Ryu approached carrying a medical kit.
“Lady Astraea has permitted the experiment under supervision.”
Her voice turned firm.
“One created object only.”
“And if you show any sign of Mind Down, you stop immediately.”
“Understood.”
“I prepared targets!”
Lyra pointed toward three wooden mannequins at the far end of the field.
The first wore leather armor reinforced with iron plates, similar to protection commonly used by Level Two adventurers.
The second was wrapped in mid-tier monster hide with a thicker metal layer beneath it.
The final target stood behind a high-quality steel plate ordinarily used to test weapons intended for higher-level adventurers.
“I spent some time thinking about reducing Mind consumption last night,” Lelouch said.
“The first handgun I created contained more moving components than necessary.”
“If I simplify the mechanism, the burden should decrease.”
Lyra looked at him.
“You can redesign it even with amnesia?”
“I cannot remember my personal history.”
Lelouch flexed his fingers.
“But my knowledge of operation and structure remains.”
“Once I identify a problem, possible solutions seem to come naturally.”
“That’s unfairly convenient.”
“If you’d like the headaches and recurring images of dead people included in the exchange, you’re welcome to them.”
Lyra froze.
“On second thought, I’ll just watch.”
Lelouch extended his hand.
This time—
He did not recreate the same handgun.
The weapon taking shape possessed a slightly longer barrel.
A stronger frame.
And a revolving cylinder containing fewer moving components.
Black-violet light gathered over his palm.
Metal formed from nothing.
Six cartridges materialized inside the cylinder.
A considerable amount of Mind left his body—
But not enough to make the world tilt as it had the previous night.
Lelouch inspected the revolver instinctively.
“Are you all right?” Alice asked.
“Approximately one-third of my Mind.”
He checked the mechanism.
“If I don’t create another one, I should be fine.”
Lelouch walked to the firing line Lyra had marked.
He raised his arm.
His posture settled into stability with disturbing naturalness.
The barrel centered on the first target.
“The sound will be extremely loud.”
He glanced toward the others.
“Cover your ears.”
Alice and Kaguya ignored the advice.
Ryu and Neze moved slightly farther away.
Lyra immediately stuffed cotton into her ears.
Lelouch pulled the trigger.
BANG!
The explosion cracked across the training grounds.
Birds erupted from the surrounding trees.
The bullet punched through the leather armor.
Through the iron reinforcement.
And buried itself deep inside the wooden torso.
Splinters burst from the back.
Neze flattened her wolf ears against her head.
“THAT’S TOO LOUD!”
“I warned you.”
“I thought you meant loud by human standards!
Not thunder exploding beside my ears!”
Lyra ran over to inspect the target.
“It penetrated everything.”
She examined the hole.
“If that struck the head or heart, an unprepared Level Two adventurer could probably die from one shot.”
“The primary advantages are speed and concealability,” Lelouch explained.
“It can be hidden beneath clothing and fired before an opponent draws a weapon.”
His eyes moved toward the target.
“However, after the first shot, everyone will know the shooter’s location.”
He raised the revolver again.
BANG!
The second bullet tore through the monster hide—
But stopped against the metal plate beneath it.
A deep indentation remained.
Small fractures radiated outward.
Lyra removed the deformed projectile with tongs.
“Against defenses comparable to a Level Three adventurer, it probably won’t kill in one shot.”
She turned the flattened bullet between her fingers.
“But an unarmored hit could still produce a severe injury.”
Kaguya nodded.
“If the enemy knows nothing about the weapon and misjudges its range, it may work.”
Her gaze shifted toward Lelouch.
“Once a Level Three combatant has seen it once, however, they can begin reading the barrel direction.”
“What if a Level Three knows they’re about to be shot?” Alice asked.
Before anyone could answer—
She walked out and stopped beside the final target.
Ryu immediately frowned.
“Alice.”
“What are you doing?”
“Testing it under realistic conditions.”
She placed one hand on her sword.
