Chapter 136
“Oh, I remember! Speed type! Either fast or capable of flying!”
“Exactly.”
I continued walking undeterred towards Epine, still encircled by mutants.
“The 0 in G-0712 indicates its attack power. It might look horrifying, but a 0 means its attack power is exactly that—zilch. They might follow if you run, but if you approach them first or shine a light…”
The mutants screeched horribly and began to retreat from Epine, who was in tears and snot, trembling in fear.
“This basic knowledge isn’t even there…”
I clicked my tongue and helped her up.
Then, turning around with a swirl to face the Espers standing behind, I commanded,
“Now, Espers. Recite the first clause of the Esper Rules of Conduct.”
“…”
“…Not going to?”
Their eyes widened in shock when I glared.
“Fine, we will! Esper Rules of Conduct, Clause 1, Article 1! In combat, an Esper’s priority is to protect the safety of their Guide!”
Good, at least they knew Article 1. I was about to really give them a piece of my mind.
Somewhat appeased, I sternly told them,
“Mutants are scary, right? Not just to ordinary people and Guides, but even to Espers. But the main thing is one’s own survival, so why should it be so unfair to risk your lives protecting Guides, right?”
“…”
“But in fact, protecting the Guide is for the benefit of the Espers as well. Most of the Espers who die in actual combat would not have died if they had received timely guiding. Especially since there are so few Guides, in reality, there’s about one Guide for every ten Espers. But what if that Guide dies? Do you think there’s a chance of winning the battle?”
“…”
“If this were a real situation, this Guide would be dead, and so would all of you. The survival of the Guide is directly linked to the survival of the Espers in battle.”
The Espers listened to my sermon, their mouths agape, completely lost.
Looking at their dumbfounded expressions made my blood boil again.
“If you’ve understood, why aren’t you protecting this Guide right away?”
Finally, two Espers hurried over and took away Epine, who was trembling pitifully beside me.
The team members now looked at me with hopeful eyes, as if asking, ‘What do we do next?’
It felt like teaching babies how to walk.
…Of course, if it’s for 10,000 Berks, I’d teach them not just how to walk but even to stand on their heads.
“The basic formation in strategy is Espers in front, Guides at the back. The Espers surround the Guides in a protective formation. Heard?”
“Heard!”
The Espers finally moved in a somewhat orderly manner.
Once a semblance of formation was achieved, one Esper seemed to remember something and asked,
“Um, but… isn’t Miss Rose also a Guide? Shouldn’t you be behind us…”
“Pfft, who’s going to look after whom.”
“Ack, I apologize!”
How am I supposed to win with this bunch? The road ahead is long.
I sighed and explained,
“Mutants essentially lack intelligence. They only flee and attack based on their survival instincts. So, even if the Espers here are incompetent! Even if you’re a ragtag bunch! You at least have brains, so with a well-thought-out strategy, you can manage to navigate the map.”
“Incompetent…”
“Ragtag…?”
The Espers looked a bit hurt.
Regardless, I continued without paying them any heed,
“But! Simply navigating the map in a mediocre manner won’t do! Our team must come out victorious! Because—!”
“Do we have a question? Why exactly do we need to win the final victory?” one Esper asked.
A good question. For Espers and Guides flush with money, a prize of 10,000 Berks might not be worth the fuss.
But if those Espers and Guides are on my team, the story changes.
“Never mind. Don’t bother questioning it.”
“…?”
“Just remember that if our team doesn’t win the final victory, I won’t leave you all in peace.”
The faces of the Espers turned pale.
Seeing their frightened faces, I felt a flicker of hope.
“It’s simple for our team to score an A and win the final victory. We just need to eliminate all mutants while minimizing the use of guiding. Minimum effort, maximum effect. To achieve this, what we need is a strategy. Use your heads. Understood?”
“Understood!”
Finally, it seemed like we were getting somewhere!
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