Chapter 60: Part 6.13
I finally arrive at the mansion I've been trying to get to for the last... two hours I guess. Yeah. Two hours sounds about right. I have no clue why it took so long but I assume it has something to do with the amount of times I got turned around. I guess I could've read the street signs in order to make my way to the mansion. Wait, no I couldn't. I can't read. Ha! I almost forgot about that, how embarrassing.
The mansion is something that's a level above fancy. What's the word I'm thinking of again?
"Oi. What's a word for something fancier than fancy?" I ask the man behind me as I gaze up at the mansion 'special' multiple stories.
They mutter behind me for a minute before they stop and one responds, "Do you mean 'opulent' Boss?"
Opulent? Yeah, I was thinking of opulent. "Yeah, that's the word. This mansion is very opulent. Almost too opulent if you ask me."
One man steps forward and scrapes his cutlass on the door. He then rubs it with his hand and looks amazed when he turns to look at me. "Boss! The door is made of gold! Actual gold!"
"Hmm. Very opulent. Oh well."
I walk up to the door and without any further drama I use all of my strength and kick it by a Hundred-Fold. The gold door rips off of it's hinges and goes flying through the wall behind it. Then the wall behind that, and the wall behind that one as well. I step inside the mansion and look to my left and right. For some reason, there's absolutely no one here. I would at least expect someone to come running but there's not even a servant.
"Spread out and find me that noble. Bring them alive. Failing that, at least bring them to me alive-ish. Think Level Three levels of alive. Take what you want, but don't let it slow you down." I jerk my head so they get the message. "Go."
The men split up and begin searching the mansion. I decide that I should check out the upper floors. Probably the top floor. Something about important people waiting for someone on the top floor strikes a memory in my mind. Something about a Floor Boss?
No wait. I'm thinking of the Sphinx on Level Two. That's almost the top floor, so it's pretty much the same thing.
The spiral staircase I climb does take me to the top floor. There's also an elevator I could've taken instead but I don't mind the stairs. It's probably good for my health or something like that anyways. I can't afford to not be healthy. I'm already barely a person according to everyone back at Impel Down and one of my only redeeming factors is that I'm healthy.
When I reach the top floor it's also abandoned. More abandoned in fact. There's no carpeting unlike the rest of the house and lots of dust just laying on the floor. With one exception.
There's a trail of dust free floor leading from the elevator to the only door I can see. A metal door with tons of padlocks, combination locks, keypads, heavy chains, and a a sign that I can't read that I'm pretty sure is threatening. This must be a treasure room!
Or a safe room I guess. Wait, nevermind that's a stupid idea. A safe room would never work. All of the locks are here on the outside instead of the inside. That being said, I can't get through this door wether the locks are on the inside or the outside so I guess that in this case it doesn't matter.
Simply tugging the chains with my hands remove them, the combination locks break when I turn them too hard, and every other lock is easy to crumple in my hands. Whoever made these chains definitely didn't make them up to Impel Down code, because back there I would never be able to do that with the locks the guards used.
With the last lock removed I pulled the door. When it didn't move I felt embarrassed a little. It's a good thing Gurry-Roshi wasn't here otherwise he'd never let me forget this. He like spicking on me for little mistakes So I pushed it instead and it opened easily.
I expected the room to be filled with treasure, like a vault or something. What I didn't expect was a furnished bedroom with a girl my age with red hair wearing a blue and white dress sitting in a chair in the middle of the room staring at me unimpressed.
Awkward... It was so awkward that I coughed into my hand and said, "Hello and sorry for the intrusion."
The girl smirked and covered part of her mouth with one hand. "Oh? A brute like you barges into a lady's room and that's all you can say? How uncouth." She says as smugly as possible. In fact, that's the most smug I've ever heard someone sound.
It's still awkward so I apologise, "I'm sorry. What's am I supposed to say?"
She moves her hand away to reveal a wicked smirk. "Well, a true gentleman would introduce themselves at the very least. A true gentleman you are not, but everyone should at least try to better themselves so that's where you can start."
"Oh. Um... I'm Prisoner One-Zero-Zero-One-Three from Impel Down."
