We decided to postpone the despair-inducing topic of studying for exams for a little while. It was Nagisa's opinion that we should first check my previous mock exam papers to gauge just how serious the current situation was.
Realistically, it's impossible to bring someone up from scratch to a passing grade in just three weeks. I mean, Nagisa herself was the one who first brought up using... unconventional methods as a last resort, so that says it all. I figured I might be able to wing it in subjects like math, having gone to college, but for history and theology, there's truly no answer but to study.
"Ugh, my mouth hurts..."
"Well, you shouldn't have crossed the line. Do you have any idea how flustered I was when you pulled a prank like that?"
"But, Nagi-chan, you should never casually talk about vouching for someone, not even between the closest of friends☆ It's a very important lesson, so take it to heart!"
"I'd like to engrave the meaning of 'gravity' onto your forehead, Mika-san."
"You mean you're going to pry it off Seia-chan's forehead first?"
"...Pfft. Mika-san, that's rude to Seia-san."
"Hmph, but they say even the king gets bad-mouthed behind his back, right? I'm sure Seia-chan has said something bad about me behind my back at least once, so we're even☆"
Well, I personally think Seia's forehead is on the cute side. It's not big enough to make me want to draw a tic-tac-toe board on it, so isn't that good enough?
BANG! BANG BANG! RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!!!
The moment we stepped into the Tea Party's firing range, the deafening roar of various firearms echoed from all directions, making my ears ring. By the way, how do the beastmen here even shoot guns? If you have two pairs of ears, isn't the noise doubled? Hmm...
"This way."
I decided to ask Seia about it later and walked alongside Nagisa. There was a brief commotion as the Tea Party students who were training saw us—or more accurately, saw Nagisa—and rushed over in surprise to greet her, but Nagisa dismissed them lightly with a smile.
Hmm... how should I put this? I feel like an incompetent boss with a hyper-competent secretary. It's a little sad that said secretary was slated to be overworked, taking on the duties of three people including her own.
"This is a private firing range that only the heads of the Tea Party can use. Among us, only you ever really used this place, Mika-san, which is why everyone was so surprised to see me with you."
So, I was a regular here, and they wouldn't have cared much if I came alone, but since Nagisa, who never comes, was with me, they had that over-the-top reaction. Got it.
If it weren't for this sudden exam crisis, I probably would have come here every day. I would have focused on training with the mindset of catching up to the original Mika's level, no matter what. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to have a proper conversation with the Gehenna side, let alone Arius.
Let's set Hina as the benchmark. In-game, their attack and defense types are effective against each other, but I have no idea how meaningful that is here, where student battles are a reality. So, if we fought based on pure skill, excluding type advantages, a me who can't even match the original Mika would definitely get wiped.
In truth, it's hard to say if a situation where I have to fight Hina will even arise. If I can just properly suppress Mika's Gehenna-phobia, the real problem is that idiot Makoto. Hina is a character you can definitely reason with, so I'm really hoping a fight can be avoided.
But the Arius Squad is a different case. As long as Beatrice remains the ruler of the Arius District, even if things seem to be going well with them, there's a high chance we'll have to fight at least once.
Therefore, the ideal situation is to have enough combat power to achieve a draw or better against Hina in an unexpected encounter, and to comfortably win against the Arius Squad.
...Realistically, that's all I was thinking about before the topic of exams came up. Therefore, studying and exams are my mortal enemies. My head was already a complicated mess, and now I'm being tormented by exam stress? Isn't Kivotos's hatred for Mika going a bit too far?
"Here, stand here and hold the gun. The recoil won't be a big issue for you, Mika-san, so you don't need to worry too much about your stance during a real battle, but it's natural to start with the stance that provides the highest accuracy."
Mika's firearm, Quis ut Deus, is a submachine gun that uses standard 9mm rounds. As a weapon with strengths in close-quarters and trench warfare, it's a fitting choice for Mika, who excels in physical ability. You push in close and empty a magazine to suppress the enemy. If the distance closes to point-blank range, Mika's physical strength can truly shine. I remember reading in a post on some community site that the original gun, the Lanchester Mk I, was actually made by the British to save money. The reasonable suspicion arises that the only reason Mika could boast such monstrous in-game performance with a weapon like that was because her own personal stats were just insane.
Following Nagisa's guidance, I shouldered the gun and got into position. To be honest, my heart fluttered a bit. You said calling me 'Mika-chan' was too familiar, but this is fine? I need to rethink my definition of 'familiarity'.
