Bear School Astartes

The groggy mind is a prime target influenced by the [Yakxi Rune].

Even so, Lann still had to knock out the hapless Divine Guard through his helmet three times, each time following up with the [Yakxi Rune], just to pry open his mouth.

The warrior’s will was resilient enough, and the Demon Hunter’s [Yakxi Rune] was not very powerful.

So if it weren’t for the fact that Lann’s internal reserve of Chaos Magic Power increased in sync with his body’s gradual strengthening, he might not have been able to afford this expenditure.

In the end, the Divine Guard, who had been tormented for a long time, was kicked back into the bungalow by Lann.

”Brison?”

The Demon Hunter, having dealt with the Divine Guard, murmured to himself while pinching his chin.

This was the intelligence he had just obtained from his opponent’s mouth.

He didn’t know who this person was, or what status and power they held in Athens. [Yakxi Rune] didn’t clearly convey that.

So Lann took the papyrus with orders he found on the Divine Guard and returned to Phidias’s workshop.

The next morning, Phidias, who hadn’t had a good night’s sleep for nearly half a month, got up.

As he stretched his muscles, he felt unprecedentedly refreshed.

The [Yakxi Rune] that Lann used last night really allowed him a good night’s sleep.

If it weren’t for the olive oil residue on the door, he would almost have thought that last night was just a nightmare.

When Phidias went downstairs, he saw Lann sitting at the dining table, and the little girl who accompanied the Demon Hunter was nowhere to be seen.

”She has her own tasks to do, along with her practice lessons.”

Seeing Phidias coming downstairs, Lann seemed to detect the doubt in his heart and spoke to explain.

”How did you sleep last night? I used a little trick on you; I hope you don’t mind.”

Phidias sat down opposite Lann, looking apologetic.

”No, not at all. Rather, I should thank you for letting me get a good night’s sleep; otherwise, I always felt like I’d die in the room in a few days.”

”Also, I was very rude to you last night; I’m sorry...”

”As an apology, I’ll double the amount of Drachmas Alcibiades paid for this task, and I’ll give that to you!”

Lann nodded indifferently, accepting the apology.

Then, with one hand holding barley bread and the other pulling out a papyrus from the alchemy pouch at his back, he tossed it to Phidias across the dining table.

”Take a look.”

As he threw it over, there was a mischievous grin on Lann’s face.

”This is what they plan to do to you.”

The master sculptor hesitated to pick up the papyrus, then, after just a glance, quickly threw it aside, as if the paper had scorched his hands and eyes.

”Zeus!” Phidias moaned with trembling lips, ”Those demons! Beasts!”

”I’d rather end up among a pack of hungry wolves than in their hands!”

The paper only contained orders, without a signature. So Lann informed Phidias of the name of the person who wanted to kill him.

”Brison, he’s the one who issued this order. Do you know this person?”

”Brison?” Phidias asked in surprise; he clearly recognized the name.

”He’s the son of Mistia, both his mother and father are distinguished artists in Athens! Why would he do such a thing?”

”Who knows? I only investigate and uncover; I’m not clear about the opponent’s motives.” After learning that the other party was the son of an artist, Lann felt the matter should be easier to handle.

Understanding who exactly was targeting him, Phidias, who had been mentally tormented to near collapse, finally had an outlet for his anger.

The acclaimed master sculptor immediately leveraged his connections.

Before long, Alcibiades was the first to arrive.

”Pericles is tied up, so he sent me to handle this. You know, Phidias. The battle is turning against us, and Kleon’s prestige is rising along with it. It’s now much different than before to try and suppress him; it costs Pericles a lot of effort.”

Alcibiades entered the workshop appearing very familiar. He sat directly across from Lann, still wearing his characteristic playful smile.

”Alright, let’s get down to business. You mentioned Brison, is he a member of that Divine Order?”

”Zeus above, when I first heard about such a secret organization, I thought it was a new script by Aristophanes!”

”Reality often makes the most absurd scripts seem logical.” Lann raised the clay cup in his hand towards Alcibiades.

Inside the cup, the wine was sprinkled with cinnamon and mixed with pomegranate juice, which was Phidias’s private drinking method.

During this period in Athens, drinking pure wine unadulterated was considered barbaric behavior.

”Why don’t you just tell me, what’s Brison like?”

”You’ve certainly asked the right person; I’m quite familiar with him. He’s quite a charming young man... Of course, nothing compared to you, my dear.” Alcibiades described Brison lightly, indicating that they were indeed quite close.

”But among all those people, you could still pick out his beauty at a glance.”

”And like all beautiful men, or rich men, or those who are both. Everyone thinks Brison is easy to get along with, but no one thinks he’s formidable or unyielding. Honestly, when you brought up his name, it really surprised both Pericles and me.”

”Ha, when you see what he’s planning to do to me, I hope you’ll still call him ’easy to get along with.’”

Phidias, standing to the side, sneered. There was hatred in that voice, having been nearly driven mad by the other party.

Ignoring Phidias’s obvious personal bias, Lann continued to negotiate with Alcibiades.

”Has Pericles not realized there’s such a secret force in Athens with malicious intent?”

The amber cat-like eyes looked curiously at his counterpart.

And the other was casually toying with the gold olive necklace on his neck now and then.

”He noticed, but it’s of no use. The organization is secret, meaning it has deep roots. Compared to Athens as a city, even Pericles is just a ’youngster.’ This is a city established in the Mycenaean era.”

”Even before you arrived, all we knew was the name ’Order Divine Teachings.’ This is also why when Phidias was complaining, we didn’t consider Divine Teachings as the cause.”

”—We know too little about them.”

”Well, that’s better than me, I only knew ’Divine Teachings’ before.”

Lann shrugged.

”So, what does Pericles plan to do with Brison? Isn’t this a good breakthrough point?”

”Are you planning to send someone to capture him? Or send out a reward for mercenaries to handle it?”

”Actually...” Alcibiades smiled awkwardly at this point. ”Pericles hopes this matter can be ’swiftly and cleanly’ ended, without causing any entanglements.”

Upon hearing this, Lann raised an eyebrow... Does this mean Pericles wants Brison to simply and neatly disappear?

”That’s illogical, isn’t he a valuable intelligence source?”

”No matter how valuable the intelligence...” Alcibiades wore a rather mocking smile, ”it can’t compare to the stability of the political situation. Kleon is aggressively attacking Pericles on the podium, and any ripple could give him an advantage.”

”After all, ’reality often makes the most absurd scripts seem logical,’ right?”