Koyuki, the Necromancing Foxkin

I had to admit that the sewers weren't as bad as I had feared. Sure, the work was nothing too exciting and the smell wasn't ideal but with the right company it wasn't unpleasant.

"This sign here tells you which exit this is." Brian explained while pointing at the metal sign. It had E7 written on it. "The 'E' tells you that we are east of the river, on the west side signs are marked with 'W'. Of course, if you somehow manage to cross the river without noticing I don't think a sign will help you."

"Are the sewers even connected?" I asked. The Jinso ran straight through the city so you would have to create some sort of tunnel to connect the sewers on both sides.

Brian stared at me. "No." He replied.

"What about the fresh water?" I wondered.

"Both sides of the city have their own system." Brian replied.

"Isn't that inefficient? That means you need two facilities to purify the water and deal with the waste." I wondered.

"Look, I am not a city planner and neither are you. Two facilities means they can be smaller and you don't have to deal with building pipes over or under the river, but you can certainly write a letter to Count Lupenia and tell him how to improve the city." Brian said.

"Widening those walkways would be an ideal way to improve the sewers, they are a bit cramped." Garm said.

Brian looked at the orthos opening his mouth, then he seemed to think better of it and closed it again, without replying. Instead he looked at me. "Right, let's get moving so this doesn't take all day."

"Isn't it supposed to take all day?" I asked.

"Do you love the sewers that much? No, today you finish at 14:00, which means no lunch break by the way." He replied.

This was even better than expected! I would even have time to celebrate my birthday a bit! My tail wagged excitedly.

Our patrol through the sewers continued and Brian kept pointing out signs for our orientation and problems we needed to take care of. There wasn't much, we only found one obstruction where the sewage flowed around something which led to it covering the walkways.

"When you find something like that you can just blast it with your magic." Brian suggested. "It's hard to say what this is but keep in mind that the alchemists in the city dump stuff into the sewers. There are technically limitations to what you are allowed to dump but obviously some just see them as suggestions."

This book was originally published on NovelPhoenix. Check it out there for the real experience.

"You mean this stuff could be the result of some potions?" Rose asked, while looking at the obstruction.

"Likely, we are near the merchant district and some alchemists are around this area. It might just be some blob of magical goo but there could always be a monster as well." He replied.

"You think death magic will work? I could hit it with a necrotic ray?" I suggested.

"I can help by parting the water then we can see what it is." Helena suggested.

I nodded and she went to work. As the sewage parted, and flowed even more over the walkways as a result, we could see some form of green-brown slime mass blocking a part of the canal. I shot a necrotic ray at it and it worked! The blob turned black and dissolved into the sewage.

"I wonder if we should have collected something for Cassie?" Rose asked.

"It looked rather disgusting…" I replied.

"I have seen you with dead flesh in your hair." Helena pointed out.

"True." I had to admit. "Necromancy isn't the cleanest profession but somehow I am used to dead things."

"Ok, you cleared that now let's move one." Brian said.

We ended our tour at a locked metal gate, which Brian opened with a key. "This is one of the river exits. There is an overflow valve here where we could dump the sewage directly into the river during emergencies. Those stairs here lead to the docks. Tomorrow I will show you the purification plant."

"Oh, those stairs are a lot better than the hole we used to enter." Garm noted.

"You don't have to come with me, you know? If you want to, you can stay at the academy tomorrow." I said.

"I do like to help protect the pack but I will consider it." Garm replied.

"Right, this is it. See you tomorrow." With that Brian left and we found ourselves at the docks.

I sniffed my clothing. " We could probably use a bath."

Helena grinned. "Funny you should say that because I have a bath booked for us! Well, I hadn't expected us to finish this early but maybe they are free. I have even negotiated for your undead to use the bath as well."

"My fur appreciates that." Garm stated.

We were in luck as the baths didn't have too many visitors in the early afternoon. Helena had booked one of the fancy bathhouses where we had a large stone tub filled with hot water for ourselves. Apparently the water had stuff added to it to mimic the natural hot springs of the north. First we cleaned ourselves in the showers, then we sank into the luxurious pool. Garm was happy to receive a scrubdown from Rose but refused to enter the actual tub. Yoru decided to curl up on top of Garm, after reluctantly getting a scrubdown from Hatsumi.

Kyan was on the edge of the tub, eyeing the water warily. Then the small snake slithered into it. He was a surprisingly good swimmer.

"Hm, I would prefer it if it were colder." Kyan replied and slithered out of the tub again.

"Ah, this was a great idea, Helena." I said.

"Mhm, nothing like being clean and relaxing in a hot bath after a day of work, or a half-day in this case." Helena replied.

Rose joined us in the bath as well, while Hatsumi and Kaito had disappeared somewhere. The mystery was quickly solved as they returned with food and drink.

"I have a plate with cheeses, sausages and some bread." Hatsumi announced.

"I bring some sparkling wine to celebrate the occasion." Kaito added.

After some food and some drink I scooted closer to Helena and rested my head on her shoulder. He started stroking my hair and my ears.

"I love you." I mumbled, while closing my eyes.

"I love you too." She replied.

After our lovely time at the bath we returned to the academy, there I found out that Cassie and Skadi had booked us a table at the beer garden. So that was our next stop and there was even cake! We spent the evening eating, drinking and talking. I had a wonderful time and was a bit drunk as we finally made it home in the evening. Tomorrow would be more sewer duty but tonight I was simply happy. When I snuggled into Helena's arms I felt loved. It had been a wonderful day.