I love time travel the most!

Kobayashi waved his hand dismissively.

However, seeing Youyou alone here, she still asked curiously, "What are you doing here?"

"That...tourist town?"

Why is it a rhetorical question?

Youyou tilted her head, looking uncertain.

Actually, she wasn't really asking what she was doing, but rather why she was the only one there. Given Yuu's personality, she should always be by Megumin's side, her "rival" but really her "best friend," or at the very least, she should have Aqua and Darkness with her.

And Youyou's answer was—

"Megumin is too weak to move because of the magic, Aqua is fast asleep in her room, and Darkness is preparing dinner, so..."

"So you came out alone?"

He wasn't blaming the others; after all, given their personalities, they should have guessed it long ago. Now it seemed that he hadn't considered things carefully.

"Speaking of which, I haven't really explored Axel properly yet..."

"Huh? What did you say?"

"Nothing said."

Kobayashi, who had stopped muttering to himself, shook his head and invited, "Yoyo, would you like me to show you around Axel during the time before dinner?"

Give a thumbs up to encourage the timid girl.

"C-can it?"

"Of course! So, are you going?"

"Go!"

The girl nodded deeply.

The two then began to wander aimlessly in Axel, without any goals or restrictions, moving around at will.

At first, Xiaolin thought that Youyou liked to eat, after all, she had a large food storage base, but Youyou did not show any desire for other foods along the way, so it seemed that it was not what Xiaolin thought.

Then he led her to another street.

Unlike the food street, the adjacent street is an entertainment street. It offers various games such as whack-a-mole, darts, and riddles. The street is frequented by young men and women, creating a vibrant, bubbly atmosphere.

I see. This street must be a popular dating spot for couples. I never expected to find a place like this in Axel.

Kobayashi seemed to be deep in thought.

As Kobayashi continued walking forward, lost in thought, he realized the girl beside him was gone just as he was about to leave the street. Turning around, he saw Youyou standing far away in front of a shooting game vendor.

The girl, pacing back and forth, dared not approach.

Her gaze fell on the prizes displayed in the store—or rather, a rag doll that looked somewhat like General Winter.

Want it? Then give it a try.

Kobayashi walked up to her, then picked up the bow and arrow in front of the vendor and handed it to Youyou.

The target shooting game here is different from what you might expect; the bows and arrows used are real, requiring considerable strength to draw. However, to avoid any danger, the vendors wrap the arrowheads in red cloth.

Most of the customers playing this shooting game are couples, with the man shooting and giving the prize to his girlfriend.

However, the two of them were not in a romantic relationship, and Youyou seemed eager to try it herself, so they decided to let her try first.

Unfortunately, perhaps because she wasn't very good at using a bow and arrow, Youyou couldn't hit the prize she wanted no matter how many times she tried. She paid money to try several more times but still failed. In the end, she returned the bow and arrow to the shopkeeper in embarrassment.

His large, red eyes showed obvious disappointment.

"Let me do it."

Kobayashi picked up the bow and arrow.

With expectant eyes, he stood with one foot in front of the other, drawing back the longbow with perfect form, a glint in his eyes, ready to shoot down the prize in the next second—

"Wait a moment, sir! I need to remind you that the use of special abilities is not allowed in this shop."

The vendor interrupted the spellcasting, pointing to a sign that read, "Archers and those with sniping skills are not permitted."

Ah this...

Xiao Lin was slightly embarrassed, but he quickly came up with a solution.

"As long as we don't use skills, it'll be fine, right?"

"It's permissible according to the rules..."

"That's no problem!"

His first weapon was a bow and arrow. Even without skills, it was perfectly fine. At a distance of less than ten meters, I hit it with one shot!

call out--

With a sharp whooshing sound, and amidst Kobayashi's confident smile, the arrow... missed its mark.

Eh hey hey???

How could this have fallen through?

As Kobayashi watched the arrows fly through the dolls, hit the barrier, and fall to the ground, his cheeks felt like they were on fire.

