PftA Book 4 - Chapter 51 - Mixed Feelings

“Wow. That was faster than I expected,” Bell said when she opened the door and saw me standing outside of her small apartment.

“I told you it wouldn’t take long,” I commented as I stepped inside. “The compound time dilation on Sira is no joke.”

“Clearly,” Bell said as she shut the door behind me. “I actually just started on the first set of reagents if you want to give me a hand.” She paused for a moment before adding, “Actually, it would be better if we could relocate to your workshop in your… you know.”

“Demesne?”

“That’s a good term for it,” Bell said with a nod. “Yeah, so it would probably be better to work there to take advantage of the time dilation and the denser ambient mana.”

“I was thinking a short vacation would be nice before we jump right into things,” I said as I followed her to the workstation she’d set up. “I’ve just spent a couple of subjective weeks in a rift, and I could really use a break.”

Bell winced at my comment and looked down at the ingredients she’d just started processing. Nothing had been combined yet, so she could stop without losing anything.

“I don’t mind processing everything on my own while you take a break. You don’t care if I’m in your space without you, right?”

It might seem like an odd question, but I really didn’t mind. I trusted Bell enough to leave her alone inside my pocket dimension. I’d even return the door leading to the rest of the space if she wanted.

“I don’t mind, but I was thinking maybe you’d want to visit your family back on Earth,” I said carefully.

She’d already rejected me once, but I knew that part of her would regret it if she didn’t visit with her family before using the formation.

Bell shrugged. “I mean, not really. It’s been a long time, and most of them have forgotten about me. I didn’t do a very good job of keeping in touch after Justin died.”

“That’s all the more reason you should see them before you use the formation,” I replied with a slight frown.

For someone who was so family-oriented that she almost didn’t leave Earth because she didn’t want to leave her extended family behind, her refusal to see them now struck me as strange.

“Look, I really don’t feel comfortable going to visit them after all this time. They’ve moved on with their lives, and it’s been so long… I wouldn’t even know what to say to them. I’d rather just go visit afterward, when I’m back on Earth.”

“You’re still targeting the third of April?” I asked, referencing the day the system arrived for the majority of Earth. Identifying the year was pointless since it was obvious.

“That’s the plan,” Bell agreed. “It seems like the best target, even though I’ll still have to wait a while before I see Justin again. At least it won’t be weird that I miss him so much.” She glanced at me before looking away. “I considered shifting it to when the boys were born, but then I wouldn’t be able to explain things to you properly since you’ll already be in the dungeon.”

“I appreciate the consideration,” I said, unsure why she seemed so weird about everything all of a sudden. Did she want me to change her mind?

Bell hurriedly collected the materials she was working with, along with several other items that were lying around.

Bell cleared her throat. “I wouldn’t be opposed to taking a short break if you wanted to go hang out at the underwater hotel you took your Mom and Kaylee to,” she said with a suppressed grin.

I chuckled and wrapped my arm around my sister-in-law’s shoulders. The contact wasn’t necessary, but it did make it a little easier to move her into my demesne.

When we appeared, Bell glanced around the room and said, “You changed the layout. Is my room the same?”

“Yes, I put the bedroom set you claimed in the spare room over there,” I told her, pointing toward a door.

Bell nodded in acknowledgment, but instead of heading to her room, she turned in the direction of the stairs leading to the crafting floor.

“Cool. I’ll get settled in later. Do you want to help me set up, or do you have other things you need to do?”

“I have to set up my anchor points again,” I replied. “Going into the rift reset everything.”

“I was wondering why you knocked on the door instead of just showing up inside like normal.”

“Well, I was trying to be polite,” I said as I followed her down the stairs. “Most people don’t appreciate others just appearing inside their homes unexpectedly.”

“You could have sent a message,” she pointed out.

“True,” I conceded. I watched as she picked one of the larger workstations and started unloading materials. “I’ll be in and out for a bit, so go ahead and get started without me. I’ll probably check in with Zavira while I’m on Aegeas, so don’t be surprised if she pops in for a bit.”

