You Picked the Wrong Opponent
You Picked the Wrong Opponent
Thanks to the clerk who handed over the key, Lucy and Daniel were able to enter the same room.
It was a decent enough room, with a small kitchen and bathroom attached to a single bedroom.
The problem was that there was only one bedroom.
With limited sleeping space, the two of them would have to spend their time in the same place.
That fact felt deeply uncomfortable for Daniel in more ways than one.
'Surely she isn't scheming to devour me...?'
While he broke out in a cold sweat, trying to guess at Lucy's intentions, he heard the soft rustle of clothes being shed.
Turning around, he saw Lucy taking off her coat and hanging it on a hanger.
When their eyes met, Lucy let out a short breath and approached Daniel.
Then she extended her hand.
"If you give me your coat, I'll hang it up for you."
"Ah. You don't need to go that far..."
"Please give it to me. Leave the clothes to me, and you can just wash up and get ready for bed, Colonel."
Unable to bring himself to refuse, Daniel took off his coat and entrusted it to Lucy.
Then he entered the bathroom.
After showering and drying his body with a towel, Daniel put on a bathrobe.
Taking a deep breath, Daniel opened the bathroom door and stepped out, only to see Lucy lying flat on the floor, checking under the bed.
"...What are you doing?"
Lucy rose to her feet at Daniel's words.
Brushing the dust off her clothes, Lucy spoke as if it were nothing.
"I was merely preparing for any unforeseen circumstances."
Because if a listening device had been planted, it would only be right to remove it.
"And..."
Muttering, Lucy pulled a small paper box from her bosom, smaller than her palm.
She handed it over, as if telling him to take it, and Daniel felt a chill run down his spine.
'This is...'
Because no matter how he looked at it, it was a box containing condoms.
'Is she really planning to devour me? She's going to finish off her honeytrap by sleeping with me?'
As the flustered Daniel stood there trembling, Lucy blinked her innocent eyes and spoke.
"The clerk at the front desk made a point of giving it to me. It looks like vitamins, so I thought it would be good for you to take before you sleep."
Vitamins? At Lucy's words, he felt the wave of tension that had been surging inside him gently dissipate.
At first, he had wondered if she was playing a prank, but Lucy's emotionless eyes conveyed the truth.
Thinking he had jumped to a pointless misunderstanding, Daniel let out a hollow laugh and accepted the box.
"I'll take it later. Thank you for making sure I had it."
Rather than explaining that the contents of the box were not, in fact, vitamins, it was better to simply keep quiet.
As Daniel wore an awkward smile, Lucy tilted her head once and then pointed at the bed.
"You may sleep now."
"...What about you, my adjutant?"
"I am here to protect you, Colonel, so I have no need to sleep."
"I don't recall ever asking you to do that."
"Supporting my direct superior is my basic duty."
Realizing he could not refuse, Daniel nodded and walked toward the bed.
In doing so, he went through the confirmation once more.
"Are you sure it's all right for me to sleep alone? Just in case, I should mention that there is also the option of you sleeping in the bed while I take the sofa in the living room..."
"It's fine."
She was firm.
Not knowing the reason but unable to ignore her goodwill, Daniel lay down on the bed and pulled the blanket over himself.
Lucy, too, sat down in a chair placed in the corner of the room (which she had brought over while Daniel was showering) and rested both hands neatly on her lap.
Daniel closed his eyes, but there was no way sleep would come.
For one thing, the psychological pressure was immense simply from the fact that Lucy was watching him from the same room.
But no matter how burdensome it was, the two-pronged assault of a soft bed and a warm blanket was hard to endure for long.
In the end, Daniel, having raised the white flag, succumbed to the god of sleep before long.
"Mmm... come over here..."
He had fallen so deeply asleep that he was even talking in his sleep.
As she watched Daniel quietly in the darkness, Lucy rose from her seat.
She had become curious about what kind of dream Daniel was having.
Making no sound, Lucy slowly approached, knelt down, and stared intently at Daniel.
'Close.'
It was the first time she had looked at Daniel from such a close distance.
As she blinked quietly at a distance where they could even hear each other's breathing, Daniel continued to talk in his sleep.
"Kelly... here."
A subtle displeasure crept into Lucy's expression as she watched over Daniel.
'It's that woman again.'
If she appeared even in his dreams, just how much did he love her?
Jealousy flaring up for no reason, Lucy whispered into Daniel's ear.
"Lucy."
It was a little embarrassing and ticklish, but it was because she wanted to beat Kelly, even in a dream.
"You are not with Kelly. You are with Lucy Emilia."
As Lucy's whisper continued, a crack appeared in Daniel's previously serene expression.
His hands also began to twitch, and it was clear he was having a nightmare.
"Stop. Don't come closer..."
At Daniel's sleep-talking, Lucy's eyes half-opened.
