Where The Dead Ones Go Book 3 -Emirate-

Chapter 4

"Good call, Gala. But Mr Atomo, the presidential son of the republic is getting married, surely the Anoixians will not let themselves be sidelined in this grand celebration. During our time in your country, I realized that there are only two things your constituents live for. Airconditioned rooms and festivals."

Kairos' guardian chuckled as his butler smirked and shrugged his shoulders, "Well, we can't argue with that, young lord. But to answer your question then of course yes. We, Anoixians, will supply only the best delicacies, performers, and servers to our beloved emirate. You can't have a no holds barred celebration in Scythia without the Anoixi flooding it with endless food and revelers, am I right, Your Majesty?"

"Cheers, Jeeves!" the emira answered in agreement as she raised a glass to him, "Zenaira phoned in earlier that if Irene managed not to strangle Atomo during this meeting then she and her magistracy will open their mythical wine vaults to pitch in the celebration. It is also their celebration for the ascension of your friend to the priesthood."

Morris, Kairos, and I smiled at each other when we heard that.

Zenith will be the one who will officiate our wedding as his first task as the brand new High Priest of Hera's temple.

The door opened and the daughter of Amphitrite's father returned smiling all ears bearing another good news, "Regis said that this is the best time for him and the rest of the Cretonian Union parliament to make an official visit to our emirate, Your Majesty. A perfect excuse to finally bury the hatchet and show their country's support to their resident, albeit mostly absent, patron primordial god."

"I heard from my siblings that the Cretonians are happy that Eonia and Narcine helped defend your country Deira and returned alive to tell the tale," Ms Irene mused as she accepted another serving of rice wine from Seolla and Tina, "Of course, I already sent an advance notice to the Headmistress and Deputy-Headmaster of the Hellenic Citadel regarding your wedding."

Kairos blinked curiously, "I see, Ms Irene. But how about the Viceraine of Auralia?"

"What?" the daughter of Iris exclaimed when she heard that question incredulously, "They're not teaching that to school anymore? Ok, here's for you, my son-in-law. The vicereine will..."

The president suddenly pounded his hand on the table lightly but loudly that got the attention of my foster mother, "Irene, are you sure you want to continue?"

I thought she will go off in one of her scandalized reactions but to our surprise, she just blinked and nodded when she realized that she will say something that shouldn't be said at all or so we teenagers here thought.

"Oh, right. You're first years. Forgot about that. Wouldn't want Ms Peregrine bearing down on me on the wedding day. Anyways, blame your guardian, Kairos. I won't be answering that after all."

Gala, Vaski, Morris, Kairos and I just looked at each other in confusion as we try to get back on the topic at hand.

"So, Ms Irene, what about the giveaways?" Gala asked as she looked at her small notebook, "What do you want for souvenirs?"

"Souvenirs, you say? How about free delivery for a month on all transactions?"

Morris chuckled and grinned at her, "Well, that will work for mortals, how about for the immortals?"

"Excuse me, my foster son. And I mean "excuse me"," she retorted incredulously as she puffed her chest proudly, "From the domains of King Zeus, King Poseidon, and King Hades, all immortals have been my customer's regular customers! If the Heavenly King wanted to send a weather chart to the Queen of the Seas for review, it is Iris Delivery Service who handles that. If the Underworld King wanted some blankets from the Heavenly Queen, which company handles the transaction? Why yes, it's my mother's company."

The son of Thanatos looked at the emira and her retainer who just nodded together at the same time in agreement.

"I guess we all know here that Irene is not so much for demureness but she is not exaggerating children," the grand marshall answered that made my cousin's jaw drop, "For mundane and daily things needed to be delivered, it's Iris Delivery Service you call, mortal or not. If it's rare, top-secret, class-a packages, call Hermes' children."

Vaski's mother laughed as threw a crumpled napkin at Ms Irene, "I guess I should be the one who will say this, Kairos and Vivet. With this b***h's mind-boggling finances and Atomo's considerable assets in your trust fund, you two are now the richest mortal couple in Gearth. Congratulations."

"What?!" I exclaimed as my foster mother heaved a sigh.

