An hour later, after everyone was ready for the day, Rielle and Artorius prepared to leave.

“You two have fun,” Maira says.

“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” Erica says.

“We’re not kids,” Artorius says, facing her.

“That’s the problem,” Erica mutters.

“It’ll be fine. See you guys later.” Rielle states as she and Artorius walk off toward the commercial district. 

Erica sighs.

“What’s wrong? Getting nervous?” Maira asks.

“I… I guess I am. Artorius is her first, after all. Technically speaking, if he lived as long as her, none of us would’ve met her at all.” Erica admits.

“Look, Erica. I understand where you’re coming from, but you have got to remain confident,” Maira says, placing her hands on Erica’s shoulders. “In the end, Rielle chose you, right? So be proud that you’ve stood by her side as long as we have.”

“You’re right. Thanks, Maira.” She says.

“No problem! Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get going for my appointment.” Maira states. She tries to walk off in the same direction as Rielle and Artorius. Erica grabs her by the back of her dress.

“As a thanks, I wanna take you somewhere,” Erica says.

“Really?!” Maira questions, turning to her. 

“Yeah, let's go training together!” Erica says with a smile.

Maira’s facial expression contorts to despair as she places her hands on the side of her head.

“Noooooooooooooo!” She exclaims while being dragged off.

“I may not be 100% confident in myself, but I know I can trust in Rielle.” Erica thinks as she drags off Maira.

Meanwhile, Artorius and Rielle made their way through town and were on their way to the commercial district.

“So, what’s the plan for today?” Artorius asks.

“I wanted to buy some furniture for my house when approval comes through.” She says.

“Approval?” He asks, looking over to her.

“Yeah, I didn’t want a house in the city. So I asked to make a house in the woods.” She says.

Artorius chuckles.

“That’s just like you.” He says. “I guess some things never change.”

“You can say that again.” She says. “It’s almost like you’re the same as the day we parted.”

“Well, in all this time, I feel like I’ve become more reflective of my actions. Maybe I feel a bit more mature than I used to be.” He says. “I do feel a bit of guilt.”

“Guilt? What for?” She asks.

“Well, after I came here, I spent 50 years waiting for you to come down. But after, I felt like you wouldn’t be down here for a while. I… Tried falling in love again.” He admits.

Rielle nods, listening to him speak.

“None of them really worked out, and it felt like a hollow attempt to remedy my loneliness.” He says.

Rielle looks to the sky.

“I’d never fault you for trying to find love after I was gone. Hell, this whole situation only exists because I had so many lovers. So, don’t feel guilty. In a way, it's a somewhat similar situation. If anything, I feel a bit closer to you now!” She exclaims, smiling widely.

Artorius pauses and stares in awe at her expression, then smiles.

“I can’t win against you.” He says.

After their short walk through town, they arrived at the commercial district. Rows of stores line the streets—restaurants, clothing stores, general goods, and furniture stores. They arrive at “Eepy’s Dream Weavers,” a wondrous emporium filled with all things bedding and nightwear related. Beds filled the tan room as far as the eye could see. At a section in the back, they also held specially made nightwear.

“Woah, this place is surprisingly huge,” Rielle says. “Are they using space magic?” 

“I knew it wouldn’t slip past you.” He says. “Most homes and buildings utilize space magic to use space effectively.”

“I’d have never thought. There are so few magic users here that It didn’t initially cross my mind.” She says.

“Are there really that few of them?” He asks with surprise.“Yeah, it's a bit surprising. Aside from me, there are two or three others here with ether strong enough to do this. And there’s only one that rivals me.” She says with a finger to her chin.

“Wow. you can tell all that from here?!” He says in amazement.

“I’ve been growing quite a bit since we were together, after all.” She says.

She dashes over to the first bed she sees and hops into it.

“Ugh. This is waaaay too stiff.” She says, gesturing to Artorius to come over.

He walks over to the other side and lays next to her. He peers at her as if he’s lying. Rielle rolls over onto her side and smiles at him.

“It’s way too stiff, isn’t it?” She whispers.

