An active hunter from Hokkaido was thrown into another world - Chapter 56

Military Otaku VS Hunter – Chapters

Chapter 56   Otherworldly Sniper

“Actually, there’s been a surge in aristocrat assassinations in the past month.”

“Oh, that’s terrible… I absolutely don’t want to get involved.”

“Don’t say that. I can’t help but think that you guys might be the only ones who can resolve this.”

“Are you receiving requests for assistance?”

“Well, yeah. Not from us, though. We’ve been getting escort requests at the Hunter Guild, but they’ve been ending in continuous failures. The way they’re being killed is just beyond ordinary.”

…

“It’s like… their heads burst and explode. Their bodies turn into mush.”

…Oh my.

“I remembered you guys. You’ve dealt with goblins and Lyle Slimes like that before, right?”

“That wasn’t me! I’m always in the Elf village, you know!”

“I know. In other words, there must be someone else who uses firearms like you guys do.”

…That’s a big problem.

“How does it happen? When they are in the mansion?”

“That’s right. The glass shatters, and their heads explode. Everyone thinks they were hit by some kind of magic. But the thing is, no one has ever heard of such magic before. We have no idea how they were killed, and we don’t even know who’s doing it.”

“There’s absolutely no lead on the culprit?”

“Not true. We’ve known who the mastermind is for quite some time.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“The one who benefits the most from the victims’ deaths is evident if you consider assassinations in that light. The church is the one deciding whom to kill. The Hero’s Church.”

“The church…”

…It’s a shocking revelation.

“Those killed were all people inconvenient to the church. They were the ones trying to lower the tax rates the church extorts from citizens, or opposing the church’s authority, or exposing the church’s corruption… In short, they were those who dared to defy the church. It’s too obvious. Even a child could see it.”

“Yet no one can investigate the church?”

“Oh, the church holds power second only to the kingdom. For those who die, they just attribute it all to ‘divine punishment.’ Everyone’s living in fear of the church now, and if they push too hard, they might end up dead too. No one can speak up.”

“That’s terrible…”

“Of course, it’s not the church people themselves pulling the trigger. They’ve hired specialized assassins for that. We don’t know anything about those assassins. But without a doubt, they’re still in this country. We can’t let the church people get away with this any longer. Even when hunters are assigned as escorts, their heads still explode. With the missions continuously failing, the Guild’s reputation is being tarnished. We need to do something.”

“I just want to go back home.”

“I knew you’d say that, but… could you help us out a bit?”

…I guess there’s no choice.

“I would like to see the scene where the shooting occurred.”

“If it’s in this town, the Altas Viscount’s mansion is still intact. Come with me now, and we’ll go there together.”

“Understood… Um, is this an official request from the Guild?”

“No, I think that will be negotiated later.”

And so, they got on a carriage and arrived at the Altas Viscount’s mansion.

I’ve been here before to exterminate pigeons in the horse stable. It’s a mansion that left me with nothing but an arrogant and stingy impression of the stable master.

Who would have thought I’d be entering through the main gate in a carriage like this?

Bal talked to the butler, and we were guided inside.

The master of the mansion, Viscount Kiharu de Altas, has just been killed, so the whole mansion is in mourning.

“Here we are.”

It’s the study of the viscount.

The window glass is shattered.

In this era, they still can’t make large glass, so they used several 20cm square glass pieces for the windows, and one of them is now shattered and blown away.

There are large blood stains on the desk’s surface and the carpet on the floor.

He must have been sitting at the desk when he was shot in the back of the head while working.

There should be bullet holes that went through somewhere…

There it is. Inside the fireplace.

It’s a huge bullet hole.

I wonder what kind of bullet was used.

Let me measure the diameter with a ruler.

13mm?

It’s a massive bullet.

“13mm?

You rarely see such bullets for hunting rifles, you know?

.50 caliber?

12.7mm?

Was there something like that?”

I look at the window glass from the fireplace.

Through the shattered glass, I can see the spire of the Hero’s Church in the distance. Is that the bell tower?

Huh?

Was it shot from there!?

What!??

I open the window and use Nikon’s laser rangefinder to check.

I can’t measure it. It’s over 500 meters away.

…What the heck?

“Nikon, laser rangefinder, the one that can measure over 1000 yards.”

I secretly do some shopping with my magic bag.

I bought it for two and a half gold coins.

If I’m buying, it has to be the trustworthy Nikon.

I open the package, insert the batteries, and immediately check again.

The church spire is 872 yards away.

Oh, I need to switch to meters.

It’s 793 meters…

…This is impossible.

Did they use a sniper rifle or something?

“Butler-san.”

“Yes.”

“There’s something inside the fireplace. I think there’s a bullet embedded in it.”

The butler peers into the fireplace and looks surprised.

“The brick is cracked!”

“Can you arrange for a craftsman to remove it?”

“I will arrange it!”

“Shin, what’s going on?”

“The shattered window glass, the Viscount’s head, and the hole in the fireplace, they all align in a straight line.”

“So, the bullet came flying through that hole?”

“The other side of the broken window is where the culprit was.”

Bal looks out through the window.

“The church!”

“As we suspected.”

“From there!!”

