A woman, one of the very three who had gazed upon Leonidas with the unfriendliest of looks, spoke. Her name was Maw and she was a Fighter of the Rardin family. She had more prominent age lines on her face than Lady Eve who managed to retain much of her youthful beauty, and she had a head of red hair and piercing blue eyes. This sort of appearance was quite rare in Violet Waters where the only family who wasn’t filled with brunettes was the Bruthers. But, maybe only Leonidas would pick up on such a minor detail.

“Apostle Maw, your words are very inappropriate.” Jowell stopped her before she could go any further. Though he had his own opinions about Leonidas’ choice, he was still tasked with the role of host and Leonidas’ status was a bit special to the internal conflict of their town.

“Don’t speak to me like you’re your father, little boy.” Maw snapped. “There’s a lot that’s fishy about this boy’s appearance and now he’s suddenly exposed himself as a Mage, he might as well be useless cannon fodder. You know how valuable this town is to our enemies, and you know how much pressure is on it. How can we let some nameless brat who would only be a useless Blessing sink continue to take up the position? He should be killed and the position should be handed over to someone with real qualifications.”

Maw didn’t hold her voice back at all, causing the atmosphere that was slowly becoming livelier to settle down once more.

There was no secret why Maw and her backers were aggrieved. Their family had suddenly lost an Apostle and the balance of the town had been thrown off because of it. The fact that Leonidas had also chosen such a useless Class only made her seem more reasonable. Apostle positions were far too important to be used on dead weight.

Jowell’s gaze narrowed. The situation was getting out of hand. He didn’t have the strength of his father and it showed. He was the first in line to be the successor of the family, but that didn’t mean he didn’t have competition of his own. Manfroi was the only useless one of his three brothers and now two of them were sitting idly by without a care. They were all too eager to see him fall flat on his face.

Their Sub-Shrine could only have a single Deacon, that was all the Blessings that could be allocated here. To take that position for themselves was likely the dream of all Apostles here, but for the sons of Deacon Bruthers, they were undoubtedly the closest.

Jowell suddenly took a breath. Wasn’t he overthinking things? Regardless of Maw’s words, they were currently in the Church. Only his father could indiscriminately kill an Apostle here and that was because he was the highest authority. If he allowed the stress to get to him and tried to control every fine little detail, he would only overextend himself.

Plus, this was also a good opportunity. The Bruthers family might have benefited from this, but they had their own questions as well. Sudden variables weren’t good for anyone. The Rardin family might have been their enemy, but they were a known enemy. That was leagues better than an unknown one.

“What my sister says is correct.” A man by the name of Milon spoke. He didn’t have his sister’s red hair, but he did have the same blue eyes. There was something about his demeanor that felt both present and decidedly not, as though he was a mirror image of his own self under pale light. “There’s too much about this matter that makes little to no sense. The death of an Apostle should be followed by the Bell Tolls of Grief. I have never heard Bell Tolls of Grief followed so quickly by Bell Tolls of Celebration before. It smells of bullshit.”

“I also don’t think I need to speak of the elephant in the room either, do I?” Maw supplemented her brother’s words, her sneer becoming deeper and deeper laced with murderous intentions as she gazed upon Leonidas. “We’ve all investigated the background of this brat already. Should the shield of the Apostles really be allowed to be tarnished by the son of a whore?”

The eyes on Leonidas only seemed to become hotter.

‘Their information network is faster.’ Jowell thought to himself, realizing an issue. Their investigation likely wouldn’t be finished for a day more. ‘Then again, their investment in this is also much deeper.’

Leonidas remained silent for a long while. Though his gaze seemed focused, his mind was wandering. As much as he had dreamed as a child, he never thought he would be able to sit at a table like this so soon.

So much of his life had been spent as a stepping stone for others. So often his words were measured and his head was lowered. Even when he lost control of his emotions and lashed out, the only result was him being humiliated further. Just a few months ago, he was forced to dig up his mother’s grave with his own two hands because he couldn’t push down his pride.

For as long as he could remember, his mother had shielded him from the harshest repercussions of his actions. She never allowed the world to temper down his spirit and to crush his soul. One of the only times Leonidas could remember his mother becoming enraged with him was a few days after he had changed his name from Fox.

Back then, he was young and he had had his heart broken for the first time. His mother did her best to comfort him, even managing to get her hands on another book for him to read. However, the ridicule he faced due to his decision back then almost broke him.

No one but his mother acknowledged his name change, and only she supported him fully. She had been the one to give him his birth name, but she felt not a single ounce of reluctance. All that mattered to her was his happiness.

Yet, when Leonidas lost his resolve, folding to the pressure and wanting to change his name back… He could still remember the rage on his mother’s face that day.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Her features were still so delicate and beautiful even in her old age, but that day she became like a true Half-Beast, the carnal rage she had suppressed for so long lashing out at her son. She didn’t hit him, she didn’t even touch him, but her words alone were enough to shock him awake.

‘I don’t have a son named Fox. If that is your name, you can leave right now.’

A smile spread across Leonidas’ lips, a sight so rare that his own face seemed completely unused to it. There was simply no need to continue measuring and parsing his words. He was Leonidas. He would speak as he had wanted to all his life but had refrained from doing so for his mother’s sake.

Of all the reactions everyone had expected, Leonidas’ smile was the very last. However, this shock didn’t last long before it was replaced by another as the curl of his lip straightened into an indifferent line.

“Are you all finished?”

