After observing for a while, Jessica's issues really were not that significant. Her fundamentals were about the same as those in the Lungman Guard Department, perhaps even more stable?
"Ah! Mr. Shirou, you are here?"
After finishing a round of target practice as instructed by Liskarm, Jessica finally noticed Shirou and Lappland.
That was only natural. She had been wearing ear protection while shooting, and she had been fully focused on the targets, so it made sense that she did not notice Shirou's arrival.
Shirou, of course, did not mind. He chose to get straight to the point.
"Your posture and focus just now were more than sufficient. If you can maintain that state, there is actually nothing much to criticize. However, your biggest issue, Jessica, is that you tend to get nervous in real combat, right?"
By repeatedly comparing Jessica's performance in earlier combat with her practice just now, Shirou identified the problem.
It is normal for people to feel nervous in real combat. That is part of the body's protective mechanism, meant to help a person avoid danger.
Some people can control this mechanism, while others cannot.
That is where the difference in combat talent lies.
Of course, there are also those who, even knowing they are walking into certain death, still choose to move forward.
"Mm… that is correct."
Jessica was well aware of this issue herself, but she had simply categorized it as her own cowardice.
She had joined Blacksteel precisely to change herself… yet after such a long time, nothing had really changed.
And although she had only met Shirou a few times, he had immediately pointed out her problem… Did that mean her performance today had been that bad?
"Do not start crying! Hey!"
Seeing Jessica's expression suddenly shift from serious to on the verge of tears, Shirou became flustered.
"Shirou, how can you bully someone like this? That is not acceptable!"
Seeing the scene, Lappland immediately took out her phone and started taking pictures.
Unlike the terminals provided by Rhodes Island, Lappland's phone could not do much here unless she had it modified by Rhodes Island's technical department.
But there was no real need. It was only a communication tool back in Lungmen, and there were alternatives here.
Besides, modification was not cheap, and Lappland had no intention of spending that kind of money on it.
Would it not be better to use that money to buy a few more packs of Pocky to lure Texas instead?
"…Be quiet."
Hearing Lappland's teasing, Shirou turned his head and said.
The situation was already messy enough. There was no need to make it worse.
In response to Shirou's verbal threat, Lappland traced a line across her lips with her thumb and index finger, signaling that she would keep quiet.
"I am sorry… it is true that I get nervous easily. I am just too timid…"
After hearing Shirou's words, Jessica patted her cheeks to compose herself and spoke.
"This is a normal phenomenon. You do not need to be too hard on yourself. The main issue is that when you get nervous, you seem to hold your breath, right?"
After offering some reassurance and confirming that Jessica had calmed down, Shirou got straight to the point.
"Eh… I am not really sure about that. Sorry…"
Thinking back on her behavior during combat, Jessica did not recall anything related to that.
She only remembered embarrassing herself due to nervousness.
"I think that might be the case."
Liskarm had some recollection of it. After all, she was Jessica's senior and instructor, so it was only natural she paid extra attention.
At the time, she had assumed it was simply because the intensity of combat was higher, which made Jessica breathe more heavily, so she had not thought much of it. But now that she reconsidered, it did not seem to be the case…
At the same time, she roughly understood what Shirou was getting at.
"When a person holds their breath, they can indeed focus more, but over time the brain becomes deprived of oxygen, which causes awareness to become dull. Shirou, are you planning to have Jessica adjust in this regard?"
Liskarm had done some research on this. When she used firearms before, she would habitually hold her breath to reduce body movement, which improved her accuracy.
But the drawback was exactly as she described. It worked in the short term, but over longer periods it caused problems.
Combat situations were usually not short; some even lasted days. So this habit was not ideal.
If Shirou had not brought it up, she probably would not have thought of it.
After all, in the middle of combat, there was not much attention left to focus on such details. And since Jessica controlled her breathing during training, the issue had gone unnoticed.
"Uh… just as Liskarm said, Jessica, your breathing tends to become irregular when you are nervous. That is not acceptable on the battlefield."
In truth, Shirou had not thought that far ahead. He was not particularly knowledgeable about human physiology, but since Liskarm had already explained it so thoroughly, there was no need for him to repeat it.
After all, what he said might not be as clear or complete as hers.
"I understand! I will pay more attention to it from now on. Is there anything else I can improve?"
Hearing both her senior and Shirou say this, Jessica took it to heart, planning to write it down later.
At the same time, she looked at Shirou with great enthusiasm.
He had only seen her in combat a few times, yet he had already picked up on such a detail. That alone proved his capability.
"Hmm… not for now. After all, I have only seen you fight Originium Slugs and you were so nervous that you kept hitting them even after they were already down."
Avoiding her eager gaze, Shirou replied.
The reason for avoiding it was simple, he was not good at handling situations like this.
He was not good at dealing with situations where others placed most of their hopes on him.
"That is already very impressive. In any case, Jessica, go ahead and do another round of target practice. Let Shirou observe again and try to simulate real combat conditions as much as possible."
After hearing Shirou's words, Liskarm's lips twitched slightly. Then she instructed Jessica to continue shooting so both of them could observe further.
The reason for bringing Shirou here was simple: they needed someone with a different perspective to help.
After all, everyone has their own ideas and theories when it comes to shooting.
Hers might not be the best, and the same could be said for Shirou.
But since he had managed to improve the overall shooting performance of the Lungman Guard Department sniper team, he was clearly more capable than her in this area.
In the end, what mattered on this land was strength. Without it, no amount of talk would matter.
"Okay."
