An afternoon spent returning empty-handed.
I went to meet Emily with a devastated heart.
“Welcome, big brother.”
Emily, who had arrived first, was beaming brightly.
She looked like someone who already knew how things would turn out.
“So this was a game I could never win from the start, huh?”
Considering the three people I trusted had all deliberately worked together to trap me, I guess the outcome was inevitable.
Come to think of it, my life had never truly belonged to me.
When exactly had things become like this?
How did it end up this way?
“It’s okay even if you don’t love me, big brother. I’ll love you instead. For a political marriage, doesn’t that sound pretty happy?”
Yeah, that was it.
The words I’d once said to Ariel were still haunting me even now.
I had thought them through carefully when I said them. Nobles had obligations.
That was the price for living comfortably off the taxes paid by the people of your territory.
Back then, I believed that was right. No, I still did.
But somehow, thinking about it as my own story left a bitter taste in my mouth.
“Ah, I was arrogant!”
To live as a noble while daring to dream of a life free from possessions.
What freedom from possessions? I was in a position where I had to bear forced possession beyond complete possession.
“……”
I reached enlightenment.
There was something in this world even more important than attaining nirvana.
All of this was karma brought upon me by my own reckless mouth in the past.
My karma.
“What are you thinking about?”
“I’m thinking about not thinking.”
“That’s profound.”
It kind of is.
Anyway, I realized something.
My life had never belonged to me in the first place. I’d always been pushed around one way or another, so what difference would it make if there was one more person who loved me?
If anything, maybe I should welcome it with open arms.
Wasn’t Yuna and Ariel the ones who had actively pushed Emily toward me in the first place?
Emily was obviously meant to serve as a bridge between the two of them. If that was the case, then maybe the tension between them would lessen too.
Ah… so that’s how it was.
“Let’s get married, Emily.”
“We are.”
Once I changed the direction of my thoughts, Emily suddenly started to look like an angel.
My heart finally felt at ease.
“Yeah, son. That’s how you become an adult; giving things up one by one.”
My father looked at me with a bitter smile.
Ha. Easy for him to say when he got married for love.
“Big brother.”
“Yeah, Emily. What is it?”
I had finally attained enlightenment.
Not the principle of owning nothing, but the principle of forced possession.
At this point, I was basically a Buddha.
“Be careful.”
“Hmm?”
Bang!
At that moment, a deafening roar exploded beside my left ear.
I turned my head and saw a helical gear protruding from behind Emily’s back, stopping right next to my ear.
What was that?
The source of the noise?
Clink.
A flattened bullet dropped to the floor and rolled away.
Watching the whole sequence unfold, I finally snapped out of my detached state and returned to reality.
“Stan, you fucking lunatic!”
Did he just try to shoot me in the head?!
No matter what, this crossed the line. Well, it wasn’t exactly the first time he’d crossed one, but this was on another level.
This was attempted murder!
Only now did I remember why I had been so adamantly against getting engaged to Emily in the first place.
It was because of this goddamn crazy bastard.
Bang!
Another gunshot rang out beside my ear.
Emily blocked the shot again, but this couldn’t continue.
The bastard was skilled enough to accurately snipe me from long range.
And the fact that he could fire without hesitation even with his beloved little sister standing right in front of me showed just how confident he was in his abilities.
Where the hell was he shooting from?
“Tch!”
This was bad.
No matter how much Emily protected me, there was no point enduring against someone who could keep pulling the trigger from a position we couldn’t reach.
First, we had to take cover.
Then I’d hunt down that bastard hiding somewhere and beat the hell out of him.
I’d let him off before because of our history together, but this was too much, you asshole!
I immediately moved away from the terrace.
Damn it, I never should’ve arranged to meet Emily outdoors. We should’ve met inside a sealed building instead…!
“Father, first we need to—!”
In my shock at being targeted by a sniper, I had completely forgotten about my father.
He was weaker than me.
No matter how pathetic he was, he was still family. I had to protect him.
With that thought, I called out to him.
“Good work today, Johan!”
“Tch.”
Bang!
I could think later. There was no way Emily could keep blocking everything forever.
Still, hiding behind Emily was just too pathetic, even for me.
For now, I needed to move behind the building.
“See you later, Emily!”
“Okay.”
Emily simply nodded and waved calmly.
The fact that she could stay so composed in a situation like this was terrifying in its own way.
The guy you like almost just got his head blown off, you know?
“Hoo…”
I was trying to put some distance between us and slip into the building’s shadow when I suddenly stopped and inhaled sharply.
There was something Stan hadn’t accounted for.
My growth.
“Hup!”
Clang!
I drew my sword and deflected the incoming bullet.
At this point, I was honestly proud of myself for being able to block bullets with a sword now.
“If you failed the first shot, you’re not killing me.”
I grinned toward wherever Stan was watching from.
No matter how incredible his sniping skills were, as long as it wasn’t a surprise attack, I wasn’t afraid.
A gun’s power could only be so consistent by nature.
I sneered as I said it.
I shouldn’t have.
If only I’d realized he could fire arrows instead of bullets at me.
Clang!
A crushing impact far heavier than any bullet slammed into my wrist.
Right. Guns had actually been a restraint for him. The bastard was skilled with all kinds of ranged weapons in general, and I’d gotten way too arrogant.
“Tch!”
I’d reflect on my arrogance later. First, I needed cover.
Practically rolling across the ground, I threw myself between the buildings.
But now that I knew he’d brought a bow too, there was no guarantee this position was safe either.
“Damn it, Father. I finally understand now. Your survival instincts are better than mine.”
My father hadn’t relaxed just because he got behind a building. To escape danger completely, he’d kept running nonstop through the alleys between buildings.
