Infiltrating the Academy (2)
The gun. A damn good weapon. It fires bullets that break the sound barrier with nothing more than a pull of the trigger, shredding the target regardless of the shooter's own strength. But its limits were just as clear. Zeron wasn't entirely sure, but he figured it used the energy from an explosion to launch the projectile. That was the problem.
A similar long-range weapon like a bow lets the user directly handle the arrow and string. Mana naturally seeps into them during that process. Even some ignorant farmer who knew nothing about mana would do the same. After all, most things in this world—especially living, breathing ones—naturally carried trace amounts of mana.
But a gun was different. It fired simply by twitching a finger against the trigger. There was no natural opportunity for mana to infuse the bullet in that process. And the absence of mana meant the bullet struggled to penetrate even the faintest resistance of mana.
A piece of clothing imbued with even the slightest trace of mana could stop a bullet that was little more than pure physical force. Not just the fabric itself, but the skin beneath it too. Of course, if you pumped dozens of rounds into someone, the story changed—but at that point, if a single sword thrust would have killed them, you were already out of the running.
Well, even clothes with faint mana weren't something just anyone could get their hands on, but still…
"These bandits sure have a lot of money. Or did they just steal it all?"
Zeron let out a short, dry laugh. And with that, the smile vanished from his lips. A chilling gaze swept over the bandits.
"Fuck them up!"
Tatatatatatata—! The bandits' rifles spat fire, pouring out a storm of bullets. Nine of them were armed. In the blink of an eye, they unleashed over ten shots each—nearly a hundred rounds total.
Zeron swung his sword horizontally. Whoooosh— A gust of wind followed the blade's path, stopping the bullets dead in their tracks.
See? This was the problem. They couldn't even pierce the faint mana carried by his sword wind.
He swung the blade horizontally once more. Clangclangclang—! With a sharp metallic ring, the bullets that struck the flat of his sword shot back like arrows.
"Guh—!"
"Aaaargh—!"
Along with their death cries, the heads of all nine gunmen exploded.
"W-what the hell!?"
"How!?"
He had no obligation to answer them. Zeron kicked off the ground. Thud— With a light sound, his body sliced through the air. By the time they noticed, he was already right in front of them. The bandits' faces drained of all color.
"Hello there."
A cold smile crept across Zeron's previously expressionless face. It was the grin of a hunting dog staring at fresh, blood-dripping meat.
"KyaAAAAAAGH—!"
One swing of his sword severed a head clean off. His outstretched fingers gouged into an eye socket. He grabbed the bandit by the ruined eye and swung him like a club. The two heads that collided burst like fireworks. Shaking the blood from his hand, the flying droplets pierced through another skull. A brutal slash from his sword split one bandit's body neatly in half from left to right.
"Heh…"
The savage smile that finished the scene made the remaining bandits' faces turn pitch black with terror.
Medeia couldn't stop her body from trembling. People were dying right before her eyes. Heads exploding, eyeballs crushed, blood gushing, guts spilling out. Yet she couldn't look away. They were clearly enemies, and under normal circumstances, she should have stepped forward to help.
"U-Uncle…"
But the sight before her left her completely frozen. Shaggy brown hair and dull blue eyes. The uncle who usually lazed around in the corner cracking stupid jokes now felt like a stranger. His pale skin, rarely touched by sunlight, was now stained red with blood. His normally lazy eyes had turned sharp and fierce. And more than anything else, that… smile…
It was impossible to believe he was even human. It looked more like the ferocious grin of the monsters she'd seen as a child.
"Haa… haa…"
Her breathing grew ragged. Without realizing it, she tore her eyes away from the gruesome scene and buried her face between her knees. She thought she heard the coachman calling out in worry, but she couldn't even respond.
That was when it happened. Crunch. Crunch. Footsteps approached along with the smell of cigarettes. The metallic stench of blood she had braced for never came.
"Hey, kid."
With those words, the carriage door opened. After a brief silence, a sudden floating sensation lifted her body. She reflexively flailed her arms and legs.
"W-what the—!"
…She already knew. She knew it was Uncle Zeron. She knew he wouldn't hurt her. She knew he was that silly uncle who secretly looked out for her. She knew all that…
But the reflexive spike of fear was unavoidable. She curled into a ball and squeezed her eyes shut.
"Aww, our little kiddo's scared stiff."
Zeron chuckled as he carried Medeia somewhere. Even after he stopped walking and set her down on the ground, she refused to open her eyes.
"Kid. Open your eyes."
"……"
"Hey, I said open them."
"……"
She kept her mouth clamped shut. Then—thwack!—a sharp sting exploded across her forehead.
"Eek!?"
Medeia clutched her burning forehead and reflexively opened her eyes to glare at Zeron. The uncle, covered in blood and laughing his head off, wasn't… as scary as she'd thought.
"I told you to open your eyes, didn't I?"
When she just kept glaring without answering, Zeron scratched his eyebrow awkwardly and pointed somewhere.
"Here. Look at that guy."
She turned her head reflexively.
"W-what the…"
There lay a bandit with sword wounds across his limbs, on the verge of death. His eyes were rolled back, showing mostly white, and hot steam rose from the blood pouring out of him.
Urp— A wave of nausea hit her. She barely held it down and glared at her uncle.
"Don't look at me like that. You know how it is, kid. Later, when I'm not around and you hesitate… you'll be the one who dies."
Zeron smiled bitterly and reached out. He gently patted her head a couple of times, then drew a pistol from his waist.
"Here."
