Chapter 45

Bang!

A sharp sound ripped through the air.

Just before the gunshot rang out, I saw Iri reflexively take a step.

The direction my muzzle was aimed, the rhythm of my breathing, the movement of my muscles, the path of my gaze—

She instantly gathered all that information and came to a conclusion.

She knew exactly how to evade an opponent’s attack in the most efficient way possible.

Swoosh!

Iri twisted her body to the side in an instant. It wasn’t as if she consciously understood every step it took to reach that conclusion.

Instinct.

Her body simply followed the feeling, the impulse, without hesitation.

It must have always been that way.

And her instincts had probably never given her the wrong answer.

…At least, not until now.

“Hm.”

Click.

I pulled the trigger without much thought.

I didn’t need a perfect firing stance. I just had to clearly picture what I wanted to hit.

And at the same time—

“Ugh!?”

The non-lethal rubber round grazed the edge of her shoulder, tearing a bit of her clothes.

“…!?”

But she wasn’t injured.

That was only natural since I never intended to hurt Iri in the first place. Even a non-lethal rubber round could break a bone or leave a bruise if it hit wrong.

‘As if I’d let my girl get hurt.’

Unless she had some kind of skin-armor module, getting hit from this range would leave a nasty bruise.

Just imagining her covered in bruises, patched up with bandages, glaring at me with teary eyes…

…

…

Gah. For a moment, the perverted side of me almost ran wild. I erased the bad thought and regained my composure.

But Iri, who had no way of knowing my consideration, looked clearly flustered. Her expression said she couldn’t understand how she had been hit just now.

‘Well, of course.’

Her reaction had been no different from usual.

Her judgment hadn’t been slow, nor had her movements. Since she couldn’t figure out the cause, she was naturally confused.

“Think it was a coincidence?”

“T-That was just an accident.”

“Is that so? Let’s check again.”

“This time, there’s no way…!”

“Don’t let your guard down.”

I cut her off and fired again. This time, I aimed at the chest area of her bulletproof vest.

Again, her reaction was the same.

She judged based on her instincts, made a move to evade, quickly caught on to where I was aiming, and arrived at the ‘correct answer.’

But the second shot as well—

Was enough to throw her off completely.

“Ugh…?!”

This time, it hit her a bit more squarely.

The rubber round dug into the vest before losing momentum and dropping to the floor.

“Ow…”

Iri let out a small groan.

The spot where the bullet struck was probably tingling. If it hadn’t been a rubber round, and she hadn’t been wearing protection, the result would have been horrific.

“H-How is this even…”

She looked at me as if seeking an answer. I kept my expression and tone under control as I replied.

“Your instincts weren’t wrong. Normally, you would’ve had no problem dodging my shot.”

“‘Normally’? What do you mean?”

“You succeeded in reading my intention. But you didn’t manage to read the ‘machine’s’ intention.”

At that moment, it seemed she immediately grasped what I meant.

“Don’t tell me… a shooting-assist module?”

“Correct.”

To be precise, the [Weapon Recognizer].

A Level-4 standard module I had installed recently.

It was a device that let me handle even unfamiliar weapons with expert skill, and naturally, it included a ‘shooting-assist’ function.

But even though she guessed “shooting-assist module” correctly, Iri still looked dissatisfied. I could read her thoughts from her expression alone, so I added an explanation.

“Of all the Adaptees or Augmented people you’ve faced, there must have been plenty with shooting-assist capabilities. The most recent would’ve been during the [Showcase].”

Donovan von Delay.

The Militech-sponsored scholarship student who picked a fight with Iri and got a proper lesson during the [Showcase] last time.

He had a shooting-assist module too. Just looking at the way that arm of his moved independently, firing away, made it obvious.

To that, Iri countered,

“But that didn’t bother me at all back then.”

“That’s a difference in level. Even if Donovan von Delay is a promising rookie from Militech, he’s still just a first-year who only just entered the Academy.”

A high-level Adaptee’s module containing all of Stingray’s cutting-edge tech and Donovan’s module were bound to differ in basic performance.

“The higher the module’s level, the more precise and sharper the Adaptee’s shooting ability becomes.”

And when combined with the Adaptee’s own honed combat sense, dodging gunfire becomes practically impossible.

Of course, in response, the defender could layer on thicker armor or modify their body for greater speed.

Iri seemed a bit sulky at my explanation.

She must have felt she’d lost because of gear difference.

