The fae-folk head Leen had said become my disciple yesterday, but I’d politely declined. Who’d voluntarily apprentice under a demon master? I have no weird tastes. She sulked the entire time, though.
The party wrapped up without incident, and we returned to our assigned rooms and slept on soft beds. First proper bed in a while — sleep wouldn’t come for a bit, but apparently I drifted off, since it was morning.
Now — there’s something I want to test today. I went through several websites on the smartphone, [Drawing]-transferring anything that looked usable for the goal, one after another. Yeah — got most of them.
After a light breakfast brought to my room, I took the stack of transferred papers and Kōhaku, and headed to Prime Minister Glatz-san.
I let him know I’d be heading out and borrowed a medallion as a castle gate-pass. He asked me for a [Drawing] in exchange. Glatz-san wanted one too, apparently.
Then I went to Lyon-san and handed over the shogi set. While I was at it, I asked him to publicize Reflet’s town-revitalization-via-shogi to Olba-san.
“Oh — out somewhere?”
We finished palace business and were heading to the gate when we ran into Yumina and Linze. They’d just had breakfast and were heading to the courtyard for a morning walk.
“A bit of shopping in town. Want to come?”
“Of course.”
”…I’ll come too.”
I was about to invite Elze and Yae too, but per Linze, both were doing joint training with the Mismid warrior captains in the arena today. …Don’t tell me His Majesty’s joining in.
Three people and one beast, we passed through the castle gate into the city.
Right — uh, hm?
”…Where do you sell metal?”
“Metal?”
“Yeah, iron, copper, brass, that kind. Sold as ingots would be ideal.”
“I’m not sure what an ingot is, but a smithy might part with some?”
True. I pulled out the smartphone and searched for smithies. Several around. Closest one.
Going straight east, the smithy stood at a corner. Kaan, kaan — hammer-strikes from the back of the shop.
“Oi, welcome. Sharpening? Re-forging?”
A horned-folk attendant in front called out. After negotiating, he agreed to sell — iron, brass, and lead, in plates about two paperback-books each. At the toolshop opposite, I picked up small wood pieces and a rubber sheet for shoe soles.
“Right — gunpowder next…”
I tried searching gunpowder. Hit immediately. Magic-tool shop… Well — could call it a magical item.
Anyway, I bought three medium bottles of gunpowder there. Materials assembled.
”…You’re making something?”
Linze asked, looking at what I’d bought.
“Gonna make a weapon.”
“Weapon?”
The two tilted their heads. I led them into a back alley and used [Gate] to return to my room at the palace. I took the meter-long dragon horn that was sitting there, and [Gate]‘d again to a forest near the road we’d come in on.
No one around here, fine.
I set the paper stack on a stump and weighted it down with the ingots so the wind wouldn’t take them.
“Right — now this dragon horn… ah.”
Crap. Can’t use it as is. Need to cut it small. Something to cut with… wait — ordinary tools won’t cut this anyway.
“Linze, sorry — could you cut this to about here with magic?”
“Sure.”
I marked the area from the tip up to here.
“Water, come — pure-blade — Aqua Cutter.”
Shvap! — the horn cut clean. Glad Linze’s here. I picked up the severed tip — much lighter than it looked. That light, you’d worry about strength, but harder than steel — amazing.
Oh — no time to admire. Let’s start.
Eyeing the paper stack, I memorized parts one at a time. Doesn’t matter if it ends up off — adjust later.
Right — go.
“Modeling.”
I slowly reshaped the horn. Barrel, cylinder, hammer, trigger… built parts, made the grip from wood, assembled.
Ten minutes later, in my hand: a single black, gleaming revolver.
I’d referenced a Remington New Model Army, though slightly stubbier maybe. Whatever — close enough, no concern.
Wanting rapid fire, I’d swapped single-action for double-action, tweaked the cylinder — internally, completely different. Just borrowed the looks because they were cool.
I gripped it, checking the feel. Yeah, not bad. Slightly light. Light isn’t bad.
“Now — bullets.”
Using the ingots and gunpowder, I made fifty rounds each of several types. Should be enough.
Loaded six into the cylinder — actually, before that.
“Enchant: Apport.”
Enchanted the gun with [Apport]. Then,
“Program start /
trigger condition: owner’s spoken word “reload” /
action: rapidly eject spent shells; reload empty cylinder via [Apport]‘s pull from within a 1m radius /
program end.”
Right — done. Loading rounds one by one would be tedious. Make an automatic, you’d say — but that’s taste. Revolvers are just cooler.
I loaded again, raised the revolver at a tree, pulled the trigger.
GAON! — explosive sound, the bullet fired. Whoa — more recoil than I expected. Linze and Yumina beside me covered their ears. The bullet… missed.
