Chapter 139: The Permanent Gate of the World Tree 1

Adam watched the three women for a few more seconds.

Astraea was smiling.

Lyriana was too.

Elaria had that overly neutral expression she usually wore when she was trying to hide something.

Adam narrowed his eyes.

"No."

Lyriana tilted her head slightly.

"No what?"

"I don’t want to know."

He stood up.

"For once, I’m going to do something smart and completely ignore what’s going on in your heads."

Elaria adjusted her glasses.

"Wise decision."

"The fact that you agree makes me even more scared."

Astraea laughed softly.

Adam headed toward the bathroom.

Then he stopped.

Something had just come back to him.

"Ah."

He opened his inventory.

A small object appeared in her hand.

The Ring of Promise.

Astraea noticed it immediately.

Her expression changed.

Adam simply approached her.

Then he handed her the ring.

"This one is for you."

Astraea looked at the object first.

Then at Adam.

"For me?"

"Yes."

She took it delicately.

Adam indicated Lyriana and Elaria.

"For a detailed explanation, ask these two. They already know how it works."

Lyriana smiled.

"A very romantic way to present it."

Adam looked at her.

"I just woke up. Leave me alone."

Astraea was still observing the ring.

The small piece of metal seemed simple at first glance.

But she could sense the particular mana emanating from it.

"An object from the system?"

Adam nodded.

"Yes."

Elaria immediately took over.

"It’s a Promise Ring. It has a connection to certain functions of the Bridal Chamber."

Lyriana added:

"And it officially recognizes the wearer as one of Adam’s consorts."

Astraea slowly raised her eyes.

Her smile softened considerably.

"I see."

Then she slipped the ring onto her finger.

She turned her hand slightly.

Observed the reflection of light on the metal.

And again.

Adam smiled.

"Do you like it?"

"Very much."

She continued to admire it.

"Very much indeed."

Lyriana folded her arms.

"You can stop looking at it, you know. It’s not going to disappear."

Astraea replied without even looking away:

"Are you jealous?"

"Not at all."

"You answered too quickly."

Elaria turned her head slightly to hide her smile.

Adam decided to leave immediately.

"I’m going to shower before things get out of hand."

The shower was quick.

No long discussion this time.

Adam simply wanted to freshen up.

A few minutes later, he dried himself, got dressed, and left the bathroom.

The three women were still talking in the bedroom.

Astraea was now wearing her ring prominently.

And, amusingly enough...

She was still playing with it.

She was gently twirling it around her finger.

Looking at it.

Then she resumed the conversation.

Adam walked past them.

"I’ll make breakfast."

Astraea replied almost immediately:

"Very well."

Lyriana smiled.

"She’s already learned about priorities."

Astraea looked at her daughter.

"I tasted her cooking yesterday. Of course I’ve learned about priorities."

Adam burst out laughing.

Then he left the room.

He hadn’t planned on cooking anything complicated.

Opening his inventory...

He remembered he still had several mixes left.

Crepes.

Pancakes.

And a few cupcakes he had saved.

Adam smiled.

"Perfect."

He took everything out.

Then several jars of jam.

Strawberries.

Red berries.

Apricot.

Chocolate spread.

Honey.

A small pot of cream.

Butter.

A few fresh fruits completed the meal.

He gradually arranged the crepes and pancakes on large plates.

He warmed some of the portions slightly.

Then he moved on to the drinks.

Coffee for himself.

Tea for the others.

Hot milk.

And fresh fruit juice.

The table quickly began to fill up.

A sweet aroma of butter, warm batter, and sugar filled the house.

Adam was just putting down the last cups when he heard footsteps.

"Three..."

The first figure appeared.

Lyriana.

Then Elaria.

And finally Astraea.

Adam smiled.

"Predictable." "

Astraea was about to answer.

Then her gaze fell upon the table.

Her ring was immediately forgotten.

She approached.

"What’s all this?"

Adam indicated the different plates.

"Breakfast."

"I understood that."

She pointed to the crepes.

"These?"

"Crepes."

Then the pancakes.

"And these?"

"Pancakes."

She looked at the cupcakes.

"And these?"

"Cupcakes."

Astraea remained silent.

Then she turned to Lyriana.

"You already knew about this?"

Lyriana sat down at the table with an overly smug smile.

"Yes."

Elaria also sat down.

"For some time now." "

Astraea narrowed her eyes.

"And nobody told me about this?"

Lyriana shrugged.

"You didn’t ask."

"I didn’t even know it existed."

"It’s not our problem."

Astraea stared at her daughter.

Adam immediately placed a plate in front of her.

"Eat before you use a wrestling hold."

Astraea looked at the plate.

Then at Adam.

Then at Lyriana.

"Good idea."

Lyriana sighed in relief.

Adam handed her a crepe.

"Start with this."

"With what?"

"Whatever you like."

Astraea looked at the toppings.

Then she chose the red fruit jam.

