Guardian was waiting outside the Harbour city. He was looking in the distance longingly unsure if he should start walking down the road further away from the city. However, he did not need to do such thing; on a distant horizon, he could see a caravan moving towards him. He waved hoping to get a wave back. he was too far from them to recognise him, so he continued to wait patiently in his spot.

“Guardian!” A small girl shouted from atop the cart.

“Welcome, Aiu.” He waved once more.

Aiu waved back to him, she was so happy to see him again. He had said he will be gone for a month or so. But it has been weeks since she could see him, hear him and hold him close. Her underpants were wet from happiness. Aiu jumped off the cart and ran towards him. Once she was close she embraced him with all of her might.

“I have missed you so much! Aiu blurred out trying to suppress her tears of joy.”

“Me too, your skills could have been useful here on many occasions.”

He had to admit that Aiu’s potions and poisons would have made some things for him so much easier.

“So did you manage to produce that special potion?”

“Yes, yes of course. I have it in my cart with the other stuff.”

“That is brilliant. Let me guide you to our new place.”

Guardian approached the pull cart. The elves were there, they politely greeted him with a smile. The cart was full of stuff, both alchemical and mundane.

“Did you manage to stock on magical herbs?” He asked the elves.

“We do have a box or so of them.”

“Aiu had to figure it out how to preserve them before we took them for this trip, hence the delay.” The elves answered.

Guardian asked this because he knew that getting magical herbs will not be that easy since this town was nowhere close to any magical forest. However, it had quite an interesting swamp.

He motioned the elves to follow him back towards the slum district.

“Your new place is here?” Ana asked

“Yes.”

“But this looks like… slums.”

“Yes it does, but I have found a good place to settle.”

Ana doubted that any place in slums can be good. Such places tended to have crumbling buildings as houses and very dangerous and hostile environment.

“Here it is.” Guardian motioned towards a prison ruin.

“You live here? In the rubble?” Aiu questioned, she could not wrap her head around this.

“No, no. Under it, there is a dungeon. Follow me.”

Guardian led his party through the prison grounds towards the main entrance.

“The place must have been huge. At least before it turned to ruins.” Ell made an observation.

Guardian shrugged towards ell. “The dungeon is even bigger. Come inside.”

The party went in. All three of them were surprised by the fact that the dungeon was well preserved. It was also much bigger and spacious then they have imagined. There were many corridors leading to many rooms and halls. It was somewhat impressive, but still, it felt very depressing especially for someone who was used to living in a forest. The air here was stagnant and kind of stale, not to mention the fact that there was no natural lighting because there were no windows. Ell and Ana found this place quite depressing but they were not the ones in a position to voice complains.

Guardian showed the elves their new living quarters. To say the least, the elves were not too happy to find that they will be living in what looks like a prison cell. Of course, it had a bed and some furniture, but it could not compare to what they had in a forest.

A bunch of small lizard kids approached the elves. They were curious about the elves because they never had seen an elf before. Elves looked peculiar and exotic to them, they wanted to touch and lick that pale pink skin of Ell and Ana.

“Ahhhh! What are those?” Ana shrieked as if she has seen a rat. She pushed a lizard girl away from her leg.

The high pitched shriek spooked the rest of the kids and they scattered away.

“These little ones live here.” Guardian informed the elves.

“This place is infested with pests? Ell can take care of them he is quite a good hunter now.” Ana volunteered her brother.

She did so because Elves did not keep a high opinion about less human-like races, they thought of lizardmen as subpar beings.

“What? No. They are like servants to me. They are quite useful, I wouldn’t like them gone.

Guardian did not need to pay lizards in coin and they were easy to boss around.

“And how many of them are here?” Ana just had to know else she won’t be able to sleep.

“Too many to count.” Guardian never bothered to get an exact number. There were plenty of empty rooms for all of them, and a bit more.

“Right, and they just run all over the place like that?”

“Yeah, unless I give them jobs. Anyway, I leave you here to get accustomed. I have some other errands to run.”

