For next two hours Gisele was teasing me about succubus, making allusions every five minutes. When in the end she gave up the subject of devil woman attached to me, her gaze laid on still weak Elana.

- “So, how you two meet?”

Really Gisele? REALLY? You are looking for a fight or what? My big, beloved, jealous lizard, it’s my turn to annoy you!

- “We meet for a moment before dusk, raiding on the unicorn she stepped out of dying rainbow. When she stood in front of me for the first she was coated by first light of full moon, my heart started pounding as soon as my gaze rested on her cheek…”

The Dragoness angrily puffed her cheeks. Elana only smiled and said her version of same story.

- “P..Please, don’t mind mister Zariel, I spent most of my life in a bed. Priests of the church were responsible for healing me, but now we know that all they did was allow that… creature that was living in me grow. Mister Zariel made a deal with my father, he took me with him and promised to heal me, as payment my sister was supposed to leave him alone. I…I am very grateful, mister, I mean… in past week you did more that Church through my whole life… I promise! One day I would pay my debt and…”

I just stroked her head a few times.

- “Think nothing about it. We will have to send some letter to your family, it would be the best if you would write it yourself and use some sort of code that only you could know.”

- “M…maybe if you would have some friends among the rich nobles, you could ask them to use communication crystal, I would gave you coordination and passwords so you could link them to the one in my home.”

Communication what?

- “What are those crystals?”

- “Y…You don’t know? Those are… um… crystals that allows you to.. talk…”

- “They have combination of passwords…” Daralon decided to help the young Scarlet in describing the crystal. “... if you would have one, and know those keywords, you could establish connection that would open specific kind of rift bending time and space. You would see and hear someone sitting next to the other crystal. Basically, you could have a conversation with anyone on continent. The only problem is that the conversation rarely last longer than a minute, and you need to charge it for about a month to make another [call]”

Those bastards have a magic version of video-conference. I want it. I need it. I will have one.

- “It’s decided. I will get myself one.”

- “Sure, cuz I am sure I have around 50 gold coins to spend.” Gisele chuckled under her nose.

- “50 gold? Damn, it is really quite a lot! I would have to work for… a week? To earn that much?” The rest of the team looked at me with widened eyes. The awkward silence took over the mood in the carriage. “… what?”

- “Adventurers don’t earn that much…” Jason said under his nose.

- “Hey, you saw the place I took you in before entering guild. You think that I got in there just to say hello to friends?”

I felt grip of dragoness on my neck.

- “So you want to tell me that you didn’t go straight to me? That you had some better things to do? Hm? Tell me, what was so important?”

.. I forgot about her, damn.

- “Sweetie, Elana was dying! The only reason why I didn’t go running to you was because I was saving E…”

- “So it was because of a woman!”

- “OH! COME ON! How would you feel if I would over and over again talk that I don’t like you spending time with males?! With Jericho, Miroslav, Aloizy…”

- “That’s not the same!”

- “Indeed! You are training and drinking with them while I am working and healing, damn it!”

- “Indeed Gis, you are bit oversensitive…” The dark mage took my side. “… you shouldn’t worry about lil’ Elana. The true danger was hiding far closer that you could ever imagined!”

He said putting one of his arms on my neck and his legs on mine as he sat on my lap. Gisele burst into a laugh.

- “I have no idea why are you laughing…” I said embracing him. “…just wait bit longer, my love, soon we will never be parted again!”

- “Ok. That’s enough. Daralon, get off of him.” The smile was slowly vanishing from Gisele’s lips.

- “Killjoy!” He yelled in her direction, but as he was leaving my laps he [whispered] in my ear loud enough for everyone to hear. “… tonight under the old oak.”

- “Like always, my love.” Dragoness hissed angrily in our direction.

All this time Pyrox was sitting in the corner of the carriage lost in thoughts. It was almost painful to look at him, that’s how focused he was. Just what was going on in his head?

Hot is good… Yeah, that’s the ultimate and basic truth. The hotter you are, the more smoky you are, the better! All his life Pyrox was thinking that he is pretty hot! There was simply no one that could use as hot magic as his! Til’ the day he meet Big Boss. He was hot from a completely different perspective, he was kind to Pyrox. Being kind to Pyrox was hot too, but he always had a plan, yet that plan was always involving burning things. Yet not, just yesterday, he meet a dragon-woman. DRAGON!

From every living creature that ever walked upon this world the Dragon’s are incarnation of hotness! So majestic, so violent, so burning! And now, he started wondering. Which one of them would be hotter? For Pyrox, it was something important, fundamental even!

So – which was hotter? Hot thinking, or hot acting? Being born hot, or achieving hotness by great effort? Wait… there is something he forgot mentioning

THEY ARE A COUPLE!

Big Boss managed to make a dragon, I repeat – A DRAGON, to become his woman! HIS WOMAN! Pyrox was crying, huge drops of tear were falling from his eyes. He raised his head at looked in direction of confused Zariel.

