The Protagonist’s Party is Too Diligent – 41
EP.41 Hunting (5)
In the end, we won.
More than a third of the noble class were declared “dead,” but none of the students from my squad were among them. Honestly, it wouldn’t have been surprising if more than half had been eliminated, but we managed to finish the battle with fewer losses, largely thanks to the magic Mia Crowfield had cast.
It seemed that many of the commoner class students were terrified by the sudden, incredibly bright ball of light flying over their heads. Even though they knew logically that no truly dangerous magic would be used in this situation, seeing it with their own eyes was a different story.
Furthermore, the magic wasn’t completely ineffective—it at least obscured their vision. Because of that, the students who were hit by gunfire and eliminated were primarily those from the noble class who had initiated the charge.
Had we been carrying only swords when we approached the sandbags, we might have faced heavier casualties. However, all of the students in my squad were armed with shotguns.
Though they only held two rounds each, they were double-barrel shotguns that didn’t require pumping between shots. It shouldn’t have been too difficult for them to take down the enemies at close range. And after firing, they switched to swords, likely causing even more chaos among the commoners.
Bayonet combat wasn’t just effective because of the close-quarters sword fighting. Being stabbed by a sword and the fear of someone charging at you with a deadly weapon could be terrifying. The common belief that nobles were skilled with swords made it even more overwhelming for the commoners.
So, by the time I crossed the sandbags, the noble class students had almost secured victory.
All I did was take down two or three more enemies after crossing. They didn’t physically injure because they weren’t hit by real bullets.
“Your shooting was impressive.”
Alice commented after the battle ended.
“When we charged in, everyone was crouched behind the sandbags. They seemed to think they’d get shot if they poked their heads out.”
…Honestly, knowing their positions beforehand played a big role for me.
And every time I missed a shot, or hit one of my own allies, I simply reset the time. Of course, to the others, it must have looked like I was hitting targets with pinpoint accuracy from the start.
“…Yeah.”
I replied.
As Alice and I stood near the sandbags that had been used by the commoner class, someone suddenly joined our conversation.
“I’m curious how you managed to hit your targets in such a blinding situation.”
Even though the ball of light created by magic had a range limit, it wasn’t far enough to completely obscure the commoner class students. From Jennifer’s high vantage point on the platform, she could see most of the commoner class students and make elimination calls.
From Jennifer’s perspective, my shooting must have seemed strange, hitting the commoner class students so accurately.
“…”
“…Hmm.”
The problem was, I had no way to explain it. Telling her I reset the time would be dangerous for several reasons. If I told my classmates, they’d probably brush it off as a joke, but Jennifer was different. Beneath her outward appearance, she was someone who took everything seriously. Even if she didn’t believe me immediately, she’d be the type to investigate it as a “possibility.”
Not only Jennifer, but the Emperor and all my other siblings were the same. There was a reason I never spoke of my abilities to anyone, even as a joke.
“Well, alright.”
Jennifer shrugged, crossing her arms.
“Normally, I would have something to say about executing such a risky plan. It looked like you were just running on pure luck.”
…Not that there were any other options.
We didn’t have mortars or howitzers, and the distance was too close for such weapons anyway. The situation was more akin to urban warfare than actual trench warfare.
Jennifer probably wanted us to experience firsthand how dangerous a battlefield could be.
That was the conclusion in the original story as well. “But on the battlefield, even lucks are results. Well done.” Jennifer had probably said something like that in the original story. It wasn’t crystal clear in my memory, though.
“But… your shooting…”
Jennifer looked at me intently.
“…It didn’t seem like you were just shooting on instinct. It was as if you knew exactly where they would appear. So… yeah, calling it ‘luck’ wouldn’t do it justice, would it?”
It was just luck, though.
Of course, I had reset the time several times, turning that luck into inevitability. Honestly, I probably fired far more than just seven or eight bullets.
Every time one of my teammates was about to be eliminated, I reset the time and fired wildly in the direction where a bullet might have come from.
That’s another difference between this and real combat. Since our guns weren’t loaded with actual gunpowder, there was no gunshot sound. No one could tell where or who was hit. All I could do was reset time and slowly adjust my aim, praying for a hit.
If that wasn’t luck, what was that?
Not that I wanted real combat. I didn’t want to see characters I cared about actually get injured or die from gunfire.
“Because of you, my entire plan fell apart.”
Jennifer said, glancing at the commoner students who were now watching us from a distance, some looking thoroughly defeated.
She had intended to show that even commoners could use firearms to defeat nobles, but our side had far fewer casualties, leading to the conclusion that “nobles can overturn even such situations.” Especially since the commoner class had twice the number of students as the noble class.
I noticed a few familiar faces among the commoner class—characters who, in the original story, would go on to become part of the protagonist’s party. Some looked completely disheartened, while others gazed at us with curiosity and interest.
Maybe I should talk to them next time.
My affection didn’t discriminate between commoners and nobles. In fact, some of my favorite characters had been commoners.
