The briny scent of the sea was thick in the air as Trevor patiently waited. He ran his hands through his short, light brown hair and looked around the Hero House. The candles and paper lanterns, which looked like balloons, were set up exactly as Adabelle had requested them, and the magical air conditioning made sure that the smell was permeating the entire room. He had done his part, now he just had to wait.

  Trevor restlessly kept an eye on the clock. Everyone else was late, but he couldn’t really blame them; the schedule they were keeping was based on one chaotic element above all others. His leg started to bounce on its own, causing the cat in his lap to look up at him.

  “Meow,” Mr. Tiggles said in protest, barely opening his eyes. His fluffy tail, twice as long as his body, flicked against the couch before settling. The black cat put his head back down and shifted, showing off his belly as if asking for compensation for being woken up early. Trevor smiled and ran his fingers through the animal's thick fur. As always, he was glad the belly wasn't a trap. “Purr.”

  “They’re going to be here soon, little buddy,” Trevor stated more for himself than for the cat.

  As if summoned by his optimism, the front door was thrown open. A demonkin, half human and half demon, rushed in before closing it with her long, spade-tipped tail. Her strides were purposeful as she headed straight for the couch. She looked at him and Mr. Tiggles before slowing down, smiling as the tension seemed to lift from her shoulders.

  “Hey, Son of Ander,” she greeted softly, a little out of breath from her hurried pace.

  “Hey, lady,” he replied. Trevor couldn’t help but return her smile.

  Adabelle reached up and fixed her tousled hair, making sure it flowed just right between the two upwards facing horns on either side of her head. They were ridged and bulbous at the bottom before tapering off into points. The one on her right side was cut through the bottom all the way to the skin. Directly underneath them were long, animal-like ears that twitched with excitement. Her tawny skin was flushed, and her orange eyes had a slight glow to them that only appeared when she was happy.

  She immediately reached down and picked up Mr. Tiggles. “Meow,” he protested weakly, reaching up to put a paw in her face. She avoided it and rubbed him behind the ears. This placated the wild beast, and he began purring again.

  Now that he was allowed to stand up, Trevor did so. He put his arms around Adabelle and kissed her. Even though her arms were full, she was still able to place the spade at the end of her tail on his back as part of a partial hug. The thin, black appendage was stronger than it looked, and it pushed him into her a little more than he had planned to allow.

  Not that he minded. They shared the moment before Trevor backed up. “They’re almost here?”

  “Should be just a few blocks away,” Adabelle answered. She passed off Mr. Tiggles, who didn’t complain this time, and smoothed her blue robes. They were her favorite for when she was doing her job as the mayor of Tosa. Pausing, she considered the garment for a moment before taking it off, revealing a white blouse and black skirt underneath. She began smoothing those. “I set up an alarm with the Quest Master for when they came back to town, and I thought I might have left a little too late. How do I look?”

  “Beautiful,” Trevor answered honestly. When she gave him a flat look with a barely disguised smile, he bumped his elbow into her robe. It disappeared from sight, getting sent directly to his extradimensional inventory space. “Gorgeous? Breathtaking? Perhaps I should start waxing poetic about how—”

  “I’ll never get an impartial answer out of you, will I?” she interrupted, pouting adorably. No matter how she acted, he could tell she was pleased.

  “If you’re looking for impartiality, then you should find someone who’s not enamored with you, miss mayor,” he teased. Leaning to the side so he didn’t have to put Mr. Tiggles down, a full-length mirror appeared against him at exactly the right place so that it rested on the ground. “Not me. I can’t help it. I’m very, very partial to you,”

  “Thank you, Trevor,” Adabelle said, leaning in to kiss his cheek before moving in front of the mirror to give herself a once over. “Once again, I have to say you’re incredibly handy to have around. I just might keep you.”

  “Excellent. Once again, my Power saves our relationship,” Trevor said dreamily. “Truly, becoming an inventoryman was everything I ever wanted in life.”

  Adabelle snorted. “Alright, enough hamming it up. I’m good, so you can put the mirror away.”

  With a nod, the mirror disappeared back into Trevor’s inventory as Adabelle walked around and made sure that everything was in order. While he watched her, the man took stock of the space that was uniquely his.

