Chapter 85

Me and Shuna were at the shooting range. Normally, the shooting range was around 100 yards, but it was being changed to a maximum of 1000 yards. It would be good for the shooting competition I wanted to hold. It won't take long to set up. We just need to make it longer and add some target and that is about it. As for the guns, it would be normal stuff, like handguns, rifles, and snipers. I've already had Kaijin and Kurobe make a lot of guns for the competition. Some are more old-fashioned and some are more modern. 

I was carrying one very big gun case on my back and was carrying a moderately sized one in my hand. What were they? Snipers of course. What else would it be? And these are my two favorite snipers. That doesn't mean these are the "best", it just means they are my favorite. Hint, one of them is American and the other is British.

I set both of them down and opened them. 

"Wow, that grey one is so big. It's almost as big as me."

"You're right about that Shuna. It weighs about 30 pounds. Normally, it would be taken apart in two pieces and then assembled, but it's fine this way, I can carry it as is."

"What about that dark green one?"

"That one is more 'standard' or 'normal', but not really. It's a very good sniper rifle. You'll see what I mean."

I picked up the 57-inch-long gray sniper rifle. No way was I shooting this while holding it like a normal gun. This would need to be mounted or I would need to be in a proper sniping position. I placed the sniper on a table with the bipod and did the same with the dark green one.

"Glad you asked, Shuna. This big one is a Barret .50 Cal and the other one is an Accuracy International Arctic Warfare, or just AWP for short. Anyway, you see that target over there?"

"Wow, that is far."

"Yup, it's 1000 yards away. I'm going to try to see if I can at least hit it, and then see if I can hit it dead center."

"Is this something from your world?"

"It sure is, Shuna. It's a competition called the Wimbledon Cup. There's a variety of different competitions, but the 1000-yard competition is the most well-known. And normally you would need to use a different rifle and ammunition, but those are boring, these two are much more fun. So, I'm going to throw the rules out the window, for now, because these two snipers will make things more easier."

After saying that, I reached into another case that had the ammo. Yup, it was .50 BMG. This thing was about 5 and a half inches long. That should say enough without having to go into a bunch of details. I'm only going to shoot one bullet just to get rid of the urge to shoot this thing. I took the bullet, put it in the magazine, and loaded it up. 

"You best cover your ears, Shuna, this is going to be loud. Very loud."

I looked over and Shuna covered her ears. Let's do this.

/\\//\\//\

Rimuru was going around the town making some last-minute adjustments for everything needed. People would start arriving tomorrow and then everyone else would start pouring in after. Right now was a sort of pre-party of sorts.

'Ok, the coliseum is done, a bunch of stalls and games are set up, a bunch of tourist locations and attractions are set up, a lot of events and shows. What am I missing?'

[You're most likely missing some input from Artoria on things she wants to do.]

'But she made that casino and bar. And not to mention her cathedral/museum, people are going to go crazy over that.'

[No, there's more, I would recommend talking to her. The things she wants to implement are not going to take too long. It can be done even with the time you have.]

'Like wh-' Rimuru was interrupted when he heard a sharp, distinct snapping or cracking-like sound. It wasn't overly loud, but it was very noticeable. 'What was that?' He looked around trying to find where the noise came from, but he couldn't place a location for the sound.

[That is what I was getting to. It came from the shooting range. It came from a sniper rifle. From analyzing it, there's an almost 100% chance that it came from a .50 caliber round.]

'Uh…is that, like, a lot?' Rimuru asked Raphael since he hardly knew anything about guns, let alone specific information such as what kind of bullet is what. 

['A lot' is a bad way to explain it. Just imagine a watermelon blowing up, that is a common example that is easy to comprehend.]

Once again, another sharp, distinct cracking-like noise was heard. 

'What is that one?'

[That is most likely a 7.62 NATO]

'So what do you mean when you said you were talking about this?'

[There's a very high chance that Artoria wants to hold a shooting competition of sorts.]

'Really? What makes you say that?'

[Ignoring the two sniper shots that occurred just now at the shooting range, it's kind of obvious.]

'I'll just go talk to her.' Rimuru decided to just talk to Artoria. What better way to than to talk to the source?

/\\//\\//\

"Well, I didn't hit the target in the center, but at least I hit it, which is more than what some people can say, but that felt awesome. What do you think, Shuna?"

"Uh, well, I don't think something that big is suited for me." (Get your mind out of the trash) Shuna was a bit unsure of what to think after seeing Artoria shoot the sniper rifles. She was right. The Barret .50 Cal was almost as tall as her if you put it upright, even after her slight increase in height after her evolution. Which is a measurement only Artoria would use. Anything except for the metric system.

