No matter how curious I was about Glaustro and his guests, I couldn't exactly afford to idle around. So I left him to deal with his demons, rather literally, and took Mia's hand in mine as we approached the obelisk.
I brushed my fingers against it, already prepared for the influx of suggestions and inquiries to swarm my mind all at once.
Once upon a time, as a mortal, the consciousness infused into the teleportation network of the Abyss was almost too much for me to bear. This time, I was in no such danger. My mind still felt like it was ballooning out with all the knowledge suddenly crammed inside of it, but I still managed to maneuver through the many queries and offers quickly and specify our destination.
I still couldn't stop myself from curling my lips in disgust at the final prompt.
The price accounted for both the number of passengers and the inter-dimensional nature of our journey. That didn't mean I had to be happy about shelling out two thousand souls. Four thousand souls, counting the return trip.
At least Glaustro's the one covering the cost of getting our people back to Breskwor, I groused, feeling pity for my major.
Still, I did pay. The obelisk rippled, and the fabric of reality cracked as a portal opened in front of us. It was Mia who dragged us both through, an excited gleam in her eyes that made me smile.
Technically, we were on a schedule. We needed to wrap up our business in the Abyss as quickly as possible, reunite with our resurrected soldiers, and then go right back to Breskwor.
We may have stretched the definition of 'as quickly as possible' a little.
Who could blame us though? For all that we'd gained from Breskwor, it was still a frozen ball of dirt. The cold had worn away at our moods over time, not to mention the lack of proper services and luxury goods.
I knew without a shadow of doubt that Mia would stab anyone who got between her and desserts at that point. I wasn't about to become a brave sacrifice on the altar of efficiency. And if I enjoyed just as many treats as Mia while accompanying her? Well, it wasn't like me missing out on the opportunity would make Mia sate her cravings any faster.
My favorite treats of the day were some kind of cookies baked in extremely thin, crispy sheets. They melted on the tongue immediately. The combination of chocolate flakes, what tasted like almond, and an underlying citrusy twang was exquisite. I was even a good little sergeant and bought a couple boxes to share with Bronwynn and Glaustro.
And if another twenty or so boxes went directly into the spatial jewel in the soul blade I'd inherited from my mother… Well, Mia was the only witness, and she wasn't going to rat me out. If anything, she spent the next couple hours adding to my hoard of sweets.
All the while, it felt like the extreme mana density of the Abyss and the uplifting atmosphere of Passion were doing wonders for both my soul and mood. Breskwor was many things, but it wasn't a thrilling drive to succeed, distilled and pumped directly into my soul. Passion was.
By the time we strolled up to the doors of Amahis Armory, we were both smiling. Mia was pretty much vibrating next to me.
"Welcome to Amahis Armory, how can I — Oh! It's you two!"
A red-skinned demoness, rather curvaceous and built like she could break both of us in half at once, bustled right past the store's counter and swept us up into a hug.
All I could do was laugh helplessly as Yules mishandled us, though the sound did turn slightly pained at the amount of strength she was using.
Not that Yules' strength was much of a shock. It was during one of my last visits to the Amahis Armory that I finally noticed just how powerful the friendly mother-daughter duo were, and they were definitely up there with high-ranking noble demons. If Yules really wanted to, both Mia and I would be reduced into smears all over her mother's shop in a matter of seconds.
"Nice to see you too, Yules," I wheezed, trying to pat her back but only managing to reach her side because of the way she'd squished my arms into my ribs.
"Mmmm, missed talking to you," Mia mumbled.
"Really, I get why you can't visit much, but it's unfair I barely get to see my friends," the terrifying young demoness complained as she finally let go, reluctantly moving back behind the counter.
"Sorry," I said sincerely. "You know how it is. The Legion of Torment ever pushes you onwards."
She winced a little. It was rather well known within the Abyss that our particular legion was the most expansionistic and bloodthirsty out there. Few others pushed as hard or had as many invasions constantly up and running.
"Well… you two do feel stronger, and I can't spot any obvious wounds or scars, so at least you're doing well for yourselves!" Yules said brightly, in an obvious effort to change the tone of the conversation.
Mia nodded, looking pleased. "Yes. Things will be better now, too. We have a world. Glaustro is a noble. We might finally slow down a little, and visit more often."
"Ohhhh, I can't wait!" Yules squeaked, her enthusiasm literally infusing the world around us with her happiness. "Though, before we talk more, because my mother will kill me if I don't do this by the book: how can I help you today? You here for something specific, or can I drop the shopkeep talk and we can chat a bit?"
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
I let my amusement color my voice as I spoke. "Yes and no. We do need to, eh, talk business for a bit, but not looking to buy or upgrade anything at the moment. The stuff you made for us last time is absolutely amazing, after all." She beamed at me, but I looked around for her mother. "Where is Tibath, anyway?"
According to my own experience with the store, it was unusual for Tibath not to be the one behind the counter. Her daughter was usually stuck practicing her craft in the back.
"Oh!" Said daughter almost tripped in her haste to move past the counter again. "I have to show you! Come see!"
Shaking my head at her hyperactive nature, I trailed behind Yules as she grabbed one of the armor pieces on display in the store's window. It was only when she thrust the plate set at me, proudly showing off the stylized demonic rune for number five, overlaid by the crossed hammer and needle, that I realized what she was getting at.
"Your mother's allowed you to put up your work for sale officially?" I breathed in wonder, running my fingers over the armorer's mark. Yules' mark. The same mark I had on my own armor. It had graced the very first set I ever owned, the one my idiotic uncle destroyed at the conclusion of my first invasion. "That's amazing, Yules!"
