Ch.146146. Know Your Place (6)

We chose a practice bow at the training ground.

These were mass-produced bows made to accommodate the large number of soldiers. They were all plain bows without any decorations, of rather ordinary quality.

A bare body without any decorations or attachments. A bare bow and a recurve bow with a curved limb.

Though the quality wasn’t particularly good, the bow faithfully served its basic purpose.

“Now, let’s each try shooting the bow separately for a moment.”

Friel, who had already put on a quiver, said with a slight smile.

Friel briefly gripped the bow to get a feel for it, then immediately nocked an arrow on the string.

She used the pinch draw technique, firmly pinching the string and arrow with her thumb and index finger. Without hesitation, she pulled the string, bending the bow’s limbs.

“……”

Zwaaack—!

She must have chosen the bow with the strongest draw weight among the practice bows, as the string’s scream was quite intense.

Nevertheless, her slender arms easily overcame the recoil, releasing a stable arrow.

“……!”

Swaaak!!

The small metallic sound resonating as it cut through the wind. The resonance Friel created was more crisp than any archer who had been practicing here all day.

Thwack!

And how impressive was the power hidden within that crispness. It firmly embedded itself in the center of the wooden board.

Clean skill without any excess.

There wasn’t a single trace of unsteadiness in her movement as she released the arrow with a sliding release in one go.

It was a technique with just the right amount of power and aim to hit exactly the center.

With her pointed ears, she read the wind direction and speed, and with those teal eyes, she gazed at her target with a predator’s eyes. Yet she maintained a small smile, never losing her composure.

Her truly elven appearance was enough to make some people at the shooting range open their mouths slightly at what they had just witnessed.

‘Ordinary.’

Unfortunately, it didn’t impress me much.

She was just sticking to the basics. There was nothing special about it.

I could easily do that much as well, as easily as eating.

‘Well, this isn’t the forest.’

An elf who freely moves through forests, shooting arrows that appear out of nowhere, and at the moment when they discover the enemy’s complete vulnerability, they release an attack filled with the wrath of spirits.

In a shooting range with just a few targets set up, it would be difficult to see the elf’s characteristic agility, ambush tactics, and destructive aspects.

In this training ground, the archery of an elf who doesn’t even handle spirits isn’t much to see.

I started looking at Sione, who at least had the charm of watching something grow.

“Hoo……”

Sione composed herself with a breath.

She fixed her feet in a figure-eight stance and used the Mediterranean draw, hooking the end of the arrow with her middle and ring fingers.

Then came the sliding release.

Sione’s left eye narrowed, and her right eye opened wide.

At the moment her heterochromatic eyes flashed, the back of her right hand, which was pulling the string, touched her chin.

Twang!

Swaaak!!

The naturally released arrow flew with remarkable sharpness.

‘…Impressive.’

A shot more powerful than I had imagined.

Her arrows had grown significantly as she fought numerous monsters while patrolling the castle walls.

‘Indeed, there’s nothing better than real combat for improving skills.’

Thanks to learning how to imbue killing intent and how to shoot more accurately and powerfully during the recent war.

She had become capable of displaying even more destructive attacks than when she had hunted orcs in the blizzard.

And Friel Arielt and Elisa were just quietly observing Sione Sianella.

“Oho.”

Friel seemed surprised by Sione’s archery skills, which were more impressive than expected.

* * *

“Oho.”

It was beyond expectations.

Whether it was because she had experienced war, or because her innate talent was concentrated in archery.

The level of skill shown by a human who had only been handling a bow for about a year was impressively refined.

I brought her to the shooting range to quickly assess her level before taking her to the great forest.

The young lady showed more impressive skills than I had expected.

‘Interesting.’

I finally began to take interest in this human called Sione Sianella.

‘She was clearly an unremarkable, mediocre human before.’

On the day the kingdom’s coming-of-age ceremony was overturned.

The human called Sione Sianella that I saw then was truly an unremarkable woman.

Her attempt to protect the princess by staying close to her against the sudden remnants of evil. That courage and effort was truly commendable…

But all she had was just that and a male human who was far too good for her. Just that much.

‘She couldn’t even properly wield a sword. A weak-hearted human.’