  The Power of Inventory sat in the back of his mind like a bubble. The extradimensional space was a surprisingly comfortable presence that had been with him since day one. He went through everything he had in there, keeping a mental tally. Even without his Anderson Backpack, the Trinket that increased his Capacity, the amount of space he had for storage was now a little larger than his home here at the Hero House complex. It was pretty substantial, and it would only get bigger the more he worked.

  Setting Mr. Tiggles down on one of the chairs, the cat spun in a circle a few times before laying down, covering himself with his long tail. Trevor sat down where he could see Adabelle checking the paper lanterns over one last time.

  “You can relax, you know,” he told her gently. “You’re allowed.”

  “I know, I’m just…” she trailed off before looking at him. “I am fretting, aren’t I?”

  “It’s okay. You like to keep busy, I get it. Unfortunately for you, so do I and I’ve already done all the work.” He smiled and motioned her over. “Why don’t you take a seat? Quest Master, do you know when they’ll be around?”

  The system of this world was quick to respond to his request for information.

  [[Unfortunately, it appears as though they have gotten sidetracked. Again.

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  You know, just like everyone expected. She’s pulling him all over the place, as she is wont to do.]]

  “Rashie is out being Rashie and he’s just along for the ride,” Trevor relayed with a chuckle. “Do you want me to go find Wayne and remind him that we’re waiting for them?”

  “No, if Rashie’s having fun on her special day then she should keep having fun,” Adabelle sighed. “We scheduled this early specifically because it’ll give us plenty of time to go to the gallery’s grand reopening afterwards. Them being a little late isn’t such an issue, especially if it gives us some time alone like this.”

  “Then we’d best make use of that time, shouldn’t we?” he asked, motioning for her to come sit down again.

  Hesitating for only a moment longer, she decided to listen to her boyfriend and relax. She walked up to the Hero House’s sitting area and looked over the free couch and chair before deciding she didn't like either option, sitting down on his lap instead. He wrapped his arms around her waist as she set hers around his shoulder, placing a hand on his chest while her tail tickled his side. He jerked at the sudden sensation, and it snuck in behind him.

  Adabelle rested her head against his, careful of her horns, and Trevor smiled. A brief sigh of contentment passed through both of them, and they gave each other a knowing look before the demonkin closed her eyes.

  It looked like she was about to fall asleep, so he spoke to keep her awake. “It’s hard to believe it’s been seven months since I came to Tosa, huh?” he asked. “We’re over halfway for me to have one of these anniversary slash birthday parties. I’m looking forward to yours the most, though. Your summoning date is coming up here soon, too, right?”

  Nodding, Adabelle opened her eyes to look at him. “In a couple of months, yes. Rashie’s aside, Jackson usually liked to summon during the cooler months for some reason. I think it was a personal preference of his since I haven’t found anything about it in his notes.”

  “It feels nice,” Trevor offered with a shrug. “I don’t know about you or Rashie, but I really enjoyed the cold he summoned me into.”

  “He did always say he liked to look out from the Summoner’s Tower during winter the most,” the woman mused, her tail twitching behind her boyfriend’s back as she thought it over. “I prefer the colors of autumn or the blossoms of spring, but there is a peaceful majesty to Tosa after what little snowfall we get here.”

  “I believe it,” he responded with a wistful sigh. Reaching up, he gently fixed a fallen strand of her hair so it was behind her ear. “So, I know it’s a ways off, but I’m thinking we need to have another date like we did back in Eskretet. You know, leave Tosa behind along with all the work we have piled up here. Would you mind if I planned something for your Summoning Day?”

  Adabelle smiled at the thought, but grimaced soon after. “I’m sorry, Trevor, I’m not sure just yet,” she admitted apologetically. “There’s still a lot I need to do for the town. I still haven’t found the right person to apprentice under me like I had Jackson, so there’s…”

  Trevor took the hand she had placed on his chest and brought up to his lips for a kiss, and she trailed off. “It’s fine. You’re doing a great job, regardless, Adabelle,” he said honestly.

