Hunting (3)

It was a peculiar feeling, seeing Alice, the Grace siblings, and Charlotte each carrying a firearm at their side.

After all, one of the defining traits of a JRPG was being unable to swap weapons freely.

I didn't mean weapon swapping like in an FPS. Each character had fixed weapon types they could use, so it was literally impossible to even equip anything outside of that.

There were probably several reasons. Saving resources, not needing to create as many animations or skills, or simply preventing players from getting confused by party members' weapon loadouts.

For whatever reason, in the original game, equipping gear that a character wasn't meant to use was fundamentally impossible.

Well, if this were the "original story," battles in this format would have been impossible in the first place.

It was impossible to recreate an actual battlefield on the training grounds. We obviously couldn't dig trenches there.

So, in the end, the obstacles were limited to slightly elevated stacks of sandbags between us. It felt rather awkward as an "actual battlefield," but... well, if the instructor said so, what could we do?

In the game, it was turn-based anyway, and even getting shot merely deducted HP; there was no instant-death mechanic. It was certainly far removed from reality, but that was an inevitable concession for the JRPG genre to work.

But... just like how you could hand a firearm to a character meant to wield a sword, things would be different here.

Jennifer had climbed up to the platform above and was looking down at us.

She was up there, apparently, to tell us who'd been shot and "killed."

...... There were forty-five ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠students total from both classes. Would she be able to keep up? In the game, it was turn-based, so it didn't matter, but.......

Well, the instructor would handle it. I decided not to worry about it.

"First, I'll provide covering fire when you run. You must run in a zigzag. And as fast as possible. If you don't, you'll be ruled dead instantly."

"......."

Everyone nodded.

There were very few people in the noble class who seriously handled firearms. And I was one of that select few, which seemed to be why they trusted me on this.

The truth was, the battle had already begun some time ago.

But no one was willing to move out first. The first person to stick their head out would be ruled dead.

Still, I wasn't particularly worried.

"...... Can we really just stay here for now?"

Alice, lying prone beside me, asked that.

"It's fine."

I answered.

It really was fine. The reason being—

"Chaaaarge!"

—that those idiots were out there.

The game didn't flow only from a single person's perspective. That meant the camera sometimes shifted to follow supporting characters or extras.

And I knew there were kids who charged like that. Because it was depicted in the game.

Those who thought staying behind the defensive line and not moving was "not glorious."

To be honest, the reason they could leap out like that was because they judged this wasn't a real battlefield. They weren't going to die anyway, so they were probably out to display the "glory" they believed in.

That didn't mean they were completely stupid, so they wouldn't just charge head-on unconditionally.

Bang!

At the sound that filled the training grounds, Alice's shoulders flinched beside me. Her eyes widened as if she'd been startled.

The noise was much quieter than an actual firearm. It probably used a lot less powder, since the plugged barrel couldn't be allowed to explode.

But it still contained enough powder to produce a gunshot. A very small hole was drilled at the muzzle as a safety measure.

At worst, you might only suffer a very minor burn.

"McKenzie, eliminated!"

...... One shot, one kill, as expected.

"They're blanks. No need to worry too much."

After saying that, I rose slightly from my position right away.

Just enough to not be too conspicuous, even if it was dangerous.

And then,

Bang!

A loud report erupted from the rifle I held. The buttstock tapped lightly against my shoulder.

"James, eliminated!"

A commoner who had been peeking over the sandbags stood up and withdrew to the rear.

Bang!

"Sylvia, eliminated!"

So, that meant someone had popped out over there?

I memorized the direction the gunshot had come from.

Again.

*

Bang! Click-clack. Bang!

Two shots. I hit one person with each.

"Sylvia, eliminated!"

But bullets immediately flew my way in return. And it wasn't just me. As soon as a few gunshots rang out, all of Class B began returning fire as a group, and the battlefield instantly devolved into chaos. As if determined not to miss a single one, Jennifer called out the names of the eliminated in rapid succession, and casualties began piling up between the fake sandbag trenches.

In the meantime, I memorized every spot where someone had stuck their head out.

Again.

*

"I'll cover you. Run!"

The moment I said that, I fired the rifle in rapid succession.

Bang!

Before even confirming the hit, I immediately pulled the bolt back, shifted the muzzle to another target, and fired without hesitation.

Beside me, I glimpsed Alice rise up and leap over the sandbags. With a double-barreled shotgun in her left hand and a sword in her right, Alice sprinted at full speed.

Alice's running speed was much faster than I had thought. She drew wide zigzags just as I'd instructed, and the commoner class kids couldn't easily hit her.

However—

Bang!

"Alice, eliminated!"

Just because they couldn't hit her easily didn't mean they couldn't hit her at all.

Alice turned to look back at me with a slightly dejected expression—

Again!

*

The Ergensen rifle held five rounds in its internal magazine and one in the chamber. Unlike other rifles that used clip loading, it had a rather cumbersome loading method where you opened the magazine on the side, inserted five rounds, and then closed it, a method that also required large movements of the firearm and your hands.

