Chapter 91: Inspecting the Hidden Package, Will it Fit?!

Chapter 91: Chapter 91: Inspecting the Hidden Package, Will it Fit?!

The Crimsonwood carriage rolled through Bloodthorn’s roads as the sun dropped low, painting the streets in orange.

"I wonder what the Guild bar has today," Kael mused.

"You ate an hour ago, so how are you already hungry?" Vex asked.

"That was an hour ago, so of course I’m hungry. "

Rika sighed, at the nonsense called his appetite. Lucien just smiled, letting the tension he’d been carrying since Bloodmoon Ruins finally start to loosen.

’Phew, finally no monsters, though I would’ve preferred more and no assassins trying to stab me in the back hopefully.’

’The estate’s just a carriage ride away now, please no more surprises, I just want to sleep peacefully.’

At the Guild, the clerk inspected the returned carriage, confirmed no damage, and handed back the deposit minus rental fees.

"That’ll be twelve hundred gold, how would you like to pay?"

"Well pay in gold."

Kael’s jaw dropped. "WHAT?!"

"We had it for days and we booked a new one on top of that," Vex pointed out.

"I KNOW! But why does it cost so much money?!"

"Because that’s what renting means," Rika said.

Lucien laughed and offered to pay it for everyone, but Rika denied it saying they should spilt it equally.

Insife the Guild, at the appraisal counter, they unloaded the equipment nobody planned to actually use, duplicate swords, common armor, spare bows, low rank accessories, while keeping every Rare-rank item, blood mana crystal, and boss material and resource they found.

"Total comes to 28,600, looks like you struck it rich, ey Rika. " Brim the old imp appraiser said as he inspected them.

"No way Brim, these are straight from the Bloodmoon Ruins, and with the craze that’s surrounding it and it being a new dungeon, we can definitely sell it higher to a merchant, so either you pay us fairly or we leave and sell it somewhere else." Ves said as Rika agreed.

"Sharp as always Vex, but that’s Guild prices, but just for you guys I’ll increase it to 29,000 gold." He smiled.

Rika blinked as she made Brim cough up more coins, then split it based on contribution, everyone walking away with five to seven thousand gold on top of everything else.

"We’re rich," Kael announced.

"We’re not rich," Vex said.

"We’re rich by my standards."

Rika couldn’t help laughing.

Rika looked at her own total for a long moment, something genuinely happy settling over her expression, not greed, just relief. Months of adventuring expenses, suddenly a non issue.

"You look happy," Lucien said.

"I am." She glanced at the gold again. "We actually made a lot."

"Told you," Kael said.

"You contributed the least to the calculations."

"I contributed emotional support."

"You ate our supplies," Vex said.

"Emotional support requires calories."

That earned another round of laughter.

"We should do another dungeon together, hopefully without any surprises." Rika said, once the mood settled as she looked at Lucien.

Everyone agreed instantly, and Lucien realized, somewhat unexpectedly, that he genuinely meant it too.

’We fought together, nearly died together, well Kael mostly, shared meals and covered each other’s backs.’

’Loooks like these guys grew on me, somehow, on top of everything else.’

Kael pointed at him. "Next time, I’m sticking to you like glue."

"Why?"

"Your luck."

"He’s going to leech off it the entire dungeon," Vex said.

"Obviously, I’m not staying more that a feet away from him."

"At least you’re honest," Rika said.

’He’s figured it out,’ Carmilla said in his head.

’Figured what out?’

’That you’re basically a walking treasure chest.’

’Please don’t encourage him, also is this because I called you a treasure chest, didn’t know ow Goddesses could be petty.’

’Too late, and who said they couldn’t, I definitely knew more than a few who are very petty.’

They split up outside the Guild, Rika, Kael, and Vex heading one direction towards one of the bars nearby as Zalor headed another saying he had some things to take care off.

"See you next time," Rika said, shaking his hand.

"Definitely."

"Don’t disappear again," Kael added, grinning.

"...I’ll try."

