Apeas

 (アピス, Apisu) is a character in Ousama Ranking and its anime adaption. He is one of the Big Four of the Bosse Kingdom, known as "King's Spear".

A quiet man of unwavering loyalty, Apeas would go on to directly imperil the Bosse Kingdom when he became allied with Miranjo.

Appearance
Apeas is a very tall man with a long face, prominent nose, and small grey eyes. He typically wears a silver-white breastplate over khaki garments with a fur-trimmed neck, black knee-high boots, and a dark green half-cape with a red collar.

Personality
A true stoic bordering on enigmatic, Apeas initially seemed to be entirely defined by his loyalty to King Bosse. This loyalty was so great that Apeas even supported Bojji as Bosse's successor, seemingly solely because of Bosse's will.

Part of Apeas' stony attitude is the result of his role in the Big Four. As the King's Spear he is the warrior who most-closely served King Bosse himself, and was expected to keep the king's many secrets.

The only other person who seemed to have Apeas' loyalty is Miranjo. The two share a deep friendship, and Apeas feels deeply indebted to her. This loyalty compelled Apeas to assist in Miranjo's traitorous plans, though he felt deeply conflicted and guilty for his role in the attempted coup.

Plot
One of the most-senior members of the Big Four, Apeas was a hardened warrior with an icy demeanor who served King Bosse for many years.

After the death of the king Apeas was one of the few on the royal council who voted for Bojji to become Bosse's successor. He did this seemingly solely because Bosse had passed the kingdom to Bojji in his will. When Hilling successfully nullified Bosse's will and passed the kingdom to Daida, Apeas resigned his position, resolving to leave the Bosse Kingdom.

Unfortunately, a spiteful King Daida would not let Apeas go quietly, and almost immediately sent Bebin to assassinate the spear master. After a brief duel, Apeas stabbed Bebin in the chest with a broken spear. Realizing he had been marked for death, an angry Apeas returned to the Bosse Kingdom, intent on assassinating Daida instead.

Apeas was almost successful, but was stopped at the last minute by Daida's Magic Mirror, which he recognized as being the mysterious Miranjo, long thought dead by most of the kingdom. After a brief exchange with Miranjo, Apeas was mollified, and agreed to help Miranjo in her plans for the Bosse Kingdom.

It was soon revealed that Apeas had a years-long friendship with Miranjo, beginning when he was a young guardsman she specially selected to become an officer of the kingdom. Miranjo personally trained Apeas for his eventual role as King's Spear, making him battle against her menagerie of monsters until he developed superhuman combat prowess.

Apeas felt deeply indebted to Miranjo for her life-changing training, and dutifully helped in her plans to overthrow the Bosse Kingdom. Though he initially betrayed nothing, turning traitor on the Bosse Kingdom deeply affected Apeas, and he felt enormous guilt for his role in the coup. Eventually Miranjo would realize this herself, and released Apeas from her service as the coup seemed inevitable.

Determined to redeem himself, Apeas attempted to engage Ouken as the mad immortal ran wild around the Bosse Kingdom castle. He was quickly dispatched, and nearly died on the grounds of the castle. Thankfully Hilling managed to discover and revive his body. The restored Apeas, now regrouped with the rest of the Big Four, squared off against Ouken, holding him at bay until Bojji could find them. The four repeatedly slayed the immortal, but Ouken's body would almost instantly resurrect from any mortal wound. Things seemed dire until Bosse himself finally intervened, easily ending Ouken's threat with his inhuman power.

In the aftermath of the attempted coup, Apeas joined the rest of the kingdom in pleading for forgiveness from the newly-crowned King Bojji. Bojji forgave them all, and allowed them to continue to serve the Bosse Kingdom.

King Bosse
Little is shown of Apeas' relationship with King Bosse, but Apeas took his role as King's Spear deadly seriously, and was chosen in part for his stoic personality. As the King's Spear it's implied Apeas served Bosse exceptionally-closely, and his relatively icy demeanor was seen as preferable over his predecessor Dorshe.

Apeas is arguably Bosse's loyalest retainer, as he outright refused to violate Bosse's last will, and quit in protest when it was done anyway.

Miranjo
Apeas sees Miranjo as his selfless benefactor, and feels deeply indebted to her for her training and counsel. He seems to believe that she alone is the reason he was able to rise to the ranks of the Big Four, and that without Miranjo he would have remained a simple guardsman forever.

For her part Miranjo seems to consider Apeas a true friend, and sees their relationship as much more equitable.

Master Spearman
Apeas is a master spearman, having been specially selected and trained by Miranjo for a role in the Big Four. His training involved grueling, repeated combat against Miranjo's menagerie of monsters, and it's suggested he is nearly powerful enough to be a king. In the past he has defeated Bebin in a one-on-one confrontation.

Trivia

 * ' name likely derives from the English word "spear" (スピア, Supia).