Cork Shooting.

Pop!! Pop!!

The sharp reports of cork guns echoed through the classroom.

The launched corks sailed forward… only to disappoint once again. No prizes toppled from the shelves.

They seemed to graze their targets, but that was as far as they got.

“Huh? That’s weird…”

“Oh, I was sure that one hit…”

“Ugh… just a graze, huh…”

They had already used up their third shots. The current scoreboard read: Nishikawa-san with one win, Sara-san and Natsumi-senpai with zero.

For me, this was an entirely unexpected turn of events.

Especially Sara-san—I’d had the impression that she was the genius type, the kind who could master anything the moment she was taught…

“Uwaaah, this is getting kinda bad…”

“Aiming for lighter prizes is smart, but the targets are so small it actually makes them harder to hit…”

“At this point we might as well go for something bigger… but still…”

Sara-san and Natsumi-senpai, who hadn’t claimed a single prize yet, were visibly starting to tense up with frustration.

But if the three of them were treating this as a real contest (even though no one had officially declared it), then butting in with unnecessary advice would only kill the mood.

I’d end up being the wet blanket.

The one thing I could say for certain was that this particular cork-shooting setup had a noticeably longer distance than the usual festival game. That alone raised the difficulty quite a bit.

Unlike the guys, Sara-san and the others couldn’t boldly lean far over the counter. And with these notoriously wobbly cork guns, hitting small prizes from that range was genuinely tough for anyone.

Longer distance also meant drastically reduced power.

“O-Okay! Next one, here we go!”

“Yes.”

“N-Next time for sure…”

Even if they felt that way, they couldn’t exactly complain when they’d been given this chance as a special service.

It was frustrating to watch, but all I could do was silently cheer them on…

Do your best, Sara-san!

***

“Eh… I lost… to Eririn…”

“Haah, that was fun!”

“Ugh… how careless of me… Not getting even one… How can I face Kazunari-san like this…”

In the end…

The disadvantages Sara-san and the others faced never improved. The game continued on half luck, half skill, until—

Nishikawa-san claimed two prizes, Natsumi-senpai one, and Sara-san… zero.

The result: an astonishing victory for Nishikawa-san.

Still—for the sake of Sara-san’s honor, I have to say this much.

Nishikawa-san was wearing casual pants rather than a skirt, and she was the tallest of the three to begin with. Those factors gave her an undeniable advantage from the start.

In fact, she was the one leaning the farthest over the counter.

As for Natsumi-senpai… it probably came down to pure luck.

“…Guoooh, I wanna jump in right now and win prizes for them instead…”

“…You really think they’d allow such a blatant cut-in?”

“…Tch, can’t move at all like this…”

“…Let go! I’m going!!”

“…No way in hell!!”

“…All right. Now it’s our turn.”

“Mufufu… my arms are itching~”

“I haven’t done this much before, though…”

The second group—Hanako-san and the others (except Toudou-san, who looked less enthusiastic)—stepped forward with high spirits as Sara-san’s team stepped back toward us.

And Sara-san…

The completely deflated look on her face hurt me more than I could bear. I wanted nothing more than to pull her into my arms right then and there and comfort her.

Why doesn’t God grant beginner’s luck in moments like this?

Seriously, read the room.

“Uuu… Kazunari-san, I’m so sorry. After you went to the trouble of teaching me so carefully…”

“No, the conditions were stacked against you this time. The distance from the counter to the prizes felt longer than usual, and since you’re a complete beginner, it’s only natural it would be tough right away…”

“Yes… that’s true, but… still…”

“It’s okay. Leave it to me.”

To ease even a little of the shock weighing Sara-san down,

I gave her my brightest, most reassuring smile, then gently wrapped both hands around her right one. I held it tenderly, gazing straight into her eyes so she could feel every bit of my sincerity.

For a split second she looked startled… but then her expression softened beautifully.

“““Naaah!!???”””

“I’ll win enough for your share too, Sara-san. So… just leave it to me, okay?”

“Kazunari-san…”

Even knowing it didn’t suit me at all, I deliberately let a confident grin slip through as I smiled at her.

This wasn’t just me trying to look cool or anything shallow like that.

If I couldn’t put a smile back on Sara-san’s face right now, I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself. That was all there was to it.

And it seemed to work—her face bloomed into the happiest, most radiant smile I’d seen all day. She nodded over and over, trusting me completely.

“Yes… Yes! I leave everything to Kazunari-san♪”

“Got it—leave it to me!”

Honestly, I might have just raised the bar way too high for myself… but if I couldn’t live up to her expectations now, what kind of man would I be?

Besides, I wasn’t saying it without some actual confidence.

All right—time to get serious, me!

“…W-Wait a sec! H-Hey, those two are acting way too suspicious, aren’t they!?”

“…N-No way… It can’t be… It can’t be!!”

“…B-But look—he’s holding Satsukawa-san’s hand…”

“…And Satsukawa-san looks super happy about it!?”

“…Wait… aren’t they calling each other by first names!?”

“Kazunari, big sis is gonna do her best, so watch me, okay?”

When she called my name I turned—and there was Hanako-san, cradling the gun in her right hand while striking an adorably proud pose. The way she puffed out her chest was heart-melting in its own right.

“Do your best, Hanako-san!”

“Yeah, I will!”

