"Yes, but l would still need to co up with an excuse for not having a ged a day and you know how embarrassing it is to ask an ex for a f avor. I guess l have to give up on the painting." Solus said too quickly t o be believable.
"l don't think so.“ Lith shook his head.
"l think you should go and et t his guy. He could help you rember your past. We'll co up with s o bullshit while we are on our way. Worst—case scenario, just use y our amnesia as an excuse."
He was happy at the idea of Solus eting her ex and maybe even r enewing their relationship. lt would have been a huge step forward i n becoming independent from him and getting her own life.
Solus opened her mouth and then closed it several tis, never s aying a word. On one hand, she wanted the painting and her m emories back. On the other hand, she was afraid of what her ex w ould say about her old self.
"I agree with Lith here." Salaark said. "Aerth is a ?ne young man and a g reat Forgemaster. He's one of the most promising mbers of my r esearch and developnt team. l know that you are working on the m emory crystals and so is he.
"You could get there, chat a bit about the past and your work. You h ave a lot in common.“
"Fine young man?" Lith echoed. "Isn't he like one millennium old?"
"Nah, just over 700 years old. For an Awakened Phoenix, he is a lovely l ittle runt." The Overlord said with a warm smile on her face, r embering the day her child had been born.
"He has beco famous as a problem solver and many mages look for h im to have a second opinion about their research. You are lucky to h ave the opportunity to et him."
"I agree." Lith nodded.
"Just one word of advice. Aerth is a Blue Phoenix who beca known a s ‘the bluebird of happiness’ since whoever found him went ho w ith the answer they were looking for, but if you ntion it to him, h e'll kick you out."
Lith and Solus chuckled at the once glorious nickna. In recent y ears, "the bluebird of happiness" had been chosen as the na of a p otion of obvious color used to solve a recurring problem that so m en past a certain age had to reach happiness in bed.
‘Your ex has unwittingly beco the poster boy for Mogar's e quivalent of Wyagra.' Lith inwardly laughed.
‘Poor fellow.‘ Solus chuckled. ‘In his shoes, I would get irritable as w ell.’
"Thanks, Grandma. l think I'll follow your advice.“ She said with a sigh, u nwilling to run away from her past. "Where can we ?nd Aerth?"
"His lab is several hundreds of kiloters to the west of here, but you c an reach it directly via the Warp Gate. Unlike my tribes, a mana g eyser can't walk so the mbers of my nest have all their own t ransportation device." Salaark replied, handing them a traveling p ermit.
"This way you don't have to waste ti looking for him and you are f ree not to tell him about the tower. The mana geyser should be more t han enough to sustain you, Solus."
"Off we go, then." Lith gave Salaark a bow and a few sweets that he h ad kept for the party before leaving.
"Not so fast." The Overlord said.
"l know that you guys went on a m ission recently and I bet that you've gotten yourself so loot. Do y ou want to recycle it for you?"
"We thought you were in a bad mood and we didn't want to bother y ou further.“ Solus replied.
“Sorry for earlier." Salaark sighed. "l‘m still pissed off at a rude jerk, a nd pregnancy doesn't help. Since you are already here, there's no r eason to waste your and my ti with a second trip."
Lith had her use Creation Magic to tum all the armor he had c ollected into pure Adamant, keeping only one of them to study it.
The weapons, instead, he kept them as they were.
"Lith, do you mind if we go back to the tower for a while before v isiting Aerth? There's sothing I need to tell you." Solus ?dgeted w ith her hair, acting so awkward and embarrassed that Lith feared s he wanted to confess to him.
"Not at all. It's your birthday and today I'm at your service.“ He replied g iving her a warm smile and a bow worthy of a butler.
"Thank you."
Once they entered the kitchen, it took her a strong liquor spiked with s o tea to ?nd the courage to co clean with him about what she h ad learned about her past from Malyshka and Silverwing.
"The part from Silverwing I knew because we fused right after you m et her. As for the rest, l didn't know about the mories you have r ecovered, but I ?gured it out by myself from your reactions." Lith s hrugged it off, leaving her ?abbergasted.
"I've tornted myself for so long and you already knew? Why didn't y ou tell ?" Solus asked.
"Because your past personal life is none of my business. Back then y ou were a different person, but a good one nonetheless. On top of t hat, I have no right to force you to open up to . I waited for you t o feel comfortable enough." He replied.
"What about the..." She couldn't ?nish the phrase, her cheeks tud p urple.
"You were a grieving angry teen." Lith chuckled. "You have seen a fter Carl died. I used prescription drugs but drugs nonetheless. Does t hat make you uncomfortable around ?"
Solus shook her head.
"Then there's nothing you have to be ashad of. The past is in the p ast and this is your life now. Anything else?"
"No, but since we're already talking of personal stuff, I vividly recall h aving boyfriends and girlfriends. Which seems a bit odd to since I h ave yet to ?nd a woman that I consider attractive in a sexual way."
Solus shrugged.
On the one hand, the piece of news reinforced I.ith's determination to ?nd a way to make her independent from him. He didn't ?nd it odd, b ecause being bonded to him, Solus had never had anyone in her m ind but him, clouding her judgnt.
On the other hand, he couldn't stop picturing her with Kamila, both w earing nothing but a smile. His expression was one of great c oncentration and focus, as if he was pondering the mysteries of life a nd death.
"Why are you making your perverted face?" Solus‘ voice snapped him o ut of it.
"I need to get laid. Big ti.“ He replied, making her chuckle.
Thanks to the Warp Gate, they reached Aerth's lab in a second.
Salaark had announced their arrival and the master of the volcano was w aiting for them. Yet when he saw Solus, his jaw dropped to the ?oor a nd his eyes went wide.
"Thank the Great Mother you're alive Elphyn, I had thought to have l ost you forever." He threw away the book he was reading and hugged h er, failing to lift her up like in the old tis.
Aerth the Blue Phoenix looked like a man in his mid-twenties, about
1.86 ters (6'l") tall, with a lean build, black eyes, and bright blue hair t hat looked out of an ani. He had handso features and eyes b rimming with intelligence.
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