Half of Impersonation is Audacity -2-
Sion could sense the commotion outside.
The door was tightly shut, and the noise from the abandoned building itself along with the seeping wind made it hard to hear clearly, but something felt off.
Was someone else here?
The so-called guests who referred to themselves as visitors were showing up with suspiciously high frequency.
...Not my business.
Sion pulled the blanket all the way up over her head in her utterly wrecked physical state.
How much time had she burned away in shallow dozes, unable to sink into deep sleep amid the gnawing hunger clawing at her stomach and the biting cold pricking her skin?
Bam! Bam! Bam!
Someone pounded on the door like they were beating it and shouted.
"Princess! I'm coming in!"
A familiar voice. Sion opened her eyes at the desperate tone filtering in from outside.
"Mm...?"
Clank! Clank!
The closed door rattled. That was the sound of the lock being undone.
In her half-asleep daze, Sion threw on the jacket hanging from the chair. She sat on the edge of the bed, waiting for the door to open.
Have the elders finally decided to give me answers?
So, just lying here and holding out really was the winning strategy.
She'd thought it would take much longer, but this conclusion came faster than expected. Either way, it was good news.
With trembling hands, the elder finally undid the lock.
Creak! He flung the door open and announced with an urgent expression.
"Princess! Please get dressed quickly and come out!"
"...What?"
"It's urgent! You need to prepare right away!"
Sion harbored suspicions that this wasn't the moment she'd been waiting for.
She asked the elder, who was rushing about like he wanted to chew his nails.
"Are you finally going to answer my questions now?"
"That's...!"
The question came out in a cracked voice, parched from lack of water.
The elder's face twisted in realization of his slip-up, and Sion's suspicion hardened into certainty.
"Whatever it is, if that's not it, I'm not going."
"Princess!"
"Get out of my room. I refuse one-sided negotiations."
The elder was at a loss. This errand from the grand elder was no easy task.
Under the mounting stress, he looked ready to tear his hair out and jump around.
How do I convince her...?
The basic principle among the elders was to never mention the Reverse Praise Society or anything related to it to the princess.
If disposal had been decided, it wouldn't matter, but the slim chance of an unexpected outcome left them unable to speak of it.
With the decision-maker, the grand elder, absent, the elder's words inevitably faltered.
"How long are you going to stand there? Get out of my room."
The elder gritted his teeth at Sion's icy response.
After repeated deep breaths, he tossed out bait laced with a bit of truth.
"...The guests who just arrived know everything the princess has been wondering about."
Sion's eyebrow twitched.
A millennium-like silence passed between the elder and the elf girl.
"Hoo... Wait outside. I'll get ready."
"Princess! As quickly as possible, please!"
"I know. Close the door first."
As the elder grabbed the doorknob to leave per Sion's words,
he paused at a sudden question popping into his head.
That person said he'd evaluate the vessel's qualities, so should she bring a weapon too?
The man who came as the Reverse Praise Society's envoy wouldn't forgive such sloppy mistakes.
If waiting time dragged on again because of the same issue, violence would surely turn toward him this time.
Swallowing hard in fear, the elder checked his intact gums.
With a tense face, he instructed Sion.
"...Dress neatly and bring your weapon too."
With that, the elder closed the door, saying he'd wait.
Sion changed clothes while thinking.
Dress neatly and bring a weapon?
Neatly dressed amounted to just one outfit she had suitable for outside.
He knew that, yet he said it like that—what on earth had come to make him act this way?
Well, whatever. Not my problem.
In truth, she didn't care who the guest was.
If the bait the elder threw was a lie, Sion wouldn't stay quiet this time.
Judging by how he was sweating bullets, it wasn't an ordinary guest.
If she didn't get the results she wanted, Sion planned to wreck the meeting with that guest entirely.
Click!
Having finished preparing, Sion opened the door and stepped out.
Now changed, with her sniper rifle and goggles in tow. The elder knew this was the best she could do with what she had.
"Dressed neatly and brought my weapon, as instructed."
"This way. Hurry!"
The elder confirmed her appearance and strode ahead at a brisk pace.
Feeling his haste, Sion asked.
"Where are we going?"
"The meeting room."
Sion's eyebrow curved at the elder's words.
The situation was full of questions.
The meeting room?
Wasn't that the place where, even when she begged to join meetings before, the elders would jump around refusing entry?
As the elder led her there, Sion dragged her listless body along.
"Please go right in."
The moment she stepped into the meeting room as guided, her mind froze.
???
Was she hallucinating?
She couldn't make sense of the scene before her eyes.
Why was that elder standing there calmly with blood pouring from his mouth like a waterfall, not even getting treatment?
And what were those blood-mixed corn kernels scattered on the floor?
"..."
Before she could question those, the most important point to Sion.
