Supreme Magus

Aside from the minivan shape of the vehicle, Lith's biggest gripe with its design was Mogar's lack of tires. If gum trees existed, no one had yet figured out their potential or even reported their existence and the chemical process to obtain synthetic rubber wasn't worth its trouble.

It forced him to use four wooden wheels to keep the car lifted from the ground.

"Do you think my parents will like it?" Lith asked.

"They will either love it or be scared shitless. Only one way to find out." Solus said.

"Do you want to follow your master jailer or would you rather have a well-deserved vacation as well?"

"Are you kidding me? What kind of craftsman would miss the unveiling of their original creation? Of course I want to check how it performs and how it's received, but if I have to use one more spell for non-recreational purposes, I'll fry your a.s.s." Solus said.

Lith gave the car the finishing touches before storing it inside his dimensional amulet and going back home just in time for lunch.

'Told you so.' Solus chuckled noticing Friya fast asleep on one of the couches in the living room. 'How cute. She even speaks your name in her sleep.'

'Yeah, too bad it's associated with swear words.' Lith replied.

Between the fatigue from the crafting and Warping her way back from Derios after changing her mind, Friya was dead tired.

"You didn't tell me we would have guests for lunch today." Elina scolded Lith while she checked him for injuries.

Her son seemed to be a magnet for disasters to the point that she feared for his well-being even when Lith went for groceries.

"I didn't tell you because I didn't know either. Besides, with the amount of food you prepare every day, we could feed a small platoon." Lith tried to take her hands off of him, receiving a big hug in return.

"That's because you need to eat properly to grow into a fine man."

"Mom, I'm almost nineteen. My growth spurt is over and I can mostly grow horizontally now." Lith surrendered and returned the embrace.

"Nonsense. I'm sure that with two life forces you can get even taller." From her worried tone, one would think that Lith was short for his age instead of being already 20 centimeters (8') taller than her.

"Did you spend the last few days with Friya? Is that the reason why you were never home?" She asked while sighing in relief.

"Yes, Mom. I wasn't trying to avoid you. I was just working on a new project, just like I told you a hundred times."

"It was just work, right? Kamila has no reason to be jealous." Between Friya's youth and beauty, Elina worried a lot at the idea of the two of them spending so much time together.

"Mom!" Lith raised his voice so much that Friya woke up.

"I'll take my steak medium-rare, thanks." She said before using a Hush spell on herself and falling asleep again.

When the meal was ready Lith had to use Invigoration on Friya to allow her to enjoy her food without blacking out from time to time.

"What was the big project about? Did you finally succeed or did you give up?" Tista had no idea what Lith had planned and was a bit angry for having been left out of it.

"The craziest, but not the ugliest thing I have ever seen." Friya replied as her appetite came with eating, consuming even more food than Lith.

"I wasn't with you guys in Kolga so I don't know how much he copied and how much of its design is original, but I think that overall, it's a masterpiece of ingenuity."

"What does it do?" Tista's question expressed the curiosity of all those at the table.

"Beats me." Friya shrugged, making them groan in disappointment. "With my skill level, I consider myself lucky to have succeeded crafting a Warp Core."

"It's a present for Mom and Dad." Lith would have liked to surprise them, but between the begging eyes of the a.d.u.l.ts and the kids pulling his clothes for an answer, his patience ran thin.

"Thank you, son, but you didn't have to do this. I'm sorry for having a big argument right after your return. I would have liked to tell you everything after you rested a little and not have yelled so much. I shouldn't have lost my cool like that.

"If there's someone who has to make amends that's me. Your understanding is the only gift I want." Raaz said.

"I didn't do it because I felt guilty." Lith said. "Well, not just because of that. I have looked for a long time for a solution to your problems, and I think I finally got it."

"What problems?" Raaz scratched his head with confusion.

"Ever since Tista left the house as well, the moment bad weather arrives you are stranded here. You can't visit Rena, you can't get fresh bread, and reaching the village healer if anyone gets ill or injured becomes dangerous.

"On top of that, now that you have expanded your business, Dad, you need to travel a lot between the neighboring villages, and doing it by horse takes a lot of time." Lith said.

"Well, that's true, but thanks to Nalrond we could still move around a bit and the Queen's Corps helps us whenever something serious happens." Elina said.

"Between his own apprenticeship and goals, Nalrond isn't a full-time nanny for a while now. Also, it's not like you can call the Queen's Corps for something as trivial as bread or social visits." Lith shook his head.

"I know." Elina sighed. "That's why we have been considering moving to Lutia for a while or at least buy a second home there."

"What?" Lith was flabbergasted.

"It would make everything easier, especially for the children now that they have to start school. Don't worry dear, we know how long it took you to make this place safe and how much you have invested in this house." She patted his hand to reassure him.

"Besides, we have too many memories linked to this house. We would never leave it."

"There's no need for a second home. My present will solve all of your issues in one fell swoop." Lith said with a certainty that made the children clap their little hands.

"What about me?" Rena asked.

"What about you?" Lith echoed.

"Because of the fact that my house in Lutia has no heating nor cooling devices, I live here half the year. On top of that, having tap water makes wonders to keep the children healthy, especially during winter."

"Can't you make something for me for a change?" Rena said.

"First, I made working bathrooms for you so that no one in your family would ever need an outhouse. Second, I prepared it for Mom and Dad, but you can use it as well. If the three of you use it wisely, it should make your lives easier."

Soon curiosity made everyone gobble their food to get out and take a look at the wonder Lith described. The moment he took the DoLorean out of the pocket dimension, they all sighed in disappointment.

The worst part was that Lith couldn't even blame them. With its big wooden wheels and stumpy appearance, the DoLorean lacked any l.u.s.ter aside from that of the metal it was made of.