The rest of the day passed surprisingly normally.

Well—

As normal as things could be after publicly defeating one of the academy’s strongest students.

I spent most of the afternoon continuing work on the greenhouse alongside the workers.

The heating system had performed better than expected during testing, so most of the remaining work involved reinforcing supports and installing the rest of the glass panels.

The work itself wasn’t difficult.

The people were though.

Everywhere I went, somebody was staring.

Students walking between classes slowed down whenever they passed the construction site. Some openly pointed while whispering to each other. Others immediately looked away whenever I glanced in their direction.

The teachers weren’t much better.

Several instructors who had previously ignored me entirely now seemed strangely cautious whenever they approached.

One even started walking toward me before apparently changing his mind halfway and turning around.

I honestly wasn’t sure whether to be amused or concerned.

Apparently beating Adrian with a rifle, smoke bombs, flash devices, and pepper spray left quite the impression.

By the time the academy day finally ended, I was more exhausted from being watched than from the actual construction work.

A familiar voice eventually called out from behind me.

"Darling!"

I sighed and then turned around.

Lillith immediately attached herself to my arm.

Clara walked over beside her looking far more normal.

At least comparatively.

"How was work?" Clara asked.

"Productive."

"How many people stared at you today?"

"Too many."

Clara laughed.

Lillith looked confused.

"Why would they stare?"

Clara just started at her.

After several seconds Clara simply rubbed her forehead.

"Never mind."

A little while later the three of us left the academy grounds together.

Eventually Clara separated from us near the entrance.

"I’ll meet you both later."

Lillith nodded.

"Okay."

Then after a brief pause she added:

"Don’t get lost."

Clara looked offended.

"I know how roads work."

Lillith looked unconvinced.

Clara pointed at her.

"That face is rude."

Then she waved goodbye before heading off.

Meanwhile Lillith immediately reclaimed ownership of my arm and happily dragged me toward the Nightbane residence.

By now I had mostly accepted this as an unavoidable part of life.

The trip back was peaceful.

The moment we arrived, Lillith resumed one of her favorite topics.

"Think about it."

"No."

"Just think about it."

"No."

"Our children would be amazing."

"Lillith."

"They’d be sooo adorable."

"No."

"They’d be talented as me."

"No."

"They’d be smart as you."

I looked at her.

"We have absolutely no evidence supporting that."

Lillith gasped dramatically before immediately starting to argue.

Meanwhile I slowly stopped paying attention.

Not intentionally.

It just happened.

After a while I drifted back into reality to discover Lillith still arguing passionately.

"...and that’s why having children would actually be very practical."

I stared at her.

"...What?"

Before she could continue, a knock sounded at the door.

A servant entered shortly afterward.

"My lady. Lord Leon."

The servant bowed politely.

"A red-haired guest has arrived."

Clara.

I immediately stood up.

"Perfect."

Lillith narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"You’re very excited."

"Because we’re finally going shooting."

She looked disappointed.

Then grabbed my hand anyway.

"Fine."

The two of us left the room and headed deeper into the manor.

Despite how many times I’d visited this place, I still couldn’t navigate it properly without help. The building was absurdly large.

Several corridors later, we eventually arrived at one of the guest reception rooms.

Clara was already inside.

And judging by her expression—

She was having an existential crisis.

Her head slowly turned as she looked around the room.

Then up.

Then around again.

The room itself was larger than some houses I’d seen.

I walked inside.

She immediately pointed at the ceiling.

"What is this?"

I blinked.

"A room."

"No."

She pointed around herself.

"This room."

Lillith looked around.

Then shrugged.

"What about it?"

Clara looked genuinely offended.

"What about it?!"

She pointed toward a decorative fireplace large enough to cook an ox inside.

"That fireplace is bigger than my bedroom."

Then toward a chandelier.

"That chandelier probably costs more than everything I own."

Then toward one of the walls.

"I’m pretty sure that painting is worth more than the inn I live in."

Lillith frowned.

"It isn’t that big."

Clara stared.

Then stared harder and then looked toward me.

Lillith crossed her arms.

"This place is normal."

"No it isn’t."

"It is."

"It really isn’t."

