20 meters beneath Café Lycoris,
Firing Range.
Luo Shu put on the goggles Chisato handed him—apparently to protect his eyes from ejected casings. Next came ear protection. Once geared up, he watched her press a button on a nearby console, raising a target just one meter away.
"All beginners start at one meter."
Chisato declared this with absolute authority, leaving no room for argument.
"Alright, stand at the firing line. Lesson's starting."
"Chest out, stomach in. Don't grip too tight—relax, you're way too tense..."
Chisato Nishikigi stood behind Luo Shu, occasionally patting his body to adjust his shooting posture. Once his stance was corrected, she said:
"Try firing a shot now. Remember to maintain your current posture and adjust for the muzzle rise after shooting."
As soon as she finished speaking, a sharp crack rang out. The muzzle of the SIG P226 lifted slightly, and a bullet hole appeared dead centre on the human-shaped target one metre away.
At the same time, Luo Shu felt a faint numbness in his hands, but he quickly adjusted.
"Not bad~~" Chisato clapped her hands. "Hitting the bullseye at one metre is quite good for a beginner."
"No, one metre is really too..." Luo Shu suspected Chisato was just being encouraging, but he had no proof.
"How about trying five metres next?"
"...Alright, let's try?"
Perhaps hitting the target on his first attempt had boosted Luo Shu's confidence. He readily accepted Chisato's suggestion to challenge the five-metre target.
Again, he adjusted his stance, raised the gun, and fired by 'instinct'.
Another crack, another bullseye on the five-metre target.
"Hmm?" Chisato blinked, then gave Luo Shu a puzzled look before clapping enthusiastically. "Wow!! Another bullseye! Great, great, keep this up. Let's try a few more times."
Following her words, Luo Shu adjusted his arms, which had shifted slightly from the recoil, and continued firing with both hands.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Three consecutive shots, all hitting the bullseye.
Seeing this, Chisato realised something was off:
"Wait, let's try a 10-metre target."
She stepped forward and pressed a button on the machine, raising a ten-metre target.
Luo Shu considered the remaining 10 rounds in the magazine and fired three more shots.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Three more consecutive shots. Chisato blinked rapidly, staring at the ten-metre target that seemed to have only one bullet hole. After a moment of silence, she pressed the button for a fifty-metre target—this time, a moving one.
Without hesitation, Luo Shu fired again.
Bang!
Bullseye.
Chisato's mouth fell open before she finally sighed with a resigned expression:
"...Ah! Ah! Now I understand how my instructor must have felt when teaching me."
"Not continuing?" Luo Shu turned his head from the firing line to ask Chisato.
"No need. For a handgun, fifty metres is already an excellent distance. Any further would be pointless. Don't be fooled by the gun's effective range of 100 metres—extreme-range shooting has no practical relevance in real combat scenarios."
As she spoke, Chisato muttered under her breath, "Besides, if we keep going, Mika won't have anything left to teach. Damn, am I going to get scolded?"
Still muttering, she picked up a nearby holster and tossed it to Luo Shu:
"This is a holster designed to fit inside a suit jacket. Oh, and don't worry too much about accidental discharges—the SIG P226 has a double-action trigger, so the risk of accidental firing in daily life is minimal."
After the holster, she threw over a rectangular box:
"This contains two spare magazines—30 rounds in total. Keep them on you at all times, just in case. If you run out, just come back for more. We've got plenty here."
"Let's go, let's head back up. Seriously, I didn't even get to feel like a proper teacher."Chisato Nishikigi clasped her hands behind her head, pouting as if displeased.
Seeing this, Luo Shu could only shrug, inwardly marvelling at how much Intuition enhanced shooting skills, before following Chisato upstairs.
No sooner had they returned to the front café than Luo Shu heard Chisato, who'd arrived first, exclaim loudly:
"What? Takina and the others will be back later? Seriously, how long does shopping take? I wanted them to meet the newbie, too."
"There was a minor car issue. I've already sent someone to fix it." Mika glanced up from his newspaper, ignoring Chisato's antics as he calmly added, "By the way, what kept you downstairs so long?"
"Just some shooting practice," Chisato said with visible frustration, her tone caught between bragging and resignation. "Damn it, this kid's talent is way beyond mine. Hit a 50-metre target on their first try."
"Try giving normal encouragement for once. Weren't you the same back at Keiko's place? Nailed 50 metres immediately too."
As he said this, Mika gave Luo Shu a surprised look:
"But Luo Shu's like that, too? Seems we've got another monstrous talent on our hands."
