A few days later,
Iron Mentor and Trick*Step arrived at the outskirts of a dock.
Both were donning the signature Apostles' uniform — large, white coats and black, clownish masks, lacking any holes whatsoever.
Over the past few months, Shield had further improved the high-tech masks.
Now, in addition to serving as a communication channel between all the Apostles and providing direct visual feedback to Shield and Mushroom-nimi, who were operating at the headquarters, the masks also functioned as proper masks.
Of course, because of the sheer number of mechanical and electronic parts involved, the weight of the masks had increased, needing tight straps to keep them in place.
It made them look almost like proper helmets, but open from the back.
The discomfort was obvious.
However, that discomfort paled in comparison to the magnitude of the masks' advantages.
[Yeah, I can see you two clearly on the map,] Shield's voice rang in their ears. [GPS is working fine. I am noticing a little spike in Trick*Step's heart rate, though…]
Kazuho's mouth twitched under the mask, her dyed black hair lifting with the humid gusts of wind.
Iwao put a hand on the girl's shoulder.
"Input acknowledged, Shield," he reported back. "Activating Infrared Vision…"
Under the mask, Iwao could see everything outside as if he wasn't even wearing one. Suddenly, with the voice command, the dark surroundings changed, gaining color. Then, he slowly looked around, scanning for any hidden threat.
"Nothing…" Iwao said, fully circling on his feet. "Deactivating…"
Suddenly, he paused.
Next to him, Kazuho gasped.
Under their masks, they could see a man directly coming towards them.
No sound.
No hint of arrival.
It was like the man had appeared out of thin air.
Alarmed, Iwao instantly deactivated his Infrared HUD display, Kazuho thrusting her hand into her pocket next to him.
[Wait!] Shield shouted in their ears. [It's… him.]
Simultaneously, the dark figure began taking shape in their regular vision.
It was a tall man, wearing a white shirt over black trousers.
He also had a straw hat over his head, a few locks of his black hair dangling in front of his golden shades.
Iwao's gaze went to the revolver the man carried at his hip before landing on the black and white gloves the man wore, radiating thick Spirituality of their own.
Together, both Iron Mentor and Trick*Step thought of the same words.
Faux Sealed Artifacts?!
[… Crazy Adventurer Gehrman Sparrow…] Shield hissed, focusing on the man's cold expression from afar.
After hearing the strange claim from Makoto Tsukauchi days ago — about a Bounty Hunter who had killed a Villain at a coastal pub before openly revealing his faith in Mr. Fool — the Apostles had naturally confronted Dr. Blessed on it.
To their utter shock, instead of refuting the absurd claim, the leader had gone silent.
Then, as if that shock hadn't been large enough already, he had broken the silence, revealing the true identity of the Crazy Adventurer Gehrman Sparrow as an Apostle of Mr. Fool!
In fact, Dr. Blessed had continued to tell them that he had only recruited the three of them — Iron Mentor, Trick*Step, and Shield — while, excluding Raven, there were more Apostles chosen directly by Mr. Fool.
Of course, Dr. Blessed was still the one true leader of the organization.
However, these Apostles who rarely attended the regular meetings enjoyed… a touch more independence, only reporting the most extreme cases directly to the leader.
The admission hadn't been enough, though.
Not for Kazuho and Melissa, who were strongly against outright killing people.
Iwao, to some extent, could make his peace with dispatching some scum of society. But even he knew that he would need to exhaust all other choices before steeling his heart to take the extreme step.
Dr. Blessed hadn't tried to argue in Gehrman's favor, though.
All he had said was that, with time, they would understand the need for someone like the Crazy Adventurer.
Fortunately, or unfortunately, as neither Dr. Blessed nor Raven would be available for the high-threat-level heist they had planned, the leader had arranged for them to attempt the mission under the lead of Gehrman Sparrow.
In a way, this was Iron Mentor, Trick*Step, and Shield's first mission as Apostles without Dr. Blessed's lead. Needless to say, none of them liked the fact that they would need to work under a killer for a mission as important as this.
Meanwhile, as the trio was struggling against their morals, Gehrman Sparrow came to a halt in front of the two Apostles.
"I can attempt the mission by myself," the Crazy Adventurer said. "If you two do not want to work with me, please make up your minds about it right now. Unresolved hearts only result in greater tragedies."
Iron Mentor's knuckles cracked as he made fists, Kazuho slightly tilting her head toward the starry sky.
It would be easy, they realized — refusing to work with Gehrman.
Forget about the sheer loss of Credits — Credits that they needed to advance to the next Sequence — but, given the weight of the matter, they would never be able to rest if they didn't see the mission through by themselves.
"Will you…" Kazuho suddenly asked. "… kill?"
Gehrman Sparrow looked up, his dark eyes falling on her black mask, and nodded.
"If it's necessary and can't be avoided," he admitted. "There will be many players on the field today, Trick*Step. I will do all I can to make sure that the shackles of ideals… yours or mine… don't result in the world becoming a worse place. All I do is in the service of the great Mr. Fool. He doesn't advocate for taking lives. But… He also doesn't advocate for unnecessary passiveness. Do you understand?"
Gehrman's head turned, his gaze matching Iron Mentor's, asking the same question.
Iwao and Kazuho shared a glance before facing Gehrman, and… nodded.
"Don't worry," the Crazy Adventurer said, smiling. "I rarely kill when there's no money involved…"
And this time, when Iwao and Kazuho looked at each other, they knew exactly what kind of expressions they had under their masks.
Even Melissa's jaw dropped, her pupils reflecting Gehrman's creepy smile.
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