It had been a very, very long night. And a very quick morning/bath, which he was told was on the house. His personal prowess and tenacity likely had very little to do with it though, as he had not only paid double what the owner had asked in gold, he knew for a fact that his enchanted item was capable or performing in a capacity similar if not superior to that of restricted spells, all the while holding the plausible deniability of not using even a unit of mind mana and the durability of a proper armor piece capable of being recharge with the attuned host's mana, though he had no clue as to at what rate that could be done.
While he didn't know to what heights this planet/realm's artifacts could reach, he did know for a fact that the Rose's order of beauty was a growth tipe item holding onto some level of sentience, so clearly it was at the very least a national treasure.
Really, he'd use it himself were it not so offended by his 'ugliness' that it'd tried to kill him after attempting to bond with him in his sleep. Incidentally, that was why he knew about most of it's properties himself.
Their deal for it to behave had been for him to find it a wielder willing to accept it and it's Path, and now he had fulfilled his part.
Luckily, they held the same comprehension of Beauty as he did and wouldn't take in any willing idiot nor an unwilling partner, so that meant Princess Sera was already not a viable candidate at the time he had tried to remedy his lacking usage of beauty mana.
It had not been his plan to give the artifact to Mina in specific, but since his first attempt at getting rid of the proto-spirit had succeeded, it didn't really matter in the end.
Nonchalance aside though, he was very happy it had decided it was not his child from the get go, as that would have made it rather awkward to so throughly fuck it's wielder.
BECAUSE BY ALL TRUE AND FALSE DIVINITIES WAS SHE HOT!
Even before the latina with cat ears had gained super-natural beauty by drawing from the very concept, she had still been a tall, well dressed and experienced woman who looked to be in her mid twenties and knew exactly how beautiful she was, but after that…
Well, he was going to have a handful of work cut out for him if they both survived and thrived, as the amazon goddess he left behind was an apex predator with both the softness of a dame as well as the muscles of a warrior, framed by a tapestry of scar that told so, so many stories he couldn't help but want to turn back and listen to.
Even if she remained a prostitute and never fully came upon her gifts, she would still certainly reach immortality at the very least, what with how she seemed to have basically gained new Talents as they fucked.
Admittedly, so did he, completing his basic tier talent tree. It all still needed to be leveled, of course, but he was more than happy to have it, though he could only imagine he would die of envy upon seeing what someone like Mina had on her character page.
He couldn't see anybody else's until now and wasn't so sure they even existed yet, but he knew for a fact that he'd been given a short hand with his own. Be it because of his nurture at a planet like Earth or because of his nature, he didn't know, but if not for his ideas about magic actually working then he'd be absolutely fucked.
Thankfully his efforts bore fruit even now.
[Congratulations, by creating a Unique pseudo-immortal Step Artifact while amongst the most simple of life forms, you have earned +1 Legacy point, several trait fragments, great stores of significance, 1 out of (?) achievement requirements, +1.000.000 quest points, +1 Talent point, +50M XP.
Congratulations, by unlocking all Basic grade Talents through your own effort you have completed an achievement, earning yourself +9 Talent point, +9 Free stat points.]
And now he could begin increasing his stockpile of free points.
Again, he did feel like shoving all those points into endurance and running back for another round with Mina, the previous night having had him consuming several mana potions he’d brought along to keep up by healing himself, but he didn't give in to these insane desires. They would see each other again, independent of what part they were supposed to play in the other's life and that would be it.
He was most certainly hooked to sex however, and there was so much he wanted to experience that it physically hurt him to leave these things to their own time. Partially because of psychological reasons and how he had just used and abused himself through so many ways, partially because of his contract to the demon empire and how close he was to just ignoring it entirely for an unrelated problem.
Bullshiting capabilities and distorted interpretation of objectives assise, he was still unable to actually go back on the contract itself, sans unable to even properly consider such frivolities as a love life too much.
It'd be fine so long as he actually intended to settle down and marry though, as the contract directly mentioned that it'd not interrupt him from starting a civilian life when outside of assignments. Not that it seemed to be expected of him to do so as that part was just along for the legal contract transplanted into the magical wording, allowing him to act as an agent of the crown.
He was very much so in assignment at the moment though, and didn't dare leave his task for long. despite the fact he'd only slept around two hours and probably still smelled not entirely appropriately, still managed to arrive an hour before their departure.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
"You look… different." Said a seemingly confused Kirian as they stumbled across each other in the inn's halls.
"Yes Kirian, he had sex, some people just like to use micro expressions to make it obvious to anyone that knows them even a bit." Dismissively explained the princess who had not turned around to look at the two standing at her open door.
To be fair though, she could probably smell and even feel the essence roiling off him, nevermind the fact that they knew where he'd gone.
"No my lady, I mean to say his essence composition is now different." Informed the shade.
"Get in. Both of you, report." Ordered the princess immediately after. Turning around, she looked at him with suspicion. "This is a royal order, state your full name." Oh, she was just worried if it was him still in control.
