CH97

When Ben got home later in the day he found Thera sitting in the living room looking like she was meditating, presumably working on gaining either dark or life magic, while Sonya cooked in the kitchen.

As he came in Thera opened an eye to look at him. “How did training Sachel go?”

“I’m sure she’ll get the hang of it in no time. I’ll probably meet up with her again to work on it in the future. How about you, any luck?”

She let herself sprawl out when he asked, clearly feeling tired after a day of training. “No luck yet. I still can’t remove charm from any of my dark mana, and when I got Sonya to try to run some of her life mana through me I couldn’t even feel it to know what to look for in myself.”

“So that’s a way to learn to feel life mana too? I thought it was just a means to feel mana in general.”

“If you can already feel mana and have a compatibility with the affinity you should be able to feel some of the minor differences within the mana itself, but it’s a lot harder, especially if you have as much as me and any that goes through me is basically negligible as a result. I may just need to try and figure it out without the reference.”

“Well good luck, if there’s anything I can do let me know.”

“Will do. Also, it looks like you have a package.” She told him, gesturing to the side table where a container about as big as a shoebox sat. There was only one thing he was expecting and he felt a grin tear across his face.

“Is it what I think it is?”

“Doesn’t say, but it’s probably from mom. Open it up and let’s find out,” Thera herself couldn’t help but be a bit curious. Ben had told them it was a custom to send what they thought their daughter was worth after all. After everything they dealt with she couldn’t help but hope they paid a fair bit to make up for all the stress they caused.

Ben tore open the box and looked inside, finding a note and a bag within. Despite his excitement, he couldn’t escape his upbringing and had to read the letter first. Even if Pelenia and Abrus weren’t around, digging into the bag first would feel rude. Trying to contain himself he picked it up and read what was written.

Dear Ben,

You really put me in a pickle with this custom of yours, how am I supposed to decide what my daughter is worth and ship it to you conveniently? After a lot of discussion between my husband and I, we ultimately settled on the contents of the spacial bag you’ve received, as well as letting you know that should you both need any money for building a life together you just have to ask. I look forward to hearing where your creativity leads you.

Love, Pelenia

P.S. Abrus wanted me to caution you against breaking our daughter’s heart after receiving all of this.