Rebirth of the Phoenix God

Just like the previous time, Fen didn't need any guide to find his way through the streets of the city. While his time in Akhaz wasn't the longest one, the young mercenary still lived in the city for more than enough to know the general layout of the streets.

What Fen didn't expect though, was how Mark would move his headquarters to the formerly ruined area of the city, openly opting to rebuild what was lost instead of settling on what remained!

The construction of the wall in this area had yet to start. Just by passing by the street and avoiding some of the bigger obstacles, Fen managed to make his way to the other side. And he couldn't deny the fact that the people that constantly worked on clearing the area up from the rubble looked way more energetic than the ones on the other side of the street.

"Stop right there! Who are you and what's your destination?"

Given the insane amount of people constantly moving through the spot, Fen found it pleasurably surprising how the guard managed to spot him. Even if his outfit stood out a bit amongst the simple rags that most of the workers wore, it shouldn't be a problem big enough for the local militia to pick a fight with him!

"I'm Fen. Here to talk with Mark."

Instead of making things easy for the guard, the young mercenary decided to use this opportunity to see how well he would fulfil his duty. After all, in order to judge one's general strength and organisation, it was the best to see how its most infamous group of subordinates fared!

All the way to this point, the performance of the guardian was excellent. Instead of approaching Fen and sabotaging his own advantage of distance, he kept the young mercenary at the five lengths of his arm, watching everyone move of this potential threat.

"And why should I believe a single word that you said? Give me some…"

Before the young man could fully assess the abilities and discipline of the guard, a soft, feminine voice entered the conversation, instantly dampening the initiative of the young soldier.

"O...oh."

Stuttering even in something as simple as a silent breath, Fen stared in the direction where the new voice was coming from. Because there was no way he could mistake it for anything else.

"It's been a while, cutie. How have you been?"

Contrary to how powerful and influential she seemed as she ordered the guard around, once Kaisha looked the young man in the eyes, her entire facade broke apart. With her eyes bursting with a plethora of all kinds of feelings, her body started trembling. The sight of shock in Fen's eyes only served to push her further away from her comfort zone. Comparing the words she used to greet him and how she was acting right now, one could start worrying about her mental health.

"I surely didn't expect to see you so soon. If that won't be too much of a trouble, could you take me to a place where I could talk with both you and Mark? I came here due to Hekarion summons, so I need to make my own, objective opinion about the current state of events in here."

For now, Fen simply wasn't ready to deal with the emotional reunion with the people he never expected to see again just a few days ago. Talking about stuff like Kaisha's true past or true intentions where she engaged in all sorts of activities around him would be a too bitter pill to swallow. 

"Ah, right. Sorry about that. You can believe that I'm just as surprised as you are."

Shaking her head to get rid of the disbelief still lingering in her head, Kaisha quickly regathered her wits and showed Fen the smile that he knew her from. 

"Esteemed guests, please do follow me. I will lead you to the meeting with our leader."

Lowering her head in an extremely formal attitude, Kaisha proved that no matter how much she tried, she was unable to properly cast aside all her worries. With how the young mercenary openly stated to come here per Hekarion request, it had to be obvious to the girl that her past… close friend already knew about her background.

Following after the girl through the set of the open areas where buildings used to cover every inch of the ground, Fen couldn't help but get awed at the rate of the progress. By the time he moved from the entry of the area to its middle point where some makeshift constructions were already taking place, yet another huge square of ruined land was cleared out of the rubble and turned into space for someone to settle in.

But the young man wasn't given many options to observe the ongoing development of this once-prosperous part of the town. In just a few moments, Kaisha pulled him inside one of the buildings. Closing the door after the two of them, she suddenly forced the young man against the wall, closing his escape route by slamming her hands on both sides of his shoulders.

"I'm so, so, so sorry!"

Not daring to look the young man in the eye, the girl lowered her head, turning into a picture of helplessness and guilt. Even though her position was locking Fen in place, her posture instantly moved her from the dominant to the subject position in the encounter.

"What are you sorry about?"

Playing dumb, Fen wasn't trying to put the girl into even worse position or mood. But he just had to clarify what was she sorry about. For supporting church, even if it was only for her career sake? For not helping him during the fight and later on, the chase? For seducing him from the very beginning only to lead him on during the time they spent together?

With the options of the things that this girl could be potentially sorry about ranging from small matters to things that would completely turn their former relationship around, Fen had no other way but to confront the girl directly.

"I… I…"

Attempting to speak up, Kaisha raised her face, only to let her eyes meet with Fens. As if struck by a lightning bolt, she froze for a moment, before lowering her head once again.

"Back when we first met… Back when I was told to assist you during our first lecture together… I was still clueless about who you were. But later on, after I was contacted by Mark… I'm sorry. My intentions for being so close with you were tainted with his order to monitor your moves…"

With her body starting to shake, Fen could tell that she was either one hell of an actor, or was really on a verge of breaking down under the weight of her guilt. Not sure which one was it, the young mercenary decided to be gentle when doing so, but still, to push her away.

"It doesn't matter now. While I'm happy that you came clean before me, all of that is a thing in the past already."

A face appeared in Fen's mind. A small, adorable face of a clingy kid who refused to let go of him. A cute expression of the helpless brat that graced him with her mind, her body and her soul. And just this single picture alone was enough to convince Fen that he was doing the right thing.

Even if he would end up hurting Kaisha by distancing himself like that from her, this was ultimately the better choice.

Of course, given that such a choice existed in the very first place!

"I… I don't want that…"

With her muscles relaxing, Kaisha suddenly fell down on her knees under just the weight of her own body. Her shoulders trembling, her face tearing up.

"I never intended for it to be like it. I withheld quite a lot of information that I could pass on. I tried to treat you in the way that my heart dictated, not in the way that Mark wanted me to. Why do you think you didn't end up between my legs for every other night?! Because I wanted our time to have meaning!"

Crying out her reasons and protests, Kaisha proved that she clearly couldn't handle what happened. But what she didn't realise, was how tough of a spot she was putting the young mercenary in front of her with her actions.

"For now, let's put that topic aside. I came here to discuss things with Mark and it's my priority to get this done. Could you please lead me to him? We can talk thinks through once I actually have the time to do that."

In the end, Fen proved that in terms of relationships, he was still a coward. Unwilling to face his past right now, he could only hope to push this problem for the latter date.

"Magnificient performance."

Before the girl would even have the chance to respond, another voice entered the area. Turning his head to the side, Fen saw the face of the man who he considered to be his teacher, saviour and now, indirectly, a stalker. 

"What do you mean…?"

On the other hand, when hearing those words, Kaisha followed Fen's moves and looked at Mark only to cast him a surprised and confused face of hers. 

"Now, since you are done with him for now, would you mind letting me talk with my disciple? We have a lot of things to discuss right now."