He mercilessly pressed the gun into her hands, then forced her arms up to aim at the bandit.
"I left the mana in his clothes untouched on purpose. You can put mana into the bullet, right? Just do it like you always do."
What the hell is this bullshit? Why me? You could just finish him yourself.
Swallowing those weak thoughts, she gripped the trembling gun tighter. It was all for her sake. He was doing this because he was worried. Dad was too overprotective to ever make her do something like this.
Steel in her heart, she pulled the trigger.
Bang—!
It felt like something had shattered.
Zeron smiled bitterly and ground the burnt-out cigarette under his foot. When that didn't improve his mood, he lit another. The smoke tasted especially bitter today.
The kid was in the corner, puking up everything in her stomach. Urk— Uuuurk— The sounds alone were painful to hear.
Zeron stared with dark, sunken eyes at the bandit whose head now had a clean hole through it. The bullet had pierced straight through. Infusing mana into a bullet—an act that shouldn't happen naturally. Those who could do it were called Gunners.
And the kid was already an excellent Gunner.
"Tsk—"
Zeron clicked his tongue and took a deep drag. He knew this was cruel. There was no real need for the kid to get her hands dirty with blood. Not when that bastard David was already going through hell for her sake.
He stomped the ground in irritation. Splat—! Bits of brain and blood clots stuck to the sole of his boot.
"Huu…"
He exhaled the smoke deep from his lungs. But his chest still felt tight. Still, it couldn't be helped. His instincts were screaming at him. If he didn't prepare in advance, when the worst happened, it wouldn't just be blood on his hands—he'd be coughing it up from a severed throat.
That shitty dream came to mind again. Fucking hell. His grip tightened, and the cigarette snapped weakly. He tossed the butt away irritably and lit a new one.
"Kid, you okay?"
He asked while staring at the sky. It was still a clear blue, the sun not yet fully set.
"Uuurk… I told you… stop smoking…"
"Guess you're feeling well enough to complain."
Zeron gave a short laugh, stubbed out the half-smoked cigarette, and walked to the back of the carriage. Ignoring the kid's screams to stay away, he lifted her up and tossed her inside.
"Let's go."
The coachman nodded and climbed back into his seat. Zeron sat across from the kid and stared at her intently. Her face was deathly pale, but her spirit hadn't broken. That was a relief.
Rattle— The carriage began to move with a shake. It looked like the kid would need some time.
"So, kid. Why the hell do you want to go to that academy anyway? Why not just stay home and relax?"
Zeron poured liquor into a cup and handed it to her. The kid snatched it irritably, gulped it down in one go, then started coughing violently.
"…Why would anyone drink something like this?"
"Proof that you're still a kid. Anyway, so?"
"Why else? It'll help. Both me and Dad."
"Help?"
Zeron frowned. He thought back to the academy where he'd spent nearly a month. Of course, he'd mostly stayed holed up in his room, but from the fragments he'd seen, it didn't seem all that helpful.
"Obviously. What do you even know?"
Zeron glanced sideways at the grumbling kid. Her complexion was still bad, but she seemed to have recovered somewhat. For some reason, it reminded him of Elena.
"The academy is full of talented people. Even commoners can enter if they're skilled enough to pass the test."
"Is that so?"
"Yeah. Competing and learning among them should be pretty helpful. There aren't many places where you can meet so many people of similar caliber all at once."
"The merchant group has plenty of kids around your level."
"Just shut up and listen."
"…Fine."
He quietly sipped his drink as ordered. The kid shot him a sharp glare before continuing.
"And the faculty is pretty decent too. The kingdom invests a lot in it."
"Well… yeah. I heard they're basically second-string elites."
It made sense. The kingdom couldn't afford to pull its most important assets away from the royal palace. Even if they were second-string, they were still the cream of the crop. In a way, having more young talent than the first-string might actually make them better suited for education.
Come to think of it, hadn't the head of the magic department been a 5th Circle mage? That was first-string among first-string. He couldn't understand why someone like that was stuck at the academy.
"Actually, none of that really matters."
"Huh? What the hell are you talking about? Then why go there?"
"Connections. And academic ties. That's what's most important."
Medeia clenched her fist tightly, as if pressing down on her resolve.
"All the decent positions are occupied by academy graduates. Or direct heirs from noble families. So if I want to help Dad… I have to graduate from the academy no matter what."
Zeron looked at Medeia with a strange expression. She might seem a bit rude at first glance, but the kid was an exceptionally dutiful daughter. She just didn't show it.
Zeron chuckled softly and downed the rest of his drink.
"You still don't know much, do you? Connections, academic ties—when it really counts, none of that helps."
"What kind of bullshit is that? Of course it helps…"
Zeron laughed loudly and patted the sword at his waist.
"In the end, at the very last moment, the only thing you can trust is your own strength. If you have overwhelming power—enough to rip the head off a king throwing a tantrum or an emperor acting like an asshole—what do you have to worry about?"
The kid's face turned deathly pale at those words. She quickly glanced around, then glared with both eyes blazing and quietly hissed.
"You'll get arrested for insulting the royal family…!? You really have no fear…!"
"Arrest me? Who? Those arrogant bastards?"
"Are you actually insane…?"
Medeia stared at him like he was crazy, but Zeron just kept laughing. He didn't know much about the emperor, but the king of this pathetic little kingdom… Well, he probably wouldn't actually do anything unless it was too annoying to ignore. But if… if that king ever laid a hand on his family…
Vrrr— The sword in its sheath trembled quietly.