The holiday from the chameleon hunt was over, and the academy life had begun again. Yesterday, Randy and the others cut their hunt short at noon and quickly started work on a prototype in the afternoon, but…
"You don't look very well, do you?"
…As Cecilia pointed out, the usually carefree Randy was sitting with his arms crossed, a grim expression on his face, lost in thought.
"There's a bit of a problem…"
Liz, with a wry smile, revealed that while they were away from home, Rita had been attacked.
"Was she alright?"
"Yes. It seems Lord Harrison managed to fend off the attack. To avoid scaring Rita, though, I've kept the truth from her."
Liz's expression clouded a little, likely came from guilt—feeling responsible for involving Rita in trouble yet again.
"But Mr. Harrison is with her, right? If he's there, I think she's safe unless someone as stupid as Randy shows up," Luke said, furrowing his brow.
"Is that so?" Cecilia tilted her head in curiosity, while Randy scowled, grumbling, "Who are you calling stupid?"
"Harrison said something strange," Randy sighed heavily and explained that the person who attacked Rita was too weak.
Normally, one might just dismiss it as a weak assassin, but to launch an attack in broad daylight seemed overly careless by sending such a weakling.
However, they failed to realize that their own standards were far from ordinary.
"Could he has just been pretending to be a civilian?"
"No way," Randy shook his head at Luke's response.
"Apparently, he was knocked out instantly by a single training ball."
"You're kidding… What was he even trying to accomplish?"
Luke was stunned, and Randy replied, "Exactly."
But then again, the ball was moving at supersonic speed. The fact that anyone could survive being hit by it was remarkable.
Chris, who had taken such a hit and still alive, deserved credit for that much at least.
Still, from Randy and the others' perspective, a mere ball shouldn't have caused such an outcome. As a result…
"We can't figure out what the enemy's goal was. Harrison himself said, 'They just seemed like an idiot,' but… it's almost too stupid to make sense."
Randy sighed again, and Luke nodded seriously. The whole incident appeared entirely thoughtless, just a spur-of-the-moment act. And most oddly, Randy himself was calling someone else an idiot.
"For now, I've instructed Harrison to keep protecting Rita."
"That's the right call."
It might have been a chain of minor misunderstandings, but being overly cautious about defense wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
However, it was also true that Randy felt sensitive about the fact that Rita had been targeted.
While Harrison assured them that there was no problem and was entrusted with the matter, Randy couldn't deny that it still bothered him.
"Don't you think you're overthinking this?"
At Cecilia's exaggerated sigh, Randy frowned.
"Overthinking?"
"Yes, you're overthinking it."
Cecilia, gracefully tilting her teacup, continued while gazing at Randy.
"Speaking of Mr. Harrison, wasn't he someone who also helped my family?"
"Yeah, I think that's right," Randy nodded.
"In that case, isn't there no need to worry?" Cecilia tilted her teacup again.
"From my perspective, knocking out an assassin with just a ball is what's truly abnormal."
With a look of exasperation, Cecilia spoke, and Liz nodded in agreement.
"It's not that the opponent was too weak; it's that Lord Harrison is too strong. On that point alone, I can vouch for him, as he's helped my family before."
Cecilia's words reminded Randy of Harrison's strength. While Harrison often skipped training, as a vice-captain, he was strong enough to silence even the most formidable knights.
"Or is it that you don't trust Mr. Harrison, Lord Randolph?"
"It's not that…"
Randy's hesitant reply made Cecilia nod firmly. "Then there's no need to worry."
Indeed, as Cecilia said, it was hard to imagine Harrison struggling against such mediocre opponents.
"Trusting your subordinates is also the responsibility of a leader."
"…You're right."
Moved by Cecilia's confident words, Randy lightly slapped his cheeks, as if to snap himself out of it. Worrying endlessly would only make both Harrison and Rita more uneasy.
(A leader, huh… I don't know about that, but I trust Harrison.)
Feeling a bit embarrassed after reflecting on himself, Randy decided to change the subject.
"By the way, I've got something I want to show you guys."
"Is it finally done?"
"'I managed to do it… well…"
With a slightly awkward expression, Randy pulled out a box from his magic bag.
This was the first prototype—a simple camera that looked like a square box with a lens attached.
The lens was made by modifying glasses or glass, while the shutter was just a thin wooden panel that slid open and closed. It was a truly simple design.
"Is this a camera?" Cecilia asked.
"Not yet. This is just a prototype. The real thing's supposed to look cooler."
Randy's explanation didn't help much, as neither Cecilia nor Luke had ever seen a camera before. The simplicity of the box meant nothing to them.
"So, can it take pictures?" Luke asked.
"Technically, yeah. There are still a lot of problems, but it's easier to show you than explain."
Saying this, Randy picked up the prototype camera and pointed it at Cecilia.
With the shutter open, he removed the film case and adjusted the frame.
"That's it, I guess."
