"Have it delivered to my home. If it’s a problem, I’ll have someone come to pick it up." "That’s not the name you used earlier." Hida paled a little, looking at the stranger with a mix of marvel and distrust. ’I would doubt his identity if he tried to buy on credit, but he’s paying up front much more than what he’s buying. What point there would be spending money and putting his neck on the chopping block?’ She thought while taking a long look at the stranger’s face. ’I must admit he is quite handsome, but Magus Verhen is-’ "I lied." Lith said while covering half his face with an open hand and making two extra eyes appear on that side. "I’m sure it can’t be your first time, Hida." The woman froze on the spot as black scales formed on Lith’s cheek and fangs flashed in his mouth. "No, sir." "Drop the honorifics." Lith removed his hand and restored his human appearance. "As you’ve probably guessed, I’m undercover. I’ll advertise your restaurant, but only if that doesn’t affect my regular supply of beer, are we clear?" 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺 "Yes, sir. Thank you, sir." Hida had guessed nothing, her brain was still frozen from the shock of the revelation and the embarrassment of how she had addressed the Magus earlier. "Uncle Lith, that’s blackmail!" Frey rebuked him. "No, that’s making a deal, young man." Lith replied. "I’m not doing anything bad if she refuses. I’m doing something good if she accepts. There’s a big difference." "Sounds mean to me." Frey replied. "You are more powerful and richer than her. Can’t you just be kind?" "It’s not mean, little buddy, it’s life." Lith shook his hand. "If you start giving away what you have for nothing, soon you’ll have nothing. Remember my words but never tell your mother I teach you this kind of stuff." "Pinkie promise." Filia and Frey sealed their vow while chuckling. "Is Mom that scary?" Filia asked. "Not at all." Lith replied. "Your Aunt is. Because, you see, even after Zin leaves, I still live with Kami." "Don’t worry about me." Tezka finished his beer as the kids still laughed. "My lips are sealed. Filia and Frey need to learn to thicken their skin and I can’t count on Zogar for that." "Doesn’t he spend time with the kids?" Lith was unpleasantly surprised. "Dad always finds time for us!" Filia’s hilarity was instantly replaced by outrage. "Don’t badmouth him, Uncle Tezka." "I’m not and I’ve never said that." The Fylgja sighed as Hida was more confused by the second about the Verhen family tree. "It’s just that Zogar is an Archmage and whenever he hangs out with the kids, he makes it a fairy tale experience. "There’s no such thing as eating cobbler on the corner of a street and talking about the unpleasantries of life. His approach is… soft." "Vastor as in Zogar Vastor?" Hida blurted out in surprise, drawing the attention on herself. She had heard the name many times since the War of the Griffons but when the kids had mentioned him, Hida was thinking about a citizen of Lutia, not an Archmage war hero who lived thousands of kilometers away. "Yes." Frey nodded. "Maybe we should go. It’s not nice discussing family matters in public." "I’m sorry, young master, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop." Hida bowed deeply, ashamed of her own behavior. "It was a good cobbler." Frey felt bad for her and realized why Lith had used a fake name. "Have a nice day, miss Hida." Lith paid the bill, leaving the gold coin to be used only for the future beer supply. He couldn’t drink for nine months, but dimensional amulets would preserve the brews until the baby boy was born and beyond. The kids and Tezka left one copper coin each as a tip for the good service. It wasn’t custom in the Kingdom, but Vastor had taught them to be grateful for the work of those who allowed them to have a comfortable life. After all, three copper coins were nothing to them but a lot to Hida. "Oh, gods." The woman said the moment she deemed her customers were far away enough not to hear her. "Oh, gods. Oh, gods! Oshek! You’ll never believe what just happened." She was right. Her husband didn’t believe her. A talking wolf, a poorly dressed Magus, and the children of an Archmage all sitting at one table, and somehow all blood-related, sounded like the start of a bad joke. "How come I’m the one who brews the beer yet you are drunk?" Oshek said with a sneer. "Can alcohol do this?" At least until she put the gold coin on the counter. "Good gods!" He gasped. "There must be a leak in the brewery and we are high on alcohol vapors. It’s the only plausible explana-" Hida pinched and twisted his hand painfully enough to dispel any illusion of drunken stupor. "This is real. This is definitely real." Oshek massaged his hand. "We must rename our restaurant to commemorate this moment. What about the Drinking Wolf?" "It points to your beers and gives us an excuse to tell this incredible story." Hida nodded. "We’re going to be rich!" And so, the Drinking Wolf beer brand was born. The restaurant only remained as a side hustle, but Hida and Oshek did become rich from their brewery. The Drinking Wolf brand gave Lutia prestige and many struggling people an honest job, but this is a story for another day. *** "So, how is living with the legendary Ripha Menadion?" Zinya and Kamila wore simple light cotton day dresses due to the summer’s heat. Of course, those were actually enchanted armor shapeshifted into farmer clothes. Zinya still kept the old dresses she had bought back when she lived in Lutia and Kamila hated the attention. "Weird, to use and understatement." The two sisters had reached the commercial district and were window shopping, commenting on the new fashion for shoes and clothes. "Don’t get me wrong. It’s not like she harasses me. I barely see Ripha. "She spends most of her time with Solus and what’s left with her friends. Aside from the meals and when she helps me with the babies, we barely interact." "Then how does she make it weird?" Zinya patted Tezka’s head in apology. The huge magical wolf-fox guaranteed them privacy and space at the cost of his peace. Tezka hated crowded places and liked gossip even less. "I don’t know." Kamila sighed. "She hasn’t said anything specific, but every time we feed or change the babies, I get the feeling she resents me for taking her daughter’s place." "Solus? With Lith?" Zinya was flabbergasted, mostly because she had no knowledge of the tower or the real relationship between them. "That’s disgusting! Aren’t they blood relatives?" "Yeah, split by a thousand years and half a continent." Kamila snorted. "You are probably more related to Zogar than Lith is to Solus." Which was true. Menadion’s bloodline had been frozen in time long before Lith’s paternal and maternal sides of the family moved to Lutia. "Also, can you blame her? I mean, they are both mages, they spend a lot of time together, and, more importantly, they met back when we had already broken up." Kamila sighed.