The Strongest Gun Magus: I Cast Bullet!-Chapter 75: What a Shame
"Hm? Dear, you have a very stupid face right now."
Reynard blinked and refocused on Marien.
"I just thought... Maybe I shouldn’t have given Amelia this Boom Powder. Maybe there was some other way."
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
"This war and all." Reynard made a vague gesture with his hand. "But I can’t even blame her for not fulfilling her part of the deal. Both orders DEFINITELY have bigger problems than us right now! And... Well, in this mess, our chances of sneaking into their vaults and getting those egg and blossom recipes are much higher than in any other time."
Marien smirked.
"That’s right! Finally, you get it. Fighting gets things done! And I bet you want to see your new golden gun in real action as much as I do!"
Reynard couldn’t argue. Besides, Marien mentioned prices for heads...
***
He was unsurprised when Order of Snow posted rewards over the city for the heads of Winter magi. They also opened a new temporary trade emissary in a different building, which was guarded much more vigilantly than the previous one.
For the next week, not a day passed without a fight happening on the streets when magi of the two orders clashed. With each day, what began as small skirmishes grew in size and viciousness.
People in the most contested parts of the city avoided leaving their houses if they could, fearful of stray bolts of ice hitting them.
The foreign magi that didn’t leave the city at this moment got roped into this all as well. Neither of the orders could allow someone to stay neutral and potentially become an enemy, even if the magus was a relatively insignificant one.
So one day, an Order of Snow magus came knocking on Reynard’s door.
He was a familiar early Cycles Albedo magus whom Reynard remembered working in the Snow Trade Emissary before the building went on fire. Today, he was carrying a scroll case and an extremely self-possessed expression that only grew more so when Reynard opened the door.
And he was looking clean for a change, no soot, oil, or suspicious stains on his clothing! He has been making drafts today while Chili smelted the metals for him.
"Magus Johan Faust! You have been the trusted ally of the Order of Snow for a while now, and I have been sent by Master Norton to check that your loyalty stays with us, despite the situation that happens. After you have changed address without notifying the Order of Snow, he began to suspect that you might have decided to break your relationships with our order."
"I just needed a larger place for my Forge-Boar. You can say so to Mister Norton. I am still with you, naturally."
"That’s good to hear. Still, words mean nothing, and deeds mean everything."
The magus gave Reynard the scroll case he was carrying.
"Prove your loyalty with deeds. If you want to fight our enemies directly, come to the Order of Snow’s headquarters, and you will be given a place and a task. But if you don’t, then this scroll case has a list of urgent commissions for our order. If you don’t show enthusiasm for doing them or killing our enemies, the order will have to think that your loyalties have changed and act accordingly."
"I see..." Reynard took the scroll case, trying not to wince openly. "You will just assume I have joined the Winter? Just like that?"
"It’s a harsh time, and it requires harsh decisions. If you understand the message, I will leave you, Mister Faust. I have places to be, and I have already spent too much time searching for this place."
When the messenger left, Reynard returned to the workshop and read the list of commission orders. It didn’t have anything he couldn’t do within the time constraints given, and he was even going to be paid for them.
Not as much as usual, though.
’And if I don’t do them, or don’t join the Snow mercenaries, I will just get attacked,’ Reynard thought sourly. ’Shit, these orders don’t mention that the ingredients will be provided to me! The Snow magi expect me to buy everything myself! When they know already that the prices have spiked!’
He made mental calculations in his head.
Recently, the prices for everything combat-related in the city markets have spiked. Merchants were selling their magical ingredients and raking in cash before they could leave the city and avoid being caught in the crossfire.
If he bought all the necessary ingredients for this commission on the market, Reynard feared he would not get any profit from fulfilling the order at all. In fact, with the way prices were going, he might be working at his own expense!
Reynard hurriedly went to his money stash and counted the coins, only to quickly realize that things were even worse.
He didn’t have enough cash to BUY the necessary materials for the commission order in the first place!
Reynard would have spat on the floor if it weren’t his own workshop and if he didn’t have to clear it afterwards.
Instead, he reached underneath his jacket, where he was wearing a hidden holster. From it, he pulled out a golden revolver with a bone handle.
It was a remarkable weapon not merely because of its material. Reynard has lovingly carved and polished the handle from a deer bone, polished every non-gold element of the gun to a gleam, and made sure every moving part was oiled.
Reynard opened the revolver’s drum, checking that every one of his six bullets was in its place, then closed it. When he spun the drum, it smoothly rotated for several seconds.
"What a shame. What a shame that some assholes from the Order of Snow are going to die suddenly from lead poisoning, and the Order of Winter gives me a fat stack of cash. I would have even felt bad about this if they weren’t such assholes to begin with."
A dreamy smile slowly spread over Reynard’s face.
"Finally, Marien and I won’t have to hide our relationship..."
