Lumi watched the scene with a complicated expression. He’d been so focused on the logistics. That was, getting Eden equipped, trained, and ready to fight. On making sure the boy survived what was coming.

He hadn’t really considered how Eden felt about all of this. Not entirely. He had been operating under the same logic he used for himself.

If Eden realized there was no other option, then he’d do the logical thing. But people never worked out so simply, did they?

What if Eden shut down emotionally? What if the pressure broke him before he ever had a chance to grow strong?

That would be a tragedy. Both strategically, and on a personal level. He owed Lena. In fact, he wanted to blurt out "Lena, I love you." on the spot. The only reason he didn’t, was because there was a clear moment going on that he shouldn’t interrupt.

Lumi made a mental note. He needed to pay more attention to Eden’s mental state going forward.

Merath stood quietly, observing the moment without interrupting. It was times like this that he should stay back and stay silent.

After what felt like a long time, Lena and Eden separated.

Eden wiped his eyes quickly, embarrassed. "Sorry. I shouldn’t have cried. I don’t know what came over me."

"Don’t apologize." Lena said gently. "It’s fine."

Eden took a shaky breath, then forced a small smile. "Thank you."

"No problem!" Lena’s cheerful demeanor returned instantly. She spun around to face Lumi. "Oh! Speaking of things, I should show you what I got from the vault!"

Eden made a small snort of amusement. The way Lena just moved on from him excitedly... he liked it. It took the attention off him, so he could gather himself while everyone else’s gazes were elsewhere.

She started pulling items out of her inventory one by one, laying them on a nearby table.

"Look at all this!" Lena gestured excitedly. "The pixie ancestors were super generous!"

Lumi looked over the items, then looked at her closer. "I never asked. How did you do it, exactly? I was sure it would be nearly impossible."

Lena grinned. "Oh, you know. Just J-Spoke."

Lumi blinked a few times. There was silence in the air. Everyone looked to Lumi to see what he would say. He took a deep breath. "J-spoke. Like J-walking. Right?"

"Exactly!" Lena nodded. "You remember!" She gestured at the items. "Now take a look!" 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

Lumi examined the collection. There were weapons, accessories, alchemical ingredients, and various other treasures.

"This is an impressive haul." Lumi admitted.

"Right?" Lena beamed. "I looted everything!"

She picked up a beautifully crafted dagger. "Like this! Pixie’s Fang! It’s got bind chance!"

Lumi nodded. "Good find."

Lena continued showing off items. The Necklace of Whispered Secrets. The Ring of Fraud. Various other pieces of equipment.

After she’d finished displaying everything, she pushed the entire collection toward Lumi. "Here! Take it all!"

Lumi blinked. "What?"

"You should have it!" Lena said matter of factly. "After all, you’re more important than me!"

"You shouldn’t sa-" Lumi’s words were interrupted.

Lena insisted. "But it’s true!"

"Hm?" Merath shifted his gaze towards the interaction. It was so curious. Why would she say something like that?

Lumi shook his head. "No. You earned this yourself. It’s yours."

"But-"

"No." Lumi was firm. "I won’t take your loot. You fought for it. You convinced the ancestral spirits. It belongs to you."

Lena pouted. "Now you’re just being silly! At least take some of it?"

Lumi considered for a moment. Lena would ironically use the Ring of Fraud better than him. The entire point of the ring was to make the wearer more believable.

He had already convinced those who he needed to convince.

Archmage Merath.

Empress Aria and her subordinates.

In fact, wearing the ring would have only harmed him, for they would have noticed the magic. However, Lena isn’t dealing with demigods that will notice such an effect.

She liked to act. And she was damn good at it. That much was clear given what she accomplished.

As for the robes, they were just stats, something he wasn’t desperately missing. Given his situation, he only had two current outcomes in battle.

Either the victory was never in doubt, which was the vast majority of every fight he ever got into. Or the defeat was so profound, that victory was impossible. The greatest example of such was when one of the Dark One’s elite guards came. He only survived because of Rena.

He did wonder what Rena was doing...

