The Strongest Gun Magus: I Cast Bullet!-Chapter 15: The Instructor Is Lewd

Three days later.

The forest near Valkenburg was beautiful this time of the year. The canopies of trees were colored all shades of yellow and orange, but the forest ground still had plenty of green grass patches. Local farmers often came here to gather mushrooms, although hunting was only allowed with a permit from the town’s lord.

In this forest was a large oak, split in two by a lightning strike years ago. On a clearing next to it was standing a figure in a black robe and a dark blue hood put over her head.

Another figure in a dark brown cloak approached her.

"Finally! I’ve been waiting for you forever, and there are mosquitoes around... Why did you need to insist that we meet here, of all places?"

"Because it’s worth having at least some secrecy, my princess, when it comes to surprise weapons!"

Marien pouted and took off her hood.

"I only like surprises when they are gifts for me! But fine—did you bring it?"

Reynard took off his hood, too.

"Of course, my songbird. Just look!"

With a flourish, he opened his cloak, and Marien gasped.

Underneath it, Reynard had a makeshift bandolier over his chest, which held eight pistols like the first one made by Reynard. They almost entirely hid the second blue square sewn onto Reynard’s robe.

"Ah! Is this all for me? Thank youuu—"

"No, wait! This one," Reynard pulled one more gun out of his pocket, "is for you. I spent extra time on it, so it would be as beautiful as you!"

The gun in Reynard’s hand was very much like his other simplistic crafts, except its handle was painted pink, and the barrel was engraved with little hearts and adorned with glued-on jewels (actually, just pieces of cut glass).

The overall result looked like a toy for little girls if these toys were made of metal. Reynard stared at Marien with an incredibly pleased expression.

’There’s no way she won’t like it! And it’s not loaded!’

Marien stared at the gun.

And stared.

Reynard’s smile fell.

With a happy squeal, Marien snatched the gun out of his hand.

"Oh gods and Loremasters, this is amazing! This is so perfect—I’ve never seen a style like this! I want a dress in this color—it will be the height of fashion! No, I want to dye my hair this color, it will be even better!"

Reynard laughed, watching her examine the gun from all sides.

’Damn, I didn’t even think that hearts, pink, and rhinestones weren’t popularized in this world yet! But that doesn’t mean it won’t be popular with someone like Marien.’

Eventually, Marien lowered the gun. She glanced appraisingly at the other Reynard’s guns, but then decided they were too boring for her.

"This is only half of what you promised, though. You promised to tell me the secrets of these artifacts, Reynard. Don’t worry, I brought the money with me. I told grandpa I was going to buy an expensive artifact from a traveling magus..."

"Oh, I will explain everything, my songbird. Come on—to start with, you must learn how to load a gun. I will even give you some ammunition—free of charge!"

Reynard expected that Marien would be a much worse pupil than she was. Although she was incredibly impatient and barely listened, she followed Reynard’s more visual instructions well.

Soon, she could load her gun herself and understood to never, ever point it at herself.

"And now we can practice a little," Reynard said. "This clearing is secluded, which is why I came here myself. I need practice at shooting, too. Now watch me—I will try to hit the center of this tree."

He pointed at a slender tree thirty paces away and raised one of his guns.

These simple guns didn’t have even an iron sight, but at least they had rifled barrels.

"You bend your elbow a little for stability first, then—"

"It takes so long. What’s the point of a gun if I can cast a spell faster? Watch!"

Marien made several magic passes, and a freezing bolt hit the target tree, leaving a deep gouge in it and covering the entire trunk with a layer of rime.

"Hey! I was showing you slowly so you could see how to shoot!"

Scowling, Reynard ignited the Boom Powder in his gun.

BANG!

His bullet went off the mark of Marien’s spell and hit a tree several paces farther, leaving a deep, fist-sized hole in the wood.

With alarmed cries, a flock of birds flew into the sky.

Marien sighed and shook her head as if Reynard did something incredibly silly.

"You have advanced to the Final Cycle, stupid Reynard boy... You could have just used the Freezing Bolt spell as I did."

"You just distracted me! Watch me again."

Reynard switched for a loaded gun and exhaled.

Aiming with these crude weapons at such a small target thirty paces away was even harder than it seemed. But a heavy gun felt light in his hand, and he felt sure.

In a moment of clarity, he could intuitively feel the trajectory of a future shot.

BANG!

The bullet hit right into the gouge from Marien’s shot, splitting the entire tree in two. With a loud cracking of splintering wood, it began to lean back and fell with a crash.

Marien gasped.

"Ah... Alright, show me, show me again!"

Smirking, Reynard urged her to come closer.

"C’mon. Aim at that other tree."

Marien raised her gun.

BANG!

The shot went wide. Reynard grinned.

"Oh, your posture was all wrong! Here, take my loaded gun for now. Now stand here and don’t shoot for now..."

Reynard approached Marien and stood behind her. They were so close that he could smell her hair... She was using some herbal shampoo.

The girl blushed from their proximity.

With gentle touches, Reynard began moving Marien’s hands, making her blush even deeper.

"Bend your elbows... And spread your legs a little, your posture is too shaky. Yes... That’s right..." Reynard spoke the instructions right in Marien’s ear, and his advice was paired with more fleeting touches.

Thankfully for Reynard, Marien didn’t see the shit-eating grin on his face.

’Oh my god! This is amazing! Worth everything! Now I want to teach Marien fencing, tennis, and whatever else that will let me touch her like that—and does she even realize an instructor isn’t supposed to get THAT close to you?’