Whether it was by coincidence or design, the store both siblings recommended was not too far a distance from their previous location. It took only a short while for them to arrive at their destination.
"Here we are," Natalie announced.
A useless gesture in Thera's opinion as the supposed store was quite hard to miss.
"This is the store?" She asked carefully.
"Yep," Natalie answered as they drove into the parking lot.
"The sign is right there sister, it is very hard to miss" Ezraphel giggled at her expense.
Thera almost rolled her eyes but she would agree with her sibling, it was indeed very hard to miss. The giant yellow sign acted as a literal beacon with the sun now fully down, which was saying something with there being light from various sources such as: street lights, the vehicle headlights, the signs of stores, the 'billboards' advertising products and everything in between.
It was so bad that the stars weren't even visible. There were few places on Eos that were comparable and even then this was on a much larger scale. Even as the car was parked and the four women exited the vehicle Thera's eyes were still kept on the store.
'Can this even be called a store anymore?'
The 'store' was huge, looking more like a warehouse complex meant to reserve goods than a place meant to trade them directly to the customer.
'For all I know it could be both.'
As they made their way through the parking lot Thera observed and catalogued everything. From the sizable parking lot filled with dozens of vehicles to the consistent throng of people entering and leaving through the wide doors. She noted how most customers leaving had some manner of parcel in hand with one pushing a cart. They entered the building through the doors that opened automatically by sliding apart sideways which gave Thera pause but not as much as when she got a proper look inside.
On Eos Magitech, while not unknown, was a niche concept that largely remained novel to the majority of the world. It was only found in ancient ruins and studied by specialists whose numbers were in the minority and utilized even less by countries on a semi large scale.
It was only in recent times that Magitech had become somewhat prevalent in the cultural zeitgeist with the advent of Gremlin researchers and the discovery of Automatons, an ancient type of advanced Golem created through ancient mysterious means.
Places like Gremtopia and the 'Neon Streets' of Court Alf's Song Island Saida did a lot to unveil the mystique of Magitech and further rouse public interest. They certainly garnered Thera's interest though in the grand scheme magitech still remained more an academic curiosity than something to be applied practically and produced on a massive scale.
The reason for this being the active suppression or outright ban of its use in many places. The Holy Order was especially egregious with its rejection of Magitech with any use for it being relegated to anti-mamono weaponry.
But Thera wouldn't place all the blame on ignorant humans or her hated enemies for the lack of proliferation of Magitech on Eos. Mamono could be just as ignorant and some mamono realms have also chosen to reject the technology for their own reasons.
Rumors have been floating around that certain Gods were wary of the technology. Even Thera's mother had taken some time to warm up to the technology back in the day or so the rumor went.
That aside, the truth was that even with all the studies of the technology and discoveries of new Magitech caches every once in a while, the technology was still barely understood and ultimately finite. It was a shame because Thera recognized the technology's potential but that potential will only be revealed in the future by centuries or even a millenia.
The tour of one of Earth's cities served to validate her opinion and while she kept her reactions purposefully measured, Thera was genuinely amazed by what she saw. Yet even with the constant exposure enabling her to somewhat get used to how widespread technology was, it still hadn't really sunk in what it really meant.
The reason for this being that the places where the technology was most utilized happened to be either integrated within the city's infrastructure or within businesses, both of which were similar in scope to what she had witnessed in places on Eos where magitech was utilized.
All this to say that to Thera's sensibilities it wasn't outside the realm of possibility that these places would have 'magitech-like' technology present. Even Stanley's abode conformed to this sensibility as it was more or less confirmed that the man had considerable wealth and that was enough 'justification' for the presence of 'Magitech.'
Entering Best Buy challenged this notion however as here was a store that dealt exclusively in the sale of these technologies to the Earth equivalent of commoners rather than other businesses or people of higher standing like nobles and merchants.
She could see it plainly in the appearances of the customers that roamed the massive store as well as the way they carried themselves. These were your normal, average, run of the mill citizens purchasing what, on Eos, could be considered technological marvels with all the mundanity of peasants perusing a marketplace.
The sheer scale and diversity of technologies on display certainly helped to sell the disparity that finally put things into perspective for her. And just like that the little bit of delusion that Thera had been subconsciously indulging finally shattered under the weight of the visual evidence presented before her.
*Click*
Thera was so out of it that it took a familiar sound and brief flash of light to rouse her from her stupor.
Blinking a bit, the Lilim cringed internally 'not again.'