He left the elves to settle in their new room. Guardian went to see Aiu, he left her to sort the items she had brought with her.

“Guardian, hi again. This workshop is very spacious but quite eerie. Are those blood stains? And is this an altar of sorts?” Aiu asked him.

“Oh, this is my research hall. Here I conduct my … experiments. This used to be some shady place, hence the altar and the blood.” He purposefully did not tell about the experiments he has been conducting here. He was unsure if Aiu was ready to know that.

“Oh I forgot, you came here in pursuit of magic. So were you successful?”

“Kind of. I got this.” He shoved a leather-bound book “This contains notes about learning magic, but it is quite vague and complex to learn.”

“If I can help in any way, let me know.”

“Then the time comes I will. Let me see the potion.”

“Here it is. This is my masterwork. It was extremely hard to produce, I have never made anything like that. But I think it turned out great.”

Guardian took a large vial of potion. There was at least a litre of glowing liquid in it. He swirled it in his hands and it started to glow in blue even more.

“You did good Aiu.” He praised her.

“Then… I deserve a reward no?” Aiu wrapped her arms around his leg, they were reaching for something. Her eyes were big and gleaming with lust.

Just before she could do anything indecent a beastman barged in the hall.

“Master, Tiramisu wants to see you can she come in?” Ithayiga asked politely.

“Wow, he is so cute!” Aiu rushed to pet Ithaigas head out of impulse. Her previous state of mind evaporated in seconds.

“Aiu this is Ithayiga. He is my servant who runs errands for me. If you need anything fetched or bought you can ask him.”

“Master?” Ithayiga asked again trying to gently push the petite woman away from his soft fur.

“Oh, Tiramisu. Tell her to enter.”

Tiramisu entered the hall she seemed somewhat unsettled, her tail was fidgety.

“Who are these people? You did not tell me to expect any guests. Friends of yours?”

“No, my servants from another town.”

“You have an awful lot of people working under you.”

“I guess I do.” Guardian had to admit. “Before I forget, Ithayiga go to Cynthia’s place and tell her to come here. Tell her that her potion is finally here.”

“Yes, Master.” Ithayiga ran away to deliver the message.

“Let me show where your workshop is going to be.”

Guardian led Aiu to a different room, it was not as spacious as the hall but it was still quite big. It had plenty of space for various alchemy equipment and storage. Aiu and Guardian finished unloading the goods and setting the equipment up' Tiramisu stuck around and observed the two working.

She had nothing better to do and she wanted some time alone with Guardian. They haven’t done anything even remotely intimate ever since they went to the beach and she began to feel anxious and frustrated. However, it was not too bad being able to just observe the one she loved, better than nothing. She wished she could help, but she couldn’t because the two were assembling something she could not comprehend. She did not know what it was or what it did.

“We will need to cut a hole in the ceiling for the chimney but otherwise everything is set up.”

“This took a while... So where can I get plants to turn into potions?” Aiu was keen to continue her craft. She could not do that while she was travelling.

“Unfortunately the forest is too far, so we will have to purchase it from the market. Tell Ithayiga what you need and he will get it for you.”

“Won’t that will be expensive?” Guardian’s thinking about money and profit rubbed on Aiu.

“It is fine, since the potions and other things can be sold at a much higher price. Also, I have a deal with the foreign race coming from a distant island. They will gladly buy it in bulk for exports to their homeland.”

“So you thought this through already.”

Guardian nodded to her in agreement. Aiu’s hands reached towards his thigh once again; her thoughts were getting curly and she forgot that a lizardwoman was still here.

Tiramisu let out a hiss, it was subconscious and quiet but loud enough for Aiu to be reminded that she was not alone.

“Ehem… Guardian, do you mind sending your servant away? Reward remember?” Aiu blushed then asking this. She wanted to get her hands on him.

“I am not his servant but his mate.” Tiramisu had to put this tiny human servant in place. She did not want to be put at the same level as Guardian’s other servants. Her status was way higher, she was his lover and she will be bearing his children; that was what she thought.

“Eh!? A mate, what does this mean?” Aiu asked trying to get an understanding of the situation.

