episode_0029

No matter how much time passes, the feeling of being caught off guard doesn’t just disappear. It may fade from other people’s memories, but it doesn’t vanish from mine.

Well, okay.

I realized firsthand that Claire’s sincerity was genuine.

Since I didn’t reveal my true identity, Claire probably wants to uncover it herself. That’s the impression I got from her faint smile.

Perhaps Claire was surprised when I dodged her attack because of that reason.

The time I spent with Claire wasn’t that long. But the memory of her treating me warmly when I was struggling must have left a strong impression.

Moreover, I must have appeared to young Claire as someone with a mysterious ability. I led the kids around as if I knew the future, even bringing them in front of the Marquis.

Honestly, I considered hiding a bit more. Not for any significant reason, but simply because I wanted to maintain that character. It would be a waste if the character I had built over ten years crumbled in an instant.

But if I manage to avoid Claire’s attacks here and defeat her, she will realize that I am the ‘Silvia Black.’

…That wouldn’t be so bad.

A reunion between sisters after a long time. A relationship proven through skill. Wouldn’t it be a great sight in a Japanese manga-style story?

“….”

I slung the rifle over my back and pulled out the revolver.

And I cocked the trigger. The Webley revolver was a double-action revolver, so there was no need to pull the hammer back.

“Alright then!”

Jennifer’s voice rang out once more.

“Begin!”

As Jennifer shouted, Claire raised her knife again—

However, because I had switched guns, things didn’t go exactly the same as before.

I extended my arm without dodging Claire’s movement.

Click.

As I pulled the trigger, the hammer of the gun was pulled back and then snapped forward. There was a slight recoil due to the movement, but that was it. The gun, without gunpowder, didn’t kick back.

“Missed!”

Jennifer declared.

By the time I extended my arm, Claire had already turned her body to avoid the line of fire. She may not see the future like me, but she probably anticipated my arm rising.

You can’t dodge a bullet once you see it. But you can change your stance to prepare for a shot.

In the original turn-based system, it was more of a walking up and hitting style, but in reality, that kind of combat style is impossible. To face an opponent with a gun while holding a sword, you need to move at this speed.

To my right, from Claire’s perspective, to her left.

As Claire twisted her body to dodge, her stance holding the knife changed. It was as if she was slightly covering her face with the broad side of the knife. She wasn’t trying to block the bullet, but rather maintaining her stance to not collapse while exerting force.

I followed Claire’s arm with mine, but before the barrel was aimed at her, Claire was already swinging the knife.

It wasn’t that my arm was slow, but Claire’s next move was faster than my reaction speed.

The distance was too short for her to hit me with the sword. In fact, Claire’s sword didn’t touch me.

But what was even later than that,

“Oof…!”

A strong impact hit my right shoulder downward.

I dropped the revolver from my hand.

Again.

*

Right after I pulled the trigger for the first time.

Claire assumed the same stance as before, but before smoothly swinging the sword down, I moved first.

A half-step to the left.

With the gun aimed at Claire, I leaned to the left, and the delayed strike of the sword pierced the ground, making the sand fly.

Click.

“Missed!”

The voice sounded a bit excited.

This time, I hesitated too much. The pistol had a fast barrel alignment but a short barrel itself. Even a slight distance could cause the bullet to miss.

If you move aggressively and hold with only one hand, it’s natural to be even more so.

Before pulling the trigger again, this time Claire dodged to the left. Click. The revolver made an empty sound. Jennifer didn’t bother to shout out. It was too obvious that it missed.

And this time, Claire raised both hands above her head.

With a swoosh, the sword came down at a terrifying speed.

Although it didn’t reach me this time, the dirt on the ground flew up again with the delayed sword following.

And I couldn’t dodge that sword.

Again.

*

I think I understand a bit.

Claire’s sword, like a whip connected to the sword, followed the sword, but it didn’t swing wildly like the sabre sword that appeared in the game. Compared to the game that showed movements like a “snake,” Claire’s sword was too straightforward.

Is it the nature of the sword that it can’t move like a whip? Or is it because her skills haven’t developed that much yet? I didn’t really care about either side. It was advantageous for me.

Of course, it was annoying that the attack came in a two-hit combo.

…Alright, I’ve made up my mind.

Next time, let’s prepare a short shotgun as well. Even though it’s an assassination mission, it’s always good to have multiple means of defense on the battlefield where there are beings wielding swords like this.

Right now, I only had a revolver.

With the gun aimed at Claire, I leaned to the left. This time, I supported the hand holding the revolver with my other hand.

Let’s aim at Claire for now. Claire dodged to the left again from my perspective.

Machine guns exist in this world too. And the most famous way to deal with that machine gun is to draw a zigzag while running. The higher the chance that the opponent can’t predict the next move, the higher the chance of the bullet missing. Of course, only those with extreme physical abilities can dodge bullets like that.

But right now, I’m not carrying a machine gun or a submachine gun, I’m holding a revolver. Even though it can be fired in rapid succession, it’s impossible to fire quickly with a double-action revolver due to the high trigger pressure. Moreover, Claire not only swings the sword but also has a long-range attack method called the sword strike.

Alright.

Again.

*

Claire’s foot moved. The movement that I couldn’t catch before starts to become visible after watching it several times. It’s a preparatory movement where Claire leans to the right from her perspective, which means left from my perspective.

Truly a small movement that can’t be seen during the battle.

But even if it’s a moment that passed in a video, if you watch it several times, you can see it clearly.

I don’t have the ability to aim accurately in a moment by calculating those subtle differences.

But that’s not a problem.

I had the opportunity to try again with one chance, a hundred chances, or a thousand chances.

As I turned the barrel to the left, I pulled the trigger.

