After hearing that Vale bought her a gift, her pout softened into a smile. "Gifts? They must be good."
Vale reached into his spatial ring and retrieved several boxes, placing them gently on the table beside her. "They’re from the Shadow Realm. I didn’t forget your preferences. You can judge for yourself."
Constance opened it slowly, her eyes lighting up as she saw the contents...
Although she was expecting sothing else, she could still tell how precious these things were.
Vale watched as Constance’s eyes widened the mont she saw the items he had brought out.
"Arcane Silk Paper. Celestial Beast Blood Ink. Gold-Thread Divine Fiber. Blank Elental Seal Stones..." Vale muttered.
None of them was inexpensive...
She didn’t speak right away. Her gaze swept over each item with growing disbelief. She then lightly touched the surface of the silk paper as if afraid it might vanish.
"These... these don’t exist in this realm... They’re perfect..." she whispered. Although she didn’t know their specific nas, she could tell how to use them.
Vale simply nodded, watching her reaction with quiet amusent.
Constance picked up one of the bottles of ink, inspecting the swirling essence inside. The color shifted between crimson and silver... It was such a beautiful sight... It was also a clear sign that it had been refined from a high-grade beast with celestial lineage.
Then, she smiled as she had already confird what they were for...
"These are talisman materials," she said with excitent... "You brought talisman materials!"
Vale smiled faintly. "I rembered what you said before. You’re an expert in their creation, aren’t you?"
Constance looked up, her expression now filled with excitent. "Of course I am! But these... these are premium-grade components. No... What’s higher than premium-grade? Anyway... I’ve only ever worked with items used by mortals... I can finally work on the real deal!"
She turned back to the table, already imagining the combinations. Defensive talismans. Curse-breakers. Elental amplifiers. Even Portal Gates might be possible with this level of materials.
Indeed, with this much material, she could create hundreds of the highest grade of talismans she could afford to, if she rationed them properly.
"I can make so many with these materials..." she muttered... "I’ll need to recalibrate my formation table. And I’ll have to adjust the Formation circle I currently have to be able to handle these things. Oh, and the seal stones... those will need a proper cleansing array before I imprint anything..."
Vale watched her spiral into planning mode, with a faint smile tugging at his lips.
Constance finally turned back to him as she realized that Vale was still there watching. "Ahh... Right... I accept the gifts. But you’re not getting away that easily."
Vale raised an eyebrow. "I’m not?"
"No," she said firmly. "You haven’t eaten, have you?"
He hesitated. "I an... technically, I don’t need to."
Constance rolled her eyes. "We’re not talking about need. We’re talking about habit. You’re not one of those born-as-Immortal types who live off ambient Divinity alone. You were human. Like . And humans eat... You should continue eating even if you can just live with your Divinity. That makes your life more aningful."
Vale chuckled as he couldn’t really argue with that. "Fair enough."
He actually had a habit of eating food and drinking fine-tasting wines as well, so he could understand what she was saying.
"Good," she said, already walking toward the dining hall. "Because I had the servants prepare sothing earlier. Just in case you showed up."
Vale followed, the scent of roasted spirit herbs and stead spirit rice already drifting through the corridor.
"Your friend... Chaos Alchemist Maya... She really worked hard making this realm evolve or sothing. Starting from that Philosopher’s Elixir. Then, she turned to agriculture and changed nurous plants, herbs, and crops with her genetic engineering or sothing."
Vale blinked as he heard Maya’s na. He hadn’t expected Constance to bring her up so casually.
"She did all that already?" he asked, genuinely surprised. "I knew she was working on another huge project after the Philosopher’s Elixir, but I didn’t realize she’d moved on to agriculture too."
Constance nodded as they walked side by side through the corridor. "She’s been busy. After the elixir stabilized, she started experinting with crop enhancent. I heard she even created a new strain of Spirit Wheat that grows twice as fast and absorbs Holy Energy more efficiently. Those Priests suddenly beca fertilizers or sothing.."
Vale almost choked on his own saliva after hearing Constance say that so casually.
"That’s... impressive. I thought she was more focused on alchemy and combat applications."
"She was..." Constance replied. "But apparently, she got bored. Or maybe she just wanted to prove she could do more than blow things up."
Vale chuckled. "That sounds like her."
"She also helped redesign the irrigation system for the southern farms," Constance added. "And she’s been working with so of the beastkin on hybrid cultivation techniques. I think she’s trying to create a self-sustaining ecosystem that doesn’t rely on Arcane Crystals for this new race you brought to us."
Vale slowed his pace slightly, clearly impressed. "She’s really turning into a cornerstone of the realm."
Constance glanced at him for a brief mont... "You seem very interested in her progress."
Vale looked at her, confused for a mont, then realized what she ant.
"I’m just surprised," he said calmly. "I didn’t expect her to branch out so quickly. That’s all."
Constance gave a knowing smile. "Mm-hmm."
Vale didn’t press the subject. He knew better.
Constance waved a hand dismissively. "Anyway, enough about Maya. She’s not the one who brought talisman materials."
Vale smirked. "Noted."
They reached the dining hall just as the servants were finishing the final touches. The table was already set, and the aroma of spirit-infused dishes filled the air... It was warm, savory, and nostalgic...
’They’re food from Millton Kingdom...’ Vale thought as he looked at Constance. This woman really knew him well.
Constance gestured toward the seat across from hers. "Let’s eat... and don’t even think about skipping anything."
Vale took his seat without protest. "Wouldn’t dream of it."
And just like that, the conversation shifted away from other people or their responsibilities, into sothing simpler.
It beca just a shared al between two Immortals who still rembered what it ant to be human.
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