Leonel's pupils constricted. Had he heard wrong?
His hand couldn't help but tighten slightly against Aina's. He still hadn't gotten an answer for his worries, but he felt as though he was inching closer to it.
Leonel didn't quite understand why he cared or why he had a sinking feeling to begin with. Valiant Hall didn't mean much of anything to him. No one he really cared about was a part of it. In fact, he had only interacted with two members.
One was Sael who he had a bit of a complicated relationship with. After he dealt with their misunderstanding, he didn't hate her, but he also didn't have strong feelings toward her either. At best, they were just acquaintances who got off on the wrong foot.
The other was Gersan. Though he hadn't seen him since their battle, that could be considered to be a negative relationship.
This was all to say that Leonel shouldn't care about what happened to Valiant Hall in the slightest. In fact, he should care so little that if things made sense, he'd be eager enough to get back to his and Aina's alone time that he might very well leave this very second. As for whatever backlash that came with that? Why would he care?
All of this was only one aspect of these matters. The other aspect was something that seemed even more difficult to wrap his head around.
Demoting Valiant Hall to a Peak? How?
If the organization was structured such that Valiant Hall was the only neutral party, the only party that could settle disputes, the only party that could maintain order… Then what Hero Peak was essentially demanding was a complete restructuring of Valiant Heart Mountain.
Was that even possible? Was it allowed?
The only answer could be yes. Leonel didn't believe that Hero Peak would actually be stupid enough to propose something that wasn't feasible.
Leonel was faintly aware that there was some competition between Hero Peak and Valiant Hall. But as a new member of their organization, he hadn't paid much attention if any at all. It seemed that those matters hadn't been as small as he once thought…
The young man continued to speak unperturbed as though he couldn't sense the shock of the crowd.
"In recent years, Valiant Hall has had an unprecedented strength in controlling the outcome of matters in our organization. Despite supposedly being neutral, they seem to very clearly have their own biases and have grown corrupt to the point of believing themselves to be infallible.
"Two years ago, my Hero Peak proposed a plan to bring our Valiant Heart Mountain out from the brink of despair and back toward a brighter future. But, instead of calmly analyzing this plan as they should, Valiant Hall ignored our pleas.
"In the past, I thought that maybe we were in the wrong. The plan we set forth was indeed ambitious. And, though our hearts were in the right place, the truth was that changing the status quo after so long would be jarring for all.
"However, the actions of Valiant have made my heart run cold."
By now, the members of Valiant Hall had been aware of all the commotion.
In order to enforce their neutral stance, usually, only a few members of Valiant Hall came to organize this event. However, they wouldn't show their faces. Rather, the individuals who opened this platform for the young man to speak were the only members of the Valiant Hall present.
When they heard to the words the young man was speaking, how could they not panic? They had thought, much like everyone else, that this would be targeting another Peak. The likely guess was Brave Peak or maybe Honor Peak, but they had never thought that it wasn't a Peak at all.
This may sound odd. If Valiant Hall wasn't here in some substantial capacity, then how would these things be settled upon?
The answer came in two layers. First, the crowd, with the only exception of freshmen who had yet to join a Peak, would vote on the validity of the arguments presented. As long as there was a majority acceptance for the claims levied, the final outcome would be decided by combat.
Whatever battles that occurred would be restricted to the youth as a way of maintaining the majority of the peace in the organization.
But… with this came a massive issue.
By now, if everyone didn't know who this young man was, they'd be too foolish. This young man was a legend in his own right, the most powerful youth on Valiant Hall Mountain, a young man who would soon grow into a man that could overshadow even Valiant Hall Mountain's Head.
Despite his plain appearance, despite his unhurried words or his monotone delivery, even despite his relatively short stature, he was the most respected student of Valiant Heart Mountain.
The Hero. Raylion.
Finding another member of the younger generation to defeat him? Was that a joke?
The moment Hero Peak stepped forward, this matter was as good as over. As long as their evidence was strong enough, Valiant Hall didn't stand a single chance.
But the question was… Was there evidence strong enough?
The fact that they dared to call this meeting seemed to signal that the answer to this question was yes… And the moment Raylion began to speak on these matters, was the exact moment they realized just how true this was.
Raylion stretched out a hand. Understanding his meaning, Aphestus immediately handed over a scroll.
Unfurling it without much fanfare, Raylion allowed the end of the scroll to clatter against the ground. His actions seemed unhurried and without theatrics, but anyone who understood anything about human psychology could realize just how terrifying this Raylion was.
Leonel didn't notice it, but Aina definitely did. His gaze only grew colder and colder, not moving from Raylion from start to finish.. At that moment, it was hard to tell exactly what Leoenl was thinking of.