[Bonus chapter for 1050... pray for me]
Leonel scratched the back of his head a bit awkwardly, but that was about all. He wasn't the type of person to get stage fright, he only wished their gazes would be a little less intense.
That said, Leonel didn't blame them. After all, it was indeed true that he wasn't very sincere in joining them. He only wanted to make use of them in order to take down Royal Blue Fort. As for the future? Leonel really hadn't thought much about it.
Without knowing exactly what kind of association the Slayer Legion was, he wouldn't casually put all his eggs in a single basket. And, even though Earth was his home, the matters revolving around James, not to mention the Brazinger Clan, was making it seem less and less homely to him.
It was obvious to him by now that his father wasn't from Earth. In that case, didn't that mean he had a home somewhere else?
The only use Earth had to him right now were the Zones it produced. He needed to either clear the first SS-grade Zone or clear an SSS-grade Zone so that he could exchange a Tier 9 Black reward for a ticket to Terrain. This was all he wanted.
"… Come in."
"Go on." The lead scout ushered toward the door.
Leonel raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you going to follow me in?"
The lead scout and the others who had been staring at him had weird expressions on after hearing his question.
After a while, Leonel understood their intentions. It seemed that they had quite a bit of belief in this captain of theirs. Clearly, they didn't believe he had the ability to harm her on his own. They were confident to the point of not even caring to enter along with him.
To such a thing, Leonel could only shrug. He pushed the cabin door open and entered. What he saw, though, left him a bit speechless.
Leonel never thought that he would ever have to use the word 'burly' to describe a woman, but there really was no better descriptor for Captain Sela.
She was a large woman of almost seven feet tall. She was shaped like a round tank with towering breasts that still somehow managed to be smaller than her large gut.
One might call her fat, but when Leonel looked toward her, he didn't have that thought. The reason was simple. Though she could be described in such a way, her body was still brimming with power. Leonel even saw through that her speed and agility weren't low at all, even approaching 1.00.
Captain Sela stood from a chair she seemed to trust far too much and walked over toward Leonel. She was silent, but her steps made Leonel feel as though she alone was causing the ship to sway.
When she was just half a meter from Leonel, she stopped, towering over him.
'Despite how she looks, she actually smells quite nice… Why is this scent so familiar, though?' Leonel's brow furrowed slightly.
Captain Sela looked Leonel up and down. She seemed curious about him. The boy didn't fear her and even allowed her to get so close without flinching. There were very few people within the Slayer Legion who could do such a thing. It was either that this boy possessed some real strength or that he was simply ignorant to the point of stupidity.
It was a full minute before Captain Sela felt that she had observed Leonel for long enough. Someone else might have felt too embarrassed to continue on for so long, but it seemed that this Captain didn't care.
"What's your name?"
"Leonel Morales."
"Is that so? I'm aware of the names of all those the Slayer Legion reaches out toward, but your name has never been mentioned. In that case, why shouldn't I execute you as a spy right now?"
Leonel inwardly cocked an eyebrow. He had only told the lead scout that he had come here with an invitation card, but he had yet to tell Captain Sela this. However, after a moment, he realized that the card was still in his hands. After observing him for so long, it would be quite negligent of the captain to miss something like that.
'She remembers all of the names…? I doubt that. As an organization that wants to take down the Ascension Empire, they're definitely extremely cautious. Someone I could meet so easily definitely doesn't have high security clearance so there's no way she would have access to so much information.
'Even beyond that, let's say that I'm wrong and am simply overestimating this Slayer Legion. An organization like them would definitely need to send out tens of thousands of invitations at worst. If they didn't, they would never have the manpower they needed to match up against a behemoth.
'There are some risks that come with recruiting on such a large scale, but I doubt the Legion cares about the Empire finding out. Most of the invitations are likely smokescreens. With so many invitations likely sent, it's impossible for her to remember all of the names.
'In that case, there's another reason she's sure this invitation isn't my own. The first possibility is that invitations come with tiers of their own, this might be a high level invitation. If it is, there are probably less people who receive it, so it might indeed be possible for her to know that my name isn't on the list.
'The other possibility is my age. I'm too young. There are too many loopholes to exploit here. The Legion might not send invitations to those as young as me. It's also possible that young recruits are on a short list as well, making them easier to remember.
'Of course… The last possibility is that she's just guessing.'
Leonel found his mind running like this all the time these days. He had always been a calculating person, but his ability had amplified it several times over.
In just a split second, he had already nailed down several theories, one of which was correct. But in Leonel's mind, it simply didn't matter which was the truth. All he needed to know was that Captain Sela was trying to play mind games with him. And, in that case, he could play some games of his own as well.
Leonel smiled. "If I took this invitation from someone else and was worried about how you might react to this, why would I tell you my real name? The truth is that this invitation isn't mine, I just happened to pick it up. But, my sincerity is true."
Captain Sela's eyes narrowed. Leonel wasn't wrong. If he was a spy, he would be the most incompetent spy in history.
"… You'll be given probationary status. All Shackled members will retain this status. In the meantime, I'll take you to get your ability and strength registered."
When Captain Sela said 'Shackled', Leonel could feel her gaze shift over to his wrist watch as though it was a plague. However, toward this, he could only smile bitterly.
'Does this mean that they have a method of removing this thing?' Leonel's eyes narrowed. 'In that case, it's even more worth it to stay if for nothing else than this.'
With that, Captain Sela took Leonel to be registered, but it seemed that Leonel was destined to be unlucky.
When he wanted his abilities to be underestimated so he could fly under the radar, he was suddenly exposed as a legendary Variant. But, now that he wanted the Slayer Legion to approve of his abilities as quickly as possible so he could move up the ranks…
[*Beep*]
[Subject: Leonel Morales]
[Ability: *Name Unassigned*]
[Ability Type: Sensory]
[Ability Grade: D]
[Margin of Error: Critical]