Chapter 105 - One Week

Chapter 105: Chapter 105 - One Week

Evening.

The front doors of the mansion clicked open as Maelle, Gwen, and Ava returned from their day at the Academy. Toby, Leo, and Zally hurried into the hallway to greet them, taking their jackets and bags.

"Ughhhhh..." Feeling utterly exhausted, Ava stumbled into the lounge, practically dragging her feet across the rug as she unceremoniously collapsed onto the couch right next to Vincent.

"Damn. You good, Ava?"

"My day was so painfully boring without you... Those professors talk for hours about magical theory... maths... and other junk I don’t care for. I was practically dying to come home to my handsome angel, hehe~"

"Come on, it couldn’t have been that bad. Isn’t this stuff you already know since you’re... y’know... a grown woman."

"It was worse!" She dramatically reached out to wrap her arms around his. "It was pure torture! I bet Lulu was treated better than what I went through... My soul was crying out for your warmth!"

"Yeesh, how dramatic."

Suddenly, Maelle walked and stopped right in front of Ava.

She stood tall, crossing her arms beneath her chest as she glared down at the succubus with an unblinking stare.

The intimidating aura radiating off her made Ava’s whining freeze. Sweat broke out on the back of her neck as she slowly let go of Vincent. And smiled sheepishly.

"U-Uh... Good evening, bestie... How can I help you?"

"......."

Maelle didn’t say a word. She simply continued to stare down at her.

Under the unbearable pressure, Ava quickly scooted three full feet to the side. "I-It’s yours! Haha! I’m taking my leave! The seat is all yours!"

Without missing a beat, Maelle dropped gracefully onto the sofa right in the exact spot Ava had just vacated.

She then casually leaned her head sideways, resting it squarely against Vincent’s shoulder. Her expression remained unbothered as if she hadn’t just forcefully displaced her companion through sheer intimidation.

Vincent’s heart went into overdrive, hammering so violently against his ribs he was convinced she could hear it.

’Urgh! What’s going on?Why am I like this? I already have Nat and Dee. How does she keep making me feel this way?’

To fight off his nerves and hide his burning face, Vincent extended his right arm over her shoulder, and pulled her closer against his side.

Maelle looked up at him from his shoulder, and smiled beautifully.

’JESUS CALM MY SOUL!’

Though he shrieked inside, he managed to force a breaking cool smile and asked. "R-Rough day at the Academy?"

"Did your voice just crack?"

"No. You must be hearing things."

"... Hmm. Well, as you can see from Ava’s reaction, my day was tiring as well."

As the group gathered around the living room, Vincent cleared his throat and steered the focus back to practical matters.

"So, while you were at the Academy today. Roxa and I took a walk into the Imperial City. We found a potential forge for our future Guild."

Maelle raised her head from his shoulder slightly, her violet eyes glinting with keen interest. "A forge? Already? I’m glad to see you are taking this seriously."

"Indeed," Roxa spoke up, stepping forward and unslinging a leather bundle from her hip.

She set several exquisitely crafted daggers, arrows, and a polished steel chest-guard onto the table. "We visited a shop named Ironhammer Trinkets and Arms. It is operated by a dwarven smith, Barkly, and his daughter, Ellyn."

Gwen leaned over the table, picking up one of the silver-hilted daggers. She ran her thumb along the flat of the blade as she inspected the metal.

"The folded steel is exceptionally well done, Your Highness. "I’m sure you know this, but dwarven craftsmanship is renowned for their resiliency and holding elemental enchantments without structural fatigue."

"Barkly and Ellyn were pretty ecstatic at the mere prospect of working for you, Maelle," Vincent added. "If we offer them an exclusive supply contract for our Guild, they’ll happily forge all our gear and handle repairs."

Maelle picked up one of the arrows, and examined it carefully. She looked over at Vincent and Roxa. "Is this smithy affiliated with any noble houses or existing guild monopolies? I cannot risk compromised supply lines or rival consumers."

Vincent looked over at Roxa, scratching his cheek sheepishly. "Uhhh... To be honest with you... we didn’t ask them the specifics."

"However," Roxa chimed in, "they mentioned that their shop barely has any customers, and that it’d be foolish of them not to take the contract with us."

Maelle nodded slowly, setting the arrow back down onto the table. "While this gear is undeniably promising, I shall inspect the shop and meet these dwarves myself before signing any contracts. However... given our current lack of prospects, if their loyalties are clean, I will likely hire them based on your recommendation."

Roxa offered a cool, satisfied nod. "A wise decision, Your Highness."

Vincent let out a happy grin, pumping his fist softly. "Awesome. Step one of the Guild plan is officially in motion."

...

Later that night, inside Maelle’s bedroom.

Sitting on the edge of her bed, she looked up as Vincent stood before her, his posture relaxed yet serious.

"You mentioned earlier this morning that you had something important to discuss with me. What is it?"

"Yeah. Hmm... How do I say this? Maelle... I request a full one-week leave of absence."

Maelle’s eyes widened slightly, her posture tensing beneath her clothes. "A week? Why so sudden? Where are you going? What’s going on?"

