Going through the gate, they arrived in Anailia a few hours earlier than the last time, the immediate change in time zones still managing to be disorientating, but Ben did his best to ignore it in favour of doing the same thing he’d done before, dragging Thera to every blacksmith and enchanters shop he could get to before they started closing for the night. It wasn’t like Thera’s parents had been expecting them at a certain time, they’d given them a small range of days they might arrive at in consideration for their quest, and Ben didn’t want to waste a moment when he expected he’d be quite busy when the time came for him to begin on anyone who’d come to have a brace made.

Unfortunately for him, he felt just as unimpressed by the various wares he’d managed to see in this city as well. He knew he wasn’t visiting every shop, and without being at the ninth level he couldn’t be certain of an object's rating, but he was confident he wasn’t misjudging anything, everything here was within his skill level. That wasn’t to say he hadn’t seen anything that would be tough to make, but he was certain he could manage to reproduce most items.

Feeling dejected, Thera gave him a small pat on the back to try and cheer him up. “Come on, I’m sure we can find a shop in town that will impress you sometime this week. Besides, isn't it a little nice to see you’re good at your job?”

“Mmh, I guess. I just know I still have so much to learn, it would be nice to see more examples beyond what Falk’s made to give me an idea on how I might improve.”

“Well, when we see my parents we can ask my mom about seeing any of our nation's artifacts, since she seems to like you I’m sure she’ll agree easily enough.”

“Artifacts?” He asked, perking up at the tantalizing word.

“It just means anything ultra-rare or higher, nations tend to hoard a few when they can. I’m not really sure what we have here, but there should be a few.”

His spirits immediately lifted at the thought. “Okay, yes absolutely. I’m going to need to give your mom the full son-in-law experience to butter her up.”

Thera couldn’t help but groan at the prospect, Ben had been so good recently at ignoring it that she could almost forget that as far as her nation was concerned they were engaged, she could only hope that her parents hadn’t decided to do anything to make it worse while they were there.

When they got to Thera’s home one of the staff informed them that Pelenia had requested she stop wearing her cloak upon arriving to be able to properly see her daughter's face, and while it left her a little suspicious of her mother she agreed easily enough. Everyone that worked there had an amulet in preparation for her arrival, so there was no harm done as they made their way to the main hall and opened the door to where her family supposedly waited.

Upon entering, instead of seeing the throne they were greeted with the first time they’d come they instead found the hall draped in purple and green banners, empty seats all around them, bar the ones her parents were in and an altar in the middle of the room with a powerful flame burning on top of it.

He turned to Thera, meaning to ask what all of it was about, but her face was a stronger shade of gold than he’d ever seen on her before and was willing to make an educated guess from that as she grabbed her staff and ripped out the stone flooring with a spell before bringing chaos to the room.

Her mother only chuckled in her seat as Abrus kept them both safe, and by the time Thera had managed to work out enough stress and stopped he used his powerful magic to change the room back to the state it had been in when Ben had first arrived in the country, with the exception of some thoroughly destroyed banners.

“A wedding ceremony? Seriously?” She asked her parents coldly. “We only just got here.”

“Oh come now Thera, I was just having a bit of fun,” Her mother told her as she walked up to give her daughter a hug, getting nothing in return.

“I’d believe that a bit more if you didn’t have the authority to carry it out. Why do you have to show me what a mistake it is to come home every time?”

“Alright, maybe I was hoping you’d just go with the mood, I even prepared such nice wedding gifts too. I’m sure Ben especially wouldn’t mind some more magic materials?”

Hearing that Ben turned to her, thinking that maybe it wouldn’t be so bad for her to put up with him for a few short decades of the very long life she would lead, but she could tell what was going through his mind and shot him a look that made him hold his tongue.

“Anyway,” She said, knowing there was no point in continuing on. “I’ve got some letters for you from aunty and uncle.”

