Chapter 429: A gunshot, just five bullets left
"Take me there, and I'll return your equipment immediately."
"Alright," Peter said, "but we're not sure if that passage is still there."
"It's fine; just getting me there is enough." Aaron immediately returned the bow and arrows to Susan and the longsword to Peter. As for the Potionbottle, he wanted to secretly pocket it, as it was a Potion even more precious than the Phoenix's tears.
"Where's my Potion bottle?" Lucy hinted, pointing.
"I really dislike people with good memories." Aaron gave an awkward laugh. "You haven't eaten yet, right? How about this: I'll treat you to a good meal, plenty to fill you up, and that Potion bottle can just…"
Lucy showed an innocent smile. "Although I look only twelve or thirteen, I was once a Queen of Narnia. Before I left Narnia, I was even older than you."
"Alright!" Aaron sighed, reluctantly returning the red Potion bottle.
Trumpkin paused for a moment, then handed the sword in his hand to Edmund. "Here, Your Majesty."
"What happened to Narnia while we were away?" Peter asked.
"Let's talk as we go!" Trumpkin said in a deep voice, then had the five of them board the boat.
Peter proactively rowed, following the river into a canyon.
"What's your name?" Edmund asked.
"Gaius, Aaron Gaius. In this world, I'm just a nobody; my reputation is nowhere near that of you four Kings."
"They're so quiet," Lucy said, looking at the trees on both sides of the canyon.
"They're trees; what do you expect them to be like?" Trumpkin said indifferently.
"They used to dance."
"Not long after you left, the Telmarines came. All the survivors hid in the forest. As for the trees, after they deeply buried themselves, no one has heard from them since."
"I don't understand," Lucy said with some sadness. "How could Aslan let all this happen?"
"Aslan? He abandoned us when you abandoned us."
"So…" Aaron swallowed with difficulty. "That lion isn't a legend?"
"Of course not," Lucy said seriously. "We even fought alongside him!"
"Can you tell me how strong he is?" Aaron asked. If nothing unexpected happened, Aslan might be the only creature in this world that could threaten him. Knowing more about him would be beneficial.
"I can't really say," Lucy scratched her head. "The moment you see him, you'll feel he's trustworthy and worthy of respect. During the White Witch's reign over Narnia, the entire world was covered in ice and snow, but as soon as he returned, winter turned into spring. The White Witch had turned many who resisted her to stone, but Aslan merely blew a breath, and they were restored. In the final battle, his single roar turned our declining morale into an overwhelming force against the enemy army."
Aaron: …Assessment complete. At least at the level of a Saint Archmage, someone I cannot afford to provoke. And Aslan must still be alive; at that level, lifespan no longer binds him. At the very least, he wouldn't just coincidentally die within these few hundred years. However, Aslan seems to be on the side of justice. As long as he hasn't done anything to incur divine wrath or endanger the world, I shouldn't offend him.
"We didn't mean to leave," Peter said apologetically.
"It doesn't make much difference, does it?"
"Take us to the Narnians; it will be resolved."
"Wait, what about taking me home as promised?" Aaron said, his expression unnatural.
"We always keep our word," Lucy said with a shrug… The boat docked at the shore. Trumpkin cast the anchor, then stomped on it twice to embed it into the ground.
Aaron, Peter, Edmund, and Susanworked together to pull the wooden boat onto the shore.
Lucy saw a black bear not far away and approached it with interest. In her understanding, the residents of Narnia were still as warm and welcoming as they had been hundreds of years ago.
"Hello!"
Roar!
The black bear let out a low growl, then stood up.
"It's okay, we're your friends."
"Is your sister out of her mind?" Aaron gasped, taking a sharp breath. "I thought she was quite reliable, but now it seems that was my illusion."
"Don't move, Your Majesty," Trumpkin said urgently. Lucy subconsciously stood still.
Just then, footsteps reached her ears. Lucy turned her head and saw the black bear lunging towards her, scaring her into running back immediately.
Susan immediately drew her bow and arrow, warning, "Stay away from her."
The black bear was unmoved. Lucy, at this moment, also fell to the ground, letting out a panicked scream in the face of its gaping maw.
"Ah!"
"Shoot quickly, Susan." Edmund and Peter rushed towards the black bear with their swords, but at a distance of twenty to thirty meters, they weren't sure if they could make it in time.
Bang!
Time seemed to stand still at this moment.
Peter and Edmund, who were running wildly, stopped in a daze. Susan Put down the bow and arrow in a daze. Trumpkin sat on the ground, dumbfounded, and Lucy's scream also abruptly ceased.
The black bear let out a cry of pain and fell to the ground. There was a transparent hole in its head, from its forehead to the back of its skull, and blood continuously gushed from the hole, staining the ground crimson.