“Sounds good. Oh, don’t forget to message your mom,” Bell reminded me. “She’s been super worried since you entered the rift.”

I sighed and agreed to reach out. Though Mom had done well with the power-leveling trip, it was clear that she still had a long way to go, especially when it came to rifts. I doubted she’d ever enter another one willingly.

It was sad since her aversion severely limited her options for progression.

I left Bell to work on the reagents for her formation while I reset my most important anchors by teleporting in and out of the pocket dimension in various locations.

“Hey, Mom!” I said through the call while I was between teleports. I’d decided to contact her first since she should be on lunch break if my calculations were correct.

“Hey, Emie! You’re out of the rift already?”

“Yep! I told you it wouldn’t take long,” I said before launching into an explanation of the challenges we faced inside.

“Well, puzzles don’t sound so bad, but I don’t know about killing monsters that look like people.”

“Yeah, it wasn’t my favorite thing, either,” I agreed as I manually entered my assigned apartment for the second time ever. I usually just teleported. “The reward was nice. I got to keep most of a hydra, which will be handy for crafting.”

“Well, that’s good,” she replied. “What are you up to now?”

“I’m just resetting some stuff at my apartment,” I replied a bit vaguely. “They had me move to a new one under a fake name to prevent any potential privacy leaks.”

“That’s probably a good idea,” Mom said. “Word about your affinities has even gotten here. I’ve had several people approach me about you and your ‘exceptional affinities’ due to our connection. Not a lot of people know that you’re my daughter, but those who do seem to be spreading the information around. It’s annoying.”

“Sorry about that.”

“Don’t be sorry. It isn’t your fault someone shared your private information, and now everyone’s being nosy.”

“Hey, I was thinking of stopping by for lunch someday soon. Which day would be best for you?” I asked, hoping to shift the topic. “We can go somewhere new; that way, we don’t have to deal with people bothering us.”

“Probably Thirday?” she suggested. “It tends to be the slowest day of the week.”

We chatted for a few minutes longer as I reset the micro-portal linking my demesne to my apartment on Aegeas. It was pretty quick since the infrastructure was already in place.

After finalizing our plans, I said goodbye and teleported to Zavira’s sect. Since my mana signature was already on file as an authorized guest, the local network didn’t react aggressively to my unexpected arrival.

I just stayed long enough to wave at the guards before returning to my pocket dimension. They were probably confused by my momentary appearance, but I was sure it would be fine. Just in case, though, I reached out to Zavira and explained what happened.

“That’s interesting – that your storage would reset like that, I mean,” Zavira said once I finished describing what I’d done.

“It is,” I agreed. “I’m a little bummed that I can’t cheat my way into visiting people outside of the dungeon or even just communicate in real-time from inside my demesne. That would have made the last two floors so much better.”

“I agree. It’s too bad.”

“Hey, what are you up to right now, anyway?” I asked.

“I’m actually getting dressed for dinner with the Patriarch. I was invited to the main hall tonight.”

“Oh, that’s exciting,” I said with wide eyes.

From what I understood of the Hephaistos Sect, it wasn’t common for disciples or regular elders to be invited to the main hall for a meal. The main hall was for special occasions only, which made me wonder what the sudden invitation was about.

Surely, Zavira would have mentioned it if she’d known about the dinner in advance.

“I think the Patriarch is going to formally announce my betrothal,” she said, sensing my curiosity.

“Already?” I asked. “I thought Kestin wanted to wait until he reached Tier Six?”

“He does, but we’ve both agreed to the engagement, so announcing it now wouldn’t make much of a difference.”

I felt a mix of emotions at the news. It wasn’t like I didn’t know it was coming, but hearing the announcement was going to be made public made everything feel more real.

“As long as you’re happy,” I said.

“I am. It’s a good match.”

I smiled grimly and was glad that my best friend couldn’t see my expression. I really was happy for her, even if I felt a whole slew of other emotions mixed in.

The worst was a hint of jealousy, which I certainly did not want to feel when it came to my best friend’s relationship.

“Well, I guess I’ll let you get to it. Let me know how the dinner goes.”

“I will. I’ll call you tomorrow.”