Chapter 13

Ah, of course, the place where Ria confidently laid down a gun in front of me wasn’t a church.

We were at a shooting range.

For now, both Ria and I are nuns. Supposedly, as Ria said, once the stalker issue is entirely handled, I won’t be a nun anymore, but while we’re affiliated with the convent, we must act as such.

So, just walking out of the convent with no explanation is tricky. It’s not that there aren’t any nuns occasionally attempting to sneak out, but with so many CCTV cameras around the church and the high walls, getting past without being caught is nearly impossible.

However, nuns do go outside from time to time.

That’s mainly for volunteer work.

Usually, we go to places run by the church, like hospitals or shelters. Of course, we’re basically young nuns, and while being pretty is secondary, the focus is more on being ‘young’ which might attract weirdos.

The denomination hasn’t been established for that long, but many of those within it were already clergy before. They definitely know quite a bit about accidents that might happen during volunteer work.

We mostly did cleaning.

Honestly, it’s not that hard. After all, the convent and the church are cleaned that way anyway.

Strictly speaking, going out to buy something during volunteer work is against the rules. But we can’t just control vigorous kids all the time.

Nuns often go out in groups to buy things they need. I occasionally snuck in with them to get what I needed.

Where do you think the hair dye I used came from?

There are outings on weekends, but in that case, the time is short and where we can go is restricted. And with a supervising nun always present, it’s rather awkward to buy something too outrageous.

Usually, items that seemed inappropriate for a nun to have managed to get in that way.

But I never thought it would be a gun.

“……”

I stared intently at the gun placed in front of me, then looked back at Ria.

Yeah, she did say we were going somewhere a bit strange for volunteer work. Not that we weren’t doing volunteer work, but still.

I shifted my gaze to the Sister Warden who was near Anna.

“I got permission from the priest. She said you wanted to try shooting.”

“No…”

I didn’t say I wanted to try.

I requested it, but it was a bit misleading.

“…Is this really okay?”

“Visiting a private property like this is technically a violation of the rules.”

The Sister Warden looked around.

This place was, indeed, a shooting range. I’d seen a shooting range with a similar vibe before. During army training.

So, this was indeed ‘private property.’

From just a glance, it was clearly a shooting range inside the huge basement of a mansion. It must be Maria’s house. Or maybe that ‘concentration one.’

“It’s my uncle’s house.”

As I surveyed the surroundings, Ria abruptly stated, as if wanting to reveal that she hadn’t reconciled with her father.

“And this gun belongs to my uncle. It’s not a gift. I just want you to try shooting once. I’m just thinking of checking if you have talent.”

I looked back at the Sister Warden.

Honestly, even the Sister Warden seemed quite uncomfortable being here. But that doesn’t mean she wasn’t allowed to be here. I’ve seen nuns using the subway or buses quite often in my previous life. While I didn’t know where they were headed, the fact that they could go outside was significant.

Maybe they have a bit more autonomy compared to younger nuns.

“While it is a regulation violation, I can’t say these things don’t happen… Certain nuns from specific families sometimes stop by their homes like this.”

Well, that was quite plausible.

Hmm.

I looked at the gun again.

Theoretically, I could at least load it. I had seen people load guns in games or movies. I even had memories of playing with toy guns.

But shooting and hitting… I wonder if someone who had never shot a gun before could do that?

“Uh, so, is there nothing else?”

“Nothing else?”

Ria tilted her head.

“No, I mean, I’ve heard that guns are harder to handle than they look.”

Ria stared at me with wide eyes, making me feel a bit embarrassed for no reason.

“Do you have a license?”

“A license?”

“Guns under a certain caliber can be kept without special licenses at registered shooting ranges beyond the gate. So usually, even those who primarily use other weapons carry one for self-defense. This is the same.”

Ria tapped the gun with her hand. It certainly looked like a size that could fit in a woman’s palm.

“But if it’s a rifle, that’s a different story, right? From that point on, it’s considered military territory. Even hunters can only hand over their weapons to the police or registered shooting ranges after coming through the gate, and personal possession is illegal. The church doesn’t have such shooting ranges, so even if you have it, you won’t be able to train regularly. It’d be illegal, above all.”

“…”

Was it that complicated?

No, that heroine—oh, right, she only used it beyond the gate. Plus, it seemed she always did gun maintenance inside the association’s shooting room.

“My uncle also said a few shots are fine but asked me to do it correctly. So, the only gun I can let you handle is this one. It’s a Bodyguard 380. It’s purely for self-defense, and the caliber is small. So, even if it’s your first time, you should be able to manage it without much trouble, so just shoot it. I’ll play the role of the control officer.”

With that usual straightforward talk from Ria, I found myself unable to argue back.

No, how should I put it? The situation itself was just absurd.

To go this far just from a casual remark? Was Ria… I mean, Lee Chae-eun, such a delicate character in the original story?

Oh, right. The protagonist remembered certain ingredients she disliked and always managed to eat at places that wouldn’t include those. Thinking back, in recent web novels, tsundere characters couldn’t survive without at least that minimum consideration.

…

Still, even if so, this seemed like way too much consideration.

I had resolved not to become a hunter. If anything, I might consider a clerk position at the association—

I stole another glance at the Sister Warden.

Seeing the two of us maintain a distance while wearing noise-cancelling headsets made it seem like she truly intended to allow this.

