Back in Alexander's penthouse, the mood had become very tranquil after finishing dinner. He and Kary cuddled up together on the large sofa, watching some old movies together.
As the sun started slowly lowering on the horizon, they both knew their day had to come to an end. New Eden's morning was poking its head around the corner, and it was time to go back.
They had many things to do, after all.
"Have you considered who might be a good ally to send to Prince Nalafein?" Alex asked as they walked upstairs.
"I have. I had a few ideas at first, thinking sending a few small guilds would help promote their growth, and also tie in a bunch of people to us. But then I realized this also meant sending people that might not see eye to eye forever."
Alexander nodded in agreement. It would have been good to tie some small guild under them for the future, but how they would act with each other remained a forever question mark.
"My next thought was to start a subsidiary of Paragons and send them, instead. But that came with so much work, and with how full our plates are right now, I rapidly discarded that thought."
Alex chuckled wryly, as they reached the room. They had no time to take care of another growing guild. Theirs was already growing so fast; it required more and more of their intake.
"Then I settled for going with a large guild that would align well with our plans and wouldn't think of fighting back against us, at least for a good while. But I haven't settled on who, yet. I wanted to discuss our options together."
Alex opened the top of his pod, scratching his chin, and only one face popped into his mind that he wouldn't have too much trouble trusting. But he wondered if Kary had thought of him as an option.
She knew the top players better than him, after all.
"We can finish this discussion on the other side. We have much to do, and I think it wouldn't be a bad thing if we include the others in this discussion."
Kary nodded her head, opening the top of her new pod as well.
"Alright then. I'll send a message to the officer chat, so we can gather. The rest of the council will also want to butt in, even if the matter doesn't concern them."
Alex felt a headache start to grow as he thought about how the Natives might suddenly meddle in their decisions. He could already tell some of them were confrontative by nature.
"I'll make sure to remind them it's none of their business, then," Alex grumbled, as he lay down in his pod.
Kary only huffed a laugh before doing the same. She couldn't wait to see the look on their faces.
"Log in!" both of them said simultaneously.
As their bodies sank into the soft gel, they both heard the familiar message.
*Launching New Eden*
*Logging in*
*Welcome back, player Astaroth/Phoenix*
They re-opened their eyes and were both back in their room in the tree palace. Looking each other up and down, they decided to change clothes before leaving the room, lest they wanted to look like they could only wear the same thing every day.
Two outfits were already prepared on the bed, on each side of it. Astaroth's eyebrow rose, but Phoenix was already accustomed to it.
"I already told the servants that if they wanted to prepare our outfits, they should do in the night, if we aren't there, or wait for us to wake up if we sleep here. It wasn't easy to explain to them our bodies might not be here when they come in, but they eventually came to terms with it."
He imagined their faces as she explained they were mostly gone at night, and chuckled to himself.
As he walked over to his side of the bed, he eyed the outfit ready for him.
It was a lot less audacious than the one he currently wore. He silently thanked Coral, who he guessed had prepared it, given he could still feel a bit of her mana lingering on it.
Phoenix, on her side of the bed, had a nice long dress ready, in light tones of red and pink, matching the colour scheme of his own outfit. Looking at the velvety shirt, combined with the obsidian black pants, he only complained silently about the frill on the shirt.
Phoenix giggled as she saw his dejected face and changed up while he grumbled. Astaroth couldn't help but eye her body as she did, only cursing they didn't have the time to enjoy themselves a bit before undressing as well.
As he donned the outfit, he kept the necklace on, since he felt it still fit with his current look. Glancing at himself in the mirror, he grumbled about the frill, but still thought he looked sharp as hell.
As they both were finally ready to leave the room, Phoenix put her arm into Astaroth's, smiling at him.
"I've already sent the message. Most of them are on their way, and I have convened the council. Some of them might complain that the other officers are there, but I am confident you will keep the meeting civilized."
Astaroth winked at her with a grin on his lips.
"Oh, it'll be civilized, alright. If any of those people think they can speak out of turn with me there, they'll rapidly understand who's in charge."
Phoenix pinched his side, keeping a smile on her lips.
"Please, love. No cock fights at official functions. The Natives already think poorly of us and call most players savages. No need to add to that reputation."
Astaroth winced as the fingers dug into his thin skin over his ribs, but laughed nonetheless.
"Fine. I'll just make sure they know to wait for their turns to speak. I'll be as nice as I can. Let's get going. We have a long day ahead of us."
Nodding her head, Phoenix locked step with him, as he pushed open the doors to the hallway. The two guards on duty saluted them as they left and closed the doors behind them.
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