Imri stepped through the portal and was amazed at what he saw. In a few days, the location of the future college had made significant progress. While only a few buildings were erected, they were already several stories tall and still being built.

He had intended to hike straight back to Celestia despite his draining stamina with the over-channel debuff applied, but he had another idea after seeing the Nexus. He walked up and touched it, bringing up the system store. With a mental query, the price for Corrolth’s scale was presented: two and a half million credits per unit.

It was both more and less than Imri had hoped for. The twenty scales in his Inner Domain represented fifty million credits, more than all his earned wealth. He would have been ecstatic if he didn’t know it was even more valuable. Unfortunately, he didn’t have the luxury of waiting for the best price with the imminent Azala threat.

The next decision was where to sell the scales. The primary consideration was the tax imposed by the system, which was converted into settlement XP. Imri’s first thought was to sell half of them in Celestia while keeping the rest in reserve. It was the empire’s capital and his barony. However, the exponential increase in XP required per level resulted in significant diminishing returns.

In the end, Imri decided to spread the wealth. He would sell two scales in each settlement on the plateau, starting with the one he was at now. He received his 4.75 million credits, and the resulting settlement experience brought the Nexus from level 2 to 4. This reaffirmed his decision; while a level 4 settlement wasn’t great, it was enough to provide a noticeable benefit once the settlement reached tier 2.

Imri and Emelia bid farewell to the others as they would be making an extra stop. They adjusted their route back to Celestia to pass through the other new settlement that wasn’t too far out of the way. It was nearest the plateau's center, providing an outpost for the farmers and foresters too far from Celestia. They hiked there leisurely, at least by their current attributes, but would have been strenuous by pre-integration standards.

The rural settlement was a stark contrast. There were no major construction sites or urban sprawl. Instead, it was primarily made up of single-residence houses, each with a slight variation in aesthetic. There were only two businesses, a tavern, and a general store. Many people gathered around individual stalls for a farmers' market.

Instead of going directly to the Nexus, they perused the market. Most of the items available were fresh produce. Imri was amazed by the sheer variety of vegetables grown in such a short time. Several stalls even sold fresh fruits from newly cultivated orchards. Most items were slightly larger than their pre-integration counterparts, with the rest significantly oversized. Imri examined a squash bigger than his head with his Omniscient Eyes. It contained a significant amount of mana, and a broader inspection of samples confirmed it wasn’t a coincidence. The amount of mana was several orders of magnitude more than the pre-integration food that had been scavenged. Imri wondered what the effects of consuming mana-dense food would have on the individual, especially in the long run. He would need to check with the New Chicago Institute of System Studies researchers to see if this was a phenomenon they were conducting studies on. He also wondered how it would affect a child who grew up on this food, specifically his unborn child.

“You’re such a nerd,” Emelia teased him affectionately, having undoubtedly felt his curiosity through their bond.

“You’re not curious about the effects of mana density in foods on child development?” Imri asked.

“When you put it that way… you're still a nerd,” she said with a sly grin. However, her hand unconsciously went over her belly, and she eyed the produce with more discernment.

“I guess you're stuck marrying a weirdo,” Imri said.

“I guess so,” she said, holding his hand as they continued strolling through the market.

Each vendor was grateful for the patronage, and many offered samples of their products. They thanked them like the other customers, and Imri found it refreshing that no one called him Lord Padar. They purchased more food than they could eat in the next week. Without Imri's Inner Domain, it would have been challenging to carry it back.

Imri sold a pair of dragon scales to the system store as they left. Once again, the settlement gained two levels, this one going from three to five.

It was dark when they returned to Celestia, with Imri lighting the way with an enchantment that functioned like a flashlight. Despite the late hour, the city was still bustling with activity. Most people had less need for sleep, resulting in more raucous nights. Much of the city was illuminated with enchanted street lamps, which Imri’s apprentices had worked on. Most of the area within a kilometer of the nexus was developed or was in the process of getting new buildings. It wouldn’t be long before the settlement reached rank E.

Their home was no longer at the edge of town but was closer to downtown. Despite being exhausted, Imri withdrew several items he had purchased. His hands moved as he cut the vegetables with a speed and precision that he couldn’t have achieved a few months ago. His knife skills were still sorely lacking, even compared to a pre-integration chef. However, he didn’t look incompetent and could feel Emelia appreciated his effort. He added the minced vegetables to a tomato-based sauce and let it simmer.

While the sauce was cooking, Imri poured himself a glass of red wine and some non-alcoholic sparkling cider for Emelia. He sniffed his wine, expecting nothing better than the cheapest pre-integration vintage. He was pleasantly surprised by its depth of aromas, with notes of black currant and vanilla. He took a sip and again was surprised at the quality of a wine that shouldn’t even be ready for consumption. He added his sense of sight to his examination and noted the high mana density.

He joined Emelia on the couch, and she snuggled up against him. She moved his free arm so it rested on her stomach, which now had a slight bump. He set his wine down and wrapped his other arm around her.

“I was worried about you,” she said after a while.

“I’m sorry,” Imri said, though he deliberately made no promises.

“It would be hard enough just knowing how hard you push yourself, but it's even worse that I can feel your emotions through it all. All that burden you take upon yourself, and all for the sake of keeping us safe. I wish I could do more to help,” she said.

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“You’ve saved hundreds, if not thousands, of people. I think you're doing plenty,” Imri pointed out.

“I could say the same thing about you, but that wouldn’t stop you from trying to do more,” she countered.

“How would you do more? I’m not sure how I can help,” Imri said.

“Imri, not everything is a problem you need to solve. Sometimes, I’m just telling you about my frustrations because I want to vent, not because I need you to solve yet another problem,” she said with exasperation.

