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The next few days are quiet in the Long Fang Valley but busy ones. The Guild is coming to visit, and Cain has decided to hold a public banquet on the grounds of the Manor.

Everyone who lives in the valley is welcome, and he asked Damien and Svetlana to let everyone know that he will have the Puppets available to watch the children if needed. 

That meant that he needed a more extensive staff, mostly taken from the Puppets in his inventory, much to Brother Liu’s delight. One proper chef isn’t enough to cater to thousands, though, so Cain agreed to make him two Assistants with similar skills.

The two are currently debating what the Assistants should look like since it will be easier for everyone if they can be told apart from the kitchen helpers by more than uniforms. 

“I can make them younger versions of you. Then everyone would know they were the assistant chefs.” Cain points out the obvious. 

“Fine, I’ll agree that the Dwarven barmaids couldn’t reach all the cupboards, but there’s no reason we couldn’t make them good-looking. It helps morale in the kitchen, I tell you.” Brother Liu counters.

“Fine, but I’m blaming you.” Cain laughs, starting to make a pair of identical puppets. 170cm tall, slender, black hair with a white stripe down the middle and cute round ears. 

Cain made them based on Honey Badgers. They might be the Assistants, but they need to have the personality to keep a kitchen under control calmly, and in Cain’s past life, honey badgers were well known for their fearlessness. 

Cain settles the two cooking skills in, then decides to mess with Neither Liu a little, adding Tanya, the Dwarven chef’s skill of Pugilist, which increases unarmed damage done. Perfect for a puppet. 

The two Beastkin women form in chef’s coats, and Brother Liu gets a pleased smile until the one on his left glares at him. 

“Wotcha looking at then, eh? You wanna fight?” The girl with a teardrop tattoo under her eye challenges him.

“Ladies, this is Brother Liu; he runs the kitchens here. You’ll be working under him, so get along. That’s an order. Now, let’s see. I will call you Mia and Mio.”

“Got it, boss. But if he can’t cook, we’re kicking him out of the kitchen.” 

Brother Liu takes offense at that, and in a few minutes, they’re well on their way to becoming friendly rivals over a dinner making competition. Satisfied that they’re going to be able to work together, Cain goes to check on the rest of the Puppets, who are setting up tables for the next day’s festivities. 

Everything is going smoothly the next day when the first Guild members arrive, Cid and Lickity with two of their kids. “Hey, nice place. Neffie will be here soon; she’s training with the King’s Guard this morning. That evil old man leveled her up to level 180, and her new class of Doppelganger didn’t have enough combat techniques for him, so she’s learning more.”

Power leveling a Toddler to First Advancement? Cain isn’t sure even he could get away with that. 

The Demon in question appears a few seconds later, with a sweaty Neffie in her own four-armed body, looking like a preteen and not the newborn Cain remembers. With a smooth stride that barely makes the four swords on her hips rattle, she runs to Cain with a huge grin. 

“Guild Master! I missed you.” She giggles before hugging him and frowning.

“Well, that sucks. Your new class is species exclusive.”

“You learn them by contact, do you? Well, at least you get the full Puppet Master Skill tree now.” Cain laughs as Neffie runs over to hug everyone else. 

King Aggramor shakes Cain’s hand with a smile. “She’s a handful for sure, but she’s too precious to have left her vulnerable. I had to level her up, even if Miss Lickity still isn’t speaking to me.”

More Demons have come through as they talk, and Cain recognizes them as the King’s Guard. They’re all just as disheveled as Neffie, though they at least took the time to rinse off and change uniforms. 

“Misha, Cyrene, why don’t you take our little Princess to shower and then soak in the herbal baths, so she’s ready for dinner?” Cain suggests, and they take the little Demon away to freshen up. 

The Guild members are a steady stream of arrivals now, marveling at the Manor grounds the same way Cain did when he first saw them. 

“Is that just food everywhere? Seriously everywhere I look is food.” Comes Elmira’s voice from inside Dimnys shirt pocket. 

