“You heard this joke before?” Tesilim asked, confused, Jasmine’s sudden bright smile taking him by surprise.

  “No, silly,” Jasmine answered with a giggle.

  “Uh, okay, so as I was saying, the mushroom was a fun g-” Tesilim attempted to continue the joke, considering Jasmine's smile was nothing too out of the ordinary. However, he was quickly shut down.

  “Shut up, Tesilim,” Rose told him sternly before addressing Jasmine, “Jasmine, anything you want to share with the party?” Rose knew her best friend, and something good had to have happened for her to smile with such jubilance. Meanwhile, Tesilim deflated slightly but easily switched his attention to the twin.

  “I, we, have decided to share something important with you all,” Jasmine said with levity, an undercurrent of excitement barely hidden. Obviously, upon hearing those words, Tesilim and Lili’s interest was instantly piqued, while Alyx and Rose exchanged knowing glances between themselves and Jasmine.

  As the moment passed, the room was overtaken by silence, everyone waiting for Jasmine to continue while also exchanging glances with one another as if the looks in their eyes would reveal what was going on. Meanwhile, Jasmine was now a bit nervous, and her words were stuck in her throat, allowing a slight tension to build.

  “Don’t tell me that you’re actually triplets!” Tesilim told them excitedly, only to be promptly slapped on the back by his girlfriend.

  “No, Tesilim, we aren’t triplets,” Jasmine answered with a smile, happy that Tesilim had slightly diffused the building tension. More importantly, it allowed Jasmine to regain her composure, and she continued.

  “Alyx, would you please bring out your door? I would prefer to have the privacy within.”

  Not having to be told twice, Alyx pulled out his cube, and a few seconds later, the party was staring at the brass, blueish metal door. Like always, the magic the item gave off was so potent that they could feel the tingle of power on their skin. Ignoring the magical door, considering they had seen it dozens of times, the party made their way inside, and the door was quickly shut.

  Inside Alyx’s room, everyone moved to get comfortable, but in a way that made Jasmine the center of attention. Jasmine was right in front of and leaning against Alyx’s bed. The twin held the center position while Rose was slightly to her right, also leaning against the gnome's bed. However, where Jasmine’s demeanor was mostly relaxed, Rose had her arms crossed and looked like her friend's bodyguard.

  Alyx was to the left of Jasmine, but he had positioned himself a short distance from the bed's corner, his position allowing him to scan the room, his gaze switching between the two best friends, the couple, and drake. The couple in question was across from the two friends. Tesilim had taken Alyx's chair, turned it around, and was now sitting, looking at the two girls. Meanwhile, Lili had sat on the gnome's desk and was right behind her elf, her legs partially wrapped around his waist, while her hands played with his hair, her demeanor slightly defensive and possessive, all the while trying to seem calm, even as if without a doubt her eyes and mind were homed in on the goings on. Finally, Drex was lying between Alyx and Tesilim. The drake understood something important was going on and was patiently waiting for things to start.

  It had only taken a minute for everyone to get comfortable, and once Jasmine saw that they were ready and she had their undivided attention, she knew it was time. That said, though she spoke to the whole group, her words were realistically intended only for Tesilim and Lili.

  Taking a deep breath, Jasmine began, “So, I am not sure what is going through your minds right now, but I believe it is obvious that what I have to say is about our condition. Though more importantly, these two already know,” Jasmine said, gesturing at Rose and Alyx before pausing to see if the couple had anything to say. Only getting nods of recognition, Jasmine decided to continue.

  “Of course, there is a reason why we didn’t tell you. The reason is that our condition extends to more complex issues, and if the wrong people find out, as with Tesilim’s own issues, we can be in real trouble. We told Alyx only because we needed his help, and because he signed a contract. Rose, on the other hand, is our friend, but even then, she is part of this contract. That said, though we hope you two would also be interested in signing one, it is not required. We have chosen, after coming to know you, to finally share our story, and we sincerely hope our lack of trust hasn’t caused an irreparable rift between us, considering you shared Tesilim’s condition with us, when you could have as easily kept us in the dark,” With her words coming to an end, Jasmine once again met Lili’s and Tesilim’s eyes to see what they held while she waited for them to say anything.

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  Lili’s eyes held no contempt, and neither did her words, “I understand, we all have secrets, and from what I have felt, it is no simple matter. Dealings with the divine are always tricky.”

