I Became a Mafia in the Academy
chapter-252

Chapter 252

I began a silent search of his body and he was unable to offer any resistance beyond sobbing because all of his joints had been ripped out.

If he was a designated violent criminal, he might have a useful item or two.

Then I remembered a joking conversation between Jin-woo and Se-ah the other day.

‘I’ve seen it in games before, that when you’re trying to get information, you ask them directly, and they lie because they’re thinking about something else.’

‘Well? How do you get to the truth right away?’

‘Uh……says you can beat them before you ask for information.’

‘What? What do you do?’

‘You beat him up, knock him unconscious. Then you ask them, and if they talk at all, you beat them again.’

‘Is that right? That’s from the game.’

‘I thought so, but my uncles say everyone does it…….’

‘Oh…….’

It was a random memory, but I thought it was pretty convincing because I think I heard that somewhere too.

So, I hit him in the face with the gun.

Well, I guess he’s still got some brains left, huh?

I hit him a couple more times.

Puck─ puck─

“What the hell is wrong with you!?”

“First tell me why you’re wanted.”

“Nothing, I just did a couple of robberies, didn’t kill many people!”

“You’re an asshole.”

The little bit of guilt I had left was completely gone, and my hands started to feel right.

Yeah, I guess you have to hit the bad guy to get the hang of it, huh?

-Puck, puck, puck, puck.

“Stop! Why are you hitting me? Why are you hitting me?”

“Just.”

Puck, puck, puck.

Puck─ Puck─

“No……ah.”

Puck-puck-puck-puck

“Hmph, hmph, hmph, hmph…….”

Is that good enough?

After a couple more slaps, I grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and asked him.

“So, where’s the money from the robbery?”

He turned his head and looked at the bag hanging from his waist.

I snatch it from him and punch him again.

“I told you, I told you, why are you hitting me?”

“Because I know people like you. You only put your crap in places like this where it’s easy to get at it, but you leave your really valuable stuff somewhere else.”

“How could I–”

‘Anyway, you’re not out of the woods yet.’

Finally, after a few more blows, something other than a scream came out of his mouth.

“A pocket……! Poncho a pocket……!”

“You’re right.”

True to his word, I moved my hand to the inner pocket and an item window popped up in front of me.

[You’ve found a new item!]

[Name: Gunslinger’s Favor]

[Class: Artifact]

[Type: Amulet]

[Description: A feather amulet given to you by a gunslinger who saved an oppressed Native American tribe in the past. 3 times per day deflects up to 3 bullets directed at the wearer].

“Oh…… pretty good…… huh?”

But the item that came out of his pocket was something else.

[You found a new item!]

[Name: Silver Bullet]

[Rank: Rare]

[Type: Bullet]

[Description: a silver bullet blessed by the named cleric himself; it deals powerful damage to undead]

“How’s that, a bullet blessed by a saintly cleric! Even the Bone Dragon would be finished with one shot from that, how’s that? I’ll give it to you, but please don’t-─”

“Was this bastard a weak hawk, and now he’s trying to sell medicine?”

“──What?”

I immediately threw the silver bullet into his face and slipped my hand into his neck sleeve.

“Is this real?”

“What? How can you-─ no, wait-─”

The necklace instantly snapped off with a popping sound.

At the same time, a feather-shaped amulet falls into my hand.

“That’s nothing! It’s a charm my mother made for me, so leave it alone!”

“Is your mother Native American?”

“……what?”

“This asshole can take a beating like that and still spout lies whenever he opens his mouth.”

But after a quick glance, it looks like there’s nothing left to chew on.

I stunned him with a forceful kick and stood up, suddenly realizing that I was surrounded by people.

I’m sitting in a back alley in Area E.

I know this is not a place for the general public to gather…….

“Who are you and why are you causing trouble in our zone?”

Apparently, the sight of me beating up someone in their zone was pretty annoying.

“It’s Corleone’s business. This is a criminal Corleone was after.”

I identify myself by showing him the wanted slip I had in my pocket and my badge, which is Corleone’s mark.

Even in an era when de facto identification was a thing of the past, it was even more so in these back alleys.

“……Must have been an asshole. Have fun.”

As soon as I tell them who I am, they’re gone.

Judging by their reactions, I’m pretty sure if I’d told them I was a regular bounty hunter, they’d have tried to claim bragging rights in their own neighborhood.

After all, this was the kind of neighborhood where if you pulled a gun, someone had to bleed.

“Whoa…….”

I lifted my head and ruffled my hair, and in the distance, I could see Sheriff Rick and Latte racing toward me.

“Huh…… Huh…… You really got him.”

“He realized he was ‘ONLY ALIVE’ and was taking advantage of that. Anyone else would have had a hard time catching him.”

“Then how did you manage to catch him?”

“Me? I tried to kill him, so he stopped.”

“……ah.”

He looks convinced, realizing I was serious.

“You’re lucky you didn’t kill him.”

“Yeah, I’m really glad.”

