Chapter 29: Caught Red Handed

The sun shined down on Thadius as he walked back to The Needle and Thread with Yuna and Christina following behind. Both Thadius and Yuna walked quietly, enjoying the fresh air and the sunlight. Christina, on the other hand, was a bundle of nerves as she wrestled with her thoughts.

She knew what she felt when she looked into Thadius’ eyes for the first time, and now that her sight had returned, she planned to use it to the fullest of her ability. No matter where it would lead her.

“Thadius?” she called out to him. Her hand had reached out for his sleeve, but she withdrew it. Touching him as he glowed with purity seemed somewhat inappropriate. Hopefully, there would be another time for touching.

“Yes?” he replied.

“Are you staying in Yune? I mean, now that you’ve returned, what are you going to do?” She looked into his eyes once more as she asked. She’d planned to be by his side wherever he went, so if she needed to make travel preparations, she wanted to know in advance.

Thadius slowed down a bit to match her pace. He hadn’t missed the flush of red in her cheeks as their eyes met, but her gaze was what drew his attention. When Christina’s sight returned, her eyes had been touched with divinity. Now her baby-blue eyes had a mysterious light that would capture anyone who looked upon them. “I visited your father earlier and made some plans with him. He’s going on an expedition for me, and when he returns, I’ll move on to the capital.”

Christina just nodded in response. It seemed she would have plenty of time to prepare. With that settled, she watched as Yuna tugged on Thadius’ sleeve . She was dumbfounded at how the girl could touch him so carelessly, and watched in silent protest.

“Are we going to see the blacksmith yet?” Yuna asked impatiently. If possible, she wanted to make some suggestions about her long-sword. Corban had talked her out of using a greatsword, saying it was ‘a useless lump of steel’, yet she still wanted her sword to be as large as possible. She’d learned from Thadius’ bedtime stories that most heros had big swords. So if she wanted to be one, her sword would need more sword.

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“We can stop by after we drop off Christina. It’s right next door anyway. The thing is, I don’t know if he’ll have what we want available. So if he actually starts forging, it could take all day. I could rent a room at the inn if that’s the case, and we could stay there until he’s finished.”

“Oh, okay.” So long as Yuna got her hero sword, she didn’t care.

“You can stay at our house!” Christina suggested quickly. All she knew about Yuna was that she was a Fallen Goddess. Now that she had eyes on Thadius, leaving him alone in a room with another woman was out of the question.

“Really? Would your father be okay with that?” Thadius asked hopefully.

“If it’s Thadius, I’m sure he won’t mind. E-especially not after what you did today.” Restoring the sight of his one and only daughter was bound to earn Thadius a favor or five.

“That may be so, but will you have room for us? I don’t want to impose if we’ll just be a nuisance.”

“We have plenty of room! I can cook as well! So if you get hungry-” Christina’s sentence was cut short as an inexplicable fear gripped her. Her eyes went wide as she glanced over at Yuna, who was glaring at her furiously. She was released from the pressure soon after, leaving her to wonder what exactly had she said to anger the Goddess. Was she just seen as a threat?

They reached The Needle and Thread shortly after their conversation. Thadius opened the door for the young ladies as they all walked inside. Marshal was in the process of gathering supplies, moving from one place to another with random items in his hand. He had an excited look on his face as he looked up.

“So you’ve returned Thadius, and you brought my daughter with you. Good. Christina, papa can’t find his whetstone. Do you remember coming across it?”

Yuna and Thadius remained by the door as Christina confidently walked behind the counter and took out a grey rock from behind it. Marshal took it from gladly, only to double take as he looked at her face. In the dim light of the shop, the glow in Christina’s eyes was plain to see. Marshal looked into the eyes of his child and saw the same eyes looking into his.

“What…” his whispered, his voice thick with emotion. He looked over to Thadius, who had his arms crossed with a huge grin on his face. Then he looked back at Christina, and immediately choked on a sob when he saw her dazzling smile. It was a sight he hadn’t seen in a long time.

