Chapter 22

Translated by NotBlueYet Edited by Schwarzel

I stow my rifle and switch to a Remington M870, a shotgun with a shorter barrel, and go down the mountain.

I do not put shotshells in the chamber and apply the safety.

I leave the chamber empty and only fill the mags with shells. I’ve never used a safety.

Even the police instruct you not to trust the safety and to keep the ammunition out of the chamber at all times. In the hunting license test, there is no action or confirmation to “engage the safety” or “disengage the safety,” and you will fail the test if you do not say “no ammunition left” after de-packing.

There are a lot of accidents where people mistakenly think the safety is on and the gun goes off. Even in the field of hunting, people who are lazy and leave bullets in the chamber but leave the safety on will be warned immediately by fellow hunters and will be disliked. Let’s be careful.

In addition, the Remington M870 is an old design, so if it gets knocked over or dropped, it will go off on its own. That’s even if the safety is on. Scary, isn’t it?

That’s why I never move with the shell in the chamber.

If I want to shoot, I just have to do the fore-end properly (*1).

My grandfather trained me to do this thoroughly.

I think he may have made me shoot out of control once.

Balu-san, Saran, and me, in that order.

When we came to the front of the cave, we saw that it was in a terrible state: …….

There’s blood everywhere.

It looks like wolves will come here.

A goblin shot in the leg: ……. The flesh of the leg is gone and you can see the white bone.

If it was a deer, it would run away with this kind of injury. It’s hard to track them.

Goblins, like humans, are vulnerable compared to wild animals, I think.

“……”

One of the hunters who was burned by the fire in the center may have been one of the victims. ……

It’s a shame. It’s too bad. It’s already burned to a crisp.

I don’t think there is anything that can be recovered.

“Proof of defeat.” (This is a common term, but for some reason, it escapes me, a nice way to put it XD)

With that, Balu-san quickly slices off the goblin’s red ear with a knife and puts it in a bag. It makes me want to look away.

“Okay, let’s take a look inside the cave. Be careful.”

Saran, who switched her bow to a sword, and Balu, who drew his sword, slowly entered the cave. It stinks.

Wild animals don’t bathe all their lives, so they usually smell extremely foul.

It’s strange because many animals have good noses, but unlike humans, animals can distinguish between different smells. They seem to be able to recognize their smell as another smell.

From behind, with the muzzle of the M870 pointed upward (*2), I shine the Maglite with one hand.

“Wow, that lamp is amazing.”

Well, It’s a kind of tool.

It’s pretty deep in there, but nothing is interesting and no remnants, just some rotting meat, dead animals, a half-finished stone spear, and some hay from the bunk.

The stone spear is …… probably used as a throwing spear. Otherwise, human hunters wouldn’t be so easily defeated just because they’re surrounded by these little monsters.

In ancient times, the weapon used by humans to capture mammoths was the throwing spear. Until a while ago, the natives of Africa even killed rhinoceroses and elephants with spears. The throwing spear is a powerful weapon with terrifying killing power. Don’t underestimate them.

When we tried to leave the cave, the wolves had gathered and were preoccupied with the goblin corpses. We chase them off with Saran’s bow and my shotgun.

After killing about four of them, they’re gone.

“…… You guys are awesome ……. I look like an idiot swinging my sword around.”

We left the defeated wolves alone and returned.

When I turn around, I see that the wolves have gathered around the goblin corpse again.

I’m sure they won’t be coming this way again.

It’s a shame that one of the hunters was killed.

Everyone is silent.

“Let’s go back home. When we get back, you’ll be third class.”

Riding his horse, Balu-san laughed out loud.

“We’ve seen what you’re capable of, and we’ve learned that it’s better to keep your cards close to your chest. It’s too obvious.”

A man who can easily kill people from over 200 meters away is roaming around the country.

This must be scary from the point of view of those in power and the bad guys.

More than that, there are bound to be a lot of people who will try to take advantage of that power.

