Cider, who had arrived in front of the shooting range door, tilted his head. It was too quiet. It would be natural if no one was inside, but he knew who had entered there. Since she would be firing mana bullets without caring about wasting mana, the stimulator in his inner pocket should be detecting mana and spinning noisily.
"She even asked
to make strange machines."
It wasn't a difficult request so he had agreed, but then she asked him to make seven more of the sa thing. It was absurd, but seeing her face turn red with embarrassnt after shalessly making the request as if it were his responsibility, he thought it was worth putting up with the trouble.
When he approached the tightly closed iron door and listened carefully, he could faintly hear the sound of machines shooting balls.
Cider had purchased 8,000 tennis balls for this machine. Since there was no store that could suddenly provide so many balls, he had to place a direct order with a factory. The factory manager who heard the story emptied an entire factory to barely complete it on ti.
But after going to such lengths to make it for her, she was just shooting balls and not firing her gun? That couldn't be right for Esperanza.
Cider supported a tray with one arm and opened the door.
Eight machines were shooting balls. They weren't shooting in just one direction either. They poured out completely randomly from all directions. Avoiding the balls alone would be no ordinary task, but she had to hit those balls away on top of that. It seed like eight bodies wouldn't be enough, yet Esperanza was managing it sohow.
Except for a dozen or so balls rolling around on the floor, hundreds of balls were all in large baskets next to the machines.
How much ti had passed? Before long, seven machines had spat out all their balls and only made empty rattling sounds. Before the eighth machine threw its last ball, Esperanza sat down in the middle of the shooting range.
"Is it over?"
At those words, Esperanza drew the gun at her waist and shot toward Cider. Cider lifted the corners of his mouth. The bullet that passed by without barely grazing his hair shot down the last ball.
"You did that on purpose, didn't you?"
Esperanza, who had completely sprawled out her arms and legs and was lying down, had her chest rising and falling greatly. It wasn't from being out of breath but from laughing. Cider clicked his tongue quietly. She had deliberately sat down when she saw him coming. Cider, who had crouched down beside Esperanza, swept her sweat-soaked hair up from her forehead and asked.
"Why did you ask
to make this machine? You weren't even going to practice shooting."
"How can I shoot when there are only 8,000 balls? That would be wasteful."
"Ah. I should have ordered about 20,000?"
"That would be waste. We have to use them sparingly."
Cider replied as if he was hearing all sorts of nonsense.
"Making
create eight of these basic machines isn't a waste of money?"
Strictly speaking, wasn't she actually saving labor costs by doing the work of several people alone? When Esperanza pouted, Cider placed the cup he had brought on top of her lips. With her lips blocked by the cup of cold water that might fall, Esperanza couldn't move at all.
It's a glass cup? Are you crazy!
"If you talk, it'll fall. If it falls, it'll break."
Cider, who had been watching Esperanza scream with her eyes, laughed and lifted the cup.
"It's not glass. Do you think I would put sothing breakable on your face?"
Where could you find soone as untrustworthy as Cider Claiborne in such matters? Wasn't he planning to pretend it was an accident and take so blood if any ca out?
"Were you really scared?"
"Who's going to clean it up if it breaks!"
"The servants will take care of it. Was that all?"
Was he disappointed that it was just that? Esperanza glared and sat up. When he brought the water cup to the lips of Esperanza, who was sitting with her knees up, she glared but obediently drank.
The cold water moistened her lips and flowed down her chin in a stream. Cider placed the back of his hand on her chin and wiped away the moisture. Even though he touched from the back of his hand through his fingers to his fingertips and withdrew plainly, it seed to linger strangely long. Her insides felt ticklish and awkward, making it impossible to look at him directly.
"...Why are you suddenly being so nice to ?"
"I'm always nice to you."
"Ah, yes."
Along with the perfunctory answer, Esperanza took the water glass and drank every last drop before putting it down.
"This isn't like your personality to bring sothing like this directly."
"If not , who would co in here? If anyone saw this, they'd all be scared and avoid you."
Esperanza answered with a snort. Esperanza, who had received a towel and wiped her nape, put her arms on her knees and rested her chin on them.
