A Vulpine Spanner in the Works

Chapter 15: Nice Jewelry, Mine's Better

Day 11:

[Ninya]

If there was one word that I could use to describe this mission that my friends and I were on, it would be unique.

Traveling to Carne Village was actually calm. We didn't experience any monster attacks or encounters with bandits. By all accounts, this mission was going perfectly. In fact, I may have even said that this was less of a mission and more of a small vacation that we were getting paid for.

During the first night out on the road, I took the chance to practice a few spells, namely, I was trying to imitate the spell that Kashia cast the other day in the cemetery, [Jaws of the Earth Dragon]. I could see the idea behind the spell, or at least guess the idea.

I'd need to push mana into the ground and then form the earth through that mana infusion. While that basic idea, what made it complicated was the spell circle formula that would be needed for it. Magic wasn't just about expelling a lot of mana and expecting an outcome to occur.

It needed to be guided into a proper formation before finally being released. What made this process difficult, and forced mages to devote years of their lives to just learning one spell, was that each section of a spell formation needed to be precise.

Too little mana in one section could cause a spell to fizzle away and the mana to be wasted. Too much mana, and there was a chance for the spell to overload and backfire on the user. Combine this with the small mana pool that most mages were born with until they became stronger and most mages would only have an attempt or two at practicing more advanced spells before using up all their mana and then having to rest for the rest of the day until it recovered.

My talent helped me to learn new spells in a few ways. One of these was to give me a sort of 'warning' when I was forming my mana into a spell formation by alerting me of incomplete sections before I would even cast it. From there, it's almost like muscle memory, because I can perfectly recall and replicate the spell formations that I attempted previously.

While this does save me from wasting mana on a failed spell, there is still so much trial and error that I have to go through before I'm finally able to cast a working spell. And even if I haven't wasted the mana on the failed spell, there is still the minute amounts of mana that I have to use to maintain the uncast spell that causes me to eventually run out after enough time has passed.

I can recall the spell formation that Kashia cast perfectly, but each time I've attempted it, there is just something wrong with the formation that I can't figure out.

Well, practice could only help, and I had a bit of time to use before I needed to go to sleep.

I spent a few hours that night trying before I needed to go to bed.

After we all woke up the next morning, we shared breakfast with one another before packing up our camping supplies and continuing our journey to Carne Village.

That was the moment when everything became odd. Instead of a simple village, we found ourselves before a simple gate and large log bars that surrounded the entire village as a simple wall. Then, instead of the expected human inhabitants, we were greeted to armored goblins in front of the gate while many more appeared from behind bushes or hills surrounding us with bows and crossbows drawn on us.

None were at all prepared for what we thought were goblins to be in control of the village. Before we could even begin to fight, we were thrown off-guard when one of the goblins at the gate called out, "Lay down your arms and surrender peacefully. We don't want to fight if we don't have to, but we must defend this village and all of you look quite dangerous." A goblin warned, taking charge of the situation.

Things may have taken a turn for the worse if not for a girl named Enri who had arrived and recognized us, well, more specifically she recognized Nfirea. After that, she had the goblins stand down, and the amazing part is that these goblins actually listened to her.

From all of my experiences, I've never seen goblins actually work with humans or even take orders from them. It was beyond astounding to actually see, and if the others weren't with me seeing the same, I might even believe that I was hallucinating.

It was after we were finally let inside the village that Enri finally explained what had happened. A few days prior, the village had been attacked by the Slane Theocracy using troops disguised as those of the Baharuth Empire. The soldiers had shown no mercy and went about butchering the entire town until a pair of mysterious figures arrived and conjured up powerful undead warriors that fought the soldiers off.

In addition, the village had learned of the true identity of the troops due to Gazeff Stronoff, the Strongest Warrior of the Kingdom, having been saved by the mysterious mage who was named Ainz Ooal Gown after he had been ambushed.

It was when Enri and her sister had been saved from being killed by the soldiers that Ainz had given Enri a magical horn to protect herself that summoned up a troop of goblins who completely obeyed her. All of this led to Enri then being made leader of Carne Village.

What made me worried after we were told this was the fact that the Slane Theocracy was making moves on the Re-Estize Kingdom without anyone really knowing about it.

Carne was already at risk from the Baharuth Empire due to being one of the first villages in the invasion path. Adding the Slane Theocracy meant that there could be a three-way war which would definitely wipe this town off the map. And then from there, E-Rantel would be next on the chopping block.

None of this looked good, and when we had a chance, I was going to speak to my friends about it.

It was after this tiding of war that Nfirea and Enri went off to discuss business. My friends and I waited by the wagon and didn't speak much, just because of how on edge we all were about this situation. That, and the goblins tended to hover around us.

Around five or so would spend some time nearby, and after some time, those goblins would move off to other parts of the village while a new five would take their place. That made it beyond uncomfortable to talk with each other.

We unfortunately had to wait around like this for an hour or two before Nfirea and Enri returned with a few goblins in tow. All of them were carrying sacks of alchemical ingredients that were loaded onto the cart.

Following that, we spent the night at the village's inn before leaving for E-Rantel the next morning. It was when we were on the road once again that I finally decided to bring up my thoughts to everyone else.

"I think we should have preparation plans to leave E-Rantel if the time comes for it." I stated which drew everyone's gazes on me.

"What brought this on, Ninya?" Lukrut asked, "While the reports of Carne village are worrying, I have doubts that any army would be able to invade the city before the rest of the kingdom's forces arrived. E-Rantel is a fortress city after all."