I fired two, three more, but the accuracy felt off. Doesn’t fly straight… ah.
Right — I didn’t put in rifling. The spiral grooves inside the barrel. Gives the bullet rotation, gyro-effect for straight flight.
I fired up [Modeling] and added rifling. Test-fired again — straighter now.
When I’d emptied the cylinder, I checked the reload.
“Reload.”
At the word, spent shells popped out papapapapapap and dropped to the ground. The six bullets I’d left on the stump vanished, reloaded into the cylinder. Pulled the trigger — fired again. Works.
“Complete?”
“Yeah, basically. This is called a gun. A long-range weapon. One-handed, more powerful than a bow.”
”…Amazing. Like a miniaturized cannon…”
Linze murmured, gazing at the gun. Crude cannons exist in this world too, but honestly, one mage who can use [Explosion] is enough — so they aren’t widely used.
“The gun’s done — but there’s something else I want to test.”
I emptied the cylinder, took out a single round.
“Enchant: Explosion.”
I enchanted the bullet with the explosion spell.
“Program start /
trigger condition: bullet fired from the muzzle on impact /
action: trigger [Explosion] centered on the bullet /
program end.”
I loaded the enchanted bullet into the cylinder and shot at a tree, already riddled from test-fire.
DOGON! — a thunderous boom, the tree blew apart into splinters. Explosion triggered.
“Wha…!”
“Hawawa…”
Linze and Yumina were on their butts. Yes — I can use attack magic without a chant now. Enchanting and Programming each bullet is tedious — but I can batch them, so not too bad.
Enchant rubber bullets with [Paralyze] and you can incapacitate without killing. No weapon more useful. Doesn’t work if the target has an anti-magic charm, mind.
Strong point: I can use magic regardless of element affinity. Yumina, who lacks fire, can use [Explosion] this way too.
“Touya-san, could I have one of those guns too?”
”…I want one too.”
“Eh?”
I hesitated. Backline pair wanting one makes sense — but I worry they’re too dangerous. Overprotective, maybe.
Yumina already carries dangerous things like the bow and arrows; Linze can sever a dragon’s wing — late to worry about that, really. For now, [Paralyze]-enchanted rubber rounds, then.
“Then for now — pick a design you like from these.”
I [Drawing]‘d up images of various guns from the search. The two stared, hungry. Yumina chose a Colt M1860 Army; Linze a snub-nose, the short-barreled S&W M36.
Linze’s was fine, but Yumina’s looked a touch big for her hand — just for design, the size I can adjust. Mechanically nearly identical to mine. Caliber and so on.
Pretty rough work, though… If it’s just shooting things, even a toy gun would’ve done… No — this is conviction, of a sort. I wanted to fire a gun.
I cut more horn, made their guns, handed them over. [Program]‘d them so only the owner could pull the trigger.
Made a hundred unenhanced rubber rounds, gave fifty each. They started firing, checking feel.
Made of dragon horn, they’re lighter than ordinary guns — easy for girls to use, looks like.
Now — the real work. Gun’s just the foundation for my main weapon.
“Modeling.”
I reshaped more cut horn into another gun. But this one is different.
A blade extending below the muzzle and from the front of the trigger guard. Grip with a gentle curve, overall close-to-straight silhouette. More dagger than gun, on the whole.
A gun-knife fusion. Knife with a 30cm blade, thick. The thickness has a reason.
“Program start /
trigger condition: owner’s spoken words “blade mode” / “gun mode” /
action: [Modeling]-driven high-speed transformation of blade — short to long, long to short /
program end.”
I added the same reload function via [Program]. Loaded, raised the weapon, pulled the trigger. The shot easily destroyed a branch. Gun function — fine.
“Blade mode.”
In an instant, the 30cm knife transformed into an 80cm sword. The thick blade thinned to about a third, gaining the lost length.
I swung it as a long sword. No weight to speak of.
“Gun mode.”
Back to short-and-thick. Yes — transform function fine too.
“Amazing — sword and gun?”
“Unlike Elze and Yae who’re pure front-line, and you two who’re pure backline, I’m better off able to do both.”
I told Yumina what I’d been thinking for a while. Plus, the Beast-King fight made me realize I need a plan for when magic isn’t usable. This weapon is the answer.
”…And the name of this weapon?”
“Right — let’s call it Brünhild.”
I answered Linze’s question with a wry smile. Rather than [Excalibur] or [Balmung] — names from legendary weapons — I went with the name of the strongest weapon in a retro game I liked. Fun game, that.
Looking at my new weapon, Brünhild, in the fantasy world I’d dreamed of as a kid — wielding a sword in this situation — I felt anew the wave-tossed quality of my life.