Allen, as he was now, should not be allowed out into the world.
Han came to that conclusion and decided to restrict Allen’s range of activity.
There was no need to send him to the medical unit for treatment.
When Han had kicked Allen, he had deliberately made it look far more spectacular than it actually was.
In truth, the injury was minor enough to heal naturally.
“Take some time to reflect on what you did wrong during this training. When I come back next time, give me your answer. That’s an order from your team leader.”
“......Understood.”
Allen accepted Han’s decision calmly.
Right up until the moment the door completely closed, he showed no sign of dissatisfaction whatsoever.
Han left Allen inside a room with barely a single small window and continued on his way after dispelling his complicated feelings with a short sigh.
The room where Allen had been confined was normally used to temporarily hold criminals.
Direct intervention regarding Allen would be postponed for the time being.
It was not a problem that could be solved in a short period of time, but Han had also given Gilbert his word, so he could not simply allow Allen to move around freely.
Most importantly, Allen was not Han’s only team member.
“How’s your body?”
“Haha. This is embarrassing.”
Night was beginning to fall.
Han gathered his team members at the shooting range.
Fabian, who had received treatment, was there as well, though his right arm was in a cast.
As if to show everyone that he was fine, Fabian gave them a gentle smile.
“It’s really nothing worth worrying about. Certainly not enough for all of you to be worrying like this.”
Fabian looked around at the team members.
Han openly asked if he was all right.
Lara subtly kept glancing at Fabian’s arm.
Samuel stood out the most among them. They had hardly even had time to become close, yet he was looking at Fabian with the concern of someone whose close friend had been injured.
“...You really are all right, aren’t you?”
“I told you, I’m fine. ...More importantly, Team Leader. What’s going to happen to Allen?”
At those words, everyone’s attention focused on Han.
Han told them that Allen had been placed in solitary confinement.
At least for a while, they would neither work with him nor see his face.
“...I see.”
Fabian wore a bitter expression.
It was unlikely that he had already grown particularly attached to Allen, but he seemed to have complicated feelings about the situation.
“Ah.”
Then Lara casually smacked the back of Fabian’s head.
“What was that for all of a sudden...?”
“You looked like you were thinking about something pointless. I figured I’d help change your train of thought.”
“.......”
Fabian looked bewildered by Lara’s unapologetic answer.
He was not exactly pleased about it.
But it was difficult to complain when, strangely enough, it had actually worked to some extent.
His thoughts were no longer tangling themselves together.
It was oddly effective.
“Anyway. I suppose it’s time I explained why I brought you here.”
Thanks to Lara clearing the mood at an appropriate moment, Han was able to change the subject with ease.
As Han continued speaking, his gaze passed over Lara and settled on Samuel.
“Samuel.”
“Y-Yes, sir.”
“From now on, you’ll use a gun.”
“A... gun?”
Samuel looked at Han in confusion.
Han answered while mentally reviewing Samuel’s existing profile and the data he had gathered from this training.
“West Samuel. According to your profile, the visual acuity in both eyes is 2.0, though that is believed to be only the minimum due to the limits of the vision chart used during your physical examination. No abnormalities in hearing.”
“.......”
“Despite having received no training, you accurately located a concealed target. Your night vision also appears excellent. Your spatial perception is presumed to be considerable. You grasp situations quickly. However, because you’re timid, you tend to hesitate before making decisions. Your swordsmanship is at a beginner’s level. Your Mobility Gear techniques were barely sufficient to pass the prison guard examination.”
Han briefly summarized Samuel’s current abilities.
After pausing for a moment, he turned his gaze toward Lara.
“Lara. You were closest to Samuel during this training.”
“That’s right.”
“I’d like to hear your opinion. As a colleague who fought alongside him, and as a Fifth-Tier Mage, do you think my assessment is correct?”
“...Hmm.”
Lara pressed her lips firmly together.
She recalled the events of the training before finally opening her mouth.
“I think it’s correct overall. There were several moments when he surprised me.”
“For example?”
“He figured out the location of someone I hadn’t noticed.... And there were times when he noticed an incoming attack before my mana detected it.”
