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The Simulacrum - Chapter 118 - Part 1
🕑 Added 2023-07-11 12:09:57 +0000 UTC"Are we calm yet?" I asked with just the tiiiniest hint of exasperation in my voice, and the two trigger-happy idiots in front of me nodded in unison. They were both sitting on their heels in the middle of the living room with the conference table. Or rather, Rinne did so, while Jaakobah was clumsily yet stoically trying to follow her example, even though he obviously wasn't used to this kind of thing.
Anyhow, the two of them kept eyeing each other instead of responding to me (though in the case of Mountain Girl, I could only guess based on body language), so I forcefully cleared my throat and crossed my arms.
"Jaakobah. Explain."
My self-appointed guard's eyes snapped back to me, and after a salute made infinitely clumsier by his posture, he spoke up in an especially mirthless voice.
"I arrived at the Archon's residence at sixteen-thirty to make my report regarding the current state of the Praetorian Guard. Upon entry, I made contact with…" He paused and directed a disparaging glance at the woman motionlessly kneeling next to him. "Her. After repeated attempts to make contact, she refused to identify herself, so I made an attempt to apprehend her. She resisted."
I waited for him to continue, but apparently, that was it. Once I successfully resisted the urge to facepalm again, I narrowed my eyes into a disapproving frown and locked gazes with the man.
"So you attacked her," I stated, and he nodded without a hint of pretence.
"It is my duty to guard you, and she was an unknown element in your quarters, meaning I—"
"Can it," I much less said than groaned and pointed at the stock-still Mountain Girl. "Don't even try to pretend her presence isn't already known far and wide in the Elysium."
"Yes, but…" Jaakobah tried to argue back, but after a short pause, he respectfully inclined his head forward and switched tracks. "Lord Archon? May I speak my mind freely?"
"When have you ever not done that?" I asked back, and his shoulders rose in a tiny shrug that could be best translated as 'Fair point' and moved on without any reservations.
"As you have predicted, her appearance is already widely known and speculated upon by the Directorate. I'm have been informed by Primus Khurshid that you designated her as your personal bodyguard, but as your Praetorian Prefect, I am duty-bound to object."
I continued to level a flat stare at him, but Jaakobah remained entirely poker-faced. At last, I exhaled hard and opted for massaging my temple instead of a facepalm.
"Are you questioning me right now?"
"No, Lord Archon. I'm merely advising," he answered smoothly, as if expecting the question. "The organization of the Praetorian Guard is still underway, and her presence infringes on the current chain of command. At the bare minimum, you should have notified me about her ahead of time." He paused, probably realizing that he sounded a bit too forceful. "As the Praetorian Prefect, it is my responsibility to ensure your safety, privacy, and to ensure smooth communications between you and the staff serving you. Such information is necessary for me to fulfil my duties."
He was making a decent argument, though I couldn't help but feel that the whole thing was really about Rinne encroaching on his newfound authority. As indifferent as he was on the surface, the way he kept emphasizing his rank made that much pretty obvious. That said, I was currently playing the role of Polemos, and as such, I had no reason to call him out on it. Or to play nice with him, if we were at that.
"What I choose to tell to whom is up to me and me alone," I told him in a low voice, and after letting him simmer for a moment, I continued in a more neutral tone. "That said, I'm not unreasonable. While I normally wouldn't tolerate conflict between my retainers, you acted in accordance with your duties, so I will not hold you responsible."
Jaakobah gave me another deferential nod, but then immediately followed it up with a pointed question.
"Understood. However, if still feel obliged to ask; are you not going to question her as well?"
I glanced at the motionless ninja-in-disguise, and had to admit that not hearing out her side of the story would've been a bit unnatural. Thankfully, I had a ready answer for that.
"She can't speak," I said in a disinterested tone. "She also has my full confidence, so there would be no need to question her even if she could."
Jaakobah blinked at me, and it took him several seconds to digest what I said, but then he threw another inquiry at me.
"If I may ask, who exactly is she for you to trust her to that degree?"
My first reflex was to give him the cover story I'd been fermenting at the back of my mind all day, but I had a different idea, and allowed an amused smile to creep onto my face instead.
"You tell me."
That was a bit too vague, as testified by the man's slightly raised brows, so I made a sweeping gesture towards Mountain Girl.
"I'm sure there are already countless rumours being traded about her, and I'm certain that you must have heard at least a few. So go ahead. Tell me who you think she is."
The dour Celestial eyed me for a few seconds, and once he concluded that I was serious, he straightened his back and took a deep breath.