"Really, why did you co?"
"I was curious about what you were doing."
"Ah. You were curious about how to use that?"
Cider answered with a laugh instead of words. Even if he answered 'I was just really curious about what you were doing,' she probably wouldn't believe it much.
"It was also strange that you suddenly said you were training but weren't making any particular effort."
"Ah... didn't I work hard in my own way? I trained almost every day."
"Yes. Just maintaining the status quo."
As expected, she couldn't even drink water carelessly in front of this man. Wasn't he deducing sothing by looking at things like the shape of her fingers holding the cup? Co to think of it, he smoked cigars too. Not a pipe though. He didn't wear a hunting cap either.
"Don't think nonsense."
"Ah, are you talking to ?"
Shouldn't he reflect on himself first if he was going to say such things?
Even though Esperanza was thoroughly sarcastic, Cider was steadfast.
"So?"
Even though he had cut off both the beginning and end of his words, Esperanza, who imdiately understood, shrugged her shoulders greatly.
"It's because of Cyrus."
"Ah."
The temperature in Cider's voice dropped sharply. If drawn as a graph, there would be a cliff right at this "ah" section.
"Why that person?"
Cider, who had scraped together whatever sincerity he didn't have, asked again. Esperanza gave herself montum to stand up and dusted off her leather pants.
Of course, she was completely unaware that access by employees to the vicinity of the shooting range had been prohibited because of those pants.
"I can't kill him."
Instead of waiting for an answer, Esperanza grabbed the towel around her neck and picked up a ball that had fallen on the floor. After rolling it lightly in her hand, she threw it into the basket that was already full of balls. It was the only ball with a bullet embedded in it.
"If I want to subdue him without killing him, I need to practice a bit... um, breaking sothing would be okay, right?"
"Esperanza. I think killing would be fine too."
"Yes."
She wasn't even listening. Cider made the suggestion again.
"Should I kill him if you hold him down?"
"You weren't even interested?"
"I just beca interested."
Looking at how she had spent months repeating rolling around, shooting guns, drinking tea, reading books, and going to et slum kids, given Esperanza's personality, suddenly starting sothing she hadn't done before was quite an expression of significant interest. The fact that Esperanza, who trusted her own force more than anyone, would say she'd practice and shut herself in the shooting range for hours dedicating herself to re repetitive exercises was an attitude of wanting to seriously deal with the person called Cyrus.
Cider Claiborne didn't like that. His eyes narrowed. He spoke impulsively.
"He probably isn't the person you know."
"...That's probably right."
Esperanza answered a beat late. With a not very pleased expression. Cider sighed. The sight of her rose-colored lips pouting ca clearly into view.
"I won't be hurt by sothing like that."
She had been anxious for the reason of being dropped alone into this world, and because of that she had relied particularly on Cider, so she understood why he was worried. But she was really okay.
"We weren't that close to begin with."
"Didn't you say he was a colleague?"
"Literally. Just a colleague."
She could guess what misunderstanding he had. But they were just ga friends. If it had been the Cyrus that Esperanza knew, she might have felt kinship about being dropped in a strange place together, but there was no reason to be sentintal about soone from 13 years ago whose reality wasn't even certain.
Esperanza, who had tied her wavy hair up high, fanned herself with her hand. Cider, who had been just staring at that sight, stood up.
"If you're okay, that's fine. Co look at your gun."
A tennis ball bumped against his well-polished shoe tip. Cider threw open the heavy shooting range door. Cider, bathed in the blazing sunlight, asked as if suddenly rembering.
"...How did you get here in that outfit?"
"Of course... I didn't co here in this outfit. I changed here."
As soon as he finished speaking, he turned his back and the door slamd shut. Esperanza burst into hollow laughter.
"What."
Even though he had adapted to seeing it himself, leather pants that revealed the entire leg line were still sothing that needed to be "endured" in Cider's eyes. This was a difference in values, so it couldn't be helped. He was already a remarkable eccentric for not making a fuss telling her to change imdiately.
