After one of the two recollected themselves, while the other just stammered an excuse and left, he said
"Uhh…. Looks like you and big sis have hit it off quite… nicely?"
"Big sis?" Cyrus asked in reply, wondering how the two were possibly related.
"I have no doubts that this Minerva would have killed me then and there if I did not defend properly. While it is understandable and I had prepared for such a reaction…I do not think that Imran would be able to do that and then immediately enter normal conversation once more. If these two are related…one of his parents had a tryst? How pitiable…" thought Cyrus, who was actually feeling a bit of pity.
"Wow, I did not know you were even capable of such an emotion" said Imran making use of his reading skills to see the faintest wisp of pity on Cyrus
"Wait that's beside the point, we are not related. Our families just happen to be close friends so we ended up growing up together. My family runs a few casinos, Minerva's family enjoys casinos very much thus over the years they have had many chances to meet and become familiar. While the adults were away then the kids would play, which is exactly what happened. Although our personalities are not the most… compatible and she may come off as…unique to others there is a method to her madness" said Imran while carefully choosing his words.
To that Minerva simply scoffed while drinking from her nearby glass, which was iced water instead of wine.
"While Imran is rather meek, soft, and at times cowardly he has his uses... In return I help him rediscover his backbone, such as how I instilled in him enough proper spear usage so he didn't die during that test of yours" said Minerva, revealing how close their relationship was by revealing 'classified' information.
"I was thinking that his skill was fairly decent for someone like him, regardless of the mandatory militia training that all imperial citizens must go through." affirmed Cyrus, somewhat forgetting to be 'polite'.
"I won't deny the accusations in the face of you two monsters. I am perfectly fine representing normal well-adjusted people over here" said Imran cheerfully whilst downing his wine.
To that, however, both Cyrus and Minerva merely scoffed aloud at the remark.
Imran laughed without care to the annoyance of the two across from him, making Cyrus guess that he had long gotten used to how Minerva would respond.
"I guess that means he views me and her as being similar people. Thus, this meeting was to mostly confirm this… to tell for sure whether me and him could ally successfully. I imagine he feels comfortable knowing that we share traits with one is already on close terms with, which makes me both manageable and easier to form a closer relationship with… Although I am unsure of how 'similar' we truly are" thought Cyrus.
"So seeing as the two of you have gotten along splendidly, let us get down to business" said Imran as he pulled out a small ledger from his storage and began reading from it.
"All of us are attending Glacies, but me and Minerva have gathered that this time around things are going to be different from the last. Evidence of this is the last part of the exam, the 'true test' that was administered to those deemed as promising that all of us here had to take."
"How did she do?" asked Cyrus, curious.
" 'She' did fine, got up to the impossible stage that you guys did and went down fighting. If I had someone half competent other than the human trash that was available for my partner perhaps I could have passed it like you two did" said Minerva, her tone dripping in ire for multiple reasons.
"Making do with the resources you have is just as important as how you perform individually, even the dullest blade has its uses if the time is right" lectured Cyrus, recalling some of his past lessons.
"Possibly, but who is to say if that blade will find itself in your back despite your efforts" countered Minerva.
Cyrus, finding himself agreeing to the point merely nodded and motioned for Imran to continue…who was yawning while waiting for the two to finish.
"As I was saying… something has clearly changed which means we should expect changes in how the academy itself is run. We have a lot of clues to go off of which can help illuminate much of the mystery" said Imran as he began reading off the ledger.
"First, there has been a noticeable influx of mages from various battlefronts. Most notably were the two that me and Cyrus met, Caligo and Cilla. I used my family's connections and was able to discover that they are two battlemages who made quite a name for themselves on the eastern front. They were infamous for never following orders of the military, simply wantonly going through the mountainous region slaying and capturing Brutum for experimentation. After repeated requests by the military through the Administratum, the Tower finally decided to 'punish' them by having them stationed here as professors instead.
Secondly, other than the personal attendants of the mages stationed in Glacies there has been little to no sightings of the upperclassmen in the city. Sometime in between the first and second year all the students simply vanished. While there has been reports of letters being sent to various families officially signed by the local Eye saying that there is no cause for worry.
