For the good of the city is an excellent talking point to start a conversation, but how exactly they expect Cain to help might become a point of contention. The ancient Elf seems happy to enlighten Cain on their plan, though.
"As you can see, the Elders are facing the end of their Mortal lives. I am one of the younger members on the council; the others all have mobility issues that prevented them from coming today.
The Elves greatly value the wisdom of the previous generations, but there is a gap in our ranks; entire generations were lost during the great war, so the next group preparing to replace the aging elders is nearly six hundred years our junior and lacking much of the wisdom that comes with age." The older woman slowly tells Cain.
"And you're hoping that I can turn back the clock and keep you alive long enough for them to gain the knowledge needed for the role?" Cain asks, Seriously considering turning them all into Dark Elves.
"That's the request of the nobility—a fresh chance at youth after seeing the Queen. But what the council Oracle has seen is a surviving Ancient creating one single eternal leader of the council. Brought back to a youthful body now, they would guide the city to prosperity for two more millennia."
"They expected him to make them all young again?" Paige snickers, and the older woman gives her a genuine smile.
"They brought bribes and everything." The older woman confirms as Cain's Maid escorts her to a seat in the common area and pours her a cup of tea.
"Which councilor would you ask me to change?" Cain asks, wondering if this entire request is just personal Greed.
"The obvious would be Lamott, head of the council, but I doubt he'd allow it. He's been looking forward to dying of old age for a long time, mostly so people will stop bothering him. We're all from the same generation, though, and we all get along, so you can pick whoever is compatible with your skill, and the job will be done."
"I suppose I could work something out. Princess Paige had requested a younger sister, and I'm certain the Queen would prefer it wasn't her." Cain jokes, and the councilor smirks.
"You should see her. Every time she loses and then calms her temper, she returns to a form that's ever so slightly younger than it was before. After today's meetings with the nobility, she looks as fresh as the day she ascended the throne."
"Alright, I don't know about the Nobles, but I can help the council with their issue." Cain agrees.
In Paige's mind, six years old with long blonde hair and a button nose is the perfect little sister, so Cain visualizes exactly what the Princess was after and then turns his ability on the wizened Elder.
Before it takes effect, Cain does give her a warning, though. "I don't know if this will extend your natural life, but it will bring youth back to your body."
She nods grimly, prepared for the worst, and Cain slowly changes her body, the robes of a Council Elder shrinking to match her new form. Paige can barely hold in her excitement as she stares, waiting for a response.
"I seem to have shrunk." The childish voice of the Elder rings through the room with surprising vigor, and she stands up on the couch to inspect herself.
"You and me, we have very different ideas of what a return to youth meant." She declares, looking directly at Cain.
"But you must admit, it is youthful." Paige giggles, giving the woman a big hug.
"Oh, Nanny, it's perfect. I can return every hug and cuddle you gave me over the years." The Princess sighs, holding the diminutive form of the councilor before being flung across the room by a lightning bolt.
"Don't get carried away. I brought you into this world; you don't get to treat me like a doll." The Elder complains.
"Can't you do something about the personality? She's always been like that. I'll bet you can't even pat her head." Paige whines, and Cyrene smiles.
"The physical change doesn't change their personality. At least it didn't when Cain used it on me. You just need to go slow, sneak in the cuddles until she gets used to it." The Lamia whispers.
"They know I can hear them, right? I'm still a level 284 Arch Druid; there's not much in this city made of trees that I'm not aware of." The Elder asks Cain, ignoring the girls.
"Oh, they know. Maybe I went a bit overboard, but it gives you a couple of of extra centuries to keep things in order versus making you a young woman. I don't know if you'll be able to have the same thing done again after all, and that's assuming that this does indeed extend your life."
With a wiggle of her fingers, the child's form is gone, and a 170cm tall Dryad with leafy hair stands in her place, making Paige pout.
"This should do fine for the time being. I can keep it active indefinitely, and with that youthful body as the base, my recovery and stamina are back up to the peak for my level."
She crooks one branch-like finger and invites a small group of Nobles in to present their case. All are in their later middle years, and Cain suspects that these are the next in line to become elders once the previous generation is gone.
"Before you begin, I will warn you, using that sort of transformation for selfish purposes has side effects. So if you're looking to have your body changed to upgrade to a younger or more powerful spouse or other such reasons, I recommend you discard that notion."
That should scare at least a few of them off and calm the excitement. The actual chances of the skill going haywire are pretty remote, though. Even with a strong curse on his target, Cain nearly managed to activate it successfully.
"Thank you for the warning. The Origin stories tell us much about the Wonders and Horrors of the Ancients. But what we ask instead is more of a business arrangement. As you can see, the client base is well established, so we were hoping that you could open a cosmetic medical clinic.
If the rumors are not mistaken, you can create a form of body double that could do much of the work for you, leaving only the most complicated cases to be handled personally."
That's actually a much more sensible proposal than Cain had expected, with the crowd's enthusiasm.
"We can arrange a space for you; there is a vacant shop I own available in the market upstairs. The services of a Flesh Crafter are never cheap. They're notoriously hard to find due to their connections with the underworld, so finding a reputable one like you, who works mostly with government leaders, is a great relief."
That's also a good point. While a few do above board work, the real money is in transforming wanted criminals to allow them to avoid detection and capture. When you're looking at a rather gruesome death penalty, any price is a reasonable one.
It wouldn't be hard to make a Puppet with the [Modify] skill. The regular Flesh Crafter class uses a dozen different skills and surgical techniques to enact various changes; Cain's class only uses one skill that does all his modifications on other people.
"I think I can agree to that. A few nurses and a clinic doctor that can do the basic changes most people will request shouldn't be a problem. If you've got a contract, we can go over that and see the location before dinner."
pan,da n<0,>v,el The murmurs of the crowd are very excited now. Cain will agree to set up a cosmetic skills clinic here in the city. Not only will that be good for them, but once the backlog clears and word spreads, it will also be good for tourism.
That's what they were truly after today, not just the personal services of a Flesh Crafter, but a new city amenity.
Being a city-state in a dangerous jungle, wounds that routine healing doesn't fully repair are pretty common. The Elves also tend to be rather vain about their physical appearance, avoiding scars, deformities and even the smallest hints of being in poor physical condition.
The only one who doesn't seem overly enthusiastic about today's outcomes is Paige, who realized her potential for a little sister had slipped through her fingers when the Elder transformed into a Dryad. The two stop seen to be friends though, so maybe once she's out of public sight, the Elder will relax and change forms back.
The shop contract is a simple thing, half a Gold Bar monthly in rent, and the landlord pays amenities and taxes. After carefully reading it through, Cain rolls it up and gets to his feet.
"Let's go see this place in person. A lot goes into a clinic, and proper patient moods and comfort are essential to a healthy recovery from a major procedure."
They understand the necessity for property facilities very well, and while the Elder chases the rest of the nobility away, the middle-aged Elf known as Duke Owen leads Cain to the shop.
It's just off the main concourse, still busy but not as noisy or crowded. Next door is a fancy restaurant, and on the other side of them is an open space full of vines and moss that Cain takes for this city's version of a playground.
The inside of the shop is changed from the city's all-natural motif to smooth walls and stone floors, with a very human-run diner sort of decor, with stainless steel wall accents where booths used to be and on the front counter that compliments the black and white square stone tiles on the floor. Two separate rooms in the back that could both serve as consultation rooms, plus a restroom and a storage cooler.
"We can redecorate if you would like. The last tenant ran a candy shop and chose this for the ambiance." Duke Owen suggests.
"No, with a little furniture, this should be just right."
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