CHAPTER 34: CHAPTER 33 - TEACHING MELISSA

By tempting Melissa to hold the pistol, I was putting a heavy burden on her.

She must bear a burden that intersects with the life she must protect, and that was my own life.

In other words, this was a test she had to pass to be able to wield a weapon derived from otherworldly knowledge. A weapon that technically didn’t exist in this world but could be created through my Gunsmith skills.

After the issue of me being poisoned by a monster attack already done, my future path remained uncertain. To navigate this random uncertainty, I was making a bet with myself.

My hand still held a loaded pistol. With the safety pin still intact, it would be safe enough for Melissa to use.

"Master Hans, this is too sudden for you to say something serious like this," said Melissa, who was nervous about the decision she was about to make.

"Mell, this is a big secret that I want to give you. A knowledge of an effective weapon to kill people and monsters. Even without using sword skills that are difficult for people to learn. By using a weapon called a pistol, you can kill someone you respect, even though that is the price you have to pay for holding this pistol," I said while continuing to tease Melissa using ambiguous and meaningful words.

The temptations that I continued to give her were like breaking the silence of the night that was approaching midnight, and was made noisy by Melissa’s thoughts, which were having difficulty making a decision.

I could feel Melissa’s curiosity to learn about a pistol that could be used to kill, as a former Assassin who had earned the title of Master Assassin.

In an Assassin’s eyes, any killing technique or weapon capable of killing will be of interest. It’s like an Assassin’s instinct to perfect their killing techniques to make them more efficient and fast.

Melissa’s hands trembled, and she wanted to take the pistol in front of her eyes.

"If you trust me and want to live with that heavy burden. Then take this pistol, Mell," I said while urging Melissa to take the pistol from my hand.

"After that, I will teach you how to use a pistol properly. Whether you want to use it to protect me or kill me, it’s up to you to use." As I said this sentence, I felt a small shiver of fear suddenly fill my body.

Typically, anyone who want owning or purchasing a pistol will undergo a psychiatric examination first. A sound mind and assured sanity will help a person understand the importance of trigger discipline, which applies to all firearms.

Since this isn’t Earth and there are no rules regarding this yet, I feel like I can’t care less about this and will teach Melissa about the pistol I’ll give her.

Melissa’s hands trembled, but she grabbed the pistol in my hand and knelt before me like a knight who wanted to receive an oath of allegiance from a Queen.

"Master Hans, may I use this pistol as a tool to fulfill your purpose?" Melissa asked, kneeling before me, holding a pistol in her hand, the barrel pointed at me.

I know the pistol’s safety pin is still properly engaged.

But with the barrel of a pistol pointed at me, it made me nervous and reminded me of the guidelines on basic firearms use.

Yep, like it or not, I have to teach Melissa trigger discipline first so that there are no accidents when she holds a pistol that is loaded with bullets in its shooting chamber.

Plus, I also need to teach her the golden rules of pistol safety.

"You want to be a tool I can use at any time, huh?" I muttered in response to Melissa’s question.

"Yes, Master Hans. Being a tool that you can use at any time would make me happy."

I smiled sarcastically after hearing that statement.

Who would have thought that Melissa had a desire to be used as a tool?

"I don’t understand this at all," I muttered in a low voice.

"Well, since you have chosen to hold my life in your hands, I will tell you some basic knowledge about the pistol that has become yours," I said, changing the topic to a new topic.

I grabbed two suppressors and put the duplicate pistols in a plastic box, then stored them next to my bed. I also tucked Hoshino and several magazines into my pocket.

Skwwipp...

Skwiipp...

"Okay, let’s go out to practice shooting," I said, leading Melissa out of my stepfamily’s tent.

"Yes, Master Hans."

Melissa followed me out of the tent and towards a rocky hill next to my stepfamily’s tent.

There are no usable shooting ranges at this time, and the only safe place to practice shooting is to climb up the rocky hill and use the rocky hilltop as a shooting range.

I climbed the steep rocky hill, which I had used as an escape route from the monster attack that had managed to break through the defense wall.

It didn’t take long for Melissa and me to climb the steep rocky hill and reach the top.

Once I got to the top, I immediately looked for some fairly large rocks as targets for shoot.

Thudd...

Thudd...

Looking around, I saw a vast plain covered only by dry, barren grass. The rocks I find were quite large, and there was a chance a bullet fired from the barrel of a pistol would ricochet off in another direction.

Normally, it’s quite dangerous and shouldn’t be done, but there’s no other choice.

