episode_0027

The target deer is one male.

Since the estrus season had just begun, if you found a female, there was a good chance she would be with a male. Having two deer wouldn’t cause much of a problem, but for two people who were new to this kind of hunting, it was better to have one deer they could clearly focus on. .

Just in case, I tied my bow to the string and approached the deer with two people.

The deer has not yet noticed our location.

As we were walking nearby, we raised our heads several times to look around due to noises, but I was able to avoid being detected because I pressed Amelia and the prince’s backs and made them lean down.

As I approached the direction of the deer—

The deer, which had been looking for food with its head on the ground, suddenly lifted its head.

However, the direction the deer looked was not towards us, but completely opposite.

It looks like the wolves have completed the siege.

If you surround the deer in a circle, the deer will naturally sense the scent of the wolf, no matter which side the wind blows from.

But by the time the deer noticed, it was already too late.

When I glanced at the two people, they also picked up their bows and tied them to their strings.

good.

If Amelia and Prince Evan can shoot a bow, they had better shoot as quickly as possible. Although I don’t know their skills, I still don’t think they can hit a running deer with a bow.

As I pulled the bow, the two men also pulled the bow and aimed at the deer.

Just as we had previously talked about before coming here, I nodded and Amelia and Prince Evan released the bow strings they were holding at the same time.

The bowstring, which had been pulled back, was strongly extended forward along the shape of the bowstring, making quite a loud sound. The deer immediately responded to the sound and jumped up, but no matter what, the deer could not be faster than the arrow that had already left the bow.

The arrows shot by Amelia and Prince Evan hit the deer’s body at the same time.

but-

“Huh?”

A slightly dazed sound came out of Prince Evan’s mouth.

First, Amelia’s arrow hit the deer’s body and bounced back. Since it was an arrow with a proper arrowhead, it would have been able to wound the deer’s body. However, it was not strong enough to pierce all the skin.

Prince Evan’s arrow got stuck in the deer’s thick skin, but that was all. Although it apparently hit near the neck, it didn’t seem to have inflicted enough damage to kill the deer.

The arrow sank down with the tip stuck in it. Amelia, who was next to me, looked so sore that she moaned involuntarily.

“Mmmuuuu!”

Actually, the deer was sick.

Putting aside a stuck arrow, usually just being hit by a flying arrow is quite painful. Just as it hurts for a person to be hit with a fist rather than being stabbed by a knife, the same goes for a deer.

A deer jumping wildly.

But the wolves had not yet pounced.

They don’t think it’s necessary to chase them just yet. The wolves probably judged that Amelia and Prince Evan wouldn’t be of much help in the hunt.

To the wolves, I am the only one among the three humans in the pack that they trust.

Bow and arrows in my hands.

I quickly raised my bow before the deer left the line of fire.

It was a deer running sideways and jumping up and down like crazy… …

In this situation, it is easier to guess based on experience rather than an individual’s aiming ability.

Animals are not raised within Delkish Castle. This is because food for people was a bit tight, so there was no need to share food with animals.

But I had wolves following me. And of course, if I wanted to raise wolves, I had to find food for them.

In order to be recognized by the wolves and to find food for them, I have been walking through the forest around the castle with the wolves every day for the past few months.

Of course, I already knew how the deer moves when panicked and in what direction it runs.

I turned the bow to face the direction the deer was heading, slowly moved the bow up and down according to the deer’s movement, and then let go of the bowstring that had been pulled as hard as it was.

The sturdy bow simply unfolded and the sturdy bowstring was pulled taut. The arrow was pushed forward strongly, making a sound like a whip being whipped, and left my hand with a snapping sound.

and,

“Mmmuuu!”

I heard a deer scream.

At first it sounded like a cow, but as it went backwards, it split apart and sounded like a person screaming.

A bow was stuck in his neck. Blood was splattered everywhere, turning the white background red. It was so intense that anyone who saw it for the first time would be scared.

