Chapter 192: CH192

“Wow,” He involuntarily spoke as he saw his friend entering his work area. Instead of the cloak he was used to seeing her wearing or the clothes she would lounge in at home, Thera appeared in a gorgeous blue dress. He took a second to compose himself before continuing. “You look beautiful, what’s the occasion?”

“Finding out my mother is rather good at manipulating me apparently,” She said as a golden blush spread through her cheeks when she felt his eyes on her. Before he could ask what she meant by that though she elaborated. “She thought that since we were going out once you finished I should wear something nice since it will be my first time going around Anailia without the cloak. Does it look weird?”

“You look stunning. I’m just sorry you’ll be stuck with me dressed like this, I didn’t exactly pack anything nice,” For that matter, he didn’t own anything exceptionally nice. He mostly had work clothing and that was it, just a variety of outfits he wouldn’t mind getting damaged in the shop with only a handful of exceptions. “Anyway, if you’re all ready to go then just give me a minute to clean up and we can head out.”

He did some brief tidying as he said that, but there really wasn’t much to do. He didn’t have any of the weapons started beyond the materials being gathered, all he really needed was for his heart to calm down. After a day of seeing beauties from across a variety of races, this was what caught him off guard the most, but once he was feeling a bit more his usual self they went out to the town.

Thera told him about her day, giving the good news of the amazing quest her god had granted her while he couldn't help but be ecstatic about it. Though he personally had his fingers crossed that she would be able to awaken her life magic with her earth magic to leave him a little safer in the long run, he couldn’t help but look forward to however it worked out.

“So that was my bit of excitement, how about you? Anything interesting happen today?” She asked with a surprising amount of curiosity, making him feel bad that he mostly had complaints.

“God, unfortunately. Preparing the weapons wasn’t bad, but dealing with the braces was nuts. It seemed like every nation I’d dealt with last time was trying to either bribe or seduce me into working for their homeland, it was a nightmare. I don’t know how I’m going to manage if this is just what’s going to happen for the entire time we’re here, I’m half tempted to quit but even if I’m already rich the money’s really good,” He took a breath after the little spiel and let himself relax, he was at least done for the day. “Sorry about that, it’s been a long one.”

“Don’t worry about it,” She told him, her mood instantly seeming brighter. “Still, I saw some of those women, none tempted you?”

“Man, maybe I would have been a little if they weren’t so grossly obvious. Some of them tried to hide their thoughts while I was connected to them but they did a terrible job, and others seemed to have been instructed to try and win me over without getting any more details. I’m pretty sure one of them even offered to try and hook me up with an old classmate while she flirted with me herself. Actually, give me one second,” He told her as he called up to the sky and drew eyes to them. “Hey Myriad! Do me a favour and check with the other gods how Sarah’s doing. If her country is willing to pull something like that I want to be sure she isn’t being mistreated.”

<I’ll see what I can learn.>

“Were you close with this girl?” Thera asked him, curiosity plain on her face.

“I’m pretty sure I’d never said more than two words to her, it’s just since there’s so few of us I don’t want anything distasteful happening to any of the other humans on the planet. Of course, if there is something, what would I do? Pretty sure every option going through my head would count as a small act of terror that might get Myriad some trouble, but I’m sure he’d understand.”

<Please don’t.>

“If your acquaintance is in any trouble just tell my mom,” Thera said, acting as a voice of reason. “While all races with passive magics are closely allied, the succubi have the greatest population and international power, she could easily apply pressure to a nation to make them behave if she wanted to, or if things were bad enough rally the other nations to get their hero. No offense, but they are valuable resources after all, they can’t just be mistreated without serious consequences.”

“None taken, I get what you’re saying.”

<Oh Ben, I completely take back my desire for you to have a harem to make me a bunch of believers. That’s meaningless compared to having someone with a good head on their shoulders to keep you in line. I may have been blinded by the new options that seemed so willing to throw themselves at you but Thera is back to my top vote for your future partner, I’m sorry I ever let myself be led astray.>

Are you done?

<If you aren’t going to cause an international incident then yes.>

Relax, what are the chances I would have been able to actually pull something like that off anyway?

<...>

Taking the silence as agreement from his god about his kind and ultimately harmless nature he came to a sudden stop during their walk.

“Hold on a minute Thera, let’s check this place out,” He said, dragging her inside of a clothing shop before she could even ask why.

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While it was a store that catered to succubi and incubi, the body type was similar enough with the exception of the fact that he lacked a tail, and he was happy to have seen the place before they closed. Walking up to the only staff member, he made his request.

“Hi there, I’m looking for an outfit I could wear that wouldn’t leave me looking so shabby beside her, got any recommendations?”

He was looked up and down by the incubus who gave a small sigh as he compared Ben’s rundown outfit to Thera’s dress before pulling him to the back for a few minutes, leaving Thera alone to browse through the clothes. She liked what she was seeing and made a mental note to return later to pick a few things up for when they returned to Stonewall when Ben was brought back, instantly looking sharper.

It may have just been a result of wearing something that was both undamaged and that he hadn’t been working in all day, but it was nice, even if it was just a new set of pants and a shirt. While the pants were a darker colour like he seemed to prefer, the shirt was a deep blue, darker than the one she was currently wearing but complimented it nonetheless, with small gold accents to match her hair and eyes.

Seeming to be happy with what was selected for him he paid for it, as well as a small pair of gloves he’d planned to put to use for a project in a few days, and they left to go back to their walk, looking for a place to have dinner along the way.

“You really didn’t have to you know, I don’t mind how you normally dress.”

“Well, it’s a special occasion so I might as well try and look a little nicer for it. Besides, I feel like it will be easier to get a seat in a nicer restaurant if I don’t look like garbage.”

They continued to chat as they wandered, waiting for somewhere to catch their eye when Thera hesitated as they passed one of the fancier options.

“Alright, this one it is,”

“What, I didn't even say anything!”

“Sorry, am I wrong? I thought you looked interested.”

“Well no, I guess I would like to try it,” She admitted bashfully. “But you don’t need to go somewhere just because I’m interested.”

He took her hand and gave it a small squeeze. “Thera, I’m open to anything and this is your first day being able to enjoy the city without being stuck in your cloak, of course we’re going to be going somewhere you want. Now, come on, let’s see if they have a seat available.”

They were able to get seats easily enough and were led to a large room with comfortable lighting and a live band playing for entertainment before being left to browse the menu.

Ben found himself having his decision made quickly enough, but Thera seemed antsy, as if she were struggling with something.

“You doing alright?” He asked with some concern and seemed to surprise her.

“Oh, I’m fine. I think it just might take a while to really be used to going out like this. I guess I feel a bit exposed.” At the very least it helped that she didn’t feel too many eyes on her. Though she bore a strong resemblance to her father, the average member of her nation would have no idea what she looked like under her cloak, leaving anyone they passed by to assume she was a member of a foreign race as long as they didn’t look too closely.

“I’m sure you’ll feel a bit more used to it after a bit of time passes. Maybe you won’t even want to return to stonewall by then,” He said with a joking tone, though that was a very real possibility. As things were, she could now live in Anailia without issue so long as she was careful not to touch anyone. It would surely be a nicer life than having to hide herself away in stonewall.

Relieving him though she shook her head. “I don’t think I would survive dealing with whatever my parents would constantly do to keep themselves entertained. Besides, you’ll still be working on the brace right? Maybe it won’t be much longer until I can ignore it altogether.”

Trust filled her eyes as a gentle smile touched her lips and Ben felt his heart pound. “I won’t let you down.”