The Assassin's Seven Principles of Manipulation

Chapter 378: Chapter 373 — Unbound Journey

Zephyrion used the opportunity to glance around the tavern, quietly taking everything in. Possum had already chosen a table of his own, and judging by the waitress nodding in front of him, was busy ordering a drink.

’Ahhh, ground zero. How I’ve missed this beautiful place...’ Demorian gazed around the tavern with almost painful nostalgia. ’The memories, my protege. The adventures! Ferravry as my wingman, me at the height of my glory... there wasn’t a decent tavern on this continent safe from us!’

’Shut up. I’m trying to think.’

Zephyrion nodded as the barman set his drink before him, subtly sniffing the milk.

Demorian shot him an offended glare before sighing.

’My protege, you wound me. This is the perfect opportunity for me to teach you the ways of a truly great life, and you’re wasting it drinking that... that abomination!’ His face twisted in genuine disgust. ’Milk? In a tavern? Who the hell orders milk in a tavern?!’

’Apparently me. Now shut up before I put you back in the rod.’

Demorian grimaced, but wisely fell silent.

After confirming there was no poison, Zephyrion took a small sip of the milk before casually turning his attention back to the barman.

”So, what’s been going on around Capetown lately?”

This was precisely why he’d come here instead of heading straight to the town head as the mission instructed. He needed to gather information about Mocktown, Horus’ hometown, before he became tied down dealing with the actual mission.

With Possum constantly following him around, Zephyrion needed to take advantage of even the slightest opportunity to slip away whenever one presented itself.

”What hasn’t been going on?” The barman scoffed. ”Recession’s fucking everyone, same ugly-ass women, same shitty men, and now you can’t even leave town without some damned beast trying to chew your balls off. Hell, it’s getting hard to find a decent drink these days.”

”The world’s always been shit. Good to know some things never change.”

”Ha... yeah.”

The barman gave him a small, approving smile, clearly pleased with the response. Taking another sip of his milk, Zephyrion continued casually.

”You mentioned beasts?”

”Ah, yeah, those crazy bastards. Usually there’re only a few around here, and even those mostly keep to themselves. But lately? Bastards are everywhere, and now they’re attacking the town too. Can barely step outside the walls without risking your neck.” The barman shook his head. ”Town head sent word to the bastion days ago. Soldiers should be showing up anytime now...”

Zephyrion was about to ask another question when he caught the sudden sour look on the barman’s face. More importantly—

’It’s gone quiet.’

Frowning, Zephyrion turned toward the entrance and narrowed his eyes at the two men standing just inside the door, staring back at the suddenly silent room with wary expressions.

They were tall and lean, with hair as white as snow and pale eyes clear as clouds, while their flowing white robes were dirty and torn in several places. Their presence was strangely faint, and as they stepped farther into the tavern, a gentle breeze seemed to follow them, lightly stirring the air wherever they passed.

’Aeralith...’

Nearly every Ferran in the tavern had stopped whatever they were doing and was now staring at the pair with cold, unwelcoming looks. The tense silence lingered for several moments before one of the Aeraliths finally moved toward an empty table, his companion following closely behind.

The waitress exchanged an uneasy look with the barman, and after a moment, the latter sighed and gestured toward their table. Only then did she reluctantly walk over to take their order.

Gradually, conversations resumed throughout the tavern, but the easy atmosphere from moments ago was gone, replaced by an undercurrent of tension Zephyrion could practically feel in the air.

”Hmph. Fucking Aeraliths.” The barman scoffed, glaring in their direction. ”If the empire had any sense, their kind wouldn’t even be allowed this far in.”

”What’re they doing this far in anyway?”

”Isn’t it obvious? Heard they started that stupid Unbound Journey or whatever the hell they call it, so now they’re crawling all over the forests. A few wander in here every now and then, but they usually get the message soon enough and fuck off.”

’The Unbound Journey.’

He remembered it being an Aeralith tradition. Before formally joining the military, every recruit was stripped of anything identifying their family, House, wealth, or status, given only basic supplies, then released somewhere within the empire’s wilderness.

From there, they were free to wander wherever they wished, with no destination or orders beyond eventually reaching their assigned bastion within a set period. It was meant to celebrate their final days of complete freedom, allowing them to live entirely unbound before willingly surrendering some of that freedom to military life.

”And the beasts just leave them alone?” Zephyrion asked.

”Beats me.” The barman shrugged. ”For all we know, those ghosts are the reason the beasts have gone mad in the first place. Empire ought to stop screwing around and build a fucking wall already.”

Zephyrion frowned, though not because of the barman’s obvious hatred for the Aeraliths. From what he knew of the region, there should’ve been several other towns between Capetown and the border, which meant the Aeraliths would have had to pass all of them just to get here.

Something wasn’t adding up.

”But isn’t this pretty far into the empire? What, they pass every other town just to come here?”

”Hm?” The barman looked at him more carefully. ”Knew something was off. You’re not from around here, are you? Either that, or you’ve been gone a long fucking time.”

Zephyrion remained silent, and the man continued.

”It’s been half a decade already, but the Move happened again last year. Borders shifted. A bunch of the towns now belong to the Aeraliths now.” He jerked his chin toward the two men. ”Capetown’s the end of the road, friend. Go any farther east and you’re walking into ghost territory.”

Zephyrion felt his expression almost slip.

’Shit.’