章 42: 7.3 Planning

"Yeah?" she nonchalantly responded. "It's where most of us went through before they all but enslaved us. Don't you remember?"

I didn't. That was why I wanted to go out there and find it instead of Lise. Then again, I could've just asked the locals for info about this. That was my fault... Still, this changes everything...

"I-I remember," I feigned knowledge as I marked out our possible exit strategy. "So you propose a group of talented fighters to run interferenc- err, provide a distraction?"

"Yes," she nodded, creating a circle around the general area of the exit. "They'd probably send out more guards to block our path once they get word of our escape though."

"But if they're too busy fending off a possible raid on their food stores, we could possibly get out with minimal casualties," I exposited, a hand on my chin as ran through the prospective plan. "The rifle production would probably be pointless if we- no, it's not. We can use all the firepower we can get."

It was very possible that there will be more guards than anticipated and the rest would need something to defend themselves with, something more effective and easier to use than training with a sword. I found myself nodding at my own idea as my eyes stayed glued to the map.

There was something here. I'd need to build a firing squad for defense, and an advanced group to run interference. Baccus could probably lead the prospective firing squad then. He had experience with firing the rifle, and everyone trusted him enough to not question his leadership. That would mean I'd need to lead the interference squad myself.

That was if I could find people skilled enough for it.

Barring that, Lise and I could maybe run distraction duty ourselves, but we couldn't possibly hold out against the full brunt of a garrisoned location such as the ration center. Hmm.... Probably ten to fifteen members max.. Just big enough to warrant a heightened response while at the same time being small enough to slip out once the situation got too hot to handle.

I smiled. "Emeraud, your suggestions are greatly appreciated."

"H-Huh?"

"The plan gets better every day," I said as I pulled words out of my ass with as much confidence as I could possibly muster. "And you just contributed to it by a lot."

Really, it was more like she came up with the whole plan, with myself only refining it further.

"Thank you!"

"I-It's no-" I started before I was cut off by being smothered beneath two particularly hefty mounds. "N-Nothing! R-Really!"

"It means a lot to me, Rouge!" Emeraud gushed as she hugged me with all of her smithing-enhanced muscular strength. "We're finally getting out of this place!"

I blushed furiously as I halfheartedly attempted to pry myself off the green-haired woman's embrace, her mounds making it harder for me to think straight as they suffocated me beneath their mass.

Really, I get it already! Just please get off me before I fainted or something!

"Oh! I almost forgot!"

I sighed in relief as I found my breathing unrestricted once more, the gifted woman having let go of me instead of staring at the rifle she'd brought with her earlier. Seriously, her size shouldn't be humanly possible with the amount of food that we were getting down here.

"Rouge," Emeraud, started as she showed me the Baccus-designed rifle. "You killed a member of the Primzahl Dreizehn, something that I've only ever dreamed of before. But now..."

I gaped as the woman suddenly knelt before me, one hand on her chest as the other held the rifle with rapt attention.

"Please, train me to be as strong as you, Master!"

...

.......

"Huh?"

Train? Master? Strong?

"Master?" the lime-haired woman repeated with rapt reverence as I felt my brain melt at the incredulous proposition offered to me. "Are you okay?"

"I-I... M-Master?" I stuttered like a blubbering idiot. "I-I'm fine..."

I shook my head as I tried my best to ignore the puppy-eyed look this front-loaded woman was giving me. How could I be a master at something I haven't mastered yet myself? Seriously, I wasn't the best blacksmith, and I certainly wasn't the best combatant.

Raising my head to meet her in the eye, I couldn't help but feel something inside my chest seize up at the mere sight of this woman. Hiding a furious blush at the fact that her body just looked far too amazing with the number of resources available to us, I looked right past her ear as I addressed her offer.

"N-No," I choked out. Why the hell was I embarrassed for her? She was the one both walking around half-naked and offering herself up to be an apprentice. Not me! "I can't teach-"

"Why not?!"

I almost flinched at Emeraud's passionate outburst. She was really going to make this hard for me, wasn't she...

"I-I'm not really qualified to teach anyone," I explained, giving out an excuse more than anything. "And I'm not that much of a fighter, really." Again, somewhat of a lie. I at least took pride in knowing my Mother's teachings-

"That's a lie." Eh? "I saw you fight on the day you first left the Furnace."

My thoughts ground to a halt as I took in her words. Wait... I fought someone here? I didn't remember any of the sort ever happening. "Pardon?"

"You fought a Dezimal just before you and Lise left," the woman regaled, a deadly serious expression plastered on her face. "And I saw you win with relative ease."

I frowned as I struggled to name a time and a place where this prospective fight played out. Try as I might, I just couldn't seem to pull up anything that resembled a memory of me fighting a guard here in the Furnace. It just... It felt like something was...

*drip...*

Oh... Fvck me... Was I seriously still haunted by that annoying sound dripping into my mind?

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