Chapter 304
'What if I hand this pistol to Erietta? Imagine her, always calm, having to focus and aim—she'd look adorable.
And who knows, maybe she'd actually be better… or if she misses, her annoyed face would be entertainment on its own.'
"Now it's your turn, Erietta. I'm curious about your skills.
Don't just mock me—prove that you're actually better!"
That reckless, half-failed burst of shots was clearly not the end of the game for Ilux.
However, his intention to continue was not driven by a desire to redeem his failure in the same way.
There was no blazing determination in his eyes to buy another round and prove his own ability.
Instead, a different thought spun through his mind, an idea he considered worth trying.
That idea was based on a simple observation of Erietta's reactions so far, and on a touch of youthful cunning that wanted to see the situation change.
After Erietta's mocking laughter subsided, and while the remaining six balloons still challenged them from the target board, Ilux began planning his next move.
With a sudden but deliberate motion, Ilux did not ask the stall attendant for another round.
Instead, he turned to face Erietta, who was still smiling as she held back her laughter.
The toy pistol, now empty of pellets, was still in his hand.
Then, with an almost serious demeanor, as if handing over an important mandate, Ilux extended his arm.
He passed the plastic pistol directly to Erietta.
The gesture was simple, yet carried deep meaning.
It was a shift of roles, a challenge thrown back in return.
After being a spectator and critic, it was now Erietta's turn to step into the arena.
"What? No way! You're the one who wanted to play this whole time, Ilux! Don't dump your problem on me!"
"Sorry, miss. The rules are one play per person only.
If you want to try again, you have to line up again from the back.
But especially for the two of you, since you already played earlier, let this one be her turn."
'Ha! No way out, Erietta. The little bribe I slipped earlier already made sure the attendant would follow the 'rules' I wanted.'
Erietta's reaction to the handover came quickly and decisively.
She refused.
Her earlier expression, full of laughter and mockery, instantly shifted into suspicion and mild anger.
To Erietta, Ilux's sudden act of handing over the failed weapon was not an interesting challenge, but a form of toying with her.
She felt she was being set up as the next joke, forced to clean up Ilux's mess or become the target of ridicule herself if she failed as well.
Her head shook, her body pulled back slightly, and her eyes fixed on Ilux with a glare that conveyed disapproval and a sense of betrayal by his sudden cunning.
However, before the small tension between the two teenagers could crystallize or grow into a brief argument, a third voice cut in.
The stall attendant, the woman who had been watching with her professional smile, suddenly spoke up.
Her voice sounded friendly, yet carried an undeniable finality.
She responded by stating a rule that seemed newly applied—or at least newly revealed.
Specifically for Erietta and Ilux, she said, they were only allowed to play once.
Her statement sounded like a rigid stall policy, a limitation that any customer would have to accept.
Yet the reality behind that statement was anything but rigid.
A quiet transaction had taken place earlier, completely unknown to Erietta.
Ilux, with the cunning he had planned, had bribed the stall attendant with extra money.
That money had been slipped in along with the payment for the first round, then reaffirmed through knowing glances and subtle gestures.
The purpose was clear: to buy the attendant's cooperation.
Thus, when Ilux handed the pistol to Erietta, the attendant was already ready to play her role.
The "one play only" rule she announced was not the truth, but a small performance directed by Ilux.
Without hesitation, she supported Ilux's proposal, pretending to enforce a rule she herself was breaking, in order to force Erietta to accept the challenge or end the game right there.
"Give it here! If that's all it takes, I can do it too!"
Dooor!
Dooor!!
Doooor!!!
"WAHAHAHA! That's all you got?! Erietta, that's even worse than mine earlier!"
Fhoooooh!
"Now you know how it feels. If you need guidance, I'm ready to be your shooting instructor—for free!"
The pressure from the stall attendant and the trapping situation finally triggered a decision within Erietta.
The irritation boiling in her chest could no longer be contained by silent refusal alone.
With a slightly tense expression—narrowed eyes and tightened lips—her hand moved quickly and decisively.
She did not accept it politely.
She snatched it.
She grabbed the toy pistol out of Ilux's hand, a movement that showed both frustration and reluctant acceptance of the forced challenge.
The plastic weapon that had fueled her annoyance now changed hands, and Erietta immediately shifted her full focus to the target board ahead.
What happened next surpassed Ilux's earlier recklessness.
If Ilux had fired quickly and without pattern, Erietta did so with even greater brutality.
Without aiming, without pausing, perhaps without even breathing, her finger slammed the trigger with panic and explosive anger.
Fifteen shots—or however many remained in the pistol's simple mechanism—were released in an almost simultaneous burst, as if she intended to empty both the gun and her frustration in a single instant.
The pop-pop-pop sounds merged into one short, violent explosion of noise, filling the air around the stall before sinking back into the carnival's clamor.
A faint wisp of smoke may have risen from the toy barrel, leaving a sudden silence after the storm of shots ended.
Unfortunately, that fury and brutal action produced no better results.
From the blind rain of pellets she unleashed, only three found their mark and burst balloons.
Three small pops that were nearly lost amid the earlier barrage.
The rest missed uselessly, striking wood or vanishing without effect.
A result even worse than Ilux's earlier half-failed performance.
The forced opportunity ended in a more decisive failure.
And in the silence that followed as the gunfire faded, another sound emerged.
Laughter.
Not a small or restrained laugh, but Ilux's wide, booming laughter.
He laughed at the chaos Erietta had created and the result so far from expectations.
Amid that crisp laughter, Ilux did not forget to slip in a sharp remark, suggesting that perhaps it was time for Erietta to learn the art of shooting from him—a statement that only further stirred Erietta's already boiling emotions.
"Honestly, Erietta, three hits out of fifteen… yeah, that clearly needs serious practice.
I got six out of twelve earlier—that's fifty percent. The math is easy."
Buuuuk!
"That's enough, Ilux! Keep talking, and don't blame me if there are consequences later!"
The scene at the balloon-shooting stall finally ended with a resolution that was not particularly satisfying for either side.
The agreed-upon rules, even though manipulated, still stood.
Because the total number of balloons popped by Ilux and Erietta combined reached nine—a number that perhaps met the minimum requirement for a prize—the stall attendant, with a thin smile, handed over a cotton candy.
However, it was not the luxurious cotton candy Erietta had originally dreamed of, but an ordinary one, simple in shape and wrapped in clear plastic, a small reward for a messy effort.
To be continued…