When I first took the stance, it felt slightly awkward, but that feeling soon vanished as if washed away. A sense of fulfillment, like finding and fitting the last piece of a lost puzzle, surged through my entire body. I was drunk on a feeling of confidence, as if I could do anything... for a moment.
The late realization that the gun had no safety and the magazine was full made me gasp.
If I had accidentally pulled the trigger and a stray bullet had hit a civilian, I'd be a murderer. I made a silent vow to always remove the magazine when carrying a gun from now on.
"Mika-san, you know we have to go handle our duties this afternoon, right? If you dawdle like this, we won't even have time for lunch."
As Nagisa said, it was a waste of time to just stand here hesitating. I had to learn the Tea Party's work, start studying in advance, and even set aside time to investigate things on my own. There was so much to do, it made me wonder why I was bringing all this trouble upon myself.
Anyway, as I aimed at the targets 50 meters away and put my finger on the trigger, I was certain. I might not know about a real battle, but when it came to just shooting, I would have no problem at all.
Rat-tat-tat— Rat-tat-tat—
Starting from the target on the left, I repeatedly pulled and released the trigger. I couldn't even feel the recoil. Do you have to be born with a body like this to be in the top tier among gun-toting high school girls?
Ten targets, three shots each, and a horrifying accuracy that hit nothing but the forehead and between the eyes of each target. I felt that even if it had been 100 meters, the result would have been similar. At 200 meters, this level of accuracy would be impossible and the power would drop significantly, but I think I could still hit within a certain effective range.
"...Mika-san, if you do this, you just make me look foolish for offering to teach you. Are you just going to keep doing things that make me suspicious?"
Nagisa grumbled upon seeing the result, but looking at her expression, she seemed to be in a good mood. Does she know that her pouting has a different kind of charm that makes her seem incredibly cute?
"Hm? But you were the one who fixed my posture, Nagi-chan☆"
"As if fixing someone's posture could do that?! Your true intentions are so obvious!"
No, but seriously, it was a huge help. Something that would have taken me quite a while to get the hang of on my own, I was able to succeed at in one go, probably thanks to Nagisa... but saying that would just look like I'm teasing her, wouldn't it?
"Yeah, but it really was a big help. You're free to believe what you want!"
When time is money, not having to go through trial and error is a huge advantage. And now that I was confident that I could handle the combat techniques Mika herself had honed with enough practice, I started to get a little greedy.
Should I just train like crazy until I'm strong enough to beat the top-tier students from other academies? The Archangel Michael, who is presumed to be the origin of Mika's Mystery, doesn't hold the title of the greatest archangel under God for nothing, right?
...On second thought, that's a bit childish. It's good for me to be strong, but that's only because I need to be able to use force when absolutely necessary. Making "beating up high school girls" the goal of getting stronger is a bit pathetic, and an unnecessary mindset, isn't it?
So, while it's a story for after I pass my exams, let's just make sure to train consistently. If I can't win after that, I'll just chalk it up to not trying hard enough.
Besides, there's something else that's really important right now.
"Nagi-chan!"
"Yes?"
"I want to see you shoot, just once."
"...After showing me that, you're now asking me to shoot?"
I can understand why Nagisa is dumbfounded. She probably thinks I'm messing with her.
But here's the catch. This was absolutely not me wanting to see Nagisa's shooting skills.
"Yeah! If shooting is too much pressure, just showing me the stance is fine☆ That's actually what I really want to see, anyway."
Honestly, don't you think Nagisa holding a pistol and taking a stance would look cool enough to slap any actress in a movie back and forth across the face? I think so.
So cooperate with me in fulfilling my selfish desire, Kirifuji Nagisa!
"...You really just want to see the stance, right? If you tell me to shoot since I'm already in position, you won't forgive me, right?"
Hehe, surprisingly, Nagisa is easier to handle than I thought.
Click—
"...?!"
Today, I have obtained a truly magnificent photograph. With this, I will forgive you for secretly taking a picture of me cooking. What do you think, isn't that fair?
"Delete it, right now...!"
As if a full-blown otaku would delete a national treasure-class photo like this. No way. Not a chance in hell!
...Later, after I set this photo as my MomoTalk profile picture, I would receive countless death threats from Nagisa, telling me to change it right now or she'd kill me.
And when I refused to yield to injustice until the very end, Nagisa retaliated by doing the exact same thing with the photo of me cooking, starting a photo war.
In the end, this incident was only concluded after Seia shot us a sharp remark, telling us to get a room already. It was just another normal day for the Tea Party.