Chapter 2

1. A BULLET THAT SHIFTS THE WORLD It took only a moment. What was the best way to describe the sensation? Like film suddenly being rewound, perhaps? “Ah…” The world had changed before his very eyes, leaving him dumbstruck. “…Huh?” A sense of confusion overwhelmed Rain. He was no longer in the midst of a battlefield. “Hurry up, Rain. It’s your turn.” …What? Rain’s fingers were gripping a hand of cards, and he was sitting down comfortably. As far as he could tell, he was playing a game with his friends. “What, something wrong, Rain? I said it’s your turn.” “My…turn…?” Rain mumbled as he looked around. But the entirely peaceful scene only served to deepen his confusion. There was no mistaking the place. He was in the rear base’s courtyard, where Major Beluk had first struck. It was the location that had become hell on earth a mere thirty minutes ago. Or so it should have been… “Ah… Aaaaaah, aaaaaaaaah!” Rain couldn’t help but throw away the cards in his hands as he panicked. “Whoa, what the hell, Rain?!” “C’mon, you don’t get to screw around just ’cause you have a shitty hand!” His friends complained, making their disdain known. But their reactions could not have mattered less to Rain in that moment. What is this?! What the hell is this?! What am I doing here?! “G-guys! The enemy! Where’s the enemy?!” Why am I just sitting around playing poker...?! “Enemy?” His classmate Orca frowned at him. He was a rather crude, built young man, whose major redeeming quality was that he never lied. “Why the hell would there be enemies around here? We’re in the rear, man! The closest thing I’ve got to an enemy right now is you!” “Sleepwalk and daydream all you want, but you better pay up!” His friends complained again, but Rain still couldn’t accept the situation. “…A dream? As if! That was definitely real!” He remembered it all too clearly. The attack had started at 1:30 PM, around the time they usually alternated watch. No one had even predicted it, since this was just a standby base for the rear guard. However, Beluk the Butcher had struck them anyway, sending Rain and his comrades running. After the cadets were scattered, they were hunted like rabbits. But by some stroke of luck, he’d reached a spot that put him in range of Beluk. And despite the tension, his aim hadn’t faltered. At exactly 2:00 PM, Rain had sniped Beluk… Right, the time… Rain pulled out his pocket watch to confirm the time, but the sight shocked him. “What the hell…?” The hands clearly indicated was still 2:00 PM, meaning it hadn’t even been a minute since he’d shot Beluk… “What’s with you guys? What’re you even arguing about?” Four female cadets approached the table after hearing the commotion. Just like Rain, they doubled as students and reserve troops. And among them was… “Athly…” A girl with chestnut hair that was tied back and amber eyes that felt out of place on a battlefield. A girl whom, a few moments ago, Rain had seen… “Huh? What’s wrong, Rain?” “I thought you’d been blown to bits…” “What’s gotten into you?!” Athly yelped with shock, dead but now alive. Athly. Athly Magmet. Rain’s classmate from the officers’ academy. He was sure he had witnessed her death with his own two eyes, but… “This is messed up… How are you not dead?!” “If anyone’s messed up here, it’s you!” “Stop it, Orca! Rain’s gone off the deep end because you’re shaking him down, hasn’t he?! I can’t believe I got blown to bits over your nonsense!” Something… Isn’t there something? I need proof… Proof that what I experienced really happened— “Wait, I know…,” Rain muttered as he grabbed the rifle beside him. Then, after opening up the chamber, he inspected the ammunition. Bullet Magic, as its name implied, was a means to imbue ammunition with various effects and properties. It was also currently the most common weapon in modern warfare. And one of its many applications was the “Engraver” spell, Gale, which imprinted the name of the deceased into the shell of the bullet that killed them. It was magic meant to identify who killed whom, and as such, falsifying results was exceedingly difficult. Lucky for Rain, since the shells weren’t ejected from the chamber, he found what he was looking for. “It’s there…!” Sitting in the ejection chamber was evidence of Major Beluk’s death. Namely, a shell that had Beluk O. Koihen imprinted on it. …This is it. Proof that everything I experienced actually happened! Rain had real, definitive proof that he’d claimed Beluk’s life! “Here, take a look at this!” “At what?” “I swear, Rain. You’re usually so quiet—if you keep shouting out of nowhere, people will think you’re crazy.” Get off my case. Wait, forget that… “See? It’s proof I killed Beluk the Butcher,” Rain claimed as he presented the shell to his friends. He knew that would be more than enough to convince them. After all, Beluk was a prominent enemy commander. Sure, they may have been students, but they were also reserve soldiers. There was no way they hadn’t heard tales of his horrific deeds. However… “…Yeah, silver bullets aren’t exactly common, but I guess you’re right.” “Mm-hmm. Though I wouldn’t go around showing that thing to just anyone, Rain. It’s proof you killed someone.” Their replies made no sense to Rain. “I don’t even know who this Beluk person is, though.” He could tell there was not even a hint of falsehood in their words, and he let out a feeble “Huh…?” in response. “Who’s Beluk? Someone from the West?” No one present knew who he was. Even after he returned to the East, Rain desperately scoured every source of information he could to look into Beluk, but he couldn’t find a single person who knew of him. There was no trace of him having ever existed. He’s gone. Everything about Beluk had disappeared. It was as if… It was as if he’d never existed in the first place. The