As soon as Izumi and hergroup had returned to their new residence she wasted no time whatsoever to report to her superiors. They had to change their aproach and fast, lest they make some rather undesirable mistakes. Fortunately, her mission as the ambasador to expand their zone of influence was planned regardless of how their encounter with the mage would go, so another party of theirs had already unloaded and set up the necesarry things in the property that they had aquired beforehand through one of their merchants.
One she was in the secured room she wasted no time in activating the holo device, initiating the connection. Some fifteen minutes later the connection was established, and in front of her appeared nine individuals sitting around a circle formed table. They were representatievs of the nine clans ruling over their nation.
"Report." One of the council members spoke, his hair and tails of the same color as Izumi- clearly a member of her clan.
"The situation is much more complicated than we innitially thought. Firstly, the lord of the city seems to be a former adventurer, so agressiev and arrogant posturing is more detrimental than helpfull to our goals. Secondly, while the blood mage is still looking for a kitsune to enslave," she spoke with quite the dissatisfaction in her voice regarding Rex "we had faulty information regarding his specific interests."
"Elaborate" this time spoke a council member with fiery red hair and tail.
"Yes. He seems to have absolutely no knowledge of our customs and culture besides the percieved notion that we have the best tea makers in the world. As such, he desires for one of those masters. Once he was aware of our refusal to sell our people into slavery, he expressed the desire to buy tea from us and perhaps have one of his servants be taught the art of the tea making."
"Hmm, he is sharp, and quick to capitalize in the changing tides." A member of the council with violet hair spoke "Tell us more about the mage himself."
"He is dangerous, beyond all our estimates, or overly confident. Most likely a bit of both, since he had no fear of my sword, and had a valkirie serving him." Izumis response created a moment of silence.
"Retell the encounter, we need everything in deetails." once again spoke the member of her clan, and she recounted her meeting with Rex, not forgetting the warning she recieved from Victor. It was an important piece in the story, as it drastically changed the way she approached Rex. The council memberswere listening carefully to her retelling, trying to gleam some additional understanding of the man or the depth of his power or recourses. At the mention of the dinner that was served, most of the council members jaws dropped.
"HE SERVED WHAT?" A council member with black hair exclaimed in shock. He was a family member of the current only eight taled kitsune, who was their emperor right now. He was wery well aware of the possible implications. The mage had connections with someone who could organise a sucsessfull raid, and since they had acsess to the gold grade, it meant his contact was rather high in the pecking order of that group.
"Yes, our main cheff confirmed it, as he was present during the preparation of the dishes. Not only that, from our solders told me that every servant in mages mansion would have earth grade meat in their food. We have also recieved information, that there seems to be a steady supply of it in the city. All sold through a single merchants channels."
"Approve of his request for the tea, and bring him over to sample them to your residence. Imply that we would be willing to teach a servant of his under two conditions. First is that whatever is taught should never leave his household. Secondly we need to secure a right to purchase set amount of earth grade meat. If the supply of the merchant is constant, the nobles in their immediate area who can afford it constantly will become much stronger over time. We must ensure we reap the benefits." spoke the blond member of the council, his eyes gleaming behind his small glasses.
Everyone immediatly agreed, since the council member in question was known for his sharp wit, and a sense for profit.
"So, how was it?" suddenly the only woman present in among the council members spoke.
"Im sorry?" Izumi responded in confusion
"The meat, how did it taste." councilwoman added. Her clan was known to be quite the gourmets, and they spent exorbitant amount of money to get their hands on the rarest and most prestigious of ingridients throughout the world. They did have the money to spend since their love for such things wa fueled by their uncanny ability to grow almost anything sucsesfully. They had a few very rere cultures they grew, that no other intelegent race had managed to figure out how.
Izumi blushed a bit remembering the taste, trying for a moment to put it in words, and with the mere memory she started salivating.
"Divine is the only way i can describe it. If once had to compare it to earth grade it would be almost like comparing the finest of wines with a mouthful of ash." At her words the council woman salivated just imagining the possible taste. It was not that the ydidnt have the money for it, it just was basicly never sold anywhere. You could trow mountainds of gold and still find none in the markets.
"And it cleanses the body ten times better than earth grade. And while it doesnt seem quite enough seeing its rarity, i think it also strenghtens the bloodline." izumi added. She had a personal experiece and that was how she felt.
"Are you implying that if one were to consume it in apropriate quantities for long enough they could reach the purity of a nine tailed kitsune?" for the first time asked a member with light orange hair.
"I am not sure of the caps it could reach, but the effect is there. I could feel it and my sword had told me he felt the same."
"Secure the trade deal with the mage with our specifications, if possible inquire him about the heaven grade, but dont be too direct. Aproach it with deep gratitude and maybee ask how the kitsune dignitary earned such honor. While i doubt he is as ignorant regarding the quality, we might get another great opportunity. "
They spent a few more hours going over the details regarding the situation in Blythe, the war they are being pulled into, and Izumis future focus. She was quite confident in her ability to achieve most of her tasks, but still, she was slightly nervous, she had quite the burden on her shoulders, and no training could prepeare one for everything the world might throw at you.
