[Hanuma Makoto, 900m 2nd round.]
At this point in the tournament, a total of six participants have survived up to 900m, with three from each academy.
While there are occasional tournaments that progress to the 2nd or 3rd round, most of these individuals are so skilled that you can’t help but admire their successful sniping in the 1st round.
Especially the child from our Pater Faction, who displayed exceptional skill beyond my expectations; even if they were to be eliminated here, I would still want to give them some praise. Given how poor Pater has performed up to now, I’m just thrilled to see them do this well.
“Hehehe—! As expected, this small distance is nothing to me.”
Makoto, who successfully reached 900m in the 2nd round, burst into a frivolous laugh. Seriously, it’s the kind of laugh that makes me want to correct them every chance I get. If only it sounded a bit more ‘heh heh’ like a middle schooler or a loud ‘Haha!’ then it would suit their handsome face better. What a waste of such looks!
[Tsuchinaga Hiyori, 1000m 1st round.]
Using personal firearms in this sniper competition is quite an unfair condition. This is especially true for someone who uses a large caliber sniper rifle, like Hiyori.
However, there haven’t been many complaints because a weapon’s appearance doesn’t always match its performance.
For instance, while my gun has an old-fashioned appearance, its real performance can definitely hold up against the submachine guns that others are using. Even if you were to disregard my crazy Shinpi, it’d still hold true.
Well, of course, one could argue that a large caliber sniper rifle is advantageous compared to a standard sniper rifle. Because of this, there was a claim for a separate penalty for using one. As a result, the target Hiyori must hit is about 70% of the size compared to other students’ targets.
Since simply hitting the edge of the target counts as success, a 70% penalty isn’t trivial. So, while it seems too unreasonable for the students using large caliber rifles, after witnessing Hiyori smoothly pierce the center of a target set at 1000m in the 1st round, it became clear that such penalties may not matter at all.
“Indeed… It feels natural that the skill is what Mika-san expected. After all, long-range sniping isn’t just about the effective range of the weapon, you know? Ultimately, what matters is the sniper’s own senses and calculations.”
“Hahaha! Right? Our Hiyori-chan is pretty amazing. In that context, I hope she wins the gold medal today and gains some confidence!”
Noa’s compliments directed at Hiyori oddly put me in a good mood. The Arius Squad really is my family…
What does Hiyori lack? Nothing but self-esteem. Even Misaki is going through positive changes thanks to ongoing counseling, so if we can boost Hiyori’s self-esteem here, then her negative aspects might improve someday too.
Anyway, another dropout occurred in the 1000m shooting, and as a result, only Haruna and Makoto from Gehenna remained.
Starting from this point, the distances would increase in increments of 50m instead of 100m, which was to increase differentiation, but given that 5 people remained at this point, it seems like it wouldn’t have been an issue if they just continued with 100m increments.
From this point onward, even the shooters who successfully sniped in the 1st round began to proceed to the 2nd and 3rd rounds. It seemed that the unpredictable sea winds played a significant role here.
Yet, the remaining participants attempted the 3rd round, managing to avoid failure while continuing through to the 1200m segment.
And with the 1200m mark, the first upset occurred.
[Hanekawa Hasumi, 1200m 3rd round.]
Hasumi, who I had viewed as a strong contender, was the first to taste defeat among the competitors.
Unlike others, Hasumi, who had practiced successfully up to 1500m, falling out here was a major setback for me.
Did Hasumi feel regret over this result? She blankly gazed through the scope with an ‘oops’ expression before returning to the waiting area.
Honestly, it would be a lie to say I wasn’t disappointed. However, I believe Hasumi was more disappointed at failing to showcase her own abilities.
So, out of sympathy, I thought I’d treat her to some desserts later and quickly shot off a message on Momotalk.
[Don’t be too down, Hasumi-chan! Let’s go dessert cafe hopping later☆]
Not long after, Hasumi checked my message and seemed to search among the audience for me, turning her head left and right. Then, upon spotting me, Hasumi placed her hand over her chest and nodded her head.
It’s unclear what exactly her bowing meant, but I waved subtly in response.
Makoto was the next to drop out after Hasumi. Honestly, when Makoto’s elimination was confirmed, I was almost ready to give a standing ovation out of joy. There’s a reason Iroha claimed it was just desserts when she saw Makoto face-planting into the water during the wakeboarding event.
[Nakano Chiyo, 1400m 1st round.]
…Huh?
Now that I think about it…
Looking at the line-up of the final three remaining competitors, I was shocked to see a student from our Pater Faction. What kind of miracle is this?!
As expected, Hiyori also managed to hold her ground until the end, so apart from Hasumi dropping out, we were just a step away from the best result.
The problem arises if Haruna were to claim victory…
Honestly, while I hope Hiyori wins the gold medal more, I don’t believe I’d get too upset if Haruna were to win it.
