After Hyakinthos was released from the binding, Apollo Familia left the underground room in a tense silence.
Apollo did not scold him, which somehow made the humiliation worse.
He only smiled gently and told Hyakinthos to rest, while Hyakinthos lowered his head and followed in silence.
Cassandra watched him from behind Daphne.
For once, no one mocked her warning.
No one apologized either, but at least the room had heard her.
As they returned to the first floor, Apollo slowed his steps beside Rayleigh.
"That sword is harsher than I expected."
"It was rather merciful if i'm to be honest."
"You call that merciful?"
"He tried to force it and kept both of his hands."
Apollo studied him.
"You truly do not fear offending gods."
"I fear plenty of things. Offending gods who treat living swords like trophies isn't high on the list."
For a moment, the air between them sharpened.
Apollo's smile returned as if Rayleigh's hostility had only amused him further.
"Then I'll take it as a compliment. Come, my children. We will return for today."
The members of Apollo Familia followed him out.
Cassandra walked near the back again, but as she passed the display room, she could not stop herself from looking toward the sealed case.
The black floral sword rested quietly behind the glass.
For a moment, Cassandra felt the same young voice from the dream brush against her thoughts.
"Will you open your eyes?"
She stopped walking.
Daphne noticed immediately.
"Cassandra?"
Cassandra looked at the sword for a long time before lowering her head.
"Not yet."
Her voice was soft enough that only Daphne heard it.
Daphne's expression changed slightly, though she did not ask.
Rayleigh watched Cassandra leave from the second-floor stairs.
The sword in the display case gave a faint tremor, and this time, Rayleigh understood that it was no longer sulking.
It was waiting.
...
Apollo Familia's return was much quieter than their arrival.
When they had walked toward Hephaestus Weapon Shop that morning, Apollo had looked as if he were leading his children to a festival.
The white cloak, the golden embroidery, the admiring gazes from the street, and the neat formation of the Familia behind him had made the whole thing feel like some beautiful outing arranged for the amusement of a god.
Now, however, no one seemed eager to speak.
Hyakinthos walked with his head lowered, his face calm on the surface but pale around the lips.
He was not injured, and Rayleigh had not humiliated him publicly beyond declaring his rejection, yet the silence around him was heavier than any wound.
To Hyakinthos, being rejected by the sword was already painful enough.
Being rejected in front of Apollo was worse!
Cassandra walked behind Daphne, keeping her gaze lowered as the city's noise rolled around them.
The streets were lively, the crowd was still arguing about the sword trial, and a few people even tried to follow Apollo Familia to ask what had happened inside the shop, only to be pushed back by the Familia's members.
No one dared to ask Hyakinthos directly.
That might have been the only mercy Orario showed him that day!
Daphne glanced at Cassandra from the side.
"You're shaking again."
Cassandra hurriedly pressed both hands against her skirt.
"I'm sorry."
"You apologize too much."
"I'm sorry..."
Daphne stopped walking for half a step and stared at her.
Cassandra only realized what she had said after the words left her mouth, and her face turned red.
Daphne let out a long sigh.
"Really, what am I supposed to do with you?"
Even though her words sounded exasperated, the hand she placed on Cassandra's back was gentle enough that Cassandra's shoulders loosened slightly.
Ahead of them, Apollo suddenly laughed.
It was not a loud laugh, nor was it angry. If anything, he sounded genuinely entertained.
"How fascinating."
The members of Apollo Familia immediately straightened.
Hyakinthos's shoulders stiffened.
Apollo walked slowly, his eyes half-lowered as though he were still thinking about the trial.
"A sword that looks past devotion, beauty, strength, and status, then asks whether the person holding it can stand before it as themselves. Hephaestus really has taken in an unusual child."
One of the Familia members cautiously asked, "Apollo-sama, should we challenge it again?"
Apollo glanced at the speaker and smiled.
"Not immediately. A beautiful game loses its charm if one keeps throwing pieces at the board without understanding the rules."
Daphne's mouth twitched.
'So it's a game after all?'
Cassandra could almost hear Daphne's unspoken tsukkomi without needing to look at her face.
Apollo turned his gaze toward Hyakinthos.
"Hyakinthos."
"Yes, Apollo-sama."
"You were rejected."
Hyakinthos's face went white.
Apollo's tone remained gentle, but because it was gentle, the words landed even more sharply.
"That sword did not reject your strength. It rejected the way you stood before it."
Hyakinthos lowered his head further.
"I have failed you."
"No."
Apollo stopped and reached out, lightly touching Hyakinthos's cheek.
"You are still beautiful in your loyalty. However, that sword seems to dislike beauty that belongs entirely to someone else."
The surrounding members looked moved by Apollo's words.
Daphne's expression said she wanted to complain but had decided that doing so in public would only cause trouble.
Cassandra, however, looked at Hyakinthos and felt a strange discomfort.
Apollo's words were kind.
They were also cruel.
Because Hyakinthos would take them as comfort, but he would not understand the wound the sword had shown him. He would only work harder to become beautiful in Apollo's eyes, never realizing that the blade had rejected exactly that.
