Chapter 203: Tradition(1)
Chapter 203: Tradition(1)
Leona approached from behind without a sound, like a true predator. Marie and I were left speechless, staring at her as she appeared out of nowhere.
I wasn't sure if she had overheard our conversation, but her golden eyes, glowing like a wild beast's, were filled with urgency.
"...Leona? It is you, right?"
Once the subtle tension settled, Marie asked in a hesitant voice. She was likely thrown off by Leona’s unusual aura and the way her eyes had turned gold.
Unlike her usual self—the model student with blue eyes—she now possessed a somewhat wilder look, her eyes gleaming like those of a predator. It was only natural for Marie, who didn't know her well, to be bewildered.
However, Leona said nothing. Her gaze remained fixed on me, silently demanding an answer. I stared back at her for a moment before glancing around.
There weren't many pedestrians passing by right now, but this wasn't the right place to talk. She probably wouldn't feel comfortable speaking her mind openly here, either.
At the same time, I couldn't just leave Marie. We had been enjoying a date until Leona suddenly barged in.
I wanted to tell her to meet me later if possible, but Leona looked so desperate that I couldn't bring myself to do it.
"Is it that urgent? If it is, it might be better to go somewhere else to talk. On the condition that Marie comes with us."
"..."
At my suggestion, Leona silently shifted her gaze to Marie. Marie looked utterly confused, while Leona’s expression became slightly complicated.
No one besides me was supposed to know her true identity, but if we did this, she would have to reveal it to Marie as well. However, she seemed to desperately need my help, so she was likely to accept, however reluctantly.
My prediction was spot on.
Leona let out a sigh and nodded in agreement.
"...Fine. Since she's your female, I suppose it's fine if she knows."
"F-Female?"
"Ah. Sorry. Not female. Girlfriend."
Leona corrected herself, waving her hands dismissively. It seemed the word had slipped out unconsciously.
Regardless, since she accepted the condition, I decided to move. It was a shame I couldn't enjoy the rest of my date, but the look on Leona’s face was far from ordinary.
With such a major incident occurring in Animus, it was bound to affect her, even though she had moved to Halo Academy.
More importantly, seeing as she had skipped class to ask for a favor from me—someone who was essentially a third party—she must be in quite a rush.
"Have you eaten yet?"
"No. Not yet."
"Then let's go to that restaurant. You know where it is, right?"
Marie and I had already eaten, but it would be fine as long as Leona ate. She was more than capable of polishing off three servings by herself.
As we began walking toward the restaurant, Marie, still trying to grasp the situation, whispered to me.
"Isaac. Can you explain what's going on? Why is Leona suddenly asking you for a favor?"
"Well... you'll find out when we get there. It's hard to explain right now. You trust me, right?"
"Of course I do. It's just a little strange."
Marie whispered back, glancing at Leona, who was walking ahead of us. Being a beastkin, Leona likely had excellent hearing and was probably listening to everything we said.
I gave a small shrug to Marie, who was still suspicious of Leona, and gently took her hand. Her skin felt as soft as a baby's.
Marie flinched at first, then wrapped her hand around mine as if embracing it.
"You're not upset that our date took a weird turn, are you?"
"Not at all. Besides, we still have the night ahead of us, don't we?"
She gave a bright smile and subtly linked her arm with mine. Since she was in a growth spurt, I could clearly feel the sensation of her rapidly developing chest.
Is she going to end up as big as Cecile? I thought with a gentle smile, stroking her snow-white hair.
As I patted her head, Marie acted cute like a puppy, rubbing her face against my arm. She was truly adorable.
It wasn't until we arrived at the restaurant, secured a thoroughly soundproofed private room, and stepped inside that the real conversation began.
"Is it okay to reveal it now?"
"Yes."
"Reveal what?"
Pop—
Just as we were taking our seats, Leona answered Marie's question by letting her hidden ears sprout out.
They weren't human ears, but unmistakably those of an animal.