“Well, alright. There’s no rule that says commoners can’t become officers. If anything, today will serve as a valuable lesson for them. It proves that battlefields are full of monsters with absurd skills.”
That much was true.
This world was indeed filled with freaks who could dominate the battlefield with nothing but a sword in hand.
“Anyway, those who lead their side to victory deserve a reward.”
Jennifer said as she reached into the pocket of her jacket.
Oh.
As expected, what used to be a simple notification of “You have obtained such-and-such item” in the game had transformed into spoken words in this world. It was much more natural than just finding it in my pocket out of nowhere.
“Take it.”
Jennifer handed me a gem that looked like a ruby, carved into a spherical shape.
It was a Marmaros.
The name, derived from the Greek word for marble, was fitting. The gemstone glowed softly with a red hue, living up to its name, which meant “shining stone.” Anyone could tell just by looking at it that it had magical properties.
When I picked up the stone from Jennifer’s palm, it felt pleasantly warm where my skin touched it. Not so hot that it would burn, but like something you’d want to hold in the dead of winter, the perfect warmth for a hand warmer.
Of course, it would be a rather expensive hand warmer.
A Marmaros was a refined magic stone. Magic stones generally had an inherent “element,” but most were a chaotic mixture of attributes, making them difficult to use for specific purposes. Magic stones that were too impure to refine were simply used as fuel. However, there were rare instances of magic stones that contained nearly pure attributes. By carefully carving out the elemental part and magically processing it for safe use, you’d get a Marmaros like this one.
In the original story, equipping a Marmaros onto a weapon could alter its elemental properties or even add extra damage.
I assumed the same rules would apply here.
“It’s a fire-element Marmaros. It’s yours now, so use it as you see fit.”
I nodded in response.
In the later stages of the game, Marmaros stones became quite abundant. Some could even possess two or three elements at once and still be just as powerful as those with a single pure attribute. Of course, those more advanced stones weren’t mined from the ground but were obtained by defeating high-ranking monsters.
So, this item was valuable now. In the game, the later stages passed quickly, but in this real world where I live day by day, a year felt like a long time.
“If you want, I can introduce you to a craftsman. I’ll also return the gun you entrusted me with. To be honest, I’m quite curious about how you intend to use that Marmaros.”
… That wasn’t part of the original story.
Well, I had a rough idea of who the craftsman might be.
“Thank you.”
I replied, slightly bowing my head toward Jennifer.
*
“So, where are you going to use that? On a gun, I assume?”
Alice asked.
“Yes, that’s correct.”
However, I was still considering which firearm to use it on.
I had come to realize that this world differed from the original game in subtle but significant ways. In the game, only certain people could wield specific weapons. But here, people were casually using both guns and swords together. That meant “bullets” were likely bound by physical laws as well.
In the original game, you could attach a Marmaros to your gun to give the bullets special elemental powers. So, I assumed that part would work the same here.
But how exactly would a “fire-element” bullet manifest?
There didn’t seem to be much point in just making the bullet hotter. Bullets were already heated as they traveled through the air anyway.
If the gun barrel were to get too hot, that would lead to a malfunction, and in a battlefield, a malfunctioning weapon meant death. Even though I could reset the time, I’d rather avoid dying.
Besides, I had never actually died before. The first time I reset the time? I wasn’t even sure if I had died then. Maybe I had just been knocked unconscious. So, unless I was left with no other choice, I would try to avoid dying at all costs. And by “no other choice,” I meant a situation where I wouldn’t even realize I was dying.
It’s best to avoid creating such situations altogether.
“I’ll take some time to think about it and consider which firearm would be most advantageous to equip it on.”
“Well, they say you can reuse it anyway, so no need to worry too much, right?”
…That was a good point. That was a relief. In the original story, you could take it out and equip it on another weapon if needed, so it made sense it would work the same way here.
“…”
“…”
And then we walked in silence for a while.
The group consisted of the same six who had been gathered at the training field earlier: me, Alice, Claire, Leo, Charlotte… and Mia Crowfield. Mia seemed uncomfortable, as if she had accidentally ended up tagging along, her expression awkward. Her awkwardness seemed contagious, and the rest of us found ourselves walking quietly as well.
We had all grown up in noble society, so we could read the room—
“Oh, right!”
Or maybe not.
The one to break the silence with a voice far too bright for the atmosphere was Claire.
“Shall we go to a café after class? I found a place that has great parfaits.”
“…Shall we?”
Alice, seemingly relieved by the change in topic, was the first to respond.
“Parfaits, huh? There were quite a few excellent cafés in Lutetia as well… Alright, it might be fun to compare which is better—Runedarium or Lutetia.”
Then the three of them turned to look at me, Leo, and Mia Crowfield.
“…”
For a moment, none of us said anything.
Well, there wasn’t really a reason to refuse, right?
These were all characters I had been fond of. As a fan, it wouldn’t be right not to go along with them in a situation like this.