At noon, Jules, dressed in modest attire, went to the clan's main hall.
Three members of the Leviathan Squad, the vice-captain included, escorted him there.
'Leaving the Edge, which is becoming more dangerous by the day… Is the Captain really this concerned?'
Jules thought as he walked through a hallway.
The guards stationed around gave Jules various looks, prompting his internal musings, until he eventually reached a tall, heavy-looking double door.
Etched onto its surface was the logo of a large shadowy creature embracing a small, water-covered planet teeming with crawling beasts.
"The young master, Jules Evanava is here!"
After a loud announcement, the double doors opened slowly.
A hall with a high-domed ceiling was revealed. At the far end stood a platform with seven high-backed chairs, one of which was especially large and empty.
Six individuals, clad in high-quality outfits bearing both the Clan's and their respective family symbols, sat in the chairs.
Freya was one of them, but instead of the Evanava family emblem, her Squad's logo was present.
At the sides of the hall were rows of seats that allowed other elite members of the clan to watch the hearing.
And of course, for a setting like this, there were people there chattering amongst themselves as they saw Jules.
Among the audience were Castila, Julie, and Jules's childhood friend, Anatalia.
A smaller platform stood between the rows of seats and the main dais, where a one-handed Mark and one-eyed Joel stood.
Jules controlled his expression well as he thought.
'They really cut off a hand and an eye just to frame me. Haha!'
'I guess I should be flattered they went that far.'
At the center of the room was the logo of the clan and that was where Jules indifferently walked to.
As he did, one of the council members, a bulky man with jet-black hair and silver-grey eyes said in a simple tone, "Silence."
Everyone did as instructed. This man, after all, was currently seen as the strongest in the Clan.
He was Zacharia Von White.
Leading a squad of his own, he also fought at the Edge and was known to be at the Silver stage with a Grade 1 Heart of his own.
Basically, he had the most feats.
"Jules," Zacharia greeted.
Rolling his eyes in his heart, Jules bent forward and said, "I greet the council."
Some of the council sneered upon his words.
Raising his head up, Jules commented silently.
'It's your greed that blinds you from the problems one of you is grooming.'
While it wasn't all the council members that were scheming to bring the Clan to ruins and completely take the artifact, some were still interested in becoming the new Main family.
Without beating around the bush, Zacharia said, "You look to be in good shape. Tell me, what happened yesterday?"
Jules knew his explanation was for naught, they wouldn't listen, but he explained nevertheless.
"At the north-eastern borders… we were attacked by twenty individuals," Jules shot a short glance at Joel and Mark, then added "…and we had to put our lives at stake to survive."
In as much as he wanted to say the whole truth, calling those two traitors will only add to the pressure on Jules.
With a bit of a frown, Jules continued.
"The Captain used a technique, a skill I believe, to handle them all to give us a chance of running so we could report back.
"But that wasn't enough, some escaped the Captain and caught up to us, at that point, I didn't know where Joel and Mark were anymore.
"Then Ryan…using mana overload, he sacrificed his life to save me."
This was the story Jules chose to tell. Too many details would stir trouble within the Clan, so he held back.
Another of the council members, a man with long blonde hair and green eyes, said, "Your story is not detailed enough."
"Agreed," Beside him, a woman with fair skin, blue eyes and white hair added.
Zacharia wore a cold look as he asked, "What did you do after someone sacrificed their life for you?"
Amongst the council, a fat bald man scratched at his thick beard as he said, his voice almost too casual.
"Oh, Sir Zach, you know that already. The report says he was found deep in the forest, further away from the clan… barely injured."
Looking at the bald man, Zacharia glared and stated, "I know that, but I want to hear his words. That's the purpose of this hearing."
The bald man was speechless, as Zacharia faced Jules again, "So, tell me, what did you do?"
Jules, who had been carefully noting each of their words to identify his true enemies, gritted his teeth as he replied.
"I didn't know where was safe… that prompted me to run deep into the forest where I'll be harder to find."
As Jules finished, the hall fell silent—then murmurs spread among the audience.
Then the fair-skinned woman, Elisa, said, "There were explosions that caused various issues at the scene. It's been confirmed you took bombs for the mission yesterday too."
"Yes, I requested five bombs from the armory in case of emergencies."
"So you were the one that used them?"
"Ah… yes. Mostly as distractions to support our escape." Jules said.
"Do you know how much that cost us?!" In hatred, Joel spat from the corner!
Jules suddenly turned toward him, his golden eyes boring into Joel—sending shivers down the man's spine. Joel felt this bloodlust and subtly frowned.
Elisa, known for battle strategies and land battles, said, "He is correct. You jeopardized the mission in many ways."
Based on what the reports she had, she explained with a frown, her voice cold and sharp.
"Your explosions caused the teams to split up, inflicted some damage on your teammates, and put everyone in a dire situation.
"You let a teammate sacrifice their lives, and based on how you're explaining, you didn't seem to use that opportunity to obtain information, but instead ran."
As her words settled in, the council hall grew colder. Even the clan's sigil on the ground looked darker beneath the shadows.
The long, blonde-haired man sat upright and shook his head in disappointment. A faint smile crossed his face as he added:
"You didn't even engage much in battle with your state after the mission. Meanwhile, your teammates sacrificed their hand and eye to drag back bodies of their assailants.
"Also, your unskilled use of bombs has affected the environment and even damaged some of the evidence."
At this point, Jules spoke. "I did engage in battles. I just happen to heal fast… They must have seen the amount of blood I spilled when I jumped into the river."
"Is that the excuse you came up with for running?" The blonde man said, still wearing his annoying smile. "We've confirmed that Ryan's tattered body caused that."
'I must commend, they were quite meticulous with this…Hmm...At the very least, they all want to overthrow the main family and honestly that's not too odd.'
Jules thought, a look of resignation masking his thoughts.
"This is dishonourable," The bald man suddenly added.
'It's now!' This was the timing Jules had been waiting for.
Before anyone could say further, Jules said aloud.
"I… I have a request!"
The chattering in the hall burst as the council was even shocked by the sudden statement.
Previously silent, Dean's voice cut through the murmurs like a blade. "Spare us your theatrics. Do you even know what position you're in?!"
He was a man with dark-green hair and black eyes, another pronounced warrior of the clan.
Ignoring that comment, Jules continued as he looked directly at the council.
"I request an exile."