"While I do not involve myself in idle gossip, I have indeed caught snippets of conversation pertaining to her." I gestured for him to continue. "The three most consistently spoken theories are as follows: some say that she's a talented Malakim the Lord Archon brought into the Migdál as a political statement."
"That one's probably coming from the Reformists," I guessed, and he nodded at once. "I'm not going to lie, I expected something more original. Let's see if the other two rumours could live up to my expectations."
"The second theory, claims that she's a member of a secret society that hid in the shadows of Elysium for millennia, loyal only to the Second True Archon and waiting for his return to serve him once again."
It took me quite some effort to still my face after hearing that. Just how much free time and loose imagination did these guys have to come up with something like that in just half a day? Anyhow, I tried my best to remain unflappable and blandly stated, "A little plain, but serviceable. What's the third one?"
"Some say that she's one of Archon Polemos's old allies who had also undergone reincarnation and that you left the Migdál every night looking for her." He paused, and then amended, "Also, while it might not be entirely relevant to the conversation, I think it would be irresponsible of me if I didn't mention that all three of these theories independently assume that she's your mistress."
Rinne visibly twitched at this moment, prompting Jaakobah to glance at her reaction.
"You have my permission to laugh at that when we're in private," I came to her rescue with a carefully maintained thin-lipped smile, as if I just heard something absurd, and then turned back to the slightly confounded man. "I like the third one. Very dramatic, and doesn't involve politics or a secret society that would make the Directorate get even more paranoid. You have my permission to categorically deny it in public and insist on it being entirely fabricated."
"… Reverse psychology?" Jaakobah whispered with his eyes glazed over, his mind already making all kinds of silly connections no doubt, and then he glanced back at me. "Does that mean it's not the actual truth?"
"Obviously."
"And you are not planning to enlighten me," he stated, not even bothering to make it a question, and before I could respond, he also added, "Plausible deniability."
Instead of saying anything, I flashed a knowing smile, and my Praetorian Prefect nodded along.
"As you command, Lord Archon." He gave me a salute again, this time a bit more gracefully, but then added, "Before I go, I would like to request one vital piece of information."
"Such as?"
"What is her name?"
We glanced at Rinne, and after a long beat, I told him, "For now, you may refer to her as my Arbiter."
"Arbiter?" Jaakobah repeated after me with a frown. "Who is she going to judge?"
"You'll see," I responded with a not-at-all-sinister smirk, and once I set the groundwork like that, I pointed two fingers upwards. "Rise."
I didn't need to say that twice, and less than a second later, Mountain Girl was already on her feet and moved behind me. The Celestial took considerably longer to get up, and once he did, he straightened his outfit and turned to me, awaiting instructions. I didn't let him wait for long.
"Go and get someone to clean up and repair the mess you've made."
"As you command." He waited to see if I had anything else to add, so I figured I might as well do.
"Just to be clear, she answers only to me. She isn't part of the Praetorian Guard, and she won't accept any orders, nor will she give any. Make sure everyone understands that."
Jaakobah nodded, and while his expression was controlled as always, I could see a hint of relief in his eyes. Apparently, he got attached to his newfound authority really fast and was glad to hear he wouldn't need to compete with Mountain Girl over it. Since I had nothing else to say, I dismissed him with a wave, and he wordlessly walked up to the entrance. It was only when he opened the door that I recalled something and stopped him in his tracks.
"One last thing," I spoke with my hand raised. "I want you to look into something for me. Find out everything you can about Udug Blood Amalgams."
Jaakobah gave me a sideways look, hand still on the door handle, and carefully asked, "I am… not entirely familiar with the item in question. Do you require any?"
"No. I only want to know who has access to it, where they got it from, and by what means."
"I'll try my best."
That wasn't an answer that fostered confidence, but I didn't pester him any further, and waved my hand to show that I had nothing else for him. Nodding, he finally left the room, and only when that happened did Rinne let out a weird noise behind me.
"What?" I asked as I turned around, only to see her hold her head in her hands.
"Rinne made a huge mistake!" she moaned, and while at first I thought she was going to remove her helmet, she just kept overdramatically shaking her head.
"You mean, by getting caught by Jaakobah, by starting a fight, or…?"
"No, not that!" she protested and finally faced me properly. "Rinne wasn't paying attention to Rinne's manners, and now people think Rinne is Leonard-dono's mistress!"
"… Was that seriously the only part that made an impression on you?"
"But… But what if the rumors really get out of hand, and reach the others? Ichiko-neesan will make fun of Rinne forever!" she suddenly stopped, and I could see her face slacken in my mind's eye. "Oh, no! What if Judy-san hears about this? Rinne will be forced to commit hara-kiri!"
