Milea had promptly accepted.
Not only because she had many friends in all the three great Countries, but also for her own survival. If the Kingdom and the Desert disappeared, undead and Abominations from two entire continents would have only one source of food.
The Gorgon Empire. Her empire.
She already had her plate full dealing with the Lich’s army, the rogue hybrid Abominations, and the minions of the Master raiding the Empire’s crystal mines for resources. She knew that she would never manage to deal with all the Undead Courts by herself.
Not without Leegaain’s direct intervention, but he had already given her an ultimatum. Milea had not been chosen by the Father of all Dragons as his apprentice for her strength, nor her talent, but for her wisdom.
It allowed her to handle all the power the Guardian bestowed upon her without getting drunk on it.
Kamila clicked on the holographic pad of her army amulet, showing to the Healers in the group the spell for the cure. What looked like just a bunch of gibberish to a layman, was actually a description of how the Jiera’s plague worked and how to counter it.
Each magic word and sign was a command with a specific effect, just like a line of code while programming software. An expert Healer could never be fooled into using a harmful spell, because they knew what every one of their actions would cause.
“Good gods.” Quylla blurted out. “This thing is real. Thanks for showing us, Kamila.”
“It was the least I could do. If the undead you met really came from the Jiera continent, then there is a risk of infection. Now enough with work, please. This is my free time and I would to enjoy it instead of worrying. Do we have plans?”
They already had dessert, yet no one but Lith had appreciated its taste.
“Bad news aside, our day has been pretty light and we’ve already rested a bit.” Friya said. “I was thinking about touring Javvok on foot. Maybe visiting the market. Do you guys feel like it or are you too tired?”
“Of course we’re up for some evening shopping!” The motion was unanimously approved, making Lith almost choke on his last spoonful.
Shopping was his nemesis. It implied walking for hours, looking at goods he didn’t care for, giving opinions that would be required but not listened to, and lastly spending money.
He was about to make up an excuse to avoid the impending torture when his eyes fell on Kamila. She was beaming with joy, not for the shopping trip, but at the idea of spending some time together.
Between Kulah, his research, and all of his plotting, it had been too long since the last time they had done something together outside the bedroom. So he smiled back at her and sucked it up.
Unlike the cities in the north who followed the rising and setting of the sun, Javvok was sleepless. The shops were still open and the streets bustling with people. Luckily for Lith, the market proved to be interesting even for him.
The stores weren’t grouped up based on their products, so he could find a magical shop right beside a bags shop. He and Solus checked everywhere, hoping to find some forgotten artifact among the common goods, but with no luck.
Bookstores, instead, were a nice surprise. He found some old runes dictionaries for Wardens that had likely been thrown away by an academy due to being obsolete and even a few books with a faint magical aura.
The former would help him with updating the spells from Huryole’s Forgemastering booklet, while the latter was a gamble he could afford.
‘Don’t leave Kamila alone. Pay her some attention, dammit!’ Solus scolded him.
Lith had been so engrossed in his findings that even though they were just a few meters away, it was like they were on different planets. Lith inwardly scolded himself as well and followed Solus’s advice.
Kamila’s mood improved even more when instead of monosyllabic words he started to use proper phrasing to express his opinions and soon, while browsing through the store, she started to unburden herself with him about her day.
She had dreamed all her life about becoming a Royal Constable, yet now she was second guessing her career choice. It wasn’t the long hours or the heavy responsibilities that troubled her so much as all the horrible things she had to witness on a daily basis.
As a handler and a data analyst, she was used to read reports about the most heinous crimes, but seeing them with her own eyes and having to deal with the human-faced monsters who committed them was eating at her.
There was nothing Lith could do about it, nor was she asking for him to fix her problems. It was her life and her choice to make. Kamila just wanted to share her worries with someone who was able to understand her without worrying of being judged or pitied.
Lith listened to her and expressed his compassion from time to time, while also noticing how different each member of the groups approach to shopping was.
While Friya and Phloria would just buy whatever caught their eye, Quylla and Kamila would mostly window shop, always looking at the price before putting most of the goods back on the shelves.
But while for Quylla one of her sisters would quickly buy them for her and ignore Quylla’s complaints about not needing or really wanting them, Kamila had bought only a small handbag and a shirt.
Their price was insignificant even by Lith’s standard, leaving him flabbergasted.
“Stop making that face.” She giggled.
“Not all of us are born nobles and I’ve yet to repay the medical loan for Zinya’s operation. Luckily, your Skinwalker armor mimics the clothes I store within it as if they are brand new, because I’ll be stuck with second-hand goods until I manage to save enough money in case of more rainy days.”
Lith didn’t know whether the fact that she could smile while saying such a thing or that he had never noticed until that moment that she always wore the same clothes was more disheartening.
He inwardly cursed and followed Friya’s lead, backtracking Kamila’s picks and buying them for her. He had enough of that attitude when he was back on Earth and his brother Carl had to watch every penny they spent until he had got his first job after graduating from college.
“Stop it! That’s a lot of stuff and I don’t need your money.” Kamila felt guilty for having mindlessly spoken about her money issues. It made her feel like a beggar.
“I know. I’m not buying them because you asked me to, but only because they would look good on you and as your boyfriend, I have the right to get you a present from time to time.” He replied.
“But, the money…”
“I might be stingy, but all of this stuff costs way less than a single one of my failed experiments.” Lith cut her short, making the merchant’s eyes shine like stars at the idea of having caught a whale.
Kamila opened her mouth to reply, but no words came out. She had lived for so long relying only on herself that asking for help was hard, but accepting someone’s kindness was even harder.
“Thank you.” She said while hugging him. She wasn’t big on public displays of affection but this time she couldn’t stop herself.
