CH59

Ben’s hands were wrenched away from her, secured with metal shackles behind his back, and an earthen spike pressing against his jugular.

“Oh my,” Her mother giggled. “Aren’t you a bold boy?”

“Honey for our daughter’s safety, I think it would be best to dispose of him quickly. We’ll apologize to Falk and send him a replacement apprentice,” Said her father, the one currently binding his hands and threatening his life.

Thera had her face hidden in her hands to hide her blush from Ben’s statement before talking to her parents. “Both of you calm down, I’m sure Ben meant something else than what it sounded like.”

Ben for his part was a little distracted by the spike pressed against his throat but still spoke to defend himself. “Absolutely, sorry I meant I want to use her body for crafting materials.”

Four more spikes pressed into his throat.

“Alright honey enough of that,” Her mom said, trying to quell her husband’s sudden anger. “Ben, as a reasonably new resident in this world I’m not sure if you’re aware, but making materials out of sapient races is an extreme criminal offense pretty much everywhere. In the past there were a few races that were almost wiped out in order to use their parts. Now bearing that in mind, what do you want to do with my daughter?”

The spikes were moved about a foot away, but they didn’t disappear. Still it was enough for him to breathe. “I didn’t know, sorry. I probably could have explained better, I’m just feeling pretty damn inspired at the moment. I was just thinking that despite being made of gold, the properties of it have changed to more resemble hair since it was part of her body, but it’s still metal. Her mana moves around inside her naturally all the time without causing harm, so I was thinking we could use however much hair she cuts off to make the core of a staff. If her mana can move through it the same way it can for the rest of her body then maybe a staff made with it wouldn’t explode if she ran her mana through it. Still I didn’t know what you just told me so I can see it’s probably not a good idea. Sorry.”

He tried to sound heartfelt but after his explanation Thera had made up her mind as well. “Let’s do it.”

“Are you sure? It’s not something I think I could pull off immediately, I’m hoping to get my crafting level up maybe two more first. The main thing is if you’d be willing to grow your hair out longer so we’d have more to work with when the time comes.”

“Alright, I’ll put getting a haircut on hold then,” She said without hesitation. “If it could get me a better staff then it will be worth the wait.”

“Great, now that that’s done do you mind releasing me?” He asked Abrus, who still had him chained and bound.

With a wave of his hand the great spirit freed him, the chains and spikes remerging with the floor they were originally a part of.

“Sorry about that,” Abrus told him. “In my time I’ve seen plenty of species and mixed-breeds hunted for their parts, I’ve always been worried someone may see Thera as some particularly rare magical ingredients.”

“Fair enough, sorry I wasn’t more clear to begin with,” He could certainly understand why that would be a worry. “Has that sort of thing happened to any other half spirits before?”

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“You didn’t tell him then?” Penelia asked Thera with a raised eyebrow, but Thera only shrugged.

“There was never any real reason to bring it up,” She said in a tone making it clear it wasn’t really a topic she wanted to spend too much time on, before turning to Ben. “I’m the first half spirit, so nothing like that has happened before, but growing up there was some worry that someone may try something since spirits are so potently magical.”

“Oh neat,” From her general demeanor as she spoke he decided to leave well enough alone and wasn’t really sure where to bring the conversation, but thankfully her mother seemed to be feeling merciful, calling for desert and then brought an end to the night.