Rebirth of the Phoenix God

"All the gods in the heaven… To think that was your true background…"

Fen's eyes twitched when he heard Victor reacting like that to his reveal. The stinging feeling of lying to his friends made it hard for the young arcanist to keep his face straight.

'But I didn't really lie all that much… After all, isn't that guy also a descendant of the Phoenix as well?'

Justifying the situation to himself just to keep his composure going for a little longer, Fen moved his eyes towards Orsha's face. But instead of noticing a surprise, the girl was openly tightening her fists with an anxious expression on her face. 

"Fen… While this reveal is huge and it alone could turn our situation for a far better one if you agreed to use it properly… I'm still worried about the situation in the south. Given how those people saved your life, I assume you are not going to just ignore their request, are you?"

Raising her eyes up from the table to Fen's face, the girl looked at her comrade with a questioning expression on her face. At this point, all the signs of anxiety and uncertainty were replaced with just sheer determination to push through whatever answer Fen was willing to offer.

"Ignore them? No. I'm not that kind of a man, you know this. But I'm not going to put their own problems over my own life. For now, I think paying them a quick visit to assess the situation is the best way to go around this problem."

There was no way for the young man to decide on the wholesome course of his next actions just like that. While learning the details of the situation to the south was important, just a random request from Hekarion or even Mark himself wouldn't make Fen drop everything he was striving for. 

"So it's like this… I guess there is no point talking anymore right now. For now, let's put the matter of your heritage aside. Go to those friends of yours and deal with that matter, then return as quickly as you can. That's what I think is the best course of your actions for now."

With her face tensing up, Orsha explained. From how her fists continued to tighten, it was fairly obvious that she wasn't so sure that speaking those words out loud was in her best interest, but she did it anyway. That alone was enough of a proof that despite breaking the relationship with Fen, she still trusted him as much as she did before.

'Thinking about this… I wonder how I would react if someone would draw me a picture of this situation back when I first met her…'

Pondering over the insane way in which the fate entangled the paths of different people, turning enemies to friends and potentially friends to enemies, Fen shook his head. There was no point for him to delve on this kind of philosophical thoughts right now.

"Excuse me…"

With all the insane reveals that happened in the last few moments, Cleo's presence in the area got pushed to the second plane. Only when the girl herself spoke up as she stepped forward did the trio of the scheming mercenaries once again noticed her existence.

"What's wrong?"

Looking to the side at the face of not only his lover but his student as well, Fen suddenly realised what might be the reason for Cleo to dare to interrupt his discussion with his friends.

"Are you going somewhere far away? I know I'm not privy to the details of your plans… But what about the class? Now that you splurged on their growth, wouldn't that be a bad idea to leave the class to our own devices?"

Just like Fen expected, the matter of the young arcanists he was training surfaced. But as annoying as it would be to deal with it if he were completely alone, the presence of two of his friends made this matter a bit more bearable.

"Victor, Orsha… I know you have your own tasks, but would you mind taking care of my students for a few days? I will try to return post-haste, but I'm not confident enough in giving you the exact date. Just overseeing their exercises and correcting the mistakes in their manoeuvres would be okay…"

Dealing with the matter of increasing their numbers was something that was left fully in Fen's authority and responsibility. Both of his friends had their own task to manage and complete, so it wasn't as if they were free for him to ask for help…

But just like it was stated a few moments ago, with the situation changing, they would only prove that they are no different from those inflexible governments that they abhorred if they couldn't adapt their actions to the changing reality around them!

"I think I should do it. While I'm not that good when it comes to formations and literally anything besides the simple smashing of the enemy heads when it comes to arcana and its secrets… I think a woman like me will do a far better job than males like you."

Smiling jokingly as she said those words, Orsha cast a quick glance at her partner, still sitting comfortably at the table. Seeing how Victor didn't bother to protest, the notion could be already considered to be passed.

"Okay then, for the next few days, I will leave my class for you. Cleo, I hope you will help her organise and learn everything she needs to do. On the other hand, do you have anything that you want me to focus on while in the south?"

Standing from the table, Fen stretched his body as he directed a question to his comrades. Given how he was going to the south either way, instead of using that time just to deal with the matter that suddenly appeared, he could as well secure some of their own interests in that area.

"Focus? Well, how about just confirming the rumours about the factions? It's always better to know stuff from the first hand rather than from the information obtained with our current means…"

Finally opening his mouth once again, Victor followed Fen's example and stood up from his chair. Grabbing the cup, the older mercenary quickly downed the remaining liquor in it before reaching with his hand Fen.

"Brother… I wish you safe travels. Make sure not to die in those barbaric lands."

Shaking their hands, the two friends quickly said their farewells. After repeating the ritual with Orsha, Fen didn't dare to waste any more time. Given how Orsha would be now burdened with his own duties, returning as soon as possible was of vital importance for everyone in their small group.

"Hey, are you really going to the south?"

Following the young arcanist as soon as he left the tavern, Cleo didn't even consider letting him peacefully sort his own thoughts as something that could ever happen in her presence.

"Well, I have to. I owe my life to Mark, and if my guess is right, he is the one leading the other faction that Hekarion struggles with. While it would be lovely if my mediation could solve the situation and make them join hands, I doubt that it will happen. Back when I was living in Akhaz, I could already see how different their way of thinking was. To a degree, dealing with those two idiots might be even a greater task than conquering the northern province…"

Shaking his head once again, Fen accelerated the pace at which he was walking. While he could easily summon his catalyst and simply start his journey right from the streets, given how he was in quite a precarious situation in the city, it was simply safer to not infringe on the mood of the Gauna's city guards.

"So you will be gone for a while… What if I will reach my limit while you will be away? Wouldn't it be better if I went with you? I would make sure not to be a burden, and I can tell that you wouldn't scorn at the idea of having someone to warm your bed through the night, wouldn't you?"

Grasping Fen's hand and forcing him to stop for a moment, Cleo instantly glued herself to his body. Moving the wrist that she held in her hand, this rowdy girl sneaked it under her own cloth, letting it rest on her soft breast. 

"You don't need to worry about it. I'm really going there just to have a talk with them. Even if they declared autonomy from the former regime that was after me, I don't want to risk staying there for too long without an established military presence that I could fully trust."

Instead of allowing Cleo's body to sway his mind, Fen retracted his hand from under her shirt before placing it atop her head. Rustling her hair for a moment in a reassuring motion, the young man smiled before looking towards the nearby gate.

"As soon as I will come back, I will make sure to make lots and lots of love to you, to make up for the next few days that I will be missing. I hope you won't find the idea of comforting yourself in the arms of another man a plausible solution to your loneliness in this short time."

Gently joking while still caressing the top of the girl's face, Fen had no other choice but to stop doing that as he moved a few steps back.

"I will come back as soon as possible, so just make sure to wait for me."

Sending the girl off with an encouraging smile, the young man didn't allow her calls to stop his as he moved towards the gate and passed by the border of the city. Only after moving a fair distance away from the settled area did the young man allowed his catalyst to resurface, spreading his wings and catching the wind in them.

"Akhaz… It's time to return home."