Nelly’s whole family paled at Eni’s hard-eyed demeanor. Her father looked like he wanted to shout for a customer service rep, but Eric couldn’t help but nod sympathetically. He had seen enough videos of the retail hell that minimum wage employees suffered through, thanks to screaming entitled customers who vented all their frustrations on the most powerless of workers, knowing that if said employees didn’t smile and effectively kowtow, they could lose their jobs in the blink of an eye.

It was clear that this form of servitude didn’t hold true for all people of all cultures and corporations, however, and perhaps that was one ugly element of his former world’s past, the retail hell working for big nameless corporations that so many suffered, that was best gone for good.

Except, of course, that the goblins clearly wanted to replace Earth’s ugliest capitalist shortcomings with something far, far worse.

As much as Eric felt for Nelly’s father, he appreciated as well that Eni had a spine.

“She’s right,” Eric gave the older man a pat on the shoulder, earning a wince, for all that he had been almost as gentle as he was when carrying little Ria.

“The Blue Palace is woefully under capacity,” he said, his sympathetic smile belying calculating eyes measuring every twitch and shift in Eni’s expression. “In fact… from what I can tell, their residential quarter is all but unoccupied. I have no idea what shopping here is like, but from a real estate perspective, they’re in trouble. They need every edge they can get to bring in new customers and new revenue. This exclusive service they’re offering is a sweet perk, and I don’t doubt but that it costs them a fortune that they pay out to adventurers who are actually willing to risk their lives, so the rest of us can delve a little safer. Do you expect them to take a loss? Do you expect the adventurers to risk their lives and share their own dungeon findings without a profit?”

Eric solemnly shook his head. “The Blue Federation might not be perfect, no one is. But Eni’s bold declaration already points to a code of ethics beyond what you’d even find in some of the most powerful consortiums in the world we used to call our own. And I won’t bore you with all the crap my mother had to roll with everyday, with her own business. Besides, if these guys fall, if they deem their operation here in Freetown unprofitable and leave... just think of the slimy little bastards that would take over. Do you think they’d bother sharing any exclusive information with us natives ever? For any price?”

“The goblins!” Nelly hissed.

“I didn’t say that,” Eric said with a wink. “And I most certainly didn’t say anything about the true goals and methods of that party that shall go unnamed. And boy am I glad that I don’t have to say anything at all, in light of a compromise reached between myself and an unnamed third party.”

Eric turned around, smile firmly in place, hard eyes locking with an abashed Nelly and her even more embarrassed father. “But none of us are fools. Some things shouldn’t even have to be said aloud.”

Eni was gazing at Eric a bit too intently, before favoring him with a bow of her head. “Very good. And...thank you for your understanding. Now please, step this way,” she said, shifting to the roll of ebullient hostess once more with a speed and grace that Eric found startling, suddenly wondering if most elves could act just as well as his mother. “We have multiple training rooms, a full service spa, and a pool bar with a glorious view of the entire city, and the forest beyond! We even have a play center with Blue Corp certified caretakers willing to care for your little ones while you’re off adventuring!” She said with a grin for little Ria.

Rica shared a look with Eric and he couldn’t help but wink. The girl had recovered fast and was laying it on thick. But if the perks and accommodations were half as inviting as Eni was painting them out to be… then the opportunities here were endless.

And as it turned out, much to Eric’s delight, the Blue Palace accommodations were every bit as luxurious and well-put together as the hotel itself. And the food at the Blue Cafe? All he had to do was look at Nelly, eating her medium rare steak with tears in her eyes, while he took yet another bikte of his absolutely fantastic chocolate souffle after stuffing his face with the most delicious meat spread imaginable to appreciate just how good a thing they had here.

He caught Rica’s gaze. She flushed and smiled under his appraisal. “See something you like?” she asked in an only slightly husky voice, both of them grinning at the teasing glances being thrown their way by the others.

