Since it was late we did not do any testing with the new minions. We simply cleaned the lab and went to bed.

As I woke up the next morning, I realised something was pinning down my tail. Nyx often crawled into my bed and buried herself in it, but she was not that heavy. I looked underneath the blanket…

All three cats were there. Nyx was inside my tail, sandwiched between the new cats, who were on the edges of my tail. Nyx must have ordered the other cats to be here.

“Really?” I asked.

Two purple eyes stared back.

I ordered the new minions to leave the bed. Then I extracted Nyx and got up. I must have been really tired to not notice her antics. I stretched and looked at my watch: 8:33.

Damn. Too late for the free breakfast. At least I could buy food at the mess hall. Helena was still sleeping so I quietly dressed and left. Nyx followed on Chariot while the New cats stayed inside the room. I had no idea what we would actually do with them.

I bought a breakfast sandwich. Sausage, fried egg and cheese between two fluffy pieces of bread. I also got coffee. While I started to eat I contemplated my new minions. A cat assassin sounded cool, but how useful would that be? If they ran around the academy, people would know about them. Maybe I could at least hide their abilities.

Hm. Could we use them as spies? In the open? They were kind of cute. And most people had limited knowledge about the abilities of undead. What if I told everyone they were just cute tier twos? Would anyone expect them to be able to spy on them? Would they be able to spy?

“Morning.”

I looked up from my food and found Valeria standing there, with a tray of food. It looked like she bought herself some pancakes.

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“Do you mind if I join you?” She asked.

“Go ahead.” I replied.

“Thank you! It’s rare to see you sleep in. Did you have a late night?” She asked.

“We were doing some experiments.” I replied.

“Oh? You do work hard. Is there no hobby that you are interested in?” Valeria asked.

Actually, that was an interesting question. I took a moment to ponder that.

“I do enjoy magic, especially necromancy. I think it is a hobby even.” I answered honestly.

“You should find something to relax though! The brain needs to rest at times.” Valeria replied.

“What are your hobbies?” I asked.

Valeria smiled. “I do enjoy riding!”

I grew suspicious. Did she know I had a horse? Probably. Then again, maybe she genuinely liked riding. She certainly looked happy talking about it. I settled for just nodding and took another bite of my sandwich.

“So, have you heard anything about the poisoning?” Valeria asked, changing the topic.

“Since it happened at your party, would you not be informed of all developments?” I asked.

“All I was told, was that one of the servants was likely responsible and poisoned himself. But they do not know who hired him. I now have to decide what to do with my remaining servants. My personal guards are advocating for replacing them with slaves instead.” Valeria admitted.

I almost choked on my food. “What?” I asked.

“They think well trained slaves are obedient and pose a lower risk. They also have less opportunity to interact with someone from the outside. I disagree. If you want loyalty, you treat your subjects well. You do not force them. Reward success and punish failure appropriately.” Valeria said.

“You know what might inspire loyalty? Freeing slaves. And since the guards are responsible for security, they are the ones who failed.” I pointed out.

She nodded. “You are right. Thank you for your advice.”

We finished our breakfast and she left. I scratched my head. The conversation seemed weird. I shrugged, oh well, no point in dwelling on it. I had new minions to test.

As I returned to my room, Helena was just getting up.

“Morning.” I said.

“Morning.” She said, then she blinked. “What’s that in your hair?”

“Huh?” I touched my hair… and found a piece of egg. That was embarrassing. “Um… I should really stop scratching my head with dirty hands.” I mumbled. “I will take a shower.” I said louder and fled into the bathroom while Helena giggled.

When I returned she was gone, likely to get food. I turned my attention to the new cats, they were still sitting next to the bed. Time for some testing. I ordered them to listen to me, then repeat the word they heard.

“Cat.” I said.

“Meow.” They responded.

Uh… “Spear!”

“Meow.”

I stared at the cats. They could only meow? If they could not form a sentence, we could not use them as spies…