Solution (2)
Solution (2)
"Hmm."
Jennifer had been pondering over the firearms that Lena and I had brought.
Even Jennifer couldn't completely forgo textbook-based lectures, so once the field practicum ended, she had kept to the book for a while. Today was the day we finally stepped outside for more realistic sparring, but the issue was that our firearms were, in many ways, ill-suited for a 'mock battle.'
Bolt-action rifles and shotguns were fine. They were weapons that required you to chamber a new round after every shot or two, and anyone with a sharp eye could tell from a distance whether you were cheating or not.
The revolver I used was the same. Being double-action, even just pulling the trigger made the hammer twitch visibly.
But the automatic pistol... its internal parts wouldn't move unless the ammunition inside actually combusted. And pulling the trigger didn't even make the hammer visibly move from the outside. The new automatic pistol the master had made did have an external hammer sticking out the back, but its action was single-action.
However, in a scenario supposedly based on 'real combat,' it was bizarre to tell someone with a gun that loaded automatically to fire one shot and mimic a reload like they were shooting BBs.
Moreover, considering the possibilities of reloading from empty, reloading with retention, and reusing partially spent magazines, the number of variables was endless.
But neither Lena nor I carried just one of those guns. Lena used two automatic pistols, and I carried one automatic pistol, one revolver, one rifle, and one shotgun.
This alone was beyond what a person could easily track, and on top of that, we even used rounds personally processed with Marmaros. Determining a 'kill' was nearly impossible.
"......."
Finally, after deliberating for a while, Jennifer spoke.
"...... You two will have separate practical training on the weekends."
Ugh.
*
"As for what Meyer uses, I suppose I can let it pass, but that gun of yours is one I'm seeing for the first time."
Well, it was a prototype. Since it didn't even have a proper name yet, nothing was engraved on the slide.
"Did you get it from the workshop master?"
"Yes."
I nodded, and Jennifer nodded back as she spoke.
"The cartridge is new to me as well. Last time we met, he said he was working hard on something, so this must be the gun."
"......."
I deliberately stayed silent. I'd only answered this much because it was Jennifer; I'd actually received the gun on the condition that I wouldn't share detailed information about it with anyone.
News of my exploits on the battlefield had reached the capital a step later. The most critical thing in military firearms was flawless operation under any condition, so I could somewhat guess why the master had entrusted the gun to me. I was bound to fire it a ton in all sorts of situations, so he'd lent it to me as a test.
Besides, since the only ones that existed were a few spares stored at the Browning workshop, if it needed repairs, I'd have to take it to that master anyway. Meaning if it broke down, I'd get an earful about why; if a round jammed, I'd hear all about the cause.
"Well, fine. I'm familiar with that master's skill. And if it's a gun you personally chose, it shouldn't have any major issues."
I nodded as I took the gun back from Jennifer.
"I already know about the Model 98. I might not look it, but I served on the northern front."
At Jennifer's words, Lena nodded.
"Right. I've thought about how to measure your skills......"
Jennifer shrugged and then said to us,
"Since you've both started using weapons that are pretty much pointless without live ammo, I figured the test should be with live rounds too."
And what Jennifer pointed at was a structure made of stacked logs... whether I should call it a trench or a house, it was something like that.
It wasn't dug into the ground. It was built above ground, making it easy to enter through the opening. Looking inside the stacked logs, though, it felt similar to an actual trench.
Inside, just like the real trenches I'd seen, there were places to dodge sideways and even room-like spaces. It wasn't huge, since it had to fit in a corner of the training grounds, but once you entered, it seemed to take a full minute to come out the other side.
"It might not look it, but from up above, you can see right inside."
The look on Jennifer's face as she said that was oddly proud.
She had a right to be. She'd built this training ground in just two days.
Its appearance was that of a typical world-war-era trench, but in terms of purpose, it seemed no different from a modern shooting range.
"With something like this, the other students can use it too."