By far the most annoying aspect of this outing was Ezraphel's insistence on capturing her reactions on her phone. Thera was ashamed to say that there were several instances where her sister managed to catch her in a compromised position. It wouldn't have been so bad if she didn't act like every success was some kind of victory over her.
Thera would like to say that it didn't affect her much beyond mere annoyance but that would be a bold faced lie. Thera did not enjoy being made a fool of and while she could endure and even ignore the occasional pranks, Ezraphel was being very insistent and it had long since gotten on her nerves. Thus she turned a withering glare to her sibling ready to make it clear how little she appreciated these pranks when she was hit with a shock.
"It wasn't me" Ezraphel spoke with her hands up and phone absent.
Slowly the older Lilim turned towards the only other person with a phone.
Natalie for her part held up her phone with a 'sheepish' grin "sorry, I saw you gawking and I couldn't resist."
"I was not gawking" Thera defended in a carefully measured tone.
"Are you sure about that?" She asked before showing the phone screen.
As if it wasn't mortifying enough, it wasn't a picture that was shown but a video. Said video showed a wide eyed Thera staring around in open mouth wonder that could be construed as gawking.
"Sorry honey but you were caught in 4K" she then did something "heads up Ez, sending it to you now."
A moment later and a ding came from Ezraphel's phone causing the Lilim to check before tittering "ah, another one for the collection~"
"…"
It was one thing to endure her sister's teasing, however Natalie for all that she was now part of the family, was effectively a stranger she had only met just the day prior. Had there not been that familial link and had Thera not possessed anything less than impeccable control she might have retaliated against this slight. Yet it was specifically due to these factors that Thera chose not to do any of that. Instead she took a moment to silently recompose herself and without offering nary a word or change in her neutral expression she began marching further into the store.
"Thera? T-Thera wait! It was just a joke! I'm sorry!"
She ignored her sister's calls and pleas for forgiveness.
"Ah, let her go Ez," Natalie said. "That girl needs to lighten up."
Thera felt her eye give an involuntary twitch 'lighten up?'
"Tch!"
She didn't need to lighten up. What was that woman talking about? Didn't she know what was at stake!?
'And I thought she was actually intelligent.'
The utter gall!
'She sounds just like…just…like…mother…'
Thera paused as her aimless march took her near a section of the store marked Home Theater where her attention was drawn to a dozen Televisions screens displaying a multitude of programs. Of all the videos being shown her eyes found the one that didn't seem rooted in reality, a 'cartoon' Ezraphel had called it. Thera stared at the screen for what could be minutes before she was suddenly interrupted.
"Excuse me miss?"
Thera blinked and turned towards the voice to find a young man wearing a blue shirt with a yellow tag that had the word 'Marvin' written on it.
"Yes?" She answered reflexively. "Is there a problem?"
It might have come out more snappish than she intended, causing the man to momentarily pause in bewilderment.
'Or perhaps he is mesmerized by my beauty' she thought idly by the way he stared and the emotions she sensed from him.
To Marvin's credit he was only distracted for a second before he came back to his senses and plastered on a small smile that was a bit more genuine.
"I saw you standing here and I was just wondering if you needed help deciding what to get."
Thera pursed her lips for a moment before a small charming smile appeared on her face.
"Actually Marvin, I find myself ever so curious about some of your products. Won't you indulge me with a tour of your facilities?"
The poor man was momentarily at a loss for words before saying "a-a tour miss."
"Just a few questions on your products" she informed "and you don't have to worry, I understand your time is valuable as an employee. I actually do plan to make a purchase, several in fact. I have recently had a, let's call it a financial windfall, and am in dire need of a few things but I can be convinced of getting more."
That made the employee perk up and while he still held some doubts he was seemingly willing to risk it.
"Of course, I am willing to help you miss-"
"Thera" she said, her smile turning pleased "my name is Thera."
Meanwhile…
Ezraphel, Natalie and Anastasia were going about their business while keeping a surreptitious eye on the elder Lilim who was speaking with an employee.
"I think we may have gone too far," said a worried Ezraphel.
"No we did not" Natalie assured with a casual wave of her hand "she overreacted. I should've asked this earlier but is she always wound so tight?"
"Thera places a great emphasis on propriety, like many nobles she has to maintain a certain image. She would not appreciate having pictures of her circling around that have her appear in an unflattering light."
Natalie made a face while Ana raised a brow "..."
