Supreme Magus - Chapter 3574

"I’m afraid that once Zin understands more about Eldritches and figures out the real nature of my associates, I’ll lose her. The problem is I have no reason to refuse. Heck, even if I do, Zin can always ask Kamila to Awaken her. Either way, I’m screwed." Vastor sighed.

"I’m sorry for you, Zogar." Lith sighed. "If there’s anything I can do, just ask."

"Thank you, Lith. Zogar out."

’He should have told her the truth when she asked him to marry her before giving her his reply.’ Solus’ voice echoed in Lith’s head via the mind link.

’I know, but an "I told you so" rarely makes things better.’ Lith replied. ’Is Quylla still here?’

’She and the rest of the Ernas family. They have moved here with Jirni and never leave her side.’ Solus chuckled. ’We should turn the mansion into a hotel and make them pay rent.’

Solus was happy to have company and spend more time at the Verhen Mansion. The powerful mana geyser and the keep allowed the tower to remain active and hidden from the guests.

At the mansion, Solus was no different from a normal person. She could feel her body and core getting stronger as if she were using Accumulation non-stop. The fewer floors the tower had to rebuild, the more energy it focused on restoring her body.

’We’d better not. Over the years we’ve spent a long time at the Ernas Household. If they present us the bill for our vacations, it would be a devastating blow to our finances.’ Lith shuddered at the thought, making Solus laugh harder.

’Can I come with you?’ She asked.

’Of course you can.’ Lith replied. ’Quylla is our friend.’

He walked to the park of the mansion, where Jirni spent most of her time during the morning. She had been locked up in her own home for so long that she craved freedom more than anything else.

Dripha grew stronger and healthier by the day and there were plenty of people to stimulate her young mind.

Garrik and Ryla had moved back to the mansion along with the handmaidens, Ophya and Vyla. That on top of the several magical beasts hanging around the confining Trawn Woods ensured that mother and daughter were always cared for.

"Mom, I want a little sister too! Dripha is so cute." Garrik rocked the baby in his arms with love, but his words made his mother spit her drink.

"We’ll see, dear." Ryla cleared her throat in embarrassment.

"First your mother needs to find a good man, Garrik." Elina smiled, caressing his head.

’Gods, the only thing more awkward than giving "the talk" to a child are the questions he asks his parents until they do.’ She thought.

"But knows a good man!" Garrik replied. "What about my big brother? He is an amazing guy!"

More spitting ensued but while Quylla had to hold her tongue her parents stifled their laughter.

"A good man you are not related to, dear." Ryla blushed up to her ears.

"Uncle Lith, then?" Garrik tilted his head in confusion.

"I’m sorry, but I already have children and they are my priority." Lith looked at Kamila in a silent plea for help.

"He’s right, sweetie." She said. "A child needs both parents and Lith is very busy with Elysia and Valeron."

"I see." Garrik nodded. "A good man unrelated to me and childless. Uncle Nalrond, can you give me a baby sister? Mom just needs a special hug."

At that point, the Agni’s mouth was already empty.

"Over my dead body." Friya said. "I mean, he’s taken, dear. You need a single man."

"Why is this so complicated?" Garrik whined. "It’s just a hug and I just want a little sister!"

"Because we lack a Harmonizer for her." Ryla inwardly thanked the gods for giving her inspiration. "Once you grow up and don’t need yours anymore, you can have a little sister."

’More importantly, by then we’ll have the talk and you won’t ask me the impossible anymore.’ She inwardly added.

"That’s a long time." Garrik pouted for a while but then Lilia and Leran invited him to play and he forgot about the issue.

"Quylla, can we talk a bit?" Lith asked. "In private."

"Sure." She said while glaring at her parents. "Mom, Dad, once I’m done with him, we need to talk."

The phrase filled Orion with dread. No matter if he heard those four words from his wife or daughters, they always spelled trouble.

As for Jirni, she had heard them only once and it had almost cost her her marriage. After almost losing her husband and Phloria’s death, Jirni was ready to comply to Quylla’s demands the moment those four ominous words left her daughter’s lips.

Morok had followed the advice of his friends and had a long conversation with Quylla about what he expected from her parents if they wanted to be involved in his life and those of his children.

At first, Quylla had hesitated bringing up such a sensitive subject while her mother was still recovering from the failed attempt on her life. Yet her concerns had burst like a bubble after witnessing Jirni’s and Orion’s hilarity at Morok’s expense.

’If Mom is healthy enough to mock my husband, she’s healthy enough to take a verbal beating.’ Quylla thought, having a hard time repressing her fury.

"We are supposed to go to my study." She moved so quickly that Lith needed to walk briskly to catch up with her while Solus had to jog.

"Oh, okay." Quylla knew the house almost as well as her own and had no problem finding Lith’s room.

She waited in front of the closed door for the other two to arrive.

"Angry?" Solus offered Quylla a comfortable padded chair and a footstool while Lith served chamomile tea and pastries for everyone.

"No, furious." Quylla thanked Solus. "My parents will pay for it later. What’s this about?"

Lith had yet to finish showing her the full projection of his fight with Kugoh when Quylla cracked her armrest with a fist.

"Son of a bitch! He almost stole my idea." Luckily for Lith’s wallet, the furniture had been enchanted to self-repair. "Wait, no. He’s an idiot. He’s doing it all wrong."

Once the hologram faded, Quylla sighed in relief and sipped her tea.

"I wanted to talk to you about this." Lith said. "That Behemoth took me by surprise by combining two spells of the elemental god series. It would have been a very effective strategy if not for the Hands of Menadion.

"I was thinking of giving it a try myself but before researching the spells I consulted Zogar. He told me you are already working on something similar and here we are. I want to know how far you’ve gotten and if you’ve spotted any major flaw in this technique.

"There’s no point wasting my time just to reinvent the wheel."

"Are you working on this too?" Quylla frowned a bit.

"No, I haven’t even started. I’m still collecting the existing research material and analysing the footage from the fight to determine if it’s a line of research worth pursuing."

"It is." Quylla said. "Let me show you."

A wave of her hand conjured six glowing spheres the size of a tennis ball with chore magic, each of a different elemental color.