Chapter 376: Chapter 376

I woke up from sleep, startled by an unexpected vibration.

I couldn’t help but be confused. Someone was looking down at me.

And they were sitting right on top of my stomach.

‘What is this? A ghost?’

The body was oddly round, and the left upper side of the face stuck out in a strange way—too weird to be human.

The weight was fairly light too. It had to be a ghost.

If I didn’t have [Mental Defense], I might’ve screamed, ‘A ghost has fallen for my handsome face and come to take me!’

This is why living as a handsome man is hard.

As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I finally saw the figure clearly.

A black coat with a blood-red cloud insignia, a cat mask perched on the left side of her head.

That’s right. The suspicious figure was none other than—

“Get up already! We need to go!”

She grabbed me by the collar with both hands and started shaking me back and forth.

Maybe it was because I invited her to come with me. Or maybe she was excited to see Lowell get punched.

Either way, she was practically thrilled.

‘Isn’t she even scared?’

Picking a fight with the mad lion at our current level was pretty much suicide.

But instead of being scared, she was downright eager to get going.

In some ways, she was scarier than Lowell.

While I was equipping the [Legendary Phantom Thief Set] in the darkness—

“P-Please be careful. I-I’ll guard the house well, so don’t worry about it!”

Rezé shouted, hugging a carrot plush the size of her torso.

She clearly wanted to be left out. But unfortunately for her—

“Keke, I’m touched. Both of you agreed so readily.”

“Y-You understood me backwards! Y-You’re definitely a demonnnnn!”

Rezé jabbed me with the carrot plush.

Normally, I would’ve cut the carrot plush in half and crushed the rebellion.

But this time, I let it slide. Because Rezé was essential to tonight’s operation.

‘She has to play the radar.’

We needed to move undetected by the instructors, but more importantly, we needed to locate Lowell.

Clinging to her carrot plush like her life depended on it, Rezé refused to budge.

I tucked her under my arm just as she was.

“Keke, I couldn’t possibly leave our precious comrade Rezé behind. Let’s go. Tonight’s late-night snack is lion meat.”

“W-Wait! I-I have to stay here! W-What if the house runs away!”

The house running away. That made no sense.

We couldn’t waste energy on nonsense with a battle coming up.

I also couldn’t afford to break the radar. So I decided to persuade her—with very logical reasoning.

“Keke, if the house runs away, I’ll catch it and bring it back. So don’t worry.”

“H-How do you catch a house!”

“If it runs, you can catch it, can’t you? Now that your worries are solved, shall we go?”

As Rezé flailed, I threw the coat made from the [Legendary Phantom Thief Set] over her and placed the rabbit mask on her head.

The idiot hair sticking up from Rezé’s crown began to spin in circles.

Radar equipped—check. Now all that remained was to find Lowell.

“Keke, shall we be off?”

“Alright. Dark Beast Squad! Second deployment!”

With Luna’s cheerful shout, we left the dorm.

No instructors stopped us.

In fact, there were barely any instructors patrolling the village. We didn’t even need to hide in Rezé’s box.

“Why are there so few instructors around?”

“They’re probably guarding the village outskirts, the knights’ quarters, and the Baron’s mansion.”

The instructors’ absence proved my hypothesis was right.

Charging in to confront a training Lowell would normally be insane.

If my guess had been wrong, the instructors would’ve stopped us before we even got out of the dorm.

“Rezé, how’s it looking? Can you find that crazy woman?”

“A-Are we really going to fight? Why would you fight someone on your own side…”

“It’s not a fight, it’s discipline. We’re gonna teach her what happens when you bully people.”

Hmm, Luna, you’re not really one to talk when it comes to biting people…

“Hmm? Zero, what did you just say?”

“Keke, I said I 100% agree with your opinion, Miss Luna.”

Luna stared at me. Why does she only pick up on these things at times ?

While I desperately tried to hide my inner thoughts—

As Rezé kept hesitating, Luna scratched the back of her head and spoke.

“Well, that was just my personal reason. The real reason… is for Senior Rodelin.”

“Yeah. She’s being treated too harshly by her family. I don’t know what happened between them, but… still, they’re family. They should care for each other. Once you’ve lost them… it’s too late.”

We couldn’t see each other’s faces with our masks on.

Without facial expressions, it’s hard to read emotions.

But for some reason, Luna’s feelings came through loud and clear.

“B-Because Senior Rodelin has done so much for me. I-I can never repay her enough for all she’s done…”

The one who connected Luna and Rezé.

The one who gave Rezé her very first friend. That was Rodelin.

“Thank you. Rezé, I couldn’t live without you.”

“T-That goes for m-me too.”

Luna and Rezé embraced each other tightly. Like they were filming a drama.

“Time is short. Let’s get moving.”

“Jealous~? Want in? It’s a bit weird since it’s between two beautiful girls, but I’ll let you join. I’m feeling generous.” Fınd the newest release on novel⸺fire.net

I looked around, turning my head side to side.

No matter how many times I looked…

“Where are the beautiful girls?”

Kraaaagh! A beautiful girl wouldn’t bite people!

It’s over. The illusion is shattered!

Rezé finally started leading the way. We ran into a few instructors, but thanks to Rezé’s camouflage box, there was no real problem.

After a short while, we arrived.

A small forest on the edge of the village. More precisely, a dense thicket filled with long, slender trees.

It was a forest where even the villagers rarely ventured, as the trees were too poor for firewood.

“Hmph~ A natural training ground, huh? Must be nice to have that kind of fate.”

“N-No other presence nearby… It’s only L-Lady Lowell.”