"It is what it is, Vivet," she answered as she looked at her other child, "What are you staring blankly for, Morris?"

The son of the god of death took a deep breath and look at the direction of the president, "Well, while I understand just how insanely rich you are, Ms Irene. I don't know how Mr Atomo is remotely close to you monetarily speaking."

"Well, young lord, I for one can personally say that it is certainly not because of his salary as the leader of Anoixi," Seolla piped in that made Tina giggle.

"You got that right, sis," her partner in crime agreed before bowing at the direction of Ms Irene, "I do believe that compared to the bloodline of House Axiopisto, House Iridis don't hold a candle to our master's lineage, right, my mistress?"

My foster mother nodded and sighed, "I don't even know if my family can even be defined as a "House". We are new money that started from the last two generations. Atomo's here, and by extension, Jeeves', Seolla's and Tina's, can be called as old money. Even though I am miles away richer in terms of sheer financial equity, House Axiopisto, on the other hand, has been one of the major socialite families of the republic since before the Golden Age has even begun with ancient records to back it. If we are talking about financial stability and staying power through the ages, I wouldn't bother competing at all."

"The hotel where the wedding reception was held, the beach the Olympian princesses and the prince has visited and the condominium he is currently living with the young master are one of the few properties of House Axiopisto under their vast business portfolio," the butler said proudly before bowing at the smiling emira, "As Her Majesty has always said in her citadel years, if House Axiopisto and House Iridis ever merged for some convoluted reason, their combined wealth alone is worth at least a half of the entire treasury of the emirate."

The grand marshall chuckled and raised his glass to their two friends, "Indeed it is my good Jeeves. Now, you know just how much is your guardian is worth together with the president, Morris?"

"For real, Grand Marshall Reginald. I wonder if I will have some inheritance down the line?" my cousin asked quietly half-jokingly that made us all laugh when Ms Irene clapped his back rather hard.

"i***t. For a demiurge of Thanatos you are awfully worldly, Morris," she said disapprovingly before smiling motherly at him that made my cousin's heart melt, "I wouldn't trust Vivet here anywhere near my office at the company with her dainty attitude when it comes to economics. It is already in the adoption papers that like your cousin and sister here didn't read thoroughly before signing, that you agreed to inherit the majority shares of Iris Delivery Service as my siblings have decided. Vivet here will take the minority. I doubt anyone will mess at my business when they learned that I put the demiurge of death at the helm."

She then let out a bloodcurdling evil laugh that made Vaski laugh out loud.

"That's something else, Lady Irene. But are you sure the other children of the rainbow goddess is alright with this? I mean we are not just talking about a run-of-the-mill company. We are talking about a trillion worth of stocks at stake here."

My foster mother just smiled a little and shook her head, "My mother's children are, well, colorful, to say the least. We all have our own weird quirk that made us stand from the rest of her spawns. They don't want anything about the company. They just help me with seed capital and investments when I was just starting it. They already took their fair share and besides, we all knew from the start that we are just doing it for the subsequent transfer to Elpis and Thanatos down the road as a small token of our lineage's gratitude to them."

"Wait, you already know that something like this will happen?"

Gala looked up when she heard what Ms Irene has said.

She then took a long gulp in her glass and inclined her head, "My children and son-in-law are not the only ones who received the visions from Dodona, Gala. Isn't that right, Atomo, Deira, and Reginald?"

"But of course, my dear bitchy friend," she then looked at me knowingly, "You will think that a self-respecting head of state will just accept the orders of a random schoolgirl to mobilize her entire nation's army overnight without batting an eyelash?"

Rebie's father nodded nostalgically as he closed his eyes, "Ah yes. It is as if it's yesterday. "Never forget the day that will come when the ancient tongue of the Scythian dynasty will be spoken by a girl born of light bearing the song of ages past". Never made any sense for many years until you did say it, Vivet."

"How about we leave it at that my close friends? We still haven't decided on what wine shall be served at the reception? If Zenaira is serious, we have a lot to select from."

The three just nodded silently in agreement with the president as we all continue to plan for our wedding day that is fast approaching.