Chapter 79 - Translation

Chapter 79: A Subdued Response [Well…] Xaphan started hesitantly. Leon staggered to his feet. He was still in the artificial mountains in the western third of the training grounds. His body was filled to the brim with magic power, but the wonderful and energetic feeling that brought was dampened from Xaphan seeming refusal to speak with him during the storm. [‘Well’, what?] asked a livid Leon when Xaphan paused. [Wasn’t part of the contract that you would provide me with your counsel in exchange for residing in my soul realm? Wher-] Leon suddenly stopped and took a deep breath. [What just happened to me?] he asked with a tone that he was forcing to remain calm. [That was a side-effect of possessing the Thunderbird’s power. Keep that in mind; whenever a storm gathers, you will probably enter a similar state,] answered Xaphan. [There any reason you couldn’t tell me this as it was happening?] [I haven’t been able to speak with you all day. I noticed lightning gathering in your soul realm hours before the storm began in earnest, but it seemed to prevent mental communication.] Leon took another deep breath. He tried to remain calm, but the sheer amount of energy that came with his current overabundance of magic power was making it difficult. After a few moments, he did feel his anger fade, though he still felt like crushing a few boulders to let off some steam. [Listen, Leon, there are some other things we should discuss. I know what happened to you not because it was something I already knew, but because I was just told.] [Told? By who?!] asked Leon as his face slightly contorted in shock. [While you were out of it, the Thunderbird showed up to watch.] [WHAT?! And it spoke to you?!] [It did.] [Why… It’s never even spoken to me before…] Xaphan rolled his eyes at that. [And why should it speak to you? You are only a third-tier human, not even two decades old!] [I’m still its descendant!] Despite Leon’s attitude, Xaphan didn’t actually think he was wrong, especially with what the Thunderbird had told him. It said that Leon was its last descendant, so why hadn’t it spoken to him? Sure, it had sounded crushed and hopeless, but it had also attempted to protect Leon from him before it knew he was no threat to the young mage. [Well… perhaps that’s something to keep in mind for when you make it to the sixth-tier. You’ll have created your magic body by then and will be able to access your soul realm. I’m sure you’ll get the opportunity to speak with your ancestor then…] [Yeah, maybe… did it say anything else other than explain what happened to me?] [… Not really. It did attack me, though, before it learned we had made a contract.] Xaphan decided not to tell Leon the rest for now. There was no need to tell him about Amon, and certainly no need to tell him what the Thunderbird thinks about his odds of survival in the long run. [Huh. That’s a shame, but not really a surprise. Especially about him attacking you.] [ What? ] [I’m just saying, I would be suspicious as hell if a shady character like you showed up where you weren’t expected.] [And with that, I will leave you to your own devices. Good day.] [Oh, come on, demon! Don’t be so sensitive!] Leon chuckled a little. Xaphan seemed to enjoy poking fun at him, so he decided to do likewise. Xaphan didn’t respond, though Leon didn’t think he was particularly angry. Whatever the case, he still started descending from the mountains and heading back to the Snow Lion’s tower. — Gaius stared at the three nobles who had been ambushed by the Snow Lions. They were in quite the sorry state, with bruises, cuts, and slightly swollen eyes or lips. None of their injuries were particularly serious, as they had been mostly inflicted by first-tier mages armed only with training weapons, and they had been taken care of with healing spells for the most part. They’d return to normal in another day or two, but that didn’t dampen their anger in the slightest. “We need to get them back for this act of barbarism!” shouted one of the nobles. His face was red from fury, and it only grew redder when he remembered how Leon’s kick made him throw up all over himself. “They fucking dare to attack us only a day after we punished them for their arrogance?!” shouted another one of them. Gaius raised