Twenty meters beneath the café Lyco, deep underground, was the shooting range.
Luo Shu put on the safety goggles Chisato Nishikigi handed him—she said it was to prevent spent casings from hitting his eyes. After the goggles came earmuffs. Once geared up, he saw Chisato tapping a button on a nearby console, which raised a target at a one-meter distance.
"Beginners always start from one meter," she declared with confidence, not giving Luo Shu a chance to protest. "Alright, stand at the shooting line. Lesson begins now."
"Chest up, abs in. Don't grip the gun too tightly. Relax, relax—you're way too tense…"
Standing behind him, Chisato occasionally tapped his shoulders and arms, helping him adjust his posture. Once she seemed satisfied with his stance, she gave the green light. "Alright, try firing. Keep your current posture, and don't forget to manage the muzzle rise after the shot."
Bang! The moment she finished speaking, the SIG P226's muzzle kicked upward slightly. A clean hole appeared dead center in the humanoid target one meter away. Luo Shu felt a faint numbness travel up his hand but quickly adapted.
"Not bad at all~~" Chisato clapped in delight. "Bullseye at one meter—pretty decent for a first timer!"
"No, c'mon, at just one meter, isn't that…" Luo Shu doubted whether she was just being encouraging, but he had no proof.
"Wanna try five meters next?"
"…Sure, why not?"
His first success seemed to give him a burst of confidence, so Luo Shu accepted her challenge and stepped up for the five-meter target.
Once again, he adjusted his form, raised the pistol, and fired using sheer instinct.
Bang! Another perfect bullseye on the five-meter target.
"Huh?" Chisato blinked in surprise, gave Luo Shu a sidelong glance, then broke into applause. "Whoa!! Another bullseye. Excellent! Keep that up. A few more shots."
Luo Shu steadied his slightly shaken arms from the recoil, held the gun with both hands, and resumed firing.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Three more consecutive shots—all right on the mark.
Seeing this, Chisato finally realized something was off. "Wait a sec—try a ten-meter target."
She quickly tapped the console, raising a ten-meter target.
With ten rounds still loaded, Luo Shu calmly fired three more shots.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Chisato blinked repeatedly. The ten-meter target had what looked like only one hole, as if the bullets had all gone through the same spot. She fell silent for a moment, then switched to a moving fifty-meter target.
Luo Shu didn't hesitate. He raised the gun and fired again.
Bang!
Another bullseye.
Chisato's jaw fell slightly before she sighed in exasperation. "…Ahhh! I finally understand how my instructor must've felt back then."
"Not going to continue?" Luo Shu turned from the shooting line and asked her.
"No need. For a handgun, hitting a fifty-meter target is already top-tier. Anything beyond that isn't really practical. Sure, the effective range might be listed as a hundred meters, but those long-range precision shots aren't exactly relevant in real encounters."
She grumbled under her breath, "And if we keep going, Mika really won't have anything left to teach. Damn, am I gonna get smacked for this?"
Still muttering, Chisato grabbed a nearby shoulder holster and tossed it to Luo Shu. "This one's made for concealed carry under a suit. Don't worry too much about accidental discharge—the P226 is double-action, so the chances of that happening in daily life are slim."
Next, she threw over a rectangular box. "This one has two spare mags—thirty rounds total. Always keep them on you, just in case. If you use them up, just come back here. We've got plenty more."
"Alright, let's head back up. Seriously, not even a sliver of teacher's satisfaction left for me today."
Hands behind her head and lips pouting in mock displeasure, Chisato stomped off. Luo Shu could only shrug, quietly marvelling at how much his instincts seemed to help with shooting. He followed her upstairs.
Back in the café above, Luo Shu was greeted by Chisato's voice complaining loudly before he even stepped inside.
"What? Takina and the others will be back later? Seriously? How long does grocery shopping take? I wanted to introduce them to our newbie!"
"There was a problem with the car. I've already sent someone to fix it. But more importantly—what took you so long down there?" Mika, seated behind the counter reading a newspaper, glanced up at her with mild disinterest.
"Just a bit of shooting practice," Chisato muttered, half annoyed, half boasting. "Ugh, it's frustrating—this kid's way more talented than me. First try, and he's already hitting fifty-meter targets."
"Let's not exaggerate our praise," Mika replied blandly. "You were the same back then—you started at fifty meters too."