In the end, I picked up the headset next to the gun, and Ria put on hers.

“Can you hear me?”

“Oh, yes.”

I answered reflexively to Ria’s voice coming through the headset.

“Good. Then, hold the gun.”

With that, I had no choice but to reach out for the gun following Ria’s instructions.

*

I fired twelve rounds, which was two magazines worth.

It seemed this small self-defense pistol couldn’t hold more than that.

Ria gave me strict instructions, which was expected given the circumstances with a gun.

Though they said it was small caliber, there was still a basic recoil. No matter how much strength I put into my arms, it was hard to keep them steady.

Once shooting was over, the acrid smell of gunpowder filled the air. It wasn’t exactly a pleasant smell. While someone might like it, it wasn’t necessarily agreeable.

After setting down the firearm, which was completely empty with the slide locked back, Ria took it and did a safety check, removing the empty magazine before putting it back down.

“Well, it’s average.”

After taking off her headset, Ria evaluated the target I shot at.

“Still, since it’s a gun, with consistent practice, you’ll get much better. If you do well, you could even handle higher calibers.”

“No, no, wait a minute.”

I waved my hands and quickly countered.

“Are you saying I should practice shooting now?”

“Right on the nose. Didn’t you say? Swinging a sword or a mace is just ordinary.”

“…What’s the reason I even have to do such training?”

When I asked with a dumbfounded expression, Ria shrugged.

“Well, you need to know how to make money after graduating, right?”

“That’s not something I asked you to teach me!”

“No, you didn’t ask, that’s true.”

I put my hands on my hips and leaned in close to Ria who was looking down on me. Only then did she take a few steps back.

With the most furious expression I could muster, I spoke to Ria.

“I appreciate your concern, but I’m not planning on becoming a hunter, you know?”

“Really? But it might still be helpful.”

“…Huh?”

“I think you really don’t understand, but there’s a stalker, you know?”

“I’ve already heard about that!”

“That stalker might have various feelings towards you, but what if they approach because of your abilities?”

“Huh?”

“Saint Power doesn’t have the ability to attack people, right? You said it yourself. You can’t face the monsters beyond the gate with only your strength.”

“……”

“And a human can become one of those monsters too, you know? What would you do if someone tried to kidnap you?”

“…So, are you suggesting that I should shoot that person?”

“Maybe it would be difficult? Carrying a gun is pretty much impossible. This country has quite strict restrictions on gun ownership.”

I was about to argue back, but Ria raised her finger.

“But I’m not just trying to teach you how to shoot a gun. I’ll teach you how to wield a weapon too. Even if it’s not a gun, knowing how to handle a bludgeoning weapon similar to it could help.”

“Why do you care?”

“Hah.”

Ria mimicked me, putting both hands on her hips and letting out a deep sigh.

“Hey, I have a conscience too.”

“A conscience?”

“No matter how much I think about it, it feels a bit wrong to leave you out there. It wouldn’t be strange if you were kidnapped and sold off right away.”

“Is that your concern?”

“Yeah. It’s a concern.”

When she said that, I fell silent.

Seeing the look on her face left me speechless.

In my past life, I lived in a fairly peaceful country, and moreover, I was male. And most men would barely ever hear such words. If those were said to a girlfriend, it’d be a different story.

“Hey, it’s not like I’m that fond of you either. You know you have a lot of annoying aspects, right?”

But those words ignited a rage in me.

“Then why—”

“You’re the same, right?”

I blinked at Ria’s words.

“You don’t believe in God and don’t plan to use that Saint Power for your own gain, but if someone collapses in front of you, you’d rush over to use it, right? And you wouldn’t think of receiving any payment.”

“That’s—”

“Well, pride doesn’t keep you alive, right? Okay. I acknowledge that. To be honest, I’m somewhat impressed. But…”

Ria thumped her chest with her fist proudly as she spoke.

“That’s the same for me, you know? I intend to become a hero. And being a hero isn’t just about making money and hunting monsters. If there’s an injured person in front of me, I’ll begrudgingly take them to the hospital.”

“So, are you saying that I’d become such a person?”

“From the sounds of it, your head seems a bit hurt.”

“Ha.”

I rolled my eyes.

But my anger was boiling over, making it hard for me to articulate my words.

“So, you’re saying the hero candidate in front of you is suggesting to personally train you. Otherwise, if I just leave you out there, it wouldn’t be strange for you to get scammed, and I’d see my meager possessions taken from me. It’s extremely troublesome, but I’ll have to take that risk. It’s not like people will live well just because I’m annoyed, right?”

Huff.

Huff.

Huff. Seriously.

Seeing me let out such puffs of breath, Ria proudly stood tall as if she had won.

“Well, don’t worry. If you feel you can go out on your own without my help, I’ll acknowledge it and step back.”

“…You won’t regret that, right?”

“Regret? No way. Do you think there’ll be a day I’ll regret that?”

“Ugh.”

I gritted my teeth and trembled my shoulders.

“…I’ll definitely make you regret it.”

“Give it your best shot.”

Even as I ground my teeth saying that, Ria merely stuck out her tongue at me.

Cancel that, cancel that!

All of what I said about her being somewhat delicate? Cancel that!

As I stomped around, I adjusted my evaluation of Ria accordingly.

No matter what, I will make her regret it.