Leonidas pushed past the carriage without saying another word, leaving the House Lady sitting in a vat of her own cold sweat.

At that moment, she couldn’t have understood Leonidas’ warning any clearer. If he had wanted to simply get by her, he could have brought his badge out from the very beginning. Yet, he hadn’t. He let her entrap herself. He made sure that everyone heard the exact words she said, made sure that she knew she had dug her own grave.

It was a message.

All the things she had done to Leonidas, to his mother, over the past two decades… They had already been noted down by him clearly. And there would come a day when she would have to pay her dues.

“… Balian, I want this handled.” The House Lady spoke after a long while.

Balian didn’t respond, his face remaining stoic. It wasn’t until a long while later that he finally spoke.

“That might be difficult.”

“What am I paying you for if you can’t handle these things?!”

“Don’t mistake our relationship.” Balian replied coldly.

His response made the House Lady nearly swallow her own tongue. However, she still managed to quickly compose herself.

“I should be the one saying these things. If I can’t ensure that my life is protected, what reason do I have to protect all your little masters in high places? Do you think that I’ve been doing nothing but sitting on my thumbs for the last three decades? Do you think that the ones who hold your leash have remained squeaky clean in all that time?!”

The House Lady’s shrill voice resounded as she grew more confident.

This time Balian truly didn’t respond. However, the House Lady still sat back in her seat with a satisfied expression. She didn’t care what needed to be done, she refused to live in fear after all her hard work.

However, what she didn’t know was that the situation was about to become a measure more complicated.

…

Leonidas stood in a familiar room, looking toward a familiar stone well. Somehow, compared to all the other times, this one felt especially different.

He closed his eyes taking a deep breath.

“I beseech Her Holiness Yves to smile down upon me. This humble one approaches you to service the Halo that protects us all for a lifetime.”

Leonidas bowed his head.

Every God had a different Prayer that had to be spoken for their Avatar to descend. Even knowing what this Prayer was a sign of prestige and status.

To catch a God’s attention, though, simply saying that Prayer isn’t enough. One must understand the underlying importance of the Prayer. Namely, the feelings the God wanted to convey in choosing the words they did.

For Goddess Yves, she emphasized her kind nature and her purity. In her entire Prayer, the most important word was her Halo. She wanted to be a God others sought protection from.

Whether she was actually such a kind person or not, Leonidas didn’t care nor was he naïve enough to believe that it was so. Just like every other God, she had an Exchange and catching her attention required one having a certain amount of Value first. This was simply the way of the world.

Either way, Leonidas had long since found Yves Prayer in the many books of the Clergymen’s library. As for comprehending it, he had never thought that it was very difficult. But, only this would tell whether his interpretation was correct or not.

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And… it seemed that Yves wouldn’t leave him waiting.

At that moment, an aura of holiness swept over the Church.

To the people of Violet Waters, they only felt that the air was just a bit purer. However, for those who had received Yves’ Blessings before, their attention was immediately turned to the Church. This, without a doubt, included Balian and the House Lady.

Leonidas kept his head lowered even as Yves’ Avatar manifested itself.

He should have felt an undying sense of servitude and awe being in the presence of a God, but he knew well that for a God, the formation of an Avatar was practically no different from a mortal passing gas. It was indifferent and meaningless.

Despite knowing this, Leonidas still felt his heart shudder when he heard Yves' voice. It was as though the coercion was sinking into the very depths of his soul.

“Raise your head, child. Tell this Goddess what it is you’ve called Her for.”

It was soft, gentle and sweet. However, what Leonidas felt toward such a soothing tone was unexpected…

Disgust.

This voice. It was almost identical to his mother’s with hardly a fluctuation. The difference was that it didn’t carry the same loving care and affection.

Leonidas understood then that this Avatar was only having him hear exactly what it is he wanted to hear. It was playing with his emotions, poking at his weaknesses, prying upon his vulnerability…

Leonidas took a deep breath, burying what bubbling rage threatened to spill forth.

He slightly raised his head, just enough to see Yves’ delicate, translucent feet hanging in the air above the stone well. He didn’t want to ignore a God’s words, but he also didn’t want to see Yves’ face at this moment. He was afraid he wouldn’t be able to hide his rage.

“Your Holiness, I swear fealty at your altar. I wish for the highest honor of Apostlehood.”

Yves’ Avatar gained a slight hint of Intelligence as though she was ‘waking’ up. Though all Leonidas saw was her feet, he could feel that the pressure she exuded increased a subtle amount.

“Indeed, it seems that one of My children has fallen.” A hint of melancholy colored Yves’ voice. “What Offerings have you brought to display your Loyalty, child?”

Leonidas presented the chalice with both hands. Though he hadn’t bothered to clean it of the mud and dirt, he was absolutely certain that it wouldn’t matter.

As expected, the pressure Yves exuded increased by another measure and her eyes gained even more Intelligence.

“An endearing Offering, without a doubt. This Goddess has seen your sincerity, My child.

“Tell Me, which of My three Blessings would you like, child?”

Leonidas clenched his fists.

“Your Holiness, I would like to become a Mage.”

Yves smiled lightly.

“As you wish. May My Halo forever protect you.”

Yves’s Avatar gently placed her hands on either side of Leonidas’ head, hovering a kiss above his forehead.

A flood of strength entered Leonidas’ body, catching him completely off guard.

He had ridden through the night to get here before Lady Eve. He didn’t know what kind of battle she was fighting or even if she would survive, but he knew that he couldn’t risk ruining his chances.

However, at that moment, all his fatigue seemed to have fled his body completely. As though each and every one of his cells was being nourished, his pale skin even began to shine a glow of its own.

At that moment, chimes began to sound in Violet Waters. No matter who it was or what they were doing, they couldn’t help but stop and look toward the Church, astonishment coloring their features.

They knew that that sound only played when a new Apostle was appointed. But, when had one died? They hadn’t even received such news yet.

Every God had a set number of Apostles they could have which was further limited by their ranks. In addition to this, every God had a main Shrine and a number of Sub-Shrines. Each of these Shrines was protected by a Church and these Churches thus had individual quotas of their own.

In order to ensure that every Church had adequate protection, these quotas were protected well. This meant that if a Missionary from Violet Waters died, only someone else from Violet Waters could replace them.

This was all to say that whichever Missionary died was most definitely from their town. And, whoever was replacing them… Was also most definitely from their town as well!

The one who was maybe the most stunned about this was the Father. Even he wasn’t allowed to look in on an Apostle’s ceremony. But, he had some information others wouldn’t necessarily have which made his reaction just a tad bit more violent than another’s would be…

…

Leonidas could feel the tangible growth of an inexplicable Sixth Sense taking root in his body. The feeling was as odd as growing another limb or breathing through a hole other than your nose or mouth. Yet, it simultaneously felt absolutely natural.

Was this what they called Mana?

“It seems you will be an excellent Mage, child. Take My Blessings and spread the Halo of Yves.”

Leonidas froze.

From a hovering kiss, he felt Yves' lips connect with his forehead. It felt somewhat ethereal, yet warm and somewhat moist at the same time.

For a moment, his heart came to a complete stop, not recovering even long after Yves had disappeared.

‘That…’

Leonidas had trouble steadying his breathing, his hair standing on end as he subconsciously entered the Berserk stage. However, what was particularly menacing was a rod in his pants standing at attention for the first time in his life.

Blood flowed all throughout his body, a raging torrent flooding below to the point his pants threatened to tear apart.

He had a maddening thought.

One day, he would fuck a God.