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Chapter 17: Braver
Early morning, the day after Tsuna and the others were ambushed.
"She's moving..."
Finn stood by the front entrance of Twilight Manor. Leaving the massive double doors open just a crack, he quietly watched Ais slip out of the gates and head into the city.
"Alright then..."
Closing the door with absolute silence, Finn completely erased his presence and began trailing Ais, ensuring his footsteps made no sound.
Danger!!
A few minutes into the tail, a sharp, piercing throb suddenly spiked through the thumb of his right hand. The moment he felt the ache, Finn vanished from the street.
Must have been my imagination...
Ais had suddenly stopped and glanced over her shoulder. Seeing no one there and sensing no presence, she dismissed the feeling.
I guess I'm just being paranoid...
She resumed her pace. Because she absolutely could not let the rest of her Familia find out about her secret training sessions, she was already highly vigilant. But after the sudden, violent ambush the previous evening, her situational awareness was dialed up to the absolute maximum.
"Phew..."
Finn was currently crouched on the roof of a nearby residential building, watching Ais walk away with a quiet sigh of relief.
"Good grief... if it weren't for this, I would have been caught instantly..."
He stared down at his right thumb, deeply grateful for his unique trait.
Whenever imminent danger or a threat approached him, his thumb would violently throb, acting as an absolute early-warning system. Thanks to that innate precognition, he had sensed Ais was about to turn around and instantly leaped onto the rooftops, perfectly evading her detection.
Tailing Ais early in the morning... this is going to be incredibly difficult...
During the day or evening, the streets were packed, making it easy to blend into the crowds and tail a target. But in the early dawn, the streets were entirely deserted. There was no cover. Even for someone of Finn's caliber, trailing a Level 6 adventurer under these conditions required absolute, flawless concentration.
Dropping down from the roof, Finn slipped into a narrow alleyway between two buildings. Peeking out from the edge of the shadows, he carefully tracked her movements. Thankfully, Ais hadn't noticed him, and he successfully resumed his pursuit.
The city wall...?
Finn watched as Ais began climbing the long stone staircase leading up to the top of the massive ramparts.
I suppose no one ever comes up here... It's the perfect place to hide from prying eyes...
Watching her ascend, Finn confirmed his suspicions: Ais was definitively doing something she needed to keep hidden.
Wait, is that...
Shortly after Ais reached the top, Finn spotted two other figures approaching the stairs: Bell and Tsuna.
That white-haired boy... The one from back then...!?
Finn had apparently seen Bell before. His eyes widened in recognition as he watched the rookie adventurer approach the wall.
Who is the other one? A member of his Familia?
Finn analyzed Tsuna, but having no prior knowledge of the boy, he couldn't identify him. The two boys proceeded to climb the stairs, following the exact same path Ais had taken.
So she's been secretly meeting with them... But for what purpose...?
He now knew exactly why Ais was sneaking out to the wall every morning, but the actual objective of the meeting remained a mystery.
Well, since I'm here, I suppose I'll just go up and ask her directly.
Having successfully tracked her to her destination, all that was left was to confront her. Finn stepped out of the alley and made his way toward the stairs.
.....
On top of the city wall.
"Good morning, Ais-san."
"Good morning."
"Morning, Tsuna. Morning, Bell."
Since this was the fifth day of their training routine, the three of them had grown quite comfortable with each other, exchanging casual greetings without any tension.
"Are you feeling alright? Does your body hurt anywhere?" Ais asked, turning to Tsuna.
"I'm fine. Everything feels perfectly normal."
I would have expected him to be seriously injured after pulling a stunt like that...
Ais vividly remembered Tsuna firing a point-blank explosion with total disregard for his own safety. She had fully expected him to be suffering from severe burns or internal damage, but he was completely unharmed. She was quietly astonished by his sheer durability.
"...!?"
While marveling at Tsuna's toughness, Ais's eyes suddenly widened in horror, staring blankly at the space behind them. Seeing her expression drop, Tsuna and Bell frantically spun around.
Standing right behind them, with a pleasant, calm smile, was Finn.
"Hello, Ais."
"Finn...!?"
Ais froze completely solid, paralyzed by the shock of her Captain suddenly appearing at her secret hideout.
"Finn...? Wait, is he the...?" Tsuna asked, looking at Bell.
"I-Is he famous...?"
"He's the Captain of the Loki Familia... the adventurer known as Braver..."
"Eh!?"
Realizing that this unassuming, smiling man was the supreme commander of Ais's faction—and the very person she was desperately trying to hide this from—Tsuna instantly understood how catastrophic the situation was.
"Why are you here...!?" Ais stammered.
"It's quite simple, really. I heard you've been acting strangely lately, so I decided to come see for myself."
I knew it! That weird feeling I got earlier wasn't my imagination...!?
Ais finally realized that the fleeting sensation of being watched had been Finn flawlessly tailing her.
"So? Care to explain what you're doing up here?"
"T-That's..."
"I won't accept any excuses. Depending on your answer, I may have to determine a formal punishment. So please, tell me the truth."
"Right..."
Realizing that lying to him was impossible, Ais gave up and decided to come clean.
"Do you remember when we ran into that herd of Minotaurs on our way back from the expedition?"
"Of course."
"The Minotaurs got scared of us and fled from their normal spawn floors. Because of that, this boy was almost killed by one on the Upper Floors... I managed to save him, but at the after-party that night, Bete got drunk and started mocking him, treating the whole thing like a joke..."
"I see..."
"..."
W-What are they talking about...?
