Chapter 174 Volume IV – Chapter 19: Leonard Quie

On the top floor of a building, more specifically the training building, to which students have no access, I, a student, stood in the middle of the room. The door to the room closed, even slowly, breaking the silence.

The atmosphere was tense, at least for a normal person.

In front of me was a man about two meters tall, built like he had just stepped out of a ten-year bodybuilding program. He was literally a giant and I couldn’t help sighing as I became more aware of this.

I mean, I’m not a person who judges or treats people based on their looks, but I can’t imagine how the most attractive, most beautiful person on the planet could come out of a giant like that…

I mean, even if Lucia’s statistic is ‘abnormal’, I think so… and it feels strange.

I certainly don’t mean it in a bad way.

“I apologize for interrupting your class.”

He made his entrance in a way not expected from a giant. With that, I widened the smile on my face.

“No problem. I think our meeting is more important than the current classes, which won’t change anything in my life whether I see them or not.”

“Oh?”

Leonard Quie curled his lips up slightly. Yet there was also a trace of hostility on his face.

“Then I’ll get straight to the point, young man. I have the details of the contract you signed with my wife… and I haven’t seen anything suspicious.”

So, he already knows everything… It would make my job easier.

“Taking down the Malus Family and cleaning up the organization behind the academy, a lot has happened while I was gone and you’re at the center of it all. And you say you’re going to help my daughter. You came out of nowhere… Do I need to tell you my disbelief that a normal person could do such things out of nowhere?”

Leonard’s red eyes sparkled for a moment. The room got hot, and I would have sweated if I hadn’t started using my mana.

“If I had such a goal, how do you explain my inaction when I had so many opportunities to act?”

Yes, at first it might seem absurd to speak so confidently and insinuatingly in front of a giant. It’s a bit scary to think that my head might turn to mash, but I have to act like this.

In their eyes, in the eyes of the Quie Family, I am not a simple person, and I can’t do otherwise if I want to keep the idea of keeping my secrets to myself.

So, what if I have the head of the biggest family after the royal family in front of me? With what I know, I’m more important than the seers, and I have to make him, them… everyone feel that.

“Let’s be honest, Leonard Quie, both of us.”

I sat in the seat opposite him, my posture unyielding.

“I find this meeting really important, so let’s not hide anything.”

Underlying every word I said was the influence of the Absolute Mind. I was giving it a constant flow of mana, keeping myself calm, and being especially careful not to compromise.

Thanks to my exceptionality in using mana, Leonard Quie could not feel this flow of mana. So, my job was even easier.

“I am not hurting anyone, at least not those who get along with me. If I really had ulterior motives, as I just said, there were plenty of opportunities for me to do so.”

I folded my hands in front of me, narrowed my eyes ever so slightly, and smiled.

“I have a purpose, yes, but it is not something I can tell you. Likewise, it’s not something I need to tell you. I am helping you and you are helping me. As for solving your daughter’s problem… Obviously, I put it forward to make it easier to convince your wife, I can’t lie, but the other thing I can’t lie about is that I can actually do it, and not even in the very distant future, before the competitions within the kingdom.”

“So, you expect me to believe you?”

Leonard seemed ready for anything. To attack me, to avoid a possible surprise attack, and so on. Even though his eyes were focused on me, he dominated the whole room.

“Should I trust someone who has the looks of an eighteen-year-old who wouldn’t stand a hair in front of me, Leonard Quie? You know who I am and yet you can speak to me with such fearlessness, with such insane courage. How can I trust you?”

“Insane courage? Pfft!”

I have to pretend. I have to pretend so that he’s afraid to stand in front of me. I have to pretend so that instead of me taking his side… the opposite happens.

Maybe it’s a risk I’m putting my life on the line, but it’s not something I don’t think I can handle.

“Ahahahah!”

I covered my eyes with my hands, bowed my head, and laughed out loud, then raised my hand and waved it up and down my wrist.

“Not only are you one of the few ducal families in the Cevilian Kingdom, but you are also the current family leader of the Quie Family, which has been standing right next to the royal family as its sole protector since the founding of the kingdom, right? Why… exactly should I be afraid of you?”

For the first time, I saw Leonard’s expression falter, a falter so momentary that it was a miracle I even noticed it, yet it happened. It was also a sign that I was on the right track.

Although, it could also have been a harbinger of a sad end for me. But… let’s just don’t think that.

“I know too much, Leonard. About this kingdom, this continent, this planet, and even things beyond. I know things you can’t even imagine, so let me share a few with you so you can better understand our situation here.”

The only thing that kept Leonard from attacking me was his momentary hesitation and curiosity. Nevertheless, the temperature in the room continued to rise. I continued to hold myself as if I were unaffected by it. The slightest sign of weakness could lead to unpleasant things.

“Do you know why your daughter’s charm statistic is so high?”

Leonard’s eyes widened. He didn’t expect me to start here, but I continued without giving him any chance.

“Charm and luck are heavily influenced by genetics. Don’t take this as an insult, but do you think it’s possible that Lucia’s stats are ‘natural’ from a mother and father like you? C+ grade luck with an S- grade for charm… You must have definitely thought about that, Leonard.”

The flow of mana to the Absolute Mind suddenly multiplied. Because I was starting to struggle, the pressure Leonard was putting on me, whether intentionally or unintentionally, was increasing. Absolute Mind was the only thing protecting me.

This whole gamble was on it.

“You are not wrong! Your daughter is not as ‘normal’ as you think. Her fate was sealed the day she was born, no, while still in her mother’s womb. Your daughter, Lucia Quie, is a weapon the Lords want to use when the time comes. A trump card, an apostle, even if one that has not yet been revealed and will not be for some time to come.”

The heaviness in the air suddenly intensified exponentially, I realized I was starting to sweat, but I tried as hard as I could to keep my voice from shaking. Instead… I kept going.

“And if you want proof, you can simply test it, after all, as an apostle whose fate is sealed, she has a bond with the Lords and you know how things happen around those who have a bond with them. The behavior of mana around them, the disposition of animals and nature toward them, the differences in their systems, and so on.”

Leonard opened his mouth, he was going to say something, but I raised my index finger and waved it left and right.

“Shh, no Leonard. I’m not done talking, please don’t interrupt me.”

Not even half a second had passed when a sound, something like a whistling, echoed through the room, but I didn’t look back. I felt a liquid slowly running down my cheek, then something shimmering next to me.

And then… a warm feeling on my cheek, with a slight wetness from something dense… like blood.

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