land of the East was called O’ltmenia; the land of the West, Harborant. The friction between the two countries had led to the outbreak of the first war a century ago, and the conflict had been ongoing ever since. The root cause of the dispute, which had eventually led to the fourth war, was a major historical arms race. Exelias, the quadruped, four-wheeled, small armored vehicles, had first been invented one hundred years ago. And thanks to their superior mobility and defenses, they had constantly evolved ever since. Rushing through the battlefield, crushing all in its path, the Exelia had become the symbol of war, the apex of weapons technology. However, the graimar nuclear alloy that made up the Exelia’s tough yet lightweight fuselage could be mined only in extremely specific, limited locations that were unevenly distributed across regions. That became the justification for the fourth war. An initial conflict over limited resources, in which soldiers fought to pillage enemy stores, soon turned into a greater conflict. And four years after the start of the war, the flames had not dimmed in the least. “Kinda feels like the means and ends swapped at some point,” Orca said. “We’re fighting to get our hands on the alloy, which we then use to make Exelias for further conflict, right? But if we weren’t at war, we wouldn’t even need the alloy, so what are we really fighting for?” “Orca.” “Yeah?” “You’re way smarter than you look.” “That’s just your way of saying I look dumb, you little…!” Athly and Orca bickered in a lively fashion despite the confined space. Do you have to be so damn loud when I’ve got important things on my mind? “…It wasn’t a dream, right?” Rain questioned himself as he rolled the silver shell around in his hand. The name etched onto it was the only proof that he hadn’t imagined everything. “Haaah…” Rain heaved a sigh. They were currently on a transfer train. In the end, no one had targeted them during their three-day garrison period, so they had spent the time in relative peace. The students of Alestra Academy were on their way back from the front lines. Except there weren’t enough train cars, so they were loaded into the luggage car as if they were worth no more than the military equipment around them. Rain looked to the side, catching sight of Athly and Orca grappling, as well as the heavily armored Exelia units behind them. The small armored vehicles called Exelias were tactical surface weapons said to be so expensive that a single unit was worth the sum of three houses. They could traverse any terrain and were powerful enough to cut through dense forests. Those mechanical beasts had become the primary weapons of war, optimized for use alongside a mage’s Bullet Magic. As Rain studied them, Orca called out to him, “Why so serious, Rain? Chill out already.” “I am calm. I’ve been calm.” “Yeah, no. I’m not giving you a free pass on that when I apparently died horrifically in your delusions,” Athly chimed in. She was one of the few female cadets in the academy, a stubborn girl who had volunteered to become an officer despite her family’s objections. She’s from a rich family, so I bet her parents bawled their eyes out. “But I guess it’s not outside the realm of possibility…” “Huh? What?” “It wouldn’t be strange for any of us to get blown to bits, just like in your daydreams,” Athly said. Then she continued, “The hundred years of balance between the two countries was destroyed a long time ago. We’ll lose at this rate. From what I hear, a lot of soldiers have died, so there are less and less people on the front lines. Pretty soon, they’ll start rounding up high-ranking students to use.” “Are you…?” “Totally serious. Who knows, they might even send you two out soon. You’ve got good grades, after all.” As they spoke idly, O’ltmenia’s capital came into view, where the Alestra Academy cadets trained. Bullet Magic. A technique in which mages imbued live rounds with mana to produce special effects. Magic itself was a technique inherited from the distant past. Theory couldn’t decipher its mechanisms, but there were clearly hidden principles at work in its operation. However, over the course of a century of warfare, people had sought a more practical application of magic. The result was the development of technology that laced bullets with magical effects, making Bullet Magic widespread among soldiers. It was developed for the express purpose of murder. A weapon through and through. And given the state of the world, it was the technology in highest demand. Obviously, the country desired a place to pass down the knowledge, which made Bullet Magic a compulsory subject at Alestra Academy, an institute established to train military officers. The basics of Bullet Magic were taught there, in a classroom setting, but the students were sent out on missions to master it. And once a student completed three years of training, they were given “gun straps.” Or in other words, permission to carry a firearm. …Seriously, what the hell was that? Rain Lantz, a third-year student at Alestra Academy, was fiddling with his beloved BB77 as he attempted to put his muddled thoughts in order. In the end, he’d failed to find any further proof that Beluk the Butcher had ever existed. What happened...? What had happened on that day? It was surely some bizarre phenomenon, but he had no possible explanation for it. Why couldn’t he find any trace of Beluk’s existence? Why did no one remember him? Even after he returned to the peaceful atmosphere of Alestra Academy, the sight of that atrocity lingered freshly in Rain’s memory. And every single time he thought of it, his gaze fell to the silver shell. This silver bullet is the only proof I’ve got… Unfortunately, it was a bullet he’d randomly picked up, so he had no way to trace its