"But not every fortress is perfect, especially when magic is brought into the mix. Both the Empire and Theocracy are known for having a large amount of powerful magic users in their armies. The Re-Estize, in comparison, barely treats magic seriously." I argued before I finally just stated, "I'm just afraid of what could happen in the future if we aren't prepared. I don't want to lose you guys, or my sister, or Kashia."

Peter was the first to answer, "While it's not completely likely, there is always the chance that E-Rantel could come under siege. I can see where you are coming from on this, and, if the others are open for it, we can work on these preparations when we get back to the city." The others nodded in agreement which gave me a bit of relief.

"The only one left whose thoughts we haven't heard from yet would be Kashia." Dyne remarked.

"I can already imagine what she'd say." Lukrut replied with a grin before saying, in a badly imitated voice, "'That's a good idea. Though I might just blow up the enemy army to make it easier on us.'"

All of us started laughing since that's something we all could easily imagine her saying. I'm not exactly certain on how strong she actually was, but I could easily see her dealing with a large enough group of people by herself. I'm not sure about an army though.

"Okay, then we're all agreed." Peter announced before looking over to Nfirea driving the cart. "What about you, Nfirea. Have you also been making plans for a possible invasion?"

I could see the conflict in Nfirea with the way his hands holding the reins were shaking. "I don't know what I would do. My grandmother's shop is located in E-Rantel which makes it very hard for us to even consider moving since it takes money, a large amount of space, and time to set up a pharmacy like we have now. I also have people in Carne Village I care about and could not abandon if an invasion occurred."

"I see…"

It's easy for us to pick up and leave for an entirely new city since all of us didn't have much tying us down to one spot besides Lukrut and I with his cousin and my sister. And, as adventurers, it's very easy to find work since the Adventurer's Guild had branches in many cities within three countries to pick from.

I felt sorry for Nfirea and how both he and the people he cared about were essentially trapped. The most they could do, besides abandoning their lives now for the unknown, was to hope that an invasion would blow over them and that they'd survive the worst of it.

It was after this that we ended all talks about possible invasions to avoid stressing out Nfirea any more than he already was.

The rest of our journey back to E-Rantel was just as peaceful as the journey to it. I had absolutely no idea why that was. Goblins and ogres were usually plentiful around this area, and most groups that traveled this way would at least have to deal with one band of them.

Something was just not right about this. I made sure to let my thoughts be known to the group.

"You aren't wrong, Ninya." Peter agreed, "We should've been attacked or at least seen a goblin or ogre for the past few days. It's been putting me on edge."

Dyne then decided to add his thoughts on the matter, "I've seen things like this happen in the wild before. Once, years back, I would get jobs every month or so from a village far up north. They were a village of sheep herders, so they tended to deal with a pack of dire-wolves that would come down from the mountains to hunt. Then, they stopped coming for a while."

"Why's that?" I asked.

"Well, we only found out about a month later when a wyvern laid waste to the village one day and left only a handful of survivors. It had taken up a nest in the mountains and had scared all the other predators it hadn't killed away."

"Damn. What kind of creature could manage to scare all the goblins and ogres off from this area?" Lukrut asked.

"I don't know, but none of the possibilities can be good." Dyne answered before glancing to the tree line of the Great Forest of Tob.

"We should report it to the guild when we get back. They'll send some people that are a lot more qualified than we are to investigate." Peter said while also shared Dyne's gaze at the tree line.

That night left us all a little restless at the thought of what could be hiding in those woods. I also couldn't help but worry about Kashia since she was supposed to be going through the forest for her escort mission. She's probably the strongest person I know, but nobody is invincible, not even her. I could only hope that she'd be safe and unharmed when she got back.

The sun was starting to dip in the sky when we finally arrived back in E-Rantel.

"Thank the gods that we're finally back." Lukrut said with a grin. "I like traveling like the next person, but nothing can really beat the feeling of a nice warm bed from home."

"I'm just happy that we got back here in one peace. But a hot meal also wouldn't hurt." Dyne said with a smirk.

"Well, I'm up for heading to a tavern after we finish helping Nfirea unload if you guys want to join me?" Peter asked which we all agreed to.

"How about Celly's place? We can even surprise your sister, Ninya, since she is probably still working there right now." Lukrut suggested which I was fully on-board with. I really wanted you see Tuare as soon as possible and I was also hungry from all the traveling.

"Definitely a good idea, Lukrut." I answered. Dyne and Peter nodded in agreement.

"Guess our dinner plans are settled. Let's just complete this job quickly, then." Peter stated before looking over to Nfirea. "Would you like to join us for dinner as well?"

The young pharmacist thought about it for a few moments before shrugging his shoulders with a smile. "I would be willing to join you. At least, if there isn't too much work that I might need to do at the pharmacy." The others smiled at this and we continued our trek through the city.

By the time we reached the rear entrance of the pharmacy, the sun had sunk past the horizon and it was already growing dark. Both Peter and Lukrut's stomachs were already growling at this point, and it didn't help that we still had the sacks to unload along with actually getting to Celica's restaurant.

When Nfirea finally got off the cart and started unlocking the door to the pharmacy, Dyne started handing out crates or sacks to each of us before picking up two of the sacks and heaving them over his shoulders. While the sack he gave me was heavy, I was a little thankful that it didn't weigh as much as the crates that Peter and Lukrut were given since both of them were showing some signs of struggle. Yet all of us still couldn't compare to Dyne who wasn't at all bothered by the two large sacks that he was carrying.

