“Far too often had people wasted their whole lives in search of happiness, without ever realizing that happiness was right there within themselves, and all they needed to do was to reach for it.” - Saying by an ancient Al-Shan philosopher from the prehistoric era.

Xain and Layla were soon busied sorting out the souvenirs Cal brought them while Ying Xiao kept Farah busy and away from the pile of items while her parents sorted them into Xain’s own personal storage artifact - one as large as the one he gifted to Cal - one by one.

While Cal bought all sorts of souvenirs for the Imperial couple, from elven handicraft and fabrics to dwarven-made decorative - yet extremely functional - weapons and armor, the majority of her souvenirs this time were composed of various bottles of elven liquors and barrels of dwarven ale and meads, the latter of which hand-crafted artisanal examples from the Braumeister Orloff Himmelsbrau himself, easily worth a fortune on the market.

Amongst them, some that immediately attracted the young couple’s attention was a few bottles of elven wine that Cal bought specifically because it was advertised to be beneficial when consumed by a pregnant woman. Naturally, she had made certain with the seller that it also worked for humans before she bought it.

Xain brought out three glass mugs - the enchanted ones Cal gave him many years ago - and poured some of the wine into it. They stirred the fluid in the mug for a few moments to allow the enchantments in the glass to do its work, and savored the sweet, herbal aroma of the brew while they waited.

They took a sip of the wine together, and while Cal and Xain just found it to be a pleasant, mellow wine, Layla seemed to have taken a shine to it and quickly drank the rest of her wine. Apparently the drink was rather invigorating for her, and while she had not suffered much of the ails commonly associated with pregnancy, she still felt a bit sore and bloated, and nauseous at times. Whoever brewed the wine know what they were doing, for it alleviated those feelings after a sip, and downright removed them after she took the rest of the glass.

“You’re spoiling me, Cal. I could really get used to this,” said the young Empress as she smacked her lips, the aftertaste of the mellow wine still strong on her palate. “Whoever made this would be rich if they just market this worldwide!”

“They’re already rich,” replied Cal with a laugh. The wine was one of the products from the brewery Martha had introduced her to, and she only managed to buy the twenty or so bottles they had in stock at the time. “As it is, they barely managed to keep up with the local demand, and apparently the herbs they used for it are hard to acquire in large quantities. Add that to needing an experienced druid to work on the brew and it all made this wine not exactly the most mass-producible thing.”

“A shame. This drink would be such a boon to all pregnant women out there,” said Layla as she took another sip, Xain having refilled her mug in the meantime. “Any dosage I should keep in mind for this?”

“A couple glasses should keep you from feeling unwell for a week or so,” replied Cal as she recalled what the old elf that sold it to her had said back then. “You might want to keep the rest in case you happen to have a bad day, or for your next child,” she added with a wink.

“Oh, for sure,” replied Layla. The bottles in which the wine was stored were large ones, and the four glasses they drank was barely a quarter of its contents. If they kept the rest for Layla herself, a bottle would last her a month and a half to two months, more than enough for the rest of her pregnancy with others to spare. “We’ll also keep some in case Ying Xiao needs it.”

“With the gate you can also send someone to the Great Emerald Forest to buy more, though it’s even odds whether they’d have any in stock,” added Cal. “I happened to be lucky when I visited. They said usually they rarely have any of this wine in stock.”

“That’s not a problem when I can just have a messenger stay there until they get some bottles,” replied Xain with a smile. “Also, I have to second what Layla said. You’re spoiling us, Cal. Handmade brews from Orloff Himmelsbrau? I won’t say no though.”

Xain punctuated his words with his actions as he poured three cups full of a light, mellow mead and distributed them. All three of them enjoyed the sweet nectar while they chatted. Mostly Layla chatted with Cal, while Xain was mostly busy with sorting the rest of the pile of souvenirs she brought.

He needed to finish it soon, else it might attract Farah’s attention. His little girl was at an age where she was curious about everything, which had not bode well with the assorted items piled up on the floor at the moment. Thankfully Ying Xiao was keeping the little toddler well occupied for them.

Eventually - with some help from Layla and Cal - they finished sorting the pile of souvenirs in time. Not a moment too soon either, as Ying Xiao came over with little Farah holding onto one of her fingers with her pudgy hands, toddling along as Ying Xiao walked slowly over to them.

The little toddler wordlessly ran over in her ungainly way, before she tossed herself to her father, who deftly caught her with both hands. Xain raised the little girl high in the air, his hands holding her sides, and Farah laughed cheerfully as she was lifted high. Layla, Cal, and Ying Xiao watched the scene with fond eyes from beside him.

Before long, they too joined in and played with the girl, even if Layla did so more carefully to account for the growing life in her womb. Just like that, they quickly lost track of time until the little girl finally grew tired and fell asleep on her father’s chest.