“I don’t get it. She explicitly said we can’t look for the backer?” Mahon asked.

“Yes.” Jorik answered. “Curious, isn’t it?”

“At this point, I’m not really surprised anymore. You could tell me everything had been orchestrated by Rim, that she created the Fada cult, and I would not even doubt it.”

“I know the feeling.” Jorik sighed. “But if you were given the opportunity to find the backer, what would you do?”

“You know where he is?” Mahon read between the lines.

“Not yet. But I might soon. The bodyguard’s trail led to interesting places. I don’t want to reveal too much without being sure, but let’s say I know where he and his bodyguard are right now. What would you do?”

Mahon and Zac exchanged a long look. They planned to leave school anyway, so they didn’t care much about Rym’s forbidding. “I’ll probably go and arrest them.” Mahon said.

Jorik smiled. “That’s what I would do too. Or at least find who is behind all that.”

“You would ignore Rym’s orders?” Zac asked.

“All these months of collaboration and you still don’t get what I want? While the noble families are having their nice little games, someone has to make sure Ratho will still live another day.”

“That’s really your goal?” Mahon said in a dubious tone.

Jorik sighed. “Whatever. If I find the backer’s residence, would you come with me to arrest him? I can’t handle the bodyguard alone.”

“Why us?” Mahon said.

“You’re really asking? No one in this school gives a damn about Ratho. They only care about themselves. You two, at least, are somewhat different. And competent. Trust me, if I could do this alone, I would. But I need your help. There will be no recognition in case of success, and only shame if we fail. And yet, if no one does it, we can’t expect the world to change.”

“Or we need a different way.”

“Please, don’t start with the music thing. I get it. You want to try something else. We’ll see if that leads to anywhere. In the meantime, you may have the perfect opportunity to fight for what you joined for in the first place. A better Ratho. Would you really leave without even trying?”

That made Mahon pause. The noble knew how to talk, and he knew what Mahon’s motives were, so Mahon always took what he said with a grain of salt. Yet, it still rang true. He glanced at his friend, because it wasn’t a choice he could make alone. Zac also knew him too well. He smiled and nodded.

“We’ll help this time. If you find them, that is. As long as we're still at the Pine Hill Officer Institute, we haven’t yet created our band.”

Jorik bowed his head to them. “Thanks. I know what to do now. I’ll keep you updated on this. The window is too short with the trip to the frontline for anything else. If I don’t have news tomorrow, it’ll be too late. Be ready.”

With one last glance, he left the two friends and entered his residence. Mahon and Zac pursued their way to their own residence. New residence, in fact, as they were now First Yellow. They walked a bit and stopped in front of their supposed new home.

“A residence each?” Zac eyed the two buildings in front of him with awe. “Don’t get me wrong, I like the music group idea a lot, but I think I’ll miss changing to bigger mansions soon.”

Mahon chuckled. “Yeah.”

“And the canteen.”

“And the canteen.” Mahon laughed before glancing back at his personal residence. “So… should we visit them now? Or go take a beer at the Alligator? I’d love a beer.”

It was already night, but they had spent the whole day sleeping, and after the banquet and Jorik’s revelations, they weren’t that much sleepy.

“We have breakfast with Ash tomorrow, so we should get some sleep at some point. A beer is fine, but let’s put our stuff in the house first.”

They each went to their respective house, and Mahon quickly toured his new home, more out of curiosity than a real need to know. He’d spend a day or two in there maximum, since they planned to quit school once they came back from the frontline trip.

The residence was very spacious, not at the level of Jorik’s own, but not that far off. There were at least five different chambers, an office, a huge training room, an even wider living room, and a giant kitchen. He even had a private garden behind his house, separated from the other nearby gardens by a beautifully shaped hedge touring it.

“Mahon!” He heard Zac call him from behind the hedge.

“Yeah?”

“There is beer in the kitchen! Wanna hang out at my place?” Zac giggled.

“Hahaha, sure. I’m coming.”

