Considering they had more fighting to do the following day, and it was starting to get rather late, Alyx decided it was best to put an end to the experiment. It wasn’t totally the fact he needed to prepare and think on the whole thing some more.
So, the trio quickly took down some more monsters, helping Jasmine fill her energy back up. And soon enough, they were making their way back to the city. Making it to the city as night was beginning to set, they quickly said their goodbyes, and Alyx split from the ladies, reminding them to find him at Lili’s shop the following morning.
The rest of the night went by without much issue. Rose and Jasmine spent it together, having gone out to get a bite to eat before passing by the theater once again. The two weren’t big drinkers, and once the play ended, they found themselves heading to their abodes to retire for the night.
Rose spent some time maintaining her already pristine gear as she found it to be a good reminder of back home when her gear hadn’t been enchanted. It did also help to maintain an eye on such things in case the magic in the gear began to falter. Magic wasn’t infallible, especially when put against constant stress. And even if there was little chance it would fail, it always helped to be extra careful. Of course, the routine also helped her process the day's events.
Rose enjoyed spending time with Jasmine, and for a while there, she forgot about the other person always with them. It had been a good few hours just enjoying their time together, commenting on clothes they saw some ladies wear and questioning if they would look just as good in them. They gossiped about the various happenings they heard as they walked. How this merchant’s wife was seeing some adventurer or about a specific fight in the area. A thief getting caught by the guard or the latest news about an early learner of the magical arts deciding to summon a succubus. All sorts of things happened in the city, and it helped fill their day. Their visit to Keepers Keeper had been a big reminder of their days in their home kingdom. The mega-magical store was full of incredible magical items and could fulfill a few other magical requirements. It was a great place and one that had popped up recently, thanks to magic. She wasn’t sure how a giant building could pop up overnight, but knowing their connection to the Magus Empire, it was easy to accept.
Things had taken a bit of a turn for the worst when Alyx showed up, and they had gone to the forest. Rose knew the contract was in place, but when it came to Jasmine, she was extra defensive. Thankfully, it had gone all right, and the gnome had seemed somewhat optimistic by the end of it all. Now, whether that was optimism towards finding a cure for Jasmine or simply at the fact he would have lots of great research to look forward to, Rose wasn’t sure.
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Having spent a day enjoying herself with her best friend, Jasmine headed back home to gain some alone time. Well, alone time was a bit of a stretch since she always had someone else on board. She was used to it by now, and it did help that her brother was less active during these phases of the moon. So, she took a long, warm bath and enjoyed some sweet snacks as she thought about the day.
What had Lili and Tesilim been up to? Both seemed to be heading in the direction of friends to lovers, but she couldn’t be sure since life always found a way to throw things off. She was just an example. In her mind, she would have been completely different if not for her special circumstances. After she and Rose drifted apart, she imagined having found a special boy and maybe having settled down. Now, however, she didn’t know anymore. She wasn’t even sure she liked boys. She hadn’t had the time to think about such things. However, from the talks she had been hearing lately of the happenings to Tesilim, she was beginning to wonder about such things.
She had been looking around as Rose and her walked through the city streets. And to her surprise her attention had been shifted to the prettier girls. Still, it made her question whether that was truly her feeling that, or Arelion leaking through. Did her brother even feel any such feelings? Even more importantly, Jasmine knew that both of their deities preferred female servants. In fact, Luxana encouraged the mixing of girls. Apparently, since the Goddess Loxie could help with impregnation, it was incredibly common for two ladies to marry and have a third party gift them a child. It made Jasmine question if what she felt was her or simply more influences from others. The World Crystal had said the connection was a one-sided thing, but in the end, there was still a connection, and it didn’t help that she felt so strongly against the Eldritch God.
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In a way, it was reassuring that she could at least question these things. It made her feel like she was in control. She knew how it felt not being the driver of the carriage. Arelion’s old memories had come through when they had become one being, and Jasmine felt bad for her brother. It was why she valued his opinion so much and was more than happy to let him choose their path for the foreseeable future. She felt it was a way for her to give back and make him forget about his total lack of control in their earlier days. And even as broody as others saw him, he knew what she was doing and still did right by her.
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Lili had treated Tesilim to a home-cooked meal, of course, Tesilim had tried to help, it was just that she had kicked him out of the kitchen for not knowing a single ingredient. Either way, after the meal Lili had told him she wanted to take a bath and relax, and when Tesilim had cheekily prompted to join her, he had been slapped in the back of the head. So, he had gone back to the inn.
There, he picked up Drex, who was hanging about in the lobby speaking with Grover, and they both teleported to their room, where they promptly began talking about their days.
“Then we went to her shop and hung out. Okay, more like she did alchemy, and I studied but close enough.” Tesilim finished.
“So, do you have a crush on Lili?”
“Where did that come from!?” Tesilim asked, a bit shocked by Drex of all creatures asking that.
“Well, as you know, we share a soul. Which by the way, I have been getting bits and pieces of knowledge that I will be assuming is from your world. To that extent, who was Harambe?”
“A gorilla. Look, that’s not important. Let's get back to the whole Lili and soul situation.”
“Right. So, we share a soul, and I noticed that I found Lili particularly appealing. Not in like I want to mate with her because she isn’t my type, but more like something telling me that she was important and I need to protect her.”
Sighing, Tesilim just looked at his drake for a bit before answering.
“Yes, I do have a crush on her. I think she likes me too, but I am not sure. It feels like she is just being nice. Look, it's a bit weird for me, too. I find her attractive, but I am unsure if it correlates to feelings just yet.”
“I see, well, I mean, I have a bit of knowledge of what a date is from back in your world, and it seems like that's what’s been happening with you two spending time together.”
“Yeah, I thought so too, but I am not sure how this world works in that regard just yet. Technically, we could also be friends, and she is my teacher, so it's hard to differentiate when we are spending time as teacher and student, friends, or something else.”
“Hmmm, okay, I get it, sort of. I just needed to know if that feeling was because of you.”
‘Well, I am glad I could clarify that for you. So, how was your day?”
“Well, I ate a lot and slept some. It's odd that I need sleep, though I think that's just something from you. The dryads were nice and gave me good massages. They also promise to speak with their mom about me meeting some more beast nature spirits for a good rump.”
“What!?” Tesilim asked with a mixture of shock, panic, and worry.
“What?”
“Nothing, I just didn’t actually think you could… You are a summoned creature after all.”
“Yeah, well, clearly, I am not a normal summoned creature. By the way, there were talks of getting me to have a baby. Is that possible?”
“What! I am going to have to go speak with the dryads! This is getting ridiculous!”
“I don’t understand. I thought that was a good thing. Isn’t that the point of mating? They even said you mated with them. Did you not do it to have an offspring?”
Giving a bigger sigh, Tesilim found himself giving “The Talk” to his drake.
“I see. Still, I don’t see anything wrong with it. They even said they would take care of the baby. So, with that in mind, is it possible for me to have kids?”
Tesilim, smacking his head in exasperation, answered, his voice conveying he was so over the entire thing.
“I don’t know. We will have to ask Alyx.”
“Good enough for me. By the way, they told me they were willing to offer you the same deal.”
“Who said that?”
“The dryads. Apparently, their mom wants them to get pregnant with your child.”
“What! Alright, that's enough! Jolly, I'm coming to see you right now!”