After separating from Alicia’s party, Michael decided to stop by Other World Propriety to pick up his goods and pay them off. He also had an idea of something he would like to have.
Entering the store, a young demi-cat man welcomed him. “Welcome, esteemed guest. How may I help you?”
“Hello, is Alice working today?” Michael asked.
“Yes, she is here today. One moment.” The young man called over an intercom, requesting her to the front.
A few minutes passed, and she arrived.
“Oh! Mr. Caeldaemos! Welcome.” She gave him a warm and welcoming smile. She looked quite a bit better than the last time he saw her.
“Hey, Alice. I would like a day pass to pick up my things, and I was interested in purchasing a Crys-Link.” Michael informed her.
“Of course, Mr. Caeldaemos, please, this way.” She motioned for him to follow her.
After leading Michael to the forging shop area to make sure his items were to his liking. He was now fitted in charcoal gray armor covering much of his body.
“I worked out the kinks for covert work like you asked. Should make a minimal amount of noise.” The blacksmith informed Michael.
“Thanks, I really like it. And the mace?” Michael asked.
A worker stepped out from the back, pushing a cart that had a massive Jager Mace.
“It’s pretty heavy. Are you sure you will be able to wield this?” The blacksmith asked.
“There is no way, sir!” One of the four gathered workers said.
Michael grabbed hold of the handle, wrapping it with a large hand. With a quick grunt, Michael lifted the large mace to the workers’ awe and the blacksmith’s laughter.
“Hah, hah, hah! See, I told you lot you ain’t got an eye for people.” The blacksmith gave them a victorious smile. “So, how does it feel?”
“Hmm.” Michael swung the mace around, making simple moves to not damage anything. “Yeah, feels good.”
The blacksmith smiled widely. “Thanks for the project. First time I ever made something that big. It was fun.”
“I’ll be sure to swing by if I need anything else,” Michael replied, establishing a manly connection with the old blacksmith.
Alice received and transferred the invoice to her desk and took Michael to the top floor to finish his shopping.
Michael changed from his armor into a few different sets of clothes, sending each to Alice’s desk, though the mace he stored in his ring since it was so heavy. He chose one of the casual outfits he ordered and would wear for the day.
Alice then took him over to the Mana-Tech department on the same floor. Michael saw they had all kinds of items in the area, from Crys-Links to laptops and computers, radios, and many other electronic-similar things.
Alice introduced Michael to the technician working in the area.
“Welcome, esteemed customer. What may I help you with today?” The man asked.
“I am looking to purchase a Crys-Link. Could you tell me what features there are other than communication?” Michael asked the man, taking a seat at the man’s table.
“Of course, sir. Crys-Links are our latest technological advancements. Other than communication, you will have access to the OWP network for a membership, allowing you to see our various products and new lines anytime. It will also allow you to reserve or request items remotely. Other functions include the installation of Applications on your Crys-Link. With a membership, you will have unlimited access to all our Apps. Some of the Apps include active mapping, which is excellent for ruins or dungeons, and a compass function. The features included are Image Capture, Recording, Calculator, Clock with alarm function, and Calendar.” The man finished his pitch.
“Alright. I am interested.” Michael stated.
The man directed Michael’s view to the glass display before them.
“We have the older model that is popular amongst mercenaries. Its memory matrix is the smallest, only allowing a few Apps to be installed and capture about sixty images. The cost for this model is 90T Tress. The next four models are more durable and have larger memory matrixes.”
The man pulled out the Crys-Link at the end. “This is our latest model. It has some of the most advanced mana techs on the market. Not only is the memory matrix 1047 times larger than the older model, but it also has a self-repair enchantment. Until now, enchantments cannot be applied to Crys-Links without interfering with functionality. This model also has the mana-binding and retrieval function that bank cards and IDs have. Additionally, this model has the Visual Call mode.” The man pulled out another one of the same models and showed the function. A nearly perfect projection of the man appeared over the Crys-Link.
Michael was amazed but held himself back from seeming too eager. “That is quite a nice model. The cost of your latest model?” He acted indifferent.
“For this model, the cost is 20TT Tress.” The man said with a resigned smile, thinking he had lost the sale.
Two-hundred-thousand Tress. Michael was really torn about overspending that much. The various Apps had him very intrigued, as well as the video calling function, but he would end up spending nearly 30TT Tress in a day.