origin. After Beluk the Butcher had attacked the rear base, Rain had run into the nearby forest with Athly to take cover. And as he’d tried to hide, he’d found five of those bullets. He’d used one only because he’d run out of all his other bullets, but as far as he could tell, the only difference was its color. Could it truly have been the cause? “Hmm?” His gaze fell onto a newspaper spread out near him. “Another defeat.” “Mission to retake the Libra Mountain Region has failed.” “State of the war unfavorable. Estimated loss of 7.8 billion zels in damages this season alone.” “We keep losing…” The articles were the same as ever. They spoke of how O’ltmenia was slowly giving ground to the western country, Harborant. It had been four whole years since the start of the fourth war, and O’ltmenia was not faring well. There were two major factors to consider in a modern war. One was Bullet Magic, and the other was the Exelias produced from the graimar nuclear alloy. The countries hadn’t displayed any major differences in either category at the outbreak of the war, but over the last few years, the West had placed it bets with heavy investments into Exelia development and had eventually reaped the rewards of its success. As a result, the West’s Exelia technology had jumped far ahead of the East’s. And as its new Exelias rampaged through the battlefield, everyone came to realize that the East was… “Hey, gun nerd.” “I’m no gun nerd.” Orca called out to Rain from the neighboring seat. He’d reached out, probably out of boredom, picked up one of the disassembled parts of Rain’s gun, and held it up against the light. Rain felt a chill run down his spine; the silver bullets were sitting right next to the parts. “…Don’t touch it directly—the oil will stick to your fingers.” “Why do you even need to keep your gun maintained?” Rain moved the silver bullets out of sight. Orca didn’t seem to notice and kept turning the part in his hand as he used the light to inspect it. “It’s not like we’ve seen any action.” Haven’t seen any action, huh...? Was that day…really an illusion? Orca’s words brought Rain’s doubts to the forefront of his mind once more. Just then, the bell rang. “Whoa.” Class was starting, so Rain swiftly put his rifle back together and moved it off to the side. Oddly enough, the teacher was late. “What do you think happened?” “I dunno, but I heard something interesting earlier.” “Oh, what?” “Seems we’re getting a transfer student today.” “Huh?” A transfer student? “This is an officers’ academy. We don’t even have a student exchange program, doofus!” “Why’re you getting all mad at me…? Ever heard the saying ‘Don’t shoot the messenger’?” Orca whined, then said, “Apparently it’s a girl.” “Oh?” “Don’t get too excited, though. Any chick who’d choose to go to an officers’ academy is gonna be as self-centered as Athly.” “I heard that!” Athly, who was at the front of the class, turned around and shouted at Orca. …You’ve got better hearing than I give you credit for, Rain thought. Before their snarling had a chance to develop into an actual scuffle, the classroom door slid open, and two people walked in. One of them was First Lieutenant Wilson, who was in charge of logistics. He doubled as an Alestra Academy instructor and an active company officer. However, he wasn’t the one who drew their attention. “Whoa…,” Orca exclaimed. Luckily, Rain had managed to keep his voice down. Though he was certainly just as amazed by the sight. Wow… This girl before them was clad in the same uniform as the rest of the female students, but she was utterly...mystifying. Her white hair was tied up neatly behind her back, her limbs were so dainty that they seemed ready to snap at the slightest touch, and most striking of all… She’s tiny… She was so petite. However, there was something about her that made her hard to dismiss as a child… “Do you think those are real?” “No way…” There were two rifles strapped to the girl’s back. One black, the other white. Those were presumably the girl’s weapons. One of them was as white as a polished blade, while the other was as black as the darkest of nights. Some mages wielded absurdly large rifles in order to help fire their Bullet Magic, but the ones on her back seemed far too large for her to handle. Even a single one of them seemed large enough to strain an average person’s back, but she carried two as if they were nothing. Who is this girl? She clearly wasn’t normal. The power in her presence, coupled with her two oversize rifles, was frankly unsettling. Everyone continued to stare at the girl as she cast her gaze around the classroom. And once she raised her face, Rain could see the color of her eyes. They were a silvery hue, matching that of her hair. Wait, silver...? A mysterious silver-haired, silver-eyed girl who radiated a suspiciously familiar air. And she had appeared right after Rain had used those silver bullets— Who is she...? Eventually, the silver girl parted her lips to speak, only to say: “I see I’ve walked into the pigsty of a defeated country.” “……” The girl’s clear voice resounded through the classroom. Her tone sounded somewhat authoritative, making everyone’s face go blank with surprise. That word, pigsty, seemed to hang in the air. But… “What a wretched sight,” the girl continued. And she wasn’t about to let up. “So this is what Alestra Academy, the pride and crown jewel of its country, has been reduced to?” She sighed in abject disappointment. “You may only be children, but in a few years, you will become officers. If the people leading the organization are so weak-minded, I can see why this country is hurtling toward defeat.” …Children? The same thought passed through the entire classroom. The appellation sounded wrong coming from her, since she looked a good deal younger than them.