Both arms felt slightly sore from the large and beautiful magic gun.
As Luna checked its appearance, she immediately frowned.
“What’s that filthy thing?”
“Keke, isn’t it large and beautiful?”
“I get that it’s big, but it’s not beautiful, is it? More importantly, to think you would put such a strange thing in our Rezé’s hands! I absolutely can’t accept it!”
“Lu, Luna! To, to think of me like that!”
Rezé showed an expression of immense emotion, even starting to choke up a bit.
‘It would be easier to persuade Rezé than Luna, wouldn’t it?’
If Rezé says she likes it, Luna would have no choice but to agree.
From the conversation a moment ago, the way to move Rezé…
“Keke, it’s the most suitable weapon for our Rezé, isn’t it?”
“…Eww. It’s, it’s totally awful.”
“…?”
When I looked at Rezé, she quickly hid behind Luna, only peeking her face out.
It’s a rejection almost as solid as a fortress. Why could that be?
Could it be that there’s a difference between the ‘our’ Luna speaks of and the ‘our’ I speak of?
‘Damn those slit eyes.’
It was clear that the appearance of slit eyes had caused Rezé to form a negative impression.
It’s not because she dislikes me, so that reason must be it!
But this is a weapon that could make Rezé ten times stronger.
I absolutely cannot back down.
“Keke, don’t be like that and try holding it in your hand once.”
“No way! And it’s too big for Rezé to use!”
“Everything is better when it’s bigger! Look at this large and beautiful form!”
“Kyaa! Don’t bring that filthy thing near me!”
“Please, save me!”
Luna and Rezé started to run away, and I chased after them.
Hey, try it! Just try it!
Just try it once… I mean, use it and then talk!
The reason Luna and Rezé called the magic gun dirty and avoided it.
It wasn’t because it came from my lower half.
It was because, in this world, the perception of ‘magic guns’ was close to that of garbage.
‘Mages, and archers.’
Beings that can attack from a distance.
Mages use mana, while archers use bows and mana to attack their enemies.
In a world where the majority can’t grasp mana, there are significantly more archers than mages.
Typically, they use bows similar to longbows.
The important thing here is, in this world, the bow is one of the means to make a name for oneself.
‘Of course, not as much as swords.’
If the rate of making it with a sword is 60%, with a bow it’s about 15%?
There’s a significant difference, but it’s undeniable that it’s the second means of making a name for oneself after the sword.
Compared to magic, spears, or martial arts, it takes up an overwhelming ratio.
There are even noble archer families who are serious about bows, and those who have reached the state where they can shoot a bow with just mana are called divine archers and are praised.
There are a few in our advanced class who use bows as their weapons.
‘Anyway.’
I’ve gone a bit long, but this is the situation where the ‘magic gun’ comes in.
A product of magical engineering, created with great effort by magical engineers.
It operates on a principle similar to guns on Earth and shares similar advantages.
Pulling the trigger releases it, the speed of the bullet is faster than an arrow, and it reloads automatically.
The difference is that it uses ‘mana’ instead of bullets.
Yes, the magic gun is a weapon that anyone can use easily as long as they have mana in their body.
‘It’s a perfect weapon for Rezé, who lacks strength and destructive power.’
That’s why I recommended the magic gun, but I never imagined they would dislike it this much.
It’s more about the prejudices and biases of the people in this world than its crude appearance.
What kind of prejudices?
“That’s not one’s own skill!”
Cornered, Luna shouted loudly.
Rezé nodded vigorously in agreement without stopping.
The mindset that the magic gun is the power of engineering, not one’s own skill.
Yes, that mindset was the problem.
‘Is it because there are many famous archer families, or because there are heroes who wield bows?’
I’m not sure which, but it’s a troublesome situation.
I can’t give up on the child called ‘Spear Rezé’, who used to show her might, just for that reason.
“Keke, not one’s own skill? Handling the magic gun is certainly within the realm of skills.”
“Pulling a trigger and it shoots? What skill is that? I can’t acknowledge that! It’s cheating!”
That very action of pulling a trigger to shoot is the greatest advantage of a gun!
It’s easy to overpower Rezé, but Luna’s guard in front of her is quite solid.
No choice then. I have to brainwash… no.
Change Luna’s train of thought.
“Keke, cheating, you say. Then, Miss Luna is also cheating?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“You have artifacts, don’t you? If using the power of engineering is cheating… then that pendant is no longer needed, right?”
Luna looked down at the pendant hanging around her neck.
The S-rank artifact, Spirit’s Breath, given by Caron.
A pendant containing ‘mystery’, a power unknown, but not without engineering technology.
It’s also definitely a product of engineering technology.
‘Not to mention the Silver Flash I have.’
Artifacts are, after all, items made by piling up engineering materials on the basis of mysterious powers.
Mystery.
A mysterious power that can’t be explained by engineering or magic.
I’ll explain this later since it’s not the main point right now.
“That’s not it. This is a support… Yes! It’s an item that supports me!”
Luna crossed her arms and covered her chest, as if she was afraid I would take it away.
Don’t worry, Luna.
