A Sinner's Eden
Chapter 175 - EVO

***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***

***Magnus***

“I think you are making this out to be a way bigger deal than it is,” I argued while we moved with the music. I wasn't much of a dancer, so I just followed Astra's lead while trying my best not to step on her feet or filaments. “Trust me. Bruce only had to get it out of his system. Sometimes, men have to hit each other to build a relationship! As long as there aren't any permanent injuries, it is all in good fun!”

I looked over to where Bruce was dancing with Travis. His left eye was swollen shut, and he was still in a mood, but I was sure he would calm down soon enough. After all, I had promised to return all the cards once the kids were done playing.

Of course, I had to give him some satisfaction after he found out that our tenuous relationship was built on a little manipulation. So, I played the reluctant party and allowed him to vent his frustration before I gave in.

When he caught me staring, he pointed at his lip and grinned while blatantly grabbing his partner's buttocks, lifting Travis to her toes while his fingers squeezed her. The tight and deeply cut dress she was wearing made the entire scene just more enticing to watch.

I grinned back, trying my best not to seem bothered by my split lip or the missing tooth. Then I shook my head. There was no way I would fall for such an obvious trap. Astra would do me dirty if I tried the same in public.

Noticing the exchange, Astra grumbled and deliberately poked her thumb into my bruised side, altering our dancing direction away from the Patels to the other side of the dance floor.

“Still doesn't mean I have to be happy about it! And don't aggravate them any further if there is no need!” she scolded me.

“What are you talking about?” I huffed. “They teamed up on me while my partner was elsewhere! If anyone should be upset, it should be me! Where were you when I needed support?”

“Your partner was dealing with the kids while you got your reward for old misdeeds,” Astra replied haughtily. “To be truthful, I don't understand how you got through with it in the first place. Though I assume there is such a thing as Karma to level the scale in the end.”

I grumbled and found the Patels having a lot of fun with each other, bordering on indecency. Thankfully, Travis tried to block most of the outrageous scene with her wings. Even if it took very little imagination to figure out what was happening behind the sight-screen.

I wasn’t a prude, but it was a little bit much, even for my tastes. They truly didn't care what other people thought of them.

“Say, Astra, would you be okay if we try outdoing them?” I asked, nonetheless turned on. “They are trying to provoke me, and I am in the mood to play their game better than they can. Can we run off for a few minutes? Today’s dress design looks lovely by the way!”

Astra rolled her eyes and glanced over to where Bruce was dancing with both hands on a laughing Travis's butt while she slobbered his cheek.

“Well, I could try copying him, but I doubt that's what you are going for. We certainly won't pull off such a show in front of everyone.”

I sighed. “You are no fun.”

“Anyway, Vanya proposed to our Isaac,” Astra smoothly changed the topic, giving no heed to my social predicament.

“What?” I almost missed a step, but Astra corrected the placement of my foot with her ankle to send us into an elegant twirl instead of having us create a Gordian knot on the floor.

She even managed to match the music, which made me assume she dropped the comment intentionally and anticipated my reaction.

“It is meant for the future. It looks like there are no suitable candidates for Vanya in Hochberg. At least none who wouldn’t easily fall victim to her psychic abilities. Isaac stirred her interest because our kids can resist her,” Astra clarified. “You could call it an official courtship. Unless it turns out the two don't match, I can't think of any better partner for Isaac, given his rapid growth, both mentally and physically. It would also improve the ties between our clans.”

“Huh...” I smacked my lips. “I guess if Isaac is fine with getting a girlfriend? Does he even know what that entails?”

Astra raised an eyebrow, giving me the 'look' without saying a word, which meant I was being stupid.

“Of course, he does.” I shrugged. “Well, if Isaac is truly going to pull this off, I am not sure whether I should accuse him of being a gold digger, or Vanya of being a cradle robber. I guess, given the little monsters’ rapid development, we have to rethink some of the social norms we are used to.”

“I know cradle robber, but what is a Gold digger?” Astra frowned.

“Someone who solely takes a partner for money, power, or fame,” I explained. “Doesn't the entire Clan Hochberg hop at Vanya’s behest? She would be the ideal target for any gold digger. Seriously, how is it possible for some colloquialisms to have simply been lost here on Tirnanog?”

“Probably because nobody has any need for gold. It is a worthless metal.” Astra pursed her lips. “Though I don’t see the problem with being a ‘gold digger’ as long as both sides are fine with it. Come to think about it, shouldn’t you be careful of accusing your son of being a gold digger when you are one yourself?”

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I thought about it and then slowly, very carefully, smiled. “Of course, dear! How could I forget!? Why don't you twist the knife while you are at it?”

“Aw, that’s just your ego speaking,” Astra rebutted.

I grumbled. “Says the one who got access to a vast amount of the organisation’s resources thanks to me.”

In reply, she gave me a peck on the cheek. Social norms were truly different here on Tirnanog, and I had such a smart wife, what would I do without her perspective on things?

Astra smiled and nodded over to where a huge man was sitting in an extra-sized wheelchair and swaying along to the music. “Have you already spoken with Elijah? How is he taking the death of his parents?”

I nodded. “Well, he isn’t happy. Who could be? But he is doing better than I did when I lost my parents.”

“Is he?” Astra nodded. “I suppose he and his partner taking over as head seekers of the Northroute family doesn’t leave much time to mourn.”