But considering it hadn't appeared in the original story, it was likely they'd never bothered to build a training ground because no 'nobles' used firearms.
Which meant this place wouldn't have existed if not for Lena and me.
"It'll be a live-fire drill, but you're both fine with that, right? Ah, but don't use Marmaros. I'd feel sorry for the workers who suffered for two days."
"......."
Well, fair enough.
Even if they were paid, if their hard work went up in flames after a single use, I'd feel pretty empty myself.
*
Lena was the first one deployed.
Wielding a pistol in each hand, each holding eight rounds in the magazine and one in the chamber, she had more ammo than I'd thought. The targets were just planks that popped up via springs anyway, so it wasn't too dangerous.
I'd wondered how they made pop-up targets in a world without electricity, but it was the result of individually winding springs. ...... Another reason Jennifer had asked us to avoid Marmaros. The whole setup looked ridiculously expensive for its purpose and prone to malfunction.
And for other students to use it, resetting each one would take a long time, too.
"I'll do my best to learn."
And in the meantime, Lena addressed me.
"......."
Turning my head at the sudden sound of Lena's voice, I saw her eyes were full of determination.
"It may be different in many ways from the battlefield where Your Highness the imperial princess distinguished herself, but I see it as a good opportunity to catch even a glimpse of that."
"......."
She wasn't saying this just to get a rise out of me, was she?
But looking at her sparkling eyes, it definitely didn't seem that way.
"Oh, really?"
And just then, Jennifer, who had finished her work, chimed in.
"Then it's fine if you watch from up there with me."
"Is that really all right?"
"......."
I quietly stared at Jennifer for making such an unnecessary suggestion to Lena, but she just shrugged.
*
Well, fine.
I'd figured out a solution of my own, too.
If Lena was a character who'd gone for 'romantic,' what kind of character should I be?
It wasn't the opposite of romantic, but what about 'tactical'?
Extremely practical tactical could actually become romantic. Don't you think? Like John ●. Well, that character is unrealistic in a different sense.
In short, I just had to make it look the part. It was the era when tactics were shifting from line infantry to modern warfare, so all I had to do was use the modern shooting techniques I knew.
For example.
Click-clack.
The springs activated, and enemy targets popped up. Two of them at once, springing up right beside me.
I shot one with the shotgun. It wasn't my personal shotgun equipped with Marmaros, but one borrowed from the school, so regular shot came out.
But even so, at its core, it was the same shotgun. There were plenty of ways to swap just a few parts for ones I was used to.
After shooting one enemy, I let the now-empty shotgun hang. The strap I'd attached to the sling swivel just in front of the stock drooped loosely, but unlike the typical rifle slings of this world that connected the stock and the barrel, the one I'd rigged was a sling-back style that passed by my neck and shoulder. It dropped and stopped just below my chest, preventing the gun from hanging too low so I could grab it again quickly.
Immediately, I dropped my right hand to my waist holster and drew the pistol.
And wrapping both hands around the grip,
Bang! Bang!
I put two rounds into the chest.
Advance.
Two rounds at the next enemy, and two more at the one after that. Reloaded an empty magazine. After loading seven rounds into the gun, I holstered it again and ducked right into the spot where the earlier enemy had appeared.
The shotgun shell holder strapped to my right thigh held six shells in total, lined up in pairs: two, two, two.
I pulled two out at once and slid them into the loading port in sequence.
After repeating that twice and racking the shotgun, I stepped back out.
One round each at the two enemies that popped up next.
...... And once I'd fired, I was at the end of the range.
"Hoo."
I exhaled quietly and looked up.
Jennifer was looking my way, smiling. I wasn't quite sure what that expression meant—
—But at the very least, Lena was there, staring at me with her eyes wide open.
The two days of pestering the workshop master to make tactical gear seemed to have been worth it.
As were the countless reloading drills I'd run all night.
...... And sneaking into the newly finished training ground last night to run and cycle my weapons until I dropped.