A speedloader existed, but since it was a method of "spilling" the rounds in, it was somewhat less reliable than other bolt-action rifles where cartridges were seated more firmly during loading.

But once you got used to it, it was possible to spill the rounds in quickly and reload with considerable speed.

If there had been several people on our side who could handle a rifle with precision, I would have fought while reloading—

"Charlotte, eliminated!"

Regrettably, no one else on our team knew how to utilize a rifle that well.

Since there were many easier targets to hit, they were pushed back relatively, but bullets still eventually headed our way.

But still, it was getting better each time.

I had stockpiled multiple Ergensen firearms. I knew from the start that a situation like this would arise. Jennifer's policy that "on the battlefield, any preparation follows the individual's judgment" was in effect, so she didn't say anything even when I pre-positioned several rifles behind the sandbags.

...... The one problem was that, rather than having spare guns stockpiled, it would've been better to simply have a few more riflemen with six-round capacity rifles.

Ah, jeez, this is impossible.

Even so, I succeeded in getting them almost right up to the enemy's nose. The issue was that they kept being ruled eliminated once they got there.

"You can use your firearm once you've closed in to a certain distance. Just aim roughly at the muzzle end and fire."

I tried saying that this time before the battle, but—

"Eliminated!"

In the end, it just meant they could take out a few more people before being eliminated themselves.

"......"

In the original, this was a scene that transitioned via an event cutscene.

The problem was that the person who used magic in that scene was Crowfield.

With my other teammates wiped out, I looked to my side.

Mia Crowfield was still behind the sandbags.

She was gripping her magic staff tightly. It seemed she had been left alone because everyone else had charged in without thinking.

Hmm.

Well, shall I at least attempt it?

Again.

*

Before handing out shotguns to my teammates, I rose from my spot and walked confidently toward the area where the other nobles were gathered.

"Sylvia?"

Seeing me walk toward where Mia Crowfield was, Alice called my name in confusion, but I just strode boldly to where Mia Crowfield stood.

As if I had never done a single thing wrong.

Even if I were to be embarrassingly rejected, it wouldn't matter since I could just ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠turn back time.

I had already even told Mia Crowfield the truth once. I wasn't so timid that I couldn't make ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a single proposal.

The nobles gathered around Mia Crowfield parted to make way for me. Being an imperial princess had its perks, even if it was in name only.

Mia Crowfield, who had turned around after hearing me approach and flinched, taking a step back, looked straight at me.

"Lady Crowfield."

I addressed her.

"Ah, uh, wha- what is it......?"

Mia Crowfield, who hadn't bothered to hide her killing intent when I saw her in the student council room, showed no such reaction here.

She must have shown killing intent before simply because she couldn't control her emotions. She had momentarily looked at me directly and let her hostility show.

But I hadn't reacted to it at all.

Mia herself probably thought of it as a mistake.

...... It wouldn't have mattered much even if she openly hated me. In any case, Mia Crowfield had said that if I joined the student council, she would join too. If I showed an opening, she'd probably try to exploit it to kill me, kill me dead, or do me in. Although the odds of success were slim.

I didn't know what she thought about my lack of reaction, but Mia Crowfield was at least trying to stay close to me.

Offering help was a separate matter, but there was still a possibility, so I decided to make the proposal for now.

"Our side needs your assistance. Would you be able to help?"

The surrounding students held their breath at my words.

...... Did my saying something like that seem so out of the ordinary?

Certainly, it might have looked strange. I had never asked the other students for any kind of favor before. I was supposed to be the "cool beauty," after all. I had intended to maintain the image of someone who didn't need any help.

But right then, I needed that help.

Because in the original, the protagonist's party overcame this situation with help from Crowfield.

Honestly, it was more about needing her to "recreate the event scene" than needing her from a performance standpoint. At this point, you could even say that the ability to create that event scene was Crowfield's ability in and of itself.

"My, help......?"

Did my proposal seem shameless? Mia Crowfield stared at me with wide, round eyes.

Her bangs were long, but her attitude alone made her look like a cute, pretty girl character.

In the original story, neither I nor Claire were by Leo's side. There were various reasons why Leo got involved with other characters. He got involved with Alice, and with Crowfield, who tried to keep Alice in check...... Actually, by this point in the game, Mia Crowfield should have been part of Leo's party.

Leo hung out with us because Claire and I were there, which did lead him to form a slightly different party than his original one.

So what I was saying was, because Mia Crowfield's help had disappeared from this event, we were then unable to fight properly.

"......."

At my words, Mia Crowfield fell into brief thought. Even as the attention around us focused this way, I paid it no mind and only ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠looked at Mia Crowfield.

Would she refuse me? Would she sneer or take pleasure in watching me fail? From her earlier demeanor, I hadn't sensed any of that, but maybe she had just been flustered being left alone.

"...... What kind of help do you need?"

In the end, Mia Crowfield asked me that.

"We need light."

I explained concisely.

In the original, it was an idea Mia Crowfield came up with herself, but if we were at the same timing as the original, Leo would have already been eliminated.

"I'd like to create as intense a light as possible. Is that doable?"