Koyuki, the Necromancing Foxkin

CHAPTER 308: A Friendly Chat

"There you are!"

I looked at the new arrival, it was Derrick, Helena's brother.

"Hi Derrick, I did not know you would come to the reception." Helena said.

Derrick frowned. "Of course. Father is a count and I am the heir. We are not the most important nobles but we can mingle here. I thought it was obvious that I would come. Anyway, I have managed to secure the funds for Christa."

"Um…" Helena replied.

"No worries, it should be enough. I can't really help with the politics though. I have made some inquiries and your hotel is serious about not selling its staff. They have even refused dukes in the past. But I have written to father about us getting more into politics. He won't enjoy it but I am sure he will support you. I have suggested that he should meet Cassie's mother to discuss trade opportunities." Derrick stopped talking and watched our faces. "Why does Cassie look like she is suppressing a giggle?"

"Because we have resolved the Christa situation." I replied.

"You mean, you have already negotiated a price? How much?" He asked.

"No. The princess will free and hire her." I clarified.

He stared at me. We stared back. Cassie giggled.

"Sis, is this a joke?" Derrick asked.

"No. We just talked to Princess Olivia earlier. It's all sorted out. I think we have also entered some sort of alliance…" Helena said.

"If I may." Kaito said. "Princess Olivia has acknowledged Koyuki's power and potential. She has made it clear that she wants to work with our group and approves of us getting more politically active. Our next move should be to form closer ties with House Barkworth."

"Hey, isn't Valeria single?" Skadi pointed out.

"Oh, right! Derrick, you could try to marry Valeria. You love to talk about political marriages." Helena suggested with a big grin.

"What?" Derrick asked, looking confused.

"Valeria is one of our classmates. She is tolerable, for a noble." Skadi said.

"You are dating a noble." I pointed out.

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"Cassie is mostly a mad alchemist, she is more like a part time noble." Skadi replied.

"She is the heir to a county." I countered.

"I am confident that after she poisons a few nobles they will stop inviting her to fancy gatherings." Skadi replied.

Cassie grinned.

Derrick sighed. "You are all insane. So, about Christa, is it handled? That part was real?"

"Everything is fine, thank you for your willingness to help." I assured him.

"Valeria is real too." Cassie teased.

"I am just going to get a drink now…" Derrick replied and left.

"Was that too mean?" Cassie wondered.

"Nah, teasing him about marriage is fine, actually pressuring him would be wrong." Helena replied. "However, he did try to help with Christa. We should thank him in some way."

"Good idea. What sort of things does he like?" I wondered.

"I could make him some potions! I am sure he could use some bombs…" Cassie mused.

"He is not that interested in combat." Helena pointed out.

"Perhaps a fine beverage?" Kaito suggested.

"That could work." Helena agreed. "Actually, we could get him some fine dwarven ale."

I frowned. "But the trade with Thorus goes through your county. Don't you have a regular supply of dwarven ale?"

"Yes, but it is still good ale. Skadi, do you know any special ones that are not popular here? Maybe your parents can help us to import something new?" Helena asked.

Skadi pondered that. "Hm. I will have to ask my parents. It might be a good idea anyway. Maybe we can start selling dwarven ale in Cassie's county. Actually, maybe we can open a beer garden there."

"Ohhh, I like the idea!" Cassie agreed.

"It will take time to organise that dwarven ale. Maybe we can do something nice for Derrick in the short term? I just have no idea what. Should I make him an undead?" I wondered.

"Like another cat?" Cassie asked.

"I was not thinking about a tier three. Maybe he can use a tier two as a guard, or something?" I wondered.

"What about the range? You would be far away from it." Helena pointed out.

"I would not be able to command it at that range and I think it would cost me more mana, but generally the upkeep of my undead is quite manageable. It would not hurt if he fed the undead something to devour from time to time, I guess." I replied.

"A mount could work." Helena suggested. "I think he would not mind an intimidating looking mount, although he would probably not admit that."

"For riding I would suggest a zombie horse, not a skeletal one. While it would work with a saddle I believe the undead flesh is more comfortable to sit on than bones." Hatsumi suggested.

"We could make a draugr!" Helena suggested.

"Sure, we just need the corpse of a horse." I pointed out.

"We need to petition our future ambushers to bring cavalry." Cassie suggested.

"We are in the capital city. I am sure we could get the corpse of a horse somewhere, right?" Skadi asked.

I shrugged. "No idea. Raising a draugr might take a bit of time anyway. Maybe we can make one at the academy and send it to him?"

"Sending an undead could be troublesome. You need to command the undead to follow the orders of the person transporting it. That would require someone trustworthy. And you would not be able to transfer command to Derrick from a distance." Kaito pointed out.

"Ok, maybe it will be a delayed gift after all." I replied.

Derrick returned with a drink in hand but we only had four chairs. Cassie stood up. "You can have my chair." Then she went over to Skadi and sat on her lap.

"Thank you, but are you sure you want to do that openly? It is not the most common at court." Derrick pointed at Cassie sitting on Skadi's lap.

Cassie grinned. "I know!"

Derrick sighed but took the seat. "Why do I get the feeling you have been plotting something while I was gone?"

"Just your imagination." Helena assured him.

"Ok, now I am worried." Derrick replied.

"I can assure you the ladies did not plan anything that explodes, for now." Hatsumi said, sounding surprisingly mischievous.

Derrick sighed.