...
When Apollo Familia returned home, the atmosphere inside the manor quickly became restless.
The members who had not gone to the shop surrounded those who had, asking question after question.
Some wanted to know what the Zanpakutō looked like, others asked whether Hyakinthos had truly failed, and a few less tactful members asked whether the sword had shown him something embarrassing.
Hyakinthos left the hall almost immediately.
No one stopped him.
Apollo watched him leave with a faint smile, then turned his attention to the rest of the Familia.
"The sword is real."
Those four words silenced the hall.
Apollo sat down gracefully, his cloak spreading across the chair like sunlight on white marble.
"It is not a simple Magic Sword, nor is it merely an expensive weapon given a frightening rumor to raise its price. It possesses a will, and that will is proud enough to reject even my Hyakinthos."
The members exchanged looks.
Apollo rested his cheek against one hand.
"Yōtōsai-kun said something interesting. If the trial is turned into a performance, he will cancel our Familia's right to challenge it."
A few members immediately became angry.
"How arrogant!"
"He dared to threatened Apollo-sama?"
"Just because he forged a few famous swords, he thinks he can—"
Apollo raised one finger.
The hall quieted at once.
"He is arrogant, yes, but arrogance supported by ability becomes charm. Besides, he is Hephaestus's child, and I have no desire to quarrel with her over a sword that has not yet chosen anyone."
Daphne stood near the side of the hall with Cassandra.
Her face remained calm, but Cassandra knew her well enough to understand the thought behind that expression.
'You absolutely want to quarrel! You're just waiting for a prettier excuse.'
Cassandra almost smiled despite herself.
Then Apollo's gaze moved toward her.
"Cassandra."
Her body stiffened.
"Yes, Apollo-sama."
"You warned Hyakinthos."
Every eye in the hall turned toward her.
"Did you see something?"
Cassandra's fingers curled.
This was always the worst part!
If she stayed silent, the guilt would crush her later.
If she spoke, no one would believe her properly. Even when they listened, something always twisted between her words and their hearts.
Still, Apollo had asked her.
"I had a dream."
A few members immediately looked away with familiar expressions.
Someone near the back muttered, "Again?"
Daphne's eyes sharpened, and the person quickly shut up.
Cassandra lowered her head.
"I saw the sword before we went there. I saw people reaching for it and sinking into dark water. I saw someone trying to claim it for another person, and the sword rejected him."
Hyakinthos was not there to hear it, but the hall still stirred.
Apollo's eyes curved.
"How interesting."
That was not belief but interest and Cassandra knew it.
To Apollo, her dream had become another decoration for the event, something mysterious and beautiful to place beside the sword.
Apollo continued, "Then perhaps your dream is connected to that blade."
Cassandra lifted her head in surprise.
"You believe me?"
"Of course I believe that you dreamed something."
The answer made her heart sink.
"But whether the dream is prophecy, fear, or the whisper of the sword itself, that is something we can only discover by watching. A mystery is most beautiful before it is fully solved."
Cassandra wanted to say that mysteries were not beautiful when people died because of them.
But she could not.
The words pressed against her throat and stayed there.
Apollo looked at her for a while, then spoke gently.
"Do not look so frightened. I will not force you to challenge the sword."
Cassandra's shoulders loosened slightly.
Then Apollo added, "At least not yet."
Daphne's expression changed.
"Apollo-sama."
Her voice was controlled, but sharp.
Apollo looked at her with amusement.
"What is it, Daphne?"
"Cassandra is not suited for that kind of trial."
Cassandra turned toward her.
"Daphne-san..."
Daphne did not look away from Apollo.
"She is a healer and a support mage. She is not a swordswoman, and she has always been sensitive to dreams and omens. If that sword truly shows painful visions, forcing her to touch it would be dangerous."
Apollo listened quietly and for a moment, Cassandra felt hopeful.
Then Apollo smiled.
"That is exactly why she might be interesting."
Daphne's jaw tightened.
The hall grew quiet enough that even the servants stopped moving.
Apollo leaned back and continued in a light tone.
"Do not misunderstand me. I have no intention of breaking one of my children. But the sword rejected Hyakinthos because he could not stand before it as himself. If Cassandra's dreams are connected to it, perhaps the blade has already noticed her."
Cassandra felt the blood drain from her face as Daphne stepped in front of her.
"She already said she was afraid."
"I know."
"Then—"
"Daphne."
Apollo's voice remained gentle, but this time there was enough divine weight behind it to stop her.
"You care for her. That's good. I like that about you. But do not forget that I also care for my children."
Daphne's expression made it clear that she wanted to say something very rude.
Very, very rude.
Cassandra nearly panicked just imagining it.
'Daphne-san, please don't fight Apollo-sama because of me!'
Thankfully, Daphne swallowed the words with visible effort.
Apollo smiled as though he had not noticed.
"For now, we will wait. Let others challenge the sword first. If it chooses someone else, then this matter ends. If not, perhaps Cassandra's dream will become more meaningful."
Cassandra lowered her gaze.
The room began speaking again after Apollo changed the topic, but the noise felt distant to her.
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