Lian was still tired from working so late in the forge but was able to avoid Austin for the entire school day, but she was worried about something else. Today she had a meeting with the representative from Spiritus and they were insistent on meeting at some expensive café.
While it irritated Lian that the meeting wasn’t at the guild hall, where she felt completely safe, she would at least take home as many sweets as she could as penance for it.
When she walked in there weren’t many people, but Lian was still wondering who she was supposed to meet with. All the messages said was that a kitsune would meet her, which made her nervous even though she was planning to rack up the bill. This was because even someone who didn’t care about the politics of the UGC would know that the kitsune race ruled over all the yokai that made up Spiritus.
When she looked around, she noticed a woman waving her down. Though the woman lacked any foxlike features, she possessed an extraordinary beauty. Her long, raven-black hair cascaded down to her lower back, and her yellow eyes sparkled like unrivaled gemstones. Lian, who had never cared much about her appearance or felt any attraction towards others, now found herself captivated. As she gazed at the woman, Lian began to understand the confessions she had turned down for years. She even started to question her sexuality, a realization that left her both intrigued and bewildered.
After she regained some of her composure she walked over and asked if she was the representative of Spiritus. Once The woman confirmed it Lian sat down and had trouble looking away from her.
“Is there something on my face?” The woman teased when she noticed Lian kept staring.
“No.” Lian stuttered as her face turned bright red.
“Well Lilliana, my name is Kyubi Kon. Kyubi is my last name. Do you have any questions before I begin? Maybe you would like to order something? On me of course.” She inquired and hearing her full first name pulled Lian out of her stupor.
“It’s Lian.” She corrected. Lian didn’t like to be called Lilliana and only allowed Pops to call her that. “Also, I would like to order something real quick.”
“By all means. Take your time.”
Lian got up and ordered quite a few things and asked for them to hold onto them for when she left. The café was happy to oblige and Lian went back to the table with a cup of hot chocolate, proper seasons be damned, and a slice of apple pie.
“Mind if I start by asking if you already talked to anyone?”
“You’re the second I’ve talked to. Other than talking to Lugh from Tuatha I still have a meeting with Blood Garden and Gehenna.” Lian explained before she took a sip of her hot chocolate. A part of her almost said that she had no real interest in the last two because of their reputations and Tuatha was sketchy to her because of the chance she might not be able to forge metal again.
While Lian was deep in thought, debating how much to reveal, she missed the fleeting moment when Kon's expression turned serious. By the time Lian glanced back, Kon's face had already transformed, and her features softened into the familiar, warm expression she wore earlier. It was a welcoming look, one that exuded genuine care and a desire for the well-being of those she gazed upon. Kon's eyes, now gentle and kind, conveyed an unspoken promise of support and understanding, making Lian feel reassured and valued. Lian swore she could feel a sense of longing in the way Kon stared at her.
“Well, I don’t know what the fae offered you, but I promise you it would be better to join Spiritus. After all the odds of you getting that passive skill of theirs… What was it called again?”
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“Iron Kissed.”
“Thank you. The odds of acquiring the Iron Kissed skill is less than 0.01%. That is the sole reason why they have so many resources lingering in their territories.” Kon was very adamant in her explanation that Tuatha would be a bad choice for Lian.
“Other than crafting materials what can Spiritus provide? I can get most materials by helping at the smithy. The reoccurring customers are hunters that range from level 300 to 560.”
This revelation from Lian shocked Kon. While those could be considered lower-tiered hunters as they haven’t achieved immortality by completing the 6th job change, these were still people whose levels were high enough that they would have no reason to come out to a backwater planet like this.
Getting a craftsman with good skill was hard but this spoke volumes of her teacher. It also made Kon worry about the intentions of other factions might have toward Lian. It wouldn’t be the first time a faction has resorted to some vile methods to get a hunter or a craftsman to join them. Even some of the council factions have a history of it.
While most hunters could defend themselves or flee when they couldn’t win, craftsmen couldn’t since they rarely had any combat skills. This made them easy targets. This was why GATs was created and with so many angry craftsmen ready to rebel any way they could GAT was able to rise to power so fast.
“The exact rights you gain outside of whatever you negotiate is reliant on your position within the clan you join.”
“Let me guess, you are not only here to convince me to join Spiritus but your clan specifically.” Lian interrupted but Kon didn’t seem to mind. She would let Lian do what little power plays she could since she did not want to force her to join.
“That’s right. As the ritual to turn you into a yokai requires the blood of the clansmen you will be the daughter of your donor.”
When Lian heard this explanation, she realized why that look of hers felt familiar. It was the same look Pops gave when he was proud or praising her when he thought she wasn’t looking. She couldn’t stand that this stranger was already assuming that she agreed, and they were family. Lian did not want to humiliate Pops like that.
“Sorry, but I’m not trading my father for a new family.”
Kon understood where Lian was coming from. Many refuse to join because of how the ritual works and the idea of leaving their old family behind.
“If I may, we don’t ask you to cut ties or to think of the family that raised you as strangers. It’s more like being the bridge connecting your old family with your new one. We believe that it’s insulting to both parties if you did such a thing just because you’ve become a yokai.”
“This still doesn’t answer why I should even bother to consider a clan of kitsune that may not be kitsune. I also don’t even know what resources your Kyubi clan has access to in Spiritus.”
Lian was getting more fed up with Kon. If this was how Spiritus was then she really didn’t have much faith in how her meetings with Gehenna and Blood Garden would go. So, she was already betting on trying to become an inner member of GAT. Sadly, to do that you have to be factionless and have some variant of the title Master Craftsman.
“You don’t follow politics, do you?” Lian responded to Kon’s question with a resounding “No”.
She didn’t care about politics and doubted if she ever would. Most of it is pointless bickering when most factions just resort to duels or wars over the topics. The only time the UGC was truly unified was when it was fighting an external threat, which there was only one left.
“Then please let me reintroduce myself. I’ Kyubi Kon, leader of Spiritus. As my daughter, you would have access to all of Spiritus even if you choose to live your life as a craftsman and avoid politics.” As Kon said this she let most of her kitsune features show. Her ears, eyes, everything except her tails as she didn’t want to bring too much attention to their conversation.
After that big reveal, the conversation just went in circles as Lian was struggling to process she was being offered to join the royal clan in the Spiritus faction. When Kon figured this out she just sighed and gave Lian a talisman, telling her if she decides to join then imbue her mana in the talisman and she will appear.
After sending Lian off Kon was surprised with the bill as she didn’t see Lian leave with six pudding cups, three pies, and a cake. Yet all Kon could think about was what Lian told her when the conversation was going in circles.
“I lasted this long without a mother. I will continue to be fine without one.”
As those words echoed in Kon's head, she couldn’t help but be sad. Not because Lian turned her down in such a way, but because she knew that Lian did not know the difference between a father's love and a mother's love.