“Missed!”

Again.

*

Click.

“Stop! Claire Grace Payne!”

Jennifer, who was watching them closely, declared. Since both teams used swords, the students could have made a fair judgment without Jennifer’s intervention. Of course, that doesn’t mean they weren’t paying attention.

Nobles don’t handle guns that often.

Originally, guns were treated as weapons that “anyone could use,” so compared to other cold weapons that require a lot of effort to master, firearms have a shorter training period. With just a few months of training, soldiers can be trained to fight on the battlefield.

But still, a weapon is a weapon.

Once you start training, there is no end, just like firearms. Whether it’s hitting a target far away that is difficult to hit with trajectory calculations, or quickly aiming in close combat to suppress the enemy. Even defending oneself by wielding the firearm is part of handling a gun.

However, soldiers who use firearms don’t train under a great master for a long time but rather enhance their skills in actual combat by rolling around like crazy. This is because training with firearms is difficult to simulate in a “real battle” scenario. Even the gun that the princess is using right now didn’t have gunpowder inside, and the feeling of shooting would have been different from an actual firearm.

Survival makes you stronger. This applies to all soldiers who have experienced real battles, but… a mere fifteen-year-old?

Was she really a talent worthy of being deployed to the North?

Or maybe she had a reason to fight for her life with that weapon even before.

Moreover, there was something strange about Sylvia’s movements.

It seemed like she knew in advance how her opponent would swing the sword, how they would move their body.

When Claire tried to strike downwards with her sword, Sylvia reached out and aimed at Claire, and when Claire struck, she calmly stepped aside to avoid it.

And…

As for what Sylvia was thinking when aiming the gun, Jennifer couldn’t say, but at least in Jennifer’s eyes, Sylvia was already turning the gun towards the direction Claire would dodge.

And when Claire made her move…

The duel was over in an instant, unlike the other students who were fiercely clashing swords.

However, that doesn’t mean their duel looked easy.

“Hmm.”

Was it a good thing for the kingdom that Sylvia didn’t head to the North and came to the academy, or was it a missed opportunity?

Jennifer was intrigued.

*

There was no physical exhaustion.

No pain either. Mentally, I was a bit tired, but in reality, it didn’t take that long, even considering the rewind.

But still, getting hit by something wasn’t a pleasant feeling.

If the opponent wasn’t Claire, I would have felt much worse.

As I holstered my revolver again, Claire approached me.

Even though she lost, Claire had a bright smile on her face, looking very lively and energetic. In the game, Claire had only shown such a smile once at the last moment.

And at that time, the “sister” wasn’t me, but Alice.

From behind, the sound of swords clashing between Alice and Charlotte could still be heard. Their duel was far from over.

Thud.

As Claire came close to me, she reached out her hand towards me, as if to shake hands.

“….”

I hesitated for a moment, looking at her hand, then slowly reached out and lightly held it.

But, I was the only one holding lightly, Claire firmly grasped my hand.

And she pulled me towards her.

It wasn’t an unexpected ambush, at least I don’t think so. The reason I didn’t stumble so much was that I could somewhat imagine this situation.

As Claire pulled me closer,

“Sister.”

Claire looked me straight in the eyes and said.

“Isn’t it, sister?”

She already had certainty in her eyes.

…Hmm.

I expected this anyway. Claire must have thought that I would prove to be the Sylvia Black of that time by cleanly winning against her.

So, I was surprised even when I was hit by Claire’s attack.

“You seem… very confident.”

I said that, but Claire’s expression remained unchanged, still smiling.

“If it’s you, I thought you would dodge like that. Just like you did before.”

The time Claire and I knew each other was very short. And in fact, what I showed was similar to that precognitive ability… the principle was the same, but the type was different. Now, it was using that ability briefly to dodge each attack, and back then, it was avoiding the threat altogether.

“I looked into it later. Those people at that time, they must have been a human trafficking group.”

Even though the orphanage was on fire, there was only one victim, which was considered a mystery at the time. Honestly, we did escape openly, but because of the fire spreading to the side, reports were received from all over, causing chaos.

The children who disappeared suddenly. And the next morning, the children Grace brought with her.

If the Marquis and Marchioness of Grace hadn’t noticed, that would have been even worse.

“… Did you find that human trafficking group from back then?”

The deals happening at the Marquis’s estate were separate from the orphanage. If I could have found those glasses, I would have shot them myself. He might not remember, but I was beaten to the point of passing out.

Many children, not just me, would have died from that punch.

… It was called processing, right?

If it were Claire, would she have only been hit enough to not die? Could it be related to the resurrection ritual that only exists as a hint in the game? Or maybe she just managed to survive by being sold to a necrophiliac pedophile.

I revealed my identity, but Claire’s expression stiffened slightly.

Claire lowered her head.

I see.

Although she was a character I hadn’t seen in the original work, there is no guarantee that she is an unimportant character. She might have become a giant if she is still alive.

“…”

I glanced around. There were many eyes on us. Some students were looking at us as if they were curious about the first ones to finish the match, and Jennifer’s gaze was still lingering.

“Claire.”

“Yes, Unni.”

“… Please call me Sylvia here.”

As I revealed my identity once again, Claire widened her eyes and nodded her head several times.

“Information should not be revealed to others recklessly. You never know how or when it might be used against you.”

“I understand.”

Claire, nodding her head like a well-behaved child, was not as stubborn as before, her hair neatly arranged, and she was wearing much better clothes. It was an academy uniform with a design similar to military uniforms.

At least she didn’t look like a ‘barefoot orphan.’

“…”

“…”

Hmm.

Even though the story had ended, Claire didn’t seem to have any intention of letting go of my hand. I wish she would at least let go of it for now and continue the conversation.