"I am back~" Ace sang and quickly rushed towards Gracie who was playing on the carpet with her toys.
"Ehehe~" Gracie giggled as soon as she saw Ace running towards her and extended her hands towards Ace, signaling him to carry her. Ace complied and carried her into his strong but gentle embrace and patted her head.
"You missed papa?" Ace questioned in a playful tone as he pocked Gracie's cheeks with his fingers.
"Ehehe~" Gracie giggled while 2 cute dimples appeared on either side of her cheeks.
"Welcome back, hubby" Maeve greeted Ace with a big smile as she appeared from her kitchen.
"My empress" Ace bowed lightly and Maeve giggled.
"Lunch is ready, you want to have some?" Maeve questioned.
"How can I not? You made it especially for me after all" Ace smiled.
"Hmph! Keep dreaming, I made it for my Gracie" Maeve refuted with a smile.
"Oh my, the empress is shy! That's a rare sight!" Ace commented and Maeve's face turned light red.
"Alright! If you want to eat then sit down or else don't disturb the mother-daughter pair" Maeve stated quickly and turned around.
Ace shook his head and sat on the seat as he placed Gracie on his lap. Maeve returned with covered plates, increasing Ace's anticipation.
"Don't uncover until I bring everything!" Maeve declared strictly to which Ace just nodded.
Maeve turned around and left before returning again, bringing some more plates while Ace played with Gracie.
"Alright~ Shall we begin?" Maeve questioned as she stood behind Ace with a smile. Ace nodded and Maeve uncovered the plates.
*Inhale*
A pleasant aroma filled the dining hall, increasing Ace's appetite. He looked at the dishes made by Maeve and rubbed his hands. He then pulled Maeve, forcing her to sit on the other chair.
"Now, let's eat!" Ace exclaimed quickly.
"I have to feed Gracie first" Maeve responded.
"Hmm? I can do it. Gracie, say ahh~" Ace grabbed a bite and brought his hand in front of Gracie but before Gracie opened her mouth, Maeve slapped Ace's palm and the bite fell on the ground.
"Do you think she has teeth to eat something so solid?" Maeve questioned.
"Ah? So what will she eat? We can't keep feeding her your milk, can we?" Ace questioned.
"besides… I am jealous…" Ace mumbled silently.
"Don't worry, I have prepared something for her," Maeve answered as she stood up. She held a particular bowl and sat beside Ace.
"You eat, I will feed her" Maeve suggested.
"Hmm? You feed her, I will watch you, and then we will eat" Ace declared and Maeve shook her head in defeat but nodded a while later.
They fed Gracie until she turned her mouth away from the food and then they had lunch.
The best thing about being an elder in the sect is that you don't have to work the whole day, you just have to teach a class for 4 hours and you are free to do whatever you want. You can even ask for holidays if you in a critical position in you cultivation.
Ace was very happy to know that as he can spend more time with his family and just as he planned, he spent the rest of the day with Maeve and Gracie.
At night, after Gracie slept, Ace walked towards Maeve and stated.
"We need some information about this world, I need your help"
Maeve nodded and stood up, ready to leave the room but Ace stopped and placed 5 additional protective inscriptions on Gracie's crib and 1 detection inscription in the room before leaving.
Ace carried Maeve like a princess before flying into the sky and landing outside the sect.
"So, who should we target?" Maeve questioned as they both walked into the street in the dark.
"I guess any random mage will do, we don't really want to know everything just some common knowledge should be fine" Ace muttered and Maeve nodded.
"Ahh! Save me! Someone Help!" As they were talking, they heard a female voice crying for help.
"No one is going to help you this time" another man answered with a mocking smile.
Ace and Maeve walked towards the voice and saw a typical scene of a mage using his power to bully a woman.
"Well, aren't we lucky" Ace smiled as he saw the scene and dashed towards the mage.
Of course, he wasn't trying to be a hero or anything, he just needs information.
He quickly knocked the man and dragged his body towards Maeve.
The woman who screamed turned surprised when she saw the man who saved her and her eyes glittered with hope.