"Please don’t make that sound like a promise," Vex said.

Lucien laughed as they went their separate ways. Zalor gave him a small nod. "Take care."

"You too."

He watched them disappear into the city, something warm and unexpectedly sentimental settling in his chest.

’I actually made friends.’

The carriage ride home let the last of the tension bleed out of him, his shoulders dropping, breathing slowing, his mind finally turning away from survival and toward the people waiting for him.

’Aura, Sera and the glutton Eve.’

’You’re really are attached to your wives, aren’t you?’ Carmilla observed.

’Well obviously, who wouldnt be attached to their beautiful and caring, and maybe a hluttonous wife.’

’Yes, yes, your precious wives, just don’t forget your sugar mommy.’

His expression sharpened instantly. ’Master.’

’Oh? Aren’t they basically the same?’ She said.

He said nothing, knowing she wouldn’t change.

The estate came into view whole and untouched a few minutes later, the gates standing, walls intact, gardens exactly as he’d left them.

He exhaled. "Home sweet home."

As he approached, the arrays recognized him layer by layer, mana signature confirmed, and let him through without resistance.

’Quite the defense,’ Carmilla noted.

’Had plenty of reasons to build one.’

’And apparently plenty of reasons to worry about those three, but it wouldn’t stop anyone above the mortal realm.’

’You have no idea, and why would anyone above it pay attention to us?’

’Hm, various reasons, especially now that I’m with you and what you’ve become, so you gotta upgrade these or better yet get a private dimension.’

’Tell me something I can actually accomplish, how the heck would I get a private dimension?’

’Can’t you give me one?’ He asked a moment later.

’Hmm, I’ll see what I can do, but it’s not that common for mortals, maybe some Champion Trials would have them as rewards?’

He opened the front door to familiar sound, the TV and the clatter of cooking.

Evelisse looked up from the couch first. "...You’re alive."

"That’s the greeting?"

"Welcome home," Seraphina called from the kitchen, smiling.

Aurelia emerged from the stairwell leading to the training chamber, having clearly felt him cross the array, and stopped dead at the sight of him, eyes narrowing slightly, already noticing something had changed, though she said nothing yet.

He crossed the room and hugged her first, then Seraphina, then Evelisse.

Aurelia stiffened for half a second before hugging him back properly.

’I missed you all,’ he thought, holding onto the moment longer than strictly necessary. ’More than I expected to.’

He pulled back to look at Aurelia properly. "Congratulations, my dear wifey."

"For what?"

He patted her head, then kissed her forehead. "Your mana veins."

Her expression shifted instantly.

"They’re finally healed," he said.

She went quiet, then hugged him again, tighter. "Thank you."

"You’re my wife, you don’t need to thank me for helping you, heck I would spoil all of you regardless."

She closed her eyes briefly, and he felt something in her posture finally, fully relax, years of frustration lifted clean off.

Evelisse, predictably, ruined the moment.

"You smell, husband."

Lucien blinked. "I just survived a dungeon."

"Exactly, so go wash up."

Seraphina hid a laugh behind her hand. "She’s not wrong."

Evelisse squinted at his forehead. "And you have horns now too."

He touched them. "Yeah, cool aren’t they?"

She circled him like she was inspecting a suspicious purchase. "So you have different forms now, next you’ll come back with spikey yellow hair and I wouldn’t be surprised?"

".. who knows, maybe I will." He said smiling at her.

Aurelia stepped in for her own inspection, hand pressing flat against his chest, tracing the new definition. "You’ve changed, and looks like you’re stronger too."

"A little."

She kept going, shoulders, arms, the general redistribution of muscle mass, before her hand dropped lower, paused, and her expression settled into something matter of fact.

"At least that stayed the same."

Lucien froze. "...What?"

She gestured, unbothered. "Your meat stick."

Seraphina turned scarlet instantly.

Evelisse blinked, processing. "...Oh."

"Aurelia!" Seraphina squeaked.

