Volume 3 Chapter 22 Relying On Someone Is Also Strength
The holiday for chameleon hunting is over, and the school feels a bit chaotic because of Chris's suspension. Yesterday, Randy and the others stopped hunting early and started working on their prototype in the afternoon, but...
"You're not looking too cheerful, are you?"
As Cecilia pointed out, Randy, who is usually carefree, is frowning and deep in thought with his arms crossed.
"Well, there's a bit of a problem..."
Liz, with a wry smile, revealed that while she was away, Rita was attacked.
"Is she okay?"
"Yeah. It seems Mr. Harrison managed to fend them off... but to keep Rita from getting scared, I haven't told her the whole truth."
Liz's expression darkens a bit, probably feeling guilty for getting Rita involved because of her.
"But Mr. Harrison is with her, right? As long as he's around, I think it's safe unless some idiot like Randy shows up."
Luke furrows his brow, and Cecilia tilts her head, asking, "Is that so?" while Randy grimaces, saying, "Who are you calling an idiot?"
"Harrison said something strange."
Randy sighed heavily and explained that the person who attacked Rita was 'too weak.' Normally, you could just say the attacker was weak, but to attack in broad daylight like that was pretty pathetic. They seem to forget that their idea of normal isn't really normal.
"Are you saying they were just pretending to be regular people?"
Luke asked seriously, and Randy shook his head, saying, "No way."
"Apparently, they got knocked out by a training ball in one hit."
"Seriously? What were they even doing?"
Luke was shocked, and Randy couldn't hide his surprise either. That ball was fast enough to be dangerous. It's surprising that Chris is still alive after getting hit by it.
But for Randy and the others, they want to say that it should have been no big deal... and as a result...
"I can't see the enemy's goal. Harrison himself said they just seemed like idiots... but being that stupid is a bit much."
Randy sighed again, and Luke nodded seriously, agreeing. Honestly, it seems like no one was thinking straight, and it was just a random incident. Plus, it's strange that Randy is calling them idiots.
"For now, I've told Harrison to protect Rita."
"That's a good idea."
It's a bit of a misunderstanding, but being overly cautious about defense isn't a bad thing. However, it's true that Randy is a bit sensitive about the fact that someone targeted Rita.
Harrison says there's no problem, so Randy is leaving it to him, but it would be a lie to say he isn't worried.
"Are you worrying too much?"
Cecilia sighed deeply, and Randy raised an eyebrow, asking, "Worrying too much?"
"Yes. You're worrying too much."
Cecilia elegantly tilted her teacup while looking at Randy.
"Speaking of Mr. Harrison, he has helped my family too, right?"
"Yeah, that's true."
Randy nodded, and Cecilia asked again while tilting her teacup, "Then, shouldn't you feel safe?"
"If you ask me, it's strange to knock out an attacker with just a ball."
Cecilia looked exasperated, and Liz nodded in agreement.
"It's not that the enemy is too weak; it's that Mr. Harrison is too strong. I can say that with confidence since he has helped my family."
Randy remembered Harrison's strength from Cecilia's words. Even though he often skips training, he still has the skills to silence those strong knights as the vice-captain.
"Or do you not trust Sir Randolph to handle Sir Harrison?"
"That's not it..."
Randy's response was hesitant, and Cecilia nodded vigorously, saying, "Then there's no need to worry." Indeed, as Cecilia said, it's hard to believe that Harrison would fall behind against those kinds of people.
"Trusting your subordinates is also part of a leader's role."
"...That's true."
Randy lightly slapped his cheeks to shake off his worries, looking at the confident Cecilia. If he kept worrying, it would only make Harrison and Rita anxious too.
(As for being a leader... I guess Harrison will be fine.)
Feeling a bit embarrassed about himself, Randy decided to change the subject.
"Hey, I have something I want you guys to see."
"Did you finally finish it?"
"Well, sort of..."
Randy took out a box from his magic bag, looking a bit unsure.
This was the first prototype, but it just looked like a square box with a lens attached, a really simple camera.
The lens was made from glasses and glass, but the shutter was just a thin wooden board that slid, making it super basic.
"This is the camera?"
"No, not really. It's still just a prototype. It should look cooler."
But for Cecilia and Luke, who had never seen a camera before, the box didn't seem ugly at all.
"So? It can take pictures, right?"
"Kind of. There are a lot of problems, but it's better to just show you."
Saying that, Randy picked up the prototype camera and pointed it at Cecilia. He took off the shutter and the film case to set the angle.
"Is this good?"
Satisfied, Randy closed the shutter and pulled out a piece of paper. This was the special paper coated with light-sensitive material he made while hunting Valion. It was supposed to be the film...
