Shirou Emiya Stands Upon Terra Chapter 23

"..."

As the person involved, Shirou began to recall how Exusiai had him bake an apple pie the moment he started, and then took away more than half of his finished product.

It's better not to expose her.

"Mhm, Exusiai has been helping."

"Shirou, blink twice if you're being held hostage. We'll save you!"

Croissant didn't believe it at all. After all, Exusiai's dessert skills were all focused on apple pie.

"...Forget it."

Sora felt she couldn't seriously consider this matter and decided to give up digging deeper.

"Exactly, don't overthink it, let's go inside!"

Seeing that the topic was concluded, Exusiai jumped out again.

As for the shooting range, she was a familiar face, so she naturally took the lead.

The shooting range owner greeted Exusiai warmly upon seeing her and then led the group to a less crowded area.

29 Shooting Range

First, the shooting range was different from what Shirou had imagined. Instead of a place where people held firearms and shot, they were using crossbows or bows and arrows.

"Still the same old thing, only these antiques."

Croissant casually picked up a crossbow, gestured with it, and then loaded a bolt, aiming at a target and shooting.

Thump — The bolt hit the target, but it was on the edge.

"Oh, lucky shot, it actually hit the target!"

Croissant looked at the target about fifty meters away with a bolt stuck in it and felt that the start was quite smooth.

The crossbow bolts used here were standard. They had an effective range of about a hundred meters. Besides simple target practice, there were also trap shooting and moving targets, but those areas were usually for people who brought their own crossbows.

"My turn, my turn!"

Exusiai took the crossbow from Croissant, loaded a bolt, aimed, and shot.

The bolt hit the bullseye precisely.

"Seems okay."

Exusiai said it was okay, but the expression on her face betrayed her.

Croissant wore an expression of "Here she goes again."

"Aren't there any firearms here?"

Shirou looked at the bows and crossbows provided by the shooting range. Although they looked a bit old, they were well-maintained, and their accuracy was decent.

But he didn't see any firearms.

Shirou's understanding of firearms was limited to them being staves; he didn't understand anything else. So, he curiously asked Sora, who was sitting beside him.

"Shirou, you probably don't know, but firearms are basically monopolized by Laterano. Plus, the manufacturing technology is very complex, and the etched bullets are expensive, so ordinary people generally don't consider using firearms."

Sora gave Shirou a simple explanation. Shirou then understood that crossbows seemed to be more popular than firearms here.

But it was understandable. Firearms, in the end, were a type of stave, which screened out many people. Additionally, with the so-called Originium Arts, crossbows were also very powerful, and training with them wasn't expensive.

"I see, no wonder most people I saw using crossbows on the way here."

Before Shirou could deeply ponder the answer, Croissant grabbed him.

"Come, come, Shirou, it's your turn."

Croissant seemed to have been discouraged by Exusiai. The other two she could find were better than her with crossbows, so she directly targeted Shirou.

Penguin Logistics' shooting team's last place is about to change! Hahahaha!

"Shirou, do you know how to operate it?"

Exusiai handed the crossbow in her hand to Shirou.

"Let me see."

Shirou took the crossbow. The moment he held it, he roughly knew how to operate it.

"It should be like this, and then like this... right?"

He pulled back the crossbow, placed a bolt on it, and showed the loaded crossbow to Exusiai.

"You're quite skilled? Have you used one before?"

Exusiai looked at Shirou's fluid movements after he got his hands on it, suspecting that Shirou had prior experience with crossbows.

"No way?"

Croissant's face immediately fell. Did she have to continue being the last place in Penguin Logistics' shooting practice?

"I've only seen others operate it. This is my first time actually touching one."

Shirou said honestly. He had indeed watched others practice just now and saw how they operated it.

It wasn't difficult, just a bit tiring.

Picking up the crossbow, Shirou mimicked the shooting stances of others, aimed, and fired.

"Ah."

The moment he shot, Shirou knew this one wouldn't hit. It was his first time handling it, and the recoil's deviation shifted the bolt's direction slightly.

Just as Shirou predicted, the bolt whizzed past the target.

"Hmph, want me to teach you hand-to-hand? Just call me Croissant Big Sis, okay?"

Croissant had been a little flustered seeing Shirou's somewhat professional stance earlier, but realizing he was just a bronze after he shot, she felt relieved.

"That was a good stance just now. Want to try again?"

Texas nudged Croissant's backside with her foot and then asked Shirou.

"Shirou, why don't you try one more time?"

Sora helped Texas cover Croissant's mouth.

They had come to the shooting range hoping Shirou would find a new hobby. It would be terrible if he gave up after being discouraged by Croissant!

Besides, it would be good for Shirou to learn how to use a crossbow. At least he'd have some self-defense ability.