I dragged one of the large rocks and pushed it far enough to control the ricochet. With the right angle, it shouldn’t have ricocheted and dented the 9mm bullet.

I hope that’s what happens and not the other way around.

"Master Hans, what are you doing?" asked Melissa, who was helping me arrange a stone in a place quite far from the shooting point.

"Just preparing your shooting targets," I replied as I pushed some rocks up into a pile.

Luckily, some small rocks could be used as shooting targets.

By stacking some rocks up, I looked like I was playing around and made Melissa wonder about this.

After the target stone arrangement was completed, I immediately took a distance to teach Melissa how to hold a pistol, aim using an iron sight, and the rules that must be obeyed when holding a firearms.

Seeing me return to the starting point, Melissa also returned to the starting point and prepared to receive the knowledge that I would give her.

"For starters, have you ever heard of the term trigger discipline?" I asked Melissa as she stood beside me.

"Trigger discipline?" Melissa said as if thinking about something.

"Yes, trigger discipline in this case is a term used for shooting a firearm, and a pistol is one of the firearms that must use trigger discipline," I said while taking out Hoshino, which was in the pocket of the clothes I was wearing.

Srrusshh...

With Hoshino in my grasp, it made Melissa imitate what I was doing.

"The discipline of placing your index finger outside the trigger until you are truly ready to shoot, that is trigger discipline," I said while showing the location of the trigger and the position of my index finger, which was straight without entering the trigger area.

"T-This is the trigger part?" Melissa said as she looked at the pistol.

"Yes, because the trigger is the most important part to trigger a shot. For example, like this..."

I released the safety pin on Hoshino, racking the slide, and pulled the trigger.

BAANNG!!

BAANNG!!

BAANNG!!

Sheeesshh...

With three gunshots fired and a deafening sound, it made Melissa glance at the pile of rocks used as the shooting target.

Thudd...

Thudd...

Two stones fell, which indicated that my bullet shot was on target.

"Don’t panic and don’t blink at what you’re shooting..."

"You’re quite good at this, Mell."

"Normally, a girl would panic at the sound of a gunshot as loud as this."

I complimented Melissa, who looked calm.

"Ah, I almost forgot. You’re a former Master Assassin, things like this should be easy for you to learn."

Ctiikk...

Ctiikk...

"Is it broken?"

Just as Melissa wanted to imitate what I had done, a sound was heard coming from inside Melissa’s pistol, indicating that the safety pin had not yet been lowered.

"Since this is a pistol that can be used to kill, you must always remember to use the safety pin. It is an additional safety measure that prevents the pistol from firing," I said while showing the location of the safety pin on the fourth-generation Glock 17.

Clip...

Ctiikk...

Ctiikk...

As I raised the safety pin up, I heard the same sound as when the trigger was pulled by my finger.

"This is for security, so don’t ever forget this," I said firmly to Melissa.

"I understand, Master Hans. It’s like keeping a sword in its sheath or keeping poison in a multi-layered glass bottle," said Melissa, who seemed to understand this.

Seeing Melissa’s high level of understanding like this, she is truly a Master Assassin without a doubt.

Clip...

BAANNG!!

BAANNG!!

BAANNG!!

Without being taught how to use an iron sight to aim at her target, Melissa managed to knock down several rocks that were the targets of her shooting attack.

This remarkable adaptability likely stems from an Assassin’s natural ability to wield a wide variety of weapons, including a pistol like this one.

I don’t know if this was a good decision or not, but Melissa has certainly understood the mechanics of this pistol and uses it quite skillfully.

Melissa continued to shoot at some of the rocks that were her targets.

Ctaass...

Ctaass...

As the bullets from her magazine ran out, Melissa muttered something.

"I can only use this seventeen times, Master Hans?" asked Melissa.

"Yes, that’s why you need this," I said as I handed her a magazine full of bullets.

"This makes a lot of sense now," Melissa muttered, seemingly understanding the function of the magazine without me explaining it to her.

Ctaakk...

Krraapp...

By showing how to remove the magazine and insert the magazine, it was enough to teach Melissa how to reload.

"Ah, this is truly an efficient killing weapon, Master Hans."

"Now I understand how heavy a burden it is to carry this pistol."

"I swear, I will use this pistol to the best of my ability, Master Hans."

In a cold night like this, I feel like I have found a new ally who has surrendered her body and soul to me.

Swoosh...

Even this cold night breeze has nothing to do with the loyalty shown by a Maid who has surrendered her soul and body to me.

The heavy burden and responsibility that she is carrying lies in the mutual trust between us, and the pistol that can kill me.