She hesitated to tear open the belly of a cultist who harbored deep murderous intent toward her and the princess. Someone who alone bore the guilt of killing in a place where morality had died. That appearance seemed truly indecisive, wishy-washy, and foolish to me.

The daughter of the County of Sianella, a family of human swordsmen famous even in our great forest. Yet she couldn’t even handle a dagger properly, which made me firmly believe she was a good-for-nothing without any decent abilities.

So my interest was directed solely at her interesting slave.

‘…Interesting.’

Now, seeing her shoot arrows, I finally begin to find her somewhat interesting.

Following the Great Elder’s orders, it would be right to say that I’m finally beginning to see Sione Sianella as an individual object among the cargo that needs to be taken to the World Tree.

‘An archer from a sword family—’

I put away my bow and slowly approached Sione.

As I did, the young lady sensed my presence and gently turned her head to look at me.

After shooting the bow, the calm, colorless emotions that had settled. The young lady’s bland gaze that enveloped me.

I showed her an elf’s beautiful smile and said:

“Young lady, would you like to draw the string again?”

However, she merely possessed archery skills that were remarkably good for someone who had only learned for a year.

She was still far from catching up to an elf who had dedicated decades to archery.

As promised, I gently bestowed my goodwill upon her.

To gain her favor.

“Right now, you’re putting unnecessary strength in your arms. You can pull the string sufficiently even if you relax a bit more without needing to be so tense.”

“Like this?”

“Yes, now…”

And—

“Would you like to move as I guide you?”

To handle her more comfortably.

* * *

Elisa and I briefly handled bows and then watched Sione and Friel.

Friel gave surprisingly good advice to Sione. Sometimes she even demonstrated by shooting the bow herself.

Although her advice mainly focused on fundamentals like posture and power distribution, these were important things that needed attention precisely because they were fundamental.

Judging by Sione’s serious expression as she absorbed Friel’s words, she seemed to quite appreciate the advice.

As we stood there quietly, Elisa began to glance at me from the side.

Furtive glances directed at me. Though she seemed to be trying to hide it, unfortunately I could clearly see her eyes shifting, which made me conscious of her.

“……”

“……”

“…Do you have something you want to say?”

“……”

At my question, Elisa finally turned to face me directly.

“…I heard that you destroyed a lesser Demon’s body with a single arrow.”

Ah, that.

“If you destroyed it, then magic…”

Sniff, sniff.

Elisa’s nose twitched.

It was a behavior displayed by smelling the scent of my spirits.

“I think you pierced the Demon using spirit magic. Is that true?”

I nodded without hesitation at her words.

When I blew away that Demon’s disgusting body and head in one go, it was purely my own technique. An achievement accomplished through my spirit magic.

There was no need for hesitation.

“Then could I see that magic you used at that time?”

“That… might be a bit difficult.”

Unfortunately, at that time I was in battle.

My previous abilities were quite open under the conditions of protecting Sione and standing on the same battlefield as Siabel.

With my current mana level, it would be quite challenging. If I used it properly once, I would likely feel considerable exhaustion.

I might end up being carried back by Sione like in the old days. There’s nothing more embarrassing than a grown adult being carried in front of others. So I’m sorry, but it might be difficult to recreate exactly what happened then.

“However—”

“……?”

“I think I can show you something just as interesting.”

“If it’s something interesting, what kind—”

“That will be a little later.”

I looked at Sione and Friel.

They were continuing their heated discussion about their respective techniques.

Most of the questions came from Sione. And the clear answers came from that old pointy-eared monster who was over 60 years old.

As I eavesdropped on their conversation with no end in sight, I said:

“I’ll show you after Friel and Sione finish their discussion about archery.”

Elisa nodded slightly.

To her, I dared to—to an elf—

“Surely my spirit magic—”

I expressed an incredibly arrogant aspiration as a human.

“Will be something even the elves of the great forest will find interesting.”

It seems the rumor that I had taken down a Demon has spread so widely that it’s even reached the ears of the elves.

What’s the point of hiding my skills now?

Soon the elves will lose their fabricated smiles at the dignity of Hunter K.

“You can look forward to it.”

They will clasp their hands in astonishment, fall backward with a thud, and be filled with admiration.