Lyra barked with laughter, "So after all that, you got rejected? Goodness, Lloyd. If you wanted to try out new strategies to defeat Isobel Greaves, you should've talked to me first! I'm the one who usually ends up killing her, after all."
"She didn't reject me! She told me to wait for her because she was busy with House Greaves!"
"Oh, you're right. She didn't reject you. She grandpa-zoned you, and then rejected you!"
By the time I'd come back to the inn, Lyra had been fast asleep. She, like always, woke up before me and had freshened up before I did. Once I'd woken up and gone through my morning routine, she'd sat me down to ask me about how my walk had gone – her way of asking me if I'd come around to the idea of including someone in our party. Naturally, before I could give her the answer she'd truly been after, I indeed told her absolutely everything about my walk: getting the flier about House Greaves' sale, diffusing the situation by walking her home, handling her brother, and kissing Isobel a bit. Of course, despite telling her I'd met with the woman destined to become one of our fiercest enemies, she'd been too caught up on the fact that she'd chosen her House over me! Despite being the older of us – even if by just a few months – it was moments like this that made me think Lyra was still a juvenile.
"Did you forget that she kissed me?"
Lyra scoffed. "You're an adventurer. Adventurers get kissed. I've been kissed before. Do you get all excited when a girl says thank you when you hold the door for them? Besides, most adventurers get offered sex. We're both virgins. Compared to them, we're both lame."
I sighed, leaning back in my bed. "Maybe we should take a run off and make up for lost time?"
"It's hard to relax knowing people are dying all around you. Aspia might be a shithole, but it's home. I don't want to slow down, knowing the people here are in danger." She threw a pillow at me, which I barely caught, given how sudden the attack was. "And neither do you, Lloyd. I know you. So don't turn into a sleazeball. We have work to do!" She paused, her voice suddenly turning more serious. "And a conversation we've been dodging."
"I'll cut to the chase then: I'm open to discussion."
Lyra shot up from the bed. "Seriously?! Let's go look for–"
"I'm not saying I want a third, per se, but I am open to conversation about expanding our party. We can't do this alone."
"What were you thinking, then? Because you clearly have something in mind."
"Isobel eventually turns House Greaves into the House of the Unblinking Eye, correct? What if we let her take the House for herself, but I use my new connection with her to join it? If we steer her down the right path, maybe she'll grow the House into something powerful in its own right, and we'll have an army behind us to fight against the Demon Lord?"
Lyra paused, considering my words. She stood after a while, a mischievous grin on her face. I braced.
"I like that idea. Having a Great House behind us in the battle with the Demon Lord. Can we guarantee that Isobel will grow it, though? Remember, the House of the Unblinking Eye is a subsidiary of the Demon Lord's army. Her power came from his Royal Scientist. Without either of those things, Isobel Greaves is just another Sorceress."
I winced. I knew exactly what she was about to say, and all I could think of were the many ways it could backfire on us. Something in my expression must've given that fact away, because Lyra's expression turned defensive.
"Lloyd, listen! We have more than enough money, we're reputable enough to attract people, and we can use my time manipulation to do this over and over! It might take a few runs, but if we buy House Greaves, we can use it to build a powerful enough army to take down the Demon Lord!"
"You know, I'll make this fun. I'll go through the risks in the order they appeared in my head. First, Isobel would be furious. If there was anything that would embolden her to join up with the Demon Lord before we were ready to face either, it would be this. Second, House Greaves was never purchased before this. We have no idea what'll change as a result of that. Third, House Greaves doesn't come with staff or status. Everything in the House becomes our responsibility!"
Once again, Lyra paused to consider my words, pacing about the room before finally coming up with an answer. "Sure, Isobel would be pissed. I'd be pissed if some hot guy made out with me, told me to follow my dreams, then ripped those dreams away right in front of me. But what can she do about that? The Demon Lord's primary reason for partnering with Isobel in the past was that she owned House Greaves. It exists in the heart of Podros, the largest region in Amelan – the only continent the Demon Lord had trouble conquering. Without that bargaining chip, the Demon Lord has no reason to accept any offer Isobel could make. You are right that buying House Greaves would be a significant change to history, but I don't think it'd be that severe. Isobel is the only variable we'd have to worry about, I think. Perhaps the Demon Lord will reach out to some other failing Great House to create the House of the Unblinking Eye? Even if he does, we'll have an army to combat them by then. And for the staff, we'll just hire people! We're 5-Stars. One mission and we can pay a maid's annual salary ten times over! I wouldn't worry about that part." She sat at the edge of my bed, facing me with pleading eyes. "Listen, Lloyd. Buying House Greaves is the best investment we could possibly make. We will have to figure out the Isobel situation, but think big picture: one angry sorceress versus an entire planet saved from devastation! I think the choice is easy."
I… I hated how convincing Lyra could be at times. It wasn't that I was afraid that Isobel would do something dangerous – though that was a legitimate concern –, it was that I was afraid of losing her. I know how pathetic it sounds, but despite Lyra's jokes, I truly believe that I had something with Isobel. Even if for a moment, I felt a connection that I'd never shared with another. I loved Lyra, but the love I had for her wasn't the same as the embers of attraction that were trying to form for Isobel. I'd be lying if I said I hadn't longed for that to some degree over these many years facing the Demon Lord.
"We're both lame…"
Lyra said it as a joke, but it truly was how I felt. I was a 660-year-old virgin. I'd never had a romantic partner, and the furthest I'd ever gone was kissing someone on the lips. Was that not pathetic? Now that I found someone I was somewhat interested in, I had to betray them to the point of having to fear retaliation from them? It wasn't fair!
And yet, it was what I had to do, wasn't it? What if we didn't buy House Greaves? Then what? Would we pivot to her original plan and add members to our party? What if we failed, and all those memories we made with them vanished? The main reason neither of us had fallen in love, and we hadn't pursued true friendships with others, was that the moment time reset, their memories of us didn't jump back in time with us. Meredith the Life Warden didn't remember our chats by the campfire. Our combat masters didn't remember those conversations about life and Aspian History. They didn't remember our faces, nor the times we shared. It was a painful way to live.
Just another reason to hate the Demon Lord, wasn't it? Give up a potential partner for the sake of Aspia, and for the opportunity of hopefully pursuing her or someone else once we defeated him, whenever that would be.
"Let's do it," I finally said, hoping my annoyance didn't reach my–
Lyra hugged me, just tightly enough so that my annoyance would fade. I reciprocated, thankful for the comfort.
"The purchase talks are today, right?"
"Yup, that's what the flier said."
"What time are they?"
"Sunrise." I look out of the window, towards the midday sun. "I think we're late."