Chương 79: Chapter 2.16: New Rules

The moment Serran closed the door behind himself and Marcus, Caliga and Urania shuffled over, their eyes wide with amazement.

"That's so much money. We are going to be rich!" exclaimed Caliga before squealing. Urania grinned broadly and chuckled.

"Oh yes. I absolutely can't believe..." She gave her sister a look and raised her nose slightly.

"That I am going to be in charge of all of it." Caliga sniffed in return and looked at Favius.

"We haven't even looked at how much my beekeeping will make. You don't think you've got me beat, little sister?"

"All right," said Brutus.

"Do remember what I said. This needs to remain quiet."

"But we are within your aura!" insisted Caliga and turned back to Urania.

"So what's the first big thing you want to buy with all the—""Enough!" Brutus slammed the flat of his hand against the table. The dishes shook, and the girls flinched alongside Favius. The viciousness of the aura redoubled, and Favius swallowed hard.

"Come on, Brutus. They are just..."

"Just breaking all the best practices of operational security. Yes, they are in fact doing that." Brutus's steely gaze met Favius's eyes.

"This Familia is far from united. And you know yourself what you want to achieve. Hesnia, Cassian, and Sirrana are just the tip of the iceberg. There are others." Favius swallowed. He is right. Especially with what Cassian already tried. And that was just for the fame of being known as the inventor of some novel mathematics. The soap business... He shook his head and sniffed again. Surprisingly, Urania spoke next.

"Oh, come on, Brutus. You know that we are safe in your aura. Surely we deserve to celebrate a bit." Favius began nodding at his protector, but Brutus sighed and shook his head.

"No, children. The best way to preserve a secret is to ensure you are the only one knowing it. That, of course, is rarely practical. The second-best way is to ensure that only those who need to know it are aware of it. And one of the core tenets of maintaining secrecy in any endeavor that matters is to avoid frivolous babbling." He gestured broadly at the room and glared at each of the children in turn.

"No matter how safe you think something is, your character is shaped by your actions." That is actually a good argument. No unnecessary discussion of sensitive matters. Favius was the first to nod and looked at his sisters.

"Brutus is right. Yes, it would be nice if we could celebrate and enjoy this. But think of all your joy and what this could mean for us." He studied Caliga's defiant expression much longer than the thoughtful one on Urania's face.

"Now think of how you would feel if someone like Hesnia managed to steal our success before we could realize it." The girls grumbled but nodded. They sat in tense silence, eating for several minutes while Favius observed Brutus's expression becoming ever more exasperated while the girls were not-so-subtly communicating through facial expressions and gestures. His thoughts drifted. I don't understand what the hell is happening here. I was just making soap.

And sure, I wanted to have some workshop design so it could be scaled up. He looked at one of the remaining wax tablets. I even wanted them to be designed as those long buildings that we could extend. But...

"Enough." Brutus's voice was again accompanied by an intense pulse of his aura. Caliga gasped and began coughing until she spat the olive she had just swallowed into her hand. Urania's cup clattered onto the floor.

"Brutus, don't do that!"

"Then stop acting stupidly," Brutus said. He looked at Favius, rolled his eyes briefly, then looked at the girls.

"You're all still young. Maybe military discipline is too much to ask. So..." He drawled, a smile spreading over his face. Favius's heart sank. Oh no. He collapsed forward, his face falling into his hands.

"To give you something else to think about, I have some ideas for a special training regimen with which we can spend the rest of the day." Caliga and Urania followed Favius's example, slumping onto the table. Brutus rushed them to their rooms, where they put on their training gear, with an added overcloak and boots. Just as they were about to leave the estate's main entrance and go out into the cold wetness of the melting snow, Antonius rushed up to them.

"Young Master and Mistresses." He briefly glanced at Brutus before adding, "Lord Cultivator." He held out a wax tablet.

"The Dominus and Majordomo request clarification on some questions." Favius accepted the wax tablet and began reading it. Caliga looked at the man.

"What are they actually doing right now, Antonius?" The ghost of a smile played over the servant's face. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

"They are within the personal office of the Dominus. Considering..." He shrugged.

"Everything and anything in need of consideration."

"As expected," murmured Brutus. Favius finished reading the questions. Most of them were simple. Yes and no. Projections. Ideas. But they don't want to talk to me directly. Well, I'm still seen as a child. He looked at Antonius.

"Do you happen to have—" The man held a stylus up in front of him before Favius even finished his sentence.

"Thank you." He quickly marked out the answers to the questions, and after less than a quarter of an hour, he finished. Urania and Caliga had moved to his side, studying the document over his shoulders.

"I hope this is sufficient?" he asked. This time Antonius actually smiled.

"I believe the Dominus will be understanding of you spending time refining your bodies. Yet I would recommend that you make yourselves available over the next few days." Favius nodded, and soon they were outside. Brutus pushed them at a hard pace, yet with the insight of endurance and the need to allow Urania to keep up, the pace wasn't too punishing. Running through the skeletal orchards of olive trees and up toward the mountains, Favius considered the issue at hand again. Part of me still feels this is too fast.

That I should, I don't know, be running a small workshop, maybe a market stall for a few years until my modern knowledge slowly and inevitably allows me to build a business beyond anything anyone has ever seen in this world.

"Again," Brutus screamed at them, and they ran up and down a hill, trying to use pneuma to assist each step, almost making it a jump. Damn it. Caliga is closest to getting it. But well, Brutus did mention that this technique will take a while. They ran off again, this time into the dripping wet forest, spooking a herd of goats. Favius tilted his head to the side after dodging a low pine branch. Well, ultimately it might just be that chemical industry is just that.

