Chapter 272: Collector.

Technically the great party in Stonegate ended along with the death of its organizer.Giel sent the guests away, but the common people continued to party on the streets of the underground hub. Apart from Teuling family, the only one who suffered losses was the owner of the inn that got destroyed, but Lee guessed that he surely would get compensated.

The two people who caused the incident, along with the lord of Hollowreach sat in a brightly lit hall. It had so many lighting formations, half the hub could’ve been illuminated by them. It was almost like sitting under bright rays of sun, and clearly showed Lars Teuling had gone all out to increase the chances for his daughter to show off.

Unfortunately for him, he was dead. And instead of Sanne, it was Lieve who sat next to Giel at the lavishly stacked table – finally clean and dressed pretty. She was too stressed out to eat, biting her lover lip and fiddling with her two-inch-long hair.

"They’ll grow back. Don’t worry!" Giel said, trying to console her. His attempts to express his love always appeared awkward, and Lee decided that the man was a dunce, an incredibly handsome, but clueless dunce.

"You should’ve seen how she looked completely bold!" Lee said with a laugh, "Good thing she doesn’t have monkey-ears!"

Giel’s expression hardened, but Lieve used the opportunity, and said, "He has been bullying me for months! He even slapped me so hard I got a concussion!"

"Seriously?" Lee helplessly looked at her, knowing she was only having fun. He husband, his face red from rage, never thought it could’ve been the case.

"Giel, no!" She said, almost commanding him like a dog, "I’m kidding. We had to pretend to play Slapshot to maintain our cover. Sanne personally was inspecting the identities of all residents of Driftpost."

"Driftpost? Why didn’t you come to Stonegate?" Giel asked, throwing a piercing gaze at Lee, clearly indicating he was not done with him yet.

"We did." Lee said, "Someone somehow had persuaded your beloved wife that you’re the one who’s after her life. Actually, it was bugging me for months. Why, Lieve? Why the heck did you think Giel wanted to kill you?"

"Because a person who looked like him and sounded like him threw me in the rift." Lieve said.

"But why? And why would he shackle you, a lousy elemental master?" Lee asked.

"I ... don’t know ..." Lieve said, and from her expression it was obvious she was about to have an emotional breakdown.

"Doesn’t matter." Lee said, trying to divert hers and Giel’s attention, "The bastards shackled her, imagine? With Nullite shackles, no less!"

Giel’s nostrils flared, and Lieve instinctively touched her wrists, the sensation of being bound still fresh in her memory.

"You can keep these as a souvenir. Just don’t use for the kinky stuff." Lee said, dropped the shackles that hadn’t exploded onto the lavishly set table, startling the couple as the glasses trembled and clinked under the sudden weight.

"So you went to Driftpost to get the key?" Giel asked, picking the shackles up and inspecting them.

"No." Lee said, "Your wife thought she had to take refuge with Sanne."

"Lee opened them." Lieve said, "I had both hands and legs bound, but he picked the locks on both shackles at the same time."

"Impossible!" Giel sternly said with a shake of his head, "I never had things like these, but even I know it’s impossible to pick them without a key."

"Without your spatial element I couldn’t have done it." Lee said, ignoring Giel’s protest.

The only elemental lord in the hall stared at the two in disbelief, but then said to Lieve, "Alright, you’ll have the time to tell me everything in detail. What I want to know now is – Lee, who are you and what are you doing in Hollowreach?"

"Well ... I’m kind of ... collector." Lee said, "I travel worlds and collect stuff."

Seeing his answer wasn’t good enough, he said, "An overlord suggested Hollowreach as the place where I could get a high quality spatial spark. Thus I came here. Trust me, if I knew that the punishment for trespassing was death, I would’ve never dared to show my face around here."

"Overlord?" Lieve knew he was after a spatial spark, but the part about the overlord was new to her.

"Yea, Seris, the Overlord of Whispers." Lee said, "A peculiar little lady."

"I’ve never heard of her." Giel said, "But there isn’t much information on overlords in the first place. But if she sent you here, she’s probably in alliance with the Rift Sovereign Theron."

"Overlords form alliances? Aren’t they already omnipotent?" Lee asked.

"I don’t know much about it." Giel said, "All I know is that there are overlords eyeing Hollowreach, but because it’s directly protected by Theron and his friends, no one dares to touch us. My guess is that they’ve divided the universe and maintain a delicate balance, otherwise worlds would be destroyed if they actually fought."

"That’s unsettling." Lee said, "Anyway. That’s not the problem of common people like us. Giel, I’d like to ask you to gift me a high quality spatial spark for saving your wife."

His direct approach came as a surprise, but after watching the local lord for some time, Lee decided that laying cards on the table was the way to go.

Giel slightly twitched by how Lee casually kept calling him by name, but was slowly getting used to the strange, but friendly alien.

He said, "I’ll never be able to repay you. But if you want a spark, you’ll get it. And since you’re a collector traveling worlds, I’ll present you another gift."

He put a two-inch-thick book on the table and said, "This is an encyclopedia my family has compiled for countless generations. It contains the coordinates and short descriptions of different worlds. We won’t need it anymore – I already know where Lieve wants to live, and we’ll move there after I pass on the overseer’s duties to another spatial expert."

"Giel! You don’t have to ..." Lieve wanted to protest, but he took her hand, looking at her the same way he did when they met in the inn earlier.

’The man might not have the sense of humor, but he surely loves her!’ Lee thought to himself, inwardly smiling at the way the two acted.

"I do!" Giel said, "All these years I’ve been focusing on Hollowreach because of family duties, when actually it doesn’t matter who’s the lord here. I want to spend my days helping you to comprehend laws, so you could become elemental lord sooner."

"Giel ... you know I don’t like cultivation ..." Lieve said, anxiously.

"Idiot! He’s trying to say he wants you to become an elemental lord so you can spend many centuries together!" Lee said, "You two really are clueless ... what? Why are you looking at me like that? Do you think I’ve never been in love?"

Getting lectured in love matters by someone clearly younger than them was improper, but Lee acted so naturally it was impossible to get angry at him. Realizing he had helped out again, but made the hosts feel awkward, Lee said, "Alright, I’m sorry! I just couldn’t help it! But shouldn’t we focus on the more serious problem? How are we supposed to eat all of this?"

His exaggerated gesture at the table that was set for over forty people made even Giel smile. In the end, the trio had a good meal, and Lee left the two lovebirds alone.

In the morning he surprised Giel by returning the encyclopedia, claiming he had completely copied it. It was clear that the man had an emotional attachment to the book that was a family heirloom, but all Lee needed was the data it held.

He didn’t leave right away after receiving the fancy wooden box containing the spatial spark, though. He asked whether he could use a secluded room without getting disturbed for a couple of months, and after Giel led him to his own cultivation chamber, Lee resolutely did what he actually came here for.