Chapter 53

* * *

The training rules were simple. To put it simply, it was training structured like a game of tag.

Three teams competed against each other, and the first to destroy a signal device held by one member of another team would win. The training results would also be partially reflected in the Espers' performance records.

As expected, they were on a different team from Ched, whose team had many members. Ched's team wore red bracelets, five people wore blue bracelets, and Ash, who received a green bracelet, was the sole member of his team.

'Isn't the difference in numbers too great?'

Ash couldn't know which of those five people had the signal device, but since this team only had Ash as a member, he was the only target.

Nain thought for a moment, then turned his head, assuming there must be a reason. Even Ash himself, who would be most disadvantaged in the competition, didn't seem to have any intention of complaining. He fiddled with the tight bracelet on his wrist and frowned.

"Nain, want to wear this instead? It's really annoying. It gets in the way..."

"..."

Would it be an exaggeration to say he seemed not to be thinking about complaining, but rather not thinking at all?

While riding in the car together, he unintentionally heard the Blue Team having a strategy meeting. They were whispering among themselves, but perhaps because there were many people, there was a particularly audible voice.

In training, the opposing team's Guide wasn't included as a target they had to face. It meant Espers of matching weight classes should compete with each other. However, it wasn't mentioned in the rules, so attacking or kidnapping Guides was free.

If a Guide got hurt even slightly during training, the Esper who failed to protect the Guide would receive penalties instead. Because of this, that team seemed to plan to hide their Guide somewhere and have only the Espers step forward.

'They can hear everything...'

Nain decided not to listen any further since he didn't want to eavesdrop on others' strategies and cheat. He wouldn't tell Ash about it either. While deliberately opening the window and swallowing his nausea to the sound of the car engine, the car stopped.

After dropping off the Blue Team on the road, only Ash and Nain remained in the car. Nain, who had been looking only out the window to suppress his nausea, was curious whether Ash had any good ideas.

"Ash..."

He was about to speak while turning to look at the seat next to him, but closed his mouth seeing Ash nodding off. To be sleeping in this situation... August definitely knew too little about Ash.

'What, he has insomnia? He's sensitive?'

August had worried greatly about Ash and told Nain several times to please take good care of him. But from Nain's perspective, it wasn't like that at all. He wanted to tell August that this person wasn't in as bad a condition as he worried about.

'No way he has insomnia!'

The butler should have seen him nodding off and dozing in the crowded back seat of a car that was bouncing around on unpaved roads. There were limits to being insensitive.

The nausea rose again. Ugh. Nain covered his mouth because of motion sickness and shook his head.

After driving for about twenty minutes, the place where the two got off was somewhere in the forest. The car that had dropped them off in front of a small cabin went back the way it came.

"Hurry up."

Ash, who was in top condition after sleeping well, saw Nain's pale face and urged him on. Ash stretched first and kicked open the cabin door to enter.

'I'm dizzy...'

Nain followed behind him, stumbling while overcoming the feeling that the ground was shaking wildly.

From the cabin entrance came a mixture of wood scent and acrid smoke smell. Going inside, he could roughly understand why. On one wall hung protective equipment and sleeping bags sufficient to wrap one's body, and training weapons were neatly arranged on the desk.

However, since real weapons couldn't be used in training, all bullets inside the magazines had been replaced with paint bullets for Espers, and knives had blades made of hard, inflexible rubber instead of metal.

Ash hummed a song Nain had never heard before while packing only prepared energy bars into his pockets. He hung a sleeping bag on an old backpack, gathered water and various tools, then turned around first.

"Aren't you taking weapons?"

Nain grabbed Ash's sleeve and asked. He answered indifferently.

"Nain should take plenty. Shoot down all the guys who come charging at us."

He thought it was a joke, but it was serious. He really left the cabin without taking anything.

"...?"

Really? Was he seriously just going to leave like that? Nain looked around, grabbed the largest rifle, and ran after him.