She didn't quite know what kind of dream he was having, but she knew it wasn't a favorable one.
'...How infuriating.'
From Lucy's perspective, having stayed here to protect Daniel, she could not help but feel hurt.
It was just about the time she considered pinching his cheek to torment him a little more, now that things had come to this.
Sswaaa─
Mana laced with killing intent seeped through the crack in the door.
It was such a minuscule amount of mana that even a seasoned agent would not have been able to notice it, but Lucy's developed senses sharply took in every piece of information.
Narrowing her eyes sharply, Lucy slowly rose from her spot.
It was time to teach an insolent junior a lesson in reality.
*
Bilbosel arrived at Room 507, the room where Daniel Steiner was staying, having killed his presence entirely.
Bilbosel, who had been pondering how to kill Daniel Steiner, gave a light knock first.
Because if the target was awake, he would have to change his assassination method.
As if drawn by the knock, the sound of footsteps came from inside the room.
Judging from how light the footsteps were, it was a woman, not a man.
'Daniel Steiner's lover, perhaps.'
Thinking it would not be bad to kill the woman first, Bilbosel drew a pistol from his bosom.
After attaching a silencer to the pistol and waiting, the sound of footsteps drew closer and closer.
It seemed she was trying to check who it was through the peephole, so Bilbosel smiled deeply.
That action was a classic mistake born of the complacent belief that the door would protect her.
'You stupid bitch...'
Chuckling low, Bilbosel pulled the trigger toward the door the moment he confirmed the footsteps resounding just beyond it.
Pyung─
He fired the bullet precisely at the spot where the footsteps had come from.
But no sound of the woman beyond the door collapsing or screaming in pain reached his ears.
Quite the opposite, the sound of footsteps only drew nearer.
Breaking out in a cold sweat, Bilbosel pulled the trigger several more times, but nothing changed.
'Why? I confirmed the bullets penetrated the door...'
He could not understand it, but there was no time to spend thinking.
Because the doorknob was beginning to turn.
Putting away his pistol, Bilbosel stepped back to the side and drew a dagger.
He planned to swing the dagger and kill her the moment the target opened the door and stepped out.
Having circulated mana throughout his entire body to increase his muscle density, Bilbosel steadied his breathing and gripped the dagger tightly.
Kiiik─
When the door to Room 507 finally opened and Lucy revealed herself, Bilbosel kicked off the ground.
Shooting forward at tremendous speed, Bilbosel swung his dagger before Lucy could even turn around.
Hwoong─
A silver trajectory was drawn along a diagonal line, but no blood was spilled.
'She dodged?'
Realizing his attack had failed, Bilbosel momentarily locked eyes with Lucy.
Eyes as red as blood.
Within her emotionless eyes, devoid of any feeling, there was no killing intent.
As if there was no need for such a thing as killing intent when dealing with the likes of you.
Thanks to that, Bilbosel's instincts were sounding the alarm.
'I'm going to die...!'
The moment he hesitated even a little, he would be reduced to chunks of meat rolling on the floor.
Tak! Terror-stricken, Bilbosel urgently leaped backward to put distance between them.
A sense of relief swelled in proportion to the distance he gained.
But his breathing was ragged and his eyes were trembling.
Bilbosel put strength into the hand gripping the dagger, but there was nothing to hold.
'...Huh?'
Only then did Bilbosel realize that the dagger that should have been in his hand had disappeared.
When he dazedly lifted his head, Lucy was holding Bilbosel's dagger in her hand, examining it from various angles.
'Just when in the world...'
He did not fully understand, but right now, while the target was off her guard, was his only opportunity.
Drawing his pistol from his bosom, Bilbosel aimed at Lucy and pulled the trigger.
Pyut─
And then.
"Gahk!?"
Bilbosel collapsed onto the floor with a sputter.
As he slowly lowered his head, blood was trickling down from a bullet hole that had appeared in his thigh.
What was even more baffling was that the one who had shot Bilbosel in the thigh was Bilbosel himself.
Bilbosel had been 'under the illusion' that he had just fired at Lucy.
When in reality, he had been aiming at his own thigh.
'...I fell for an illusion? Me?'
A fear surpassing the pain sealed Bilbosel's mouth shut.
'No way. The moment our eyes met...'
Gulping down spit mixed with blood, Bilbosel heard the clack of dress shoes approaching.
Lifting his gaze, he saw Lucy slowly walking toward him, holding the dagger.
"How many of you are there."
A mechanical voice slashed into his ears as if carving them up.
Before Bilbosel, who could not even bring himself to think of fleeing, Lucy knelt on one knee.
Bringing the dagger under Bilbosel's chin, Lucy blinked her crimson eyes and continued.
"Your friends, I mean."
Only then could Bilbosel realize.
The Crimson Reaper.
Codename Hongsa.
The calamity created by the Allied Nations was the woman right before his eyes.