Ch.203Tradition (1)

Leona approached from behind like a true beast, without making a sound. Marie and I were dumbfounded seeing her appear silently behind us.

I’m not sure if she overheard our conversation, but there was urgency in her golden eyes that shone like those of a predator.

“…Leona? Is that you, Leona?”

When the subtle tension subsided, Marie asked for confirmation in an uneasy voice. It seemed to be because of Leona’s different aura and her eyes that had changed to gold.

Unlike her usual self—a model student with blue eyes—she now had somewhat rough, beast-like shining eyes. It’s understandable that Marie, who doesn’t know her well, would be bewildered.

However, Leona didn’t say anything and kept her gaze fixed on me, demanding an answer. I stared at her blankly and then looked around.

There weren’t many passersby at the moment, but this wasn’t an appropriate place to talk. It would be awkward for her to openly reveal her position too.

Yet I couldn’t leave Marie either. We had been enjoying our date until Leona suddenly intruded.

I wanted to tell her we could meet later, but Leona’s expression looked so urgent that it felt inappropriate.

“Is it urgent? If it’s urgent, we might be better off talking somewhere else. But only on the condition that Marie comes with us.”

“… …”

At my suggestion, Leona silently shifted her gaze to Marie. Marie wore a confused expression, not understanding the situation, while Leona’s face showed slight complexity.

No one besides me would know her true identity, so in this situation, she would have to reveal it to Marie too. But she seemed to desperately need my help, so she would likely reluctantly accept.

And that prediction was correct.

Leona sighed and nodded as if agreeing.

“…Fine. She’s your female, so I guess it doesn’t matter if she knows.”

“Ah, female?”

“Ah. Sorry. Not female, but girlfriend.”

Leona corrected herself, waving both hands. It seemed like something that slipped out without her realizing.

Anyway, since she had accepted the condition, I decided to move elsewhere. Although it was disappointing not to enjoy our date, Leona’s expression was unusual.

Given the major incident that had occurred in Animus, it must have affected her too, even though she had transferred to Halo Academy.

Above all, seeing that she didn’t attend class and was even asking me, practically a third party, for help, it must be quite urgent.

“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 once Leona finished. She could easily devour about three portions by herself.

As we started walking toward the restaurant, Marie, still confused about the situation, whispered to me.

“Isaac. Can you explain what’s going on? Why is Leona suddenly asking you for help?”

“Hmm… You’ll see when we get there. It’s difficult to explain now. Do you trust me?”

“Of course I trust you. It was just a bit strange.”

Marie whispered this while glancing at Leona walking ahead. Given that Leona, being a beast-person, likely had good hearing, she was probably listening to our conversation.

I shrugged at Marie’s suspicion of Leona and gently took her hand. It felt soft like a baby’s skin.

Marie initially flinched but then held my hand as if embracing it.

“You’re not upset because our date took a strange turn, are you?”

“Absolutely not. Besides, the night is still young, right?”

She smiled brightly and subtly linked her arm with mine. I could clearly feel the touch of her breasts, which had grown considerably due to her being in her growth phase.

At this rate, she might grow as big as Cecilly. I smiled gently and stroked her snow-white hair.

As I patted her head, Marie nuzzled her face against my arm like a puppy, being adorable.

After arriving at the restaurant and securing a thoroughly soundproofed private room, we entered.

“Is it okay to reveal it now?”

“Yes.”

“Reveal what?”

Pop-

As we each took our seats, Leona answered Marie’s question by revealing her hidden ears.

Ears that were clearly not human, but animal.

Marie blinked a couple of times when animal ears sprouted on Leona’s head, then widened her eyes and exclaimed.

“Ears, ears? Ah, no. Wait a minute. Leona, are you…”

“That’s right. I’m a beast-person. A member of the brave lions.”

“So you really were a beast-person…”

After the initial surprise, when Leona proudly revealed her identity, Marie looked at her with a mix of surprise and curiosity.

The fact that Leona, who had been a model student, was a beast-person must have been a big shock to her.

This was because, publicly, beast-people were deeply perceived as aggressive and barbaric. No one would have thought they would enroll in an educational institution like Halo Academy.

Marie alternated her gaze between Leona’s face and the ears sprouting from her head for a while, then turned to me.

“Isaac, did you know about this?”

“Yes, I did.”

“Since when?”

“For a few months now. But it was really by chance back then. There was no benefit in telling others, and it would only complicate things, so I just kept quiet.”

I actually gained a lot by learning about beast-people’s information, traditions, and various cultures.

Of course, based on that information, I published the 15th volume of Biography of Xenon, which brought the serious situation in Animus to the surface.

Leona looked at Marie and me sitting across from her, sighed once more, and spoke in a troubled voice.

“…Thanks to you, I was able to live a normal life. But now that seems difficult too. I might have to return to my homeland soon.”

“To Animus?”

“Yes.”

“You said earlier you’re a member of the lions? The newspaper mentioned that the chief and his members were lions, so perhaps…”

Marie trailed off at the end, but Leona would have guessed what she was implying. So did I.

As can be seen from the news in the newspaper, the original chief is a lion beast-person, the same tribe as Leona.

Moreover, since it was also lion beast-people who wanted to maintain tradition, I wondered if Leona was connected to them.

Leona showed signs of deep contemplation after hearing Marie’s question, then quietly gave her answer.

“…I’ll admit it’s true. Even without being the chief, polygamy is accepted among beast-people. It’s a system where a strong male has multiple females. My mother is the third wife.”

“Ah… I understand. So you really are the chief’s daughter.”

It was as I had expected, though I had fully anticipated it. Given how she always took pride in being a lion beast-person, it was obvious.