But it was botherso to change. She had to wash anyway. Esperanza took advantage of the absence of people to cover her body with a long hood and climbed up to her room window using the balcony as stairs. Annie, who was tidying the bed, almost fell backward.
"Kyah, Miss!"
"Ah, sorry."
She was wearing a hood, so how did she recognize her?
"Is there anyone else besides Miss who goes in and out through windows?"
Annie grumbled as if she had expected that question. Well, she did prefer this route more than the door. Especially when going to the Alter District.
"I've prepared bath water. Go in quickly. How did a miss who obediently only shoots guns at the shooting range end up soaked in sweat like that?"
"Do I sll a lot of sweat?"
"Not that much."
Annie's attitude couldn't be trusted. She was always surprisingly generous when it ca to Esperanza's appearance.
Sure enough, Esperanza's appearance in the mirror was quite a sight. Sweat flowed like water making her neck glisten, yet Cider Claiborne had seen all of this and remained calm. How embarrassing. She cooled her flushed cheeks with the back of her hand.
A little later, Esperanza, who had washed and co out, entrusted her hair to Annie's hands.
"You always put a towel over your shoulder and go to the Count's study."
Annie chattered with nagging.
"Do you know how good that makes us feel?"
Nagging... was it?
"...What?"
"Um, it's nothing. Anyway, I'll dry it just a little so water doesn't drip."
Annie, who had dried the moisture from her hair with a thick towel, wrapped a thin shawl around Esperanza's shoulders over her indoor clothes, and put a new towel over that. Even so, since her hair was long, water would drip anyway.
Still, thinking of Annie's sincerity, she put on indoor shoes in that outfit and headed to Cider's study.
She was excited to see how many rare options he had added to her gun this ti. It had already beco an amazing item that couldn't be obtained even if you tried to get it with cash items, and if she took it back as is, users who spent 100 million a month on Golden Claw might line up asking to buy it.
Of course, she wouldn't sell it.
Whether life here had already beco familiar, or whether she had grown attached to Cider, when she made the assumption of returning, the regrettable points ca to mind first.
There had been many good things too. She would probably rember them for a long ti, wouldn't she?
From standing in front of Cider's study door like this, to the sll of book dust the mont she opened this door, to the scenery of the two-story study that opened up before her eyes.
And in the center of it all, the blonde man who seed like he wouldn't look back even if the world fell away, with his eyes fixed on brass-colored machine parts.
His moonlight-like eyes narrowed as he fitted together large and small machine parts, parts whose nas Esperanza couldn't even morize, according to the blueprints. The characters he scribbled in abbreviations with a fountain pen in between could be read but not understood.
Just one scene without any information or sound. So all of that would just remain in her head like a picture.
Just remain...
"You told
to co see the gun, so what are you doing?"
"Ah."
Cider belatedly looked away from the chanical device.
"It's on the desk. Take it and look."
What's with this cold treatnt? Esperanza blinked and grasped the gun placed on the desk.
When she opened the status window, she could see that the stats that had nowhere left to go had risen even higher. This ti there was a buff attached that ignored the opponent's defense. The probability seed quite high, but she couldn't test it with targets... Esperanza, who had been staring at the status window for a while, suddenly opened the quest window she had forgotten about.
[Quest: Find the Golden Claw!]
Progress: (50/???)
Completion Rewards
—Title: Master of Ti
—Items: Golden Claw, Return Ticket (Ho)
It had risen trendously. Enough to doubt her eyes. And the next mont, Esperanza really doubted her eyes.
[Quest: Find the Golden Claw!]
Progress: (51/???)
Completion Rewards
—Title: Master of Ti
—Items: Golden Claw, Return Ticket (Ho)
It was rising in real ti. A mont later, the progress changed to 52. With a little more ti, 53, 54...
"What?"
"...It wasn't broken."
Cider muttered as if entranced. As if answering Esperanza's question. Esperanza belatedly recognized the device he had been fixing. It was the dungeon detector they had completed in Mabelwood.
Unknown numbers flickered. The red needle on the instrunt panel was pointing southeast. Their eyes t. Cider whispered quietly.
"A dungeon has opened in Nine Holder."
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