I filled her in on the adverse effects of imprinting the seal and chose to be honest. Her angered reaction was to be expected since anyone subjected to it would essentially give up any meaning to their own life.

“Why are you telling me all of this, when you could have me as a permanent slave?” She had every right to doubt my intentions.

“I’ll repeat the same thing from earlier, I won’t toy with your freedom.” I sighed a breath of air and posed my next question to her. “What is your goal in life?” I figured granting her wish to come true would have her working for me without much risk towards any acts of betrayal.

“I want strength.” Lyra’s eyes were sharp with a domineering focus on me. “Strong enough, so that no one dares to mess with me again.” I could see her jaws clenching in anger, most likely dwelling on painful memories. “I won’t follow anyone weaker than me. The moment you lose to me is the moment we no longer cooperate with each other.” Her lack of wanting to return to her home alluded to the loss of all her loved ones, something Eris had in common.

“Then, let’s make a deal... You may choose to request a fight from me whenever I’m free and in the event, you win, no one will stop you from leaving.” I wondered if the fact that a token was going to be used as payment helped with offering her this particular stipulation. There wasn’t as much personal investment compared to using my limited funds.

“...I accept. I’ll be in your care until then.” It was her first docile behavior, a proper bow placing her in the first vulnerable position up till this point.

I witnessed the glimpse of a smile from Eris that went away as she returned my gaze, only to show my appreciation of her by smiling back in turn. “Jade could you fetch the employees, please.” I spoke as a means to break the moment, it was time to see how they responded to the fighting pit’s slave token.

The employees re-entered with the one that wheeled in Lyra, utterly confused with their purpose for being there taken away from them. “Thanks, for allowing us to talk in private.” I directed my gratitude to the first employee making sure to ease any unwanted tension from escalating. “There won’t be any need for a slave seal and here’s my payment for Lyra.” The slave token materialized in the palm of my hand as I spun it between my fingers to present and hand it over.

“Esteemed young master, you’ve made a brilliant purchase!” Her over-the-top reaction had me momentarily dumbfounded from the opposite reaction I thought the token would've provoked. Instead of the salesperson being cheated out of any incentivized money, it seemed like she was ready to celebrate a big payout. The nudge and whisper from her co-worker confirmed my thoughts as their excited words didn’t escape my ears.

The employee went into overdrive, gathering the necessary paperwork and highlighting the areas that required signatures. Even if this place was considered a highly reputable establishment, I’d never skimp out on verifying anything that required my authorization.

The process occurred fairly smoothly without the need to waste time on a sealing ritual, the other employee even offered to stick around and help out with outfitting Lyra with a set of clothes and various necessities. I allowed Lyra to answer for herself since the nature of our contract leaned more towards an independent relationship.

“Congratulations on your new slave, young master. Is there anything else I can help you with?” The woman asked with obvious cheeriness to her tone.

“That’ll be all for today, thanks for the assistance.” I sat up to stretch my back after reading through the pages of forms.

“Thanks for choosing to do business at Eden, please come again!” With one final show-off, we departed Eden's slave market.

Lyra walked confidently by my side and towered over us, a foot taller than me and Jade. The tight-fitting outfit that was chosen made her resemblance uncanny to that of an idol from a performing girl’s group. It easily made her the most striking out of our group and probably out of the majority back home as well, with Alexa as the one exception.

I hoped to call for the magic carpet without grabbing any more attention but that wasn’t possible with the hordes of people roaming around. Not like an empty clearing would have helped with the obnoxious metallic whirling that sounded the magic carpet’s grand entrance. I swore, that it would be the first torn-off alteration the moment it presented itself.

We made our way back to the suite to hunker down for the night and had Jade and Selka help settle in our newly acquainted lion girl. Our guides welcomed our return, catching us before we made it inside with Rachel commenting on my success with the slave token.

“Eris, could you help with keeping an eye on Lyra?” I telepathically reached out to Eris once we settled in for the night and instantly regretted my decision.

“Want me to set up a futon in front of your door?” I could feel the sarcasm to such an extent that it made me want to reply with a deadpan yes, just out of spite for her saying so.

"Well, if you're offering... Why not join me in bed?" I took it a step further not wanting to be the one to back down first.

“I didn't know you were into little girls like that...” Eris looked down at her body even using a hand to present herself as an offering.

“We both know you've got a mind and the possibility to be my fiftieth and twice removed great grandmother.” I let the fact that she had well over a millennium's worth of memories on me settle in.

Intriguing as her mental age gap might have been, it didn't stop us from arguing back and forth like petty kids. Our telepathic link couldn’t have been more obvious with the reactions between the two of us like we were having a first one to laugh, accepts defeat contest.