A couple of days passed by and the events of the tea party had begun to produce the desired results for Ki and the family.
Ki sat drinking a cup of tea calmly and sat in front her her was a blonde medium length haired young girl who had dark blue eyes, was short and quite skinny but had noticeable signs of having been trained in martial arts.
She was a mix of characteristics of those from the northern lands and the central lands, but her skin was less pale than those from the north and she had more of a strong and dependable appearance like an older sister.
She must have grown up in a tough environment in the slums and grew up protecting herself while surviving and supporting those close to her.
Ki smiled upon seeing a less mature version of her master. 'She is still so firm and dependable in appearance right now. Back when she saved me and the others she had already reached a point of desperation that she had to accept the recruitment of the blood sect members that had infiltrated. However instead of following their orders she acted alone and began to free everyone which led to their presence becoming known after the city lords family had been killed. Those who were influencing events behind the scenes along with master were hunted down by the martial alliance. I hope that she can stay as she is right now and not be forced to submit to those outside forces. She must of been truly desperate during that time…'
Marilyn inspected the girl before her and smiled. 'This little girl looks like she has been training in martial arts, I would love to spar with her but with my age I'd probably be bullying her.'
Ki smirked upon seeing her masters thoughts. "My name is Ki, I am the successor of the Bombyx family. I heard that you have begun to help out at the orphanage within Wolfden city, I wonder if you would be open to being recruited? I need reliable people to do secretive work that I think you would be suitable to do since you were brought up in the slum areas and are familiar with the people and situations most would face when born into that area."
Marilyn looked a little offended. "Do you mean you want me to do your dirty work?"
"Dirty work… if you wish to look at it that way then yes but in a way it is more to gain more control over the surroundings and make the lives of everyone involved better." Ki carefully explained. "I need someone to run a dark intelligence organisation for my family, the best way is to establish control over the gangs to stop certain activities they have control over like the black market and their auctions along with their activities in kidnapping vulnerable people to sell to slave dealers and the trade of illegal goods. Your organisation would deal with collecting intel from many places and I will support you to open several underground businesses specifically used for entertainment to place your people inside."
"If you have these plans then why don't you just establish it with your families power? Why would you need me?" Marilyn looked towards Ki with some doubt on her face.
"My family cannot be connected to this so we do not become a target for those privately supporting the gangs and influencing the events of the city right now. If we wish to overcome this together then I need your help to be the head of this group." Ki tried her best to make her point about the fact that outside forces were causing problems recently and would have a bad influence upon the slums or the darker parts of the city. "You know the people within the slums well and you also are familiar with the gangs and the underground businesses there and their actions. If you had the opportunity to set rules in the underground and establish your own group then wouldn't you use this chance to stop others from taking advantage of the weak? Do you think if they have the support of outside influences then they won't target the children within the orphanage in order to further their goals? I think they won't care that my family is supporting it and even begin to act more brazen after each successful act."
"I will think about it but if you wish to make me take that place you must be someone that I can respect. So duel me in a real fight and if you can beat me then I will work for you and put my life in your hands." Marilyn stood up and declared.
Ki stood up and held out her hand to grab Marilyn's hand to shake it. "I will arrange weapons and training clothes for us to begin our duel. For now enjoy your stay within the mansion."
Later in the day Ki met up with Marilyn once more in her training grounds along with Leon and Evie.
Ki was dressed in sleeveless powder blue training clothes while Marilyn dressed in red short sleeved training clothes, both which perfectly suited their figures as if they had been prepared beforehand.
Ki had investigated Marilyn's background, her personality and other aspects about her so naturally prepared to be challenged by her resulting in everything being ready before the duel.
"Leon and Evie will be the ones to judge the winner." Ki began to explain. "We have already prepared everything so choose your weapons"
Ki chose a one handed sword that she had used previously along with a flask hung at her waist while Marilyn chose a long one handed sword which was thinner and more suited towards stabbing along with a pointed dagger of a similar shape.
The dagger and sword had been built to guard the holders hands better around the hilt, they were designed to prioritise pointing and stabbing over slashing and also was more suited to receiving and countering enemy attacks.