Mia was vibrating in excitement again as she hugged the demoness. Yules flushed in both excitement and embarrassment at whatever my brat cat was whispering to her in congratulations.
"Thank you both! I worked extra hard after the last time we saw each other!"
"She truly did."
A dry voice butted into our conversation, and I snapped towards its owner before recognizing it and relaxing. Tibath stood at the entrance to the hallway that led to the back of the shop, looking supremely amused at our antics.
"And it's nice to see you two again," the impressive demoness said. "I see you haven't been wasting your time."
"I certainly hope not, with everything we've been through." I was griping a little, but I couldn't keep a smile off my lips.
It was nice to be on such good terms with her now. Tibath had been a bit… well, not standoffish, but not quite as invested in Mia and me as her daughter was. Up until our ascension. Whatever had been holding her back suddenly melted away, then, and we'd both gotten to know the demoness a lot better.
Not that she was ever unkind. Far from it. She was the one who took pity on a mess of a mortal recruit and decided to put him in touch with her daughter, so he could get his first armor set and survive. She'd also been the one to suggest justifying a discount by 'promoting Yules' work and their armory.'
It was only much later that I found out both Tibath and her armory were already famous in the Abyss and needed absolutely no promotion to succeed. That was probably why I didn't blame her for having reservations about letting her daughter become close friends with a couple of fragile mortals.
Mortals died, after all. Often, and in droves. And though the Abyss was happy enough to resurrect any mortals marked as its own, the process came at a high cost in souls. A depressing majority of mortals eventually fell prey to this system and died a true death when they couldn't afford the cost of resurrection.
So, back then, she was probably just looking to spare herself and her daughter the heartbreak of getting invested.
"Hmmm." Tibath nodded thoughtfully. "I've heard a bit about what you two have been up to. Glaustro's been making waves, and not necessarily in a good way. But I take it from what I'm sensing that you've succeeded, in spite of whatever obstacles were in your way? Impressive. That means you now own at least half of a world."
"A full world, actually." I grinned, showing off all my fangs as I filed away what she'd said. Apparently, she'd been interested enough to pull on her connections, and whatever she'd found had suggested to her that people had it out for us.
Which… yeah, fair. That checked out. The general had stripped my original commanding officer, Wilhelmina, of the right to lead troops, then shoved her officer posting onto Glaustro. Unfortunately, Wilhelmina was a spoiled nepo baby, and all officer postings had to be sponsored by a higher-ranking member of the legion. So the general's move had put Glaustro on just about everyone's shit list.
We were an anomaly. A major who wasn't affiliated to any of the four lieutenant generals that served under General Naberius, leader of the Grand Duke's armies. Even though Crewe, one of the four, had been relatively friendly with us when we were briefly assigned to his command during the invasion of Lagyel, I wouldn't have been surprised if all four of the lieutenant generals were eager to see us fail.
"A full world? Even more impressive." Tibath gave us a matronly smile and settled her elbows on the counter. "And what are you up to right now?"
I didn't miss the implications of her question. With a deep breath to center myself, I came out with it.
"Actually, we were hoping to invite you to set up shop, however temporarily, on Breskwor. Our world. I think you'll find that we've got several unique and interesting materials for you to work with."
"Hmmm." Tibath raised her eyebrows. "I think I'll be the judge of that."
Recognizing that for the invitation it was, I ignored Yules' worried, hopeful stare and stepped forward, drawing a box from my dimensional storage. Even as I put it down on the counter in front of Tibath, the box began to shake.
"This is one of the creatures unique to Breskwor. I honestly have no idea what they are, but the locals even managed to tame them and use them as living objects over there. Mostly to create traps, but still. I figure an armorer of your skill could come up with all sorts of interesting uses for them."
I opened the box, entirely unworried about the creature leaping out and wreaking havoc.
My lack of concern was proven right when Tibath's mana clutched the writhing creature and lifted it out of the box with no spells involved. She was doing it purely thanks to the density of her mana, which now hung heavy in the air, and her mana manipulation skills.
"Fascinating," she murmured, inspecting the writhing ice closely. "This is practically an elemental, yet… not. Much weaker, for one thing. And the creature is a lot more physical than those mana-based life forms. How extraordinary… Yes, I'd be interested to experiment with these."
"There's something else," I broke in, drawing her eyes to me. I hesitated for just a second before I forged onwards. "Though, before I share the details, I'm going to need a proper oath from both of you not to share the news with anyone else. I talked to my major, and he insisted on this."
Yules shot me a confused look, though she thankfully didn't seem hurt by what could have been an implication we didn't trust her. Then again, it was probably hard to think that way when Mia was pretty much hanging off her back in a puddle.
Tibath, on the other hand, gazed at me with obvious suspicion. But the emotion eased off into something like gentle understanding when she saw how uncomfortable I was to be making the demand.
"Very well, then. Guide us through the exact wording your major wanted you to use. I assume he had a specific oath in mind?"
Glaustro had, indeed. I did as Tibath requested, and my favorite armorers quickly completed the requisite oath. When I looked around anxiously just to confirm there was no one around, Tibath rolled her eyes and waved her hand.
The store's windows shuttered themselves, the door locked, and I felt a whole lot of wards snap into place.
"There. The shop's secure. This better be worth all the secrecy, though, or I'll be cross with both you and your major," she teased, though I could tell she kind of meant it.
I took another deep breath. Then, with no further ado, I pulled one of the divine banner totems out of my dimensional storage.
The thing shone with Divinity, casting golden rays of light all around the shop. Both demonesses looked briefly enchanted by the sight.
Then Tibath leaned forward predatorily.
"Well, now. Well, well, well. I guess your little army's going places in the future, hmmm?"
She stared at me, radiating such glee that I gulped.
The look in her eyes was hungry.