“Keep up the good work.”

With that, Balu-san turned around and tapped me on the shoulder.

A young party breaks down in tears after being informed of the death of a colleague.

It’s hard.

I feel like I’ve been shown the reality of being a hunter.

We have to be more careful than before and put safety first.

It’s fine if I die, but if Saran dies, I’ll lose my precious wife, I’ll have nowhere to go, and I’ll be all alone in this world. I can’t bear it.

I gently hold Saran’s hand.

It’s a big hand, and she squeezes it back.

“It’s a shame about the …… Elfers. We have taken care of all the goblins. Don’t think about revenge. Team “Erfan” is suspended for three months. Take your time to heal your wounds. There’s nothing more to say. That’s all.”

That’s harsh, Val-san.

The members of the hunting association were kind, but in the field, they were strict. If you did something wrong, you were warned mercilessly. They were all well aware of the Muzzleloader Law, the rules and manners, and were very careful of the fact that even the slightest thing could be a violation, and even the slightest thing could be an accident.

We are friends who put our lives in each other’s hands. If we allow ourselves to screw up or cheat, we will surely have an accident someday. That’s the world we live in.

“Come here.”

I’m going to the office.

“Your card.”

I pull out my hunter’s card and Val-san stamps it for me.

“Now you’re level three.”

… I wonder if it’s a good thing or a bad thing.

Will I make more money or will I have more trouble?

It’s hard to say.

“Come back tomorrow and we’ll go over the third level. I’ll give you today’s reward at that time. The lord, not the guild, is supposed to pay for killing the monsters in the territory. I have to report it.”

You can’t expect a lot of money from that lord. ……

“I understand.”

When I went outside, I was surrounded by hunters.

How was the end of your companions?

I’m sure you’ll be happy to hear that.

“They were all defeated by Balu-san. I’m sorry to say that your friends are ……. We couldn’t find the bodies.”

I managed to make an excuse and left the place.

I was so exhausted that I took an early night and went to sleep.

Saran gave me a soft hug. ……

After cleaning the guns that I had skipped yesterday, I had breakfast at the inn and headed to the guild.

The Remington M700 rifle is a stainless steel model, but carbon accumulates in the barrel, so you still have to clean it (*3).

I cleaned the shotgun as well.

Today’s shotguns fire a shot that is encased in a plastic cup. Since the cup falls by air resistance, only the grain shot flies away, so there is no lead sticking to the barrel, but if the grain shot is as large as buckshot, there is no cup, so lead ball dust will stick to the barrel. I have to use a brass brush to remove the lead.

I’ve heard that the copper bites directly into the life ring of the rifle, so if you use it for a long time, it sticks to it like it’s copper plated. I have to use a chemical to remove this once a season or so. …… It’s still brand new, so I don’t have to worry about it right now.

As for the rifle, some say, “You won’t be able to hit the target when it’s new, but you’ll be able to hit the target after breaking in a few hundred rounds.” While others say, “That’s just because you’re not used to the gun, so the life ring is a consumable. If you shoot it, it will wear out, and the newer the better.”

Hmmm ……, I guess both are true.

The reason is that there is data that shows that the accuracy of a rifle’s hit drops off after about 1,500 rounds. I saw this on a foreign manufacturer’s site on the internet.

The hunting association is full of old people. There are very few people who browse the Internet on their computers!　So many people are surprised or don’t believe me when I show them the latest knowledge.

They are all seniors. I don’t say, “The right thing to do is this and this, and I saw it on the Internet”. I just listen to various stories and check later to see which one is correct. I sometimes say, “I’ve also heard this kind of story,” but only occasionally.

One thousand five hundred rounds are surprisingly small!

We might be losing out on military rifles in this area. If we were at war, I bet we’d use 1,500 rounds in no time!

No, I’d probably die in battle before I could shoot that many, or the battle would be settled.

Well, I’m not a milliota (Military Otaku), so I’m not sure about that.

