The Protagonist's Party is Too Diligent – 152
EP.152 Rolling Stone (3)
For the first time in a while, I was able to train at the academy's training grounds.
Most of the knights of the imperial family use swords. While they don't completely avoid firearms, they are generally seen as secondary tools.
After all, the Imperial Palace had its own armed military police equipped with firearms. To them, swords were the secondary weapons, while guns were the primary ones. There were training grounds designated for such individuals, but…
Well, to be honest, I wasn’t too keen on training there alone.
It wasn’t that there were no women at all, but the profession was still dominated by men. Furthermore, every knight and military police officer in the palace was directly under the Imperial Family. If I were to show up there, the entire training session would come to a halt. That would be an inconvenience of the highest order.
That was why, during my childhood firearms training, I had to make do with shooting at passing birds or firing randomly in an empty room. Even back then, I was too young for anyone to take my training seriously.
So, having access to a private training ground where I could fire my gun freely was something I truly appreciated.
"Phew…"
As I reached the far end of the training ground and checked my gun, I let out a breath.
Then, from behind me—clap, clap, clap.
Applause.
For a moment, I thought it was Sophia Bianchi. But when I turned around, I saw that it was Lena.
And once I realized who it was, I felt a little embarrassed.
During my training session earlier, I hadn’t rewound time even once.
Meeting the masked woman twice had made something very clear—I couldn’t afford to rely solely on my ability. If I did, then the moment I lost it, I’d become completely useless.
As the Sword Saint had once said, I had no real talent in this field. Given how much I had practiced with firearms, I could at least hit a target, but that was the extent of it.
That didn’t mean I was going to permanently seal away my power or refuse to rely on it when necessary. But at the very least, I needed to be somewhat useful even without it.
I had always scoffed at useless characters in comics and games, criticizing how worthless they were. I didn’t want to become one of them.
To prevent that, I had to train—over and over—so that if the time ever came, I wouldn’t be completely helpless.
"Impressive," Lena remarked.
"Ha."
I had to make a considerable effort not to let my embarrassment show.
If I had rewound time throughout my training, I probably wouldn’t have felt anything about her praise. After all, in that case, the results would have been something I had fine-tuned myself.
But this time, I hadn’t used my ability even once. That meant that, at least in Lena’s eyes, my skills weren’t entirely lacking.
…Though that could also be because I had run through this training ground hundreds of times.
"I apologize for not being able to go with you yesterday," Lena said.
"It’s fine. I know you had a lot of equipment to go through."
Standing here, just the two of us speaking so formally, felt somewhat odd. Was it because we both used such respectful language with each other?
Lena’s equipment had only arrived yesterday.
Because Jayden had bombarded the enemy camp with artillery fire, the Autonomous State had grown tense. In response, the Empire had moved its forces closer to the warlord-controlled regions, further escalating the situation. As a result, the atmosphere near the border had turned ice-cold.
To make matters worse, Lena’s weapons weren’t just being transported to anywhere—they were being sent to the capital, to the very academy where the Empire’s noble heirs gathered.
With all the increased scrutiny, the shipment had been held up at the border for quite some time. And because she had spent all of yesterday inspecting her newly arrived weapons, she hadn’t been able to join us at the café.
She didn’t seem too bothered by it, but… Honestly, given how the Empire had bulldozed through the border like that, it was no surprise that the Autonomous State had been alarmed—regardless of who made the initial request.
It wasn’t just any kind of firepower. It had been naval artillery. Even if there had only been one per ship, the caliber of those cannons was on par with the Dreadnought stationed over Runedarium. Considering the number of ships involved, the effect was practically the same as if a Dreadnought had come and unleashed a full bombardment.
And then, after initiating such an attack, the Empire had the audacity to react as if the Autonomous State was the one escalating by moving its troops?
It was absurd.
"Are you here to train?" I asked.
"Yes. Since I finally received my weapons, I thought I’d take the opportunity to test them."
I nodded and stepped aside to give her space.
Lena's skill hadn't faded in the slightest.
Given her personality, there was no way she would have slacked off during the vacation. In fact, her movements had become even more refined compared to before.
Hmm, in some ways, her movements almost resembled mine.
In the past, she would have been holding pistols in both hands for target practice, but now, she had a short submachine gun slung across her back.
"Impressive," I said, clapping as I watched Lena complete another lap around the training ground. Lena's face flushed slightly. It wasn't just from having run around.
"I modeled my movements after Lady Sylvia’s," she explained.
Her words almost made my face turn red.
Thank goodness it was dark, or else my embarrassment would have been obvious.
I had only mimicked the movements, after all. I'd never actually been part of a special forces unit. I had simply used a bit of knowledge I'd picked up from being a half-hearted military enthusiast, trying to move in a way that seemed right.
Still, it looked fairly practical from the outside, so I guess I got lucky.
"Is that so...?" I murmured.
"Yes!"
I was about to respond when a voice from behind interrupted me.
"Your Highness was absolutely amazing!"
I turned around, and this time, it was truly Sophia Bianchi.
"I’ve never seen movements like that before!"
That made sense. After all, she was a swordswoman.
Come to think of it, Aetherna seemed to have an excess of swordsmen. Wasn’t this setting supposed to be from the industrial revolution period? Wait, was this a time where people wielded swords in a world where trenches were dug and machine guns tore through everything? Well, I suppose the only people who used swords here were monsters who could survive a gunshot by wielding them.
Though, even they would still die if they were shot.
"There are plenty of people in Velbur who work with firearms, but I’ve never seen anyone move like you two."
"…..."
Lena's face looked a bit stunned after hearing that.
She knew Sophia Bianchi, of course. They were in the same class, and Sophia had been around me often, so it made sense that Lena had had the chance to interact with her as well.
It seemed that Sophia Bianchi was intent on winning over those around me if she couldn’t win me over herself.
"Is this training ground just for you two?"
Sophia asked, and Lena shook her head.
"No, other students can use it too, but..."
...I guess no one else would dare come here with me around.
Most of the students who handled firearms were commoners.
"I see," Sophia said.
Sophia Bianchi tilted her head, then shrugged her shoulders.
"How did you get all the way out here at this hour?"
"Oh, I was just taking a walk, and I heard some noise, so I came to see what it was. If there's such a nice place, I'd like to try using it too. Hmm..."
Sophia Bianchi quietly stared at the training ground for a moment before speaking again.
"Would it be alright if I tried using it?"
Lena also turned to look at me.
"I don't have the authority to stop you."
"Ah, then could you tell me how to use it? How do I make the wooden target over there rise again?"
“…..."
To be honest, I really wanted to say, "Why don't you go wind it up yourself?" But...
Sophia Bianchi was terrible with machines. In fact, she would often break things like clocks once a month or so.
She'd wind the gears too tightly and break parts, or press the wrong button and completely break the mechanism. It had been a humorous scene when included in a game, but in real life, it would be nothing short of a disaster.
"I’ll help you."
I said, holding back a sigh.
*
The result was disastrous.
It was my complacency that caused the problem.
To be honest, I thought winding the gears would be all it took.
Who could have known that hitting the target too hard would cause the recoil to break the parts in half?
When I saw Sophia Bianchi coming out of the training ground with a satisfied expression, I looked back at the target only to find it bent at an odd angle. I checked it again and, sure enough, it was in a broken state.
"I'm sorry."
Sophia Bianchi immediately apologized.
It seemed she was somewhat used to situations like this.
“…..."
I had to make an extraordinary effort not to rub my face in frustration.