Marie blinked a couple of times as the animal ears popped up on top of Leona’s head, then her eyes widened as she cried out.
"E-Ears? Wait. Leona, are you...?"
"That's right. I'm a beastkin. A member of the valiant Lion Clan."
"You really were a beastkin..."
After the initial shock, Marie stared at her with a mix of surprise and fascination as Leona proudly revealed her identity.
The fact that the model student Leona was a beastkin must have been a huge shock to her.
Publicly, beastkin were deeply perceived as bellicose and barbaric. No one would have imagined that one would enroll in an educational institution like Halo Academy.
Marie looked back and forth between Leona’s face and the ears atop her head for a while before turning her gaze to me.
"Isaac, did you know?"
"I knew."
"Since when?"
"A few months ago. But it was a total accident back then. I kept quiet because telling people wouldn't have done any good and would've just made things complicated."
In fact, I had gained a lot from it, as I learned about beastkin information, traditions, and their diverse culture.
Of course, because I had released Volume 15 of Xenon's Life based on that information, the serious situation in Animus had been brought to light.
Leona looked between Marie and me, then let out another sigh before speaking in a heavy voice.
"...Thanks to you, I was able to live a normal life. But I don't think that's going to be possible anymore. I might have to return to my hometown soon."
"To Animus?"
"Yes."
"You said you were a member of the Lion Clan earlier, right? The newspapers said the Grand Chieftain and his kin were lions, so maybe..."
Marie trailed off at the end, but Leona surely knew what she was implying. I did as well.
As one could tell from the news, the original Grand Chieftain was a lion beastkin—in other words, from the same Lion Clan as Leona.
Furthermore, since those currently pushing to uphold tradition were also lion beastkin, it was natural to wonder if Leona was connected to them.
Leona seemed to ponder Marie's question for a moment before quietly offering an answer.
"...I'll start by saying you're right. Among beastkin, polygamy is permitted even if you aren't the Grand Chieftain. It's a system where a strong male leads several females. My mother is the third wife."
"Ah... I see. So you really were the Grand Chieftain's daughter."
It was exactly as I had suspected. She had always taken great pride in being a lion beastkin, so it wasn't hard to guess.
However, the matter seemed a bit more complicated than I thought. If she was the daughter of the third wife, she was technically quite far from the line of succession. Yet, Leona said she might have to return to Animus.
In other words, there was a high probability that a major problem had occurred within her family. In the worst-case scenario, everyone except her might be dead.
Knock, knock, knock.
Just as the conversation was turning serious, someone knocked on the door. It seemed the food had arrived.
Marie and I had already eaten and didn't really need to eat more, but since Leona was here, we just ordered three portions. It wouldn't matter if we gave them all to her.
Of course, I did sip on some soup just to keep my mouth busy.
"So, why do you have to go back? Is there a problem?"
At my question, Leona, who had been gloomily chewing on a steak, flinched.
She looked up at me, swallowed the steak in her mouth, and spoke.
"...The only problems are the ones in the newspapers. It's not like all my siblings are dead; I just have an obligation to attend as a member of the Lion Clan."
"Is that so? Well, that's a relief, at least."
"But the problem is that the clan members have high expectations for me. As you can see, I'm smart enough to get into the Academy. Sigh..."
Even as she let out deep sighs, she didn't stop eating her steak. It was almost absurd to see her body and mind acting so separately.
Still, the situation was clearly serious. Otherwise, the cynical Leona wouldn't be making such a face.
I watched her, unsure if she was enjoying the steak or not, and asked a question.
"You told me to answer you earlier, right? You seemed to have cut out the context, so could you give me a detailed explanation? Tell me what kind of situation you're in, and why you enrolled in the Academy in the first place."
"Do I really have to tell you that?"
"If you don't, there's no reason for you to listen to what I have to say. If you valued tradition that much, you would have just gone along with maintaining the Holmgang as it is. Am I wrong?"
"..."
