[Bears are above tigers!]
[Why're ya talking to yourself in front of an animal?!]
"Hey, Yi Rang? What are you watching this early in the morning?"
Alice asked Yi Rang, who was sitting on the sofa watching a holographic video.
The footage showed her match against Chae Da-Seon.
"I decided I'm gonna watch this every morning from now on. Look at that damn girl's face! Khh~ I can feel my self-esteem filling right back up!"
At that moment, two mana-coated objects flew toward Alice and Yi Rang.
Alice caught hers with ease.
Yi Rang, on the other hand, took hers straight to the side of the head.
"Damn it! Who did that?!"
Clutching the side of her head, Yi Rang spun around.
Yu-Han and Kim Ga-Eun were standing there, looking at her as though she were pathetic.
"You're so busy jerking yourself off over a past victory that you can't even block an attack in the present..."
"Do I seriously have to block crap like that too?!"
"They may have pulled back for now, but we've got no idea when they'll hit us again. And you're already letting your guard down... Get killed like that and you've only got yourself to blame."
"Can't ya at least tell me I did a good job winning? That's just cruel..."
"You know it better than anyone. Chae Da-Seon was holding back a lot."
"...!"
Now that she thought about it, Chae Da-Seon really had seemed to have an opportunity to finish her off at the very end.
And she had spent an awful lot of time talking during the fight, too...
"And to the public, she may just be the pretty fighter from a dungeon-raiding team... But behind the scenes, she's personally butchered so many people that she earned the nickname 'The Man-Ripping She-Bear.'"
"Hiiik—!? What the hell has that girl been doing?!"
Yi Rang shuddered.
"So what makes you think you've got time to rest? Training starts now. See that?"
Yi Rang picked up the object that had bounced off her head and landed on the sofa.
It was a firearms license.
With her own photograph printed on it.
"A gun...! I finally get to use a gun too...!?"
Just as Yi Rang was getting excited, Alice scolded Yu-Han.
"Wait. How exactly did you get these licenses? I don't remember either of us applying for one."
"Hold on, now that ya mention it! You bastard Deputy Director, you even used my ID photo!"
At that, Yu-Han equipped a smile that seemed to ask them to find him cute.
"We've got enemies practically on our doorstep, right? I saved you the trouble of applying yourselves, so cut me some slack~"
Alice looked less charmed than disgusted.
"'Cut me some slack~' my ass. I'll let it slide because of the situation, but do this again and I'm not forgiving you."
"Got it. I'm a good Deputy Director who always listens to his dear Director!"
The three women around him had to suppress the urge to punch him.
---
The underground training room of the Cheong-Am Center.
Yu-Han casually tossed one firearm each to Yi Rang and Alice.
"You two should start with these."
Yi Rang had never so much as handled a gun before.
She couldn't even tell what kind of weapon she had been given.
"What is this?"
"A semi-auto shotgun. You don't need quite as much precision with it as with other guns. Good enough for a beastkin rookie like you."
Beside her, Alice inspected her own weapon.
"Then what about mine? Why give me a carbine?"
"Damn it. You're an AI. Think for yourself!"
Alice responded with an irritated grumble.
Yu-Han manipulated his holographic device.
Several holographic targets appeared throughout the basement.
Helpful instructions also floated in the air, explaining proper shouldering, firing posture, and basic safety rules for each weapon.
"W-What is this...!? This is some cutting-edge tech!" Yi Rang exclaimed.
"What are you, from the twenty-first century or something? Stop gawking and shoot already!"
Yi Rang fired at a target.
The spreading pellets peppered it across a broad area.
"Wait... Am I some kinda sharpshooter...?"
A long wooden stick lightly tapped her on the head.
"Obviously not. Look at that shot pattern. It's all over the place. And your shooting posture is wrong."
Yu-Han used the stick to nudge Yi Rang's arms and legs into the correct positions.
Yi Rang found herself thinking that teaching someone in the most irritating way imaginable must be a talent in itself.
A short distance away, Kim Ga-Eun watched the training with a nostalgic smile.
"This takes me back... I used to train like that with Yu-Han C too..."
She closed her eyes, lost in fond memories.
The wooden stick flew through the air and struck her squarely on the forehead.
"Kek!?"
"What are you standing around for? Go practice magic."
"Yu-Han C... I can't even use magic in my monster form anyway..."
"A fighter's gotta be ready for all kinds of variables. So quit whining!"
Kim Ga-Eun rubbed her stinging forehead and clicked her tongue.
In the end, she had no choice but to begin her magic training.
"Yu-Han? I think I've practiced shooting enough."
Alice puffed out her chest proudly as she spoke.
