"What made you decide on this place? Aren't we a bit too much in the open?"

Several months in the past, Fen wouldn't find this to be a problematic thing. While the forest in general was gone, it's burn-out remains still provided quite a lot of cover from anyone on the same level as them. What's more, it was nearly impossible to covertly approach them in a manner timely enough to hear anything from what they would talk about.

But with himself being the greatest example, Fen was long past the point where he would look out for dangers only at or below his eyesight level. Approaching this place on his own wings, anyone attempting to hide in here would be given to him on an open platter. That was one of the reasons why Firo's sudden appearance failed to scare the young mercenary even a tiny bit.

"Well, I'm not important enough for the royals or other… opponents of mine to send an arcanist capable of flying after me. And if that were to be the case, you would surely defend me, right?"

There was something special with how carefree Firo seemed to be in Fen's presence. Openly admitting to assuming that he would protect her was just a small hint of it, even if said in a jokingly manner.

"You are right, you are right. While I do not want to belittle what others did to me, there is no denying that you gave me the most. If not for you…"

Shaking his head in self-curiosity, Fen raised his head to the skies, as if only the freedom up there could provide him with an answer.

"You wouldn't be able to become a proper Phoenixian? Don't say that. While I definitely helped you achieve it way faster, with everything you did in the short time that we were apart, you already proved that you are more than capable of taking the stuff you own with your own hands."

Sitting down on the fresh grass that was slowly taking over the grave of the forest, Firo patted the ground beside her in a gesture with obvious meaning. Maybe it was because Fen was pretty hard against any form of treason, interacting with her was way simpler than doing the same with Kaisha. Even though it was the former girl that he had romantic feelings grow back in his time in the Akhaz, sitting beside Firo now was just way easier and more comfortable.

"You give me too much credit. If not for your help back then, I doubt I would even know where to escape. Taking into the account how you helped me to awaken my true bloodline… There is simply no limit to how much I'm grateful to you for all of that."

Ever since the two of them met, Fen's mind was busy thinking over whether a certain statement could be made. And only now, after realising just how much did this girl do for him in the short amount of time they knew each other, Fen finally made up his mind.

"You see… I don't want to be all about words, so I will put it in this way. As long as it won't infringe on my duties and responsibilities, I'm willing to do anything that you would wish me to."

Saying something like that, especially with the intention of actually following through with such statement, was absolutely the worst thing that any sane man could do. Taking on yet another responsibility that he didn't even know what it would entail was the shortest way to getting screwer all over and all the way.

But once again, without Firo's help, Fen wouldn't be the man he was right now. It would be doubtful whether he would even manage to escape Akhaz proximity in the first place, not to speak about finding out that Kinar was a great refugee for phoenixian kind.

"Seriously, I know a bit of what you are doing in the north. So well… If we ultimately fail our insurrection here, how about providing us with a safe refugee and some basic help of getting there?"

Surprised by the sudden change of her tone, Fen sharply turned his head to the side, casting a stern look at Firo's face. And with his eyes confirming what he guessed from her voice, young mercenary's own expression soured.

"So that's how you see your chances, huh…"

Instead of safely ascertaining the girl that everything would be okay, something that Fen was perfectly aware of being nothing more than a stupid lie, the young mercenary ended up admiting to her words. After all, if he wanted to be of any help for her, he couldn't risk the trust she might have in him, even if only by something as small as calming her down.

"Yeah…"

For a moment, a silence ensued between the two of them. For the first time since he left Akhaz, Fen felt comfortable sitting beside a female, even if her presence could stir up some romantic-type of problems. After all, she was the one that did the most in saving him and if what he heard from Hekarion was true, she had to pay the price of doing so just as well.

"Tell me…"

With a certain idea suddenly appearing in Fen's head, his mouth moved on their own.

"... what did happen to you after I ran away? I already heard the story but I would prefer to hear it directly from you."

Looking directly at Firo's face for a moment, Fen turned his head away when he noticed the anxiety building up in the girl's eyes. Even though it wasn't his intention, he seemed to step right on the landmine.

