“Rena, where were you yesterday?”
Charlotte asked Rena while they were having breakfast.
Now that I think about it, Rena wasn’t there when Claire and Leo got a direct invitation from Jake. I don’t even know if she received the invitation or not… but judging by the atmosphere, it seemed she had no idea about it.
After arriving at the hotel by bus, she disappeared right as free time started and hadn’t shown up until this morning.
No, more importantly, who is Rena sharing a room with?
“I went to the weapon shop yesterday.”
“The weapon shop? Were you there all day?”
Charlotte was surprised by Rena’s words and asked, to which Rena nodded.
“I received information that there are unique weapons I’ve never seen before, given that the climate here is completely opposite to the North. I went to confirm their usability yesterday.”
She hadn’t talked to anyone on the airship and seemed to have been looking at some catalog, probably guns.
“Did you find any decent weapons?”
Alice asked with a face that seemed hard to resist.
Rena looked unsure whether to nod or tilt her head.
“Actually, I’m not sure how to judge.”
After a brief moment of contemplation, Rena said, “There were a few interesting weapons specialized for this climate and beast hunting, but I’m not sure if they can be used for military purposes.”
She said that in a slightly hesitant voice.
Are there specific firearms specialized for certain climates?
Well, I heard that in places like the former Soviet Union, the cold weather caused frequent gun malfunctions, so they made the internals simpler to reduce the chance of breakdowns, and made the trigger pulls bigger so you could shoot even with thick gloves on…
But do they really need to worry about that here, where the temperatures are generally high?
I’m not an expert, so I can’t say, but for some reason, I’m intrigued. I used to have a bit of interest in firearms in my previous life. Of course, I never had the chance to actually buy any since owning guns is almost banned in my country.
In the original story, no matter which shop you went to, they only sold a limited variety of weapons. The weapons usable by each character were predetermined, so changing weapons didn’t alter the modeling either.
I was interested but hesitated to suggest going to check them out first. Thankfully, someone spoke up for me.
“Is that so?”
Charlotte said nonchalantly, but her eyes sparkled a bit. It seemed she was interested not so much because of the firearms themselves, but because they were ‘Empire weapons.’ Even if they were civilian firearms, military weapons are generally modified from those civilian versions.
“Well then, should we check it out after breakfast?”
“Are you interested in such things?”
Charlotte shrugged at Rena’s words.
“Well, Sylvia seems a bit interested.”
“……”
Seeing Charlotte smirk while glancing at me made all my previous grateful feelings disappear.
Did she just throw me under the bus, or is she starting to read my expressions and gestures?
I noticed Alice’s surprised wide-eyed expression and felt the need to change the subject.
“By the way, Rena. Who are you sharing a room with?”
It was a way to change the topic, but it suddenly came to mind. The others were all with their classmates.
I’m somewhat close to Rena, having ended up sharing a room with Alice, so who on earth is Rena with—
“I share a room with Teacher Jennifer.”
Gasp.
All three of us—me, Charlotte, and Alice—froze, but Rena seemed oblivious.
“Teacher is an excellent person. Last night I got to hear about various real combat experiences—”
Rena spoke proudly, her expression not one of someone forcing out a story.
Well, I know Jennifer is a decent person, but…
Is it really okay to share a room with a teacher here?
*
It wasn’t until we had finished our meal that Claire, Leo, and Sophia returned.
It seemed that Claire and Leo got pretty friendly during the party yesterday, dragging each other out on a request at the crack of dawn.
The sight of them stumbling in looking a bit lost was somewhat pitiful.
With the original appearance nowhere to be found, Leo and Claire’s workout seemed a bit unusual even in the eyes of the Papal State knights.
For reference, I had already given up following those two. Even though I learned meditation, I could never fully shake off my mental fatigue. More than anything, I couldn’t adapt to the feeling of waking up at dawn to work.
“Did you eat?”
At my question, Leo and Claire nodded right away.
“Yeah. We had breakfast before going out.”
I thought the kitchen staff at the hotel had a tough time, but I had the sense not to voice that.
“What about Mia?”
“She seems to still be asleep in her room.”
I answered Claire’s question.
“Were you out somewhere?”
“To a nearby weapon shop. I heard there are unique weapons only sold in this area.”
This time, it was Sophia who asked, and Alice replied.
“Oh, really? Can we go together?”
“I don’t mind if you come along…”
Claire asked excitedly, and I subtly glanced at Sophia. A clear thought of ‘I just want to relax’ was written all over her face. Anyone would feel that way. Just getting through what they did in the early morning probably wrapped up a few days’ worth of requests.
“I, I remember I have things to do!”
“Really?”
Claire’s disappointed expression surfaced at Sophia’s shout. Seeing that face, Sophia seemed to get a chill down her spine, saying sorry multiple times, waving her hands, and running eagerly toward the elevator.
“…Did we make it too hard for her?”
No one answered Leo’s question. Only Claire cocked her head.
*
Surprisingly, this world uses a mix of international standards like yard-pound system and centimeters.
It’s really fortunate that the more commonly used standard in everyday life is the metric system, like meters or grams. Currency still uses both base-12 and base-20 systems, though.
It seems like the developers tried to align the units with the imperial system as it was during the industrial revolution but got fed up with the damn irregularities of yard-pound and gave up, which is what some players guess.
Because of that, it seems the everyday was metric, but the military stuck to the yard-pound, which is why caliber measures are presented in inches.
For example, right now I’m looking at a .600 Nitro Express.
I somewhat understand why “Nitro Express” got that name, but the “.600” part is beyond me. After all, isn’t it just 0.6 inches? Do we really need to specify .600 inches?
… I thought about that, absolutely irrelevant thought, as the bullet was ridiculously huge.
“It’s a bullet that delivers a 0.6-inch diameter projectile packed tightly with nitrocellulose in this enormous casing, a high-powered bullet meant to take down any foes. Naturally, the firearms using it are very sturdy and reliable.”
It really didn’t look like something made to shoot at a person’s head.
“It’s a bullet capable of taking down elephants or rhinoceroses. What do you think? Wouldn’t it be perfect for performing requests here? If you feel burdened about purchasing firearms, we also have a rental service during the practice period.”
I recalled the elephants and rhinoceroses that appeared in the original game. The elephants in this world shoot out lightning through their trunks, while the rhinoceroses are encased in a tough armor-like plating covering their entire faces.
… I might as well use such a bullet.
Crossing paths with a tank rifle might be a better option, though.
For reference, the gun the shopkeeper showed off looked more like a revolver that would be better off made into a rifle.
“Do you have rifles?”
“Of course!”
At my question, the shop owner’s face lit up, and he immediately pulled out a cardboard box from beneath the counter.
As he dusted it off and opened the box, there was a very simply-made bolt-action rifle inside.
“This is a single-shot bolt-action rifle. Just one shot! One shot to take down your prey, so you won’t need cartridges!”
While I half-listened to that sales pitch, I examined the firearm and spoke up.
“Can I use Marmaros as the bullet?”
“Excuse me?”
At my question, the weapon shopkeeper’s face froze momentarily.
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