Artoria raised an eyebrow and looked at Shuna with a certain look in her eyes after hearing what she said. "Funny you say that, Shuna. You know how I've been working on my magic? Well, there might be something else you might not be able to-" "Hey, Artoria!" Unfortunately, she was interrupted as Rimuru shouted.

Artoria sighed and got up from her shooting position. "Damn you, Rimuru." She muttered quietly to herself in a voice only she and Shuna could hear before greeting Rimuru. "Rimuru, what brings you here?"

"Are you preparing a shooting competition?" Rimuru got straight to the point.

"Yeah. Why do you think I had the shooting range extended to 1000 yards?"

"1000 yards?" Rimuru was a little confused, but Raphael came in. [About 0.9 kilometers]

Rimuru quickly thanked Raphael before answering Artoria "I thought you did it so you could use more guns."

"Well, that's not completely wrong, but it was mainly for a competition. I want to recreate the Wimbledon Cup."

"Wimbledon Cup? Isn't that a tennis thing?" Rimuru was confused. As far as he knew, Wimbledon was just a tennis competition in Europe. 

"Tennis? What do you mean, Rimuru? The Wimbledon Cup is a shooting comepetition not a tennis thing. I don't think anybody thinks of tennis when they hear 'Wimbledon Cup', Rimuru."

"No, I think people do." RImuru stayed focused on his thoughts, but before it could turn into an argument, Artoria changed the subject.

"Whatever, it doesn't matter. So, did you come all this way to see if I really was holding a shooting competition?" 

"Yeah, pretty much, but it is a bit weird don't you think? I mean, a knight or knights using guns? I don't think that is historically accurate." Rimuru was skeptical about it. It's not something you see people talk about. It seemed like something that would be in some kind of forced fusion of genres.

"I don't mean to sound like that kind of person, Rimuru, but actually, knights using guns is historically accurate. It's just that guns they used were…not that good, and guns were also one of the reasons knights kind of died out, so a lot of the assiciaion between knights and guns is that it was one of the reasons the time of knights ended."

"Really? It is? I didn't know." Rimuru had learned something new today. It also made him feel weirded out about the timeline of historical events and what kind of coincidences or weird connections there were.

"Yeah, makes sense, not a lot of people now about that part of history."

"So you're telling me there would be knights on horseback shooting guns or pistols?"

"Yeah, exactly, that's literally what happened. I don't know all the exact or specific details, but one example off the top of my head are the Polish Hussars. Anyway, we're getting really off topic, but yes, I'm holding a shooting competition and a few more things."

Now that Rimuru has gotten his answer, another concern came up. "Is that really a good idea? A lot of people are going to see the guns. And what if they try to steal them or try to steal their designs and stuff?"

"We don't have to worry about that. Souei is literally right there to stop all that stuff. And I've already said it, Rimuru, why would people use guns in an army with all the magic around? If, and I mean if, we had to use some kind of modern weaponry, it would be explosives. Stuff like artillery, missiles, and things like that."

"I guess, but maybe we should make some laws or rules for guns. What do you think? Do you have any thoughts or opinions on that?"

Artoria just stared at Rimuru upon hearing his question. She just stared at him with a probing expression. "Let me get this straight, Rimuru, you're asking me my thoughts and opinions about gun laws?"

"Yeah, you seem to know the most about all this stuff." For Rimuru, it made sense. Go to the person who not only knows about guns but also lives in a state known for guns, at least from his point of view. If she said something on the topic, then it should be right…right? She is the closest person they have to an expert or some kind of authority on this subject, after all.

"I see. " Artoria nodded as she was reminded that Rimuru was from Japan. And though she didn't know a lot about Japan's laws, she knew that gun laws there were very strict. "Alright, look. We can have this conversation later, but just to give you an idea of what kind of things you'll hear from me, in the United States, you can own a machine gun."

.

.

.

"WHAT!? How is that legal?!" Rimuru shouted in surprise and shock. He knew people could own handguns, but machine guns? That is news to him. Surely the laws there aren't that loose.

"The second amendment of the U.S. constitution says so, Rimuru. It's as simple as that." Arotoria shrugged her shoulders, speaking like it was the most natural thing to know.

"Look, I don't know about all that, but that seems like a bit of a stretch or some kind of loophole." 

"Mmmmm, it not some kind of loophole or anything. It's pretty clear what it says."

Rimuru wanted to say something, but he noticed Artoria suddenly look in a direction as if sensing something. He looked in the direction, but he noticed nothing. 

"What are you looking at?"

"Nothing. It's just that your little spirit queen friend is here. It seems a bit late for that, or maybe it's just early because of all the stuff that has happened"

"What do you mean by that?"

"Nothing. Anyway, let's go meet her. I want to see her reaction."

"Reaction to what?"

"You'll see."