[ Chapter 38 ]
“I took the gun that the first-class officer had been collecting. Ah, was that an offensive comment for Lemony? Anyway, how about it? Here in Building D, there are inmates of all different sizes, so the types of guns the officers carry vary too. You’d probably find your regular handgun more comfortable, right?”
Hmm. Guns themselves make me uncomfortable.
Unable to accept Leilia’s kindness, I just smiled awkwardly. Then she showed me something else.
“I figured you wouldn’t like anything ordinary. How about this?”
Oh dear. She’s recommending a shotgun to me. Just how far does the world of 『The Shackles on My Hands』 extend?
“I’m sorry, but I’m not very good at handling guns.”
“….How did you survive among those men without a gun?”
Her eyes, previously crinkled from smiling, widened in shock. She clearly understood the fundamental rule of Drace Prison—that power equals strength. In other words, Leilia, who survived until the end in the original story, was someone well-suited for survival.
If I learned to use a gun properly, could I become as self-assured as her?
“Could you maybe teach me, Leilia?”
As if finding my request unexpected, Leilia, who had closed her mouth, slowly curved her lips upward.
“I may not know much else, but I can make sure you hit every shot.”
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And so Leilia’s proposed “girls’ party” was replaced with an all-night training session.
“Step your left foot slightly forward.”
The two hands holding the shotgun are trembling. I had said a handgun would suffice, but she advised that while the shotgun’s firing range is wider than a handgun’s, it would be easier to handle if I could get used to it.
“Good. Now slightly bend your upper body and relax your grip. Rest the shotgun on your shoulder pad. If you use too much force, it’ll shoot in a weird direction. Relax your grip as much as possible.”
Grateful for her instructions, I focused and leaned my upper body forward, resting the shotgun against my shoulder as she said. The shotgun was at least 10 times longer than the handgun I had used before, making it cumbersome but also reassuringly sturdy.
“Pull the pump.”
Swallowing hard, I struggled to pull the pump, earning an “okay, good” from her.
“Now, want to try firing? Since I’ve attached a suppressor, the sound won’t be too loud.”
“Yes.”
“Aim for the full moon.”
Through the wide open window, the translucent moon hung in the sky. Squinting one eye, I aimed the barrel. For the first shot, I just wanted a rough sense of the recoil. After hesitating for a while, I pulled the trigger, and the violent kickback slammed my back against the wall.
“That’s how it feels.”
There was no asking if I was okay. Just a cold reminder to understand that sensation. The Leilia who had suggested a “girls’ party” was gone. The current her seemed to expect me to naturally handle at least a shotgun.
“I’ll try again.”
Fired up by her serious reaction, I grit my teeth and refocused on the barrel. I fired a few more shots. At first, just to get used to the recoil without aiming. Then I tried hitting a large rock placed by the window, sometimes firing from further back.
By the time the world outside the window had turned completely dark, and a yawning Leilia had gone to sleep in the bed, I could roughly hit the big rock by the window. As she had advised, the shotgun’s wider firing range made it less difficult than a handgun. But approximating wasn’t enough. I needed the skill to hit targets perfectly.
Deon is powerful. Ian is agile. And the watcher can use divine power. Even the command magic, which I had thought was my only lifeline, was becoming difficult to use. So what should I do?
“Is Eun-ji in her room right now? Anyway, because of her, I couldn’t get the insurance money properly.”
I can’t let my existence fade into obscurity.
“A woman like you is just a poison.”
I needed to have a role too. Fortunately, I had a condition where I didn’t feel pain, so I was only startled at the recoil and didn’t suffer muscle aches. After a few hours passed, I mechanically took my stance and fired the gun again. The suppressed barrel made a soft clicking sound as the rock by the window exploded like a firework. Wow, I hit it. Right in the center for the first time. I wanted to shout, but as I staggered from the unfamiliar recoil and fell backward, I heard a voice.
“If you keep firing like that, your body will end up shattered too.”
A familiar deep voice came from behind me, and I bumped into something hard. Looking up, I met the man’s red eyes.
“Deon? You’re awake?”
“Ian’s awake too. He went outside saying he was hungry.”
I finally realized those two have sensitive hearing.
“…..Ah, sorry.”
Feeling awkwardly apologetic, I tried to lower the gun I was holding, but a huge hand grabbed my wrist.
