The only thing I could do was frown at this moment. I did not know what to do as I was just stumped on what to do next.
For the last couple of days, I had been training my cute tigers and letting them move more. They had gotten a little lazy with how much sitting and laying around they had been doing for the last year. Many people didn't even notice them as they retracted their presence and became a new love of stealthy when sitting still. It was almost hard for me to notice them as B rankers at this point when they just stared silently.
That means that I had been taking more of my time working with them in the back of the brothel to get them moving and playing with each other. After months, they also started playing hide and seek with each other. With their scent now filling the backyard yard, they had to find each other, and they had become adept at hiding in plain sight, even to each other.
Soon, I would have to make a trip with them to train. Their mana cores needed to be developed with real fights. They have stagnated and almost become useless to me. They are D-ranked pets, and I was a B ranker and needed them to level up. They needed their mana cores before I could bring them up to C rank, and then I would have to raise them to B rank. Then, maybe, just maybe, I could make them A rankers when I advance.
Imagine fighting four A rankers? Three tigers that specialize in stealth and someone like myself. I could flexibly destroy any enemy that I came across. but that was a future that I would have to work my best for. It would be difficult, and A rankers were already rare. Let alone Beasts of A rank. They would become very intelligent and able to communicate with me. But that was something I would do once I was ready to leave a completed organization in the Demon Lands.
For now, It was at this time that I finally got in contact with the Lich again and her fellows. They had all gone underground hard in the Demon lands, and I had no idea where they had been hiding. If it weren't for a pre-arranged meeting, it would have taken forever for us to rediscover each other.
I invited the Lich into a Tavern a distance away and ensured that we would be in an area of the city that we were not known in. Or at least I didn't know because I didn't know where she had been. When sitting down they were completely covered, and the same genderless voice came out.
The tavern was a dark one in the corner of the slummiest part of the city, where there were no actual slums. It was still a surprise in a city as large as this one, but the relative economic conditions made this the lowest part of town near the ports. The Necromancer did not want to be too deep into the city. We both took a seat in the corner of the booth, and an older barmaid got us two tankards of mead under my order before leaving us alone.
"What have you learned while being here?" The Necromancer asked.
"I have made contact with the criminal element and made a conditional deal with supplies for you," I told her, "It will be black market things and stolen merchandise that probably cannot be seen on shore," I told her, "But that also makes it cheaper."
The Necromancer nodded, and we both looked around and saw no one was around. The Necromancers started to move their mana. I knew it was a silent spell for the area where we were talking, and it was a really light and odd type of mana. I saw a person look over for a moment but then shake their head. It's probably a Wizard of some type noticing our antics so we wouldn't be heard.
"So, is there anything you need?" I asked, leaning back, allowing myself to back up a little in my own cloak to hide my identity.
"Yes, Supplies," The Necromancer said, "We need anything you can ready. Mostly food for those who are still alive. We will be taking ships and killing as we move out to begin our pirate days. We must have food and supplies ready in case the ship is not stocked already. Rather have them rot than have them die. Many are grouping together, so we will be taking in waves," The necromancer informed me, and I frowned.
"So you are going to steal ships in pairs and things like that?" I asked, "Or all together and separate once you out at sea capturing ships? It is the second that I think would make the most sense," I told them.
The Necromancer looked at me, and I felt a smile, "The second. But more than one ship. We came in as refuges, though, and we took several ships. We must resupply our friends still out to sea. They have been told not to raid, but they have raided one ship in the meantime and have some preliminary loot from the Empire en route here. They took her, and she was full of some valuables that we can trade to start things off."
That news made me smile, and I looked at the Necromancer much more appreciatively. Now was when they would prove their worth, and I could talk to my contact. We would have to make it a clandestine meeting like this and a way to get things onshore. It was a rough thing to do with the city so developed at this point. Necromancers would also use the dead, and so it was basically a giant totem saying that we were doing something illegal.
"Okay," I replied, "That is some good news. I could use the gold to get more supplies for you. But we meet a problem," I told the Necromancer, "I am running out of gold, and you have no gold. We have nothing to make the purchases that you want, and I have no supplies to trade for them," I told them bluntly, "The first trade is going to have to be lopsided in my favor to get things rolling. I will purchase extra supplies and help you get control of ships full of the right things to get started in return."
The Necromancer stared at me for a couple of moments. "Why should I believe you?" The necromancer asked.
"Because I wouldn't bug out on a B ranker at this stage," I told them, "I already have a rival B ranker that can fight me on even terms," I told them, which seemed to surprise the Necromancer, "I might need you in the future, and the returns I would get from you being active and using me as a middle man will be much more useful to me in the future and bring in more gold. I have ever so stupid as to write you off it will be after a message that says that the Demon lands are focusing on pirate activity; get out," I said, contempt in my voice.
The Necromancer looked at me for several moments, and I controlled myself and moved forward, "I know I am gaining the most in this exchange as a Middle man. You could even cut me out but would lose forces on the ground that you can trust to back you up. I have never backed out of my word toward you," I told them, "You know I follow the deal, and that is what happened in the Empire. It was the Necromancer guild that fucked you over and not me. Now, I could use the extra organization out there allied with me and assisting me. The longer this works for me, the happier I can be. My focus will even be able to assist you in potentially finding a suitable person to bribe to make sure they do not focus on Pirates raiding other nations' goods instead of theirs. Understand what I mean?"
My question hung in the air, and I could almost physically see as the necromancer thought it over. We were silent for minutes, and the Necromancer nodded. "You saved us when you didn't have to; you told us the way out and got us out along with some of our legion. We will give you another chance and assist you," The Necromancer finally said, and I wanted to sigh with relief. "We will give you this large amount of gold as an investment, and I would like something in return later. We need alchemical supplies and rations. We are researchers of the dead and bodies. As we loot, we can get bodies, but the ingredients that we need will still be missing. Prioritize that over other things."
I looked at the Necromancer and nodded, "Okay, we will do so, but I will need a list. That seems to be something that I will have to create a business to do properly. There will be delays in that, and I will need a larger amount of money to purchase those supplies," I informed them.
The Necromancer nodded, "Please have it started with the large cash flow of the loot we initially brought. I understand and will make the others understand the delays in such matters. Hopefully, we should be able to find enough on the islands to supply us in the short term, but we will need a steady supply at some point."
"Okay, I will work on that," I replied, taking a mental note of that. It would also diversify my holdings if I did so, so I had no problem with it. I would even be able to turn it into a profitable business and launder the money earned from looting with it. Best to cover my tracks completely and build a sturdy organization with diverse income streams.
"Three things I will need, and we should end this soon. I need to be getting back," I said, and the Necromancer nodded. "The first thing I need from you is a steady supply of loot and a way for us to get it ashore. We will need to reconvene in a couple of weeks while I get something to transport the supplies to the fence."
"Yes, We can discuss that now; we will reconnect in a week in a place near here. We will meet up at the front of this place at mid-afternoon and move to a different tavern." The Necromancer replied.
"Then I need the supplies and foods that you need that best suit your diets. I do not know necromancers, but I know you will need basics that are not normal," I said, and the Necromancer nodded, "Last, start gathering a supply of the alchemical ingredients you want. Planning a business, even a supplier's store, takes time, and I need to plan before I execute."
"Done. I will see you next week, and then we will start our business." The Necromancer told me and stood. Their genderless voice instantly cut off, and the mana disappeared, and they left. I got up, followed them out, and separated after leaving the coins to pay for the food with a very modest tip.
I would rather be that asshole that didn't tip well than someone memorable.
With that, the starting stages of my criminal enterprise in the Demon lands would actually start, and I had a few issues to work out.
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