Though it was called a gun, it wasn’t the kind of automatic weapon I knew; rather, it was something that should be displayed in a museum. It was a bolt-action firearm without anything resembling a magazine.
Its appearance resembled something one might call an antique, but the finer details were different enough to withhold judgment for now. I asked the nearby staff member.
“…So this is their standard equipment? Really? Not just carried by a few but even the regular soldiers have these? Is that true?”
If that were the case, then what Leonne mentioned earlier about their trenches makes sense. And speaking of trenches, there’s another ominous weapon that comes to mind… If they have that too, I think I understand why, despite throwing so many people at them, they haven’t advanced much further.
It’s not something you can overpower with numbers alone. Well, if you really want to overwhelm them, it could probably be done, but only by expending soldiers as bullet fodder.
Still, trenches. They’re clearly set on holding their ground. Their supplies will likely run out first, but I wonder what they’re defending by allowing demons into their territory.
Perhaps Mari holds some key. But my knowledge is far too insufficient to make any judgments, so I stopped thinking about it. After all, I’m not like Akashi, who stands there looking dissatisfied.
“Yes. Unfortunately, that’s correct. Since they fire from beyond the range of our mages or archers, there’s no good way to intercept them, and their bullets easily pierce through half-hearted shields and armor, creating quite the predicament… However, with the heroes soon joining our front line, surely the situation will improve!”
The staff member lamented before brightening up when mentioning the arrival of the heroes, turning to look at me. Me… hmm. Well, I doubt my holy sword would be of much use in battle.
Like deflecting incoming bullets with a pen…? Given its durability, it might not be impossible if I could react in time.
“Hey, can I touch this for a moment?”
While I was lost in such absurd thoughts, Alterra suddenly stepped forward and asked if she could handle the gun for a bit. The staff member readily agreed, requesting only that she not break it, explaining that while they had several, this one was in the best condition.
“…Oh, you’re curious? I guess even I didn’t believe they existed until I saw one with my own eyes… Hmm. We call these ‘guns’ in our world, but what do they call them here…?”
As I explained what I knew to her, Alterra seemed very familiar with handling the firearm.
“This part folds like this, and this looks like a locking mechanism… a safety lock, maybe. Ah, this is how it locks… Let’s see, what’s this then… another locking mechanism… Ah, this must lock the barrel. Seeing the rifling… Hmm. Without knowing the firepower, it’s hard to gauge… Maybe I should take a direct hit.”
She handled the firearm delicately, like a piece of fine craftsmanship, yet accurately identified each function as if she’d touched something similar before.
Strange. How does she know about barrels and rifling? She’s speaking in a language mixed with the witches’ tongue, which somehow includes words like rifling, firepower, and barrel.
What exactly is she saying? Her skill with firearms is certainly not ordinary. The way she assumes a shooting stance suggests she’s fired many times before…
…No, wait. That’s not it. I’ll just assume Alterra has an instinctive talent. It couldn’t possibly be otherwise. Even so… this feeling won’t change. I might be bedridden for a few days after this.
“Do you have any bullets? There’s an experiment I want to try. I don’t want to use Yuna for this—it’s a bit scary.”
Yuna, startled to hear her name called out of nowhere, asked what she meant. Alterra replied as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“I want to test how sturdy this is. Using your arrows would be… well, since the material used to make the arrows is the same as the armor, it’s a bit intimidating. So, I thought I’d try a bullet instead.”
Then, she calmly suggested taking a bullet.
“Absolutely not. Don’t even think about it, Alterra. Even if I trust you, that’s still not okay. Yuna’s arrows might be stronger, but that’s only because Yuna is unusually strong.”
Bullets may be powerful, but they’re weaker than the siege weapon Yuna carries around. If Alterra’s mysterious black metal could block it, it might work. Still, I had a bad feeling about it.
“Oh, is it because I don’t have a helmet? Wait, like this… Should be fine, right? No need to worry. I might not have told you, but this armor is made from the same material as my scales. A bullet won’t leave a scratch. I’m just curious about the extent.”