“Then his ability to perceive danger must also be considerable. Enough, at least in certain situations, to surpass even the mana perception of a Fifth-Tier Mage....”
Han smiled faintly, as if that was exactly what he had expected.
Perhaps it was because Samuel was timid.
Being fearful meant being inclined to avoid external stimuli.
He would naturally be even more sensitive to stimuli that could pose a danger to him, and without realizing it, he might have been training that sensitivity all his life.
Of course, that theory was something of a leap.
But regardless, Samuel was demonstrably sensitive to danger, so it was an ability they could make use of.
“...But Team Leader, I’ve already been issued a handgun.”
Samuel found it difficult to understand what Han meant.
Use a gun from now on?
He already carried a revolver small enough to fit in one hand.
“A sniper gun. From now on, the gun you’ll be using is a ‘Revolving Sniper Gun.’”
“A-A sniper gun? Does that mean you want me to become a sniper?”
“That’s right.”
Samuel blinked with his mouth hanging open.
The suggestion was so unexpected that he was speechless for a moment.
But the emotion that followed was unmistakable.
“W-Wait a second. That’s impossible! Me, a sniper...? I’ve never even held a sniper gun before, and I don’t think I have any talent for it. And....”
Fear.
A vague fear of something he had never experienced before.
“No. Samuel, you definitely have talent.”
Han firmly cut through that fear.
“When I consider all the abilities I just mentioned, it’s clear that you’re suited to being a sniper. You’ll need to improve your ability to make split-second decisions, but that’s something that can be corrected with enough training.”
“...But still.”
“Don’t worry. I’m not telling you to spend the rest of your life as a sniper. First, hold the gun and see what kind of results you get. It won’t be too late to make another judgment afterward.”
Han spoke in a gentle tone.
But gentle did not mean weak or uncertain.
Quite the opposite.
His words carried confidence born from long experience and a trained eye.
“.......”
Talent as a sniper.
Even if Han had several reasons for saying so, how could he be this certain?
Samuel could not rid himself of the question.
It was not that he did not trust Han.
He had simply never once in his life been told that he had talent, so it was difficult for him to have confidence in himself.
Then Lara cut in.
“Stop dragging this out and just say you understand. He went out of his way to tell you exactly what you’re good at. Shouldn’t you be bowing your head and thanking him instead?”
Given her personality, few things were more painful for Lara than watching someone dawdle.
“Th-That’s true. But.......”
“If you still can’t believe it, I’ll prove it to you directly.”
“Huh?”
Han picked up the sniper gun he had prepared beforehand.
They had already noticed it earlier, but since they were at a shooting range, none of them had thought much of it.
Now its purpose became clear.
“This will be quite different from an actual situation, but keep that in mind while you watch. There’s no place in the capital wide enough to properly practice long-range sniping.”
Han loaded ammunition into the cylinder and finished preparing to fire.
His movements were so quick that the entire process took only a few seconds.
“The target is small, though, so you’d better concentrate. Everyone, use the binoculars over there. The sniping point is the target’s head.”
Han walked several steps forward and stood at the firing line.
After operating the machine, he turned the final lever.
Then he tucked in both elbows and took a standing firing stance.
Normally, sniping was extremely sensitive to even the slightest movement, so a stable prone position was the standard.
But perhaps that rule did not apply to Han.
As he looked through the scope, he became as motionless as a statue.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEEEEP—!
The shooting mechanism emitted a high-pitched tone.
If one listened carefully, the sounds of countless gears turning and steam moving through the machinery could also be heard.
“Hup.”
Han even stopped breathing.
And once he had reached complete stillness—
BANG!
Han fired the first shot.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Explosions followed at irregular intervals.
Some came a little later.
Others came a little sooner.
Han continued sniping without taking a single breath.
Then, when the sixth shot rang out—
CLICK—.
Han swiftly opened the chamber and finished reloading.
BANG!
He immediately resumed firing.
Of everyone watching, Fabian was the only one who properly understood just how absurd the sight before them was.
‘He can reload a revolver that quickly? Without even using a speed loader?’
‘No, before that, that incredible accuracy...!’