Unlike Izumi, who had quite the bussy evening, filled with planning and preparation, Rex relaxed with his girls, untill he was visited by Eredar, Brogni and Victor. Victor was quite pleased not seeing any kitsune guard corpses lying around, sending a thumbs up to Rex, for his peacefull solution to whatever situation he had there.
"Hey Brogni, why didnt you tell me the kitsune tea ceremony and the very pinnacle of the art is considered state secret for them?" Rex aske as the trio had sat on the opposite side of Rex in the gazebo he had recieevd the kitsune group.
"Hmm? I though you already knew about it, since you made such a specific request."
"Dude, i literaly grew up in a forest, feasting on beasts and monsters. You are lucky i somehow picked up common and have enough humanity to not look at you all like food, let alone have intricate understanding of customs of specific races. "
"And how did you learn of that tidbit of information then without knowing the rest?" Brogni asked Rex a valid qustion.
"Honestly i dunno, just had this 'kitsunes must be good with tea' thing pop in my head and just went with it. And you confirming it just made me even more sure about it."
Rex retold a bit about his dealings with Izumi, and he recieved a glare from the three men.
"And why have we not had the pleasure to dine on the gold grade? We are friends, are we not?" asked Eredar with slightly agrieved tone, still quite obvious he was joking, but the question was solid.
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
"Well my friends, i would say that is because i am not interested in fucking any of you. Izumi however....." Rex left the rest unsaid, but his train of thought was obvious.
"But, if the auction goes well I dont mind providing each of you with a kilo or so of the gold grade for a job well done." and with that he got up, extended his hands to the sides turned his head almost ninety degrees right, with his chin slightly elevated, and chest pushed a bit forward, he spoke in exagerated tone of voice
"So work hard for me peasants, and you shall be rewarded!" he kept a small moment of silensce and cracked, falling back on the sofa behind him and laughing hard. The trio, recovering from the display also laughed. The man was indeed quite something. He seemed way too easygoing for someone of his power, and they could not wish for a better man to be blessed with such power. The overly greedy and self righteous would undoubtedly try and force their own morality and ideals on others, often creating an even greater chaos and suffering in their path to that ideal. One is often blind to the suffering of those beneath them while chasing the stars, since you cant see what you are trampling while gazing at the sky. It was almost always better to have a someone more grounded, not pushed by their zeal to achieve some lofty ideal, but to just have a good life fot themselves and the people around them.
After the solid laugh, they went over the auction. Where Rex needed to be, what to do and what not. And Rex didnt have to do shit, besides show up and move to his private room to enjoy. And since he now had a shitload of money, and would have even more once the gold grade meat would be sold since it would surely make another wave among the attendees. Rex had provided ten kilos, and was expecting quite the war to ensue among the nobles present once they lean of it.
With official business, that needed to be taken care of, dealt with, they bid Rex goodbye, and left. They would be meeting in the morning anyway. Rex, quite pleased with what was achieved today, spent the rest of the night with his girls. As per his request when on the date with the girls, the tailor where they bought the new clothes had worded quite hard to finish a few dresses for each of the girls, since Rex told them they would be joining him in his private room at the auction.
Rex woke up quite early as ussual, and went about his morning exercises. What he didnt expect was to find Aina already up and about. The girl was slightly nervous, that much Rex could tell, so he aproached her, and gently rubbed her head
"Hey, what are you so anxious about?" he asked in a light tone, but his concern was easily heard in his voice.
"Just a bit nervous is all." she lightly smiled adn replied "There wil probably be someone form the Silvermist family there, and while I dont regret one bit that i exiled myself because of their actions, they still raised me you know. Besides i worry about my mother. She is just a concubine, so im worried they might treat her badly with how i probably messed up their plans."
"Hmm, want me to demand her as an apology for their transgression, so wouldnt hold a grudge?"
"You would do that for me?" she asked in suprise.
"Welllll," Rex pulled the word, a mischievous smile appearing on his face "how could I ignore the chance to ease your mind and bag a hot elven milf in the process."
"Milf?" she asked in confusion.
"Yep, a milf. From your words, she is just as, if not more, beautifull as you, just more mature. Its a word used for sexy, mature women, who ussualy have had childern." he smiled as he explained.
"Hoo, so you are aiming for both the mother and daughter now? Quite bold of you to lay it out there." her anxiousness instantly replaced with a slight frown , that changed in a challenging grin. She knew he was doing it for her sake, so she could not really blame him. And she had been growing more and more qurious every night she heard the moans of pleasure from the girls visiting his bedroom. Not once had she heard anything similar when roaming the halls of the castle back in the Silvermist lands. True they had much better sound isolation, but still.
"Cant blame a man for trying, can you?" Rex looked at her with a raised eyebrow and a mischievous smirk "Besides, I have heard an interesting rumor regarding high elves, that can be tested only with the assitance of a high elf mother." His last sentence was barely audible, so Aina failed to understand it.
"What now?" she asked, but Rex just lightly smiled and rubbed her head a bit more.
"Nothing. What matters is you are all right now. Besides, if there is anyone who doesnt have the brains and comes to annoy us, I dont mind being a bit rutheless. I believ i have that part down to a T."
