Appearances Can Be Deceiving

One day before I turned seven. Turning four was a pretty big occasion in every life I lived. The reason being a mysterious system in every one of those worlds that went by the name of "Nature". When an individual turned seven, the Nature would bestow a title upon the individual. Unlike normal titles, the title provided by the Nature is special since it is unique to that individual. Whoever made this system sure had abundant creativity, enough to provide unique titles to trillions of people.

Tia turned seven the previous month and she was rumored to have received a title whose name and nature I was unaware of. Children were made to stay in the sanctum for a week after they were appraised, generally to make them get used to the effects of their title during that time so as to not cause trouble for people around them.

I had always thought the system was made by the gods and was supervised by them, but when I asked the goddess about it, she gave me a negative reply.

『Even us gods do not know much about the system. Not even the great god does. It seems to have existed since before he was born.』

That was something I never expected.

『Since tomorrow is your birthday, you will get your title tomorrow right?』

"I guess. Hey goddess, if you are below the system as well, then you would have a title too right?"

『Yes I do.』

"Ahh is that so... I never imagined the gods to have titles as well..."

『Everyone in our realm has a title. The great god has multiple titles.』

Multiple titles? Could the maker of the system even afford to give multiple unique titles one entity? I guessed it must have been so since he was the "great god".

"So what is your title called?"

『Equality and Justice.』

==========

I turned seven. I was to be taken to the grand sanctum in the capital for appraisal. I was a bit worried, the reason being my already existing "Apostle" title. The goddess had warned me against revealing anything about me being her apostle to anyone.

『Don't worry. I have taken care of everything. I made preparations beforehand.』

Made preparations? My worries only increased.

I was in a carriage with my parents. There was absolute silence in the carriage except for the sound of the carriage moving. Both of them had nervous expressions on their faces. Their only son received his once-in-a-lifetime unique title after all.

"Dear, what kind of title do you think our son would have received?" my dignified mother broke the silence.

"It is a difficult question. We have been receiving warrior-based titles for the past three generations. I wonder if his title would be similar as well." the respectable father replied.

I absolutely did not want a warrior-based title. My father's "Dancer of the Light Blades" provided him great proficiency and speed with rapiers. As for me who had never been able to wield a sword properly in any of my lives, it would be the absolute nightmare. Among the nearly hundred lives I lived, I was strong only in a mere three lives and I was a mage in all three. If any, I was confident in my magic creation. I made several spells after the day I fought the serpents though I never managed to find another occasion to sneak.

『Listen, delay the appraisal as long as you can. I just informed another apostle of mine. He will be here in a few minutes.』

I was always bad at managing such situations. As the goddess told me to delay the appraisal, we arrived at the capital.

"We're finally here. Let's get you appraised!" my mother seemed more excited.

That was bad. I had to find a reason to delay the appraisal. Reason...

"Umm... I... I am hungry..."

"We will eat at a restaurant after you get appraised then." a calm reply from the dignified mother.

"I am v-very hungry..."

"Now?" an exclamation from the dignified mother.

"Y-yes." I replied in the most innocent way trying my best to stammer in a natural way. Behold my cuteness, for the cuteness of their child is irresistible to parents!

"The appraisal is more important right now. We can have lunch after your appraisal."

Epic fail. I never expected that.

"Hey goddess. You got any ideas?" I whispered.

There was no reply. That was the moment I knew there was no escaping it.

We reached the sanctum a few minutes later. There wasn't anything I could do beyond the point.

"Welcome, Marquis Truesilver. We have been awaiting your arrival."

We were greeted by a young man in a priest's attire. Judging by his appearance, he was probably around the age of sixteen. An apprentice?

We were taken to a chamber beyond the prayer hall. Inside the chamber, there was seated a woman, probably in her early twenties. I guessed that must have been the priestess who was supposed to appraise my title.

The guard stopped my parents and our personal guards at the chamber.

"Only the child shall pass. You may collect your child after a week."

What was I? A po*emon at the po*emon center?

My mother came to me and whispered a set of rules I should follow during my stay at the sanctum. Aristocracy sure was a pain.

As my parents left, I was taken inside the chamber. The door closed behind me.

"Welcome, Lord Truesilver." the priestess welcomed me.

