Post-Apocalyptic Pistols Are Artifacts in My World - 1
"You've gotten so diligent lately? Attending every single class without fail."
Shin Yuha couldn't bring herself to lift her head at the words from the blonde mixed-blood girl in front of her.
"...Yeah."
"Why do you look so down? Why not say it confidently like you used to? 'I'm gonna ace the practical exam anyway, so I don't need to bother with classes.'"
"Sorry! I was an idiot! I won't do it again from now on!"
It was all karma from her past self, so she couldn't deny it. Before her failure in the field exercise, Shin Yuha had been an arrogant student.
"Next? A body that can't even cast spells due to mana overload... Next?"
The mixed-blood girl mocking her covered her mouth and giggled.
"No next. Oh, you might have one. Relying on your mom's connections to get into a guild—"
"I'll pass the exam."
There was no basis for it. She was just clinging to his words: 'You might find a way.'
"The Academy instructors will grade fairly no matter what your mom says, right? Well, dreams are free."
"Ugh..."
"Anyway, good luck. Or... just cling pathetically to the Academy?"
The blonde girl walked away. Shin Yuha bit her lip hard, swallowing her anger. The most painful and sad part was that she couldn't retort even once to that infuriating girl's words.
She's right...
She had been arrogant. And now she was paying the price.
If she hadn't met him, if she hadn't gotten her ribbon back, she would have crumbled just like that. Years later, staring at her mother's precious ribbon up for auction with a broken spirit—
No, stop it!
It wasn't too late to give up. She was still young. It was the story that man had told her, so she had to believe this much.
Ha...
Classes were boring and grueling. Lectures were even more tedious when she couldn't cast spells and every student mocked her.
But Yuha endured, over and over.
Because... I want to be a hunter...
After talking with him, she'd rediscovered how badly she wanted to be a hunter. Like her mom, a hunter who helped everyone. She couldn't give up for that reason alone.
"Phew..."
Class ended. She grabbed her bag and left the school.
...Huh?
Then she spotted a message she hadn't seen during class.
"Oppa!!!!"
Other students whispered at her sudden yell, but Yuha didn't hear them. She called him right away.
"Oppa! Oppa oppa oppa!"
"Wha—didn't know we were that close?"
The man on the other end sounded reluctant, shaking his head, but Yuha launched into her story without pause.
"I'm coming now! Where should I meet you?"
"Cafe near your school? Don't wanna make you come far."
"Anywhere's fine!"
"Then the cafe right in front of the station."
"Yes yes yes yes yes!!!"
Yuha beamed brightly. Escaping the school where everyone mocked her, to meet the one person on her side.
/////
"Oppa. So, like, I messed up big time back then, and I was stressing that maybe I didn't deserve it, that losing the ribbon Mom gave me was just right—"
"Yeah, yeah. Uh-huh."
I gave half-hearted nods with a hollow smile.
Do I really need to know all this?
She seemed friendless. Poor thing. I couldn't even get to the point before she started rambling endlessly.
About how arrogant and foolish her past self was, how the other students mocked her now. What mistake she'd made in field training, what she'd lost, the emotions she'd felt, and what it meant to her that I'd found it.
This is draining my energy...
"So, what do you think?"
She gazed at me with sparkling eyes, expecting some 'mature adult advice.'
"Well, uh..."
Anything harsh might hurt her delicate feelings. I chose my words carefully.
"You shouldn't... connect things in a negative way like that."
"What do you mean?"
"Losing your ribbon. It was just an accident in the heat of the moment, right?"
"Yeah."
"Then you could've just told another staffer, 'I lost this, please find it.' Especially since it's a precious artifact."
"Ah..."
"No need to read too much into it. Mistakes are mistakes, and you can drop something when you're rushing around."
"True!"
She nodded vigorously, smiling brightly.
"And yeah, even if it feels like every failure has some deep reason, sometimes it's just bad luck."
Of course, her mana overload was purely her own fault, but losing the ribbon was just misfortune.
"Important to find and own your failure's cause... but sometimes, just let it go."
"Then what should I do?"
"Try again."
I offered casual advice off the top of my head.
"What about good things? Can't I make up grand reasons for successes too?"
"Doesn't matter. Jinxes, whatever—attach anything positive. As long as it feels good."
"Why?"
"People react stronger to negatives anyway, even without trying."
Not profound, but not bad advice, I thought.
"I see..."
Yuha grinned radiantly.
"Thanks! I'll remember that!"
