Oran Knight is out (2/3 chapters for today)
Bianca’s New Rifle
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*Today’s Diary*
It has been a week since Heinz left the academy.
Of course, he went to deliver the Duke Lengrad’s memoir to his father in Remnos. He said he would return in at least 10 days. I thought Lite and Lev would accompany him, but they remained at the academy. The reason was that if both of them took 10 days off at the same time, there would be too much suspicion.
It seems Heinz is traveling with a veteran soldier who handles communication with the country, so there’s nothing to worry about.
On the day when we discovered the hidden room and the memoir at the Duke Lengrad’s estate, Heinz held the memoir close to him, deeply bowing his head at the desk. As if someone was sitting there. When we returned from the underground passage, Linkert-san quietly prepared tea without saying a word. In the end, she never touched the memoir.
So far, there have been no major changes aside from Heinz being absent.
And so, today was just like any other day for me.
To be more specific, Bianca bothered me.
—
“Lux! Let’s have a match!” (Bianca)
As soon as I entered the classroom in the morning, Bianca was standing there like a statue, waiting for me.
“Ah, good morning, Bianca. You’re energetic as always.” (Lux)
I greeted Bianca and passed her to put my bag down at my seat.
“Yeah, good morning. No, I’m not talking about that! Let’s have a match!” (Bianca)
It had been a while since Bianca challenged me to a match. After Frank did some maintenance on my beloved gun, Counter, and we all did some test firing, Bianca had been quiet for a while.
Well, there were times when she would challenge me every day without fail, so my sense of time is a little skewed by now.
Even my classmates just responded with “Here we go again” to Bianca’s odd behavior and didn’t even look at us.
“What’s going on today?” (Lux)
I asked Bianca calmly as I finished putting away my things and sat down at my desk.
Honestly, I wasn’t in the mood to have a match. After all, we had just achieved a big goal, and I was feeling like relaxing a bit. However, Bianca didn’t care about my feelings at all, puffing out her chest proudly.
“I got a new gun!” (Bianca)
“A gun? Oh, you said you’d switch to a mobility-focused sniper rifle like Saras-senpai when you became a second-year, right?” (Lux)
I remembered Bianca saying that.
Bianca, who aimed to be like Saras-senpai in his style of always on move while sniping, had planned to switch to a sniper rifle with a slightly shorter range than my or Lamie-senpai’s long-range, one-shot kill guns, but one that was easier to handle.
“That’s right. I was going to fully master a standard rifle before switching, but after watching you and Lamie-senpai with your guns, I really wanted one, so I moved up my plans.” (Bianca)
“Wow, I’d like to see it. Is it a Medium Shot like Saras-senpai’s?” (Lux)
“No. I don’t have as much stamina as Salas-senpai, so I chose a lightweight Mobile sniper rifle.” (Bianca)
Mobile is a brand known for semi-custom rifles, which I heard from Frank. On the other hand, the Medium Shot is a fully custom-made gun. It is particularly easy to handle, and while it does have a certain amount of power, it is designed to be as heavy as possible while still being able to carry it. As expected from a former Lamie-senpai’s collection, this gun is not for everyone.
As I was thinking about that…
“Today, there’s no class in the afternoon, right! So, I asked Lamie-senpai to be present too! Let’s have a match after lunch!” (Bianca)
…Yeah, I wish she would’ve at least checked my schedule first.
Today, the instructors had an urgent meeting, so we had self-study in the morning. The afternoon was free. It’s true that I didn’t have any plans and was just planning to relax in the library, but if Lamie-senpai has already agreed, I’ll probably be forced to go along.
“Sigh, fine. Let’s do it after lunch then.” (Lux)
I sighed quietly and agreed to Bianca’s suggestion.
—
That afternoon, we all gathered in the mock urban area for training. There were me, Bianca, Lamie-senpai, Saras-senpai, Reage-san, a second-year sniper and one of the top sharpshooters in the academy. We ran into him while moving from the barracks.
Reager-san was the type to wait and aim without much movement, but he said it would be a good opportunity to learn more about active sniping, so he volunteered to observe. Having joined the academy after serving in the military, Reager was truly a senior who was eager to learn.
When we reached the mock urban area, Bianca handed me a gun bag. She had been carrying two gun bags on the way here, so I was a bit suspicious.
“Is this… a Mobile rifle?” (Lux)
“Yep. A spare. I bought two. Today, I’ll use this one for the match!” (Bianca)
Even though it’s semi-custom, it’s still a high-end gun where a craftsman’s hands have touched each one. It’s rare for students to buy two guns at once like this. It really shows she’s from a military household that even has connections with Lamie-senpai’s house.
“If we’re using the same conditions, I have a chance! If it’s about moving while sniping, I’m at an advantage!” (Bianca)
She pointed at me confidently. But just as I was about to say something…
“That’s true. It could be an interesting match. Let me join too!” (Lamie)
Lamie-senpai eagerly declared, jumping into the conversation.
“Is Saras not joining?” (Reager)
Reager, who had been quietly observing, asked
“Ah, no. Today, she asked me to observe Bianca’s movements and give her advice later, so I’ll just watch.”
Saras-senpai, the most experienced among us, decided not to join. When she heard that, though, she asked Reager, “Are you not participating?”.
“Hmm, I’m not a genius like Lammy or Lux, so I don’t have enough time for a real battle, let alone a test firing. Anyway, Bianca, after we’re done, can I test fire the gun Lux used?” (Reager)
When Bianca agreed, Reager seemed content, and he moved to join Saras-senpai in observing.
“Let’s limit the area to half of the city… and avoid the indoor areas for now, maybe?” (Lamie)
Lamie-senpai made the rules as we all prepared.
Then, the match with Bianca began.
—
(TLN: POV switch)
The feeling of my new gun was good. The weather was great, and my visibility was perfect. I, Bianca, was running down a corridor, trying to predict Lux’s movements.
Lux is the type to wait and aim, so he is probably hiding around a corner or waiting to be within range. If that’s the case, I might be able to get him by taking the back route.
Thinking that, I ran carefully but quickly through the back alley, making sure Lux wouldn’t see me. We started from opposite sides of the urban area’s main roads, there being three major roads.
Be careful when moving around, especially when passing through the central streets. It’s easiest to wait there, and it’s the easiest way to catch them.
I stopped for a moment at the corner of the alley, taking a quick look at the main road. I couldn’t sense any movement from Lux on that road. Then, suddenly, I had a bad feeling from behind and turned around, just in time to see Lux aiming at me and pulling the trigger.
—
The rubber bullet Lux shot hit me square in the forehead, and I was left staring up at the clear blue sky for a while. Enduring the pain in my forehead, I absentmindedly gazed at the sky, and I saw a shadow cast over my face. It was Lux.
“Are you okay? It’s been a while since I did something like this, so I couldn’t really control my aim.” (Lux)
He said apologetically and helped me up by taking my hand. Once again, I lost.
As I stood up, I asked, “It’s been a while? Did you used to do this kind of thing before?”
Lux shook his head with a wry smile.
“Well, when hunting there were times when I had to aim while moving like this.” (Lux)
Later, I learned from Saras-senpai that Lux had gone through the central road at the start and came to our side right away.
“That was a really clever tactic, catching your opponent off guard.” (Saras)
Saras-senpai said, clearly impressed.
I lost again, but I didn’t feel bad about it. I’m surrounded by such amazing snipers. When I think about how lucky I am to be among such people, I feel my heart as clear and refreshing as the sky today.
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