Chapter 49

Chapter 5: Belief and Reality (1)

Every time I shoot, I realize that gunfire really isn’t my style.

Even in the military, it was hard to find someone who liked the sound of gunfire. Sure, there were some who thought shooting was fun or weirdos who enjoyed the smell of gunpowder.

Honestly, it’s not just the noise that I dislike; I can’t stand the recoil and the smell of gunpowder either.

To be frank, going into the Gate armed with a shield and a gun is somewhat thrilling. I mean, I used to be a person who read a lot of comics and novels. Back in my childhood, I even dreamed of becoming a Hunter.

But imagining something in your head and facing reality are two completely different things.

Bang! Bang!

Even when I pressed my arm tight against the shield and tried to control the recoil as much as I could, I could never get used to shooting with one hand.

“Cough!?”

And then there’s watching the monsters fall with green blood spewing out.

I prefer meat over vegetables, but seeing an animal die right in front of you is a whole different experience.

Well, that part was somewhat bearable. At least the monster that approached me was now lying there, bleeding, meaning it couldn’t harm me anymore.

What really gave me the chills was—

Thud.

I felt something hit my shield.

It wasn’t that strong. It was more of a sound made when part of a monster collided with the shield rather than a genuine attack.

Ria is protecting me.

In the party, she was at the front, taking care of everyone, so I couldn’t just focus on myself, but with Lee Si-yoon standing by my side, there was no big problem.

After all, being in front of someone holding a ‘gun’ is a crazy thing to do. No matter how well-trained they are, you never know how a bullet might ricochet. Nobody would fully trust my shooting skills, considering my training was barely at a conscript level.

Still, the reason I can be in this party is probably because of Saint Power.

Swish!

The small monsters that rushed towards me were sliced in half by Ria’s sword with little effort. It wasn’t exactly a pleasant sight, but—

Swish.

Before slicing the next monster, the sight of Ria shaking off her sword in the air was, how do I put it…

A bit cool. Damn.

I want to fight like that too, but—well, the original Saintess wasn’t that great in combat either. A healer is a healer, after all. I might have changed my gear and am somewhat helpful in battle, but I’m basically just support.

Bang!

Clank.

Watching the slide lock back, I pressed the magazine release—

“Wait, there!”

Han Yu-ri’s shout caught my attention.

From the forest, to my right, a monster lunged out beside Lee Si-yoon.

If it was up to Lee Si-yoon, he could probably handle it. Even if he got hurt, it wouldn’t be too serious.

However, even while thinking that, my hands were moving.

As Ria trained me to do, I calmly tucked my pistol into the holster behind my shield. I then extended my right hand towards Lee Si-yoon—

“…!”

The glowing white light from my hand literally scorched the outer surface of the monster.

It wouldn’t have an effect on ‘living beings.’ If anything, it might just heal wounds instead.

But if the opponent is an existence living off Magic Power, then it’s a different story.

“Gah!?”

As soon as the monster hit the ground, Lee Si-yoon drove his sword into its neck. Well, I’m not quite sure if it can even be called a ‘neck.’ The creature was all round and fluffy, so maybe it could be referred to as the lower part of where its brain might be and the upper part where its arms connected.

Whether it’s a true neck or not, seeing Lee Si-yoon completely halt its movements with his sword means that place is probably the weak point.

“…Hah.”

I let out a small sigh.

I took the gun out of the holster again and swapped in a new magazine from my vest. The shield strap on my arm was a bit annoying, but I managed to reload.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

To my question, Lee Si-yoon shook his head.

I looked around at the other party members. It seemed no one was seriously hurt.

“Good. Then let’s clean up the area for now. Don’t spread out too much. Center around Anna.”

At that, we all nodded.

*

The overall performance of the party was pretty decent. We managed to get our hands on some claws and fangs from the monsters, and considering we had just done a quick run, we made quite a bit of money. That said, we weren’t at the level of the original protagonist party, but then again, we were still pre-main story.

…The main story.