He laughed a bit and then together with Aina fed the cats, with Aina showing plenty of love to Diego, while Rex was spoiling Snow. He wrey much liked his byakko, so he made sure the white tiger recieved enough attention. Aisha and her kitchen staff was next to get up, and they got to prepearing breakfast straight away, and by the time it was ready, everyone else had also gotten up. They had a nice and homely atmosphere during the meal,and once they were done Rex told the girls to get dressed and prepare for the auction. While they still had more than a few hours before it would begin, he wanted them to be ready, and in his private room at least thirty minutes before the planned start. He wanted to avoid as much of the nobles as possible, since he coudnt be assed to interact with them. They had nothing he needed, and he was everything they needed to advance to higher echalons of their high society.
Once ready and leaving the mansion a messanger from Victor delivered a note, that rex read, wrote something on it, and then gave it back to the messanger along witha few silver coins and sent him on his way. It was a message from Izumi, saying that she had contacted her superiors and they should meet upon Rex's earliest convinience to discuss the specifics. Rex was quite glad with their quick response and replied. He invited her to have a quick talk before the auction, since they both would attend.
Once he reached the auction house, he met his friends, who exchanged a few words with him, and had an attendant show him his private room for the auction. Rex also informed tham that they should bring the kitsune ambasador over to his room, since they had something to discuss. Once he was in his room he didnt have to wait long untill a knock was heard, and once invited, both izumi and her butler stepped in. Rex had already created a few extra chairs for his girls with mana since he had no issues with them hearing the conversation.
"Since we have some time, why dont you start with what yur poeple had decided would be appropriate shall we?" Rex asked once everyone was seated "Right. I would advise against any pointless attempts to haggle, where you start with unreasonable demands and I do the same, and we eventually reach what we had innitially hoped for. Ones inner energy fluctuates unnaturally when you try to lie, and its easy to detect if you know what to look for." Rex informed izumi, he had no desire to waste time today, since they were low on time, but both sides desired some sort of an agreement, even if only barebones and basic.
"We are willing and eager to establish an agreement in regards to your desire to purchase high quality and specialized tea, not aviable or sold anywhere else. We are also willing to teahc a servant of yours in the art of tea making, to get the best ouf of what you purchase from us. In return we would like your assistance in securing a deal with the merchant Eredar regarding certain amount of earth grade meat we would like to aquire in regular interwals." she hesitated a bit, but seeing the no nonsense approach of the mage she decided to gamble a bit
"And while not part of the deal we are discussing right now, thanks to your generousity regarding yesterdays meal, we have come to a rather important discovery and as such, i must ask. Is there any way to reliably aquire the heaven grade ingridients used yesterday?"
Rex though for a short while quickly calculating the benefits and potential dangers, then responded
"Regarding the earth grade meat, it is not an issue. Eredar owes me a favor or two, so you have a deal there, however I cannot promise anything regarding the amount and quantity per shipment. However, if you would like an advice, prepeare two storage rings, as large as possible, and use those as the basis. Almost all rings have time stasis, and the main issue is with the movement of the goods out from the deep floors as far as i am aware. So solve the issue of your needs by providng with the means to aquire what you desire."
To Rex's words Izumi smiled, nodding. The blood mage knew the merchants channels of recource aquisition, and he had given her the perfect oportunity. Sure, it would cost a lot, and the interwals would probably be quite large, but with the right sized storage rings they would recieve loaded with earth grade meat, it woud not be much of a problem.
"Since we have come to an understanding regarding this part, we should finalize that, then i will adress the second question of yours." and izumi noded to Rex words.
"Regarding the prices and amounts as wel as all the logistics regarding tea, Eredar will iron out the details with you, since he is my logistics specialist, and is being paid handsomely for it. As for who should be taught, lets decide once the auction is done. You never know, i might aquire something interesting." to witch Izumi noded in agreement once again.
"Regarding your second question." Rex spoke again "It is much trickier. The man that hunts this for me is like the wind. He comes and goes whenever, and likes to be even more secretive than me. So while i have a somewhat existing supply of the heaven grade, it is neither regular nor predictable. Besides, how would you even begin to calculate its value, with it being such an insanely demanded, yet unerasonably rare recource."
Izumi was silent. She coud not answer his question, as it indeed had no answer she could give that was satisfactory with her authority.
"Why dont you invite me over and let me have a chat with those superiors of yours after the auction is over? They might have a deeper insight and better understanding of what could even hope to compare."
A few minutes later Rex looked at the mana clock on the wall and spoke
"Would you look at that, the auction starts soon." He rose from his seat, fully aware the kitsunes have their own private room reserved and extended his hand, to help izumi raise from her seat, indicating their business for the moment was done
"Let us meet once the auction is over so I can go and have a chat with those decision makers of yours." Rex smiled lightly at her as she rose from the seat, and they left to return to their private room.
"This is getting interesting" Rex mused, as he sat down in the sofa, and Irina snuggled right next to him the moment he stoped moving. He just smiled helplessly, not even one bit displeased with the girls action. "Lets see what the auction has to offer!"