“It means exactly what it is supposed to mean. I am having his children so you better know your place.” Tiramisu was still somewhat unsure if she had the rank to command Guardian's servants but she had to put this human in place. She did not particularly like Aiu, she felt that something was off with Aiu’s behaviour and body language.

“EHH? What?!” Aiu's eyes darted from Guardian to Tiramisu and back to Guardian. She looked at him confused, her eyes begged for an explanation.

Guardian was in a pickle. He was unsure what to say, he was just as confused too. He did not know where this 'I have his children' came from. This was not supposed to be possible. Actually, he knew this was impossible. Guardian assumed that Tiramisu was willingly lying about this, but he still had to put a finger on why she would do that.

“Guardian… Did you… Did you have sex with her?” Aiu could not believe what the lizardwoman was saying.

“Well, yes…” This question made him think if his choice to have sex with Tiramisu and other women was a bad one. He held a belief that it was his body and he should be able to do what he wants with it. He did not belong to Aiu or anyone else for that matter or was in some sort of arrangement.

Yet still, he could see that Aiu was emotionally hurt. She was sobbing like a child. The concept of a relationship was somewhat alien to him. However, he did not want to lose Aiu's trust, he worked hard at winning her over and she was the most precious asset to him. That is why he felt trapped, he did not know how to fix it.

Guardian took too long to make things right and Aiu assumed that he chose that lizard woman’s side. Aiu ran wailing away from Guardian and out of the room, she felt hurt and betrayed. Her reckless dash did not continue for long; she hit someone and fell on the ground.

“Ouch! What is up with you, little girl.”

Aiu looked at the one she had knocked over it was a blonde girl who was clearly a teenager yet still had the audacity to call her a little girl. Aiu wanted to rebuke her but her words got stuck in her mouth; she got distracted by a huge rock construct standing beside her. It looked like a statue of sorts but it could move. The rock giant picked Aius interest for a brief moment.

“You are crying, did you get hurt when falling? And I thought I have softened your fall.” Cynthia stood up dusting her skirt. She offered a hand for Aiu who was still crouched on the ground and eying her golem.

“Ha ha ha. I assume you have never seen a golem before. It is amazing is it not, the name is Rocky.”

Aiu took Cynthia’s hand but did not linger around. She said thank you and proceeded to run somewhere quiet and away from the people.

Cynthia followed Ithayiga who led her to the room where Guardian was. To Cynthia's disappointment, once there the furry boy, she so much liked to pet, left the room and went on his way. She greeted Guardian with her brightest smile, she already knew why she was asked to come here.

“You have fixed the golem. That is good.”

“Yeah, took me a while and it was expensive. I am just glad I did not need to send him to grandpa for repairs. He is a golem maker after all.” Cynthia was glad to be able to ‘glue’ fractured golem back together with her repair skills.

“Speaking about your grandpa. Here, this is the potion.”

“So this is the thing. The real thing. The one and only. Illusive elixir of...” Cynthia took the potion in her hands to inspect it. “Will it work?”

“There is only one way to find out. He will have to drink it. I would advise going easy on it as it might be quite toxic but I believe it should do the trick. And if it does not, you will not need to pay me.” Guardian remembered their agreement.

“And if it does, I will reward you greatly.” Cynthia put the potion in her purse. She had finally got what she was trying to obtain for years.

“Mhm.”

“Say why you do not look too happy?” Cynthia commented on Guardian's facial expression. She knew him long enough to be able to tell that something was up.

“I have some woman issues with my assistant Aiu. The one who made this potion.”

“Ah, this must be a small girl who ran into me. You know I am a woman and I can help you if you want.” She offered to listen and help him to solve his problem. She owed not just him but Aiu too for making this potion.

Guardian explained what happened. he came out clean and told everything, both past and present. He was not ashamed of the things he did, nor he felt that he should be; this was why he could tell them so openly. Tiramisu was there to hear it all, her tail was swinging angrily from side to side, she did not seem too happy to hear about his past adventures.

