丰满多水的寡妇

“Of course! I’ve been fine—no, this isn’t the time for that, let’s go inside to talk. You should keep on practicing.”

Browless gently patted the shoulder of the newcomer, a gesture that even the onlookers, including Leeha, found surprisingly warm. Such friendly actions were almost foreign to them.

‘Did the headmaster take a liking to them? Or is it just that the academy is doing quite well these days?’

Leeha observed Browless treating the novice player with warmth. And the player was a Miyaw, of all races!

Choosing a Musketeer class, no less, when most of their kind leaned towards close-range heavy damage roles!

‘It’s an unusual combination, indeed. Playing the game must be incredibly challenging for them.’

Leeha silently wished the newcomer luck when suddenly, Browless wrapped an arm around his shoulder.

“What are you looking at? Let’s go.” “Yes, ah, okay.”

Arm in arm!?

As Leeha panicked internally, Blaugrunn, following him, laughed quietly.

Blaugrunn: You really can’t say no to the master, can you?

Leeha: It’s not that! It just feels awkward, awkward because Headmaster Browless isn’t usually like this, you know?

What could possibly be so amusing?

Leeha was nearly dragged into the academy headmaster’s office by Browless.

Only when they arrived did Browless notice Blaugrunn.

After a moment of surprise, Browless doffed his hat in a polite greeting.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a dragon. I apologize for not greeting you earlier.”

“Oh, as expected… indeed, as expected. No need, I’m here today merely as Leeha’s partner, so don’t worry about it.”

The once brash and arrogant young Blaugrunn now exhibited a much softer demeanor. Though to Leeha, seeing Blaugrunn gesturing for Browless to sit while speaking politely still seemed a far reach.

Browless, smiling, prepared three cups of tea.

Blaugrunn, now seemingly done exploring, sat a little away, sipping his tea.

“So, what brings you here?”

“There were things I hadn’t yet said… and things I was curious about.”

“I’ve heard about Brown and Elizabeth.”

“Yes. Yes?! Ah- well, perhaps-”

“Mm. Kidd comes by quite often.” Despite always appearing brusque and speaking oddly, Kidd seemed to genuinely care for his original mentor.

Leeha found the thought amusing.

Nevertheless, there were recent developments Browless was yet unaware of, and so Leeha shared them. Skipping over what Browless already knew about the wave in Toin, Leeha quickly relayed how he had gathered souls and somewhat successfully used them for Gibrid’s restoration.

“So, it has come to that. Gibrid has…”

“If only I had aimed a bit more clearly… I could have taken care of it all.”

Browless’s expression darkened again.

Leeha felt the same pang of regret.

Other players could excuse their failure by their lack of awareness of the wave’s true nature.

But what about Leeha?

Even Biyemi and Petyr, who had somewhat understood the secrets of the jar, lacked the ability to prevent Gibrid’s revival.

But Leeha?

‘I could have… done something!’

Of the five jars containing 50,000 souls, Leeha had managed to break only three.

Yet, it was not a satisfying outcome. This was another reason for Leeha’s visit.

If only he hadn’t opted for the high magnification, and instead used a lower 2x magnification for his snipe.’

His calculations for adjusting the gun’s aim toward the next target jar would have been much quicker.

He might even have spotted Chiyou running toward the jar.

Then, by choosing to shoot the jar Chiyou was trying to protect first, he might have proceeded differently!

“It couldn’t possibly be a lack of skill on your part. Jars, you say? Moreover, if all five were exposed, even more so. Under normal circumstances, it would have taken less than 2 seconds to smash all five of them.”

“…That’s correct.”

With just that much explanation, Browless was able to vividly reconstruct the situation at that time. Clearly, from his position atop the fortress roof, the jars were all visible to Leeha. Even more, they were arranged in a line. Yet, why the failure? The reason Leeha couldn’t bring himself to utter was also known to Browless.

“Was it indeed the dinosaur that posed a problem?”

At Browless’s words, Leeha found himself unable to reply.

Is it the fear? It feels like there’s no fear. One could say there’s no fear. But the moment the thought of the dinosaur being contained within the scope crossed his mind, his body escaped the control of his mind.

Seeing Leeha trembling slightly with excitement, tension, and fear, Browless bowed his head.

“To think, someone who had faced Bluebeard, becoming like this facing a vassal of Bluebeard… No, it’s precisely because the fearsome reputation of the Dinosaur is indeed terrifying.”

For Leeha, who had fought against stronger entities, the only true fear was the existence of the dinosaur.

Biting his lip as he listened to Browless, Leeha knew too well from numerous teachings that lowering his head at times like these was foolish.

“Can’t we think of various attack methods using muskets or Black Bass? If we could snipe any enemy in a single shot… I think we could overcome it.”

This was precisely why Leeha wanted to learn a new skill.

A secret skill to shake off the heart’s ailment! With belief in his own attack, he was sure to win.

Browless, meeting Leeha’s wide-open eyes, slowly shook his head.

“It’s the fate of a Musketeer.”

“Excuse me?”

“All that is permitted to us is arms alone. There are a few techniques or magics to assist that, but most of those you already know.”

