The dim and mellow light the World at dusk gave shone on the four creatures by the window. They were all silent, and there was even a soft breeze that moved Sierra's fur.
The scene was so calming and pleasant that they didn't want to disturb them. However, it also gave them the feeling of home, a heartwarming feeling that calmed their souls, so they didn't want to leave.
It made them dazed enough to make them stop at the door and lean to the side, continuing to look at them without making any sound.
Even then, the ones basking in dusk's light didn't take long to realize they were back.
Before they could say anything, Tatyana and Cecile spotted them. With a smile, Tatyana softly asked. "What are you girls standing there for? Come here and sit around."
The four of them blinked twice, coming back to themselves.
Realizing that they had been standing there for almost a minute, mesmerized by the picture, made them feel a little embarrassed. However, Tatyana's soft and calming tone pushed them to move and approach.
With an awkward chuckle, they walked toward them and sat on their sides. Once they sat, they softly began caressing the dragoness.
Yasenia observed their faces, and a smirk formed on her face. However, she didn't say anything and closed her eyes again, allowing them to caress her as they wanted.
They all felt even their souls relax as the sound of Yasenia's slow breathing and the breeze rustling the trees reached their ears.
Nobody spoke for ten minutes, just enjoying each other company.
After a while, they heard her mellow voice asking peacefully. "How did it go, dears? Did you create or refine something?"
Andrea took out an orange-colored, low-level Earth-ranked metal and a purple thirty-centimeters-long, low-level Heaven-ranked herb. She sat beside Tatyana, allowing her to place the items in front of Yasenia's resting head.
Yasenia observed the two items, a plant with smooth, circular leaves and glossy metal in a streamlined shape, and was surprised. Even then, her voice was calm, not disturbing their peaceful moment. "The feeling around them is extraordinary. If they didn't have the particular aura the materials give, I would've mistaken them for items above their rank."
Andrea chuckled softly. "Yes, it is truly extraordinary. Moreover, this kilogram of metal was created after fusing ten kilograms of different Magic-ranked metals. So, it isn't even a naturally formed Earth Ranked material."
Kali pointed at the purple herb and said. "This herb is not a combination. Using the Transmutation principles, I managed to enhance the properties of the [Devil Blossom] Herb. It has changed from being a peak-level Earth-rank item to a low-level Heaven-ranked item."
Cecile was surprised. "Then… Isn't that cauldron an unmatched treasure? We can create everything we could before, but now it is just better."
Yasenia was thoughtful. "There must be a drawback of some sort, right?"
Angel was the one who answered. "You are right and wrong. It is true that although we can create better things, the time we use for refining and transmuting all the materials is much longer. Moreover, it can also fail, destroying the materials used in the process. Since we are novices with its uses yet, all we managed to do this afternoon was create those two items."
Yasenia nodded. "What are the good things about it?"
Angel continued. "Well, once we created the item, recreating it becomes much easier. As long as we know enough about it, we'll be able to enhance them easier. Furthermore, the cauldron has memory. So it can recreate the process as long as you will it. So we'll eventually be able to allow it to have it in the background doing something."
Yasenia nodded. "That's nice. Next time, I'll also join. Today I wanted to rest a bit."
They smiled excitedly.
Yasenia was very sharp in many things and had given new perspectives on things more than once. Not only that, Yasenia's knowledge in one specific profession might be lower than theirs, but she had the advantage of having studied plenty of them.
Naturally, she wasn't an all-knowing genius. However, now that she probably could also do professions herself, Yasenia was about to learn much faster. Acquiring theoretical knowledge and practical knowledge was very different, after all. You needed both as long as you wanted to innovate in a field.
Yasenia was curious, so she asked a little more in-depth. "How much stronger would you estimate the final result if we use transmuted items instead of common ones? Are they easier to work with? Or are they more unstable than common materials?"
Evelyn answered. "We've calculated it will be from two to ten times better. Even then, we've just estimated some quick numbers, so we can't tell for sure. As we explained before, we are still quite novices with transmutation. Therefore, things will most likely get better in the future."
Evelyn frowned. "We also don't want to say anything about stability while creating items since we still haven't even used them. "
Yasenia commented with a languid voice. "Well, it's true that we rush these things. Even then, in the future, we can create a shop that focuses on quality instead of quantity. That way, getting acquainted with powerful people will be easier. Moreover, it will be much more manageable than creating tens of thousands of items to meet a demand for common cultivators."
They felt that it was a good idea.
Andrea suggested. "That's a good way of development. We should think of a plan and how to create a stable foundation. We don't want our goods to be coveted by strong powers and snatched away."
Yasenia understood that. "I have some ideas, let me give them a little bit more thought, and I'll tell you in the future. For now, there is one relatively important thing we have to decide."
They looked at Yasenia as she said the following. "We've got two options now."
"We buy some supplies and sell most of our low-level items in this city. Then, we rush toward Ebirah's place and start our shop there."
