"And you are?" I stepped into the apartnt and asked him.
He was taller than , broad shoulders and thick arms.
I looked behind him and saw Lapia and Alyssa sitting in the living room, a person wearing all black on the sofa in front of them. I noticed Tay, the alchemist I t in the morning, standing next to the unknown guest.
"Yon. It’s an honor to et Your Excellency." he said, lowering his head. His voice was a pleasant tenor.
I nodded. How do I even respond to that?
Walking past him, I entered the living room and turned to look at the unknown guest.
[Egys Tigea, Lvl 203 Necromancer]
Blue feline eyes stared back at . She was wearing a Goth Lolita dress. Black hair reached her shoulders, two round ears on top of her head, leaning to the sides. Her face was mostly gray-ish skin with black fur covering the sides and forehead. Gray, short, round eyebrows on top of her eyes. A small, gentle smile on her face. She didn’t look a day past her thirties. She gave the impression of a panther.
I kept my face neutral. A nekomancer. Haha!
She stood up and gave an elegant bow. Crossing a leg and raising the skirt of her dress while her other arm went over her chest.
Oh God, please no. I winced.
"Ren Dabrak, current head of House Dabrak. I cannot put in words how honored I am to et Your Excellency Natasha." her voice was mature and polite.
"Natasha Novak." I said back. "Nice to et you."
She sat down, and I positioned myself between my two girlfriends on the sofa, crossing my legs and arms. I noticed tea utensils on the table between us.
"Your Excellency must be wondering why I wanted to et." She was wearing black stockings and high heels. A thin, black tail around her left leg. "First of all, I would like to welco Your Excellency to Riverfield. I sincerely hope Your Excellency finds the city up to standards." fangs peeked from between thin, black lips as she talked. "I must say I am relieved that so of my worries seed misplaced." she smiled at the two won on my sides. "Tay, would you be a dear and please serve us tea?"
The woman in question moved to the table and did as asked. The man on the door like a bouncer.
"Took your ti." Lapia nudged my arm and smiled at .
"Got distracted with Sonya for a little." I smiled back at her.
A plate and cup of tea was placed in front of each of us. I was dying inside. The woman in front of felt like she ca out of an old movie with her way of speaking.
"I confess I was plagued by worry when I first heard of Your Excellency’s arrival at Riverfield. I was inford of Your Excellency’s na and age, and couldn’t help but think so of my peers would approach with ill intentions. Thus, I decided to send my assistant to arrange a eting. I am most pleased Your Excellency agreed." she smiled.
Already regretting it. I took a sip of tea and tried to relax the knot in my stomach.
"I see." I nodded. "Why did you decide to et here, instead of your own place, or sothing?"
"Your Excellency’s standing is above mine, it would be insolent to no end to arrange a eting spot of my convenience." she explained.
"Ahh..." I sighed. "Got it."
"Though daring of , I would assu Your Excellency’s partners have explained so of the workings of the world, or will do so in due ti." she took a sip of the tea and humd. "Lady Lapia, you have excellent taste in tea, as always."
"Thank you very much." the Elf smiled back.
"Not at all." she put the tea down and turned to . "Your Excellency, I have co for a number of reasons. If Your Excellency would allow such boldness, I would very much appreciate if we could trade so of the items Your Excellency woke up with. I am interested in purchasing elixirs, weapons, armor, and anything Your Excellency would be willing to part with."
"Elixirs? Why?" I rembered Alyssa’s words at the elixir I showed her.
"Tay here is a very talented Alchemist. She would study them and, hopefully, co up with a way to replicate them." she smiled at the woman in question. "While Clerics are stronger when it cos to healing, so settlents have none. Alchemists rise up to that demand."
"Sounds alright. What’s in it for ?" I relaxed.
This is much simpler than I thought.
"Of course." she raised a finger. "Ten gold coins for every unique elixir."
"Mhm. Sounds fair." I nodded.
I have a literal ton, anyway.
I stood up and walked to the kitchen table. Tay and Lady Dabrak followed . I saw Alyssa visibly relax, shaking her head and whispering sothing to Lapia.
Yikes. Should finish this fast.
Taking out mid-tier potions, I placed them on the table.
[Elixir of Rejuvenation]
"Haven’t heard of this one." Tay picked it up and appraised it.