The deep, rumbling voice of Leonidas seemed to carry an extra hint of something special at that moment. The subtle impact of awakening War Cry seemed to have more tangible effects than even he was aware of just yet.

Not to mention Maw and Milon, they all were quite taken aback. This was especially so for Lady Eve who knew Leonidas the best of them all. Was this the same stable boy?

Lady Eve’s internal disdain only seemed to deepen after this thought. Everyone liked to bare their fangs after gaining some wealth, but how long would they last? Judging by the fact Leonidas had been foolish enough to choose the path of Mage, this alone spoke volumes for just how much he overestimated himself.

“What did you say to me, boy?” Maw’s fiery red hair seemed to match Leonidas’ own at that moment.

“I’m only asking,” Leonidas said unhurriedly. “To speak of killing an Apostle within the Church of Yves for nothing more than your own personal gain, you have quite some gall. Well, it’s either that, or that this is nothing more than a theatrical performance. So, I have to ask if you were finished.”

Maw was about to snap but the deep chuckle of her brother stole her momentum.

“It seems the saying is true. The young really fear nothing.”

“You are trying to sentence a Half-Beast Apostle to death as a human Apostle beneath the Blessing of a Half-Beast Goddess. Who is it that fears nothing, again?” Leonidas asked slowly.

Milon’s pupils constricted. The truth was that he had already felt that Leonidas wasn’t an easy target so he wanted to change tactics. But, Leonidas hadn’t allowed him to. Not only that, but Leonidas had also implied something with his words that made the hearts of those listening shift.

There were over 50 individuals here, a mixture of Apostles, Paladins and Knights. However, every single one of them was human. It was an oddity no one really thought about until it was laid out so plainly. And now that they did, their thoughts couldn’t help but stir. Could it be that Yves was unsatisfied with the current state of things and had chosen to promote Leonidas of her own accord?

Leonidas’ gaze didn’t waver as he looked between the brother-sister pair, the pressure his words had on them only increasing with every extra instant of silence. It was suffocating, painting the illusion that even Yves herself was backing his presence.

Realizing how the situation was going, Jowell, who had hoped to pressure Leonidas into giving more information, finally cleared his throat.

“I hope you can forgive the Rardins, Leonidas. They had just lost one of their own and are in the process of grieving, I can understand where they are coming from. Let’s leave things here.”

Time was also something Jowell and his family needed. With the oddity of this situation, they needed to complete a more thorough investigation without a doubt.

Seeing an opportunity, another Apostle outside the sibling pair spoke up. He was a man with a robust figure and a balding head of black hair, a contrast to the blond to dirty blond typical of the Bruthers family, and went by Benet. What surprised Leonidas, though, was that judging by this man’s words, he was on the side of the Rardin family as well.

“Jowell, I heard that your younger brother died?”

‘I didn’t notice… He seems very good at hiding his true feelings…’ Leonidas made a mental note.

The death of the male Apostle at Lady Eve’s hands was a loss for the Rardin family, and before they could replace him with one of their own, Leonidas appeared. The Bruthers family was already ahead by having the only Deacon of the town, but now the Rardin family had fallen another step behind.

These were just the speculations of Leonidas, of course. He grasped a few details from their conversation, and especially quite a lot from the passive-aggressive commentary on each other’s lives. However, there was an obvious flaw in his reasoning here, and that lay in the existence of Deacon Bruthers. Why did the Rardin family still dare to lock horns with the Bruthers family if the undisputed strongest of them was on the opposing side?

‘There’s definitely more than what meets the eye here. There’s a lot about this world I still don’t understand and I already have so many enemies around me…’

Jowell didn’t bite toward Benet’s blatant provocation and only sighed deeply, his expression becoming the picture of grief.

“My younger brother’s death hit us all. He was the little brat of the family but he always wanted to help. He had been striving to become a Paladin for so long, but in the end he failed on his first mission despite our backing.

“It can only be said that we’d do well to remember just how fleeting life is. We’ve made it to a point many can only hope and dream for, but we aren’t finished just yet. Any one of us could be the next Manfroi.”

There was something weird about Jowell’s choice of words. But only those unlike Leonidas, who had become the subject of a certain Apostle’s heated gaze, could appreciate it. Without looking up, he could feel Lady Eve almost boring two holes into him, almost as though to check if he would dare leak a single thing.

As things stood now, no one had linked the death of the Rardin family’s Level 3 Missionary to Lady Eve’s mission. He had already disappeared months ago and the exact time of his death wasn’t confirmed. In addition, Leonidas had left with Lady Eve under the cover of night and all those who were aware of his involvement were dead aside from the woman with the large hips right across from him.

Lady Eve was overthinking things, though. Leonidas had no intention of divulging any of this information.

“With the increased activity of the Lower Ogres, it’s incumbent upon us all to be careful. There’s been peace for a long while now, only a few skirmishes here and there, but this can’t last forever. It’s only inevitable that the balance will shift and which of us comes out on top will be decided by which of us is sharper.”

Jowell turned his attention to his aunt. “My aunt knows best about these matters. They’re already starting to become restless.”

Lady Eve raised her head and nodded. “Indeed. If not for their ambush, we wouldn’t have lost Manfroi, not to mention two good Knights.”

Jowell’s expression became malevolent. It was the kind of shift that distorted the charming and smiling image he had formulated for himself. His gaze became overcast and he gripped the tables. It could only be said that his performance was convincing. Though, to Leonidas who picked up on the smallest of changes, he felt it was a bit forced.

“If I don’t use their skulls as a piss jar, I’ll change my name from Jowell Bruthers!”