“Grand Elder. Right now, I don’t feel like I’m hitting a person—it’s more like I’m hunting a monster.”
*Click-clack, click-clack.* Sion approaches, her footsteps echoing.
The boiling anger takes shape and radiates. *Zap! Zap!* The crackling electricity is wild and untamed.
“Uh, Messenger!”
“What is it?”
Rohan looks down at the fallen Grand Elder with a displeased expression.
Around them, the elders, beaten with scabbards, lie groaning on the ground.
More than half are unconscious. Those still awake have dazed, unfocused eyes.
“Please, protect me…! The murderous intent she’s directing at me is real!”
“Do you think I wouldn’t sense what even a fool like you can feel?”
“T-then why…?”
Rohan doesn’t seem to have any intention of getting up from his chair.
For the first time, the Grand Elder’s face is painted with fear.
“If I step in, it won’t be fun anymore.”
“…Huh?”
“I’ve already tasted something disgusting, so now I need to rinse my mouth with cider. Shut up and take your beating.”
From Levin Maxwell’s perspective, it’s still a bunch of incomprehensible nonsense.
*Thud!*
Before he can even retort, a sturdy boot appears in front of his face.
The Grand Elder, still lying on the ground, lifts his head.
Sion stands before him, condensing electricity in her palm.
*Crackle-crackle-crackle!!!*
The terrifying noise suggests that if he gets hit, he’ll be fried on the spot.
For Levin Maxwell, who has lived a life devoid of pain, this is pure terror.
The desperation in his voice, directed at Rohan, is indistinguishable from a scream.
“Messenger! Didn’t you swear in the name of me and Hex?!”
“Ah, that? Yeah, I did. Don’t worry, I’ll take the punishment when it comes.”
If he were truly Hex’s subordinate, he would have to protect the one he serves, even at the cost of his life.
It’s not about morality or trust—it’s more like a binding mechanism.
That’s why the Grand Elder didn’t doubt it.
Rohan shifts his gaze to Sion.
He listens to the girl’s voice.
“Grand Elder. I can’t understand you. My father probably felt the same way.”
“…!”
“But my father would have tried to understand you.”
The electric attribute magic Sion possesses.
A condensed sphere of it falls onto the Grand Elder’s body.
“Ggggrrrkkk──!!!”
Maxwell trembles as the electric current courses through him. His voice is more pitiful than a scream.
The robe he’s wearing somehow keeps him alive, but it can’t fully block the attack.
The once-colorful robe loses its luster. It’s safe to say that it’s exhausted after enduring this assault.
Rohan, who had been sitting and watching, fiddles with his sword as he delivers his verdict.
“One more hit, and he’s really dead.”
“Uh, uh, yes! This is the limit!”
A glimmer of hope flashed across the Grand Elder’s wrinkled eyes.
The kind of face that hopes Hex’s messenger might rise up and save them even now.
Rohan suddenly turned his head there.
He started chatting casually with Clara, who was sitting quietly beside him.
“Seems like we haven’t been caught yet, huh?”
“Oh, oppa, you must be acting too well…!”
“I was nervous about when we’d get caught. Maybe I have a talent for this?”
Their laughter-filled banter pierced the Grand Elder’s ears.
Rohan, chatting with the girl accompanying him, felt no pressure at all.
Maxwell caught a late clue at the word “acting.”
“You… you couldn’t be…!”
The Grand Elder’s tone dropped significantly.
Rohan smirked as if to say, “You finally figured it out?”
“That’s how it is. You’ve lived deceiving others, so don’t feel wronged when you’re deceived yourself.”
Rohan answered casually, shedding the solemnity that seemed allergic to him.
The Grand Elder froze in shock, and Rohan’s smile deepened.
‘Of course, it would be hard to accept.’
Information about the name even Sion didn’t know and the people they encountered in Tigroba.
The hidden background of the Reverse Flow Praise Society, the silver coins of Judas and their usage, mentions of Hex’s plans, and so on.
Without a way to contact and confirm with the other party, it might indeed be information they had no choice but to believe.
Even if they had a means to contact, they likely wouldn’t have tried out of courtesy.
“These, these lunatics! Daring to use the name of the Reverse Flow Praise Society…!”
“Old man. Don’t you know it’s over if there are no witnesses? If I draw my sword, do you have any elves to stop me?”
“!”
Among the elven elders, there are a few skilled in combat.
If Rohan had tried to break through with brute force from the entrance, the collaboration of the elven elders in charge of security magic and combat would have taken a considerable amount of time.
That’s why Rohan seized the opportunity when he had the upper hand.
In preparation for this moment, he had thoroughly crushed the limbs of those skilled in combat to dust.
Having gone through a special process of selective beatings, even if he were to cut their throats now, they wouldn’t be able to resist.