“Then you could just give me a combat module too. Something to help me shoot better. Or one to help me dodge better.”

“I already did, didn’t I?”

“Oh.”

She was referring to the [Thousand Pound Weight] from last time.

I hadn’t really checked in on her since giving it to her, but I could already guess how she was using it.

“Are you making proper use of it?”

“Uh…”

As expected.

It seemed Iri still hadn’t adapted to the [Thousand Pound Weight] module.

Of course, since Miyu had fine-tuned it for her, there shouldn’t have been any compatibility issues.

The problem wasn’t that.

“When I activated the module, it felt strangely like my toes got heavier… so I sealed it away for now.”

She knew it was something good, but because it felt oddly unnatural to her body, she had just left it aside. Since I had expected this, I wasn’t surprised and calmly explained.

“You’re not the type who can easily accept modules like others. Because of your naturally heightened sensitivity, it takes more time and effort for you to get used to them.”

“…”

At my words, Iri lowered her head.

Her expression had lost confidence.

“Then… does that mean my ability isn’t that great…?”

Her question carried a mix of emotions.

The title of Stingray’s special scholarship student probably didn’t make her particularly happy. But at the same time, it would have been the basis of some pride.

She believed her talent was superior to that of other students, and that belief had been reinforced when she defeated Donovan in their duel.

However—

The experience during the last Titan attack and the results of today’s training had made her start doubting her own abilities.

“Even if I have good senses, if it just means I take longer to get used to combat modules, then what’s the point…”

“Hm.”

So my explanation had been too short.

I immediately refuted her words.

“What are you disappointed about?”

“…Excuse me?”

“If your talent was only at the level of relying on modules, I wouldn’t have recruited you in the first place.”

“But just now you…”

“Combat modules are the same as swords.”

I continued, sounding certain.

“As long as you have enough strength, anyone can hold and swing a sword. To someone without a weapon, that person would seem like a monster.”

With a weapon, you could kill someone or easily do what others couldn’t.

“But becoming a master of the sword is a different process.”

How should you grip the sword so it stays stable when swinging?

What trajectory should you draw to attack efficiently without wasting unnecessary strength?

Where should your feet be placed?

What about your breathing pace?

How much should your knees bend?

How should you direct your gaze?

“And before advancing through all those processes, do you know what’s the single most essential step?”

“What is it?”

“Observing the enemy.”

I pointed at Iri as I answered.

“Observing how your opponent moves, understanding it, and responding properly. Isn’t that a process you’re familiar with?”

Observation and response.

No matter how high-performance a module is, if the user’s judgment is poor, it won’t reach its full potential.

That’s what the Academy teaches.

If battles were decided purely by mechanical performance, then you could just strap weapons onto combat drones and have them fight.

“In the end, it’s called combat sense. Most of the riffraff never acquire it even after four years at the Academy. I’m talking about the ‘instinct’ you have.”

“Instinct…”

“You have a natural knack for it. The fact that you can’t easily grip a sword like others is because you perceive the ‘inefficiency’ from your own inexperience as ‘discomfort.’”

You hold an unfamiliar weapon.

Your instincts realize you’re using it wrong.

You feel uncomfortable, thinking this isn’t right.

You go back to a method you’re familiar with.

“That discomfort probably feels ‘unsafe’ to you. You think the temporary clumsiness when using a new weapon puts you in danger.”

“…”

Iri couldn’t answer.

It seemed she was realizing something.

After thinking deeply for a while, she murmured in awe,

“It’s like you know me better than I do… now that I hear it, it really does sound right.”

Scratching her neck awkwardly, Iri looked up at me and asked,

“Then what should I do?”

“You just have to get used to it.”

Not a joke—practice is the only way.

Right after I said that, I suddenly realized that ‘it’ was already running a bit late in arriving.

“…A little late.”

It was then.

The training room door opened very cautiously, and a familiar face appeared.

“E-Excuse meee…”

A voice containing not even one milligram of confidence. With a presence so faint you wouldn’t notice it unless you paid attention, Miyu appeared.

“M-Mr. Aaron. It’s doneee…”

“Good, nice work.”

Miyu then approached, dragging a cart with both hands.

For the size of the cart, the object on it was quite small. It looked like a rectangular metal case.

I couldn’t tell exactly what it was just by looking, but Iri seemed to immediately recall what I had requested Miyu to make for her last time.

“Don’t tell me… this is the shield I’m going to use?”

“Yes, that’s right! You recognized it right away!”

