Ch.92[Chapter 92] Misunderstanding

Sir Dominic and his apprentice Alice were filled with anticipation but then became dejected. Meanwhile, at System Industries, there were two people.

“Ugh. I like meat too.”

“I know. Why did you choose scissors there…”

The two began eating tiramisu they had packed like lunch boxes, exhausted.

They were the debug team at System Industries.

The debug team had the important job of initial response when bugs occurred, temporarily blocking lines and backdoors, and contacting on-site coders to send them to the scene.

Because of this important mission, hundreds of people usually worked there, but today there were only two.

Actually, today was the company dinner.

All System Industries employees were required to attend the dinner, but two people from the debug team had to stay behind because bugs could occur at any time.

These two were the ones who remained.

“By the way, senior.”

The junior called to the senior after scooping up a large piece of tiramisu with a fork.

“What?”

The senior, seemingly disappointed with the rock-paper-scissors result earlier, grumbled as he responded.

“That’s not a bug, is it?”

“What?”

The senior was startled and quickly scanned thousands of monitors.

“That. What’s showing on the screen now.”

The junior pointed to one screen with the tip of his fork.

That screen was filled with text that would normally be incomprehensible, like [{User:sir_Dominic}{set_ACC:hHhG_Alice}{Eq}].

“A human becoming equipment for another human, isn’t that a problem?”

“Ah. I thought it was something else.”

The senior squinted at the monitor for a while as if he had poor eyesight, then sighed with relief at his junior’s words.

Taking a big spoonful of tiramisu to calm himself after being startled by the possibility of a real bug, the senior spoke with his mouth full.

“Don’t worry. It happens often in Gachaland.”

…

“I didn’t expect it to be this disappointing.”

When Alice expressed her disappointment, Sir Dominic nodded.

How to describe it?

The steampunk engine making a thunderous noise as water boiled, and steam escaping through six brass pipes with squeaking sounds.

This metal spider made of copper and steel had something that excited people’s hearts.

Sir Dominic glanced at Alice.

She seemed more than just ordinarily disappointed, with her head hanging low.

Sir Dominic was about to say something to comfort this young apprentice.

“It’s o—”

“But as Sir Dominic’s apprentice, I can’t just be disappointed!”

Just as Sir Dominic was about to offer words of comfort, Alice suddenly burst out.

“I don’t mind if Sir Dominic walks! As an apprentice, I can’t do the ru- ru- rudeness? of riding together on Sir Dominic’s mount!”

Alice, wanting to say “rudeness,” was still a child and didn’t know some difficult words.

Sir Dominic looked at his apprentice and smiled happily.

Yes. That’s what makes someone worthy of being an apprentice.

Having seen many knights take on apprentices, Sir Dominic knew that apprentices with this kind of personality became knights faster and gained fame more quickly.

In that sense, his first apprentice was not just passing the mark but at the highest level.

Alice, who had been cheering herself on for a while, suddenly stopped waving her arms as if she had seen something.

Then, tilting her head in confusion, she looked up at the air several times before asking Sir Dominic.

“Um, Sir Dominic. What is bound equipment?”

Hearing Alice’s words, Sir Dominic thought that Alice must have some bound equipment.

Having browsed the wiki a few times before bed to learn about this world, Sir Dominic began explaining with his hazy knowledge.

“It’s equipment that can’t be unequipped once equipped.”

“Then what about 5-year bound equipment?”

“Then it would be equipment that can’t be unequipped for 5 years.”

Sir Dominic wondered why Alice kept asking about similar terms, but he faithfully answered the young Alice’s questions.

However, what Alice said next made Sir Dominic’s thoughts come to a halt.

“Then what does it mean that I’ve become 5-year bound equipment and am bound to Sir Dominic?”

Silence.

Sir Dominic couldn’t understand what Alice was talking about.

No, he understood, but he was still trying to comprehend why this had happened.

Alice is bound to Sir Dominic for 5 years? Sir Dominic began to seriously consider whether a person could be equipped to another person.

In a way, it was an escape from the current situation.

Unable to find an answer, Sir Dominic concluded that it must be because of the apprentice contract.

