"Shut it! Can't you see you are scaring the kids?" Scarlett scolded Kalla. "Tonight I'm going out with some of my friends and you are coming along. You need to live a little before you do something that you might regret forever."

"Are you leaving already, Auntie? We've missed you for so long." Both Nok and Nyka looked at Scarlett with sad eyes that shattered her plans.

"You are right. Tonight, we'll celebrate with a family dinner, and tomorrow I'll bring you all to a nice place." The Scorpicore's words were met with hugs, enthusiasm, and Kalla's attempt to get back into the lab.

"I'll go fetch something tasty. You kids set the table while your mother gets to work." Kalla's smile disappeared when Scarlett handed her lots of cleaning tools instead of fresh specimens.

"If by my return the stench of decay and everything that causes it isn't gone, I'm going to lock you out of the lab for a week. You are not allowed to use magic. I want you to realize the consequences of your actions."

Much to Kalla's dismay, the door to the Necromancy workshop refused to open now that she was back being a guest.

"Is this really necessary? I'm sure that-"

"One more word and I'll make it a month." Scarlett took off in search of a prey big enough for all of them.

As for Kalla, she needed all of her extra limbs to collect her failed experiments lying around, wondering what could a piece of paper addressed to her that said "Present" mean.

***

Lith's house, a few days after the dinner with Lark.

Just like Scarlett had predicted, Lith received a summon from the Council a few hours after Marchioness Distar notified him of his invitation to the Royal Gala to celebrate the fall of Kogaluga.

Being called directly from the Lord of the Distar region, whose authority lay just below the Royals, was the greatest honor one could receive. Regular nobles and mages would just speak with Royal messengers.

Lords like Jirni and Deirus would be notified by the Chamberlain. Speaking directly with the Royals was something that only people like Mirim Distar could do and only because of her role of Lord Commander of the Queen's Corps.

"I'm amazed how you're keeping busy during your alleged time off." The Marchioness said. "Silver mines, a retail chain, and now even a… What is it called again?"

"A car." Lith replied

He still had a hard time believing that aside from women, u.n.d.e.r.w.e.a.r had achieved minimal success whereas chess and strollers flew off the shelves. To fulfill the ever-increasing orders, Zekell's workshop had been forced to expand again and even open branches in the nearby cities.

Chess had known a slow but steady increase of popularity among mages and nobles until the Queen herself had promoted the game by participating to a tourney hosted by the Marchioness.

Solus had defeated Lady Distar in the semi-finals and found her equal in Sylpha during the finals. Lith had begged Solus to lose on purpose, but once the game started, he had no idea if a move was good or bad, he just moved the pieces.

"By defeating its very own inventor, I crown Sylpha Griffon as Queen of the Games as well as of our glorious Kingdom!" The Marchioness said while proclaiming the winner.

Lith still considered it a victory since he had succeeded in not falling asleep, but Solus didn't share his ability to lose with grace.

'I would have won if you didn't keep distracting me with your thoughts about what drink is the best to go with different cuts of meat!' She still scolded him.

'It's called "What's the beer?" and it's the only thing that keeps my eyes open while I'm forced to stare at pieces of wood for hours.' He thought.

As for the strollers, they didn't need any kind of advertis.e.m.e.nt. Any parent that saw one found themselves craving for it.

"Have you considered opening a retail store in Derios as well? Many people can't afford the shipping charges from L.u.s.tria. They are more expensive than your products themselves." The Marchioness said.

"I'll discuss it with my administrator. I don't have the time to deal with those kinds of things." Lith replied.

"I know. You are too busy taking down Lost Cities. Can you tell me how you found Kolga's core from Lutia? I know it's supposed to be a secret until the city is officially declared cleansed, but I hate mysteries."

'When I'm not the one keeping them.' She actually thought.

"I'm sorry but I can't. I received a direct order from the Queen." Lith would have liked to tell her the official version of the events, but Tyris had yet to make up one.

"Then I'll ask no more. I'll see you at the gala and until then, try to have some proper rest. Distar out." The Marchioness closed the call, leaving Lith to his preparations.

He wasn't worried by either the Council or the Royal Court. Even if they had connected the dots and understood that the silver pillar belonged to him, no one had a good reason to antagonize him.

Humans, beasts, and probably even the Guardians would cover his back, leaving the remaining two factions holding the short end of the stick. Abominations had yet to become part of the Council but they already held some influence.

With the ongoing negotiations, they could tip the scales of most decisions simply by raising or lowering their demands according to the outcome. Lith considered Xenagrosh among his backers after all she had done for Lutia.

The Royal Court was definitely trickier. Phloria's trial had shown him the limits of the power that Tyris was willing to exert on political affairs, but with the help of the Royals and thanks to the fact that he had no lands, he had no weak point either.

'Surely the current Ranger of the Kellar region will be pissed off and some of the militaries, like General Morn, will want my head for interfering with state secrets as a civilian. They can't kill me, but they can sure mess with my life.

'There's no point worrying about them until I have an idea of what kind of reward I'm going to get. If the Royals bestow upon me a Royal pardon, then all my past and present breakings of the law will be forgotten and my enemies will have no excuse to attack me. I just have to wait and see.' Lith thought.

'Aren't you excited at the thought of having your first real vacation here on Mogar?' Solus asked.

'What do you mean? I had plenty of vacations. Like during the winter break for the academy or when I brought Kamila to the Flying Griffon Resort.' Lith felt offended at the allegation.

'Please, we did nothing but work during the break or any other leave you got from the army. As for Kamila, those weren't vacations so much as extended dates. Thanks to our latest mind fusions, I know how you didn't care about excursions or sceneries, you stayed in bed as long as you could.

'Even when you took some time off for me, you considered it therapy and gave your all to make me feel good instead of enjoying yourself.' Solus said.