Miyu answered with a bashful grin.

It seemed she was quite satisfied with the result.

“I made it exactly as Mr. Aaron said! I used carbonized tungsten, depleted uranium, and polymer matrix, plus a little essence of Titan!”

“I see…”

…Sorry, but what?

What I had asked for was simply a sturdy shield made of strong materials that Iri could use.

In any case, Miyu, as if lost in her own world again, happily began rattling off an explanation.

What material she used for the front plating, how she made it foldable for portability thanks to the structure—

“I matched the height a little shorter to fit Ms. Iri’s stature, made it fold into three parts for better portability! On the back, I installed a firearm mount, and the grip was designed for better handling…”

“That’s enough, Miyu.”

I cut her off at a reasonable point.

If I didn’t, she’d definitely go on like a home shopping host for an entire hour.

It seemed Iri, having lived with her, also knew this, as she made a subtle ‘thank goodness’ face behind Miyu’s back.

Then Miyu snapped back to her senses and asked Iri,

“Oh, right. W-Would you like to try it out?”

Miyu tried to take the shield off the cart, but it seemed quite heavy, and she couldn’t lift it on her own. Only after straining and even using her mechanical tail to help did she finally manage to cradle it in her arms.

“H-Here you gooo!”

“Ah, got it!”

Worried she might hurt herself, Iri hurriedly took the shield from her. But once she had it, she seemed surprised by how light it actually felt, soon handling it with one hand.

Seeing that, I asked,

“How is it?”

“It’s pretty solid for its size, but not that heavy. Miyu, I think you need to work out a bit…”

“Heeeng…”

Chiding Miyu slightly, Iri unfolded the shield. The folded sections extended, covering about 80% of her body.

“Oooh…”

Iri let out an impressed sound.

“I don’t know much, but it feels good.”

Her impression was that it fit her hand better than expected and gave her a strangely reassuring feeling.

“Thinking of it as ‘mine,’ even the smell of this chemical paint is oddly nice. Kind of addicting, I guess.”

“Ah, um, it is actually addictive, so don’t inhale too much before it’s completely dryyy…”

“Gasp…!”

Iri’s face stiffened instantly as she sniffed the shield. Well, that’s paint for you.

In any case—

It seemed Iri was quite pleased with the shield Miyu had made for her.

I had been worried some ridiculous result different from the original plan might pop out, but since it wasn’t much different, I was relieved too.

“At first you won’t be used to it, but as you use it often, it’ll someday feel strange to be without it.”

“You sound pretty certain.”

“Of course.”

Because I knew—

How you were going to grow from here.

“Hm…”

Iri seemed to weigh the meaning of my words for a moment, then turned her gaze back to the shield.

Perhaps trying to examine its structure, she rotated it in her hands before glancing at me.

“But why a shield? Not a gun?”

“With your shooting skills, you dare bring up a gun?”

“Ugh…!”

No way she could respond to that.

She knew her own miserable marksmanship better than anyone.

“T-That’s not what I mean. I’m asking if it had to be a shield. There are other weapons and tools out there.”

“I already told you the reason.”

“Yes, you said it was for teamwork. But…”

“Is there a problem?”

“Huh? What do you mean ‘is there a problem’? Of course—”

Iri stopped mid-retort, eyes narrowing as if she realized something.

“…You just don’t want to tell me, do you?”

“You know me well.”

Iri was starting to get the measure of me.

“Hmph. Still, I insist on asking. I meant, why does this so-called ‘teamwork’ require a shield?”

“Knowing now wouldn’t change anything. It’d probably just get in your way.”

“Why’s that?”

“You’ll realize it on your own soon enough.”

That was all I said before closing my mouth.

If I told her that too, it would definitely hinder her growth. My policy was to leave her with a certain degree of independence.

At my firm tone, Iri shrugged as if to say there was nothing she could do.

“…Alright. I won’t ask.”

“Wise choice. Let’s continue the training. Miyu?”

“T-Then I’ll step out for a bittt.”

Miyu hurriedly left the training room, dragging the cart once more. Before completely exiting, she looked back at Iri and made a hand gesture as if to say, Good luck!

Iri gave Miyu a faint smile, then lifted the unfolded shield with slightly awkward hands.

Nice to see they were getting along.

Confirming that Iri was ready, I raised my gun once again.

“Then let’s begin.”

The time we had wasn’t endless.

Iri needed to grow faster. Which meant—

“Burn this training into your body.”

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