“I left the door op…”

Zac didn’t even finish his sentence that Mahon jumped above the hedge and fell on him on the other side.

“What the fuck?” The noble managed to say before collapsing under Mahon’s weight.

Mahon rolled out to free Zac while laughing. “I figured it was faster this way.” He stuttered before laughing even louder.

“What’s wrong with you?” Zac said as he stood up and dusted off his clothes.

Mahon was still laughing so hard that Zac couldn’t help but smile at the absurd situation. He sighed. “Well, I guess I’m gonna bring the beers.”

He came back a minute later with two glasses and handed one to Mahon. The two friends sat down directly on the freshly cut grass and raised their heads to the starry sky. With some lights coming from the nearby mansions, they couldn’t see as much as they did on their picnic trip, and the night wasn’t as silent, but still, the same kind of mood slipped in.

“You’re thinking about Jorik’s words?”

“Yeah... You’re really ok with it, Zac?”

“We can’t really build a music group in a city that’s sitting on explosives, can’t we?”

Mahon sighed. “Yeah, but choosing the music group means we aren’t supposed to be the ones doing this kind of work.”

“Ratho’s safety is everyone’s problem.”

“I know. And yet… This time is different, though. It’s the Fada cult. We invested too much not to see it to the end. But then what? If another Fada cult is created, will we leave everything we’re doing to stop it?”

“I have a better question, Mahon. Will you really be able to stand still while Ratho gets burned to the ground by a group of fanatics? I don’t think so.”

“No, you’re right. Although I thought groups of fanatics were only created by nobles for their little games. Nobles don’t want to make Ratho a bloodbath. They want to be at the top, but they’re smart enough not to crumble the throne they’re sitting on. They’re not supposed to be a danger to Ratho. Just a hindrance.”

“And yet someone created the Fada cult.” Zac stated.

“And yet someone created the Fada cult.” Mahon acquiesced. “I hope we’ll not have to deal with another thing like this, because I don’t know what I’d do if it happens. Sometimes, it’s best not to ask oneself too many questions and just hope we’ll never have to answer them.”

Zac chuckled. “How brave of you.”

Mahon laughed sadly. “Some questions are really tormenting, trust me. It’s best to avoid them as long as you can. For example, what will Ash say about all this?”

“Ash has nothing to do with this. She doesn’t even know how to fight.”

“And yet she is involved as much as you are. You’re together now. If you go, she goes. Didn’t you think about it?”

The question made Zac think for a long minute. Mahon didn’t say anything in the meantime, letting his friend process what the real implications of what he was saying were.

“She’d understand.”

“Probably. But at the same time, she wouldn’t want you to go. The heart has reasons that reasoning doesn’t know.”

Zac sighed. “That may be your first sounding advice about relationships.”

Mahon chuckled. “It’s not because I don’t have many relationships that I never thought about them. It’s because I thought about them that I don’t have many. Relationships are a double-edged sword. They elevate and weaken at the same time.”

Zac whistled an impressed note. “You’re quite the philosopher tonight.”

Mahon smiled in answer.

“But let’s switch the topic.” Zac continued. “As you said, we’ll ask ourselves the questions when the need arises. No need to torture us for nothing.”

Seems Zac never really thought about how his relationship with Ash changed things.

“What about some music, then?” Mahon suggested.

“Yeah. But wait. Just one more thing. Let’s not say anything about a potential secret mission to Ash. She’ll just freak out for nothing. Just this time.”

Mahon nodded before pulling out his harmonica and playing random notes. Zac tuned his sitar, and soon, their problems vanished in the night, chased away by happy songs.

The next morning, Mahon woke up alone in his house. For a few seconds, he was lost as to why he was here, before the memory of his recent promotion came back to his mind. He dressed himself and was ready to exit when Zac knocked at his door and called for him.

He opened the door barely a second later and joined his friend. Together, they left the school and walked towards Ash’s house for breakfast. The night had been short, but given yesterday’s rest, they weren’t tired.

They had brought their instruments with them, and Ash had already finished preparing everything when they arrived at her place.

