W burst out laughing. Someone like her being called an "idealist"? It seemed her naivety had been painfully obvious all along.
Idealism... Hmph.
The woman she knew, the one with "unrealistic ideals," was already dead, buried in her grave along with that light.
"Get ready, we— Hey, you're being followed."
As W was about to notify the mercenaries, she noticed traces of a tracker on the Sarkaz mercenary.
"Followed? I just came from Garson's place, and along the way I didn't even—"
"Get down!"
W reached out to yank the mercenary in front of her down, but before her hand could touch him, a crossbow bolt suddenly shot out from behind the door and pierced straight through his head.
"Hiss—!"
There was more than one. Crossbow bolts came piercing through the entrance one after another.
"Damn...!"
Using the mercenary's corpse as a shield, W retreated to the table, grabbed a freshly made bomb, and hurled it toward the door.
"BOOM—!"
The tremendous blast and shockwave scattered everything inside the safehouse, but once the ashes cleared, crossbow bolts flew in again.
"Clang!"
W drew her dagger and knocked aside the bolt, finally seeing the attacker's true face—Garson, the head of the Sarkaz mercenary group.
"—Ah, so that's how it is."
W froze for a moment after recognizing him, but quickly revealed a cruel smile.
—She had become a discarded pawn. The previous mission briefing had been nothing more than a trap.
"As expected of W. You understood the situation quickly. Now, please die, mercenary."
Garson aimed at W and pulled the crossbow trigger. She immediately dove into the adjacent kitchen, using the cement wall as cover.
"Count Baikal is deeply concerned about your failure, and your actions have indeed made people suspicious—sorry, W. This has nothing to do with personal grudges. It's the boss's order, hahaha!"
"You really are a loyal dog!"
W pulled out her grenade launcher, exposed half her body, and fired at Garson, but his crossbow bolt struck the grenade directly in midair.
Garson and W were the first- and second-in-command of a fairly large Sarkaz mercenary group, yet their methods were completely different.
Though W looked insane, she carefully planned every mission and kept her team's losses under control.
Garson, on the other hand, led from the front with only the most basic tactical planning. Every three or four operations, a large number of veteran mercenaries died on his missions.
"What about my team, Garson? You wouldn't have the heart to wipe them all out, would you?"
"Of course not. They have separate work to do—though it's a one-way, disposable mission."
Garson put on his goggles, located W inside the kitchen through the wall, and aimed an armor-piercing high-explosive crossbow bolt at her silhouette.
"You actually answered me honestly, you idiot!"
"—!"
The "heat source" in his vision had not moved, but W suddenly came around from the other side of the window, driving her dagger straight toward Garson's chest.
"You used the stove and a signal flare to fake a heat source, then circled around outside through the window? What a shame. You should have run, haha!"
Garson laughed as he blocked W's sneak attack with his crossbow, grabbing her wrist at the same time.
"Damn!"
W had just pressed the detonator, but Garson restrained her. At the same time, several bombs inside the safehouse began emitting warning beeps.
Unable to break free, the two of them crashed straight toward the nearby window.
"Crack—BOOM!!!"
The explosion and blast of hot air sent them flying. In midair, W barely caught the roadside billboard with the strap of her grenade launcher to cushion herself, then immediately raised the launcher and aimed at Garson in the distance.
"No... don't...!"
"—"
Garson had seized a young Ursus girl with short gray hair and red eyes. The girl looked at W in panic, lost and terrified.
"A hostage? Do you think I'm an idiot, Garson!"
W laughed and pulled the trigger. The grenade launcher round, fuse attached, flew straight toward the two of them.
Boom!!
A deafening blast came from the middle of the road. W immediately sprinted toward the explosion, but—
"Squelch!"
The sound of flesh tearing rang out clearly.
"Setting off the bomb early as a distraction was meaningless, W."
Garson emerged from behind the smoke completely unharmed, holding the crossbow he had just fired with a wicked grin.
"Or rather—were you afraid of hurting that child?"
"Urgh—!"
Garson shoved the little hostage girl aside and slowly approached W.
"Who knows...?"
Sweat trickled down W's face as she smiled at her abdomen. A crossbow bolt was lodged in her side. Blocked by her bulletproof vest, it had remained embedded in her body.
"Die, you foolish thing."
Garson aimed his crossbow at W's head.
"Right back at you."
