Since it was Michael's suggestion, of course he'd be the one to speak up and introduce himself first. If he didn't go first, the other two would just stare at him anyway.
"I'm Michael. I'm also the genie whose job is to grant one wish for Leo. And I'm the one who inherited power from Cook God. As for who Cook God is, I don't really know, but they're probably one of Sun God's enemies from back in the day."
"Huh???"
Leo and Raphael both stared wide-eyed at Michael. They had thought Michael was just a genie, so they didn't expect he'd involve another god too.
"But what kind of god is Cook God? Even though aside from Sun God and Sea God, humanity doesn't have clear records of that war since there were no demigods to participate, this name just doesn't sound right no matter how you look at it."
It wasn't just Raphael, Leo was thinking the same. In another world maybe, but here on this continent, what makes Cook worthy to be compared with Sun and Sea?
"I'm sure he's lying. He seems more like an executioner than a chef, plus his killing intent is really heavy. But he doesn't like to talk, so I don't bother asking. I just need his power."
Michael said what he knew. He also made it clear that Cook God's identity wasn't really important.
"Mm, you're not wrong. Compared to power from a god, that stuff doesn't matter. We're not those crazy historians obsessed with recording the truth."
Raphael nodded, then got ready to introduce himself. He was Leo's father, the senior here, so volunteering to go first was only natural.
"I'm Raphael, a former member of The Great Sun Temple. I didn't have a position back then because I didn't really like taking one."
Raphael did focus a lot on training, but that didn't mean he liked being in charge. Besides, Gabriel's position back then was enough to handle things for him, so outside of training, he'd just go hang out with Rias.
Elio, Glacior, and Ignivar had more work since Elio was temple master and the other two were elders. Their free time was a bit less, but the workload wasn't that heavy. They could delegate most of the work to their subordinates.
"I'm Leo, previously also named Leo. In that world, my title was basically general. Not the kind that commands troops or manages logistics, but the type that charges to the front in every battle."
Raphael wasn't too surprised since he clearly saw Leo's unusual behavior every day. It wasn't strange for a general to train like that.
As for Michael, he finally understood why Leo's personality was so 'straight'. Turns out he was that kind of brute who only knew how to charge forward.
In the next few years, he'd definitely have to talk to Leo more about political matters to help him stop thinking that every problem required 'charging forward'.
"Hey, how exactly do humans awaken anyway?"
Michael had never overheard this anywhere, and the system had never clearly explained the method to him. But he figured it couldn't be too hard since the system said anyone over twelve could awaken.
"On the surface, it's simple: just stab yourself in the heart with a knife. But actually, that knife has special symbols carved into it, passed down to humanity by Sun God and Sea God.
Stabbing yourself in the heart for the first time with that knife connects your heart and soul to the world, making you a contractor. Note, it's only for the first time. If you stab yourself after becoming a contractor, you'll really die."
Raphael slowly explained to them. He made sure to clearly state the important warnings so they wouldn't accidentally kill themselves.
???
What the hell was Raphael rambling about? Stabbing yourself in the heart awakens you? Then what? Bleed to death?
With their mindset from their previous worlds, both Leo and Michael stared wide-eyed at Raphael. Their wary looks made it seem like Raphael was plotting to send them to their graves.
Even though they knew Raphael wouldn't lie about this, it was hard for them to immediately accept something so bizarre.
"Are there cases of failure?"
As someone who had been through life-and-death situations, Leo quickly calmed down. He asked the most important question about this 'dangerous' action.
"There are. But those were all people who wanted to go against ancestral teachings and awaken before twelve. Those people all died. For people twelve or older, there's no record of death when using proper tools."
Suddenly thinking of a situation rare among nobles but had happened quite a bit among commoners, Raphael added another note.
"If you use a 'fake' knife with the symbols carved incorrectly, you'll definitely die. Ah, the material of the knife doesn't matter, what matters is that the symbols are carved correctly.
Commoners back then lacked knowledge and would get tricked into buying those 'fake' knives at high prices to awaken early and have more chances to become nobles."
The more he listened, the less confident Michael felt about being past the age. What if this world didn't accept him because he was an 'illegal immigrant'? Wouldn't he just be stabbing himself to death?
Sure enough, once he lost faith in his heart, he immediately came up with all sorts of reasons to deny what he didn't trust. The more Michael thought, the more reasons he saw for him to fail.
The system noticed Michael was scared. If it didn't do anything, Michael probably wouldn't dare to become a contractor anymore.
[What the hell are you thinking? Weren't you pretty confident before?]
Being suddenly talked to by the system like that made Michael a bit startled, but he was used to it by now.
'I originally thought awakening would be something safe, but this is way too risky. I'm not a local, and I have a zero-year-old body. This is too risky…'
Michael no longer had the same confidence as before. The more he spoke, the clearer the system realized he was extremely frightened.