21 Pride

I woke up as usual. Felix would never stop nudging me during the mornings when breakfast was ready, so I assumed Maria had come to call me and Felix did his job as always. And I was right.

"Mr. Hasegawa, breakfast will be ready in a few minutes" Maria said through the door. "The room has a bathroom so you can freshen up there"

After that I heard her steps getting farther from the door, so I simply got up and did the usual. I didn't have any trouble moving through the mansion thanks to my Observation Haki. I probably knew the structure of the place better than the architect that built it. I soon enough reached the mansion's dining room, where Alex, Yuno and Cassim were already waiting for me.

"Good morning, everyone" I said without much care about my image. "The meeting is set for ten o'clock, right?"

"Indeed, Mr. Hasegawa. My sister liked to go through paperwork in the morning, so she isn't available until even after that time" Alex explained before taking a bite of his breakfast. Continuing only after he was done swallowing. Good manners, as expected. "This time is quite special, since she was able to free herself earlier than usual"

I just nodded before focusing on my breakfast. Yuno's cooking was good, really good. But whoever made this was a professional chef. Luckily Lover's Contract didn't provide a mind reading capability. Women's instincts are already scary the way it is.

Once we were done with our breakfast, Alex said it was better to be early, since his sister wouldn't like it we arrived either right on time and much less if we got there even a second late. I wasn't too worried about her 'violent tendencies', but I wanted to keep things as peaceful as possible, hence, we left the Armstrong's Mansion and headed to a building that wasn't too far away. From what I knew, the building was Stärke's HQ.

"Once there, you must act with respect, lest you ma..." I stopped Alex with my hand. I knew why he was so insistent on warning us of Olivier's character and how we should act around her but... "Alex, you seem to be forgetting something here. I am NOT, one of your sister's subordinates. I will treat her like my equal and if she has any problem with that, she can try and see who is above who"

Not only as an S-Ranker, but as a man and as a human, I had my pride. I would be respectful, yes. But the respect you have to an equal, not someone above you. Only the Gods were above me, the rest -myself included- were all the same in my eyes. Unknowingly, Alex had not only ignored the fact that I had called him by his name with no honorifics, but also subconsciously accepted the fact that not only was he below his sister, but also below me.

Realizing he had overstepped his boundaries, Alex readily apologized and remained silent for the remaining part of the trip. Cassim looked at me with a new look in his eyes, as if he had a newfound respect for me. Yuno simply smiled warmly while looking at me, but I could see something else behind her eyes... it was pride. She was proud of the man she had chosen.

"Ok, here we are. I'll guide you to my sister then, Mr. Hasegawa" Alex said in an even more respectful tone the one he had been using before. I simply kept my cool. "Then please do, Alex"

Going into the building, I realized it was as fortified as a military base or even more. The inside was mostly metallic, with walls around half a meter in width. After walking for a while we reached what looked like a meeting room, but it was big enough to work as a mess hall if needed. What I assumed to be the elites of Stärke where sitting in the place. Olivier was at the end of the room, sitting on a fancy couch a few steps above the rest. She was looking down on everyone.

As soon as our eyes met, I realized she wouldn't be someone I could talk to normally. She was too into her role of being the superior one in the ranks. She had too much pride and, as stupid as it might sound, I didn't like being looked down on. Much less by someone who wasn't above me.

I began walking towards her with coldness clear in my eyes. I released my pressure on the entire place. Each S-Rankers powers worked differently. For example, Kagura's pressure didn't allow those weaker to move, because she manipulated Gravity. Toshiro made you feel extreme cold, etc. My powers affected the soul of people directly, so they felt as if their existence was being taken from them.

"Who gave you the right to look down on me, when even the Gods speak to me cordially, Olivier"

My words reverberated through the room. Alex was sweating, fearing what might happen. After all, the only person he had ever felt such a fearsome aura from was his sister. I grabbed one of the empty chairs, which I assumed was prepared for us, and moved it all the way in front of her. Once I sat there, I stared at her, clearly challenging her authority.

Apparently, Olivier was smarter than I thought. She didn't react violently, but realized that she was wrong about me. Cassim was indeed too weak to have a place in her eyes and Yuno wasn't even an Apostle yet. But I was no pushover, and I wasn't going to allow her to treat me like one.

"I'm sorry if I was disrespectful towards you. I now realize my mistake" she said calmly. She knew that I also wasn't above her, but that was fine. I didn't like to be above others, I just didn't want to be below. As such, I took back my pressure and her Guild members could finally breath again. "As long as you don't put on that act of superiority again, then everything is fine"

"The name's Olivier Mira Armstrong. Leader of Stärke and Apostle of Fertility." As she introduced herself, she summoned her weapon and her Garments. I observed the Garments of the Provider and Partition, Compass of Birth, before using the Soul Seeing Eye to check her soul. It was indeed unique, of a light green mixed with autumnal colors. "Hasegawa Noah. Leader of Infragilis and Apostle of Death"

Summoning Lament and the Garments of the Guide, I looked at her with a relaxed yet serious face. I did a motion with my hand, signaling Cassim to come over. He quickly copied us, introducing himself.

"Himura Cassim. Infragilis member and Apostle of War"

Olivier quickly noticed how weak Cassim was compared to us, something easy to guess by how surprised she looked. After all, you can't guess someone's strength through a TV unless they are fighting. I quickly took it upon myself to explain his situation.

"Cassim is still relatively new to being a Mercenary, besides, he only became and Apostle perhaps a day before you" I told Olivier. She didn't seem as rash as she had been described, but that was probably because she was talking to someone she recognized as her equal, something I found rather amusing -it meant she didn't put anyone in her eyes besides me. She was indeed cold.

"I see... then let's get straight to the point. What do you know about Apostles?"

She had to ask something along those lines, didn't she? I already expected our conversation to revolve around this topic, but I wanted to avoid it as much as possible. Why? Because it was all speculation, besides the requirement for being an Apostle, something I had already confirmed.

"I'd prefer talking about that in a more private setting" I quickly said. I would end up talking about this topic at some point anyway, so why not now. But that didn't mean I would allow just anyone to hear it. In this entire place, I only trusted -and barely- Olivier and Alex. "That's fine by me. Before we move, can I ask you a single question, Noah?"

Taking notice of the liberty she took at calling me by my name, I decided to do the same. She was still trying to push, even if only slightly, for the position of superiority. "Go ahead, Olivier"

"Why were you so hostile towards my seat arrangement?"

I wasn't expecting that question. After all, Olivier herself should undertand it better than anyone. Still, I shrugged and gave her my answer nonchalantly.

"As an Apostle, as an S-Ranker, as a man and, most importantly, as a human being, I have pride in who I am" I said matter-of-factly, as if her question was stupid. "And I don't believe anyone but the Gods to be above me."