Silver Pistol

Upon hearing this, Benjamin hesitated for a moment and said, "But I haven't bought a gun yet."

He did not intend to go home just like that.

Another knight immediately urged, "Lord Riser, you saw the chaos in the Outer District yourself. What if the Fallen who kidnapped you appears again? It would be best if you returned first."

Benjamin thought for a moment, and a plan suddenly formed in his mind.

Buying a gun was no longer the main point; he could squeeze some more benefits out of these knights.

He adopted a firm tone, acting as if his mind were made up, and said, "No! These Fallen are so powerful. If I don't have the ability to fight back, what is the difference between the Inner and Outer Districts? You saw it yourselves—if I hadn't fired that shot, the Fallen wouldn't have even fled today. Soon, my father will take this gun back. If the Fallen evades your eyes and appears before me again, what am I supposed to do?"

"This..."

The knights were not as eloquent as the bishop, and for a moment, they did not know how to refute him.

"My marksmanship is actually quite good. As long as I have a gun, I can stand against the Fallen." Seeing this, Benjamin immediately added fuel to the fire. "Lord Paladin, I know that the sale of firearms is prohibited in the kingdom, but you have seen how rampant the Fallen are. Should an ordinary citizen who wishes to contribute to their elimination be refused?"

He spoke with such righteous indignation that he seemed like the most fanatical and loyal believer of The Church.

The knights' expressions became even more conflicted. After much deliberation, the knight dressed in women's clothing said, "We must report the discovery of the Fallen to the bishop immediately. Besides, in our current state, we can no longer continue to protect you. But if we let you go buy a gun alone and something happens, we cannot bear the responsibility."

They were quite stubborn.

But Benjamin did not lose heart; he knew this was the knights' final resistance.

"That witch was able to place a letter under my pillow, so do you really think you can stop her? With a gun in hand, at least I can fire back, and you would be able to hear the gunshot. Otherwise, if she takes me away without a sound, your responsibility will only be greater!" Benjamin's words began to sound alarmist, bordering on threatening the Paladins.

"Lord Riser, are you truly unwilling to go home without obtaining a gun?" After a moment of thought, the knight asked helplessly.

"Yes," Benjamin replied with extreme determination.

"Fine, then this is the only way." The knight in women's clothing yielded. After exchanging a glance with his companion, he sighed, lifted his skirt, and pulled out a silver gun and a silver box from beneath it.

He handed these two items to Benjamin.

"This is a specially crafted gun containing four blessed bullets. This box also contains blessed bullets—twelve of them," the knight in women's clothing said with great solemnity. "This is my standard equipment as a Paladin. I am handing them over to you now. I will explain things to the bishop; you need not worry."

Here it comes!

This trip to the Outer District today was truly worth it.

Although he was already excited beyond measure, Benjamin held back, feigning hesitation as he declined, "This... how could I be so bold? This is your service weapon; how can I claim it as my own?"

"Your marksmanship is better than mine; you are more worthy of possessing them," the knight in women's clothing said helplessly. "Besides, if you don't get a gun, you won't go home, will you?"

Upon hearing this, Benjamin was secretly delighted. He stopped putting on an act and accepted the pistol and the bullets.

"Thank you for your understanding," he beamed.

"Shameless," the system despised him in his mind.

"What do you know? This is called winning by wit. I didn't force him to give me his gun; he offered it himself. What could I do?" Benjamin thought triumphantly.

"It's just shameless!" the system's tone was even more disdainful.

Benjamin ignored the system. However, looking at the knight's face—caked in mud and cheap makeup, yet still radiating integrity—he suddenly felt a bit guilty. After thinking it over, he took out all the money he had on him.

"I have nothing else to thank you with. This is all I have, and I hope you will accept it."

He had previously learned from the system that the concept of "bribery" did not exist in this world; everything could be termed an "expression of gratitude to God." Therefore, doing this would not harm the two Paladins.

The knights' faces showed conflicted expressions. They seemed to be not well-off financially and needed the money, but they felt a slight sense of shame in accepting it.

Seeing this, Benjamin added, "Please do not feel ashamed. This is merely a believer's gratitude to God. As messengers of God, you are always on the front lines fighting evil; you deserve to receive these things."

"But..."

"You don't need to be like this. I am a noble of the Royal Capital; do you think I lack money? These things have no meaning to me, but if you accept them, they will become incredibly meaningful."

"..."

Under his persistent persuasion, the knights hesitated for a while longer before finally accepting.

The system's constant stream of insults finally ceased.

"Thank you very much. I have two younger brothers at home. I have been using my spare time to give them knight training, but to become a knight of The Church, one must first graduate from Sunday school. Your gift is truly meaningful to us," the knight in women's clothing said sincerely as he took the money bag.

Benjamin smiled upon hearing this. He felt he had done a good deed and was quite happy.

Just like that, the knights divided the money and tucked it away, and Benjamin secured the gun and bullets. It was nearly ten o'clock; the night had deepened, and the streets of the Outer District were gradually becoming less lively. The three of them began to head toward the Inner District.

Escorted by the knights, Benjamin successfully returned to the Riser family half an hour later.

For various reasons, after bidding the knights farewell, he returned the stolen gun, then snuck back into his room without alerting anyone else in the house—if Claude knew what he had been up to all night, he would surely be angered to death.

As for the two bullets he had used, he could only hope Claude wouldn't notice.

He closed the door and lay back on his bed, as if everything in the Outer District had never happened, as if he had been staying obediently in his room the whole time.

Only he knew how bountiful his harvest had been tonight.

A copy of the latest Introduction to Magic compiled by the Silent Academy, a stone known as a "Water Element Crystal," his own pistol, and a total of sixteen blessed bullets. I swear to heaven, before he left the house, he really only intended to buy a gun!

One couldn't just call it good luck; these things were also earned through his own efforts.

With these, not to mention anything else, these blessed bullets had already solved a major problem for Benjamin—if Michelle dared to appear before him again, he would blow her away with a shot. Let's see if she would dare order him around again.

As long as he dragged Michelle's corpse before the bishop, the bishop would have no more concerns and would naturally lift the curse for him.

Thinking of this, Benjamin felt wonderful.

Ever since he transmigrated, Michelle had been a massive thorn in his side. Even after he escaped her kidnapping, she could still use the curse to threaten him. Every second prior to this, he had lived under immense pressure. A few days ago, he even dreamed of Michelle; in the dream, she held a large blade and hacked him into mincemeat.

He had been prepared for a long, drawn-out battle with her.

He never expected that a single trip to the Outer District would bring him such a harvest, allowing him to directly resolve the trouble that was Michelle.

What else could he say besides "Heaven helps me"?

He even began to look forward to Michelle appearing soon so that he could finish her off with a single shot.

However, just as he was happily fiddling with the silver pistol, a sudden pain surged from his abdomen and instantly spread throughout his entire body. He collapsed onto the bed, and the gun in his hand fell to the bedside, slipping from his grasp due to the sudden loss of strength from the pain.

Benjamin's good mood plummeted to the bottom.

The curse had flared up again!

Why was this thing acting up more and more frequently?

Just as he was writhing and rolling on the bed, clutching his stomach, that familiar, nightmarish voice reached his ears once more:

"Lord Riser, long time no see. You have given me another surprise. If I hadn't been watching you from the shadows, I fear that the next time we met, the one lying on the ground without the strength to fight back would have been me."

The cloaked figure emerged once again from the shadows in the corner of the room.