This was the second time I've killed someone.
Normally, I would be paralyzed with guilt, shocked by the fact that I had taken a life.
However, I remained calm and took Sedol's hand as we headed towards the front door.
…I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing, but I guess I'm the type of person who stays completely detached in stressful situations.
I remember that after Lakya was killed in battle, I was completely calm throughout the retreat operation.
It's only when my life is in danger that I can put my emotions aside and act.
In fact, such soldiers are not uncommon.
Senior Allen and Rodri are normally friendly and boisterous, but they become calm during battle.
Those who lose their composure in battle end up dying, leaving only such soldiers on the front lines.
Come to think of it, in my previous life as well, I was known for staying calm in dire situations in "games."
"…Tou-chan."
"It's okay, Sedol."
At this moment, I am also unusually calm, as if a switch had been flipped.
All I could think about was making Sedol's life my top priority and getting him out of the village safely.
Ignoring the deaths of Gomuji and Kusha, I calmly began searching the area for any enemies.
"From now on, you must not say a word. Please zip your lips."
"Mm…"
Peeking outside, I saw four enemies approaching the house from about 10 meters to the west.
Their purpose is likely to investigate the gunshots that had echoed from this house.
We'll be found if we stay here.
"Please hold on tight."
"Yeah…"
I tucked the rifle I had taken from the bandits under my arm and lifted Sedol.
The gun is loaded and ready to fire with a pull of the trigger.
"Hey, I heard a bunch of gunshots, what happened?"
A man's voice came from outside the house.
I would be riddled with bullets if I engaged in a shootout against four enemies.
Also, I've heard that Sabbatian rifles have a maximum magazine capacity of five rounds, but my rifle might not be fully loaded.
It is generally best to avoid unnecessary battles.
"Hey, let's go in."
I escaped through the back door of the house, still holding Sedol in my left arm.
All I have to do now was run and escape the village without being seen.
"…Ugh! Hey, he's been killed!"
"Be careful, they might be hiding in the house."
Holding Sedol in my arms, I observed the situation around the front entrance from the house's outer wall.
A few patrolling bandits were walking along the street in front of the entrance.
I'd be spotted immediately if I ran out the front door.
If that were to happen, I wouldn't stand a chance in a chase while holding a child.
"Search the area around the house. Shoot them if you find them."
Meanwhile, the back of the house was locked with a rusty iron lock.
It is possible to manually open the lock from the inside, but I'd prefer not to do this because it makes a loud metallic noise.
…Would it be a good idea to just jump through the window of the back door when there's no one nearby?
If that's the case, I'd need to attract their attention somehow and take that opportunity to escape…
"Neigh!"
"Oh."
At that moment, I remembered the stable in this house.
This is the horse that Gomuji purchased in Austin for use as a peddler.
Gomuji went through great lengths to smuggle this horse into the Sabbath.
"…"
Horses are reasonably expensive property in this country.
"Please lend me your strength."
Unfortunately, I don't have any riding skills, so I can't ride them.
To begin with, it would be difficult for me to ride alone with my height.
Dramatically escaping on horseback, like in the movies, is out of the question.
…However, I can distract the bandits by letting the horse escape.
"Off you go, take care."
The moment I opened the door, the horse took off running at an incredible speed.
The gunfire had frightened the horses into a panic.
The horse, with a loud thud of galloping hooves, galloped out the front door and out of the village.
"Whoa! A horse!!"
"Hey, don't shoot! Get him!"
Unlike the warm Austin, in the winter country of the Sabbath, cattle farming is the main focus.
Horses are quite rare in this country. You don't want to lose one if you can help it.
"Damn it, who the hell─"
Alright, while they're distracted, we can make our escape…
"Nooo!! Tou-chan, you shouldn't have let it go!!"
"…"
"Daddy will be in trouble!"
…Because I let Gomuji's beloved horse escape, Sedol, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly started shouting.
"Hey, there are two kids outside."
"She's armed! Kill her!"
Reacting to his voice, men started to gather.
Should I have told Sedol about the plan first?
"…[Shield]!"
Soon, four men came out of the house and started shooting at us as we fled.
I braced myself for death and used [Shield] to defend us. Fortunately, not a single bullet hit us.
The enemy's aim is pretty sloppy.
"Chase them, don't let them escape! They're armed; we don't know what they'll do."
In desperation, I made a loud noise as I flung open the back door and ran.
Four men were chasing me as I carried Sedol on my back.
They were faster, and they would catch up eventually.
