"Are you having twins like Aunt Quylla’s or triplets like Sis Rena’s?" Aran asked. "Why didn’t you wait for Bodya to share the news with us?"
"I’m not pregnant!" Tista blushed wildly once she realized the misunderstanding. "I was talking about... female parts."
"Ah, you an breasts." Aran said in disappointnt. "I’ll never understand why everyone makes a huge fuss about them."
"You will, son, you will." Raaz patted Aran’s shoulder. "Give yourself ti."
While the male side of the table placed bets on the when and who would draw Aran’s eye on that fateful day, the female side glared at their respective companions.
"I don’t understand it either." Leria observed the tension in the room in confusion. "Maybe, when I grow up, we can solve this mystery together, Aran."
"Oh, no, you won’t!" Rena snarled like a lioness, scaring both children. "I an, don’t worry, pumpkin. It will all be clear in due ti."
***
A few minutes and a double serving of ice cream with cookies to bury the follow-up questions under a groaning stomach, Lith felt that sothing had changed inside the tower.
"Finally! I can’t believe it took so long." A snap of his fingers Warped him, Solus, Kamila, Ripha, Silverwing, and Baba Yaga to the Thievery.
"What did you expect?" Solus clicked her tongue. "We are talking about a Ruler of the Flas class artifact, and you always prioritize the Spark. It hogs most of the power, leaving only the scraps for the Thievery."
"About that..." The white cores stared at nadion in annoyance.
"Not this again!" Ripha rolled her eyes. "I’ve already said I’m sorry countless tis. The floor already exists, and what’s done is done. Give it a rest, girls."
"About that..." Baba Yaga’s and Silverwing’s eyes narrowed.
"Please?" Solus unleashed her puppy eyes technique. "For ?"
"Fine." The two white cores grunted but dropped the subject.
"Thanks, Malyshka. Thanks, Aunt Loka!" Solus hugged them in turns. "We can’t wait to share it with you."
"Share?" They echoed in unison, starting to feel annoyed by their prolonged synchrony.
"Share." Lith nodded. "This is sothing worthy of a Ruler of the Flas, and it has no value to us. Not with the Eyes of nadion at our disposal."
He waved at the artifact he had taken as spoils of war from the Verendi Awakened who had tried to kill Elina. The goggles doubled Life Vision’s range without side effects and could double it again in exchange for losing the resolution of runes.
An Awakened could still tell the power and elents of a spell or an enchantnt, but would have no idea of its purpose.
"Why don’t you pass it as yours?" Silverwing asked. "You would beco a Ruler of the Flas and earn massive profits."
"For several reasons, the first of which is our pride as Forgemasters." Lith said. "If Solus and I ever beco a Ruler of the Flas, it will be because we created sothing great and shared it. Stealing is cheap and humiliating."
"I couldn’t agree more." Solus brimd with pride while her mother mumbled gloomily. "Also, the real inventor could co forward and call us thieves and frauds. We checked. The guy is still alive and selling the goggles for a fortune a pop."
"Before making a decision, however, we want the opinion of the most brilliant minds we know who won’t refuse to answer due to preserving the balance or other nonsense." Lith said, drawing the glares of the Guardians on himself.
They hadn’t been invited, but had joined the group nonetheless to witness history in the making.
"Why are you glaring at like that?" Lith crossed his arms. "I haven’t said anything that isn’t true. Lochra gave birth to the Magus title by sharing her legacy, and Ripha gave birth to the title of Ruler of the Flas.
"It’s because of Lochra that the Awakened needed Ripha’s help to keep their edge on fake mages. In a way, the titles of Magus and Ruler of the Flas are born and strengthened by each other."
"That’s not the part we’re unhappy about." Leegaain grunted. "Please, don’t mind us and continue."
"Let get this straight." nadion said. "You just want to claim you looted this thing, cracked the cloaking runes, and reveal its power core to the public?"
"Exactly." Solus replied. "Awakened assassins buy and use them every day. We are adding no new threat to our lives, just evening the playing field. The question is, do we claim we did it ourselves or do we use a strawman to avoid making more enemies?"
"Excellent question." nadion pondered. "I’m the best strawman candidate. I’m a Ruler of the Flas, and I’m allegedly at Lith’s service. It would surprise no one if I claid I cracked the code."
"That was the idea." Lith said. "It would give us plausible deniability while also proving our value to the Awakened community. They resent us for sharing Void Magic, but this thing can only be used by Awakened.
"On top of that, by releasing and revealing it to the public, I have a plausible explanation for what I discover from a distance with the Eyes of nadion in the future. I can claim it’s due to the effect of the goggles and my own eyes."
"Doesn’t this thing have a na?" Ripha asked.
"I’m sure it does, but I didn’t ask it before I killed the guys. Grandpa?" Lith turned to Leegaain.
"It’s called Spyglasses." He replied with a snort.
"Spyglasses?" Baba Yaga’s face twisted in disapproval. "It’s the least imaginative na I’ve heard in a long while. It’s sothing I would expect from Ripha."
"Yaga!" nadion blushed.
"She’s right." Silverwing said. "I an, you called your glasses the Eyes, your gloves the Hands, and so on. Had you made male underwear, you would have called it the Di-"
"Enough!" nadion beca beet red up to her ears. "Back to the topic at hand, please."
"One question." Baba Yaga stopped mocking her friend and turned serious. "Are you sure you don’t mind drawing Verendi’s ire even more?"
"Please, they already hate my guts." Lith snorted. "They bla for the death of their previous Council Elders, the descent of the Eldritches, Ileza’s defeat, and even for Tyris’ massacre of the new Council.
"It can’t get any worse than that. Besides, the Spyglasses are already on sale. It’s not a matter of making them available to the public. Only of making the Spyglasses more affordable.
"It will bring fa and leniency from Garlen’s and Jiera’s Awakened Councils. Pissing off Verendi is just the icing on the cake."
"Good thinking." Silverwing nodded. "Those bastards deserve it. First, they stole Ripha’s Mouth, and then they tried to kill Solus. And don’t get started on their attempt on Elysia’s life."
"Then don’t." The Guardian snarled, their blood boiling at the mory.
"Yet I have a suggestion." Silverwing continued. "Don’t give Ripha too much credit, or you’ll get even more people to ss with your family to get her services. Claim that she did it only thanks to my help, Yaga’s, or maybe Fyrwal’s.
"After all, Ripha is helping the Hydra bloodline with their research on the Harmonizers, and the Hydras will never turn down the opportunity to improve their reputation as Forgemasters."
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