"Probably regarding the war of the tamers and barbarians," Billy replied while feeling uncomfortable with the clothes as well... "I did the right in refusing a noble title."
As Billy had expected, they were received well by Jean's servants, and things just went in the noble's style for a while. It seemed that he wanted to show them how good life one could be with a good title and land on their back. While Billy was a bit interested in the money he could make by owning some lands, it would be too much of a pain to manage all that. That was the difference between the people who were raised in a warrior society and those who weren't. Fortunately, Jean made his servants leave them alone once the dinner was over and the real talk started.
"I have some news regarding the war in the East…" Jean said after assuming a serious facial expression. "It is over… the beast tamers won."
"They sure have a lot of resources to keep fighting and winning their battles like that while managing the lands they just obtained," Billy said.
"They are indeed resourceful… but they didn't won by using brute strength," Jean replied. "Somehow, even though the battle was on a stalemate, they managed to convince the enemies to surrender and become their allies as well."
The room became completely silent. If that was a joke, it didn't make any sense. How come the attacking side surrendered and became allies of the defending side so fast? Billy wondered if the tamers used their whips on the barbarians, but that didn't make any sense. They only worked on animals and monsters. Besides, even if they worked on humans, it was hard to imagine them working on dozens of thousands of warriors. Unless…
"Did something happen with their chain of command?" Billy asked.
"So, you have noticed it," Jean said. "As you can imagine, the leaders of the barbarians decided to suddenly stop their attack without hearing any offer of truce. I can only imagine that they are being manipulated by the same power that controls the monsters."
"That is a rather dangerous thing to consider… if they can slip some of their men and attack the heads of the states…" Kate said.
"They can annex many states over the years without dropping a single drop of blood," Jean said. "There is also the possibility that they were targeting Rosalie for that same very same reason. It would be easier to control the people of Toles state if they used her as a figurehead, after all."
Billy was still trying to understand the logic behind their power, and they just improved that. His life was anything but boring… Regardless, their timing sure was impeccable to improve their skills. They either had some good crafters, or they just got the materials to be able to do that. Either way, while that skill was troublesome, it had a fatal weakness… the tamers themselves. Finding the right ones will be difficult, but the barbarians will be back and rebel on the spot if they are dealt with. Such a cowardly tactic was probably something they hated the most.
"With that said, I would like you guys to keep your guard up, we don't know the limits of this new ability of theirs, so it might be used to gather intel about your people and your skills," Jean said. "Since all of you hold quite a lot of influence on your town, it would be easier for the enemy to destroy it from within by manipulating even just one of you."
That was a scary thought, but Billy realized that it wasn't so farfetched. He needed to think of a way to protect his family and friends from that kind of power. While they were a bit far away from the enemy, it won't take long for them to try something like that. Maybe Billy will have a few extra months until the beast tamers focus their attention on the West once again.
"I will pass the message to the others, you can keep focusing on what you have been doing until now and don't talk about it with anyone else," Jean said. "Also, it would be wiser to speed up the training of the recruits as much as possible. We don't know when we will need them, after all."
"Roger that," Billy said since the others were troubled by the idea of already sending their students to battle.
The mood of the group had been quite difficult on the way home. It was a pity given how beautiful Kate and Natalie looked on the blue and red dresses they picked for that occasion. While they didn't look that comfortable since they also had the warrior's mentality, it was quite the sight for Billy's sore eyes.
"Ah… I hate wars," Alexander said after a long sigh. "Sometimes we have to fight to protect what we hold dear, but why do some people only fight to satisfy their greed?"
"Some of those think that they are better than the others and for them, the only way to show that is by having more than any other while subjugating those they deem inferior," Billy replied. "There are also others who are jealous of what they have and try to take them for themselves."
"Those kinds of people might not have been right in their heads…" Alexander said. "Well, we will have to pick up the pace with the training of the recruits. Speaking of that, what you have been doing, Billy?"
"Nothing much, just enjoying the good life," Billy said and then shrugged.
"Keeping secrets again, huh," Alexander said.
"Not really," Billy said and then offered a handshake.
Billy obviously was trying to do something that he thought was funny, so Alexander hesitated. Still, his curiosity got the better of him, so he accepted, only to feel something biting his hand and paralyzing for a second.
"What was that?" Alexander asked while looking at his hand and not finding any bit mark there.
"The results of me enjoying the good life for the last month," Billy replied.
