Chapter

That smile the Lich showed me was coy, and it stood up. I watched with Florine and Mira as the Lich moved their hands down to the robe with a grin. "You wish to know what my gender is?" The Lich asked but didn't wait and lifted the fabric covering it.

I was surprised as a tiny, flaccid cock appeared, and the Lich smiled, "I am a Futanari!" The Lich said before reaching down and showing a little pussy under her tiny balls and cock. "Look at your faces," Taylor began to laugh, "You look so dumbfounded! I found while exploring the ancestry that I used to have a relative that was a Futanari. It seems I picked up this trait even though I am human. I have never met another, but it is one of the reasons why I have explored the path of life necromancy. How is it that I could inherit a cock from an ancestor that my great-great-grandfather raped and had a child with?"

I raised an eyebrow and almost replied with my knowledge of the genome and how genetics worked. Instead, I nodded my head in a more sagely fashion. "Interesting," I replied, and I couldn't help but wonder what the Lich would think about the subject.

"You seem to think you know a lot about it," Taylor suddenly said, startling me with a sudden comment and making me look at her. "You say interesting, but most times, I get way more questions when I talk about that. Many usually try to get me to talk their ears off about the subject because it may be able to prolong their lives. But you instead say interesting and leave it there like you don't care much for the subject." Taylor said, moving closer to me, her pale blue skin getting close.

I shrugged, "I have a theory that I believe may be more developed than yours on this subject, I believe, although I wouldn't say that I am an expert in the life sciences." I commented, although it was a straight-up lie. When I was practicing martial arts, I studied the hell out of the medical field. I got tired of Biology at the age of fifteen but continued my extreme sports love for a little longer before I began to lead my school of friends to their demise.

I frowned only for a moment with the hurt I self-inflicted on myself while Taylor looked at me suspiciously. "A working theory is a theory that has stood the test of experiments and has evidence backing it up. Most of my theories are not even working theories, so you are farther advanced than me on the reasoning behind this. That actually makes me question something else now," The Lich Taylor continued, "How are you back on your feet so quickly? Whoever healed you must be really good, as I know taking even one of my rotting mana orbs is a death sentence for most. Even if people can run, they usually die to my spell later, regardless. But here you are back up in only a couple of days while still out at sea. Who are you?" Taylor suddenly asked.

"I am Chelsea Loveknot of the Silvermoon tower," I introduced myself. "I just left the Demon lands as the Ambassador there," I finished, as I had no achievements to my name other than a position given to me by my mother.

Taylor frowned and looked me over, "A bunny-kin with Silver hair and from Silvermoon tower. That means you are probably from one of the leading houses of the non-noble nobles of the bunny-kin. Your position as an Ambassador isn't too special as a B ranker, but it probably means that you have some backing from the elder council or a parent that cares about you more than others with how large Bunny-kin families tend to be. It seems you are a wizard but lack a lot of experience." Taylor said to start before she continued a moment later. "In fact, I believe that you need to work on your combat skills a lot since you didn't unleash whatever you did at the end till you were cornered almost to the point of no return, which no veteran of combat would ever do. This means that from the Bunny-kin culture, you either went on a safer journey or the place you went didn't have much combat with others around the same rank as you."

Taylor looked me over with a discerning eye as she continued to hit true statements. In the Elven forest, I faced an onslaught of low-level monsters along with the occasional higher-level monster that didn't use mana much to attack. I frowned as I thought about it, as my combat skills in this world were still left wanting to say the least. "Still, You are educated, and the women around you are not weak." Taylor looked at Mira, "In fact, one of them is actually a power mover, which is very interesting and one of the reasons I knew that I was dead as soon as I got too close to your boat. Something is weird about all of this. You both have the power but complete lack of power of someone your rank. I believe that means that you got your position because of someone powerful that forced it through in the Silvermoon tower e fact that a Succubus of A rank power is here on the boat means that you must have done a good job. So that all leads me back to something I cannot quite understand. Who exactly are you?" Taylor finished his rant, pointing out things about me from observation.