I only want to see whether I can intercept it before it reaches the target.”
“I do not recommend that,” Lelouch said.
“If the bullet is fast enough that I can’t stop it, that’s important information.”
“And if something goes wrong, you’ll be injured for the sake of an unnecessary experiment.”
“I’ll dodge if it looks dangerous.”
Alice smiled.
“Trust me.”
Lelouch disliked the use of the word trust as justification for unnecessary risk.
But from the expressions of the others—
Once Alice decided on something like this, stopping her was apparently a difficult proposition.
He lowered the revolver.
“I will fire only after your signal.”
He pointed toward the target.
“And I will aim at least two meters from your body.”
“Deal!”
Alice placed one hand on the hilt of her sword.
Her cheerful expression vanished.
In its place appeared the focused gaze of an adventurer who had survived real combat.
“Fire!”
Lelouch raised the revolver and pulled the trigger in one motion.
BANG!
Alice’s blade had already left its sheath before the sound fully spread through the air.
Sparks flashed.
Steel struck the bullet aside.
It ricocheted into the ground several meters away.
Alice remained exactly where she had stood.
Not a scratch on her.
Lelouch narrowed his eyes.
“You did not react to the bullet.”
“Correct.”
Alice sheathed her sword.
“I reacted to your finger, shoulder, and barrel direction before the weapon fired.”
“So the projectile’s speed is irrelevant if the opponent can read the moment before the shot,” Ryu said.
Kaguya picked up the deflected bullet.
“Against a Level Three adventurer capable of reading movement, this weapon is almost useless in direct combat.”
She examined the deformation.
“Even if the user hides the motion, we can still hear the mechanism and sense killing intent before the trigger is pulled.”
“What about an ambush from outside their field of vision?” Lyra asked.
“It might work once,” Alice said.
“But the bullet lacks enough power to reliably penetrate Level Three defenses.”
She tapped the sword at her hip.
“Once they hear the first shot, a second becomes extremely unlikely.”
Neze still had her ears flattened.
“So the conclusion is…”
She began counting on her fingers.
“Good for killing careless Level Twos.”
“Can injure Level Threes.”
“Nearly useless if the Level Three notices first?”
“A painful but accurate summary.”
Lyra rolled the deformed projectile between her fingers.
“If we improve the propellant, harden the bullet, or use deeper-floor monster materials, destructive power might rise.”
“And greater quality means greater Mind consumption,” Ryu reminded her.
“If creating one projectile capable of threatening a Level Three consumes most of my Mind while an alert opponent can still deflect it…”
Lelouch opened the cylinder.
“…then it has poor tactical efficiency.”
He removed the remaining ammunition.
Then dismissed the Creation.
The revolver and cartridges dissolved into particles of violet light.
“But it remains useful against weaker opponents,” Alice said.
“Especially in hostage situations, or when you need to stop someone before they reach civilians.”
“Assuming we preserve the weapon’s secrecy,” Lelouch replied.
“Its greatest advantage is ignorance.”
His gaze returned to the shattered first target.
“Once people understand they need to watch my barrel and trigger finger, its effectiveness decreases sharply.”
Kaguya’s mouth lifted faintly.
“At least you are not intoxicated by your new toy.”
“Weapons are tools.”
Lelouch’s voice remained flat.
“Not objects of worship.”
“That answer I approve of.”
Training continued for almost two more hours.
Lelouch learned basic evasive movements.
How to fall while reducing impact.
And how to use a short knife at close range.
His body executed everything poorly.
His mind, however, remembered each principle after seeing it only a handful of times.
By the end, Lelouch was lying flat on the grass.
His limbs felt too heavy to move.
Everyone else chatted as though they had merely finished warming up.
Alice stood above him, blocking the sunlight.
“So?”
She grinned.
“How was your first day?”
“I’m beginning to understand that the Dungeon may not be the leading cause of adventurer mortality.”
“What do you mean?”
“They may die during your training before they ever reach it.”
Alice burst out laughing and offered him a hand.
