of the puzzle falling into place.

"Are you??" Claire asked again, but Khalifa shook her head.

"Someone from the Capitol advised me." She just said with a shrug, before grinning. "But let me show you something amazing."

She held out her palms, puzzling the two and wondering if they should be looking at something.

Then in front of their very eyes, water condensed, and she formed a little snake-like whip, flexibly maneuvering around her fingers.

The two gaped in amazement, and Ryo recalled the first time they met. It had been a mystery to him how she killed so many so silently.

"That ability…"

"It’s something you should see more often within the next month or so…" she told them, "It’s the Human’s response to all this change."

She smiled slyly at his disbelieving gaze, making the little water snake float near his face. "So, do you think this is enough… leverage?"