Chapter 115: Never Before Such a Challenge (3)

Dayle looked ahead with tense eyes.

There stood Luis, gripping a sword.

The first floor hall of Lunatic.

They had pushed all the tables and chairs to the corners, turning the space into a makeshift sparring ground, and now they faced each other.

“Is that it, the new weapon you made?”

Luis asked, eyeing the two muskets in Dayle’s hands.

Dayle grinned and nodded.

“I attached blades to the barrels. So they can be used in close combat too.”

Besides his original One Hand Musket, Dayle had crafted another musket.

And he’d upgraded both in his own way.

He’d fitted sharp blades beneath the barrels.

“At long range, I have the advantage. No question about it. I’m confident in that. But that’s purely the weapon’s strength. In situations where I can’t keep my distance, like in confined spaces or a forest, that advantage disappears. So I added these.”

Dayle crossed his arms.

Clang- The muskets collided, producing a clear ring.

The blades were made of the same material as the longswords used by Frey Empire officers.

Dayle had also inscribed them with magical formulas to enhance their durability.

“Hm.”

Luis listened to Dayle’s explanation and fell into thought for a moment.

Being part of Shadow didn’t mean you had to master specific skills.

Well, there was one thing.

Thievery skills necessary for operations.

Other than those, Shadow left everything up to the individual.

What weapon someone chose or what visions they mastered—Shadow didn’t interfere.

It was the same with Dayle.

He’d chosen muskets over swords, and Luis respected his decision.

But right now, Luis felt a hint of concern.

‘Muskets lack the decisiveness of a sword.’

A thief only fought when there was no way to avoid it.

In those situations, a musket…

The enemy wasn’t likely to wait patiently for you to aim, and if you were going to attach blades, wouldn’t it be better to just use a melee weapon from the start?

‘The sound and flash of the shot are problems too.’

Luis drew his sword.

There were plenty of concerns, but for now, he decided to see what Dayle could do.

Luis charged at Dayle.

He wanted to test how much power and utility Dayle’s upgraded Blade Muskets had in close combat.

So Dayle prepared for Luis’s approach but didn’t fire, waiting instead.

When Luis swung his sword, Dayle blocked it by crossing his muskets.

Clang!

Dayle angled one musket to deflect Luis’s sword and swung the other.

From Luis’s perspective, if he didn’t dodge, his stomach would’ve been sliced open, spilling his guts. Instinctively, Luis stepped back, but Dayle’s voice pierced his ears

“If I get some distance, my bullet will go right through your gut.”

Of course, this was practice, so it wouldn’t actually happen, but Luis changed his approach anyway, opting to defend instead of dodge.

Clang!

After just two exchanges, Luis had to admit it.

‘This is tricky.’

It felt like facing an opponent using dual-wielding swordsmanship.

The unpredictability and irregularity of where the blades came from made Luis hesitate, and the gun barrels added even more pressure.

The uncertainty of when those barrels might spit fire.

The constraint of needing to close the distance.

He’d initiated close combat to negate the musket’s advantage, but it felt like a double-edged sword.

He was forced to make choices.

In other words, he lacked control of the fight.

Of course.

Clang──!

Luis’s combat prowess was undeniably superior, overwhelming Dayle.

So the spar ended in less than five minutes.

“No way I can beat you.”

Dayle chuckled, picking up the Blade Muskets from the floor and holstering them at his waist.

Then he grimaced.

His fingers were trembling uncontrollably.

“Hey, look at this. My fingers are shaking. Couldn’t you have gone a bit easier?”

“That wasn’t possible.”

Luis shook his head.

At the same time, the grin vanished from Dayle’s face. He glanced at Luis, whose expression was serious.

In other words, it wasn’t just talk.

Luis wasn’t the type to exaggerate or speak idly.

Dayle’s expression brightened.

Saying he couldn’t go easy was Luis’s way of praising Dayle’s chosen weapon skills as quite effective.

