The Silver Pistol

At that, Benjamin hesitated before saying, "But I still haven't managed to buy a gun."

He wasn't planning to go home just yet.

The other knight immediately urged him, "You've seen the chaos in the outer district for yourself, Lord Riser. What if the Fallen who kidnapped you shows up again? You should go home first and discuss this later."

Benjamin thought for a moment, then suddenly came up with an idea.

Buying a gun wasn't the point anymore. He could get something else out of the knights.

He put on a firm tone, as if he'd made up his mind, and said, "No! The Fallen are so powerful. What difference is there between the inner and outer districts if I have no way to fight back? You saw it yourselves. If I hadn't fired, the Fallen wouldn't have fled today. Soon, Father will take this gun back. If the Fallen slip past you and appear in front of me, what am I supposed to do?"

"But..."

The knights weren't as eloquent as the bishop, and for a moment, they didn't know how to argue back.

"My aim is pretty good. As long as I have a gun, I can fight the Fallen." Seeing their reaction, Benjamin quickly added fuel to the fire. "Paladin, I know the kingdom forbids the sale of firearms, but you saw how brazen the Fallen are. Should an ordinary citizen who wants to do his part to destroy them really be turned away?"

He spoke with such righteous conviction that he seemed like the Church's most fervent and devoted follower.

The knights looked even more conflicted. After weighing it over, the knight in men's clothes said, "If you discover a Fallen, you must report it to the bishop immediately. Besides, in our current state, we can't keep protecting you. But if you go buy a gun on your own and something happens, we'll be held responsible."

They were stubborn, all right.

But Benjamin wasn't discouraged. He knew this was the knights' last stand.

"That witch managed to leave a letter under my pillow. Do you really think you can stop her? If I have a gun, at least I can fire back, and you'll hear the shot. Otherwise, if she takes me away without a sound, you'll be even more responsible!" Benjamin's words had grown alarmist, almost to the point of threatening the Paladin.

"Lord Riser, are you really unwilling to go home unless you get a gun?" the knight asked after a moment's thought, sounding helpless.

"Yes," Benjamin answered, utterly resolute.

"Very well. Then we have no choice." The knight in women's clothes gave in. After exchanging a glance with his companion, he sighed, lifted his skirt, and pulled out a silver pistol and a silver box from beneath it.

He handed both items to Benjamin.

"This is a specially made pistol. It has four blessed bullets in it. This box also contains blessed bullets—twelve of them." The knight in women's clothes spoke with great solemnity. "They're part of my Paladin's equipment. I'm giving them to you now. I'll explain things to the bishop, so don't worry."

Here we go!

This trip to the outer district had really paid off.

Although he was so excited he could barely contain himself, Benjamin held back and pretended to hesitate. "But... I couldn't possibly accept these. This is your pistol. How can I take it for myself?"

"Your aim is better than mine. You deserve them more than I do," the knight in women's clothes said helplessly. "Besides, you won't go home if you don't get a gun, will you?"

At that, Benjamin secretly rejoiced and stopped pretending. He accepted the pistol and bullets.

"Thank you for understanding." He grinned from ear to ear.

"Shameless," the system sneered in his mind.

"What do you know? This is called getting what I want through clever means. I never asked him to give me his gun. He offered it himself. What was I supposed to do?" Benjamin thought smugly.

"Still shameless!" The system's tone grew even more contemptuous.

Benjamin ignored the system. But looking at the knight in front of him, whose face was covered in mud and cheap makeup yet still radiated righteousness, he suddenly felt a little guilty. After thinking it over, he took out all the money he had on him.

"I don't have anything else to thank you with. This is all I can offer. I hope you'll accept it."

He'd asked the system about it earlier. In this world, there was no concept of "bribery"; everything could be called "an expression of gratitude to God." So doing this wouldn't get the two Paladins into trouble.

The knights looked conflicted. They didn't seem to have much money and clearly needed it, but accepting it still made them feel somewhat ashamed.

Seeing this, Benjamin added, "Please don't feel ashamed. It's just a believer's way of thanking God. As messengers of God, you're always on the front line fighting evil. You deserve this."

"But..."

"Please, don't be like that. I'm a noble from the Royal Capital. Do you think I'm short of money? This means nothing to me, but if you accept it, it'll mean a great deal to you."

"..."

After Benjamin pressed them again and again, the knights hesitated for a while longer, but eventually accepted.

At last, even the system's constant stream of scorn fell silent.

"Thank you so much. I have two younger brothers at home. I use my free time to train them as knights, but to become knights of the Church, they have to graduate from Sunday school first. Your gift means a great deal to us." The knight in women's clothes accepted the purse and spoke sincerely.

At that, Benjamin smiled. He felt he'd done a good deed, and it made him happy.

The knights divided the money between them and put it away, while Benjamin stowed the gun and bullets. It was almost ten o'clock. Night had deepened, and the streets of the outer district were growing quieter. The three of them set off for the inner district.

With the knights escorting him, Benjamin made it back to the Riser Family safely half an hour later.

For various reasons, after saying goodbye to the knights, he returned the stolen gun, then sneaked back to his room without waking anyone else in the house. If Claude found out what he'd done that night, he'd be furious all over again.

As for the two bullets he'd used, he could only hope Claude hadn't noticed.

He shut the door and lay back down on the bed, as if nothing had happened in the outer district—as if he'd stayed obediently in his room all night without going out.

Only he knew how much he'd gained that night.

The latest edition of Introduction to Magic, compiled by the Silent Academy; a stone called a Water Element Crystal; a pistol of his own; and sixteen blessed bullets in total. He swore to heaven, all he'd planned on before going out was buying a gun!

He couldn't say it was all luck, either. He'd earned these things through his own efforts.

With them, at least one of Benjamin's biggest problems was solved: those blessed bullets. If Michelle dared show up in front of him again, he'd shoot her and see if she still dared order him around.

As long as he dragged Michelle's body in front of the bishop, the bishop would have no more reason to refuse to lift the curse.

At the thought, Benjamin's mood soared.

Ever since he'd transmigrated, Michelle had been a constant thorn in his side. Even after escaping her kidnapping, he was still at her mercy because of the curse. He'd lived under immense pressure every second of every day. A few days ago, he'd even dreamed about Michelle. In the dream, she'd held a huge knife and hacked him into mincemeat.

He'd already prepared himself for a long battle of wits with Michelle.

He hadn't expected a single trip to the outer district to yield so much, giving him a way to deal with Michelle directly.

What else could he say but that heaven was on his side?

He was even starting to hope Michelle would show up soon, so he could shoot her dead.

But just as he was happily fiddling with the silver pistol, a sudden pain shot through his abdomen and spread throughout his body. He collapsed onto the bed, and the pistol slipped from his hand and fell beside him.

Benjamin's good mood plummeted.

The curse had flared up again!

Why was this thing happening more and more often?

As he clutched his stomach and writhed on the bed, that familiar, nightmarish voice reached his ears once more:

"Lord Riser, long time no see. You've surprised me again. If I hadn't been watching you from the shadows, then the next time we met, I might have been the one lying helpless on the ground."

The robed figure emerged once again from the shadow in the corner.