Ezraphel's frown became more pronounced at Ana's silent prodding before she sighed "you are right, there is more to it. As you may have inferred, Thera was or rather is my minder, I was her responsibility and she took her role very seriously. Despite how it may appear she does care very much about my well being. So you can imagine how it must have been for her when I suddenly disappeared without a trace."
"Ah" Natalie suddenly gained a look of realization "she seems kinda fine though."
Ezraphel looked down sadly "Thera is quite adept at cosmetic and mental magic and is a phenomenal actress. Only the most keen of observers and those truly close to her would be able to see that something is amiss."
"Makes sense," Natalie muttered with a frown. "So how bad is it?"
Ezraphel's frown became more pronounced "not as bad as last night but even though resting had driven away the obvious signs of fatigue it is clear as day that my year long absence has taken its toll."
'Knowing her it would not surprise me if she spent every waking moment attempting to find me throughout that time.' Ezraphel thought grimly.
It's the reason why this outing wasn't just meant to get Thera familiarized with Earth but to act as a way to get her to relax. Ezraphel had tried at every turn to steer the tour to that path but with little apparent success.
'I should have known better.'
Thera was a known workaholic and it wasn't necessarily because she actively sought it out either. It's more that she couldn't help but to pick up 'work' even in periods of leisure. But again, this wasn't necessarily her fault either since the majority of her official assignments take place on the Order continent.
As an example she could be passing through a mamono village to rest up during her travels and end up lending her expertise to aid in fortifying their defenses against enemy intrusions.
Considering present circumstances it made sense that Thera would be in a work-centric mindset. Ezraphel knew this but was really hoping she would be able to get through to her.
"So are we just going to stand here and keep an eye on her?"
"If the day is anything to go by then Thera will want information on the electronics from someone knowledgeable."
"You mean the one she plans to buy right?"
Ezraphel turned towards her with the closest thing to a deadpan expression she's ever seen and said "what do you think?"
At this Natalie groaned "that's going to take forever."
"You don't have to stay, I can call you when we're done. Worst case scenario I just teleport us home."
"Oh no, I am not leaving you alone with her," Natalie said resolutely.
Ezraphel blinked at how fiercely she said this "Okay."
Natalie then looked around "might as well get some window shopping done while I'm here."
With that the Wight left the Lilim's side but still kept the other Lilim in her sights.
Ezraphel released a breath "I suppose it's just you and I Anastasia."
The disguised Lilim looked around only to find the Golem was nowhere to be seen causing her shoulders to sag. To make matters worse she was receiving a lot of unwanted attention from customers and store employees, the latter of whom seem to take her sudden loner status as an invitation to approach.
"Nope" she applied a minor charm to dissuade approach and started walking away to follow her older sibling who was now on the move.
Later…
Thera spent almost an hour with Marvin who turned out to be a font of knowledge on not just the products but technology in general. Through him she managed to learn quite a bit on the various electronics. Of course there were some gaps when it came to the history and specifics on manufacturing but that could be solved with her own research.
Marvin's knowledge lent him some credit but it was clear to Thera that the man had some passion as well. He genuinely enjoyed explaining the various technologies and was quite forthcoming with his honest opinions. She never used her charm magic on him once, not that she heavily relied on it to begin with for situations like this. Overall the experience was quite pleasant and she was thoroughly impressed, so much so that by the end she bought more than what she initially came for.
In addition to the cellphone and laptop she also bought herself a personal computer, tablet, an SD card, headphones, wireless ear pods and several other accessories. There wasn't a practical reason for buying some of them but her purchase came mostly from curiosity and her good mood. And while she had most likely gotten a bad deal for some of the items it wasn't as if she was hurting for money at the moment.
Though now that her business was concluded Thera now had no excuse not to revisit the events from earlier. With a clear mind and the benefit of hindsight Thera replayed the scene of her departure from her sister and the conclusion she reached had given her the urge to cover her face in shame.
'I can't believe I let their juvenile antics agitate me to such a degree.'
It was only through this bit of self reflection that Thera realized how wound up she had been. In truth she had been like this from the moment she left that recreation of the Royal Makai that morning. It had only gotten progressively worse over the hours and she knew why. Thera had never once considered this tour to be a leisurely endeavor. This was just work with extra steps, reconnaissance to be specific. The type one does before a battle and there was no mistake that this was the field upon which Thera will fight the most important battle of her life.
Then she juxtaposed this thought with her experience with the other three women so far and immediately noticed the clear disconnect between her thoughts and reality.
