Noon, the outskirts of Cyclo.
　We dared to come to the empty wilderness.

　An experiment that went even further than yesterday, an experiment that was even more dangerous.
　I dared to come here so that my surroundings would not be affected.

　In front of me was Dungeon Master Bicorn.

　I paid a million pirouette for a set of 12 bicorn horns.
　The Bicorn Horn is one of the cheaper Dungeon Master drops, partly because it's quite weak on its own.

　I used one of them to hatch and fight the Hagremonos.

　While dodging attacks, I also dodged the aura of the bicorn's debuff, and shot the percentage bullets.

　It's a test of proportional ammunition.
　There's a reason why I chose the bicorn as my opponent.

　The bullets I fired were hit by an invisible barrier at the end of the horn.

　Yes, the bicorn has this barrier.
　It's this barrier that can be broken by a saturation attack, but it's quite strong.

　Despite being hit, I hit it further.

'Three, four, five, six. ......'

　I count the number as I type, dodging and hitting.
　That's how many I hit.

　Eventually, when the percentage of bullets played reached 12 - the bicorn fell down.

'It didn't look like a single shot went through, but it still works? Does it penetrate the barrier?''

　Once more, I hatch the bicorn with the bicorn horn.
　This time, he fired exactly 11 percentage bullets, driving it to the brink of death, then changed the bullets to normal bullets and fired continuously.

　Even though it should be dying, the bicorn doesn't seem to be falling at all, bouncing regular bullets one after another with the barrier.

　That barrage of normal bullets eventually broke through the bicorn's barrier, and the bicorn fell with the slightest shot that hit it.

I knew it. The percentage of bullets are effective in ignoring the barrier. However, the last shot must penetrate the barrier.

　Sometimes it happens in games.
　A character who is dying, but keeps playing with a barrier.

　There are a lot of enemy patterns that try to kill you, so it's pretty useful when those are the characters you control.

　That's just the way it is.
　Another thing I've learned about the characteristics of percentage bullets.

'Lyota-san.
Yeah?　Margaret. What's going on here?

　It was Margaret who appeared in the wilderness.

　White armor in the typical princess knight style, a large sword so disproportionate that it dragged.
　All of her combat abilities were F, and all of her drop statuses were A.

　Margaret, whom I hadn't seen in a long time, was as neat and elegant as ever.

''I've been looking for you. The homeowner told us to be outdoors when we went to the mansion.
'Oh, I had some business to attend to. More importantly, what does Margaret want with me?" "She wanted to see Mr. Lyota.
That's it?
That's all.
Okay.

　I was relieved.
　I knew Margaret was in trouble and I was prepared to do it if she asked me to.
　I was a little relieved to hear that she wasn't.

　Speaking of which, I looked around her.

'Come to think of it, where are those people?'
Is this about Lat, Socha, Pray, or Builder?

　Margaret called out the four names of the four men in a disciplined manner, as she always did.

　The four ninja knights who protect Margaret.
　They are usually invisible, but they appear out of nowhere when she needs them.

'Ah.'
Yeah. Rato, Osha--

　After all, Margaret called all the names in a disciplined manner.

　A moment later, I had an idea in my head and shot an accelerated bullet at myself.

　Thirty seconds of accelerated world.
　For those thirty seconds, I can move at super high speed, faster than all the others.

　Why I did this is because I want to know.

　How do the four of them manifest themselves in any way?
　Even if you miss it under normal conditions, if it's in an accelerated state, it's .......

'Poo-raeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee'

　Margaret's voice, which stretches out so much in the accelerated world.
　Listening to it, I stare intently at it, trying not to miss anything.
　I'm determined not to miss any of the things that are about to happen.



-Oh!

　I gulped.
　It was frightening.

　He should have been gone just before.
　Beyond and behind Margaret.

　Four knights who were definitely not there until the last one was called in appeared the next moment.

　It's like warp, instantaneous movement.
　They seemed to appear in an instant, even in an accelerated world.

　That's why I didn't understand anything.

"This mystery just keeps getting better and better.

　I had to sigh.

　　　　　☆

　Thirty seconds later, the acceleration was cut off, and I came back (...).

Mr. Ryota?　What's wrong?
Oh, I'm sorry, it's nothing.

　I stood still with my mouth shut because I wasn't able to talk during the acceleration.
　To Margaret, I would have looked like I was standing there stunned for thirty seconds.

'I'm sorry I ignored you,'
'No, I don't mind watching you do that ...... and watching Mr. Lyota do so, either.
Speaking of which, have you changed your fighting style?

　I look at Margaret and see the four knights.

　The four of them follow Margaret without losing their posture of being loyal servants.

'Yes, the same as before. 'Ah, but. Rut and Socha are definitely stronger than before, both play and builders.
Really?
Yeah, you're just being incredibly helpful.

「「「「 I'm sorry, thank you. 」」」」

　The four of them, who hadn't said anything before, all got down on one knee to Margaret at once.

　You're the same as always.
　They are 100% loyal, and if it were a historical simulation, these four people have the status of never betraying you.

But I see. It's getting stronger. And the Margaret family is becoming more and more active.
Thanks to Lat, Socha, Play, and the builders.
Hm. ...... Hey, guys, can I ask you one thing about ......?

　The four of us all glance at Margaret for a moment.

　I chuckle.

'Listen, Margaret, if I ask them a question,'

'Of course. What do you want to know, Mr. Lyota?

　When Margaret said this, the air between the four of us changed.
　Ask anything and answer anything.
　The air became that way.

'Every attack will be a percentage. Even if it's a slime or a dungeon master, what if you can get into a body that you can't defeat without hitting it exactly 12 times.''

「「「「 gladly 」」」」

　The four of us answered immediately.

　Great, great.
　You understood what I meant right away, which was great.
　And, even then, your loyalty to Margaret was incredible.

"Margaret Tennyson.
What?
Oh no.

　I looked at the percentage bullets.

　Somehow, I had a feeling that this was going to be a better fit for Margaret and her friends than for me.