"Too bad. Jarvis, are there any recipes for making ink in any of the books in the library?"

Jarvis says "No, maker, there aren't."

"Well, there goes that idea. I guess I will just keep experimenting randomly."

Lin says "Can't you just gate back to demon hunter city and buy the ink you need?"

"I suppose I could try, but for this idea to work I am going to need some really special ink. I kind of doubt that it would be easy to find."

Lin says "Then can't you just buy some ink recipes so that you at least know how ink is normally made?"

"That's a good idea. It would at least give me a direction for my experimenting. Alright, Jarvis, what time is it outside?"

Jarvis says "It is currently an hour past noon outside."

"Okay, I will go after we are done eating. Do you want to come with me?"

Lin says "Actually, yeah! I could use a change of pace."

"In that case, we aren't going to demon hunter city. We will go to the capital of the southern empire instead. That way you can explore and shop in a new city with me."

Lin says "Can we even gate that far?!"

"Yeah. Using the network of gate platforms, we can. It just takes a massive amount of mana. I will open the way there, but you will have to open the gate back."

Lin says "No problem! This is going to be fun, let's go!"

"Alright. Kids, we will be gone for a few hours. To you it will be a day or more. You will be fine, right?"

Mulan says "Yeah, dad. Don't worry."

Now that the decision is made, Lin is anxious to leave, so we don't even finish dinner. I have almost fully recovered my mana, but it takes everything I have to open the gate. With no mana to spare, I grab Lin and dash through before the gate can close.

Lin says "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I just have no mana left to keep the gate open."

Lin says "That was cutting it a little close, don't you think?"

"Yeah, I guess. It would be better if there was another relay point between here and Demon Hunter city."

We have arrived in a small stone room that is unfurnished but still lavishly decorated. From that I am guessing that the emperor moved the platform into his new palace. To prevent accidents, I shapeshift into my human form so I will be recognized.

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When I open the door, I find two imperial guardsmen standing right outside. One salutes and welcomes me, while the other rushes off, probably to notify the emperor. I figured that I wouldn't be getting out of here without talking to him and his wife.

The guard leads us to the new throne room where the emperor and empress are waiting. One look is enough to see that the empress has become pregnant. Since she is already showing, she probably got pregnant within days of me treating her.

Emperor Amn says "Welcome back, King Ash! It is good to see you again."

Empress Atesh says "Is this beautiful woman your wife?"

"This is Lin and she is not my wife yet, but she will be as soon as we return to the peninsula. I am glad to see that you are doing well and expecting a new member of the family."

Empress Atesh says "Yes we are, thanks to you. I have a good feeling that it will be a boy!"

"Would you like me to check?"

Emperor Amn says "Can you change the gender if it isn't a boy?"

"Um, I have no idea. It is not something I have ever tried."

Emperor Amn says "In that case, we will just leave things up to fate."

Empress Atesh says "I agree. This is something that shouldn't be messed with, but thank you for the offer. So, what brings you here this time?"

"Actually, we are just here for a date."

Emperor Amn says "Oh, that's good. I was worried there was a problem."

Empress Atesh says "Since that is the case, allow us to provide a guide and guards. I wouldn't want any problems to spoil your visit to our city. Also, we would love it if the two of you joined us for dinner later."

"Sure, sounds good. Thank you."

Lin says "Yes, that does sound good."

Emperor Amn says "Alright, it's settled then. I will make sure the chefs do their best for tonight. Oh, Shiro will be able to join us as well. She will be happy to see you."

Luckily, I already told Lin all about Shiro so there is no awkward moment. We chat with the emperor and his wife for a few minutes until our escort is ready. Our escort is one of the emperor's ministers along with a half a dozen imperial guards.

The minister leads us out into the city and our first stop, at my request, is a mage supply store. At the store, I am easily able to buy several types of ink and the recipes for them. Not only that, Lin finds a lot of things that she wants to buy, which makes her happy.

Like most of the women I have known, Lin really enjoys the act of shopping. Even thought it is costing me a lot of gold, it is worth it seeing her having so much fun. It only gets worse once we leave the mage supply shop and she starts buying clothes.

She has shape changing clothes, she obviously doesn't need to buy clothes, but I am not dumb enough to tell her that. Although, I have to admit that there is something exciting about watching her try on new outfits. We spend the next couple of hours shopping and doing some sightseeing around the city.

It costs me a big chunk of my remaining gold, but we have a lot of fun so I don't mind. We make sure to get some souvenirs for the kids, but most of the gold is spent on Lin. She basically buys herself an entire closet's worth of new clothes in just those couple of hours.

The shopping probably would have gone on even longer, but we have an appointment. Almost all eyes are on Lin wherever we go, but thanks to the guards no one tries anything stupid. We head back to the palace, which is only partially built, to have dinner with the emperor.

Ambassador Shiro says "King Ash, welcome! It is good to see you again!"

"Hello, Princess Shiro, or should I still call you ambassador? It is good to see you as well. How have you been?"

Ambassador Shiro says "Neither, just call me Shiro. There is no real need for us to keep being formal. I am doing really well. I can't wait to become a big sister!"

"Are you also hoping that it is a boy?"

Shiro says "Yes! I really want to stop worrying about taking the throne. Luckily, my parents are both healthy, so barring misfortune I shouldn't have to worry too much. Still, being prepared to inherit is tortuous and I would prefer to be more free."