“You look just like your mother.” he cried as he pulled her into a fierce hug.

It was a beautiful moment. Even Thadius had to look away to stop himself from shedding a tear. His heart was too big for moments like this.

Marshal stepped back and looked his daughter over with a smile. “I’d never thought I’d see the day. Thank you Thadius.” he said as he looked toward the door.

“If anyone is to be thanked, it should be Tegaia. It was by her will that Christina’s sight was restored.”

“Then I’ll be sure to give her my thanks as well.”

“Then that’s good enough for me. How are the preparations going?”

“Ah, yes.” Marshal quickly wiped his eyes. “I’ve managed quite a bit in the last hour. I used the extra coin you gave me to get you a spinning wheel, and after pulling a few strings, I even got you a warp-weighted loom at a discount. It’ll let you weave wider cloth while keeping the threads nice and taunt.”

Christina looked between the two with curiosity,”I thought Thadius was a novice?”

“Thadius has improved a great deal since you last saw him. He even has plans to start his own brand.” Marshal replied as he shook his head in disbelief. He still couldn’t believe what Thadius had planned.

“It’s not as grand as it sounds. Now Marshal, could you give me a quick demonstration before you head out? I want to practice while you’re away.” Thadius said as he approached the counter.

When Marshal ushered Thadius into his workshop, Christina walked over to Yuna. She was still wary of her after what happened before, but her curiosity won out.

“Do you know what Thadius is working on?” she asked hesitantly.

“He wants to make undergarments for adventurers.” Yuna replied, without any hint of the hostility she displayed before.

“Undergarments!?” Christina cried out in surprise.

“Shh! It a secret! Look.” Yuna removed one of her hands that had flown to Christina’s mouth to flash her Wolf Gear prototype sports bra. After her breasts had shown signs of growth, Thadius set out to make her a prototype immediately. Just below the strap on the left side was a wolf head woven into the fabric: the signature of the brand.

As shocked as she was, Christina was interested in the functionality of the strange undergarment. She moved the hand that covered her mouth. “Does it work?”

“They don’t move as much when I fight. It’s kinda itchy though.” Yuna replied as she reached a hand beneath her robe to scratch the underside of her modest bosom.

Christina took a good look at Yuna now that she had satisfied her curiosity. She thought that Yuna was quite pretty. Her long white hair matched her robe, which accentuated her feline figure. Coupled with the fact that she was a Goddess, it wouldn’t be odd if Thadius found her attractive. He had complimented her when she was younger, and Yuna appeared to be a little older than she had been at the time.Yet, Christina could tell she was just as strong as Thadius. She felt just as intimidating.

Christina didn’t want such woman as a rival, but she really didn’t want her as an enemy. “Yuna, b-before we came to the shop you-” Yuna’s hand interrupted her again as she pressed a finger to her own lips, signaling for silence. After looking towards the workshop, she quickly pulled Christina outside. She waited until the door was closed before she spoke. She had a serious expression on her face. “I’m sorry if I scared you, but you almost ruined the plan.”

“What plan?”

“Did you know that Thadius can cook?”

Christina rocked on her heels. “What does that have to do with-”

“It has everything to do with it. You suddenly suggesting to cook nearly jeopardized the entire operation.”

“It was about food!?”

Yuna placed a hand on Christina’s shoulder. She had to reach up since she was a little shorter. “I know this is hard for you to understand, but the taste of that man’s cooking cannot be fathomed.”

“B-but I can cook too! If you-” Yuna’s grip on her shoulder tightened.

“Christina, you’re not listening. It doesn’t matter how well you cook because Thadius takes it to another level. He dedicates time everyday to prepare, cook, and serve. He’s probably thinking about what he wants to cook right now, even though he’s doing something completely different!” Yuna took a deep breath to reign in her excitement before she continued. “How about this? You let Thadius cook tonight if we go to your place. Then if you still want to cook, I won’t stop you.”

“Alright…”