Chapter 396

Not only had he made an outrageous number of job crystals in the days since he’d been asked, he’d completed an uncountable number of enchantments for armours and weapons, to the point that he wouldn’t be shocked if he was close to leveling his skill again. It had certainly had an effect on his job level, the sheer volume of enchanting he’d been forcing himself to do each day giving him a mountain of experience, even if he wasn’t enjoying the many other aspects of crafting, nor indulging in anything that would go towards the sacrilege part of his job.He left the job crystals he’d made with the employee Iberu had stationed with him as he made his way back to the embassy. It was late afternoon, not quite yet evening, as well as the earliest he’d been done in days, but there was a reason for that as he went to wash up and change before heading to the gate, making his way to Anailia.

Unlike craftsman’s tower, the homeland of the succubi was mostly the same. No armies were there to help considering that Abrus was able to deal with the first wave by himself, meaning that there was no need for anyone to evacuate. There was of course the same feeling of gloom and doom that engulfed the world as a whole, but there were still people out living their lives instead of streets filled with people prepared to lay their own down, giving the place a marginally better feeling as he made his way to the queen’s home, off to enjoy what had the potential to be his last meal with Thera and her family.

He was let through the front entrance, the guards recognizing him from his previous visits as he stood briefly at the front door, slapping his face to try and get rid of some of the exhaustion that clung to him before putting on the best smile he could as if it was a mask to wear as he made his way to the dining room, finding everyone else already there and in their own conversations.

“Ah, took you long enough boy,” His teacher called out. “I was telling you, you shoulda stopped with that yesterday, you’ve done more than enough as is.”

“Probably, but I still have plenty more in me, you know?” He said back confidently, feeling tired enough to collapse as he took a seat beside Thera as she leaned over, giving him a kiss on the cheek and drawing a few cheers from the others there while he could only look back in surprise.

“Uh…”

“I already told my parents about us,” She said shyly. “Just trying to let them get used to knowing.”

“And I’m still hurt to be the last to know,” Pelenia pouted. “I want compensation! Name my first grandchild after me, I deserve it.”

Thera shot her mother a dirty look as Pelenia returned it with a confused one, quickly changing to understanding as a grin formed on her face from the silent exchange.

“Of course, who knows when I’ll need to worry about that,” The queen laughed. “So many steps one can take to put that sort of thing off after all.”

“Ahem, so I see we’re missing a couple?” Ben said, trying to change the topic to keep Pelenia from antagonizing her daughter too much. “Where are Karly and Glob off to?”

The table was filled with Lux and her family, along with Thera, Pelenia, Abrus, Sonya, and Falk, but he’d been expecting the other summoned to be there as well, along with the great spirit Funa. It wasn’t like the table felt empty without them, but he had been hoping to see them, just in case it was going to be the last time.

“Oh, they’re both meeting with old friends right now,” Abrus explained. “And Funa’s standing by her gate.”

“Ah, fair enough.”

They all had people to see, it made sense they’d want to one more time. It wasn’t like he didn’t either really, but both Will and Steph were kept busy by their nations and Amy, Jake, and Yuzu were likely indulging in their time together on the final day.

All of them tried to avoid touching on what was so clearly at the front of their minds as the meal eventually came out, instead talking about nothing. None of them wanted to focus on the unavoidable, so instead they simply spoke about life.

Ben told them all about a few of his more interesting projects that didn’t weigh so heavily on his mind as Thera talked about the friendships she’d been growing and developing in the past year, giving her parents no end of joy to hear about their daughter connecting with other people.

Pelenia teased her sister, ever so gently implying that something should happen with Falk as Sonya in return mercilessly silenced her, and both Lux and Writ were happy to gush about Seren’s growth, the toddler joining the conversation to the small extent he could, and managing to be the only one who didn’t have to fake things, genuinely enjoying the attention he received without having to consider the what the future held.

For just a moment, Ben was able to enjoy it all, just indulging in the company of people he loved without the thought of their demise filling his head as the hours passed in peace until they eventually had to bring things to an end.

“Are you sure you don’t want to stay?” Pelenia asked as he and Thera prepared to head back. “It’s not like we don’t have the space. Your room is always going to be open Thera.”

“Thanks mom, but I think it will be a bit easier if we’re already there in the morning. Besides, I think I need the walk back.”

“Oh well, if you’re sure.”

Reaching out, Pelenia pulled her daughter into a tight hug, her face slipping when Thera couldn’t see it but eventually making herself let go before moving to hug Ben as well.

“Now, you make sure you take extra good care of my daughter, understood?”

“Yes ma’am, don’t worry. I’m pretty sure I act like a bad luck magnet so as long as I’m close by anything that would be going to her should end up hitting me instead.”

“...You know, that’s not actually reassuring. Thera, take care of Ben. I like the boy that broke down your walls too much to want to have to talk to Karly about human funeral customs.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve been working so hard on my life magic specifically to get better at putting him back together.”