While Dyne isn't normally a prideful person, I couldn't help but get the feeling that he was probably amused by how weak we were in comparison to him.

"You guys can go ahead and set the supplies on the tables. Grandma and I will sort through them in the-" Nfirea was cut off as the four of us entered the pharmacy and saw a strange blonde woman wearing a dark cloak that obscured her form while a massive smile filled her face. "U-Umm, can I ask who you might be? The shop is supposed to be closed by this time."

Something about this woman didn't seem right. She just gave off this ominous feeling that I just couldn't place. I could tell the others had similar thoughts since they quickly began setting down the supplies they were carrying to the floor, an act which I also copied.

"Oh, you'd like to know?" The woman asked in a playful tone before her eyes took on a predatory glint, "I'm just the person who plans to kidnap you." The moment she said that, the four of us rushed to take a protective trident formation around Nfirea while drawing our weapons.

Lukrut and Peter were on the left and right respectively while Dyne took the center with Nfirea behind them. I went behind Nfirea and readied a [Magic Missile] at the woman. My heart wouldn't stop pounding in my chest because of how relaxed that woman looked with our weapons pointed at her. It was like we were just children running around with toy swords to her.

"Don't be like that. I just need to borrow you for your talent that allows you to use any kind of magic item in order to summon an army of the undead to kill this city." The woman stated in a calm matter-of-fact voice. My eyes couldn't help but widen in horror as I then started thinking about all of the undead issues that they cemetery has been having lately. Could she have something to do with it?

"What are you-" Nfirea was quickly interrupted by the woman.

"We don't need your opinion on the matter. We just need you to be our tool. We'll even give you a crown to show how much we appreciate you." She said while giggling.

"Like hell that's gonna happen." Peter said before slightly looking back to Nfirea and me. "Ninya, get Nfirea out of here and to Kashia's room! We'll buy you time until then." Peter really just ordered me to abandon all of them to this unknown woman?

"But-"

"Ninya, you've got your sister to worry about. We'll be fine. Now go!" Lukrut stated. I did my best to hold back the tears in my eyes before looking at Nfirea.

"Come on, let's go." I said, pulling on Nfirea's arm as the pair of us back away from the woman and my friends. They just needed to hold out until I got Nfirea safe in Kashia's sanctuary, then I could run back and help them. Just hold on, guys. Please don't di-

"Clementine. Quit playing with them and hurry up. We haven't got all night." An old voice stated from behind Nfirea and I, causing the both of us to turn around to see a pale elderly man in a robe with a jagged staff in his hand. Even from here, I could tell that the staff was a powerful magical conduit. Who are these people?

"Nfirea, stay behind me and stick to the wall." I said while positioning myself before the old man.

"Child, you are many years too young to be trading spells with me." The old man stated. I responded by firing a [Magic Missile] at him. To my shock and horror, instead of the darts of magic impaling him, they instead broke upon an armor spell that was covering him. "Foolish attempt, child. You've earned my annoyance."

That was when he pointed his staff at me and fired a green globule at me. I barely had time to cast [Reinforce Armor] and dodge out of the way before the spell clipped my left shoulder. All I felt was pain as I looked to see a large hole that had been eaten through my cloak and shirt while my skin was bubbling as this acidic spell had managed to eat through to what I could only assume was just a bit from the bone.

If I hadn't cast that [Reinforce Armor] spell when I did, I would likely be missing my arm right now. I didn't have much time to focus on my injury as I heard the scuffling behind me. I couldn't help but turn and look to see the horrific sight behind me.

Lukrut charged at the woman, I now knew as Clementine, with a pair of daggers in hand. Before he could even land a hit in, Clementine calmly dodged to the right of his attack and whipped out a stiletto that she stabbed down into his collarbone. He stopped moving, and didn't even react in pain, when this happened. He just stood there.

"I always love fighting the brave ones. Just for you, I'll keep you under the [Paralyze] spell stored in my dagger until I'm done with your friends." She then patted him on the cheek before focusing on Peter and Dyne.

"Stop worrying about your friends, girl. Your fight is with me until my associate reaches you." I looked back to the old man as he readied another globule of acid. Going through my spells, I remembered that acid spells typically could be negated or at least have its effects lessened with a strong enough fire spell.

I quickly cast [Firebolt] as the globule of acid flew at me once again. While my spell managed to clash with the old man's, it didn't do much as the acid flew through my spell and I was forced to roll to the side. Another burning pain spread throughout my body as I looked down to see that my right leg had been hit below the knee. The boot and pantleg had been eaten through while my skin started bubbling once again. The only solace was that it wasn't as bad as my left shoulder.

"Nice attempt, girl. It may have worked if not for the fact that my magic's stronger than yours. Goodbye." The old man said as he walked up to me and pointed his staff in my face. Acting quickly before he could fire off another spell, I cast [Force Wave] which launched the man back and took the staff off my face, unfortunately, it didn't stop the spell he cast which doused my right hand.

It was at the contact of this spell that my [Reinforce Armor] spell finally broke and the acid ate through my gloves and skin down to the bone. I could see the few remaining tendons in my hand moving along with the blood pumping in the veins. It was becoming harder to remain conscious through all the pain, but I powered through and kept my eyes open.

Another cry of pain erupted from behind me as I looked to see Peter had been impaled into the wall by one of the woman's stilettos. He coughed a large amount of blood as he took a few ragged breaths. Multiple puncture wounds covered his body, yet all of them were intentionally missing vital organs.