Ultimately, he made his decision. "I’ll take the Necklace of Whispered Secrets. And the Pixie’s Fang."

Lena seemed unconvinced. "Just those two?"

"Just those two." Lumi confirmed. "The rest is yours."

Lena sighed dramatically but accepted his decision. "Fine, fine."

She reached to begin undoing her robes, and then stopped. She realized where she was. "Ugh. Fine."

"?" No one even said anything to her, so they were confused about what she was talking about.

She slipped off away from the group, towards one of Merath’s infinite reading rooms. When she came back, her appearance had transformed. She looked significantly more powerful and imposing despite merely changing a robe and putting on a ring.

"How do I look?" Lena spun in place.

"Impressive." Lumi said honestly.

"Heehee!" Lena grinned.

But there were still several items on the table that hadn’t been addressed. Four miscellaneous items specifically.

A jar containing preserved pixie hearts.

A box of high-grade mana crystals.

A single legendary pixie wing.

And a suspicious vial of unknown liquid.

Lumi turned to Merath.

The ancient magician’s eye twitched slightly. He’d been watching this entire exchange, and he could tell what was coming.

He was being used as a workhorse. An expert craftsman and identifier who could process all these materials.

It bothered him slightly.

But he accepted the role. Because realistically, he was the correct option. He had the knowledge and skill to properly identify and utilize these items. It would be wasteful to let them sit unused.

"What do you need?" Merath asked, resigned to his fate.

Lumi gestured to the vial first. "Can you identify that?"

Merath picked up the suspicious container and examined it carefully. His eyes narrowed as he channeled magic into it, reading its properties.

After a moment, he spoke. "This is an extremely powerful and rare strengthening potion."

"Strengthening?" Lena perked up.

"Yes." Merath confirmed. "Anyone who drinks this will become stronger on the spot. Bypassing months, or potentially years of growth."

"Potentially?" Lena wanted elaboration.

He nodded. "It depends on the consumer’s original strength. It would barely do anything to me."

"When you say barely..." Lena egged on, wanting a more specific answer.

Merath took a deep breath. "If I drank it, I would receive no immediate power boost. At most, the next time I become marginally stronger might come a few hours earlier."

She gave him a cheerful smile. "Thank you for the explanation." She reached her hand to take the potion.

Merath pulled it away. "However, I advise you against drinking it."

Lena’s hand froze. "Why?"

"This potion was made for pixies." Merath explained. "Even considering the fact that they must have killed countless pixies to create it, the formula is specifically designed for pixie physiology."

He set the vial down carefully. "It would work on a human. The strengthening effect would still apply. But it might also kill you. The odds aren’t in your favor."

Lumi and Lena both smiled at the exact same time.

Might kill them?

Well, that wasn’t an issue.

Players didn’t stay dead. They respawned. A temporary death in exchange for permanent power was an excellent trade.

Merath noticed their expressions and sighed heavily. "One of you is going to drink it anyway, aren’t you?"

"Don’t worry." Lumi reassured the man. "I’ll bypass the effect."

Merath nodded. Finally, a real explanation was given to him. With that, he moved on. He picked up the jar of pixie hearts next.

His expression grew more somber as he examined them. "These are... technically alchemical ingredients."

"Technically?" That strange wording prompted Lena to ask.

"I don’t like using things like this." Merath admitted. "But they exist. And they can be useful. I might as well process them properly."

He looked at Lumi. "What would you like done with them?"

Lumi thought about it carefully. Pixie hearts were a niche ingredient. What they represented was clear though.

Heart meant lifeforce.

Pixie meant magic.

Therefore, they could be made into various things that combined those two concepts.

Given the quantity available, Lumi made his decision. "Can you make three sets of permanent magical strengthening potions? And turn the rest into buffs?"

Merath nodded. "That’s reasonable. I can have everything ready by tomorrow."

"Perfect." Lumi said.

Merath set the hearts aside and picked up the box of high-grade mana crystals. He opened it and examined the contents.

Twenty-three crystals, each one pulsing with concentrated magical energy.

"These are high quality." Merath noted. "What do you want done with them?"