Ch.5Reborn Revolver

“Welcome, good sir.”

As I opened the worn door of the gun shop and stepped inside, the owner—a short man with a long beard—greeted us.

The sight of various firearms from pistols to rifles displayed on the walls and shelves was hardly different between 21st century America and this other world, Grantis.

“What kind of gun are you looking for? Rifles are on the right shelf over there, pistols are here in front.”

“Ah… I’m not buying a new one. I’d like you to take a look at this gun.”

Consciously avoiding slipping into formal speech out of habit, I drew the revolver from the holster at my waist and placed it on the counter. The gunsmith put a magnifying glass to one eye and began examining it slowly.

“Hmm, a six-shot revolver… Balanced design and excellent craftsmanship.”

“Could you modify it to use magic bullets?”

“No modification needed. Just need to engrave the cylinder, and you could fire it right away.”

“How much would that engraving cost? And I’d like to buy some ammunition too.”

“For white magic bullet engraving, that’ll be 25 gold. For six bullets, 60 coins.”

“Eh… just six bullets isn’t—”

“That’s plenty. Will, let me talk to you for a moment…”

I was wondering what good just six bullets would do without spares, but Jessica seemed to have something to say. I asked the owner to proceed with the engraving and followed Jessica to a corner of the shop.

“Generally, you don’t need more than one load of magic bullets for a gun. After you use them all, you place your thumb on the center of the engraving, and your magic power recharges the bullets.”

“Oh, really? So they can be reused any number of times?”

“The idea of using bullets once and throwing them away is ridiculous… No matter how much money you have, that would be wasteful.”

From my perspective, the idea of reusing something designed to propel a projectile with explosive power is the scary concept, but I kept that thought to myself.

“I’ll show you how to reload once the engraving is done. For now, let me see your hand. Just extend your thumb.”

“Like this?”

I extended my left hand with just the thumb out as Jessica requested. She placed her right index and middle fingers against the tip of my thumb and closed her eyes for a moment. This feels like an oddly intimate gesture…

“…Yes, I can sense magical response. Even as a Drifter, you’ll have no problem handling a gun. I should have checked this before coming to the gun shop, but I forgot.”

“That’s a relief. If you told me I couldn’t use it after paying for repairs, it would’ve been a crisis on my first day as an adventurer.”

With a sigh of relief, I decided to look around the shop while waiting for the engraving to be completed. The display of various western-style firearms—bolt-action rifles, double-barrel shotguns, single-action revolvers, and derringer pistols—gave me a sense of familiarity, yet the absence of any guns exactly like the ones I knew reminded me that this was indeed another world resembling the Old West.

“Most of the revolvers sold here are five-shooters.”

“In Grantis, small firearms are typically single-shot pistols or five-shot revolvers. Six-shooters exist but aren’t common since they take longer to reload and are more difficult to manufacture.”

“I see… Well, I’ll get used to those details with practice.”

I wasn’t sure how long it would take to reload a six-shot magic bullet gun, but it probably wouldn’t take longer than removing spent casings and inserting new bullets one by one like Earth guns. While I was thinking about this, the gunsmith emerged from his workshop. He was looking at the revolver and tilting his head, which made me nervous—could there be a problem?

“About this gun of yours…”

“Is something wrong?”

“No, the engraving is complete. But it seems to be made of a rare material. Could you tell me what metal this is?”

“I don’t know either. I acquired it as a finished product.”

“I see… That’s a shame. I’ve never seen a metal with such excellent magical conductivity and durability.”

It seems my limited edition single-action revolver is made of a much better metal than what’s commonly used for guns in Grantis. If I could access the internet, the specifications would probably be listed on the competition prize page, but there’s no way to check now.

“It’s ready to fire now, but as it is, you’re not fully utilizing this gun’s potential. If you ever meet a skilled and trustworthy gunsmith, consider requesting modifications.”

“Alright, I’ll keep that in mind.”

After receiving the revolver back from the gunsmith, I opened the cylinder to find a pattern resembling a flower or snowflake engraved on the insertion point. Instead of metal bullets, six unusual rounds with transparent, rounded glass tips attached to the casings were inserted.

“There’s some small pattern engraved here. Jessica, how do I load this?”

“That pattern is the magic bullet engraving. Place your thumb on the cylinder and concentrate energy at your fingertip.”

Following Jessica’s instructions, I placed my left thumb on it and concentrated. The entire engraving emitted a white light that seemed to be absorbed into the six bullets. When I removed one bullet to check, the previously transparent glass tip had transformed into something like a pearly white.

“It loads really quickly! Is that because of the metal’s excellent magical conductivity?”

“Is this the loaded state?”

“Yes, see how the tips have turned white? These are ‘white magic bullets,’ the standard ammunition in Grantis. Maximum range is about 50 meters, and they dissipate beyond that range, so there’s no worry about stray bullets.”

“White… I’m guessing there are other colors too?”

“Basically, only white bullets can be loaded through the engraving. But using magic, you can temporarily change them to red for fire attribute, blue for water, green for wind, or yellow for earth.”

“I see… so you change attributes according to the enemy’s weakness.”

“Actually, only mages can use that magic, and with attack magic being so developed these days, it’s rarely used.”

That makes sense. Non-mage adventurers can’t imbue bullets with attributes, so it’s irrelevant to them. And if you’re a mage, it’s better to just use attack magic directly rather than taking out a gun and applying attributes to bullets.

“If you’ve never used a magic bullet gun before, there’s a test firing range in the back of the shop. Would you like to try a few shots?”

“Oh, that sounds good. Lead the way.”

Following the gunsmith to the back of the shop, we entered a shooting range about 5 meters wide and 15 meters long. It was simple—just a dark-colored wall with a wooden board painted with concentric circles—but sufficient for test firing.

“Well then…”

After confirming that all the magic bullets in the cylinder were charged, I holstered the gun and took a ready stance.

“Will? Why are you putting the gun away?”

“I’m going to shoot… like this!”

I drew the single-action revolver from my right holster with lightning speed.

Simultaneously, my left hand waited at the appropriate height to help aim, ready to support my right hand at the stopping position.

The moment my right hand holding the gun met my left, I used my left hand to cock the hammer. Normally, keeping the hammer cocked before holstering would allow for faster first shots, but outside of speed shooting competitions, I prefer this safer method.

Maintaining a steady wrist, I pulled the trigger for the first shot. Keeping the trigger pulled, I used only my left hand to repeatedly cock and release the hammer for the second through sixth bullets.

Tatatatatang! A sound like a machine gun echoed through the range. After firing all six shots, I opened the cylinder, reloaded, closed it, then performed a quick gun spin before holstering the weapon. Hmm, maybe because my body is younger, I feel like I shot better than in the championship finals, even without pre-cocking the hammer. Without a stopwatch, there’s no way to know exactly how fast I was.

“Ooh~ The hit spots are glowing white! True to the name ‘white magic bullets.'”

Six stars were shining near the exact center of the white target drawn on the dark wall. Aim: Good, Shot grouping: Good. I’m in good form today!

Glancing to the side, I noticed the gunsmith and Jessica standing frozen with wide eyes and gaping mouths.

“What’s wrong with you two?”

“……What the heck was THAT?!?!?!”

From their shocked reactions, I learned that quick draws, fanning shots, and even gun spinning are unfamiliar techniques in Grantis.

The impressed gunsmith gave me a free gun maintenance kit as “a token of appreciation for showing such rare skills,” and we headed toward the “Golden Sunrise” inn where Jessica was staying.