‘Luis acknowledged me.’

That meant they were good enough for real combat.

Then Luis spoke.

“It’s impressive, but the flaws are clear. First, grip strength. This applies to dual-wielding swordsmen too, but blocking a two-handed strike or cutting through something tough requires significant grip strength. Also, you need to be quick-witted.”

Luis pointed out the weaknesses in Dayle’s weapon techniques one by one.

Dayle listened intently, not missing a word.

“If you can address these issues, they’ll be plenty useful in real combat.”

After all, the Blade Musket techniques weren’t Dayle’s main focus.

They were supplementary. His primary strength was the musket’s firepower.

A single, powerful shot that could resolve everything.

To that end, Dayle planned to enhance his muskets further.

“Thanks.”

But that aside.

He didn’t forget to thank Luis for the spar and the generous advice.

“No need. It’s only natural.”

Between friends, words like ‘thanks’ or ‘sorry’ weren’t necessary.

Because there was an unshakable trust that what you did for the other, they’d do for you in return.

Before they knew it, a solid bond of trust had formed between Dayle and Luis.

Dayle grinned.

“Right. It’s only natural. By the way, where’s the master? I heard he came back from the extracurricular activity.”

As he spoke, Dayle pulled a chair from the corner and sat down.

But—

Thud!

He missed the chair and fell on his butt.

Luis looked at him and asked,

“…What are you doing? Aftereffects of the spar? I didn’t go that hard to make your legs give out.”

“N-No. The chair just…”

Dayle floundered, his expression a mix of grievance and bewilderment.

And for good reason—he was sure he’d sat on the chair.

But he fell.

Looking again, the chair had slid slightly to the side.

‘That’s weird.’

It’s not like the chair grew legs and moved on its own.

‘Did I push it while sitting?’

Scratching his head, Dayle properly positioned the chair under him and bent his knees.

And fell again.

Thud!

Only then did Dayle sense something was off. He sprang up, assuming a combat stance.

Gripping his Blade Muskets in both hands, he scanned the surroundings with a serious gaze and warned,“I don’t know which bastard’s messing around, but stop it and come out now.”

Luis drew his sword too, surveying the area.

He’d seen it clearly.

Right before Dayle sat, the chair moved on its own.

“….”

A heavy silence enveloped the hall.

Cold sweat dripped down Dayle’s forehead.

His eyes darted around, on high alert, as his mind raced at breakneck speed.

He sent a [Whisper] to Luis.

[Probably a mage, right?]

[For now.]

[Is there a mage who knows our location? What do we do?]

[I don’t know who they are, but we can’t let them leave alive.]

Dayle nodded.

It didn’t matter if someone knew Lunatic’s location.

They could always relocate their base.

But their faces being fully exposed was another issue entirely.

They couldn’t let a hidden enemy walk away.

[Damn it. Where the hell are they hiding?]

They needed to at least pinpoint their location to do anything.

That’s when it happened.

In the tense atmosphere where no one dared move rashly, a faint chuckle broke through.

“Kukukuk.”

At the same time, Luis lowered his sword.

With a sigh, he ran a hand through his hair, his face a mix of exasperation and relief.

And joy.

“Master.”

The laughter grew louder.

“Puhahaha!”

Finally grasping the situation, Dayle rolled on the floor.

“What the hell! It was you, boss? You scared the crap out of me!”

“Sorry, sorry.”

“But where are you hiding? Why can’t I see you?”

He could hear the voice clearly, but looking in its direction, he saw nothing.

“Did you learn a vision that changes where your voice comes from?”

“No. Just wait a sec.”

What followed made Dayle jump in shock.

“A g-ghost!?”

Out of nowhere, clothes started appearing in midair.

Starting with underwear, then pants and a shirt layered on top.

The strange thing was, the floating clothes took on a vague human shape.

As if an invisible person was wearing them.

Then Luis asked,

“Could it be… Stealth?”

