The sun had set by the time I finished my tale. Amelia and Apricot were silent throughout, and they still haven't said anything. I want to give them time, so I pull out some potted plants and cast my glow spell on them.

"Sorrel..." Amelia, a beautiful, blonde merchant speaks up first. "I want to believe you..."

"But." Apricot, a pixie with hair the same shape and color as her namesake fruit, continues. "It's a bit much."

We've barely known each other a week, so I suppose it's not surprising. I met Apricot shortly after the un-named god reincarnated me into this world with a brand new body and fantastical powers.

Then, just a few hours later, after getting to 'know' each other. We ran into Amelia and her brother and saved them from bandits. Apricot then pushed me towards Amelia, but it almost backfired due to some cultural misunderstandings. Fortunately, things worked out in the end.

And, more than that, the two of them magically bonded the first time we three made love. This allows Apricot to grow to human size, and Amelia to draw magic from the world through her. But, the connection they share goes much deeper than that.

The two of them are now empathically linked; they can feel each other's emotions, even physical sensations. And, when they both focus on the same thing, it's like their brains become linked making them smarter than the sum of their two halves. Of course, they discovered this when I was showing them how to play board games, and promptly used it to kick my ass at them.

"Temmie." I speak directly to the goddess of bawdy jokes. "I know this doesn't involve you, but could you back me up? You don't want me to have to polish my staff all on my lonesome, do you?"

*He's telling the truth, girls.*

"Oh, shit. You can talk." I half-gasp half-laugh in relief.

*Ding.* Her voice carries a hint of mirth as she says the word.

"I never wanted to lie to either of you." I want to reach out and take their hands, but I'm afraid they'll reject me. "But, like you said, it's not exactly the most believable story."

"Temmie may be a goddess of jokes." Apricot speaks up. "But, when she tells the truth. She tells the Truth. Now that I think about it, you never really lied; you just smudged the truth a bit. Which I'm not happy about, but it is understandable. So, this doesn't really change anything for me. Well, I'm kinda mad at this VeeGee for getting rid of all those dirty pictures. But, he's a god. What're ya gonna do?"

"It's not all bad, he left the nudity and sex scenes in the movies and tv shows." Because of course, I checked that.

"Because of course, you checked that." Amelia snorts. "Look, I can't say that I'm happy to learn about this either, but I guess Apricot is right. You never really lied."

"You should be happy." I finally take her hand. "This means I can tell you that Frankenstein isn't the only book I can translate for you. It's just one of tens of thousands."

"T-tens of Thousands?" A dreamy look fills her face. "I don't think even the Capital has a library that large."

"Yes, including plenty of racy romance novels that might even interest a certain pixie." VeeGee wiped out my doujin collection, but he left all the bodice rippers alone.

"Eh, why read about sex when you can have it instead." Her expression morphs into a wicked grin. "So, why don't you build a giant bed for this giant bedroom, and let us break it in properly."

...

"Sorrel, baby." Amelia nudges my shoulder the next morning. "I'm sorry to wake you, but do you think you could work on the plumbing real quick. "

"Nnh, too tired. Cleanse!" I put a hand on her belly and clear out her bladder. "I'll do the plumbing later, go back to sleep."

"What!?" She shouts loud enough to wake me fully. "Why didn't you tell me you could do that?"

"Too loud." Apricot groans and pulls a pillow over her head.

"How do you think I ate a week's worth of food in one sitting?" I blink up at the annoyed look on her face. "Sorry, but we had a little bet going to see how long it would take you to figure it out."

"..." She glares at me and I swear I can hear her teeth grind. "I could have used that when we were riding around in the wagon all day long."

"Yeah, but it was funnier this way." The pixie's annoyed voice is muffled by the pillow. "Now, please be quiet, it's barely first light."

"You alright Sweetie?" I ask, somewhat concerned since she may be lazy, but never sounds this grumpy.

"Ugh, I can't believe I'm saying this." She sighs and pulls the pillow down enough to see us. "But, I think I ate too much chocolate last night. I've heard you lunkers talk about hangovers before, and now I understand why you all hate them so much."

"Oh, Sweetie." Amelia turns a doting look on the pixie. "You did get kind of wild after Sorrel broke out the syrup, but I thought that was just you being you."

"Try drinking some water." I offer, smiling at the memory of the sticky fun we had last night. "Hmm, conjured water might actually work best since you turn everything into magic anyways."

"I'll do half and half." Amelia takes a cup out of storage and fills it up with magical water.

"That... that's helping. Thank you." Her brows un-furrow as she downs the rest of the glass. "More, please."