Lastly, the level of supplies being purchased by both wings of the Arcane have increased dramatically as of late. So much so that even the merchant federations have begun importing goods to meet the surge demand, at least until they expand their operations" ended Imran as he closed the ledger and put it away.
Both Minerva and Cyrus began contemplating on the information, comparing it with what they already know.
"It is clear that Glacies is expanding its operations greatly this time around. As the Empire is not one to waste resources, this means that there is a sudden and unexpected reason for all of this" said Cyrus
"I have not noticed anything unusual from the military side of things, but I am not exactly able to make full use of my family's connections like Imran can so the margin of error is high. If a deployment happens I will know, but as far as the preparatory phase I have no interest wasting my time finding out" stated Minerva plainly.
The three silently contemplated for a while before Minerva suddenly said,
"I do remember an odd string of deployments around the time that was the end of the year for our now second year seniors. Nothing major, but a string of small deployments from each of the six cities. The number was not enough to combat a major new threat…but it would be the perfect number to act as escorts or to put down several small threats."
Hearing this Cyrus laid out his final deductions,
"It is likely that the Empire is predicting some kind of major incident that requires accelerated training of the mages, so much so that even the Tower is readily complying. Mages are, after all, the hardest resource in the Empire to grow at a fast pace. If something arose that would perhaps cause a sudden bleed of their number, then the Empire taking action to enhance the quality of them would make sense. As for the specifics, we can guess but it would not be anything conclusive given what we have."
In turn, Minerva did the same
"We should expect the difficulty to be increased, but the benefits will also follow suit. While we may all have varying goals and motivations for attending Glacies, I am sure none of us will want to give up on the maximum gain. If possible, it would be smart for the three of us to work together to more easily overcome the upcoming difficulties."
Hearing this Imran smiled in victory and said,
"Good! I did not expect you to warm up to Cyrus so quickly, it seems the saying that birds of a feather flock together holds some truth here hahaha!"
He then turned to Cyrus and said,
"While I am not the most competent fighter, I do have a wide array of connections. Minerva here is an excellent combatant and can learn things that only one deeply entrenched with the military can do so if the circumstances call for it. While you Cyrus, well I know firsthand how well you do in a fight. I am still somewhat shocked you know, I never thought I would find someone my age who could match Minerva."
"Match me? That remains to be seen. Memory can be fanciful and who knows how strong those bandits really were" chided Minerva with an air of pride and arrogance.
Cyrus not really caring to match her…but was somewhat curious as to her strength. Regardless, he successfully managed to put that curiosity aside for a moment and said
"I have no qualms in working together if the structure of Glacies will allow it, you should know I had that in mind when I gave you my information after the exam."
"How could I pass up a useful tool that fell into my lap… although I did not expect to also perhaps gain another one at the same time" thought Cyrus in reference to both Imran and Minerva.
"Then we are all in agreement! Normally I would say let us toast to that, but Minerva does not partake. Instead how about we enjoy ourselves here, on me of course. This particular casino we are in is one that I was given management of as a test by my father, so there will be no problems" said Imran, mostly looking at Minerva.
"Problems?" wondered Cyrus, his curiosity about Minerva being piqued again and again.
"I guess I should indulge you from time to time. I trust you can manage the floor well enough to not cause me any distress" said Minerva towards Imran, the last part in an obviously fake fawning voice.
Imran visibly shivered and coughed up the sip of wine he was in the middle of,
"Of course I can, my place my rules!"
With that he rang a bell that hung by the doorway to summon one of his staff. Within a few moments a staff member knocked on the door and was let in by Imran.
"Prepare a section of the floor for me and my guests, make sure no undesirables are present as Minerva is here to enjoy herself again"
The staff member, who was different that the one that led Cyrus in, shuddered slightly as if recalling a bad memory before bowing deeply.
"With that the floor should be prepared for us in just a few moments, how familiar are you with the types of games found in a place like this Cyrus?" Asked Imran.
Recalling his time with the Tribum and his two brothers, Cyrus said
"Well enough I guess. I happened to meet a few gambling addicts who taught me a trick or two."
With that, the trio slowly departed the room and headed towards the floor that Imran had ordered to be cleared.