The Demon Lord's Bride (BL)
Chapter 367: When you reach that phase of no longer looking at the price tag

Chapter 367: When you reach that phase of no longer looking at the price tag

"This is possible?"

We--me, Zia, and Arta--were huddling around a fabric that was my druid-style wedding outfit. Amarein had visited again, bringing the outfit that had been specially embroidered by the druid.

And Mother...Mother! The embroidery wasn’t just beautiful--it was alive! And by alive, I meant they seemed to flow and move like those optical illusions. The leaves and the flowers along the hem looked like they were rustling in the wind, and I couldn’t help but stroke the Great Tree embroidery on the sash.

"It’s so pretty..." I sighed in awe, feeling like hugging the fabric, but was too afraid to damage it. I didn’t even let Jade touch it. "Am I really going to wear something this pretty?"

"Of course!" Arta nodded while huffing with pride. "We’ve poured everything--blood, sweat, tears, and tons of money--into this so you will be the most dazzling flower in the entire world."

B-blood too? What have you been doing, Arta?!

"Anyway, I think it’ll be nice if you wear this at the first banquet," Arta stroked her chin. "I thought it’d be best if you come out with a couple outfit with His Lordship, but...now I think it’ll be better to show each of your heritage during the first banquet."

"Is that the one where the important people are invited?" I asked while very carefully letting go of the fabric.

"Yep!"

Arta led the seamstresses to put the outfit inside a chest with preservation magic on it, before securing it like a banker would secure their bonds. I had this feeling that perhaps, for her, items belonging to my wedding were more important than the whole Castle’s logistics.

"My deepest gratitude to you, Lady Amarein," Arta bowed gracefully at the druid.

"It’s for my beloved nephew, so of course we’ll do it happily," she patted my head, and as I looked at the chest containing the outfit, I could feel the love that my distant relatives had for me.

I grinned sheepishly and leaned into her for a hug. Truly, I was so loved in this world, huh? Perhaps the reason for the lack of affection on Earth was so I could be more appreciative of what the people in this world did to me.

"But, my Lady..." Arta scooted closer and clasped her hands together. "If it’s not so impertinent of me, may I know what kind of method you used for the embroidery? Of course, you don’t have to answer if it’s a tribe’s secret or something..."

Amarein chuckled at how Arta frantically shook her hands, with a face that was a mix of caution and expectation. "Sure, I can tell you. Knowing it doesn’t necessarily mean you can replicate it, after all."

We moved to sit on the couch then, while the maid golems served our tea. "We don’t use plant-based threads," Amarein said, to our surprise.

"Huh? Then what..."

"We made threads from elemental stone."

It wasn’t just me that got surprised, but also Arta and the seamstresses. Even Neel, who wasn’t really interested in dresses and outfits, lifted her head from the corner. We were all looking at Amarein, surrounding the couch like a bunch of students.

"What do you mean, Aunty?" I asked curiously. "How can you turn elemental stone into thread?"

"You can do that too, my dear, once you master your control," she stroked my nose. "It’s just a matter of giving shape to the elemental mana byproducts. The drows could also turn elemental stone into liquid."

"Like metals?" my eyes widened.

From my meager knowledge, the demons and humans only utilized the stones by absorbing the mana inside to themselves or a device. It was rare, but there were also those who crushed the stone into powder. Threads and liquids, though...

"Is that why they are so good at making accessories and weapons?"

"That’s right," Amarein nodded. "Turning elemental stones into threads needs refined control over mana, so not all druids could do it too," she smiled, looking at the interested demons in front of her. "So you can’t replicate it even if you want."

That didn’t make them disappointed, though. Their eyes were still bright from the new knowledge. "How many stones does it need for the work you did on Young Master’s outfit, my Lady?" Arta asked with palpable eagerness.

Amarein, however, just glanced at me before responding with a smile. "I shall not divulge that."

Arta and the seamstresses whined, but Amarein merely sipped on her tea without giving anything more. I had a feeling that...it would cost a lot. But you know what? I have stopped worrying about cost and whatnot now because...does it matter?

