Novel's Extra: I Awakened The Strongest Physique From The Start

"Hah... he's alive..."

Alex, staring at Thomas, who was frozen into an ice statue a while ago, sighed in relief as he saw the guy's face after coming out of the ice, gaining a bit more color.

"You could've subdued him without being this serious. You didn't really need to almost freeze him to death." 

Alex then turned to look at Vanessa, who was walking into the room with a chilly expression marring her face, her eyes fixed on Thomas, who was lying on the ground; the ice on his face had melted off, letting him have some air to breathe, but his teeth kept clattering, with an uncomfortable look on his face.

Vanessa, however, walked toward Thomas, lying on the ground half dead, with an attack she did from her room.

The moment Alex had called out to her using his locket was the moment she had frozen the whole room, including Riya and Vestian.

It was upon Alex's request that she unfroze Vestian, as she knew that he shouldn't be killed; he had a role to play, and she didn't really have a problem with him because all that guy did was let her see her son's fantastic performance.

She was angry at Thomas, who, fully aware of his powers, tried to sneak attack on Alex. That attack could've killed Alex. She could accept it if Alex was losing to a guy like Vestian; they were almost the same level, but Thomas? This guy needed to die for what he was trying to do.

What she didn't know, or maybe she knew but preferred to ignore, was that Thomas was being controlled by Vestian when he had made that move.

Yes, Thomas was being controlled by Vestian. It was the final card in Vestian's hand. He had an option in his ability, and that was to sacrifice his chance at ever influencing anyone with mana higher than his in exchange for getting a chance to have any one person under his control.

At that time, the person Vestian thought that Thomas was the best option, only to regret it later as he could've used it on the pope.

Now, all he could do was lie on the ground, trembling in fear and defeat as he knew that he had lost.

'Father...' he muttered inwardly as the image of a man with golden hair and green eyes just like him flashed past his eyes and a light of hope, which he didn't even know he had flickered within his eyes.

There was still a chance that his father could save him. He wouldn't want to abandon his son, no matter how much he disliked him.

'H-He's the pope after all...' Vestian added, and by now the flame of hope had started brightening.

Yes, he was the child of the pope, and that was why he was the main villain of the first volume of the novel. In the novel, which started a bit late from this time, Vestian had already become a Paladin and one of the pope's closest, having a lot of influence in the church, but Alex didn't want to see that happening.

He was deviating from the plot, sure, but he wasn't changing the plot to the point that the main characters would experience changes because of it. 

The main characters wouldn't even meet this guy until the start of the academy arc, and that was all Alex needed because once they arrive in the academy, they would be in his perceptions, making it quite easy for him to keep an eye on them even if the plot had changed completely.

For now, however, Alex moved toward Vanessa, who was ready to kill the unconscious Thomas. 

"Mother, stop. You can't kill him—" He stood in front of her, stopping her from moving forward, but as he saw the look in her eyes, he hurriedly added, "—yet."

She had that serious cold look, one that she rarely has when she's angry, and Alex, who had only seen that look a few times, knew very well that she was brooding right now, so Alex knew better than to just straight out deny her.

Vanessa looked deep into Alex's eyes, as if waiting for him to continue, and Alex, understanding what she wanted, spoke without a delay, "Thomas is a valuable asset to the church. With him in our grasp, we can compel the church to relinquish some of its power, especially since its influence has been growing significantly in recent years."

He really did want to keep Thomas alive for that exact reason. Vestian was a useless son before he became a Paladin; Alex knew that, so although he hoped for the pope to have some fatherly love in his heart, he didn't want to place his bets on it, so keeping Thomas alive was the best way to keep them in check.

The recording was still there, but there were many ways to prove the recordings were fake. With Vestian and Thomas alive, however, they could always make things right.

Vanessa, on the other hand, although still not satisfied, took a deep breath, and after momentary gazing at Thomas, she left the room, probably going back to her chamber, leaving Alex, Alenia, and Vestian in the room.

The next instant, however, as if realizing something, Alex's eyes lit up, and he hurriedly added, but instead of speaking out loud, he spoke mentally as if it wasn't something he wanted others to hear.

'Oh, and mom, it's fine to let the girl go now. We will make her take a mana oath and let her live. We have better things at hand now, so there's no need to keep up the Lucious play.'

Vanessa, pausing mid-step, turned to look back at him before she nodded her head, and...

*Snap*

With a snap of her finger, she melted all of the ice in the room, leaving only the ice that was keeping Thomas trapped, and the moment she stepped out of the room, she vanished, leaving nothing but shadow behind.

Riya fell to the bed, unconscious but alive, and her being unconscious was better as they didn't want her to see whatever was going on.

Alenia, however, was in a state of frustration. She once again failed to be there for Alex when he needed her the most. And although she was relieved that Vanessa saved him right on time, she was a bit dissatisfied that she wasn't the one to do it.

All of those feelings, though, remained hidden from everyone as she had her gaze fixed on the floor, with the recording device clenched in her palm.

Her actions and emotions went unnoticed by everyone, including Alex, but she wasn't just some young girl who needed counseling.

She just needed time. As for her relationship with Vanessa, which seemed to be making them grow apart as time passed, she didn't even know what to do about it. She was just a slave after all.

'Hah...'

She just sighed on the inside, watching as Alex took care of things.

'How you've grown, Alex...' A sweet smile tugged at her lips as she saw how Alex dealt with the situation.

But she could only have this caring feeling for Alex in her mind; she wasn't permitted to show them out in the open anymore.

So, while Alex talked with Vestian, she tried to sort her feelings out, not wanting to show this pathetic side of hers to Alex.