Preparations were done. Lumin sat next to Javohir, and everyone began to eat. The table was filled with fairly normal food that Javohir recognized. But Lumin placed a few special plates in front of him.
"Your body can't handle our food. These are from your world," she said.
Javohir looked at the food curiously—it looked almost the same as what everyone else was eating. Beef steaks, chicken, and fish skewers. The table was almost entirely covered with meat, way less vegetables than he expected.
Everyone was silent until the moment their plates were clean. Then, Lumin broke the silence.
"Hear me out, crowd! I know I said this before, but I'm putting him on our side. Tomorrow, we're going to speak with the higher-ups. Any complaints?"
Still, no one said a word. But their eyes were fixed on Lumin. They were communicating in their own unique, wordless way.
"Hehe, Javohir! You're Hadevarian from now on! Any complaints about going back home?" she teased, clearly excited. "I think he's just feeling a little shy…"
Suddenly, Javohir interrupted her.
"I'm sorry. I don't know what this place is, or why I'm here. But I didn't ask for this… I just can't... I'm not... I—"
His voice cracked.
He was clenching his fists, lowering his face as he spoke—like he was trying to stay calm while holding back something inside. He looked like he was on the verge of tears, and yet holding it in with sheer force. Deep down, he didn't even feel like he deserved to ask for help. He felt like a mistake that shouldn't have happened.
His thoughts circled around the "higher-ups" she mentioned earlier. As usual, he started overthinking. The idea that he might be a burden to Lumin wouldn't leave his mind—especially knowing she had been ordered to kill him… yet was trying to recruit him instead.
Now the room fell into real silence. The others looked at Lumin, waiting for her to explain things. But she was speechless—stuck in her own thoughts, trying to make sense of his refusal.
Sensing the mood getting heavier, Tharn stepped in to lighten things up.
"Aaanndd, Javohir!" he suddenly shouted, standing up next to him.
"What?" Javohir responded, startled.
"You know, we don't see people like you often. Some of us have never seen a human at all. Sooo…"
"Sooo?" Javohir asked, eyebrows raised.
"Can you answer some of our questions? We've got a little curiosity about the human world, you see." Tharn smiled like a kid asking his uncle questions.
"Ah… yeah, I guess."
"You humans have way too much things you enjoy to do. And one of thing we wanted to know is games," his eyes filled with joy, impatient to find the answer.
"Games? Huh? Like hide and seek?" He was still thinking about the situation he was in now, and was not ready to hear such childish things out of nowhere.
"No, we even played Simon says together. What I asked was mobile games. Games you play on your phone or computer," he was asking questions and explaining what they were talking about to others at the same time, looking both sides.
"Oh yeah, I played quite a lot of games too... I... I think games were one of the least things I loved most in my world..."
His voice gradually lowered as he remembered his own world.
He knew Lumin was serious about helping him. But Javohir thought differently. His mind was filled with thoughts like What if I put their life in danger? I still have no idea about those higher-ups. I can't risk both of our lives. I can already imagine how it could end. It's always the people who try to help that get hurt…
He was thinking pessimistically, even though he didn't want to.
Tharn realized it was wrong to make him remember his own world and wanted to change the subject and was going to speak—but his voice was shut down by someone's entrance.
It was only an hour or so since their party had started, so it was not midnight yet, but most of them were already yawning. Still, everyone hurried to stand and lined up. They saluted and stood still in formation. Lumin was the only one to stay seated beside Javohir. Even Tharn hurried to welcome the newcomer.
Someone—apparently a woman—flew down. She had wings on her back, which vanished as she landed. Javohir was speechless and thought her to be one of the higher-ups he had been hearing about. Her face was covered with cloth. She came closer to Javohir and stood silently for some time.
Javohir was frightened but couldn't look away. She was standing right in front of him.
Suddenly, everyone in the crowd seemed to relax a bit. Most of them left for home. It seemed like they'd been given silent orders from her. After some time, when the cleaning was done, only three of them were left.
Even Tharn left, saying,
"We'll have plenty of time to hear more of you later. Till then, take your time. And don't worry!"
It was the only thing said after that woman arrived. He left without waiting for an answer, as if he was in a hurry too.
As the tension eased and the crowd dispersed, Javohir let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. With fewer eyes watching, and only Lumin beside him, he managed to gather his scattered thoughts. The shock was still there, but something about Lumin's calm presence helped him.
He was still standing beside her, silently facing the winged woman who hadn't said a word yet.
Lumin stood beside him, not a flicker of worry on her face. She trusted the representative, and maybe she wanted Javohir to stay calm.
The longer she stood silent, the more Javohir's fear dulled into curiosity. Maybe it was the sheer absurdity of it all, or maybe he just wanted answers badly enough to override his nerves. Either way, he met her gaze with something close to boldness. Speaking nonchalantly had been his shield before—it worked with Lumin. Maybe it would work here too.
Finally, Lumin turned to him and spoke with a smile.
"I told you, Javohir."
Their silent conversation had ended. At least it seemed like it.
"What? Before anything else… Can't she talk?" he asked, trying to look nonchalant. And it actually worked.
"Who said I was a woman?"
"Was I wrong then?" He wasn't sure if it was a man or woman. The clothing was similar to Lumin's—not a single fancy thing. Armor-like fabric covered most of her body. The only thing that caught his eye was the worn-out cloth she used to cover her entire face.
"No, but even most of the squad members think she's actually a man," Lumin burst into laughter.
"Shut up, Lumin!" she shouted back.
Then she turned to Javohir.
"Lumin already introduced you to me. I'm the 3rd Legion's Vaelgrith representative."