Dyne didn't look much better. He wobbled as he stood on one good leg. Each swing of his mace was getting slower and slower, yet the woman just kept dodging each time, trading either a taunt or a jab with her stiletto before getting out of Dyne's reach once again.

Clementine was just playing with us.

We were going to die here. My best friends were getting murdered by this sadistic monster. Nfirea was going to be taken away to be used to slaughter the people of this city. I was going to die here, and Tuare would be all alone once again.

I'm so scared right now. I don't want to die!

Then, just as Dyne was about to be cut down, a golden flash appeared.

[Hours Earlier]

[Kashia]

Waking up today was an interesting affair.

After performing my usual routine of stretching my body and yawning away the sleep, what I didn't expect to see as I opened my eyes was about nine or ten kitsune waiting expectantly at the foot of my bed.

"Uh, not to be rude, but what are you all doing in my room?" I asked while also wondering how they got in here in the first place? I did cast [Arcane Lock] on the door and I was fairly positive that they didn't know any teleportation spells. That is unless the AI programming that originally controlled the kitsune in YGGDRASIL was just too stupid to actually use said spells. I'd venture to say that was a yes…

"Your Highness," a kitsune with red fur and four tails said with a feminine voice, "as your handmaidens, it is our duty to aid you in your daily preparations."

"Okay…" I said a bit warily. To be honest, I'm not exactly used to being pampered. Back on Earth, a luxury that I might get myself once every few months would be a slice of actual animal meat about 2-3 inches long. I could never guess where the meat actually came from, just that it was confirmed to not be human. But by God, it was always delicious and made me feel like one of the rich pricks that could eat it whenever they felt like.

It was $150. I don't regret my choices.

"Excellent, your Highness. Follow me and I'll lead you to your personal washroom." Wait, this place had a washroom the entire time? Great. I'm so happy to learn about this after I had to teleport to the woods outside the palace last night to take a shit…

Either way, I ended up following the red kitsune to a section of large paneled mirrors in the corner of the room. She then used a tail to pull the side open to reveal a room with a tiled floor along with a bathtub and what appeared to be a toilet. I seriously doubted that it had plumbing since I had no idea how the hell plumbing worked, but it was the thought that counted.

Two other kitsune followed the red kitsune and I into the bathroom where they both went to the bathtub. One conjured a basic water spell that I was fairly certain was [Puddle] while the other cast a creative application of [Heat] into the water until it was steaming. Then, one of the pair tested the water's temperature with a tail until they finally looked at the red kitsune and nodded.

She then looked expectantly at me, "If you would, your Highness, please remove your underthings for Chiyo to take and wash." I didn't know if divine-tier items even needed to be washed, but I complied and took off everything but my rings and choker. Those were the few things that I refused to part with. Especially the World Item.

I then handed the clothes to Chiyo, the kitsune that cast [Puddle] on the tub and stepped into the warm water before sinking down and letting my tails splay about. This was easily the most comfortable that I've probably been since I came to this world, besides the time I floated on the lake a week back.

Actually, now that I think about it, I have to meet with Shasuryu today about his decision on my proposal. Fuck. I'm going to need to decide if I'm the one that should go meet with him, and my copy would take my place with the expedition or if she should go.

If I go, she is going to do something with the expedition party, I just know it. If she goes, she could possibly do something to embarrass me during the negotiations. Though, I would think that she'd actually try to take it seriously, knowing how much we've worked on building up Haven-Lake.

I quickly cast [Message] to get to the bottom of it. "Guess what day it is?" I asked.

"Well, besides entertaining a bunch of mages and adventurers with displays and tails," I barely avoided smacking my forehead from the pun, "of our divinity, I would assume that it's also the day when you have to talk with our scaly friend, Shasuryu, on what his tribe's decision would be. Well, more like I will talk with him while you do the adventuring thing. Right?" She answered.

"Yeah. And that's what makes me worried. Your whole 'entertaining' managed to punch a hole through my plans because Theo figured things out and I had to do damage control. And that is in addition to you dressing in a way specifically meant to embarrass me. You might not have any inhibitions, but I do and now I have to deal with the aftermath."

"Oh, come on, you becoming Theo's Mistress in magic is a good thing. It gives you more power and reach than you had before. Besides, you dress like a total slut normally, I just wore what you usually do, just a lot shorter and a bit more skin." She answered, and I knew that she'd be holding that Mistress shit of Theo's over me.

"If you weren't as useful as you are, I'd stop summoning you."

"Bullshit, you're too narcissistic to not want to hear the sound of your own voice. And, you're too lazy to do all the busywork that I typically do for you on a day-to-day basis. I believe we've had this conversation before, no?" She taunted back before adding more seriously, "Don't worry, I'll stick to the script of what you'd normally do with Shasuryu. He won't even know that it's not you there. Now, just keep enjoying the bath and I'll let you know how everything goes later tonight." With that, the connection for [Message] was ended.

How the fuck did she know that I was in the bath right now? Looking down at the rings on my hand, I quickly realized why. I forgot to switch out Shooting Star for the Hidden Existence ring. With a thought, Shooting Star went back into my inventory and Hidden Existence took its place.

I guess the almost brain-melting migraine I had after using Shooting Star made me forget. While I already did have some anti-scrying features built into my gear, that ring really helped in making me disappear from all methods of spying. I can only hope that nobody's been watching me for the past few days.

Maybe I should just take my copy's advice and enjoy the bath now. Too much stress would just wear me down otherwise.