"Tou-chan, I'm sorry for shouting…"
"It's alright, but be more careful next time."
Sedol clung to my back, crying in a frightened voice.
I can feel the presence of someone aiming a gun from behind.
Sedol could get hit at this rate.
"…"
Is there any place suitable for a shootout? Somewhere like a trench, where I can hide and fight back.
"Sedol, I'm about to jump in there, so please hold on tight."
"Okay…"
It smells a bit, but running through the sewers like a trench to fight back might be a good idea.
It's a waterway for draining sewage, but it looks like it would make for a perfect trench to me.
"Alright, we've got the kid cornered!"
"Ugh."
However, the enemy was not going to let us escape so easily.
A large, obese man suddenly appeared from behind the corner where I had taken refuge.
Ambushed at the corner, I can't avoid the first shot.
Immediately, I need to dodge to avoid a fatal wound and counterattack by turning and shooting─
"Alright, now surrender quietly."
"Huh?"
*Bang!* A single gunshot rang out on the street.
The only gun that fired was mine, and the obese man stared blankly at his shot neck before collapsing in a spray of blood.
"Shit, Freed's been shot and killed!"
"That brat!!"
Why did this person talk to me instead of shooting?
…I feel a little guilty, but I'll try not to think about it.
I have used three bullets. The max number of bullets remaining is two.
I wanted to take a slight detour to retrieve the obese man's gun, but I gave up because the enemy was approaching.
There's no time to take a detour. In fact, it looks like they'll catch up with me before I can even jump into the sewer.
────Assess the situation.
Currently, there are three enemies behind us.
My destination is the sewer across the street.
However, it looks like we might get surrounded on the way, so I need to buy some time.
"Damn it, that brat shot at us!!"
"Take cover!"
I immediately switched to backpedaling and fired a warning shot at the enemy.
I missed since I hadn't practiced this way of shooting, but that didn't matter.
The goal was to make the enemy take cover, buying time for our escape.
The bullets are precious, but it's better than getting surrounded.
"Tou-chan, I'm scared!"
"I'll give you a big hug later! Just hang in there for a bit."
Seeing my warning shot, the enemy hid in the corner of a house and returned fire.
I deployed a [Shield] to protect myself from the counterattack, then I put Sedol on my back and ran.
…It seems the enemy aren't soldiers, but amateurs. Their aim is too rough.
So far, the enemy's bullets have not even grazed my [Shield].
This should buy me enough time to jump into the sewers─
"Bad luck, little girl."
"…Ah."
Taking advantage of the enemy's reloading, I sprinted towards the sewer.
If I could just dive into the sewer, I could engage in my specialty, trench warfare.
Even though I'm low on bullets, I could escape the village by running through the sewer.
That's what I was thinking.
"Goodbye."
An enemy hiding in the sewers fired a gun straight at me.
He was a middle-aged, lean man I hadn't seen in this village before.
He hid until the last moment, and the moment his head popped out of the sewer, he took aim and shot at me mercilessly.
…It was the movement of a professional soldier, not an amateur.
"[Shield]!"
My body moved reflexively before I could think.
Just as Mr. Zafqua had taught me in his training, I bent forward as soon as the gun was pointed at me.
But that was a bad move.
The enemy's aim was too precise, and the bullet didn't deflect even though it hit the [Shield].
A bullet that hits the center of the shield will continue going straight.
I should have jumped to the side to dodge the moment the gun was pointed at me.
"…"
"Tou-cha───"
With a crack, my [Shield] shattered mercilessly.
The bullet didn't veer anywhere, but went straight towards my forehead.
That ex-soldier must have realized I was heading for the sewers.
He took advantage of my blind spot as I was running backwards. He got to the sewer first and ambushed me.
What an unreasonable death. Well, it was my own fault for not anticipating it.
How to kill the enemy unreasonably. That was the "skill" in that game─
Death.
Time slowed down, the world started to turn dark.
"…I can't die yet!!"
My right hand grabbed something.
It was the black iron cylinder.
Although the iron cylinder is cold, I felt warmness from the gift given to me by Gomuji.
I must keep the flame of the life Gomuji saved burning.
I can't die when I still have to protect Sedol.
He is the precious legacy of the person who saved my life.
With the thought that I had to protect Sedol, I thought back on the party trick I had just learned the other day.
Immediately, a sharp sound exploded above my head.
A dull, tingling pain resonates in my raised right arm.
My eardrums throbbed from the loud noise, and the smell of gunpowder filled my nose.