  Lili's words had a visible impact on everyone, Tesilim’s head tilting back to meet Lili’s eyes, then he looked straight at Jasmine. The twins' puzzles were beginning to click. Meanwhile, Alyx and the two best friends were shocked, but not too much, since anyone who came in contact with divine energy could tell what type of magic the two friends were using. It was one of the reasons they traveled and fought alone and tried not to use their powers in public.

  For her part, Lili gave them a friendly smile; she had had plenty of dealings with divine entities before, as she used to be tied to a god herself. So, it wasn’t her first time feeling Luxana’s or Setiel’s mana; that said, she had her secrets, and the twins had their own, so she hadn’t pried.

  “I can see where this is going,” Tesilim began. Then, after a pause to gather his thoughts, he continued, “However, you have yet to tell us anything, though I will say that I have no real issue with your deceit. You were protecting yourself and possibly us, though it helps that Alyx knew. More importantly, no real harm has been done. Even so, the question that remains is whether whatever issues you have are worth dealing with.”

  Tesilim’s words came as a shock to everyone. They had expected him to be annoyed, maybe a bit mad, and possibly joke about something. What they hadn’t expected was for him to question whether learning and dealing with the consequences of whatever Jasmine brought was a worthy endeavor.

  Seeing the shock on their faces and feeling Lili tighten her legs around him was unsurprising. He liked to joke a lot and maybe didn’t take many things too seriously, but he wasn’t dumb. He already knew life in his new world would be hard, especially with his new powers, and he needed to question whether adding more to that plate was worth it.

  It wasn’t something he had thought about much, and was recently reminded of, after all, the truth was that Tesilim didn’t know much about Lili.

  Lili’s words about divine entities were slightly concerning, but nothing he worried about. In fact, as dumb as it sounded, Tesilim was blinded by love, so he hadn’t questioned her past too much. He didn’t care much about what baggage his girlfriend came with, but he knew she had to have some. After all, someone didn’t live 300 years without a very long history. Of course, whatever those problems were, he wasn’t going to let them come between them, at least not at this point in time. He was resolved, as with those he had loved in the past, to deal with her issues when or if they came knocking. In fact, this also extended to the Alyx, though Tesilim doubted the gnome had many dark secrets.

  With that in mind, the ones whom Tesilim questioned were Rose and the twins, at least now he did. If their secret was indeed so extreme that it would be a demerit to his new life, then maybe it was best they split ways. Obviously, this would split their party after they had spent so much time together, but sometimes it was best to cut a finger to save the rest of the hand.

  It took a minute for the silence brought by Tesilim’s question to be broken. No one had expected those words from the elf, but in a way, it made sense to them. Granted, they knew he was being somewhat hypocritical considering the issues his Chaos Mana brought, but that was a risk they had come to accept and could have walked away from. Meanwhile, the twins were dumping this secret on him without regard for the problems it might cause. Even so, Jasmine felt like they were at the end of a thread, and even if their secret could unravel everything, it could also be the final string that brought it all together. It was also the right thing to do; it would allow Tesilim to make a decision and might even hopefully garner some sentiment from the elf’s sense of justice.

  Taking a shaky breath, Jasmine finally cut through the tension in the air, her eyes locked on Tesilim’s, “I am afraid, you are right. We were so worried about our issues and what revealing them to you might mean for us that we failed to see the fact that they might cause problems for you as well. Of course, as you said, we have yet to share anything with you, and it is possible for you to avoid the problems that merely knowing could bring your way. However, I still ask that you at least hear our story, and then decide what me, Arelion, and the party are worth to you. What do you say?”

  With Jasmine’s words, the tension in the room grew as all eyes were on Tesilim. Alyx was stiff as a rock, hoping he wouldn’t be made to choose between them. Rose held herself back from yelling at the world. The redhead was irrationally annoyed at Tesilim for making things more difficult. Meanwhile, Jasmine waited, breath held, to see how fate would play with them.

  For Drex and Lili, well, they were unnaturally still. The choice of their future was practically decided, but that didn’t mean that they weren’t absorbed in the moment as they waited for their elf’s response.

  Holding Jasmine’s gaze, Tesilim thought back on their time so far. From the day he met and lost to Arelion during their spar, to when he finally met Jasmine at the Adventurers Guild. Ever since then, they had been traveling together, and they had become friends. They had fought and bled together, faced death together, and he had seen that they were good people. Sure, now they were at an impasse, but as friends, the very least he could do was hear what they had to say.

  “Sure, let's hear this secret of yours,” Tesilim said with a smile, and there was an audible sigh as everyone released the breath they were holding.