https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-202-Meeting-Usurping-the-Throne-Part-2-/12969835/
Chapter 203: Meeting? Usurpation! (Light Novel Fanboy)
Chapter 203: Meeting? Usurpation! (Light Novel Fanboy)
"...?"
Upon hearing Lyon's response, the tense atmosphere in the room relaxed slightly, despite the continued silence. Even the middle-aged man, who had begun to doubt Lyon's identity, showed a slight easing of his suspicions, though his doubts remained. He smiled and said, "Your answer is correct... Little Bavin, I hope you don't blame me for being overly cautious. After all, as the leader, I'm responsible for everyone's safety.
You were an ordinary person until yesterday, and all it took was a night breeze to awaken your anomaly ability. This transformation is too sudden, so for safety's sake, we can't skip the necessary tests."
"You're right," Lyon replied, knowing it was pointless to argue. He nodded in agreement and then, as if nothing had happened, asked, "Leader, as you said, until yesterday, I was just an ordinary member, unfamiliar with everyone. Could you introduce us, please?"
"Of course," the middle-aged man nodded, then turned to the burned man beside Lyon. He spoke at a steady pace, "Sitting next to you is Tig, whom you've already met. Then there's Luke, Oliver, Phoebe, and Lucy..."
After a brief and rather inadequate introduction, the middle-aged man smiled and said, "As for everyone's abilities and other details, it's a bit troublesome to go into each one. Plus, we have something very important to discuss later, so I'll skip that for now. You can find out more about them on your own later."
"..."
Find out more later...?
Lyon, feeling rather speechless, realized that most of these people weren't in the valley and had other hidden identities. Where was he supposed to find them to learn more? It seemed like all he got from this introduction were some names, and he wasn't even sure if they were real.
Noticing Lyon's expression, the middle-aged man changed his focus and introduced Lyon to the group, "Everyone, this is Little Bavin. He was in charge of procurement in the organization, but he awakened his anomaly ability yesterday and became one of us..."
"Oh, and Little Bavin, what's your ability? Can you share it with us?"
...
So, after all my efforts to infiltrate, I not only failed to gather any intelligence but also had to reveal some of my own first? Lyon narrowed his eyes at the middle-aged man, who was clearly on guard. Then, amidst the bandits' curious gazes, he nodded and revealed, "Sure, my ability is quite simple. I can make anyone bow to me."
Make anyone bow to you? What kind of ability is that?
Everyone, including the middle-aged man who was trying to gather information, was taken aback by Lyon's words. After a moment of silence, the middle-aged man asked, "And then?"
"That's it," Lyon replied with a shake of his head. "Just that... or at least, that's all I've discovered so far."
"..."
This...
The bandits in the room, seeing Lyon's sincere expression, confirmed he wasn't joking. They looked at each other, unsure of what to say.
"Your ability... it's quite unique..." The middle-aged man, still somewhat skeptical, paused to think before asking, "So, how long does your ability last? And what's the maximum distance it can affect someone?"
Ah, those details!
The bandits, who had been disappointed, regained their interest upon hearing the middle-aged man's questions.
Forcing someone to bow may sound useless, but if it can be done from several kilometers away, making someone bow continuously for a day, or forcing them to keep bowing, it might not be entirely worthless.
With the right conditions and proper usage, this seemingly useless anomaly could prove to be surprisingly effective in critical moments!
"As for the duration..." Lyon considered the bandits' expectant gazes and replied, "It's just a single bow, and then it's over."
"..."
"The distance is limited to face-to-face, slightly larger than this room. Beyond that, it's ineffective."
"..."
"There's no real interval between uses, but the ability requires verbal persuasion. If someone interrupts me before I finish speaking, they won't have to bow."
"..."
You're... really quite useless...
Despite their mental preparation, the bandits couldn't help but show their extreme disbelief on their faces. Lyon's ability was not just useless; it was utterly worthless.
Reasoning with the ability of Little Bavin is indeed underwhelming, and it seems less practical than a simple nail gun.
Not only does it require face-to-face activation, but its effect is limited to a single bow. With the time it takes to convince someone verbally, you could just shoot them and be done with it, right?
And what does it mean to 'convince someone with words'?
"It's exactly as it sounds."
After the middle-aged man, representing the rogue gang members inside the room, asked this question, Leon earnestly explained, "For example, if I want you all to bow to me, I must first convince you. I need to make you genuinely agree with my viewpoint from the heart, and then you'll enter my ability's range and bow to me as I ask."
"..."
This... Are you serious? Even the burned man, who had been convinced of Leon's exceptional abilities, couldn't hold back his skepticism upon hearing such an absurd activation condition.
Honestly, the ability to make someone bow in person is already useless, and now you're saying we have to convince them first? Are you sure this can be called an anomaly ability?
"You're not just making this up, are you?"
The bald woman, with a straightforward temperament, ran her hand over her bald head and stood up. "The effect is weak, and the restriction is huge. You have to convince them first? Is this really an anomaly ability? I could point a nail gun at someone's head and make them bow faster than you!"
"Maybe... the effect is slightly underwhelming, but I can assure you, this ability's manifestation is beyond what normal means can achieve. It's definitely an anomaly ability. If you don't believe me..."
Leon blinked awkwardly and suggested, "Let's give it a try, shall we?"
"Just a try..."
"Hold on!"