"Hey, Randy. What are you doing?"
"Shut up. It's pretty hard to set this up."
As Randy pouted, he was right; setting it up without exposing the light-sensitive material took some skill. He placed it with a black paper to block the light and slowly pulled the black paper away.
"Okay, all set."
"That took a while."
"I told you, it's still just a prototype."
With a pout, Randy said, "Alright, here we go..." and pressed the shutter, sliding it back.
"And done."
"Already?"
Cecilia looked surprised and leaned forward, showing a childlike smile as she said, "Please show me!"
"...Don't be shocked, okay?"
As Randy opened the film case...
"This is──."
"Wow, that's amazing!"
But just for a moment, as the photo of Cecilia slowly changed colors, it started to look all wavy and colorful.
"...What is this?"
"Oh, it's a failure."
Randy looked up at the sky. The light-sensitive material was great, but it reflected light and didn't work as a photo.
"I want to somehow save a moment without it disappearing."
While Randy was still looking up, Liz slid the wooden board that acted as the shutter a few times.
Honestly, Randy didn't even want to call this a prototype; it felt like a total failure. After going through all that trouble, the result was a photo that disappeared in just a few seconds.
The silence felt heavy. He had boasted about making a camera, and now this was the result. He really wished he could hide in a hole right now.
"You know, this is really cool!"
"Yeah. It was just for a moment, but it really captured me."
For Cecilia and Luke, who had never seen a camera, even that brief moment was amazing. They were still curious, asking things like, "How does it work?" and "Is this just regular paper?"
"Randy..."
Liz, who had been sliding the shutter, smiled.
"...I told you so."
With a slightly dissatisfied but proud smile, Liz reminded Randy of what she had said yesterday, similar to what Cecilia and the others had said. Remembering that made Randy laugh at himself, feeling a bit embarrassed.
Back then, he thought Liz was just trying to cheer him up, but she was being sincere.
Even though he thought he understood Harrison's situation earlier, he realized he was still a bit full of himself, to the point where he couldn't even hear Liz's words.
"Thanks, Liz. I guess I was a bit too proud."
Randy shrugged, and Liz smiled again, saying, "No, you're just too unsure of yourself."
"We still have a long way to go, but turning our ideas into reality is really amazing. We're at the front of this world right now. Of course, we're going to mess up sometimes."
Randy nodded at Liz's smile. Maybe he had been rushing things. The whole plan was still a bit unclear. It was normal to fail while trying to create something new.
He had even forgotten that...
"Yeah, I guess I was being a bit full of myself."
Randy picked up the camera prototype with a wry smile.
"Thinking you can do everything by yourself is just being cocky. We have people we can rely on. It's okay to ask for help."
Whether it was relying on Harrison or getting everyone to help with the camera, it was all just normal. If you can't do something, you should ask for help. He seemed to have forgotten such a simple thing.
Maybe he had gotten a bit carried away with all the things he could do. He might have thought it was his job to protect everyone from attackers.
While it was still about defeating them, he wasn't the only one fighting.
Of course, that applied to making the camera too. Until now, he had been working together with Liz and Ellie... and Cecilia, Marquis, Cedric, and many others had joined in to help.
No matter what, he could only be himself. Once he realized he couldn't do everything and that he had weaknesses, he could finally use his strengths.
It was both really simple and really hard...
But still, Randy smiled, thinking he had to be this way, as he opened the shutter and film case to capture Liz's smile in the lens.
(I'll take a picture of this smile. And then... show off to Sir Cedric.)
It was still a bit of a selfish thought, but with Randy feeling more relaxed, Liz smiled back, saying, "I'll do my best."
"You two are really showing off..."
By the time they noticed Cecilia and the others giving them side-eye, it was too late. As the two blushed, Cecilia smiled and tilted her teacup.
"Well, I'm interested too, so I don't mind helping."
"Since you said that, I'll help too."
"Hey, it's 'please let me help,' not just 'I'll help'."
Randy teased, but his face was bright and happy.
"How about we talk to a beast expert first?"
"That would be Cori."
Just as they decided on a plan, the bell rang to signal the end of lunch.
Cecilia and the others headed to their afternoon classes.
Randy and his friends decided to kill some time until then.
As the 4 of them walked together, the conversation never stopped.
"By the way, since the color changes anyway, do we even need the light-blocking sheet?"
"...That's true."
After working so hard to put the film in... it would have been nice if someone had said that sooner. He thought that, but he realized he had been a bit stubborn until yesterday, so he decided to quietly listen to everyone's advice.
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