…Not that I genuinely wish Haruna wins; I just mean I could at least congratulate her should that happen.
Anyway, the win should be Hiyori’s. If not, then it should be fine for Chiyo, who made it this far, to take it.
Just as whoever it may be, please grant me that gold medal…!
In all the times I saw the Olympics, Winter Olympics, and Asian Games while on Earth, I have never wanted a gold medal this badly.
Yet here I am, yearning for it. Desperate enough that I could say I desire it.
[Nakano Chiyo, 1400m 3rd round.]
But reality is indeed cruel, and in my blinded pursuit of gold, the first bronze medal fell into my hands.
As if knowing where I was from the start, Chiyo looked at me and bowed her head deeply. Even though she achieved the success of winning a medal, it was heart-wrenching to see her like that, seemingly sorry for me; it’s clear that she’s one of those who idolizes me frantically within Pater.
“Heueng… Mika-san’s wishes have indeed come true.”
“Eh?”
“It was said that you would be satisfied with just one medal from the Pater faction, right? Well, there’s that child over there, who happens to belong to the Pater faction too, so it seems your wish is granted.”
“Huh, Nagisa-chan? No way, do you really remember the faces of our kids? That’s pretty impressive.”
“…There’s no way I would. I just remember this child because… uh, she was the one I struggled to manage when you got into trouble before, Mika-san.”
Ah. It’s not me but rather Mika who caused her trouble, huh.
Seeing that she still supports Mika so fervently from then till now warms my heart for some reason.
Thinking there might be more kids like her makes me feel the urge to treat the kids in Pater a bit better from now on.
“Wah… Waaah…”
“…Huh? Why is Noa-chan suddenly like that?”
“Both of you, my kids… Wah… what an exciting thing to say. Now Haruna-san has to step up a lot more…”
“Woooah?”
Noa’s bombshell leaves my mind blank.
Using the term ‘my kids’ and ‘we’ without thought ties my relationship with Nagisa into a very significant matter.
“Th- That… Uh-huh…!”
Noa, with her pure face, peeks at me while flustering even Nagisa into stumbling over her words. Just seeing that gives rise to my unnecessary pride wanting to avoid looking bad to someone.
“Hahaha, Noa-chan, you’re funny. While our Nagisa-chan usually hits it off well with just us, she feels a bit awkward being mentioned so straightforwardly. Sure, Nagisa-chan can turn into a beast when prompted, but… she hasn’t borrowed any tech from Millennium yet.”
“…Huh?”
Both Noa and Nagisa asked me at the same time. Nagisa’s mouth drops open before closing tightly, and seeing her shut her eyes tightly, it’s clear she’s not naive at all. Especially after trying to do that sticky, possessive thing to me…
“Wah… W- What, Mika-san…? That technique is exclusively for graduates, you know?”
“Huh? What technique? Noa-chan, what in the world are you talking about? There’ve never been restrictions on the treatment for correcting bad sleeping habits. Anyway, I’m merely telling you that the last time we slept together, Nagisa-chan tormented me like a beast while being half asleep, giving me a sleepless night.”
“That never happened! And when we last slept together… Wait a second. Saying it like this makes it sound like we committed something immoral, right? Did you mean this on purpose?”
“Hahahaha! You know, Noa-chan, that face Nagisa-chan is making is super adorable, right?! This is why I’m head over heels for Nagisa-chan. Seriously, something so charming is absolutely unfair…!”
“…Hehe. True. Her expression is somewhat reminiscent of Yuuka-chan, so I get what you mean, Mika-san.”
In the brief moments of laughing and chatting, the competition continued.
Everyone’s eyes sparkled watching the two people continuously succeed in sniping through the 2nd and 3rd rounds, quietly stacking records of 50m.
Their effective range exceeded that of large caliber sniper rifles. At this point, the difference between the firearms lost much significance, and it could be said that Hiyori was gradually placed at a disadvantage.
…Hmm, if we plan to hold this tournament next year, we might need to tweak the rules regarding firearms a little more.
The turning point came just before reaching 2000m, at 1950m. Surprisingly, unlike Haruna, who had succeeded in the 1st round, Hiyori was struggling.
At this point, Haruna’s skills felt downright monstrous.
Isn’t she just a monster? Such insane talent. To pierce through the sea winds and succeed at that… it’s simply hard to comprehend. Hiyori certainly worked hard, but there was an aura around Haruna that seemed impossible to approach.
[Tsuchinaga Hiyori, 1950m 3rd round.]
Drenched in sweat, Hiyori gazed through the scope, and after deep contemplation, she pulled the trigger at the angled position she had set—but the bullet struck the drone above the target instead of the target itself, indicating the end of Hiyori’s challenge.
Additionally, to prove that this victory wasn’t a close call, Haruna succeeded in her 2000m shot once her victory was confirmed, truly claiming a complete win.
Oh no. How can you just put our Hiyori down like this, you dirty talent-charged monster…!