Adam quickly showed her how to spread it.

She folded the crepe.

Then she tasted it.

Silence.

Lyriana was already looking at her with an unbearable smile.

Astraea chewed slowly.

Then she looked at the pancake.

"It’s... very light."

Adam nodded.

"That’s the idea."

She took another bite.

Then a third.

Lyriana crossed her arms.

"We’ve been eating them for a long time."

Astraea looked at her.

"Are you bragging?"

"Maybe."

Elaria took a pancake.

"She is bragging."

Astraea looked at her daughter.

Then she immediately took a second pancake.

This time with honey.

Lyriana burst out laughing.

"Are you trying to catch up?"

"Exactly."

Adam then placed a pancake in front of her.

"Now this." "

Astraea observed it.

"Thicker."

"And softer."

She added a little butter.

Then honey.

First bite.

Her expression changed immediately.

She looked at Adam.

"Why is this one even better?"

Adam smiled.

"Different. Not necessarily better."

Astraea took another bite.

"No. This one is better."

Lyriana interjected:

"Wrong. The pancakes are better."

Elaria shook her head.

"Pancakes are better with honey. Pancakes with jam."

Astraea turned to her.

"Finally, someone reasonable."

Lyriana protested:

"Traitor."

Adam finally sat down.

"I refuse to participate in a breakfast civil war."

Then Astraea discovered the cupcakes.

She took one.

She examined it from several angles.

"Do we eat the wrapper too?"

Adam nearly choked on his coffee.

Lyriana immediately burst out laughing.

Elaria replied very seriously:

"No."

Astraea removed the envelope.

"It’s a good thing I asked."

Adam put down his cup.

"I would have liked to see what would have happened if you hadn’t done it."

Astraea gave him a look.

"Don’t take your chances."

She tasted it.

And stopped again.

The cake was light.

Moist.

And slightly vanilla-flavored.

Astraea looked at the cupcake.

Then at Adam.

"Now I understand why Selene talks so much about your cooking."

Adam sighed.

"Her again."

Elaria replied:

"She really does talk about it a lot." "

Lyriana added:

"And now my mother will probably do the same."

Astraea nodded immediately.

"Yes."

Adam looked at her.

"At least you’re honest."

Breakfast continued in this way.

Astraea tried almost every possible combination.

Crepe and honey.

Crepe and jam.

Pancake and chocolate.

Pancake with butter and fruit.

Cupcake with tea.

At one point...

Lyriana watched her prepare a third crepe.

"You know there will be food left tomorrow."

Astraea replied:

"I know."

"Then why are you eating as if it’s all going to disappear?"

Astraea pointed at Adam.

"Because he can go back to Valoria."

Adam raised a finger.

"Technically, soon it won’t really be an issue anymore." "

The three women turned to him.

Adam smiled.

"Exactly."

After breakfast...

They returned to the living room.

Astraea had poured another cup of tea.

Lyriana was sitting by a large window.

Elaria had already taken out a notebook.

Adam looked at all three of them.

"Very well."

He opened his inventory.

Then he took out a card.

Astraea immediately recognized it as another item from the system.

"What is it?"

Adam placed it on the table.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Map — Permanent Door

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Function:

Create a permanent entrance connected to the Bridal Chamber.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Astraea looked up abruptly.

"Permanent?"

"Yes."

Adam explained:

"Once installed, it creates a doorway directly connected to the Chamber."

He paused.

"So instead of having to travel all the way from Sylvaris to Valoria..."

Elaria finished:

"We can simply walk through the Bridal Chamber."

Astraea looked at the map.

Then Adam.

Then the map again.

"So, a few seconds."

"In practice, yes."

A broad smile appeared.

"Install it."

Adam burst out laughing.

"I thought I’d at least have to explain more."

"You just told me I could go to Valoria without crossing the entire kingdom. I don’t need anything else."

Lyriana nodded.

"Convincing argument."

Adam turned to Elaria.

"Where do we put it?"

Elaria thought for only a few seconds.

"In an empty room."

Astraea raised a slight eyebrow.

"Why an entire room?"

"Not because the door itself needs it."

Elaria put down her notebook.

"It’s mainly more practical for maintaining privacy and controlling access."

She looked at Adam.

"Any wall big enough should work."

Adam nodded.

Elaria continued:

"And unlike the initial setup at the manor, we don’t need to build a new special room here."

Astraea listened attentively.

"Why?"

Elaria explained:

"The door placed on the wall will serve as direct access to the Bridal Chamber."

She raised a finger.

"The normal door of the room where we install it will then act as the outer barrier."

Adam understood immediately.

"Like the second door we had added in the manor’s hallway."

"Exactly."

Lyriana smiled.

"So someone enters the room normally..."

Elaria continued:

"Then uses the Permanent Door to enter the Bridal Chamber."

"Simple."

Astraea put down her cup.

"I have several spare rooms."

She stood up.

"Come."