W somehow produced another remote control and pressed the button.
"...!?"
Garson hesitated for a brief instant before immediately diving in the opposite direction.
Boom!!
A bomb fired out from an automated turret drone in the corner of the safehouse, which had already become ruins.
"Damn cockroach, you really are hard to kill..."
Once the smoke dispersed, W had already vanished. More and more people were gathering because of the chaos caused by the explosion, so Garson could only click his tongue and leave the scene.
"Ha... ha. What an idiot."
In an alley, W leaned against the wall and moved slowly before finally collapsing to the ground. Her face was drenched in cold sweat.
"Idealism, hypocrisy... fuck, that shadow-playing bastard must have messed with my head."
W cursed herself for the idiotic act of trying to protect that girl. It was something even she could not believe she had done—selfless, meaningless, dangerous, and against every one of W's principles for survival.
"Tap, tap, tap—"
Footsteps came from the other end of the alley. W gritted her teeth and raised her grenade launcher, only to discover that she had run out of ammunition.
"Heh..."
W tossed the launcher aside and waited for a death fitting for the end of her road.
However—
"First, I should make something clear: I don't have any money on me right now, and I'm busy working, so if you're some street thug... Huh! Miss W?"
"...Fuck."
The unexpectedly familiar face left W unsure what expression she should make.
"Miss W, what happened?!"
For some reason, Orson was here. He immediately rushed over and checked W's injuries.
"I got ranked third... no, I was just an idiot because of my own naivety... What about you?"
"I'm setting up the Frequency Reflection Array. Your injuries are serious, so I'm going to be forceful this time. Come with me. I'll take you back to the Rostov family home for treatment."
Orson extended his hand toward W. As her consciousness faded, W vaguely felt white light radiating from him, just like... Theresia.
No.
"Why the fuck are you carrying lightbulbs on your back..."
W noticed the several lightbulbs behind Orson—the source of that "white light."
"Hm? I'm supplying the medium with a light source in advance. That way, I can catch reflections even at night... W?"
Halfway through his explanation, Orson realized that W had already fainted.
There is an illustration here. It can be viewed after updating the version.
Full-Scale Outbreak
"..."
W woke from her unconsciousness, feeling dazed for a moment.
The last time she had crawled out of an infirmary like this seemed to have been a very, very long time ago, yet it also felt as though it had happened yesterday.
But W knew full well that this was not Rhodes Island, but the territory of the Rostov family. After all, Orson had found her before she lost consciousness.
The wound on her abdomen had already been treated. Though the bandages were wrapped somewhat awkwardly, they no longer affected her basic movements.
I really am hard to kill. Or perhaps dying outright would have been easier?
W looked around, put on the clothes that had been set aside, checked that the wound would not split open from such minor movement, and slowly pushed open the infirmary door.
"—" "—"
As luck would have it, just as W carefully opened the door, Lumen happened to be passing by the infirmary. The two simply stood there, staring at each other.
"Yo, the young lady of the Rostov family. We meet again. Want me to count down a few dozen seconds so you can run away?"
W smiled as she mockingly threatened Lumen. After freezing for a moment, Lumen did not panic as she had when she was first being hunted.
"Miss W, this is territory belonging to the Rostov family. I hope you will not behave inappropriately. Such threats are included."
"—Hahaha, not bad, noble young lady! Your days as a noble are numbered, but you're starting to have the air of an important person."
"Thanks to your help, Miss Mercenary."
W sarcastically remarked on Lumen's change, while Lumen answered calmly before heading toward the meeting room.
"..."
That girl truly had matured quite a bit. Was it because of Orson?
As W pondered the reason for Lumen's dramatic change, Orson himself arrived at the infirmary carrying a tray of medicine.
"Hm? Miss W, you're already awake. Seeing that you're still so lively is a relief, but your bandages need changing."
Orson greeted W with a smile. Seeing him, W dropped her sarcastic act. That simpleton might genuinely not understand sarcasm.
"Why did you save me, Orson? Did you want to humiliate me this way? Or were you planning to pry some information out of me?"
W questioned Orson. Though she still wore a teasing smile, she genuinely wanted to know the answer.
"Uh..."
Orson tilted his head, looking a little embarrassed.
"I saw you there... It just didn't feel right to leave you without saving you."
"Even if someone like me isn't worth saving?"
Before you continue