Why were Rohan and Clara sitting there?
Is this a dream? A lucid one?
A scene she'd never even imagined was shoved in her face.
Sion's mind fled to the escape of unreality.
"..."
But the girl knew well this wasn't a dream.
A grim "what if" imagination surfaced.
Just thinking it made sorrow surge from her chest. Tears felt ready to spill any second.
Rohan spotted Sion's face and his lips twitched in delight,
but he suppressed it to avoid notice and glared at the elder.
"It took you this long to bring her? Wasting my time like this?"
"I'm sorry! Actually... "
"Spit it out. If it's an excuse I can't buy, I'll shove a knife in your mouth."
"..."
The elders all shut their mouths at the razor-sharp threat.
Rohan checked the frozen Sion.
And his expression cracked with panic.
While the elders stared straight ahead without a shred of interest, Sion looked ready to burst into tears any moment.
No way.
Had she misunderstood just from the picture?
To push things forward as fast as possible, Rohan looked at the elders with pitiful disdain and continued.
"Useless trash. I can't trust you idiots with anything. Go verify it yourselves."
Rohan nodded at Clara.
This was what it meant to convey intent with a glance. Clara knew exactly what to say to Sion.
"..."
The girl who'd been sitting in silence slipped off her chair,
and without a word, led the tear-holding Sion outside.
Clack. Clack. Clack.
Once their footsteps faded, Rohan stood from his chair and grabbed the sword leaning against the wall.
"Now, let's hear your excuses."
Rohan slapped his palm with the scabbard. Tap! Tap!
The elders' eyes shook violently as he closed the distance without hesitation.
"Hex told you to raise the vessel properly, but what the hell is this?"
"Th-that's... "
The Sion Rohan faced was gaunt and haggard.
She looked like she hadn't eaten or drunk properly. She seemed far healthier during their shared dungeon hardships.
Rage boiled up inside him.
"You fucking idiots. Can't even handle something this simple?"
—Smack! Rohan began pummeling them with the thick scabbard,
beating every visible elder senseless, bones cracking or not, until they were combat-incapable.
Crack! Thwack! Thud!
"Gaaack...!"
"Kuhuk! M-my legs...!"
The meeting room echoed with brutal, dull thuds.
And pained groans squeezing through.
All elders except the grand elder sitting in place rolled on the floor as bloody messes.
The elders didn't resist Rohan even once while being beaten.
Fucking morons.
Even borrowing the Reverse Praise Society's name, would it have gone this smoothly?
Rohan buried his glee at neutralizing most of them so easily
and ground his teeth, channeling remaining fury as he glared at the grand elder.
"I don't need the others. Grand Elder Levin Maxwell. Confess the truth, you."
"..."
Embarrassment flickered in the old man's wrinkled eyes.
His frantic head-racking. Rohan gave no leeway.
"Nothing to say? Then reporting it to Hex as-is won't raise objections, right?"
"Even I, a politician who never saw the battlefield... of course know a healthy body is crucial for building strength."
The grand elder finally spoke after silence.
Rohan pounced like he'd been waiting.
"Oh? You know that, yet she's in that state? Keep babbling. Let's hear it."
"However, I believe hardship is an essential element for intelligent beings to grow wings."
"Made her like that for mental growth?"
"As you say."
Rohan held back laughter watching the elder spin long-winded excuses.
He was walking right into a trap that suited Rohan perfectly.
"You don't get it. Even in the abyss, only a tiny fraction turn hardship into growth."
"Yes. As you say. But I am confident the Testarosa bloodline belongs to that fraction."
Meaning, don't discard her.
Rohan tapped the floor with his blood-matted scabbard and stroked his chin.
"A 'plan,' or intended plan, it's ambiguous at best."
"That's... because the hardship has only just begun."
Words flowed smoothly now.
Rohan's eyes flicked to the meeting room entrance.
Wonder when she'll come back.
Rohan waited for Clara and Sion to return.
This seemed the perfect moment to keep his promise to Sion.
"Levin Maxwell."
"Yes. Speak."
"I'm dumbfounded by the childish training you idiots cooked up. It's so petty it doesn't even piss me off."
"...We'll push her even harder. Just watch a little longer—"
Thud! The scabbard slammed the floor hard, cutting him off.
"I said I'd judge the vessel's potential today."
"..."
The grand elder shut his mouth, words failing him.
"Levin Maxwell. You boasted the vessel would overcome mental hardship and grow."
"Correct."
"Good. Then I'll see that vaunted mental strength with my own eyes."
Rohan commanded the grand elder.
When the Testarosa bloodline returned, reveal all the facts they'd hidden until now.
The grand elder looked visibly flustered,
but nodded as if he'd never been at Rohan's one word that he'd take responsibility.