Carrying Thoughts (4): Hero

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In the newspaper club room of the old school building, Gellar and I settled down for a moment. Although this was not the time to relax, we also couldn’t rush out of the old school building. The inside of the old school building was quiet, but just one step outside, and the soldiers of the Deran Household were wandering around.

The words that flew out of Gellar’s mouth, with a troubled expression, were about the terrifying scheme of Bowman Deran Baxwal. She said they planned to shoot a massive shell toward the venue of the inter-academy competition from Mount Paro, where we had also climbed. According to Gellar, upon impact, a massive explosion was inevitable, leading to significant damage.

Since the day after the snowball fight, Gellar had been placed under house arrest at home. The reason was that she had refused to provide information about Team Catrap. Moreover, Gellar’s home was being used as a gathering place for those related to the Seg Household, serving as both a monitoring post and a cover.

Gellar was essentially not permitted to leave her room and had to remain quiet. However, it wasn’t that he had no gains at all. In the city of Rodon, which is strict with drunkards, even the soldiers found it difficult to go out drinking until late, leading to the Seg Household soldiers holding parties in the living room every night.

In a drunken stupor, they began complaining about security, and Gellar quietly listened, eavesdropping to gather information. It seemed that the Seg Household was planning to detain the Artillerymen (Gunner) after firing the shell, and they would kill them under the pretense of resistance during their capture.

According to Gellar, even if it turned out that the Artillerymen (Gunner) were innocent, Baxwal’s usual tactic was to prevent direct blame from falling on the Deran Household. Even for the Seg Household, they believed that if they were treated poorly, the Deran Household would eventually withdraw if enough time passed.

As a result, Gellar heard about the impending massacre that would occur during the inter-academy competition. Although he wanted to escape and inform someone, he hadn’t had the chance. Finally, on the day of the competition, most of the soldiers at his house had been sent out for security, allowing him to escape. However, once he left the room, Gellar had nowhere to go. If Rita-san had been there, it might have been different, but Rita-san was currently being hunted from Rodon.

The instructors were untrustworthy, and it was impossible to know who was an enemy. The same went for students in the same class. After all, her classmate Mogi had betrayed us. Being a drifter, Gellar could only think of relying on us, Team Catrap.

It was good that she had made it to the academy, but it seemed she didn’t know we were being detained. The soldiers of the Seg Household were wandering around the Mount Paro area, making it difficult to reach the competition venue. When she had gone to the newspaper club room, she happened to be spotted by Mogi, who had been passing by, and they had been arguing in that place.

“I understand how Gellar ended up here, but why is Mogi in a place like this? Didn’t he get chosen for the representative team instead of me and Gellar…?” (Lux)

Oops. I should have checked with Mogi before knocking him out.

“I only met him a little while ago, so I don’t know the details, but he mentioned something about being called by Baxwal. He said something like, ‘I’ll hand you over to Baxwal-sama too’.” (Gellar)

“I see… well, forget about Mogi. Let’s tie him up and roll him into a random room.” (Lux)

I thought I would let him go later if I remembered.

Putting aside Mogi, the problem was the shell.

Are the two of us going to go to Mount Paro and take down the artillery gunners? That’s impossible. I’m already struggling to get out of this academy. I probably won’t even be able to reach Mount Paro.

Then, should we somehow get out of the academy and inform Follet and the others about this? No, that won’t work either. There are too many people at the venue. Even if we were lucky enough to reach Follet or Beretta, it would be nearly impossible to get everyone out.

Mount Paro isn’t that far away. Should I try to get as close as possible and take a shot at the Artillerymen (Gunner) with my sniping? I might manage the distance, but without knowing the exact location, that would also be impossible. The secret that Lulu-san mentioned when going to get the Snowfree flower was probably about the cannon. If that’s the case, I have some idea of the positional relationship, but that alone would be tough. Naturally, it should be hidden from the eyes of ordinary people.

At that point, I suddenly realized something, “The shell?”.

“Hey Gellar, if you know, could you tell me, are the Artillerymen (Gunner) shells just enlarged magic bullets like the lancer’s?” (Lux)

“I heard that the Artillerymen (Gunner) are chosen based on their ability to consolidate and fix magic power, so I think it’s just a regular magic bullet? I believe I heard in class that the instability of large magic bullet shaping was also a reason they couldn’t proceed to practical use.” (Gellar)

I placed my hand on my mouth, thinking.

During the first semester inter-class competition held in spring, we had buried Ratt-kun’s magic bullet in the ground and used it as a landmine. I detonated the magic bullet with my sniping.

If the cannon’s magic bullet has the same characteristics, then I can destroy the magic bullet with my sniping. I can’t say it’s guaranteed. But right now, this is all I can do. First, I need to calmly secure a place where I can snipe… that place is good. Our secret spot. On the castle wall. It’s not that far from the old school building. I have to find a chance to slip up to the castle wall.

Seeing me frozen, Gellar worriedly asked, “What’s wrong? Are you okay?” (Gellar)

“Oh, yeah. Sorry. I’m fine. Hey, Gellar. I can’t promise anything, but maybe we can stop Baxwal’s scheme. I want to move from this place to the back of the dormitory without being noticed… will you help me?” (Lux)

“The back of the dormitory?” (Gellar)

“Yeah. I’m going to try a little ‘sniping’.” (Lux)

I conveyed this with a calm smile, trying to reassure Gellar as much as possible.

 

—

 

Meanwhile, Heinz, Sonia, and Lulu were holed up in the research building. The situation, which had been somewhat favorable for a while, was gradually shifting in the opposite direction. The enemy was clearly attacking with overwhelming numbers.

Just as it seemed they might lose focus, a voice rang out from the stairs.

“Damn it! I missed two of them!! Watch out!!” (Lulu)

Two soldiers had charged up the stairs and burst onto the second floor. At the nearest window from the staircase were Heinz, Lites, and Lev. Reflexively, Lites and Lev stepped forward to shield Heinz. The enemy knew that we only had mock bullets, so they approached slowly with a bit of confidence, aiming their guns.

After some tense moments, the tides turned. Looking down at the captured soldier, Heinz exchanged glances with Sonia and Hana, nodding slightly.

“Sorry, but we still have a reliable hero left.” (Heinz)

They all smiled together.

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