“I understand you may be conflicted, Mr. Caeldaemos, but reviews of this model amongst nobles are extremely high. I swear by Io.” Alice noticed he was struggling with the decision and decided to lend a hand with a Divine Oath.
Michael smiled and sighed in resignation. “Alright. I’m sold.”
The technician sighed in relief and said he would send it to Alice’s desk.
The two headed down to Alice’s new workstation, which was near twice the size from before, and had some excellent comfort additions.
“Moving up?” Michael asked with a smile.
“Yes! When Veria, the demi-bird who was so rude to you, she was transferred to the warehouse where the pay was steady but low. I was promoted when the Branch Manager heard about what had happened.”
Michael congratulated her. Alice rang up his order, and Michael paid with his bank card.
“Oh, do you know where the Philbra Merchant Group is?” Michael asked her.
“Ah. They are one of our major suppliers of raw materials. They are located up the road toward the palace. It is a long warehouse-looking building made from red brick.” Alice answered his question.
Michael thanked her, stored his bought items, and headed out. He had Tress to collect.
The building Alice described as easy enough to find as it was larger than he thought it would be from her description. Entering the building, he headed toward a counter where some workers were servicing some people.
After waiting in line for five minutes, it was Michael’s turn.
“Hello, welcome to the Philbra Merchant Group. How may I help you?” The woman asked with a pleasant smile.
“Hello, I have some Tress to retrieve.” Michael handed the voucher he got from Yanni over to the woman.
“Of course, sir. One…” Her eyes slowly opened as she looked at the paper. “Um, g-good sir, what might be your name?” She nervously asked.
“Uh, its Caeldaemos.” Michael replied, confused, as his name was written on the voucher.
The woman placed the voucher down, took a deep breath, and closed her eyes. She opened her eyes and read over the voucher once more.
“Okay. Good sir. Could you wait a moment and please hang onto the voucher.” She handed the voucher to Michael calmly, then sprinted to the back like Michael was chasing her while wielding his jager mace like a maniac.
The other workers and customers were just as confused as Michael, until a side door burst open, and a sizeable demi-lion man barreled into the area and up to Michael.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
He bowed at a perfect ninety-degree angle while holding his hand out. “It is an honor to have you here, Master Caeldaemos! I am Augustus, the head of the Galagalake branch!” Augustus spoke loudly and in a near panic.
“Um. You can relax. I am here to pick up my Tress.” Michael shook the man’s hand.
“Yes! Of course! Please follow me to our VIP room.” Augustus motioned for Michael to walk ahead of him.
Michael followed the man’s directions, feeling odd about the royal treatment he was receiving.
They arrived at an eloquently decorated room with comfortable sofas. A worker brought in several snacks and drinks for the two of them.
Michael felt peckish, so he picked up one of the sandwiches.
A worker entered the room and handed Augustus his Crys-Link.
“Good sir, I was told to ask you if you happen to have one of these?” Augustus asked.
“I do! Just got it today.” Michael pulled his out.
Opening the box and pulling out his Crys-Link. Turning his on, Augustus assisted Michael in getting through the initial setup and getting his number.
“Alright, now that we are in the mana-calibration menu, charge your mana into it, and it will create your number based on your mana signature. The first four numbers are based on the zone you do your initial calibration, which here in Galgalake is 1108. The remaining seven numbers will generate per your mana signature.” Augustus instructed.
Michael did as instructed, and his number was 1108-6666666. Michael tensed, wondering if it had to do with him being the Demon-Lord.
“Wow, that will be easy to remember. Now, this number here is to Master Yanni Philbra. He wanted you to call him as soon as you arrived.” Augustus said.
“Really?! Alright.” Michael dialed the number into his Crys-Link. After beeping a few times, someone picked up.
“This is Yanni Philbra. This better be important.” Yanni’s voice came through, sounding tired and agitated.
“Oh, sorry, this is Caeldaemos,” Michael replied.
A long pause.
“H-Hello?” Michael tried.
“You crazy son-of-a-bitch!” A bout of laughter sounded from Yanni’s side.
“Uh, what’s going on?” Michael was confused.
“Caeldaemos! Your actions have literally set me up for life! Granted, I am busier than hell right now trying to clean up Reggis’ mess. Thanks to you, I’m a Baron now!” Yanni replied.
“Wait, what?!” Michael was shocked to hear the news.