"You will learn that in time," I replied and found a box to sit down near Florine, looking at me curiously while Mira smiled lightly. "So you have given me your phylactery, and I now wear it as a ring. But there is nothing in our contract that says that I have to keep you around, really, or one where you stick around listening to what I said. There is also nothing that stops you from trying to take it back from me." I told Taylor with a frown, "That means that I cannot trust you at this point even if I hold onto your phylactery. So we need to come to an agreement or some way to overcome this obstacle if we are going to continue to travel together. And no, the fact that an Undead Lich needs someone like me vouching for you isn't mutually assured destruction if you attack me. Instead, you could just find someone who is looking to end my family in the future and have them protect you later." I told her, seeing Taylor's cute eyebrows rise in surprise, "So we need to set down three things, I believe. One a punishment system so I can punish you if you step out of line." I told her, making her frown. "Two, I need a way to make sure that you don't try and betray me at the first or even seventh time you have available to you and get your phylactery back." I continued unflinchingly and saw Taylor now smiling. "Third, we need a reward system of things that you genuinely want that I can reward you for not only good behavior but doing things that I would consider helping me out since the bet never said that you have to listen to me." I finished.

Taylor was now showing bright white teeth, and I heard her breathing a little heavily. "Wow," Taylor said after a couple of moments. "It is much better talking with someone who understands how to develop loyalty. I was going to ask in a more roundabout fashion about these things, but you seem much more point blank about it. Well, for the first, you could put a little enchantment on my phylactery in case I try to attack you."

I scoffed and shook my head, "I am not knowledgable enough to try and touch something so full of mana that it would eventually probably rid my enchantments. I am not so dumb as to try and enchant on something I know so little about Taylor. But you know that most enchantments on something brimming with this much mana are going to wear out any enchantment lines pretty quickly. All towers require constant redrawing of the enchantments. On something like your phylactery, it would probably be at least twice a day to upkeep them, to be reliable." I said, "No, that is so you can move on to the next thing that you want to say, which is why you were planning on earning some good faith by telling me that enchantments would be an incredibly hard thing for me to upkeep. This way, you can make me feel slightly indebted to you." I finished, and I could only see Taylor smiling brighter.

"Wonderful! You are also an enchanter. What about alchemy?" Taylor asked, and I scoffed.

"Only if I was to use it as an ingredient would it be useful, although I could create an acid or base that would destroy it. I don't know; I haven't looked enough into the phylactery that you have given me. Still, it wouldn't be a way to stop you while I am sleeping." I told her.

"Wonderful! An enchanter, too; I have met someone that actually is pretty smart. I wouldn't dare try anything with the Succubus Queen here if that makes you feel better." Taylor said, and I snorted.

"Although I get along really well with Queen Mira," I said, nodding my head toward her, "She will not be around me at all times. We both know that Mira will have better things, and it doesn't take an intellectual to tell that Mira will be confined to talks with many elders once we reach the shore. "Now," I said, my voice dropping to a very serious tone, "You will stop avoiding the topic," I told Taylor.

Taylor was still smiling, "Honestly, there is nothing permanent that could keep me confined. You are an intelligent person, though, and I wouldn't mind following someone that actually has plans in life. If you are boring, then I would want to leave. I want to research and eventually change the world with what I discover. Sell me something, and we can make a Deal!" Taylor finished, and I watched her cute smiling face for several moments.

"Fine," I finally said, "Give me a minute to think," I told her. I sat in silence, and Florine watched me while Mira smiled, looking around. My mind was busy weighing the pros and cons of my thoughts. A lich could be a potent tool for what would happen soon. I wasn't sure if Lich's were banned in war, but there were about to be a lot of dead bodies filling the fields, and they would be manpower we could use against the Empire if we had Necromancers. It would be something that I would have to look into, though. But her research mind seemed to be useful too. I also would need teachers in the future for the school I planned to build.

The cons of keeping a Lich that I just met were many, many more than the pros of keeping her around. I didn't trust her and wasn't sure if she could backstab me. A loyalty question was hanging in plain sight and needed to be addressed. Although I hate to say it, she was much more powerful than what happened with Betsy. Betsy was much weaker than me, and I didn't feel any threat from her.

