Chapter 78: Stubborn Supremacist

A cold silence fell upon the Conference Room, and the atmosphere froze over.

Mana-infused currents crackled and surged around Shion, distorting the air.

A stance more explicit than words. Anyone could see she was about to explode.

Rohan hurriedly intervened.

“Continue the conversation. I will keep my promise.”

““!””

The Grand Elder and Shion interpreted Rohan’s words in their own ways.

Grand Elder Levin Maxwell understood it as Rohan taking responsibility under the name of Hex, as he had initially mentioned.

Shion recalled the promise Rohan had made with her back at the Dormitory.

“…”

Shion, who had been glaring at the Grand Elder, rolled her eyes and glanced sideways.

Seeing Rohan, who had spoken up, and Clara sitting beside him, a sense of stability returned to her.

Controlling the mana fluctuating with her emotions, she exhaled deeply.

I’ll endure it now. I absolutely must endure.

If she lost her composure here and acted impulsively, the opportunity to hear the answers might never come.

Shion silently thanked Rohan for stopping her.

“Of course, from the Princess’s perspective, you must have many questions. The kinds of difficult questions you’ve been asking us Elders have become quite varied lately.”

“…”

“As time is short, I will only tell you the crucial information that will connect everything.”

Even as he spoke, Levin Maxwell looked at Rohan as if seeking agreement.

When Rohan nodded, he began to reveal the past that Shion was unaware of.

“You must want to know why I and the Elders who follow me acted the way we did, and how we dealt with Weber Testarossa, the ruler of Tigrova before the Grand Emperor of Snow appeared.”

The Grand Elder had been instructed to confess and show the strength of his will.

And he used strong tones and direct words to form his sentences.

Shion clenched her fists and gritted her teeth, suppressing the emotions threatening to erupt at the blatant confession of her father’s murder.

“Your father, Weber Testarossa, showed no shame despite losing all his power in defeat. He had a joyful expression, saying that the Grand Emperor of Snow would make Tigrova a powerful nation.”

As Shion struggled to quell her rising anger in silence, the Grand Elder seized the momentum and continued speaking.

“Afterwards, he gathered us and made a proposal. He said, let’s work together for the prosperity of the nation with the new ruler, the Grand Emperor of Snow. He even said excitedly that the Grand Emperor of Snow asked the Elves of the Coniferous Forest to remain in Tigrova and hold important positions.”

“What’s wrong with that?”

Maxwell emphasized this as if it were the most crucial point.

However, Shion couldn’t understand where the problem lay. Even in defeat, it seemed like an ideal course of action.

“Princess. Elves cannot be ruled by Beastkin.”

“Why? For what reason?”

The Grand Elder chuckled, seeing Shion echoing his question just as Weber Testarossa had.

He had been choosing his words carefully with the Princess until now, but thanks to Hex’s Messenger, he was thrilled to be able to reveal his true intentions transparently.

“How can you ask such a thing? Noble Elves are not beings to be ruled by lowly Beastkin. Isn’t that obvious?”

“…Grand Elder. Have you gone mad?”

The anger Shion had been painstakingly suppressing finally leaked out, filling the Conference Room with a heavy atmosphere.

But the Grand Elder was confident, trusting in Hex’s Messenger.

“Please refrain from aggressive language since we have a guest present. I am sane. Aren’t there so many Elders who agree with me?”

Levin Maxwell gestured towards the Elders sprawled on the floor.

While their condition wasn’t exactly normal after being beaten by Rohan, none of those who still retained consciousness objected.

There wasn’t even a hint of remorse in their eyes.

Rohan quietly observed the Grand Elder and Shion.

Levin Maxwell’s tendencies were being expressed more blatantly and aggressively than in Abyss City.

Crazy old man.

The closed-minded thinking of an Elf with extreme supremacist views and stubbornness, unable to keep up with the times, solidified over a long life.

Rohan had known this old man’s values from the beginning, but the recklessness of his words now that he had a shield was astounding.

The Grand Elder was still talking incessantly.

He seemed to enjoy informing Shion of all the facts, which was disgusting. This disgust was probably the secret behind the Reverse Praise Society’s visit.

“Since he didn’t accept our petition not to associate with the Beastkin, the discord was essentially predetermined.”

“Then what should my father have done?”

“Instead of being complacent about having a good ruler, he should have challenged him again to regain sovereignty.”

“You speak so easily, having never experienced battle.”

“Princess. It is the duty of a ruler, so the hardship is irrelevant.”

Shion realized with certainty.

Even if she talked to this old man forever, they would never understand each other.

“Look at Tigrova’s current strength and the reputation of the Grand Emperor of Snow. My father made the right decision given the circumstances. His only mistake was not purging the trash and keeping them by his side.”

