There are bears in this world.

But they aren’t the bears people from Earth might imagine.

Oh, sure, Earth bears are dangerous too. They can tear a person apart. If you get slashed in the stomach by one of their claws, your guts would spill out onto the ground, and the bear would eat them with pleasure.

There are similarly dangerous animals like elephants and rhinos, and then there are predators like lions and tigers.

In this world, they’re called by the same names: “bear,” “lion,” “elephant,” and so on. The bestiary in the game even uses the same terminology, but...

Well, it’s debatable whether the animals I know from Earth and these creatures can really be considered the same.

For starters, the fur colors are different. On Earth, bears come in brown, black, or white. Here, though, they have a much more colorful variety: red, blue, green, and brown.

Their claws, too, are different. If you’re imagining regular bear claws made of tough keratin, think again. The claws on these bears can be as hard as ice, constantly engulfed in fire, cause gusts of wind strong enough to send a person flying, or even strike the ground to create localized earthquakes. These bears can perform attacks no ordinary animal could ever dream of.

Lions, tigers, elephants, and rhinos in this world have similar abilities. In fact, the only animal here that resembles an ordinary Earth creature might be the horse, but even that has its quirks—wild horses in this world often have manes that are literally on fire.

And yet, somehow, humanity has survived in a world ruled by such insane beasts and managed to become the dominant species.

It’s not too surprising, though, when you consider that the first Emperor supposedly commanded a pack of griffins with his bare hands.

That’s why civilian firearms aren’t to be underestimated in this world. Shotguns and rifles are used to hunt these terrifying monsters. Some people even make a living by selling the materials they harvest from these creatures.

They use massive shotguns loaded with slug rounds that can shatter a bear’s skull, or rifles with calibers far larger than those used by standard military equipment. Mages, too, have learned combat magic purely for survival.

“...Instructor!”

Still, even if one has lived as a noble, it’s impossible to be completely ignorant of these facts. After all, nobles eat meat too, and it’s not like they don’t have mounted trophies decorating their walls.

“How can they point shotguns at us?! This is an insult! Using guns meant for hunting animals…!”

Surprisingly, the developers must have drawn inspiration from real-world history when writing this scene. It reminds me of how, during World War I, Europeans were horrified by American soldiers using shotguns in the trenches. Similarly, American soldiers found it unsettling to face Germans wielding submachine guns, which they saw as "gangster weapons."

But, as unsettling as it might be, it doesn’t change the fact that shotguns and submachine guns were incredibly effective in close-quarters trench warfare. When there’s no time to aim, being able to quickly pull the trigger or spray bullets can make the difference between life and death.

That’s probably why Jennifer has us fighting commoners today.

She’s fought against warlords who didn’t care whether their enemies were nobles or commoners, and they certainly didn’t care about honor or fairness.

"Do you think humans are different from animals?" Jennifer asked calmly, turning to the noble student who had raised the complaint.

"Whether it’s a human or an animal, both will bleed and die when shot. Just because you’re human doesn’t mean a shotgun pellet will miss you. I’ll say it again: there is no honor or glory on the battlefield. In the mud-filled trenches, all that’s left is a desperate, filthy creature trying to survive.”

As she said this, Jennifer’s lips curled into a smirk.

“Or, if you prefer, we could ask our princess for her opinion. Sylvia?”

Why me?

I hadn’t said a word—oh, wait. It looks like I was the only one who hadn’t said anything. The other noble students, even Leo, Charlotte, and Alice, had all shown some degree of discomfort. I was the only one who remained calm.

Well, Claire was calm too, but she likely understood the darker side of humanity.

“What do you think, then? Will you object to your enemy using a shotgun? Will you demand they fight you with an ‘honorable’ weapon?”

Jennifer’s asking me because she knows I won’t say anything like that. She knows I won’t complain about something as trivial as that.

I’ve assassinated a count before, after all. I didn’t challenge him to a duel; I just planted a bomb under his carriage. That’s hardly the “noble” way to do things. Nobles are supposed to duel honorably, not blow their opponents to pieces.

I’m not sure if Jennifer knows about all that, but she seems to trust me in a strange way.

She must see me as a soldier.

Has she heard that I was meant to go to the front lines?

"Can we get our hands on shotguns or submachine guns?" I asked.

A murmur rippled through the crowd.

Everyone was used to thinking of pistols and rifles as necessary tools for the battlefield, so no one questioned their use. Even if they whispered among themselves about how commoners weren’t formally trained, no one was brazen enough to accuse them of being dishonorable to their faces.

