Ten minutes later, Ethel returned to the training room.
Looking through the window, he found that everything had already been cleaned up. There wasn't the slightest trace of bubbles left.
"Ethel, come here for a moment."
Looking up, he saw Oenone leaning against the doorway, waiting for him.
"What are you thinking right now?"
"If that had been a real battle... Lyle and I would've died."
"And what does that mean?"
"It means I failed my mission."
"I failed."
Oenone sighed.
"Ethel... look up at me."
Keeping his eyes fixed on the floor, Ethel obediently raised his head.
Waiting for him was Oenone's gentle heterochromatic gaze.
"We didn't tell you about Tia so that you could fulfill her ideals."
"...You didn't?"
"Of course not."
"What Tia seeks is impossible from the very beginning."
"But she did it."
"Just because she did doesn't mean you have to."
"You're placing far too much weight on her dream."
"But..."
"But you're thinking that unless you achieve zero casualties, Tia will never allow the other squads to participate in demon hunts."
"...Yes."
Oenone sighed again and slowly shook her head.
She bent down slightly until they were at eye level.
"Every single one of us—Complete Ones, Lost Ones, and Force Users alike—knows exactly what we're facing."
"Demon hunts will always involve death."
"Everyone who stays has already accepted that reality, even if the next person to die might be themselves."
"But Tia forgot that."
"She's become obsessed with never seeing another casualty."
"So... it's a dead end?"
"Exactly."
"A dead end."
"But your arrival has given these stagnant waters a chance to flow again."
"The reason we assigned you to both the First and Third Squads is actually very simple."
"In the First Squad, your mission is to shake Tia's convictions."
"Help her realize that she can entrust part of the battle to her teammates instead of carrying everything herself."
"In the Third Squad, your mission is to reduce casualties."
"It doesn't have to be zero."
"It only needs to reach a level she can accept."
"When that happens, I'll have a chance to negotiate with her and win deployment opportunities for the Third Squad."
"That will reduce her burden even further."
"That's our highest priority."
"We can't change the way she thinks overnight."
"But we can stop her from continuing this suicidal way of fighting."
"As long as she's alive, there's still hope."
"She may look fine right now, but heaven knows how much damage she's already done to her own body."
"She might collapse completely in the near future."
Oenone gave Ethel's shoulder a firm pat.
"So don't worry about whether you'll satisfy Tia."
"Just do your best."
"Reduce the casualty rate—even if it's only by a tiny amount."
"Leave the rest to us."
"Convincing Tia is our job, not yours."
"So stop overthinking everything."
"Move forward at your own pace."
For the first time in a long while, Ethel felt a small sense of relief.
The voice inside his head finally quieted.
The tension that had gripped his body gradually faded.
"Okay."
"I understand."
"I'll do my best... but I won't force myself too far."
"Exactly."
"I'm glad you understand."
"Honestly, though..."
"You were giving off an incredible killing intent just now."
"You really worried me."
"...I'm sorry."
"You don't have to apologize."
"I'm not going to ask why."
"When you're ready to tell me someday, I'll listen."
"Shall we head back inside?"
"...Yeah."
Oenone turned the doorknob.
Together, they returned to the training room.
They trained two more times after that.
This time, Oenone didn't just launch attacks from every direction.
She also occasionally fired sneak attacks directly at Ethel.
Having learned his lesson from the first round, Ethel deliberately kept part of his attention focused on himself.
While dodging the bubbles aimed at him, he continued issuing instructions to everyone else.
Finally, after the third training session, they managed to complete the exercise without anyone being hit by a single bubble.
Even so, only Ethel knew how dangerously close they had come several times.
A few of those moments had been survived by pure luck.
"Alright, that's enough for today."
"Tomorrow is Standby Day."
"Everyone is to suspend all training."
Someone in the crowd immediately complained.
"Standby Day is pointless."
"We might as well keep training."
Many others seemed to agree.
"It's an order."
Oenone replied simply.
That single sentence silenced every objection.
"What exactly is Standby Day?"
After Oenone left, Ethel turned to Yinbing.
"I've never heard of it."
"It means we're on standby for deployment."
"I mean, you're not seriously going to exhaust yourself with training right before heading into battle, are you?"
"I thought combat was always handled by the First Squad."
"We still get assigned missions once in a blue moon."
"But even though it's called Standby Day, either nothing happens... or the First Squad ends up taking the mission anyway."
"Then what's the point of Standby Day?"
Ethel arrived at the same conclusion as everyone else.
"It's required by law."
"No squad is allowed to remain on active deployment for more than one consecutive month."
"So every month begins with one Standby Day assigned to us."
"But if the First Squad keeps taking those missions anyway, doesn't that violate the regulation?"
Yinbing smiled bitterly.
The situation had continued for years without causing any problems.
Mainly because the rule contained a rather obvious loophole.
"It does."
"So what?"
"The regulation exists to prevent squads from being overworked."
"The problem is..."
"In this situation, the First Squad is the one working continuously."
"That makes them the victims."
"As long as the victims themselves don't file a complaint, there's technically nothing that needs to be corrected."
"I doubt the people who wrote that law ever imagined a squad would volunteer to work nonstop."
Ethel looked around.
Quite a few people nearby had been listening to their conversation.
A quiet sense of helplessness lingered throughout the room.
"Then doesn't that make all your training meaningless?"
Over the past several weeks, everyone had thrown themselves wholeheartedly into training.
Precisely because of that, Ethel couldn't help feeling their efforts were somewhat wasted.
"You don't have to worry about that."
Yinbing answered with her usual smile.
"Most of us get assigned to police stations or fire departments."
"We're not fighting demons, but solid fundamentals are still incredibly useful for those jobs."
"...Seriously?"
"How did I never know that?"
"Because you're on standby twenty-four seven."
"We can't exactly stop all your training."
"So your schedule ended up being a little... different."
Only then did Ethel realize why someone always checked on his condition before every deployment.
"So that's why..."
"Look on the bright side."
"At least we don't have to risk dying."
"Our working hours are fixed."
"We get to go home for dinner every night."
"And no overtime."
Everyone began listing the advantages.
They could have complained.
They could have resented the situation.
Instead, they chose to see its brighter side.
For a moment, Ethel didn't know how to respond.
Fortunately—
He didn't have to.
The training room door suddenly swung open again.
Oenone poked her head inside.
"Oh, I almost forgot."
"If a wild demon appears tomorrow..."
"We'll actually be the ones handling it."
"So if any of you are easily frightened..."
"You'd better start preparing yourselves."
Having said that, she immediately closed the door again.
Like the wind—
She appeared without warning...
and disappeared just as quickly.
ns216.73.217.114da2
and then Add to home screen.