Instead of answering, I released Stealth.

I appeared suddenly.

“Hrk!”

Dayle was startled, and Luis had to suppress his surging emotions.

“…You found it.”

“Yeah. Got lucky. And…”

Snap!

Clatter stepped out from behind me.

Unable to hold back his emotions any longer, Luis’s face crumpled.

He hurriedly bowed his head, pulling out a cloth to wipe his glasses.

Scrub scrub.

I and Dayle watched him with smiles.

* * *

I told them about what happened during the extracurricular activity.

As concisely as possible.

I’d already recounted it once to Yuria and Rachel, twice to the professors, three times at the student affairs office, and now this was the fourth. So I wrapped it up in under thirty minutes.

“You were really lucky. To find Kanabi’s legacy during an extracurricular activity.”

“Yeah.”

It was thanks to [Gaius’s Insight], but I didn’t mention that.

“And Clatter’s back too.”

Then, as if remembering something he’d forgotten, Luis suddenly turned to Dayle and asked,

“Dayle. Have you finished the item I asked for?”

“What? Oh, the camera?”

“Yes.”

“Nah, haven’t made it yet.”

“What have you been doing all this time?”

“Was it urgent? I didn’t know.”

“…It’s not urgent, but please make it as soon as possible.”

“Got it, got it.”

Grumbling, Dayle looked at me with pleading eyes.

I chuckled.

“Luis.”

“Yes.”

“No word from the cult?”

“Correct. I heard they’re taking time to regroup. It seems the mission failure and losses during the midterm evaluation hit them hard.”

That was a relief.

I’d worried a request might’ve come in while things dragged on.

‘Guess I worried for nothing.’

Regrouping, huh.

From the cult’s perspective, the losses during the midterm evaluation were negligible, so there was probably another reason.

I couldn’t easily guess what.

The main storyline had diverged too far from the original for me to rely on my future knowledge.

‘It’s just for reference now.’

After the extracurricular activity came Chapter 4: the final evaluation.

And the final evaluation was when my Death Flag was supposed to happen.

In other words, the end of my fate was approaching.

‘Will the Death Flag I tried so hard to avoid be gone, or is it still there?’

If my efforts so far hadn’t been in vain, the Death Flag would either be gone or weakened enough to overcome easily.

But if my efforts fell short—

‘It’ll get tough.’

I wasn’t too worried.

I’d done my best, so I was confident, and I was ready to face whatever came.

The real shock was right now.

Luis’s question.

“So, Master. Why were you naked?”

“Huh?”

“When you used Stealth, you were naked, weren’t you?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m asking why.”

Dayle chimed in.

“Yeah, I was wondering too. What’s up with that? Do you have to be naked to use Stealth? Doesn’t it work on clothes?”

I nodded.

Or tried to, but Luis’s response was faster.

“Regular clothes, yes. But not the leather suits we wear for operations. Why else would they be classified as Thief Gadgets? They’re practically artifacts.”

That’s when I sensed something was off and hurriedly asked,

“Wait, Luis. You’re saying the leather suit works with Stealth?”

“Of course. Otherwise, our predecessors would’ve all been running around naked on missions. What are we, perverts?”

“Right, right. Imagine Stealth breaking mid-mission—that’d be the most embarrassing thing ever! Ugh, just thinking about it is mortifying! Hahaha!”

Dayle cracked up.

I wanted to laugh along, but I couldn’t.

My facial muscles felt paralyzed, refusing to move.

Sensing the odd atmosphere, Dayle stopped laughing and looked at me.

So did Luis.

“….”

“…You didn’t know?”

I couldn’t say a word.

I was just so damn wronged.

The two of them stared at me with disbelief.

“So you went from the Academy to here… naked?”

“Ahem. Well, it happens. It’s fine, boss. I get it.”

Really?

I glanced at Dayle, whose lips were twitching uncontrollably.

Anyone could see he was desperately holding back laughter.

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