Chapter 9
A Kind Older Brother Appears
For half an hour straight, Jonah spent all the allowance Eri had given him for the month before reluctantly stopping his aiming posture.
In the half-hour shooting session, Jonah had to admit that he lost to the strange man beside him in terms of accuracy, but Jonah claimed that his shooting speed was much faster! If he had used his best rifle instead of this air rifle, he would have achieved better results.
Seeing that the two had finally stopped shooting, the shop owner couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Heaven knows how he managed to persevere for the past half hour. In all his years of running his stall, he had never had his hands sore from hanging up balloons.
"you're good."
Seeing Jonah put down his gun and prepare to leave, Cohen, who was on vacation and had come over because he noticed Jonah's professional shooting posture, took the initiative to call out to the boy who had caught his attention.
"The same to you."
Jonah stopped and looked up at the tall Cohen, having no intention of interacting with him.
In the shooting competition just now, Jonah can confirm that Cohen is someone who has definitely undergone professional shooting training, and is very likely a sniper, because only snipers can appear so calm and indifferent when they are holding a gun, as if their entire aura has disappeared.
Jonah disliked snipers because, back on the battlefield, assault troops like him were the easiest targets for hidden snipers.
"I'm going to a place where we can have simulated live-fire shooting competitions with more realistic firearms. I'm missing a teammate. Do you want to come with me?"
"I have no money left."
"It's my treat."
"What kind of guns do they have?"
"Various kinds."
"good!"
After the two hit it off immediately, Cohen took Jonah by taxi to a professional wargame (survival game) venue. After buying tickets for both of them, he led Jonah into the weapon selection room.
Looking at the room full of guns, even though he knew they were all paintball simulators, Jonah, who hadn't touched a gun in a long time, was still very excited.
Without much hesitation, Jonah chose an automatic rifle that he was good at using, changed his equipment, put on a mask, and was then led to the competition venue by Cohen.
The people waiting in the arena were obviously friends of Cohen. When they saw that Cohen's teammate today was Jonah, a kid who looked no more than ten years old, they were not laughing at him, but they were still very happy.
Nobody took Jonah seriously, and they even decided to treat this as just playing with a kid and let Jonah have some fun.
Then, the other 5 groups, a total of 10 people, engaged in a long-awaited gunfight, and Jonah, in a state of excitement, was completely overwhelmed.
Although mountain warfare wasn't Jonah's forte, he was no stranger to urban warfare battlefields resembling abandoned building complexes. His small and agile body moved quickly through various obstacles, always accurately seizing shooting opportunities and moments, eliminating many before they even noticed him.
The first game ended in just 20 minutes. Although everyone was surprised, they all said that they had just been careless. They all shouted that they should take it seriously and show Jonah how good they, as senior players, were.
25 minute later.
"I think we still have a chance! We're just a little short!"
30 minute later.
"Aaaaaaah! I aimed right at him, how did he dodge?!"
35 minute later.
"Oshima (Cohen's pseudonym), even if you're really that good, do you think you can take on ten of us by yourself?!"
Twenty-five minutes later, looking at the dejected players who seemed to have their pride shattered, Jonah blinked and looked blankly at Cohen beside him.
"Did I do something wrong?"
"No, it's them, they're too weak."
"Damn it! Yuto Oshima, you bastard, you won the match and you're still mocking us, huh?!"
Seeing the scene erupt in noise again, Jonah felt relieved to know that these people weren't really angry.
Although Jonah agreed with Cohen's words, they were indeed somewhat weak and would have no chance of surviving a gunfight.
"Jonah, you've got to come visit sometime! We'll team up and teach the rest of them a lesson!"
Seeing that it was time to go home for dinner, Jonah took the initiative to suggest leaving.
"Thank you for showing me around today, Mr. Oshima."
"It's okay, I had a lot of fun too."
His face, hidden behind sunglasses, showed no change. Cohen looked at the kid who had surprised him again in the afternoon's wargame and couldn't help but ask a question out of curiosity.
"Jonah, who are you?"
"And who is Mr. Oshima?"
Without directly answering Cohen's question, Jonah looked up and stared intently at Cohen. It wasn't just Cohen who was observing Jonah that afternoon; Jonah hadn't given up observing Cohen either.
Therefore, Jonah can conclude that Cohen is definitely not a police officer and must have killed someone himself, which is why he carried a hint of murderous intent when he shot.
Seeing Cohen stumped by his question, Jonah tilted his head and said as if he hadn't asked that question at all, "I used to be a boy soldier."
Cohen's eyes widened slightly behind his sunglasses. He hadn't expected Jonah to be someone he'd only heard of, and he certainly hadn't expected Jonah to actually tell him such a thing.
After a moment of silence, Cohen seemed unable to accept Jonah's honesty towards him, and spoke with a frustrated tone.
"I am an assassin."
"oh."
"..." Cohen blinked, looking at Jonah who had only said "oh" and then remained silent, feeling somewhat confused.
"Don't you have any other questions?"
"May I ask again, Mr. Oshima, do you know where I can buy a handgun?"
"I know, but I won't buy it for you. It's too dangerous for you to keep the gun."
"oh."
"..."
Looking at Jonah, who had fallen silent again after a disagreement, Cohen hesitated for a long time. He didn't know why he cared so much about a child he had just met today, but looking at Jonah's indifferent face, he always wanted to meddle in other people's business.
"What do you need a gun for?"
"It's too dangerous here. I need a way to protect myself."
The explanation was so reasonable that Cohen couldn't think of any rebuttal. After all, Cohen knew all too well how dangerous this city was.
"I'll buy you a gun. What model do you prefer?"
"Anything is fine. Ideally, you'd also need a portable rifle or submachine gun, a dagger for close combat, body armor, grenades, and smoke grenades would also be helpful."
"...Are you sure this is a means of self-defense?"