Seeing Alice, the Grace siblings, and Charlotte all strapped with firearms by their sides was quite a sight.

One of the defining features of JRPGs is that you can't just switch weapons freely. It's not that you can’t swap weapons like in an FPS; it’s more that each character has a fixed weapon type, and they literally can't equip anything else.

There are several reasons for this. It could be to conserve resources, reduce the number of motion and skill animations required, or to prevent players from getting confused about party members' equipment.

Whatever the reason, in the original game, you couldn’t have characters wielding weapons outside of their specific type.

Then again, if this were the original game, this type of battle wouldn’t be happening at all.

It’s not like we could actually dig trenches into the academy’s sports field. So, we had to make do with some sandbags stacked slightly higher than the ground as cover. It wasn’t the most authentic “battlefield” setup, but... what could we do? The instructor wanted it this way, so we followed orders.

In the game, combat was turn-based, and even if you were shot, it only took off some HP, rather than being an instant kill. Sure, it was far from reality, but JRPGs have certain rules they follow.

However, here we could break some of those rules—like giving firearms to characters who traditionally fought with swords.

Jennifer was watching us from a platform above, observing the chaos below.

I suppose she was up there to monitor and call out who got shot.

Forty-five students in total, counting both classes. Would this really be okay? In the game, the turn-based system kept things under control, but here…

Well, whatever. It wasn’t my problem. The instructor would handle it, and I had other things to worry about.

“For now, I’ll cover you when you run. Make sure to run in a zigzag pattern, and do it fast. If you run straight, you’ll be declared dead for sure,” I advised.

Everyone nodded silently.

Not many of the noble students had experience with firearms. I was one of the few who did, and it seemed that the others trusted me because of it.

Technically, the battle had already started.

But no one dared move. The first person to poke their head out would likely be shot.

Still, I wasn’t too concerned.

“Shouldn’t we be moving?” Alice whispered from beside me.

“It’s fine,” I replied calmly.

It really was fine. After all—

“Charge!”

—there were idiots for that.

This wasn’t a game where everything followed one person's point of view. Sometimes, the perspective shifted to supporting characters or even NPCs.

And I knew there were always a few students like that—the ones who thought staying behind cover was dishonorable.

In the game, these characters were portrayed as the type who believed it was unworthy to remain behind defenses and not charge forward.

Of course, they only felt safe charging because they knew this wasn’t a real battlefield. No one would die here, so they figured they might as well show off their “honor.”

That didn’t mean they were completely reckless, though. They wouldn’t just run headlong into enemy fire.

Bang!

The sound of a gunshot echoed across the field, and I saw Alice flinch, her eyes widening in surprise.

It wasn’t as loud as a real gunshot. They must’ve used a much smaller amount of powder to avoid accidents with blocked barrels.

But it was still enough to make noise, and there were small holes drilled in the barrel just in case.

If anyone got injured, it would probably just be a minor burn.

“Mackenzie, eliminated!”

...Yup, eliminated in one shot.

“They’re using blanks. You don’t need to worry too much,” I reassured Alice as I carefully rose from my position.

I moved just enough to peek without making myself too obvious.

Bang!

The rifle in my hand roared, the stock nudging my shoulder slightly.

“James, eliminated!”

A commoner student who had poked his head out from behind the sandbags fell back, marked as eliminated.

Bang!

“Sylvia, eliminated!”

Great, so they’re shooting from over there, huh?

I memorized the direction the shot had come from.

Reset.

•  

Bang! Click. Bang!

Two shots, and I took out two targets.

“Sylvia, eliminated!”

But then a return shot hit me. It wasn’t just me—once the gunfire started, the students from Class B quickly returned fire, turning the field into a chaotic battleground. Jennifer called out eliminations one after another, as more and more students dropped behind their makeshift trenches.

I made sure to memorize every spot where someone had popped up.

Reset.

•  

“I’ll cover you. Run now!” I shouted, pulling the bolt on my rifle and firing in quick succession.

Bang!

Without even confirming the hit, I pulled the bolt again, swung my rifle in another direction, and fired again.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Alice sprint from behind the sandbags, holding her double-barreled shotgun in one hand and her sword in the other, running at full speed.

She zigzagged across the field just as I had instructed, making it difficult for the commoner students to land a hit.

But—

Bang!

“Alice, eliminated!”

Difficult didn’t mean impossible.

Alice turned to me with a frustrated expression—

Reset.

