CH967

“Leg, Sparkles, sorry to keep the two of you,” Greed called out when they got closer, waving a claw. “But glad you could make it, you cleaned up real well.”

“Hey, wouldn’t miss your wedding for the world, buddy,” Ben told him before offering his hand to the others. “And Gennet, lovely to see you again. Hope Greed hasn’t given you too much trouble?”

“Not more than I can handle,” she laughed, giving her partner a teasing look and letting Ben move onto the last.

“And you must be Saph, it’s a pleasure to meet you. Greed had nothing but good things to say.”

“He wouldn’t know enough to have anything bad,” she told him, giving him the same neutral look as her father had been getting but at least accepted his offered hand, even if it shaped Ben’s expectations of how the day might go.

Maybe she’s just a little cold to strangers then? he wondered. I mean, Greed is still getting it too, but that leaves a bit of hope that she might warm up to him eventually.

“And I’m Thera,” his girlfriend told the younger woman, offering her hand as well and getting a different reaction that immediately forced Ben to try to re-evaluate if what he had gotten was really shyness as Saph looked at Thera with a mild yet clear interest, taking her hand and speaking up.

“Nice to meet you.”

Is she bad with men then, or did I get a cooler reaction because I’m specifically her father’s friend? Mmh, I want to take a peek, but I don’t know if looking in her or Gennet’s head will give away whatever Greed’s trying to keep private. Trying to be an ethical mind reader is a pain in the ass.

“Well, unless we’re in a hurry, you wanna take a seat for a bit?” Ben asked them. “We didn’t know how much of a rush there was going to be, but I think I bought enough food and drinks for everyone. If there’s no time though, I can store them away.”

“Oh, we should have a few minutes at least,” Gennet told him. “The carriage is all ready for us, so as long as we head over to it in the next half hour we should be fine, even if we hit any delays on the way.”

“Okay, cool. One small thing though. Carriage?”

“Greed, did you really not explain it to them when you saw them?”

“Ah, just the one bit slipped my mind,” the crab said bashfully. “We’re actually having the wedding in a town about an hour from here, some of our guests should already be on their way.”

“Greed was insistent on coming along with you though,” Gennet happily told him, leaving Greed to wave a claw at her.

“Babe, please, don’t go outing me like that. I just thought it would be nice to enjoy the ride there with a friend I haven’t seen in a bit is all. The other guests can get some of our time after the ceremony. ‘Sides, this guy is an important fella now, if I don’t sneak in some time from him then how am I going to get any?”

“Coming from one of the biggest musicians in the world, that feels like a bit much,” Ben laughed. “I’m sure you keep pretty busy yourself.”

“Ah, well, my career does have me occupied most days, but I’m starting to slow down on the number of shows. Was doing them almost daily after I got my performance ironed out, dropping to once a week will honestly be more than enough.”

“Good, it seems like you could use a bit of a break.”

“Ha, I’m not taking that from you. Saph, let me tell you, this guy here never stops,” Greed said, trying to bring his daughter into the conversation and getting little for his efforts.

“Yeah, I’ve heard some of your song.”

“Ah, the song doesn’t do it justice, though. Trust me, he’s a good guy to have around. He made you and Gennet both those bracelets I came back with too.”

“Thank you for that, by the way,” Gennet told him graciously, with both her and Saph wearing the authority bracelets he’d made, even if he couldn’t spot the hairpieces on either of them. Gennet’s absence made sense, of course, when one considered that it was meant to be a wedding present and would likely show up somewhere in the ceremony, but it seemed the one Greed had made for his daughter hadn’t yet been given over either. “I’ve already been feeling some of its effects, I can’t imagine how you made something like this.”

“Oh, a bit of a trade secret, but they should already be spreading around the world now, always happy for some friends to get them.”

Talking at the cafe a bit longer, eventually they left, walking together to the waiting carriage and watching Jeeves take the front seat while the rest of them piled into the back, trying to keep the conversation going, even if one of them either had little interest or simply didn’t know how to participate in it, Saph keeping largely quiet even when someone tried to pull her in, with Thera being the next to make an attempt, being far more direct about it.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

“So Saph, how do you spend your time?” she tried. “Work or school or just anything fun?”

“I was originally going to try and find work, but I was told to relax for a bit,” she answered, leaving Greed to lightly defend himself.

“I just didn’t think there was a need to rush into things, you know? Life can get busier in the future, might as well enjoy yourself now.”

She just shrugged at the statement, but Ben understood where his friend was coming from. If he were in Greed’s position, he might have subtly tried to convince her to take it easy too, considering both the resources Greed held and what lay ahead in the future. Why would he want his daughter spending time doing work when they could all be dead in a few months? If he could support her, wouldn’t it be nicer to let her relax and do what she wanted instead?

Of course, a job is a way to make friends too. he admitted. Maybe talking her out of getting one is isolating her a bit?

Something to consider talking to Greed about later. For the time, it seemed like Saph wasn’t done, continuing to glance Thera’s way before speaking up of her own volition.

“Um, I like your dress,” she offered, making her own small attempt at communication. “And your hair. Are they common styles for your people?”