Politics

After Blaze and Leus exited the guild, Blaze asked Leus

"How was it?"

"What?"

"Your experience inside"

Leus thought about everything that transpired

" ... It was alright I guess"

Blaze nodded

"Well, In the future you can get jobs on your own inside.

The more missions you complete the cheaper you'll be able to rent rooms above.

If you're just a Knight then you'll be able to live a comfortable life by doing the missions and getting paid, especially if you join a team, of course, there's some risk, however, it's still safer than volunteering for the Military."

Leus had a question

"The pay isn't really that much, So if I have a team, won't it lower my income because I'll have to split the reward?"

"Yeah, But it's safer, All the missions require you to leave the city, either to enter the forest or to escort someone to a different city.

Without a team, the chances of dying are much higher, especially if you're a Knight.

You might get killed by bandits or face an unexpected situation in the forest.

And if you don't have a team forget about accepting Escort missions, No one wants a single Knight.

And of course, If you're with a team you'll be able to finish missions faster, which allows you to do more missions, Balancing it."

Leus nodded and said

"I understand now"

'The pay is still not that good for Knights tho ... Just 1 Silver per mission? really!'

There was no point in complaining about it, so he focused on the present and asked Blaze

"Where are we going now?"

"We will go to the forest, Once we are outside the city, We can run to it.

We can also rent a horse but I want you to do physical activities"

"Alright"

After a couple of minutes, Blaze looked at Leus and said in a serious tone

"Leus"

"Yes?"

"You're smart enough to decide for yourself, But I'd suggest never getting help or asking anything from Ishaan"

'Oh I almost forgot about that'

"I wouldn't, I never believed anything he said, But why are you saying that?"

"Generally, Once these things begin it never stops.

A favor pulls another, and they have their cunning ways to drag you from one situation to another, before you notice, you'll be stuck too deep with them and it'll be too late to get out.

Eventually, they will use you for political or personal gains.

Keep them as a last resort or in case you are in an advantageous situation, But if you seek their help they'll make sure to keep you with them forever."

Then he added

"And specifically, Ishaan has a bad reputation for being a bastard who only cares about himself"

Leus chuckled

"I see, But who are (them)?"

"Ignatius' Faction"

"Ah, That reminds me, Who exactly is Ishaan, Is he Ignatius' brother or something?"

When Blaze heard that he laughed

"Brother? Ignatius is like an Ancestor, He has no brothers, Maybe Ishaan is his grandson or his grandson's son ... I lost count"

"Ancestor?"

"Yeah, As far as I know, He and Arno are from the same generation

They both are at least 150 years old

Both of them are rivals, It's rumored that Arno is smarter but Duke Ignatius is stronger"

"Huh, Interesting ... Alright Dad, Thank you"

Blaze added

"I could've taken you to Ishaan from the beginning, But I decided to take you to Arno because he is not as interested in politics, Also, He will die soon, So he should have a more -selfless- mindset right now"

Leus tilted his head

"Die soon?"

"Yeah, He's nearing the end of an Elite's life span, Which is around 200 years, and there's no way for him to evolve further"

"I see, Too bad for him ... Anyway, What did you mean when you said that he and the Duke are rivals? Isn't the Duke the strongest person in the city now?"

"It's more complicated than that"

Blaze took a deep breath and then explained

"The Librarian has as much political power inside the city as its Ruler.

It's a system the Kingdom created to help prevent corruption, There's no supervision on the Rulers as They are directly under the Crimsons.

So The Librarian is supposed to keep the Ruler in check, Their goal remains the same though, The prosperity of the City and the Duchy as a whole.

But to implement any law, tax, or policy, they both must agree on it, If they don't then they have to report to the King's faction to judge the situation.

At least, That's what I heard."

Leus was surprised to hear that

"So Arno is as important as Duke Ignatius?"

Blaze nodded

"Inside the city, Yes. He has all the authorities of the Ruler"

'Woah .. He's much more important than I thought, Better start calling him Master Arno'

As Leus was thinking that to himself Blaze continued

"The reason I'm saying you all this is that I want you to trust Arno, I trust him more than Ishaan at least"

"I understand, Thanks"

The political matters were over, and Leus asked a question about the Guild's teams

"How many members are in a team in the guild?"

Blaze shrugged

"It just depends on what they prefer, Mostly 3 Knights or 1 Elite and 2 Knights, Some prefer to work alone like me, Some prefer to be in teams of four or give. Most of the teams have an Elite Knight as their leader as almost all Escort jobs are of Elite level"

"Are there no mages?"

"Of course, there are, Just not as many"

Leus and Blaze were approaching the northern walls of the city, There were a few Crimson Guards patrolling on top of the walls and two standing at the gate

Blaze approached one of the guards and showed him his Military Badge, he could have shown the Guild's membership, but this was faster

The guard nodded and opened the gate, then he pointed at Leus and asked Blaze

"Is he coming with you?"

"Yeah"

The guards were surprised but they didn't complain

Leus and Blaze walked out of the city and the gate closed behind them

Blaze said excitedly

"The forest is in the northeast, Now we start sprinting!"