  “It’s not all back to back work, at least,” she offered. “I’ve been invited to the annual winter ball the Queen of the Feywood hosts. It’s not for a couple of months yet, but the invitation arrived sometime last week. I haven’t sent a reply back yet. It’s a political function on top of being a party so I can’t ignore it. I’ve been meaning to ask if you wanted to go with me.”

  Trevor thought about it. His only interactions with the fey had been strange ones. Between Merckle and Denden soothing their boredom by sabotaging anything with metal in it to the Queen herself breaking a half-placed curse on him, it went 50-50 on if they were good or bad.

  However, he had heard many things about the wondrous Feywood though he had never been there himself. The nation of fairies shared a border with Lucent, the country Tosa belonged to, and they often traded with us. It hadn’t always been a peaceful relationship, but Jackson treated them with kindness and respect until they agreed to sign a treaty of friendship.

  The more he thought about it, the more he realized that he did want to go. With Adabelle at his side, he was sure that nothing bad could happen to him.

  “You know what? That sounds awesome,” he said, smiling. “I would love to go to the ball with you, my lady. But! I would also like to steal you away for at least a weekend, just the two of us. Maybe we can take a detour after we leave the Feywood?”

  “Okay, that’s probably fine,” she relented. “Spending time in the Feywood with you would be nice, but it’s still technically a work function. If I’m not in my office for, say, a three day weekend, then that won’t be the end of the world.”

  “Thank you, Adabelle,” Trevor said, grinning from ear to ear. “I’ll even help you with whatever piles up while you’re gone. We can get through it faster together.”

  “You always offer that, but you don’t need to,” she giggled, kissing his cheek as her hand found its way back to his chest. “I’d like to keep you separate from that side of me. Work is work, and Trevor is Trevor. It’s bad enough that you’re constantly barging in and feeding me when I’m supposed to be working through lunch breaks.”

  “You’re not supposed to work through lunch breaks,” he chastised. “That’s why they’re called breaks.”

  “And who are you, so wise in the way of the world that you know a break is a break?” she asked, holding her hand over her mouth playfully.

  “Ha ha,” Trevor replied with a roll of his eyes. “Maybe you should listen to me for once, miss noble lady. If I can learn how to relax, then so can you.”

  “Someday, maybe,” she agreed, reaching up to stroke his cheek. “Right now, though, I don’t mind this. Thank you for putting up with me even if I work obsessively sometimes.”

  Trevor opened his mouth to reply, but a text box appeared in front of him. Based on how Adabelle shifted, he guessed she received the same one.

  [[They have arrived]]

  The demonkin quickly stood up and, after smoothing her skirt, walked to the middle of the room. Trevor followed after her and stood at her side, close to a table that had been set up for the occasion. Adabelle’s tail bumped into his wrist before curling around it, and they gave each other a small smile.

  Rashie practically burst in through the door. The three-foot tall shark girl in a dirtied white dress took a deep breath, inhaling the smell of the fragrant sea breeze candles. Her gray and black eyes closed as if she were imagining herself somewhere else. She grinned, showing off large, sharp teeth, and she placed both of her slightly webbed hands on her blue scaled cheeks. Her thick, finned tail threatened the man behind her.

  Wayne was only a foot and a half taller than the shark girl, but he was much wider. He had to back up to avoid getting struck by her swaying tail, though he had a smile hidden behind his salt and pepper beard and mustache. The Texan dwarf was dressed up like a stereotypical cowboy, and he took off his hat as he gently guided Rashie into the Hero House.

  The inventoryman reached out over the table and summoned a giant rack of ribs as long as his arm, smoked to perfection with Wayne’s special made rib rub. Rashie’s eyes snapped open as she looked at the slab of meat, but he wasn’t done. Moving his hand again, he summoned a cake that had been baked in the shape of a shark.

  With the little girl’s attention on the meal, Wayne placed a hand on her shoulder. “Surprise, squirt,” he said warmly, his southern accent drawing out the words in an easy drawl.

  “Surprise!” Trevor and Adabelle shouted together.

  Rashie threw her arms in the air. “Best! Day! Ever!”

  Patreon with chapter 58 going up earlier today! Courier Quest 2: Courier Harder International is live!