"Umm... Greetings... I suppose?"

This was bad. "Hey goddess... Is your apostle here yet?" I whispered under my breath.

『He is almost here. Do not worry. Just begin the appraisal.』

That was good to know.

"Did you say anything?" the priestess asked.

"No i-its nothing."

"Shall we begin your appraisal?"

The priestess came forward and began chanting something. A magic circle appeared between us, glowed for a while and then disappeared. The priestess pointed to a screen behind her. Letters began appearing on the screen.

[ Name: Yevon Truesilver ]

That was my name. I never thought the nature would record our names. I thought we were just mere numbers to the nature like in computer databases.

[ Title: ]

The awaited part. If I was right, the unique title held more priority than the acquired titles. A mere matter of seconds before my status as an apostle was revealed.

[ ... ]

It stopped. It was strange. Was the appraisal just for the unique title? The priestess was sweating. "Ty... Tyrant..." she muttered.

『Why... Of all titles in the nature, why a title with such a name?』

The goddess was acting weird as well. Just then, the chamber doors opened. An obese figure came in. He reminded me of your usual 'snobby-rich-noble' or 'corrupted-priest' character.

"Priestess. Is the child's appraisal done?" he asked.

The priestess looked at the man, shivering.

"High priest... this child... his title..." she nervously pointed to the screen.

[ The Tyrant ]

My unique title sounded a bit cool. However, I had no idea about its effects since the name "Tyrant" sounded vague.

"That name? It should be impossible!" the man exclaimed.

"Goddess... What even is going on? Why are they shocked?" I whispered.

『Many thousands of years ago, there lived an evil god. He went by the name, Tyrant. His orders were absolute and he had everything under his control. However, the elder gods that served under him fought against his tyranny and sealed him. Despite the fact that the evil god was never found to have had a title, his nickname became a taboo. People gradually began believing the name to be his title.』

"Umm... So are they gonna get me burned in the public like a witch?"

『Where even did you get such an idea? You don't have to worry. That man is one of my apostles. I have instructed him everything.』

That fat man was an apostle? I guess appearances can be deceiving. The fat man was still in his conversation with the priestess.

"The documents clearly state the Tyrant never had a title. We shouldn't jump to conclusions."

"But high priest-"

"I shall take him under my wing. While his title may not have any connections with the Tyrant, we cannot afford to have his title known to the public either."

Wasn't my "Apostle" title already something big? Now my unique title was something notorious as well?

"I understand, high priest. I will make sure I will carry this information to my grave."

"By the way, priestess, I will be taking this child outside the sanctum. Keeping him inside the sanctum poses a risk of others appraising him."

"If you say so, high priest."

The fat man clapped his hands and the screen in front of me split into two to reveal a stairway. He signalled me to follow him. We moved down the stairs and followed a long corridor. My legs were about to give away. I was in a seven year old's body after all.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"It is a secret location barely eight people in this world know about."

"Ehhh? Why are you taking me there then?"

"You are an apostle right? You will learn when we reach the location.

When we reached the exit, we were already outside the capital. We were in the woods. Unlike the woods in our town, these woods were denser and I could sense more monsters here.

The fat man stopped by a tree and spoke some words. A huge magic circle appeared on the ground.

"Eeehhh?"

We were sucked in by the ground. Before I knew it, I was standing in a dark room lit by two torches.

There were several masks hanging on the wall nearby.

"Take one. You can't afford to show your face as an apostle."

"Hey goddess... Is this apostle thing some kind of secret service?" I whispered.

『This kind of security is important. Apostles are primary targets of assassination, both from inside and outside the world.』

What did I even sign up for?

I chose a white mask that looked the least intimidating. The fat man took out a mask from his pocket and wore it.

"Follow me." the fat man walked through the door in front of us.

It was another long passage. I was at a point where I was unsure if I could ever walk again. We passed by a lot of doors which the old man paid no attention to.

He stopped before a door and placed his hands on it. Some magic scanned his palm and the door opened.

"We're here, the home of justice."

===========

Name: Yevon Truesilver

Class: Mage

Titles: Apostle of Justice, Tyrant (Nature)

Unique Effects: Strong Build, Full Health, Maximum Memory