“Yeah! I heard about your call to the Count of Delta, and instead of accepting a reward for yourself, you passed it off to me. They recommended me to replace Baron Reggis and take over his domain.” Yanni clarified.
“Holy shit! I just asked them to give you a good deal,” Michael laughed.
“It is a good deal, you crazy bastard! Anyway, I assume you arrived to pick up your reward, right?” Yanni asked.
“Yeah.”
“Excellent. I didn’t add any additional Tress to reward you, but I did buy you something. Is Augustus there?” Yanni asked.
“Yes.”
“Good, ask him to present you with my gift. I am sure you will love it. Huh?” Someone on Yanni’s end was talking to him. “Seems like I need to go, Caeldaemos. Let me know later what you think of the gift, okay? Later my friend!” Yanni hung up.
“Well, that was a lot to take in.” Michael put his Crys-Link away.
“Did he say anything for me?” Augustus asked.
“Yeah, he mentioned a gift for me?” Michael replied.
“Yes. If you have time right now, I can take you. Oh, your Tress.” Augustus pulled out a bank card and transferred the remaining 3,987,431 Tress to Michael.
Though the card’s weight did not change, Michael felt its weight increase symbolically.
Putting it away, Michael headed off with Augustus to see his gift.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Liara rolled about on the large bed, occasionally smelling parts, picking on the faint scent of Caeldaemos. It had been some time since she returned to her own place, her neighbors were probably wondering what had happened to her, but she didn’t care.
She missed him.
His strong embrace, his scent, even his goofy personality. She knew he was on his way back, but she was becoming worried that something may have happened to him on his way back. Liara knew he was strong, but a person could go out and never return in their line of work. It almost happened to her on the Rank 6 mission that turned out to be a Rank 7.
Liara had never felt this way about her previous two lovers she had before. Caeldaemos was so unique that he was addicting.
“Where are you, Cael?” Liara asked the room.
Loud footsteps resounded outside the room, she refused to hope as she had heard it before and got her hopes up for nothing, but then the door opened.
“Liara!” Caeldaemos entered the room, his large frame filling up her vision.
The fox woman rolled onto all fours and pounced into his thick arms. “Cael!”
Liara wrapped her arms around his thick neck, kissing him like he had been gone for years. Her feet dangled a foot above the floor.
She pulled her lips away.
“Hey, I missed you too,” Caeldaemos replied, hugging her tightly, enveloping her in his warmth.
She missed his scent, taking a deep inhalation of it.
Caeldaemos lowered her to the ground. “You know, on my way back, I had been racking my brain to decide, and I think this here sealed it.”
“Decision?” Liara asked, looking up at him. She wanted him so badly. Her body was rapidly heating up.
“Yeah, come with me. I got something to show you.” He gave her his big goofy smile. It calmed her heart.
“Of course,” Liara replied.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Michael rode his magic cycle down the city’s main streets with Liara hugging him from behind. He stopped at a guarded gate and showed the man a pass.
“What’s going on, Cael? This is the central district.” Liara asked.
“It’s a surprise!” Caeldaemos replied with a smile.
The massive walled city was split into many districts. The ones that Michael had been in was the Mid District, where many businesses, guilds, and workshops existed. The West District was where commoners, workers, and mercenaries lived. There were various apartment and condo buildings for people to stay. The East District consisted of the airfield, warehouses, and the southern part of it was considered the slums of Galgalake.
Though it was called a slum, it was well kept, and the people there received government assistance and guidance to help them learn a skill to use.
The Central District they were going into was an area that consisted of affluent merchants and high-end shops and services, where some were noble exclusive. The remaining three districts comprised the Noble, Military, and palace.
“I know you are wealthy, but I don’t need you to spend money on me. Just spend time with me.” Liara said.
“We’re not here to shop.” Michael gave her his usual smile.
Michael pulled up in front of a small mansion’s gate. Pulling out a device with a button, he pressed the button, and the gate unlocked and slid to each side.
“Um… Cael?” Liara was beginning to put the picture together.
Michael pulled in, the gate closing behind them. He opened the garage and parked his Magic Cycle inside, closing the garage door behind them.
Liara slid off the cycle and swallowed hard. “Cael, i-is this?”
“Yup! A gift from a noble I helped out.” Michael smiled widely.
“This is amazing!” Liara hurried inside the mansion.
Though it was called a mansion, Michael felt that it would not be called a mansion in his old world, perhaps just short of one.