That would not be true with the Lich, in which I would never be entirely sure. My mind continued to race, and I finally nodded to myself and came up with something in my mind. "I have decided," I told Taylor, looking at her seriously, "I will allow you to follow me. You will not be allowed in certain conversations to start, especially in plans for some things that I will not mention for now." I told her, making her eyebrows raise. "My punishment for you if you disobey orders when those orders are will be made up by the severity of the issue caused by it being disobeyed. I will not make up some contract that can be played around with wording. If I believe you are too much of a pain in my ass to continue protecting, I will just tell the elder council that I withdraw my protection." Taylor opened her mouth to protest as I held up a hand. "In that case, I will give you a day warning to run and let you run in that circumstance before I tell the council." That made her glower no longer with a smile on her face. "With the punishment out of the way, I will talk about the other things that you will be much more interested in." I took a breath, letting the pause lengthen. "Now, for you to be loyal to me," I said, and I grinned, "I will let the benefits of being around someone in a growing position in my government be one of the benefits. We can have more of a conversation about this later, to be honest. You will learn more about it once we reach land; as for the third problem I brought up earlier. The thing that interests you the most is gold for research and facilities for that," I said.

"Yes, and one other thing we can talk about later," Taylor said with a smile, "I want subjects I can test on if possible too. I need people who can fight, though. Not trash that cannot even defend themselves."

I nodded, understanding that. "Bandits and prisoners are the best you will get in that regard." I told the Lich seriously, "At first, I cannot afford what I am thinking of, but in a couple of years, I have plans that I do not trust you to know at this point." I told Taylor, who nodded cutely. "Now I will tell you when I make those facilities that they will be the best in the world, I believe, but you will have to wait for that," I told her.

Taylor frowned, thinking, and opened her mouth to speak when I held up a hand. "I will finish with one last thing," I said, "You will need to follow my orders for the rewards that I have just spoken about. You will need to earn my trust for that future to come true, and I will give you everything you seem to be dreaming of now. Now you may speak," I finished and leaned back.

Taylor the Lich was no longer smiling as I finished. She seemed to be thinking while Mira was smiling brightly, knowing what I was talking about with the facilities, while Florine was frowning, unsure of what I was talking about. Florine stayed silent and twirled two dangerous daggers in her fingers while watching Taylor.

Taylor was silent, and we watched her for several minutes. Minutes turned into an hour before Taylor nodded. "I hate to say it, but I am impatient to get some research facilities. Here you are telling me that it will take at least a couple of years before I will get them. That isn't nice to say to a girl like me." Taylor said, pouting at the end. It was cute to watch, but I ignored it as I watched her waiting for what she said. "Still, it is a fair deal that makes me your subordinate instead of a slave. You left room for me to disobey and be punished appropriately too. The last time I tried to make this type of deal, they basically tried to make me a slave, which you didn't even try. So I will follow you, but I also ask for one stipulation to be added." I moved my hand in a go-ahead gesture, and Taylor smiled, "Although I lost the battle through whatever you did to your body. I want the ability to ask for my phylactery if you send me away."

I nodded, "I would be banishing you and making you a wanted woman. But that is only if you have worked for me in good faith up till that point. If I find that you are a traitor to my causes, all of this disappears." I said, and Taylor nodded.

Taylor got down on a knee suddenly and smiled, looking up at me, "Then I Taylor the Powerful Life Lich pledge allegiance to Chelsea Loveknot of the Silvermoon tower until one of us breaks the deal that we have just spoken into power." Taylor said, and mana began to swirl in the room, and Queen Mira looked surprised as a blue band of mana came into view, swirling with mana and divided into two before moving down to my right hand and encircling my pinkie finger tightly. Power flowed solidly from that ring, and an exact copy of that ring covered Taylor's pinkie finger on her right hand. "With this, the terms have been agreed. If one of us breaks this deal, it will break, on the other hand, alerting the other without your knowledge and from any distance." Taylor finished her smile bright.