"The other option is to create a shop in this city, and after we gain a foothold, we meet with Ebirah's factions. We'll have a sturdier foundation, but I can guess that it won't be enough to face her Race. So, if they decide we've been keeping her kidnapped with us because we took too long to get her back, we'll get in trouble."
Yasenia looked at Ebirah and said. "Of course, we have a third option. We can also leave Ebirah with her parents and then pick her up later, but I'm sure neither Andrea nor Ebirah wants that, right?"
Ebirah used her six legs and two pincers to latch around Andrea and exclaimed, "I don't want to separate from Andrea! She is the only friend that treats me so well..."
Andrea said. "Let's go for your second suggestion. We can also modify it along the way and make a letter for them if we really need to make it known that Ebirah is okay."
The others didn't know a lot, but Andrea knew that Ebirah, although she was a princess, she was pretty lonely. Her parents choose their friends for her, afraid she would be kidnapped or damaged. Therefore, Ebirah hasn't felt the company of a real friend before meeting with Andrea.
Moreover, the way everyone treated her nicely, but without restricting her, was very liberating for the spoiled princess. If it weren't because the portal for the Secret Realm appeared in one of her excursions outside, and she slipped out of the guards' supervision to enter it curiously, she would've probably grown up into a sheltered and spoiled princess.
Andrea laughed softly and caressed her between the eyes. "Don't worry, little one. If you don't want to leave my side, I'll keep you by my side. We are best friends, remember?"
Ebirah exclaimed, and her body became soft. She liked Andrea's caresses between her eyes. It felt comforting. So much so that she thought her shell was about to fall off her back. Moreover, Andrea's words also made her feel a lot of affection for Andrea, not in a romantic way, but more like a family member.
Therefore, with some happy lobster noises as a background, Andrea spoke. "I think it is best if we gain a foothold first. That way, the backlash will be smaller when her parents learn about our contract. After realizing how strong the hate against humans is in this World, it has become too difficult not to think about the worst outcome. However, if we have enough influence, we can convince them."
Yasenia mercilessly popped that thought. "Darling, I don't want you or little Ebirah to be delusional, so I'll say this quite bluntly."
Andrea looked at Yasenia.
"This country hates humans, and they don't do it lightly. The slave circumstances of Humans in this World are almost worse than the Beast-humans in the Demonic side of the Sky Continent."
"Moreover, Ebirah's parents appear to be big shots, so they can't be weak, and most probably, they are seniors of the anti-human generation. Therefore, even if we are the strongest, they will always be against your contract with her. You must realize that, although its name is blood contract, the result isn't much different from a slave contract."
Andrea frowned and then sighed. She looked at Ebirah's pearly black eyes and saw that the little princess didn't understand what they had just said deeply.
Ebirah used her pincers to move Andrea's hand between her eyes again, and Andrea gladly caressed her between them. Ebirah made strange, happy lobster noises again, and her long, thin legs latched around Andrea.
Andrea smiled a little and said, "You are right. I shouldn't try to avoid inevitable trouble but face it. However, what can we do?"
Yasenia jumped from their lap and walked to Andrea's side. She sat before her and smirked. "That's not something we can think about now. We are strangers to how this World works, so we have to first meld with its customs and understand its culture. Only then will we be able to play the right cards. Thinking about it now is the same as thinking about what to do if the Moon suddenly disappeared."
Andrea smirked and placed Ebirah to the side.
Then, she picked the dragoness between her arms, making her lay on top of her. Andrea kissed Yesenia's mouth and asked. "So, what do we do now?"
Yasenia's mouth arched as she said, licking Andrea's lips softly. "How about going to bed? Roll a bit on the sheets, and think about it tomorrow?"
Andrea looked at the beautiful reptile between her arms, and her smile deepened. Her light green eyes looked into the coquettish golden eyes, and her arms tightened around the creature. "Sure, let's go."
Then, Andrea stood up and walked away, carrying the dragoness up the stairs. The others raised their eyebrows, and Evelyn's smile widened. 'Finally!'
Ebirah looked at the rest and asked, "Can I go up with them?"
They couldn't help but choke and cough. Then, their gazes landed on the 100% crustacean, and they couldn't help but think of strange things.
Cecile asked curiously, her face a little odd. "Do you think Andrea would be tolerant enough to…? You know, if things end up going in that direction..."
Evelyn shrugged, "Do lobsters even do it that way? I don't know the biology behind it, to be honest."
Kali sighed, "Girls, Ebirah is still a child."
Tatyana chuckled, "And so are Yasenia and Cecile if you look at them like a Dragon and a Phoenix."
Their faces became strange. They couldn't refute it!
Tatyana looked at the confused Ebirah and said, "You can't go with them yet."
Evelyn raised her eyebrow, "Yet?"
Tatyana shrugged, "Who knows how Andrea's feelings will change? She seems very fond of the little lobster. However, that's something for the far future."