But the matter seems more complicated than I thought. Being the daughter of the third wife means she’s quite far from the throne. Yet Leona said she might have to return to Animus.

In other words, there’s a high possibility that her family has encountered a major problem. In the worst case, everyone except her might be dead.

Knock- Knock- Knock-

Just as a serious conversation was about to begin, someone knocked from outside. It seems the food has arrived.

Marie and I had already eaten, so we didn’t need to eat, but we ordered all three meals because of Leona. We could just give everything to her.

Of course, to satisfy our idle mouths, we did have some soup.

“So why do you have to return to your homeland? Is there a problem?”

At my question, Leona, who was munching on her steak with a gloomy expression, flinched.

Then she looked up at me, swallowed the steak in her mouth, and said:

“…The only problem is what’s in the newspaper. It’s not like all my siblings are dead; I just have an obligation to attend as a member of the lion tribe.”

“Is that so? That’s somewhat of a relief.”

“But the problem is the high expectations the members have for me. As you can see, I’m smart enough to be admitted to the academy. Haah…”

She keeps sighing heavily, but she doesn’t stop eating her steak. It’s a bit absurd to see her body and mind acting separately.

Still, it’s clearly a serious situation. Otherwise, the cynical Leona wouldn’t make such an expression.

I looked at her, not sure if she was enjoying the steak or not, and asked:

“You asked me to answer earlier, right? It seems like I’m missing context, so could you explain in more detail? What situation are you in, and why did you enroll in the academy?”

“Do I really have to explain that?”

“If not, there’s no need for you to listen to what I have to say. If you valued tradition, you would have maintained the Holmgang as it is, right?”

“… …”

Unable to respond to my sharp observation, Leona just chewed on her steak. Complex emotions seeped into her golden eyes that shone like a beast’s.

Having received the delicious “bribe” of steak, she nodded reluctantly and picked up a piece of steak with her fork.

Then, opening her mouth wide to eat the remaining portion, she honestly revealed her thoughts.

“You’re right. I hate that ill-mannered tradition.”

“… …”

“Tradition is just a nice word for tradition; stagnant water is bound to rot. The world changes rapidly, and the way people live changes too, but if we insist only on tradition, we’ll eventually have to go back to that time. However, as Hick did, it’s also that tradition that united us beast-people. I hate it, but I can’t discard it.”

Leona expressed her sincere feelings, which she had kept inside, with a mix of complexity and frustration. In fact, not just Leona, but other beast-people probably feel the same way.

Holmgang is a barbaric tradition. It’s a unique tradition of beast-people that can not only take someone’s life but also strip them of their authority.

However, after the country was established, that tradition began to gradually eat away at the nation. The recent assassination of the chief is a prime example.

Looking at this alone, Holmgang is not a tradition but a bad practice that should be abolished immediately. But this is from a third-party perspective. For Leona, it’s a tradition she dislikes but absolutely cannot discard.

To put it nicely, it’s an irony; to put it harshly, it’s a tradition that’s like a chicken rib—hard to throw away despite being of little value. As time passes, that tradition will become harder and sharper, hurting many people.

“My mother told me. To lead the nation in the future, intelligence is more important than force. She said we can’t rule by strength alone forever. That’s why I enrolled in the academy.”

“Didn’t anyone try to stop you? It’s not just anything; you’re coming to a human country.”

“Far from stopping me, they just mocked me. They teased me, saying I should train instead of accumulating knowledge.”

She must have received quite severe insults at the time, as I could hear her grinding her teeth from here. But I can understand their feelings too. Animus was established only 300 years ago.

Strictly speaking, this means the “nation” itself was established. Human countries existed even before the racial war, and the first nation was established, according to records, 3,000 years ago, just before the demon war broke out.

However, Animus has just established its own nation, so there are many deficiencies in various aspects. The biggest example of this is tradition.

How many countries can boldly discard the tradition that helped establish the nation? I can assert that there are none.

The best solution here is time. As time passes, people’s way of thinking will change, and there’s a high probability that the tradition will also change smoothly. Beast-people like Leona already show such aspects.

After listening to her story and thinking deeply, I glanced at Marie sitting beside me. She also seemed to be deeply contemplating this serious topic.

“Marie. What do you think?”

“Huh? Me?”

“Yes. What would you like to see happen?”

“Well… The problem is there’s no suitable method. Honestly, even if I were a beast-person, I don’t think I could discard Holmgang. It’s essentially losing your identity.”

“Identity…”

That’s right. For beast-people, Holmgang is identity itself. It’s a tradition they can’t just discard.

Leona seems to recognize this too, as she lowered her eyes with a headache-inducing expression. Even her ears, which had been standing straight up, drooped, indicating she feels like she’s going crazy with the frustration of the situation.

But it’s a bit funny that she’s still actively moving her knife and fork to eat the steak.

“…That’s why I asked you for help. I can’t think of anything right now.”

“Hmm…”

“Can you continue what you were saying earlier? You said there’s a method.”

“That’s true, but… it’s easier said than done.”

I took a spoonful of soup and looked directly at Leona’s face. Her expression was filled with a hint of expectation, anxiety, and impatience.

It means she has high expectations of me. Many burdens are placed on the shoulders of Leona, who doesn’t even appear to be an adult yet.

Although we couldn’t be called close, she still reached out to me for help, and I couldn’t ignore that.

As for repayment, I can receive it later.

“You said you dislike rigid tradition, right? It’s simple. Try to refine that tradition and make it softer.”

“Softer?”

“Yes. Let’s say you have a problem with your heart. You need to solve that problem; you can’t just remove the heart itself. It’s a similar principle. You need to solve the problems within the tradition, not abolish the tradition itself. For example…”

I paused for a moment and then explained a very simple method.

“How about turning Holmgang into an annual competition?”