089. Sports Day (2)
089. Sports Day (2)
I gathered everyone and informed them of our participation in the All-Army Sports Festival.
After that, each person began their own practice.
Of course, as always in Krädel, the reactions and levels of enthusiasm for the news varied from member to member.
First, Laika enthusiastically went along with it, as she did with just about anything involving me.
It seemed she was quite fond of the swimming event as well. After all, she was a girl who raised fish.
And to add another reason, we could also enjoy playing in the water together under the pretense of swimming practice.
Or perhaps she was enjoying 'using water play as an excuse to act spoiled with her Commander.'
—Commander, you can't let go, okay...? Laika isn't used to swimming yet, so she might fall in and drown...? You have to hold onto Laika tightly, okay...?
For the record, her claim that she might drown was the mother of all exaggerations.
As expected, she was an incredibly good swimmer, and from the first day, she clocked 100 meters of breaststroke in 24 seconds.
However, whenever I watched, she pretended she couldn't swim... I planned to just pretend I didn't notice.
Because she was cute.
Unlike Laika, Eve seemed reluctant to participate.
Ah, actually, she seemed to want to go see the All-Army Sports Festival itself.
Having started life as a brain in a vat trapped inside a computer, she spent her time observing what the world was like. The moment work ended, she would go out and wander around all over the place.
However, what Eve disapproved of was the event she was to participate in.
—Cheerleading? Is that not the work of coquettishly flaunting oneself before men! It is hardly a task befitting a precious jewel such as myself...!
Despite protesting like that, she learned the choreography quickly, and her movements were graceful.
That made sense. Her body was designed for hospitality.
When it came to pleasing men with her body, she could hardly help being good at it.
On top of that, she herself gradually seemed to be enjoying it. It was probably because she was set up to release happy hormones well when dancing. Poor thing...
Anyway, moving on, in Rinne's case, she disliked it but also liked it.
What I mean is that Rinne herself, true to form, initially complained that outdoor events were a nuisance.
On the other hand, Rinne's other personality—Yeonhwa—was a slightly different story.
—A sports meet? Yutnori? Si-hu is doing it too? I want to try. Let me join. Actually, I'm joining. Decided. Yeah.
In the end, after a bit of negotiation, it was decided that she would participate in the All-Army Sports Festival as Yeonhwa.
Next, in Alicia's case, it was her usual attitude of 'I'll do what needs to be done.'
For reference, Sumire was decided to remain guarding the base. After all, we couldn't take a deserter to an official event.
Regarding that, as her Commander, I did everything I could for Sumire, who seemed depressed as if she were left out alone.
Such as increasing the number of walks.
Or, if there was an experiment she'd wanted to try, granting permission for it.
—Uh, well then... I-if it wouldn't be an imposition... M-may I scan Commander's muscle structure and make a mold...? Ehehe...
I decided not to ask what she planned to use it for.
Anyway.
Although each person's level of motivation varied widely, their actual skill levels were all excellent.
I firmly believed that if we practiced for the remaining week, we would certainly achieve good results in every event.
So, if we did well, wouldn't we be able to win even if we scored the lowest in the final event?
Even with a zero in one event, if everyone got perfect scores in the other events, the average would be about 80 points. By last year's standards, that would barely make the cut for the grand prize.
Yeah. That was probably the way to go—
"What do you mean, good."
Alicia interjected.
"Any objections to your Commander's judgment, Alicia?"
"I'm asking what you plan to do about completely giving up on one event out of the five categories."
"Let me be precise. I didn't give up. I was given up on."
By the God of Marksmanship.
The god of marksmanship had cast me aside, declaring, “Han Si-hu is no child of mine.”
To that extent, I was incapable at shooting.
It wasn't that Alicia was unaware of that fact.
There was no way she wouldn't know. She saw my disastrous shooting skills during the Cradle of Silence operation last time.
In case you forgot, from only ten meters away I fired six shots and landed two.
