Erwin Friar? What a familiar name that is...

The same thought was going through everyone's mind, and it seemed that not everyone had a memory as sharp as that of the pub manager.

"Oh, I know who it is! That's the leader of that freedom army in Zans, isn't it?" someone suddenly exclaimed, and the crowd instantly erupted into a frenzy.

"Oh, I remember now! He was the one who created that mural in the Holy Jade Cathedral as well, right?"

"Why has he suddenly come to Tellier instead of staying in Zans?"

"Shh! Can't you see that the two young masters of the Farody Family are also here?"

"Oh, so you're saying..."

This was exactly what John had been worried about.

In the wake of all of this, there was no way the imminent collaboration between the Farody Family and the Universal Church Freedom Army could be kept a secret.

It wasn't going to take long before Duke Eru and Theresa caught wind of this over in Newfando.

It was inevitable that the powers in Newfando would learn about Tellier's decision to join the City of Freedom sooner or later, but in order to avoid any unforeseen circumstances, Erwin wanted to spread the news as soon as possible. He was also worried that Mackney would change his mind, so he decided to light the fire and fan the flames himself.

Could it be that he went to participate in that poetry battle on purpose? Onean speculated to herself. Only now was she beginning to realize Erwin's intentions. I see. He wants to make the collaboration between himself and the Farody Family known to as many people as possible. He really is a master when it comes to sly tricks like this.

With that in mind, Onean pursed her lips slightly with amusement. She knew that there was no way that Erwin could've arranged for these people to engage in a poetry battle here in advance, so it was clear that this was a spur-of-the-moment decision. However, his objective definitely wasn't just to show off his talents in poetry.

At the moment, Zans was still in the process of recruiting and training soldiers, so it was far from being at a point where it would be able to conquer the entire Boll Dukedom. In fact, it could even be said that Zans was currently at its most vulnerable stage.

If Theresa could muster up another army at a time like this, then the City of Freedom would be in severe peril.

Hence, Erwin wanted to spread the news of the alliance forged between Zans and Tellier as quickly as possible.

Even more importantly, he was worried that Duke Eru would send someone to approach Mackney and offer even greater benefits to him. As a typical businessman, Mackney viewed practical benefits and profits above all else, so there was a very good chance that he would be swayed if someone were to offer him more favorable terms.

Hence, after establishing an alliance with Tellier, the next step was to deter Theresa from approaching Mackney and trying to sway him to her side.

Erwin wanted to tell Theresa that he had a very strong relationship with the Farody Family. As for why they shared such a strong relationship, that was because the negotiations between them had already begun a very long time ago, even earlier than she had anticipated.

Even if they hadn't met the pair of traveling poets, Erwin would've definitely still had different ways through which he could've broadcast the news to Newfando as quickly as possible. However, those other methods may have been more contrived, while this was a more natural and organic way of spreading the word.

...

While Onean was analyzing Erwin's actions, all of the people in the pub were gathering around Erwin as if he were a celebrity. This was the commander of the Universal Church Freedom Army in the flesh, and they naturally had to take this opportunity to share a few drinks with him.

All of the citizens of Tellier had thought that Mackney's conquest of Zans was all but assured, but never had they anticipated that Erwin would suddenly emerge onto the battlefield out of the blue before defeating all three clashing parties and taking over Zans himself. Even though the religious leader of the City of Freedom was Archbishop Lia, Erwin was the one who had fought the battle, so everyone naturally had much more admiration for him. Even though this was the Farody Family's territory and they were in the presence of Lucidy and John, everyone had no qualms with expressing their admiration toward this brilliant young man.

This warm reception was something that Erwin had failed to anticipate, but it was certainly a welcome sight for him.

Lucidy was feeling rather envious and displeased to see Erwin snatching the limelight so easily. This was the Farody Family's territory, yet he was being completely shown up by a guest.