•  

The Ergenson rifle holds five rounds in the magazine and one in the chamber. Unlike other rifles that use a clip, this one requires you to open a side panel to load the rounds, making the process slower and less stable.

There’s a speed loader, but it’s still not as reliable as other bolt-action rifles where you can feel the rounds click into place.

If more of my teammates were proficient with rifles, I might’ve spent more time reloading and firing methodically. But…

“Charlotte, eliminated!”

Unfortunately, none of my teammates were skilled enough with firearms to make a difference.

We had more targets, and we were managing to hold them off for the moment, but it was only a matter of time before they hit back.

Still, I was getting closer.

I had stashed several Ergenson rifles behind the sandbags. I knew this situation was coming. Jennifer’s rule of “prepare as much as you want; it’s all up to your own judgment” allowed me to stockpile as many guns as I wanted without her interference.

Of course, it would’ve been more efficient if we just had more six-shot rifles and soldiers who knew how to use them.

This was exhausting.

At least we were making progress. We were almost at the enemy lines, but getting eliminated just before reaching them was becoming a pattern.

“Once you get closer, feel free to use your firearms. Just point the barrel at the enemy and fire,” I reminded my team before the next round.

But—

“Eliminated!”

—while we managed to take down a few more opponents, we still got eliminated.

"…"

In the original game, this scene played out as a scripted event.

The key difference was that in the original, Mia Crowfield was the one who used magic.

I looked to my side.

Mia Crowfield was still crouched behind the sandbags, gripping her magic staff tightly. It seemed like everyone else had charged ahead, leaving her behind.

Hmm.

Well, it’s worth a shot.

Reset.

•  

Before handing out shotguns to my team, I stood up and walked confidently toward where the other noble students were gathered.

“Sylvia?”

Alice called out my name in surprise as I headed straight toward Mia Crowfield, but I ignored her and kept walking.

I acted as if there was nothing wrong.

Even if Mia rejected me, I could always turn back time and try again.

I had already shared the truth with Mia once. I wasn’t afraid to make a simple request.

The nobles gathered around Mia parted as I approached. Being a princess, even in name, certainly had its advantages.

Mia turned, startled by the sound of my approach, and took a step back.

“Lady Crowfield,” I called to her.

“Ah, uh, wh-what do you want…?”

This was the same Mia Crowfield who had glared at me with murderous intent in the student council room, but now she seemed more timid.

When she had faced me back then, it was out of a loss of control—her emotions had overwhelmed her. But I hadn’t reacted, and now she seemed unsure of herself.

She probably thought she’d made a mistake back then.

Even if she hated me, it didn’t matter. Mia Crowfield had already said she intended to join the student council if I did. If she ever saw an opportunity, she’d try to kill me or at least bring me down. She’d likely fail, but she’d keep trying.

For now, she was trying to stay close to me.

Regardless of her personal feelings, I had to make the offer.

“We could use your help. Would you assist us?”

There was a collective gasp from the students around us.

Was it really that strange for me to ask for help?

I suppose it might have been. I’d never asked any of the students for anything before. I had always maintained my image as the aloof beauty, too self-sufficient to need assistance from anyone.

But right now, I needed her help.

In the original game, the protagonist’s party succeeded here thanks to Mia’s assistance.

It wasn’t necessarily about her abilities—it was about recreating the event. Without her, this scene couldn’t unfold properly.

“My help…?” Mia blinked, looking at me in surprise.

She looked like a typical cute heroine, with her long bangs framing her face.

In the original game, I wasn’t around, nor was Claire. Leo’s interactions with other characters were varied—he could grow closer to Alice, or Mia might align with him out of rivalry with Alice.

But because Claire and I were here, the dynamics had changed, leaving Leo with a different group.

That meant Mia Crowfield’s involvement was missing from this event, and because of that, we were struggling.

"…"

Mia seemed to be deep in thought, and I could feel the students’ eyes on us. I ignored them, focusing solely on Mia.

Would she refuse me? Would she mock me for asking? Would she relish in my failure?

Her expression from earlier didn’t suggest she would, but maybe she’d just been too overwhelmed by the situation to show it.

“...What kind of help do you need?” Mia finally asked.

“We need light,” I replied succinctly.

In the original game, Mia came up with this idea on her own. But by now, Leo would’ve been eliminated, so I had to prompt her instead.

“I need you to create the strongest light you can. Is that possible?”