"What happened, huh… Well, to say that we were taken by a surprise would be an overstatement… But there was no way in hell for us to expect this kind of retribution from the church. In fact, I hoped that you would shed some light at the reason why they got so angry…"

After taking a moment to digest Fen's words, Firo finally replied. But instead of providing the young mercenary with a full picture of what happened, she limited herself to throwing just a hint before turning the baton back to the man beside her.

"Well… That's something I wanted to talk about a bit later, but I guess there is nothing wrong with tackling this elephant in the room right away."Releasing a deep sigh, Fen took a moment to recollect his thoughts as the warm breeze caressed his face. Surrounded by the surreal image of the dark pieces of burnout wood everywhere he would look at, it was strangely far easier for him to reveal the things that he always kept secret.

"First and simpler reason might be the way in which I humiliated them right before I had to run away. They brought some fancy fighters to the arena, only to end up having the entire city watch them get pummeled."

Smiling to his own memories, Fen took another pause before gathering his wits to say the heavier part.

"But there is also a chance that they somehow uncovered who I really am. Sadly, I cannot say for sure how far does my ancestry reach. In fact, it's hard for me to even comprehend how could I come from the bloodline of such importance…"

No matter how devoted the young mercenary was to explain the truth of the situation to this girl, when the push came to shove, he still ended up only buying more time with those convoluted sentences.

"Come on! Is it really that hard to say? Given how I'm just a filthy rebel I hope you are not worried that I would judge you based on who your parents were!"

Springing up in a jokingly protest, Firo nudged Fen's side before throwing her body at him. After a moment of wrestling, the young man could only admit defeat.

'The heck!?'

It wasn't as if he didn't fight back. In fact, the line between his full, serious strength and what he put to use in this otherwise lighthearted moment was extremely thin!

Yet, as if not caring for that at all, Firo used his very own strength against him, quickly ending by pinning him down to the scorched ground. With his arms held above his head, Fen could only observe Firo's moving chest as her slightly heavier breathing put it in motion.

"I won. Now, stop stuttering and just tell me."

Smiling after what she seemed to take as nothing more but a light exercise, Firo finally let go of the young man's hands while remaining comfortably seated right on top of his hips.

"Eh… Well, let me put it in those words. While I can't say how much further does my ancestry reach given how I'm sure more memories of the past ages will come to haunt me in the future… But if what I know about the source of those memories is correct, then I'm a descendant in the direct line of the old Kingdom prime royalty. Or rather, I'm the last heir of the Suhenna clan that people of this continent grew to know as the one clan of pioneers that descended upon this continent and survived the northern apocalypse."

Still on top of his hips, Firo froze. While she had to expect some kind of big news from Fen, it seemed as if the magnitude of what he just said managed to overwhelm even this crafty, little girl.

"W-what?!"

After a moment of hesitation, the girl finally sprung up. Her eyes wide open, her lips parted. Her shock was so big that even sweat finally appeared on her forehead, something that didn't happen even after their playful but serious struggle!

"Like I said. I'm the last heir of the true royal bloodline of the Old Kingdom. That is, unless there is someone else like me still in hiding."

Fen never dared to discount this possibility. Instead, he preferred to use the means he secured for himself in his actions rather than flaunting his heritage left and right to gain supporters. But from the look of the Firo's face, it seemed that he might be wrong in doing so ever since he learned the truth about where did he came from!

"My king!"

Suddenly falling on both of her knees, Firo clearly wanted to slam her forehead right against the ground. Only managing to stop her in the very last moment, Fen's face twisted in an anxious expression.

"Ah, sorry!"

Noticing the strange look on Fen's face, Firo quickly realised that she overreacted. After all, his bloodline aside, the man that she just wanted to kowtow to was still the same young adult that she was playful with just a moment ago.

"Don't worry. I already saw this kind of reaction… And please, I'm not your king. The fact that I can trace my bloodline directly to the original pioneers… The only way in which I will make use of that fact is by banking on my superior arcana talent. I'm not here to steal all your followers in some crazed drive to recreate the lost kingdom."