“I see. I knew that you and Tiramisu were going out. And of course you did some things in the past with other women; that is natural. This was before you been dating Tiramisu.” It was not just Aiu he was having some issues with, Tiramisu too. Cynthia reflected on what she just heard from Guardians perspective trying to push his point.

“I know, I do not resent him for that.” Tiramisu did not blame Guardian in the slightest she had no problem with him what so ever.

“Yet you are still jealous. I understand you as a woman, but you should not lie about having his children.”

“You call me a liar?! I do not lie, we did it properly. I had made sure.”

“…" Synthia took a step back and narrowed her eyes carefully looking at possibly overly naive lizardwoman in front of her. "You are aware that two different races, no matter how similar they are, cannot have children.”

Regardless of being so young Cynthia was well educated, even about things like that. She was of a noble birth after all. She knew about such stuff, yet she was aware that not everyone was so fortunate as her.

“What?! This cannot be true.” Cynthia's words shook the very foundation of Tiramisus world.

“But it is… It might be hard for you, but I assure it is as I say. You knew that too, Guardian?” She asked just to be sure.

“Yes, of course. I thought it was a common knowledge.”

“I… I…” Tiramisu was out of words. Her dream came crashing right before her eyes. She wanted to cry out of despair.

“Hug her.” Cynthia whispered an advice to Guardian.

Guardian took Tiramisu in his arms. He had to set things straight.

“There has been a misunderstanding. I know we have been on a date and we did things. But…” He looked directly into the Tiramisu's eyes and continued. ”I think of you only as a friend.”

Tiramisu got friend-zoned and this had almost killed her from inside.

“However, we can still do thing together and hang around. If that is what you want.” Guardian added.

At first, Tiramisu thought that he rejected her, but now it looked that she still had a chance. He was a good catch and she did not want to let him go, even if they could not have children.

“That is fine, I guess-sss. But how about Aiu and can we sss-still go on a date occasionally?” She struggled not to cry as she said those words.

“Aiu is very precious to me. In fact, I am her adopted father, but the boundary got confused and things got complicated with her. Hence this turn of events… Cynthia can you find Aiu and talk with her, you seem to be good at this feelings thing.”

Cynthia got slightly shocked at the finding that he was her stepfather too. She assumed that the girl in question was not quite right. Cynthia deduced that this Aiu was clearly having one, or even a dozen screws loose to go after Guardian like that, but she was not a judgmental person.

“I will, and thank you again for the potion. I am in your debt after all.” She went away to look for Aiu.

Tiramisu waited for Cynthia to leave. She had calmed down, being in his arms helped her. She liked to be hugged like that.

“You did not answer my question.”

“I didn’t?”

“No. Can we still go on a date and do other stuff too?”

“If it will be beneficial for both of us, I see no reason why we can’t. In my eyes, nothing had changed between us.”

Tiramisu wished she could say the same. However, his answer made her content for now.

“Can we stay like this for a bit longer?” She asked him. Somewhere deep down she still felt that she was losing him. Remaining in his embrace somewhat reassured her that this maybe was not the case.

“But I have so much stuff to do.”

Tiramisu looked at him benignly. Her eyes were still wet from fresh tears.

“You will have to help me in getting some food. There are three more mouths to feed.” This was his way of saying I will do what you ask me if you do what I ask.

“I will do anything for you if you stay by my side.”

“I can’t commit to that. But you can stay by my side and follow me through my journey in this life.” He patted her back and added. “So long as you are not a burden.”

His words were harsh but they were not malicious. She knew that he was being honest with her.

“I would never be. You will see how good and useful I can be. I will make you wish that I was your mate!”

“Then I am expecting great things from you.”

Tiramisu had made a new life goal and she felt like they have made up. Guardian came clean with her, she wanted to come clean too. Killing that Shazzara woman was a mistake but she did not want to tell him what she did and ruin this lovely mood. Some things were better left unsaid, this was to protect her relationship with him.

The two remained in each other's embrace for a little while longer. Meanwhile, Cynthia was playing a detective in order to find where her potion maker disappeared.