The home was clean, and it looked like renovations had been done to accommodate Michael’s size. It had five bedrooms, not including the master, four toilets, three large baths, one of which was in the master bathroom, a large basement that doubled as a warehouse, a connected greenhouse, a small servants’ quarters for a few servants, and a guardhouse.
The home came with furnishings for the kitchen but not much else. But Michael was told by Augustus that once he wanted to get furniture for his house, to go to the Philbra Shop in the Central district, and they would provide everything he wanted at half price.
“So, what do you think?” Michael asked Liara.
“It’s wonderful! You have such a lovely home.” She looked about with a bright look on her face.
“Do you…” Michael paused, his hands feeling clammy from being nervous.
Liara stepped up to him, standing on her tippy toes, and wrapped her arms around his neck.
“Are you trying to ask if I want to live with you?” She asked.
Taking a deep breath, “Yeah.” Michael replied with a worried expression.
“Do you want me to live with you?” She whispered.
“Yes,” Michael replied.
“Then my answer is yes.” Liara pulled herself up and kissed him.
Liara danced away from him happily. “Though, this place is pretty empty.” She coyly said.
“Oh, I was told to work with the Philbra Shop in the central district to get the necessary furniture,” Michael replied.
“Good.” Liara skipped passed him while running a finger across his chest. “We’re picking the bed first.”
Michael shivered with excitement, and his pet pants dragon agreed with her.
Michael and Liara arrived at the Philbra shop. Michael showed them a card he had received from Augustus earlier. The employee welcomed them warmly and showed them various catalogs for them to choose what furniture they wanted. The king-sized bed was just big enough for Michael to sleep on, but he got a double king bed. He spared no expense on the mattress and bedding.
“Oh! Are these pillows as good as they say?” Liara asked the employee.
“I can’t say for the purchasable product, but I got my hands on one that was said to be defective. I must admit, I never slept better. When it fell to pieces, I have been saving up to purchase one myself. They are guaranteed for life.” The employee said.
Liara saw the price and hesitated, but Michael asked the employee to add two to the order.
“Understood, sir.” The employee smiled.
They added a couple of dressers with cleaning enchantments, a vanity for Liara, and a couple of bed stands. They finished their list for the bedroom and began going through other rooms. Michael had much of his toiletries and had Liara pick out the items she wanted.
They turned one of the rooms into a study and another into a spare bedroom if they had a guest. The remaining bedrooms would remain empty until they decided what to do later.
Next was the kitchen. They got a small number of dishes since it was just the two of them, and a few eating utensils, pots, and a couple of pans. Both admitted that neither was good at cooking and would maybe look into hiring a cook or just learning themselves.
They wrapped up their order, and the employee double-checked everything with them.
“Alright, the total is 23TT Tress, but with your discount, your total is 11.5TT Tress.”
Michael transferred the funds.
“Thank you, sir. Would you like your items delivered? We could have them brought to your home in… Two days.” The employee informed them after checking her schedule.
“Can we pick it up?” Michael asked.
“You can, sir. They are gathering your order as we speak at the main building in the Mid District.” She answered.
“Then we will pick it up,” Michael replied.
“Do you have that much space in your ring? If anything, we need the bed.” Liara asked.
“We’re good.” Michael thanked the employee, and the couple headed to the Mid District.
It took about an hour for them to finish getting their order together, but Augustus entertained them with a nice meal during that time.
Michael stored away their items and headed to Liara’s home to get her personal things. She checked out with the landlord and would return for her deposit the next day.
They returned to their new home and parked the Magic Cycle. Once inside, Michael looked at Liara.
“So, where should we start first?” Michael asked.
Liara clapped his cheeks, a lustful look on her face. “Bedroom. Now.”
Michael wasn’t going to argue with that.
Five hours later, Liara rolled off Michael, exhausted, both sweating.
“I’m, I’m sorry, Cael. I’m out of mana. I can’t go on.” She apologized.
Michael really wanted to continue but didn’t want to hurt her. In the heat of the moment, he used Panacea on Liara.
Thoomp! Clatter!
“Huh?” Liara looked down toward her feet.
“Oh….” Michael said, looking there as well.
Liara looked in amazement. Her missing leg was back. She curled her toes.
“What? Cael? Huh?” Liara looked up at him in confused surprise.
“So, uh, I might have held back on my healing test.”