Chapter 33: Chapter 33: Practical Skills
Weiya fell silent for a long moment before she spoke again, preparing to move on to the intimidation phase.
"Of course, you have the right to refuse. It’s just that..."
"I accept!"
Before she could finish, Lloyd spoke up, choosing to skip that stage entirely.
Weiya nodded slightly and said,
"Very good. Just as the Chief Judge predicted, you wouldn’t refuse."
Hearing her mention the Chief Judge, Lloyd recalled the strange person he had seen in the prayer room—the one clad in a black robe and wearing a metal human-like mask, who seemed to glide rather than walk. He decided to confirm.
"Miss Weiya, is the Chief Judge you’re referring to... the important figure who appeared in the prayer room that day?"
"Yes. He is very optimistic about your prospects."
"Alright. Thank you for the Chief Judge’s high regard. I will do my best to complete tomorrow’s mission."
Having said that, Lloyd prepared to take his leave, but his gaze fell upon the little kitten sitting obediently on the desk.
Weiya noticed his line of sight and spoke before he could.
"Once you become an Executioner, you’ll be able to take it to places like the library. But until then, you’ll have to leave it here with me."
"Uh... you’re not going to eat it, are you?"
"No. Cat meat doesn’t taste good."
Lloyd: !!!∑(ﾟДﾟノ)ノ
The little kitten: Σ(っ°Д°;)っ
Weiya didn’t seem to think there was anything wrong with what she’d said and even pressed on.
"Any other questions?"
Lloyd shook his head and walked out of Weiya’s office. He hadn’t taken more than a few steps, however, when he suddenly remembered something else. He turned back, pushed the office door open, and said,
"I almost forgot, I wanted to ask about Buster..."
As the door opened, he saw Weiya holding the little kitten to her chest, nuzzling it forcefully with her beautiful cheek...
She froze for a full two seconds before a blush quickly flashed across her face, revealing a cute, shy-schoolgirl-like expression. She hurriedly placed the kitten back on the desk and said,
"I have a public lecture in a little while. You can attend if you’re interested. It might be helpful for tomorrow’s operation."
Her tone was as serious as ever, but her words were completely off-topic.
’She’s probably not very good at changing the subject...’
Lloyd didn’t dare to press the issue and instead said,
"Okay, I’ll be there. It’s just, about Buster’s situation..."
Weiya hurriedly rummaged through a large pile of documents on her desk, finally pulling out a telegram-style slip of paper. She answered,
"He’s out of danger. His mental state is steadily recovering. He should be able to leave the asylum this month, but he won’t be able to come back here. He’ll likely be transferred to the Crusaders in the Fifth District."
"I understand. Thank you."
Lloyd then truly left Weiya’s office, leaving her to play with the little kitten in peace.
As for Buster’s situation, it was quite optimistic. To be able to recover from [Moderate Madness] and continue to serve within the Sect was a very fortunate outcome.
"Good luck to you."
Lloyd said in a low voice.
.........
Tower Nine held several different public lectures every day, but Lloyd had never attended one, worried he wouldn’t be able to keep up.
But since Weiya had invited him, he figured he should go and show his support.
So, for the first time, Lloyd headed to the fourth floor of Tower Nine. He checked the class schedule and found that Weiya was teaching a course called "Practical Techniques." The location wasn’t in the tower, but at a shooting range outside?
Lloyd hurried over and found that quite a few people were already there. It seemed Weiya’s class was popular?
They were gathered in small groups, whispering amongst themselves, and Lloyd inadvertently overheard their various discussions.
"Hey, you guys think Miss Weiya has a boyfriend?"
"I heard she doesn’t, but what makes you think a great beauty like her would ever be in your league?"
"Waaah, I’ve been a die-hard Weiya fan since the day I was born! I want to lick her black silk stockings..."
"Disgusting! You perv! I suggest you drink poison and kill yourself!"
