Julius picks out a different teapot from the massive collection the tea house brought up to the private room. He settles on one with transparent red glass shaped like a turtle and the tea that pours from it looks like wine but smells like the ocean.

The room is filled with a massive table that rises and falls like a mountain range with all the trays and multilayered plates holding treats, the dim light of a cloudy day glinting off the silverware. Sitting around the table is an array of merchants because today is their monthly gossip session.

The current kingdom fashion -Julius has noted just from how many people are wearing it- is a modest cut but with rich fabrics. To imply that they’re doing their part in the war effort with rationing, while still being noble enough that they won’t be wearing rags.

Thankfully, it's been half an hour since they arrived and all the posturing is over with. All that’s left is a handful of merchants happy and willing to complain about politics over delicious treats.

“At that point, it’s better to just carve our way through the forest to make our own major port,” Ramelle scoffs, sitting back with his legs crossed at the knee. The metal spines weaved into his steelwolf fur coat poke holes in the fabric of the armchair he’s sitting in. “Sending everything to be exported out of the north is just a money sink.”

“They have their own products and industries that should be the focus, they don’t need the pity business,” another agrees.

“All this holding hands nonsense is a joke,” Claudia tuts, as ruthless as usual, nails tapping at her cup. “If that war-mongering empress wants to bring the kingdoms together to recover from her own slaughter, then do it in a way that won’t cost the merchants because we’re actually still bringing in money.”

“One would think the empress would be more cautious in upsetting us,” a man mocks. “We’re the only ones running at full capacity after her games brought down half the industries on this continent.”

“Full capacity is a stretch,” tsks a woman, cutting into a treat with a shiny silver spoon. The melted chocolate inside spills out. “She’s gutted my market. And if anyone really thinks the central kingdom will be paying back all that food and metals, they’re in for a rude surprise.”

Another merchant sighs. “Besides, people aren’t buying anything because the long war drained all the resources and the money. Even now, just a little magician skirmish in the slums causes a notable drop in sales because so few people are buying expensive items.”

Several merchants groan, some scoffing dismissively as if they didn't deliberately schedule this meeting in broad daylight in the richest part of the city with knights patrolling the streets.

On the other hand, Julius sips his new tea, feeling quite good. On his way in he felt no presence watching him. Diedrik is confident he’s gotten the rest of the pests since he told Julius he’d be pulling back his forces, but he still warned Julius to keep an eye out for a high-class magician with black eyes.

“Extra security is already costing so much,” Claudia sighs. ‘Much’ is a relative term though since Claudia often pays her staff in simple meals if she pays them at all. “Those so-called adventurers are just mercenaries in shiny armour and the gall to raise their prices every night there’s a scuffle of two cats in an alleyway.”

“There’s been nothing these past few nights,” Julius says. “The king didn’t even contact a high-class to come down and deal with it, just the knights.”

“The high-class would have made sure our sales dropped,” Ramelle mutters in annoyance. “And how is your shop doing, Julius?”

Everyone swings around to stare pityingly, hiding smiles behind their food and drinks. Julius is convenient for them because he’s successful enough to be a good contact but commoner enough that mocking him has no real consequences.

“Fully repaired,” Julius says, much to their disappointment probably. “The final weather sealing finished just this week. Now I have to re-inscribe the magical architecture and it’s good as new.”

Which will take him months to do because he didn’t write it down the first time he did it. It’s mostly rune chains so it absorbs and runs off environmental magic, definitely not capable of withstanding a direct blast but it held the rest of the shop together well enough.

He’ll have to add a few more set-and-forget spells for security, but that will require him to inject mana occasionally to power them. Unless he can figure out a way to convert something like a slow-release potion-

“My uncle,” Ramelle begins like always, and Julius blinks back into focus. It’s a surprise Ramelle lasted this long before he brought up the topic. “Duke Malmierca, as you all know, had to step in himself when these rats came out of the woodwork. Apparently, they started causing a fuss all over the place as they poured into this city, and some cut through my uncle’s lands. He delivered three wagons of bodies to the king.”

“I heard the Govains did their fair share too,” Claudia titters and side-eyes Julius.

“Noblesse oblige,” Julius retorts happily.

Several noble merchants flinch back from it and Ramelle starts petting his fur out of habit, pricks himself on a lance, and contends with holding a glass of wine too tightly.

Julius smiles. “They’re rather traditional in that way, an interesting client."

"I heard they're preparing for something," another man chimes in. He pulls off his monocle to wipe it on a handkerchief. "Making waves by shifting their wealth around, finding allies, plus this matter with the attacks…" His eyes cut up towards Julius, one of them a slitted pupil of a feline, but it disappears again behind the monocle. "And I heard they're pioneering larger, stronger weather magics down in the food bowl for a larger harvest. Spells combined with alchemy."

"Rituals," a fellow magician spits out like it’s a foul word. But all they get back is a few blank faces from the non-magicians.

"Explain," Ramelle demands, leaning forward in interest. It ruffles his fur coat up and makes him look like a skinny hedgehog.

"Unpure, some people say," Julius says with a shrug. "Mixing magics like that is strong but volatile, hardly seen outside of wizard towers. So." Julius raises his drink with a smile. "To new opportunities."