It was the perfect setup for an ambush, as if someone had planned it.

There was no hesitation. After walking for about five minutes, we saw her.

Lowell, drenched in sweat, immersed in training.

Just as we tried to get a little closer—

Rezé grabbed our collars and stopped us.

“T-This is the limit. A-Any further, and we’ll be in Lady Lowell’s territory.”

I looked around, turning my head this way and that.

It was a spot where they could see the fight but couldn’t hear the conversation. Perfectly positioned.

Now, all that was left was…

“What? Got something to say?”

“Should we… not do it? Now that we’re here, I’m kind of scared.”

Luna took a deep breath. Seeing that, Rezé panicked and threw herself between us.

“Are you kidding me? Weren’t you all cool talking about the wave of courage earlier!?”

“P-Please calm down! Y-You’re going to get us caught!”

“She’s making me angry! Let’s just get caught! If we’re caught, we’ll have no choice but to fight!”

Rezé, stuck between me and Luna, was squashed like a mochi.

“Keke, I was joking. A little tension-breaker.”

“Ugh… You’re seriously gonna be the death of me!”

But the fear was real.

Not just because of the might of Lowell, the one called the “mad lion,” but because—

‘If my strategy doesn’t work, I’ll die.’

A phrase I’d seen tens of thousands of times while playing this game. But now it was real. No wonder I hesitated.

Luna glanced between Lowell and me and spoke.

“Have courage. You can do it.”

“Yeah. Granny said it, didn’t she? Have courage. Then those with courage will gather around you.”

She also said that courage doesn’t always lead to a good outcome.

But that part seemed to have vanished completely from Luna’s head.

The reason I came up with the insane idea of fighting Lowell.

The biggest reason was that very word—‘courage.’

‘Because the theme of this episode is courage.’

One of the core virtues a hero must possess.

That’s why I considered doing something as ridiculous as fighting Lowell…

But now that she was right in front of me, I couldn’t help but doubt that decision.

Thoughts and emotions aren’t always the same.

“If it gets dangerous, I’ll jump in. I’ll protect you even if it kills me.”

Luna lightly punched my chest, then looked at Rezé.

A gesture asking her to support me. Rezé responded.

“M-Maybe if you beg for forgiveness, she’ll spare your life? M-Maybe you’ll just lose a few limbs though…”

…Thanks. That’s super encouraging.

“Keke, I’ll replace the missing limbs with Rezé’s.”

“E-Eeeeeek! T-The lengths won’t even match!”

Luna covered her mouth with her hand, struggling not to laugh.

Alright, let’s do this. Not just because it’s the episode’s theme.

‘Because I’m the one who carries on the wave of courage.’

Maybe she sensed I had made up my mind. Luna spoke.

“Just in case, let’s agree on a signal. If it gets too tough, shout ‘Dark Beast Squad, assemble!’ I’ll charge in right away.”

Ugh. That’s the last thing I want to yell.

Thanks, Luna. Now I’ve got one more reason I absolutely have to win.

“Well then… I’m off.”

I slowly walked toward Lowell.

Lowell, swinging her sword like a madwoman, suddenly flinched.

She turned sharply in my direction, her eyes gleaming.

I kept walking, slowly and steadily, like a powerful figure, calm and confident.

An artificial clearing made by Lowell’s training.

Bathed in moonlight, I stepped into view, and the corner of Lowell’s lips curled up.

“Snake Mask… I figured we’d meet again.”

Lowell wasn’t surprised or excited.

But she couldn’t completely hide the tension in her grip on the longsword.

“Where are your teammates? Or did you split up already?”

“Keke, I came for a little trade. No need to bring the others for that.”

Lowell muttered, subtly moving her right hand.

Just before her hand disappeared behind her body, I quickly spoke.

“Keke, thinking of firing a flare? I wouldn’t recommend it.”

Lowell flinched. Not just because I saw through her move—

‘But because I knew about the flare, and…’

Because despite that, I still appeared before her without fear.

She was definitely surprised.

If she fired the flare, Caron would come. Yet I still showed myself, knowing that.

“Caron too… No, you think you can take both of us at once? That’s seriously pissing me off.”

Despite her words, Lowell looked calmer than ever.

Because she recognized me as a threat.

“As I said, I only came to offer a mutually beneficial trade. So let’s not use the flare.”

“A benefit for me? Did someone request this? Even if they did, there’s no way I’d trade with a shady guy like you.”

Lowell still hadn’t removed her hand from the flare.

‘There’s no way I can handle Caron at my current level.’

Revealing my identity wouldn’t get me killed, but it would destroy the hidden piece known as the Dark Beast Squad.

There was no other choice.

‘Plan A—persuasion and negotiation—is scrapped.’

Time for Plan B. That is—

‘To control Lowell from within my grasp.’

And I had the perfect word for this moment.

“Second Legion Commander.”

Lowell’s eyes widened. It was obvious even from a distance.

“Keke, I’m sure you understand now. So take your hand off the flare. That’s something Sir Caron really shouldn’t hear about, isn’t it?”

“I have no idea what nonsense you’re spewing. If you’re gonna babble useless crap, just get lost! Stop interrupting someone’s training!”

That’s when composure is most important.

I slowly paced the clearing. After I mentioned the Second Legion Commander, a sliver of doubt appeared in Lowell’s mind.

That tiny anxiety—I amplified it.

And when that anxiety had ripened to the brink of bursting—

“I know everything. The curse placed on your family by the Second Legion Commander, no…”

I activated the [Eye Opening] skill.

“About the contract.”

The mad lion Lowell, always proud, always unshaken in any situation.

Her face was now overtaken by fear.

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