Everyone watched as Tesilim went into contemplation mode, and they all spent a few minutes waiting and watching as various emotions went through his face. Then, finally, his face became enlightened with some sort of realization, which just made everyone even more tense.
“Guys, I got it.” He said, and then he just stared at them, at least until Lili began to move towards him with the promise of a smack, and he quickly continued.
“Mind Magic.” He said, and Lili kept walking as he paused again.
“I will have Jolly erase my memory.” Tesilim continued, and the words sounded so stupid that Lili kept walking, reached him, and smacked him.
Whack!
“Stop being a dumbass and explain yourself properly.” She said, and he did so.
He explained his worry about kids and the feelings of not being there for these children even if he genuinely didn’t need to. This was followed by his worry about relationships, though he omitted the Lili part. Eventually, he got to the part where he realized that mind magic would be the best way to solve the issue. He could add a clause in the contract to have his mind forget about the child part. Tesilim felt it would be finicky, but it was a way to get around his feelings on the issue.
“I agree that it is a possible way of doing it,” Lili answered after hearing the explanation.
“Yeah, it would work, but if you are going to do it, then I am going to arrange for someone I trust to do it. There is no way I am letting the dryad you are signing a contract with mess with your brain.” Alyx noted, and Tesilim agreed.
“I think it's sweet that you have those feelings towards these unborn children even if they aren’t needed since dryads really prefer to raise their kids,” Jasmine said, giving him a warm smile and sharing a feeling Lili felt but did not want to express.
“Honestly, I still think this whole thing is crazy, but I am certainly not going to stop you. As far as I am concerned, as long as you aren’t doing messed up shit, do what you want.” Rose added.
“Alright, then it's settled. I imagine that it will take some time to get it all set up though, so Alyx, how about you tell us what you have planned for today?’
Crunch! A loud cracking sound went through the whole room, and everyone stared at Drex, who had been quietly munching on the skull of a rabbit, which was now in pieces.
Coughing, Alyx brought everyone's attention back, and he began to explain what he had in mind.
“Do you two,” Alyx said, pointing at Lili and Tesilim before continuing, “Remember the quest we took a while back that dealt with that nature spirit?”
“You mean the one the cleric from your church posted?” Tesilim asked.
“Yeah, that one. Well, something has happened recently, and the spirit escaped along with the orb that was being used to trap its essence.”
“So now, your cleric buddy wants us to go catch it for him?” Tesilim interrupted and got a glare from Alyx, which he responded to by quietly mouthing, “Sorry.”
“Yes, Tesilim, it escaped, but most importantly, it stumbled on some cheese out in the forest. Magical cheese, mind you, and through unknown means possibly involving the orb, has now become a new type of elemental.”
“Wait, are you saying that…” Lili started before going quiet, and she just shook her head, a slight smile appearing.
“Wait, magical cheese? How did that get out there in the forest? You don’t just find magic cheese.” Rose said, the skepticism clear in her voice.
Meanwhile, Jasmine just looked over at Tesilim, knowing exactly where this entire scenario was going.
Tesilim, not always the smartest cookie in the jar and someone whose mind was all over the place, had caught on that there was a cheese elemental but didn’t understand that he was responsible, at least until he saw Jasmine's look. However, once he saw the questioning look, everything clicked, and a huge grin appeared on his face.
“HA! Are you saying I am responsible for a freaking cheese elemental!?!? Because if that’s true, then that’s fucking awesome! I am fucking awesome!”
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Hearing Tesilim’s claim, Rose didn’t want to believe it, and her gaze shot to Alyx, her face perfectly asking, “Is that true? Please tell me it's not true.” And to her dismay, Alyx nodded, confirming it.
Jasmine hadn’t missed the exchange between Rose and Alyx, and she couldn’t help but be dragged by Tesilim’s excitement as she too, smiled widely. A lot could be said about her new teammates, but boring was definitely not one of them.
Eventually, Tesilim calmed down enough, even if his smile stretched to the Eldritch Moon and back.
“Alright, so we have to go catch this cheese elemental. The question is, why didn’t your friend just place a request in the guild? Rose asked Alyx.