"Yeah, good. Now, onto the main point..."
"Yes! Main point!"
I glanced around. Bad call picking a cafe—too public for this.
Whatever, just hand over the bag.
No big loss since she'd return it. I unzipped the black bag I'd brought and showed her the contents.
"See?"
"Yeah. Pis—"
"Shh."
I quickly pressed a finger to her lips. The Gremlin Pistol itself wasn't dangerous, but tossing around "pistol" in public? No thanks.
"Lending them to you. Five of 'em. Practice to get comfy with one... nah, bring three to the exam."
The junior gave an awkward smile and shook her head.
"Th-thanks so much for helping like this, but..."
"Why?"
"It's fine. The Academy has practice pistols, no need for you to go this far—"
I chuckled dryly. Gremlin Pistols don't look cool. Rough sheet metal patched on, wood twisted weirdly. Like a kid's sloppy craft project. The gap to an actual toy gun might not be huge.
Does this even shoot? Fair question. It often doesn't. And the bullets? Laughably weak. Tiny gun, no standard ammo, pathetic velocity.
"Curious? Test it at the range. They allow outside firearms, right?"
"Yeah, but—"
"Don't overpractice even if it shoots well. Focus on condition. Bring at least three for the exam, like I said."
"...Got it! Since it's from you, Oppa, I'll treasure it!"
"Good. It's a loan, so return 'em unless they're trashed."
"Okay..."
Yuha eyed the bag skeptically to the end.
"And hey, first class in ages today, the teacher said—"
"Business done. I'm out."
"Wha, why! Stay a bit longer!"
"Late. You need practice and sleep too. Gotta pass that exam."
"Yeees..."
I left the deflated junior behind and exited the cafe, looking forward to her shocked face at the pistols' effect.
/////
At the range, Yuha sighed deeply at the shabby, dirty pistols.
"What is this? Smells..."
Jeong Isu would've snapped if he heard. He'd scrubbed them for hours before giving them to her.
"Still... gotta try."
With a heavy sigh, Yuha picked one up.
"Does this even load...?"
She gripped bullets in both hands, assuming the stable stance from the manual. Her abysmal aim wouldn't hit once in ten shots normally—
"Hya!"
With a spirited shout, she conjured a mana bullet—the minimal flame her unstable body could manage post-overload—and fired through the crude pistol.
"Huh?"
As it shot, she felt an odd disconnect.
"Did it hit?"
Weird. Felt different from usual. Like the bullet went exactly where she aimed.
"No way..."
Checking the target: hit.
"L-luck...?"
Steeling herself, Yuha deep-breathed and fired again. Ten shots done.
Target check.
"Eight... hits?"
She knew her hopeless marksmanship. Unbelievable results. A bit more practice, and she might pass the expulsion exam.
"What the heck is this pistol..."
Head tilted, she grabbed an Academy awakener pistol from the rack.
"Hup!"
Huge recoil hit instantly. Shock from her flame bullet.
"Ugh! Hah! Nngh!"
Ten shots, as expected: zero hits.
"Seriously... is this gun special?"
Unable to believe, the junior alternated his other pistols.
"What? For real... these are amazing guns!"
No matter which, eight-plus hits. Finally, perfect ten-for-ten.
"Ah..."
Denying reality, she tried more: harder courses, other range guns. Results unchanged.
His pistols were way better than she thought. With these, she'd pass.
Overwhelmed, she called him immediately.
"Oppa! Oppa oppa oppa oppa oppa!"
"Wha-wha... what's up, Yuha? Gun broke?"
"No! But these guns hit too well! They're awesome! Where'd you get them!"
"Secret for now... I'm lying down to sleep. You should too. It's 12:47."
His sleepy voice saying 'sleep' made her cheeks flush.
"You gave me such great guns—I gotta practice! Practice!"
"What'd I say when I gave you the guns?"
"Don't overpractice, manage your condition..."
"Right. Good night."
"But I can't hold back! They actually hit the target!"
"Class tomorrow, right?"
"Yeah, but..."
"Didn't you say skipping more classes is really bad?"
"Yeah..."
"Sleep."
His firm tone, but Yuha's mind twisted it into warm affection.
"Okay, heading in to sleep! Good night, Oppa!"
"Yeah, no yelling..."
Whispering softly, she bid final goodnight.
"Gooood niight..."
Call ended. Smiling warmly, she sneaked a glance at the target.
"J-just one more shot, no, one set, then sleep?"
For a while after, the range echoed with flame bullet cracks.