“The whole valley is like that; they planted food everywhere so they’d never starve,” Mythryll informs her, and the Pixie flies over to land in her hair. 

“The desert is getting scary. There’s fighting all over Landis, and they’ve brought the Orcs into it, so now the humans are being pushed back and hiding everywhere.” Elmira tells Mythryll, loud enough that Cain can hear. 

“Should I send some Seraphim armies to clean things up?” Cain asks, but Cid waves him off.

“We have an agreement with all three sides. Montauk, Assah, the Castle, and the Beginner’s Valley won’t be targeted, and in exchange, we agreed to stay neutral and not call in more foreign Mercenaries. Everything in sight of the Blood Sands Castle walls is a neutral ground where they meet to discuss terms. The ceasefire never lasts more than a day or two, but it’s better than nothing.” Cixelcid explains.

“They tried attacking Montauk while I was visiting with Lickity and the kids. So we worked out a deal. If they break their word, I can have ten thousand soldiers at the castle in under five minutes.” King Aggramor clarifies.

With almost all the human soldiers being under level 200, an army from the Demon Kingdom would have a devastating advantage in any battle, even without the castle walls on their side. 

“On a brighter note, the next Tortuga Auction is coming up soon, and you’ve been invited, or you can send someone on your behalf. You can leave straight from my capital.” Aggramor informs Cain. 

“That could be fun. We can discuss who all is going later. The rest of the townsfolk should be here soon, though, so it’s time for me to act my part.” 

The Companions have gone to let the Puppets know that the feast is starting, and the small army of servers have started to bring out the drinks and snacks, with more food to come later. 

Aggramor hides his title and changes his appearance to match one of his Guards before they all change into casual clothes. They blend in perfectly with the Guild and can relax for the afternoon and ignore Royal Protocol. 

He’s not the only one with that idea; just after the main course is brought out, Cain catches sight of a Gwen who should be in the Palace with a man in a fox mask. It’s a much better disguise than the last time the King snuck out; this time, he actually blends in with the crowd.

The big hit of the day has to be Neffie, though. She disguised herself as a teenage Succubus and mingled with everyone who was willing to say hello to her. Nemu, as well as several locals, are taking turns playing and singing while the Demon Queen in waiting collects every possible class combination she can. 

Before dark, King James heads home, after reminding Cain that there is a court session in the morning. He had a great time, but not once did he even suspect that he wasn’t the only Monarch present. Aggramor plays the part of the common soldier entirely too well. 

That’s also when the farmers start to leave, gathering their kids from the Elven Puppets who were watching them. The city residents last a few extra hours, but by midnight only Svetlana, the copy of Gwen on duty in the city, and their forces are active on the Manor grounds. 

Cain comes down in the morning into the midst of a commotion; a young Guild member is crying and holding his face while surrounded and being yelled at. 

“Alright, break it up. What’s going on?”

“We split up the baths. The girls are in the spa, and the guys are in the second-floor baths.” Mio, one of the Puppet cooks explains, pointing at a banner that says Ladies and brandishing a dented silver serving tray. 

“And someone got brave enough to sneak a peek, then caught a serving tray to the face?” Cain asks. 

“I swear, there was no banner just a few seconds ago. I’m innocent!” The Young Spirit Folk Paladin insists. 

“So, who were you after?” Cain teases, straightening the boy’s nose.

“Kone.” The answer comes from a dozen voices inside the bath at once, followed by giggling. 

“He’s been in love with her forever,” Elmira calls from inside the spa, and Cain can hear splashing, then a Pixie’s laughter. 

“You’ve got a long road to redeeming yourself after this one. I hope it was worth it.” Cain claps him on the shoulder and then leaves, with the Paladin and the chef following behind him.

Larkin was sure he had the perfect plan to sneak a peek at his crush today; he even had Neffie cast invisibility on him, claiming it was for a prank. The only thing he neglected to factor in was the possibility of the keen-nosed serving staff bringing in breakfast through the side doors just as he got into his hiding spot.