In contrast, John was looking on with an indifferent expression. He had naturally identified the intentions behind Erwin's actions, but he wasn't going to say anything about it. After all, it was very likely that there would be some alternative forms of collaboration between him and Erwin in the future. However, it came as quite a surprise to him that such an elegant and refined figure could also be so adept at using these sly tricks, and he couldn't help but admire Erwin's versatility and resourcefulness.

"Allow me to raise another toast!" Shane was having the time of his life, and he was downing one drink after another with Erwin in accompaniment. "Your poetry is truly exquisite!"

Chinba had that he would be the star of the show, but he was content in his own defeat, and he was also smiling joyfully while drinking to his heart's content. In the face of Erwin's unmatched poetic talent, he wasn't dejected by his own defeat at all. In addition to that, Erwin's innate grace and disposition evoked an even greater sense of admiration within Chinba.

Even Yuho, who had suffered a crushing defeat, was among the rowdy crowd, insisting on having a few drinks with the leader of the Universal Church Freedom Army.

It seemed that Erwin wasn't going to be able to make it to the upstairs booth.

After a while, the crowd still displayed no intention of letting Erwin go, and the situation was growing a little awkward for Lucidy and John.

Mackney had told them to look after this esteemed guest, yet at this point, it seemed that Erwin had already forgotten their existence. There was no way that they could bring themselves to stoop down to everyone else's level and join in on the festivities, but at the same time, leaving would also seem quite rude.

Onean could see the dilemma that the two of them were grappling with, and she told them that they could leave if they pleased.

As for why she had done that, that was because she had spotted Erwin subtly whispering something into Shane's ear as they were exchanging a drink

It was clear that they had something to discuss together, and it was most likely best to keep such a discussion secret from the Farody Family.

The Farody Brothers were quite relieved to hear this, and they made some more small talk with Onean before departing one after another. Of course, prior to their departure, both of them handed over slips of paper to Onean, containing the addresses of their private residences in Tellier.

It looks like these two brothers have many things to discuss with Erwin in secret outside of the collaboration with Mackney, Onean thought to herself with an amused smile.

...

Back in Sarus, Erwin's drinking capacity had always been the most lackluster among his group of friends, and with so many people proposing toasts to him one after another, he quickly found himself lying on a reclining chair in a drunken state, but even so, he still had a smile on his face as he could hear people loudly reciting his poem.

Only then did Onean finally approach him, conjuring up a fan of water, which she used to fan Erwin and provide him with a cool breeze. Thankfully, Erwin wasn't the type of drunkard who would go around making a fool out of himself. Instead, he was the type that fell sound asleep on the spot. Looking at Erwin's state of drunken slumber, an amused expression appeared on Onean's face, and she began to pinch and squeeze Erwin's bright red cheeks to her heart's content. This was her form of revenge for all of the shenanigans that he got them into.

There were some rowdy bystanders who were fueled by the alcohol and decided to muster up their courage to approach Onean, but they all stopped in their tracks at the sight of the forbidding look in her golden eyes and the cold aura that she was giving off.

Shane took the opportunity to remind everyone of Onean's feats on the Canston Plain, and only then did everyone recall that Onean was a fearsome grand magic mentor.

Shane, Chinba, and Yuho's drinking capacities were truly remarkable. For Chinba and Yuho, they were traveling poets who didn't have stable incomes, so meals weren't always guaranteed for them. Hence, whenever they had access to food and alcohol, they would eat and drink to their heart's content, and over time, they developed a strong capacity for alcohol. As for Shane, his drinking capacity could most likely be attributed to his figure. With his portly figure bearing such a strong resemblance to a wine barrel, it was no surprise that he had such a high tolerance for alcohol.

Only after night had fallen did Erwin finally awaken, and his head was still feeling extremely heavy. It seemed that the wine from Tellier and the wine of Joffen were quite different, both in terms of the grape varieties used and the brewing methods employed. For Erwin, he was naturally more inclined toward the wine of the south.