"What am I doing?" She whispered to herself.
Here she was comparing a leisurely outing with her sister to war preparations. This realization was made worse by the fact that Ezraphel had been visibly and obviously putting her all into trying to get Thera to relax as much as she could. There was genuine effort put into everything her sister did and Thera had largely ignored it, conflating those efforts as just her sister's usual antics.
She should know better, she did know better but Thera had been so distracted by the sights, caught up in the implications and focused on her own increasingly futile attempts at maintaining her calm facade that she missed the obvious. It was embarrassing but most importantly it was shameful as it hurt Ezraphel. There wasn't an excuse that could be used to defend it so she didn't bother.
'There is only one way to rectify this.'
Just as she thought this she sensed Ezraphel's approach. The taller disguised Lilim walked up casually to stand beside her while her items were being checked out.
"Was all this necessary to buy?" The younger Lilim asked.
"Necessary? Not really, but I cannot say it was a terrible decision."
"I did not take you for a frivolous spender, Thera."
"Well that goes to show how little you know of me."
"I think I know you pretty well though."
There was a brief lull of silence as the items were tallied and Thera paid the bill in cash leaving a generous tip for Marvin. The now purchased products were then loaded up on a cart where another employee was pushing it for them.
"Where are Natalie and Ana?"
They went to bring the car around.
"I see."
There was another lull of silence as the two exited the store and Thera directed the employee to leave the cart there. She then gave him a tip and bid him farewell in spite of his slight insistence on helping them pack everything in the vehicle.
Once the two were left alone Ezraphel turned to her sibling and said "Thera about earlier I want to ap-"
Whatever she was about to say was interrupted when the other Lilim raised a finger before casting a subtle barrier that would ward off scrutiny. As the spell took effect the interest a few nearby passersby held towards them lifted and before long they all went back to their own business while ignoring them.
With that done Thera looked her sister in the eye with a stern expression and said "don't apologize Ezra, we both know you did nothing wrong" she paused with a self depreciating expression "except for expecting your foolish older sister to take her head out of her ass and acknowledge what you've been doing all day."
Ezraphel recoiled, having not expected such crass language "Thera!"
The older Lilim rolled her eyes at Ezraphel's overtly dramatic gasp and scandalous expression and said "oh please, I am quite certain you've heard worse from your husband."
"That is not the point. You are supposed to be setting an example for your impressionable younger sibling."
The words were said in jest yet Thera's expression became a bit more downcast as she muttered "I am supposed to, aren't I? Yet I have not been doing a very good job of it."
Ezraphel hesitated a bit but eventually said "it's your first day in a new world Thera, you just need time to properly adjust."
"Perhaps…" Thera trailed off looking to the side before returning her gaze back to her sister and said "regardless, I offer my sincerest apologies for how I have acted throughout the day. I should have been better."
"It's okay Thera, I understand. And I forgive you."
"Thank you."
Ezraphel gave her a close eyed smile "you are welcome!"
A few moments later Natalie pulled up with the car and popped the trunk. The four then packed most of the items in the trunk which of course was a front because the moment the trunk was closed Thera recalled everything to her own personal pocket dimension.
As they got into the car Natalie looked over her shoulder at Thera offering a sheepish grin as she said "hey so, no hard feelings?"
In response to her question and the sheepish grin on her face Thera said nothing. She simply stared with an unreadable expression, letting the silence stretch long enough to be at the edge of uncomfortable.
After almost a minute Natalie's grin was wiped off and in its place was a small grimace. Just as the Wight was contemplating breaking the awkward silence, she was beaten to the punch.
"No, of course not." Thera finally responded. The older Lilim even offered a charming smile, one which Natalie reciprocated and actually did a good job of masking her discomfort.
"Okay, cool" Natalie nodded "cool-cool-cool."
She turned back around but just as she was about to drive out of the parking lot Thera continued.
"However…"
This made Natalie pause and she caught the older Lilim's gaze in the rearview mirror, her eyes were glowing red.
"I will remember this slight and dole out the appropriate recompense in due time."
Natalie couldn't help but reflexively swallow as Thera pulsed some of her mana during her declaration. Still the Wight composed herself internally while maintaining a steady gaze through the reflection.
"Well damn," she chuckled with a wry smile "and here I thought you didn't have a sense of humor."
Then her gaze caught sight of Ezraphel who looked between the two with obvious worry and some of her humor was lost.
'Ah shit.'
To Be Continued…