The Roof

I assemble the first chair and move it toward the back, near the reception counter. As I open the next box, I hear a ringing sound. I turn and see Asami and Liz carrying in another large box. They quickly set it against the wall.

"What's that?" Liz asks as Asami pulls her phone out. She swipes the screen and the ringing stops.

"It's an alarm. I set it so I wouldn't miss when Eric needs to drink the potion Ramia made." Asami replies before disappearing. Liz heads back out to get another box and I sigh. Asami reappears with the potion and a glass of water. She hands them to me and I down them both.

"Is it really that bad?" Asami asks and I nod.

"It tastes like coppery garbage." I reply and she chuckles softly.

"Speaking off. I rented one of those large garbage bins for the boxes. It just got dropped off, so make sure to put the boxes in it." She says before picking up the box of the chair I just assembled and leaving. I get started on the next and we spend the next few hours working. After drinking the second dose of the potion, today at least. I'm feeling much better. I'm still sore, but I'm no longer numb or in any pain. Once the girls finished with the boxes, they helped me in assembling the furniture. It takes most of the day, but we get all the furniture assembled. We put all the empty boxes in the garbage bin and realize we'll need to cut them up. The girls make me cut the boxes, so I don't exert myself as much. I take all the boxes back out and start cutting them. I fold them up and stack them in the bin. It takes quite a while, but I get all the boxes cut up and stacked in the bin. It's still nearly full. But I'm sure we can find a use for a bunch of boxes. I head back inside and see the girls have mostly finished with the furniture. I go to grab a chair when I hear a car outside. I walk out as the doors open. I see a Jeep with Kallen, Kagiyama, Sugano, Hino, and Myla. They all get out and walk over.

"What are you all doing here?" I ask a little confused.

"We just wanted to see your Guild Hall. Asami said you were still all working here and that we could drop by." Sugano says and I nod. I hear Asami start talking from behind me.

"Yep. Come on in, I'll show you around." Asami says and the others all follow her in. I follow them and Kallen turns to me.

"How are you feeling Eric? I hear you got severely injured fighting the Demon God." Kallen asks and I nod.

"Much better, Ramia made a potion that fixed me up. I'm just a little sore now." I reply.

"She's really talented at Alchemy. Was Gaia not able to heal you?" Sugano asks.

"No, she did. But I don't think she can do much for pain." I say and she nods.

"Did you get any scars?" Kagiyama asks.

"Yeah, it's on my chest." I reply as Asami takes over. She starts telling the others what each room will be used for. As well as what furniture we're missing. I'm shocked at what we see once we get to the roof. The garden is fully planted, with lots of flowers plants and a few trees. I see Liz walking around slowly next to the only empty plot.

"This is beautiful." I hear Myla say while looking around.

"How'd you plant these this fast?" Kallen asks.

"No clue. You'd have to ask Liz. She's the one who did this." I say and he nods. I walk over to Liz while the others look around the garden.

"Hey Liz." I say, greeting her when I get close.

"Hey Eric. What are you doing up here?" She asks.

"Asami was showing Kallen and the others over there around." I say, pausing to motion to them. "I just tagged along to see how the place looked with some furniture." I say and she nods. "This place is beautiful by the way. I'm glad I have you, I'd have never been able to make this place." I say and she smiles proudly.

"Plants are what I do best! But Eric, while I have you here I need to ask you something. Are you willing to enter into a Pact with the Dryads?" She asks, throwing me off by how serious she got.

"Yeah, but it would depend on what the Pact is. Why do you ask?" I ask her and she smiles.

"Because I was going to create a permanent portal to the Dryads forest. This one would stay here and wouldn't disappear, unless I made it. They actually help nearby plants grow and flourish too, so it'd help the garden. But the problem is that it's a pain to remove. So I was hesitant to make it." She says before reaching out. I see the dirt in the empty plot in front of her start to glow. Grass appears and two long blue vines grow from the center. They stretch upward and meet, creating an oval shape that's a foot taller than I am. A tree suddenly sprouts in the back left corner. It grows quickly and I see the leaves are blue. Once it stops several small drops of blue light fall from the tree. It almost looks like it's raining, except the lights fall very slowly. I turn to the portal to see it empty.

"Did it not work?" I ask her, causing her to look at me confused. I motion to the empty portal.

"No, it worked. I just haven't activated it. The Dryads don't want a portal open twenty-four-seven. So we can't just leave it. So, if you ever need to visit the Dryads forest, either I or a Dryad needs to activate it." She explains and I nod.

"Before it slips my mind again, when are Treena and Layla visiting?"

"They're coming tomorrow. We could do today, but I wasn't sure how you'd feel and how long the furniture would take. Asami mentioned that tomorrow's furniture delivery would have less furniture. So I decided to wait until tomorrow." She says and I nod. I turn around and see the roof is empty. "If you're looking for Asami or the others, they went downstairs. I heard Kallen say that they were leaving."

"Thanks. I'll see you later Liz." I say before heading back inside.