I heard about how to train horses from a Kinnara youth.
As the sun began to set, we returned to the Centaur settlement. Everyone was as busy as ever. Yola noticed us and ran over.
“How did it go?”
“They said they’d consider it, for the time being.”
She let out a relieved sigh. However, I didn’t know how long it would take. It might even be after the Centaurs had already left.
I decided to return to everyone and come up with a concrete plan.
“Ah, Hiroaki and Philiana are back.”
At Nina’s voice, everyone came out to greet us all at once.
“Arisugawa, what happened? Were you able to get collaborators?”
“Hmm, it’s not decided yet, but they’re discussing it now. We should decide on our plan in the meantime.”
We sat around the bonfire. Sharin was the first to speak.
“About that, I did a little investigating. Apparently, the gate was already closed when the Centaurs attacked, and they attacked from gaps in the wall. This means there are always guards, even at night, so a direct frontal assault will be difficult.”
Everyone nodded at her words. Nina then started talking.
“The weapons they used seem to be ones that fire small iron balls. They might look weak, but they apparently have incredible speed and a range similar to a bow. We have to do something about them, or it will happen again.”
Nina showed everyone a crushed bullet. Each of them picked it up and examined it closely. Karubene, as if to say “This is it,” mimed firing a gun next to his face. Still, the other companions didn’t seem to grasp it fully.
“That’s a gun, isn’t it? I thought they didn’t exist in this world.”
“Oh, Brother knows? As expected!”
Everyone looked at me in unison.
“Indeed, I had seen ancient ones before, but they were so rusted that I didn’t even know what they were used for. Do they exist in your world?”
I nodded to Sharin’s question.
“In my world, there’s no magic, so everyone fights with these. Well, they used swords in the past and still do in some cases, but it’s mostly these. However, I’ve never used one because it was forbidden in the country where I lived.”
“Then how are you going to tackle this?”
She was probably talking about guns that were relics, like ones she might have seen in a museum. I remembered that old guns couldn’t be used if the gunpowder got wet, and they often jammed. Plus, reloading took a long time after firing. That meant attacking on a rainy day might be a good idea. But would we have enough time to wait for rain?
“Alright, let’s split into two groups. One group will attack from the front to lure them out, and the other will infiltrate beforehand and open the door from the inside. But they probably know their range, and if we attack at the last minute, they’ll have time to call for reinforcements.”
Piyo tilted her head, wondering what reinforcements were.
“There’s an Adventurer’s Guild there, and there were a lot of strong-looking people. They’ll probably attack too.”
“Ah, seriously! Then there’s no chance of winning! And why are the very people trying to help us so indifferent! I’m so angry!”
Nina stood up and stomped off towards the center of the settlement.