Despite Shion’s snarling and aggressive tone, the Grand Elder continued to reveal the truth of the past as if it didn’t matter. He wouldn’t lose this argument as long as he kept focusing on this aspect.

Because it would only make Shion feel sick to her stomach.

“Let me continue. Even if his physical condition wasn’t perfect due to his defeat, how could we possibly harm Weber Testarossa with our power?”

“…”

“Weber Testarossa was truly strong. Even to my untrained eyes, it was hard to believe he was the same species as us. He was a person befitting the term ‘one man army’.”

“You… You joined hands with someone.”

“Yes. The higher-ups of the Reverse Praise Society stepped forward.”

He confessed readily, with no need for denial.

It was the name of a group that Shion had never heard of, but she could guess who the Grand Elder thought Rohan was.

“If that’s the case, you should have killed me too. Why did you deceive me and bring me this far?”

With the question, the Elf girl glared at the Grand Elder with an intensity that seemed to pierce him.

Her lowered voice reminded him of a beast about to bite his throat.

“It’s a simple story. Because you were the condition of the deal.”

“Deal…?”

“Think about the education you’ve received so far, Princess. You’ve put in a lot of effort to become the bullet that would bring down Tigrova’s ruler, haven’t you?”

Shion didn’t need to think deeply about it.

Those times immediately came to mind.

“Is the deal also the reason you tried to indoctrinate me with the ideology of looking down on humans and Beastkin, telling me I had to kill the Grand Emperor of Snow and reclaim Tigrova?”

“It’s both a deal and common sense in the world.”

“Ha…! Grand Elder. Did you choose the wrong backer? They seem awfully cowardly.”

For the first time, Shion’s words had an effect.

The Grand Elder’s wrinkles and eyebrows twitched.

“Princess. Be careful what you say.”

“Look at the situation. It’s just the truth.”

Shion grasped the general flow.

It was clear that the Grand Emperor of Snow was a highly irritating figure to the influential figures in the shadows, and that the Reverse Praise Society lacked the merit or confidence to eliminate him directly.

So, they would cultivate potential blades and keep challenging him until they succeeded.

She had a feeling they were up to other tricks as well.

Because of these bastards, my parents…

The faces of her parents were clearer than the realization that her life had been wasted.

Now that she knew the truth, she wasn’t just angry, she was dumbfounded.

“Grand Elder. Turning your back on your own kind, abandoning your affluent life. What were you promised in exchange for holing up in this Ruin and raising me as a weapon?”

“I was promised many things. But if I had to choose the most representative one, it would be…”

The Grand Elder had a look of ecstasy on his face just from imagining it.

He lifted his robe, which had been covering even his wrists, revealing a single, strangely unwrinkled and elastic arm.

“Youth.”

“What?”

Did she hear wrong?

A dumbfounded voice escaped Shion’s lips.

“Princess. As you know, I am not a warrior. Born a long-lived species, I would live a long life compared to humans. However, it was clear that I would live a short life compared to those who honed their martial skills.”

“…”

“That’s why it was so sweet and alluring. The chance to become young again.”

“You were fooled by such preposterous sweet talk. Betraying and selling out your own kind to defy the natural order. Aren’t you ashamed?”

“Hex-nim’s power is not sweet talk. I believe it because I’ve experienced and witnessed it firsthand.”

Rohan clicked his tongue, watching the Grand Elder ramble on, reminiscing about his past encounter with the Reverse Praise Society.

Because he knew the truth.

Hex’s ability wasn’t that versatile. There were many issues that the person himself didn’t bother to mention.

“…”

Shion realized that further questioning was pointless.

This person in front of her was a madman.

Now that she knew the truth and the group behind it, there was only one thing left to know.

“I’ll ask one last time.”

“Speak.”

“Where are the other members of my kind you said you helped escape to another country?”

Levin Maxwell thought for a moment, as if trying to recall something he’d forgotten, and then, in an incredibly lighthearted tone, he informed Shion.

“If you dig in the ground in Tigrova, you might find some bone fragments.”

She had heard everything she needed to hear.

Shion kicked off the ground, accompanied by a burst of electricity.

Crack!

The Grand Elder, kicked while sitting, tumbled over the Elders sprawled on the floor.

“Ugh!”

If it weren’t for the robe he was wearing, that single blow would have certainly killed him.

That’s why he was bewildered.

Was the Messenger’s reaction, who had promised to protect him, late?

“Grand Elder. Right now, it feels like I’m hunting Monsters, not hitting a person.”

“!”

Shion walked towards him, click-clacking her heels.

The Grand Elder moved his gaze to look at Rohan for help, but Rohan remained seated in his chair, just watching him quietly.