Erwin got up into a sitting position with great difficulty, then grabbed a few ice cubes from the table before rubbing them against his own face, trying to use the cold to stimulate himself into a clearer state of mind.

At the same time, he couldn't help but think to himself that it had been a very long time since he had become drunk like this. Those carefree days spent with Larwood, Chase, and Kaiba seemed like a past life now.

"You're not going to get very far if you keep drinking like this." Onean's mocking voice rang out from behind him.

A resigned smile appeared on Erwin's face upon hearing this. "Where's Shane? Didn't he have something that he wanted to discuss with me?"

At this point, the entire pub had already been almost entirely cleared of people by the manager.

"I'm over here," Shane said as he sprang up from a wicker chair situated in the corner.

He wasn't resting there because he had also gotten drunk. Instead, he had grown weary from waiting for Erwin to wake up and had fallen asleep himself.

As soon as he rose to his feet, Chinba and Yuho also stood up with him.

Erwin turned to the trio with a surprised expression. Judging from how the other two had gotten up as soon as Shane had stood up from his chair, it was clear that the three of them had known one another all along, and that Shane was the leader of the group.

"There's no need to be alarmed, Mr, Erwin, the three of us have known each other for quite some time," Shane explained with a smile, then pointed at the two people behind him as he continued, "I'm sure you've already met Chinba and Yuho earlier."

As soon as his voice trailed off, the manager of the pub also entered the room. At this point, all of the patrons and other employees of the pub had already been vacated, and the sign hanging on the door indicated that the pub was closed.

"His name is Mouth, and he's an old friend who's been with me for many years," Shane introduced with a smile.

"Mouth?" Erwin was strongly suspecting that he had misheard or was still under the influence of the alcohol he had consumed.

Chinba was doing his best to suppress his own amusement at the sight of Erwin's expression, while Yuho was unable to hold back and burst into laughter.

"That's right, he has no name other than Mouth," Shane confirmed with a serious expression.

"Indeed, my name is Mouth," the pub manager said in a calm manner, paying no heed to the pair of chortling poets.

Erwin nodded in response and didn't dwell on this subject any longer. He then turned to Shane before asking, "So what do you have to discuss with me? I'm assuming you didn't go out of your way to ask me to stay behind just to introduce Mouth to me."

The two traveling poets burst into laughter once again at the mention of Mouth's name.

Erwin found the dynamic of the group to be rather interesting. It seemed that Shane was the leader of Chinba and Yuho, but Shane was still standing, while the two traveling artists had already sat down in a casual manner, and that was rather intriguing to Erwin.

Shane was still feeling a little nervous in Erwin's presence, particularly when the two of them were no longer under the influence. He took a deep breath to muster up some courage, then turned to Erwin with a serious expression as he said, "We wish to follow you."

"Why is that?" Erwin asked.

These people were on the Farody Family's territory, so he was wondering why they were interested in following him.

"Mr. Erwin, truth be told, this pub actually belongs to me," Shane said as he swept his gaze around the establishment.

Erwin nodded in response, and he wasn't all that surprised to hear this. Seeing as the manager of the pub, Mouth, was doing Shane's bidding, it certainly didn't come as a surprise that Shane was the owner of the pub.

"What's the problem? Are you not content with your collaboration with the Farody Family?" Erwin asked in a direct and straightforward manner. At the same time, his gaze settled onto the empty wine bottles on the tables, all of which were bottles of wine produced by the Farody Family. Through that, he was able to guess that this pub was a joint venture between Shane and the Farody Family, and that didn't come as much of a surprise to him, either.

There was a certain art to the way in which Erwin was speaking to Shane. He was being unexpectedly direct to gauge Shane's reaction, but at the same time, he was raising a very reasonable question, so it had to be answered.

Shane cleared his throat as a slightly awkward smile appeared on his face. "No, that's not the case."

At the same time, he couldn't help but admire the unique yet effective way that Erwin did things.