Amelia and Evan’s faces turned pale.

I was like that when I first came out with my father.

After all, if people do the same thing so many times, they quickly get used to it, and now, even when I see a scene like that, I feel indifferent.

At the same time as the deer fell forward, the wolves, who had been hiding in the grass until then, immediately jumped out.

And before the deer could even get up, its buttocks, calf, and neck were bitten all at once.

Just like that, the life of the deer, which seemed to weigh more than twice the weight of Amelia and Prince Evan combined, was cut short in an instant.

*

“Is the first food always given to the wolves?”

“That’s how wolves can live.”

And that’s why they think of me as the leader. Because a hunt that would have failed with wolves has a much higher chance of success if I’m with them.

Thanks to this, even the wolves can avoid starving.

Did they say that a knight’s loyalty can be bought with money?

A wolf’s loyalty is based on its food.

“… … .”

Even as the three of us were sitting across from each other around the campfire, we heard the sound of meat being chewed. Even though we were quite far away, a sickening smell wafted towards us. The smell of blood, the unique smell of an animal, and the not-so-good smell coming from the intestines. field.

Do wolves feel that such a smell is delicious? If so, they will rush straight to it, chew it hard, and swallow it.

“So, how was it? Did you find hunting rewarding?”

I try to be like that when I’m alone, but the two people I’m with right now are children of high-ranking people who I don’t usually see like that.

People in Delki City sometimes forget this important fact. At first, they are conscious of it and treat them well, but after a while, they treat them like people who originally lived here.

That’s probably why I named the two of them. In the eyes of my father, who is from Delkisi, they would be like ‘children playing.’

Well, if you followed an adult, you would have seen the stomach being cut open in real time, the internal organs taken out, the arteries cut and blood drawn out, so you would have been there.

I was wondering which would seem more terrifying, seeing a person do something like that or seeing an animal eat an animal, but Prince Evan suddenly opened his mouth and answered.

“… … You did the hunting.”

“Yes?”

“You knocked it down with an arrow. I just watched.”

“But Prince Evan also shot a bow, right?”

“It wasn’t a fatal injury.”

“Huh.”

I said with a slight frown.

“But not everyone in the hunting party can end the life of the prey. A pack of wolves also chases the prey and bites it repeatedly, but only a few kill it by biting its neck.”

Even at my words, the prince pouted. It looked like a bone had formed very hard just by prodding the firewood with a tree branch.

“Lady Elsie is right, prince. All the game in the north is large and has thick leather. The arrow I shot failed to even penetrate the leather like your arrow.”

“… … .”

Amelia offered words of comfort, but the prince still seemed upset.

This is why I don’t think I’ll be in a good mood until I actually catch my prey.

After thinking about it for a while, I was able to think of a way.

“Then, would it be okay if I tell you a game that you can catch with certainty?”

“Is there such a thing?”

I couldn’t hide a bitter smile when I saw the prince blinking his head, even forgetting his princely tone.

There is “”

“Then tell me that.”

Amelia looked a little worried when she saw the prince answering to me. But it was okay. The prince would never lose his life to that prey.

“Then, please follow me.”

I smiled at Amelia as if to reassure her and got up.

*

“Wow, cute!”

Amelia shouted without realizing it.

This was a report of what I had peeled and taken out.

“… … Squirrel?”

The prince looked at the rodent in my hand and said.

“Yes, it is a squirrel. This time of year, squirrels hibernate. Although it is always winter in the North, it will not be long before the ‘real winter’ of the winter will arrive. In that case, it is better to stay indoors and sleep rather than wandering around outside. It is better to cut down.”

Therefore, it is difficult to catch hibernating squirrels outside of this time of year.

When real winter comes, it is not easy for people to go outside.

I said, showing the squirrel that was sleepily tossing and turning in my hands.

“It’s a delicacy that can only be eaten at this time of year.”

“Delicious… … ?”

At my words, Amelia froze.