Being so confident one minute, only to be proven wrong the next, would be incredibly embarrassing for anyone.

Not daring to look at Youyou and the shopkeeper's expressions, the defiant Xiaolin drew his bow again, holding his breath and concentrating. This time, he used even more force and was even more focused than before.

call out--

The arrow missed its mark again.

The atmosphere suddenly became awkward as everyone looked at the arrows that had fallen below the barrier.

Slightly exasperated, Kobayashi picked up the arrows in front of him and began to draw his bow, releasing a barrage of arrows.

But the faster it is, the less accurate it becomes.

Forget about the Winter General samurai doll, not a single item was shot down.

Why is this happening?

Does not using skills make you useless? It's only been three months since I used a bow and arrow!

Kobayashi, kneeling on the ground, began to question the meaning of life.

"Here you go, little girl, take this."

"Thank you."

In the end, the stall owner still handed the Winter General doll to Youyou.

Don't get me wrong, it wasn't that Kobayashi regained his feel for the game or had incredible luck in hitting the doll. It was simply that the store had a rule that if you spent a certain amount of money and still didn't hit the doll, they would give you a free doll, which prevented Kobayashi from being too embarrassed.

No, that's already embarrassing enough!

Yu-Yu's cheeks flushed slightly. She hugged the doll to her chest and bowed deeply to Kobayashi, saying, "Um, thank you, thank you Mr. Kobayashi for helping me shoot... and get General Winter."

It used a lot of force, and both the doll and the chest were squeezed and deformed.

If Kazuma Sato were there, he would definitely have the unhealthy thought, "I wish I were the one being hugged."

...Well, actually he does too.

Driven by his pride, he turned his head away from the girl's eyes and said, "It's nothing. I just don't like General Dong. After all, the higher-ups owed a lot of debt because of him."

An excuse that isn't an excuse.

It's really embarrassing to try to argue like that.

Just as he was thinking this, Youyou smiled brightly and said sincerely, "No matter what, thank you."

What a good boy.

Not only did they know how to express gratitude, but they also promptly corrected themselves when they realized they had used the wrong words.

She really made me cry to death.

"Oh right, I almost forgot!"

Xiaolin slapped his forehead and took out a small box wrapped in a pink bow, handing it to Youyou.

"this is?"

"Gift."

He opened the box amidst the girl's puzzled expression, revealing an exquisite brooch inside, and explained to her, "I give everyone a gift when they join the team. It doesn't have any other meaning; it's just a team tradition, so Youyou can accept it without feeling guilty."

If it's not explained beforehand, a girl who is not good at speaking and doesn't know how to get along with others will definitely feel helpless and flustered when she sees the gift, but if it's explained clearly, she won't be frightened.

"Here you go, Youyou."

"...Thank you!"

The girl accepted the gift with trembling arms, hugging the doll tightly to her chest, and then bowed deeply again, her eyes gradually welling up with tears.

I guess it was out of emotion.

Xiaolin (others) would give her gifts, something she probably had never experienced before.

A different kind of atmosphere began to emerge.

Just then—

"Hey, have you heard? There seem to be some strange monsters appearing around this town lately. Apparently, they're not that strong, but..."

"Yes, yes, I've heard about it too! It's that weird-looking guy that sticks to anything that's moving and then explodes, right?"

The sound of conversation coming from behind caught Kobayashi's attention. Turning around, he saw two adventurers he didn't recognize discussing this topic.

Weird guy?

Although most of the monsters in this world are strange, they stick to anything that moves and self-destruct, and they are not particularly strong. All these phenomena seem to point to a certain person... or rather, a demon.

An image of a certain demon king's military officer flashed into my mind.

"Mr. Kobayashi." Youyou noticed that Kobayashi was lost in thought and couldn't help but ask softly, "What's wrong? Why are you suddenly spacing out?"

"No, it's nothing."

Xiao Lin waved his hand.