’Uh... it seems these guys aren’t interested in ’Practical Techniques’ in the traditional sense, but ’practical techniques’ on a whole other level?’
Before long, Weiya’s beautiful figure appeared at the shooting range. Her presence added a splash of color to the otherwise bare surroundings, while also causing the air to turn several degrees colder. The whispers about her vanished instantly.
Weiya’s gray eyes first scanned the people attending the class today, but after seeing Lloyd, she averted her gaze. She picked up a very classic-looking bolt-action rifle next to her and began her introduction.
"This is a new weapon that has just recently been mass-issued, the Model 1841 Rifle. It uses a more advanced bolt-action design. Its rate of fire, accuracy, power, and handling all far surpass the older models..."
As she spoke, she attached two bayonets beneath the muzzle. They looked like dagger-sized versions of a Spiritual Blade, arranged at a right angle—one pointing forward, one pointing down. It made the entire gun look more like a long halberd. Perhaps that’s why it was called a Halberd?
After briefly introducing the basic performance of this ’new weapon,’ she moved on to the practical demonstration.
Weiya clapped her hands. With a soft whirring of gears, dozens of targets slowly rose up, each painted with the image of a low-danger Demon Ghost.
Then, she walked into the middle of the large cluster of targets and began her performance.
First, she fired the gun, shattering a ’Demon’ with ranged attack capabilities. Then, she spun the Halberd like a parade rifle, a blur of motion, using the dagger-like bayonets to slice through the two nearest ’Demons’ while smoothly reloading.
She was like a graceful dancer, moving with elegant steps, weaving and dodging through the crowd of ’Demons.’ The Halberd in her hands either precisely struck its target or carved exquisite arcs through the air, reaping one ’Demon’ after another.
This didn’t look like a battle, but a magnificent performance. Or perhaps, it was the true embodiment of the phrase ’heroic and dashing.’
With her movements, her long, silver-gray hair fanned out like a gorgeous white flower in bloom. Paired with her black uniform, she looked like a stunning Abyss-White Flower.
Lloyd stared, transfixed, more focused than if he were studying a book. He was unwilling to miss a single frame of the scene before him, not even noticing that his own breathing and heartbeat were secretly quickening.
’It’s a shame there’s no pause or replay function. Otherwise, every single frame would be wallpaper-worthy.’
He felt as if his eyes weren’t enough. There was too much to take in, and he didn’t know whether to focus on her magnificent performance, her stunning face, her alluring curves, or her long legs clad in boots and black stockings.
In short, in that moment, Weiya was truly beautiful.
Weiya’s performance lasted only thirty seconds—just about the limit of a Terran’s attention span.
Finally, she planted the butt of her Halberd on the ground and let out a shallow breath. She appeared completely unfazed, her expression unchanged and her heart rate steady, as if that little bit of exertion didn’t even count as a warm-up.
Lloyd wanted to applaud, but when he looked at the others, they were all silent. He couldn’t tell if they were mesmerized by Weiya’s beauty or intimidated by her cold demeanor.
So, Lloyd also remained quiet. Only then did he notice that while the vast majority of the ’Demons’ had been dealt with, two remained—one far from Weiya, and one near.
He then heard her speak again.
"The demonstration just now was pure performance. It has no practical combat application, and you don’t need to master it. What you *do* need to practice diligently is actually very simple..."
As she spoke, she slowly raised the rifle, carefully aimed at the more distant Demon target, and pulled the trigger, shattering it.
Then, with a plain and simple motion, she used the bayonet on the rifle’s tip to stab the closer ’Demon.’
"This is what you will actually use in real combat."
Weiya concluded.
The change in style was a bit too abrupt, shifting from elegant and flashy to simple and practical in an instant.
Lloyd couldn’t help but recall the moment Weiya had saved him.
It had also been nothing more than an ’unadorned, simple downward slash.’
’She knew how to be beautiful, and she also knew how to be reliable.’