his hand just as the last noble was about to share his opinion. Based on his enraged expression, Gaius was perfectly aware of what it would be, so he didn’t need to hear it. The noble immediately shut his mouth and waited for Gaius to speak his piece. “Indeed, our actions yesterday were only meant to chastise them for that barbarian’s arrogance and blatant disregard for his betters, and that they would seek to retaliate against us for attempting to correct them is an act worthy of an extreme response. However, I don’t want any of you to do anything stupid. Classes resume tomorrow, so focus on those. I’ll speak with Linus and Actaeon and we’ll determine the correct course of action.” Gaius spoke with a calm and poised demeanor, but inside he was absolutely ecstatic. He controlled himself as much as he was able on his way back to the top floor of the Deathbringers’ tower, just barely holding his smile back until he left the second floor behind. ‘They did it! They really did it! It’s going to be the easiest thing in the world to get all of this unit behind me now!’ he thought. Contrary to what he had told Tiberias the day before, his two fellow third-tier nobles hadn’t actually agreed to help so soon. Had he asked them for something before the combat test, they would’ve undoubtedly jumped at the chance to help out the son of a Duke; their own parents were only Counts, after all. However, Gaius had lost a lot of respect and prestige when he allowed himself to be thrashed by Leon so completely; so much so that most of the other nobles who knew about the incident now felt comfortable ignoring him. His undignified behavior after the fact didn’t help matters, either. However, his chat with his brother brought reality crashing back in on him, forcing him to realize just what was at stake. His family’s honor and reputation—as well as his own future—were at risk due to recent events, and he couldn’t jeopardize that by continuing to give Leon opportunities to make a fool out of him. Just as he was about to push open the door to the third floor, he paused for a moment. He wiped the unseemly smile from his face and took a moment to compose himself. He was almost jittery from excitement as he entered the third-tier common room, but his expression was sober and serious. Linus and Actaeon were waiting for him there, quietly discussing something around the central fireplace. They glanced at Gaius as he entered the room, ceasing their conversation until he walked over. “You two have heard about this morning’s incident?” Gaius asked in a solemn tone. “Of course, we have. The entire training battalion would’ve heard about this by now,” responded Linus, a thin man with black hair and features sharp enough to cut glass. “We were just talking about what do in response. We can’t let such an attack go unchallenged,” said Actaeon, a short and stocky man not even five and a half feet tall with brown hair and a full face. “I told you two the Snow Lions would be trouble. The barbarian was only the beginning. It’s clear that Alphonsus and Castor can’t control their own unit,” Gaius said. “Cut the shit, Gaius. I doubt they would’ve been this bold so early without your personal conflict with the savage.” Gaius’ eyes narrowed in response to Linus’ words, but just as he was about to interrupt, Linus continued. “That being said, it doesn’t really matter at this point. What’s done is done. We can only deal with what’s in front of us, and what’s in front of us is another unit who brazenly assaulted our own people less than half a mile from our own tower!” “Indeed, we need to take our vengeance. However…” added Actaeon, looking over to Linus as he trailed off. “We’ve been talking. We want to wait at least another week or two until the Basic Combat classes come to an end,” said Linus, finishing Actaeon’s thought. “Why?” asked Gaius as politely as he could, though he couldn’t completely hide the anger in his voice. When the other two gave him slightly weird looks he hurriedly added, “It’s just that the longer we sit on this, the less anyone’s going to take us seriously.” “I spoke with your guys when they returned, and they told me the whole story. The part that stuck out the most to me was the complete uselessness of the first-tier trainees in that fight. The