It was sometime later when I had finally finished washing up and got dress once again. I will admit that I felt amazing after that bath. Those kitsune really knew how to get all the kinks out of my tails and shoulders while I was getting cleaned. Before I left my room, I turned to look at the red kitsune, "What's your name by the way? I don't think I asked."

"I'm honored by such a request, your Highness. I am called Tsuki." Tsuki answered. I gave her a nod before deactivating my lock on the door, along with applying my illusion once again, and stepping out. Outside, I was greeted to Ken who gave me a slight bow.

"Good morning. If you'll follow me, I'll lead you to where the rest of your companions are gathering." I nodded in response and let him lead me back to the throne room where almost everyone was gathered. Carnan was the first to spot me before waving me over.

"Greetings, Kashia. Had a good sleep?" The man asked with a smile as he chewed on a piece of dried meat.

"Yeah. The bed was extremely comfortable. You?"

"Same. I was actually amazed that they let us sleep in beds with silk sheets. Almost makes one feel like a noble. Still," He looked past me and began snickering, "at least we had a better night than those two." I turned around and had to hold back my laughter at the two most recent arrivals.

It appears that Ander and Andra didn't get to sleep through the night unscathed as both of them were no longer blond to begin with. Now, both sported manes of neon pink hair. In addition, their clothing an armor had been dyed in an array of yellows and oranges.

"Okay, just get the laughs out already. We know exactly how we look right now." Andra stated with a reddened face. That was when a lot of the party finally broke out into laughter.

Carnan was the first to recover from his laughing fit as he asked, "So, mind explaining what happened?"

"No idea." Ander admitted, "We just woke up with our hair like this while our clothes and armor were colored to look like a jester's outfit."

"My beautiful hair is ruined!" Andra moaned in despair. "I couldn't even wash out whatever this stuff that's been put into it is. Gods, I just hope this isn't permanent."

Ander just smirked at this, "Hey, I think it looks good on you, sis. Besides, I'm not really bothered by the change. The only thing I'm annoyed about is that I'll need to either get some new armor or hope that I can just dye this stuff out." He received a swift punch in the arm that caused him to grimace and rub the spot in pain.

"It's not the same. You couldn't care less about your appearance, you colorblind idiot! My hair is my best feature! Now, I'll have to go to an alchemist to get this stuff removed if I don't want to chop off my hair and wait for it to grow back." Andra stated with an angry huff while crossing her arms.

"To be honest, you two, I think that this is a fairly tame punishment in comparison to what could have happened." Carnan said sagely. "Be thankful that you'll get to go home mostly as yourselves, color excluded."

"At least that's a positive." Ander replied warily while glancing at the few kitsune in the area that were watching the twins with barely veiled amusement.

"With the final members of your party having finally joined us, I believe that now is the time for you all to leave." Ken announced to all of us.

I noticed that Mercia took a glance to the empty throne before looking back to the silver kitsune, "If it is not too much to ask, could you tell us why your Fox Princess is not here to see us off like normal courtly decorum?" She asked curiously.

"Currently, her Highness is occupied with important discussions, otherwise, she'd possibly be here to see you off. Additionally, her Highness is not what one would call a 'traditionalist'. So it's unlikely that you would expect her to follow human courtly norms." Ken smoothly answered before motioning his head to the doors.

"Follow me, and both my compatriots and I shall escort you safely out of the forest."

"Of course, Sir Ken." Theo agreed before looking back to everyone, his eyes lingering on me for a few moments longer before saying, "We have a large distance to travel, and I'm hoping to be out of this forest before the day's end."

That managed to hurry everyone as they picked up their travel packs and followed Theo. Taking a glance back at the throne, I couldn't help but wonder how the meeting with Shasuryu was going?

Then, I started following after everyone else.

[The Copy]

After ending the [Message] with the Boss, I quickly changed out of the hilarious Fox Princess outfit I had made for this occasion and back to my default outfit.

It's a little strange that, upon my creation, I copy the items that my Boss wears which registers as my 'base'. I can certainly take off the items that are equipped to me, but it doesn't actually make those duplicated items real since they just disappear into particles until I will them back onto my body.

The Fox Princess outfit I just stored into the Boss' storage space for later. Who knows, maybe she'd want to use it for a strip tease for a lucky someone. Either way, now that I looked like the Boss once again, I got to work.

Using [Remote Viewing] I looked around the area of Haven-Lake until I found Zaryusu stepping out of his house and walking over towards the fishery. The past few days, I've been working overtime on building up housing for the lizardman tribe on the side of the lake around Zary's house in preparation for today.

I had a good 50 to 60 houses already built up with interior designs copied as closely as possible to the aesthetics of the tribe after spying on the interiors of their huts. I did avoid making them as small and made sure to add multiple rooms for them. All in all, I'm pretty satisfied with my work.

With a smirk, I finally teleported right behind the lizardman and spoke.

"Morning, Zary."

He quickly jumped, much to my amusement, before turning back to look at me. "Kashia, you could try giving a bit more warning before just appearing behind someone like that. I'm fairly certain I'd like to have a family before dying of a heart attack." He said while catching his breath.

"And where would be the fun in that? Besides, at this point, you should be used to my little appearing act."

"I doubt anyone could get used to your eccentricities." Zary answered before motioning me to follow as he continued on his original path.

"Is that supposed to be a compliment?" I teased back.

"Take it as you will. So, how can I help you today? I was just about to check in on the fish and give them their feed." He asked inquisitively. I will say, it is always fun conversing with this guy. The first few days, he was slightly wary of what to say around either the Boss or I, but he's really lightened up and has gotten better at trading verbally with both of us.