Lillith looked genuinely confused.

Then she asked:

"How big is your room?"

Clara hesitated.

"...Small."

"How small?"

Clara named the approximate dimensions.

Lillith blinked.

"...That’s half a closet."

Clara nearly choked.

"IT’S MY BEDROOM!"

I had to look away to stop myself laughing.

Lillith somehow looked even more confused.

"Where do you put your things?"

"Near the bed."

"Where do you walk?"

"Near the bed."

"Where do you study?"

"On the bed."

Lillith stared.

"...That sounds awful."

Clara pointed at her.

"You’re rich."

"Yes."

"Stop proving it."

Lillith thought about that.

Then unexpectedly asked:

"Do you want to stay here?"

The room became quiet.

Clara blinked.

"What?"

"You can stay here."

Clara stared.

Lillith awkwardly looked away.

"I mean..."

She shifted slightly.

Then her eyes started sparkling.

"Really?"

"Maybe."

"Really really?"

"Probably."

The next thing I knew, Clara had launched herself forward and hugged Lillith.

"I ALWAYS WANTED TO LIVE IN A CASTLE!"

Lillith immediately looked horrified.

"This isn’t a castle."

Clara ignored that.

Lillith continued.

"The one in the NightBane capital is much bigger."

Clara slowly pulled back.

"What."

"The royal capital residence."

Lillith said it completely seriously.

"It’s much smaller."

Then after a pause she added:

"This place is actually kind of cramped."

Both Clara and I stared at her.

Lillith stared back at the two of us.

Completely serious.

No joke.

No exaggeration.

Nothing.

She genuinely believed that.

After several seconds Clara slowly turned toward me.

"Did she just call this place cramped?"

"Yes."

"I think rich people are a different species."

"Probably."

Before the argument could continue any further, I clapped my hands once.

The two girls looked over.

"You can discuss housing arrangements later."

Clara blinked.

"Oh."

Lillith tilted her head.

"Why?"

I grinned.

Because sitting against the far wall were several rifles I’d brought earlier.

"Because we’re going shooting."

A little while later I led Clara and Lillith outside toward a quieter section of the estate.

The Nightbane manor grounds were absurdly large, so finding a secluded area wasn’t difficult.

After walking through several paths lined with trees, we eventually arrived at a small clearing surrounded by dense woodland.

A few straw training dummies stood at the far end, several of them wearing old pieces of armor that had clearly been used for practice before.

I stopped and turned toward the two girls.

"We’ll have to take turns."

Lillith immediately crossed her arms.

"Why?"

"Because I only brought one rifle."

"Fine."

That seemed to satisfy her.

I looked toward Clara.

"You want to go first?"

Clara immediately nodded.

"Absolutely."

The excitement on her face made me slightly nervous.

I handed her the rifle before carefully making sure it was pointed away from everyone.

"First lesson."

Clara straightened immediately.

I pulled the lever back and then forward.

"This is how you load a round into the chamber."

She watched closely.

Then I reached into one of my pouches and removed a round from a cartridge.

The brass casing gleamed slightly beneath the afternoon sunlight.

Clara leaned forward curiously.

"So this is the ammunition?"

"Yes."

I held it between my fingers.

"There are four main parts."

I pointed toward the projectile itself.

"This is the bullet."

Then toward the brass body.

"This is the casing."

Then I pointed at the powder inside.

"This contains the gunpowder."

Finally I pointed toward the very bottom.

"And this is the primer."

Clara stared at it.

"The primer?"

I nodded.

"When the firing mechanism strikes this section with enough force, it ignites."

She nodded slowly.

I continued.

"That ignition lights the gunpowder inside the casing.The gunpowder rapidly burns and produces a large amount of gas."

Clara blinked.

"Gas?"

"Gas."

I nodded.

"The gas expands extremely quickly. Since the casing and barrel prevent it from escaping normally, the pressure forces the bullet out of the barrel at very high speed."

Clara stared at the cartridge for several seconds.

Then looked at me.

Then looked back at the cartridge.

Then back at me.

"So the weapon that defeated Adrian Eirvale..."

She pointed at the rifle.

"...is basically a stick that makes gas?"