But no one paid attention to it; everyone's gaze shifted to Aaron, their eyes filled with shock and a hint of tension.
Whoosh!
Aaron pretended to blow on the barrel of his revolver.
"Why are you all looking at me? Although I'm quite handsome, it's still a bit embarrassing to have so many pairs of eyes on me."
"You, you, you actually have a gun?" Edmund swallowed.
Aaron spread his hands as if it were obvious, smiling meaningfully. "Why do you think I returned your weapons so readily? Although it might not be appropriate to say this, in a strange and dangerous place, I wouldn't dare walk around without some weapons to protect myself."
"But this is just too unfair," Susan said with a speechless expression. "We only use bows and arrows, or at best, crossbows, and you're using a hot weapon?"
"Is it my fault?"
"What exactly is your identity in the human world?" Peter asked with a serious expression.
There were still many places fighting wars in their world, and now a young man with a gun suddenly appeared. Killing a black bear so effortlessly was one thing, but that bullet hit it right between the eyes. His marksmanship made him unable to help but wonder. An officer's son? Royalty? Or an assassin trained by some power?
"Uh… don't misunderstand, I don't have any special identity; I'm just an ordinary person."
"Ordinary people don't have guns, nor do they have such marksmanship," Peter said seriously. "Hitting between the eyes from dozens of meters away, you probably can't do that without rigorous training!"
"I admire that kind of thinking, but there's a type of person in this world called a genius. And I just happen to be one. I learned everything extremely quickly from childhood to university, and shooting is no different."
"A genius?" Peter looked at him suspiciously, deep in thought. "Would you mind telling me how you got your gun?"
"It's a family heirloom," Aaron replied, not even breathing heavily.
"Come on, at least be a little more serious when you're trying to fool us!" Edmund's mouth twitched slightly. "We don't know much about firearms, but it's the first time we've seen such a beautiful and exquisite gun. It's infinitely more sophisticated than the guns carried by the station guards."
"You have good taste. This gun is entirely matte black, the grip is ergonomically designed, it's thirty centimeters long, the barrel is twelve centimeters long, it weighs eight hundred grams empty, the hammer is exposed, and it even has elaborately carved patterns. I named it Dusk…"
"Wait, no one asked you that," Susaninterrupted him. "We just want to know where you got such a beautiful gun. Don't worry, no matter what your identity, we'll take you back."
"But this gun really is a family heirloom!"
"Don't joke around," Peter said. "This gun of yours is much more advanced than ordinary firearms; the timeline for it to be a family heirloom simply doesn't match."
Aaron sighed, feeling weary. "An elder in my family, a very old and highly respected one… he had a talent for weapon design that far surpassed ordinary people. This is one of his few top-tier works. He passed this gun down to the youngest person in the family, which is me. He's no longer in this world now. Are you satisfied?"
The others exchanged glances, as if they had accidentally touched a raw nerve.
"I'm sorry, we didn't mean to," Lucy said guiltily.
"My apologies," Peter said sincerely.
"Hmph!" Aaron snorted in dissatisfaction. What he said was absolutely the truth; Alger was indeed no longer in this world, and this gun was indeed passed down to him by him. As for how these people understood it, he couldn't care less.
"Your luck really is… enviable!" Edmund said with emotion. "When we first came to Narnia, we didn't have any equipment. Can I see your gun? I've never even touched one in my life."
"Do you think that's possible?" Aaron sneered. "This gun is my capital for survival in this world."
"Alright! Then… how many bullets do you have left?"
Aaron pushed out the cylinder, pretending to eject the bullets one by one. "One, two, three, four, five… five bullets, just enough."
Everyone: …What does that mean? What do you mean, "just enough"?
Are these five bullets meant for the five of us?
"Are you sure it's only five bullets?" Peter asked with some doubt.
"Nonsense." Aaron rolled his eyes at him. "I carry a gun only for self-defense, not for fighting. Why would I prepare so many bullets?"
"Well, that's… true!"
"Why didn't he stop?" Susan walked forward, looking at the dead black bear, a hint of confusion in her eyes.
"Why should he stop?" Aaron retorted. "This is a bear. Lunch walked right up to him. You expect him to pretend he didn't see anything."
"No, I mean he might be a Narnian. A Narnian with intelligence, who can speak, and wouldn't easily attack humans."
"With all due respect, I didn't see any intelligence in him; he looked more like a wild bear."
"I don't think he could speak either," Peter chimed in.
Trumpkin's expression was complex, his voice betraying no emotion. "Being treated as a dumb animal for too long, you'd become dumb too. You'll find Narnia has become much wilder than before."