“Nooo…” I replied slowly. “I believe it is more about the fact that Elijah is already fifty-six. I was in my twenties when I lost my family. He has been his own person for decades, while I was just out of the house when it happened. Barely an adult, you might say.”

“I suppose it is different,” Astra admitted. “Will they invite us to the ceremony?”

“Actually, no.” I shook my head. “Normally, he would, but Elijah said that since his parents were the previous leaders of Northroute, he has to take over their mantle, and that’s a private ceremony for their people.”

“Oh.” Astra somehow managed to sound disappointed.

Meanwhile, I was inwardly cheering that there was no need to stand watch over some boring burial ritual. I wasn't happy about the death of Northroute's leaders, but I hadn't known them well enough to care much, except for the fact that a friend had suffered great loss.

My attention drifted back to the Patels, who were making out quite blatantly right in the middle of the dance floor. They wanted to know. “That’s it! The game is on.”

Astra followed my gaze. “I swear, if you start groping me in public, I will-”

I tripped her, intentionally, while swinging her around in a tight turn. Meanwhile, I grabbed her hips and lifted her, throwing her up like a ballerina. The fact that it looked like a part of the performance made me all the more proud of my delivery.

Astra let out a surprised squeak, and while she was airborne, I activated my second sight to scan the private lounges on the upper floor for vacancy. The ballroom offered direct access to the upper floor, which was separated into various smaller rooms. They had been prepared in case someone decided that privacy was needed.

Right as Astra landed on my shoulders in a fireman’s carry, I flash-stepped three times in quick succession until I reached our goal. Before she could protest, I set her back on her feet and turned around to set the notification on the door to occupied and closed it, turning the lock with quite a bit of satisfaction.

Grinning, I returned my attention to Astra, who had both hands on her hips and was puffing out her cheeks. “What about ‘no’, was so hard to understand? There is no way the Patels won’t put two and two together after that display!”

I nodded. “That’s the point!”

And then I decided that heavy artillery was needed in terms of persuasion. So, I dropped to my knees and hugged Astra’s waist while running an electrified finger up her spine. “Please!”

Astra gasped and slapped the top of my head. “Stop that! That’s cheating!”

“Double please! You have no idea how good the outfit you chose looks on you!” I used both hands while I buried my face in her belly, running my fingers up and down her spine in an alternating rhythm, exactly as she liked it. It was evident in how quickly her knees grew weak.

And I wasn’t lying. Astra’s ability to forge her clothes on the fly had turned her into a true artist of fashion. She often tried to teach me how to weave my filaments similarly. But mine were a lot shorter, which limited what I could do, and I was way less skilled than her when it came to the necessary fine control.

When she sighed and relaxed in my arms, I knew I had won. “Well, maybe just a quick one?”

I pushed her over to a nearby couch and dug my fingers into her sweet spot. Then we were a tangle of limbs and filaments until I finally had her in a good position.

Right as I was settling in between her legs and pushing inside, my UI flashed with an important message. I decided to ignore it, but Astra was made from different stuff.

She sighed right as I was beginning to build a rhythm. “Gaia wants to talk.”

“Who cares? Can’t she wait a few minutes?” I replied between clenched teeth right as I bottomed out inside her.

“She says it is kind of important – and that she knows that we are doing nothing essential since our nanites are monitoring our vitals,” Astra groaned. “Why do we have to put up with this?”

“I said you should ignore her!” I ordered, quickening my pace to take Astra’s mind towards the matter at hand.

“Okay, and now she says that I am very, very fertile right now,” Astra choked. “Five is a definite possibility.”

That stopped me cold, and I was suddenly very careful not to peak while I joined the UI team chat with Gaia.

‘I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!’ I spammed.

‘If it isn’t my most beloved vassal,’ Gaia replied. ‘Normally, I would wait a little bit before bothering you, but it vexes me that you little mortals are having a party while the enemy is still out there. We won a fight, but the war is far from over.’

‘I know, but there is little we can do except for researching the moonbase and learn everything we can!’ I shot back. ‘And if the alien logs are correct, then a reaction might take decades to centuries, since wormholes don’t reach between galaxies. We should have more than enough time to plan for a possible response.’

‘Laughably little time on a cosmic scale, my little mortal,’ the avatar retorted. ‘Knowledge and control over the moonbase is actually why I am interrupting. One of the organisation's researchers, who is working his ass off while you are having fun, found the central control unit for the base. It is likely to give us full control over all of its assets. The only problem is that it requires two keys.’

‘What type of key?’ Astra asked.

‘Incidentally, we already have one. It is a gem which was embedded in the cut-off forehead of the alien you fought,’ Astra explained. “Even not using my grand deduction abilities, it isn’t far-fetched to assume that this two-headed creature, as you described it, had the second key on its second forehead. So I need Magnus to tell me where the second key went.”

“Ahem,” I cleared my throat, remembering the teleportation debacle. I assumed I hadn’t left the best of impressions on the aliens back – wherever I had been.

Astra locked her legs tightly around my hips and grabbed the front of my shirt, pulling me close. “You always use that tone when you do something wrong. What did you do?”

“Nothing!” I quickly grabbed her hips, stopping her from gyrating against me. “And stop that!”

“Not until you spill every detail!”

I... actually considered not saying anything.