"Sorry, I don't have any willow trees, or I'd make you some aspirin." I sit up straighter in bed and start pulling out some stuff for breakfast. "But, a nice greasy breakfast is the next best thing."

Two large plates of breakfast and half a pitcher of conjured water later, and the pixie is looking and sounding much better.

"So, what's the plan for today?" Amelia asks while lazily picking at the remains of her plate.

"Shopping." I answer right away. "I have a general idea of how I want to decorate, but I wouldn't mind looking around for inspiration. Though, what I really need is to see what kind of enchanted devices are available." Judging by what I saw in the baron's manor, I'm not holding out much hope, but I still want to have a look. "Oh, and we should stop by your parents' later to talk chocolate."

"We should look for a horse too." She nods. "I'd say horse and carriage, but you're you."

"If you don't feel like walking." I place my hand over her belly. "I can turn my bike into a pedicab." I make a quick model to relieve her confusion. "They're also called rickshaws because they're modeled on these two-person mini-carriages." Another model appears along with a runner holding onto the poles.

"Oh, I saw something just like that the one time we went to the Capital." She picks up the second model. "It really is hard to believe you're from a whole different world. I want to learn all about it, but we should get a move on if we want to reach the market before all the good produce is taken."

"Well, you two get dressed and I'll work on the bike. Oh, and remind me to grab some sulfur so I can make some proper tires." I start by making a third wheel for the bike before extending the frame.

...

"Good morning Mister Sorrel." Derby the gate guard greets me. "That is one interesting carriage you have there."

"Morning, Derby." I nod to the man. "The girls were feeling lazy so they turned me into their workhorse."

"Oh, shut up and take us to the market already." Amelia blushes.

"Well, you'd better get a move on, then." Derby laughs. "Don't want her to break out the crop, after all."

"Please, don't give her any ideas." His laughter follows us as I pedal away.

"Don't worry Sorrel." Apricot chimes in. "Just remember the safe word and you'll be fine."

"..." Amelia's blush just keeps getting deeper and deeper.

"Hahahaha."

...

"So, where to now?" We just finished up at the farmer's market, and I had a blast. There were plenty of new foods for me to grab, but most of my haul came from a store on the edge of the market.

The proprietor used storage to keep out of season, and imported foods fresh. Amelia worked out a deal to get me one of everything in exchange for five bushels of whatever he wanted. The shop owner also promised to contact me with any new produce or exotic plants he gets his hands on.

"The crafting district is off that way, but it's kinda far." She points off to the east.

"Your carriage awaits, Madam." I bow with a courtly flourish after pulling the rickshaw from storage.

"Let's go to a leatherworker first, we can get you that riding crop." Apricot chortles when she gets a rise out of Amelia again.

...

"Is that a magic shop?" We just turned a corner and came across a fancy shop with a display full of enchanted items.

"Yes, but they overcharge." Amelia states. "We'd be better of going to Rozelle's, it's just a couple blocks further along."

A couple blocks later we roll up to a much more modest store with 'Rozelle's Rune Shop' written on its signboard.

"Welcome to Rozelle's." A tired-looking twelve-year-old lifts his head from where he was resting it on the counter when the bell above the door rings. "How can I help you?"

"Hi Jared, is your mom in?" The kid looks a bit confused when Amelia greets him by name. "Sorrel here wants to outfit his new house." She gestures to me, but I've already wandered off to explore the shop, Apricot right next to me doing the same. "You two are like kids in a candy shop."

"More like you in a candy shop." I tease back.

"Speaking of candy." The pixie perks up. "Do they sell mana stones here?"

"Yes, we do." Jared answers with a yawn. "And, mom's at the guild right now. Everyone's been going nuts since the news came out about Dotty. Olivar is trying to take the head office for himself, mom doesn't want it, but she really doesn't want him to have it. And, she keeps dragging me to meetings with all the other enchanters that don't want him to get it either." Another big yawn escapes as he finishes his tale.

"Olivar's was that big shop we passed, right?" Amelia nods in answer to my question. "Mhm, should we come back later? I know you won't be happy if you can't get a good haggle in."

"Wait, now I know who you are." Jared snaps his fingers. "You're Amy, the Rialta's daughter. Weren't you up in Northwood?"

"Yeah." She nods, somewhat subdued. "We actually ran into Ferne on our way back. Sorrel was the one to stop the bandits that Dotty sent."

"You've got to go to the guild house." This is the most animated he's been since we entered the store. "I know mom and the others will want to talk to you."

"It's not that far from here." Amelia looks to me.

"That's fine by me." I nod. "Let's just get Apricot her snack first."

"Yay!"

...