The bald woman, eager to experience it herself, was stopped by the middle-aged man. He narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing Leon, and slowly asked, "Little Bavin, don't blame me for overthinking, but all we know about your bowing ability is from your own words. We don't know the specifics.
"So, can I assume that your ability's true nature isn't just bowing, but that after bowing, you'll control us, pry into our secrets, and make us obey your every command from then on?"
?!?!?!
Upon hearing the middle-aged man's words, the rogue gang members' expressions turned stern as they glared at Leon.
That's right! How could there be such a boring ability as making people bow? He must be saying this to lower our guard, making us curious enough to cooperate and enter his ability's range!
If the situation is as Nathan guessed, we might all become this kid's puppets from now on!
"Leader, you've misunderstood."
Sensing the hostile gazes from the gang members, Leon raised his hands in surrender and explained, "The situation isn't as you imagine. My ability is truly limited to making people bow. As for the test I just mentioned, it doesn't require any cooperation from you. All you need to do is listen to one sentence."
"If listening to just one sentence could control you, then after hearing me speak so much, shouldn't you already be under my control?"
...
That's true...
After hearing Little Bavin's defense, the gang members privately pondered for a moment, feeling that his words made sense. Meanwhile, the burned man beside Leon couldn't wait to stand up, waving his hand impatiently and shooing away the doubters.
"Those who want to try, stay and listen. Those who are too scared, cover your ears or leave! Why drag this out?"
After scolding the gang members, the burned man took a deep breath and turned to Leon. "Go ahead! I want to see how you can make me bow with just one sentence!"
"Okay."
Hearing the burned man's words, Leon didn't immediately respond. Instead, he surveyed the room, his expression serious as he reminded them, "My ability is language-activated, so if anyone is still worried about being controlled, please cover your ears tightly or temporarily leave the room."
"..."
After Little Bavin's reminder, the gang members inside the room fell silent once more, but no one chose to leave. Even the middle-aged man on the main seat hesitated for a moment but didn't move.
After all, if the ability could be activated just by listening, Little Bavin would have had countless opportunities to activate the anomaly before explaining the rules...
"Since everyone's willing to give it a try, I'll begin.
"After scanning the room and seeing no one leaving or covering their ears, Lyon nodded in satisfaction and then raised two fingers.
'I believe that one plus one equals two. Those who agree with me, please rise and bow to me.'
A chorus of scraping chair legs filled the room as everyone in the room, including the rogue gang members, stood up simultaneously. They were shocked to find that they had lost control of their bodies and were bowing to Little Bavin, with two of the shorter individuals even banging their heads on the table.
'Holy shit! It's actually real!'
The bald woman, after retrieving her hood from the table, rubbed her reddened forehead in surprise. 'I just thought about it for a moment, agreeing with you, and then I couldn't control my body and bowed to you!
Wow! You weren't lying! There's really this useless anomaly ability. As long as someone agrees with what you say, they'll...uh...Leader?'
The bald woman looked at the middle-aged man, the only one still seated and not bowing, with confusion. 'But isn't it one plus one? How come...?'
'I didn't use my ability on him.'
As the bald woman's expression turned doubtful, questioning the man's mathematical ability, Lyon interrupted.
'His Highness Nathan is, after all, a leader recognized by all. I felt it wouldn't be right to have him bow to me, so I didn't include him when I used my ability.'
'Oh, I see!'
Upon confirming that Little Bavin hadn't lied and had been truthful from the start, the bald woman's attitude became more friendly, even smiling as she teased, 'You should've told me about this. I thought the leader couldn't even do simple math!'
Smiling back at the bald woman, Lyon glanced at the golden-glowing Travel Thrush Archduke badge on the table and then turned to the middle-aged man at the head of the table, his brows furrowed but a slight smile tugging at his lips.
So it was you!
...
The claim of not using the ability on the leader was, of course, a lie. According to the Travel Thrush Archduke's ability, everyone with a "status" lower than the Archduke should have immediately stood up and bowed under the constraint of the emblem.
The only possible exception was someone of equal status, like a "Prince," which meant Joshua, the prince who had somehow returned from the future!
I never expected the leader of this rogue gang to be a prince of the kingdom... This guy is still an ass no matter how old he gets!
After a meaningful glance at the middle-aged man, Lyon noticed the concealer on his cheeks and faintly recognized some facial features. He finally understood where the sense of familiarity had come from when he first met him.
Don't ask, just know that he's been slapped in the mouth, and not just once. He's a certified old acquaintance!
'Everyone!'
Lyon flexed his right wrist, which had been itching to move, proving that he hadn't lied. He sat back down and smiled, reminding them, 'I recall we had an important meeting today. Shall we continue?'
That's right! We're here for a meeting! Upon hearing Lyon's reminder, the gang members, who had been studying the bowing incident, snapped back to reality and chimed in.
'Yes, it's very important!'
'We should indeed continue!'
'We've already wasted a lot of time!'
'...'
Why does this situation feel a bit off?
The middle-aged man at the head of the table, with his hands crossed on the table and a deep gaze fixed on Little Bavin, felt a twist in his heart. The chair beneath him seemed uncomfortably tight.
Whether it was the agreement from the gang members or the meeting reminder that should have come from him, everything seemed to subtly signify something. It was as if, with that strange bow, something that should have been firmly in his grasp had started to "flow" away.
This non-existent yet crucial thing was slowly and inexorably slipping away from him, down the length of the old council table..."
(End of Chapter)
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