Unless it’s a completely slice-of-life piece, usually there’s some significant storyline running through it. And even slice-of-life stories often have a plot thread threading through them.

Typically, during the process of concluding that story, they tend to latch onto that main thread.

In the work I read, [The Weakest Hunter], there was a similar type of major thread.

The Second Gate Incident.

An entity presumed to be the cause of all Gate incidents.

And organizations that had been trying to suppress the generation of Gates until now.

The problem is that I can’t determine exactly what those entities are because I haven’t read the story to the end.

“…”

While lost in thought, Ria tapped my shoulder.

When I turned my gaze, I saw Ria about to say something to me but then closing her mouth. She probably wanted to say something a bit mischievous.

However, briefly, the serious expression she had while looking at me turned into a smile, and she tapped my shoulder one more time.

“You did well today. You hit your targets well.”

“I hardly captured any monsters, though.”

“Your role is primarily to look after the health of the party members. If you had to step up and handle things yourself, that would mean the whole party is in danger.”

I had no real rebuttal to Ria’s words.

It felt a bit… strange. It’s been a while since Ria praised me so sincerely.

“I felt that way at first too.”

“Huh?”

“Taking a life. It’s not exactly a pleasant thing, is it? Even if the other party is aiming for my life, it still feels wrong. You probably feel it even more intensely.”

I wondered what made her think that, but since it wasn’t like I felt indifferent about it, I silently listened to her talk.

Well, Ria letting me carry live ammunition into the Gate could be seen as an act of consideration. In gaming terms, it’s like the healer stepping back to let me step up.

Since it’s a gun and not just any weapon, it would have been a hassle to ensure I stayed behind to protect the party.

“…”

Looking at Ria with a speechless expression, unsure of how to respond, she shrugged her shoulders and patted my shoulder again before moving past me.

…Why is that?

Is Ria annoyed because she’s actually younger than me? Or maybe not.

Hmm, let’s just say she is annoyed.

I think it’s better to think that way for some reason.

*

Before meeting Ria, I was simply determined to stay out of the storyline and not interfere with the protagonist couple, but now I couldn’t help but think about the main story at this point I got involved.

While Ria went to wash up, I pulled out my diary for the first time in a long while.

Fortunately, it’s a diary that hasn’t been discovered by anyone yet. Just to be safe, I filled the very front and back with my thoughts on atheism, so an average person probably wouldn’t think to read beyond the first few pages.

It’s akin to hiding a crucial part in an internet bait-and-switch post so that people would have no clear reason to read it thoroughly.

…Not that I’m saying I wrote those things.

As I flipped through the slightly thick diary, I found the part where I summarized the storyline.

First, the protagonist’s awakening.

Like most novels, the protagonist awakens at the brink of death. Here, it’s Lee Si-yoon.

He had already faced death once, and his limits had slightly lifted, but to achieve complete awakening, he must go through many more events.

Typically, the heroine gets into trouble, and Lee Si-yoon dives in to protect her, pushing the plot forward.

…And this includes the Saintess too.

Second, the main thread of the story.

There exists an organization.

One that operates beyond the Gate.

“…Those who believed that Gates were graces obtained through the power of the gods.”

The time when the true form of this being would be revealed was during the events narrated in the Saintess story.

The Saintess’s immense Saint Power.

That power is the true might of the gods, and thus this world becomes a place waiting for salvation—

“…If they know that, then they shouldn’t be giving power to someone like me.”

I sighed deeply as I murmured.

It’s true.

If I weren’t possessed by the Saintess, and this world was inherently similar to the original, but without the Saintess—

Wouldn’t it have been better to just leave my body empty rather than giving it to me?

So those entities would never know where this world is.

…Or is there some predetermined purpose I must fulfill in this world?

Still, I’m not quite sure yet.

The sound of water from the shower stopped.

Thinking about Ria, I recalled the sight she showed earlier.

In this world, is there anyone besides Ria who has praised me based solely on my own abilities? Other people… they just look at the existence behind me.

…We’ve gotten too close.

I let out a deep sigh and wiped my face again.