Now, as a gesture of ignoring the Grand Elder’s words, Rohan raised his head.
Sion was looking at him. Her lips trembled as she made a sound.
“Rohan. I…”
“Do as you wish, Sion. If you can’t finish it, I can do it for you.”
At Rohan’s kindness, Sion weakly struggled.
Punishing the ringleader, the Grand Elder, was something she had to do herself.
“…I’ll do it.”
Sion showed the sniper rifle she was carrying forward.
With a click, she loaded it.
Then, looking down at the Grand Elder, she calmly aimed the barrel.
“Grand Elder. You said you were afraid of death, didn’t you?”
“P-Princess! This is an irresponsible act! If you listen to me until the end, you’ll surely change your mind…!”
Sion mercilessly cut off the meaningless chatter.
“Hope you don’t get reborn as a beast in your next life.”
As the trigger was pulled, *──Thud!* A heavy sound echoed through the conference room.
The shell casing clattered to the floor, rolling around.
The Grand Elder, who had been frantically flapping his mouth, fell into eternal silence.
“Phew…”
Sion’s breath was ragged, and her hands trembled violently. It felt like she might drop the gun she was holding at any moment.
Now, she didn’t care much about killing a traitor.
The real problem was the flood of complex emotions and memories from the past that came with her newfound freedom.
“Clara. Can you stay with Sion for a bit? I’ll finish up here and join you.”
“Okay…!”
“Take care of Sion.”
Clara nodded solemnly at Rohan’s request and quickly moved into action.
After confirming that Sion and Clara had left the room…
‘Time to wrap things up.’
Rohan stood up and drew his blade from its sheath.
*Swoosh!*
It was time to clean up the trash scattered on the floor.
··
··
After Rohan neatly finished off the elders and stepped out of the conference room…
He saw Sion, clinging to Clara and crying like a child.
“Ugh… Ugh! H-Hic…!”
She was trying to hold it in but couldn’t, pouring out her emotions pitifully.
Clara, buried in Sion’s chest—despite being shorter—was doing her best to comfort her.
Rohan, having sheathed his sword, walked over.
“Sion.”
“…”
All he could see was her face, a mess from sobbing.
The composed, problem-solving demeanor she had shown earlier was nowhere to be seen.
Now, she looked fragile, as if she might shatter at any moment.
Perhaps this was the true face of the girl named Sion.
Rohan gently wiped away Sion’s tears as she clung to Clara like a stuffed animal.
He softly spoke the words he had wanted to say.
“The future might feel overwhelming. Anyone would feel that way after going through something like this.”
“Rohan…”
“Just remember, every second from now on is entirely yours. Focus on doing what you want and living happily. That’s how you save yourself.”
For a moment, Sion’s crying stopped.
She was listening intently.
“If you don’t know which path to take, you can pester me to help you find it.”
“…”
“It’s only natural to struggle to find the right path alone.”
“But, but…”
As if out of habit, Sion was about to say something, but Rohan pressed his finger against her lips to stop her.
It might have looked ridiculous, but to Rohan, Sion just seemed adorable.
With a light chuckle, Rohan continued speaking.
“A sniper needs a spotter to aim the barrel in the right direction, right?”
“…”
“Until now, there was no spotter. So even if you aimed in the wrong direction, it’s not your fault, Sion. Got it?”
Sion froze as she listened to Rohan’s words.
“Got it?”
“…”
With a smile, Rohan pressed for an answer again, a bit forcefully.
Sion gave a small nod.
“When you want to clear your mind and let go, or when you need someone to take responsibility or blame, I’ll be that spotter for you.”
Sion wanted to ask why he was going this far for her, if only he’d let go of her lips.
But Rohan, as if he already knew that, didn’t let go.
“Sion, just live happily from now on. That’s enough, no need to complicate things.”
“Ah…”
With those final words, Rohan finally released her lips.
Sion kept feeling it.
That there wasn’t a single ulterior motive in anything Rohan had said so far.
That someone who wasn’t her parent or family wished for her happiness with selfless affection.
‘Rohan…’
The more she thought about Rohan’s actions up until now.
Sion felt a soft, warm emotion filling the empty space left in her chest.
The pain that had been tearing her apart earlier melted away into something warm and disappeared.
‘You… you’ve never deceived me from the start, have you…?’
As she locked eyes with Rohan, an inexplicable tickling sensation and embarrassment washed over her.
“And save your magic. Why have you been using skills since earlier?”
Rohan chuckled lightly, noticing that Sion’s eyes had turned into hearts.
At the same time.
Clara, who had been quietly hugging Sion to comfort her, noticed something strange.
Sion’s heart began to beat wildly, thump! thump!, in a completely different rhythm than before.