The gun was the easiest choice. It was also placed in the most conspicuous spot. Ash looked disapprovingly at the gun Nain was carrying and said.

"Put it down. It's dangerous."

"Still..."

Ash paused for a moment, then spoke with a small exclamation as if just remembering.

"Ah, right. You said you learned shooting."

"No, what?"

"You said you learned it before."

"...Th-this looks a bit different from what I used."

Nain said in surprise, even waving his hands. However, Ash seemed to think such an attitude was just being modest and didn't change his mind.

"All guns have similar structures. Since you learned it properly, that's good. That's not dangerous either, so if it's okay, try shooting once. Let me see your skills."

"...Now?"

Unlike Nain, who was reluctant and hesitating, Ash's attitude was firm.

"Even when returning to another dimension, you must go through gates. Corridor-type gates aren't that dangerous if you just keep your mind straight, but if they overlap with other types of gates, life-threatening situations could arise."

"..."

"So think of it as real combat and try it."

Nain hesitated a bit. Of course, saying he had learned marksmanship wasn't a lie. Since he couldn't handle mana, he needed to learn other ways to protect himself, so from a very young age, Nain had learned almost every self-defense technique available. Shooting was one of them.

There were magic guns modified for sniping with greatly enhanced accuracy, but since Nain couldn't use that type, he learned to handle firearms that used gunpowder. But that wasn't the problem.

"This distance isn't too far, right?"

Ash picked up an empty can rolling around in front of the cabin, placed it on a nearby rock, and stepped on it lightly to set it up. As he said, it wasn't a very far distance. It was close enough for even a beginner to hit, and the target size wasn't small either.

"..."

Since it seemed pointless to back out now saying he couldn't do it, Nain reluctantly raised the gun to shoulder height. It was a bit different from what he had used, but the operating principle seemed roughly similar. Nain, who had aimed the loaded gun's barrel precisely at the target, took a deep breath. Then he pulled the trigger.

Bang!

A loud sound rang out and birds hiding in the trees flew away flapping. The yellow paint bullet was conspicuously stuck on the trunk of a tree far from the target. Both Nain and Ash were speechless. This was too far from the target to encourage him saying he shot well.

"..."

"..."

Nain, who had pressed his lips together to hide his embarrassment, changed the gun's angle and shot once more. Bang! This time the bullet flew into the sky. Bang, bang! The third and fourth shots were the same.

The target's position was definitely the same, but the bullets flew very freely in all directions. In contrast, Nain's expression holding the gun was extremely serious. Ash, who was watching this scene, could only let out hollow laughter and couldn't say anything.

"..."

"..."

In fact, even the empire's best marksman had eventually given up on Nain. If he shot twenty rounds, nineteen would miss. The remaining one hit the dead center of the target. It belonged to the shooting instructor who had tested whether there was something wrong with the gun.

Nain had no talent for shooting at all.

Having no choice, Nain chose to try the method that had the highest hit rate. The gun barrel turned 60 degrees to the left from the target. His gaze turned toward Ash, who was chewing an energy bar and watching Nain's terrible skills. Ash was blinking his eyes blankly as if he couldn't even predict what Nain was going to do.

Target change. Nain stepped back with one leg, took position, and held the gun straight. Click. Before Ash, who finally sensed something strange at the sound of loading the gun aimed at him, could open his mouth, Nain pulled the trigger. The bullet flew quickly.

Clang!!

The paint bullet that hit the can, which was no longer a target, burst with a pop. Not only the can but even the rock was covered in yellow. It was at a considerable distance from Ash.

'When I try to hit something, I miss, but I only hit when aiming at something else...'

Shooting with eyes closed was also one method. Confirming the scene where the bullet hit a completely wrong target, Nain thought he should never touch a gun for the rest of his life. In fact, his shooting instructor had also rubbed his hands together, begging Nain to please find another path for the sake of the world.