Ethereal Ascendance: A Journey of Transformation(Vol 4)

Vol 4/ Chapter 41: Assassination Attempt

"But the situation here is a bit different. In that anime, they clearly knew when and where the event would happen, which made the subsequent deceptions possible."

Although not as familiar with the animes as Cyra, Nicola still knew which one she was referring to. But she shook her head.

"We have no idea when or where the prophecy takes place. How can we replicate their plan? And I don't think I'm a very good actress..."

"Ah, you're right,"Cyra was at a loss for words. She had only thought of the idea initially without considering the details.

"It might work!"I thought of a different approach.

"We don't need to know the exact time if we just want to fulfill the prophecy! As long the nighttime setting is there..."

"You're right! Quintina only said it happens at night but didn't specify the exact time. As long as it's after dark, we can match the prophecy!"

Cyra immediately understood my idea.

"As for acting, it's just a few lines and expressions, Nicola can practice this afternoon. We already have the costumes from last night so that's not an issue!"

"But what about location? Do you know where the prophecy takes place? The reason we've been hiding in our room is because we don't know!"Nicola still felt it wouldn't work.

"How about the riverbank where your clothes got burned? What do you think?"I asked tentatively.

...

"There's still an obvious loophole!"

We returned to the riverbank where Nicola's clothes were burned. After surveying the area, she frowned and said,

"What is it? Is there something off?"Cyra was puzzled. From the surroundings, it looked very similar to the prophecy's description. And it was Nicola herself who first noticed!

"Not off per say, but all our information is from Quintina's words. Only she has seen the actual scene so it could be inaccurate..."Nicola explained after some thought.

"For example, she told us the prophecy has lots of wild grass. Quintina wouldn't know or differentiate the exact species, she would just describe it generally as 'lots of grass'. So while this riverbank also has plenty of grass, they may not be the same type as the prophecy."

"In other words, the landscape looks similar enough but there's still a chance this is not the actual place! Some subtle differences can't be conveyed through words."

Seeing Cyra's confusion, I briefly reiterated Nicola's point again. I had worried about this too but still didn't object earlier since it's a probability issue.

"Even if not 100% accurate, 'deceiving the world' should still help a lot more than just staying in our room doing nothing!"Cyra shared my viewpoint that it was still worth trying. Under our insistence, Nicola relented and started practicing her acting skills.

The afternoon went by quickly. At dusk, they shooed me back to the inn to avoid accidents. But soon after, the two returned as well, apparently quite successful in their endeavor.

"It was pretty convincing, though Nicola was screaming too loudly I'm still buzzing..."That was Cyra's review. She kept digging her ears.

"You're the one who told me to act devastated and in excruciating pain! What else could I do? The prophecy explicitly said I cried out!"Nicola argued, seemingly proud of her 'acting through shouting' performance. But to fool a little girl like Quintina it should be enough...