Eric smiled and nodded, taking in the entire dining hall, with its fine hardwood furniture polished to a warm lustre, spotless silverware and gracious waiters who had served them so well. And though only one other table was presently being used, Eric could readily sense the potency of a quartet of adventurers he was sure were damn close to level thirty, if not actually higher, two men with the build of warriors and two women all but crackling with arcane energies who had gazed at Eric’s band for few calm seconds before dismissing them out of hand.

Which was perfectly fine with him.

“Actually, I do. I see a lot that I like.” He clasped Rica’s hand, drawing her close. “We should talk. In private,” he whispered into her ear, earning a few bemused whistles from Nelly’s sisters Sasha and Mincy, both just a couple years older than her. Yet the stress of living in orcish hell had taken its tole, both thin to the point of emaciation, with dark shadows under once pretty eyes, for all that they were blossoming rapidly under the bastions of safety and all the nourishing food they could eat.

Nelly nodded in agreement, abruptly standing and taking Morgan’s hand. “I agree. Me and Morgan also have to… talk. You guys enjoy a day in paradise. Eni even said she’d have bathing suits ready for the pool.”

“Nelly...” Her father gazed at her for long moments with the pain-filled eyes of any father knowing he had to eventually let go. “It’s okay, Dad,” said Sasha. “She knows what she’s doing.”

Mincy snorted. “No she doesn’t. But since she’s been carrying us for the last half year, she can do whatever the hell she wants. God knows Morgan can’t take advantage of her. She could break him in the blink of an eye.”

Sasha flashed a wicked grin for the hotly blushing boy, still holding Nelly’s hand. “Poor Morgan. And you know how Nelly is. He’ll definitely be the sub in their relationship.”

Both sisters chuckled softly while their father covered his face and sighed.

“Cheer up dad, have some of this pie!” Sasha said, claiming a forkful of delicious-looking cherry cobbler. “Fucking legendary, and we get to stuff our faces for a full week!”

Eric smiled, watching Rica kiss her daughter, happily eating pie in her great grandmother’s lap, before claiming Eric’s hand and leading the way back to their suite.

“I’m glad to hear them coming around,” he said with a smile. “Nelly’s sisters were all but mute with terror when first I made their acquaintance.”

Rica grinned. “That’s because you radiate a killing aura without even trying,” she said as they raced up the plush carpeted stairs in tandem.

Eric winced. “Oh. I didn’t realize.”

She chuckled throatily. “After absolutely butchering those bastards you were steeped in so much blood and gore that you never even bothered washing off. Add to that the aura you were radiating with those wild eyes of yours… like your psyche was swimming with the remembered lives of hundreds of foes you recently took out? Pretty fucking intense. And if that isn’t a sign of being such a badass that you don’t even have to front, then I don’t know what is.”

And the minute they stepped into their condo, Rica made it deliciously clear what she thought of his so-called killing aura, crying out with something wondrously close to rapture as Eric did his best to make amends for all his dark deeds by filling his angel with as much life as he possibly could.

“So, what did you want to talk about?” Rica asked after what might have just been the best hour of Eric’s life with a teasing smile, her body feeling so sweet against his own as she lay atop him with a languorous smile upon exquisitely beautiful features he so wanted to kiss as she rested her cheek against his chest. “Mmm. Nice and muscly, without any annoying hair. God, I love snuggling against you.”

Eric did kiss her then, long and deep, unable to resist, before breaking up with a gasp just before things could go any further. Again.

“Actually, I did want to talk to you about something,” he said with a husky laugh. “Seduction wasn’t my goal when I brought you upstairs.”

He winced under her arch look. “Okay, it wasn’t my only goal?”

“Better. So, what’s on your mind, my delicious cinnamony mixed-blood lover?”

Eric flushed. “We don’t really know that I’m any such thing...”

She gave him an arch look. “Really? With your arcane potential stat, super famous mother who doesn’t look a day over twenty, and multiple elves declaring you an associate of this Sylvan Alliance?” She chuckled softly, waving away her own words. “It’s alright, Eric. I think it’s cute to see you blush, but I adore you just the way you are. Whoever you are. Because you’re the one who was there for me and my family when we needed a hero. The hero I’m seriously falling for.”