“Well, for one, the church only gives members a certain amount of gold for research, and he has spent all of it already. Secondly, he thought I would enjoy studying the soul since food elementals are rather rare.”
“Okay, sounds good to me. Do you know where it is?”
“It's going to be in the Mushroom Grove,” Tesilim answered before Alyx could. Rose looked over to Alyx for confirmation, and the gnome simply nodded.
“Any idea what is capable of doing?” Jasmine asked a question everyone was interested in, and they all looked over at Alyx.
“I'm not sure; the original elemental was Mid D rank, but after doing whatever it did, it should definitely be stronger now. This is why everyone needs to be in top condition. This elemental could definitely be C rank by now. It all depends on how much magic Tesilim’s pizza has. And as we have seen so far, his mana is no joke.” The gnome said seriously.
“Are we living right now?” Jasmine looked around and saw Rose, Lili, and her were not ready.
“I was thinking about giving you all an hour or two to prepare. After all, it's still early in the morning, and we should reach the grove in an hour or two if we hurry.”
“Sounds good,” Rose said while she and Jasmine got up from their chairs.
“We will be right back,” Jasmine added as the two friends walked towards the door.
Seeing them leave, Alyx also got up and got questioning gazes from Lili and Tesilim.
“I will be back as well. I want to start arranging things for Tesilim’s mental magic session. By the way, Tesilim, what do you think of just some gentle magic that makes you stop thinking of the child topic and guides you to something else?”
“Does it matter?” Tesilim asked genuinely since he didn’t know too much about mind magic.
“Yes, usually, the more intricate mind magic gets, the more chances there are of side effects. For example, if we blur out the whole you having kids topic, you will constantly be missing spots in your memory, making you keep questioning yourself and us about what you are missing. Then we would have to explain, and you would forget it all over again. Meanwhile, if we just nudge you not to worry about something, you can still remember it, but when you do, the magic will kick in and stir your brain away, making everything much easier.”
“Hmmm, I see. The second one does seem better… Okay, yeah, let's go with that.”
“Awesome, I will be right back.”
Tesilim waited for Alyx to leave, and once he did, he sprung up the earlier conversation about the dryads again. Except this time, he wanted to know what Lili thought about the whole thing.
“So, Lili, what do you think about this dryad situation?”
“Hmm,” she said distractedly since she had gone back to her alchemy, then she found a pausing point and turned back around to speak with him.
“I told you, it seems like a good trade, as long as you make the contract. I know you are from Earth, and you have your worries, but trust me, as someone who has been alive for 300 years, dryads do really prefer it that way.”
“Have you actually, you know, done it with a dryad?”
Lili giggled, seeing how reserved he was, but answered anyway, “Yes, of course. I am not very picky. Okay, that’s not true. There are certain things I haven’t tried and won’t, like beastkin. Just not a fan of the fur or scales, for that matter.”
Well, it was good to know Lili wasn’t furry.
“I see. By the way, did you mean it when you said you wanted me to ask if you could be part of the contract?”
Hearing that, Lili laughed wholeheartedly for a bit but eventually answered, “Sure, I wouldn’t mind; however, don’t push it if they say no. I don’t want to intrude. And to answer your next question, yes, I would let you watch.” She said the last bit while throwing a playful wink at him, and his heart raced as he internally high-fived himself.
“Honestly, you don’t find it weird that I will just have a bunch of kids?” Tesilim asked, continuing his impromptu questionnaire. He wasn’t sure where he was taking it, but at the very least, it put him at ease that she seemed so open about things.
“Nah, if you were actually taking care of them, then maybe since we couldn’t adventure, but as it is now, it is just a transaction. You give them access to new power, and in turn, Jolly gives you an item that will be very helpful for your fledgling adventuring career. “
“When you put it that way, it does help me see things differently. Though speaking of kids, have you had any in your 300 years of life?”
“Surprisingly, no. I do want some someday, but I just haven’t found the right person. I thought I had many times, but it always ends badly.” Her last words had a hint of melancholy to them, and Tesilim cursed himself.
After her answer, they both went silent as they got lost in thought.