There was another awkward silence, as the three of them just picked up their glasses to gulp down their drinks wordlessly, as if trying to numb themselves with the alcohol. Somewhat lost in thought as he watched the tipsy patrons come and go, Komer's face revealed a hint of a smile as he finally broke the silence, "Alright, let's not all have such long faces anymore. We're back now, and that's a good thing. Are we supposed to act like a bunch of women, wailing and sobbing? Ridiculous! Tell me about what you've been up to these past few years."
With a grimace worse than crying, the Horse-faced Youth spread his arms carelessly and said, "I'm stronger than you guys. When I got the exile orders, I went to the Mogan Plateau. My old man had a friend there, the Human Fortress Commander. I became an officer there, stuck it out for two years. I can't boast of much else, but my martial skills have improved a lot." Finished speaking, the Horse-faced Youth proudly did a chest-expanding exercise to show off his robust physique.
"Mogan Plateau, that's beastmen heaven. You weren't captured by the beastmen in exchange for ransom?" Komer joked with a laugh.
"Heh, the more dangerous it is, the safer you are. In the past couple of years, the beastmen were relatively tame. There wasn't much trouble, but I hear they started getting restless again after I came back this year," the Horse-faced Youth said, with a look of concern for his country and people.
"Pfft, as if their being well-behaved these past couple of years was all thanks to you," Komer said jokingly with a laugh.
"Hehe, not really, I just got lucky. It's good the beastmen were quiet; otherwise, I wouldn't want to fight them head-on for real. That's not a joke. How much in compensation did the fortress spend each year, a few hundred thousand Gold Shields? It was only because things calmed down these past two years that I didn't go courting death."
A familiar sly look appeared on the Horse-faced Youth's face, a look Komer recognized. This guy seemed clumsy, but using subtlety was a knight's trick—pretend to be weak to show vulnerability and then deliver a fatal blow. This wasn't going to fool Komer or Proton, two brothers-in-arms who had grown up together.
It seemed this guy hadn't wasted his time these past couple of years; not only had his martial skills improved significantly, but he had also been using his brain to think things through.
"What about you, Puber? Where have you been slacking off these past few years?" Komer gradually regained his usual bossy demeanor, moving as if the initial awkwardness from the trio's reunion had never existed.
"Hehe, I'm unlucky. I was sent straight to Phoenix City, supposedly to study and hit the books but it was really just a cage. I only returned a couple of months ago because I couldn't stand the restrictions there anymore," the pale young man replied casually, clearly not wanting to delve into his painful experiences.
"Oh? Phoenix City? Looks like your old man wanted you to learn a thing or two about politics, to become an Administrative Officer."
Squinting somewhat mockingly, Komer chuckled derisively to himself.
This was the fate of a bastard child who couldn't inherit titles—either join the army and become cannon fodder or learn something to climb up the ranks in officialdom from the very bottom. Or you ended up like those loitering wastrels in the streets: once you come of age, you're kicked out with a meager inheritance and become a beggar or a destitute household once your fortune runs out—in short, turning into trash that no one cares about.
Phoenix City is the second biggest city of the Nicosia Duchy, located on the plains to the west of the duchy. The renowned private school—Phoenix Elite Academy—is there, and it's one of the best places to train entry-level bureaucrats for the duchy. But only entry-level; high-ranking officials would never come from there.
Many common people from other countries on the Continent also go there to study, hoping to find a satisfactory job after completing their education.
Giving the other a slightly awkward look, and still as sharp-tongued as ever, Puber hung his head and wiped his face, his usual way of dodging the topic, "Heh heh, Boss, there was no helping it. We're in the same boat, after all. We both know our uncertain futures; we just have to keep on living, right?"
With a long sigh, Komer nodded silently and lifted his glass to down the drink in one gulp, "Humph, don't lose heart, there's always a way out. Since the heavens have brought me, Komer, into this world, they won't neglect us. There will be bread, there'll be everything."
"Boss, when did you also learn to speak like those priests who enlighten the foolish men and women?" The horse-faced youth said with a chuckle.
This guy was never a devout believer, often coming up with heresies that would get him roasted at the stake or imprisoned for decades by the Church Tribunal if they ever heard him. Fortunately, the restrictions within the Cyprus Team weren't too strict, which also was a characteristic that made Cyprus vibrantly different from other regions.
"Boss, how have you gotten by these three years?" After taking a light sip of the drink, the young man's face flushed with color, evidently not a good drinker. However, a pair of bright and profound eyes proved his thoughts were still clear.
"Let's not talk about it, in comparison to you guys, it's like one in heaven and another in hell. Aside from being a wanderer, of course, there were some other unexpected events that transpired, which I will tell you about slowly in the future."
Komer shook his head, raised his glass, and let the liquor swirl in his mouth as if savoring something deeply. His experiences over the past three years were probably far beyond anyone's expectations, and he himself was not keen on recalling those days. Although tribulations were a form of training for a person, this kind of torment, teetering between life and death along with endless pain, was not a pleasant topic of reminiscence.
"Boss, it's obvious you've had some special encounters; I'd bet on it." The horse-faced youth's face showed a look of certainty, and excitement flickered in his eyes, "I can feel that you have an aura about you, like those magicians in our fortress do. Boss, did you learn magic?"
Startled, Komer scrutinized the horse-faced youth for a moment. He hadn't expected the kid's sense of smell to be so sharp. He'd simply wanted to use the Wave Transmission Technique to eavesdrop on the conversation of the odd-looking fellow nearby, but the kid had detected it.
"Hehe, I happened to learn some inconspicuous little tricks by chance, hardly worth mentioning in polite company," Komer didn't deny but also didn't elaborate, "What do you think of those people over there at that table? What are they up to?"
Following Komer's gaze, the horse-faced youth's attention was instantly diverted. The robust figure, the massive head adorned with several beautiful feathers, the rock-like, well-defined bronze face, and these men were downing cups of the fiery Red Maoshao Liquor that many dared not try—one looked to be truly relishing it.
With a shrug, the young man observed casually, "Oh, they are barbarians. Lately, these guys have come around quite frequently. It seems they have encountered another year of disaster on their side and are forced to buy food and necessities here."
"Yeah, that's likely. A couple of days ago, I saw some barbarians bringing in quite a lot of ore to the market to exchange for food. They're probably having a hard time. Usually, those guys rarely set foot in Cyprus. But the batch of ore I saw looked pretty valuable, a lot of which was prime material for forging excellent weapons. It's just too bad that those greedy merchants took advantage of the bargaining, and those barbarians, clueless as they are, probably sold it for only a tenth of its value." The young man smacked his lips, his face full of pity.
"Oh?" Komer was intrigued. In the past three years under his teacher's tutelage, he learned quite a bit about the art of refining tools. Though not an expert, he knew that adding special substances to many tools could increase their value a hundredfold, far exceeding the inherent value of the tools themselves, but this required the refiner's own strength and the properties of the additive.
"Let's go and take a look. We might just come across an adventure or a stroke of good fortune," Komer said, raising his eyebrows and standing up.
Not understanding why Komer suddenly took an interest in a group of barbarians, both the horse-faced youth and the young man still instinctively stood up and followed Komer with a stagger, heading over.