Fabian pressed the binoculars tightly against his eyes.
At the end of the firing line where Han stood was a target five hundred meters away.
But Han was not aiming at the entire human silhouette printed on the target.
He was aiming at the head.
More precisely, he was aiming at a red light that flashed randomly somewhere on the head.
BANG!
The light was so small that its diameter could hardly have been more than one centimeter.
And Han shot precisely at the light every single time.
‘I never thought Mobility Gear techniques were his only specialty, but even so, this is incredible...!’
‘Was Team Leader Han’s specialty sniping?’
‘No, it has to be.’
Otherwise, there was no way Fabian could make sense of what he was watching.
BANG!
The final bullet left the muzzle.
Han had completed a total of twelve sniper shots.
As he finally resumed breathing, a shrill BEEEEEP! sounded to announce the end of the firing session.
The results then appeared on the display.
[12/12]
A perfect score.
“Nice shot, Team Leader.”
Lara gave a casual remark.
Fabian was irritated that all she had to say after witnessing marksmanship bordering on a stunt was, ‘Nice shot, Team Leader,’ but he managed to understand when he reminded himself that she was a mage.
However, an even more incomprehensible reaction soon followed.
“Samuel. Do you think you could reproduce exactly what I just did?”
“......No. There’s no way I could do exactly that... but... hmm.”
“You can answer honestly. I didn’t shoot in front of you just to show off.”
“......Hmm. I’m hesitant to say it, but with enough practice, I think I might be able to....”
‘What?’
Fabian’s mind filled with question marks.
Practice?
He thought he could do it?
Even back when Fabian had served in the Covert Mobile Unit, he could count the snipers who had reached this level on one hand.
Han, on the other hand, raised the corner of his mouth as though he had expected exactly that response.
“If you say you’ve got no talent after saying something like that, you’ll make everyone listening miserable.”
Han’s team had gained another genius.
***
“I-I had talent... I actually had something called talent.... This isn’t a dream, is it?”
Samuel pinched his own cheek.
It hurt, so apparently it was not a dream.
A short while earlier, even after Han had personally demonstrated his marksmanship, Samuel still had not realized his own talent.
So Han had kindly explained it to him.
Only after Samuel personally took hold of the sniper gun and fired several shots did he finally begin to understand his talent.
[6/6]
He had achieved a perfect score.
Of course, that excluded reloading.
His stance, breathing, and several other aspects were still awkward, but the result itself was excellent.
No matter how much he doubted himself, he had no choice but to acknowledge it.
“I’d like to ask you the opposite. How did you go this long without realizing you had talent for sniping?”
Fabian, bewildered for an entirely different reason, asked in disbelief.
“I never had a chance to fire a sniper gun before.... Other than handguns, I’ve never used anything....”
“Even so.... No, I suppose a prison guard really wouldn’t have many opportunities to properly learn marksmanship.”
From now on, Samuel would train in marksmanship while continuing his work as a Special Unit agent.
Han had also agreed to check on him and help from time to time, so his progress would undoubtedly be rapid.
He was a promising talent whose future was worth anticipating.
“I’m next, right?”
As Samuel’s situation more or less came to a close, Lara spoke boldly.
Han looked toward her.
“It seems you already have some idea.”
“A huge flaw of mine was exposed for everyone to see. Of course I do. It’s not something I can avoid just by running away from it. And I can’t keep doing that anymore.”
“.......”
Han observed Lara’s reaction.
She was trying hard to act confident, but her usual force had diminished somewhat.
She resembled a wild animal puffing itself up so that it would not look weak.
The way she had lived until now became even clearer to him.
“Just as you said, a mage being unable to cast while moving is a major weakness. If you worked in a research laboratory, that would be one thing. But for a Special Unit agent, it could be called fatal.”
“...That’s right.”
“However, it’s fine. Just keep doing what you’re doing.”
“Even so, Team Leader, I’m really trying hard to...... Huh? Wait. What did you say?”
Lara had naturally expected a harsh reprimand.
Thinking she might have misheard him, she asked again.
Han firmly repeated himself.
“You’re doing well, so keep doing exactly what you’re doing.”