Chapter 32

“This is Two-Eight. Operation successful.”

On the roof of a building a few hundred meters away from the villa, I contacted Chris via the『communication paper』once I finished sniping.

“Copy that. …Hey you. Didn’t you just shoot a man in a smoke-screen?”

“As soon as the window opened, I could see inside the room for a moment. That was enough. I’ve done this kind of work before… in a sandstorm, or in a blizzard. Mainly… because of someone else.”

“…I wonder who you are.”

You. You’re always talking nonsense.

However, compared to sandstorms and blizzards, smoke screens are relatively easy to deal with. It is surprisingly difficult to move while hiding behind a smoke-screen. It’s impossible for a distracted amateur.

I’m a little tired.

Aside from the final sniper shot, all in all, this mission was a moderately difficult one. How to hunt down the coward Robert… How to get around him so as not to kill anyone other than Robert…

The latter was a difficult problem. After all, Robert was always surrounded by the Knights of Orthodox. When I tried to plan a strategy to avoid fighting them, my options instantly narrowed down. First I tried to shoot Robert with no plan, but Robert was a coward, and he had taken precautions. All the windows in the room where I thought Robert was staying, were covered with curtains.

That’s why I went on this mission.

After, I had prepared a gift with a smoke-screen inside. I put on the armor of the Knights of the Orthodox that I had used in Elysia’s mock revenge, and handed the present to the servant in front of the mansion after telling him that the contents was a letter addressed to Lauren. This was an action based on the expectation that Robert, a coward, would want to keep Lauren, the strongest of the Knights of Orthodox, by his side at all times.

After handing over the gift, I immediately moved to the predetermined sniper position. If I used my《Toughness》, I could move a few hundred meters in a few dozen seconds.

“But…it’s not a one-man operation.”

“Thank you for your hard work. That was quite a tightrope you had to walk. Did you have a backup plan?”

“Oh… the worst, I was going to detonate the《Explosive Trap Bomb》I had set up in the mansion and snipe Robert when he came out in a hurry.”

“…Don’t do that. My budget will run out.”

That mansion must be quite expensive.

I could say that I was glad it worked out because this plan was the quietest and caused the least amount of collateral damage.

“Speaking of which, how’s your partner doing?”

At Chris’s question, I looked at the tool I was currently holding. It was the pitch-black sniper staff that I had used all through the war.

“As always, outstanding performance.”

The sniper’s staff returned a nostalgic touch, and I smiled with satisfaction, I was sure.

B F 2 8

It was a military magic tool manufactured from the material of a giant raven demon, Black Feather. As the name implied, this sniper staff was developed for me. Actually, it was rare for a『sniper staff』to be developed for personal use, let alone one that could assist with all kinds of magic. It cost a lot of money and had little applicability. However, the institution used the latest technology available to create this sniper staff. Its performance was incomparable to that of a general-purpose sniper staff. The successful sniping through the smoke-screen might have been partially due to the sniper staff.

I looked through the『farsighted crystal』attached to the staff. Through it, I could clearly see the scene inside the mansion a few hundred meters away. Inside the mansion were not only the Knights of Orthodox but also the guards of the royal capital. They heard the commotion when patrolling the area, so they gathered in the room where Robert died.

“…Hmm?”

There was something familiar about the guard in the room.

The guard pretended to check on Robert and casually retrieved a silver bag that had been left by the window.

“I see… I finally understand why the Bureau has cooperated so far.”

“Oh, did you find out?”

I had been aware for a while that the bureau was trying to take advantage of my actions and aiming for something. It seemed that the silver bag that the guard was retrieving earlier was the target. That guard was a fake. He was probably from the bureau.

“Most of the time, the contents are backlog books.”

“I haven’t checked the contents yet, but you’re probably right. It seems that Robert was planning to make a backdoor deal on his way to the royal capital. That information was leaked a while ago.”

I see, I thought to myself. Have guessed the ledger contained the names of all the organizations that Robert was dealing with. With the secret book, the bureau could get the weakness of the organizations.

“I guess I’m the one who’s busy from here. I’m going to disconnect the communication. Please, once again, return your companion.”

“Copy that.”

I cut the communication and let out a sigh of relief. Now the matter was truly settled.

When I passed magic power through BF28, its shape immediately changed and it became a black bracelet. I wrapped it around my left wrist. Then, I jumped to the roof of the next building and started to move away from the noisy mansion. My destination, of course, was the school.

Let’s go back.

To that peaceful everyday life.