“Keep practicing. Since you’re already up.”
“Ugh.”
But his action stopped at my sudden groan, which even I didn’t expect. An expression of embarrassment flashed across Deon’s usually indifferent face before he hastily released his grip. No way. Rolling up my crumpled sleeve, my fingers and forearm were swollen. I knew my muscles would naturally stiffen from holding the heavy firearm for hours in an unfamiliar stance.
But Lemony can’t feel pain.
“…..I,”
Along with surprise, a sense of dread washed over me. As I looked up at Deon, intending to say I didn’t know either, his long, straight thumb gently pressed against my wrist.
“This.”
His lowered voice was remarkably businesslike. Frozen, I shook my head.
“……This.”
As he repeated the question with more force, I winced slightly from the pain, my shoulders hunching. At the same time, my whole body stiffened like a block of ice under his piercing gaze studying my reaction.
“Is it that you only feel pain when your body is in poor condition?”
◆
“Lemony. Did you stay up all night?”
Leilia’s round emerald eyes widened as she opened the door after getting out of bed. The breath I had been holding finally came out. As soon as I lowered the gun to the floor, my strength left me and I sank down.
“…It’s normal for your arms to hurt after shooting for about four hours, right?”
“That’s normal.”
“Ah, so it’s normal.”
I laughed, recalling the conversation from a few hours ago.
“Just muscle pain?”
“Just? Two days ago you got your neck mauled by that monster. If the watcher hadn’t used divine power to heal you, you wouldn’t have been able to move for days.”
“…..Wouldn’t I be fine if healed?”
It had seemed brief at the time. But Deon’s expression then was terrifying enough to make the back of my neck stiffen.
What made him so angry?
I hadn’t cast a command spell on him, and I was the one in pain. After sighing as if resigning himself, he had quickly told me to rest and closed the door. But I couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling.
In any case, it was clear that by getting too used to Lemony’s body, I had developed an indifference to pain. I thought it was natural for me to take damage instead of the watcher, which was why I offered my neck to Ian. Because it didn’t hurt. Since it didn’t matter, I exposed my body instead of properly dealing with upcoming threats.
But that’s not right. Is this how Lemony’s body originally was? It was frustrating not having any information on her since she was a character who died so quickly.
“…No, it’s not normal. Normally, even men with intact limbs would have their arms trembling by now. Are you really okay?”
My musings were interrupted by Leilia’s question. Turning, I saw her tying something to the gun on the floor with a leather strap, a kind smile on her face.
“This is a gift.”
And she personally fastened the strap over my shoulder. The long shotgun dangled behind my back, riding up onto my shoulder. It felt like carrying a spear.
“Keep it on your back and shoot if necessary. Especially if that black-haired guy approaches.”
“By black hair, do you mean Deon?”
Yes. He’s your assigned prisoner, isn’t he? He even came to see you unexpectedly at dawn.”
“That bastard was desperately trying to kill you, right? It’s obvious even if I didn’t see it. The first thing the prisoners did after the prison went into chaos was to kill the officers.”
The woman who had her arms crossed turned her gaze towards me. Judging by her fearsome look, she seemed to have grasped the general situation, but strangely, she was viewing Deon from the perspective of an officer. I was grateful she understood me, but wasn’t Leilia also a prisoner?
“…I didn’t think you’d dislike Deon. I thought you’d like him since you’re both prisoners.”
When I saw her face by chance, it was clear she didn’t. Hmm. What if my actions strained the relationship among the three of them? It felt like spilt milk, but if the originally inseparable trio’s relationship in the original story was disturbed, it wouldn’t feel right.
“But honestly, isn’t he handsome?”
It was a dumb question, but it was the kind of thing one might ask when talking among women. Leilia, however, burst into a sharp laugh.
“Ah, I’ll admit that. But the more handsome a man is, the more I want him kneeling before me.”
Truly the queen of R-rated novel.
….Wait, was Leilia always like this? She was a confident and smart heroine, but I didn’t recall her having such sadistic hobbies. What on earth had shaped her into this?
“Anyway Lemony, don’t make such a serious face.”
Wiping her tears as if she found it amusing, she knelt and wrapped her arms around my shoulders.
“We’re the ones holding the key.”
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Thank you for reading!
