Ryu looked at the two young women and asked:

"And your lady is?

"

"The leader of Ice Palace, IceMaiden. If you do not mind, can we speak to you in private?

" The young woman who seemed to be the main spokesperson asked.

"That's fine.

" Ryu then looked at the others and said:

"Everyone, go ahead and do what I asked. We will deal with the issue once we have enough people.

"

"Will do. I will send out the numbers to handle the hardest part.

" WhiteLotus replied as she gave a small bow and left the room.

Margie was about to leave the room too, but Ryu stopped him.

"Margie, you stay. You and Chi will stay to listen to what they have to say. But all information must remain in this room until further notice. Understood?

"

"As you wish, Darling~. You can count on Margie.

" Margie smiled and winked at the two young women, causing them to giggle.

"Since you wish for them to stay, then we will not hold anything back. My name is Elise Durgreg, Chisaka Yuki, Princess Trisha Evergreen, our miss IceMaiden, real name Tiffany Walswood, would like to formally join hands with Serenity in a lifelong bond between the two guilds. We are hoping with how hard it is to travel we will be able to help each other out by entering an official alliance between our guilds allowing passage between our guilds houses.

" Elise bowed her head politely as she explained as to why they were here.

"Wait, how!?

" Chi was confused as to how these two knew who they were.

"Chi, relax, it is not that hard to figure out if you check up on those who play the game and find out who is the highest grossing player is out of the entire game. Not to mention the both of us are pretty high profile as of late.

" Ryu explained lightly. But he knew it was only a matter of time before people looked into him, and it was not surprising that it was someone from the Walswood family, a noble family with strong business sense.

"If you say so...

" Chi slunk back in her seat and peaked up at Margie, who was still smiling away as if he had heard nothing.

"You want an alliance with us, but I would need to speak to your guild leader directly.

" Ryu would never make any deals without talking to the one in charge first.

"Our lady did say this was probably what you would ask and said you could send her a private message at any time. Even now, she is online waiting for your message.

" Elsie replied with a smile.

Ryu nodded and sat back in his chair and sent IceMaiden a message.

"Miss Tiffany sending your assistant over to greet me makes me feel a little lonely.

"

"Haha… You jest. I know for a fact that you are far from lonely. It is good to hear from you, the biggest topic of the social circle, Chisaka Yuki.

" IceMaiden's lips curled up as she replied. She knew this girl was interesting when she laid eyes on her at Clouds.

"Mm... This is true. With having such a wonderful fiancee, there is no way I would ever get lonely. Anyway, to get down to business. You wish to form an alliance with my guild, is that correct? Why do I feel you want more than just an alliance?

" Ryu was not dumb. A simple alliance would never be something that Ice Palace would be after, they would always request something more.

"I knew you would understand that there is more to this than meets the eye. Yes, there is more that we would wish to request, but this would not be for free either. The Ice Palace cooperation is willing to help fund your guild as well. If you give us access to reduced priced potions and maybe the lower quality health potion recipe, you are still monopolizing.

" IceMaiden offered. She really had no other cards to play as she knew Ryu probably did not need funding. But it was still worth a shot.

"This is not a bad offer. But if you have looked into me, you would know my funds are basically limitless. As others have tried to copy my potions and keep falling short, mine will always sell as long as they are better, even if it is only by five to ten health points. Only because those five to ten health can mean the difference between life or death in this game. So giving out my recipes is not something I am willing to do. Plus, my guild really has no need to expand west or east. So even a normal alliance would not really benefit me. But let me ask you this, Miss IceMaiden. What would you say about merging your guild into mine in the next month or so, when Serenity officially becomes a clan?

"I am sure you have yet to figure out how to become a clan, am I right?

" Ryu asked, his lips curling up into a mischievous smile. Chi, who saw this, giggled slightly. Even Margie covered his mouth and turned away. But his shoulders that were shaking gave him away. Only the two young women sitting there waiting patiently had no idea what it meant.

"This...

" Ice Maiden knew what it meant to know what it needed to become a clan. It meant Serenity's ability to gather information was far superior to anyone else in game, and the benefits to merging into Serenity were one hundred times greater than any alliance. She was really tempted at this time.

"I must consult my other generals and advisors. Can you give me a week to decide?

"

"That, I can. But let me give you something to snack on before you go. If you merge into Serenity when we become a clan, not only will I give you and your generals top positions, but I can say that you will never regret it because I have a small surprise for the players of Soul Fusion Online in the coming months. For now, keep your two little spies in Flim Village, let them report back to you with what is going on here.

"