I giggled and thanked Amarein again. Yes--you shouldn’t keep thinking about the cost of someone’s gift. It was their thought and sincerity that mattered, and the way to repay them wasn’t by calculating the cost, but by using what was gifted well.

"Hmm...Boss, is there any way we could get the material instead?" Neel suddenly asked. "Especially the liquid ones."

"Oh? What do you think, Neel?"

The half-naga glanced at Amarein slightly before replying. "Umm...I was thinking of using a liquid elemental stone to draw formations."

"Oh! Using it like inks?"

She nodded, squeezing her hands just like every time she grew nervous from excitement. I thought it was a good idea too, so I turned to Amarein and asked about it.

"I don’t know if you can use it as ink, but..." Amarein pondered for a bit. "I could try procuring it the next time we meet. I can’t promise to get much of it, though..."

"I-it’s fine," Neel nodded frantically. "I just want to experiment for a bit, for...uhh--what my boss wants to make."

What--you used me, now? How sly!

"Then, of course, I have to try procuring it," Amarein nodded. Damn, it worked. "What kind of elemental stone would you like?"

Neel perked up and sheepishly scooted closer. "Umm...is it possible to have two? Air and fire?"

"I’ll try," Amarein nodded, and Neel immediately scurried away after bowing deeply with a rare grin on her face, locking herself in the ante-library for the whole night.

Actually, she stayed there still when I took a look the next day, before walking to the river with Amarein and Jade. Hmm...it seemed like I could expect a better product later.

Anyway, rather than going to the river where I did my first aquamorph, we headed to Vrida’s nest, since it was on the riverside anyway. The wyvern greeted us with a cheerful screech, perhaps because I had been busy training with Alveitya these days.

"Since you’ve managed to succeed with the air, absorbing the water should be easier," Amarein said while we were stroking Vrida’s head. "Do it from afar, and avoid blending your consciousness with the water. Just like before, guide the mana, not becoming part of them."

"Mm..." I crouched on the edge of the ravine and looked down. This place was much higher than my usual spot--the one that was also nice to have a picnic in. I wondered if it’d be hurt falling to the river while I transmorphed, but Amarein said I shouldn’t, so...

She same beside me and took a seat on the nearest boulder. "Look at the river," she pointed down and moved her hand, to where the river flowed through the land. "Unlike air, water always follows a fixed path and moves as one. You don’t see a part of the water suddenly separating itself in the middle to fly up and slither everywhere."

I pondered about her words for a while. "So, you mean I should just guide one point, as usual, right? And the rest will follow?"

"Yes," she pointed at the center of my torso. "Just like how you circulate your mana. Again, don’t spread your consciousness, just bind a point and guide it back inside you."

"Okay,"

I nodded and, with my knees still on the ground, stretched out my right hand forward. I learned that it was easier to target something if we pointed at it, not just by looking. Just how it was easier for a spell to manifest if we recite an invocation. Through the tip of my finger, my consciousness took the shape of an invisible rope, shooting out like a laso to latch into a water elemental mana.

When I was dealing with the air elemental mana, I had to struggle with being swayed and too...free. But with water, I recalled the feeling of slowly losing myself in a memory; in a stillness of a void. Rather than thinking too much that I couldn’t concentrate, I had to prevent myself from concentrating too much, or else, I would get drowned in the stillness, slowly forgetting myself.

And oh, how easy it was, to get drowned in memories. When the memories of my grandma and grandpa whom I missed so much started to form, I was so tempted to follow it, following the thread of the past. What snatched me back from it was, funnily enough, another memory of the past.

A memory of a young doctor spending his night accompanying me in my room, conversing through the cold night.

At this point, thinking about Natha actually worked, because right after, it made me recall that Natha--the real Natha in his own body--was in the present and the future I swore to be a part of.

I opened my eyes and took a deep breath as a surge of water elemental mana flooded my core.

On my side, Amarein looked at me with a smile. "See? It’s easier now," she said. "We can spend tomorrow to hone your skill further, and we can move away from purification next time."

And I didn’t even need to use the clothing artifact!

As I started to purify the mana, I asked her cheerfully. "So, what’s next?"

"Commanding the mana, I guess," Amarein stroked her chin. "Or... would you like to try making a fusion contract with animals?"

Oh!

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