That was technically correct.

Then I added:

"A stick that makes gas and launches pieces of metal."

Clara immediately nodded.

"That sounds much more impressive."

I handed her the magazine.

"Insert that into the bottom."

She carefully pushed it into place.

Click.

Her eyes widened slightly.

Then I pointed toward the lever.

"Now pull that back and push it forward."

Clara did exactly that.

The mechanism slid smoothly.

A round entered the chamber.

She looked genuinely fascinated.

"It’s ready?"

"It’s ready."

Clara swallowed nervously.

Then turned toward the training dummy.

The rifle slowly rose.

The barrel pointed toward the center of the target.

Lillith casually wandered over beside me.

"Don’t miss."

"That’s not helping."

"It helped me."

"You’ve never fired one."

"Exactly."

Clara looked like she wanted to argue but was too focused on the rifle.

Eventually she took a breath.

Then squeezed the trigger.

BANG!

The shot echoed throughout the clearing.

Clara flinched violently.

Several birds immediately fled from nearby trees.

For a second she looked completely startled.

Then her eyes snapped toward the target.

A clean hole had appeared in the dummy’s chest.

Clara froze.

Then looked at the rifle.

Then at the dummy.

Then back at the rifle.

"I hit it."

"You did."

"I actually hit it."

"You did."

Clara suddenly looked excited.

"I hit it!"

Lillith rolled her eyes.

"Obviously."

Clara ignored her completely.

Instead she continued staring at the target.

Then a thought occurred to her.

"Wait."

She looked at me.

"Why couldn’t I see the bullet?"

I shrugged.

"It’s too fast."

"What?"

"The bullet is moving too fast for a normal person to track."

Clara stared.

"That’s unfair."

"It’s physics."

"I don’t know what that means."

"Neither does anyone else."

Before Clara could ask another question, Lillith suddenly interrupted.

"I saw it."

The clearing became silent.

I looked at her.

She looked back confidently.

"You saw what?"

"The bullet."

I blinked.

"No you didn’t."

Lillith immediately looked offended.

"Yes I did."

"No."

"Yes I did."

I rubbed my forehead.

"You don’t need to make things up to impress us."

Her expression instantly darkened.

"I am not lying."

"Lillith."

"I saw it!."

I opened my mouth.

Then closed it again.

Because judging by her expression, she genuinely believed what she was saying.

Without another word she suddenly turned around and marched off into the trees.

Clara watched her leave.

"...Is she mad?"

"Probably."

"Should we stop her?"

"No."

A minute passed.

Then another.

Clara shifted awkwardly.

"Where did she go?"

"No idea."

Then the bushes rustled.

Lillith emerged from the trees looking extremely pleased with herself.

She walked directly toward me.

Then proudly held something out in her hand.

A small warped piece of metal.

I froze.

Clara froze.

Both of us stared at the object.

The deformed bullet rested in Lillith’s palm.

Still warm and unmistakable.

For several seconds neither of us spoke.

Then Clara slowly pointed.

"...What is that?"

Lillith’s smile widened triumphantly.

"The bullet."

I stared at the mangled piece of lead.

Then at her.

Then back at the bullet.

"You actually found it?"

Lillith immediately puffed out her chest proudly.

"It was kind of fast but I still saw it."

I didn’t actually have a response.

Because somehow she had just walked into the forest and come back carrying the exact projectile Clara had fired.

"I told you I saw it."

"Yes, Lillith."

"I really saw it."

"Yes, Lillith."

"I wasn’t lying."

"I know."

She smiled victoriously.

Clara looked between us before shaking her head.

"Honestly, I think that’s the least ridiculous thing I’ve seen from her."

Lillith immediately nodded.

"Exactly."

Then she pointed at the rifle.

"My turn."

I hesitated.

Then slowly handed it over.

Lillith accepted the weapon confidently before marching toward the firing position.

Unlike Clara, she didn’t seem nervous at all.

In fact—

She looked completely convinced she would be amazing at this.

I pointed toward the dummy.

"Same process."

Lillith nodded.

"I know."

"You’ve never done this before."

"I watched Clara."

"That’s not the same thing."

"It is for me."