"Astarte Aiofeus Aquilion Arturi Aktoria." He recited the decided upon code of meaningless words only he would care to remember. "My essence changed because I changed. I saw a problem coming my way and prepared to deal with it, this is the solution."
"With Beauty?" Questioned the confused shade.
"You get to avoid these people and still have a reputation, I need another way to get control if I am to avoid too many idiots trying to take me out because of some perceived threat, especially while playing a part where I am supposed to be even remotely available." He shrugged, his explanation seemingly convincing the spirit as he nodded.
"Wait, weren't you already experimenting with demonic essence to fit in better? I know you are not prohibited from interacting with the commons, but don't think that won't change if you start performing unsanctioned rituals." Accused the princess, to which he rolled his eyes.
"The unsanctioned ritual in this case was me sacrificing my 'virginity' and shinies of her liking to a more experienced practitioner in exchange for her snippets of her views on the relation of Lust and Beauty. Your weird concept is pretty much free significance even if I don't believe in it, so obviously I used it." His delivery of the line was apparently more than satisfactory, as the pondering princess soon sent them away again.
He would probably never get over the fact that no one had yet to correctly even begin to speculate on his half-truths, but he was technically a fae, so it was par for the course. And they still had plenty more ground to run to get at the noble gathering, so he would use his time to make sure he had all the right tools for the job.
…………….
"It is most certainly not an actual plant." Declared the alraune as the crystal crown of thorns tried to scratch her like an angry cat. "Rather, i'd say it resembles elementals and tool spirits but is not truly either."
'Rose.' Came the tiny hissing voice from the jewel on her head.
"Well, it apparently likes me and won't come off no matter what I say or do." Mina complained.
Upon learning that the thing she had bound was no simple treasure and that the man she'd spent the night with was a ROYAL operative instead of a noble one, things had started looking pretty different the more she thought about the events of last night and she had kind of panicked.
An event that had led to Rose panicking and attacking anything and anyone around them as she furiously tried to remove her, which led to more panicking trashing and would have probably spiraled for longer were they not stopped by Marisel, who’d restrained them long enough for rational thought to be established again.
Still, that did not mean she was not absolutely screwed. Broken furniture aside, she was simply too big a target for trouble not to find her and Rose, especially since the damn thing insisted on making itself known in one way or the other.
For someone to have such a dangerous tool while still not even an adept was simply too tempting a target however, and she couldn’t help but curse at ‘Aki’ or whatever his real name was. Whatever they intended for her future, they left no instruction, and yet she knew she’d be a disappointment. Then a tendril snapped at her forehead, which didn’t really hurt, but was surprising.
‘Despair Ugly.’ Commented Rose.
And she was right, but still.
“Well, you did always resent stopping your training after what happened. Even if you never spoke of what exactly it was, the weight of it is actually rather obvious. Certainly you could use this as a new beginning?” Suggested Marisel as she messed around with a few cabinets and hidden compartments.
“You too?” She despondently asked, already knowing the answer in her heart. It was a breach of the expectations she’d held for the older woman so far, but everyone had a limit. She was being let go of.
“I’m powerful honey. I could probably stop the first few people that found out about you, and i fully intend to do so.” The woman readily admitted as she turned to look back through her shoulder. “But i’m not powerful enough to stop the people that would come after the first few idiots, no matter how many adepts i leave at the door mat. Rather, it is better for you to be on the move.”
“Don’t worry about me, i will find a way, especially with Rose here taking care of me.” She replied with a wave and an impassive face.
"None of that now dear, you're staying for a couple more days. We're doing this right, feinting from the left and attacking from the right and all of that." Came the matronly tone of the woman she knew.
"I, thank you." She finally said after a moment of hesitation.
"I haven't started helping yet. No, while you are here I'm giving you some instructions on magic. Even if you can't cast well the utility is good and we don't know how helpful your new friend can be with that. When you go i’m having you take some manuals with you so you can study a bit more on your own, but i can’t give you anything better than a lesser spatial pouch to carry them with. I’ll see about getting a bit more from your last few commissions and you can get the…
“Why?” She found herself asking out of nowhere. Her mouth having already been opened however, she decided to not just stop there. “I’m already grateful for any help you could give, why go through with all of this?”
‘Tactless.’ She ignored the artifact as Marisele turned towards her fully, sighing.
“Because i’ve seen too many girls be chased out like this dear. Normally, most of what i am offering wouldn’t matter however, because they didn’t have the providence to act upon any of it. Normally those girls aren’t journeywoman warriors looking to lay down roots while avoiding a fate worse than churning from family and community. But I can help YOU without having to worry that my boon will become a curse because of thoughtless action.”
The tired sigh that came at the end of that sentence hinted at many a story that obviously weighted upon the matron, and honestly, she understood. Having power and not using it in fear of higher powers… must not feel great, especially after experiencing the consequences.
So she hugged the plant lady. Like she hadn’t done since separating from her family. Using her for warmth that for once she could convince herself was truly reciprocated.
She would use this opportunity and make herself a home, no matter the pains of it.