I sometimes wonder if I’m popular.
Of course, not a single noble has gathered around me for over a month since the entrance ceremony. It’s probably because of the rumors going around about me, my emotionless act, or the somewhat intimidating skill I displayed.
In fact, the skill I possess isn’t even traditional swordsmanship or magic that nobles would admire but rather firearms, so there’s really no reason for my classmates, who are nobles, to be drawn to me.
Even if “Sylvia Fanggriffon” looks like someone who could easily gain popularity just based on appearances, if the rest of my setup acts as a barrier, no one would bother approaching me.
Yet, strangely enough, more and more people keep gathering around me.
Alice? Well, I get that. She’s been with me since childhood, and I’ve tried my best to boost her confidence. My father, Emperor Arthur III, loved her in his own way, though his way of expressing it was different from a normal father’s, and my mother died a long time ago, so it makes sense that we’re close.
Claire is the same. I treated her kindly under those circumstances, and later, I helped her escape from that situation. Despite the short time we spent together, it could easily be a very vivid memory for a lifetime.
However, why the others are gathering here is still puzzling.
Mia Crowfield has been an enemy of mine from the past. Charlotte, if you think about it, had no reason to look kindly upon me, who had disrespected her father.
Leo was a bit scared of me, and Jake had no real point of connection with me.
So why is everyone clustering here?
Ah, could it be because of Leo?
In the original story, Leo was the protagonist, and in the game, wherever Leo went, almost all of the party members would tag along.
“W-what’s up?”
As I stared at Leo, he flinched and asked.
“It’s nothing.”
Well, I can’t very well say it’s all Leo’s fault directly. He probably didn’t intend for any of this to happen.
When I turned my gaze, I saw the expressionless face of Rena Meyer.
I had brought her out to check her skills.
But honestly, I wasn’t even particularly eager to check. Right now, she didn’t seem like a threat at all, and she seemed to have a positive regard for me. If she were really spying on me, she wouldn’t be sleeping with her face buried in a doll in the room.
My true intention was merely to see if Mia Crowfield could catch on to Rena Meyer’s true character so that she wouldn’t break her concept.
Strangely, rumors spread, and all the students I’ve been chatting with at school gathered in one spot.
Even Leo and Claire ended up joining us while they were on a quest. They just happened to run into us and decided to follow behind.
“…Originally, we wanted to carry out a quest.”
Of course, because Leo and Claire swept through all sorts of quests since morning, what remained were only minor quest leftovers. With that, it was nearly impossible to use it as a means of checking skills, so I didn’t take on a quest separately.
Even without quests, monsters occasionally pop up on the road.
“Checking your skills with minor quests wouldn’t be possible.”
At my words, Rena Meyer nodded confidently, her expression still blank.
I felt the gazes around me prickling. It seemed like it’s an issue that I had literally called someone out.
“For now, can I see the weapons you use?”
I know all about the protagonist’s party weapons, but I’m not familiar with Rena Meyer’s. In fact, I can already see it now.
The Runedarium is based on London’s climate, so it hardly ever reaches 30 degrees even in the summer. Even in May, there are quite a few chilly days. I’ve even left my coat draped over my shoulders, so it might feel almost like summer weather to Rena Meyer, who has lived in a much colder region.
Still, she wore her school uniform jacket properly, but the two pistols she carries on either side are quite prominent.
Like how I have a revolver tucked under my armpit, Rena had a pistol tucked under each armpit.
Just by looking at those distinctive handles, I could guess what kind of weapons they were.
“Understood.”
Rena immediately drew out two pistols in response to my words.
From their appearance, they looked similar to the automatic pistols used by Nazi Germany during World War II on Earth.
In fact, considering the setting, they were probably inspired by the actual Luger P08. They had briefly shown up as weapons used by the local militia soldiers in the story. None of the protagonist’s party used them, though.
And I couldn’t help but feel intensely jealous of Rena Meyer’s pistol.
Actually, the Empire does have a ceremonial automatic pistol. While its reliability falls somewhat short compared to a revolver, the rapid-fire capability and fast reloading made it seem like a usable weapon. But…
There’s a reason I still stick to a snub-nosed revolver.
The Empire’s ceremonial automatic pistol, the “Wexler Automatic Pistol,” is modeled after the real-life “Webley Automatic Pistol.”
It looked like a short piece of wood with a bunch of tissues shoved into the handle and a metal straw stuck into the barrel.
When I first saw it, I wondered how lazy one had to be in modeling to create a gun like that, but when I learned that it was modeled after an actual weapon, I was shocked.
Indeed, the only reason I don’t use that gun is purely that it’s ugly.
On the other hand, the gun Rena Meyer was holding looked very similar to the Luger pistol, which the U.S. military once wanted to grab as war trophies. Honestly, it’s beautiful. The only problem is that the bullet it uses is incompatible with the Empire’s standards.
“If you fight while wielding a gun in both hands, wouldn’t your accuracy decrease?”
When I asked that, Rena shook her head.
“I’ve been training to use them properly.”
If Rena were the character that was going to be the ‘leading role’, it wouldn’t be unusual to fight this uniquely. Just like a swordsman releases sword energy, there are those who can easily hit a target while fighting with a gun in each hand.
“…Understood.”
I had no choice but to nod.
*
“There’s a fairly decent hunting target among the requests we were trying to solve, so why not use that?”
While I was contemplating what kind of prey would be suitable as a test, Claire spoke up.
Since I hadn’t said anything, I wondered if she somehow guessed I was worried about it.
“…Is that so?”
Then, I decided not to let Claire’s words go by unnoticed.
“Yes, it’s this…”
At my answer, Claire took out a piece of paper from her coat.
The paper, seemingly torn from a notebook, had the name of the prey written on it.
“This is…”
“Yes, it’s a non-corporeal monster.”
A non-corporeal monster.
Most creatures roaming the roads are beasts. Of course, that means beasts by this world’s standards, which would fall under monsters by Earth’s standards. Like a flaming bear or a wolf that drags along the wind.
However, besides those beasts, there are also entities that could easily be called “monsters.” In this world, they are classified separately from beasts as they also appear to be monsters.
Non-corporeal monsters refer to things like slimes.
Some attack by whipping with long tentacle-like appendages, while others mimic the appearance of other beasts.
What Claire showed me was closer to the former. The difference being that its tentacles were not whips but roughly the size of a golem’s fists and instead of being half-melted into the ground, it was standing firmly on two legs.
Physical attacks hardly take effect. Only a magic-user character can properly deal damage by shooting magical attacks, or a swordsman character needs to use skills that unleash sword energy in order to deal proper damage; it can be a nuisance. If the characters are properly leveled, though, it shouldn’t be a big problem.
The reason I could easily picture it just from the description without a drawing is that it has appeared in the game before.
Um…
Still, I think two pistols would make it really tough to handle—
“I’ll give it a try.”
—before I could even conclude that in my thoughts, Rena responded immediately, having read along.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. I’m thoroughly prepared for cases like this.”
“…Is that so?”
After a moment of considering Rena’s words, I replied, “Understood.”
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