Leona had no words for my sharp point and just continued chewing her steak. A complex mix of emotions swirled in her golden eyes.
Having received the delicious "bribe" of steak, she nodded as if she had no choice, then picked up a chunk of meat with her fork.
After opening her mouth wide and devouring the rest of it, she finally opened up and spoke her mind honestly.
"You're right. I hate that barbaric tradition."
"..."
"Tradition is a nice word for it, but stagnant water is bound to rot. The world is changing rapidly, and the way people live is evolving, but if we insist on tradition alone, we'll eventually be forced back to those old ways. Yet, just as Hik did, it was that very tradition that united us beastkin. As much as I hate it, I can't just throw it away."
Leona poured out her heart, her voice filled with frustration and conflict. In truth, it wasn't just Leona; other beastkin likely felt the same way.
The Holmgang was a savage tradition. A unique beastkin custom where one could take another's life and strip them of their authority.
However, once the nation was founded, that tradition began to slowly eat away at the country. The recent assassination of the Grand Chieftain was a prime example.
Looking at this alone, the Holmgang wasn't a tradition but a malady that should be abolished immediately—but that was the perspective of an outsider. For someone like Leona, it was a tradition she hated but could never truly discard.
To put it kindly, it was an irony; to put it bluntly, it was a double-edged sword. As time passed, that tradition would only grow harder and sharper, wounding countless people.
"My mother told me. She said that in order to lead a nation forward, intellect is more important than martial might. She said we can't rule by force forever. That's why I enrolled in the Academy."
"Did no one try to stop you? You were coming to a human nation, after all."
"Forget stopping me; they did nothing but mock me. They teased me, saying they'd rather spend time training than gathering knowledge."
I could hear her grinding her teeth, suggesting she had been quite insulted back then. However, I could also understand their perspective; Animus had only been founded 300 years ago.
Strictly speaking, that was when the "nation" itself was established. Human nations had existed even before the Race War, and records showed the first nation was founded 3,000 years ago, just before the Demon War broke out.
Animus, however, had only just built its own country, so it was lacking in many ways. The biggest example was their tradition.
How many nations could boldly discard the very traditions that helped establish them? I could safely say there were none.
The best solution here was time. As time passed, people's ways of thinking would change, and there was a high chance the tradition would soften as well. Beastkin like Leona were already showing those signs.
I pondered her story for a moment before glancing at Marie sitting next to me. She also seemed to be thinking deeply about the serious topic.
"Marie. What do you think?"
"Huh? Me?"
"Yeah. What would you do if you were in her shoes?"
"Well... the problem is there's no easy way. Honestly, even if I were a beastkin, I don't think I could give up the Holmgang. It's basically losing your identity."
"Identity, huh..."
She was right. To a beastkin, the Holmgang was identity itself. It wasn't something that could simply be discarded.
Leona seemed to realize this as well, casting her eyes down in frustration. Even her ears, which had been standing tall, drooped, making her look like she was suffocating from the helplessness of the situation.
Though, it was a bit funny to see her still working her knife and fork diligently to eat the steak.
"...That's why I'm asking you. I can't think of a single thing right now."
"Hmm..."
"Can you continue what you were saying earlier? You said there was a way."
"There is... but it's easier said than done."
I took a sip of soup and looked Leona straight in the eye. Her expression was a mix of hope, anxiety, and urgency.
That was how much she was counting on me. A lot of weight was resting on the shoulders of Leona, who didn't even look like an adult yet.
We weren't exactly close, but she had reached out to me for help regardless, and I couldn't just ignore her.
I could worry about the reward later.
"You said you hate rigid traditions, right? It's simple, then. Refine that tradition and make it soft."
"Soft?"
"Yes. Let's say there's a problem with your heart. You have to fix the problem; you can't just rip the heart out. It's a similar principle. You need to solve the issues within the tradition, not abolish the tradition itself. For example..."
I paused for a moment before suggesting a very simple method.
"How about turning the Holmgang into a tournament held once a year?"