The Return of Lilietta - Chapter 38

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 38

“After Riklev’s death, his daughter and disciples have been running the workshop. The guns made at Riclef Workshop are impressive too, but they still can’t match the works that Riklev himself designed. This gun is one of the final masterpieces that Riklev created in his later years, staking his reputation as a craftsman. It’s also called Riklev’s Legacy Series! That’s why it has the numbering LS11. It’s a masterpiece made only for collectors who know its true value, and your father owns numbers 3, 5, 8, 11, and 16!”

“Father.”

“Lillieta, this number 11 you chose is famous for having the most elegant design and beautiful engraving in the series. It’s been praised as being like a noblewoman in a silver dress. Now do you understand why this gun is called Silver Grace? It has a 6-shot cylinder with a mithril barrel – they used solid mithril, which is called the treasure of the dwarves. That’s why it’s exceptionally light even among Riklev’s Legacy pieces! It feels like you’re holding a fan rather than a revolver. Plus, the trigger pressure is…”

“Father!”

Leonhardt barely managed to cut off the Duke’s seemingly endless explanation.

“How long are you planning to explain? It’s not like she needs to know all that.”

“Hmm… You’re right. Ahem, ahem.”

The Duke, finally realizing he had gotten excited, cleared his throat with a slightly reddened face. Leonhardt let out a deep sigh and looked back at Rita with an apologetic expression.

“Rita, please understand. Father can’t control himself whenever guns come up…”

His words trailed off naturally. His younger sister, who he expected to look exasperated, was strangely bright-eyed.

“Move aside, Leon. Father, so what’s different about Silver Grace’s trigger pressure?”

“Oh, ooh… You really are my daughter! Hahaha! Now, look closely at this trigger! Being one of the later numbers in Riklev’s Legacy series, it incorporates the latest technology that was just emerging at the time… The curves are elegantly designed considering even the sensation at your fingertips…”

Father and daughter put their heads together and began chatting happily while examining the small silver revolver. Richard shrugged his shoulders next to Leonhardt, who was watching the scene in bewilderment.

“Now I understand why you and I weren’t interested in guns. Rita inherited all of that taste, so there was nothing left for us.”

“…Come to think of it, Rita was very interested in Father’s guns even when she was very young.”

“Oh, I remember. When she showed interest, Father handed it to a four-year-old, and Mother was horrified. She almost separated from him then, didn’t she?”

“Haha…”

Leonhardt let out a hollow laugh.

Though it was confusing in many ways, it was a pleasant sight to see Father and the youngest getting excited together.

The father and daughter, who had been chatting just between themselves for a while, finally finished their conversation.

Rita took Silver Grace and put it back in the holster. The Duke, who had been watching her fondly, suddenly let out a sigh that seemed to rise from deep within.

“Lillieta, to me Silver Grace was just a piece to hang in a display case and admire. But seeing it in your hands, it becomes a weapon of shocking power.”

“Would you prefer it as a piece of art?”

“No, no matter how artistic, a gun is still a weapon. Being used according to its nature would be a joy for Silver Grace too. I feel like I’ve finally found it a proper owner. It’s just…”

The Duke wore a bitter smile.

“It’s just that I’m only now truly realizing that you… grew up constantly fighting things called magical beasts.”

“…”

“I also understood what you meant about not needing beaters. That animals aren’t dangerous to you…”

“…Then may I hunt alone now? I’d like to use my gun freely for the first time in a while.”

“Go ahead. But be careful.”

“Yes.”

Rita smiled slightly and walked into the forest. Just as her blonde hair tied in a single strand was about to disappear into the woods, Leonhardt gave a look and Richard quickly followed her.

No matter what, they couldn’t really let their youngest sister, who had only recently returned from being missing, go alone.

Rita understood why Richard was following her, so she didn’t say anything. She just asked about something that suddenly came to mind.

“Come to think of it, did they find out why that wyvern monster suddenly appeared in the city?”