Smiling in response to Firo's awkward attempts to apologise for her sudden change of behaviour, Fen noticed an opening in her defences. This time it was him that managed to get an advantageous hold on her before throwing his own body to the back. Before the girl could even react, she was already sitting comfortably on Fen's lap with the young mercenary's head resting calmly on her shoulder.

"No matter who my ancestors were, I'm still the same guy that I was. I'm still the same, lost idiot who you not only helped, but poured a lot of confidence in when you… You know, back when you showed me a whole new world of pleasure that only a woman can provide. Even though I didn't account for it when we talked about what you did for me, there is no denying it pumped my confidence and made me daring enough to face the challenges of the future from back then."magic

Feeling the heat of the Firo's body warming him all over, Fen didn't even get a boner. Even when talking about their past intimate moments, he was too emotional to just think about this girl in purely physical way.

"Why are you bringing that up now? Could it be you are in…"Realising what Firo's slightly disappointed face connected with what she was saying would lead to, Fen quickly moved his hand up to cover her mouth.

"Don't you even dare to say that out loud. I'm not as vain."

Hugging the girl's back to his chest a bit tighter as if in a punishment for her momentary lack of trust in his character, Fen looked to the skies once again. Then, the warm breeze of the day hit his face once again.

"The wind has changed."

Noticing the slight flinch of the man whose lap she was sitting on top off, Firo quickly noticed the likely reason behind it.

"Yeah… It used to be coming from the east before… Now it just blows to the north."

Calmly gauging the direction of the wind, Fen only attempted to keep the conversation up to not let his thoughts divert more closely to how soft Firo's body was.

"Did you know? I mean, about the old legends from when all the prime clans descended on this continent."

Finally accepting her position and Fen's closeness, Firo leaned back on his chest. This time it was her turn to rest her head against his shoulder.

"Legends? I'm not sure what you mean…"

With all the research that Fen did in Kinar about the past ages and exploits of the mercenary kingdom, asking about legends brought just way too many possibilities for Fen to nail down what she could've on her mind.

"They say, that when the first pionieerrs descended to the ground from their devastated ships… The wind was blowing from the east. As if pushing them in the direction the only successful clan ended up going for."

Finally understanding what the girl wanted to imply, Fen silently repeated what she said a moment ago.

"And now, the wind have changed."

Stuck close to the girl in this tranquil moment, Fen took account of his entire life so far. From a simple, impoverished nobody in the orphanage, through his times as a hunter and then later Akhaz Arcana student, all the way to his time in Gauna Academy and later on in Galvat mercenaries. Thinking about it now, the young man couldn't help but notice just how quickly did those vastly different episodes in his life took place.

"Yes, now the winds have changed. Now, they are blowing north. Just where you want to go next."

Stating those words as a fact rather than a guess, Firo proved that the capabilities of the organisation she belonged to in terms of gathering information were superb. This piece of knowledge was something that only Hekarion and Mark should be aware about!

"You see, I'm usually not superstitious. But for some reason, I can't think of doing anything else but following you north now."

Opening up her heart before the man, Firo whispered those words right into his ear.

"So you will go where the winds will push you?"

Not even sure why he asked this question, Fen felt he had no other choice but to let the words flowing from the very depths of his soul to find an outlet through his mouth.

Standing up from his lap, Firo fixed her wrinkled robes before turning around and looking at the man with a serious expression on her face.

"I wish to swear my loyalty to you. Not only because you are of royal heritage, but also because I know what kind of man you are. And its only under your leadership that our tribe can prosper on this world. Will you accept my service?"

To say that this progress of events was totally unexpected would be a lie. Given how Firo also belonged to the old kingdom restorationist movement, Fen's ancestry alone could easily sway her to his side… But to this moment, the young mercenary was fully set on refusing her.

All the way to the point where she proved that she saw more in him that just the deeds that his ancestors achieved.

"The winds have changed… And I guess we can only strive to follow them up. I hereby accept your pledge and welcome you to my humble service. Now, where should I start with explaining my plans?"

*******

The end of the tome 1

The story will continue in "Rising of the Phoenix God"

Soon I will publish aux chapter to explain everything and wrap things up!