She rolls her eyes. "I said introduce yourself. I didn't tell you to give me your designation from when you were apparently incarcerated."
"Sorry." I tell her as honestly as I can sound. "I don't have a real name. One-Zero-Zero-One-Three is as close I've got. Some people have been calling me Tennoh recently."
The girl gives an exaggerated sigh and shakes her head slowly from side to side. "What troubled times we live in where people have numbers for names. Very well, I guess I should introduce myself. I am Lady Elizabeth Kroner. I would rise to greet you, even if you are absolutely filthy, but well..." She gestures to her legs with her hands.
I look at her legs. They're nice legs. A little on the small side, but still nice legs. I look up at her and ask, "Well what? I don't get it."
Her smirk transforms into a scowl and she just gestures harder. I look again, but they're still the same legs. I notice she's not wearing any shoes, but that's about it.
"I still don't get it. You're probably going to have to spell it out for me. Except please don't actually spell it out. I can't read so I wouldn't understand so I'd have to ask you again and we end right back where we started."
She sighs and runs a hand down her face. Then she begins to smirk again. "How cruel. Making a poor girl admit her faults. For shame Tennoh. For shame. Well, I'm just a lowly unloved cripple who can't walk. That's why I'm in a wheelchair. My father was so ashamed he locks me in this room so guests don't see me. Are you happy Tennoh? You just made me admit my deepest faults and family issues."
I frown. "Well. No, I'm not that happy. It sounds kinda sad. To be honest I'm kinda confused about why you're smiling."
Her smirk turns into a frown. "I'm not smiling. I'm usually smirking. A smirk is my regular face."
"Okay. Then why do you sound so smug?"
"Please. I'm from a long and valued bloodline of nobles. Being smug is bred into me at this point. I don't think I could stop if I tried."
"You don't seem to be trying."
Elizabeth rears her head back and laughs. "Ohohohohoho! You're a riot Tennoh. But let's get to business shall we? You're obviously a pirate so if you're here to kill me my only request is that you make it quick. I'm not a fan of suffering, and my father had left me here with no way to leave so I'll likely die of dehydration if I don't summon the courage to take my own life before that. If you're here for my family's treasure I don't know anything about it as I've spent my life in this attic and have never seen it. If you're here for my father I have no clue where he is. More likely than not he's fled with his fifty mistresses."
I raised my eyebrows behind my mask. "Why does he need fifty mistresses? Why does he need any mistresses?"
Elizabeth shrugs. "I have no clue. But back to business. What are you going to do?" The crippled girl asks me.
Hmm. That's a good question. What am I going to do? I came here to interrogate and kill the noble guy who lived here but he's gone. Instead there's just his smug daughter all alone. He left her, so it's kinda obvious he doesn't care for her. I don't really care for her. She grates all my nerves the wrong way. I don't really want to torture her, seeing as how she's innocent even if she's really smug. Hmm. Guess I go to the old fallback. I'm a pirate that used to be a prisoner, but before that I'm a person. Time to fall back to by base instincts. As a person.
I walk torwards the girl who just smiles and closed her eyes at my approach. I clench my fist, then walk behind her and lean down slightly to grab the handles of her wheelchair. She must hear me because she turns and looks at me curiously, her smug expression gone completely.
"What are you doing?"
I take a breath in and out. I'm not exactly sure myself but I do my best to try and explain it. "I guess... I'm trying to empathize. You said that you've been in this room you're entire life and that reminds me of me a little. Except you're a smug bitch and I'm a living degenerate. I was... sad I guess when I was trapped. I was much happier when I wasn't quite as trapped. Not exactly happy, but definitely happier. Maybe I'll feel better if I make you feel less trapped and take you outside. I don't know yet."
She stares blankly at me for a few moments before turning around to look in front of her as I push the wheelchair out of the room. She doesn't say anything until a thought enters my head and I stop walking to ask her it.
"Hey... If you were in that room all by yourself and you can't walk how did you poop? Do you poop? I didn't see a bathroom."
She leans back and laughs again. I laugh a little too.
Weekly Power Status
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