With the chaos gone, a raven swooped down from one of the curtains, landing on his shoulder.
He glanced at the raven.
"Itâs been too long, Croft."
The raven that had become his petâthanks to Sylvia mediating between themâwas still here after all these months.
Despite the fact the raven had started out as an enemy, now he was a trusted companion.
One who was strangely obsessed with eating eyeballs...
"Caw... caw demon... evil... back, back..."
Damon sighed.
"Call me a demon again and Iâll have me some fried bird."
The raven cawed aggressively but said no more...
Lilith grabbed a suitcase. Waving her hand, she made it disappear.
She glanced at Damon before gesturing to him.
It wasnât long before they were in a carriage again...
The capital was quite far from Mitra. Damon didnât like the idea of a carriage ride, so Lilith offered to pay for an airship.
"Why canât we just use the teleportation gate?"
She shook her head.
"The same reason we didnât use it in Lumos. Letâs at least leave the Brightwater sphere of influence..."
Damon nodded.
"Then why not go toward Astranova territory?"
She smiled, looking out the window.
"Because they would expect us to do that if we were actually being followed. Thereâs also the fact that direction is a bit lawless after we pass Gladstone..."
He sighed. That was true. He had run into banditsâand that was also the direction of Lysithara and the Anarchy Mountains.
If they ran into bandits, he would kill them...
It was better to avoid them altogether. He didnât like the idea of spilling blood so close to his sister... and Iris.
Though in the case of Iris, he would eventually have to teach her.
If she still wanted her revenge, that is...
"Youâve gotten awfully quiet..."
He glanced at Luna.
She shook her head.
"Iâm just giving you two some space... isnât that right, Iris?"
Iris looked away.
"Donât bring me into this..."
He chuckled.
"Youâve gotten better, Luna... Flora must have worked some serious magic for you to get better like this."
Luna nodded. The healer Flora had helped her a lot, but...
"She did, but Lilith was the one who paid for the research materials that were used to make my medication..."
He glanced at Lilith... she shrugged.
"It wasnât really a big deal... I knew a guy."
Damon glanced at Luna.
"Is that true?"
She shook her head.
"No. No, Iâm pretty sure sheâs lying... my treatment cost a fortune."
Lilith sighed.
"Ouch... I didnât know bluntness ran in the family."
Luna bowed her head.
"Iâm sorry. I just couldnât let you sell yourself shortâespecially since you sold most of your assets and lost all your savings to pay for my medication..."
Damon raised his eyebrows... Magic Circuit Cancer had no conventional cure. It cost millions of zeni just to keep the person alive.
Lilith was a rich heiress, but she wasnât someone who would rely on her familyâs wealth. She had built up her wealth all so she could have enough to destroy the Temple.
Now she had lost it all just to save his sister... No, his sister wasnât savedâshe knew that. But she had given Luna a chance to be able to leave her hospital bed...
Lilith sighed.
"I didnât do anything. Luna canât use mana safely and she still needs to constantly drink the potion customized to her physique... Worse, with each day she gains resistance to its effects..."
She bit her lips.
"I... Iâm sorry... I couldnât find... a way."
Luna shook her head.
"No. No, you saved me... Iâm grateful..."
"Youâve done enough," Damon whispered.
"No. Youâve done plenty. Thank you."
He held his sisterâs head down in a bow, lowering his own head too.
"No words could repay what youâve done..."
Lilith frowned a bit.
Iris also bowed her head.
"Erm... for training me too, and looking out for me..."
Lilith sighed, closing her eyes.
"Can you three stop picking on me now...? Youâre making me uncomfortable..."
Luna smiled, raising her head.
"Damon, with how much sheâs covered for you, just saying youâre grateful is just shameless..."
He tilted his head.
Luna smiled, giggling a bit...
"Yes... I have the perfect solution... Why donât you... marry her and pay for the rest of your life?"
Damon slapped her head.
"You make me sound like a prisoner..."
Luna scratched her head with a teasing smile...
"Donât worry, Lilith. My big brother can be groomed to be the perfect husband. Sure, heâs a bit edgy, heâs also not very honest... but he can cook... he can learn to clean... oh, and heâs easy on the eyes. Donât believe me? Letâs take off his creepy hood..."
Before Damon could say anything, Luna pulled down his hood.
"See? Heâs still in good condition..."
Luna didnât even look at his face. She was too busy marketing her older brother to Lilith...
She almost reminded Damon of a pimp on the streets of Valerion...
Lilith giggled, seeing Damonâs deadpan expression.
"I actually like his new look. The long hair is quite... charming."
Luna glanced at him...
"Ahhh, thatâs right. He grew his hair out... he used to be a short-haired edgy loner. Now heâs a long-haired edgy loner... Heâs all yours if you pay now..."
Damon pinched her cheek.
"So you are trying to sell me..."
Iris scoffed.
"He wouldnât fetch a good price anywhere else... That long hair just increased his market value."
At this point, Lilith couldnât hold back her laughter. After spending months with these two, it seemed she had won them over to her side. At least she knew nowâif she needed backup against Damon, the girls had her back.
Damon twirled his hair with his fingers.
"Right, my hair is kind of long now... I should cut it off..."
There was suddenly a silence in the carriage...
Lilith clenched her fist.
"Absolutely not..."
Luna gave him a deadpan expression.
"I would never forgive anyone who touches that beautiful hair that makes you look hot and mysterious..."
Damon moved away a bit.
"You guys are creeping me out..."
"Iris... what do you think?"
She glared at him.
"If you are going to cut it, might as well make yourself bald. After all, you insist on terrorizing the world with your ugliness..."
Damon felt like crying... Never had he been violated like this...
Getting picked on by girls was far more painful than being punched by a group of guys...
Their laughter died down as the carriage approached the airship port, the hum of engines audible in the distance.