Night felt a little numb inside.
'I came here to disguise myself as a spy, an undercover agent. Have you ever seen an undercover agent make themselves this ridiculously good-looking, as if terrified of not drawing enough attention?
In this kind of work, the flashier and more noticeable you are, the easier you get exposed.'
Though thinking about it, he was going to join the Greek camp as a supporting force, openly balancing things out because of Queen Penthesilea's arrival, which had shifted the tide of battle and tipped the scales of victory toward Troy.
So he could only join the Greeks as a hero.
Not just showing himself, but displaying impressive power, that alone would be enough to qualify as reinforcements.
Since he was a hero, being a bit handsome and a bit distinguished actually seemed fine; it would even help solidify his identity as a hero.
After all, most Greek heroes were born extraordinary.
If one didn't have a face that stood out enough to make people immediately see one as someone different, how could they even call themselves a hero?
Of course, being very handsome was fine, but none of that ugly-in-a-distinctive-way business.
If one showed up with the face of an ancient god, the Greeks would just see them as another monster, something like the Minotaur.
Being ugly in the world of Greek mythology, where everyone was obsessed with looks, made survival rather difficult.
Hm...from that point of view, becoming a bit more distinguished actually seemed like a good thing.
But the musician identity that followed, and the whole matching bundle of blessings, left him completely at a loss.
He came to serve as a heroic reinforcement, not a banquet performer.
He was supposed to be a combat unit, not a minstrel at a feast.
When he said this directly, Apollo's statue played dead for five full seconds.
Just as Night, Hector, and Chryseis all thought Apollo had already left,
The latter finally spoke.
"...Hmm, a musician can be a hero too. Everyone has a side hustle.
Just like how I am god of light and also moonlight as god of music.
So, there's no problem.
The musician identity can also help you attract the attention of mortals more easily, spreading your fame.
You can use that as your opening to join the Greek alliance.
Now then, after giving you that blessing just now, the power of this divine thought of mine is almost spent.
Go and act according to what is in your heart, son of man.
I will keep watching over you from above, guiding the path ahead."
...
With that, whether it was Chryseis's imagination or not, the radiance on the great lord Apollo's statue seemed to dim ever so slightly, as if even one ray of sunlight had been taken away.
The statue then fell completely silent.
It seemed the great lord Apollo had departed.
Chryseis bowed respectfully toward the statue, sending off the great god's departure.
But Night was eighty percent certain in his heart, betting that this god-sama had not actually left.
Within his powerful perception, the activity of divine energy inside the statue had not decreased one bit.
And he very sensibly did not expose this, pretending not to notice at all.
Alright then!
Who says a musician can't also be a powerful warrior on the side!
There were many who killed people just fine with a lyre.
And then there was the Silver Saint Orpheus, who also used a lyre as a weapon.
That man who carried silver-ranked power comparable to a Gold Saint, known as the strongest Silver Saint, if placed on this world's stage,
There would be no problem cutting straight through the entire Trojan battlefield at least once over.
After all, that was the world of Saint Seiya, where even Chronos had already reached a multiverse-level scale of existence.
With so many masters who excelled at using the lyre setting the example, he started considering whether he should study the technique of killing with lyre strings when he had the time.
Night had to admit the image of a sage with a sorrowful expression, eyes closed, quietly sensing the world, then casually plucking the strings to kill someone without them even noticing, was truly elegant and had real style.
At this point he felt a great deal of musical knowledge had been added to his mind.
He tried plucking the lyre in his arms.
At first his fingers were a little clumsy, but they grew more and more practiced, and gradually a hauntingly beautiful, ethereal melody emerged from it.
The sound restored quite a bit of his spirit, his mood calmed down without him even trying, and his very soul felt as though it had been washed clean, becoming unusually clear and serene.
Chryseis gave an elegant bow and said with sincere, quiet admiration, "The hero's music feels like it could heal a person's heart.
Truly worthy of Lord Apollo's blessing. It is simply remarkable."
Hector said. "No, not feels like. I can feel that the exhaustion built up over these past days on the battlefield has been completely swept away. My energy is fully restored."
Night: "...!"
His music could carry that kind of power?
He suddenly understood what Apollo meant about how to use the musician identity to join the Greek side.
Just this one powerful supportive ability alone, the effect it could produce on a battlefield, would be terrifying.
He was fairly certain the musical knowledge Apollo's blessing passed on to him contained no such special healing power.
So then,
'Was it the lyre?'
He looked down at the magnificently beautiful lyre in his hands, and his eyelid twitched!
A divine artifact!
He connected the feeling just now to the feeling he had the first time he used Hector's divine spear and immediately went silent.
The first divine artifact was to be completely his own, and it turned out to be not a weapon but a lyre.
Hm...one could call Apollo generous, and he truly was, giving away a divine artifact without a second thought, but not giving a proper weapon to go with it.
If one could call him stingy, and well, though he nominally carried Apollo's blessing, he did not even count as a believer of Apollo.
A complete stranger getting a divine artifact for free was already pretty good.
What more did he want?
Still, he had no intention of using this ability to attract the Greek heroes and join their side.
The musician's power was impressive and quite popular with ordinary people, but this was wartime.
There was simply no time for him to slowly build up a reputation.
Compared to demonstrating healing ability bit by bit everywhere and waiting to be discovered and invited by the Greek heroes, there were far too many things that could go wrong in the meantime.
A brand new plan had already taken shape in his mind.
What a shame; if Helena were still around, he could have joined the Greeks directly with the identity of a dragon knight who conquered and tamed a giant dragon.
No legend would be more explosive, none more capable of making a name so quickly.
And while the fame from his earlier feat of repelling Achilles alongside Hector was useful, that identity could not be exposed again.
He looked toward Hector and Chryseis and asked them to find him a hooded cloak to conceal his current appearance.
He also asked Hector to secretly escort him away from the Trojan battlefield.
His plan was not going to start from Troy's side, but if it succeeded, he would return to the battlefield soon enough, appearing before everyone with an entirely new identity.
And finally, he needed to give himself a new name.
He thought for a moment, then spoke to the two of them. "From this point on, once we leave this temple, I will no longer be Night. I will be something entirely new.
Griffith. From now on, this face goes by the name Griffith Lista."
With that, Hector and Chryseis became the only ones who knew his true identity and his new name. Griffith, of all things?!
Well, if you did not count a certain Apollo who had been eavesdropping the entire time.
Apollo quietly gave his approval in his heart.
He liked this name!!
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