barbarian’s lackeys overwhelmed our guys with numbers, but even then, they hardly acquitted themselves well. I want them to have at least some level of competence when we pay the Snow Lion’s back.” Gaius unconsciously frowned slightly. He quickly forced it off his face, but the other two had already seen it. However, neither of them addressed Gaius’ obvious desire to act quicker than they were willing. He couldn’t really fault their logic, though. Waiting to move against the Snow Lions until they were ready was a hard idea to argue against. “Every day we spend preparing is another day they’ll spend getting ready for us,” said Gaius. “We know. But this is still the best plan,” Actaeon replied with a serious expression. ‘We’ll see how they feel after dinner tonight…’ he thought. — Dinner that evening was tense, to say the least. Every trainee had heard about the Snow Lion’s ambush by then, and even if they hadn’t, the Snow Lions who laughed and jeered at the Deathbringers made it perfectly clear what had happened. The Deathbringers’ significantly more subdued response was a little surprising, though, given they were the ones laughing and jeering the day before. A few of more emotional first-tier trainees shouted back insults in response, but they were swiftly silenced by glares from their second-tier trainees. The Deathbringers made their way back to their tower quiet, angry, and humiliated. Linus and Actaeon didn’t change their minds, though, insisting to Gaius that they needed to wait until all their trainees could fight. Gaius accepted their decision in a calm and measured way, but he showed just how livid he was when he was finally alone in his own room. His face twisted in rage and he had to struggle to prevent himself from breaking things out of frustration. The Snow Lions, conversely, returned to their tower in quite the celebratory mood. They were feeling exceptionally jubilant, especially when compared to the previous day. Even the second-tier nobles had smiles on their faces and looked at Leon with less dismissiveness than they had before. Alphonsus wasn’t too thrilled, though, and went to his room early. Castor was a little more conflicted. On the one hand, Leon had taken revenge for their own humiliation, but on the other hand, the Deathbringers were not going to take this lying down. Castor paused and glanced at Leon before following Alphonsus to the top floor but decided against speaking to him. For his part, Leon was sitting with Henry, Alain, and Charles, watching them practice what they had learned in their Basic Combat classes. After about half an hour, Leon stepped in to show them a few blocks and counters to what they had learned. As he was doing so, a couple of the trainees who had accompanied them during the ambush approached. “Hey, um, we couldn’t help but notice you all practicing…” one of them began. “… Yeah, do you think we could join you?” the other finished, looking directly at Leon with shining expectant eyes. Leon was about to immediately answer no, but he caught himself. He knew that if he was to rise through the ranks he would need to vastly improve his people skills, but he still hesitated; he still didn’t particularly like being social. “Sure! Come on over!” said Henry before Leon could make up his mind. The two trainees looked a little uncertain, even with Henry’s assent. But, when they looked over at Leon, the young man finally made a decision and slowly nodded to them. They then happily joined the four in their training, but Leon ended it a little earlier than he had the previous week due to the unexpected prolonged interaction.

**Chapitre 79 : Une Réponse Mesurée** [Eh bien…] commença Xaphan, hésitant. Leon se releva péniblement, toujours dans les montagnes artificielles du tiers ouest du terrain d’entraînement. Son corps était saturé de puissance magique, mais l’exaltation que cela aurait dû provoquer était ternie par le silence obstiné de Xaphan durant la tempête. [« Bien », quoi ?] gronda Leon, furieux, lorsque le démon marqua une pause. [Notre contrat stipulait que tu me conseillerais en échange de résider dans mon royaume spirituel, non ? Où—] Il s’interrompit brusquement, prenant une inspiration profonde pour se calmer. [Que m’est-il arrivé ?] demanda-t-il d’une voix qu’il s’efforçait