Usually, hunting rifles are large caliber, high-velocity rounds, so they have a short life span.

Military guns have a longer lifespan than hunting rifles because of the trend toward smaller calibers around the world.

However, I am sure that barrels are not made of such hard steel.

When a gun goes off, the barrel expands and tears. It doesn’t crack and fly apart.

That’s because they are made of very soft steel.

If more pressure is applied than expected, it will immediately split to let the firing gas escape. A gun barrel is only as strong as that. Otherwise, it would be dangerous if it went off.

If the barrel were strong, the gun would jam and all the gunpowder would burn out, causing the gun to explode under extremely high gas pressure, killing the shooter.

There is such a thing as sawing off. It means to cut off with a hacksaw. It’s the kind of thing you can shorten the barrel of a gun and keep it hidden.

The barrel can be cut with a hacksaw, right? If it’s hardened steel, you can’t cut it with a hacksaw.

What does it matter?

There are a lot of people with great knowledge, but they don’t know anything about hunting rifles. Yes.

Speaking of not knowing anything, that would be us.

We don’t know anything about this world, about the rules for hunters in this world, about the laws, nothing. It’s the same for Saran, who has been living in an elven village for a long time.

So we listen carefully to the guild master, Balu-san, who is giving us a lesson on the third level.

“You can kill street robbers and thieves. Or rather, always kill them.”

…….

In Japan, if the police fire a shot, they get beaten up. ……

I’m not sure how different it is when the world changes.

“What if we catch him?”

“You know, what are you going to do if you catch them?　Our job is to protect the merchants, right?　Do you have enough water and food for the thieves?　You don’t even have seats. We’ll have to rope them in and make them walk?　The horse’s legs will give out.”

…… Indeed.

“They’ll keep trying to get away, won’t they?　If they get a chance, they’ll kill you and try to strike back.　If there are any remnants, they will follow you to the city.　What are you going to do at night? We’ll stay up all night?　You can only watch in shifts, one at a time. What will you do then?”

…… That’s right.

“If you catch them and hand them to the guards, they will be hanged anyway. What would happen if they get away? You guys will be pursued all the time to get revenge. Merchants and travelers who were there will resent you and kill you, is that okay?  It will be all your fault, you know?

…… Wow.

“I’ll kill the robbers. Don’t let any of them escape. That’s the only way to reduce the number of burglars. Let them know that it’s not a good job. It’s like extermination. Don’t think of them as people. Understand?”

“Yes, sir. Well, what if they surrender?”

“Of course they’re only doing that to save their lives for the moment. If it’s too much trouble, kill them before they surrender. That’s what we’re doing. It will be a source of trouble later on. Don’t show any mercy.”

…… You do treat them like wild animals, don’t you?

“I’m not saying this because I want to say it. I don’t feel good about killing people.”

Val put his hands on the desk and spoke earnestly to me.

“I’m a hunter. I don’t mind dying myself. That’s your choice. But think about the lives of your friends. Think about your friends getting killed. Your partner is a woman. She’ll be raped and killed. She’s an elf, she could be worth a lot of money. She’ll be sold into slavery. They’ll toy with you and kill you.”

……Gulp

I wouldn’t be able to see that …… Saran.

If that happens, I might as well be dead.

“Did you see the end of Elfur? The goblins were roasting him for dinner. That’s what hunters do when they hesitate for even a second to kill their opponents.”

…….

“You got it.”

“……. Okay.”

“Okay, next. In the past, they used to put a bounty on bad guys who sold their names and made them wanted, but not anymore. Rather they would compete for fame, and create more bandits. That’s why it’s easier to just kill them all at once now. ……”

It’s a scary world indeed.

Unlike swords and spears, guns can’t be held back.

For me, it might be a better world.

I also learned about fees, contracts, guild fees, how to receive orders, rules for working with other hunters, how to get your share, how to report to the hunters guild, how to handle injuries and deaths, and many other details.

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