Leaving his son behind, of course.
What a terrible father.
“Whoa!”
I had only just managed to catch my breath when I hurriedly rolled out of the way again.
Against Stan, who was using arrows instead of guns, cover meant nothing.
Arrows that bent at bizarre angles were his trademark.
I’d already experienced it firsthand during the launch ceremony of that ragtag group.
“This bastard’s gotten colder.”
Unlike the first shot that aimed for my head, every attack after that had targeted my limbs.
Had he realized he shouldn’t actually kill people?
Or did he just know exactly how to make someone’s life miserable?
To make matters worse, he kept targeting impossible angles to defend against.
This wouldn’t end like this.
I had to get close to him.
Unless I personally smashed his skull in, this chase would never stop.
“Damn it, I didn’t bring anything.”
I never imagined I’d get assassinated during a discussion about an engagement.
Other than the sword I always carried, I hadn’t brought anything with me.
If I’d at least brought Mephi, I could’ve used him to locate Stan from the sky.
“Fine. Let’s do this, then.”
The only weapons I had were my sword and my own strength.
I had no idea if that would be enough to subdue Stan, but I’d try anyway.
***
The first shot had been a mistake.
Stan himself knew that.
No matter what, he hadn’t actually intended to kill him.
He’d just been pissed off seeing Johan act so relaxed around Emily.
Before he knew it, what he’d clenched wasn’t his fist, but the trigger.
“I’ll apologize.”
Of course, that would be after crippling Johan’s limbs.
Stan judged the situation calmly.
He intended to calmly disable him first and apologize afterward.
If he apologized while pointing a gun at Johan’s head, Johan would have no choice but to accept it.
Stan still didn’t like Johan.
Naturally.
The bastard was a shameless womanizing piece of shit who had laid hands on the little sister Stan cherished more than anything.
Just seeing Emily happily follow him around made Stan’s blood boil.
And now things had escalated all the way to an engagement.
How could he not be furious?
Still, Stan decided to handle things like an adult.
He planned to break Johan’s limbs and warn him properly so he’d become a decent human being.
Anyone would think the same way.
At least, anyone from the Robinhood family would.
“……”
Narrowing his eyes, Stan pinpointed Johan’s location.
He might have hidden behind a building, but he couldn’t stay hidden forever.
“As expected.”
Perhaps Johan realized that too, because he quickly dashed out from behind the building.
Stan had already guessed it from the moment Johan blocked his sniping directly, but his movements were clearly on a different level compared to before.
“Did you really think I wouldn’t find you just because you hid in a crowd?”
Johan hurriedly disappeared among the people.
His plan was obvious.
He thought that if he hid among the crowd, Stan wouldn’t be able to fire his arrows.
But Stan was someone who had spent years sniping terrorists of every kind.
Blowing off the head of someone holding a hostage was simple work for him.
“There.”
Stan quickly spotted Johan hiding among the crowd.
Honestly, he was a little surprised when he found him.
Johan looked far too natural.
Not everyone could act like an ordinary civilian while knowing a sniper was targeting them.
As long as there was even the slightest anxiety in their heart, their movements were bound to become stiff.
But Johan managed it.
As expected of Safe Clown’s disciple.
He had learned some truly absurd techniques.
Thunk!
But the arrow had already left the bowstring.
It aimed precisely for Johan’s ankle as he walked among the crowd. The arrow, painted sky blue and falling in a high arc, made no sound at all.
It was a specially crafted weapon made for assassinations in broad daylight.
The reason Stan had fired ordinary arrows earlier was all for the sake of this one shot.
A hit.
Stan calmly nodded as he watched the arrow fly straight toward Johan’s ankle as if being drawn to it.
Right until the moment it smoothly passed through Johan’s body.
“Illusion magic!”
He’d been tricked.
From the very beginning, Johan hiding among the crowd had been a lie.
Johan had never come out from behind the building in the first place. He had merely manipulated illusion magic to divert Stan’s attention.
Then where was Johan?
The moment Stan shifted his focus to search for Johan among the crowd, there was no way he could keep watch on the area behind the building he had been observing before.
He lost the target. The thought sent a chill running down his spine.
“Ghk!”
Stan had survived countless battlefields for years. His instincts were no less sharp than Johan’s.
Stan leapt away from where he had been standing.
He felt Johan’s sword graze right past his ear.
That strike had been aimed at his head.
It was revenge against Stan for targeting Johan’s head earlier.
“How did you close that distance so quickly?”
“What do you mean how? I just ran like hell.”
“That’s impossible. You shouldn’t have been able to pinpoint my location.”
“You’ve certainly got confidence; I’ll give you that.”
Stan remained perfectly calm.
There was no reason for him not to stay calm.
Stan knew Johan had grown stronger. He also knew it was bad news that his position as a sniper had been pinpointed.
But the preparations themselves were on a completely different level. The situation was still in his favor.
“First of all, let me apologize. The first shot was an accident.”
“At this rate, a couple more accidents and you’ll end up killing someone. Right?”
“I think there’ve already been about three so far, and you’re still alive, aren’t you?”
“The hell kind of answer is that, you bastard?”
Stan shrugged as he checked the weapons he had prepared.
The sniper rifle and longbow were unusable now.
At this distance, they would only get in the way.
That meant the weapons he needed were the revolver inside his coat, the short bow at his waist, and the three preloaded crossbows.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
And finally, various throwing weapons, including a sling.
“I’d rather not sour the mood between future in-laws.”
“You’re seriously the one saying that?”
Johan was dumbfounded.
It was the first time in his life he had met someone even more shameless than himself.
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