Though the silence lasted less than 10 seconds, the thoughts that ran through Sir Dominic’s mind during those 10 seconds could have circled the world seven and a half times.

“It seems you’re bound to me because of the apprentice contract.”

“What?”

Alice was startled.

Seeing her reaction, Sir Dominic began to feel sorry.

He even thought that she had mortgaged her life to him at such a young age.

Sir Dominic straightened his posture and apologized to Alice.

“I’m sor—”

“Oh my! That’s wonderful! Doesn’t it mean I’ve become someone who absolutely cannot betray you for 5 years?”

Alice clapped her hands and laughed brightly.

It was very girlish, but since Alice was a head taller than Sir Dominic, it looked a bit scary.

“Sir, Sir! Look at me, now that I’ve become equipment! How’s my performance? I must have options that help you, right?”

Seeing Alice so happy, Sir Dominic thought it might be okay to leave things as they were, but feeling it wasn’t right, he calmed Alice down.

“It seems there’s some kind of error. A bug or something like that. Even though you say you’re fine, we don’t know what problems might arise, so let’s go find out about this situation.”

“Yes!”

Alice responded energetically to Sir Dominic’s words.

…

“Sir Dominic, where are we going?”

Alice followed behind Sir Dominic with quick steps, carrying a bag larger than her body.

She had to take small steps because she was taller than Sir Dominic and had a longer stride.

A lance protruded from her bag on her back, sticking out like a thorn.

“First, I’m thinking of going to System Industries. If it’s a bug, the coders would know best.”

Based on Sir Dominic’s experience since arriving in Gachaland, fixing bugs was impossible without coders.

If this was a bug, they could solve it with their help.

…

Kunoichi Hime was walking near the Market Area, lost in thought.

“Ugh, my goodness. What on earth did I…”

More precisely, she was still embarrassed about the incident where she had acted like a fox in front of Sir Dominic and actually turned into a real fox.

The reason Hime hadn’t been seen much lately was because she was too embarrassed and had stayed inside Himetotzsaigo Castle without coming out.

The one who comforted her was, of course, her father and clan head, Unryu Musashi.

‘Don’t judge yourself for what you’ve done to others. Who knows? They might have liked seeing you that way.’

Her father’s words were always right.

Because of this, Hime wanted to be a bit more courageous, but—

Being still shy and firmly in her own world, Hime needed determination to visit Sir Dominic again.

Walking near the Market Area now was a warm-up to build that determination.

“That’s—”

‘That’s— sa— na—’

It was then.

When she heard Sir Dominic’s voice from far away, Hime froze in place.

The distance between Hime and Sir Dominic seemed to be several kilometers, but Hime, who had completed training to become a kunoichi, had hearing that could distinguish sounds from any distance.

“Oh, what should I do? I’m not ready yet—”

Hime fell into panic at that moment.

Her face burned and her hands trembled.

The emotions she felt when she first met Sir Dominic and the embarrassment of becoming a fox hit her all at once, making her dizzy.

“I, I need to run away—”

Panicking and trying to escape, Hime managed to remember her father’s advice.

‘To know someone’s heart, you must confront them. Just as you must strike a bell to know its sound.’

‘If you only run away, you’ll never hear the bell’s sound. Then someday, you’ll regret not having heard it.’

Hime, who had turned her back to flee, stopped in her tracks.

Then, adjusting her mask, she made a decision.

Yes. I can’t just keep running away.

‘Sometimes, facing the fight is the way forward.’

She remembered the words of one of her masters.

She turned her head to look in the direction of Sir Dominic’s voice.

And as she leaped from that spot, Hime disappeared.

It was a ninja-like movement.

…

“Sir! Sir Dominic! I can’t keep calling you Sir, so what should I call you?”

Alice asked Sir Dominic with an innocent smile.

Grinning like the happiest person in the world, Alice kept talking to Sir Dominic, curious about many things.

“Call me Master. That’s what I called my master when I was an apprentice.”

Sir Dominic kindly answered Alice’s question.

His one eye curved warmly.

“Sir Dominic! I have something to…?”

At that moment, a ninja appeared.

“Sir Dominic, who is this woman beside you…?”

Yes, it was Kunoichi Hime.