Then I heard Sedol crying loudly from behind and the sound of someone gasping in front of me.
"No way, did she slice it─"
"Ahhhh!!"
Leaning forward, I stepped firmly on the ground and charged into the sewers.
I can't let him take a second shot. I'm sure I won't be able to prevent it next time.
"You little brat!"
"Don't point that gun at Sedol!"
The man pulled the bolt handle smoothly with the motion of an expert.
He is undoubtedly a former soldier.
…Certain of that, I instinctively threw the iron cylinder into the sewer.
The dry clang of metal echoes through the sewer.
"Huh?!"
The man immediately jumped and ducked into the sewer.
Yes. Anyone who has experienced trench warfare knows that horror.
There's no way that you wouldn't react when something like that is thrown at you if you're a soldier.
"…It's just a metal pipe─"
"Yeah."
One second of distraction was enough.
I aimed at the enemy trying to get up while jumping into the sewer.
"Glad it wasn't a grenade, right?"
A close-range shootout.
Normally, there is no way that a medic like me could win against a professional infantryman,
"S-Stop─"
The Sabbatian rifle needs to eject the shell after each shot.
Before he could prepare for the second shot, the man who had fallen can't even fire back.
There was a dry thud as the gunshot echoed throughout the sewer.
The bullet pierced the man's chest.
"That brat must be running out of bullets soon!"
"Don't be afraid, just go for it!"
Soon after, I heard shouts from behind. Someone must have been counting my bullets.
But even if this gun is out of bullets, I can take the gun from the man I just killed.
"Ah, ugh…"
"[Shield]!"
At that moment, when I looked at the man I thought I had just killed,
I felt my blood run cold and dove into the water, holding Sedol tightly.
The former soldier, realizing his impending death, had…
"Waaaaaaah!!?"
"An explosion!?"
…Used his remaining strength to pull the pin of a grenade and slam it into the ground.
I would have died if I had been even a little slower in deploying my [Shield].
"Tony blew himself up, damn it!"
"Kill that brat, no matter what!"
…This is a dire situation.
I can't imagine his gun is intact after the explosion. I've lost all means of attack.
"Sedol, are you okay!?"
"I bit my tongue!"
Sedol was crying in my arms. His life doesn't seem to be in danger.
However, perhaps due to a direct hit from shrapnel from the explosion, my left shin was broken and blood was gushing out.
It'll be impossible to run without treatment.
It must have been the former soldier's last act of defiance, trying to take me with him.
This is why soldiers are troublesome.
"There she was, that brat─"
I tried to escape, placing my hands on the wall to stand up.
I thought we might be able to escape given their aim.
Even if I can't, I want to at least save Sedol…
"Hurry up and heal yourself, Aust pig."
Just as I was preparing myself for death, a gunshot suddenly rang out above my head.
Immediately afterwards, The bandit groaned, vomiting blood, and collapsed to the ground.
"Who wants to be shot next?"
"Shit, another one?!"
When I looked up, I saw a one-eyed man glaring at me from the top of the sewer with a stern face.
The bandits panicked and took cover.
It looks like someone had come to my rescue.
"You are…"
That someone is a man I recognize very well.
A young, muscular man without a right eye.
He was one of the assailants who had previously tried to beat up Sedol and I.
"I-Irigol… Thank you."
"Hmph."
After thanking him, I limped over to retrieve the iron cylinder I had thrown earlier.
It was the important surgical set Gomuji had given me.
With it, I could at least perform some basic first aid…
"Ah…"
"That's useless now. Throw it away."
Unfortunately, the iron cylinder was badly bent from the impact of the bullet.
The scalpel inside was broken, and the needle and thread were torn.
…It was unusable.
"Geez. Here, take my army knife."
"T-Thank you."
"Tell me when you've finished your treatment."
────Yeah, medical tools suit you better than weapons after all, Senior.
A voice from the past echoed and then faded in my mind.
After receiving the army knife from Irigol, I cut open the left part of my pants to expose the wound, and proceeded to treat it.
With practiced hands, I made an incision in my lower leg to let the blood out and cast a healing spell to stop the bleeding.
Finally, I wrapped the torn piece of my pants around my thigh as a makeshift bandage, completing the treatment.
"Finished?"
"Yes…"
"Let's move. You focus on looking after the kid."
I left the emergency surgical set Gomuji had given me in the sewer.
After securing Sedol to my back with the iron cylinder's strap, I gripped the oversized army knife and ran, following the former Sabbatian soldier Irigol.