"The Northernmost," Shinya simply replied.

"North of Togekaze?" Aurora asked.

Shinya shook his head and asked rhetorically, "Is human knowledge of the world's geography limited to just the Asate continent?"

Aurora was momentarily speechless. Indeed, she had little concept of places beyond the Asate continent.

Seeing the High Priestess remain silent, Shinya was certain of one thing. "It seems that the drastic decline in human civilization after the Great Calamity is indeed true. Your short lifespans during the Great Calamity would only make the transmission of knowledge more difficult. This probably caused your entire race to lose a part of its memory during that time."

The werewolf's arrogance sparked a bit of anger in Miranda. She adjusted her glasses and said coldly yet politely, "Lady Aurora is still young, and she still has time to learn all sorts of knowledge. As for places beyond the Asate continent, I know a little. If there are any mistakes, please correct me."

Miranda closed her notebook, which she always kept with her, with one hand. "'The Northernmost' is a general term, referring to the area north of the 'Eternal Permafrost.' Starting from Northsail, head northeast to the northernmost part of the Asate continent, Hermit Bay. Take a ship across the Black Jade Sea to reach the werewolf kingdom, Togekaze. Then head west, passing through the Polcasha Desert, to reach the beastkin kingdom, Sharuga. From there, continue northwest through the Eternal Permafrost, and you'll reach the Northernmost."

Shinya looked at Miranda with some surprise, a slight smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.

"Krystiz actually went that far..." Aurora couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Wait," Miranda said after a moment of thought, speculating, "Krystiz crossed the 'Eternal Permafrost' to look for the 'Edge of the World'..."

Before Miranda could finish speaking, Shinya had already nodded.

Miranda looked at the werewolf in shock and uttered a name she could hardly believe herself, "The Edge of the World—Ellystara's Barrier..."

"What is that... place?" Aurora turned to her secretary and asked.

"The elven kingdom, Ellystara," Miranda replied.

"Elves... so they really exist..." The young High Priestess felt her understanding of the world being reshaped.

Seeing the shock on their faces, Shinya said, "It's not just humans; we werewolves, and even the beastkin, all thought the elven kingdom was just a legend. After all, for thousands of years, the elves have had no contact with other races. No one has seen what an elf actually looks like. Regardless, Ellystara is not a myth—the elven kingdom truly exists."

Looking at the two of them, Shinya continued seriously, "Krystiz couldn't pass through the barrier, nor could she find any elves outside it. She eventually found this polluted Moonstone outside the tall walls built by the elves. It seems that something terrible might be happening behind Ellystara's barrier. According to her, such severe corruption is not a good sign. Dark forces are gathering somewhere behind those walls, and this is likely related to the Lord of Darkness, Kloisoth."

Hearing this, Aurora's expression became serious as she fell into deep thought; Miranda, on the other hand, took out a pen and quickly wrote something in her notebook.

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After a while, Aurora asked, "Since she discovered such important information, why didn't Krystiz come back herself? She's been out of contact for years and has never reported her whereabouts to headquarters."

"I'm afraid you'll have to ask her in person," Shinya replied, leaning back in his chair and crossing his legs.

"How did you meet her?" Miranda asked.

"My nemesis's former colleague is her lover," Shinya said nonchalantly, "so she found me through an introduction."

Aurora had already dismissed the question of who Shinya's "nemesis" was—after all, it wasn't her concern. What surprised her was that Krystiz had a "lover" from the Bloodwolf.

"A lover?? Are you saying Krystiz fell in love with a werewolf?" Miranda could hardly believe it.

"There's no need to be so surprised. Women in 'Evernight Heights' all have their 'lovers,'" Shinya explained leisurely.

"'Evernight Heights'?" The name was clearly beyond Miranda's knowledge.

"What kind of place is that?" Aurora asked.

Shinya sighed, "In short, 'Evernight Heights' is what you humans would call a brothel. But the merchandise there consists entirely of male members of the Bloodwolf."

Aurora rubbed her temples in frustration. Miranda, meanwhile, silently opened her notebook and jotted something down without saying a word.

Shinya continued, "She told me she still has a mission and cannot return to the Dawn Prayers headquarters. But don't worry, she looks healthy. However, she might have caused some trouble over in Sharuga."

Aurora and Miranda's eyes widened at this.

"What do you mean?" Miranda quickly asked, "Where has she been all these years she was out of contact?"

"In Sharuga," Shinya replied, "After she arrived in Togekaze, a few beastkin from Sharuga followed her. She seemed to know those beastkin quite well. I don't understand beastkin language, but I could sense there was some conflict between them."

"Is she alright?" Aurora asked with concern.

"Of course. Can someone who crossed the 'Eternal Permafrost' be weak?" At this, a rare look of respect appeared on Shinya's face.

Miranda closed her notebook and added, "I met her once about ten years ago. Although we didn't have any direct interaction, her name is quite famous in the Dawn Prayers. She is basically as much of a troublemaker as Nevarus, if not more."

Aurora had an "I see" expression on her face and didn't ask further about the heroic deeds of this troublemaker. Based on Nevarus's situation, she could roughly imagine what kind of person Krystiz was. Such a legendary priestess having a "lover" in Evernight Heights wasn't all that surprising.

At this moment, the young High Priestess was more concerned with other questions. "Since Krystiz entrusted you with delivering the polluted Moonstone to the headquarters, why didn't you come directly? Instead, you transformed into a black panther and stayed by Nicole's side without leaving. What are your intentions towards her?"

"Intentions? So what if I have intentions towards her?" The werewolf seemed to find Aurora's question ridiculous. He became a bit agitated, his voice unconsciously growing louder. "No one in the world wants to protect her more than I do, and no one is more qualified to be by her side than I am."

Seeing Shinya's expression, Aurora was somewhat stunned. She became even more puzzled about their relationship. Nicole was still young and had never left the Asate continent. How did she come to know a werewolf from the other side of the Black Jade Sea? Could it be that this werewolf really had lived in the human world for a long time, as the tavern owner in Echowater Town speculated? Even so, it was unlikely that Nicole would have had any contact with him. Whether in the Dawn Prayers or in Echowater Town where Nicole grew up, there had never been any werewolves.

"Nicole Shaw, female, orphan," Miranda flipped through her notebook, then stopped on a page and read aloud, "was registered for adoption by the previous High Priest Nafal fifteen years ago and joined the Dawn Prayers. Her actual guardian is Father Ron of Echowater Town." Miranda paused, looked up, and spoke calmly yet firmly, "If you believe you have more rights as her guardian than Father Ron, please provide proof of your relationship with Nicole. Otherwise, you have no right to stay by her side. Although Nicole is not a clergy member, until she reaches adulthood, she is nominally a member of the Dawn Prayers and under our protection."

"Proof of relationship?" Shinya laughed, as if hearing such a term for the first time. "Human words are truly interesting."

After a while, Shinya put away his smile, returning to his usual cold demeanor. Yet within that coldness, there was an unmistakable air of sincerity and tenderness. He looked at the two of them with his deep purple eyes and said calmly—

"I am her father."