Somehow that answer worried me.

Lillith pulled the lever back and pushed it forward.

The rifle loaded successfully.

Then she raised it toward the target.

The dummy stood completely motionless.

A very difficult opponent.

Lillith narrowed her eyes.

Then fired.

BANG!

The shot echoed through the clearing.

The dummy remained untouched.

A bird somewhere in the distance immediately fled for its life.

Lillith blinked.

Then looked at the target.

Then looked at me.

"It’s broken."

"You missed."

The answer seemed to offend her.

"How?"

I pointed toward the rifle.

"You’re supposed to aim."

"I did aim."

"You aimed at the tree."

Lillith looked toward the tree.

There was indeed a fresh hole in it.

"...Oh."

Clara immediately started laughing.

Lillith glared at her.

Then loaded another round.

This time she spent longer aiming.

The rifle fired.

BANG!

The dummy remained untouched.

Several leaves exploded from a bush somewhere behind it.

Lillith stared.

Then slowly lowered the rifle.

"...Again."

A third shot rang out.

Miss.

A fourth.

Miss.

A fifth.

Miss.

Clara eventually had to sit down because she was laughing too hard.

Even I was starting to struggle.

Meanwhile Lillith looked increasingly betrayed by reality itself.

"This weapon is stupid and broken."

"The weapon works."

"No it doesent."

I rubbed my forehead.

Honestly, she wasn’t entirely wrong.

Lillith’s fighting style relied almost entirely on overwhelming magical power, absurd speed, and instincts that bordered on cheating.

Carefully aligning sights and maintaining proper shooting posture was practically the opposite of everything she normally did.

Unfortunately, that realization only seemed to make her more frustrated.

Another shot rang out.

Miss.

Another.

Miss.

Another.

Miss.

Lillith stared at the rifle.

The rifle stared back.

A dangerous silence followed as the anger on Lilliths face started to fully form.

Then—

Crack.

The wooden stock suddenly snapped.

For several seconds nobody moved.

Nobody spoke.

Lillith looked down.

I looked down.

Clara looked down.

The rifle now existed in two separate pieces.

Lillith blinked.

"...Oh."

The clearing became very quiet.

Slowly—

Lillith turned toward us.

The anger from moments earlier vanished completely.

Instead she looked to be in the verge of tears.

Her eyes immediately found mine.

Then dropped toward the broken rifle.

Then back toward me.

"...Leon?"

I sighed.

Lillith carefully walked over while carrying both halves of the rifle.

Gone was the confident future heir of the Nightbane Duchy.

Gone was the terrifying mage.

Instead she looked like a child who had about to cry to their parents.

She stopped in front of me.

Then lowered her head.

"...I’m sorry."

Her voice sounded genuinely miserable.

She carefully held out both broken pieces.

"I didn’t mean to."

Clara immediately stopped laughing.

Even she looked slightly guilty now.

Lillith avoided eye contact.

"...Please don’t hate me."

That caught me off guard.

I blinked.

Then looked down at the broken rifle.

It wasn’t even that important by now.

I’d built several.

The stock could be replaced.

The barrel was snapped clean in half but most of the mechanism was intact.

It was annoying.

But hardly a disaster.

Meanwhile Lillith still stood there looking completely devastated.

Like she genuinely believed I might hate her over a broken rifle.

Without saying anything, I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around her.

Lillith froze.

Then slowly looked up.

I sighed.

"Lillith."

"...Yes?"

"I could never hate you."

The tension visibly left her shoulders.

Immediately.

The relief on her face was almost painful to watch.

She buried her face against my chest.

"...Really?"

"Really."

A moment later I patted her head.

Then glanced down at the broken rifle pieces still in her hands.

"That being said..."

Lillith stiffened.

I smiled.

"It might be best if you don’t pick up another rifle."

Clara immediately burst out laughing again.

Lillith looked offended.

"I can learn."

"You broke it."

"One time."

"You snapped it in half."

"It was being difficult."

"The rifle did nothing."

"It missed."

"You missed."

Lillith looked unconvinced.

Then after a few moments she simply buried her face back into my chest and refused to continue the argument.

Which was probably for the best.