Mantle of the Gods [LitRPG / Slow Burn / FTB Harem]

I hadn't ridden in many cars.

Growing up, I'd spent most of my time at the Temple. Once I'd gotten older, I'd moved to the Dispatcher bunks, but those were still within walking distance of the Temple, so there'd been no need for one. Once I got to the Cathedral, we used RVs to travel since there was such a long drive between most of the cities.

The SUV was more spacious than I expected, but having to account for leg room was strange. It had two rows of seats in the back, with Aelin driving and Miel in the front. That left Gesai and Jenne in the middle with myself and Oz in the back.

The vehicle was uncomfortably quiet, so I cleared my throat and decided to see just how much the spy would say. I wasn't sure that I wanted to have this conversation in front of Miel, but she was Pixie's sister and Ether's mother, which kind of put her directly in my life. I leaned forward and wrapped my arms around Gesai. I felt her relax as she leaned back into me. I tried to keep my voice even as I looked at Jenne. "What's your deal with Trent?"

Jenne looked at me with a curious expression. "What do you mean?" She twirled a loose bang, then tucked it behind her ear.

"What I mean is." I swallowed. "Every woman I've been around who's been close to my age has become completely infatuated with me unless I consciously think about her as taken by someone else. You aren't throwing yourself at me." I paused. "The only thing we've seen that blocks it so far has been a seal, and I don't think my father would allow someone sealed to someone else on the team."

Jenny sighed. "I can't tell you anything." She tapped her fingers together. "You should really talk to your father about it."

I nodded. I had a feeling that that was going to be the case. I patted her on the shoulder, and she flinched under my touch but didn't pull away. "Don't worry, I saw what it did to Astrid when we tried to interrogate her. I'm not going to repeat that. But I guess the main thing is that I'm going out on a limb to trust you here. I just… I kind of wanted to know that I wasn't going to get shot in the back."

Jenny smiled in a warm way. "Your father brought me here, and that's all I can safely say."

I nodded and sat back in my seat. That was the answer I expected. She was loyal to my father, not to me. But as far as things went, Trent and my life were very intertwined, so it was basically the same thing. Just now I knew that she would always take his side over mine.

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Oz leaned in and whispered in my ear. "Is she part of the group now?"

I shook my head. I didn't want to say anything because I wasn't sure how well the other Caster could hear. Most people with pointed ears could usually hear better than those with round ears. I wasn't sure what the deal was because pointed-eared people's ears were usually smaller. From what I had been taught, the larger the ear, the better you should be able to hear. It was one of those hiccups that humans had.

Oz nodded at my answer and laid her head on my shoulder as she scooted closer to me. "How are you doing?"

"I'm tired, I'm sore, I'm worried, and I'm stressed." I chuckled. "I'm probably going to go kick a hornet's nest, but when two of my people are missing, I'm not going to stop until we find something."

Oz grinned and squeezed her arm against my chest. "Make sure to leave some kicking for me."

She wasn't usually affectionate in public, but she did enjoy having that physical reassurance. I slipped my arm out and behind her and pulled her closer. It wasn't like we were going to be doing much until we got to the mall.

The front of the mall was quiet, understandably so. Considering Klix was making a ruckus across town, it made sense that the cultists would be lying low.

"This might be a little bit harder than I thought." I wasn't surprised that the Cultists were hiding, but there was a part of me that had hoped that Gesai would be able to grab a few of the Cultists and ply them for answers. Now that there weren't any here, we were going to have to look for answers somewhere else. Which meant getting the shopkeepers to talk, and that was going to be expensive.

There weren't any dedicated armor or weapon stores at Klix. Housing and food were subsidized so anyone could live comfortably. That meant that Mundane had a much higher quality of life here than almost anywhere else in the world, but when an Adventurer didn't have to pay for housing or food, that meant they had more money for other things. This drove up the price for weapons and armor, and the Adventurers had demanded that with a higher price for equipment, there be a higher price paid when they sold equipment. Which would have been fine if someone hadn't realized that they could have gear shipped into Klix from other cities cheaper than the gear cost in the city. Prices had tanked almost overnight, and shops were stuck with inventory they'd paid too much for that they had to sell at a loss. By the time that the economy had stabilized, the damage had been done. There were very few equipment shops in Klix, with most focusing on repair or consumables. Both of which were more expensive, but waiting on gear to be shipped to another city, then back or waiting for consumables to be shipped in from another city meant losing time farming in the Dungeon. So they paid the higher prices.

But no official armor or weapon shops meant that the private market was alive and kicking. There wasn't a reliable inventory, so you'd never know if they had what you were looking for. With individual vendors, you did get a lot more personalized service, and vendors love to gossip if they thought it'd get you to spend more All, the currency backed by the All-Temple.

Aelin pulled the vehicle into a parking spot near the middle of the lot.

"We're here!" The happy blonde cheered.