First of all, the shooting range was a bit different from what Shirou had imagined. Instead of people holding firearms and shooting like in his memory, everyone here was using crossbows or bows.
"Still the same as always, it's just these antiques."
Croissant casually picked up a crossbow, gestured with it for a moment, then loaded a bolt and fired at the target.
Thud— the bolt struck the target, but only at the edge.
"Oh, not bad! I actually hit it!"
Looking at the target about fifty meters away with a bolt stuck in it, Croissant felt like she was off to a pretty good start.
The crossbows used here were standard models, with an effective range of about a hundred meters. Besides regular target shooting, there were also clay targets and moving targets, though those were usually for people who brought their own equipment.
"My turn, my turn!"
Exusiai grabbed the crossbow from Croissant, loaded a bolt, aimed, and fired.
The bolt landed squarely in the bullseye.
"Guess I'm still pretty good."
She said it casually, but the expression on her face gave her away completely.
Croissant, meanwhile, looked at her with a "here we go again" expression.
"Do they not use firearms here?"
Shirou glanced at the bows and crossbows provided by the range. They looked a bit old, but well-maintained, so their accuracy was still decent.
But there were no guns at all.
Shirou's understanding of guns was limited to knowing they were basically a type of weapon, beyond that, he did not know much. So he curiously asked Sora, who was sitting nearby.
"You probably do not know this Shirou, guns are basically monopolized by Laterano. The manufacturing process is complicated, and the etched bullets are expensive, so ordinary people do not really consider using firearms."
Sora patiently gave him a simple explanation, and Shirou finally understood why bows and crossbows seemed more popular here.
It made sense. Firearms were, in essence, a kind of arts unit and that alone filtered out a lot of people. On top of that, with Originium Arts, bows and crossbows could be extremely powerful, and they were much cheaper to train with.
"I see. No wonder most people we saw on the way here were using crossbows."
Before Shirou could think further, Croissant grabbed him.
"Alright, alright, it is your turn Shirou!"
It seemed Croissant had been struck by Exusiai's performance. The other two here were also better than her with a crossbow, so she set her sights directly on Shirou.
Time for Penguin Logistics' worst shooter to change—haha!
"Shirou, do you know how to use it?"
Exusiai handed the crossbow to him.
"Let me see."
The moment Shirou took it, he roughly understood how it worked.
"Probably like this… and then this… right?"
He drew the string, loaded the bolt, and showed the prepared crossbow to Exusiai.
"You are pretty smooth, have you used one before?"
Watching his fluid movements, Exusiai suspected he had prior experience.
"No, I just watched others use it. It's my first time actually holding one."
Shirou answered honestly. He had simply observed others earlier.
It was not difficult, it just took some strength.
He raised the crossbow, copied the shooting posture he had seen, aimed, and fired.
"Ah."
The moment he released it, Shirou knew it would not hit. Since it was his first time, the recoil caused a slight deviation.
Just as he expected, the bolt grazed past the target.
"Heh, want me to teach you hand-in-hand? Just call me Big Sis Croissant~"
Croissant had been a bit nervous seeing his professional posture earlier, but now that he missed, she relaxed, it turns out he was just a beginner.
"Your form was good. Do you want to try again?"
Texas lightly kicked Croissant and then asked Shirou.
"Shirou, try again?"
Sora also helped by covering Croissant's mouth.
They had come here to help Shirou find a new hobby. If Croissant discouraged him and he gave up, that would be bad.
Besides, learning how to use a crossbow was useful at least for basic self-defense.
"Alright, I will try again."
At their request, Shirou loaded another bolt and aimed once more.
"Got it."
The moment he fired, he knew this shot would hit—and hit dead center.
Thud— the bolt embedded itself firmly in the bullseye.
"Whoa, Shirou, you have got talent!"
Exusiai praised him. When the others from Penguin Logistics first came, they could barely even hit the target. Shirou not only got the hang of it quickly but also hit the bullseye.
"Uh… Shirou… I… never mind."
Croissant pointed at him, stammered for a while, then gave up struggling and accepted her fate as the worst shooter in Penguin Logistics.
Even so, her shooting was not actually bad. At shorter distances or with better equipment, she could be more consistent but her main weapons were a hammer and shield, so crossbows were just for fun.
Texas ranked just below Exusiai, she could consistently hit the target and get close to the center.
As for Sora, she relied on practice; she was even more stable than Croissant.
"Since you are warmed up, want to try a few more shots?"
Sora handed Shirou another bolt, urging him to continue.
"Huh? Are you and Texas not going to shoot?"
Shirou looked at them. After all, they came here to experience shooting, only letting him use everything alone did not seem right.
"It's fine. We are here for you to try it out. Sora and I are not that into it."
Texas leaned back in her chair, looking relaxed. They were mostly here to accompany Exusiai anyway.
"Yep, Texas is right."
Sora nodded in agreement.
"Alright then."
Seeing them settle comfortably without any intention of taking the crossbow back, Shirou continued.
What followed was Shirou landing bullseye after bullseye.
Croissant had completely given up and just cheered him on from the side, hoping he would be in a good mood later and cook something nice for her.
Exusiai, on the other hand, had her competitive spirit ignited and started a series of contests with Shirou.
Naturally, Shirou won in the end. If it were firearms, Exusiai might have the advantage but with bows and crossbows, where repetition was key, Shirou had no reason to lose.
After all, he used to be the ace of the archery club.