And even then, one of those was an unintended glancing hit... so the practical hit rate should be considered about one in six.
"Why are you so bad at shooting?"
"...That's what I want to know."
Why was I so bad at shooting?
I didn't really know that part.
Perhaps that was the core of the issue.
If I knew the reason why I was bad, I would have fixed it somehow.
Since I didn't know where or how it was going wrong from the beginning, there was no improvement.
"Have you ever properly learned to shoot?"
"Of course I did."
I learned at the Academy, no less.
For reference, at the Academy, shooting is classified as a required subject, not an elective.
That meant they taught it thoroughly.
There was no other choice.
Because a Commander's only means of countering a subordinate biodroid's fragging was 'shooting' using phase rupture bullets.
Moreover, a Commander's marksmanship wasn't completely useless in combat situations either.
Of course, firearms were useless for directly attacking Legions. But they were still effective for other purposes—clearing terrain and obstacles, for example, or fighting other humans.
And besides, the gun held deep symbolic meaning for a soldier.
The idea that “a soldier who cannot shoot is no soldier at all” was still widespread.
Especially among the older generation (= the higher-ups) who remembered history from before the development of biodroids.
So I repeat, at the Academy, they taught shooting quite seriously and thoroughly.
As an Academy graduate, I had received top-level marksmanship training at the Allied Forces’ premier educational institution.
"And yet your hit rate at near point-blank range is barely ten percent. How is that even possible?"
"Alicia, a 10-meter distance is classified as close-quarters battle, not ultra-close-quarters. And one-sixth is 16.67 percent. Moreover, it was pistol shooting, not rifle."
"Don't you think you're being rather petty, nitpicking like that?"
...I did.
To me, unable to bring myself to say it out loud, Alicia let out a deep sigh and said,
"There's no helping it. I will teach you how to shoot."
I was flabbergasted.
"You'll teach me to shoot? You, to me?"
"Yes. I will personally teach Commander how to shoot. Is that unacceptable?"
"No, it's not unacceptable... it's just, somewhat humiliating, I should say."
A Commander learning marksmanship from one of his own soldiers—not even a biodroid from another unit.
Wasn't that like a teacher handing a student the switch and asking to be taught?
"If the teacher isn't up to par, then they must learn even from a student. What else can be done?"
...Well, I suppose that was true.
I was merely skeptical.
About whether Alicia could really improve my shooting skills.
If I was going to earn the title “pathetic Commander who asked a biodroid for lessons” anyway, I at least wanted to make sure my marksmanship actually improved.
I was afraid that I might end up losing face and making only sluggish progress in skill.
"Stop making a fuss and just do as you're told."
"Ah, yes."
"Keep your answers concise. Just say ‘Yes.’"
"...Yeees."
Alicia hesitated for a moment, debating whether to point it out again, before choosing to let it slide.
Afterward, Alicia and I set up a simple shooting range on the parade ground and conducted practice shooting.
Under All-Army Sports Festival rules, I had to fire 30 rounds from a bolt-action rifle at 100 meters.
Position: standing.
The test results printed shortly after... were more serious than I thought.
[100m Shooting Result - Attempt 1 -]
6/30
[100m Shooting Result - Attempt 2 -]
7/30
[100m Shooting Result - Attempt 3 -]
5/30
"Stop. I've seen enough."
Alicia stopped me as I was about to grip the gun again.
Then, with a sigh, her critique went something like this:
"I think the results might have been better if it had been an automatic rifle. Shooting wildly with your eyes closed in full-auto would probably land more hits."
"Alicia, the Commander is sincerely hurt right now."
"Go ahead and feel hurt. Maybe then you'll actually fix it."
"...But isn't something wrong with this rifle? Like the sight clicks are off?"
Alicia snatched my gun and fired.
Without much concentration, just firing off shots.
Soon, a score appeared on the main screen.
[100m Shooting Result - Attempt 4 -]
30/30
Yeah. You're amazing.