- “Pyrox, everything ok?”

- “Boss…” he said sniffing “You really are DA MAN! A manly man!”

In his eyes Zariel Whiteraven was no longer just hot. He was infernal!

The next day we reached the capital and headed directly to the guild. In the end I had my companions register as adventurers. I also promised a couple bottles of whiskey to Jason. I will also have to smuggle Elana in, maybe I could convince Jericho to give her some work in administration? I am mostly concerned that Neira may treat her… badly. In the end she was a part of the nobility from a hostile kingdom. We wouldn’t have to worry about that if she would work for the guild – permanent neutrality. Ok, right now Jericho won’t refuse me anything, especially as before coming here I managed to push Gisele’s anger from me onto the guild master. Ho-ho-ho! Eat that Jericho!

I pushed open the door to the guild.

- “TODAY, DRINKS ARE ON JERICHO!” I yelled from the doorstep.

From the inn section shouts of joy could be heard.

- “Wait! What do you mean that drinks are on me?! Who said that? Who dared…” Jericho came running from the floor. “… Oh, Zari, I heard you came back two days ago, yet vanished with Gisele after few minutes… Um… Nice to have you b…”

Gisele with angry gaze start marching in his direction.

- “Ok, ok, drinks are on me, go to the inn and enjoy, I have lots of job to be done… I would be glad if no one would disturb me now…”

- “DAAAAAD!” She yelled.

- “ALESIA, DO YOU HEAR ME? LET NO ONE INSIDE MY OFFICE! NO ONE!” He turned around and run as quickly as he came down. Dragoness rushed after him vanishing from the floor.

After half a minute you could hear her banging on the door to the office screaming [OPEN THE DOOR DAMN IT!].

- “S…should we do something about that?” Elana asked shyly.

- “No. They will figure it out. All we can do about it is to jump into comfy chairs, drink a beer and enjoy the view… oh pardon me, you, Darik and Daria will get something sweet to drink.

- “I AM ALMOST AN ADULT!”

- “Exactly. Almost.”

- “I… I already drank a wine!... half/half with water, but…”

- “I wanted to start with something sweet myself, but if you don’t want to drink with me, then ok…”

- “..On the other hand I like sweets…”

Lust was right. That girl pretty much feel for me. Silly kid. I just hope that this childish crush of hers would fade away. I look at photomancer.

- “Jason, are you ready?”

- “Oh, boy. I have been waiting for this for past two weeks!”

- “You ready then?!”

- “Sir, yes, sir!”

- “Then: wait for it, waaait for it, waaaaait for it… GO! GO! GO! GET IT!”

He rushed like a hunting dog in direction of the bar, skillfully moving between adventurers, avoiding the queue he jumped to the counter and start placing his order. Guessing by eyes of waitress, it surely was big. She look in our direction confused if she was supposed to give him what he asked for, as she didn’t recognize him as adventurer, yet after she looked in my direction and seeing me nod she grabbed few bottles from under the counter.

The mood in guild became cheerful and happy.. I mean, what other mood could take over the inn after someone yelled that they can drink for free? We sat at the backs enjoying our time, we didn’t have to wait long till some adventurers joined us as they were curious who the new guyz that joined them in the guild were. I introduced both parties.

Adventurers took a liking to Hellion pretty quickly. Jason was already drinking on time with the siblings, Pyrox was playing some drinking game with Loki (the one involving a sharp knife), and the twins were getting spoiled by Marika and few other girls from the guild. Even Nyx sat near us, she/he wasn’t drinking, wasn’t eating, but guessing by the music that his finger rumbled on the table, he/she enjoyed the mood and company.

In another hour Gisele finally got down to us, guessing by her bloodshot eyes she didn’t manage to talk with a certain former adventurer. She sat next to me.

- “How did your conversation go?” I asked in an innocent manner whilst laying my head on her shoulder.

- “That bloody coward refused to let me in!” If she could breath fire, she would do it right now. “I have no idea what he wants to achieve.”

- “He just wants you to calm down. He will surely talk with you tomorrow, as you would be less eager to tear him apart.”

- “How can you know?”

- “Cuz I do exactly same thing each time you are angry at me.” I kissed her cheek.

- “You do? Bastard.” She punched me in the side.

- “Mea culpa, mea culpa. I will reward you my evilness.”

- “How?”

I didn’t say anything. I just kept looking at her. She finally looked back at me, her gaze met mine.

- “I wonder. How?”

- “Give that reward to your succubi…”

- “Really? Again?... I thought you were against that. To be honest, I don’t like her in that way, but if that would make you happy..” With a sad expression I raised from my chair.

- “Where are you going?”

- “Hm? To do what you just asked me to d…”

- “DON’T YOU FUCKING DARE!” She grabbed me and placed me on her laps. “… I am sorry, ok? Just… shut up and stay with me.”