“Also not reassuring. Alright, both of you have a good night. Maybe even a very good night,” Pelenia told them, giving a final wink before going back in and leaving the two of them to walk back to the gate.

He could see Thera blushing, both of them having picked up on the implication as they went back and tried to ignore it, instead wanting to squeeze just a little more joy out of the night that they could.

There wasn’t much to say that hadn’t already been said, so they simply enjoyed the company one another provided as they went, Thera eventually shaking off her mother’s comment enough to wrap her arms around his own, holding him tight like he might vanish otherwise as they enjoyed the stars coming down, first in Anailia, and then later craftsman’s tower as they passed through the gate, the time change not being too severe as they ended up gaining an hour comparatively.

“Hey, does this world have any constellations?” Ben asked out of the blue, wanting to talk about anything and taking the first question that came to mind.

“Uh, maybe? I’d need to know what those are.”

“Patterns in the stars with stories attached. I didn’t use the english word so since allspeak has an equivalent there must be some, maybe it’s just not a succubus thing?”

“There are enough places to have their own customs here,” She agreed, feeling curious with the subject brought up. “So is that a human thing then? Tell me about them.”

“Ah, I wish there was more I could tell. I don’t really know the history of them or even what cultures they originate from on Earth and there’s only two I would actually be able to find in the sky when I think there’s a few dozen.”

“Well, those two must be pretty important then.”

“Uh, important probably isn’t the right word for it. They were easy to see in my part of the world. One was called the big dipper and the other was Orion's belt. Still, there was something comforting about being able to look into a clear night sky and point them out.”

He felt himself start to reminisce, only for the feeling to immediately be broken by the sounds of giggling coming from beside him.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be laughing. Um, are those exactly what they sound like? A belt and a scoop?”

“I mean, yes.”

Her laughter only grew with the answer.

“Sorry, I don’t know why that’s so funny to me. Did this Orion person do anything significant with either of them to make them worth remembering in the stars?”

“Ha, well only the belt is Orion’s. I think he actually has an entire constellation with it, but I only know what the belt looks like. The dipper also represents an animal from my world as well I think, maybe a bear? Though I have no clue why it’s two things. Still, it’s fun.”

He wasn’t sure if she’d even heard that last bit, she was laughing too hard by the end before she got herself under control and leaned up to kiss him.

“You know, it’s funny. After meeting a bunch of other humans I thought they all seemed pretty normal, but when you tell me things like that I can’t help but think your world is filled with weirdos like you. You’ll need to tell me even more in the future, okay?”

“Absolutely, I’m basically an encyclopedia of half-remembered earth lore. I’ll tell you all sorts of things that probably won’t make sense without context that I simply can’t provide.”

“Good, I’ll look forward to it.”

It hadn’t been his intent, but such a small question did wonders for their moods as they took a break from walking back to look up at the night sky.

Getting back to his room, he had to force himself to change before flopping into bed, the thin thread of consciousness he’d been holding onto for the night desperately trying to slip away from his grasp after so many days of constant work, only for him to have to squeeze it tight as he heard a knock on his door and forced himself to get up, finding Thera on the other side.

“Um, hey,” she said, seeming far more awake than he was before focusing on his face. “Sorry, I didn’t think you were so tired. You look rough.”

“I don’t look that bad,” He said in his defense as he did his best to rub the sleep from his eyes.

“You look like you might pass out where you’re standing.”

“Well, I always have the energy for you, so what’s up? Or could you just not resist this handsome face?”

“I want…” She trailed off, knowing how he’d been pushing himself and not wanting him to die for it if she kept him up any longer. “To make sure you’re going to actually go to sleep. Tomorrow’s a big day, so I’m staying with you. Not going to take any complaints on the matter either.”

“When have I ever complained about being with you? Come on in, I’d love the company.”

She was already entering before he’d said it and made her way to his bed, getting comfortable as he slipped in beside her, wrapping his arms around her as she rested her head on his chest.

“Ben?”

“Yeah?”

“You aren’t allowed to do anything crazy tomorrow, okay? I’d really prefer you didn’t get yourself killed.”

“Don’t worry, when have I ever done anything crazy?”

“And you’re definitely not allowed to say stuff like that. Most of what you do is crazy.”

“Ha, well you don’t need to worry. It looks like I might not even be able to get my hands on Iberu’s weapon with all of the other enchanters he has around so I’m basically just a spectator. I should be able to comfortably stick by your side as you’re taking your potshots.”

“Okay, good,” She sighed, sounding just a little more at ease as she leaned up, placing her lips against his own. “I really love you.”

“I know, I really love you too.”

Through the combination of his exhaustion and having Thera there in his arms, he was able to drift off to a very comfortable sleep, no thoughts of the future there to trouble his mind.