[Elixir of Life]
"This is better than the ones I make."
[Elixir of Night Vision]
"..."
[Elixir of Fire Resistance]
"...!"
[Elixir of Frost Resistance]
"...!!"
[Elixir of Shock Resistance]
"...!!!"
Her face morphed into one of awe as she appraised them.
...
In total, thirteen potions sat in front of us. The consumables in the ga went from ’tonic’, ’potion’, ’elixir’, ’dew’, to ’draught’. From level 20 to level 450.
I bla localized translation!
The table looked like a Christmas tree with all the different colored hues coming off of the glass bottles.
"What do you think, Tay dear?" Lady Dabrak asked the alchemist once I stopped producing them.
"I... would like to study them all." she turned to with shining eyes. "Do you have stronger ones?"
Shaking my head, I crossed my arms. "That’s what I’m willing to part with."
The scene of Lapia becoming an absolute babe replayed in my head. I had yet to test the others, so I took out ones with obvious effects. I wasn’t about to whip out potions that granted immunity or silly shit like that.
Her shoulders sagged and turned to the necromancer.
"We should take them all, Lady." her voice was defeated.
"I see." the Noble turned to . "That would be one platinum plaque and thirty gold coins, is Your Excellency satisfied with the amount?"
"Yes." I shrugged.
I didn’t need more money, to be honest.
She produced a silvery credit card. I took it and noticed it had ’Lumin Kingdom’ written on it, along with the ship and pickax. A serial number was carved on the left side.
Cool.
I stored it along with an embroidered cotton pouch holding the gold coins. The pattern was similar to the Noble’s dress.
"Would Your Excellency perhaps part with any armor, or weapons?" her pupils widened a little and an ear fidgeted.
"No, I don’t think I will." I shook my head again.
Alyssa’s staff flashed in my mind. My weapons were too powerful. I had no low-level equipnt as all my characters were max-level.
"May I inquire as to why, Your Excellency?" she gave a polite smile.
"Elixirs can help people. Weapons and armor, however? No."
"I understand." she bowed. "I offer my deepest apologies if that offended Your Excellency."
A queasy feeling ran up my spine.
"Let’s return to the living room, alright?" I offered, walking to the sofa.
I’m spent already, Nobility is not for . Never again!
I sat down and Lady Dabrak did too.
"Now that business is done, we can go over the next topics I wanted to discuss with Your Excellency." she smiled.
"Go ahead." I nodded.
I turned to Lapia and she was smiling, not saying anything. Alyssa was in a similar state, smiling and silent.
Help ! Help. .
"As a fairly young city, Riverfield has seen very few Halves. His Excellency Miraztor visited over a thousand years ago. I would like to arrange an official welcoming party in Your Excellency’s na." she smiled. "If Your Excellency refuses, I will understand. I am known as a woman of tradition, but I am not one to outright disrespect the wishes of others."
"This... party. Is it a political thing?" I winced.
"Yes, it is. Nobles and rchants would try and curry favor with Your Excellency. Your Excellency’s kind is more than just mighty individuals. A testant of power, wealth, status, tradition, culture, and much more. We Public Servants engage in such gas, but ultimately respect those who wish to stay away from it. It may sound insolent, but we do not enjoy playing with an unwilling party. Please let know if it’s not sothing that would be well received."
Well, that was honest. I relaxed. She wasn’t demanding or imposing anything.
"I’ll pass." I nodded.
Fantasy politics? Miss with that.
"I will let my peers know of Your Excellency’s preference." she smiled. "So, however, may not be as well behaved. Your Excellency’s extrely young age has already reached our circle." she glanced at the woman next to the kitchen table, who was still fiddling with the potions. "But if Your Excellency’s response to my dear Tay is any indication, I believe there’s nothing to worry about." she gave a wide smile.
’Your Excellency’ is kind of losing aning in my mind by now. I blinked a few tis.
"Thank you for the heads-up." I nodded. "Also, could you please just call by my na?"
"That, I cannot do, I’m afraid." she shook her head, her ears shaking a little. "I would be throwing away my respect for Your Excellency as a being of higher power. I beg to be allowed this." she lowered her head.
Holy shit. NEVER AGAIN!
"Okay." I sighed. A headache was forming. "What’s next?"