It was then that Mika finally noticed something amiss. He turned to Chisato sharply:
"Wait a minute. Shouldn't training be my job as the instructor?"
"Huh? Was that the arrangement? I don't remember..." Chisato averted her eyes, adopting an exaggerated 'whoops, forgot' expression.
Mika crumpled his newspaper in frustration, grumbling: "You wretched brat, stealing my joy of mentoring a genius. Do you know how rare low-maintenance disciples like this are?"
"How should I know? Big Sister told me to handle the newbie. Take it up with her~"
"Insufferable girl! You get more rebellious by the day."
After shooting Chisato a glare, Mika snorted and retrieved an 'iPhone' from under the counter, handing it to Luo Shu:
"Meant to give this during firearms training, but here we are. A custom comms phone - already loaded with everyone's contacts."
Luo Shu accepted the device and nodded: "Thanks, boss."
Mika sighed deeply, his expression turning wistful: "Just don't call me a 'damn queer' when I wake you at midnight."
"..." Luo Shu blinked at the burly man before him, momentarily stunned.
'This mountain of a man? Gay? Wait, why would I—'
Before he could finish the thought, Mika continued casually: "Though the brat won't admit it, Chisato's basically my adopted daughter. So why do you think a single man like me would adopt instead of having kids?"
Luo Shu bowed deeply: "My apologies. Any chance I could work elsewhere?"
"Denied. I disclosed my orientation to establish trust among team members, not invite discrimination."
"For goodness' sake, I prefer blondes anyway."
As he spoke, Mika nonchalantly pulled an envelope from beneath the counter.
"Write your bank account number here, and the first month's salary will be advanced to you later."
At this point, Mika turned to Luo Shu with some instructions:
"Tomorrow you'll have a day to sort out your personal affairs. Also, if you don't have a secure place to stay, I can provide a professional safe house here. You'll start working at the café the day after tomorrow - I'll have Mizuki show you the ropes then."
"Of course, that's just for regular café operations. More advanced training will have to be arranged by Chief Tachibana, since we don't have the capability to train sorcerers here."
"Oh, by the way, write down your school name too. I'll have someone notify them later to avoid any attendance conflicts."
"Surprisingly thorough..." Luo Shu remarked as he took the paper and pen, wrote down the details, and handed them back.
Just then, Mika glanced at the school name Luo Shu had written and expressed surprise:
"Oh, you're from Toyogasaki? I hear that's a prestigious private school nearby. By the way, how's the tuition there?"
"It's alright, I suppose?"
Luo Shu's expression turned slightly awkward. He'd gotten into Toyogasaki based on academic merit, so his tuition wasn't high, making him unaware of what others paid.
"I see. Well, Chief Tachibana just pulled some strings with the garrison to get schooling permits approved." Mika said this while glancing at Chisato Nishikigi. "Just you wait - I'll find an opportunity to throw you into school in a few days."
"Whaaat?!" Chisato, who had been watching the exchange, looked shocked. "That's not fair!!"
Mika immediately got annoyed: "What's with that reaction? Didn't you say you wanted to go to school? Now that Luo Shu's joining and will be attending the same school, isn't this perfect?"
"No, studying is just... Besides, the shop can't hire ordinary people, right? If I leave, Mizuki and Takina won't be able to handle everything alone..."
Before Chisato could finish, Mika bonked her on the head with a rolled-up newspaper:
"Objection overruled, you hypocrite! Do you even understand what hypocrisy means?"
"Also, Takina will be going to school, too. The shop will be fine with just me and Mizuki, so don't even think about making excuses, got it?"
"I don't understand your stupid idioms!" Chisato rubbed her head in pain, looking thoroughly wronged.
"Idiot, this is what happens when you don't study." Turning to Luo Shu, Mika added, "I might have to ask you to look after this fool in a few days."
"I don't particularly mind."
Luo Shu ignored Chisato's pleading eyes. Though he privately thought this arrangement might be troublesome, he shrugged nonchalantly at Mika:
"But if tutoring's involved, I'll charge for it."
"I'll pay you a fair price." Mika agreed readily.
Witnessing this exchange, Chisato looked up at the ceiling and lamented:
"How could this happen?!!"
Ignoring Chisato's protests, Luo Shu left Café LycoReco under Mika's encouraging pat on the shoulder and Chisato's resentful glare.
Emerging from the alley onto the main road, Luo Shu gazed at the starless night sky and checked his phone - 19:32 was displayed on the screen. He shook his head:
"I'm definitely late for my part-time job now... The manager's going to chew me out... Tch, can't avoid apologising now!"