Ira began leading him deeper into the cave complex toward where her aunt and father were discussing matters. She had come here before, so she knew the inner place around.

They passed carvings etched into the stone, the air growing cooler and the silence heavier with every step.

As they approached, Leon's enhanced hearing picked up a faint conversation still ongoing between them, and even though they were clearly aware of Leon and Ira's presence returning, they continued speaking in Pyrrhan, probably assuming he wouldn't understand anything.

Wrong assumption.

Leon understood everything perfectly clearly now.

"You shouldn't have done that, Korvek." Vyrra's voice carried disappointment and anger.

The man—Korvek, apparently—replied with tension in his voice:

"I know. But I felt I had to do it regardless—"

Now Leon arrived directly in front of them, along with Ira. Both the Archon and the Vice Chief were sitting on carved stone seats around a circular stone table, clearly in the middle of a serious discussion.

They immediately stopped speaking upon seeing Leon's return.

Archon Vyrra addressed Leon in his own language, maintaining the pretense:

"Please, take a seat, Leon. This was all simply a misunderstanding that got out of control."

She then said something to Ira in Pyrrhan, but Leon heard and understood it perfectly:

"You may also sit, little Ira. You are deeply involved in this situation, so you should be present for this conversation."

Leon took the offered seat calmly. However, when he spoke, his words emerged sharp and clear—in perfect Pyrrhan, not his native tongue.

"Before we discuss anything else, Archon Vyrra, would you care to explain precisely what action Korvek should not have undertaken? I am quite interested to hear that clarification first."

His vocabulary was sophisticated, his grammar flawless, his tone formal but cutting.

Archon Vyrra visibly shifted in her seat, surprise flashing across her features as she stared at Leon with genuine shock.

He speaks Pyrrhan? Already? How is that possible?!

She was intensely curious about how he'd accomplished learning their complex language so eloquently and quickly—seemingly out of nowhere. He had asked to examine the books, true, but those texts were all written in Pyrrhan script. Learning to speak this fluently from reading alone should be completely impossible, especially in mere minutes.

This shouldn't be possible. But I'm witnessing it.

Even so, she deliberately didn't question him directly or try to pry into his obvious secrets. The current situation was already precarious enough without antagonizing this powerful outsider further.

Knowing he understands our language fully will actually make this conversation much easier.

She answered him calmly, maintaining her composure:

"Korvek—Ira's father—made the decision to force you through a trial by combat without proper explanation or justification."

Leon heard the name confirmation. He'd suspected who "Korvek" referred to, but the additional term "Ira's father" made him want immediate clarification.

Ira's father

He turned directly to face Ira and asked her plainly:

"Ira, is this man truly your father?"

She nodded repeatedly in confirmation, though her movements were stiff and uncomfortable. She clearly wasn't accustomed to sitting at an important table with such overwhelmingly powerful people as her terrifying aunt and formidable father—and now this mysterious, incredibly strong Sir Leon.

"Yes, he is my father, Sir Leon."

She'd picked up his name from hearing her aunt use it.

Leon, hearing her call him "Sir," immediately disliked the formal distance.

"Please do not address me as 'Sir Leon.' Simply Leon is sufficient."

She looked genuinely hesitant about dropping the honorific, but Leon insisted by looking at her firmly and expectantly.

So she reluctantly gave in to his request: "...Yes, Leon."

While this interaction played out, Ira's father, Korvek, was clenching his fists tightly under the table, his jaw working with suppressed anger.

Too familiar. Far too familiar with my daughter.

Meanwhile, Archon Vyrra nodded with visible satisfaction at the exchange.

Good. Building rapport. This could work in our favor.

Leon processed this new information carefully.

So Korvek is her father. That makes the situation considerably more complex emotionally.

But he still couldn't simply move past what had happened and forgive attempted murder.

He asked Ira directly, trusting her honesty more than anyone else present:

"Then please explain to me, Ira—why did your father specifically want to kill me?"

His tone was measured but serious.

Korvek, hearing this direct and damning question, almost slammed his hand violently onto the stone table in explosive anger—

CLENCH!

—but the Archon's overwhelming presence and sharp warning glare made him restrain himself and remain docile, though barely.

Control yourself. Do not make this worse.

Inside, Korvek was having a fierce mental battle with his own thoughts and emotions.

This sounds so terrible for me. How do I explain? How do I justify? When did I want to kill him?

Archon Vyrra was also hearing everything with complete attention, and she was now looking extremely sharply at Korvek with an expression that could kill.

He didn't mention anything like this in his version of events. Did he lie to me?

Ira took a moment to process Leon's question, then answered him completely truthfully while looking at her father with visible anger and disappointment:

"Because my stubborn, overprotective, dumb father did not want me to become close to you. I could not accept his decision and argued against it. So he designed this trial specifically intending to kill you and remove the problem."

The core information hit Leon like a physical blow.

The main reason for everything—for this entire deadly situation—was that Korvek didn't want his daughter getting close to me. So everything that happened was because of paternal paranoia?

Leon felt stunned by the pettiness of it.

Does she really like me that much that she actually told her father about her feelings so quickly? And him being overly protective, that bastard literally tried to have me executed?

He needed to confirm he understood this correctly.

Is this really that simple and stupid?

He turned directly to face both the Archon and the man he still hated, needing absolute confirmation:

"What do you have to say to defend yourself now, Archon? Does this situation still appear to you as merely a 'misunderstanding'?"

His tone was cold and accusatory.

By this point, having heard testimonies from multiple sides, Archon Vyrra had pieced together the complete picture of what had actually happened.

My stupid, emotional niece and my overreacting brother-in-law. Both of these idiots caused this catastrophe together.

Both were equally guilty in her analytical mind. However, considering the potential of finding such a powerful ally—and possibly even integrating him into their dying clan—she was inclined to forgive her young niece's role since Ira was very young and acted from genuine emotion.

It was hard for him too, but as a vice chief, she can't accept such a thing from him.

But Korvek? He has no excuse. None.

She would not be so lenient with her brother-in-law's actions.

She addressed Leon with a long, weary sigh:

"Leon, I am going to explain everything to you now with complete honesty. You should listen to the full context, and you may confirm any details with Ira if you believe I am misrepresenting something. After hearing everything, you may decide whether combat between you and Korvek remains justified."

She deliberately avoided mentioning "fighting to the death" since Ira was sitting right here. Vyrra actually wanted their relationship to potentially deepen further.

A powerful outsider connected to my niece could be invaluable to our survival.

We may be able to alter your devastating fate; it was little, but hope was there with this new variable.

She began speaking after Leon nodded his permission, and Ira also nodded excitedly—though Ira clearly thought her father deserved serious punishment for causing this entire mess, even still didn't fully understand its actual severity now.

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