"Of course. The most important thing on the battlefield is being prepared. I’ll give you the chance to choose your weapons before the fight. Rifles, pistols, hunting shotguns—take your pick."

"Thank you."

Jennifer smiled, clearly pleased with my response.

She was pretty, in that way all video game characters tend to be, but honestly, her words made her seem a bit unhinged.

Well, she had seen the horrors of war, so I guess it’s understandable.

The sparring match was set up like a team battle, but that didn’t mean the noble students would automatically be on the same team. While it would’ve been interesting to see us work together as a squad of fifteen, some nobles still felt uncomfortable with the idea of wielding shotguns on the battlefield.

Maybe their opinions would change after a few years at the academy, but right now, many of the new students seemed to consider using shotguns to be dishonorable.

"…"

The group around me didn’t look particularly enthusiastic either.

“If you don’t want to use them, there’s no need to force yourselves,” I said, noticing that even Alice and Charlotte, who usually treated me fairly, seemed displeased.

“If you’re unfamiliar with the weapon, there’s a higher chance of making mistakes. No matter how easy a weapon might seem to use, it takes time to get used to it.”

As I spoke, I loaded a shotgun with shells.

The M1889. Jennifer had provided this shotgun, which was the standard issue for the Winterfield family's soldiers up north. It looked like a trench gun used by American soldiers in World War I, with a perforated heat shield and a bayonet lug.

Knowing this game’s developers, they probably just took the trench gun’s design and slapped a new name on it.

It held five shells in the tubular magazine and one more in the chamber, for a total of six rounds.

Although my main weapons were a rifle and revolver, I knew how to use a shotgun. I had practiced with it plenty of times—though I spent more time practicing reloading than actual shooting. To be fair, shotguns had some of the coolest reload mechanics in modern firearms.

“Alright,” Alice finally said as I finished loading the shotgun. She had been quietly observing but now spoke up.

“Teach me how to use it.”

All eyes turned to Alice.

“As long as I know how to fire it, I can make use of it, right? If nothing else, it should be effective for dealing with enemies up close.”

"…"

I watched her for a moment before grabbing a double-barrel shotgun from nearby.

I loaded two shells into the barrels and handed it to her.

"Both barrels are loaded. Just aim the muzzle at the enemy and pull the trigger."

It had two triggers, but she could easily fire both barrels in quick succession. It was ideal for immediate close-range combat.

"Once you’ve fired both shots, feel free to drop the gun and draw your sword."

If she fired both barrels, the enemy would likely be close enough for her to switch to melee combat. And Alice knew how to wield her sword. If she could get close enough, she’d be fine.

If things went south, I could always reset the timeline and try again, adjusting our strategy little by little.

“Anyone else?” I asked, looking around.

"Ugh, fine," Leo muttered under his breath.

"Claire, just… don’t tell my father about this."

"Do you think I’d rat you out?" Claire replied cheerfully, though Leo shot her a skeptical look.

…She’s definitely told him things before.

"Princess—"

"Call me by my name. We’re in the field now, not the classroom. Using titles could lead to confusion."

That made sense, especially since we had two princesses on our team. Not to mention others with similar titles.

"Sylvia. I’d appreciate it if you could teach me as well," Leo said.

I handed him a shotgun identical to the one I had given Alice.

“You heard the explanation, so I won’t repeat it. Don’t bother reloading in the middle of a fight. If you have the chance to switch to your sword, do it. None of you have been trained as soldiers, so don’t waste time fumbling with the gun.”

Leo nodded, his expression tense.

These commoners may have been from humble backgrounds, but the fact that they were enrolled in this academy meant they had skills. For all I knew, some of them might be better shots than me. After all, I didn’t have much experience with live-fire exercises.

But, well, I could always reset if things didn’t go as planned.

"Me too!" Claire chirped, her voice as lively as ever.

I wordlessly handed her a shotgun.

There were submachine guns as well, but they’d be awkward to use unless someone was already familiar with them. The shotgun was much more straightforward, and smaller too, compared to the bulkier submachine guns.

If the shotgun didn’t work out, I could always hand out the SMGs later.

"…"

Now, everyone had a shotgun, and we all turned to look at Charlotte.

"…"

She was clearly uncomfortable under our gazes, shifting her eyes away before finally groaning in exasperation.

"Ugh, fine!"

Reluctantly, she reached out to take a shotgun.

Cute, really.

It was little moments like these that made her such a popular character in the game.

Maybe I should take a page from her book.