~ Support & Read 18 Advanced Chapters on Patreon

❁❁❁❁

After wandering for a bit, we finally came across a shooting gallery.

The owner was a middle-aged man who had gone bald prematurely, with only a few sparse hairs on his head fluttering in the wind.

"Stand at the designated spot. Whatever prize you shoot down, you can take." Seeing the large group of people with me, the corners of the owner's mouth curved up into a grin that stretched from ear to ear.

With so many customers at once, he was definitely going to make a killing.

"Five hundred yen for three shots. After that, it's one hundred yen per shot," the owner explained the rules with a smile.

Hearing this, I nodded slightly and picked up a replica rifle in each hand, then looked at the girls. "Who wants to play?"

"I do!" Tohka was, of course, the first to raise her hand. She took one of the rifles from me.

To wash away the shame from the goldfish scooping incident, Tohka shot a provocative look at Origami. "Origami, are you up for another challenge?"

"If you're so eager for a beating, I'll be happy to oblige." Hearing Tohka's challenge, Origami glanced at her with a blank expression, then picked up the other rifle.

Seeing this, the owner's smile widened.

Just like that, the daily competition between the rivals, Tohka and Origami, began again.

After I paid, Tohka and Origami took their rifles to the designated positions. They held their guns, adopting a shooting stance. Soon, their competition began.

Aim, lock, fire...

But reality had other plans.

With a "bang bang!!" two wooden bullets cut through the air, and the first round of their competition was over.

The bullet fired by Tohka went wide, just grazing past the prize.

In contrast, Origami hit her target squarely, successfully winning a prize.

"Bang!"

The second bullet was fired. Tohka missed again.

"Damn it! I missed twice!" Clenching her teeth, Tohka's expression was clearly getting a bit anxious.

On the other hand, although Origami had hit a doll squarely, it only swayed slightly and didn't fall. A hint of regret flashed in her eyes.

The stall owner, on the other hand, quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's okay! You were so close! You'll definitely get it next time, Tohka," I cheered, not forgetting to encourage the other competitor. "Origami, you keep it up too!"

Hearing my encouragement, Tohka regained her confident smile.

Compared to her, Origami seemed much calmer. She squinted one eye, her face filled with a look of focused determination.

"Bang!"

She pulled the trigger, and the third wooden bullet shot out. A small green turtle doll fell in response.

"This young lady has great skills! A real sharpshooter," the owner couldn't help but praise.

Hearing this, Origami reluctantly put down the replica rifle in her hand. Although she had hit all three shots, one toy hadn't been knocked down, leaving her feeling a little disappointed.

'But...'

'I still won this match!'

The owner then picked up the two fallen dolls and placed them in front of Origami, saying with a chuckle, "Young lady, your skills are not bad. Do you want to..."

However, before he could finish, another gunshot rang out.

"Bang."

On the other side, Tohka had suddenly pulled the trigger, and a rabbit doll on the shelf had also fallen.

Seeing that Tohka had actually hit a prize, the owner blinked in confusion.

'What's going on? Is today just an unlucky day to be running a stall?'

'How are both of these little girls shooting down dolls?!'

However, he hadn't cheated, so he picked up the rabbit doll that Tohka had shot down and handed it over. "I didn't expect you to be so good, young lady."

"Of course!"

Taking the doll, Tohka ignored the owner and came to my side, happily holding up her prize. "Kyoya, look, look... Am I good or what?"

Seeing the girl's face with "come on, praise me" practically written all over it, I couldn't help but smile.

'As expected, Tohka still has the heart of a child.'

When it came to doting on Tohka, however, I was never stingy with my praise. "Mm, Tohka is very good."

"Hehe."

Hearing my praise, Tohka hugged the rabbit doll, her eyes smiling into crescents.

"Tsk," The source of thɪs content is NoveI[F]ire.net

Seeing this, Origami pouted with some dissatisfaction.

Seeing Origami's jealous little expression, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Placing my hand on her head and gently rubbing her silver-white hair, I also praised her. "Origami is very good too! A real sharpshooter."

After hearing my praise, the girl's pretty face was tinged with pink, looking as beautiful as a blooming peach blossom.

Immediately, I looked at the other girls and asked, "Do you want to play too?"

Sure enough, seeing that both Tohka and Origami had won prizes, the other girls eagerly picked up the replica rifles.

Taking the money from my hand, the stall owner's smile couldn't have been wider.

Unfortunately, not everyone had the superb skills of Kurumi and Origami. After all, they were either experts with firearms or had undergone military-style training.

"Bang bang bang!!!"

As the sounds of shooting continued, very few prizes were successfully shot down. By the time all the girls had played once, only Mana, Nia, and a few others had managed to win anything.

Seeing this, the owner's heart blossomed with joy. Scanning the area, he saw me, the only one who hadn't played yet, and an idea popped into his head.

He picked up a replica rifle, smiled at me, and urged, "Would this young man like to give it a try?"

'He's just asking for it now.'

'Mm?'

Looking at the stall owner's enthusiastic expression, I gave him a strange look.

'Little brother, what are you thinking?'

'Are you trying to go out of business?'

Taking the replica rifle from the owner's hand, I grinned. "Owner, give me twenty shots to start!"

"No problem."

Hearing my words, the owner happily took the two thousand yen. He had seen too many boys like me who wanted to show off in front of their girlfriends. In his opinion, after I finished these twenty shots, the chances of me hitting more than five were practically zero.

With those odds, he was guaranteed to make a profit.

❁❁❁❁

~ 18 Advanced Chapters Available on my Patreon

https://p-atreon.com/dragonnx

(Just remove the hyphen to access Patreon normally.)