“Excellent choice, young man. It’s one of our best-selling products. It has lots of movable joints and comes with several accessories.” The clerk said while showing Aran how even the fingers could be moved according to the weapon of choice.
“I can see that. I asked what it does.” He said.
“Everything you want.” She shrugged, having no idea what the kid meant.
“That’s a lie. It doesn’t fly, it doesn’t cast spells, nor does it make any sound.” Aran pressed the head, the emblem on the chest, and the arms, but to no avail.
“You are joking, right?” The clerk was flabbergasted by such absurd demands from a mere toy.
“If that’s the best you have, I pity the other children.” Aran pouted, making the woman seriously consider a career change.
“Big bro, can you enchant this?” The kid ignored her and ran to a tall man that looked like he was there only to honor a lost bet.
He read the price tag before answering.
“Good f-” Kamila’s elbow hit his ribs, making him reconsider his choice of words.
“Farming gods almighty! This thing costs-”
“Barely twenty copper coins.” Kamila finished the phrase for him with a glare as she picked one for Leria as well.
“The lady has a keen eye.” The clerk was glad to find at least one reasonable person. “Every single piece is hand-carved by a magico artisan while the armor and the weapons are forged from a dull but resistant metal.”
‘Quit whining!’ Solus said. ‘It’s really well made. Even better than most action figures from Earth.’
Between the kids’ puppy eyes and Solus’s and Kamila’s glares, Lith had no way out.
He made ninja hand seals with his hands while chanting English swear words to justify the tier five Forgemastering spell, Worthy Vessel. It would test its target’s mana resistance, allowing the mage to identify what kind of enchantments an object could withstand before crumbling.
Gold wouldn’t light up, crappy materials like those of the Camellia would barely light one rune, and so on while silver would be completely covered in words of power.
“Damn, I mean, yes, I can enchant it.” Lith said as three runes appeared over the toy, proving the high quality of its materials.
“Then it’s true. You really are a mage!” It was one of those rare times when such words were spoken without admiration nor fear, just disbelief.
Regular workers were paid in copper coins per week, high-end jobs like the military in silver, while mages and nobles in gold. The young woman could understand any normal person hesitating before spending a week worth of food for a toy, but rich clients usually emptied the shelves without even looking at the tags.
“If that amazes you, you should see the face he makes when he brings me to a new restaurant.” Kamila said with a sigh, making Lith turn red in embarrassment.
“We’ll take them.” Lith tried to act smooth, but the pain twisting his face made the clerk think that he was going to pay for the toys with his flesh and blood.
They spent the following days visiting Xaanx until there was nothing interesting for the kids to see and then moved to another city with the Warp Gate.
Unlike Lith, Kamila had planned it like a real vacation, bringing the children to places where they could play with their magical beasts or with their peers at amusement parks filled with magic-fueled rides.
Warp Gates allowed them to instantly move through the Kingdom, so they could be in the East for breakfast, have lunch in the North, and then dine on an island in the West.
Aran and Leria would play in the morning, play in the afternoon, and then usually fell asleep from exhaustion after dinner. Kamila allowed them to train their magical abilities with Lith for two hours tops a day before giving them a tour of a new city.
“This is what a vacation should look like.” She said while pointing at Aran and Leria playing with other kids on the beach.
They flaunted their magical beasts and magic like a business card, becoming the leaders of any group even though they were foreigners. Abominus and Onyx weren’t happy being forced to carry so many children and to endure their grabby hands, but they sucked it up as usual.
“Are you having fun?” Kamila asked.
“Yes.” Lith lied through his teeth.
With her planning their days and the magical beasts watching the kids, Lith was free to practice first magic with his vortexes for most of the day, unless someone required his attention.
His failed attempts produced no effect so he could try to cast spells every time he took a step or moved his arms for any reason.
He liked hanging out with Kamila, just like with the children, but to him, going around and wasting money to do what he considered a waste of time couldn’t be labeled as fun.
“Liar.” She sighed. “At least try to enjoy these moments. If you live only for your work, when in a few years you’ll look back at your life, you’ll see only spells and blueprints, without a single happy memory.”
‘She’s right, you know? If I had to summarize your past, it would still look like a training montage.’ Solus said, cornering him.
“I’m trying, but where’s the fun in this? I’m just sitting on a bench while watching a sunset after walking all day through places I don’t care about. I could have done the same things back home without spending a dime.” If lying wasn’t an option, he might as well be honest about it.
“I guess that you must be in withdrawal, after almost a week without anyone attempting to kill you. It would justify the bad mood.” Kamila chuckled.
Lith was surprised to hear that she considered the scuffle at the inn as a potential threat to his life, but he said nothing. It didn’t mean that she underestimated him, just how much she worried for him, and that made him happy.
“The fun is supposed to be in sitting on a bench with me while enjoying a moment of quiet together after making the kids enjoy themselves the whole day. Fun is not necessarily doing something, it can also be the lack of something.
“For example, appreciating the silence with my boyfriend, without having to worry about work, responsibilities, and death threats is fun to me. The sunset is just for ambiance, what really matters is the company.” She rested her head on his shoulder while playing with the sand with her bare feet.
Kamila had never been on a beach before and found the experience pleasant even though fall was approaching and the air near the ocean was a bit chilly.
“You know, maybe next summer we could go on a beach vacation as you wanted.”
“Just you and me or…” Lith pointed at the kids showing off their earth magic to build sandcastles bigger and better looking than anyone else’s.
“Just you and me. I would like to bring another couple for company, but I don’t think I could wear that…”
“Bikini.” Lith said.
“Bikini in front of others without dying of embarrassment. We could still meet our friends for dinner, though.”
“It would be nice.” Lith nodded while looking at his surroundings with Life Vision before allowing himself to relax.