But I wasn’t going to shut up, not just yet. I teased her a lot, so maybe I should reward you a little?

- “You know…” I started. “…All this time when I was in Holy Kingdom, when I was being tortured, and later when I left the castle and start looking for opportunity to escape… I was thinking about you. I think I only made it because I wanted to once again be in your arms…” Not a single lie was said. Not even a half-truth. I really meant it. “… so if you ever considered if I was looking for some other woman, I want you to know. There is no other place I would wish to be right now and with no one else.”

She hugged me tighter.

- “Was it that bad?” She knew it was.

- “No. Because I know that I had someone that waits for me back here. It wasn’t that bad. Not bad at all.”

We were sitting there for bit longer. Everyone was cheering and dancing and singing all this time and Jericho was paying. It was a good evening. Before we once again moved on to the next floor and we slept hugging each other.

I woke up earlier than yesterday and tried to get out off bed without waking up the dragoness. I left a note on her locker and moved to the factory. There was one person I forgot about.

I went to the factory where girls and workers were already doing her job. In laboratory on the floor, Morgana was showing new methods of alchemy.

- “Teacher! Teacher! Check this out!” Clarice gave me her potion. Everyone left in the room was looking at me inpatient.

I could appraise it, sure I could, but why? Where is the joy of checking every part of it by yourself?

- “The color looks fine…” I said looking at light-red potion. “… it could be bit deeper, but I assume that this is effect of using a water instead of alcohol…” She nodded. “.. no problem then. You can evaporate some water and add alcohol to change it… now, the smell. Ug. You could work on that. You haven’t used, by any chance, Blackbell?”

- “I… I did…”

- “I would prefer you not using it…”

- “B..But miss Morgana said that it would make the effect stronger!”

- “Yes, if you would only use this health potion. But what [Miss Morgana] doesn’t know, is that we are selling those potions to the adventurers, which are using them combined with stamina potions, antidotes, and few other…”

- “I see…” The half demoness said. “… indeed. Blackbell could reduce the other potions effect.” She nodded to herself. It was not a mistake, simply – lack of informations.

- “Taste and effect…” I gulped it down in one go. I waited for notification to appear.

I nodded with admiration.

- “It is shit.” I said smiling.

- “WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY SHIT!? IT IS AT LEAST DECE…”

But the girls were overjoyed.

- “He didn’t said that we should kill ourselves.” Clarice yelled overjoyed.

- “He didn’t said it was useless waste of ingredients!” Marianna followed.

- “Nor that there is no hope! Girls, I think we were just promoted by three levels!”

- “Indeed.” I said smiling. “Above there are: disgusting, horrible, a mistake of real alchemist and bad. I want you to reach horrible level in two more months.”

- “YES TEACHER!”

Morgana was left speechless.

- “How you did that?” I asked her. “I thought I reached a bottleneck with them.”

- “No, they needed some guidance. Each of them were making a mistake or two in different phases, and needed someone to point them out. Still, you showed them really good foundations. They are not making mistakes that most of the novices would have made.”

- “Yeah… girls, I have good news, I will spend a few more days with you, both working and studying with you, as I need to earn few coins.”

Their smiles instantaneously died.

- “And you.” I said looking at Morgana. “… is there something you would want from me? I owe you a little.”

- “First, some basic information about the local politics, a place to sleep for I had to sleep here on the bench as I didn’t want to get help from… those friends of yours.”

- “Wise. They could have asked you a favor or two…”

- “Also, knowledge. Can you show me the place with some books about magic or two? I think that your civilization made at least a few…”

- “About place to sleep – using my connections I already got you a room in the local adventure guild… just avoid a certain half-dragoness and we should be cool, I can also bring you to the library and ask a friend of mine to take you on some theoretical studies of magic at the local academy… what?”

- “Library… you mean that huge building in the middle of the town? How many books about magic would I find there?”

- “Every single one of them? Oh, no wait, there could be section or two about politics, geography, history, monsters… but most of it is about magic.”

- “… You mean whole building filled with books about magic?”

- “Pretty much. There are more than a few thousand books about every discipline, yet there are also few restricted sections… because you haven’t finished university you need someone to let you in, fortunately one of professors of University is a friend of mine, so there shouldn’t be much problems…”

Her eyes were shining like gold coins.

- “I must have died and stepped into the heavens.”

- “But that’s for tomorrow. Right now, would you mind assisting me? Consider it as your payment for all the favors you just asked me.”

- “Tsh. I already know how much potions are worth here, and how much your are favors. You won’t lose too much, would ya?”

- “You took into consideration that you have no friends here, have nothing, know nothing and you are half demoness? Tip: demons are not one of the most loved race here.”

- “Hmph. But you will help me restoring my powers?”

- “First you would need to find out how to do that, but then – I won’t mind it.”

Ah, can you smell it? This is how becoming awfully rich smells like!