Seeing and feeling a familiar weapon in her hand helped Layla feel a little grounded.

Now that she had spent so much time in this new world, it made her feel like her previous life had been a dream she had pulled out of her ass.

But having the gun in her hand made Layla realize that none of her experiences had been a coincidence.

She turned the gun around to check it out.

Raziel's curious gaze looked at her with a questioning look. He wanted to know what that gun was, but he was too obedient to ask Layla the question.

"This is a gun. Would you like to see how it operates? Let's go to an empty area first."

Layla mockingly raised her gun and pointed toward Raziel. The gun had its safety on so it wouldn't fire at will. But Raziel's lack of awareness and surprise at being targeted was unassuming.

He followed Layla obediently, and once they were alone and a barrier had been enacted around them, Layla finally turned off the safety of the gun and fired at the tree.

The gun had enough magic to reduce the tree into bits. It was strong…a little too strong from what Layla could tell.

Even Raziel looked wide-eyed as soon as he saw the attack and the ease at which it had been used.

"Master, did you not need to use words to cast that spell?"

It was difficult for anyone to harness magic without magic circles or chants. Only master magicians could do it by their will.

But Layla was far from a master magician. The only reason she had such an easy time using magic was because of the way this gun behaved.

It stored magic, and since it was all destructive magic, Layla had to push it a little, and it would release itself.

It might sound complicated, but this magic was as quick and easy as pressing a button. The only downside was the aching arms Layla gained after she had attacked it like this. Her arms shook badly, and she did not know what else to do.

Not one to show her weakness, Layla quickly hid her shaking arms under her cloak and hummed intently.

"My gun is far more powerful than I expected. I will have to be careful about how I use it in the future."

Layla would avoid her gun if she could. She could always turn her weapon into another form…if she could figure out how to use it, but she did not have time to do that.

Mary also returned by then and looked equally surprised to see the destruction.

"What happened here? Did Miss Layla cast a spell? You should behave yourself, miss! I don't want anything to happen to you."

The maid scolded Layla, but she was too happy to care. She finally had a way to protect herself and not get hurt, which lessened one of her worries.

...

The next morning came quickly, and Layla woke up in the hotel she had booked for the night.

It had been chosen due to its close ties to the Lockhart Duchy, and it was the perfect place for Layla to relax and spend her time.

She was drinking her morning tea when she spotted a familiar something from the corner of her eyes on the side table.

"-and the smith said it is a new and exotic weapon he plans to sell soon. He said that this is called a 'gun,' and it has highly destructive powers if we can figure out how to use it-"

Layla coughed as soon as she felt the tea go down her windpipe. It burned, and it even made her nose itch.

But she had no time to think about it when she had to listen to what these people were saying.

'Did I hear a gun? How is that possible? This world does not have guns! Is someone mistaken?'

That seemed to be the case…or rather, Layla wanted that to be the case. She did not want to turn around and see anyone ignorant holding the gun.

But as soon as she did, all her hopes and dreams crashed when her eyes met the metallic solid in the unknown person's grip.

The stranger waved the gun around, uncaring about other's safety as he did so. The man had no idea of the risk he was willing to take for this.

Thankfully, it did not seem like the gun had been made correctly or had any functionality. It looked like a toy gun made to imitate the real thing.

It helped Layla feel better, but her anger did not subside. She knew who was behind this, and it was time to visit that man.

'Should I wait for Mary and Raziel to be up before I head out? I should wait, but I don't want to wait! I need to resolve this as soon as possible.'

In the end, Layla decided to head out alone. Now that she had her weapon, she did not need the others interfering in her business.

She grabbed a few magical contracts to take care of this mess. Her expression was akin to someone who was going to war. And this was what it felt like to her as well.

However, even before Layla could reach Erwin, the dwarf, security stopped her. The security dwarf looked at Layla blankly as she told her that she was not allowed to enter the establishment alone.

"Excuse me, child! But this workshop is not a place for you to be alone. Please return with your guardian or someone who can take responsibility for you. This is not a playground, and we cannot allow you to enter otherwise."

The guard was firm, and she showed no signs of negotiating. But Layla was not going back, either, especially not after how angry she was.

She walked past the guard, who looked startled, and reached out to grab Layla and remove her like this.