Chapter 61 : Look over there
Eiden stood motionless, the air still as the toy rifle rested in his grip. His expression remained unreadable stoic and composed while beside him, Lyra blinked in confusion, glancing between Eiden and the stall owner.
She tilted her head slightly. "What just happened?" she asked softly, unsure if she had missed something important. Before Eiden could answer, the stall owner suddenly clapped his hands together and boomed with excitement, "Congratulations! You’ve hit the hardest target and won the unknown reward! You’re only the third person to ever strike the smallest target among the seven!"
Lyra’s eyes widened. Smallest target? She turned quickly toward the shooting range. Her gaze scanned the targets, but she could barely make out anything particularly tiny. Then she squinted and squinted again, leaning forward slightly. Hidden deep in the corner, behind a fake tree branch, was a nearly invisible dot barely the size of a pea.
"That... was the target?" she whispered in disbelief.
The thing was so minuscule, she wouldn’t have been surprised if the bullet itself was bigger. Even spotting it now felt like finding a speck of dust on a cloudy window. Then, turning to Eiden, her confusion turned into open admiration. She smiled brightly, eyes twinkling, and clapped her hands lightly. "Wow, Eiden! You’re amazing!"
He maintained his poker face, expression firm as he turned to the owner. "What’s the reward?" he asked, tone calm and casual, like this outcome had been entirely expected. But inside, Eiden was on the verge of a mental breakdown. What just happened? Did I seriously hit something? I thought since Lyra was barely missing the large ones, I could at least hit one of those. But to think I actually missed it by a whole arm’s length... and then somehow hit the smallest one instead? What kind of luck is that? Thank god I didn’t offer to teach her how to shoot... that would’ve been insanely embarrassing.
RNG God had blessed me . The stall owner disappeared into the back and soon returned, hugging a large object in his arms. It was massive, almost as tall as a person. At first glance, Eiden’s eyes widened with surprise.
"Wait what the hell did he just bring a real panda!?" he almost exclaimed, but stopped himself when he realized it wasn’t moving.
Upon closer inspection, it was a life-sized panda doll. And not the cartoony kind either. This thing looked real. The fur pattern, the texture, the solemn eyes it was so lifelike that it could easily fool someone if placed inside a zoo cage.
Eiden and Lyra both sized it up in awe. It was unlike anything he’d ever seen at a carnival booth. This isn’t your average plushie, Eiden thought. It’s too realistic. Girls probably wouldn’t like it since it’s not the cute, chibi type. But