If I were to do such a thing, Caron would tear me apart.
I took a step towards Luna and said.
“That’s right. Support, exactly that.”
“Eh, huh?”
“The magic gun is merely a weapon that assists Miss Rezé’s skills. It’s just the same as the sword Miss Luna wields.”
“Is, is that so?”
“Yes, it is. Even this training ground proves it. Isn’t this place full of magical engineering technology?”
Although the power of magic is greater than that of magical engineering… well, it’s not nonexistent.
What I said wasn’t wrong.
“Bows and swords, it means they’re no different from those.”
Bows and swords are weapons full of scientific principles rather than engineering… well, since they both involve ‘studies’.
It’s not much different (?) so it’s fair to see them as the same, right?
“But then you say it’s skill, and the magic gun isn’t. To think Miss Luna has been played by the tricks of the Continental Archery Association, selling bows and arrows. Tsk…! It’s lamentable.”
The Continental Archery Association.
…A fictional group I just made up.
But it can’t be considered a lie.
Surely somewhere on this vast continent, it must exist.
‘Even an association founded by one person is still an association.’
Did my persuasion work? Luna nodded, murmuring to herself.
“The Continental Archery Association… I’ve heard of them. Very vile people. So, this was their manipulation.”
“Yes, exactly. They even raise the prices of arrows at will… They’re, they’re bad people…”
Huh? Was there really such an association?
It’s like catching a mouse by walking backward, but I couldn’t miss this opportunity.
“Keke, that’s right. Magical engineering is not at all bad. Technology developed for the benefit of people can’t be bad. The same goes for this magic gun. It’s the best weapon developed by magical engineers to escape from the wicked merchants of the Continental Archery Association!”
I proclaim this passionately!
Was my rhetoric moving?
Luna scratched her head and looked back.
“What do you think? Want to give it a try?”
“Should, should we? Well, it’s just trying it out once, anyway.”
But it won’t end with just once.
Once you taste something big and beautiful, you can never escape it.
Of course, I’m talking about the magic gun.
Rezé approached me, trembling.
‘Information Window.’
[‘Excellent Focus’ Magic Gun : C]
A masterpiece created with great effort by magical engineers.
A prototype set to be released in the third quarter.
Focusing on the condensation and explosive power of mana, sacrificing lightness and compactness.
It was marketed with the slogan ‘enhances the concentration of children’, but it’s unlikely to sell well.
Mana conductivity: 30%
Skill [Overcharge] available.
A weapon with a desperate sense of naming.
But it will always be so. Why?
‘Because that’s engineers’ humor.’
When playing the game, you often come across magic guns, and most are like that.
Players speculated there might be hidden quests and scoured every corner, but nothing existed.
And much later, they understand the reason.
-This really is an incredible sense of naming!
A post by an engineering student who started the game.
Yes. They genuinely found this amusing.
Of course, it could be a statistical error, but it’s an incident that many veterans nodded to in agreement.
Wobble-.
Rezé swayed as she received the magic gun.
About 1.5 times larger than a rifle.
From Rezé’s perspective, with her low strength stat, it might as well be a boulder.
“How do I use this?”
“Just mount it on your shoulder and use it like this…”
Shoulder, arm, hand, thigh, leg, foot width.
It was while I was touching various parts of Rezé’s body to adjust her posture.
Luna, standing on her tiptoes, rested her face on my shoulder.
She stared straight at me. Uncomfortably close.
“Keke, Miss Luna? What are you doing?”
“Making sure this pervert isn’t up to no good with my friend.”
“Eh? A pervert? That’s serious. Where is it! Where’s the pervert!”
“Right in front of me.”
Ah, I see. Right in front of you.
You’re saying you’re the pervert?
Luna sure can make objective judgments.
“Keke, I better keep a good watch then.”
“Yeah, I’ll be watching all day, so don’t worry.”
Luna flashed a grin.
Is it because I’m seeing it up close? Her smile seems particularly broad today.
Puff puff-.
Rezé’s face turned bright red, and steam seemed to rise from her head.
Why is she reacting like this? We were just having a normal conversation.
“Keke, focus. Unlike a bow, it’s a weapon with recoil.”
“Yes, yes!”
As Rezé took her stance, a blue aura began to swirl around the magic gun.
Mana from Rezé’s body was being injected into it.
“The mana…!”
It’s no wonder Luna was surprised.
To externally release mana, one needs to be at least 5 stars.
At best, Rezé, who is at the 2-star level, shouldn’t be able to perform such a feat.
“It’s the power of the artifact in the magic gun. It forcibly extracts the user’s mana.”
There’s neither a magazine nor bullets in the magic gun.
It’s natural since it shoots ‘mana’ condensed.
“Fire whenever you’re ready. Control your breath as you pull the trigger.”
I didn’t need to say it. Rezé was already focused.
As someone who has completed military service, I can tell.
Gaze, posture, concentration, the breath being exhaled.
All of it was perfect.
The figure of an exceptional marksman.
Click.
When Rezé pulled the trigger, a stream of blue mana shot out.
Thunk!
The sound was soft. But the outcome was anything but.
–TL Notes–
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