The Protagonist’s Party is Too Diligent – 38
EP.38 Hunting (2)
There were bears in this world too. However, these bears were not like the ones people from Earth would imagine.
Of course, the bears on Earth were dangerous as well. Bears could tear a person apart. One swipe from their claws would have your guts spilling onto the ground, and the bear would enjoy its meal. For similar reasons, there were other large land animals like elephants and rhinos, along with predators like lions and tigers. They were even called by the same names here—”bears,” “lions,” “elephants”—and the monster encyclopedia in the game used the same terms as well.
But whether the beasts in this game could really be considered the same as the ones I knew was questionable.
First of all, their fur colors were different. On Earth, bears usually had brown, black, or white fur. But in this world, the bears’ fur came in more vibrant colors—red, blue, green, and brown. And the shape of their claws? Forget about thinking of typical animal claws. Unlike the hard keratin claws of ordinary animals, these bears had claws that looked like they were made of frozen ice or ones that were perpetually engulfed in flames. Some could swing their claws and generate wind strong enough to send a person flying, or even slam them into the ground and cause earthquakes. These were not ordinary animals; they were capable of things that defied any natural logic.
The same went for the animals called lions, tigers, elephants, and rhinos. The only animals here that resembled Earth’s creatures were horses. But even the horses had lore that they were bred specifically for human use. Wild horses, on the other hand, had manes made of fire…
…Anyway, that was the way things were here.
And astonishingly, humanity had still managed to survive and become the dominant species in a world ruled by such insane creatures. Then again, the first Emperor was said to have led a pack of gryphons with his bare hands, so maybe it wasn’t that surprising after all.
Because of this, civilian firearms weren’t something to be underestimated. Shotguns and rifles were all designed to take down those monsters. Some people even made a living by hunting these beasts and selling their parts.
They used large-caliber shotguns loaded with slugs to blow out the brains of bears, or rifles with calibers far larger than those used by typical military rifles. Mages, too, focused on survival-based practical magic.
“…Instructor!”
Even as nobles, it wasn’t as though they were completely unaware of this fact. After all, nobles ate meat and had hunting trophies on their walls.
“How can they point hunting rifles at us? This is an insult! How could they aim weapons meant for beasts at us?”
Surprisingly, the developers of the game seemed to have drawn this perception from real history. During World War I, Europeans were surprised to see American soldiers using shotguns in battle. Meanwhile, Americans were appalled by the Germans using submachine guns, believing they were weapons typically associated with criminals like gangsters.
But whether anyone liked it or not, it didn’t matter. In the cramped trenches, shotguns and submachine guns were incredibly useful. In the midst of a panic where there wasn’t even time to aim properly, just firing off rounds or grabbing hold of a weapon and spraying bullets could silence your opponent.
That was probably the same reasoning behind pitting the commoners and nobles against each other like this. Jennifer had fought against warlords who shot at their enemies regardless of whether they were nobles or commoners.
“Do you think humans are any different from beasts?”
She asked.
As one of the noble students raised their hand in protest at the approaching group of commoners, Jennifer looked at the student quietly and asked.
“Whether it’s a human or a beast, when shot, both bleed and die. Just because you’re human doesn’t mean every pellet from a shotgun will miss you. Let me say it again: on the battlefield, there is no honor, no glory. There is only one mud-covered beast, struggling to survive in a waterlogged trench.”
With that, Jennifer curled one side of her lips into a smirk.
“Or, perhaps, we should ask our princess here. Sylvia?”
Why me, again?
I had been standing quietly without saying anything—
—Hmm, thinking back, it seemed I was the only one who remained silent. The other noble students, even Leo, Charlotte, and Alice, had all shown signs of discomfort, while I remained calm. To be fair, Claire was also calm, but she probably had a rough idea of what the depths of humanity were like.
“What do you think? Would you oppose the enemy using shotguns? Will you ask them to use a ‘noble weapon’ instead?”
Jennifer was likely asking me this because she knew I wouldn’t give such an answer, especially after I had said earlier that there was no glory on the battlefield.
After all, I had once assassinated a count instead of challenging him to a formal duel. Sure, I planted a bomb on his carriage, but that wasn’t exactly a “noble” act. A true noble would’ve declared a duel and faced their opponent in an honorable fight.
Whether Jennifer knew about that or not, I couldn’t say. But at the very least, she seemed to have some strange sense of trust in me. She seemed to view me as a “soldier.”
…Did she hear that I was supposed to go to the battlefield?
“Would I be able to get a shotgun or a submachine gun?”
I asked.
My question caused a stir around me.
Pistols and rifles were standard battlefield weapons, and no one would question their use. While they might mock commoners for lacking formal training, they wouldn’t dare call them ‘cowards’ to their face.