Considering how tough things had been for Sara-san, Hanako-san was clearly facing an even steeper handicap… but at the very least, I could send her my most heartfelt encouragement.

In response to my cheer, Hanako-san flashed a bright thumbs-up, then turned energetically toward the shelves to scout (or rather, hunt) for her target.

She was clearly fired up.

“…Did that little angel just say something?”

“…Didn’t she call herself ‘big sis’?”

“…Ehhh!? The vice-president has a little brother!?”

“…For real!? If I had an older sister like that, I wouldn’t even need a girlfriend…”

“Toudou-san, do your best!”

“Yeah! I’ll try my hardest!”

Meanwhile, the only one who had looked unsure—Toudou-san—received Hayato’s encouragement and cutely clenched both fists in a determined little pose.

That kind of gesture really gets to a guy… doesn’t it. Ahh, Hayato looks so happy.

“Hey, Yuuji… come to think of it, you didn’t cheer for me at all, did you?”

“No, I was trying to read the room…”

“Hmm… reading the room, huh?”

“S-Sorry…”

“Then, as punishment—you better win.”

“Ehh!? Wait, cork shooting is Kazunari’s strong—”

“Lose and you’re getting punished.”

“…Yes ma’am.”

Natsumi-senpai looked oddly delighted while Yuuji drooped in defeat.

Somehow their positions had completely flipped from earlier. They really were an endlessly entertaining couple to watch.

“Sniff sniff… I’m the only one without cheers…”

“Tachikawa-san, do your best!”

“Please do your best, Tachikawa-san!”

“Yes! I’ll give it everything!!”

The one fake-crying—Tachikawa-san—received warm encouragement from both Nishikawa-san and Sara-san.

Especially since Tachikawa-san seemed to admire Sara-san quite a bit, she looked genuinely thrilled.

“Five shots each. Good luck~”

The receptionist senior delivered yet another oddly familiar line, and once again small plates of corks were distributed.

Now… how would Hanako-san and the others fare?

“Marina I get, but how’s Hanako-san at cork shooting?”

“Fufu… Having once studied the art on y○utub○, I have no blind spots.”

“No, that’s not what I— Ah, never mind, forget I said anything.”

Tachikawa-san suddenly realized something and made a startled face before quietly backing off.

I knew Hanako-san had spent a fair amount of time as something of a shut-in… so yeah, that tracks.

The three of them picked up their guns and immediately began preparing, but…

Hmm… just as I thought, the gun does look a little big for Hanako-san.

“Mu… this is unexpectedly tricky.”

Sure enough, Hanako-san seemed to feel the difficulty too. She set the gun down on the counter before resuming her setup.

“…Damn… the little angel is insanely cute right now…”

“…I-Is this what they call moe…?”

“…N-No, I’m normal, I’m definitely not a lol—”

“All right, perfect.”

“I’m good over here too.”

“I’m ready as well.”

Just like Sara-san’s group earlier, the three confirmed with each other before raising their guns in unison… but as expected, Hanako-san’s shorter stature put her at a severe disadvantage.

She was leaning over the counter as far as she could, yet the distance was still too great. She was clearly fighting an uphill battle.

“Mugu… j-just a little more…”

“Hanako-san, stop. That’s far enough.”

“But… in this position I can’t put any strength into it—my arms won’t lift high enough.”

“I’ll support you there. Just hold the posture.”

“Okay.”

I moved behind Hanako-san as she practically threw her whole body forward while still gripping the gun.

I steadied her shoulders first to stabilize her, then gently lifted her arms to aim toward the prizes.

“Hanako-san, what are you aiming for?”

“The snowman.”

…Snowman?

Was there even one…? Oh—that one?

On the second shelf, at the very edge: a small white mascot. Yeah, that was definitely a snowman.

“You like it?”

“…Yeah. Someday… together… a dream.”

“…I see. Got it.”

I’m not so dense or tactless that I’d miss something like that… I hope.

With just those few words, I understood exactly what Hanako-san was trying to say.

“…Is that okay?”

“I’ve actually been thinking about something. I was planning to talk it over with everyone…”

To be precise, this wasn’t something just for Hanako-san. It was one of the candidates I’d been considering for our group winter trip plan.

In other words: winter means snow and hot springs.

I’d casually suggested skiing might be fun (despite having zero experience), and Sara-san had agreed it sounded good. We were just waiting for the right moment to propose it to the whole group.

If that got finalized, then Hanako-san’s wish could come true too.

“…Okay… promise.”

“Yeah. Look forward to it.”

Hearing my answer, Hanako-san’s face lit up in a soft, blooming smile.

One more reason to make sure this trip actually happens… I’ve got to put in the work.

By the way, the biggest reason of all is, of course… Sara-san and…

“Ready~?”

“I’m good.”

“Kazunari, please.”

“Got it!”

The golden rule of cork shooting: get the muzzle as close to the prize as possible. Ideally you’d bring it right up to the point where aiming almost doesn’t matter—but that wasn’t feasible here, so we’d have to make do.

“A little more to the right… up just a bit… stop right there.”

I adjusted according to Hanako-san’s instructions.

She was the one doing the actual aiming. I wasn’t going to interfere with that.

“Here I go~”

“““Ready—!!”””

Bang!! Bang!!

And with light, crisp bursts… the first shots flew.