de rendre neutre. [Un effet secondaire lié à la puissance de l’Oiseau-Tonnerre. Retiens ceci : désormais, chaque tempête risque de te plonger dans un état similaire,] expliqua Xaphan. [Et tu n’as pas pu m’en avertir plus tôt ?] [J’ai été incapable de te parler toute la journée. Des éclairs s’accumulaient dans ton royaume spirituel bien avant la tempête, bloquant toute communication mentale.] Leon inspira de nouveau profondément. Bien qu’il tentât de maîtriser sa colère, l’excès d’énergie magique le rendait irritable. Après quelques instants, sa fureur s’atténua légèrement, même si l’envie de réduire des rochers en poussière pour se défouler persistait. [Écoute, Leon, il y a autre chose. Ce que je sais, je ne le savais pas auparavant. On me l’a appris récemment.] [On t’a dit ?! Par qui ?!] s’exclama Leon, stupéfait. [Pendant ton évanouissement, l’Oiseau-Tonnerre est venu observer.] [QUOI ?! Et il t’a parlé ?!] [Oui.] [Pourquoi… Il ne m’a jamais adressé la parole, à moi…] Xaphan roula des yeux. [Et pourquoi le ferait-il ? Tu n’es qu’un humain de troisième tier à peine âgé de vingt ans !] [Je suis son descendant !] Malgré l’emportement de Leon, Xaphan ne le jugea pas entièrement dans l’erreur, surtout après les révélations de l’Oiseau-Tonnerre. Celui-ci lui avait confié que Leon était son ultime héritier. Alors pourquoi ce silence ? Certes, l’oiseau mythique semblait brisé et désespéré, mais il avait aussi tenté de protéger Leon avant de comprendre qu’il ne représentait aucune menace. [Peut-être cette discussion attendra-t-elle que tu atteignes le sixième tier. Une fois ton corps magique forgé et ton royaume spirituel accessible, tu pourras lui parler directement…] [Peut-être… A-t-il dit autre chose ?] [… Rien de plus. En revanche, il m’a attaqué avant de réaliser que nous étions liés par contrat.] Xaphan omit volontairement les détails superflus. Inutile d’évoquer Amon, encore moins les sombres prédictions de l’Oiseau-Tonnerre sur l’avenir de Leon. [Ah. Dommage, mais pas surprenant. Surtout pour l’attaque.] [Comment ça ?] [Je dis simplement que je me méfierais aussi d’un type aussi louche que toi surgissant là où on ne l’attend pas.] [Sur ce, je te laisse. Bonne journée.] [Oh, allez, démon ! Ne fais pas cette tête !] Leon éclata de rire. Xaphan aimait le provoquer ; il lui rendait la pareille. Xaphan ne répondit pas, bien que Leon ne crût pas vraiment à sa colère. Quoi qu’il en soit, il entama sa descente vers la tour des Lions des Neiges. — Gaius observa les trois nobles victimes de l’embuscade des Lions des Neiges. Leur état était pitoyable : ecchymoses, coupures, visages tuméfiés. Aucune blessure grave, cependant—elles avaient été infligées par des mages de premier tier armés seulement d’armes d’entraînement, et la plupart avaient déjà été soignées par magie. Ils se rétabliraient sous peu, mais leur rage, elle, ne faiblissait pas. « Il faut leur faire payer cet acte de barbarie ! » hurla l’un d’eux, le visage écarlate en repensant au coup de pied de Leon qui l’avait fait vomir sur lui-même. « Ils osent nous attaquer, un jour seulement après leur punition pour leur arrogance ?! » renchérit un autre. Gaius leva la main avant que le troisième ne s’exprime. À son expression vindicative, il devina ses intentions sans avoir besoin de l’entendre. Le noble se tut aussitôt, attendant que Gaius prenne la parole. « Nos actions d’hier visaient uniquement à les corriger pour l’insolence de ce barbare et son mépris envers ses supérieurs. Qu’ils cherchent à se venger pour une simple leçon de discipline exige une réponse ferme. Cependant, évitons toute précipitation. Les cours reprennent demain—concentrez-vous là-dessus. Je consulterai Linus et Actaeon pour décider de la suite. » Gaius parlait avec un calme étudié, mais intérieurement, il jubilait. Il se contint tant bien que mal en remontant vers l’étage supérieur de la tour des Porteurs de Mort, retenant à peine son sourire jusqu’à ce qu’il franchisse le deuxième étage. *Ils l’ont fait ! Vraiment ! Maintenant, rallier cette unité à ma cause sera un jeu d’enfant !