Your Girlfriend Calls Me Daddy-Chapter 14 | The Tsundere Rival Hates My Guts, But She Can’t Argue With My Strategy
All three of them looked at me.
"Tidecaller was controlling the harbor water," I continued. "That’s how they planned to leave. Take him out first and you cut off their exit. Then you can afford to play defensive until backup arrives."
Noel’s expression shifted.
"Tidecaller was positioned near the boats according to the tactical footage. He was the furthest from Latitude’s entry point."
"Right. Which means Latitude would’ve had to push through the other four to reach him. Not viable."
Aurora glanced between us.
"So what’s the alternative?"
I looked at Nolan.
"What’s your Essentia?"
He blinked at the sudden question.
"Kinetic Echo. I can absorb kinetic energy and release it in bursts."
"Aurora?"
"Nail Beam Cannon. Photon projection from my fingertips."
I turned to Noel.
"And yours?"
She hesitated.
"Astral Dive. I can separate my spiritual body from my physical form. The astral body can phase through solid objects and fly."
Interesting.
Very interesting.
"Okay. Nolan absorbs the impact from Bedrock’s attacks and redirects it. Aurora provides ranged suppression to keep Surge and Blink off balance. Noel scouts ahead in astral form to locate Red Mask and Tidecaller’s exact positions."
Noel raised an eyebrow.
"And what do you do?"
"I punch things."
Aurora laughed before covering her mouth.
Nolan grinned. "You said you’re a Passive Null, right?"
"That’s what the scan says."
"But I saw you hit that training dummy hard enough to crack the base."
I shrugged.
"I work out."
Noel made a dismissive sound.
"Working out doesn’t give you that kind of power. You’re either lying about being a Null or you’re on something."
"Boone already accused me of that. I’m not."
"Then explain it."
"Can’t."
She leaned closer.
"Can’t or won’t?"
"Does it matter?"
Her grey eyes held mine.
I tilted my head, letting my lips curl into a smile.
"Don’t look at me like that. A guy could get the wrong ideas."
Noel’s face flushed immediately, her pale skin turning a satisfying shade of pink. She jerked back like I’d touched her with a live wire.
"You—" she sputtered, eyes wide with indignation. "That’s not—I wasn’t—"
Aurora looked between us with obvious confusion. Nolan’s expression shifted from friendly to cautious.
"I was simply trying to get a straight answer," Noel said, her voice tight.
"And I was simply noting how close you got while asking."
She straightened her back, shoulders rigid.
"You haven’t changed at all," she muttered. "Still the same arrogant—"
"If we could get back to the assignment," Aurora cut in smoothly. Her voice was warm but her eyes held a warning. "We need to finish our analysis before time runs out."
Noel shot me one final glare before turning back to her laptop. "Fine. So the plan is to use my astral form for reconnaissance while Aurora and Nolan engage the front line."
"And you disable Tidecaller," I added.
She frowned.
"My astral form can phase through objects but it can still interact with living beings. I’m not a combat specialist." 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶
"You don’t need to be. You just need to distract him long enough for Aurora to line up a shot."
Aurora nodded slowly.
"That could work. If Tidecaller is focused on defending against Noel, I can hit him from range."
Nolan typed something into his laptop.
"What about Red Mask? If his amplification ability makes the others stronger, he’s the real priority target."
"He’s also staying back from the fight," I said. "Which means he’s either smart or his ability has a limited range."
Noel pulled up the tactical footage again.
"The report estimates Red Mask stayed within a thirty-meter radius of his team throughout the engagement."
"Thirty meters. That’s his range."
"Probably," Aurora said. "But we can’t confirm without more data."
"We don’t need to confirm. We just need to assume it’s true and plan accordingly."
Nolan leaned forward.
"So if Red Mask’s amplification only works within thirty meters, we need to separate him from the others."
"Or kill him first."
The table went silent again.
Aurora stared at me.
"We’re not killing anyone. This is a hypothetical scenario."
"Hypothetical scenarios are based on real incidents. Real incidents have real stakes. People die."
"We’re training to be heroes," Nolan said. "Not executioners."
I looked at him.
There’s that protagonist energy again.
"Sure. But villains don’t play by hero rules. They’ll kill you if they get the chance."
"That doesn’t mean we stoop to their level."
"It means you survive."
Noel cut in before the argument could escalate.
"Can we please stay on topic? Reeves is going to ask for our analysis in forty minutes and we’re still debating philosophy."
She was right.
I dropped it.
"Fine. Non-lethal takedown of Red Mask. How?"
Aurora bit her lip again. "If Noel can reach him in astral form, she could incapacitate him directly."
"His position was behind shipping containers," Noel said. "I’d have to phase through multiple obstacles to get close."
"Can you do that?"
"Yes. But it leaves my physical body vulnerable."
I glanced at her.
"Where would your physical body be during all this?"
"Somewhere safe. Hidden."
"Define safe."
She shot me an irritated look.
"Somewhere the villains can’t reach me."
"Which is nowhere if Blink can teleport."
Her jaw tightened because she knew I was right.
Nolan tapped the table.
"Okay. So Noel’s ability is high risk in this scenario. We’d need someone protecting her physical body while she’s in astral form."
"That’s me," I said.
"Fine," she said. "In this hypothetical scenario, you’d guard my body while I locate and disable Red Mask. Aurora provides ranged support. Nolan handles Bedrock and absorbs kinetic energy for a finishing blow. Does that satisfy everyone?"
Aurora nodded.
Nolan typed the strategy into his notes.
I just leaned back in my chair.
That actually works.
Assuming Noel doesn’t get herself killed being reckless.
"One problem," I said.
Noel sighed.
"What now?"
"Your astral form is visible right? Wouldn’t Red Mask will see you coming?"
She opened her mouth to argue, then closed it.
Got her.
"So what do you suggest?"
"Distraction. Aurora and Nolan make enough noise engaging the front line that Red Mask focuses on them instead of watching his back."
Aurora considered it.
"That puts a lot of pressure on us to hold aggro."
"You’re a ranged damage dealer and he’s a kinetic absorber. You’re designed for it."
Nolan grinned.
"He’s not wrong."