Her holographic target showed an almost grotesquely consistent grouping, every round embedded in nearly the exact same spot.
Yu-Han did not look impressed in the slightest.
"You're an AI. Of course that happened. So what?"
"I'm asking if there's something else I should be training."
"You're the Director. Figure it out yourself. Is the AI in your head just decoration?"
Alice's patience was finally beginning to run out.
"Training? Fine! Then, Deputy Director, come spar with me like it's a real fight!"
Yu-Han's eyebrow twitched at the word spar.
"What's wrong, Yu-Han? Scared?"
"We don't know when the enemy might show up, and you want us to waste energy fighting each other while risking injuries? You've got an AI in your head and you still come up with something this stupid..."
The more Yu-Han talked, the more convinced Alice became.
He clearly lacked confidence that he could beat an AI like her.
Then Yu-Han suddenly took off his jacket and threw it aside.
"Still, I'll humor you. You? I can finish this without getting hurt."
"What...?"
Yu-Han tossed Alice another long wooden stick.
"Pretend that's a sword. First clean hit wins."
"You're not going to attack the instant I pick it up, are you? I'll count to three, and then—"
"No need. I'll stand right here. You can attack first."
Yu-Han looked strangely confident.
Once again, Alice's competitive streak flared up.
She snatched up the wooden stick, coated it in pure mana energy, and charged.
'My AI has already completely learned Yu-Han's swordsmanship! There's no way a human can compete with an AI!'
But even after deflecting Alice's opening strike, Yu-Han continued exchanging blows with her naturally.
"How are you countering me?!"
"I've been honing my swordsmanship against AI swordsmen for years. Textbook attacks like that are easy to deal with."
As their exchange continued, Yu-Han's figure suddenly faded from sight.
"What?!"
"It's basic stealth magic. Why are you acting so surprised?"
Alice smiled.
What an idiot.
If he hid himself and then kept talking like that, she could calculate his position from the sound!
Alice instantly reconstructed Yu-Han's location and swung her wooden stick...!
There was nothing there.
"!?"
"All right. Over."
Yu-Han's wooden stick was already resting against the back of Alice's neck.
"What happened? The sound definitely came from over there..."
"Ever think I made the sound come from over there on purpose? You really think your opponent is that stupid..."
Alice understood how she had lost.
Her teeth clenched.
"One more round!"
"Nope. I'm going on vacation now."
"V-Vacation!?"
"Do you have any idea how hard I've been working? Am I not allowed to rest? You're the Director. Handle things yourself."
Yu-Han picked up his jacket and began preparing to leave.
"Wait. You just said the enemy's practically at our doorstep! What are we supposed to do if you leave?!"
"You said you wanted to become stronger than me, didn't you? If it were me, I would've handled everything alone from the start. I suppose you can't."
Once again, Yu-Han's words ignited Alice's competitive spirit.
"Fine... Go enjoy your precious vacation as much as you want! The three of us will handle everything before you get back!"
"Heh heh... Can't wait to see how many of you are still alive when I get back."
Yu-Han laughed obnoxiously and left the basement.
"So, Director Alice? Since that bastard's gone, can we take a break now?"
Yi Rang cautiously tried her luck.
Alice's red eyes immediately sharpened.
"What have you even done to deserve a break?! Keep practicing! After that, you're learning to field-strip it and put it back together!"
"Hiiing..."
Watching Alice burn with enthusiasm, Kim Ga-Eun quietly sighed.
She wondered whether the three of them would really manage just fine without Yu-Han...
---
Yu-Han arrived at one of his hideouts, changed his clothes, and immediately collapsed onto the bed.
Then his holographic device began ringing.
Yu-Han saw the caller ID and answered with visible annoyance.
"What now?"
[Why did you leave Alice's side?]
A cold female voice came through the call.
"I'm not a babysitter. I'm sick and tired of taking care of kids."
[Is that so? And you're prepared to deal with the consequences?]
Her words irritated Yu-Han.
"Ever consider my position? You suddenly tell me to go into some back alley, and the next thing I know I'm being forced to adopt and raise a robot! If you care about her that much, don't dump her here in the first place!"
[I've been pulling strings for you with the administration.]
"Can't I just turn down the favors and the job?"
[Yu-Han.]
That single word was enough to make Yu-Han stop complaining.
Of course, it was not enough to make him stop talking.
"You know she'll grow more as a fighter if I step away for a while, right?"
[...]
"I don't care what you say. I'm doing this my way. If something goes wrong, come kill me then."
[Haah... Still doing whatever you please, I see.]
"As if you're any better, Your Excellency, Captain of the Presidential Guard."
[...]
Without another word, the woman ended the call.