Bear School Astartes

Phoebe asked Cassandra to change into Athenian clothing, but she was completely unprepared,

so Lann raised his hand, motioning for Cassandra to follow him inside.

After taking a few steps, she saw Lann knocking on a tightly closed door within the courtyard.

”Knock, knock~”

Standing before the door, Lann heard many sounds coming from inside.

The voices of men and women mixed together, chaotic and noisy.

Cassandra immediately raised an eyebrow, crossed her arms, and stood in the back with a look of amusement.

The people ’busy’ inside seemed uninterested in the matters outside, until Lann pinched his brow and coughed intentionally a few times.

Then the busy person inside suddenly stopped their actions, and the chaotic noise also disappeared.

The wooden door in front eagerly swung open.

Alcibiades, only wearing a simple short skirt around his waist, hurriedly opened the door, looking at Lann with surprise and delight.

”Oh! My dear!”

Cassandra swore it was the first time she heard a man’s voice be so melodious.

”Have you finally decided to join our feast?”

Cassandra and Lann simultaneously tilted their heads, glancing at the scene inside the room behind Alcibiades.

The room behind him was lit by several oil lamps, sweetly scented smoke billowed up, steam lingered in the ground-embedded bath, people’s bodies emitting heat. The mingling made it hazy and difficult to see clearly.

And following that, under the somewhat numb gazes of the two, a bleating goat pushed past Alcibiades and darted out.

But Alcibiades didn’t even glance at the escaping goat, merely stared intently at Lann and Cassandra beside him.

”Oh, you’ve brought such a beauty along? Full of dignity, hmm, and with a hint of dangerous aggressiveness! That’s fantastic!”

Cassandra instinctively raised her hands in front of her, adopting a defensive posture.

She had once hunted deer tongues and bear’s waists for an old woman wanting to rejuvenate her husband in Fergus, and now she felt this scene was even more challenging than stumbling into a bear’s den.

”As always, I must decline your invitation again.”

Lann, as if unwilling to see the scene in the room behind, pulled the door Alcibiades was holding slightly closed.

”I want to ask where to find the ladies’ clothing; besides Aspasia in this house, you are the most suitable to answer.”

Alcibiades waved his hand disinterestedly, intending to turn back into the room.

Lann added, ”Not from this room, give me something new.”

Although grumbling unhappily, Alcibiades eventually gave Lann the location, even thoughtfully recommending which set would look best on Cassandra.

As the wooden door closed, almost everyone inside, including Alcibiades, sighed in disappointment.

”Don’t worry, he’s not a bad person.”

Leading Cassandra to change, Lann introduced as he spoke.

”Though from what I’ve observed, even among Athenians, Alcibiades is one of the more extravagant ones, he neither forces nor deceives anyone, making it often difficult for me to find a reason to hit him.”

”His status and reputation are not to be ignored in Athens. As long as you believe you won’t be swayed by his charms and looks, you can certainly seek his help when in trouble.”

Cassandra followed Lann upstairs, looking at his back as she confidently declared.

”Then I can assure you, he can’t sway me.”

Effortlessly, Lann found brand new women’s dresses in Alcibiades’ room.

Cassandra changed inside, while Lann spoke to her from outside the door.

”You’re saying you found your brother who you thought was dead, and he’s now a ’demigod’ within the Order Divine Teachings?”

Leaning against the wall, Lann felt like he was hearing a Greek tragedy.

The theme of familial bloodshed seemed to follow Greek mythology, becoming a signature embedded within their cultural DNA.

”Aleksey... my brother. He’s the most ferocious and formidable warrior I’ve ever faced. I can scarcely imagine anything that could stop him.”

Within the room, Cassandra made rustling sounds as she changed, her tone filled with incredulity.

As if still unable to process that the child she once cradled in her hands had become such a powerful warrior upon reunion.

”But from what I hear...”

Lann said with a peculiar expression.

”Those members of the Divine Teachings you befriended during your disguise seem to see your brother only as a handy tool. To prevent that tool from going awry, they planned to find you and your mother to control as the handle of the weapon.”

”Not just a ’tool’, their attitude towards Aleksey is even worse than that.”

Cassandra opened the door and emerged, already dressed in an Athenian robe. But the fury on her face couldn’t be subdued by the robe’s elegance.

”I could tell those scum from the Divine Teachings... they fancy themselves as the controllers of my brother’s mind!”

”They treated him like a child to be coaxed! But not a child they use for eldercare, but as a violent weapon to control the Greek World!”

”That’s truly appalling.”

As Cassandra described, Lann’s brow furrowed.

”Incidentally, I’ve caught a lead on a member of the Divine Teachings, care to follow up?”

Cassandra gritted her teeth and nodded, ”Of course! I want to kill every member of the Order Divine Teachings! Leave none alive! Let them be interrogated by the three judges in the Netherworld!”

”That would be ideal.” Lann guided Cassandra toward the banquet venue, speaking as they walked.

”I’ve recently been investigating the followers of Ares outside the city... ah, the labyrinthine caves are headache-inducing just to talk about.”

”But rewards often accompany struggles; I’ve determined that these followers of Ares are led here by a member of the Divine Teachings, and I’ve pinpointed the cave where he’s hiding, though I must first warn you.”

Saying this, Lann seriously looked into Cassandra’s eyes, issuing a warning.

”If you join my pursuit, you might see some...”

”Some what?”

”...some things beyond comprehension. I’m quite certain that member of the Divine Teachings is hardly ’human’ anymore.”

Cassandra immediately gave Lann a ’are you kidding?’ look.

But upon seeing the seriousness in those amber cat-like eyes, any momentary hesitation vanished.

”Then I’m all the more eager to go!”