“Hey, guys!” She greeted them before jumping into Zac’s arms. She kissed him with passion and then hugged Mahon. “How are you doing?”

Zac must have told her that they were both fine after yesterday’s mission, but they probably didn’t have much time to spend with each other.

“Yeah, we’re good. Told you I’d keep an eye on your man.” Mahon smiled.

“And I thank you for that.” She flashed him a happy smile. “Now that it’s over, when will you leave school? Today?” She asked with cute cheerfulness.

“Ah, about that...” Zac started, and Ash immediately understood it wasn’t their plan. She threw him a threatening look, and Zac quickly switched the topic. “Isn’t breakfast ready, though? We should eat first.” He said with an innocent smile.

Ash sighed, but she let the matter drop. “Yup, come on. I bought pastries, and they were still hot a minute ago!”

She led them above her shop, on the floor where she lived, and made them sit around a beautifully decorated table. She had fresh flowers in a vase in the middle of it, flowers Mahon had already seen in Zac’s hand a few days ago. The rest of the table was crumbling under the weight of pastries, scrambled eggs, meat, fruits, bread, and milk.

“Wow, we’re only three, Ash!” Mahon joked.

“I thought we could properly celebrate the coming of our new life.” She said with a shy smile. “Now, eat!”

Without needing to be said twice, the trio grabbed whatever was within their reach and started to eat. They spend a few minutes in a comfortable silence while eating with energy.

“Let’s deal with this now.” Ash finally said. “What is it?”

“Ah, so…” Zac started, “I told you about a possible trip after the Fada cult had been dealt with and… we know more. We’ll be leaving for a full week. For the frontline.”

“The frontline?” She said with a frown. “As in the war?”

“Yeah…”

“But I thought you were done with school and the fights!”

“We are, we are! We discussed it with Jorik already. We’re leaving immediately after the trip.”

“That’s my fault, Ash, sorry.” Mahon intervened. “I’m just really curious about what it’s like up there. I’ve heard things, but I really want to see it by myself. It’ll not change my opinion about what I want to do, don’t worry. It’s more that I want to see it, and we’ll not have another occasion to do it than now, you know…”

Zac threw a thankful look at him, and Mahon winked back.

“Ok.” Ash finally said. “It’s not like I can prevent you from going, anyway. I know it’s stupid, but now that we agreed for a music group, I can’t prevent to fear that each day you risk your life is an opportunity to shatter this dream.”

“Don’t worry about that. The frontline is probably even safer than the city.”

“Don’t joke about it, Mahon. It’s still the war.”

“Honestly, from what I heard, it’s nothing to worry about. And we go mainly there to observe and maybe do a scouting trip. Nothing to be afraid of.”

Ash acquiesced. “And afterwards, straight to music group, then?”

“Yeah.”

“Yeah.”

The two friends answered at the same time.

“What will you do at that point? You took care of the logistics? Where will you sleep? How will you eat?”

“Yes, mom.” Zac said as he stuck his tongue out at her.

She threw him a piece of bread, but Zac shielded himself behind the fruit basket. He grabbed a few grapes and threw them back at her.

“Zac!” She said with a shriek. “Not the grapes!”

“Apple then?” Zac said with a laugh and threw the bigger fruit at her instead.

She managed to catch it aloft just before it hit her. She looked at the fruit in her hand and then at Zac. She maintained eye contact while grabbing her spoon and plunging it into her scrambled eggs.

“No…” Zac started, but the mischievous spark in Ash’s eyes convinced him to jump behind Mahon.

Ash fired, and the projectile hit Mahon right in the cheek while he was just trying to eat in peace. Ash and Zac stayed silent for a second as Mahon grabbed his napkin to clean himself. Once done, he placed it back on the table with deliberately slow motions and looked alternatively at his two friends. He grabbed his spoon and took a deep inhale.

“You started this.” He said with a smirk.

Zac was already retreating towards Ash with the basket of fruits when Mahon breathed out, and his vision shifted to one of rhythms. The battle began.