“Fine.” Solus told Faluel everything about their plans for semi-sentient golems and using the whole corpses as materials.
“See? Only an idiot never shares.” The Hydra said with a smug grin. “Without this information, I wouldn’t have been able to help you and your golems would have been defective from the start.”
“Do you have the solution?” Lith said.
“Of course I do. Actually, you had it already. The trick here is to simply mix Infusion and Second Life. A corpse cannot be repaired without Necromancy, but using it would destroy the mana channels.
“What you have to do is to use Infusion to coat the corpses with a magical metal and to replace the missing parts. Then, use Second Life to make sure that the mana channels in the metal and the corpse match.
“This way, not only will you repair the damage as you planned, but you will also improve the durability of your golems by expending a little amount of Adamant.” Faluel said.
“This is brilliant! How can I possibly repay you?” Lith asked.
“I have an idea or two.” She giggled. “Once I’m done with the armor I will be done with my backlog and I’ll have worked a serious appetite. Didn’t you ask me out a few days ago?”
Faluel twirled her hair yet she never stopped assembling her armor. Lith found it equally hot and annoying. He wasn’t used to being the one put second to work.
“Tonight? How am I supposed to make a reservation to a nice place on such short notice?”
“That will not be an issue.” Faluel dismissed the matter with a wave of her hand. “I don’t want to go to a human restaurant. Their kitchens don’t have enough food for a Hydra and the other customers would look at me like a monster.
“That’s why I took the liberty to book a table at Haug’s Travelling Tavern on your behalf.”
“At Haug’s?” Solus’s mouth dried up. She had almost forgotten about the date, hoping that neither of them would ever mention it again.
“Yes, excellent food, good company, and alcohol strong enough to make us pleasantly intoxicated. What more could you want?” Faluel shrugged. “The reservation is for eight o’clock so wear something nice and be here at seven and a half sharp. Bye!”
Another snap of her fingers Warped them outside the lair.
“Are you sure you want to go out with Faluel?” Solus tentatively asked. “She may not be our mentor anymore, but things could get awkward between you two.”
“Indeed. I still remember how after Sedra’s death and Kamila breaking up with me Faluel said that if we kept drinking, we might have done something that we would have both regretted. Yet now she was pretty specific about the alcohol.” Lith nodded.
“I have no idea if my childbirth control spell works on Emperor Beasts as well because I’ve always dated humans, but asking her about using protection might kill the mood.”
“That’s what you are worried about?” Solus had a hard time not kicking him in the nuts.
“We are both adults.” He shrugged. “I asked her out, she said yes. I trust Faluel enough to know that, as long as I don’t act like a creep, even if the date doesn’t go well we can still be friends.
“I have no expectation for the night but as a responsible person, I must take into account all possible scenarios. Mom can say what she wants, I’m not ready for children.”
Solus stared at him blankly, not knowing whether to compliment him for his thoughtfulness or to strangle him for his lack of tact towards her.
“Maybe I should ask Protector. He’s an Emperor Beast as well, after all.” Lith mistook her silence for focus, believing that she was pondering the issue as well.
“Yes, Protector should know best.” She said with a deadpan voice.
‘Let’s hope that he manages to make Lith see reason. I mean, dating a Hydra? What about me?’ She thought.
“I just add an odd thought about you, Solus.” Lith’s words sent her heart in her throat, making her fear that somehow her fury had propelled her inner monologue where he could hear it.
“What thought?” She swept her hair, trying not to blush.
“What would happen if you got pregnant?” Solus froze while Lith kept walking. “I mean, now you have a perfect human body, but it disappears every time you get back in the ring. Do you think-”
“I guess we’ll never know!” She quickly changed her hair to light brown and opened a Warp Step to Selia’s house to put an end to the conversation.
Lilia and Leran were happy to see Lith while Selia was glad to give Fenrir to someone like Solus who wasn’t afraid of claws and fangs. When they arrived, Protector was still repairing the holes that the baby left in the walls whenever she decided to explore the house.
“A childbirth control spell for Emperor Beasts?” He asked with a puzzled look after Lith mentioned it.
“Wait, does such a thing really exist?” Selia glared at Ryman with such an intensity that no one would have been surprised if his head suddenly exploded.
“Well, duh! How do you think that Kamila and I never had children? I mean, after having Aran, my parents use it as well and so does Rena after the triplets.” Lith said.
“I thought you were just lucky! Or unlucky, based on what you wanted, of course.” Selia quickly corrected herself after noticing the kids staring at her. “Who wants some ice cream?”
The room erupted into cheers, making Lilia and Leran forget about the matter. Having extra sweets was too rare an occasion to ruin it with thinking.
“I want chocolate!” Leria said.
“I want hazelnut!” Leran said.
“I take mine with-” Protector attempted to say.
“The only thing you’ll taste is my fist on your face, you farming wolf!” She pulled him down to her eye level by the collar of the shirt.
Her voice was a low snarl that made Ryman whimper and Lith think that she was the Emperor Beast of the two.
“I swear that I had no idea such a thing was possible, sweetheart. I didn’t mean to-”
“Sweetheart my tight ass!” She slammed him against the wall while Lith covered the quarrel with a well-timed animated movie. “What didn’t you mean, exactly? The first time? The second? Or maybe the fourth? We are this close to having a whole pack!”
“The fourth?” Protector felt his mouth dry as she brought his hand to her womb.
“Congratulations. According to Faluel it’s a boy.” Her voice and glare made it sound like a threat. “Good news, kids. Dad says that we can have his share.”
“Thanks, Dad. You are the best.” The children said in unison while Selia divided the scoop between the three of them.
“Thank the gods you are here, Lith.” She said. “Four is my limit. One more child and I would have ended up killing that idiot.”
Solus tried to talk with Protector about her problems, but he didn’t listen to a word she said. Ryman was too scared at the idea of another son and of all the money that raising him would require.