"Well, aside from checking up on my lizard friend, it has also been seven days since you got here, and we'll need to head to your brother to hear his answer out." I answered.

"I see. Just give me a few minutes and I'll be ready to go." He answered.

"That's fine, take your time." Zary gave a nod in response, and we made it to the fishery in a short amount of time.

"How has the fishery project been going?" I asked with interest.

As of now, we currently had the farming operation in full swing, with me aiding crop growth with a little bit of magic, and the fishery as our only current means of food production. I spoke with the Boss about it before, and the pair of us decided to delay the other methods of animal husbandry until a bit later when everything else was more self-sufficient.

Getting goblins, ogres, and trolls to learn farming was already a task and a half, especially since quite a few of them weren't used to waiting for food unlike the instant gratification they'd otherwise get from hunting or stealing.

I did keep them tided over with magically enlarged slices of meat from our hunters and magically enlarged crops bought from the city. But, that was only temporary until they could do this on there own since neither the Boss nor I could always be there to help everyone out.

If the pair of us had to leave for a large amount of time right now, they'd be fucked. Putting systems into place now would help to fix that for the future.

"The fishery is still on track with the eggs having been fertilized. Other than that, it's just a waiting game until the adult fish get big enough and the eggs hatch." Zary answered proudly as the pair of us entered the building together. Zary went to a barrel on the side and started scooping out feed which he tossed evenly into the water.

"We'll likely have to build a hatchery so that the older fish don't cannibalize the eggs." I commented.

"I'll work on it later today depending on how the meeting goes. Would you be able help by creating a hatchery building for me?"

"Certainly. I'll get it set up when we get back."

"And you're that confident that the talks will go successful?" Zary asked while washing off the rest of the feed on his hands in the water.

"Why wouldn't I be? Your brother has shown a lot of interest in this idea from all the reports that you have been giving him. Additionally, this deal would technically benefit him and the Green Claw more than it would benefit me. Negotiations are likely a formality at this point."

"I see your point." He remarked before standing up and turning to me, "I'm ready to go when you are." Taking a moment to scry Shasuryu's position, I found him in the meeting lodge with the other elders.

"Hold onto your tail." I jokingly warned before teleporting the pair of us into said meeting lodge. All the elders jumped in their seats at our unexpected arrival. Shasuryu managed to remain where he was. I couldn't help but find that a bit impressive.

Instead, Shasuryu grinned and stood up before walking over to Zaryusu. "Brother! It's good to finally see you in the flesh again." He said as he put a hand on Zary's shoulder. Zary returned the gesture in kind while smiling.

"We have been communicating every night through the [Message] scrolls that Kashia gave. It's a little hard for you to end up missing me so much." Zary remarked.

"Talking through magic is one thing, but it doesn't compare to speaking with you face-to-face, brother." He answered. "Now, come, Zaryusu and Kashia, take a seat." The pair of us were then led to a pair of empty futons at the meeting circle which both of us sat down upon.

I couldn't help but glance at the female lizardman whose name I remembered to be Korkoryus. Even now, she gave me an untrusting glare, completely opposite of the elder who sat next to her, Caleo, who was sporting a friendly smile.

"With all of us finally here, I believe it is time to discuss the offer that Kashia gave us a week ago." Shasuryu announced as he took at seat. "To begin with, every day during the past week, my brother, Zaryusu, has been giving me reports about the village that Kashia has invited us to. In these reports, he has mentioned that the village currently holds multiple races within consisting of goblins, hobgoblins, ogres, trolls, elves, and humans."

"Bah! Of course there are humans, now! As I've said before, this is likely a plot for humans to enslave not just us, but all these other races." Korkoryus declared while pointing her cane at my face in what she probably thought was a threatening manner. Even if unspoken threat didn't bother me, comparing me, along with the Boss, to slavers, very much did.

"Korkoryus, there are very few things that can really get under my skin. One subject of which is comparing me to the worthless vermin known as slavers. If you would really like to know; days prior, I assaulted a brothel run by slavers. The workers there were forced for untold years to be debased, degraded, and treated as little more than disposable toys to absolute monsters. I rescued every single person inside as I punished the guilty inside. I burned that place to the ground after I was done. Those elves and humans in Haven-Lake now are the people who had nowhere else to go. So, I'm asking you kindly, never refer to me as a slaver again."

The room was silent for a while after my declaration, and I noticed that Korkoryus seemed a little deflated from this and any argument she might've had had died down.

"Chief Shasuryu, did you know about this?" Caleo asked while gazing at me in what seemed to be a new light.

"My brother did mention a little bit about it, but he didn't go into as much detail as what Kashia has said." Shasuryu answered.

"If you wouldn't mind, Chief Shasuryu, would you be willing to continue on with Traveler Zaryusu's report?" Caleo requested with interest.

Said chief quickly smiled and nodded before continuing, "Following this report, Zaryusu also mentioned that the goblins, ogres, and trolls are being taught how to farm and have been showing good progress. Kashia has also helped enhance his fishery project, a method to grow a sustainable fish population that we can farm for our needs." When the fishery was mentioned, that caught everyone's attention as they quickly looked at Zary with a new interest.

"To summarize everything, Traveler Zaryusu, what would be your honest opinion on Kashia's invitation to this village of hers?" Shasuryu asked as he handed off the floor to Zary.

