Chapter 353 Back to reality
"We both worked hard… but there's still a little bit more work to do, huh?"
Contrary to the instant dose of anger and annoyance that struck me when the radio rang on my hip, Fay managed to keep to her senses and maintain her cool.
"More than work…" I muttered, twisting my lips in a dissatisfied grimace.
This was such a beautiful, transcendent moment…
And yet, my responsibilities forced us to bury the occasion and hope something on the same level would happen again.
"We can't always have what we want, huh?" Fay muttered, putting only a slightly pained smile on her lips.
"No," I shook my head a bit. "We can't have it both ways," I corrected her before taking a moment to contemplate my own stance on our current situation.
Sure, without Makary's help and the colonization initiative, we couldn't really get such a nice apartment pretty much for free. Without the help of his troops and heavy machinery, we could never hope to develop this world or even defend the forest to begin with.
And now… Now was the time when we had to pay our dues.
Who would've thought accompanying Leon back to his magistrate would be how I would be paying Makary back for his help?
"Oh right!" With the memory of what we had ahead of us, I recalled one issue that I wanted to bring up. "You outdid yourself with this place. But just in case, is there anything you would like for us to bring from Earth?"
Sure, Fay's barrier served for better doors than any earthen craftsman or machine could create. The misty moist was a floor that not even the richest of the earth could hope to get their feet on…
But while Fay's creations were both comfortable and extremely relaxing, that black barrier of hers was also the limit of her newfound abilities I was only finding out now about.
Even if she could, she has yet to create something that could serve as a fridge, stove, or toilet.
Or rather, I was quite sure both the toilet and the bath would end up being a mix of her natural creations and the conveniences Makary's engineers were dead-set on installing throughout the entire complex.
And so, there would be no set of bushes where we would do our business, nor would we be bathing in a pond.
On the other hand, though, I could imagine all sorts of fragrant herbs growing all over the toilet walls to mask all the smells and some sort of grass or moss lining up the floor of the bath, only for another set of herbs to permanently add bathing salts whenever one would pour water into the ceramic basin.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
Still, this was all a song of the future, assuming Kash didn't go the extra mile to order her workers to settle with all the utilities they could inside of my apartment before moving to the tasks with an actual priority.
Either way, it was still the stuff that I would have to deal with or check in the future. And for now, it appeared tonight would be our last night with the penthouse serving as our main residence between the worlds.
"After tonight, that luxurious house of ours will turn into an exotic retreat," I muttered, already making up the plans for the near future.
Ring, ring, ring!
Discover hidden content at empire
For the second time, the radio on my hip let everyone know about its presence, forcing me to finally reach out and pick it up.
"Peter speaking," I called into the device upon pressing its main button.
"Where the hell are you, man?" Makary's voice was just slightly more agitated than usual. And yet, my brain translated this slight change into a massive shift in the man's mood.
A shift that was undoubtedly negative.
'Right, being the military, acting according to the clock is likely a must for him,' I thought, rolling my eyes as I pressed the main radio's button again.
"Had to deal with something on my way back. We are about ready to leave. Should I wait for someone to pick me up or can you wait for us to walk to the gateway?"
A moment of silence followed.
"Just hurry it up."
With a click, the radio announced the connection had ended.
I raised my eyes to Fay's face, looking her in the eyes for a while before heaving an exhausted sigh.
"Just one last stretch for today," Fay moved closer and gave me a short yet tight hug. "Just the last straight and we can get some rest back at our palace," she added, putting up a huge grin on her face, but in her eyes…
Deep down in her eyes and all over her soul, I could feel Fay's regret.
For how else was she supposed to feel when the love nest that she had to work extremely hard to prepare would be left unused?
Suddenly, I felt like a vicious parent taking away favorite toy away from my kid. Or a toxic boyfriend gaslighting my girlfriend into giving up on her dreams and the entertainment she worked hard to earn her right to enjoy.
"Should we go back here as soon as we are done on the other side?" I asked with Fay still in my arms, wasting just a little bit more time to restore my mental state through Fay's softness and warmth.
"If you want to…" rather than pushing me to keep going, Fay hugged me back while hiding her face into my chest. "Oh," her body twitched when she suddenly raised her face and looked up into my eyes. "There's a few things I want to get while on the other side too. You know… The last few details needed…"
Fay averted her eyes as her cheeks covered in a slight blush.
"You know…" he hesitated while pressing her cheek against my chest and tapping the fingers of her right hand against my ribs. "For that kink-cave of ours…"