Preparations Begin

“Everyone, remember to prepare your weapons! Check the condition of your armor! This is an important operation; failure is not an option!”

“Yes, sir!” shouted the knights at Captain Edran’s speech.

Everyone was getting ready to attack the hideout of the bandits who had ambushed us and taken Lui. According to what they said, he was being held in a cave. Captain Edran had his doubts about sending his men into an operation without any sort of reconnaissance of the terrain, but someone else had already taken care of that.

“Remember to watch each other’s backs! First, those experienced with traps will go in, and the rest will cover them! Understood!?”

“Yes!” shouted the adventurers in response to Sir Draum.

Unlike the knights, who act by drawing up specific plans to capture criminals, adventurers have more experience with raids into unknown areas. On the other hand, knights receive more rigorous training and are more accustomed to working in large teams. It’s because of these differences that an alliance between both factions works so well—each covers the weaknesses of the other.

Knights and adventurers. A sight worth witnessing, without a doubt.

“Hey, Edran!” shouted Sir Draum. “I hope all that becoming-a-knight business hasn’t made you rusty!”

“Eh? What are you talking about?” the captain asked with an irritated tone. “I could take you down right here if I felt like it!”

At such provocation, the instructor’s face twisted into a crooked smile full of anger. Immediately after, he stepped toward the captain.

“Oh yeah!? Then how about we settle this right now!?” he exclaimed.

“Anytime! I’m always ready to beat you down!” Captain Edran shot back.

Just like Clay, there were a few other rookies within the knights’ ranks; they were trembling with nerves at the sight of the two men about to start a fight. In contrast, the veterans only sighed while muttering, “There they go again…” It seemed clashes between those two were nothing unusual.

Speaking of Clay, he came and sat right beside me after finishing preparing his gear. He looked somewhat down. I, for my part, was trying to rest and recover as much as I could, while Liz had gone off to train a little.

As soon as he sat, he let out a long sigh.

“Something wrong?” I asked.

“No… well, you see… this is my first operation,” he replied timidly.

It was hard to believe he was nervous, especially considering how he had just taken down those thugs a few hours ago like it was nothing. He even carried a truly intimidating presence when he did it.

But it’s true he’s still a rookie. He may be skilled, but nerves during important events can happen to anyone.

Remembering a bit of my own life, I chuckled slightly, which irritated Clay.

“Don’t laugh at me…” he muttered.

“That’s not it. It’s just that you remind me of myself,” I replied. “I remember the first important fight I had in a small tournament held at the gym where I trained—I was a nervous wreck.”

Yes, it was the first competition I ever entered. It wasn’t even anything official, but even then I struggled to stay calm.

This boy was like me in those moments. Motivated to do his best, but still nervous and inexperienced. Talking to him felt like talking to my younger self.

“I’ll give you the same advice my coach gave me back then,” I said, turning to look him straight in the eyes. “Focus only on your target! The rest doesn’t matter—just concentrate on the one in front of you!” I exclaimed, trying to imitate the same tone my coach used.

Honestly, I thought Clay would laugh at me because of the voice I put on, but instead, I could see how his eyes lit up as he stared back at me.

“Focus only on my target, the rest doesn’t matter… I got it!” he declared with resolve. “Thank you so much, Naoya!”

I could only smile, watching as he regained his determination. I hope this boy can go far and achieve his goals—unlike me.

“Oh, by the way! The captain told me to give you something. Follow me,” said Clay. I didn’t know what it could be, so I just followed him without question.

***

A couple of minutes later, we finally arrived at a double door located at the back of the barracks. It looked heavily reinforced and protected, which immediately raised my suspicions.

Clay pulled out a key and unlocked it, motioning for me to enter.

“This is the armory,” he said.

“An armory!? Is it really okay for someone who isn’t a knight to come in here?” I asked.

This was like a police officer taking an ordinary civilian into the armory of his station—pretty irresponsible. Though, to be honest, I wasn’t sure if adventurers were considered civilians in this world.

“It’s fine! Since we’ll be teammates on this mission, the captain asked me to hand you something. Plus, you were recommended by Sir Draum, and that’s no small thing,” Clay answered nonchalantly.

“Are those two friends or something?”

“As far as I know, the captain and Sir Draum were part of an adventurer party when they were younger. Aside from that and their rivalry, I don’t know much more,” he replied again. That explained everything.

After rummaging a bit through some shelves, among which there were blades, blunt weapons, and even rifles, Clay finally seemed to find what he was looking for.

“Here! These are for you!”

What he showed me was not at all what I expected. It wasn’t a sword or anything like that, but a pair of gauntlets. They were metallic in color and looked like part of an armor set, yet at the same time they felt independent.

“These gauntlets will help increase the damage of your punches! It’s not a weapon we use, so you can take them without any problem,” he added.

Not long ago I said that if there were a weapon that suited me, I would use it without hesitation. Who would’ve thought that moment would come so soon?

“Thanks!” I replied with an eager voice.

After that, we left the armory and Clay locked the door again. Now that he had given me the gauntlets, he said he needed to report it to Captain Edran.

Truth be told, I wanted to try them out a little before the operation started.

“Clay, do you know a place where I can train a bit?”

“Yeah! The yard is through that door, you can use it until we leave,” he answered. “See you later, Naoya!”

Following his instructions, I headed to the yard, and upon opening the door I found Liz. She was swinging her sword over and over again. It was obvious she had been at it for quite some time; sweat completely covered her face.

“Hey, wait,” I said worriedly. “You also need to rest if you want to be in good shape for the mission.”

“No…” she replied, breathing heavily. “I need to be stronger… to save Lui…”

She kept swinging her sword a few more times, but suddenly she stopped. It didn’t look like it was because she’d reached her limit, but rather something else.

She remained silent for a few seconds, as if trying to find the right words, and eventually she spoke.

“…I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m sorry… for dragging you into all this.”

Her voice was low and sounded sad.

From her perspective, she must believe that if she hadn’t helped me, I wouldn’t be going through all these problems.

At such reasoning, I gently patted her head again. Maybe she finds it strange, but I feel it brings me a little closer to her.

“You don’t need to apologize. None of this is your fault.”

“But…”

“You helped me even though I was just some stranger who appeared out of nowhere in some ruins, and you even spent part of your own money on me without asking anything in return.”

Liz didn’t say anything else, so I kept speaking. I had to make this girl understand once and for all.

“I’ve already told you, haven’t I? If it weren’t for you, who knows what would have happened to me after I appeared in those ruins,” I added. “Let’s save Lui. That way we’ll be even, alright?”

Liz finally lifted her gaze and hugged me back. Her eyes were tearful, but unlike before, this time it seemed more like relief. She must have felt freed knowing that despite everything that had happened recently, I didn’t blame her in any way.

“…Thank you, Naoya,” she said, still holding me.

“Sure.”

We stayed like that in the yard for a while. In the end, I took Liz to rest for a bit.

Afterward, I remained in the yard testing the gauntlets. I thought they’d be somewhat cumbersome, but they turned out to be quite comfortable. The joints were smooth, and I could move my hands without any problem.

In the distance, I spotted a training dummy. I approached it, wound up a strong punch, and struck it. The dummy flew into one of the walls.

Clay was right—my punches had become stronger and more forceful. I wondered if I’d be able to keep them after all this was over.

Some time later, after trying out the gauntlets and resting enough, the moment finally arrived. It was time for the mission to begin.