Alterra confessed the origin of the metal and insisted on taking a bullet, claiming the armor was made from the same material as her scales.
That boosted my trust significantly. It seemed like she wore the armor specifically for this purpose, regardless of what she faced.
“…Alright. Could you please fetch a bullet? One shot will suffice. I apologize for the inconvenience, but I’d appreciate your help.”
Despite the odd situation, the staff member complied with my request. After disappearing for a moment, they returned, handing me a bullet with an expectant look.
“Hey, Alterra! Who’s going to shoot the gun?”
“Hmm? Obviously you. You seem to know what you’re doing. Besides, there’s no one else I trust.”
Am I supposed to shoot Alterra? Seriously? Instantly, my tattoo throbbed, and I saw a vision of Alterra dying with a hole in her armor.
—
Myung-ho kept shaking his hands. Watching him made me feel sorry, but there was nothing I could do. Handing it over to Yuna felt ominous, and Akashi would likely find a way to shoot through her eye sockets if given the chance.
Myung-ho was the only trustworthy option.
“Uh, Myung-ho, if it’s too difficult, you can just ask the staff to do it. You don’t have to do it yourself…”
“No… I can do it. Since you entrusted this to me, I can do it…”
His trembling hands made me uneasy about his accuracy, but Myung-ho must’ve been more anxious. I decided to stay silent until he steadied himself.
“Got it. Then, I’ll shoot. 3, 2…1!”
I was tense, but less so than Myung-ho. It’s just scales, after all. Unless it’s Yuna’s monstrous bow, this level shouldn’t…
Be possible. The moment Myung-ho pulled the trigger, I heard the sound of metal colliding, followed by a faint pain.
It stings a little. Like getting punched lightly with a weak fist? Checking the armor, there was no damage—not even a small scratch.
“Alterra! Are you alright?!”
Myung-ho nearly dropped the gun and rushed towards me, his face full of worry. Seeing his concern made me somewhat regret not letting someone else do it.
After dismantling the helmet covering my face and absorbing it back into the armor, I grinned and tapped the chest plate.
“It feels like a massage. At this rate, I could probably take everything head-on without issue.”
Seeing my expression, Myung-ho let out a slightly defeated chuckle before visibly relaxing, muttering that it seemed fine after all.
Upon witnessing my armor perfectly blocking the bullet, Yuna smiled awkwardly, seemingly pleased that her arrows were made from the same material.
“…Amazing! We brought a cleric just in case, but I never expected it to actually work… With this, reversing the tide of battle might not be entirely impossible!”
The staff member was delighted. I didn’t pay much attention to what they said since we were done here. After finishing our tour, we returned to the lodging we had reserved.
With the sky gradually turning red, it was neither a good time to wander far nor interesting to stay put, so Myung-ho and I decided to stroll around the nearby streets.
Akashi annoyingly wished us a good time, which we ignored as we walked through the marketplace.
Silence. Myung-ho seemed to have nothing to say either, quietly holding my hand as we walked. So… there was something to say, but not here.
Still, keeping my mouth shut felt stifling. So, I casually broached the subject in a language no one else could understand.
“That… about throwing the shorts and underwear. I really didn’t know. Ah, you get it, right? I didn’t mean to…”
“I know. You’ve lived in the mountains all your life, so you wouldn’t have known. It was just an accident that it landed on my face.”
Eh… yeah. He understands. But his expression looked oddly dejected, almost sullen.
He must be pretty upset. As a man… it could happen. The future Korea where Myung-ho lived seemed to have become more open.
…Or maybe it’s just that I’m abnormally closed-off, as my ex-girlfriend once said.
If we stayed quiet, it would likely fade away without issue. He wasn’t the type to hold grudges.
“But… about that…”
Still, I wanted to clear up any lingering awkwardness before it became an issue.
“Do you have something to say?”
“That… after we… uh… get married… it would be okay…”
…