“…So, you mean there’s a penalty for wielding too strong a weapon? But- haven’t we already paid the price with the ‘loading time,’ a huge penalty itself? Having overcome that now-”

“That’s precisely the skill. Having overcome that is our technique, our magic.”

The statement implies that only arms are permitted. This is the fate of users wielding the single most powerful item, meaning only ‘skills attached to the arms’ can be used, carrying a double implication.

“Ah…”

“Besides, you already have the capability to create various combinations, including with the Dragon Lord by your side. That alone should suffice without issue.”

At Browless’s words, Leeha glanced at Blaugrunn.

Expressing “I know nothing~” while sipping tea, Blaugrunn gave Leeha a smile upon seeing his face.

The silent support brought a smirk to Leeha’s face.

Perhaps, as Browless said, all of this was merely a burden born from his own greed.

He already possessed items far more powerful than most.

He was the first personal lord of Middle Earth.

He had a partner dragon, and a soul mate, who had recently upgraded the rank of a contracted spirit.

What else?

There was the key to the spirit realm. He was also a vassal of the metal dragon Chief.

He was on good terms with the King of Water Spirits and their kin, the Drakes, with a familiarity level of 100%, exchanging items with them.

What about the mystical creatures of the New Continent?

His fame in the New Continent Erika was overwhelmingly high, making him one of the ‘five most famous humans’ among the paleo NPCs.

Having just one of these achievements would be considered an incredible feat, yet Leeha had them all.

“That’s true.”

“Moreover, though you lament, your level has improved unimaginably. You know this yourself, don’t you?”

Level.

Smiling weakly at the NPCs’ term for discussing concepts of level, Leeha showed a resigned smile.It was certainly incomparable to the last time he had visited Browless. Moreover, wasn’t there a reward for the Third Wave?

“Ah, right. Character window!”

Name: Leeha / Race: Human

Profession: Musketeer / Level: 225 (97.8%)

Title: Shadow Assassin / Achievements: 135

HP: 7,970 (5,579)

MP: 2,325

Stats: Strength 609(+524)

Agility 3,579(+1,292)

Intelligence 366(+275)

Constitution 291(+198)

Mind 125(+115)

Remaining stat points: 35

“Right, I haven’t distributed my stats while dealing with the Chiyou and such. Sigh, I should at least invest in intelligence. Now intelligence will be over 400.” Leeha, while looking at his character window and deciding on stats, wondered how his actions appeared to Browless.

Looking at Leeha, who was blankly staring into space, Browless wore a worried expression. “Ease up, don’t try to shoulder all the burdens of Middle Earth by yourself. It might do you good to look around and delegate some responsibilities.”

“Yes, I understand.” Leeha nodded, taking in Browless’ advice.

Possibly due to his intelligence surpassing 400 and the ‘Object Recognition’ effect becoming clearer, Browless couldn’t help but smile warmly at the sparkle in Leeha’s eyes. “I believe you can overcome it. I will—”

Of course, reassuring words and a smile weren’t the only things that put Leeha at ease.

Browless stood up, not forgetting to add another word of encouragement to lift Leeha’s spirits further. “-be there for sure next time.”

The assault to prevent Ghibrid’s resurrection!

Browless’s determination to join the fight was indeed communicated to Leeha. “By the way, why did the Lotzak prevent headmaster from coming?”

“There wasn’t any particular reason last time either. I think I have a rough idea of what that man is up to… But this time, he won’t be able to stop us. I plan to send a letter to His Majesty the King immediately.”

A light bulb went off in Leeha’s head as he listened to Browless. Lotzak must obey the King’s orders. The best way to go about it!

“Give me a moment—I will quickly make a trip to the Papacy.”

“Hm? What happened?”

“Ha, haha, I’m not quite sure myself. I just tend to think clearly in these situations.”

If it were up to Lotzak, he could crumple Browless’s letter. But if it’s a direct request from the Papacy!?

“See, you can do anything if you put your mind to it.”

“Moreover, thanks to the advice from the headmaster, I got another idea. ‘Look around you.’ Truly a great piece of advice.”

Browless may not have known what Leeha was thinking, but decided to trust his disciple.

Filled with anticipation, Leeha looked towards Blaugrunn. “Hehe, Blaugrunn-ssi? You do have polymorph magic, right?”

“Could it be… Leeha-ssi.”

Just like that!

Realizing what Leeha meant, Blaugrunn couldn’t help but express his awkwardness.

After rushing to the Papacy to request the dispatching of Admiral Browless to the New World without fail, Leeha immediately proceeded with Blaugrunn to an empty lot near the City of Gazia.

“Ah, really! Why must you do this!”

“Because it can’t be anyone but you, Blaugrunn-ssi! Besides, it’s not a Black Ves either! Would you die from a musket shot or two?”

“Die? Barri… My barrier wouldn’t last a few shots, and a direct hit could be fatal!”

“You won’t die, you won’t die. There’s no need to worry at all since we don’t have any bullets made from dragon hearts.” Despite their squabbling, Leeha had already loaded his Kentucky musket.