She handed them over and Pelenia started giving them a skim through as Abrus gave Ben a hug and his daughter a warm smile, seeing that she still wouldn’t be in the mood for more. “I see your earth magic has improved quite a bit sweetheart, and you’ve gotten quite a fine quality staff too,” He leaned in to give it a better look, rubbing his golden beard as he did before turning to Ben. “So not only did you actually use her hair but some rather expensive materials as well? I honestly thought you’d have saved them for some other things.”

“Making Thera a staff has been one of my two big projects so I was more than willing to put my all into it. Besides, you gave those to us, I figured using them for your daughter was probably one of the best uses I could put it towards.”

“Good man, and on that note, how would your other project be coming along?”

“I’ve got it pretty low, but if mom managed to get the skill rings I’d asked for a few months ago I’ll be able to make a lot more progress,” He told them, making Thera sigh while Pelenia beamed at his overly familiar way of referring to her.

“I’ve done you one better actually,” The queen of the nation explained to him. “Since getting enchanters who happened to have those skills at high levels was proving to be a challenge, I simply found individuals who did to put them to use. It’s a bit late to call for them now but I’ll bring them around in the morning for you to copy their skills, alright?”

“Sounds excellent,” He told them as he stopped to give it a bit of thought. “Actually, assuming it works out the way I think it will, would you even need to wear your cloak if I knock your resistance down a few extra points? Everyone in the country should have a decent dark resistance, right?”

“I’m… not sure,” She said, turning to her mom with a question in her eyes that Pelenia was quick to answer.

“As long as your effect at a distance is at ten I don’t think there would be any issue,” She said thoughtfully. “Honestly speaking, even that is mostly just to be cautious, the average person here without an amulet to protect them should have a resistance of around fifteen to twenty. I’d say just wear something with sleeves when you go out in case anyone brushes up next to you.”

The lingering displeasure she’d felt from her parents' stunt was immediately replaced with excitement. She hadn't even considered the fact that as it was, her brace was good enough for her to be able to walk around her nation without her cloak, she’d been so consumed by the fact that there were people outside of the nation she couldn’t be around that she hadn’t given it any thought. With the possibility open to her though, the prospect of wandering the town became significantly more exciting.

“Well then after you improve the enchantment we’re going to have to do something a bit more fun than you just locking yourself in the craftsman's guild while we're here.”

“Of course,” he told her with a smile, happy to get the chance to do something like that with her.

“Aside from whatever plans you’re both thinking of making, I am hoping to keep you both a bit busy if you don’t mind. Ben, aside from the various delegates you’ll be making braces for and meeting with your god’s believers, I was also hoping I might get you to do some work for me as well?”

“Oh sure, I don’t mind but what were you thinking?”

“Falk mentioned in his letter that you’ve become quite proficient at your craft at this point. If I were to get my husband to set up the area I had you working in last time into a proper forge, do you think you’d be able to make some weapons and armour for a few people I send your way? I’ll of course provide supplies and pay you for your work.”

“Absolutely!” He agreed with enthusiasm. The prospect of properly making some things to earn job experience was far more exciting than just trying to make more complex enchantments for the small weapons he’d brought with him.

“Wonderful to hear. And Thera, I know you’ll probably want to practice your earth magic with your father, but there was something I was hoping you might be willing to dedicate yourself to every other day if you don’t mind too much.”

“It depends,” She said cautiously, knowing better than to trust her mother too easily.

“Oh it’s nothing bad, Sonya’s mentioned to me that you’ve been working on your life magic and it just so happens we have a very competent light mage around. I know it’s not the same, but I thought they might be able to give you some guidance on the similar points between the two magics if you help them every now and then.”

“Um, sure I guess if that's all then it will be fine.”

“Excellent, and if I’m not mistaken they should just about be here.”

“What?”

But before she got an answer the doors to the hall opened with two new figures coming inside, a male that seemed to be a Satyr, with goat-like legs and an impressive pair of horns, but more importantly the woman beside him, a mass of dull purple light in the form of a succubus that Ben was positive had to be the great light spirit, and if the bulge in her stomach was any indication, she was undeniably pregnant.