“No, only that it was a creature living in the Black Forest. Being a flying monster, it probably flew in through gaps in the security. My brother strengthened the guard training.”

“I see.”

Rita, who grew up in an environment where magical beast attacks were daily occurrences, took it in stride. Then she instantly drew her gun, shot in one direction, and put it back in the holster. Richard, who was following behind, asked in bewilderment.

“Hey, what did you just shoot…?”

“A fox.”

She pushed through the thicket toward where she had shot. Only after walking for quite a while could they see the fox’s corpse. Richard muttered in amazement.

“No way, how could you possibly… from this distance… I couldn’t even detect it…”

Rita was about to pick up the fox corpse but stopped and looked back at Richard.

“Could you carry this for me?”

“Huh?”

“It’s heavy.”

Richard glanced at her slender arms and chuckled.

“Right, it would be heavy for you. But you don’t have to carry it yourself. The beaters will come to collect it.”

He took out a bright yellow ribbon from his pocket and tied it to a nearby tree branch as a marker. Rita watched him for a moment before speaking.

“Richard.”

“Yeah.”

“I’d like to do some physical training. Could you help me?”

Actually, she didn’t need help.

Though she had trained through real combat rather than drills, living in the military naturally taught you simple training methods.

Moreover, during the period when Beacon was actively accepting Pascal’s Children, she was in charge of training the newcomers, so she knew training methods even better.

But if she wanted to train with Richard, this approach would be better.

‘My former squad members knew my track record well… but to Richard, I’m just his little sister. Believing my story and actually understanding it are different things.’

Though she had just demonstrated her marksmanship, shooting was originally in a somewhat different realm from general combat skills. She had already seen quite a few cases where those trained in close combat doubted her fighting ability or didn’t listen to her guidance well.

‘Only after facing them one-on-one and beating them up would they finally become obedient.’

So rather than suddenly offering to help with Richard’s rehabilitation training, it would be better to ask him to help with her training, then train together and look for opportunities.

Richard blinked, then smiled cheerfully.

“Sure, okay. I was actually thinking you looked rather frail and needed some exercise. You said your etiquette lessons are mostly finished now, right? Let’s exercise together during that time.”

He patted Rita’s shoulder as if she were being admirable. Rita just smiled.

After that, she continued walking while shooting at various spots.

She shot from distances that even Richard, a top-class knight, couldn’t see and killed with one shot, so Richard couldn’t see a single living prey. He had nothing to do except click his tongue in amazement and tie marking ribbons to tree branches.

‘What kind of detection range does she have… Even if it’s a technique learned in another world, this doesn’t make sense…?’

Then Rita suddenly stopped walking and frowned.

“What’s wrong?”

“…”

She didn’t answer Richard’s question and quietly changed direction. Richard soon understood why she had frowned.

“Ugh, damn.”

A foul stench hit them.

A human corpse torn to shreds was buried in a thicket. Limbs with skin torn at the joints as if they had been pulled apart were scattered about, and the excavated entrails were fully exposed. Since some time had passed since death, maggots were swarming in the dried blood and filth.

Even for Richard, who had seen quite a few corpses during his activities as a holy knight, it was a horrifically mutilated body that was hard to look at directly. Richard covered his nose and tried to shield Lillieta’s eyes out of concern.

But Lillieta was crouching beside the corpse with an expressionless face.

“Looking at the state of the maggots, he seems to have died about three or four days ago. A man in his 40s, looks like he was a hunter by profession…”

“L-Lillieta?”

“Yes?”

“Are you, are you okay?”

“About what?”

“Seeing such a co-corpse and still…”

When Richard stammered, Rita, who had been puzzled, made an “ah” expression of realization.

“I’ve seen corpses much worse than this. You know what I was doing to survive.”

“…”

He closed his mouth. Indeed, just hearing about it and experiencing it this way were different things.

‘War… does it make you accustomed to corpses like this?’

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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