I wasn't entirely sure if she was serious, but regardless, I exhaled an exasperated groan and poked her helmet where her forehead would've been.
"Stop being so melodramatic. Judy only keeps doing this whole anti-harem countermeasure thingto tease me. She's not actually serious about it."
Or at the very least not anymore, or so I hoped, but she didn't need to know about all the caveats.
"If Leonard-dono says so…" she grumbled, and followed after me as I returned to the bedroom.
"You messed up the place pretty well," I mused as I stared at the broken bed and the clean cuts on the wall.
"Rinne just came out of the shower, and was startled by the appearance of that man," she sulked, but I didn't really care, as I was more interested in the damaged walls.
I'd seen those Celestial workers shape whole segments with their weird instruments, and seeing the hard yet porous internal structure behind the plaster reignited my interest in the construction of this 'Migdál' thing. Was the whole tower made of this stuff? Which was more important when shaping it; the material, or the instruments? Was it safe to interact with it?
While I pondered these things, Rinne remained behind me, and after about half a minute, she tentatively spoke up.
"Why was Leonard-dono acting like that?"
Her question finally tore my attention away from the walls and made me raise a brow.
"You mean, my Polemos act?"
"Yes, that's what Rinne meant," she confirmed with a nod, followed by cocking her head to the side. "Why doesn't Leonard-dono show the same leadership quantities back home?"
"It's 'qualities', and…" I paused, just realizing how silly that question was, and fully turned to her. "What the ever-loving heck are you even talking about?"
"Leonard-dono's leadership quantities," she repeated, completely ignoring my correction.
"… Do you mean being overbearing and acting like a petty tyrant?"
"Yes," she confirmed without a hint of hesitation.
"And in your eyes, those are good things," I uttered flatly, and she nodded along.
"Rinne believes so. They show Leonard-dono's subordinates that Leonard-dono is in control and can be trusted."
Should I point out that it was an act? Or ask her why she considered those desirable qualities in a leader? Or should I just facepalm again? The options were endless, but in the end, I decided to mutter a quiet, "Your outlook is unique as always," before shaking my head and levelling a flat stare at her. "We have more important things to discuss."
"Such as how to track down all the rumor-mongers extenuating that Rinne is Leonard-dono's mistress?"
I didn't even try to correct her this time, and only uttered, "Are you still worked up about that?" When she remained intensely silent, I shook my head. "No, that's really not that big of a deal. I wanted to discuss something else. Remember how I called you my Arbiter?"
"Rinne was meaning to ask, but what does that mean?" she inquired, cocking her head the other way, and I couldn't help but let a soft chuckle escape my mouth.
"It's something I thought of while I was back home," I paused as I recalled something, and added, "By the way, remind me to go back and pick up the cooler box and the food I ordered later in the evening." I waited for her to nod, and then continued with, "Anyhow, since you're here already, I figured we might as well put your sword to use."
"Onikiri?" she echoed me, and based on her body language, she was just about to say something that would annoy me, so I beat her to the punch.
"If you say something like 'Such as finding all the people gossiping about me and cutting them all down!', I swear to god, I'll personally tell Judy about this whole 'mistress' bullcrap, consequences be damned."
"Rinne… wasn't going to say those words." That was a conspicuously specific denial, but I didn't point it out. "If not that, then what does Leonard-dono refer to?"
Instead of answering, I only smiled at her mysterious (or at least hoped it was so), and glanced at the blade hanging from her waist, its hilt and guard covered in purple cloth. For the longest time, I've been waiting for its truth detector function to become relevant again. After all, having such a seemingly random utility, on a sword no less, was screaming 'future plot device', but since the Narrative never picked up the ball, I figured I might as well do it myself…
Comments
Orion Dye
Glad to see you had fun. Sorry to hear about your computer dying in parts. Its becoming a real “ship of Theseus” from what i understand. Good luck on your chappies and hope your job doesn’t drag you back down again.
Egathentale
Hello, dear readers. I'm back from my vacation. Climbed a mountain, visited a cool limestone cave with some dripstone formations, got lost while going around a lake, sampled the local restaurants, and watched a bunch of terrible (and one good) movies with my friends. In other words, fun times. On the other hand, once I got home, I was welcomed by my PC misbehaving, because the C drive SSD was on its last legs, so I had to order another one. Then I started making an USB Windows installer for when it arrives, but then the pendrive died, and I had to order one of those next. That wasn't half as fun. Anyhow, putting my current technical difficulties aside, I'm planning to churn out a few more chapter parts in the coming days to compensate for the dead week, so stay tuned. Also, I didn't forget about the other extra chappie I promised either, and it's also coming this week. In any case, see you soon!