Hearing the context behind Ais's guilt, Finn instantly understood the entire situation, his expression softening into one of deep apology. Bell, clearly recalling the traumatic humiliation, looked down at the floor, biting his lip in silence. Tsuna, entirely out of the loop, simply looked back and forth between them in confusion.
"So, as an apology, I offered to train him until we leave for the next expedition..."
"I understand the situation perfectly."
Having heard the full story, Finn turned his attention to Bell.
"I am incredibly sorry that our Familia caused you so much grief. On behalf of the Loki Familia, I offer my deepest apologies."
"P-Please raise your head, Finn-san!!"
Finn bowed deeply toward Bell, sincerely apologizing for his subordinate's actions. Seeing the absolute pinnacle of adventurers bow to a complete rookie caused Bell to panic.
"The Dungeon is full of unpredictable anomalies," Finn said, keeping his head lowered. "But to claim we were entirely blameless would be a lie. And the fact remains that my subordinate deeply insulted you. The responsibility for a subordinate's poor conduct falls entirely upon the Captain who failed to properly educate him. Apologizing is the very least I can do."
"Finn-san..."
Despite his legendary status and the grand title of Braver, Finn didn't show an ounce of arrogance. He possessed the humility to recognize his Familia's faults and bow his head to a weaker adventurer. Bell was deeply moved by his incredible character.
"Are you a member of his Familia as well?" Finn asked, turning to Tsuna.
"Y-Yeah..."
"Then I must apologize to you as well, for the trouble we caused your ally."
"Ah, no... I only arrived in Orario recently, so I don't really know what's going on..."
"Is that so? Forgive me, I shouldn't have made assumptions."
Finn formally apologized to Tsuna as well, assuming he had been affected by the incident. But upon learning Tsuna had no idea what they were talking about, he quickly retracted the apology with a polite smile.
"Under normal circumstances, deep fraternization between different Familias is strictly forbidden," Finn stated, his tone shifting back to that of a commander. "However, causing harm to another and refusing to make amends is a failing as a human being, which supersedes any Guild rule. Therefore, I will overlook this matter. You will face no punishment."
"Finn... thank you," Ais replied, bowing her head in profound gratitude for his leniency.
With the crisis averted, Ais and Bell prepared to begin their training session. Since he was already there, Finn decided to stick around and watch.
However—
"Umm... what exactly is this...?"
A few minutes into the session, Finn watched in absolute bewilderment as Ais casually delivered a brutal strike that instantly knocked Bell completely unconscious. Seeing Bell violently concussed without an ounce of hesitation, Finn's polite smile twitched.
"I'm really bad at holding back..." Ais muttered, resting the unconscious Bell on her lap. "So it always turns into a cycle of fighting, knocking him out, waking him up, and fighting again..."
"Is this supposed to be an apology...?"
Finn couldn't help but feel a massive wave of guilt. Instead of making amends for the emotional trauma Bete had caused, it looked like Ais was simply subjecting the poor boy to severe physical trauma.
Eventually, as he always did, Bell reached his absolute physical limit and collapsed onto the stone in a star-shape, entirely out of commission.
"I suppose given the massive gap in your Levels, it can't be helped..." Finn sighed. "But I must commend him. To endure being knocked out repeatedly and still refuse to give up... he has incredible mental fortitude."
"Yeah... but because the training is so harsh, Bell is growing at an incredible rate..."
"Is he now?"
Finn was relieved to hear that. If Bell wasn't actually getting stronger, then Ais was just repeatedly assaulting a rookie, completely defeating the purpose of an apology.
"But in terms of growth speed, Tsuna is even faster than Bell."
"Eh!?"
"Bell is growing incredibly fast through repetition. But Tsuna gets noticeably stronger with every single clash. His reaction speed now compared to the first time we fought is entirely different."
"Ais, were you training him as well?"
"Yeah. He promised to keep my training with Bell a secret, so I offered to train him as well. But it ended up being the exact opposite."
"The opposite?"
"Yeah. I haven't been able to win against Tsuna once. I haven't even landed a single attack. I even used my magic, but I still lost. If anything, he's the one training me."
"He's training you!? You!?"
"Yeah. After Bell finishes his session, Tsuna spars with me."
Don't tell me... this boy is the reason Ais has been coming home completely exhausted every day!?
Learning that Ais had never beaten Tsuna, and that he was the sole cause of her bizarre behavior, Finn stared at the spiky-haired boy in sheer disbelief.
"Hold on a moment..." Finn said, turning to Tsuna. "You said you arrived in Orario recently, correct?"
"Yeah..."
"Were you part of a different Familia before joining your current one?"
"No, this is my first one..."
Neither this boy nor Ais appear to be lying... But is such a thing even possible!? A boy who just received Falna a few days ago can defeat Ais Wallenstein!?
Normally, a rookie who had just received the grace of the Gods defeating a First-Tier Level 6 adventurer was categorically impossible. It defied all logic and reason. But because both of them spoke with absolute sincerity, Finn was profoundly shaken.
No!! That doesn't matter right now!! If what Ais is saying is true...!?
Despite the multitude of questions swirling in his mind, Finn realized something far more important. A subtle, calculating smile touched his lips.
"Excuse me... Tsuna, was it?"
"Yeah. My real name is Sawada Tsunayoshi, but everyone calls me Tsuna."
"I see. Sawada Tsunayoshi. If you've been fighting Ais every day, would you mind showing me? I'd very much like to see your true strength."
"Sure, I don't mind..."
"Thank you."
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