Eric felt a flush creep up his cheeks, but didn’t hesitate to return her kiss and so much more, before breaking it off with a rueful chuckle.

“There you go, distracting me again.”

“Pfaah. You loved every moment of it.”

“Damn right I did. Anyway, what’s your impression of this place so far?”

Rica’s eyes lit up with undisguised enthusiasm. “In a word? Incredible. Spa, gym, training rooms, you and me right now on the most luxuriously comfy bed I ever got seduced on, and they even have daycare!” She chuckled throatily. “Eric, they have television here. Television! At least, if you like magical holographic versions of your favorite anime.”

“Which I totally do,” Eric said with a smile. “Super Punch Man was the best anime cartoon ever made, period, and the asshole critics who poopooed it so that the third season was put off forever have earned my undying hatred.

Rica smirked. “You and my daughter are two pees in a pod. And she’s barely two! Because Blue Punch is that sophisticated entertainment.”

“Ha ha,” Eric said with a grin.

Rica stuck out her cute little tongue, before losing it in Eric’s passionate kiss.

She chuckled throatily when they came back up for air. “And the food, lover! That was the best dining out I’ve ever had. Not that my family or my asshole ex could afford to take me out and spoil me that often, but still. Glorious!” She shuddered with delight. “And did you see what else we can do on our monitor?”

A bemused Eric shook his head. “Eni was telling me while you were checking out the weights.” She rolled her eyes. “Which you’re now clearly too strong for, mister 48 Strength. Fucking absurd.”

“I know, right?” said Eric with a snarky grin. “But seriously. That 91% That I’ll never get to round up, because life got crazy before I could put in a few days of concentrated lifting just bugs the shit out of me.”

“Oh my, how you suffer,” she snorted. “Anyway, come over here, look at what else you can do with this system!” And an utterly unselfconcious Rica hopped right out of bed, completely naked, driving Eric crazy with unexpected hungers as she darted through the suite as fleet of foot as any doe, Eric calming himself as he followed, only for his eyes to widen with awe when his strikingly beautiful girl presented a monitor showcasing what actually looked like a character generation screen.

Eric’s ears roared with the thunder of his pounding heart as he felt cold shivers of wonder race down his soul.

“Is that…” He swallowed, breathless. “Is that what I think it is?”

The girl of his dreams, his Cherokee princess, nodded solemnly. “It is. And yes, you can adventure, kill things, and level up, just like in a game. But more than that… you get to choose its power, it’s stats, its abilities, every level.” Her excitement grew. “More than that, the territory available for you to explore? Are the rifts we saw in a twenty mile radius around Freetown. Nothing more, nothing less. And it includes all six dungeons, regardless of real life strictures. Do you know what this means? Do you have any idea of how truly valuable a resource this is?”

Eric solemnly nodded. “It’s couched as a wonderfully detailed RPG adventure game. But really… it’s a trainer. A way to measure whether or not your skills and abilities are the equal of whatever you might be facing and fighting… to practice with simulated combat tailored to be like real-life encounters. And although it can’t be perfect, since you’re pressing mouse and keyboard buttons, not actually releasing a wand or swinging a sword,” he said, pointing to the alien keyboard, “still, who cares? It’s an incredible resource. A way to get a feel for everything we’ll face. And best of all, we can embrace the most epic pastime besides actual adventuring and making love to the most beautiful girl on Earth. And that’s leveling up our character in an actual game based on real life!”

Rica flushed under his praise and his hungry eyes, before biting her lip and strutting boldly before him. “Like what you see, hero of my heart?”

Eric slowly shook his head.

Her eyes widened with unexpected hurt, and she looked away.

Before he clasped her cheeks in gentle hands, gently guiding her soft brown eyes to his own. “I love what I see, Rica Lightfoot.”

She gasped, eyes widening, and the kiss she gave him left him so breathless with its promises that he was caught completely off guard when she hooked his ankle and sent him crashing to the ground, before straddling him with a wicked smile. “Prove it, Eric Silver.”

