Misha was arranging a garden party for the following afternoon at the Long Fang Valley Manor, promising good food and like-minded company. Cain wasn't sure what they all had in common, but a brunch for fifty was well within the capabilities of the Kitchen staff.
The actual number would be a bit higher, as several Guild members, including Kone and Lickity, were at the Manor when they returned, enjoying the natural surroundings, but that is always expected. Everyone loves a good party.
Cain woke up to the warmth of Misha on his arm and the familiar pink hair of Cyrene looking down at him. She had clearly been there a while, waiting for him to wake up.
"Are you sure you're alright with being a Lamia? If it's causing trouble for you, I can change you again." Cain offers, petting her head while she gathers her thoughts.
"I like things better this way. I know I'm a little odd, but I swear I will be your best Lamia ever." Cyrene insists, making Cain smile and ruffle her hair.
"Alright, I should get ready for the day. Come here and cuddle Misha so she doesn't get cold." She instructs, sliding from under Misha's arm and letting the Lamia replace him.
Misha would likely notice the change in only a few minutes, since the Lamia is warmer than he is and smells like coconut lotion, but that still gives him enough time to get showered and ready for the day.
Once they're all ready, Cain heads down the hall to where Mary and Paige are staying to see if they want breakfast. He finds that they're both already awake and interrogating one of the Honey Badger girls Cain made as additional chefs.
Neither of them had been to Skyview before, so when the cook came around to check breakfast orders, they captured her to catch up on current events and make sense of everything they heard at the Royal Ball last night.
The chef doesn't know much about the rumors since the Guild Members do not need to gossip. The rumors are about them, after all, and they already know what really happened. But that's even better for Paige and Mary, a bit of truth to go with the rumors they heard. But it still seems pretty incredible.
Cyrene catches up to Cain again before he makes it to the dining room, wrapping around his waist so he doesn't leave her behind. "I had a question for you this morning before I got distracted. Can you set a skill for my collar's ability? Something powerful or unique that people would associate with you?"
As a Guild member, she can already Summon Epic Golems. Cain decides that something with flash and utility would be the best choice. But he doesn't have any flashy skills other than Summoning. She can already use lightning, and he could teach her totems from a book; no need to use the item's unique ability for that.
It's the summons that everyone associates with Cain. But his ability to buff everyone is the real secret to their success.
"I will give you one of my more interesting abilities to use for your [Trick]. It is called Ancient Wisdom, and it will let you grant the whole party one of your or your summons abilities. It works like a buff so that passives will affect everyone, or active skills will be usable."
Cyrene remembers this one, he's used it before, and it was awesome. The variety of her valuable skills is limited, but she does have a few bonuses that could help the group, or she can use the Guild Skill and Summon something to share their best skill with everyone the way Cain did.
Cain considers what books to get for Cyrene to help increase her versatility over breakfast, spending most of the meal half lost in his thoughts. The atmosphere in the large dining room was much more lively than usual with so many people present for a change, even if Mary was mainly looking around in wonder.
"You haven't spent much time outside the jungle, have you?" Cain asks the young Elven Puppet Master.
"No, in fact, this is only my third trip away from the city since I moved there. I got the Puppet Master quest on my first one and went out once more looking for new summons."
Her Summoning list is probably as short as the other Puppet Master he met, Gillibrand. Maybe it's a joke by the system? Giving the class that benefits the most from being widely traveled to a bunch of homebodies? Cain could see the Laughing God doing that on purpose.
"We should bring you out, explore a few more dungeons then. I'm sure you've got lots of Demons and Beastkin, but we could bring you to see more Fae and Ogres. I'd say Seraphim too, but you've surely recorded them when I Summoned them."
Mary nods happily. "I got a bunch of new forms from you. The area near our entrance to the Demon Dungeon is all Obsession Demons, so I didn't get too much variety from there. I've got a lot of Forest Beasts, though, since it's the best way to level up in the jungle."
That gets Kone's attention, and she draws the Puppet Master into a chat about animals of all varieties. Nemu takes this distraction as a chance to climb into Cain's lap, and Misha uses her wing to swat at the Felian.
Cain just smiles at their antics while the combination of furry and warm makes Cyrene and Nemu friends in an instant.
"Mary, I have a proposition for you. How do you think your parents would feel about an alliance or Merger with the Darklight Host? We've got a pretty good network from the Central continent to the shores of the East and North. I am about to start expanding our equipment deliveries to the South, and I think it would complement your family's business well."
The proposal seems to have taken her off guard, and she looks shocked for a while. "It's my parents Guild, so I don't have a say. But it's just one ship and a shop on the Eastern coast of the East Continent. They might be high level, but compared to all this? We're poor sailors compared to this. You own an entire valley, and it's not even the Guild's home base."
"Why don't you see if they can come to visit us here then? If we can bring them into the fold, even with an alliance, it would help expand our reach. I'm certain we've still got some spaces left in the Guild since the castle expanded our maximum numbers."
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