Chapter 195: Terms and Conditions

Rachel tapped her phone against her bottom lip as they pulled onto Pennsylvania Avenue.

Translation: I’m really disappointed. I know you’re busy all the time, and I’m not super important. There are better things you can do than hang with me and pick out a dress for my dad’s funeral. It’s cool that I get to spend time with Jeanne and Nia, but I was really hoping to have you there. I guess it’s better over text so she doesn’t see me tear up and embarrass myself.

Closing her eyes, she tapped her forehead against the cold window, hearing Scarlet trying hard not to let her emotions show, even though they weren’t in the same building, since the vespertine reaper knew how acute Rachel’s hearing was.

"Something wrong?" the Frenchwoman asked, worry in her big blue eyes. "Can I do anything to help?"

As the car came to a stop, Rachel pulled her hairpin out to shake her hair free, handing it to Nia as she exited the vehicle. "No, it’s just hard to manage my time. Nia, try to put off getting a dress as much as possible. I’ll try to make it near the end, but I don’t want to get Scarlet’s hopes up."

A gentle smile moved her outfit’s lips as the pin vanished in sparkling lights, and the bun lightly jabbed her shoulder on the way out. "Don’t be so tough on yourself, Hops. Scarlet’s a big girl."

"And news flash," Rachel returned, combing out her locks, "big girls still cry and have needs. She’s going through a rough time right now, so show her a good time."

"Leave it to me!" Jeanne chimed, holding up a thumb and flashing her teeth. "From Charles’ info, the best strategy is to take her to the movie section in a store and let her tell me all about her favorite cartoons."

"Anime," Nia snickered, changing both of their outfits on the fly to more casual outing dresses. "Not a bad idea, though. Yo, dude," she said, leaning into the car to talk to the Secret Service agent, "we’ll be heading out again, so hold the car."

"Got it, Ma’am."

Slamming the door shut, they walked inside. Rachel had to admit being treated as a VIP guest of the President had its perks; she had people she could boss around to do just about anything.

Scarlet met them at the front entryway, wearing an orange sweater and tight blue jeans. "Welcome back! How was the dinner?"

"Eventful," Nia said, shooting forward to hug the girl. "We’ll talk about it on our shopping trip."

Jeanne waved from a short distance away. "I would be more friendly, hug and kiss cheeks, but Rachel has already scolded me for such openness."

Scarlet’s mouth fell open a little as she stared at the blonde. "I swear, you look so similar to Fate Jeanne that it’s crazy! You’re so beautiful."

"Aww. Thank you. I have heard the comparison often, yet have not looked into the media. Perhaps you could educate me?"

The vampire girl’s mood brightened as Rachel snuck in for her own hug. "I’d love that— Oh, Rachel, your mom and Anthony are upstairs talking about— Heh, I guess you’d know what they’re talking about. And Coral is sleeping with Selvaria in the White House Pool? She got permission and said she was going on a 16-hour sleep-a-thon for an experiment... I didn’t quite understand her. You?"

"Selv? No shot!" Rachel tilted her ears to the left, hearing some familiar voices nearing the building; they’d arrived shortly after Rachel’s group entered. "Selv is a beast all her own, but she makes for a good bun sitter. We can talk before bed or stay up all night if you want. Sorry, Scarlet."

"No! No!" Scarlet waved her hands and darted to stand beside Jeanne, turning to show a rosy smile. "You’re doing important stuff. I’m perfectly happy."

"Well, that’s a lie." They jumped as the door swung open to reveal a bundled-up silver-haired woman and a tiny, sparkling fairy. " ’Sup, bitches. Gloomy much? Damn."

"Maria, Fiona!" Scarlet cried, hugging the unicorn. "I thought you two were with Erika?"

Fiona jabbed her thumb across the street. "She’s staying at the Lafayette Square Hotel. She, umm, had a little too much to drink and passed out. She’ll be fine by the morning. What are you girls going to do?"

"Shopping," Nia replied, ushering them out of the building. "Why don’t you join us!"

"Aye! Aye! Dammit, hold your buns," the unicorn balked before walking around her to extend a hand to Rachel. "Fi and I talked it over, and both of us will sign onto the team if our conditions are met."

Rachel flashed her teeth as Fiona used her magic to hold up a streaming backpack. "Fiona’s got the public image on lock with her stream, and you want the bag. I get money makes the world go round. On that note," she snickered, "I’ve got some leads to give us some fast cash, too, Maria. You game for flying out to Washington State for a billionaire?"

The Mexican gangster jabbed her arm with a smile. "Now you’re thinkin’ big, Ears. You got a price for me, and what kind of split we talkin’, huh?"

"Haha. Well, it’s to get the company going, but Nia’s got the details. Oh, and before I forget..." Nia materialized her purse to extract the card and hand it to a bewildered Scarlet; it was nice being able to store things inside a bag, but unfortunately, you had to summon the item to take anything out of it. "Have fun!"

She waved them off, butterflies in her stomach as she slipped around to jog upstairs. Selvaria, Maria, Fiona, and Scarlet were on board. Then there was Barbara; the officer was basically their personal connection to the military, which meant she was more or less a part of the company already since she was tied to them. Tom and Leo were supporting the cause, and she’d even convinced her brother to look into taking over the business part.

Feeling on cloud nine with how everything was working out, she tried to temper her expectations. Crystal Gateways were all well and good for building EXP, but Quests were the consistent route she needed to keep ahead of the game, and she’d learned of a few limitations, as of late, from the two Legendkin she was closest to.

Her cheer diminished, pace slowing as she made it to the top of the stairs and heard Anthony and her mother chatting down the hall. Quests had cooldowns and conditions that needed to be met. Legends could have a few Quests open at once, from Chain Quests to Side Quests and Main Quests, but it wasn’t infinite.

They needed multiple Legendkin in order to keep up with the grind-set, and Anthony had two Greater Seeds, which were showing unique signs compared to Barbara’s. She had a sneaking suspicion that Izanami had provided this circumstance for a reason; she had to keep the muscular redhead close.