Aurelia looked genuinely confused by the reaction. "What? It’s a valid observation."

"She’s right otherwise how would we fit it." Evelisse crossed her arms and nodded agreeing with Aurelia while trying not to laugh.

’HAHAHAHAHA,’ Carmilla howled directly into his skull.

’Stop laughing.’

’I already like her.’

’Please stop.’

’Hell no.’ She said, laughing more.

"Go shower," Evelisse announced, waving a hand at him.

"You’re kicking me out?"

"I’m protecting the house from bad stench."

"Dinner will be ready soon," Seraphina added, laughing.

He shook his head, smiling, and headed upstairs.

The hot tub swallowed him whole, steam curling around his shoulders, arms spread along the edge, head tipped back.

Silence at last, no monsters. No assassins, no weird goddesses and no system notifications.

Then a tiny shape appeared next to him, Carmilla, currently the size of a fairy and wearing the same outfit as before, drifting an unnecessarily thorough visual inspection down his face, shoulders, arms, chest and then lower as she paused on his bare form.

"Hmm."

He cracked one eye open. "What?"

She crossed her tiny arms. "Your wives were right."

"...About what?"

"You’ve changed quite a lot from when I first saw you." She landed lightly on his shoulder. "Your body’s considerably better now and its got quite the package hiding down there."

"Can everyone please stop inspecting me?"

"No, not with that body."

"Anyway, I know who you’re planning to use the Soul-Rebirth Elixir on," she said, shifting subjects abruptly.

"That white haired succubus, right?"

"Seraphina." He looked at her and said.

She nodded.

"Will it actually work?"

She floated up and say on his shoulder, as she steoked her chin and considered it seriously for once. "It should."

She explained it simply, bloodline rejection wasn’t always about a bad bloodline. Sometimes it was incompatibility with the soul itself, soul damage, rejection running either direction, or simple desynchronization between the two.

"In her case," Carmilla said, "I don’t think her blood is rejecting her. I think her soul’s struggling to accept what’s inside her."

’That’s a meaningful difference, so why?’ Lucien thought.

"What happens when she takes it?" he asked, unable to keep the tension out of his voice. He remembered his own body breaking apart, rebuilding, breaking again.

"Nothing remotely as dramatic as what happened to you," Carmilla said immediately.

He relaxed visibly. "Good."

"She’ll probably lose consciousness, minutes, maybe hours, depending on how much healing or repair her soul actually needs. While she’s out, the elixir fixes the damage and will synchronize her soul and bloodline properly."

"And after?"

"Either her bloodline stops rejecting her outright, or it adapts enough to finally fit her."

"So she won’t go through what I did."

Carmilla smiled. "Unless she’s secretly got a second divine bloodline hiding in there ready to declare war."

He stared at her flatly. "That’s not funny."

"It was a little funny."

"So when are you giving it to her?" Carmilla asked. "And don’t you need one for yourself too?"

"I’ll find a way for myself."

Her eyes narrowed immediately. "You already have a way, don’t you."

He said nothing making her pout. "You really do keep secrets from your own Goddess."

"Fine," she huffed, arms crossed. "Keep your secrets."

Then, brightening "Although since you’re apparently determined to keep stealing my resources,"

"Borrowing."

"Accepting generously," she corrected herself, smiling.

"That one."

She snapped her tiny fingers, and a small crimson light gathered between them.

"I’ll give you another elixir."

He blinked. "Another one?"

"Yes." She puffed up proudly. "Your sugar mommy is very generous."

"Master."

"Sugar mommy."

"Master."

"Greatest sugar mommy in existence."

He laughed despite himself. "You’re impossible."

"And you’re spoiled." She floated up and patted his head with one tiny hand. "Very, very spoiled."

He climbed out, dried off, dressed in something comfortable, and headed downstairs toward the smell of dinner.

Evelisse was already seated as Seraphina set the last dish down with Aurelia sat nearby.

Carmilla floated invisibly beside his head, watching the three of them with something almost fond and curious.