"Chief Shasuryu, it is in my humble opinion that we would be fools to reject this offer. There are more than enough houses that have been built recently to house our entire tribe with room to spare. It is well fortified with walls that surround the entire village over 20 feet high. This is in addition to there being enough food in Haven-Lake to feed our tribe through the worst of famines. We'd also be under the protection of a literal deity. This type of offer isn't that unheard of considering all the stories and legends of deities protecting entire nations that were under their rule." Zary finished.

Before Shasuryu could make his decision, Caleo decided to interrupt, "Before you make your decision, Chief Shasuryu, there is one thing that I wish to say, if you will allow it."

"Go ahead, Elder Caleo."

"Thank you." Caleo said before facing all of us, "I have lived a long life through the worst times that our tribe was forced to survive through. The worst of which was the War of Resources that led to the extinction of two tribes of our kin. Throughout all of these years, there was only one thing that I wished. I wished that our children would no longer need to go through days of starving bellies. Parents would no longer need to worry if they could feed their families. That our tribe would no longer need to survive another harsh winter, and that we could actually thrive."

Caleo took a deep breath before looking to his chief. "This might be one of the few times where this childish dream of mine could be made into a reality. An unknown future with Kashia is better than a known future where we either starve or go to war and possibly see another tribe be annihilated. Possibly even ours this time."

"I thank you for your words, Elder Caleo. And I do not take these words lightly. I've spent the past week thinking on the Green Claw's future, and my role as chief. My duty is to protect the tribe and allow it to grow. Both I, and my predecessors, have only been able to follow one of these duties in favor of the other for many years. For once, I'd like to take the chance to follow both of my duties, even if it means giving up my position." Shasuryu said with gravitas as everyone in the room realized what he was saying.

"Kashia, will you be willing to protect my people?"

I felt an immense amount of respect at Shasuryu's decision. It took someone both wise and with great strength of character to forfeit their power to someone better. I had no wish to disrespect the trust that was being shown to both the Boss and I by Shasuryu.

"With my life, Shasuryu."

"Then the Green Claw shall join you."

[Kashia]

I couldn't help but feel giddy as while walking through the forest with the expedition. A few hours ago, my copy had let me know through [Message] that Shasuryu had agreed to have the Green Claw tribe join my village. I felt a large amount of pride at the fact that Zaryusu's reports had been eye-opening enough to Shasuryu and the Elders that they had agreed without much argument, aside from the tail-less lizardman Elder Korkoryus.

The fact that an outside observer had such a positive review for my village meant that both I and my copy were doing something right.

Funny enough, I almost whooped for joy until I realized where I was, and how I'd probably look like a crazy woman if I just started celebrating for no reason. That didn't stop me from feeling the wagging of my hidden tails, so at least one part of me got to show my happiness.

For the trip back, we actually were making pretty good time and everyone in the group was in good enough spirits. At least, everyone besides a few select people. Two of which were a pair of brightly colored twins. I still have no idea what the kitsune might've used to color them so brightly, but it was showing no signs of wearing off. Especially since Andra had been trying multiple methods on our trek.

She tried pouring some hard liquor on a section of her hair, but all that did was make her smell like a bar. Rubbing dirt into her hair to at least darken the color amazingly did not help. Somehow, the dirt just managed to slip off like oil against water which made me start thinking that this wasn't actually a dye, but either a spell or curse.

That, or it was an alchemical reaction for a potion used to dye her hair. Unfortunately for her, I had a bit of a gut feeling that the more she attempted to remove or hide the coloring, the longer it would remain. The kitsune around me found more amusement from her overreaction compared to her brother's underreaction, so Ander would likely have his coloring fade after a few days.

Aside from this, I was able to sneak some peaks at Theo who currently had his face in the tome that I gave him. While most of the mages wrote Theo's intense focus on the book as just another typical quirk of their guildmaster, Mavien kept an inquisitive eye on Theo.

When we had finally been led out of the forest after a few more hours, Ken, and the rest of the kitsune under his command, gather together in front of all of us. "This is as far as we will escort you. The rest of the journey falls upon all of your shoulders." With that, he and the rest of the kitsune rushed back into the forest and left us all alone. Well, at least, that was what everyone else thought.

I could easily smell that three or so of the kitsune had remained in hiding nearby in the trees. No doubt that Ken was making them my bodyguards for the foreseeable future. I couldn't help but roll my eyes at how overprotective of me that was when I had the power to drop the sun at will on whoever managed to bother me.

Waving of the thoughts of unneeded protection, I decided to join the rest of the group as we began setting up our tents in preparation for the coming night.

It was when I just finished setting up my sleeping area and was about the join everyone else for dinner that I received an alert that worried me to the core.

'Kashia, we need your help!'

Nfirea's [Talisman of the Allied Beacon] let me know exactly where I needed to go, and oddly enough, it was in E-Rantel. I already teleported before I could think of anything else.

The moment that I arrived, I went through a myriad of emotions as I looked around the room of what I recall to be Lizzie and Nfirea's pharmacy. Then, I looked at the people around me, and everything just seemed to freeze for me.

Nfirea was huddled against a wall behind me, his breathing was on the verge of hyperventilating. To my left, blocking the entrance as he got onto his feet was a pale bald old man in a red robe that reeked of time spent around a lot of corpses and cemeteries. At my feet was Ninya…

Left shoulder, melted through multiple layers of skin by something acidic, spell most likely. Right leg below the knee, same issue. Right hand, melted down to the bone…

Down to the bone.

To my right stood a blonde woman that reeked of my friends' blood. Stilettos in hand covered in Dyne's blood. Dyne, barely standing on one leg, multiple puncture wounds. Impaled into a wall to Dyne's left was Peter. The coughing he's making implies one of his lungs is filling with blood. Will choke to death on his own blood soon if it isn't fixed. Multiple of the same puncture marks as Dyne.

