“Ah Koyuki, how are you this evening?”

I turned around and saw Valeria standing there with a smile.

“Hello Valeria. I am tired, it has been a busy day.” I hoped that would end this conversation.

“You have been really busy lately! Your work ethics are admirable. I was hoping to invite you to my birthday party next Solday!” I saw her glancing at my hands. They were dirty from eating the wings.

“Sorry, I will be busy. We have a new group project we need to work on.” I replied.

“Group project? From which class?” She asked.

“Oh, it’s just some extra credit. After we raised the armadillo we got more work as a reward.” I answered.

“Good.” Florence said, who had walked up behind Valeria. “You don’t need someone who is incapable of using cutlery. I bet she would just use her hands to eat cake. Or lick the wine.”

Oh joy. With Florence here, Archibald was likely not far away. And we had such a few pleasant weeks with him avoiding us. I looked around… Yes, he was coming this way.

“Koyuki.” He greeted me.

Nyx sat up and looked out of her box fortress.

“Ah. What a nice bed you made for your cat!” Valeria said.

Florence snorted. “Come on, it’s just a dumb undead.”

“She is smarter than you.” Cassie said. “Aren’t you Nyx?”

Nyx nodded.

“Oh please, Koyuki ordered her to do that. You can play pretend all you want, it does not make her intelligent.” Florence countered.

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“She is a tier three, actually.” Helena said, smugly.

Valeria’s eyes widened, Florence looked unconvinced.

Archibald suddenly smiled. “Is that so? That would mean she is illegal. You need a permit for that. I might have to inform the principal.”

I considered grabbing my permit but my hands were dirty. So I just shrugged. “You do that. I have a permit.”

“A tier three undead? Did I hear correctly?” Leo said.

Great, now he was here too.

“Hi Leo, yes Nyx is a tier three now.” I confirmed.

“Now? You are claiming she has evolved? How? What did you do?” He asked.

“She is just that amazing.” I replied.

Nyx nodded.

“Oh come on, this is just a trick.” Valeria insisted.

I did not particularly care if they believed us.

“Anyway, thank you for the invitation Valeria, but I have to decline, I am too busy.” I said, hoping for all of them to go away.

“Are you sure? Your friends are invited too!” Valeria tried again.

“What? The dwarf is not even a noble!” Florence complained.

Valeria’s smile looked strained. “Princess Olivia believes in them, is that not enough for you?”

“I am sure she has been fooled.” Florence said, then looked at Archibald for support.

“I agree that the princess might be mistaken, however she is currently supporting Koyuki…” It was rather clear from his voice what he thought about that. Yet he held back on the insults. His father must have talked to him over the break. Maybe his allowance was threatened.

“It would be nice if you joined the party.” Leo said, suddenly. “We could spend some time and talk about necromancy.”

Of course, he was invited too. Valeria was using her birthday to connect with the other children from the dukes. I suspected she only invited people who were powerful, or useful.

“Look, your invite was declined. Now you are just interrupting us while eating. Where I come from, that is rude.” Skadi said.

That struck a nerve, because it was true, and they knew it.

“My apologies, please take some time to reconsider. The invite stands.” Valeria said, and walked away.

“Maybe we can talk more in our next class.” Leo said. “Have a nice evening.” He seemed reluctant to leave and kept glancing at Nyx. Not knowing more about her was clearly upsetting him.

“We should leave too, my dear.” Archibald said.

“Of course.” Florence said and turned around. Then she kept talking, making sure I heard her. “Have you considered buying a new slave? My father’s hunters acquired a new batch just recently. They are still a bit feisty but it’s nothing a whip can’t solve.”

Helena was about to say something to Florence, but I put my hand on her shoulder, to stop her. “It’s ok.” I said. “Florence can talk all she wants. In the end, she is just a tool for her family. She is not very talented, she won’t inherit. She is just there for breeding.”

Then I noticed that my hands were still dirty from the chicken wings. Both of us stared at Helena’s shoulder.

“Ooops, sorry!” I apologized.

She giggled. “It's ok. The academy can wash this. It's just a bit of chicken.”

“I should probably go and wash my hands though.” I said. I had finished my meal and it was rather inconvenient to have greasy hands.

“Ok, we are all finished here anyway.” Helena said.

“It has been a long day.” Skadi yawned.

“Yeah. Those extra classes can be exhausting.” Cassie said. “Hopefully we can explode something with our joint spell. That would make it worth it.”

I did not hear Skadi’s reply as I was already walking towards the bathroom. Nyx followed on the armadillo. She got quite a few stares. The rumours about her tier were likely spreading. Especially, since she was now waving at people who pointed at her.