Deals and Connections

Jien looked at the girl in front of him with a raised eyebrow before answering calmly, seemingly unaffected by the fact she was still holding onto his arm and leaning on him. "I don't mind helping you figure out some strategies to work with your team." His words were cool, and his eyes carried a calculative light. "What I want in turn is introductions. I have members of my unit who have varied skill sets that need resources. You seem to be the kind of person who can find us some decent business partners. Let's discuss the details later." With that last phrase he raised his free hand to the girl who quickly removed her grip on his arm. She shook his hand enthusiastically, her blue ribbons bouncing with her excitement.

After the deal was made, at least preliminarily, Jien turned on his heels, walking back to his unit members as if nothing had happened. Despite the look in a few of the member's eyes they kept their mouths shut on the topic. If Jien wanted to tell them or felt it important for them to know then he would inform them of what was discussed. Rebecca had skipped over to her own unit as if she had just gotten asked to a royal ball by her crush, a wide smile on her lips and a cheery gleam in her eyes.

The various units took off in their own directions, planning to meet up to train together until the first day of courses. This was an opportune time to build connections and all of them, Bennet included couldn't just hole up if they wanted to make it far in the academy. This place wasn't just about training the next group of military recruits, it was also a chance to build connections that would span the entire empire, to make deals that could make or break a family's future and cut deals that would help each of them grow in ways that a normal academy could never achieve.

Jien and his unit stopped at the mess hall once again to eat and start regaining their energy. Once they arrived at their flat, they split up to their various spaces, some heading to shower off, some just to study and wait their turn to do so. Jien sat at the central dining table with his usual stack of books, reading them normally for now. It wasn't that he didn't want to use Personal Library to continue collecting the knowledge, it was that he felt it would be dangerous to do so. He didn't wish to chance snuffing the flame of his mana that allowed him to use the arcane arts. He would rather take his time than end in a coma before he could even experience his first day of classes.

Interestingly enough, it was Julie who joined him at the table with her own stack of books. She was waiting to use the shower since Rosalind had ran to occupy it before anyone else could. For several long minutes they simply read in silence as the others figured out their own steps. At times Julie would look up from her book and glare menacingly in Jien's direction, still infuriated by his choice of strategy and not figuring out how to at least inform them. She wondered if perhaps he had some devious reason for not letting them know, her mind churning through the events on repeat trying to find out why he had chosen a path that had debilitated several of their own members.

Eventually she grew too frustrated just thinking about it to keep it to herself. She snapped her book shut and placed it on the table before asking Jien the question that was burning in thoughts. "Why that method?" she asked through gritted teeth. "Of all the ways to handle the match with that skeletal barbarian, why did you choose that method? You knocked out several of your own team just for a chance that you would knock out the other side."

Jien looked up from his book, his eyes cool and calm, meeting her own that seemed ready to spit fire. "It was the way I could think of with a high chance of success." His statement was dull and matter of fact. Julie seemed even more infuriated by the answer, standing up with a force that toppled her chair over noisily. She nearly stomped over to Jien and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, staring into his cool green eyes. "And what would you have done if it had failed?!" Her voice was barely a whisper, struggling to keep from yelling at him.

"You put several of our own members to sleep and left me nearly defenseless for a chance at victory. What would you have done had it not worked? With several of your members down and several others surrounded by our opponents. If we lost, we would have been made into errand runners and who knows what humiliation those thugs would have put us through." This time her words were loud enough to gather the attention of the others, who peered into the room through slightly cracked open doors.

Jien sighed at the accusation. "It is true that it was a risk but of the options available I felt it was the best. There of course were others, but if you felt that having several members fall asleep was bad then the other methods would be worse." His statement had a steely edge to it, his eyes firmly locked on her own. "It was my intention in coming days to inform you and prepare you for these stratagems, but they unfortunately brough me to the point of needing to use one on the fly." He sighed once again, this time seeming to lose much of his energy. "I won't apologize for doing what I did, but I do apologize for not preparing you for such eventualities right from the start."