The fact that those two are still alive implies that the woman is toying with them. Past all of them was Lukrut. He has a stiletto sticking out of his collarbone. The fact that he hasn't moved and is still just standing there implies either paralytic poison or a spell.

All of them are afraid. Their hearts are thumping in their chests loudly like drums. The noise just won't leave my mind, and it makes me angrier.

Ninya is crying.

Ninya. Is. Crying.

Within the span of three seconds, I've gone through an entire emotional spectrum. I felt afraid, horrified, saddened, upset, angry, and now…Now, I'm beyond that.

Before anyone can react, I cast [Time Stop]. I watch as the colors of the world become muted, sounds disappear, and the only thing left I can hear is the thundering of my heartbeat.

I move quickly and get to work on Ninya first. I cast [Healing of Freya] on her and watch with a mixture of anger and relief as her flesh grows back on her body until she is completely healed. Then, I use one of my tails to lift her and Nfirea and set them to the side of the room out of the path of the old dead man and the blonde bitch. I reach Dyne next and quickly heal him before setting him aside with the rest.

Reaching Peter, I pull out the stiletto and put it into my inventory before healing him and setting him aside. I walk past the bitch and smack her out of the way with the back of my hand before arriving at Lukrut. Pulling the blade out, I get a clear picture of the angry expression frozen on his face before I get to look at his crying eyes filled with absolute terror.

I cupped his cheek with my hand as I healed him before letting him go and setting him with the rest. Then, I cast the [Deathmatch] on myself, the old dead man and the blonde bitch. Before ending [Time Stop].

Color came back to the world once again along with sound and movement. The first sound to hit my ears was the loud screech of pain as bitch hit the wall.

For one simple moment, the two sides of my mind, the instinctual and animalistic side, and the intelligent reasoning side are both in complete agreement. These two touched the people who I consider as mine. They must never be allowed to do so again, by any means necessary.

"Who the hell are you? Where did everyone go-" His question was answered by the others coming to their senses and moving, or at least reaching the invisible barrier that [Deathmatch] created.

"How did you do-"

Old dead man was interrupted by bitch spitting out multiple teeth. "What the hell was that? What happened to my mouth?" Bitch demanded as she cupped the side of her face I slapped while pointing her blade at me. I got some sick pleasure at seeing the pretty mug of hers being brought down a peg or three.

"Kashia! Get out of there!" Lukrut screamed out in horror and worry. He was quickly joined by the others telling me to run. I tuned them out for the blood rushing in my ears.

"Just end her, Clementine! We need to finish this quickly!" Old dead man quickly prepared a spell with his staff and I cast [Counter Spell], ending the spell before it could even begin. At the same time, I heard the one called Clementine rush at me from behind with immense speed. I didn't need to even move a pinky as my invisible tails moved faster than she could and grabbed her before slamming her into the ground.

"Before I finish this, why are you here?" I asked while cocking my head at the old dead man. I relished the growing fear that was beginning to waft off his pale form.

"We are here for the boy." He stated with as much of his remaining willpower as he could. He still thought that he had power here? Have to rectify.

"DON'T JUST TALK WITH THE BITCH! KILL HER!" Clementine screamed out. I used one of my tails to slam her face into the floorboards a few times until I could hear dislodged teeth hit the wood along with said wood cracking from the force.

I took a deep breath before speaking again. Every second was an effort to control myself from screaming. "You touched my friends. You tried to touch my business partner. You. Touched. My. KID!"

In suitable retaliation for Ninya, I cast [Acid Ball] and got a sick sense of satisfaction as I watched the man's eyes widen in fear. Then, he waved his staff and caused a mass of bones to appear in front of him to act as a shield. It barely helped as the spell punched through his shield and he was quickly melted down with a simple gurgled scream of pain until the only thing remaining was his lower torso and legs which flopped unceremoniously to the ground.

"YOU BITCH! WHEN I GET OUT OF THIS, I'LL CUT YOUR LIMBS OFF AND MAKE YOU WATCH AS I FLAY-" I slammed her head a few more times until she stopped talking and instead made a gurgling sound from the blood and teeth filling her mouth. Then, I used a tail to lift her head from the ground to see her eyes nearly rolled into the back of her head, her mouth now missing most of her teeth, with the few remaining that were being drooled out to the ground, and her nose smashed into her face in a way that would be unrepairable without magic.

"You've got nothing of value to say. Keep your mouth shut." I then used a tail to lightly smack her a few times in the face until she finally came to. "Awake?" Her eyes widened in fear and I grinned. "Good."

"STAHP!" I then cast [Permanize: Paralysis] on her as revenge for Lukrut and let her ugly body drop to the ground. I finally deactivated [Deathmatch] and walked over to the others. The adrenaline that had been coursing through my body was finally wearing down and all that rage I felt before dissipated to the very painful realization. My eyes began to burn and I could help but start rubbing them to make it go away.

"I was almost too late…"

Ninya was the first to come out of her stupor and rushed at me before grabbing me in a hug. The others soon followed and I couldn't help myself from finally crying. "I was almost too late…" I said while holding onto Ninya and the others like a lifeline.

It doesn't matter if I could bring them back or not. What matters is that I might have almost failed all of them. What if the two fuckers were using something that might have prevented me from bringing them back? They would've been gone, and I would have had to live with my failure.

I had to be better. I need to make them better. But right now, I was just so relieved that they were all still alive.