Not only was Shane taken aback by the question, Chinba, Yuho, and Mouth all displayed much the same reaction. The two chortling traveling poets immediately stopped fooling around and put on serious expressions.

"Please forgive me for being so blunt. I was just curious, that's all," Erwin said with a smile to alleviate the slightly tense atmosphere that had settled into the room.

Shane also smiled in response before elaborating further, "There's no conflict between myself and the Farody Family, but the problem with doing business with them is that it doesn't matter how long you're in it for, whether it be one year, two years, five years... I still receive what I got from the very beginning without any potential for growth."

Erwin nodded in response. This was a very businessman-like answer from Shane.

"But if you follow me, you may not get anything at all," Erwin said with a smile. "At least you're getting something now, you could lose everything if you decide to leave this behind."

Shane immediately burst into laughter upon hearing this. "I knew you were someone destined for great things!"

"Hmm?" Erwin was rather perplexed by this sudden compliment.

"The mark of a man who's truly serious about accomplishing something is the tendency to always consider the worst possible situations," Shane explained with a smile. "In that regard, you're completely different from the average businessperson."

Erwin's expression remained unchanged, but Shane's words really did strike a chord with him. At times, he really did seem to go against the common mold of the average businessperson.

"I've traveled all over the world doing business for many years, and I can't say I've developed much during that time, but I do believe I have a sharp eye for people," Shane said in a confident manner.

"Regardless of whether I'm a businessman or not, there's still always a chance that you could lose everything by following me," Erwin said.

"Then I'll gladly accept that," Shane replied with a smile and a carefree shrug.

His response was extremely quick, coming right after Erwin's statement.

For some reason, Onean seemed to have been rather amused to hear this, and she couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Meanwhile, Erwin was feeling a little disappointed. He would much rather have a beautiful woman following him than this portly businessman.

"So it seems like you're determined to invest in me," Erwin said, and his wording was very interesting. He was emphasizing the point that Shane was investing solely in him, not anyone else or the Universal Church.

"At the very least, I'm certain that you're the only one in the entire Fulway Empire capable of writing a poem like 'Exploring the Mountains and Seas'," Shane said with an earnest expression.

Chinba, Yuho, and Mouth all nodded in agreement with Shane's statement. Not only were they praising Erwin's poem, they were also praising his character.

...

Only in the conversation that followed between Erwin and Shane did Erwin learn that the sum of money that Shane was receiving annually from this pub was a six-figure sum of Loonies. Erwin was naturally aware that businessmen weren't entirely trustworthy when they talked about their finances, but at the very least, this gave Erwin a rough idea.

Was it possible that Shane was a mole that had been sent to his side by the Farody Family? It certainly wasn't impossible that Shane had plotted together with the Farody Brothers to plant himself by Erwin's side.

Erwin had naturally considered this possibility, and he decided that he would be able to eliminate this possibility once Shane provided his Loonies to Erwin. There was no way that the Farody Family would be willing to invest hundreds of thousands of Loonies to support Erwin.

Furthermore, Erwin could detect a strong sense of innate haughtiness from the father and son trio of the Farody Family. This wasn't the same haughtiness seen in nobles, who thought themselves to be above the common folk, but instead, it was derived from their superior wealth. Shane was quite an affluent man himself, but by Erwin's estimations, his wealth wouldn't have been sufficient to earn the respect of the Farody Family. Just from this point alone, Erwin was roughly able to ascertain that Shane and the Farody Family most likely weren't working together to conspire against him.

Just like Shane, Erwin was also quite confident in his eye for people.

Erwin and Onean had no plans to linger in Tellier, and they returned to Zans the next day.

During the previous night, it had been decided that Shane and Mouth would continue to stay in Tellier, while Yuho and Chinba returned to Zans with Erwin.

This arrangement was followed in order to not attract excessive attention from the Farody Family. Erwin was very determined not to spook the Farody Family at a time like this.

Shane really wanted to accompany Erwin to Zans, but upon Erwin's insistence, he could only conform to this arrangement.