If he’d actually tried to pull the trigger……Well, killing him would have failed the quest, so I’d have beaten him to death with the buttstock of my shotgun.

There’s no way his attack would have worked on me in that situation.

“So, can we take him back to our side?”

“Well, he’s still alive, so you can carry him away.”

“Ah, yes. The bounty is normally routed through Corleone’s accounting team, so…… I’ll speak to them.”

“Ah, thanks. So……the bounty is the bounty, but I’m supposed to get other rewards as well, right?”

“Of course, Master. I’m a man of my word.”

With that, he blew his whistle to summon his men and had them take the criminal away.

“That concludes our main business for the day! Now, if you’ll excuse me, there’s a training range over by my office. Would you like to go there?”

“Sure. Latte, you don’t mind, do you?”

“Sure. If we’re going to the range, I could use a little shooting after all these years.”

“Then let me take you to the range, come on!”

That’s how we ended up at the shooting range in Area E.

It was late at night, so no one seemed to be using it.

“Well, as you can see, it’s mostly used by the staff, so there’s no one here at this time of night. It’s a perfect environment for me to teach you a skill. So, the first skill I’ll teach you is this.”

With a grunt, he turned around.

In front of him was a target made of steel.

“Whoa.”

He takes a breath and slowly brings his right hand to the front of his thigh holster…and a split second later.

Bang─!

The drawn revolver fired in such a flash that even I didn’t catch the gun being pulled from the holster, and it hit the steel target in front of him.

“First, a basic quick draw. Honestly, it’s not something that requires finesse or talent.”

With that said, he pats the holster with his own pistol.

“The first thing is to make sure your grip is not slippery and your holster is in a position that allows for a smooth, quick draw. The fastest draw is always going to come from the most comfortable position, and the second thing is to draw the holster with just the force of your wrist, like this.”

He places the pistol back in the holster and draws once again.

Clearly, the stance was very quick and accurate.

“The next thing is to hit the target with some sort of aimed shot…… This is a hunch, something you can only learn by shooting a lot. You’ll get better at this as you go along.”

……It was a textbook kind of explanation, but I didn’t know why.

“Can I try it?”

I felt like I could do it.

“Sure. Let’s try it.”

I adjust my position very slightly, simulating drawing my pistol from my holster.

“Master, are you sure you’re going to do that? That doesn’t look like a technique you can do in one go, does it?”

Latte, who has been watching Rick’s technique idly beside me, asks with concern.

“Well, you never know, maybe I can do it in one go. You should give it a try.”

“Oh, no way, I’m not doing it, I’m here just to watch you.”

“Then just watch.”

The distance to the target in front of me is about 20 meters.

I rub my palms on my pants to keep my hands from sweating, and slowly mimic Rick’s stance…and then.

BANG!

In a flash, the pistol is drawn from the holster and the bullet hits the target.

“Is this what it feels like?”

“Holy shit! Master, you really did it in one shot?!”

“……Huh, I can’t believe you actually do this.”

It wasn’t right in the center, but it was definitely on target.

It was only one shot, but it was a success.

“I think I was still a little slow, but at least I hit the target.”

“No, that’s crazy on your first try. I’m going to have to take back what I just said, maybe you have a talent for quick draws.”

“Absolutely! How the hell do you do that in one go? Like this? Like this?”

Latte mimics my movements, thinking she can do it in one go too…but.

Bang─!

“Done.”

Pulling it out quickly only makes it look more convincing but she failed to hit the target.

“Hmph……Why can’t it be like this?”

Bang! Bang!

But the bullet still doesn’t hit.

“Ha, I guess I don’t have the same talent as you.”

Well, if talent is a trait, then I guess you could say I have it.

“That’s it for quick draws but I’m sure you have other skills, right?”

I asked with a smirk, knowing his other skills, and Rick shook his head in disbelief and smirked.

“Yes. The skill that got me to where I am today is…….”

Bang─!

“It’s this.”

He stretched out his arm as hard as he could and fired a shot forward.

But instead of hitting the steel target in front of him, the bullet hits the target on the saran wrap right next to it.

Latte’s jaw drops at the sight, which seems to defy physics.

“No, no, you just shot straight ahead, why did it hit the one next to it?”

With that, she walks over to Rick and crouches down.

“Did you put some kind of imprint on the gun? Or on the bullet?”

“What do you mean, both the gun and the bullets are regular items from a gunsmith’s shop, no engravings or anything magical. Oh, and the revolver is pretty good craftsmanship, of course.”

“No, then how did the bullets fly sideways?”

“It’s like this.”

Saying that, he squeezed the trigger once again, pointing forward.

Bang─! Bang!

This time, the left and right targets shook, proving that the bullet had hit.

“Wow……master. Isn’t this guy actually a mage? It would be hard for anything but a special artifact to interfere with bullets, right?”

I know that.

That’s why I wanted to learn from this man.

“It’s a trick that requires a bit of technique, but I’ll teach you the theory, so why don’t you give it a try?”

The art of bending a bullet has always thrilled any man.

“Good!”