Still, as he said that, he looked at Luo Shu with visible surprise. "So, he's the same way, huh? Looks like we've got another prodigy on our hands."
Then Mika furrowed his brows and turned to Chisato. "Wait a second. Aren't firearms training my job as the instructor?"
"Eh? Was it?" Chisato turned her head with a blank look. "I don't remember…"
Mika's fingers crumpled the newspaper in his hands, his face twitching with irritation. "You brat! You stole the joy of teaching a genius from me!"
"You have no idea how rare it is to find someone this easy to teach!"
"Hey, the Boss told me to train the newbie, okay? If you've got a problem, go take it up with her~"
"You wretched girl! The older you get, the less you listen!" Mika glared at Chisato with a deep scowl, then huffed and reached under the counter, pulling out what looked like an iPhone. He handed it to Luo Shu.
"I was going to give this to you during gun training, but I guess this'll have to do. It's a special department-issued phone with everyone's contact info preloaded."
"Thanks, Manager," Luo Shu said, taking the phone.
But Mika let out a long, melancholic sigh, as if recalling a dark chapter of his life. "Just… don't yell at me in the middle of the night and call me a gay, alright?"
"…What?"
Luo Shu blinked in confusion, looking at the broad-shouldered man in front of him.
This guy? A guy? Wait—why would I even say something like that? No way…
As if sensing his thoughts, Mika said casually, "Though Chisato doesn't really admit it, she's technically my adopted daughter. So... you ever wonder why I didn't have biological kids and adopted instead?"
Luo Shu gave a deep bow. "Pardon me. Can I choose to work somewhere else instead?"
"No. I'm just being upfront about my orientation so there's trust between team members—not so you can shame me for it."
"Jeez, I'm into blondes, okay?" Mika grumbled, then pulled a form from under the counter. "Write your bank account details here. We'll advance your first month's pay right away."
He paused to add, "You've got tomorrow off to handle your personal stuff. If you don't have a safe place to stay, we've got a secure house for you. You'll officially start café duty the day after tomorrow—Mizuki will show you the ropes. But keep in mind, the real training will come from the Division Chief. We're not equipped to train Warlocks here."
"Oh, and give me your school's name too. I'll have someone notify them, so your shifts don't clash with class."
"You're surprisingly thorough…" Luo Shu took the pen and filled out the details, then handed the sheet back.
Mika glanced at the paper, raising an eyebrow. "Oh, Toyosaki? That's a pretty elite private school nearby. Is the tuition steep?"
"Not really…" Luo Shu replied awkwardly. He'd gotten in on merit, so his fees were low. He wasn't sure what the others paid.
"Perfect timing then. The Chief Tachibana just used her military contacts to get you clearance to attend. Hmph." Mika shot Chisato a look. "You'd better watch out. I might just toss you back into school too."
"Eh?!"
Chisato, who had been quietly watching the drama, now shouted in shock. "Why me?!"
Mika rolled his eyes. "Weren't you the one whining about wanting to go to school? Now that Luo Shu's joining, you can go too. Wouldn't that be nice?"
"No! Studying is… and besides, we can't hire regular staff for the café, right? If I leave, Mizuki and Takina will be overwhelmed—"
Bonk! Mika smacked her on the head with his newspaper.
"Objection overruled."
"And Takina's going with you. The café will be fine with me and Mizuki. No more excuses, got it?"
"I don't even know what you're talking about!" Chisato cried, clutching her head, looking genuinely wronged.
"Idiot. That's what happens when you don't study." Mika turned to Luo Shu. "You might have to look after this kid once in a while."
"I don't mind." Luo Shu ignored Chisato's silent pleas for help. Even though he had a bad feeling about it, he just shrugged and said, "But I'm charging extra if tutoring's involved."
"I'll make it worth your while," Mika replied without hesitation.
Chisato threw her head back and groaned. "This is so unfair!!"
Luo Shu left Lyco café under Mika's cheerful shoulder pat and Chisato's soul-crushed stare. Once he stepped out of the alley and onto the main street, he glanced at the dark, starless sky, pulled out his phone, and looked at the time: 19:32.
He shook his head.
"Yep… definitely going to be late for work. Bet the manager's already pissed… tch, guess I'll be apologizing tonight."