“So, is Ben okay?” Pelenia asked over dinner, watching as he shakily shovelled greens into his mouth, all while Thera kept healing him from the side.

“Just a little anemic is all,” He told her, giving an unsteady thumbs up as Thera blushed and apologized again.

“I’m sorry, I guess I just kind of lost myself there.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine, I asked for it after all.”

The day ended with dozens of failures, not one viable homunculus to their name, with all either of them had to show for it being Ben’s newfound lack of blood, which translated to a lack of energy as his body was struggling to keep up with its demands.

Given that, there hadn’t been much point in going back to the library when he so desperately needed to replace his body’s reserves, and being near a gate was the perfect excuse to impose on her family’s hospitality, taking advantage of the fact that they had a chef on hand to ensure he could keep chowing down, all while Thera’s mother laughed from the side.

“You know, I’d much prefer to hear about a different activity my daughter my been doing to wear on your body-”

“MOM!”

“Really, stabbings are the sort of thing you expect at the end of a relationship, not in the middle of a healthy one,” Pelenia sighed, acting like she didn’t hear her daughter’s objections.

“Stabbing stabbing stabbing,” Came the singsong voice of another at the table, the toddler Seren, as Lux rubbed her child's head.

“Now now, don’t go learning anything strange from your aunt or cousin, okay? Most people don’t stab anyone they love.”

The young half-spirit nodded, bursting into a fit of giggles as Thera only sunk deeper into her seat, not knowing how to handle being teased from both sides while Pelenia enjoyed the show.

“Ah, but enough about endings. Ben, Falk happened to come here with a very very interesting letter. I don’t suppose you can guarantee that wasn’t a lie, right? I don’t think either of you will like the result of getting my hopes up.”

“If it was a lie then I’ll kill him before you can. Falk promised me he would and I just got finished dealing with almost dying in the life tower to make sure your sister would be confident enough to actually talk to him. I am getting the happy ending I want for everyone, even if it means working myself to the bone for it.”

“Hmph, well next time make sure you find a scheme to help me awaken something,” She told him, switching to a pout. “Do you know what Sonya did as soon as you left her?”

“Um, went back to Stonewall with Sachel?”

“No! She came here to brag! Give it a few decades and I’ll be looking older than her now, can you believe that? I refuse to let this stand!”

Not the complaint I was expecting, but okay. Also not what I would expect from Sonya, I guess it’s that sisterly bound… No, this is definitely some sort of payback, isn’t it? It’s not like she never complains about how much stress Pelenia would put her through back in their adventurer days. Well, if I ever think of anything, it wouldn’t hurt to be in my potential mother-in-law’s good books.

He had a decent grasp of her skills, the same he did for anyone he’d get close enough to check, but she didn’t have anything that stood out as a way that would be a path to awakening. It wasn’t like she wasn’t skilled at anything, she even surprisingly had a couple of seventh-level ones, but nothing in any magic he might help with.

Well, that’s a future problem.

“So how’s uncle Falk doing with his project anyway?” Thera asked, escaping her embarrassment with the change of topic. “It’s already been a while.”

“And will be a while longer,” Her mother sighed. “I have your father out seeing him most days, helping to either materialize for him as he works or else dealing with some of the heavy lifting, but the rest is all him. Really, just why does he have to be so stubborn with his goal? The old ape should just talk to my sister and worry about the rest later instead of making her wait even longer. Hmph, they’re both such a handful.”

“Mother, both of them would hit you if they heard you saying that.”

“Boo, just keep healing your fiancé and try not to feel stabby with any of the cutlery on the table,” Pelenia told her, sticking out her tongue as Thera blushed more, looking between her and Ben before focusing back on his healing.

Right, I guess now that we’re dating that makes the whole forced engagement a bit more complicated, doesn’t it?

Thera would never want to give her mother that sort of win.

Gasp! Myriad, are you saying marrying me would be winning in life? Oh you sweetheart, you must be buttering me up into doing some work. Ben couldn’t help but tease, feeling good despite himself. It was simply nice to enjoy a meal amongst people he liked and cared about, he couldn’t help but enjoy the time before he was going to be put to who knew how much work.

Well, hopefully I get a couple levels out of it to make it worthwhile as an extra little bonus. Either way, it should be interesting.

Staying late to continue chatting with everyone, the two opted to stay the night, sleeping in the next day before they finally awakened to go down and leave, finding one more who hadn’t been there the night before.

“Aunty Funa, it’s great to see you! Did you just get in?” Thera asked her, giving the great dark spirit a wide smile.

“Oh, I was just a gate away so Lux asked me to come by as backup.”

“Backup?”

“Given how things went with Vividus last time, I thought we might join you,” Lux explained, continuing after taking in the confused looks both Ben and Thera were giving. “Ah, did I perhaps assume wrong? I thought that since you didn’t have any luck with your homunculus creation you’d be going to her next, but if you aren’t…”

Instantly, Ben was shooting Thera his most hopeful face as she rubbed her temples, knowing that even if that hadn’t been the plan, the idea was now firmly rooted in his mind.

“She literally held you hostage last time we were there, Ben.”

“Yeah, but it looks like this time we’ll have your very strong, very cool aunts to keep us safe. Please? Pretty please?”

“Fine,” She sighed, only giving in so easily for the fact that her family would be there. “But if she tries to kill you again you’re not allowed to be upset about it.”

“I mean, I don’t think I was particularly upset about it last time either though.”

“True, in that case, if she tries to do anything you actually have to get upset this time.”

He gave her a winning smile before the four of them made their way to the gate.

Visiting Vividus hadn’t even crossed his mind, but it was a clear solution to his goal. He knew the great life spirit could expertly make homunculi with the same degree of skill that she could carry out any application of life magic, and her residence was filled with examples of how well she managed such a thing.

And the fact that she was willing to kill me to motivate Thera’s growth was admittedly not ideal, but it’s not good to hold grudges.

Absolutely not. Do you have any idea how much I make each time one falls? Plus I’m still not over that attempted assassination. Hell, both attempted assassinations. I’m such a sweet little delicate flower, why do people keep wanting to step on me?

What can I say, I’m a very resourceful delicate flower.

Relax Myriad, my greatest skill of all is my ability to stay alive. The fact that I’m still here to torment you is proof enough.

His god sighed in his head, getting the last word in before they stepped foot through the gate, reentering the life valley.