We didn’t have the ability to fix that broken thing, and since it was getting late, we all headed back to our rooms for the night.
The next day was when I informed Jennifer about the training ground being wrecked.
“Well, it was built with the assumption that it would be shot at with guns, so it’s only natural it would break if hit that hard.”
Jennifer nodded her head upon hearing this and replied, “A bullet just pierces through; the bolt won’t bend backward. However, using a sword to hit it with force can certainly break parts, too.”
As she examined the ruined machinery, Jennifer stood up. “We have spare parts, so if we let the academy know, we can get it fixed. There’s no need to worry too much.”
To be honest, I wasn’t worried at all. Even if it cost a fortune to fix, I could easily afford it if I really wanted to.
“By the way…”
Jennifer turned to look at the three of us.
I had told Sophia Bianchi last night that she didn’t need to come, but seeing her here, it seems she genuinely felt sorry about it.
Unless she was just caught up in a situation that made her look genuinely apologetic.
“It’s my first time seeing a knight train here. There’s probably not much a knight can do at a training ground like this.”
“Is that so…?”
At Sophia Bianchi’s words, Jennifer shrugged.
“In combat with firearms, reaction speed is everything. It’s crucial to take down targets that suddenly pop up in one go. But for knights, isn’t the skill of clashing swords more important? Sure, reaction speed training is necessary, but ultimately, the most important thing is training against the actual person wielding the sword.”
“That’s true, but…”
“Hmm.”
Seeing Sophia Bianchi hesitate, Jennifer tilted her head.
“If proper training is needed, we might as well have the two of you help out.”
“….”
Somehow, I expected her to say something like that.
Since that incident on the battlefield, Jennifer had been keeping a very close eye on me. It’s only natural. Anyone in the world could figure that if there was someone who could change the tide of battle alone, it would attract attention.
Even Rena coming from the autonomous state was probably curious about my movements. Although Rena didn’t seem to have a clue.
If we were in modern times, no matter how strong someone was, even someone who had achieved numerous victories on the battlefield would not be considered a ‘hidden card.’ They would only gather such individuals to form a unit that would slightly increase the possibilities of winning in a tough battle where an ordinary soldier wouldn’t stand a chance.
But this world, mirroring the traits of Japanese subculture, is different. Just the rumor of a war hero being deployed causes the enemy to tremble in fear. That being said, even these beings could still die from a bullet in this world.
“Excuse me?”
Sophia Bianchi widened her eyes in surprise.
“Both of you are the best at handling firearms outside of the instructors here.”
Jennifer provided a very simple reason to Sophia.
“Moreover, this ‘Crown Princess’ here has battle experience from the battlefield. She singlehandedly saved the Empire’s forces from falling into a meaningless attrition war.”
“Oh, is that really true?”
Sophia Bianchi glanced at me as she asked.
“Of course it is.”
Rena chimed in.
“When we dealt with that warlord group, it was Sylvia who played the biggest role. Even the autonomous state soldiers with us testified about it.”
“And I was there, too. Sylvia definitely went to the battlefield alone. Not just I, but nearly all the soldiers on the front line looked at Sylvia as if she were crazy—there were plenty of witnesses.”
It was hard not to look at her like a madwoman.
Because there are very few heroes who can actually change the course of battle; in fact, it’s rare to deploy someone who is truly heroic. You can’t just waste a being that is practically a tactical weapon.
“If you think that story is Empire propaganda, how about we have a duel?”
“Ah, that’s not…”
Sophia Bianchi responded flustered.
“Here?”
“There’s no need to consider the environment while dueling.”
I figured only someone like Jennifer would not bother with the surroundings when it came to dueling.
“No, but…”
Sophia Bianchi’s gaze turned towards the gun I was holding.
“Using firearms, cover must be very important…”
“Unless you’re fighting numerous people, it wouldn’t be a big problem facing just one person. Besides, the opponents here are Sylvia and Rena, just the two of them. So you wouldn’t need cover advantages, right?”
I didn’t even have to answer, but Rena was already in combat-ready stance.
“… Can we duel even with a semi-automatic pistol?”
“Ah, about that…”
Jennifer pulled out a pistol from the holster at her waist.
It looked just like the semi-automatic pistol I used in the past, but the muzzle was blocked. Rather than simply blocked, it had a rather unique shape, like a compensator with holes drilled on the side.
“That’s your gun, isn’t it? I requested them to make a training gun for me. If we load it with blank rounds, it will mimic the feel of a real gun.”
As Jennifer handed over the pistol to me, I accepted it somewhat reluctantly.
“This way, I won’t confuse the number of bullets you shot while watching your shooting.”
For a regular person, it would be impossible to count and watch like that.
Well, I was perceptive enough not to mention that.
I received the training pistol from Jennifer, and Rena didn’t need to bother herself with that. Since the gun she was using wasn’t one where the slide covered the barrel, just fitting the blank round adapter that Jennifer probably asked Browning to make would suffice… It might be a bit inconvenient for aiming, but she trained with two guns, to begin with.
After loading the magazine with blank rounds and facing each other, Jennifer looked at us and Sophia Bianchi before saying,
“Alright, then…”
She held a very excited look before pausing for a moment.
She really loves this kind of stuff.
“Let’s begin!”
*
Thinking about it, there were a few things I had yet to see since I arrived in this world.
For example, swinging a sword while shouting out the names of techniques.
Each character had unique skills, and those skills all had names associated with them.
Characters would shout the names of their skills every time they used them.
Of course, some characters would simply say a short dialogue instead of naming their techniques, and if that were the case, they would at least shout that dialogue instead of a technique name.
In hindsight, it was natural not to shout out technique names during combat. After all, it was almost as if I were revealing to the enemy how I intended to fight, and most importantly, there was no time to pose and shout technique names in a real fight instead of turn-based combat. Oh, of course, I think it’s an exception for mages, as they do need to recite incantations.
So I hadn’t thought it was odd knowing this fact all this time.
But—
“I beseech you, Goddess, grant me light…!”
I had no idea there would be someone genuinely saying such lines.
… Oh right, that makes sense.
She’s from the Papal State.
It might not be too strange for her to recite prayers while in combat.
The real issue is how consumed I felt hearing such exclamations.
The company was famous for utilizing many renowned voice actors, and of course, the voice actor portraying Sophia Bianchi had taken major roles in significant works as well.
If it were a game, the language would obviously be Japanese. If the language spoken in this world had also been Japanese, I probably wouldn’t have felt a sense of dissonance.
However, the language of this world is a fictional language based on English.
Even though it was a language I understood almost as if it was my mother tongue—
“By the power of light…!”
Hearing lines like that felt like watching a dubbed Japanese anime, provoking an indescribable cringe inside me.
It might have been somewhat better if it were in Korean.
Moreover, due to my unique ability, I had to listen to that line over and over during combat.
Damn it.
*
It was a relief that I could wrap things up before the bullets dropped. If the training had gone on longer, I might not have been able to endure that cringe and would have turned the story back to avoid the training altogether.
“You really are… impressive.”
It seemed it was somewhat shocking for Sophia Bianchi that I had cut the training short with a gun before she could say, “By the power of light.”
…Well, she is a cathedral knight, so she probably has the vestments to survive a gunshot, but still.
“Of course.”
Rena responded with pride in her expression.
“Because she’s the Crown Princess of the Empire.”
No, normally, princesses shouldn’t be able to do stuff like this.
…Thinking about it, those who bear the title of princess or prince in the Empire are all pretty skilled in their own right.
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