So, let's ask the amazing Alicia for advice.
"What do you think I need to fix and how?"
"First, you need to correct your posture."
Alicia began pointing things out as she handed the gun back.
How to stand with your legs. How to support with your arms.
For now, I tried doing as I was told.
[100m Shooting Result - Attempt 5 -]
4/30
"Your posture was wrong."
"No, I really did exactly what you said."
"If it had been correct, you could not have gotten results like these. And for the second time, I am telling you to answer with ‘Yes.’"
"...Yes."
[100m Shooting Result - Attempt 6 -]
3/30
"Didn't I tell you to raise your arms?"
"Yes."
"And why do you keep swaying your hips? It is because you are not bracing your lower body properly."
"Yes."
[100m Shooting Result - Attempt 7 -]
3/30
"This time, your shoulders were twisted. And your breathing is an issue too."
"Yes."
"Are you even listening to me properly?"
"Yes."
"You are not listening properly, are you?"
"...No?"
In this manner, we continued bickering as we pressed on with shooting practice.
But far from improving, the results were subtly worsening. Before, I'd hit about 6-7 shots, but now it was down to the 3-4 shot level.
From my perspective as the one actually firing, I didn't feel like I was getting better either.
If anything, I felt more unstable.
There was no other way it could be.
"Alicia, the shooting technique you're teaching me now is biodroid marksmanship, isn't it?"
"I am teaching you exactly as I learned and acquired it."
"So that technique is the biodroid method, in other words."
"...Is it different from human shooting techniques?"
It is.
It had to be.
Biodroids receive correction from phase energy, making their physical abilities unrealistically powerful.
Biodroids were also vastly better than humans at absorbing recoil, so their standard shooting technique largely ignored recoil management.
On the other hand, I, a human made of soft organic material down to my skin, needed a technique that suppressed recoil as much as possible.
"If you put it that way, I use an anti-Legion rifle with much stronger recoil, don't I?"
"Even considering that, the gap is huge. Our innate physical builds are totally different."
"That's an excuse."
Alicia said that and replied in a flat, cutting tone.
"Shooting isn't a sport where innate physique or talent is particularly important."
"That statement sounds incredibly condescending."
Wasn't Alicia born with a body designed to shoot well?
She had no sense of what shooting felt like for a human without phase-power correction.
Of course, that wasn't Alicia's fault.
She was literally just born that way.
Adding to that, Alicia probably hadn't received specialized education on the physical differences between humans and biodroids.
Ordinary soldiers learned that during preparatory training before being assigned to field units, but personnel posted to special units like Alicia were exempt from that course.
So that was why she just asked if biodroid shooting techniques differed from human ones.
Anyway, Alicia simply didn't know.
And this topic wasn't really an important issue for us anyway.
So, I was about to let it slide around here—
"Let me be clear. Once you learn the proper posture and breathing, anyone can hit 28 out of 30. Even a biodroid with far inferior specs—and even a weak human man like you, Commander—is no exception."
"...No."
"I, too, can shoot well like this even without phase power correction. As I said, I would have hit up to 28 shots."
"...That."
"So your problem is not your physique but your mindset, and not talent but effort. Fix your mindset. Work harder."
"...Grr."
Graaah!
I can't stand it! This arrogance!
I wanted to teach her a proper lesson too, albeit in a different sense from Rinne!
"Alicia, can you take responsibility for that statement you just made?"
"Pardon?"
"Your claim that, without phase power correction, you can easily hit 28 out of 30 shots. Can I test if that's true?"
I asked, irritated.
But Alicia shot back as if the question were too obvious to merit discussion.
"Yes. If you want, you may test it."
"So, if you fail to hit 28 shots?"
"As a penalty, I will grant whatever one thing you ask of me.
"Conversely, if I hit the target, you will train your marksmanship my way from now on, Commander. Without any more troublesome objections."
"Fine."
The bet was on.