"I am most grateful, Your Excellency." she straightened and smiled. "I would like to interview Your Excellency, if that would be acceptable. My House owns Riverfield’s newspaper." she stopped. "A newspaper is a form of written dia. Publicized on the first day of the week for everyone to read, it contains information about current events, both dostic and foreign. I would like to write an article about Your Excellency."
I took a deep breath. Calm down, . I’mless than a week old in their eyes.
"Sounds fine." I sighed again.
Alyssa fixed her position next to , covering her mouth. Probably holding back laughter.
I chuckled.
Lady Dabrak took out a notepad and a quill.
"When and where did Your Excellency wake up in Galeia?" she asked.
The alchemist walked over and stood next to Lady Dabrak.
"Five or six days ago. In the middle of a forest, over ten thousand kiloters to the south. It was early morning when I ca to, the weather was nice. There were a lot of birds and small critters."
"So Your Excellency woke up in Tidon. Did anything interesting happen?"
"Yeah." I chuckled. "I t this big bird. Wait, I’ll draw a sketch for you."
I took out a sketchbook and quickly drew the turkey. I paid special attention to the feathers, it was the first ti I saw sothing that looked like magic. I drew my silhouette next to it for size reference.
Lady Dabrak took the paper and smiled. "Your Excellency is a very talented artist. May I keep this for the article?"
"Thank you very much." I smiled. "Sure, go ahead."
"What happened with this bird?" she stored the drawing and wrote down a few things.
"I tried talking to it." I laughed at the mory. "I followed it for a few hours. Then, we ca across a river, where it wandered off back to the forest."
"I see. Did Your Excellency appraise it, by any chance?" she looked in the eye.
"No, I didn’t. I didn’t know I could do that at the ti. Why?" I fixed my skirt as she studied my face.
She nodded. "I have never seen this kind of bird before. Turkeys don’t grow this big. How did Your Excellency reach Lumin?"
"I ran. One of my skills allows to charge at very high speeds." I re-read my skills.
Hmmm... is wind resistance treated as a ’slowing’ effect?
I shook my head. I could ask later.
"As expected." her smile grew. "What’s your impression of the world so far?"
"Warm, violent, fascinating." I took my partners’ hands. "It’s a lot to take in, but I have two extrely smart won by my side, so I’m not worried."
The two squeezed my hands.
"Lovely." she gave us a warm smile. "May I ask about Your Excellency’s classes?"
"Warrior." I simply said.
"Naturally." she smiled and wrote down a few lines. "About goals, is there anything planned?"
"Go around, explore the world." I shrugged. "et other Halves. Gods if I can."
"Wonderful." the sound of the quill scratching on the paper managed to calm my nerves a little. "I beg Your Excellency to forgive my audacity. I would recomnd visiting Her Dinivity Danuva, His Divinity Saravia, and Her Divinity Shorvanna. The three live together up north."
Even Gods have stupid ways to refer to them. I chuckled.
"I appreciate your advice." I drank so more tea. The citric flavor with a hint of chamomile calming my slight headache. "What about other Halves?"
I thought maybe the Nobility knew of their locations, or where they were last seen.
"I am afraid I know no such information. I deeply apologize." she lowered her head.
"It’s okay." I sighed.
Her eyes went over what she wrote, then nodded to herself. "How long will Your Excellency stay in Riverfield?"
"Until tomorrow." I drank more tea.
If Nobles are going to chase my tail, I’d like to leave as soon as possible.
"Any destination in mind?" her quill moved as she wrote so more.
"Not yet. We’ll talk about it later." I looked at them and both nodded.
"Delightful." she closed the notepad and stored it. "I believe that would conclude my visit. I am endlessly grateful that Your Excellency agreed to et ."
She stood up and I saw her black tail release her leg, hiding beneath the skirt. I stood up as well and sighed in relief.
Lapia and Alyssa imitated us and I walked to the door, following Lady Dabrak.
The Duelist opened the door and followed after Tay. I escorted them to the hallway, where the necromancer bowed once again.
"I am honored beyond words to have t Your Excellency. I extend the best of wishes, happy tis, and plentiful spoils of war." she gave a wide smile.
"Sa." I smiled back. "Good luck with the elixirs." I gave Tay a wink.
She simply nodded.
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