“…So, it means that the culprit is not from this world, right?” Saran said.

“…”

Bal shakes his head.

“Shin… Are you, by any chance, from a different world?”

“Please don’t ask that.”

“…”

“We would like to meet the head of the household.”

We were guided by the butler and had a meeting with the heir.

It’s Kyrif La Altas. He’s still in his teens.

Since the previous head, Kiharu de Altas, passed away, he is now the current head.

“We are still in mourning, and things are in chaos. I apologize for not being able to offer proper hospitality. Please understand.”

He comes into the room right away and sits down heavily. He seems more composed than I expected.

“Did you find out how my father was killed?”

“We are currently investigating.”

“Whether it was magic, a curse, or an assassin sneaking in, we have no idea. You are hunters, right?”

“I am a hunter. My name is Shin, and this is my wife, Saran.”

“I must have been too absent-minded not to introduce myself earlier. I’m Kyrif La Altas. It’s not official yet, but I’ll be the next head. I hope we can get along. And, Bal, don’t be too formal.”

He says with a wry smile.

He gets straight to the point. He doesn’t seem to exude the typical pompous air of nobility. He might be a rather straightforward person.

“Please have a seat.”

Yes, we were all waiting while standing. It’s like a formal etiquette towards nobility, I suppose. As the butler suggests, we take our seats at the table.

“We know who’s behind the series of noble assassinations. It’s the church. My father, though respected as a noble, was also quite greedy. He joined a faction that protested against the church’s excessive tax collection in this country. His actions were quite blatant, considering his position as a viscount. Well, being at the lower end of the hierarchy, it was just right for making an example. It served as a good intimidation tactic against those who were actively opposing the church.”

Quite an accurate deduction. He’s remarkably composed.

“But I suppose you all won’t just nod your heads and agree…”

Indeed, saying something like “Yes, you’re right” would be impolite.

“How was your father’s condition?”

“He was missing his head. Blood and flesh were scattered all over the room.”

“And he was sitting at the desk, as if he had been blown away from behind?”

“Yes, exactly. Did you figure it out from the blood stains?”

“Yes.”

“So, something blew him away. There’s no sign of someone breaking in.”

“That something is buried in the fireplace. They’re in the process of retrieving it now.”

“The fireplace…”

“Do you know the time of the assassination?”

“Around 3 o’clock in the afternoon. It was found by a maid who was serving tea.”

“It wasn’t exactly 3 o’clock?”

“Why do you ask?”

“Because the church bells were ringing at that time.”

“…You’re right. Why do you think that?”

“When firing a bullet with a magical device, it makes a loud noise. They did it to mask that sound.”

“They fired it at the same time as the bell ringing?”

“That’s what I believe.”

“But where did it come from?”

“From the church.”

“That’s absurd… Do you know how far it is from here to the church?”

“It’s 872 naaru.”

The heir looks surprised.

” Naaru is the unit of length in this country. It’s the distance from an adult male’s outstretched hand to his nose, roughly equal to 1 yard.”

There’s a knock on the door, and a maid enters, handing something wrapped in a handkerchief to the butler. The butler brings it over and places it on the table.

“This came out of the fireplace.”

It’s a crushed lump of lead, coated with copper.

There’s no mistake. There’s a rifle mark (*) at the back.

It’s a military full metal jacket bullet, not a hunting round.

I use a caliper to measure the diameter. It’s 12.7mm.

That settles it.

“The culprit fired this bullet from the top of the bell tower of the church, which is 872 Naaru away. The bullet shattered the glass window, blew off the viscount’s head, and ended up embedded in the back of the fireplace.”

“That’s ridiculous…”

“Let’s confirm it.”

They return to the viscount’s study and inspect the shattered window glass and the bullet hole in the fireplace. A brick mason is still present, working on the cleanup.

“Please look at the broken window from here.”

The heir places his hand where the bullet had struck, lying down to look up at the shattered window.

“Lift your head a bit more, that’s it…”

“…The church.”

“Do you see it now?”

“I do.”

When a bullet travels 872 yards, it experiences some degree of free fall.

In other words, there’s an angle involved.

If they don’t raise their heads a bit, they won’t be able to see the top of the church spire.

“Let us inspect the area around the mansion.”

“I’ll accompany you. Is that alright?”

“Absolutely.”

— Author’s Note —

Note 1: Rifle Mark

When a bullet passes through the barrel of a rifle, the grooves and lands of the rifling leave diagonal marks on the bullet.

This is called the rifle mark.

The spiral-shaped grooves of the barrel, known as rifling, are created through processes like cutting, broaching, or cold forging. Due to the tool marks during these processes, even if two identical guns are manufactured in the same factory using the same tools, each gun will have a distinct rifle mark. In other words, it’s like a fingerprint for the bullet.

Therefore, by examining the rifle mark left on the bullet, investigators can determine which gun fired the shot.

Empty cartridge cases also provide crucial evidence for identifying a gun, such as firing pin impressions on the primer and transfer marks made when the cartridge case is pressed against the chamber wall. In law enforcement, in cases of shooting incidents or crimes, bullets and empty cartridge cases are always collected, recorded, and used to aid in criminal investigations.