"Alright, I'll try again."

Facing Sora and Texas's request, Shirou placed another bolt on the crossbow and aimed again.

"Got it."

The moment he shot, Shirou knew this one would hit, right in the bullseye.

Thump The bolt embedded itself firmly in the very center of the target.

"Whoa, Shirou, you're really talented."

Exusiai praised him. It was worth noting that when the other members of Penguin Logistics first came, they could barely even hit the target, let alone the bullseye. To see Shirou get the hang of it so quickly, and even hit the bullseye with such accuracy, was surprising.

"Hiss... Shirou, you... I... Forget it."

Croissant pointed at Shirou, stammering for a good while before finally giving up the struggle and accepting her fate as the bottom of Penguin Logistics' shooting team.

Even though she was at the bottom, Croissant's shooting skills were decent. With a slightly shorter distance or a better crossbow, she might have been more consistent. However, she primarily used a great hammer and shield, and crossbows were more of a casual pastime for her.

Texas was second only to Exusiai. At least she could hit the target consistently and close to the center.

As for Sora, she had built up her stability through sheer training volume. She was a bit more consistent than Croissant.

"Why not try a few more times while you're warmed up?"

Sora handed Shirou a crossbow bolt and urged him to continue.

"Huh? Don't you and Texas want to try?"

Shirou looked at the two of them. After all, they had come here mainly for him to experience target practice. It didn't seem right to have it all to himself.

"It's fine. This was for you to experience. Sora and I are actually okay with this."

Texas said comfortably, sitting on a chair. They had come here more to accompany Exusiai.

"Mhm, Texas is right."

Sora echoed Texas's words.

"Alright then."

Shirou saw that the two of them had already found seats and showed no intention of taking the crossbow from his hands, so he could only continue.

The Penguin Logistics members watched as Shirou proceeded to hit the bullseye multiple times in a row.

Croissant had completely given up, cheering Shirou on from the side, hoping he'd be in a good mood and make her some good food.

Exusiai, on the other hand, felt her competitive spirit ignited. She engaged Shirou in a series of matches.

The outcome, naturally, was Shirou's victory. If it were firearms, Exusiai might have won, but when it came to repetitive actions like using a bow or crossbow, Shirou was not afraid at all.

After all, he had been the ace of the archery club before.

30 Annoying Angel

"Shirou, you're really good with crossbows. Do you plan to specialize in learning it?"

After watching Shirou defeat Exusiai with the crossbow and secure the first place in Penguin Logistics' shooting team, Sora took the opportunity to suggest that Shirou continue learning in this area.

"Yes, even though Exusiai wasn't using a firearm, you were able to beat her in shooting. Shirou, you could try developing in this direction."

Texas agreed with Sora, trying to encourage Shirou to continue learning how to use a crossbow.

"Hmm... I could consider it."

Shirou thought for a moment and felt it was worth trying to get familiar with it. However, he'd prefer if it were a regular bow. Crossbows felt a bit awkward for him.

"This scene feels like children taking their elderly parents out to experience life, only to discover the parents seem particularly interested in something, and then deciding to let them continue learning."

Croissant silently complained as she watched Texas and Sora persuade Shirou.

"I'm not convinced! Let's go shoot moving targets next door!"

Exusiai couldn't accept the fact that she had lost in shooting and decided to take Shirou to the moving targets nearby to compete.

The difficulty difference between stationary targets and moving targets is worlds apart. The former allows for slow aiming before shooting, while the latter requires calculating the next position based on the moving trajectory within a short time before shooting.

And she, Exusiai, had exceptional talent in this area.

"Ugh, it's so lame for you, Exusiai, to challenge someone who just started with crossbows to a moving target match."

Croissant said with a disgusted look at Exusiai, completely forgetting who had just dragged Shirou to shoot at stationary targets, trying to get herself out of last place.

"Interested?"

Texas assessed Shirou's performance so far and thought that progressing to moving targets should be feasible.

The difficulty of stationary targets might have been a bit too low for Shirou.

But Exusiai's request was indeed a bit lame.

"Shirou, you don't have to agree, or you could cut Exusiai's apple pie."

Sora couldn't stand the "lame angel's" behavior anymore and offered Shirou some advice from the side.

"Aren't I your best sniper? Are you going to replace me just because Shirou is showing a little sniping talent now!"

Seeing her teammates' actions, Exusiai clutched her heart, looking heartbroken.

If Shirou ignored her ridiculously exaggerated facial expressions, he might have believed her.

"I can do it if it's moving targets..."

Before Shirou could finish, Exusiai had already pulled him away.

"It's good you agreed. Today, I will re-establish my position as Penguin Logistics' number one sniper!"