You take cheap chemicals and through knowledge you refine them into something much, much more valuable than the original. I mean, I never really thought about it in detail. Thought it was just due to favorable regulations and exploitation of labor. But maybe there is also something inherent in industrial production itself that helped those 18th-century magnates grow richer than most nations in history. Yeah. He nodded as they turned back toward the estate, the wind rustling in the trees around them.

Brutus had put them through the paces. Maintaining awareness while running over snow-covered forest ground. Enough awareness of the shapes of branches and the soil underneath to know where to place your feet. Looking at his siblings, Favius couldn't help but grin. Both Urania and Caliga had failed at some point. Their overcoats were wetly stained with snow and mud. For my part... only my boots are fucked. But well, there is an advantage to having servants. Slaves tending to your every need.

Haven't done any household chores ever since I got to this world. Soon they reached the gymnasium, and the training continued. Brutus introduced nothing new, but mercilessly pushed the pace on previous exercises. Time passed torturously while circulating pneuma, doing calisthenics, and engaging in quick sparring fights. It continued until even Brutus's screaming couldn't get them off the floor.

"Uhhh," Favius groaned. Mercifully, darkness put an end to their time in the gymnasium. Settling into the steaming bath water, he smiled. Feels good to move my body this way. I do get why gymbros do it all. He looked over at his sisters who, after bathing, were no longer sweaty but still looked utterly bedraggled. And his plan to shut them up worked. No gossiping, only groaning and suffering. After reaching his room, Favius undressed and collapsed into bed.

It felt like almost no time passed until Tiro woke him in the morning.

"Young Master," greeted the slave while Favius put on his clothing.

"Your new tutor," he began, his voice perfectly neutral, "requested that only you and your younger sister attend her today." Favius raised an eyebrow, considering the man. Does it really pay to still have him around? I could replace him. He turned his head to the side. Especially with Marcus being more paranoid and the business... Something to think about later. He thanked Tiro. After finishing the usual morning routine, he and Urania entered a room in the guest wing.

Brutus was right on their tail, and Sirrana entered soon after. She turned her head in the distinctive owl-like manner that all eagle-owl shifters apparently shared, turning her good eye onto Brutus. The scar running across her face made her frown unsettling.

"I requested a private lesson with my younger relatives." Brutus made a sweeping gesture.

"And I swore a blood oath to protect the Young Master." His eyes fell to the blade catcher on Sirrana's arm.

"Against all possible threats." Sirrana let out a long breath.

"Please, let's not be ridiculous." She gestured across the room.

"They are kin. And I'm here on the Matriarch's orders. I have nothing but their best interests at heart." Brutus ran his eyes over her, assessing her like a weapon.

"I shall not deny your familial relations," he began. Favius let out a breath. Always this posturing here. Well, not that people back on Earth, even in the university, weren't fond of posturing either, but... He looked between his protector and the mysterious tutor. Well, I'll see how this develops. And if I need to intervene... Brutus continued.

"Yet there are matters of trust." He ran a hand over his cheek.

"That have not yet been resolved to my satisfaction." Sirrana sniffed.

"The traditions of our clan are not to be revealed to outsiders." Brutus groaned.

"That is the tack you are taking?" He turned around.

"Children, here's your first lesson about shifters. Every shifter clan believes that their ancestral knowledge is somehow special. Somehow greater than that of any other shifter clan. Yet the truth is..." He smiled viciously and looked over at Sirrana.

"And please do contradict me, should your integrity as a tutor permit it."

"... that once you know the secrets of one powerful shifter clan, you pretty much know the secrets of all of them." Sirrana and Brutus glared at each other in silence. The woman's face twitched several times, but the smile on his protector's face only broadened. Favius hummed, drawing attention to himself. Well, it's not far from the first time that Brutus has tried to set me up for something. He smiled.

"Sirrana, you have not refuted Brutus's point about general knowledge of shifters. Might we not begin our lessons with the basics while he attends?" Next, he gestured at Brutus.

"Once we've grown to know each other better and everyone is satisfied with our relationship, we move on to the deeper lore in private." Sirrana raised her good eyebrow. Her arm twitched, followed by her hand clenching into a fist. Urania went in for the killing blow.

"Indeed. Grandmother said you're a good tutor. And what good tutor doesn't establish the basics and what is known first?" Sirrana let out a long breath, then nodded.

"Very well, young Mutators. It seems that despite my predecessor's insufficiencies, he did well in schooling you in the arts of persuasion." They settled down, and two slaves brought in the customary refreshments. Olives, bread, tea, and wine. After they were ready, Sirrana smiled broadly.

"You asked me to start with the basics and beginnings. And thus I believe it is only appropriate to speak of the sacred now."

"After all, what in this world does not spring forth from the gods?" Brutus hummed in agreement as Sirrana paused, glancing at him. Favius nodded as well. Even if I have my doubts about the reality of their gods, I should hear her story first before arguing. After all, only a stupid contrarian doesn't at least learn his opponent's position first. He snorted inwardly. Sirrana gestured at Brutus.

"Cultivators revere the number five, for it is central to their insights. For Magi Casters like the Matriarch, there are four sacred divisions of the arcane arts." Her good eye fell onto Favius.

"And I've been told that this pattern repeats fractally." She smiled.

"But the sacred number of us shifters is three." One by one, she raised a finger.

"The three Forms. The three Awakenings. And the three Steps."