Chapter 183: Rumours

"Argh! Come on, why did you have to do it like that? Now half of the group hates me while the other is willing to suck your dick, be it a man or woman, just to make you add them to my party…"

While Cleo was throwing a fit, Fen didn't really know what else was he supposed to do to hide his laughter. The face of the girl's father that looked as if he was about to suffocate from the exact same reason only made Fen's task of keeping his face straight even harder.

"Trust me, there are reasons behind everything that I'm doing during the classes. Well, you know who I am and what I'm doing, so you should have an easier time realising what those lectures are all about."

Doing his absolute hardest to calm himself down in order for a spoonful of the soup to successfully reach the target of his mouth, Fen forced his eyes away from the fuming girl. But as funny as it was to tease her, given how easily she could lose her temper, Fen had no other choice but to notice another problem with her.

An arcanist could never get emotional. As great of power as arcana was for everyone capable of either using it or paying someone to use it for him, it still was a double-edged blade. Without the proper control of one's fires, winds, currents or boulders, the arcana itself could consume its user instead. Adding the peculiar situation of Cleo's body constitution to the equation only made her more fragile in this regard.

"I know that you have reasons for doing so! But I just want to rant at how annoying it is for me, for a bit!"

Thankfully, the most energetic and volatile part of the girl's fit was now over, allowing the young mercenary to finally finish his dinner. Taking a quick look through the window, Fen calculated the position of the sun from the length of the shadows thrown by the house.

"Okay then, I will be leaving."

Using a single-use napkin from the table, Fen cleared out his mouth from the oily residue of the soup before decisively standing up from his seat.

"Markus, I will count on you in regards to the matter that we discussed before."

Throwing a quick remark towards Cleo's father, Fen nodded his head to the two before moving to the doors. Grabbing a simple coat from the hook beside the entrance, the young arcanist quickly dressed up before moving outside.

The city was as bustling as ever. With how far Capital city of Gauna was from the centre of the northern war, it would be tough to notice that Kinar was in a military conflict from how people acted on the streets. 

Because no one really paid any mind to that war at all!

As surprising as it could be, Kinar republic was the prime successor of the old mercenary kingdom traditions and culture. In Shalia and the entirety of the former Kinzar, the culture of the mercenaries merged with the tribal traditions of the Northmen. That's why, even though those two countries held the formerly richest lands of the old kingdom, their mix of administrative systems already proved to be ineffective. 

The only other kingdom that could be said to be another pretender to the position of Old Kingdom's heir would be the Kingdom of Shagon to the far east. Sadly, with how its rulers decided to close the country with an only small exception for the minimal trade, it was hard to even judge this idea in the first place. 

That's why, when it came to the war between Shalia and Kinar, no one in Gauna really had any doubts who would emerge victorious. Especially with how everyone already knew about the military summons of the arcanist elites of the country!

"Hey, did you hear?"

Walking towards the meeting place agreed with both of his friends from before they split their ways, Fen couldn't help but notice that no matter what conversation he would accidentally hear, it would be all about a singular topic.

"Yeah, who could've known that they would separate like that? And to think that they instantly went to war…"

Step by step, word by word, more information of this sort was reaching Fen's ears. 

'So the news about our exploits are spreading, huh?'

Thinking to himself, Fen cast the idea of thinking about it aside as he was about to enter the tavern he was aiming for. Given how he needed to have a fresh mind for the meeting, thinking about matters unrelated to it would only prove to be counterproductive.

In just a few moments after passing the main bridge of the city, Fen reached his desired spot. With a huge sign depicting a flying peacock hanging from above the doors, one couldn't mistake this tavern for anything else.

Pushing the doors open, the young arcanist instantly located his friends. Not because they were so eye-catching, but because it seemed as if no one in the entire bustling tavern had the guts to sit in any of the tables near them.

"Welcome to Gauna. I hope you find this place as pleasurable as it always been."

Not bothering with the tense atmosphere in the tavern at all, Fen simply approached the two of his friends before sitting down on the only remaining chair.

"It's been a while, brother."

Proving his foresight, Victor didn't bother to order another beer for his friend but simply passed a full cup to the third of their party. With Orsha joining as the three of them smashed their glasses in a toast, the three of them took a few gulps of a surprisingly nice liquor before smashing the mugs down on the table.

"It was. But let's not waste the time for small talk. We can get up to speed with the smaller matters once the spring starts. What's your progress guys?"

Not willing to waste any time as another meeting with the academy dean was looming over his head and schedule, Fen pushed the matters forward.

"Not good. I only found three big nobles willing to support our cause. Not even a single powerhouse was interested though."

Victor was the first to speak up. Hanging his head low over the table, his eyes took a shade of defeat. 

"I told you. It's not your fault. Most of those idiots see more opportunity in investing in the war with Shalia. We just happened to act at the worst time possible."

Instantly jumping to comfort her partner, Orsha moved her hand on top of Victor's palm as she reassured him.

"It is just like she said. It's hard to expect any help if the news about our exploits has yet to reach anyone's eyes. But guess what, when I was coming here, I heard a lot of people talking about it."

Bringing up the matter that caught his attention back on the streets in order to change the topic from one that was clearly uncomfortable for Victor, Fen looked at the two of his friends. But instead of looks of surprise and happiness, the two of them looked at him as if he was some kind of idiot.

"You do realise they didn't mean the north at all? If you are talking about the province separating from the country and going to war, then they are talking about the souther-east end of the continent. The southernmost province of Shagon Kingdom declared its independence and instantly joined the faction war in the empire. If my information is correct, they already took over nearly the entirety of the eastern imperial plains."

Only now did Fen realise why did the news raise such a huge commotion in the capital. With the usually secluded kingdom of Shagon indirectly joining the southern civil war, Kinar was suddenly put in quite a precarious situation. 

From one side, the republic had to defend its northern border. Given the desperation that one could notice in Shalian's invasion if Kinar could spare any troops, they were ought to be moved to that front. But that also meant Kinar would be unable to intervene in any way in the imperial civil war!

"Wait, isn't that a great opportunity for us?"

Instead of lamenting over how wrong his initial hopes were, Fen instantly spun his mind around to find a way to make the best out of the situation. And surprisingly, doing absolutely nothing above what was planned already, seemed to be the best option!

"What the heck do you mean by that? Do you want us to abandon the north and start everything again in the south? While there are some reasons for that, given how the empire is already falling apart…"

Before Orsha could even finish her protest, Fen stopped her words by raising his hand a bit.

"I mean exactly what I said. Our main concern so far was about other nations intervening in our shenanigans. But with half of the continent already entering one war or another…"

While doing so to his friend seemed to be entering the morally grey area, Fen assumed no one would blame him for such a small play. After all, no matter whether it was a student or a friend of his, it was always better if they realised what he wanted to say by themselves without having it stated to them right off the bat.

And this time, it was Orsha to notice the dual meanings behind Fen's cut sentence. Noticing that there was no time to be wasted, she suddenly stood up, knocking her chair back in the process and gathering the attention of all the customers on herself.

"With everyone busy with major wars, no one will pay any mind to how rich we will become in our own private war up north!"