Lelouch stared at it.
Then accepted.
He expected everyone to return inside for lunch or rest.
Instead—
The members began putting on armor, collecting weapons, and dividing into teams.
Ryu counted recovery potions beside the door.
Kaguya rewrapped the worn grip of her sword.
Neze fastened leather bracers covered in repaired stitching.
“An emergency mission?” Lelouch asked.
“No.”
Alice secured her sword at her waist.
“Regular patrol work.”
“Which area?”
“Ryu and Kaguya are checking the eastern district.”
Alice gestured toward the others.
“Neze is taking a group to deliver medicine to an orphanage.
Lyra’s coming with me to patrol the market.
Those protection-racket groups have started causing trouble again.”
“Did the Guild assign these missions?”
“Partly.”
“They send us information about areas where incidents have been reported.”
“And the compensation?”
Alice stopped fastening her belt.
“None today.”
Lelouch assumed he had misheard.
“What do you mean, none?”
“It’s public assistance.
There isn’t a direct client.”
“And the medicine?”
He looked toward Neze.
“The food?”
Toward the repaired armor.
“Equipment wear?”
“We cover those ourselves.”
Lelouch looked over the members again.
Yesterday, he had focused on weapons and combat ability.
Now—
The details were impossible to miss.
Alice’s armor was well maintained, yet the shoulder plate bore a dent that had been hammered back into shape multiple times.
Ryu’s belt used mismatched leather because only the damaged section had been replaced.
Kaguya’s scabbard had a crack bound tightly with reinforced cord.
Neze’s medicine bag had been patched so many times that the original cloth was barely visible.
None of their equipment was poor quality.
But all of it was older than equipment belonging to adventurers of their reputation should have been.
“How often does the Astraea Familia perform work without compensation?” Lelouch asked.
Alice gave an awkward smile.
“Well…
fairly often.”
“Quantify ‘fairly often.'”
“About half?”
Lyra, passing with a tool bag, cleared her throat.
“If you include minor jobs and expenses we cover for civilians ourselves…”
She looked away.
“Probably seven out of ten.”
Lelouch slowly turned toward her.
“Seventy percent of your work generates no income?”
“Don’t say it so loudly.”
“Why?”
His expression remained perfectly serious.
“Are you concerned the number will hear itself and become embarrassed?”
“I’m worried Lady Astraea will hear.”
“She already knows, doesn’t she?”
Lyra avoided his gaze.
That was answer enough.
“Who manages the Familia’s finances?”
“I do.”
“I’d like to see the accounts.”
“You’ve been a member for one night.”
“One night has been sufficient to establish that your spending structure is unsustainable.”
“That’s a little harsh,” Alice said.
Lelouch pointed toward her shoulder plate.
“The captain’s armor should have had that section replaced before the last repair.”
Then toward Ryu.
“The recovery potions she just counted are insufficient for every member if a serious engagement occurs.”
Then toward the two members packing lunch.
“Two adventurers are dividing one loaf of dry bread between them.”
His voice cooled.
“This is not frugality.”
“It’s a resource shortage.”
No one answered.
Lyra hugged the tool bag tighter.
“The books are in the downstairs office.”
“Show me.”
“We’re supposed to be going on patrol,” Alice reminded him.
“Fifteen minutes.”
“How do you know it’ll only take fifteen?”
“Because if your accounting system were sophisticated enough to require longer, the situation would probably not have deteriorated this far.”
Lyra looked as though she had been stabbed.
“I’m starting to dislike this man.”
“This morning you said you liked me more.”
“I like your face!”
Lyra pointed at him.
“I don’t like the way you talk!”
….
I also have many more novels in my collection that you might be interested in
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….
I also have many more novels in my collection that you might be interested in I upload ten novels a day, with 3 to 4 chapters per title depending on the length.
If you’re following a particular series, please wait your turn a little If there’s a particular novel you’re enjoying on Patron, please give it a ‘like’ so I know to focus on it