“Why wouldn’t I try to help you,” he said, confused by what she wanted. Surely, she would want him to help her with some problems, and he couldn’t understand which problems he wasn’t supposed to help with.

“Just keep holding me,” she said with a sigh.

Imri did just that until he needed to get up and stir the sauce. When it was almost done, he got a pot of water to boiling and added dried pappardelle noodles. When the noodles had cooked, he drained the water and added it to the sauce, allowing the pasta to absorb the flavors. As he was finishing the cooking, Emelia came into the kitchen. She had just showered, and her hair was still wet. She wore a fuzzy bathrobe tied loosely so that it showed a significant amount of cleavage.

“Go shower. I’ll finish cooking,” she offered, though her tone made it sound more like a demand. Imri shrugged and did as he was told.

When he returned in his comfy pajamas, the plates of vegetable ragu were prepared and set on the table. Eating such a nice meal in pajamas felt incongruous, but it was undoubtedly better than wearing dirty travel clothing.

“Thanks for cooking dinner,” she said.

“Of course,” he said.

“What’s the occasion?” she asked.

“Does there need to be an occasion?”

“I usually have to drag you out of your workshop so that you’ll remember to eat.”

“Sorry about that.”

“It’s fine; I was just curious,” Emelia said.

“There wasn’t an occasion. I just wonder how much time we’ll have to spend nights like this together,” Imri said with a sigh.

The conversation lapsed into silence, and they both dug into their meal. As Imri took a bite, the ragu’s flavors hit his palette like a symphony. The fresh garlic blasted a strong note, waking the palette. The next notes to come through were each of the vegetables from the farmers' market: the sharpness of the onion, the earthiness of the carrot, and the acidity of the tomato, all balancing together in harmony.

Emelia let out an exaggerated moan of pleasure. “Imri, this is amazing. I didn’t know you could cook like that.”

“I’m not this good of a cook; it’s the ingredients. Everything that has grown on this plateau has been saturated in mana, which seems to bring out the best qualities in the food.”

“Then there needs to be a portal to that market,” she declared. Imri could only nod his agreement.

Within minutes, they had each devoured two servings, and Imri would have kept going if he wasn’t so stuffed. They waddled their way back to the couch, enjoying their beverages while they cuddled. They lay there contentedly for a while, though Emelia kept wiggling about to get comfortable. Each time she did, she rubbed against him, and all he could think about was how close he was to her. Her bathrobe was also loose enough that he had an unobstructed view of her breasts. After a while, he felt a minor annoyance come through their bond.

“Imri, what are you doing?” she asked.

“What do you mean? I’m not doing anything.”

“Exactly,” she said with exasperation.

“Oh…but since you were pregnant, I didn’t want to presume,” he stammered.

“Imri, you can be assertive; I’m not going to bite…well, I might, but not in the way you're worried about. The worst answer you’ll get from me is ‘not now.’”

“But I wasn’t sure how long we could while you were pregnant; I don’t want to hurt you or the baby.”

“First off, I’m pregnant, not terminally ill. I can do everything physical I could do before you knocked me up, and that’s true almost all the way through. Second, you are too gentle to hurt me or the baby, and you could be a bit…no, a lot rougher with me. You won’t hurt either of us, and I will tell you if you’re getting too close to that line.”

“Oh,” he said dumbly.

“Besides, there are advantages to me being pregnant.”

“Advantages?” Imri asked dumbly, his head reeling too much for coherent thoughts.

“You don’t have to wear anything,” she whispered in his ear.

The last of Imri’s misplaced self-restraint shattered, and he kissed Emelia passionately. A moment later, they were in bed, Imri having teleported them while making out. This was quickly followed by their clothes being stored in his Inner Domain.

For the second time this week, Imri entered a body scan meditation, focusing on the sensation of her touch. Each point of contact sent ripples of pleasure and warmth throughout his body. It was as if his skin had become more sensitive, but somehow didn’t overwhelm him. He was keenly aware of his emotions: pleasure, happiness, and tranquility from being in the moment. A mild pain contrasted the experience as her nails dug into his back, though he was surprised to realize this only accentuated the pleasure by an order of magnitude.

His awareness of emotions also extended to Emelia’s through their Soul Bond. The connection had been there since their first time together, but it had steadily grown in breadth and clarity. Now, it practically guided Imri, like having all the answers to a test. Their souls were laid bare, and they knew each other more intimately than lovers who had been together for decades. It also helped that their bodies could shift and contort to all the perfect angles.

Imri was mildly annoyed when he got a system notification. Fortunately, it didn’t break the moment, and he reviewed it once they had finished for a second time. He was amused to discover that his Meditation skill had ranked up to D. He presumed it had been close to E before his week-long trance, which had brought it close to D. If he thought he could level the skill to tier three using this training method, he would seclude them to continue this until the Azala arrived. Unfortunately, he didn't think that was the case.

“That’s not fair,” Emelia mock pouted after he explained what happened. “Maybe I could get the skill.”

“Really! The resource regeneration and mental well-being is whatever, but more intense sex, and it's a must-get skill?”

Imri also found that he wasn’t tired. The ability to meditate while doing things made sleep an unnecessary endeavor. Still, they lay together, limbs intertwined.

It was still dark out when the doorbell rang. Imri materialized clothing from his Inner Domain and made his way downstairs. A soldier in Drake armor stood with professional poise.

“Sorry to bother you at such an early hour, sir. The council is assembling at o-seven-hundred, and they insist you be there,” the man said.

Imri nodded. This was the calm before the storm, but now it was time to return to work.