She always fantasized about being protected by a prince charming? Plus, if the person protecting you is as handsome as Ace, or even slightly closer, no normal girl would be able to stop herself.
"Sir! He was forcing himself on me!" She complained while she tried to push her chest forward as much as she could.
"…" Ace ignored her words as he muttered something to Maeve.
The girl didn't lose hope and continued, "Even though I rejected him, he keeps bothering me. How can I fall for some creep like him? I very much prefer someone as strong and dashing as sir~" She spoke in a flirtatious tone as she removed her robes slightly, showing her shoulder skin and her collar bone.
Ace completely ignored her presence and dragged the man's body to another dark street while Maeve followed her, not even glancing at the girl.
...
As they entered another dark street, Maeve placed her hands on the mage's forehead and closed her eyes.
She was using Soul Probe, a technique that allows a soul mage to go through memories of the person they target.
The process went without any hindrance while Ace was still astounded by her wife's talent. Normally, Soul Probe should be an extremely painful process for the person whose soul is being probed but Maeve did it without even letting the man regain his consciousness, let alone going through immense pain.
This again showed how much of a monster Maeve really is.
Maeve's eyes opened and she turned her gaze towards Ace. She had an unusual glint in her eyes.
"What? Did you find something extraordinary?" Ace questioned.
"This world… it is quite interesting…" Maeve muttered with an amused smiled.
Ace remained silent, waiting for Maeve to continue.
"This world is called Ashleyn"
"Ashleyn… don't you find it familiar…?" Ace muttered.
"I do… I just can't put a finger on where I heard it…"
"Me too…"
"Anyway, this world is divided into 5 empires, each empire has many kingdoms under it and the kingdom has countless cities. We are currently in the Espade city of Blodx Kingdom that is a part of the Vermel Empire. Our kingdom is also known as one of the strongest in the Vermal Empire.
These 5 empires are similar in strength and just like that girl told us, there are 18 layers of cultivation in this part of the world"
"In this part of the world?"
"Yeah, these 5 empires included, makes an outer world, there is an inner world that has denser Qi and more resources. They are much stronger than the outer world" Maeve explained.
"Did you find out anything about spells?"
"I did, this world has a pretty weird way to teach magic. Unlike us who control elements as per our imaginations, the mages in this world chant a spell, for example, a fireball.
Unlike us, who just needs to imagine a ball of fire, the mages here enchants a whole spell to summon a fireball. When a mage gets stronger, they are able to skip the chants and are only required to speak the name of the spell. When the mage gets even stronger, they can even skip speaking the name, making it a chantless spell"
"So what is the origin of these spells?" Ace questioned.
"Well, most of the spell comes from ancient times, some are created by present experts but obviously, the spells created by present experts are a lot weaker than the ancient ones"
"Mhm… I understand, I think I need to study more about these spells before I teach the disciples, well, what about his body? Should I burn it?" Ace questioned.
"Yeah, burn it, at the very least, the Enactment Union won't bother us…" Maeve answered.
"Enactment Union?"
"Yeah, the people in this world are quite the hypocrites. There is something called 'Equal rights for all' in this world. It means that no matter you are a mage or a commoner, no one is allowed to bully or hurt anyone. Murders are seen as crimes and the penalty is quite huge.
The Enactment Union is a force that makes sure that the rules are being followed properly. They have their branches all over the 5 empires and no one knows where the main headquarters are"
"Wow… is it really true? Equality to all, I mean?"
"Pfftt! What are you talking about? How can something so ridiculous be true? Didn't this man tried to force that girl? There is no way anything can stand against absolute power, this rule never changes, no matter which world you live in" Maeve replied with a laugh.
"But the Enactment Union will try to find out about all the people you killed and they might disturb us soon" Maeve added.
"Hmm? Well, it is nothing troublesome, I will kill the whole union if it is necessary" Ace shrugged.
"However, you are right; this world is pretty interesting…" Ace muttered.
"I haven't told you what's actually interesting yet" Maeve smiled.
Ace glanced towards Maeve and remained silent, waiting for her to complete.
"The people in this world know about Divinities" Maeve revealed.