Chapter 35

"Then, what brings you here today?"

Zeistoll asked me with a pleasant smile.

"I... I thought I'd take care of my shooting training obligation..."

I just needed to get my business done and leave this place as soon as possible.

Otherwise, it could be a matter of life and death.

"I understand. I'll bring you the necessary documents."

Upon hearing my request, 'he' headed towards the entrance to the counter, still smiling.

Suddenly, the handsome guy who had been standing in front of the counter entrance grabbed 'his' arm,

"Hey, you don't need to deal with someone like him. Why don't you ditch work and go out with me somewhere?"

He made a rather aggressive move to hit on 'him.'

'He' gently shook off the hand,

"I'm sorry, but you're hindering my work. I thought you were here to make a request, but all you've done is spout nonsense. If you have no intention of making a request, please leave."

He glared at the guy as if he were looking at trash.

The guy responded,

"What? I was being nice to you, thinking of making you my woman!"

He threw a poorly reasoned argument at 'him.'

"I don't need your kindness. More importantly, Mr. Castel Sagotz,

You have failed or abandoned requests seven times in a row.

None of these were due to unforeseen circumstances that would have been considered force majeure.

If this continues, you will be demoted from the rank of castle soldier to regular soldier."

'He' said this without hesitation.

"Huh? What's that? I never heard anything about a demotion! This is ridiculous!"

"It's clearly stated in the guild's regulations. Moreover, it's common sense that if you keep failing your jobs, your evaluation will naturally decrease."

"Then you should be the ones to help or cover for me! I'm a noble, you know!"

"By the way, if I report your current behavior, your demotion is guaranteed."

It seemed this was news to the handsome Sagotz, who pressed closer to 'him,' but 'he' remained calm.

Sagotz, angered by 'his' attitude, said,

"Don't get smart with me, you brat!"

He raised his fist to strike 'him' without thinking.

However, 'he' dodged the punch, grabbed Sagotz's arm, and executed a perfect back throw, slamming him to the ground.

Wasn't that called a 'throwing strike'?

Then, to the groaning Sagotz on the floor,

"And as I've said many times, I am a man!"

'He' declared.

They say a beautiful person can be terrifying when angry, and it was true.

'He' then entered the counter, retrieved the documents from the desk, and came out to hand them to me.

"Please fill out the necessary information and submit it to me. After I process it, I'll return the documents to you, and you can take them to the reception at the underground shooting range."

'He' smiled pleasantly and returned to the counter,

"Next, please."

And he resumed his work with a smile.

The underground shooting range is equipped for shooting and sniping training up to a maximum distance of 100 meters, and can accommodate about 50 people at once, but it was sparsely used.

I'm not particularly good at shooting, though I'm okay with cannon fire on ships.

That's why I have the most common and affordable model, the Telerem Co. output-adjustable blaster P-11, also known as the 'Murbiera.'

First, I submitted the processed documents at the shooting range reception.

These documents are for receiving the shooting training obligation, and the training itself can be done at the reception.

Incidentally, these documents are made of plapaper and are filed and stored in a vault.

I wonder why they still use paper documents in this era, but apparently, it's because someone tried to hack and alter the data to avoid mandatory training, so they switched to this method.

Paper can't be hacked, apparently.

Job request documents are also printed on plapaper, filed, and stored in a vault.

After the procedures were completed, I went to the designated box, inspected my gun, prepared additional magazines, put on earplugs, and started the shooting training by voice input on the console.

A target appeared about 25 meters away.

I aimed and took aim at it.

The training content is to score as many points as possible out of 10,000 with 100 shots.

There's no penalty for a low score, and there's no time limit, so it's quite relaxed.

I know my skills well, so I took the shots casually.

After firing 30 shots and changing the magazine, a light suddenly turned on.

Since earplugs block out surrounding sounds, the rule and etiquette are to turn on the light when someone wants to talk.

So, I took out my earplugs,

"Hey! What's the matter? You're just hitting the target. You must be a pretty bad mercenary with such poor shooting skills, ugly guy!"

I was suddenly bombarded with insults.

The source of the voice was Hero-kun, Yuriy Prilera.

His comment was typical of the condescending and taunting guys in coming-of-age stories or sports dramas.

Clearly, he was trying to provoke a fight by taunting someone he believed to be weaker than himself, so he could show his "real strength."

So,

"I'm in the middle of my mandatory shooting training, so please don't disturb me."

I cut off the conversation and ignored him.

But he didn't give up.

"I'm far more skilled than you! I'll show you that and challenge you to a match!"

I replied,

"I don't really care, so I won't."

Of course, he didn't back down that easily.

"Hmph! Are you afraid of losing? That's only natural! You coward!"

Hero-kun has been feeling uncomfortable due to his sister and the comments from other mercenaries.

He's apparently trying to shake off these feelings, but it's not going well.

This has made him quite agitated, I've heard.

It's become quite a troublesome situation.

However, I have no intention of engaging with him,

"Sure, sure. I am a coward. You win, okay?"

I said, brushing off his words, and picked up my earplugs to resume the required 100 shots.

"Are you a mercenary with no pride? I'm stronger than you! I'm telling you I'll prove it!"

He seemed even more agitated and continued to taunt me and challenge me.

His obsession with winning and losing is probably because he wants to shake off his current situation.

But I wish he would stop using such troublesome methods.

"You know, just because you beat someone stronger than you in a match, it doesn't mean you get their rank, right?

Even if there were such a system, why would you challenge someone you think is weaker than you?

If you really think you're stronger than me, why don't you challenge someone better than me?

Why not challenge someone like Alberto Sircleud, the 'Black Demon' of the king rank?

What you're doing now is the action of a coward who can only challenge someone weaker than himself, isn't it?"

I said this to get back at him for everything he's done.

I thought he might snap and attack me, but he turned red, glared at me, and stormed out of the shooting range.

It seems he still had some sense of shame.

Maybe it was because I was holding a gun.

I put my earplugs back on and resumed my training.

In sports manga, I think it's unqualified when someone who's clearly trying to assert dominance, like an Olympic hopeful, comes around.

I look forward to your comments, opinions, and any corrections.