“Then we better find something softer.” He smirks.

After an hour of looking through the beds, Rielle saw one she liked. Unlike the other beds, its material was black and smooth. She sat on the bed, and her eyes widened.

“This one could be it…” Rielle mutters.

She lays down fully on the bed and lets out a deep breath.

“Oh, yeah. This is it.” She mutters. “Art, try it out.”

He lays beside her and feels relief filling his entire body. He notices all the tension leaving his body from his head to his toes.

“I could see myself waking up next to you in this bed.” He says.

“Oh? Is that right?” She says.

“That’s right. There’s no one else I’d rather spend time with.” He says, caressing her cheek.

“Ahem!” An attendant says. “Please, do not prepare to engage in unwelcome acts on our display beds.”

Artorius and Rielle look up at her and rise from the bed.

“Nothing unwelcome here. In fact, I wanted to buy this bed.” Rielle says.

The attendant claps her hands together in satisfaction.

“If you follow me to the back, we can sign the paperwork and process your payment.” She says.

“Sounds good,” Rielle says.

She whispers into Artorius’s ear.

“So, how does money work here?” Rielle questions.

“Everything is based around the currency soul coins. Not only are they currency, but they supply this place with the ether it needs to run.” He explains.

Rielle seems genuinely surprised and tilts her head.

“How does that work?” She asks.

“First, every person in the afterlife receives a certain amount of coins each month. The base rate is directly converted from all your good deeds while alive. Next, you can spend them however you like, but people who run businesses need to pay a tax, converted into ether to fuel this place.” Artorius says. “That's how the lights and everything are powered.”

“That’s actually quite genius,” Rielle says. “Where are they?” 

“Well, they’re stored within your soul, which makes them impossible to steal. If you think about how many you have, you’ll see the number appear in your mind.” Artorius explains.

Rielle closes her eyes, and a number appears in her head.

“65,340.” She states. “Is that a lot?”

Artorius chuckles.

“Let me put it in perspective. For most of my life, I was a medic, as you know. But my monthly total is about 9600.” He says with a smile.

“Oh.” She says.

“You’ve lived a thousand years, after all. I’d be surprised if it were any less.”

“I guess that’s true.” She says.

“It makes me wonder how much Erica and Maira have.” She thinks. 

They make it to the back and sit in the two chairs in front of the wooden desk. The lady stamps a paper from the desk, causing a lavender magic sigil to appear.

“Your total comes out to 1099sc. Please swipe here.” The lady says.

“You swipe your hand here and think about paying the transaction.” He says.

Rielle follows his instructions, taking her gloved right hand and running it across the magic sigil. Words appear above the sigil.

“Transaction complete.” It reads.

“So, where would you like it delivered?” The lady asks, placing the paper back in the desk drawer. 

“Ah, no need for a delivery; I’ll just take it now,” Rielle says with a smile.

“Oh... Okay, we’ll have it brought out from the warehouse.” She says.

She leaves Rielle and Artorius as she directs someone to bring the mattress to the showroom. Two men wearing a pair of overalls come carrying the mattress into the room and lean it against the wall. Rielle walks over and opens the pouch on her belt, and the mattress starts contorting and bending as if defying the laws of physics. It weaves into a small trail, distorting the air around the blackness. It travels along the air and into her small pouch. Leaving nothing behind, the attendant looks at the space in surprise.

“What was that, Miss?!” The attendant says.

“Oh, I have a bag that I altered with space magic so that I can store things many times its size in there.” She says.

“Erica told me you got better at using space magic, but it's shocking to see it in action.” He says.

After exiting the store, Rielle looks at Artorius.

“So, where should we go next?” She asks.

“How about we go get some lunch?” He suggests.

“Sounds good.” She agrees.

He reaches out and grabs her hand, taking her by surprise. A flash of red spreads across her face like wildfire. 

“Sorry… It’s been a while since I’ve done this.” She says.

“Normally, you’re so calm and collected. I’ve missed this side of you.” He says.

She turns away from him.

“Sheesh.” She mutters under her breath.