Jessica nodded obediently and went to prepare her ammunition.
Shirou did not stop her. To achieve good shooting results, aside from talent, one had to rely on repeated practice to build muscle memory.
As for him, he relied on the memories gained through projection to compensate. The first time might feel unfamiliar, but by the second or third time, the body would remember.
The same principle applied to other things as well.
This was what people meant by "practice makes perfect."
"…Phew."
During the second round of shooting, Jessica seemed a bit nervous.
After all, three pairs of eyes were watching her. It was hard not to feel pressure.
But thinking about how Shirou and her senior Liskarm had taken time out of their evening to guide her, Jessica forced herself into a focused shooting state.
Bang, bang, bang, bang…
Once she entered the rhythm, Jessica shot steadily. Her firing speed was not fast, but it made up for it with precision and consistency.
If she wanted to fire rapidly like Exusiai… that was probably something only Sankta could do.
Firearms were essentially exclusive to the Sankta, and it was unclear how Blacksteel International had managed to acquire and deploy them.
In any case, that had nothing to do with Shirou. He was not from Laterano, nor did he use these so-called gun-staffs.
If he needed to, he could simply pull the trigger on something he projected himself.
While thinking about these odd things, Shirou corrected some of Jessica's minor issues during shooting—
Such as her line of sight and center of gravity.
Everything else had already been thoroughly taught by Liskarm, so there was little need for him to intervene.
"You really know your stuff. Shirou, you have never used firearms before?"
After watching for quite a while, Lappland began to get a little bored.
She did not understand firearms. Compared to guns, she preferred wielding her two greatswords and using Originium Arts for long-range attacks.
It was simple and rough, but she liked it that way.
Seeing how competent Shirou looked while teaching, she grew curious.
"I would not use them unless necessary. I have other methods that consume less energy. It depends on the situation."
After thinking for a moment, Shirou answered her.
He did not particularly resist using firearms anymore. Even before encountering Nameless's memories, he already had some knowledge, and afterward it had deepened significantly.
It was just that there were rarely situations where he needed them. The only time he had used one so far was to activate a Noble Phantasm.
At long range, they were not as effective as bows. At close range, he would rather charge in with dual blades.
Guns, in comparison, were somewhat awkward.
"Then… can you use your Originium Arts to create a firearm?"
After hearing his answer, Lappland realized something.
He said he had more energy-efficient methods and not that carrying a gun was inconvenient. That made things interesting.
If it were the latter, then with his ability to summon weapons at will, carrying a firearm would indeed be redundant. But if it were the former… did that mean he could project firearms?
If that were true, it would be quite terrifying. Firearms, when used skillfully, were even more troublesome than spells.
Hearing Lappland's speculation, both Liskarm and Jessica turned to look at Shirou.
At that moment, all the attention shifted onto him.
"I can… though strictly speaking, they are not exactly firearms."
Facing their curious gazes, Shirou assessed the situation and decided it was not a big deal to admit it.
Besides gunblades, he could also project more conventional firearms if necessary. Even grenades and landmines were possible though most of the time, there was no need to use them.
These memories came from the fourth segment when Emiya Shirou had traveled around as Kiritsugu's assistant.
And of course, there were also the memories of Nameless… which were the main reason for his deep understanding of firearms.
"Show us."
Now that Shirou had confirmed it, Lappland was no longer bored. She immediately urged him to project one.
"…Fine."
Shirou felt like he had stepped into one of Lappland's verbal traps. Her words had skillfully stirred up the curiosity of the other two.
Step by step, she had left him with little choice but to agree.
After all, she had not made any unreasonable demands, and Shirou could not find a good way to refuse.
Unlike her usual slightly unhinged demeanor, she appeared especially sharp at moments like this.
It would have been even better if she were not targeting him.
After agreeing, Shirou thought for a moment and decided to bring out a firearm he was more familiar with.
"Trace on—"
What he projected was the M950A that Kiritsugu often used. It had a drum magazine attached, giving it a very distinctive appearance.
At the very least, compared to the guns used by Jessica and Liskarm, its design was quite unique.
The drum magazine could hold around fifty rounds, allowing for sustained firepower.
In other words… it could probably go rat-tat-tat-tat-tat like Exusiai?
However, unlike Exusiai, the bullets inside were also projected using Shirou's mana, so there were no issues involving Lungmen currency.
The real cost was the consumption of mana.
"A string of Siracusan curses mixed with Lungmen slang—so it actually works?"
Seeing a gun really appear in Shirou's hands, Lappland immediately moved closer to take a look.
Compared to the other two, she cared less about the implications. If she did not know how dangerous firearms were, she might have even tried using it herself.
After all, she did not often get the chance to handle guns.
"Want to try it?"
Seeing how curious Lappland looked, Shirou asked.
Unlike Terra's firearms, what Shirou projected were ordinary guns as he understood them, just pull the trigger and they would fire.
In simple terms, even Croissant could pick one up and use it immediately.
"I cannot use it. Originium Arts for that are troublesome."
Hearing this, Lappland frowned and rejected his offer.
The barrier to using firearms was quite high, and she felt like Shirou was just messing with her.
"I cannot use Originium Arts either…"
Seeing her pout in protest, Shirou found it a bit amusing.
At the same time, he raised the gun, aimed at the target Jessica had just used, and pulled the trigger.
Rat-tat-tat-tat—
In an instant, many bullet holes appeared on the target. Since he fired casually without carefully aiming, Shirou could only guarantee that the shots hit the target but whether they struck the center was another matter.