And he did.

He proved it so well that it wasn’t until they had both showered and changed, twice, that Eric finally told his blushing girl his plans, just as her grandmother’s no-nonsense knock and plopping of a giggling Ria in her mother’s arms made it clear that fun time was over, and that Grandmother Lightfoot had things of her own to attend to.

Rica’s gentle smile became one of growing delight, even wonder, when Eric shared his plan, highlighting the opportunities he thought he saw.

“Do you really think we can pull it off?” she said with an excited whisper.

“Honestly? It’s fun to think about, but it all depends on price. Same as most things in life.”

“Even love?”

Eric chuckled softly. “Silly princess, everyone knows that love is priceless. But the sweetest condos I’ve seen in two worlds? Now that has definite potential.”

“Even though hardly anyone stays here,” she said, her voice turning hard and serious.

“Yet,” Eric said with a smile, pleased to see the hard, no-nonsense gaze of a fighter, a survivor, just beneath the sweet loving girl she strove to be for him. Showing him her best side, as he showed her his.

Rica gazed fondly at Eric while rocking her sleepy little girl. “I love seeing you plan and strategize, Eric. To know that you’re always thinking of ways to keep us alive, everyone safe, and if this works out, disgustingly rich.”

Eric winked. “To income streams, love. If there’s one thing my psycho-intense mother taught me when not shooting me up with steroids and making me train like a Spartan in truth? Is that it really is all about the income streams.”

Rica’s eyes widened with sudden pity. Then she flushed and looked away. “I’m sorry,” she softly said.

Eric chuckled. “Don’t be. It was doctor prescribed testosterone. Harmless… ha. ha. Or at least, I survived, and that’s all that really matters. And the hyper intense training multiple HEMA practitioners pounded in to me, so that I can at least fight like a hero even if I can’t act like one, really did save my life. Countless times.”

Rica gazed at him for long thoughtful moments. “So Aurelia Silver. All jokes aside, she really is...”

“My mom? Yeah,” Eric admitted with a shrug.

Rica grinned, curling up next to him, fully clothed and chaste, little Ria now sleeping between them. She gave his cheek an affectionate kiss. “So. I’m dating Hollywood royalty.”

Eric smirked. “You’re dating a Hollywood nobody who had a better childhood than he deserves, with absolutely no right to complain, who really should have slipped out from under his mother’s thumb, long ago.”

His smile turned gentle, truly enjoying the feel of Rica’s warm presence, even if they were both determined to be chaste for the rest of the night. And he couldn’t help but smile down at the sweet little girl he could so easily imagine claiming as his own one day. “And we really have to thank your grandmother for being so understanding.”

Rica nodded. “Even though she’s too shy to talk to you, she’s now your biggest fan, and keeps making… suggestions.” She flushed with a secret smile at Eric’s curious glance. “Things neither you nor I need to worry about, at least not until we’re ready.” She touched his lips with a gentle finger, a soft smile upon her features. “In the meantime, I can’t wait to see if you’re plan works. What’s the next step?”

Eric grinned, kissing her finger before replying. “Tomorrow we check out the rest of the Blue Quarter, see how the shops are faring, the restaurants as well. And I thought it would be fun to check out the residential section as well.”

Rica nodded gamely. “All the houses look so snug, with trees and lush yards and winding paths. But at the same time it’s all so...”

“Compact?” Eric nodded. “My mother owned a number of condo units and houses in a similarly set up property in Florida. Truly beautiful, with a dozen nature trails you could lose yourself on, all adjoining a lush woodland park, even though the houses were surprisingly close by.”

“It would be perfect for Ria. Almost like growing up...”

“Back in the life we left behind?” Eric nodded, smiling into her tear-filled gaze. “I agree. It would be perfect for Ria.”

She bit her lip, beautiful brown eyes gazing intently into his own. “Eric… are you sure?”

He kissed her softly. “Go to sleep, beautiful. Tomorrow, I think, is going to be an exciting day.”