Once satisfied, Randy closed the shutter and took out a piece of paper. This paper was coated with a photo-sensitive material crafted from hunting down Varyons. This was to serve as film, but…
"What are you doing, Randy?" Luke asked.
"Shut up, this part's tricky."
As Randy grumbled, he carefully set the photo-sensitive paper into the camera without exposing it to light. Using a piece of black paper as a light-blocking sheet, he slowly pulled it out.
"Alright, it's ready."
"Took you long enough."
"I told you, it's still just a prototype!"
With a pout, Randy said, "Alright, here we go," and slid the shutter open and closed in front of Cecilia.
"With this, it's done."
"That's it?"
Cecilia, surprised, leaned forward slightly, clearly eager to see the result. With a childish smile, she said, "Please show me."
"…Don't be too shocked," Randy muttered as he opened the film case.
"This is—"
"Whoa, that's amazing!"
Their initial excitement didn't last long. The photo that had captured Cecilia slowly began to change colors, distorting into a variety of different hues.
"…What's this?"
"Yeah, it's a failure," Randy admitted, looking up at the sky.
Despite the high-quality lphoto-sensitive material, the photos couldn't hold a fixed image and instead reflected light, changing colors and failing to function as photographs.
"I want to find a way to capture a single moment and preserve it," Randy said, still gazing upward.
Beside him, Liz slid the wooden shutter back and forth experimentally.
For Randy, this prototype felt less like progress and more like an embarrassing failure. Despite all their effort, the result was a fleeting image that disappeared within seconds.
The silence that followed was suffocating.
Randy felt a wave of shame, remembering how confidently he'd declared, "I'll make a camera!" He now wished he could disappear.
"This is incredible!"
"Yes, even if it was just for a moment, it clearly captured me," Cecilia said, her excitement remained.
For the two who had never seen a camera before, even a fleeting image was astonishing.
They crowded around the camera, asking questions like, "How does it work?" and "Is this just ordinary paper?"
"Randy…" Liz, still holding the shutter, gave him a warm smile.
"…I told you so?"
She was smiling a little dissatisfied, but also with a hint of pride.
Randy remembered her saying something yesterday.
At the time, he had mistakenly thought that Liz was trying to cheer him up, but that was her true feelings.
Earlier, he'd thought he understood the importance of relying on others through their discussion about Harrison, but now he realized how much he'd been fooling himself.
"Thanks, Liz. I guess I was a little too full of myself," Randy said with a shrug.
Liz smiled again. "Not at all. You just didn't have enough confidence."
"There's still a long way to go, but turning an idea into something tangible is an incredible achievement. We're running at the forefront of this world right now. Of course, we are bound to make mistakes."
Liz's gentle encouragement brought a nod from Randy.
He realized he'd been rushing too much, forgetting the basic principle that creating something entirely new was bound to come with setbacks.
He let out a dry laugh. "I really was full of myself."
Picking up the camera prototype, Randy continued, "Thinking I could do everything myself… that's arrogance. I've got capable people around me; I should rely on them."
Whether it was trusting Harrison, aaking help for the camera's development, or anything else—it was natural to ask for assistance. He had simply forgotten this simple thing.
Perhaps he'd started to misunderstand his role, thinking it was his sole responsibility to protect everyone.
But he forgot that he was fighting alongside everyone.
The same applied to the camera project.
It had always been a collective effort, with Liz, Ellie, Cecilia, The Marquis, Cedric… many people had been involved and everyone has been excited about it.
No matter how far you go, you are still you. Only when you realize that there are many things you cannot do and learn your own shortcoming along the way, then you can make the most of your strengths.
With a renewed sense of purpose, Randy adjusted the shutter and film case, capturing Liz's smiling face through the lens.
(I'll picture this smile. Then…I'll show it off to Cedric.)
It was a mischievous thought, but Randy's confidence had returned, and Liz smiled back warmly, saying, "Let's do our best."
"You two…"
"Sure like to showing off, huh?"
It was too late when Randy and Liz realized Cecilia and Luke were watching with teasing expressions.
Cecilia sipped her tea with a smile and tilted the cup to the two of them, who were blushing.
"Well, I'm interested, too. I don't mind lending my support," Cecilia said.
"Milady has decided, so I'll help as well," Luke added.
"You mean, 'Please let me help,' right?" Randy quipped, his tone light and cheerful.
With the atmosphere brightening, they began discussing their next steps.
"How about consulting a magical beast expert?" Liz suggested.
"That'd be Corey," Randy agreed.
Just as they finalized their plan, the bell signaling the end of lunch break rang.
Cecilia and Luke headed to their afternoon classes, while Randy and the others passed the time until then, chatting as they walked together.
"By the way, since the colors change anyway, doesn't that mean the light-blocking sheet is unnecessary?" Liz asked.
"…You're right," Randy admitted.
After all the effort to load the film carefully, it turned out to be unnecessary.
He wished someone had pointed that out sooner, but he realized he'd been too stubborn to hear it. Silently, he resolved to listen more to everyone's advice from now on.
—-
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