"Nothing bad. It’s just. I need to go back to my home world," Vincent explained gently, sitting down on the edge of the mattress beside her.

"I need to speak with the deity overseer of Earth and officially sync the time dilation between my home world, the Divine Realm, and in turn, Pristina."

"Time dilation? What’s the difference between our worlds?"

"To give you the TLDR... I was born a human on a mortal planet called Earth," Vincent began. "Later, I discovered I was actually a demigod – born from a human father and a celestial goddess mother. Because of that, I ended up spending five hundred years in the Divine Realm with my mother, since she isn’t allowed to leave without an important celestial reason."

"Five hundred years...? But, your family back on earth... Wait, the dilation...."

"Yep. Now you see it. And that’s where the problem lies."

"Why Pristina, though? Why is our world connected to the ’Divine Realm’s’ clock?"

"I don’t know the entire story yet. But apparently, back when the Tyrant King was defeated by my parents and their party centuries ago, a rogue god of Pristina caused massive chaos.

"My parents defeated that god... but in order to keep a watchful eye on this planet without missing anything, the Supreme Goddess of the Divine Realm forcibly synced the time flow of Pristina with the Divine Realm. Because of that, Pristina and the Divine Realm’s time are one, but when compared to earth..."

"I see... So when you sync Earth’s time, you will be linking all three realms into a single, unified flow?"

"Exactly."

"So why one week? Just how bad is the time dilation?"

"1 day on earth equals 100 years out here."

"... What?"

"Yep. And I did a rough calculation. One week here in Pristina is equal to a little over an hour and a half back on Earth. That hour and a half is the exact window I need to sit down with the Earth deity and figure out what he wants in return for synchronizing the times."

Maelle sat in silence for a long moment, looking down at her hands resting on her lap.

One week...

A quiet, lingering pang of loneliness hit her chest at the thought of him being gone for seven entire days. For him, it would feel like a mere moment... a brief conversation... but for her, it would feel like an eternity.

Yet, Maelle swallowed the quiet ache, looking up at him with unshakeable respect and understanding.

"Okay..." she murmured softly. "I understand, Vincent. Your responsibility to your home and family is true. A true partnership between us requires trust across all planes. You have permission to depart. I won’t summon you for a week."

"Maelle..."

"While you are gone, the rest of us here will handle the registration and logistics for our new Guild. We shall not idle in your absence."

Unable to hold back his affection any longer, Vincent reached out and pulled her into a tight embrace. "Thank you for understanding, Maelle. Seriously. That’s a big weight off my chest."

When he pulled back slightly, their eyes locked together in the dim firelight. Moved by the quiet magic of the moment, Vincent leaned down and pressed a lingering kiss onto her lips.

Maelle, as well, melted against his chest as her fingers gently gripped his shirt.

When their lips finally parted, Vincent looked directly into her eyes and whispered. "I love you, Maelle."

A vivid, pink flush bloomed across her cheeks. She looked away awkwardly, feeling her heart flutter violently as she tried to form a proper response.

"I... I... Uhm..."

Her usual regal composure crumbled into adorable fluster. When she found her resolve, she cleared her throat and looked back at him with serious eyes. "I... I hold strong feelings for you as well, Vincent."

"... Hah?"

"......"

"Heh. I’ll take it, I guess." Vincent shrugged with a smirk.

"Good. Now, go fulfill your duty."

"See you in one week, Princess."

With a soft hum of magic, Maelle conjured her summoning circle and uttered the word "Return."

The Familiar crest on Vincent’s neck shone with gently golden light, wrapping his body in a column of divine summoning energy as his recall initiated.

SHEEN!

"..... *Sigh*."

creak...

Just then, the bedroom door suddenly cracked open. Ava and Eugene poked their heads into the room.

"Heeey... Are you guys finished with your secret private talk yet~?" Ava cooed playfully, adjusting her glasses.

Maelle quickly composed herself and returned to her regal posture. "Yes, we just finished, Ava. Vincent has been dismissed. He shall not return until next week."

"WHAT?!"

THUD!

Ava collapsed onto the floor right in the doorway in dramatic despair, clutching her head and whining hysterically. "NOOOOO! A WHOLE WEEK WITHOUT MY ANGEL?! WHY?! DID YOU FIGHT AGAIN?! I’M GOING TO DIE OF LONELINESS!"

"No, we did not fight. He has business to take care of."

Meanwhile, Eugene realised he hadn’t been recalled back to the Divine Realm alongside Vincent.

The tiny green dragon froze for a second before a sinister, high-pitched, and evil laugh erupted from his snout.

"Heh... hehehe... Hahaha! GAHAHAHAHA! THE BLUE-HEAD IS GONE! I HAVE A FULL WEEK OF VACATION IN THE MORTAL REALM! NO MORE BOSSING ME AROUND! NO MORE LECTURES! NO MORE THREATS! THE WORLD IS MINE!"

"VINCENT!!! COME BACK!! WAAAHHHH!!"

"Urgh... Please get out of my room..."