* Contrairement à ce qu’il avait affirmé à Tiberias la veille, ses deux alliés nobles de troisième tier n’avaient pas encore accepté de le soutenir. Avant le combat contre Leon, ils auraient sauté sur l’occasion—après tout, il était le fils d’un Duc, tandis que leurs parents n’étaient que Comtes. Mais son humiliation face à Leon lui avait coûté leur respect. Désormais, même les autres nobles n’hésitaient plus à l’ignorer. Son comportement ultérieur n’avait rien arrangé. Pourtant, la discussion avec son frère l’avait ramené à la réalité. L’honneur familial, sa réputation, son avenir—tout était en jeu. Il ne pouvait se permettre de donner à Leon une nouvelle occasion de le ridiculiser. Alors qu’il poussait la porte du troisième étage, il s’immobilisa un instant. Effaçant son sourire inopportun, il adopta une expression grave avant d’entrer dans la salle commune. Linus et Actaeon l’attendaient près de la cheminée, interrompant leur conversation à son arrivée. « Vous êtes au courant de l’incident de ce matin ? » demanda Gaius, solennel. « Évidemment. Tout le bataillon en parle désormais, » répondit Linus, un homme élancé aux traits anguleux et aux cheveux noirs. « Nous envisagions justement une réponse. Une telle provocation ne peut rester impunie, » ajouta Actaeon, trapu, les cheveux bruns et le visage rond. « Je vous l’avais dit : les Lions des Neiges poseraient problème. Ce barbare n’était qu’un début. Alphonsus et Castor ne contrôlent plus leur unité, » affirma Gaius. « Épargne-nous tes mensonges, Gaius. Sans ta querelle personnelle avec ce sauvage, ils n’auraient pas agi si vite. » Les yeux de Gaius se plissèrent, mais Linus poursuivit : « Quoi qu’il en soit, passons. Une autre unité a osé nous attaquer à proximité de notre tour—c’est intolérable. » « Nous devons riposter. Mais… » Actaeon échangea un regard avec Linus avant de se taire. « Nous avons convenu d’attendre. Une semaine ou deux, jusqu’à la fin des cours de Combat de Base, » déclara Linus. « Pourquoi ? » demanda Gaius, dissimulant mal son irritation. Sous leurs regards insistants, il ajouta : « Notre crédibilité en pâtira si nous tardons. » « J’ai interrogé tes hommes. Leur défaite est due à leur incompétence flagrante. Même en infériorité numérique, les Lions des Neiges les ont surpassés. Je veux qu’ils soient prêts avant toute revanche. » Gaius fronça les sourcils avant de se reprendre. Trop tard—ils avaient noté son impatience. Il ne pouvait nier leur logique. Attendre d’être préparés était une stratégie sensée. « Chaque jour perdu est un jour de plus pour qu’eux aussi se renforcent, » fit-il remarquer. « Nous le savons. Mais c’est la meilleure option, » répondit Actaeon, catégorique. *Nous verrons bien ce qu’ils penseront après le dîner…* — Le dîner fut tendu, pour le moins. Tous les stagiaires étaient au courant de l’embuscade, et même les plus distraits comprirent la situation aux rires moqueurs des Lions des Neiges envers les Porteurs de Mort. Ces derniers, étrangement, restaient silencieux, contrairement à leur attitude de la veille. Quelques jeunes plus impulsifs lancèrent des insultes, mais leurs aînés les firent taire d’un regard noir. Les Porteurs de Mort quittèrent la salle en silence, humiliés et furieux. Linus et Actaeon maintinrent leur position : attendre avant d’agir. Gaius acquiesça avec calme, mais une fois seul, sa fureur éclata. Son visage se déforma de rage, et il lutta pour ne pas tout briser autour de lui. À l’inverse, les Lions des Neiges regagnèrent leur tour en liesse. Même les nobles de deuxième tier affichaient des sourires, regardant Leon avec moins de mépris qu’auparavant. Alphonsus, lui, se retira tôt, mécontent. Castor était partagé : satisfait de la vengeance, mais inquiet des représailles. Il hésita avant de suivre Alphonsus, jetant un dernier regard à Leon sans lui parler. Ce dernier, installé avec Henry, Alain et Charles, les observait s’entraîner. Au bout d’une demi-heure, il intervint pour corriger leurs parades. Deux stagiaires ayant participé à l’embuscade s’approchèrent timidement. « Euh… On a vu que vous vous entraîniez… » « … On pourrait se joindre à vous ? » Leon allait refuser, mais se ravisa. Il savait qu’il devait améliorer ses relations, même si les interactions sociales lui pesaient. « Bien sûr ! Venez ! » s’exclama Henry avant qu’il ne réponde. Les deux hésitèrent, mais Leon hocha finalement la tête. Ils se joignirent au groupe, ravis. Cependant, Leon écourta la séance plus tôt que d’habitude—épuisé par cette interaction imprévue.