“Of course. The most important thing on the battlefield is to ‘prepare your weapons’ in advance. I’ll give you the opportunity to choose your weapons before the fight. Whether it’s a rifle, a pistol, or a hunting gun, pick whatever you want.”
“Thank you.”
Jennifer nodded with a smile, seemingly pleased with my response.
…She really was quite beautiful, like a character straight out of this game, but honestly, the way she spoke didn’t make her seem all that sane. Then again, considering the kind of battlefield she had seen, perhaps it wasn’t so surprising.
*
The sparring match resembled a team battle, though the noble class wasn’t entirely working as a team. With only fifteen people, moving like a squad wouldn’t have been a bad idea, but some noble students were uncomfortable with the idea of holding a shotgun on the battlefield. While their view might evolve as they progressed through the academy, to the newly enrolled students, it currently seemed like a “disgraceful” act.
“…”
The expressions of the people gathered around me didn’t look very good either.
“If you don’t want to use them, you don’t have to.”
I said that after seeing that even Alice, who normally had no biases against me, and Charlotte, who treated everyone equally, didn’t seem too thrilled.
“If you use a weapon you’re not familiar with, you might make mistakes. No matter how easy it is to use, if it’s your first time, it won’t feel natural in your hands.”
As I said this, I loaded shells into the shotgun.
The M1889. The shotgun Jennifer had provided was supposedly a standard-issue weapon for the private soldiers of the northern Winterfield family. It had a perforated heat shield on top, a groove for attaching a bayonet, and no external hammer—much like the trench guns used by U.S. forces during World War I. Then again, knowing the game developers, they probably just changed the name and threw it in here.
The shotgun held five shells in the tubular magazine and one in the chamber, giving it a total of six shots.
While my primary weapons were a rifle and a revolver, I wasn’t unfamiliar with shotguns. I had practiced with them quite a bit, though I probably spent more time practicing reloading than shooting. After all, shotguns had one of the coolest reloading methods among modern firearms.
“…Well then…”
After finishing loading the shotgun, I grabbed the speed loader for my Ergensen rifle, which looked like a cigarette case, and stashed it away. At that moment, Alice finally spoke up.
“I’d appreciate it if you could show us how to use it.”
All eyes turned to Alice at her words.
“If we know how to shoot it, we can at least use it, right? Surely, there’s nothing better for dealing with enemies at close range.”
“…”
I looked at Alice for a moment before picking up a break-action double-barrel shotgun nearby. I loaded both barrels with shells and handed it to Alice.
“Both barrels are loaded. Point the muzzle at the enemy and pull the trigger.”
Although it had two triggers, they were arranged for easy double-tap firing. Just pulling the trigger would fire both shots in quick succession, making it ideal for immediate shooting.
“After firing both shots, you can drop the gun and draw your sword.”
If she fired both shots, it meant the enemy was already very close. Alice knew how to use her sword, so if she could get that close, she would have a chance.
…. If it didn’t work out, I could always reset the time and adjust our tactics from the beginning.
“Does anyone else need a weapon?”
I asked.
“…”
The room fell into a brief silence before a voice muttered.
“Ah, whatever.”
It was Leo.
“Claire, please don’t tell Father about this.”
“Why would I?”
Claire responded cheerfully to Leo’s request. Leo frowned at her in response.
It seemed like she had snitched on him a few times already.
“Princess—”
“Call me by my name. In the classroom, it might be different, but here, using titles could lead to mistakes.”
Since our team had two princesses, and there are even people with the same last name, it would be quite confusing.
“…Sylvia. I’d like you to teach me how to use this too.”
I had heard that nobles on Earth engaged in duck hunting, but it appeared that wasn’t the norm here. Maybe what they did was just swing the swords in training rooms instead?
I handed over the same shotgun I had given to Alice.
“You heard the explanation earlier, so I won’t repeat it. Don’t try to reload in the middle of a fight. If you can draw your sword, it’s better to use it. You’re not soldiers trained to handle firearms, after all.”
Leo nodded at my words, looking a little tense.
They might be commoners, but these kids had enough skill to get into the academy. There’s no way their shooting skills were bad. In fact, some of them might even be better than me, since I haven’t had that much experience with actual combat shooting. If things went wrong, I could always reset the time until I got it right.
“Me too!”
Claire said in her usual cheerful voice. Without a word, I handed her a shotgun as well.
There were submachine guns too, but unless used as a primary weapon, they would be inconvenient to use as they were larger than the short double-barrel shotguns.
If the shotguns didn’t work, I could give her submachine guns later.
“…”
With each of us holding a gun, we all looked at Charlotte.
“…”
Charlotte, who had a peculiar sense of pride, seemed uncomfortable with our stares and looked away.
“Oh, fine!”
She grumbled and extended her hand as we continued to stare.
She was quite adorable, actually. That gap in her personality was part of why she was such a popular character. Maybe I should try to learn from that.